Doodler Serial Killer, San Francisco
Jan 27, 2022 21:48:24 GMT
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Post by starsky on Jan 27, 2022 21:48:24 GMT
The Doodler potential sixth victim found
www.sfgate.com/unsolved/article/Sixth-victim-of-Doodler-serial-killer-announced-16809190.php
A probable sixth victim of the Doodler, San Francisco's most prolific unsolved serial killer, was identified by homicide investigators Thursday.
Warren Andrews was working as a lawyer for the U.S. Postal Service in San Bruno when he was discovered in a pool of blood by a hiker at Land's End in April 1975. He suffered traumatic injuries from being brutally beaten and died a few weeks later. He was 52. According to the San Francisco Police Department, Andrews fit the Doodler's victim type — white gay men — and his pattern of leaving bodies in San Francisco parks.
Who was the Doodler?
The Doodler is one of San Francisco's most infamous cold-case murderers — although not for lack of leads. The Doodler, sometimes referred to as the "Black Doodler," is believed to have killed at least six and up to 14 men in San Francisco between Jan. 1974 and Sept. 1975. He targeted gay men, likely luring them into sexual encounters before killing them and leaving their bodies on beaches or in parks around the city.
According to reporting from the San Francisco Chronicle's Kevin Fagan, there may also be victims in other parts of the country.
Why wasn't the Doodler caught?
Police at the time believed they found their man. Multiple victims survived encounters with the Doodler and described the suspect to the police. Among the victims was reportedly a "well-known entertainer" and a diplomat, both men with much to lose if their sexual orientation became public knowledge.
The suspect was cooperative with law enforcement, although he never admitted to any of the crimes. Because testifying in court would mean publicly outing themselves, the surviving victims all kept silent. Without their testimony, the case couldn't go forward.
Harvey Milk defended their refusal to testify. "I understand their position," he told the Associated Press in 1977. "I respect the pressure society has put on them."
In 2018, SFPD investigator Dan Cunningham was put in charge of the department's cold case unit, and he's put the Doodler case back on the front-burner.
In 2019, Cunningham told CNN he sent DNA samples from two crime scenes to the lab. At the time, Cunningham said they were beginning to "connect the dots."
The same man identified as a suspect in the 1970s is still investigators' primary person of interest and has been recently interviewed again by police.
"I think we’re closer than ever to solving it — but we just need a bit more information," Cunningham recently told the Chronicle.
Where did the Doodler nickname come from?
Although the name sounds infantile, the killer's M.O. was chilling. The man prowled bars and restaurants that were popular with gay men, and according to witnesses, he would draw sketches of men before he assaulted and killed them. According to one victim who spoke with police, the Doodler told him he was a cartoonist.
Who were the Doodler's victims?
Gerald Cavanaugh, Joseph "Jae" Stevens, Klaus Christmann, Frederick Capin, Harald Gullberg and now Andrews are the Doodler's six confirmed victims.
Cavanaugh was found on Jan. 27, 1974 near Ulloa Street at Ocean Beach. He had been stabbed to death, and investigators found defensive wounds, indicating he fought back against his killer.
Stevens, who the Chronicle described at the time as a "female impersonator who worked in a North Beach nightclub," was discovered at Spreckels Lake five months later. He'd been stabbed five times.
A few weeks later, Christmann, a German tourist, was found dead at Ocean Beach. He'd been slashed across the throat. Unlike Cavanaugh and Stevens, who were single, Christmann was married with children.
Capin, a Vietnam War veteran and nurse, was killed in May 1975. His decomposing body was found in Lincoln Park in June 1975. The coroner told the media the body was hidden in an "igloo-like cove of brush near the 16th hole of the golf course." Police believe he'd been dead for at least two weeks.
SFPD is offering a $200,000 reward to anyone with information that leads to the apprehension of the killer. Tips can be called in to the 24-hour hotline at 415-575-4444 or texted to TIP411, starting the message with SFPD. Tipsters can remain anonymous.
