The I-5 Killer

by Ann Rule

The terrifying true crime story of the I-5 serial killer from Ann Rule, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Stranger Beside Me.

Randall Woodfield had it all. He was an award-winning student and star athlete. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers to play in the NFL, and chosen by Playgirl as a centerfold candidate. Working in the swinging West Coast bar scene, he had his pick of willing sexual prospects.

But Randall Woodfield wanted more than just sex. An appetite for unspeakable violent acts led him to cruise the I-5 highway through California, Oregon, and Washington, leaving a trail of victims along the way. As the list of his victims grew to a total of at least 44, the police faced the awesome challenge of catching and convicting a suspect who seemed too handsome and appealing to have committed such ugly crimes--crimes that filled every woman within his striking range with feat and horror....

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Audiobook, Mystery, Biography, Serial Killer

295 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1984

About the author

Ann Rule was a popular American true crime writer. Raised in a law enforcement and criminal justice system environment, she grew up wanting to work in law enforcement herself. She was a former Seattle Policewoman and was well educated in psychology and criminology.

She came to prominence with her first book, The Stranger Beside Me, about the Ted Bundy murders. At the time she started researching the book, the murders were still unsolved. In the course of time, it became clear that the killer was Bundy, her friend and her colleague as a trained volunteer on the suicide hotline at the Seattle, Washington Crisis Clinic, giving her a unique distinction among true crime writers.

Rule won two Anthony Awards from Bouchercon, the mystery fans' organization. She was nominated three times for the Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. She is highly regarded for creating the true crime genre as it exists today.

Ann Rule also wrote under the name Andy Stack . Her daughter is Goodreads author Leslie Rule.

Reviews

[jv poore · Rating 4 out of 5]

While it's difficult to try to comprehend Randall Woodfield's deviant criminal tendencies, it is impossible for me to understand what could make some women straight-up lie for him and that is truly terrifying.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to get this book...the first one of Ann Rule's I read...because I knew Randall Woodfield - the infamous "I-5 Killer" which is what the news media dubbed him.

Randall was handsome, nice, accommodating and a good dancer. He was the bouncer at a tavern near my home where I wasted a few brain cells and diminished my quarter reservois on the pool table. Randall and I started to become friends...but not in a romantic way, necessarily. He didn't give me the impression of wanting to have a girlfriend. However, we shared some "interesting" moments on occasion, but all in I liked him and had no reason not to. Until one particular moment in time when I wasn't going to do what he wanted to do. What I had seen then, looking back, was a revealing window on Randall's soul.

I moved away shortly after that window was closed and never saw him again in person. The next time I saw Randall was on the 11 o'clock news out of Portland...being lead down an institutional hallway in handcuffs and prison garb surrounded by police. Yeah. My mouth dropped open and I nearly had a stroke.

This book scared the s*it out of me, quite frankly, not simply because I had known Randall but because Ann Rule digs into these all-too-real characters she writes about and brings their lives, their crimes, and motivations - as far as anyone could surmise - into their story so you know you're looking at the whole rounded individual.

I like true crime stories because they are so totally out of my personal experience. I'm carried into a new dimension of time and space. Adrift in my little world, reading takes me places I dare not go, but those places are safe within the confines of my mind. They're gritty and real and show me that life is very frequently filled with terrible suffering and pain. Sounds awful, but it reminds me of how wonderfully blessed I am. That's the best thing I take away from this kind of book...the fact that I'm not there!

[Obsidian · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's weird growing up as a child in the 80s.

I heard all of these stories about these serial killers that seem to have popped up overnight in the 1980s it seemed. You had Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and you even had the I-5 killer, Randall Woodfield.

Reading this true crime book by Ann Rule about the I-5 killer was eye-opening.

Unlike with her previous books I think that Rule was a lot stronger in this one because she really did focus on the perpetrator a lot more and the crimes that he committed. The crimes were very horrific and at times very hard to read, but I think that she did a great job of getting into his mind and the contempt he felt towards women. Unlike in previous Rule books even though we get the bare-bones sketch of the prosecutors and the police they don't overwhelm the story. Instead the victims and the ordeals that they suffered shines through in this one, which makes me appreciate it a lot more. Because in the end when these killers are caught and their infamy is shouted from the rooftops we often do forget about the victims and the families that they left behind.

