Offender Record · OFF-2026-027
Charles Campbell (photo from the Radford University biography)
Charles Rodney Campbell
Sex
Male
Race
White
Born
1954
Custody
Deceased
States
WA, US, HI
Distinguishing featuresOne testicle (surgical removal in childhood); reddish-brown bushy hair per victim description
Custody
Deceased at Washington State Penitentiary
Custody record at the facility
Executed by hanging on May 27, 1994 at 12:14 a.m.
This record documents arrests, charges and convictions reported by courts, law enforcement agencies and news organizations. Every statement is tied to a cited source with an archived copy. A charge is an accusation, not proof of guilt; a person charged is presumed innocent unless convicted. Solve the Case does not allege that this person committed any offense beyond what the cited records state, and this record is not a suggestion that the person is connected to any unsolved case. How records are built, corrected and removed.
Summary of the record
Charles Rodney Campbell was convicted of three counts of aggravated first-degree murder in 1982 for the April 14, 1982 murders of Renae Wicklund, an 8-year-old girl, and Barbara Hendrickson in Clearview, Washington. Campbell had previously been convicted in 1976 of sodomy and first-degree assault for a 1974 sexual attack on Wicklund at her home while holding a knife to her infant daughter. He was sentenced to death and executed by hanging at Washington State Penitentiary on May 27, 1994.
Documented Arrests, Charges and Convictions
Dispositions are shown exactly as the cited records report them. Pending charges are updated when a court acts; a record with no remaining conviction or pending charge is removed from the site.
Offense date Dec 11, 1974, Clearview, Washington
Sodomy
Snohomish County Sheriff's Department · Snohomish County Superior Court · Arrested Jan 1976 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: 30 years (concurrent with first-degree assault)
Conviction for sodomy during the December 1974 assault on Renae Wicklund; same incident as first-degree assault charge.
SourcesKey Dates In The Case Of Charles Campbell; State v. Campbell, 691 P.2d 929 (Wash. 1984)
Offense date Dec 11, 1974, Clearview, Washington
First-degree assault
Snohomish County Sheriff's Department · Snohomish County Superior Court · Arrested Jan 1976 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: 30 years (concurrent with sodomy charge)
Campbell broke into Renae Wicklund's home on December 11, 1974, held a knife to her one-year-old daughter's throat, and forced her to submit to sexual acts. Wicklund identified Campbell in a police lineup in 1976 and testified against him.
SourcesKey Dates In The Case Of Charles Campbell; State v. Campbell, 691 P.2d 929 (Wash. 1984); Campbell v. Wood, 18 F.3d 662 (9th Cir. 1994)
Offense date Jan 02, 1976, Eastern Washington (Okanogan area)
Second-degree burglary
Okanogan County Sheriff's Department · Eastern Washington court · Arrested Jan 02, 1976 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: 15 years
Campbell, armed with a sawed-off shotgun, broke into a home; identified at nearby bar and arrested. Campbell pleaded guilty and was sentenced same day.
SourcesKey Dates In The Case Of Charles Campbell
Offense date Apr 14, 1982, Clearview, Snohomish County, Washington
Aggravated first-degree murder (three counts)
Snohomish County Sheriff's Department · Snohomish County Superior Court · Docket State v. Campbell, 691 P.2d 929 (Wash. 1984) · RCW 9A.32.030 (aggravated first-degree murder) · Arrested Apr 19, 1982 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Death penalty (execution by hanging on May 27, 1994)
Campbell burglarized the home of Renae Wicklund (31 years old) and murdered her, her 8-year-old daughter Shannah, and neighbor Barbara Hendrickson (51). Campbell slit the throats of all three victims, beat Renae with a blunt instrument, and mutilated her genitals. The motive was revenge for Wicklund and Hendrickson's testimony against him in his 1976 sexual assault trial. Evidence included a bloody palm print on a glass and an earring belonging to Shannah found in Campbell's possession.
SourcesKey Dates In The Case Of Charles Campbell; State v. Campbell, 691 P.2d 929 (Wash. 1984); Campbell v. Wood, 18 F.3d 662 (9th Cir. 1994); Charles Rodman Campbell
Pattern and Background
Victim counts and the pattern of the offenses as stated by courts, agencies and the cited reporting. Suspected counts are what officials have said publicly, not a finding of this site.
3
Victims convicted
0
Victims confessed
1
Victims suspected
Active years
1974–1982
Range from home
local
Marital history
Married, Divorced
Children
2
Died
1994-05-27 · executed
Places Lived, Worked and Frequented
Each place and date range comes from a cited record. Dates marked approximate are as reported. Know a place that is missing? Use Edit record under the photo; a moderator reviews it before it appears.
