The Moniker Showdown.

[Deleted]

woofytreats gave me this idea with their post. I may delete it to allow them to do it if they so wish, as I am stealing their idea

However, I do it to broaden the scope of his title.

This man is confirmed to have been a serial rapist in the late seventies in Northern California, who then turned serial killer after moving south of the state of California. DNA has proven that the man known in Southern California as the ORIGINAL NIGHT STALKER is connected to a few of the EAST AREA RAPIST crimes.

Michelle McNamara, an LAmag journalist has released an article about newly released evidence in the murder cases, calling him THE GOLDEN STATE KILLER.

Amateur sleuth and book writer Gian Quasar has taken to naming him the NIGHT PREDATOR, which oddly enough, appeared on this board last year I believe.

A popular theme is to combine the EAST AREA RAPIST with the ORIGINAL NIGHT STALKER, making him into the abbreviated but easily pronounceable "EARONS". 

Yet another moniker deals with the infamous use of the ornate, yet complicated diamond knot in his crimes to tie several victims, thus giving him the title of THE DIAMOND KNOT KILLER. 

Finally, it is possible that before committing the rapes in North Cali, he was the perpetrator of the mysterious VISALIA RANSACKER crime spree in the city of Visalia, California. 

Left out the ones that were largely unprinted for him, including our own ones. Every name mentioned has strengths and weaknesses, while some are stronger than others, some are weaker. All appear in either news articles or broadcasts, both online and offline. I leave it to YOU to decide which of these is the best! LET'S GET IT ON!

NOTE:

The broken down EAR and ONS also count for EARONS, so they're not separate. Also, just because one name is leading doesn't mean it's official of course. This is just a slick way to gauge everyone's opinion. Finally, I locked the poll for a date in June to show the results then to keep it interesting. June 24th around noonish, my time.

[woofytreats]

Damn thief No, I think you're right...the "visualness" of a poll and hiding the results might illustrate the issue better than people talking about why they like a particular one. What do I know...I just cracked open some Two Buck Chuck.

For me, I think EAR/ONS or EARONS encapsulates the history of the crime series even if it isn't the catchiest moniker. If someone wants to attach specifics like the diamond knots or come up with a name like Golden State Killer or Night Predator then in my opinion it detracts from that idea. It's like calling Zodiac the "Hooded Hombre" when as far as we know he only used the hood in one murder and, like GSK or NP, it's either generic or it doesn't reflect on the other crimes. However, I'm enough of a realist to know that this likely won't matter where it counts. Ultimately, it really might boil down to what name is attached to him if there's ever ( for example ) a media blitz or event that makes the case more well known. On that count, the claim's wide open to whatever moniker is attached to him when and if that happens.

[Deleted]

Golden State Killer could be anyone actually. It's insanely tragic of how many rapists/murderers commuted the same tracks and that's one reason I believe that more than half of the EARONS crimes were someone else now. All opinions aside, it is a FACT that in Sacramento alone there were more than a handful of rapists active during the time of the EAR saga, or murderers in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento... I mean damn.

Point is that while I appreciate Michelle's attempt at naming him, it's like woofy said. Too generic.

Night Predator is too generic as well. Now, I might be behind this one had the murder spree not been connected to the No Cal crimes.

Original Night Stalker carries a weight that is almost terrifying to repeat. The obvious problem is that it is commonly confused with Richard Ramirez outside of the case. I like to think that the term ORIGINAL ties in with him never having been captured though.

East Area Rapist, Speesh Flava Gapist... such an ugly nick name but one that blends into SO many others. Early Morning.... Early Bird... Ebay Noonish... for some reason though, his just stands out no matter how you cut it.

Visalia Ransacker must have been a name people in Visalia feared and I can believe it. Still... no proof, just speculation he had anything to do with it.

EARONS... means so much, allows you to separate the "Sagas" fairly easily. Very simply and very useful if you have much to say about it. Ties the best in both monikers. However, saying the word EAR might make you scared to get a check up with your local Otolaryngologist.

DIAMOND KNOT KILLER.. if there were more fact in the details, rather than a few blurbs about the usage of this knot, I'd have picked this one because it's two words that are so void of terror. Combine that with the KILLER and you have a unique, strong moniker. As I mentioned though, this one is just too wound up with some facts that are pretty sparse. I mean, I know he used them twice as the ONS and--- lookit me, using the other moniker

As I said, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses.