I don't know what makes a serial killer. Reading this book you seem to think that the killer Randall Woodfield had everything going for him. I mean at one point he was even asked to come and try out for the Green Bay Packers. But something inside of him, something made him want to be loved by women but also hated them and caused him to lash out at them at any opportunity that he got until he just turned deadly for more than a year up and down the I-5 Highway.

What's really weird though is how this killer ended up linking up with another case that Rule end up writing about, Diane Downs.

One thing that I do wish though is that there had been a follow-up to some of these true crime stories. When you read different details later on you find out things that have happened I found out that Woodfield was tied to a couple of more murders that Rule and other suspected him in in this book. So that does make me feel a bit better to see that some of those crimes were tied up and he was definitively linked and charged.

Definitely recommend to those true-crime lovers out there. Be prepared for a grisly read at times though.

[Misty Marie Harms · Rating 4 out of 5]

Randall Woodfield drove up and down I-5 murdering women to sate his murderous lust. His victim count was 44 if not more. What is fascinating about Randy was he was drafted by the Green Bay Packers and picked as a centerfold candidate for Playboy. He was more than the average guy, not the guy next door. He had a promising future and was handsome. He had no shortage of women that wanted to spend time with him. Randy is the reason serial killers fascinate me. I want to know what makes them tick. How does the urge to destroy become so powerful that they can't control it, even when they have the world at their feet? Excellent read. Ann did a great job putting it all together for us.

🐱🐱🐱🐱

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name · Rating 3 out of 5]

So bizarre to read a book about a crime from the ‘80s and have the author state that there is no definitive way to match blood, semen, hair to a perp but it’s hoped that one day t will be possible.

Wow did not see that relationship coming! Writing steamy letters back and forth with one of the most notorious women children annihilaters

[Jess☺️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The I-5 killer by Ann Rule is a great insight to the deranged killer Randall Woodfield, there are certain parts which you can skim because it's a little repetitive and it can get a little frustrating as my mind can not wrap around the fact that many women will lie and help him.
Also your left open mouth at how easy he can lie and people of importance believe him, it was also kind of obvious that his crimes were going to escalate from exposing himself to women in public to murder how nobody thought otherwise I have no idea.
If true Crime is your thing then I definitely recommend this 📖.

[Karyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A monster among us, although there are many monsters among us, more than we would like to acknowledge. That said, this book is well organized and depicts this man as one that can easily deceive, and has been successful with many women, even after being imprisoned for heinous crimes against women.
Ann Rule is at the top of the list for writers of true crime, and the surprising intersection of two famous murderers at the end is more than I expected.

[Kaylin (The Re-Read Queen) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

My fourth Rule book and it’s just as well researched and written as the others, but there was so much focus on the explicit nature of the killer’s sex crimes. I understood he was a very sexually driven killer, but the page after page descriptions of assault and the terrible things he said to his victims made me very uncomfortable.

[Jessica's Totally Over The Top Book Obsession · Rating 4 out of 5]

I use to love true crime books but books like this freaked me the hell out!

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid true crime novel. Plan to read more Ann Rule in the future.

[K Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ann Rule, the pantsuit of true-crime writing, presents a crisp, feminine-free portrait of a heinous serial killer who hunted the West Coast via I-5 in the 1970s/1980s. I had never heard of Randy Woodfield before this book--the horror that he is just one of many roving psychopaths that took 40+ women's lives during the serial killer heyday--do we have so many bodies to spare? He was raised with sisters and a loving family, born with incredible athleticism--even played professional football--and like every white dude with straight teeth in America, Judges can see a bit of themselves in him so he was not punished for the first crimes he committed (even as a teenager, he was exposing himself to terrorize girls). If you look closely at a lot of these supposedly "good looking" deviants, they are given so much--so many chances, excuses, privileges--because they are born with the benefit of the doubt. It's hard to forget that Rule sat next to Ted Bundy when she was a volunteer at the student call center, and I always wonder if/how much she is motivated to report these stories because of her brush with a modern monster.

My creative writing students were all discussing the latest Netflix biopic on Jeffrey Dahmer a few weeks ago, and it goes without saying that I'm sorry I know as much as I do about these infamous serial predators. Rule was investigating these dudes way before it was trendy, and I appreciate her dedication to a no-nonsense tone, even as I'm aghast to learn about another misogynist/sadist that preyed on women without being questioned for far too long.

