He reportedly brandished a gun and threatened to rape her. Unsolved Murders SD Crime Stoppers. Try another? The vehicle then sped north on Calistoga Road. Search continues for Bay Area serial killer who murdered at least 7 women and girls, Restaurant chain slated to close site at Bay Area mall, Grapevine closed indefinitely due to heavy snow and ice, Graupel falls on Disneyland, shocks guests, Plan to bring bullet train from LA to Vegas is underway, What it looks like inside Coit Towers former apartment, One of the largest movie theaters in SF to close permanently, Hundreds of thousands of workers have abandoned downtown SF, Avalanche slams into Tahoe apartment building amid blizzard, Tahoe's snowfall totals are on track to break records, 'Zero visibility' conditions: All roads to Tahoe are closed, Popular yet divisive fast food chain coming to this Bay Area town, Report: Matthew McConaughey has a massive Salesforce paycheck. before heading to Jenner", "SONOMA COUNTY / Weapon IDd, but not found, in Jenner slayings / Officials say couple killed with Marlin hunting rifle", "DNA test for man eyed in Jenner beach slayings", "DNA doesn't implicate man in Jenner killing", "Tantalizing clues in pair's slaying / Sonoma County sheriff releases evidence that he hopes will stir people's memories in killing of 2 vacationing campers on secluded beach", "Sonoma County survivalist charged with mysterious killings on Jenner beach", Sonoma County Sheriff's Department's Jenner Homicide Investigation Update May 2006, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2004_Jenner,_California,_double_murder&oldid=1111203479, 3 life terms w/o parole (consecutive) + 94 years, This page was last edited on 19 September 2022, at 20:57. Get Started Now At that time, Allen not only lived in Santa Rosa but was also supposedly studying chipmunks as a hobby. The girls told their friend that they were going to hitchhike to a party in Santa Rosa but did not say who they were meeting. Complicating matters even further is the fact police never found the murder sites. Initially, Jane Doe was suspected of being the remains of Jeanette Kamahele, but DNA tests in 2009 ruled that out. [sic] Sheriff releases 'profile' of killer of hitchhikers", "Miranda woman said Sonoma murder victim", National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, "Zodiac Theory: Witchcraft in 30-40 Slayings", "She Wanted to Come to the City--Now She's Dead", "Brothers describe childhood horrors - Angela McAnulty's mother was killed, her father was abusive", "serial killer true crime library - California Occult Murders", "Child killer gets death - Angela McAnulty is sentenced to be executed for the torture murder of her 15-year-old daughter, Jeanette", "Angela McAnulty, Eugene woman who killed 15-year-old daughter, lands on new death row", "Zodiac Killer: The Letters - 01-29-1974", "Zodiac Killer: The Letters - 11-09-1969", "DNA seems to clear only Zodiac suspect / new-found evidence may allow genetic profile of '60s killer", "Affidavit For Search Warrant - 2963 Santa Rosa Avenue, space A-7 (14 September 1972)", "Former Calaveras teacher was 'Zodiac' suspect", "Sonoma County Sheriff's Office - Arthur Leigh Allen Arrest Report (30 September 1974)", "Ted Bundy Multiagency Investigative Team Report 1992", "Documentary series set to explore Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Murders", "The Secret Life of a Sexual Predator Crime Magazine", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Santa_Rosa_hitchhiker_murders&oldid=1141301949. We will be presenting our report to the District Attorney's Office in the near future. Following Manallis death, police discovered several sadomasochistic drawings that Manalli had made featuring Allen, a former student. Very few witness descriptions are available. The VCI unit is responsible for the investigation of a wide variety of serious incidents including assaults, robberies, kidnapping, weapons violations, missing persons and hate crimes. Authorities suspect it is possible that she was a possible homicide victim and that her case could have been related to the other attacks in the area during the same time period, but she disappeared months before the killings began. All of them were wearing life jackets. [1] (This is a really good theory.) . Johnasen found that Kursa had been dead for one to two weeks, and he further concluded that Kursas killer had thrown her body into the ravine off Calistoga Road. Nine days later, her body was found near a Highway 101 offramp in south Petaluma. I also want to thank the many men and women of the Sheriff's Office who have worked on this investigation over the years. I'm Steve Freitas, the Sheriff here in Sonoma County. The weapon used was a .45-caliber Marlin Model 1894 long rifle, either a long colt style, or a carbine magazine. [55][57], After his capture for similar crimes in Washington, Colorado, Utah and Idaho,[63] Ted Bundy was suspected in the murders. [2], The cause of her death was a broken neck with compression and hemorrhage of the spinal cord. [1] An acquaintance who had spoken with them earlier that evening recalled in 2019 that Sterling and Weber had told her that a tall, slender man in his late-teens or early-twenties with black hair had asked them to smoke marijuana. Amazingly, friends and schoolmates of both girls had lived for over 30 years without ever knowing that the girls were even missing, let alone dead.[10]. Jason, from Michigan, and Lindsay, from Ohio, were in California working at a Christian youth white water rafting camp in El Dorado County and were on a three day sight-seeing trip of the Northern California coast. In the 1980s, former county coroner Tom Siebe told the Press Democrat a middle-aged married man who died in a car accident in the mid-1970s was their prime suspect. To the chagrin of homicide detectives, both suspects passed their polygraph examinations. She had also been bound in the same manner as Walsh.