James Michael Randall

Case overview

James Michael Randall (born August 28, 1954) was an American criminal whose convictions included multiple rapes, a kidnapping, and the murder of two women in the Tampa Bay Area in Florida in the 1990s. Randall was an inmate in the Jackson Correctional Institute serving out two life sentences.

Timeline

• March 4, 1984 — Holly Jean Cote was last seen alive in the Gardner area of Massachusetts.
• Early May 1984 — Holly Jean Cote’s body was found in a marsh near Birch Hill Dam at Royalston.
• 18 July 1986 — An incident of sexual battery of Linda Randall occurred.
• 1992 — Randall was released from a Massachusetts prison.
• October 20, 1995 — Wendy Evans was killed by strangulation; her naked body was found on Myrtle Lane in Oldsmar by a UPS truck driver later the same day.
• January 18, 1996 — Cynthia Pugh was killed by strangulation.
• January 19, 1996 — Cynthia Pugh’s body was discovered.
• June 27, 1996 — Police went to Randall’s residence; after an attempted stop, a high-speed chase followed.
• July 1, 1996 — Randall was not found and detained until four days later.
• April 4, 1997 — Randall was sentenced to death.
• April 1997 — Randall was convicted by a Florida jury of first-degree murder in the strangulation deaths of both women.
• 2000 — The Florida Supreme Court heard the appeal and upheld the convictions; the first-degree murder convictions were replaced with second-degree murder convictions and the death sentences were changed to life imprisonment sentences.
• September 2000 — Randall was resentenced to life imprisonment.

Background

Randall was a chief suspect in the 1984 death of Boston resident Holly Jean Cote, whose death by strangulation was never solved. Cote was a friend of Randall’s then-wife, Linda Randall.

Randall’s suspected involvement in Cote’s death was based on statements Randall made to his then-wife and to mental health workers during interactions he had with psychiatric services in late 1984, and on the fact that Cote’s body was recovered in a fishing area Randall was known to frequent. Randall was never charged with an offence relating to Cote’s death, but evidence relating to the investigation was raised in the subsequent Evans/Pugh murder trial.

In the late 1980s, a Massachusetts court convicted James Randall of an incident of sexual battery of Linda Randall that occurred on 18 July 1986. Later the same year, James was convicted of two counts of sexual battery and one count of kidnapping, also relating to Linda Randall. He was sentenced to five to seven years imprisonment for these offences and spent time in a Massachusetts prison until his release in 1992.

After his release, Randall moved to Florida and got a job as a window installer.

Randall was also variously described as a “serial killer”, despite having only two convictions for murder, and as a “notorious criminal”.

The offence

Wendy Evans

On October 20, 1995, Wendy Evans, a Florida prostitute, was killed by strangulation. Her naked body was found on Myrtle Lane in Oldsmar by a UPS truck driver later the same day.

Cynthia Pugh

On January 18, 1996, Cynthia Pugh, another Florida prostitute, was also killed by strangulation. Her body was discovered on January 19, 1996.

Investigation

Police identified James Randall as a person of interest in relation to both deaths after finding tire marks that matched Randall’s Dodge D-50 pick-up truck.

Arrest and flight

On June 27, 1996, police went to speak to Randall at his residence. Following that conversation, police observed Randall leaving his premises in his truck and attempted to stop him to ask further questions, but Randall accelerated away from police. A high-speed chase between Randall and police followed.

Following the conclusion of the chase, Randall continued to flee on foot and was not eventually found and detained until four days later, on July 1, 1996.

Police investigations revealed that Randall had a history of engaging in consensual erotic asphyxiation with his sexual partners. There were also allegations of non-consensual violent attacks on his then-girlfriend Terry-Jo Howard involving attempts to choke her.

Trial

In April 1997, Randall was convicted by a Florida jury of first-degree murder in the strangulation deaths of both women.

Sentencing before appeal

Sentencing judge Susan Schaeffer found three aggravating factors in the offence:

1. Randall had a previous conviction for a felony.
2. The previous conviction was for a violent felony.
3. The murders were especially heinous, callous or cruel.

Taking these factors into account, the court sentenced Randall to two death sentences in relation to the murders.

He was also sentenced to a concurrent sentence of five years on a charge of evading police.

Appeals

Randall appealed the murder convictions. The appeal was heard by the Supreme Court of Florida in 2000. The court upheld the appeals and found that Randall had most likely choked Evans and Pugh for pleasure, not to kill them. Accordingly, the conviction for first-degree murder was replaced with a conviction for second-degree murder in relation to both deaths, and his death sentences were changed to sentences of life imprisonment.

Outcome

Randall was resentenced to life imprisonment in September 2000. He was serving out two life sentences at the Jackson Correctional Institute.

Randall’s death sentences were imposed after his April 4, 1997 sentencing and were later replaced following the Florida Supreme Court’s 2000 decision.

Aftermath and related allegations

The murder of Evans and Pugh was featured on two television shows: Forensic Files in an episode titled “The Common Thread”, and Body of Evidence.

Other deaths: Randall had been the target of allegations that he was involved in other deaths in Massachusetts and Florida. The initial investigations that linked Randall to the deaths of Evans and Pugh involved inquiry into a series of deaths involving female victims, many of them prostitutes, who were killed by strangulation and whose bodies were found naked.

The St Petersburg Times reported that when the imprisoned Randall was informed by detectives he would be charged with the murders of Cynthia Pugh and Wendy Evans, he replied, “Is that all?”

Investigations continued, but no charges had been laid against Randall relating to other deaths.

Other details

Prior convictions and sentence in Massachusetts

In the late 1980s, Randall was convicted in Massachusetts of an incident of sexual battery of Linda Randall that occurred on 18 July 1986. Later that same year, he was convicted of two counts of sexual battery and one count of kidnapping relating to Linda Randall.

Employment after release