Michael Anthony Hughes

On January 5, 1986, the body of 17-year-old Michael Anthony Hughes was discovered in Long Beach, California. He had been strangled and showed signs of sexual assault. The circumstances of his death bore similarities to victims attributed to Randy Kraft, the convicted serial killer known as the 'Freeway Killer' who murdered at least 16 young men in Southern California between 1971 and 1983.

Hughes was a local teenager who had last been seen in the Long Beach area. The investigation revealed few leads. While Kraft was already in custody by 1986, his cryptic scorecard of victims—a list of 61 coded entries found in his car at the time of arrest—contained entries that investigators could not match to known victims. Some researchers have speculated that Hughes may have been killed by a Kraft associate or copycat.

The Long Beach Police Department investigated the case but was unable to identify a suspect. The case has been periodically reviewed as part of broader cold case initiatives but remains unsolved.

Michael Anthony Hughes' murder is one of many unsolved killings of young men in Southern California during the 1970s and 1980s, a period when multiple serial killers—including Kraft, William Bonin, and Patrick Kearney—were active in the region.