Offender Record · OFF-2026-169
Robert Joseph Silveria (photo from the Radford University biography)
Robert Joseph Silveria Jr.
Also known as The Boxcar Killer, Sidetrack
Sex
Male
Race
White
Height
6'1"
Born
1959
Custody
Incarcerated
States
CA, WY, OR, NE
Distinguishing features6'1" tall, described as ruggedly handsome in public records
Custody
Incarcerated at Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution, Torrington, Wyoming
Custody record at the facility
By the end of their investigation, Silveria had confessed to murdering 28 people. Serving life sentences without parole from convictions in 1998.
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. Where a record says named by police, no charge was ever filed: the record rests on a law enforcement agency's public identification of the deceased person, cited below. Not guilty by reason of insanity means the court found the act proven but the person not criminally responsible. 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
Robert Joseph Silveria Jr., known as the Boxcar Killer, pleaded guilty to beating deaths of boxcar riders across the country and was sentenced to consecutive life terms for the December 1995 beating deaths of William Avis Pettit, 39, in Salem, and Michael Andrew Clites, 24, of Waldport, who was found dead in a boxcar in Portland. Silveria was also convicted in Kansas for the killing of Charles Randall Boyd, and in Florida for the killing of Willie Clark. Silveria is currently imprisoned in Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution in Torrington, Wyoming.
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 Apr 28, 1994, Tallahassee, Florida
First-degree murder
Leon County, Florida · Leon County Circuit Court · Arrested Mar 02, 1996 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Life imprisonment, consecutive to prior sentences
Willie James Clark, 54, was found dead on April 28, 1994, in Tallahassee, Florida. Silveria pleaded guilty to this murder as part of a plea bargain in May 1998.
SourcesRobert Joseph Silveria Jr.
Offense date Jul 28, 1995, Kanopolis, Kansas
First-degree murder
Ellsworth County, Kansas · Ellsworth County District Court · Arrested Mar 02, 1996 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Life imprisonment, consecutive to Oregon sentences
Charles Randall Boyd, 46, was found bludgeoned to death on July 28, 1995, in a collapsed tent in a Kanopolis Lake campground. Boyd met Silveria in El Paso, Texas while Boyd was building a bunkhouse for a youth ranch and later traveled with him to Kansas.
SourcesBoxcar Killer' convicted in Kansas; Robert Joseph Silveria Jr.
Offense date Dec 1995, Portland, Oregon
Aggravated murder
Marion County, Oregon · Marion County Circuit Court · Arrested Mar 02, 1996 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Two consecutive life sentences without parole (concurrent with first murder)
Michael Andrew Clites, 24, was found bludgeoned to death on December 5, 1995, in Portland, Oregon.
SourcesMan Pleads Guilty To Boxcar Killings Pleads Guilty To Two Murders In Oregon; Two Other States Plan Extradition; Robert Joseph Silveria Jr.
Offense date Dec 1995, Salem, Oregon
Aggravated murder
Marion County, Oregon · Marion County Circuit Court · Arrested Mar 02, 1996 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Two consecutive life sentences without parole
William Avis Pettit, 39, was beaten to death in December 1995 in Salem, Oregon. At the time of Silveria's arrest, he was found with Pettit's backpack, social security card, birth certificate, food stamps, and hair beads.
SourcesMan Pleads Guilty To Boxcar Killings Pleads Guilty To Two Murders In Oregon; Two Other States Plan Extradition; Robert Joseph Silveria Jr.
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
28
Victims confessed
9
Victims suspected
Active years
1981–1996
Stated motive
Thrill, Financial gain
Range from home
interstate
Confessed
Yes
Education
high school
Marital history
Divorced
Children
1
Agencies
Law enforcement, prosecutors and corrections agencies the records show dealing with this person. An investigator working a case with a possible connection can start here.
