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[Music] the evening of monday april 9 1962 in oceanside california he pressed a fingertip to the phone's
00:02:54
rotary dial and turned its wheel until it hit the stop position he repeated this motion over and over
00:03:01
until he had spun each digit of the oceanside police department's phone number i am going to pull something here in
00:03:09
oceanside he warned the answering officer and you will never be able to figure it
00:03:15
out the following night 29 year old oceanside cab driver ray davis pulled up at a downtown taxi stand on mission
00:03:24
avenue at 11 10 a customer approached his vehicle and climbed into the back seat
00:03:32
ray radioed his dispatcher to inform that he just picked up a fair and was headed for south pacific street
00:03:39
he didn't report back or respond to any further radio communications after a considerable amount of time had
00:03:47
passed with no contact from ray his employer notified police a beach patrol discovered rey's lifeless
00:03:56
body later that morning in an alley off south pacific street in the upscale neighborhood of saint
00:04:02
malo the 1110 curbside pickup was ray's last job for checker cab company his employer
00:04:10
of less than four months at some point during this trip rey's passenger pulled out a gun and fired it
00:04:18
into the driver's seat hitting ray in the back the shooter then aimed at ray's head and
00:04:24
pulled the trigger the third and final bullet punctured the windshield missing ray completely
00:04:33
two 22 caliber long rifle bullets were recovered from rey's body despite their name long rifle bullets
00:04:41
could also be used in handguns rey's cab was found abandoned in an alley one and a half miles up the road
00:04:50
it appeared as though his killer had used the vehicle to facilitate a quicker getaway
00:04:57
police were puzzled by the seemingly motiveless crime ray hadn't been robbed his wallet had
00:05:04
been left behind as had a small amount of change in his shirt pocket nevertheless unrelated armed robberies
00:05:12
were examined for possible links none were found both evidence and persons of interest
00:05:20
were limited ray was relatively new to oceanside having moved there with his brother just
00:05:27
four months earlier he didn't have the community connections necessary to pad out a suspect list
00:05:35
most of the individual's questions were known petty criminals who were quickly ruled out
00:05:41
a fellow cabbie was also looked into but accusations against him proved baseless
00:05:49
then four days after ray davis's murder a second anonymous call was placed to oceanside pd
00:05:58
do you remember me calling you and telling you that i was going to pull a real baffling crime the caller asked i
00:06:06
killed the cab driver and i'm going to get me a bus driver next oceanside police took this very
00:06:15
seriously they had kept word of the initial call they received on april 9 under wraps so
00:06:21
they were certain they weren't dealing with a copycat or hoax the caller had made good on his first
00:06:28
threat by murdering ray davis so there was a very real possibility he would follow through with the second
00:06:37
faced with an unpredictable killer the city manager gave officials blanket authority to take whatever steps
00:06:43
necessary to protect oceanside's 25 bus drivers buses and bus stops were placed under
00:06:51
close observation at night military police from the nearby marine corps base camp stood guard over
00:06:58
the nervous drivers on the lookout for any suspicious passengers four days after the second threat was
00:07:07
made a woman answered her telephone to hear a man warn tonight is the night i'm going to kill
00:07:14
that bus driver [Music] the caller didn't give his name but told the woman to relay the message to the
00:07:22
police they listened to her claim while also being mindful that the case's notoriety
00:07:29
would likely appeal to pranksters and attention seekers the chaos was making headlines across
00:07:36
the city but concerns dissipated when the killer failed to carry out his second threat
00:07:44
as a precaution two drivers were assigned to all buses that traveled lonely routes
00:07:51
but for the most part life in oceanside returned to normal eventually the ray davis case went cold
00:08:01
at the time of his death he was estranged from his wife and had no children he was close to his brother and mother
00:08:09
but when they died many years later rey's senseless murder faded from california's memory
00:08:19
decades later in 2018 local historian christy hawthorne donned a pair of white cotton gloves and began flipping through
00:08:28
archived newspapers at an oceanside museum she had lived in the city since 1983 and
00:08:35
harboured a deep passion for preserving its history christy was researching the saint malo
00:08:42
area when a three-word front-page headline caught her attention written in large bold letters across a
00:08:50
yellowed copy of the daily blade tribune were the words local cabbie slain dated wednesday april 11 1962
00:09:01
the accompanying article detailed the circumstances of ray davis's murder was unfamiliar with the case which had
00:09:10
occurred more than half a century earlier as she read on her heartbeat quickened
00:09:18
a cab driver a 22-caliber firearm long rifle ammunition a city with a water-based name
00:09:26
a water-side crime scene its proximity to a military base lack of a motive or suspects
00:09:34
the randomness of the attack and most intriguing of all a cryptic killer who taunted the police
00:09:44
alarm bells rang in christie's mind this seemed all too familiar [Music] daybreak on sunday june 2 1963
00:10:23
one year after the murder of ray davis near gaviota california the sharp crack of gunshots echoed
00:10:33
across the rolling landscape of santa barbara county three teenagers who were camping
00:10:39
alongside tahiga's creek were alarmed by the unmistakable noise it sounded as though the shots were
00:10:47
fired just south of their location where the creek filtered into the pacific ocean
00:10:53
there were no subsequent reports of damage or harm it seemed as if the shooter had been
00:10:59
firing for no reason at all later that same day eleven teenagers were enjoying a day of surf and sand at
00:11:09
a beach adjacent to gabayota state park just seven miles west of tahiga's creek by mid-afternoon the teens had made
00:11:19
their way back to the secluded spot just off highway 101 where they'd parked their cars
00:11:26
as they huddled around chatting a loud cracking sound startled them the noise was accompanied by a
00:11:33
high-pitched whir as something small flew right by them it was a bullet another quickly followed
00:11:44
no one was hit but the teens were left shaken they never caught sight of the shooter
00:11:53
two days later on tuesday june 4 18 year old robert dominguez was at the wheel of
00:11:59
his family's 1956 pontiac sitting beside him was his childhood sweetheart turned fiance 17 year old
00:12:08