I'm in the mood less and less for true crime, and I suppose my low-star rating is due to both subject fatigue *and* Rule's decision to include her last chapter (an update she added in 1988). The guy is behind bars for life, and he has a Trump sized ego. He needs no more air-time. The last chapter just details his ruse to humiliate/abuse yet one more woman from jail. YUCK.

File Under: Spoiler Alert: Narcissists Never Admit Defeat

[Foxy Vixen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a real informative book about a real monster.
Unfortunately, due to all of the players involved, it was very confusing to keep it all straight.
Also, the Audiobook and ebook were not connected to each other. So, unfortunately I ended up reading rebook and forsaken the audiobook.

[Brendon Lowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid 4 stars.

I haven't read a true crime book in a long time. At one point, it was all I read. This was a fantastically researched and told story of the serial killing rapist. How multiple police agencies were involved, how the killer committed a multitude of crimes, sometimes multiple a day.

We hear the killers words and, more importantly, the victims. Keeps you reading, wondering how he will eventually get caught. Ann Rule is considered a master of true crime and this book shows why.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally got around to reading this one. WOW, what a psycho Randy Woodfield is. I've read a lot of true crime in my life, but I can say this book skeeved me out bigtime. This sick, twisted waste of space orally sodomized women as young as 10 year old girls. Yes. My stomach turned when I read the descriptions of his crimes.

He's an interesting case study to read - very handsome, very insecure, yet acts macho and needy concurrently. It would be obvious to an adult woman that something was "off" with him, but Randy liked them young, so there were so many women that were sucked into his lies.

Not only was he a rapist, but a cold blooded murdered. So many of these crimes happened at places I have personally been to, as I live in the Pacific northwest. This fact just made this story that much creepier.

I literally could not put the book down - another superb analysis of a criminal by Ann Rule.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of Rule’s early books when she went under the pen name Andy Stack. She had used the Stack byline when writing for crime and detective magazines prior to her full-length book career.

This book follows Randy Woodfield who became known as the I-5 Killer (sometimes I-5 Bandit, but that’s too cutesy considering his crimes). He’s a murderer and a sex maniac.

The descriptions of Woodfield’s crimes seem a little more graphic than usual for Rule. It’s possible that the sheer number of crimes gave me this impression more than anything. At one point, Woodfield seemed to be violating women on a daily basis.

One thing common to true crime is the tendency for the criminal to be caught long before the book ends, and the reader is treated to the courtroom drama for the second half. I always think the court scenes will end up boring, but they rarely are in a Rule book.

There’s a surprise at the end of this book where Woodfield comes into contact with another “star” of Rule’s books. It’s the Ann Rule Expanded Universe.

[Tara Cignarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

The I-5 Killer by Ann Rule
Information: B+
Writing: A-
Narration: B+
Best Aspect: Another great Ann Rule true crime novel.
Worst Aspect: A little to detailed in the wrong parts.
Recommend: Yes

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was an interesting book. I didn’t know much about I-5 killer so was a good book to learn about what he did and why.

[Katherine Addison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another get in, get it done, get out account of a serial killer, this one Randall Woodfield, the I-5 Killer, who committed robbery, kidnapping, rape, sodomy (which by its legal definition seems to be an umbrella term for any kind of sex that isn't human-penis-in-human-vagina: Woodfield was fond of fellatio), and murder. He was convicted of the murder of Shari Hull and charged but never prosecuted for the murders of Donna Eckard and Jannell Jarvis (after Woodfield was sentenced to life plus 165 years in the Oregon State Penitentiary, the Shasta County, California, District Attorney decided the ruinous cost of the prosecution wasn't worth the outside chance that Woodfield would not only be sentenced to death but would actually have the sentence carried out). Since Rule's book came out in 1984 (revised edition in 1988) and Woodfield's $12 million libel suit against her was dismissed, he has been linked by DNA testing to the murders of Cherie Ayers, Darci (or Darcey, sources vary) Fix, Douglas Altic, and Julie Reitz (all of whom he was strongly suspected of murdering in 1984).