Leon County State Attorney's Office · FL
Florida first-degree murder conviction for Willie James Clark (April 28, 1994)
Source: Wikipedia
Marion County Sheriff's Office · OR
Held Silveria in Marion County jail after arrest without bail on aggravated murder charges
Placer County Sheriff's Office · CA
Investigated Silveria after his arrest in Roseville; executed search warrants on associates
Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office · CA
Held Silveria in jail in 1993-1994; crime lab involvement in unrelated cases
Marion County Circuit Court · OR
Processed Oregon aggravated murder convictions (2 counts)
Source: Wikipedia
Ellsworth County District Court · KS
Agency case 96CR43
Kansas first-degree murder conviction for Charles Randall Boyd at Kanopolis Lake State Park
Salem detective and prosecutor unraveled Silveria's killing spree; coordinated investigation across multiple states
Source: The Spokesman-Review
Railroad Police/Southern Pacific Railroad Police · CA
Arrested Silveria on March 2, 1996 in Auburn/Roseville, CA railyard
Source: Wikipedia
Ellsworth County Prosecutor's Office · KS
Agency case 96CR43
Prosecutor Joe Shepack declined to pursue death penalty
Source: The Bernays Blog
Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution · WY
Current incarceration facility for Silveria; serving multiple consecutive life sentences
Source: Wikipedia
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
Redwood City, California
approx. Mar 1959 – 1980 · Birthplace and early childhood home
Sacramento, California
approx. 1980 – 1995 · Airport manager, luggage handler, roofer, traveled by freight train
Placer, California
Mar 1996 – Jun 1996 · Held in Placer County jail for 10 days during initial detention; confessed to multiple murders during this period
Auburn, California
Mar 02, 1996 – Mar 02, 1996 · Arrested by railroad police officer at railroad yard
NE
Western, Nebraska
approx. 1991 – 1996 · Member of Freight Train Riders of America (FTRA), traveled by rail across multiple states
OR
Salem, Oregon
Jun 1996 – Jan 1998 · Held pending trial in Oregon for Pettit and Clites murders
WY
Torrington, Wyoming
1998 – present · Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution
Known Vehicles
Vehicles and approximate dates of ownership or use, as reported in the cited records. A photo next to a vehicle is the vehicle itself as published.
1980Father's truck
approx. 1980 – 1980
Used in felony auto theft in his 20s
Timeline
Mar 03, 1959
Robert Joseph Silveria Jr. born March 3, 1959 in Redwood City, California.
1981
Active killing period began; Silveria rode the rails, killing fellow freight-train riders throughout the United States for 15 years.
Apr 28, 1995
Willie James Clark, 54, was found dead on April 28, 1994, in Tallahassee, Florida (victim date referenced in records as 1994).
Jul 28, 1995
Charles Randall Boyd, 46, was found bludgeoned to death on July 28, 1995, in a collapsed tent in a Kanopolis Lake campground.
Oct 15, 1995
Paul Wayne Matthews was killed in Whitefish, Montana on October 15, 1995 and is believed to be a victim of serial killer Robert Silveria Jr. (confessed to but not charged with this murder).
Dec 01, 1995
William Avis Pettit, 39, was beaten to death in December 1995 in Salem, Oregon.
Dec 05, 1995
Michael Andrew Clites, 24, was found bludgeoned to death on December 5, 1995, in Portland, Oregon.
Mar 02, 1996
Silveria was arrested by railroad police in Auburn, California, in March 1996.
Jan 30, 1998
Robert Silveria, 39, was sentenced to consecutive life terms for his guilty pleas in the December 1995 beating deaths of William Avis Pettit, 39, in Salem, and Michael Andrew Clites, 24, of Waldport.
Feb 17, 1998
Silveria pleaded guilty to first-degree murder of Charles Randall Boyd in Kansas and was sentenced to life imprisonment consecutive to Oregon sentences.
May 20, 1998
Silveria pleaded guilty to first-degree murder of Willie Clark in Florida and was sentenced to life imprisonment consecutive to prior sentences.
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.
News report · Wikipedia ·
Robert Joseph Silveria Jr.“Born March 3, 1959 in Redwood City, California; currently serving double life sentences in Wyoming”
News report · The Bernays Blog ·
Boxcar Killer' convicted in Kansas“The so-called Boxcar Killer pleaded guilty Wednesday to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison for the bludgeoning death of Charles Randall Boyd”
Other government record · Radford University Department of Psychology ·
Radford University serial killer biography: Silveria, Robert Joseph“Confessed to 47, suspected of 14, convicted of 3”
News report · The Spokesman-Review ·
Man Pleads Guilty To Boxcar Killings Pleads Guilty To Two Murders In Oregon; Two Other States Plan Extradition“Robert Silveria, 39, was sentenced to consecutive life terms for his guilty pleas in the December 1995 beating deaths of William Avis Pettit, 39, in Salem, and Michael Andrew Clites, 24”
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