April 14, 2025 | By: Kim Salerno, PCC Intern/Volunteer

Randall Church, whom everyone knew as Randy, was born in Harve, Montana, on September 26, 1961. He was the fourth child of Richard and Darlene and had four siblings: Rick, Robert, Ruby, and Mary.  His older sister, Ruby, remembers fondly, “Randy was the golden child. He was a very soft child. He got along with everyone.” Randy was always busy. He enjoyed his car, model rockets, and bike riding to see his cousins. Randy was also a hard worker. Throughout his youth, he worked various jobs, such as being a shoeshine boy, to earn money.

Ruby recounts a story from their childhood, “Randy and one of my other brothers were arguing. Randy was going through the glass part of the screen door with my brother following right behind him.  Randy went to push the door open, but he hit the glass part of it, cutting his wrist!  My parents rushed him to the ER.  Mom went with Randy while my dad filled out the paperwork.  In the middle of it, Dad walked in and saw all the blood.  Dad fainted and fell into the laundry bin, and the nurse hollered, ‘Doc, you got another one over here!’  They stitched and bandaged Randy’s wrist; he was good to go!  I’ll never forget it!”

In 1985, Randy attended Montana State University as an engineering major. His GPA was 3.4, and he wanted to work in Electrical Engineering. During his time at Montana State University, Randy worked at the local Pizza Hut in Bozeman. He quickly worked his way up to being a shift manager. He was described as a hard worker, and everyone enjoyed working with him. In February 1985, Randy picked up a shift for another coworker. He was scheduled to close that night and open the following morning. Randy was regarded as a “slow closer” because he was so meticulous when it came to cleaning the restaurant. He sent the rest of the staff home around midnight and stayed to clean/close with one other coworker, per Pizza Hut Policy. Around 3:00 A.M., Randy sent the other coworker home and continued to deep clean. Later in the morning, a Pizza Hut employee was also scheduled to open and tried knocking on both the front and back doors. Upon receiving no answer, the employee went to a nearby pay phone and called the restaurant’s general manager. The restaurant’s general manager became concerned as Randy had always been a reliable employee. Upon his arrival, the general manager and the other employee opened the door to the establishment and found Randy on the floor, dead from two bullet-hole wounds. He was near an empty cash register.

Randy Church’s case is the only unsolved homicide in Bozeman in over forty years.

Randy Church’s funeral was held on February 14, 1985. He was just 23 years old. Ruby remembers the funeral, seeing all the flowers and the many people attending. “It was one of the worst days of my entire sixty-seven years of life. It’s reliving a nightmare every damn day that just won’t go away even in the light of day.”

In honor of Randy, Montana State rewards a Computer and Electrical Engineering Student with a scholarship in his name. Ruby continues to fight for Randy’s Case. She uploads weekly on her Facebook page “Somebody Knows Something Somewhere (Randy Church Murder).” She advocates for answers regarding Randy’s case and states, “I also want it to be known. I won’t give up.  It’s not in me to be a quitter and give up.  I NEED answers.”

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If you have any information regarding Randy’s case, please contact the Bozeman Police Department Cold Case Tip Line at 406-582-2025 or coldcasetips@bozeman.net. You may be eligible for a $10,000 reward.

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