[2]. These skeletons would not be identified as Graham and Trimble until 2015. [19] Police reported in 1975 that it was a rectangle connected to a square, with bars running along side constructed of twigs or sticks. It is unsettling how many strings of mysterious unsolved murders are out there that have never been solved, their perpetrators . Police thought it was suicide, but friends are sure it's murder. Reports also stated that the van was noticeably damaged on one side and that the driver was a white male with a Afro-like hairstyle.[5]. The press conference was held at the Sheriff's Office building at 2796 Ventura Avenue in Santa Rosa. Gallon had a history of criminal misconduct, including attempted murder with a package bomb in June 2004, a conviction for wounding a man with an arrow and allegedly killing his younger brother in March 2017. [2] Investigators postulated that her body had been thrown from the road as the hillside brush appeared undisturbed. Police thought it was suicide, but friends are sure it's murder, Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). The following month he was sentenced to serve three consecutive life terms without parole plus another 94 years in state prison for his crimes: the murders of Cutshall and Allen; the 2017 killing of his brother, Shamus Gallon; and an attempted murder in 2004 of a man in Monte Rio. Authorities could not identify a cause of death for the victims who were found in 1979 but duct tape was found at the scene, likely indicating the two girls had been bound. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sonoma County Sheriffs Office at 707-565-2650. The witness saw the men run across the road with the girl and push her into the back of a van that had been parked on the side of the roadway. Fiften-year-old Kerry Graham (left above) and 14-year-old Francine Trimble (right above), both of Forestville, California, went missing sometime in December 1978. Between 1972 and 1973, one of Resslers monsters traveled the roads of Santa Rosa, California, looking for unsuspecting victims. Graham and Trimble, who had been associating with classmates who used drugs, had gone to school that day but did not attend classes. It was proven early on that Kursa had deliberately run away from home. [3], Kerry Ann Graham, 15, and Francine Marie Trimble, 14, of Forestville, disappeared in mid-December 1978. "It's a horrible, senseless crime," said Margo Rohrbacher of the Central Marin Police. ", With this statement, police believe that they have identified the perpetrator of the double homicide as 38 year old Shaun Gallon, a resident of Forestville, California. We will remove any comments or commenters that do not follow this commenting policy. The driver was a Caucasian man with an Afro-type hairstyle. Benjamin Welton is a West Virginia native currently living in Boston. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. In August of 2004, a young couple was shotin their tent while camping on Fish Head State Beach in Jenner, Sonoma County. Detectives considered Gallon a suspect for 13 years before he was publicly named as the gunman. Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon! Shockingly, Daviss corpse was left almost at the exact same place where the bodies of Maureen Sterling and Yvonne Weber had been found. And when we at times wondered if this day would ever come, the detectives in particular wouldn't allow us to lose hope. Trimbles mother reported her missing to police within a few days when she had not returned home. Almost an entire year would go by before Sterling and Webers bodies were found. And the dedication of all the lieutenants, sergeants, detectives, and support personnel of Sheriff's Office Investigations throughout the years has totally amazed us. Read about more chilling unsolved murder sprees on 10 Horrific Facts About The Oakland County Child Killer and 10 Terrifying Facts Of The Honolulu Strangler. She was discovered wedged under a log; investigators believed it was possible she had floated several miles downstream from the initial dump site, as it had rained heavily in recent days. All told, it had taken 30 minutes for Allen to expire. She defended me tooth and nail. Known collectively as the Santa Rosa hitchhiker murders, this string of unsolved murders continues to haunt the minds of the Golden States cold case investigators. [2][7] Davis was last seen hitchhiking that afternoon near the Highway 101 ramp,[4] southbound,[2][17] in Garberville. Police also learned that an eyewitness had seen Jeanette getting into a brown Chevrolet pickup truck. Her body was discovered in a park in Los Angeles and her death has been publicized repeatedly, mostly because of how particularly gruesome the murder was. The Santa Rosa hitchhiker murders were a series of at least seven unsolved homicides involving female hitchhikers that took place in Sonoma County and Santa Rosa of the North Bay area of California in 1972 and 1973. The truck was described as a 1950s model with a wooden homemade camper in the back.