HI
Hawaii
1954 – 1954 · Born in Oahu, Territory of Hawaii
US
Washington, Columbia
approx. 1954 – 1976 · Family moved to Washington in 1954; lived in Washington during childhood and adolescence
WA
Snohomish, Washington
1974 – Dec 1974 · Pizza Haven, worked under alias 'Dan Leslie Kile'
Shelton, Washington
May 11, 1976 – Jun 07, 1976 · Shelton Corrections Center
Monroe, Washington
Jun 07, 1976 – Aug 1981 · Washington State Reformatory at Monroe
Monroe, Washington
Sep 1981 – Oct 1981 · Honor Farm (minimum-custody facility)
Monroe, Washington
Oct 1981 – Apr 14, 1982 · Monroe Work Release Center, worked as cook
Walla Walla, Washington
Apr 1982 – May 27, 1994 · Washington State Penitentiary (Walla Walla State Prison), death row
Timeline
Dec 11, 1974
Campbell breaks into Renae Wicklund's home in Clearview, holds a knife to her one-year-old daughter's throat, and sexually assaults Wicklund.
Jan 02, 1976
Campbell, armed with a sawed-off shotgun, breaks into a home in Eastern Washington and is arrested at a nearby bar.
Jan 26, 1976
Campbell pleads guilty and is sentenced to 15 years for second-degree burglary.
Apr 21, 1976
Jury finds Campbell guilty of sodomy and first-degree assault for the December 1974 attack on Renae Wicklund.
May 11, 1976
Campbell begins serving three consecutive sentences at Shelton Corrections Center for burglary, sodomy, and assault.
Jun 07, 1976
Campbell transferred to Washington State Reformatory at Monroe.
Nov 01, 1977
Campbell assaults another inmate, causing head injuries.
Oct 1978
Campbell's cellmate accuses him of rape.
Aug 11, 1979
Another inmate accuses Campbell of rape; Campbell threatens to kill the man if he reports it.
Jun 1981
Parole Board waives Campbell's mandatory sentence, making him eligible for minimum-custody status and scheduling a May 1983 parole hearing.
Aug 14, 1981
Campbell granted minimum-custody status.
Sep 1981
Campbell transferred to honor farm.
Oct 1981
Campbell transferred to Monroe Work Release Center, employed as cook.
Dec 25, 1981
Campbell leaves work release without permission and rapes his ex-wife at her home.
Jan 04, 1982
Campbell again leaves work release and rapes his ex-wife.
Apr 14, 1982
Campbell burglarizes Renae Wicklund's home and murders Wicklund (31 years old), her 8-year-old daughter Shannah, and neighbor Barbara Hendrickson (51).
Apr 19, 1982
Campbell arrested and charged with three counts of aggravated first-degree murder.
Nov 26, 1982
Snohomish County jury convicts Campbell of three counts of aggravated first-degree murder.
Dec 17, 1982
Campbell sentenced to death by hanging.
May 27, 1994
Campbell executed by hanging at Washington State Penitentiary at 12:14 a.m.
2023
DNA tests posthumously link Campbell to the April 29, 1975 sexual assault and murder of Hallie Ann Seaman, a University of Washington student.
Sources
Solve the Case is never the original source. Each item below is the public record a statement on this page rests on, with an archived copy where one exists.
Other · Wikipedia ·
Charles Rodman Campbell“Comprehensive biographical article noting Campbell's convictions, executed 1994, and posthumous DNA link to 1975 murder.”
News report · Seattle Times ·
A UW student was murdered in 1975. Her killer was never known — until now“DNA found on Seaman's body in 1975 identified Charles Rodman Campbell as likely killer in 2023, decades after his 1994 execution.”
Other · Radford University Department of Psychology ·
Radford University serial killer biography: Campbell, Charles“Charles Rodney Campbell biography detailing childhood events, crimes, sentences, and execution.”
News report · Seattle Times ·
Campbell Hanged“Report of Campbell's execution by hanging at Washington State Penitentiary at 12:14 a.m.”
News report · Seattle Times ·
Key Dates In The Case Of Charles Campbell“Chronological record of Campbell's crimes, arrests, convictions, and execution.”
Court record · U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ·
Campbell v. Wood, 18 F.3d 662 (9th Cir. 1994)“Federal habeas appeal reciting facts of 1974 assault on Renae Wicklund and 1982 triple murders.”
Court record · Washington Supreme Court ·
State v. Campbell, 691 P.2d 929 (Wash. 1984)“Appeal of Campbell's murder convictions noting prior 1974 assault and sodomy convictions.”
Discussion
Casual discussion about this record on the community forum. The facts live on this page: to add a place, a vehicle or a source, use the Edit record button under the photo so a moderator can review it. Please name no one else, never name a victim, and do not connect the person to any case not listed here.Open the topic on the forum
Corrections and removal. If a charge on this page has been dismissed, acquitted, overturned, pardoned or expunged, or any fact is wrong, tell us through the correction form. Corrections are free, reviewed within five business days, and a record with no remaining conviction or pending charge is removed. Information here may not be used for decisions about employment, housing, credit, insurance or any purpose covered by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and never to harass, threaten or harm anyone. Where a source is an offender registry, that information is reproduced as of the date shown and is subject to the conditions of use of that registry.