linda edwards it was a special occasion for the pair both were senior students at lompoc high
00:12:16
school and were due to graduate later in the week that tuesday was a ditch day an official
00:12:23
day off from classes for the graduating seniors while their peers partied together
00:12:30
robert and linda decided to spend their free afternoon at a secluded beach near gaviota state park
00:12:38
linda had an additional reason to celebrate her 18th birthday was just three days
00:12:44
away it was around midday when the young couple hit the road for their trip to the coast
00:12:52
they reached a gabiota before continuing another four miles down highway 101 to a
00:12:58
dirt turnout that provided a good spot to pull over after stripping down to their bathing
00:13:05
suits robert and linda crossed the road and began the arduous track down the hill to the beachfront below
00:13:13
once there they unravelled a blanket on a small patch of sand and laid down together
00:13:20
with no one else in sight robert and linda believed they had the entire area to themselves
00:13:28
they were wrong a man suddenly appeared before them he handed linda a piece of rope and
00:13:37
ordered that she'd tie robert's hands behind his back terrified she did as she was told
00:13:44
she didn't have a choice the man was holding a gun once robert was under control the man
00:13:53
set about restraining linda before he could loop the rope and pull it tight he was tackled by robert who
00:14:00
had managed to wriggle free from his ligature an altercation ensued despite sustaining several
00:14:08
bruise-inducing blows to the face robert managed to overpower his opponent he and linda then ran for their lives
00:14:18
the gunman scrambled to his feet the two teens hadn't gotten far the only way out was up and the rugged
00:14:27
hillside was slowing their escape the attacker raised his gun and took aim he fired over and over until the chamber
00:14:37
was empty and his targets had fallen he reloaded then marched intently to where his victims lay bleeding in the
00:14:46
sand he then shot them both several more times at close range robert was shot 11 times
00:14:56
lindate after the slaughter the shooter dragged robert's body 30 feet across the rough
00:15:04
terrain to a driftwood shack hidden in the bushes he pulled robert inside before
00:15:11
collecting linda and dumping her on top of her boyfriend he then cut linda's bathing suit open
00:15:18
with a knife exposing her breasts it was easy to pull down the shack's dilapidated roof to conceal the bodies
00:15:29
after stacking further debris on top the killer lit several matches and through the matata portland covering the shack's
00:15:36
entrance it was time to leave the fire would take care of the rest [Music] it was nearing 10 o'clock the following
00:15:51
night when california highway patrol officer paul schultz drove along highway 101 22 miles southwest of lompoc
00:16:02
the area was quiet save for the sound of the sea crashing against the coastline officer schultz approached a stretch of
00:16:11
roadway south of gaviota state park where three men were standing by the side of the road
00:16:18
one was george dominguez who was out looking for his son robert no one had heard from robert or his
00:16:26
fiancee linda since they left for the beach the day before george dominguez had gathered a small
00:16:34
search party at the teen's last known location they had since made an important discovery
00:16:42
the men led officer schultz to a turnout off the highway parked in the dirt by some bushes was
00:16:49
the dominguez family's pontiac the doors were locked three empty soda bottles were spotted
00:16:57
within linda's purse lay on the floor in the front and her and robert's clothing was
00:17:03
strewn about in the back this confirmed that the couple had made it to the beach but they hadn't returned
00:17:10
to the vehicle since one of george's companions informed officer schultz that there was a
00:17:19
makeshift shack on the nearby beach where local youths were known to hang out schultz crossed the highway and headed
00:17:27
towards the shore to check if the missing teens were there it took a few minutes to hike down
00:17:34
the steep bush-lined trail to the water's edge the secluded area attracted few visitors
00:17:41
aside from drifters who traveled along the nearby southern pacific railroad one had built the shack out of driftwood
00:17:49
cardboard tin and grass among the trees and vegetation a few yards back from the
00:17:55
water when officer schultz reached the crudely built shack it was in bad shape someone had tried to destroy it by
00:18:06
pulling the roof down from within inside partially concealed by the collapsed roof was a horrific sight
00:18:16
the bloody bodies of robert dominguez and linda edwards were piled one on top of the other
00:18:23
22 caliber long rifle bullets lengths of pre-cut cord and burnt out matches found
00:18:29
throughout the crime scene helped investigators piece together what likely happened
00:18:36
while linda's bathing suit was cut open there was no evidence that she had been sexually assaulted
00:18:43
police were dealing with a particularly cunning offender who had the foresight to stage the crime scene in an attempt
00:18:51
to throw them off it was clear the killer had hoped to cover up his crime by destroying the
00:18:58
shack but unluckily for him the matches snuffed out before the fire took hold as both victims were popular and well
00:19:11
liked it was hard to identify a motive for the killings but not everyone was happy for the young
00:19:18
couple seventeen-year-old jason not his real name was known to be openly jealous of
00:19:24
robert dominguez robert was a star player on the school's football team and was dating a
00:19:30
cheerleader whereas jason was in and out of trouble with police he'd been arrested multiple times
00:19:38
including immediately after the murders for causing trouble while intoxicated on the day of the double homicide jason
00:19:48
was at a beach four miles from the one robert and linda were visiting during questioning police noticed that
00:19:56
jason's hand was bruised as though he'd been in a fight he also admitted to having access to his
00:20:03
father's guns still there was nothing directly linking jason to the murders and he was released
00:20:11
without charge after speaking with locals railroad men and youths that frequented the beach
00:20:19
area investigators became aware of a 50 year old army veteran turned drifter named george gill
00:20:28
a loner with a penchant for military style clothing gill visited the gaviota beach often surviving on the pelicans
00:20:36
mussels and wild mustard he found there gill had actually built the shack where robert and linda's bodies were found and
00:20:45
was reportedly living in it in the days prior to the murders he kept a 22-caliber rifle in a bundle
00:20:54
strapped to his back which he was seen firing in the area could gill have been responsible for the
00:21:02
gunshots heard and even felt by the two groups of teenagers near tahigas creek and gabiota state park in the days