A lot of murders in America in the twentieth century seemed to have been committed because, as a very broad generalization, there is a significant subset of men who never made the cognitive/psychological leap to understanding that women are human beings who have independent existences, and that that is not wrong. To put it glibly, men whose world view fails the Bechdel Test. And I don't just mean serial killers like Bundy or Brudos or Woodfield, although certainly you can pick that out as an underlying theme in the careers of a number of American serial killers. I'm also thinking of men who stalk and murder ex-girlfriends or ex-wives, or who murder before they even get to the "ex" part. And I'm thinking of Jon Krakauer's book Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith, in which a big part of what's going on, both with the Lafferty brothers' turn to Mormon fundamentalism and with their eventual recourse to murder, is the desperate attempts of men who feel entitled to patriarchal control over the female members of their households and see that control slipping away. (For a man like that, his control is always slipping, no matter how obedient his wife (or wives) and daughters try to be. Ron Lafferty turned to the fundamentalist Mormon church because, when he felt he didn't have enough control and reality suggested that perhaps that was because he wasn't supposed to have that kind of micromanaging draconian control, the fundamentalist Mormon church reassured him that, no, it was reality that was wrong.

We have a mismatch, in other words, between two sets of cultural expectations, one that the world works like a fifties sitcom (Father Knows Best, to pick the most obviously, glaringly iconic example), and one that the world is made up of human beings, roughly half of whom are XX and half of whom are XY, and that being one or the other doesn't entitle you to anything. I hope that as the decades roll past, the expectations of patriarchal entitlement will become less ingrained--and less damaging when thwarted, something that little boys can get over, instead of growing up to commit murder simply because their "toys" refuse to wait quietly in the "toybox" when not being played with. No, I'm not saying that all men are like this; I'm saying that a remarkably broad cross-section of men who commit murder are men who murder because it's the only way they can control either one specific woman or, in the case of serial killers, women in general.

Once she's dead, she can't say no. She can't get up and leave. She can't choose another man.

Woodfield used I-5 to spread his crimes out between jurisdictions, ranging from Washington to California. This gave him more time in 1980-81 than it would today, but the law enforcement departments of the I-5 corridor deserve tremendous kudos for figuring out so quickly that they were all looking for the same guy. And for finding him. That's the brighter side to cases like this. For every one guy like Woodfield, there are a dozen or two dozen or three dozen guys who want with every atom of their beings to stop him. And those guys are the reason I read books about guys like Woodfield.

[Eva-Marie Nevarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend this and every other book by Ann Rule for any true crime reader who hasn't read her. You will not be disappointed!

[Zannie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was good and very detailed, but probably could’ve still been told in half the time.

[Ashley Daviau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not my first Ann Rule read and it most definitely won’t be my last either! In fact, I think it’s amongst my favourites I’ve read by her. Minus maybe The Stranger Beside Me because that one is just beyond iconic. But this one made me feel almost as excited and horrified while reading it. This story is absolutely horrifying and actually reminds me a bit of Bundy’s story. Of course the events these victims went through were horrifying but seeing the case resolved in this book provided such an immense sense of satisfaction. Knowing the victims got justice makes any true crime read all that much sweeter. And as usual Rule’s sensitivity is on point in her writing, she’s not being sensationalistic or exploiting the victims. That’s one of my favourite parts about her writing, her ability to bring class and sensitivity to a normally quite exploitative genre.

[Una · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rule may not be the most skilled writer but she surely knows how to pull you into her nonfiction murder accounts. I'd not ever heard of Randy Woodfield, probably b/c I was busy following the rampant stories about Ted Bundy's trails throughout the country around the same time. I picked up this book at a library's 'used' sale, and having read a few of her other books, figured it would be worthwhile. Part of me wishes I'd have passed it by! However, I was hooked immediately and couldn't put it down til I knew he was safely behind bars! I seethed most of my way through this grim tale. Amazing how much he and Bundy were alike, operating in similar northwest area and during similar time period. Gripping, troubling, detailed account of this guy's evil path up and down the I-5 corridor. My heart went out to his many, many victims & their families, and the law enforcement who sought him in the hopes of bringing him to trial.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like many other people, I have a fascination with true crime and serial killers. My favorite TV shows are those that involve mystery and murder. I moved to Eugene, OR a few years ago and was told by a coworker that there was a serial killer who was caught in Eugene in the early 80's. So of course I had to read more about this local serial killer!