[slumbergirl]

Much of the problem is that we know so little about him. Many of his behaviors and the paraphernalia that we are aware of - such as the peeping and prowling, the home invasions while stealing only trinkets and random cash, the ski masks, the gloves, the bindings and weapons are not that unusual for a range of sexual predators.

The descriptions we have of him are pretty bland: blonde hair, dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, hazel eyes, slim build, average build... small penis - but the majority of people would never see it, so it doesn't help identify him. The most unique thing about him is that his identity is still a mystery.

I read in Shelby's book that one couple noticed he had an extremely hairy butt. If he had been called "The Hairy Butt Rapist", it would have been much more memorable...the media missed that opportunity.

[Deleted]

Jun 4, 2015 3:23:00 GMT slumbergirl said:

Much of the problem is that we know so little about him. Many of his behaviors and the paraphernalia that we are aware of - such as the peeping and prowling, the home invasions while stealing only trinkets and random cash, the ski masks, the gloves, the bindings and weapons are not that unusual for a range of sexual predators.

The descriptions we have of him are pretty bland: blonde hair, dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, hazel eyes, slim build, average build... small penis - but the majority of people would never see it, so it doesn't help identify him. The most unique thing about him is that his identity is still a mystery.

I read in Shelby's book that one couple noticed he had an extremely hairy butt. If he had been called "The Hairy Butt Rapist", it would have been much more memorable...the media missed that opportunity.

Hairy Butt Rapist/killer... catchy. Then Q man would have a big connection with big foot there

[slumbergirl]

I voted for "The Diamond Knot Killer", since "The Hairy Butt Rapist" is not available. I think "The Diamond Knot Killer" possibly would have captured the attention of the public a little better than "EARONS".

[Deleted]

Jun 4, 2015 3:39:08 GMT slumbergirl said:

I voted for "The Diamond Knot Killer", since "The Hairy Butt Rapist" is not available. I think "The Diamond Knot Killer" possibly would have captured the attention of the public a little better than "EARONS".

Totally agree that EARONS would have been what it is now, like a code for us arm chair folk. I would've voted for DKK but I have my reasons against it listed. Still, it's probably the strongest despite it only connecting some of the murders. If someone could prove to me it was used in the EAR crimes then I welcome it but I'm a hard person to convince these days

[Drifter]

Given the options, I voted for the "Original Night Stalker", which describes a serial killer.

In the 21st century, the EAR crimes would be ancillary to the southern California murders.  And so I would leave off any reference to northern California.

If I were naming the guy I might refer to him as the "Uncaught Night Stalker", (or Uncaptured Night Stalker) or UNS. The word "Original" sounds like we are deferring to Richard Ramirez, which weakens the overall phrase.

Golden State Killer sound like the name of a boxer.

Drifter

[Deleted]

EAR/ONS is so embedded in my mind and although I like how both can be used to distinguish between the phases of when he raped vs. when he killed, I don't like either name and they're confusing to people that aren't well aware of the case info. If they could go back and rename him, the Diamond Knot Rapist and Killer would have been better and catches the public's attention, imo.

[Deleted]

My money is on Diamond Knot Killer as that has been the strongest contender in my opinion. I won't admit who I voted for though

[lepke]

I generally use EAR/ONS, very occasionally separating EAR and ONS when comparing the two different periods, and I use VR totally separately, as it has not been proven that he was also EAR/ONS.

I don't think that EAR/ONS is the catchiest moniker, but I have never thought that coming up with different names was a solution to that, however well meaning, as it confuses things more than anything else, so I do not use GSK, not that that moniker was even around when I became interested in the case.

[woofytreats]

Isn't Diamond Knot up in the mountains near Emigrant Gap?? For the purposes of this poll, I think it hinges on how you view the moniker / name in relation to it's purpose. If you feel that one is more descriptive than another for gaining public interest versus wanting something etched in stone to describe him, you're probably going to get different results.

Personally, I would disagree with Drifter that the NorCal rapes should be ancillary to the murders based on the time that's past. Being that the majority of the crime series was committed in Northern California, I think that the name should somehow reflect that as I think that it would be more likely that connections / recollections that exist might be more numerous than a relatively small, spread out series of murders. If you describe him by the SoCal murders alone you likely have a lesser pool of connection / recollection. However, I think all bets are off with probability theory in this case. It's akin to having a name that fits a "target market" versus something that will pique the public's interest.

