Randall Woodfield

Background He lived in Salem, Oregon. He came from a middle class family. His family showed no signs of dysfunction. He was a cherished son. He was a high school football star. He was an excellent student. As a child, he was viewed as a charming and handsome young man. When he was an adolescent, he started showing antisocial sexual behavior. He seemed to have an obvious problem with anger starting at age 11. His parents were concerned about him and sent him to see a therapist, however no one seemed to pick up on how bad his problems were. He was drafted to the Green Bay Packers. He was dismissed from the team due to his criminal acts.

Crimes he committed His first arrest was when he was an adolescent for indecent exposure (the intentional exposure of one’s body’s privates in a manner that gives offense against accepted or prescribed behavior), but his football coaches covered it up so he would not be kicked off the team. He had three arrests in the early 1970s for petty crimes such as vandalism (deliberately mischievous or malicious destruction or damage of property) and public indecency (acts or behaviors that may or may not be illegal, but are considered private behavior that could harm the public in some fashion). By 1974, he had so many arrests for indecent exposure that he was dismissed from the NFL team the Green Bay Packers (he had be selected in the draft but was cut in training camp so he wasn’t on the actual team but he still practiced with them.)

Crimes he committed (continued) 1975 he robbed (to take something from someone by unlawful force or threat of violence) and sexually assaulted (knowingly cause another person to engage in an unwanted sexual act by force or threat) several women. He was arrested and served 4 years of a 10 year sentence before being released on parole. In 1979, he took up a two year robbery spree, holding up gas stations and homes along the Interstate 5 freeway. Some of his female victims were sexually assaulted, murdered, or both. In 1981, there was a shooting in Beaverton, Oregon where one person was killed. Police investigated Woodfield and connected him to the shooting as well as the attempted murder of two other women. He was then arrested and charged with the Beaverton murder and a double murder of a wife and daughter in Redding, California.

Evidence For his first arrests he was seen committing the crimes and arrested on the spot. DNA and ballistic evidence linked him with the murder and attempted murder of two young women whom Woodfield had shot in the head in Woodfield’s house. The surviving victim, Lisa Garcia, testified that Woodfield was her attacker at the subsequent trial. He was also identified by multiple witnesses/victims in line ups. One of the victims was a previous girlfriend of his.

Sentence Woodfield was sentenced to life + 90 years in prison in 1981.

Quote and nickname “You just have to wonder how such a promising young man could have turned into a maniacal rapist and killer.” –The Charles Press Publishers Nickname: The I-5 Killer The I-5 Bandit

Sociological theory of deviance I think that Randall Woodfield fits under the labeling theory. When he was young, he was charged with indecent exposure. However, his football coaches covered it up. This is an example of the primary deviance stage. He violated a social rule, but was not labeled due to his reputation of being a star athlete and being a good student. After this occurred, he began committing more and more crimes, which eventually led to him being labeled as a deviant. Due to this, after he was drafted to the Green Bay Packers, he was dismissed from the team after committing yet another crime. After being labeled as a deviant, Woodfield took his crimes to the next level, but when he was arrested and claimed that he didn’t do it. This is an example of a technique of neutralization by denial of responsibility. In some cases, as soon as police knew he was in the area, they took action upon him because he was labeled as a deviant. Woodfield’s escalation in criminal activity and the police’s action against him is an example of secondary deviance. He decided that since he was labeled a deviant, he might as well accept it. The examples of primary deviance and secondary deviance exhibited by Woodfield, along with the label he received from police as a deviant are the reasons why I believe he fits under the labeling theory.

Cultural References Movies: Novels: The Hunt for the I-5 Killer The I-5 Killer by Andy Stack The I-5 Killer by Ann Rule