What a disgusting human being Randall Woodfield is. His crimes frightened me to the core. After I finished this the other night, I couldn't fall asleep! I kept hearing noises in the house and ended up locking my bedroom door so I could fall asleep. I was fascinated that he started a jail romance with Diane Downs. She was another local killer from the area.

I'm glad this creep is behind bars. Lets just hope he stays there.

[CatBookMom · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my guilty pleasures is reading Ann Rule's true-crime books. So when this one went on sale for $2 recently, I bought it. And yesterday, as a change from some delightful historical cozy mysteries I've been bingeing on, I started it and found myself finishing it today. As usual with Ms Rule, it was well-written, well-edited, and I was a bit surprised to find that it wasn't nearly as um, squicky as several of her other books.

The killer is still in prison after 36 years.

[Shelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first Ann Rule book and I loved it. I've been on a true crime obsession for over a year now and this is just fuel to the fire for me! Can't wait to read the rest.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

“He appeared to them as if he were only an observer, not the defendant. He was handsome, he dressed nicely, and he had pretty, well-dressed girlfriends. He didn’t look the way killers are supposed to look. But then, few killers do.”

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Read for disturbing break down of one of the lesser known PNW based serial killers.

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I’ve driven on the I-5 many a time, but I had never heard of The I-5 Killer until I saw that Ann Rule had written a book about him! And because it was Ann Rule, I didn’t hesitate on buying the book.

Sure enough, I was in for one doozy of a tale.

Woodfield is one of the most privileged predators I’ve read about. The world was his oyster and he chose a life of depravity. His hatred of women was evident in his horrifying crimes and I’ll admit, I lost some sleep after reading about some of his assaults. His ability to manipulate, even after capture, was disturbing!

I do so appreciate the way Rule navigates these tough topics with respect. Naturally, the killer and his crimes get a big chunk of attention, especially as you learn about his past, the build up to those crimes, and the consequences after capture. However, she also gives a large portion of attention to the law enforcement officers that are pursuing justice and, most importantly, to the victims themselves. I got emotional a couple times while reading about the strength of the women who survived their attacks and the ways they helped their capture their attacker.

As always, I will recommend Ann Rule to any true crime fan. I have yet to be disappointed by any of her books!

[Trin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Junk food for while I'm sick. Rule knows how to present a case thoroughly and suspensefully, though not without certain cliches of the genre that set my teeth on edge--talking about the intelligence of the killer (despite the rest of the narrative repeatedly disproving this) and lauding law enforcement (Rule was a former cop); suggesting that there is so much more crime and murder now (the 1980s) then ever before; being pro-death penalty. But it was interesting to learn about a case I somehow knew nothing about, despite it having taken place partially in my home state.

Also, the D.A. was Dick Van Dyke's son? Whaaaaat.

[Cadence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Y’all know I love a good Ann Rule true crime book. I’m pretty sure this is the fourth one I have read, and it struck me this time how much like a novel the dialogue is written. It really brings me into the world on the story, as opposed to having some sort of interrogation transcript like some crime books do. I also thought this had a nice balance of “real time” investigation and background on the killer.

[Marilyn Mcguire · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! I live in Oregon and with an ex-father in law, went to some of this sites. Yes it may sound creepy but I have and will always be a true crime buff. At the time of our road trip, we had read a different book on him, it was fucking awesome and amazing. Then I read this one and blown away. I am less than a mile from the gi Joe's was. River road is also close and many other sites. So of course I now want to have another true crime road trip. This book was an huge eye opener on how how this monsters walk among us and we have no clue.

Anyway, great read for the hardcore true crime buff, but will be to much for alot of peeps because of the level of in you face, brutal true of what happened and what was done to this people.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a morbid fascination with True Crime - I travel down the rabbit hole of internet research as I read or listen to these stories. I hadn’t known about the I-5 Killer’s crimes, fitting the popsugar reading challenge prompt. Having read Anne Rule before, specifically, The Stranger Beside Me, I knew this one would be interesting and told in a way that was both enlightening about the psychopath, Randall Woodfield, but also true and respectful to the victims. This guy is truly sick. Ultimately his cocky attitude and idiocy led to his arrest. Recommend to fans of True Crime. It wasn’t as captivating as The Stranger Beside Me; however, that one is unique in that the true crime author actually WORKED with Ted Bundy while he was committing his crimes, so the insight was more personal and credible.

POPSUGAR Reading Challenge- A Book You Know Nothing About.