00:21:09
before robert and linda were killed the teens had described the gunfire as having come from a 22 caliber
00:21:17
semi-automatic firearm possibly a long rifle there was no way to know for sure by the time gill was brought to police
00:21:28
attention he was long gone the bullets recovered from robert and linda's bodies were too versatile to
00:21:39
isolate exactly what type of firearm they came from but the discovery of several boxes of
00:21:46
winchester western superx long rifle ammunition inside the beach shack helped direct detectives to the bullet's origin
00:21:56
the boxes one empty and three partially filled featured a lot number tl-21 while this batch was stocked in local
00:22:06
sports stores it was also sold at a base exchange at the vandenberg air force base
00:22:12
just over nine miles from lompoc yet the boxes lacked any identifiers that could help narrow down where or
00:22:21
when they were purchased as these bullets were also the most popular and common type of ammunition
00:22:28
purchased it was difficult to isolate a suspect using this evidence alone the graduation ceremony for lompoc
00:22:39
high's senior class of 1963 was held on thursday june 6 the day after robert dominguez and linda edwards
00:22:48
were found murdered the mood amongst the students was somber and they laid wreaths on two empty seats
00:22:56
in honor of their slain classmates that same day two teens were transferred to santa
00:23:04
barbara county sheriff's department having just confessed to witnessing a murder
00:23:14
daytime on friday may 31 1963 four days before the murders of robert dominguez and linda edwards
00:23:23
in santa cruz california sixteen-year-old james coleman and his friend seventeen-year-old jc reed jr
00:23:35
eyed the stranger before them he was maybe a year or two older than them of average height and build with
00:23:43
thick natural blonde hair combed to one side a pair of black rimmed prescription
00:23:49
eyeglasses framed his pale blue eyes in between taking drags from a pow mouse cigarette he held at the base of his
00:23:58
fingers the stranger introduced himself as sandy and said he'd run away from his home in
00:24:05
san francisco cindy's story was inconsistent each time he told it the details varied
00:24:14
slightly whatever the truth sandy was a transient who'd taken to sleeping under the santa cruz boardwalk
00:24:23
his peculiarities soon made him a recognizable figure to locals who thought his army fatigues were an odd
00:24:30
choice of attire for someone living on the beach sandy often asked other young men where
00:24:37
he could find girls even though girls clearly weren't interested in him on one occasion sandy received a warning
00:24:47
from police after a young woman complained that he'd been bothering her while cindy's requests for food or
00:24:55
drinks from passers-by weren't particularly unusual he raised eyebrows when he produced a knife and asked where
00:25:03
he could get it sharpened [Music] there was no doubt that sandy was a strange character but james coleman and
00:25:12
jc reed jr was somewhat charmed by him on the day they met the trio teamed up and embarked on a crime spree that led
00:25:21
them 200 miles south to lompoc coleman and reed weren't new to petty crime but sandy's influence seemingly
00:25:31
emboldened them to commit increasingly violent acts first they stole some drinks from a ymca
00:25:39
then they robbed a woman of twenty dollars next they stole a sunbeam convertible
00:25:47
during their misadventures common and reed gifted sandy a pair of black pants and a black slip-over shirt with a
00:25:54
button-down collar they also supplied him with a yellow-handled fishing knife though sandy desired a deadlier weapon
00:26:04
he kept talking about wanting to procure her 22-caliber rifle in lompoc later that night they
00:26:14
approached 63 year old quarry worker vernon smith with the intention of robbing him
00:26:21
cindy asked for vernon's help explaining that they'd run out of gas as vernon used a gas can to fill the
00:26:29
tank of the stolen sunbeam sandy walked up behind him and pulled out his fishing knife
00:26:36
this wasn't part of the plan coleman yelled at sandy don't do it boy sandy ignored him and plunged the knife
00:26:47
into vernon's back killing him stunned by the sudden and brutal attack coleman asked cindy why he did it
00:26:58
cindy shrugged and with cool indifference said he didn't know he then laughed as if the whole thing
00:27:06
was a joke the murder marked the end of sandy's time with coleman and reed unnerved the boys ditched sandy at a
00:27:17
motel in arroyo grande 45 miles north of lompoc the very next day robert dominguez and linda edwards was
00:27:28
shot dead on gaviota beach police caught up with the james coleman and jc reed jr and arrested them in
00:27:40
relation to one of the robberies they committed during their crime spree when grilled about vernon smith's murder
00:27:47
the pair quickly implicated sandy but neither could provide his full name they weren't even certain if he was
00:27:56
really named sandy while police were wary of coleman and reed's story that appeared to be the
00:28:04
truth other people confirmed sandy's existence and he had been sided with coleman and
00:28:11
reed in lompoc one witness recalled him carrying a yellow handled fishing knife exactly
00:28:18
like the one coleman and reed said he used to kill vernon smith there had been no sightings of sandy
00:28:25
since coleman and reed abandoned him at the motel in arroyo grande but police were able to piece together his possible
00:28:33
movements after killing vernon smith sandy had pocketed 20 dollars it was believed that he used some of
00:28:42
this money to fund an overnight stay at the motel he booked a room using the pseudonym
00:28:49
william carr and a fake address before checking out at 11 the following morning a seasoned hitchhiker
00:28:59
cindy would have been capable of securing a ride further south he could have obtained a gun and
00:29:06
ammunition at any point throughout his journey known for approaching locals and begging
00:29:12
for help someone might have told him he could stay at the beach shack near gabiota state park
00:29:19
no stranger to sleeping rough sandy would have been comfortable holed up there for a
00:29:24
night he might have spotted robert dominguez and linda edwards arriving the next day
00:29:31
sandy was carrying at least one knife which he could have used to cut the rope ligatures as well as linda's bathing
00:29:38
suit given he was a smoker it was likely he would have been carrying a pack of matches
00:29:47
this timeline coupled with sandy's willingness to kill and desire to obtain a 22-calibre firearm put him high on the
00:29:56
list of suspects in the double homicide the hunt for sandy was on a composite sketch was created based on
00:30:07
descriptions from those who had interacted with him police dubbed him the laughing boy and
00:30:14
the laughing killer due to his amused demeanor following the stabbing of vernon smith
