The 1982 Phone Call and the Female Accomplice Theory
Jan 13, 2018 0:36:50 GMT
sammyt, slumbergirl, and 9 more like this
Post by Nerdfather on Jan 13, 2018 0:36:50 GMT
The unsolved case of the East Area Rapist and Original Night Stalker is a fascinating one. It's an anomaly. We know so much about the perpetrator yet we know absolutely nothing at all. Due to this, we often mistake assumptions as factual. The truth is, there's not much we can conclusively pinpoint as genuine. There may be more logical theories and the likelihood of certain hypothesis may make more sense than others but that doesn't mean it's accurate.
Therefore, my goal for this post of is to look at things from a different perspective. You do not have to agree with these angles, but it's still worth examining. In fact, I don't know if I accept these views I'm about to present. Nevertheless, as these possibilities came to mind I started looking for logical conclusions and interesting information emerged from that pursuit.
---
The 1982 Phone Call
On Thursday, October 21, 1982, the East Area Rapist made a phone call to his twenty-fourth victim, whom of which he assaulted on October 1, 1977, in Rancho Cordova, California. At the time of this phone call, he was operating in southern California and had recently committed a double homicide against Cheri Domingo and Greg Sanchez on July 27, 1981, in Goleta, California. Thereafter, the perpetrator seemingly went dormant for approximately five years until he reemerged from the shadows on May 4, 1986, when he murdered eighteen-year-old Janelle Cruz.
Members of law enforcement didn't understand this peculiar five-year hiatus once it was determined by DNA evidence in 2001 that the East Area Rapist and the man they had dubbed the Original Night Stalker were, in fact, the same person (friendly reminder - the Cheri Domingo and Greg Sanchez murders weren't linked until May of 2011).
The only thing they were able to do is to speculate with the evidence they had at their disposal. The theories started piling onto each other. He was suspected to have been apprehended and serving prison time on a lesser charge. Other theories revolved around him living out of state, settled down with a family, had a job that limited his ability to commit crimes, dead, or even worse than all of that - still assaulting and murdering people yet the crimes weren't connected back to him. Nobody knew; every theory made sense logically.
Nevertheless, fifteen months after the murder of Cheri Domingo and Greg Sanchez, he called his twenty-fourth victim on October 21, 1982, saying "Hi, it's me again. Remember me? I'm going to come over and * you again. You're going to suck my cock again."
The question we have to ask is: What does this phone call suggest? There are a few deductions. First of all, the fifteen-month gap means one of two possibilities. Either he was capable of taking long breaks without acting out on his desires or he was serving a short jail sentence (perhaps even probation) before making the phone call. Additionally, this rationale can be applied to the aftermath of the October 21, 1982, phone call since he apparently went quiet until May 4, 1986.
Furthermore, the location is important. Unless the twenty-fourth victim(s) relocated from their home in Rancho Cordova to another area in California, that suggests the East Area Rapist returned to northern California after the murders. Moreover, the survivor of the sexual assault from years prior was working at Denny's. She would receive these audacious prank phone calls at her place of employment as well.
That pertinent information forms another layer of confusion and questions. How did he know where she was working? How did he know which Denny's restaurant (unless there was only one)? Was he stalking her and keeping tabs on her again? Did he figure out her work schedule? Could it have been an unfortunate random event? Did he simply travel back to northern California and stopped at Denny's to eat, unaware that a prior victim was an employee, yet unexpectedly came into contact with her and subsequently had the urge to torment her?
Whatever the circumstances were that culminated in these events, the terrifying truth of the matter is that he knew and she didn't. He was capable of learning details about her personal life that she couldn't have fathomed and all he was to her is a set of eyes behind a mask that ruined part of her life; haunting her in her dreams and thoughts at night when she was home alone.
Likewise, this 1982 phone call also suggests another interesting theory and that is his living arrangements. Many people are under the impression he moved to southern California after the failed Danville attack on July 5, 1979, since the rest of his known crimes were in that area. However, he could have remained in northern California the entire duration. There is the chance he never relocated. This notion generally gets dismissed because of the distance and extent of his crime spree in southern California.