The use of "Uncaught<insert name>" or something similar seems to be much more media savvy than a generic name that people can construe anyway they want.

[lepke]

Jun 3, 2015 21:33:43 GMT @murdoc said:

woofytreats gave me this idea with their post. I may delete it to allow them to do it if they so wish, as I am stealing their idea

However, I do it to broaden the scope of his title.

This man is confirmed to have been a serial rapist in the late seventies in Northern California, who then turned serial killer after moving south of the state of California. DNA has proven that the man known in Southern California as the ORIGINAL NIGHT STALKER is connected to a few of the EAST AREA RAPIST crimes.

Michelle McNamara, an LAmag journalist has released an article about newly released evidence in the murder cases, calling him THE GOLDEN STATE KILLER.

Amateur sleuth and book writer Gian Quasar has taken to naming him the NIGHT PREDATOR, which oddly enough, appeared on this board last year I believe.

A popular theme is to combine the EAST AREA RAPIST with the ORIGINAL NIGHT STALKER, making him into the abbreviated but easily pronounceable "EARONS". 

Yet another moniker deals with the infamous use of the ornate, yet complicated diamond knot in his crimes to tie several victims, thus giving him the title of THE DIAMOND KNOT KILLER. 

Finally, it is possible that before committing the rapes in North Cali, he was the perpetrator of the mysterious VISALIA RANSACKER crime spree in the city of Visalia, California. 

Left out the ones that were largely unprinted for him, including our own ones. Every name mentioned has strengths and weaknesses, while some are stronger than others, some are weaker. All appear in either news articles or broadcasts, both online and offline. I leave it to YOU to decide which of these is the best! LET'S GET IT ON!

NOTE:

The broken down EAR and ONS also count for EARONS, so they're not separate. Also, just because one name is leading doesn't mean it's official of course. This is just a slick way to gauge everyone's opinion. Finally, I locked the poll for a date in June to show the results then to keep it interesting. June 24th around noonish, my time.

By the way, 'The Moniker Showdown' sounds like a grudge match between two Czech women tennis players.

[Deleted]

Jun 4, 2015 16:39:22 GMT lepke said:

Jun 3, 2015 21:33:43 GMT @murdoc said:

woofytreats gave me this idea with their post. I may delete it to allow them to do it if they so wish, as I am stealing their idea

However, I do it to broaden the scope of his title.

This man is confirmed to have been a serial rapist in the late seventies in Northern California, who then turned serial killer after moving south of the state of California. DNA has proven that the man known in Southern California as the ORIGINAL NIGHT STALKER is connected to a few of the EAST AREA RAPIST crimes.

Michelle McNamara, an LAmag journalist has released an article about newly released evidence in the murder cases, calling him THE GOLDEN STATE KILLER.

Amateur sleuth and book writer Gian Quasar has taken to naming him the NIGHT PREDATOR, which oddly enough, appeared on this board last year I believe.

A popular theme is to combine the EAST AREA RAPIST with the ORIGINAL NIGHT STALKER, making him into the abbreviated but easily pronounceable "EARONS". 

Yet another moniker deals with the infamous use of the ornate, yet complicated diamond knot in his crimes to tie several victims, thus giving him the title of THE DIAMOND KNOT KILLER. 

Finally, it is possible that before committing the rapes in North Cali, he was the perpetrator of the mysterious VISALIA RANSACKER crime spree in the city of Visalia, California. 

Left out the ones that were largely unprinted for him, including our own ones. Every name mentioned has strengths and weaknesses, while some are stronger than others, some are weaker. All appear in either news articles or broadcasts, both online and offline. I leave it to YOU to decide which of these is the best! LET'S GET IT ON!

NOTE:

The broken down EAR and ONS also count for EARONS, so they're not separate. Also, just because one name is leading doesn't mean it's official of course. This is just a slick way to gauge everyone's opinion. Finally, I locked the poll for a date in June to show the results then to keep it interesting. June 24th around noonish, my time.

By the way, 'The Moniker Showdown' sounds like a grudge match between two Czech women tennis players.

the thought of him duking it out with himself with tennis rackets sounds strangely appealing

[Deleted]

twelve votes... twelve hours.... by time June is over, this will have become oh, so interesting. Maybe I'll be bold and hold a convention for it