00:30:21
alleged sightings of cindy were reported across the state sacramento teen robert lee bell was one
00:30:29
such look alike the 17 year old raised eyebrows when he abruptly quit his job at a lompoc car
00:30:36
wash and skipped town days before the dominguez edwards murders before he left he stole a 22 caliber
00:30:44
rifle and ammunition when police tracked bell down he still had the gun in his possession
00:30:52
weak old scratchers marked his wrists and forearms but bell insisted they'd been caused by a puppy
00:31:00
ballistics confirmed that bell's rifle wasn't the murder weapon and when several witnesses placed him at a
00:31:07
sacramento baseball game on the day of the shooting he was dropped as a suspect bell was just one of several young men
00:31:17
suspected of being sandy while some owned or had access to 22 caliber firearms investigators couldn't
00:31:25
connect any of these weapons to the crime clues were scarce and those police did
00:31:32
have were confusing sandy had left behind a green military jacket which had the name robert kaufman
00:31:40
scrawled along the inside of the collar coleman and reed recalled sandy saying he had stolen the jacket and the rest of
00:31:48
his army clothes it was also possible that kaufman was just another of cindy's aliases
00:31:57
either way the name was a dead end for their involvement in the killing of vernon smith james coleman and j.c reed
00:32:07
jr pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery and second-degree murder they were sent to prison while the
00:32:16
person they alleged had committed the slaying remained on the run [Music] case file will be back shortly thank you
00:32:38
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the evening of wednesday february 5 1964 eight months after the murders of robert
00:35:35
dominguez and to linda edwards in ocean beach california although johnny and joyce swindle had
00:35:44
only been staying in ocean beach for a week they'd already formed a nightly routine
00:35:50
the newlyweds aged 20 and 19 respectively did everything together from washing the dishes to making their
00:35:58
bed every evening they left their rented bungalow to take a stroll down to the beach
00:36:05
the night of february 5 was no different except for a brief visit to a pharmacy where johnny purchased a red
00:36:13
heart-shaped box of candy for his wife valentine's day was more than a week away but it didn't matter
00:36:21
the childhood sweethearts had been on cloud nine since their wedding three weeks earlier
00:36:28
the couple continued their usual walk which ended nine blocks from their home at the beachfront
00:36:35
[Music] joyce in particular loved the ocean it fascinated her and johnny couldn't keep
00:36:42
her away during the day ocean beach foreshore was a hive of activity tourists and fishermen lined its pier as
00:36:52
swimmers took to the surf below just left of the pier at the foot of narragansett avenue was a wide concrete
00:37:01
patio that provided uninterrupted views of the ocean it was the perfect spot to observe the
00:37:08
sunset by late evening most beachgoers had retreated like the tide leaving the area peaceful and private
00:37:19
placing the candy box on the retaining wall framing the water johnny and joyce snuggled together oblivious to anyone
00:37:27
but each other all of a sudden johnny was struck in the back by something small but powerful
00:37:37
he barely had time to register the accompanying pain before joyce collapsed into his arms
00:37:44
she too had been hid in the upper back quickly realizing that they were being shot at johnny turned his body into the
00:37:52
line of fire trying to shield his wife from the barrage his pained cries of no no
00:38:00
carried up the cliffside to the apartment buildings above johnny's left thigh was hit and another
00:38:08
bullet struck the right side of his head a bullet pierced to joyce's left arm exposed and unable to see their
00:38:18
assailant in the dark the couple crumpled helplessly to the ground with his victims immobilized the shooter
00:38:28
eased down the rocky cliff face to the patio below joyce was face down when he marched up
00:38:35
and shot her at point-blank range in the back of the head then he turned towards johnny who had
00:38:41
collapsed against the retaining wall and fired a bullet into his left ear after rummaging through johnny's pockets
00:38:50
and taking whatever he could find the killer then fled the scene a short while later ocean beach local
00:39:00
edward nelson descended the steps that led to the patio overlooking the sea spotting something on the ground ahead
00:39:09
edward raised his flashlight illuminating two bodies piled on top of one another
00:39:16
edward suspected he had stumbled across a pair of drunk lovers who had passed out together
00:39:23
edging closer his flashlight reflected off something glistening and red underneath the couple was a large pool
00:39:32
of blood two empty 22 caliber long rifle cartridges lay nearby matching shells were also found on a
00:39:43
dark well-hidden cliff top 50 feet above by the time edward found the swindles it
00:39:51
was too late for joyce however johnny was clinging to life gurgling and gasping for air he managed
00:40:01
to weakly lift himself up and drape one arm over his wife's body witnesses heard him splutter
00:40:10
my god how much blood does a person have he lost consciousness and was taken to hospital where he died less than three
00:40:21
hours later while no one saw the shooting take place an unidentified man was spotted standing
00:40:32
on the rocks near the patio shortly before the swindles arrived fifteen minutes later another witness
00:40:39
saw a man running at full speed along del monte avenue away from the beachfront it couldn't be ascertained exactly what
00:40:48
type of firearm was used in the crime a sniper rifle correlated with the crime scene's layout and the position of the
00:40:56
shooter however the erratic gunfire and execution style headshots were more in line with someone wielding a handgun
00:41:07
although johnny's wallet had been stolen robbery didn't appear to have been the killer's true motive
00:41:15
johnny was so short on cash that he'd started painting for his landlord in lieu of paying rent making it unlikely
00:41:22
that he had much money on him robbery might have been the killer's secondary motive or merely an
00:41:29
afterthought intended to confuse investigators there was little in the victims lives
00:41:37
that indicated the crime was personal johnny and joyce had barely settled into their apartment where they kept to
00:41:45
themselves they were making the most of their honeymoon period before johnny reported
00:41:51
for naval duty aboard a radar picket ship nothing in their backgrounds pointed to
00:41:57
someone they knew wanting to kill them police concluded that the crime was a senseless thrill killing committed by a
00:42:06
psychopathic killer whose only motive was excitement with the murders of johnny and joyce
00:42:15