Here is a brief timeline of his murders in southern California:
Dr. Robert Offerman and Debra Manning - December 30, 1979, Goleta, California.
Lyman and Charlene Smith - March 13, 1980, Ventura, California.
Keith and Patrice Harrington - August 19, 1980, Dana Point, California.
Manuela Witthuhn - February 6, 1981, Irvine, California.
Cheri Domingo and Greg Sanchez - July 27, 1981, Goleta, California.
Janelle Cruz - May 4, 1986, Irvine, California.
That list presents a clear depiction of how infrequent his murders were. There's a three-month, five-month, a six-month, another five-month, and lastly, a five-year break in his extensive crime spree in southern California. His presence wasn't there often. Additionally, other than the events that transpired hours before the Offerman and Manning murders, there weren't many substantial reports of prowling throughout these stretch of crimes. As a result, it's entirely likely he remained in northern California and simply traveled south for unknown reasons (possibly visiting friends and family, working in construction, etc).
With all of that being said, the locations of attack sites are significant. Deciding to commit crimes, particularly murders, hours away isn't simply a quick decision on a whim. There are reasons. His first choice was Goleta, California. Why? He attacked in this town more than any other locale in southern California if you include his botched invasion on October 1, 1979.
There seems to be a connection to Goleta, California. As previously stated, there could be numerous reasons. Moreover, if we assume the reports of a prowler seen on two separate occasions in 1978 was the East Area Rapist, that only lends credibility to having ties to the area. It's interesting to note that the 1978 reports of a prowler along with the failed attack and subsequent murders occurred in close proximity to each other. The homes and victims lived blocks away and less than five miles from one another (Eva Davidson Taylor also lived in the vicinity when she was murdered in 1974, in a similar fashion to the Original Night Stalker's modus operandi).
---
The Female Accomplice Theory
I wanted to include this theory because of the interesting phone call made to the twenty-fourth victim(s) in 1982. To be upfront - this discussion piece is a stretch. It's merely for conversation, but maybe something worthwhile can stem from it.
In the midst of the attack on the twenty-fourth victim(s) on October 1, 1977, a car horn was heard honking down the street as the intruder was in the kitchen after violating her. Shortly thereafter, two more honks occurred; this time the car was seemingly stopped at the victim's home. A few moments passed by and the victim's doorbell suddenly rang and a knock on their window was made.
The female victim heard the intruder speaking to the person who ranged the doorbell and knocked on the window (and honked the car horn supposedly). She claimed the other muffled voice was a woman. After this brief exchange, the assailant regathered himself and left by the back entrance.
There is a neverending debate as to whether or not another person (a woman in this case) was involved or if the East Area Rapist was the sole perpetrator of all the strange events that took place. Could he have done all of this by himself? Yes, but the chances are unlikely despite the fact that a female accomplice seems to be even more improbable.
Here is my view on this irregularity. I have a difficult time comprehending such an elaborate scheme of the East Area Rapist faking this incident. There really isn't much of an incentive to do so. The intruder was feet away from the female victim when the doorbell started ringing and the knocking on the window occurred. Additionally, both the male and female victims stated hearing the car honking and slowly driving down the street all the while the intruder was present in the home ransacking and repeatedly checking on the male in the bedroom.
Furthermore, this intricate plan is too risky even by the East Area Rapists' standards. If it was somehow faked, that means he bound the victims, transferred the female to the living room, assaults her, runs outside down the street and honks the car horn twice, starts the engine and drives down the street and honks twice more, parks the vehicle and goes back to the victim's home, rings the doorbell, knocks on a side window, comes back inside and talks to himself in a reported feminine voice and proceeds to leave.
All of that seems like too much work for creating a red herring. Moreover, it draws too much attention, especially if he was wearing his ski mask as he made his way to a vehicle and subsequently honking a car horn several times that could have woken up surrounding neighbors. While the criminal always put himself in a high-risk environment, it was because he needed to fulfill a deep and dark desire. Putting himself in a much more dire circumstance that would increase his chances of being apprehended wasn't what he wanted.
