The lead investigator of one of America’s most chilling unsolved serial murders believes he has identified the culprit after more than 50 years.
Some of the most notorious serial killer cases in United States history remain unsolved. These include the Zodiac Killer case, the Texarkana Phantom Moonlight Killer, the Axeman of New Orleans, and the I-70 Killer.
But as resilient and determined authorities proved in 2018 when they finally identified and captured Joseph James DeAngelo as the Golden State Killer, it’s never too late to solve a case and bring justice.
Now, police may be getting closer to solving another notorious serial killer case that terrified California residents during the ’70s.
Talking to Max Harrison-Caldwell san francisco standardSFPD Homicide Cold Case Unit Investigator Dan Cunningham reports that they continue to monitor a prime suspect in ‘The Doodler’ murder cases, and an arrest is not out of the question.
“Once this person knew they were suspects in these murders, the murders stopped,” Cunningham told Harrison-Caldwell.
Cunningham did not release the suspect’s name but told Harrison-Caldwell it is a man in his 70s who lives in the East Bay. Cunningham spoke to the suspect in 2018 and met him publicly a few years later, though they had no further encounters.
What to know about ‘The Doodler’ case?
The first victim linked to the Doodler murders was 49-year-old Gerald Earl Cavanagh, whose body was found dead on San Francisco’s Ocean Beach on January 27, 1974.
The other four confirmed victims were 27-year-old Joseph “Jay” Stevens (body discovered June 25, 1974), 31-year-old Klaus Achim “Klaus” Christmann (July 7, 1974), 32-year-old Frederick Elmer Capin (May 12, 1975), and 66-year-old Harald Gullberg (June 4, 1975).
In 2022, police also named 52-year-old Warren Andrews as a possible victim of the Doodler. Andrews was found badly beaten in Land’s End on April 27, 1975, and never regained consciousness.
according to San Francisco Police DepartmentAll the victims were white men from the gay community. Police do not believe that any of the victims knew the suspect before they were killed.
According to Harrison-Caldwell, survivors of the attack at Fox Plaza described the suspect as “a handsome, slim black man about 20 years old.” One survivor identified his attacker.
SFPD is offering a $250,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Doodler.
