Offender Record · OFF-2026-067
Wayne Adam Ford (photo from the Radford University biography)
Wayne Adam Ford
Also known as Adam
Sex
Male
Race
White
Height
6'2"
Born
1961
Custody
Incarcerated
States
CA, US
Distinguishing features6'2" tall
Custody
Incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison, death row · #F65748
Custody record at the facility
Sentenced to death on August 10, 2006; transferred to San Quentin State Prison in February 2007
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
Wayne Adam Ford was convicted of four counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances for strangling and dismembering four women between October 1997 and October 1998 in California. He turned himself in to the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department in Eureka, California on November 3, 1998, with a severed breast in his coat pocket. On June 27, 2006, he was found guilty of all four counts and sentenced to death on August 10, 2006. He remains incarcerated on death row at San Quentin State Prison.
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 Oct 1997, Eureka, California
First-degree murder with special circumstances
San Bernardino County Superior Court · San Bernardino County Superior Court · California Penal Code §187 · Arrested Nov 03, 1998 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Death
Kerry Ann Cummings, 25-year-old female, was the first identified victim. Her body was found October 26, 1997 (reported discovered October 17, 1997) dismembered in Ryan Slough near Eureka, California. Ford stabbed her torso 27 times and severed her breasts, head, arms and legs. Identified in June 2023 through forensic genealogy.
SourcesWayne Adam Ford; Sheriff's Office Identifies Wayne Adam Ford Victim After 25 Years; Huge break in case of NorCal serial killer found with body part in pocket; Radford University serial killer biography: Ford, Wayne Adam
Offense date May 16, 1998, Las Vegas, Nevada
First-degree murder with special circumstances
San Bernardino County Superior Court · San Bernardino County Superior Court · California Penal Code §187 · Arrested Nov 03, 1998 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Death
Tina Renee Gibbs, 26-year-old female prostitute from Las Vegas. Ford met her at a Las Vegas motel and later in his truck at a truck stop. Her body was found June 2, 1998 near Buttonwillow, California in an aqueduct. She was strangled but not dismembered.
SourcesWayne Adam Ford; Wayne Adam Ford; Radford University serial killer biography: Ford, Wayne Adam
Offense date Sep 25, 1998, Ontario, California
First-degree murder with special circumstances
San Bernardino County Superior Court · San Bernardino County Superior Court · California Penal Code §187 · Arrested Nov 03, 1998 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Death
Lanette Deyon White, 25-year-old female. Ford picked her up at an Ontario truck stop. Her body was found September 1998 (reported found around September 25-30) nude and floating in an irrigation canal near Lodi in San Joaquin County. Cause of death ruled homicidal violence of unknown etiology.
SourcesWayne Adam Ford; Wayne Adam Ford; Radford University serial killer biography: Ford, Wayne Adam
Offense date Oct 1998, Victorville, California
First-degree murder with special circumstances
San Bernardino County Superior Court · San Bernardino County Superior Court · California Penal Code §187 · Arrested Nov 03, 1998 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Death
Patricia Anne Tamez, 29-year-old female. Ford picked her up by a convenience store near Victorville. Her body was found in the California Aqueduct near Hesperia in October 1998. Ford severed her breast, which he carried in his pocket when he turned himself in. Her neck had been broken below her shoulders and cause of death was ruled strangulation.
SourcesWayne Adam Ford; Wayne Adam Ford; Death sentence for Petaluma native; Radford University serial killer biography: Ford, Wayne Adam
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.
4
Victims convicted
4
Victims confessed
6
Victims suspected
Active years
1997–1998
Victim profile
Young women, Sex workers, Hitchhikers, Strangers
Stated motive
Sexual
Range from home
interstate
Confessed
Yes
Cooperated with investigators
Yes
Education
some high school
Marital history
Married, Divorced
Children
1
Military discharge
honorable
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.
CA
Petaluma, California
approx. 1961 – 1963 · Born and raised in Petaluma
California
approx. 1963 – 1979 · Lived with parents and relatives in various California locations, moving between mother and father after divorce
Santa Ana, California
approx. Apr 1982 – 1986 · Lived and worked managing apartment complex
Southern Oaks, California
approx. 1985 – 1986 · Worked various jobs including delivery driver, truck driver, school bus driver for disabled children, tow truck driver, security guard
Orange, California
approx. 1986 – 1998 · Various residences in Orange County area; worked multiple jobs including car dealerships, motorcycle shop
Arcata, California
approx. 1997 – Nov 03, 1998 · Lived in trailer park in Arcata while employed as long-haul truck driver at time of murders
Eureka, California
Nov 03, 1998 – Nov 03, 1998 · Turned himself in to Humboldt County Sheriff's Department in Eureka
Humboldt, California
approx. Nov 03, 1998 – Oct 1999 · Humboldt County Sheriff's custody and facility
Rancho Cucamonga, California
approx. Oct 1999 – 2006 · West Valley Detention Center
San Quentin, California
Feb 2007 – present · San Quentin State Prison, death row; CDCR inmate number F65748
US
United States
Jan 1979 – Jan 31, 1985 · U.S. Marine Corps; served at various locations including Okinawa, Japan (sent 1984) · marines
Timeline
Dec 03, 1961
Wayne Adam Ford born in Petaluma, California.