With my personal viewpoint out of the way, let's fast forward to Goleta, California. A few hours before the murder of Robert Offerman and Debra Manning, there were several eyewitnesses claiming to see two possible prowlers, one of whom was a female, on separate occasions. There's no concrete evidence suggesting the two suspicious people were operating together or even knew each other, but the coincidences are staggering.
The main incident happened at approximately 6:00 p.m. when a family living on Windsor Court notices a female wearing dark clothing, hair down to her shoulders and appearing to be in her mid-twenties, at their neighbor's home standing on the front porch. An hour later at 7:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. a white male between 5'8 - 5'10 in height was standing in the same location without a female present.
To be fair, none of this means there is a correlation with the East Area Rapist having a female partner and the phone call to his twenty-fourth victim in 1982 where a possible female accomplice was involved. However, there are still intriguing circumstantial evidence that implies he may have had a female accompany him occasionally or at the very least knew what he was doing (to an extent).
Aside from the peculiar twenty-fourth attack, the female perspective comes from his thirty-eight assault in Concord, California. During this strike on October 13, 1978, he told his victim, "I only want money and food for my girlfriend." Afterwards, she told authorities he went into the garage and told someone to put items away in the car, but she didn't believe another person was there because she couldn't hear another person respond or walk away.
The only other incident where a female was involved, albeit unlikely, was during the assailant's first attack in Concord, California on October 7, 1978. Prior to the assault, a man and woman claiming to be from a Mormon Church paid a visit to the victim's home while they were going door-to-door inviting people to church. This isn't necessarily suspicious but it's usually custom for two men to travel together when they operate outside of the church.
There is one last interesting thing to keep in mind when considering the female companion angle, and that is the timeline of events. The last two attack locations for the East Area Rapist before transitioning to Concord, California, was in Davis, California on June 24, 1978, and July 6, 1978. The reason why this is compelling is that Davis is a college-oriented town. Could he have acquired a girlfriend during these visits? It's possible. Granted, that would have happened after the twenty-fourth attack, but it's still worth considering.
Ultimately, there are no conclusive answers. All we can do is pursue different angles and theories with the hope that meaningful information can be gleaned. I think it's beneficial to not dismiss everything the East Area Rapist said as a red herring. That's not to say we should believe the words of a serial rapist and killer, but when we automatically assume he was creating misdirections, we are closing doors that could lead to substantial results if walked through.
Therefore, my goal for this post of is to look at things from a different perspective. You do not have to agree with these angles, but it's still worth examining. In fact, I don't know if I accept these views I'm about to present. Nevertheless, as these possibilities came to mind I started looking for logical conclusions and interesting information emerged from that pursuit.
---
The 1982 Phone Call
On Thursday, October 21, 1982, the East Area Rapist made a phone call to his twenty-fourth victim, whom of which he assaulted on October 1, 1977, in Rancho Cordova, California. At the time of this phone call, he was operating in southern California and had recently committed a double homicide against Cheri Domingo and Greg Sanchez on July 27, 1981, in Goleta, California. Thereafter, the perpetrator seemingly went dormant for approximately five years until he reemerged from the shadows on May 4, 1986, when he murdered eighteen-year-old Janelle Cruz.
Members of law enforcement didn't understand this peculiar five-year hiatus once it was determined by DNA evidence in 2001 that the East Area Rapist and the man they had dubbed the Original Night Stalker were, in fact, the same person (friendly reminder - the Cheri Domingo and Greg Sanchez murders weren't linked until May of 2011).
The only thing they were able to do is to speculate with the evidence they had at their disposal. The theories started piling onto each other. He was suspected to have been apprehended and serving prison time on a lesser charge. Other theories revolved around him living out of state, settled down with a family, had a job that limited his ability to commit crimes, dead, or even worse than all of that - still assaulting and murdering people yet the crimes weren't connected back to him. Nobody knew; every theory made sense logically.
Nevertheless, fifteen months after the murder of Cheri Domingo and Greg Sanchez, he called his twenty-fourth victim on October 21, 1982, saying "Hi, it's me again. Remember me? I'm going to come over and * you again. You're going to suck my cock again."
