CA CA - Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Murders, 7 girls/young women, 1972-1973

[Benoit Bawles]

I've read conflicting reports on almost every single crime linked to SRHM and was wondering if anyone has sources for the claim that a specific 'hog-tie' form of restraint was responsible for the 'slow strangulation' as COD for I believe two or possibly three victims linked to SRHM. I am of the personal belief that probably there were at least two different killers operating in the same area, as the younger victims are a pretty different MO than the older ones, aside from being found 'thrown' over embankments in many cases. Since the area is essentially made up of steep grades and mountainous terrain I'm not sure I consider that to be enough of a linking factor, nor do I consider hitchhikers as victims to be enough to link them. Though I do not believe it was him due to timing, location, etc. Ed Kemper is a pretty close match in terms of MO, and if you believe the theory that there must have been at least two unsubs because the victims were 'thrown too far' his size would surely allow him to do exactly that with such small women and children.

So the actual question I have is- can anyone confirm that there was a specific restraint used? I've found some reports from LE that say one victim was found with a rope binding her ankles to her neck, and another claim that a partially skeletonized victim was found in a similar position but no way to back this up. I think it would make Fred Manalli, a large man himself, a very logical suspect in most ways. Thanks in advance if anyone can clarify.

I'm glad you brought that up. According to this article: The Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Murders (Part Two) — Unresolved about 3/4 of the way down the page, Walsh and Allen were both found with the distinctive hogtie with the ligature around their neck. So both could be Manalli as he had circumstantial linkages with Allen. And the location where Walsh was found might link him with the activities on Franz Valley road. Interesting the series stopped after Anderson caught heat with the law, Manalli died in a car wreck, and Moak moved back down to southern California. Although Grey George mentiones a body found in Topanga Canyon he believes has some of the signatures of the SHRM series. I'd love to see George write a follow on to Lost Coast Highway focusing more on this series.

Edit: Ojai, Somis and Ventura aren't too far from Topanga Canyon. Maybe 20 miles.

 

[Benoit Bawles]

Too late to edit but Camarillo is also very close to Topanga canyon. Somebody may have had four addresses clustered tight around that dump site.

 

[Benoit Bawles]

Just reread the link above and realized Theresa Walsh was last seen at Zuma Beach planning on hitching a ride north to Garberville. Zuma is not at all far from Moaks numerous addresses around the Topanga Canyon area. Maybe he was heading north, to the family home at Kenwood, or to visit his nearby buddy Rich and picked her up along the way. And she was later found with the Manalli hogtie. I'm starting to wonder if Fred legitimately had a car accident or intentionally swerved into traffic fearing an arrest was imminent after Anderson took his own life.

 

[dotr]

''Victims in the Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Murders case include, from top left, Kim Allen, 19; Lori Kursa, 13; Maureen Sterling, 12; Yvonne Weber, 13; Carolyn Davis, 14; Theresa Walsh, 23, and an unidentified 19-year-old female with auburn hair. Another possible victim, Jeannette Kamehele, 20, bottom right, was last seen entering a vehicle at a Highway 101 on-ramp in Cotati, but her remains never were found. (File)''

February 17, 2022
Sheriff’s officials check for link between recent cold case and infamous Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Murders (pressdemocrat.com)
''A break in a 25-year-old cold case may also lead to a solution in the infamous Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Murders case from the 1970s, The Press Democrat has learned.

Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Juan Valencia confirmed Thursday that investigators are looking into whether Jack Alexander Bokin can be linked to the murders of at least seven young women and girls in Sonoma County between 1972 and 1979.''

Jack Bokin of San Francisco has been identified by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office as a suspect in the 1996 murder of Michelle Marie Veal, whose body was found on the side of a road near Rohnert Park. Bokin died in December at a California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation medical facility. (Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office / Facebook)
Earlier this week, authorities said DNA evidence had positively identified Bokin as the man who raped and killed Michelle Marie Veal of Union City in 1996 and dumped her body near Rohnert Park.

Bokin, who had a long history of violent sexual assaults, had been in police custody since October 1997, when he was arrested in another case that was investigated by police in San Francisco.''

'
'Some of the cases Bokin was associated with bear striking similarities to the Sonoma County cases. In addition, Bokin’s parents owned a home near Santa Rosa at the time of the 1970s murders.

“We’re definitely looking at him for those cases,” Valencia told The Press Democrat.

From early 1972 to mid-1979, the bodies of seven girls and young women were found in rural Santa Rosa, buried or dumped along steep embankments or in creek beds. All were found nude. Some had been raped, strangled or hogtied.''

 

[dotr]

EXCLUSIVE: Sonoma County investigators explain how they tied Jack Bokin to Michelle Veal's murder using DNA - ABC7 San Francisco (abc7news.com)
Feb 22 2022 rbbm.
''Veal's case had gone cold. But Detective Anaya, who joined Violent Crimes Investigations last year started poking around the department's cold cases, grabbed a box marked Michelle Veal, and revisited the remaining evidence in the case. There was one sample of scraping from Veal's hand that might contain DNA due to the way she fought her killer. It was the last piece of evidence, and a chance the team had to take.

Det. Anaya says, "By the courage of Michelle, she gave us clues and helped us tell her story... it's coming up on 25-26 years, now is the time we try to tell the story and solve this case."

Who was Bokin? Bokin was a San Francisco father of three who was caught after the rape and brutal attempted murder of a 19-year-old single mother. Bokin was sentenced to 231 years to life in prison.

Kahng says those who knew Bokin described him as particularly dangerous because he was vicious and smart, a graduate of the high-achieving Lowell High School who aspired to be an astrophysicist.