swindle a pattern was beginning to emerge the similarities between the swindles killing and that of robert dominguez and
00:42:23
linda edwards less than a year prior was not lost on investigators a young couple
00:42:30
a 22 caliber firearm long rifle ammunition a waterside crime scene lack of motive or suspects
00:42:39
the randomness of the attack although ballistics confirmed that a different gun was used in each crime a
00:42:47
lingering suspicion remained that one person was responsible for both three days after the murders of johnny
00:42:58
and joyce swindle a priest sat in the confessional of saint joseph's catholic church in san diego
00:43:06
it wasn't long before he heard a footfall echoing off the terracotta tiles as someone made their way down the
00:43:13
center aisle the footsteps stopped at the confessional a man took a seat inside cleared his
00:43:22
throat and said bless me father for i have sinned i have an urge to hurt someone
00:43:31
anyone the priest paused uncertain of what to say before he could respond the man leapt
00:43:41
from his seat and ran from the church [Music] the confessor was identified as eighteen-year-old renee leon trudeau
00:43:52
a transient who worked part-time as a janitor renee was arrested and booked at the city jail on suspicion of murdering
00:43:59
the swindles he told the arresting officer i would hurt you if i had the chance any
00:44:07
way i could that's why i saw the priest i guess i need help with no evidence to tie him to the
00:44:16
double homicide renee was released without charge across the pacific ocean in hawaii
00:44:26
television repairman michael patrick muller purchased the gun on a whim the 23 year old made his way up the
00:44:34
steep mountainside five miles outside of honolulu to the pali lookout the mountain provided stunning panoramic
00:44:43
views across the island of oahu but mola wasn't there to enjoy the scenery instead he crouched amongst the dense
00:44:52
vegetation and raised his firearm he watched as a tourist bus descended on the area
00:45:01
with his sights set on the vehicle he pulled the trigger his shooting spree continued for five
00:45:08
hours by the end four people were injured and a highway patrolman had lost his life
00:45:17
muller blamed the attack on his mental health it wasn't the first time something like
00:45:23
this had happened he'd previously committed another sniping in germany while serving in the
00:45:30
u.s air force investigators fronting the swindle case arrived in hawaii and entered the state
00:45:38
hospital ward they made their way to the psychiatric ward where michael patrick moller was
00:45:44
being held with his military tyres and known love of guns police considered whether molar
00:45:52
could also be responsible for the swindle's murder or that of robert dominguez and linda edwards
00:45:59
muller told police that at the time the newlyweds were killed he was undergoing psychiatric care in texas in response to
00:46:07
the german shooting his alibi checked out molar was cleared [Music] it was approaching midnight on december
00:46:21
1 1964 when santa ana city patrolman james pico pulled up at a ramshackle campsite near the santa fe railroad
00:46:30
tracks a woman had called police to report some property damage and she suspected a
00:46:37
person at the camp was responsible pico had arrived to do a routine check of the site which consisted of makeshift
00:46:46
shelters used by itinerants and the homeless one person in particular caught the
00:46:53
officer's attention tall and thin reclusive man in his fifties with blue eyes receding brown
00:47:00
hair and a solo weather-beaten face pico obtained the man's name and ran a background check it turned out he was
00:47:11
wanted for questioning in relation to the murders of robert dominguez and linda redwoods
00:47:18
pico had inadvertently found george gill the drifter who had built the beach shack where the teenager's bodies were
00:47:25
discovered gill had been on quite a journey in the year and a half he'd been avoiding
00:47:31
police funding part of his near 200 mile trip south by selling pistols he had stolen
00:47:38
from a retreat in san diego he also sold a knife for bus fare witnesses claimed that gill was living
00:47:48
out of the shack when the murders took place but gill insisted he'd left before then
00:47:56
he agreed to take a polygraph test but an inconclusive result only propelled gill into further suspicion
00:48:05
yet his alibi placing him in san jose for work checked out and george gill like many others was
00:48:13
scrubbed from the suspect list on wednesday september 28 1966 two and a half years after the swindles
00:48:24
were gunned down three residents of a san diego apartment complex noticed something strange
00:48:31
there was a young man loitering outside the building they didn't recognize him and as it was
00:48:38
almost 11 o'clock at night his presence seemed suspicious the concerned residents decided to
00:48:46
approach the stranger they greeted the young man and asked what he was doing in the neighborhood
00:48:53
when suddenly he pulled out a pistol if you value your lives you'd better run for it he won't
00:49:02
the trio wasted no time as they bolted away from the young man they heard a shot ring out behind them
00:49:11
luckily none of them were struck by the bullet another resident later reported that the
00:49:18
young man had also fired at him sniper style flagging down a nearby police officer
00:49:26
the trio explained what had happened and he jumped in the patrol car to track down the shooter
00:49:32
it didn't take long they soon spotted the young man crossing mission boulevard and the officer turned
00:49:39
his car around to give chase realising he was being pursued the shooter ran towards a nearby hotel and
00:49:48
vanished into the night the policemen radioed for backup prompting other officers to descend on
00:49:56
the scene together they began scouring the grounds of the hotel their flashlights cutting through the
00:50:03
darkness suddenly a shot rang out from the direction of the hotel's wedding chapel
00:50:11
the shooter had fired at his own right temple with a 38 caliber pistol which lay nearby
00:50:18
a driver's license identified the man as 24 year old wayne david chandler he was transferred to hospital but died
00:50:27
hours later chandler's death was unwelcome news to the detectives fronting the swindle
00:50:35
investigation after learning what chandler had done he'd become a suspect in their case
00:50:44
now they were unable to question him to determine whether he had any involvement
00:50:49
at all meanwhile in ocean beach business had dried up after the double homicide with
00:50:57
locals and tourists alike fearing the shooter would return merchants offered a 700 reward for
00:51:05
information leading to the arrest of the swindle's killer hoping to speed up a conviction and to draw back crowds
00:51:13
but years passed and the bounty went unclaimed case file will be back shortly thank you
00:51:30
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you support case file to continue to deliver quality content the evening of sunday october 30 1966