The question we have to ask is: What does this phone call suggest? There are a few deductions. First of all, the fifteen-month gap means one of two possibilities. Either he was capable of taking long breaks without acting out on his desires or he was serving a short jail sentence (perhaps even probation) before making the phone call. Additionally, this rationale can be applied to the aftermath of the October 21, 1982, phone call since he apparently went quiet until May 4, 1986.
Furthermore, the location is important. Unless the twenty-fourth victim(s) relocated from their home in Rancho Cordova to another area in California, that suggests the East Area Rapist returned to northern California after the murders. Moreover, the survivor of the sexual assault from years prior was working at Denny's. She would receive these audacious prank phone calls at her place of employment as well.
That pertinent information forms another layer of confusion and questions. How did he know where she was working? How did he know which Denny's restaurant (unless there was only one)? Was he stalking her and keeping tabs on her again? Did he figure out her work schedule? Could it have been an unfortunate random event? Did he simply travel back to northern California and stopped at Denny's to eat, unaware that a prior victim was an employee, yet unexpectedly came into contact with her and subsequently had the urge to torment her?
Whatever the circumstances were that culminated in these events, the terrifying truth of the matter is that he knew and she didn't. He was capable of learning details about her personal life that she couldn't have fathomed and all he was to her is a set of eyes behind a mask that ruined part of her life; haunting her in her dreams and thoughts at night when she was home alone.
Likewise, this 1982 phone call also suggests another interesting theory and that is his living arrangements. Many people are under the impression he moved to southern California after the failed Danville attack on July 5, 1979, since the rest of his known crimes were in that area. However, he could have remained in northern California the entire duration. There is the chance he never relocated. This notion generally gets dismissed because of the distance and extent of his crime spree in southern California.
Here is a brief timeline of his murders in southern California:
Dr. Robert Offerman and Debra Manning - December 30, 1979, Goleta, California.
Lyman and Charlene Smith - March 13, 1980, Ventura, California.
Keith and Patrice Harrington - August 19, 1980, Dana Point, California.
Manuela Witthuhn - February 6, 1981, Irvine, California.
Cheri Domingo and Greg Sanchez - July 27, 1981, Goleta, California.
Janelle Cruz - May 4, 1986, Irvine, California.
That list presents a clear depiction of how infrequent his murders were. There's a three-month, five-month, a six-month, another five-month, and lastly, a five-year break in his extensive crime spree in southern California. His presence wasn't there often. Additionally, other than the events that transpired hours before the Offerman and Manning murders, there weren't many substantial reports of prowling throughout these stretch of crimes. As a result, it's entirely likely he remained in northern California and simply traveled south for unknown reasons (possibly visiting friends and family, working in construction, etc).
With all of that being said, the locations of attack sites are significant. Deciding to commit crimes, particularly murders, hours away isn't simply a quick decision on a whim. There are reasons. His first choice was Goleta, California. Why? He attacked in this town more than any other locale in southern California if you include his botched invasion on October 1, 1979.
There seems to be a connection to Goleta, California. As previously stated, there could be numerous reasons. Moreover, if we assume the reports of a prowler seen on two separate occasions in 1978 was the East Area Rapist, that only lends credibility to having ties to the area. It's interesting to note that the 1978 reports of a prowler along with the failed attack and subsequent murders occurred in close proximity to each other. The homes and victims lived blocks away and less than five miles from one another (Eva Davidson Taylor also lived in the vicinity when she was murdered in 1974, in a similar fashion to the Original Night Stalker's modus operandi).
---
The Female Accomplice Theory
I wanted to include this theory because of the interesting phone call made to the twenty-fourth victim(s) in 1982. To be upfront - this discussion piece is a stretch. It's merely for conversation, but maybe something worthwhile can stem from it.
In the midst of the attack on the twenty-fourth victim(s) on October 1, 1977, a car horn was heard honking down the street as the intruder was in the kitchen after violating her. Shortly thereafter, two more honks occurred; this time the car was seemingly stopped at the victim's home. A few moments passed by and the victim's doorbell suddenly rang and a knock on their window was made.