Jan 1979
Ford joined U.S. Marine Corps.
Nov 1980
Ford hit by drunk driver at age 19, causing head injury and nine-day coma; personality dramatically changed after this incident.
Jan 1982
Ford arrested for attempted rape after having oral sex with a 15-year-old girl.
Jan 31, 1985
Ford honorably discharged from Marine Corps for convenience of government, character and behavior disorders.
1986
Ford arrested for animal cruelty after shooting a dog in his backyard.
Mar 1993
Ford arrested for suspicion of firing a weapon and cruelty to animals.
Oct 17, 1997
Kerry Ann Cummings, 25-year-old female, killed and dismembered; her body discovered in Ryan Slough near Eureka, California.
May 16, 1998
Tina Renee Gibbs, 26-year-old prostitute from Las Vegas, killed near Las Vegas.
Sep 25, 1998
Lanette Deyon White, 25-year-old female, killed in Ontario, California.
Oct 1998
Patricia Anne Tamez, 29-year-old female, killed near Victorville, California.
Nov 03, 1998
Wayne Adam Ford turned himself in to Humboldt County Sheriff's Department in Eureka, California, with a severed breast in his coat pocket; arrested on suspicion of mayhem.
Nov 06, 1998
Ford arraigned at Humboldt County Superior Court for one count of first-degree murder.
Dec 1998
Ford indicted on a single count of first-degree murder for the death of unidentified Jane Doe.
Jun 1999
Ford arrested for four counts of first-degree murder.
Oct 1999
Ford transferred to West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.
Jan 2004
Judge Michael Smith ruled most of Ford's confessions admissible; confessions made after November 5, 1998 ruled inadmissible.
Jan 17, 2006
Jury selection began for Ford's trial, screening 900 potential jurors; 18 jurors selected (6 men, 6 women, 6 alternates).
Mar 13, 2006
Ford's trial began.
Jun 27, 2006
Jury found Ford guilty on four counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances.
Aug 10, 2006
Jury recommended death penalty for Ford.
Feb 2007
Judge agreed with jury's death penalty verdict; Ford was sentenced to death and transported to San Quentin State Prison.
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 · Radford University Department of Psychology ·
Radford University serial killer biography: Ford, Wayne Adam“Wayne Adam Ford... 6 or more suspected, 4 convicted, confessed to 4”
News report · Wikipedia ·
Wayne Adam Ford“Wayne Adam Ford (born December 3, 1961) is an American serial killer. Ford, a former long-haul truck driver, murdered four women from 1997 to 1998.”
Other government record · Wikipedia - San Quentin inmate list ·
List of current inmates at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center“Wayne Adam Ford | F65748 | Murdered 4 women.”
News report · Criminal Minds Wiki ·
Wayne Adam Ford“On October 17, 1997, Ford picked up his first victim, only identified as Jane Doe or Torso Girl, whom he raped, murdered and dismembered.”
News report · Press Democrat ·
Death sentence for Petaluma native“A judge sentenced former truck driver Wayne Adam Ford to death Friday for strangling four women and dumping their mutilated bodies across California.”
News report · Murderpedia ·
Wayne Adam Ford“Ford, 44, was convicted of the deaths of Tina Renee Gibbs, 26, of Las Vegas; Lanett Deyon White, 25, of Fontana; Patricia Ann Tamez, 29, of Hesperia; and an unidentified woman whose torso was discovered in a slough near Eureka.”
News report · Grokipedia ·
Wayne Adam Ford“Ford was convicted on June 28, 2006, by a San Bernardino County jury of first-degree murder with special circumstances”
News report · North Coast Journal ·
Sheriff's Office Identifies Wayne Adam Ford Victim After 25 Years“Ford infamously turned himself into the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office main station Nov. 3, 1998, walking in with a severed breast in his pocket, and subsequently admitted to murdering several women throughout the north state”
News report · SF Gate ·
Huge break in case of NorCal serial killer found with body part in pocket“Humboldt County sheriff's investigators say they've identified the first victim of serial killer Wayne Adam Ford as Kerry Cummings.”
News report · SF Examiner ·
Behind the gates: The 'living hell' on San Quentin's death row“In 1998, Wayne Adam Ford turned himself into authorities in Humboldt County carrying a woman's severed breast in his pocket.”
Discussion
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