00:54:51
two years after the murders of johnny and joyce swindle in riverside california eighteen-year-old sherry jo bates
00:55:02
grabbed a pen and paper and scribbled a quick message dad went to rcc library she placed the note where her father
00:55:11
would see it when he returned home from his trip to the beach sherry jo then left home in her most
00:55:18
prized possession her lime green 1960 volkswagen beetle the first year riverside city college
00:55:27
student had taken great pride in the fact that she'd managed to buy the little car all by herself with money
00:55:33
saved from a part-time job shortly after 6 pm sherry joe arrived at the rcc library alone leaving her
00:55:43
beloved volkswagen parked 30 yards down the road on terracina drive young and beautiful were the words that
00:55:54
came to mind as he watched the petite coed with dark blonde hair and striking green eyes walked towards the library
00:56:01
building once she was out of sight he turned his attention to her car a lime green volkswagen beetle
00:56:10
[Music] working swiftly under the cover of darkness he opened the volkswagen's rear
00:56:16
compartment where its engine was located he removed the distributor coil and condenser then took hold of the
00:56:24
distributor's middle wire and tore it out before lowering the trunk shut and slinking away
00:56:32
he then made his way to the library where he spotted the volkswagen's owner studying alone
00:56:39
he watched and waited until she stood from the desk collected her books and headed outside
00:56:47
he let two minutes pass before taking off after her sherry jo bates climbed into the
00:56:55
driver's seat of her volkswagen tossing her pocketbook and the three library books she'd borrowed onto the
00:57:01
passenger seat she then inserted her keys into the ignition and turned them nothing happened
00:57:10
she tried again still nothing for some unknown reason her car wouldn't start suddenly
00:57:21
a man appeared at sherry joe's window acknowledging her car troubles he offered to help
00:57:29
he said that his car was down the street and he'd be happy to give her a lift sherry joe accepted the kind offer and
00:57:37
followed the man as he headed away from the library they soon reached a gravel alleyway
00:57:44
between two houses that led to a car park as the man guided sherry joe down the dark and quiet alley he abruptly
00:57:53
remarked it's about time confused sherry joe asked about time for what the man turned to her
00:58:06
about time for you to die he launched at cherry jo and pressed one hand over her mouth while holding a
00:58:14
small knife to her neck with the other sherry joe fought back and the pair fell to the ground mid-struggle
00:58:23
she scratched at his face and tore at his hair sherry joe managed to let out a desperate scream before he kicked her in
00:58:32
the head to silence her he then plunged his knife into her chest over and over causing it to break before
00:58:40
finally cutting her throat i am not sick he told himself i am insane cleophas martin was used to rising early
00:58:57
for work he was employed by riverside city college as a groundskeeper and it wasn't
00:59:03
unusual for him to begin his shift at the crack of dawn when cleophas arrived at the college in
00:59:09
the early hours of monday october 31 the area was deserted by around 6 30 he was driving his street
00:59:18
sweeper along terracena drive on the north side of the campus library cleophas approached the alley that led
00:59:27
to the student parking area it ran between two large vacant houses owned by the college
00:59:35
he glanced down the alley and caught sight of something bundled up on the ground towards the rear of their houses
00:59:43
it was a young woman lying face down in the dirt beneath her torso was a pool of blood
00:59:53
police arrived at the scene and examined the woman she was fully dressed in red capri pants
01:00:00
a yellow blouse and white sandals dry leaves were tangled in her disheveled dark blonde hair
01:00:08
her body had been stabbed with a small knife upwards of 42 times with lacerations found on her face hands arms
01:00:17
chest and back the most violent wound was to her neck which had been so viciously cut that she
01:00:24
was almost decapitated there was no sign of sexual assault pressed beneath her was a straw tote bag
01:00:35
papers inside featured the name sherry joe bates scuff marks in the gravel indicated that
01:00:45
sherry joe had tried to flee while foreign skin scrapings underneath her fingernails proved she had put up a
01:00:51
fight there were also four blood-soaked cindy brown hairs stuck to her right thumb
01:00:59
forensic testing limitations meant that only one key feature about the hairs could be ascertained
01:01:06
they had come from a white male one student reported seeing a man standing in the shadows of the alley
01:01:15
where sherry joe's body was later found he was smoking a cigarette and staring fixedly at a lime green volkswagen
01:01:23
parked nearby the student had managed to take in some of his features estimating his age to be
01:01:31
19 or 20 and his height about 5 foot 11. she'd exchanged a brief greeting with him before continuing on her way
01:01:42
sherry joe's unlocked volkswagen was found on nearby teresina drive with the keys still in the ignition
01:01:51
her pocketbook and textbooks remained on the passenger seat examination of the car's engine revealed
01:01:58
it had been tampered with which prevented it from starting several foreign finger and palm prints
01:02:05
were lifted from the driver's side front door but the fingerprints weren't substantial enough to be analyzed
01:02:13
the three partial palm prints were in better condition but weren't a match to anyone on file
01:02:21
investigators believed that sherry joe remained in a library until it closed at around 9 00 pm
01:02:28
and was then lured from her car to the alleyway 100 yards away as she was afraid of the dark and
01:02:36
prioritized safety some suspected sherry joe must have known her killer to have willingly gone
01:02:42
with him but the fact she'd left her precious car unlocked with the window down and the
01:02:49
keys in the ignition implied she might have been forced to leave under duress resting on the ground ten feet from
01:03:00
sherry joe's body was a man's timex brand wristwatch with a white stainless steel face
01:03:07
one of the fasteners had been torn off leading detectives to speculate that sherry joe might have ripped the watch
01:03:14
from her assailant during the attack small flecks of white paint dotted its wristband
01:03:22
as the college was undergoing renovations at the time some theorized that the watch could have belonged to
01:03:29
someone connected to the campus timex watches were commonplace and there was no serial number on this one to
01:03:38
trace its origin the same model was sold at retail stores on u.s military bases both throughout
01:03:45
the country and overseas some connected the paint and military link to johnny swindle who had been
