The I-5 Killer

by Ann Rule

  "I am satisfied after examining all material factors that this is the only responsible course of action. Public safety is not affected by this decision. I am convinced after meeting with the entire Oregon parole board that Woodfield will never be released from prison."

  Carlton could not saddle Shasta County with a two- to three-million-dollar trial for a man who was serving life plus one hundred sixty-five years in another state.

  Steve Carlton had the support of a vast number of people, but the decision was probably the most difficult he would ever have to make. Donna Eckard's widower, Redding Fire Department Lieutenant Steve Eckard, found no fault with Carlton. "I understand why he did it." Eckard said, adding that he was not displeased with the District Attorney.

  Donna Eckard's father, Daryl Manville, concurred, " (He) made the decision for good reasons. I'm not dissatisfied. I have no quarrel with his decision, in other words."

  Without Beth Wilmot's testimony, Shasta County might have lost the case, and the county might have gone bankrupt as well.

  But, still …

  The world goes on. Steve Eckard remains in Redding, serving the public in the city's fire department.

  Beth Wilmot's nightmares rarely come now, but she still fears the dark.

  There is one nightmare, however, that haunts anyone who ever met Randy Woodfield when he was in the grip of his compulsive deadly prowls. A nightmare that walks with the victims and the survivors and also with the detectives and the prosecutors and the judges.

  What if the system should fail, as it has so many times before? What if Woodfield gets out — despite Judge Clarke Brown's efforts, despite D. A. Steve Carlton's assurances? What then?

  One quote about Randy comes back at odd times, late at night, or on a winter Sunday evening in the rain. Dana Middleton, now co-host of her own ABC talk show in Seattle, was a young television reporter in Shasta County in 1981. She covered the murders of Donna Eckard and Janell Jarvis; she pored over police reports on similar cases in the Northwest. And Dana Middleton found herself, finally, in the same room with Woodfield. He was surrounded by detectives, but even so …

  She controls an involuntary shiver as she recalls that night. "The first time I ever saw him, I noticed he was quite good-looking. But then he turned around and looked at me and I saw his eyes. They were flat. Dead eyes. Shark's eyes. It was exactly like looking into a shark's eyes. There was no emotion there at all, no compassion, just emptiness. I've never seen eyes like that in a human being, never before and never since."

  THE END

  Ann Rule and her daughter, author Leslie Rule. (Photo by Glenn Scott)

  Ann Rule Bio

  Ann Rule is regarded by many as the foremost true crime writer in America, and the author responsible for the genre as it exists today. She came to her career with a solid background in law enforcement and the criminal justice system. Both her grandfather and her uncle were Michigan sheriffs, her cousin was a Prosecuting Attorney, and another uncle was the Medical Examiner.

  She is a former Seattle Policewoman, former caseworker for the Washington State Department of Public Assistance, and a former student intern at the Oregon State Training School for Girls.

  Ann has been a full-time true crime writer since 1969. Over the past 30 years, she has published 33 books and 1400 articles, mostly on criminal cases. Ann has a BA from the University of Washington in Creative Writing, with minors in Psychology, Criminology and Penology. She has completed courses in Crime Scene Investigation, Police Administration, Crime Scene Photography and Arrest, Search, and Seizure, earning her an Associates Degree from Highline Community College. She also has a Master’s Degree in Compassionate Letters from Willamette University.

  Ann has attended every seminar that police organizations invite her to, including those on organized crime, arson, bomb search, and DNA. She has 30 hours credit at the University of Washington Medical School earned by attending the National Medical Examiners’ Conference. She also attended the King County Police Basic Homicide School. Today, she teaches seminars to many law enforcement groups. She is a certified instructor in many states on subjects such as: Serial Murder, Sadistic Sociopaths, Women Who Kill, and High Profile Offenders. She was on the U.S. Justice Department Task Force that set up the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (VI-CAP), now in place at FBI Headquarters in Quantico, Virginia. VI-CAP is a computer tracking system to help identify and trap serial killers. She has testified twice before Senate Judiciary Sub-committees on victims’ rights and on the danger of serial killers.

  When Ann spent her summer vacations with her grandparents in Stanton, Michigan, she helped her grandmother prepare meals for the prisoners in the jail. She used to wonder why such friendly, normal appearing, men were locked behind bars, and why the sweet woman in the cell upstairs (who taught Ann to crochet) was about to go on trial for murder. That was the beginning of her lifelong curiosity about the “Whys” behind criminal behavior. Her books all explore the reasons behind the front-page cases she covers.

  Ann’s books deal with three areas: the victims’ stories; the detectives and prosecutors and how they solve their cases with old fashioned police work and modern forensic science; and the killers’ lives. She tries to go back to the killers’ early childhood, and even back into their family histories to find some of the genesis of their behavior. She spends many months researching her books, beginning with the trial and with many subsequent visits to the locale where the crimes occurred. Once she has finished her research, she returns to her office to write her books.

  Eight of Ann’s books have been made into TV movies, and five more are in the works. She won the coveted Peabody Award for the miniseries based on her book, Small Sacrifices, and has two Anthony Awards from Bouchercon, the mystery fans’ organization. She has been nominated three times for Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. She was also awarded the Washington State Governor’s Award. Ann is active in support groups for victims of violent crimes and their families, in programs to help battered and abused women, and support groups for children caught in traumatic living situations.

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