The female victim heard the intruder speaking to the person who ranged the doorbell and knocked on the window (and honked the car horn supposedly). She claimed the other muffled voice was a woman. After this brief exchange, the assailant regathered himself and left by the back entrance.
There is a neverending debate as to whether or not another person (a woman in this case) was involved or if the East Area Rapist was the sole perpetrator of all the strange events that took place. Could he have done all of this by himself? Yes, but the chances are unlikely despite the fact that a female accomplice seems to be even more improbable.
Here is my view on this irregularity. I have a difficult time comprehending such an elaborate scheme of the East Area Rapist faking this incident. There really isn't much of an incentive to do so. The intruder was feet away from the female victim when the doorbell started ringing and the knocking on the window occurred. Additionally, both the male and female victims stated hearing the car honking and slowly driving down the street all the while the intruder was present in the home ransacking and repeatedly checking on the male in the bedroom.
Furthermore, this intricate plan is too risky even by the East Area Rapists' standards. If it was somehow faked, that means he bound the victims, transferred the female to the living room, assaults her, runs outside down the street and honks the car horn twice, starts the engine and drives down the street and honks twice more, parks the vehicle and goes back to the victim's home, rings the doorbell, knocks on a side window, comes back inside and talks to himself in a reported feminine voice and proceeds to leave.
All of that seems like too much work for creating a red herring. Moreover, it draws too much attention, especially if he was wearing his ski mask as he made his way to a vehicle and subsequently honking a car horn several times that could have woken up surrounding neighbors. While the criminal always put himself in a high-risk environment, it was because he needed to fulfill a deep and dark desire. Putting himself in a much more dire circumstance that would increase his chances of being apprehended wasn't what he wanted.
With my personal viewpoint out of the way, let's fast forward to Goleta, California. A few hours before the murder of Robert Offerman and Debra Manning, there were several eyewitnesses claiming to see two possible prowlers, one of whom was a female, on separate occasions. There's no concrete evidence suggesting the two suspicious people were operating together or even knew each other, but the coincidences are staggering.
The main incident happened at approximately 6:00 p.m. when a family living on Windsor Court notices a female wearing dark clothing, hair down to her shoulders and appearing to be in her mid-twenties, at their neighbor's home standing on the front porch. An hour later at 7:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. a white male between 5'8 - 5'10 in height was standing in the same location without a female present.
To be fair, none of this means there is a correlation with the East Area Rapist having a female partner and the phone call to his twenty-fourth victim in 1982 where a possible female accomplice was involved. However, there are still intriguing circumstantial evidence that implies he may have had a female accompany him occasionally or at the very least knew what he was doing (to an extent).
Aside from the peculiar twenty-fourth attack, the female perspective comes from his thirty-eight assault in Concord, California. During this strike on October 13, 1978, he told his victim, "I only want money and food for my girlfriend." Afterwards, she told authorities he went into the garage and told someone to put items away in the car, but she didn't believe another person was there because she couldn't hear another person respond or walk away.
The only other incident where a female was involved, albeit unlikely, was during the assailant's first attack in Concord, California on October 7, 1978. Prior to the assault, a man and woman claiming to be from a Mormon Church paid a visit to the victim's home while they were going door-to-door inviting people to church. This isn't necessarily suspicious but it's usually custom for two men to travel together when they operate outside of the church.
There is one last interesting thing to keep in mind when considering the female companion angle, and that is the timeline of events. The last two attack locations for the East Area Rapist before transitioning to Concord, California, was in Davis, California on June 24, 1978, and July 6, 1978. The reason why this is compelling is that Davis is a college-oriented town. Could he have acquired a girlfriend during these visits? It's possible. Granted, that would have happened after the twenty-fourth attack, but it's still worth considering.
Ultimately, there are no conclusive answers. All we can do is pursue different angles and theories with the hope that meaningful information can be gleaned. I think it's beneficial to not dismiss everything the East Area Rapist said as a red herring. That's not to say we should believe the words of a serial rapist and killer, but when we automatically assume he was creating misdirections, we are closing doors that could lead to substantial results if walked through.