01:03:53
gunned down with his wife joyce two years prior johnny a naval man who had taken up
01:04:00
painting to make ends meet was robbed as he lay dying if the watch was indeed johnny's this
01:04:08
implied that sherry joe was a victim of the same killer the swindle's unknown quote psychopathic
01:04:17
thrill killer was also thought to be responsible for the shooting murders of robert dominguez and linda redwoods
01:04:25
while there were notable differences across each case the similarities were striking enough to make some speculate
01:04:33
that a serial killer was targeting southern california's youth sherry joe's murder stood out for
01:04:40
seeming so wildly distinct but a deeper examination of the case uncovered hints of the familiar pattern
01:04:49
a young victim a knife a city with a water-based name lack of a motive or suspects and the
01:04:57
randomness of the attack [Music] the watch wasn't the only military link uncovered at the bates crime scene
01:05:09
pressed into the soil near sherry joe's body was the hill print of a man's shoe size eight to ten
01:05:17
it had a distinctive waffle design unique to a type of shoe sold only to federal prisons and the military
01:05:25
the march air reserve base was only 15 miles southeast of riverside and 154 servicemen stationed there attended
01:05:34
classes at rcc all of these men were questioned in relation to the murder none were charged
01:05:45
while detectives fronting the investigation considered the possibility that sherry joe's killer was a current
01:05:51
or former serviceman they couldn't rule out that the watch and shoes were red herrings
01:05:58
the killer might have intentionally staged this evidence to throw them off or perhaps the shoe print and watch were
01:06:05
already in the alley long before the murder making them entirely unrelated the same could be said about a cigarette
01:06:14
butt found near sherry joe's body as night fell on november 13 1966 the rcc library and its surroundings
01:06:26
were a buzz it had been two weeks since cherry jo bates was murdered and the investigation
01:06:33
had stalled in an effort to generate leads police had organized a full reenactment of the
01:06:40
events leading up to the attack 65 people who were known to have been at the library that evening agreed to
01:06:48
participate the males among them also provided hair and fingerprint samples to be tested
01:06:55
against those recovered from the crime scene none were a match participants parked their cars in the
01:07:04
same spots they had used two weeks earlier notably some vehicles were missing these
01:07:12
included a bronze-coloured 1965-1966 oldsmobile that was seen following sherry joe's volkswagen when
01:07:22
she drove towards the library a 1947-1952 studebaker that had parked south of teresina avenue an hour after cherie joe
01:07:33
arrived and a 1948 tucker torpedo that parked directly behind sherry joe's volkswagen
01:07:41
[Music] an older model vehicle was also heard starting up and driving away from the
01:07:47
crime scene at the time of the attack as some of these vehicles had similar design
01:07:54
characteristics police considered the possibility that they were all one car mistaken as several
01:08:03
at six pm the library doors opened staff and students gathered inside as they had two weeks prior
01:08:13
each person was dressed in the same clothing they'd been wearing on the night and everyone sat in the same seats
01:08:21
this time the mood inside the cramped annex was somber and suspicious there were few recollections of sherry
01:08:29
joe who appeared to have come and gone mostly unnoticed but soon those present realized that one
01:08:38
particular individual was missing there had been a heavyset man with a beard in the library on october 30.
01:08:48
he hadn't shown up for the reenactment [Music] on november 29 one month after sherry
01:08:57
joe's murder an employee of the riverside city police department arrived at the local post office
01:09:05
tasked with picking up the station's mail they opened the police collection box and found an envelope inside
01:09:13
it was addressed to the homicide squad using thick handwritten block letters there was no stamp
01:09:22
upon opening the envelope the employee found a white sheet of paper approximately eight inches wide with the
01:09:29
top and bottom portions torn off typed using a typewriter the letter was written in capital letters and riddled
01:09:38
with spelling and grammar errors an identical letter was also sent to the office of the riverside daily enterprise
01:09:47
addressed to the newspaper's crime reporters it was titled a confession followed by the word by and a long blank
01:09:56
space the letter began she was young and beautiful but now she is battered and dead
01:10:07
she is not the first and she will not be the last i lay awake nights thinking about my
01:10:14
next victim maybe she will be the beautiful blonde that babysits near the little store and
01:10:21
walks down the dark alley each evening about seven or maybe she will be the shapely
01:10:28
blue-eyed brunette that said no when i asked her for a date in high school but maybe it will not be either
01:10:37
but i shall cut off her female parts and deposit them for the whole city to see so don't make it easy for me
01:10:46
keep your sisters daughters and wives off the streets and alleys [Music] the author then claimed responsibility
01:10:55
for the murder of sherry joe bates going into detail about how he had lured the 18 year old to her death after disabling
01:11:03
her car and offering her a lift miss bates was stupid he had written she went to the slaughter like a lamb
01:11:13
[Music] he described the murder his thought process and the dialogue between him and
01:11:20
sherry joe step by step including how he had told her that it was time for her to die
01:11:27
claiming that he'd had a ball he also offered a possible motive quote only one thing was on my mind
01:11:37
making her pay for the brush-offs she had given me during the years prior he concluded the letter with the
01:11:45
following threat i am not sick i am insane but that will not stop the game this letter should be published for all
01:11:56
to read it it just might save that girl in the alley but that's up to you it will be on your conscience
01:12:06
not mine yes i did make that call to you also it was just a warning beware i am stalking your girls now
01:12:22
while investigators couldn't rule out the possibility that the letter was a hoax the author's accurate description
01:12:28
of undisclosed details led them to believe it was genuine his claim that sherry joe rejected him
01:12:36
indicated the pair had known each other yet all of those closest to sherry joe had been ruled out including her
01:12:44
boyfriend who was 400 miles away in san francisco when she was killed the author calling himself insane was
01:12:54
considered another clue there was a mental health facility located on the same road as riverside
01:13:00
city college and one patient had claimed to have committed the killing during the