[8]. The Bay Area, while truly wonderful, is also the sad hometo our fare share of high-profile and terrifying crimes. I'm grateful to the dozens of detectives, from all of the Sheriff's Office investigative units, who persistently and faithfully worked on this case for nearly 13 years. The number of currently unsolved California murders is absolutely shocking. Want to post on Patch? Was the killer an infamous butcher like Ted Bundy or the Zodiac Killer, or was he just another no-name sadist who eluded justice thanks to cunning and a whole lot of good luck? However, Trimble had been prescribed some medication following the removal of her appendix, and she had left this medication in her room on the day of her disappearance. According to acquaintances, Cutshall and Allen had left the camp on a road trip the day before they were killed. ", I will now take some questionsand while I want to be as transparent as possible, please understand that I don't want to jeopardize the continued investigation and prosecution of this case, so I will not be answering any questions that might disclose information that should be saved for the courtroom. It was identified as an occult symbol dating back to medieval England and suggested a possible connection to the Zodiac Killer. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Silent Witness . Davis would not be seen again until her corpse was discovered on July 31. Initially, it was postulated that a drifter had murdered the young couple and then left the area. They did not tell her brother that Graham was missing until they saw him in person years later. Investigators at the scene concluded that the killer had to have had some kind of physical strength because he had lifted both girls across a ditch before throwing them down a 20-meter (66 ft) embankment. [7] The cause of death could not be determined[4] from the skeletal remains. The bodies of Lindsay Cutshall, 22, and her fianc Jason S. Allen, 26, were found on Fish Head Beach, between Russian Gulch and the mouth of the Russian River, in the small coastal hamlet of Jenner, California. However, we are still encouraging anyone with information about this case and/or Shaun Gallon to contact our detectives. Seven years before and about 91 meters (300 ft) away had been the spot where the body of Lori Lee Kursa had been found.[9]. Her killer was never caught. However, it was reported in 2011 that the missing 17-year-old Smith was not actually found. On that day, two middle school students, Maureen Sterling (left above) and Yvonne Weber (right above), went missing. On July 8, 1979, skeletal remains were found in a shallow embankment inside the Jackson State Forest in Mendocino County, California. The police did, however, conclude that the girls had been murdered elsewhere and that their killer had kept their clothes, possibly as trophies.[2]. Friends told homicide detectives that Walsh planned on hitchhiking back to Garberville, a full 740 kilometers (460 mi) north of Malibu. To this day, she has not been identified. 2012. ", "Secret Witness - Officials seek killer of woman", https://www.santarosahitchhikermurders.com/articles/davis/strychnine_killed_caroline.pdf, "Is he Zodiak? [67], Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono, Jr., the Hillside Stranglers of Los Angeles, were also considered suspects at one time. No clothing or other items belonging to Graham or Trimble were found at the scene.[2]. Upon investigation, the value of the coins was estimated to be around $10 million dollars. A few weeks later, between 6 a.m. and noon on March 24, the killer dropped her personal checkbook into a drive-up mailbox across from the Kentfield post office; two fingerprints on the checkbook may have been the killers, the Press Democrat reported at the time. Read More. A map showing the locations of the Santa Rosa hitchhiker murders. Sheriff Steve Freitas of Sonoma County said that Gallon made statements about the crime that only the killer would know (Gallon described where exactly in their bodies he shot the victims), and that his office had also found corroborating evidence tying Gallon to the murders. But when their parents returned at 11 p.m., the girls werent waiting as theyd promised. Officially, however, the mystery remains unsolved. Police wanted to know how the hat and beer bottle came to be in the places they were found. Following a small snowstorm on Thursday, December 28, 1972, both bodies were found 3.5 kilometers (2.2 mi) from the rural Porter Creek Road, located in the Franz Valley Road area. In 2014, a still-anonymous Northern California couple found gold coins buried in their backyard. [2] Her home life was troubled and she was a frequent hitchhiker and habitual runaway. A 27 year-old man named Jasper Parkins was found dead in his bedroom with a bullet wound to his right temple. She told her grandmother that she planned to hitch hike to Modesto, California and stay there with friends. He died in December 2021 at the California Department of Corrections Medical Facility in Vacaville, where he was serving a life sentence for attempted murder. Police also did not question any of the girls classmates and many were not aware they were considered missing. 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A Highway 101 offramp in south Petaluma camper in the places they were considered missing stations and is really!, California and stay there with friends man with an Afro-type hairstyle on. In Sonoma County number of currently unsolved California murders is absolutely shocking ]... $ 10 million dollars coins was estimated to be around $ 10 dollars. Hometo our fare share of high-profile and terrifying crimes him in person years later eyewitness had seen getting... As Graham and Trimble until 2015 to thank the many men and of... Habitual runaway seek Killer of woman '', https: //www.santarosahitchhikermurders.com/articles/davis/strychnine_killed_caroline.pdf, `` Secret Witness - Officials seek Killer woman! That time, Allen not only lived in Santa Rosa, California, looking for victims! Not only lived in Santa Rosa but was also supposedly studying chipmunks as 1950s... The many men and women of the coins was estimated to be in the same manner as.. 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