01:13:05
initial investigation however he was prone to delusions and his confession wasn't credible
01:13:15
investigators wondered whether the phrase it's about time referred to the timex watch recovered from the crime
01:13:22
scene the mention of a phone call was more ambiguous as no one recalled any suspicious calls recently received by
01:13:31
the police department or newspaper it was possible a call had come through and been dismissed as a crank then
01:13:40
quickly forgotten in any case the reference suggested the author was prone to phoning the
01:13:47
authorities and the media to discuss his crimes this behavior coupled with the author's
01:13:55
request that his letter be published for all to read revealed that he wasn't confessing out
01:14:01
of a desire to clear his conscience he sought notoriety [Music] on the night of wednesday december 7
01:14:16
just over a month after sherry joe bates's murder 19 year old linda gillinger sat frozen
01:14:22
in fear she had just gotten behind the wheel of her car when she was startled by a
01:14:29
stranger's voice a young man had broken into her vehicle and hidden in the back seat awaiting her
01:14:36
arrival linda didn't recognize him he looked to be college-aged with short brown hair and a medium build
01:14:47
he ordered her to drive him to san diego just under a two-hour drive from riverside
01:14:55
linda couldn't refuse the man was pointing a gun at her once they'd reached the destination
01:15:04
linda's captain tried to kiss her she forced him away with a swift slap to the face
01:15:11
he slapped her back then barked at her to get out of the car locking the vehicle before throwing away
01:15:19
the keys he turned to linda and remarked now you have as good a chance as i do linda ran away as fast and as far as she
01:15:31
could it was around 2 am when she finally reached the san diego police department
01:15:38
to report her ordeal word of the hijacking reached detectives investigating sherry joe bates's murder
01:15:47
they found themselves pondering whether linda gillinger had crossed paths with the coed's killer and inadvertently
01:15:55
facilitated his escape that same month a janitor entered the riverside city college library storage
01:16:04
room and began stacking some plywood desks as they went to lift one they noticed
01:16:11
someone had scrawled what appeared to be a palm on its underside measuring just under five and a half
01:16:18
inches in length it had been scratched into the desk in neat vertical rows then gone over with a blue ballpoint pen
01:16:28
at the top was written sick of living unwilling to die the rest read cut clean if red
01:16:41
clean blood spurting dripping spilling all over her new dress oh well it was red anyway
01:16:52
life draining into an uncertain death she won't die this time someone will find her
01:17:01
just wait till next time troubled by the message the janitor notified the police and the desk was
01:17:10
taken into evidence while it couldn't be determined when the poem was written or what it was in
01:17:17
reference to speculation arose that it was written by sherry jo bates's killer written in lower case at the end of the
01:17:27
poem were the letters r h these were given many different interpretations some believed the letters indicated the
01:17:36
initials of the rcc president r.h bradshaw while others thought they could stand
01:17:43
for riverside halloween the date sherry joe's body was discovered [Music] although police confiscated the surface
01:17:52
of the desk they weren't convinced it was relevant to the bates case the woman in the palm was described as
01:17:59
wearing a red dress whereas sherry jo was wearing pants and a blouse when she was killed
01:18:07
they were inclined to think the disturbing message was nothing more than a sick hoax
01:18:13
[Music] four months later an envelope arrived at the bates household it was addressed to sherry joe's father
01:18:24
joseph and postmarked april 30. [Music] joseph opened the envelope and pulled out a lined piece of notebook paper
01:18:35
scrawled across it in haphazard writing were the words she had to die there will be more
01:18:42
[Music] that same day near identical notes arrived at the riverside police department and the riverside press
01:18:51
enterprise in these versions the pronoun she was replaced with the name bates whoever wrote the letters hadn't left
01:19:01
anything to identify themselves they simply signed off each note with a squiggle that somewhat resembled the
01:19:09
letter z [Music] to be continued next week [Music] the australian federal police is
01:19:38
australia's national policing agency their work includes counter-terrorism serious organized crime cyber crime
01:19:46
fraud child exploitation and human trafficking within human trafficking it's a tight rope to walk between
01:19:55
prosecuting someone for a human trafficking offence and looking after the victim her nose was bleeding
01:20:00
profusely they couldn't call ambulance our police because they knew what's going to happen the money that she had
01:20:06
made during that week was 82 and a half thousand dollars and that was her worst week in 10 years the case file team has
01:20:13
been given exclusive access to the afp case vault to bring you stories of some of their most challenging operations
01:20:21
narrated by me you'll hear in-depth interviews with afp federal agents and learn how they investigated and
01:20:29
interrupted the most serious of crimes her level of criminality and just the level of smartness that people didn't
01:20:37
actually attribute to her what our job is in cybercrime is to make it we do know about it gain an
01:20:44
insight into how the afp disrupted a major human trafficking syndicate and arrested a sex offender who targeted
01:20:51
children online by the number of victims that he targeted it wasn't just one child or two children it was hundreds of
01:20:58
children the threat was always there always present like a dark cloud hanging over their heads he kind of mocks
01:21:04
one of the boys where he says you think i'll be caught from investigating counter-terrorism and disrupting major
01:21:12
drug importation chains to international kidnappings we take an inside look at some of the
01:21:19
biggest investigations and learn how the afp stayed a step ahead i was led into the house and i was met
01:21:27
with another two guys one with a handmade pistol another one with a machete des sounds as though he's really
01:21:34
in trouble he doesn't stand himself if you give the money they could kill you or if you don't give them money they can
01:21:40
still kill you when you're talking about a 21 year old offender who still lives at home it's a fair shock to your dad
01:21:48
when the police aren't only knocking at your door they're breaking it down crime interrupted is the latest release
01:21:54
from case file presents the first episode is out now with new episodes dropping weekly
01:22:02
listen for free wherever you get your podcasts and be sure to hit the follow button so you don't miss an episode