"Jack Bokin was not just a San Francisco serial rapist. He held these women in the basement of homes while his family was at home, and was striking these women on the back of the head with a hammer," said Kahng.

Det. Barr says this breakthrough in Veal's case could potentially lead to solving of other cold cases believed to be part of the "Hitchhiker Killings."

"Based on Adrian's investigation, and now kind of going back on Bokin's history now that he's coming up. He was in the proximity of Sonoma County during those times, so he's someone we will look at and investigate," said Det. Barr.''

 

[Richard]

A potential suspect in at least some of these murders:



Fred Manalli, killed in 1976 in a car accident has been considered as possibly being the killer, but no investigation was officially done by the authorities.

... He was an army veteran and he worked as a creative writing instructor at Santa Rosa Junior College and San Quentin Prison. He was killed in a head on collision when his van veered into oncoming traffic on Highway 12 west of Santa Rosa in August 1976. He was 41 years old...

Sources say that after the accident the sheriff found drawings in the back of the van of women in sadomasochistic positions, listing them according to their sexual preference. One of them was Kim Wendy Allen. who was found dead in 1972. Two other students were also depicted in these drawings...

LINK:

The Hitchhiker Murders

 

[Richard]

Another serial killer who might have committed some of these murders:

Robert Bowman in 1962 and at his capture and arrest.

Robert Bowman lived in Toledo, Ohio where he abducted, raped, tortured and murdered Aileen Marie Adams in December 1967. He later moved to California and then to Florida, where he was eventually tracked down and arrested. Returned to Ohio, he was tried and convicted of Aileen's murder and sentenced to life in prison.

LINK:

OH - OH - Robert Bowman, child murderer 1960's on to 2007

 

[dotr]

May 16 2022 lengthy. rbbm.
by Lisa Music
''old cases grow cold because their stories stop being told. Last year, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office published an interactive map and timeline with over sixty missing and murdered people whose cases remain unsolved. We have taken on the task of writing about each and every one of those cases, to keep their stories alive and hopefully find justice for the victims and families. Remember, as Jean Racine, the French playwright once said, “There are no secrets that time does not reveal.”

We’ve been covering four cold cases in Humboldt County that occurred between September 1974 to June of 1975. The murders could be the work of one killer but remain unsolved. During our investigation of the four murders, we spotted similarities between the unsolved Humboldt County murders and some of the unsolved murders that occurred between 1972 and 1973 in Santa Rosa dubbed the Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Murders. Two of the seven Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Murder victims had ties to Humboldt County. We will be covering their murders as part of this series as well. ''

Carolyn Nadine Davis

''In February 1973, fifteen-year-old Carolyn Nadine Davis, a student at Anderson Union High School in Shasta County, had made the decision to leave her Northern California town and head out for adventures. She left her home that she shared with her family on Tuesday, February 6th around 7 a.m. wearing a brown leather jacket with a fur collar and faded jeans''

''By July 1973, Sonoma County investigators had yet to solve the death of four girls ranging from 12 to 16 years old, as well as the disappearance of Jeanette Kamahele. The last body, that of 13-year-old Lori Lee Kursa, had been found six months prior in December 1972.''

''According to a newspaper clipping written by James E. Reid on the Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Murders website, Sonoma County Sheriff Don Striepeke said that with the discovery of another victim so close to the dumping site of two previous victims, investigators felt like the killer was playing games with them. Morale was low.''

''The victim’s nude body had been found face-down 20 feet down the embankment. No disturbed vegetation around the body told investigators that the girl’s body had been thrown from the roadway before rolling a few feet from where it landed. The heartless way in which investigators believed her body came to be in the ravine off Franz Valley Road, told investigators that either a very large, strong man had heaved the dead girl’s body off the roadside, or he had help.

Having heard of the unidentified murder victim, Carolyn’s sister sent detectives Carolyn’s dental records. Two weeks after her body was discovered, Jane Doe finally had a name – Carolyn Nadine Davis.''

''Shockingly, Carolyn’s cause of death was ruled strychnine poisoning. Although other victims had been drugged, the drugs had not resulted in their deaths. Young Carolyn’s death was likely an agonizing one. Strychnine poisoning is painful resulting in severe muscle spasms before organ failure, often leading victims to suffocate as the lungs are often the first organ to fail. However, this information did not lead investigators any closer to Carolyn’s murderer.''

 

[Daphne1972]

Does anybody have a photo of Donna Maria Braun? Or know what she looked like?

 

[Benoit Bawles]

Found these posted newspaper clippings on a low post volume forum that looks like it hasnt been active for a while:

1956 assault allegation...

Originally posted these in the newspaper thread. Fred was charged and subsequently acquitted. I'm not certain what the grounds for acquittal were, though I wou

zodiackiller.forumotion.com

A 21 year old Fred Manalli arrested for assaulting a young woman while working as a meter reader. The 600 block of S. Greenview where the assault took place isn't far from Mark West Springs road, I think. However the Fred in the article had his home address listed as 1020 Scottswood Road, I couldn't find that address in Santa Rosa, only in Illinois in fact. So I'm not sure if this is "Santa Rosa Fred". (EDIT: the paper is the Rockford Morning Star, in Illinois) If it is, that means Manalli and Moak both had area arrests for some sketchy behavior around young women. Given that Deb Silva has said that detectives believed sex offender Richard Dale Anderson was involved in missing area women and had one or more associates I'd lean to these three as being the Franz Valley group.

I also found this obit for Kim Wendy Allens father:

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/eastbaytimes/name/kimball-allen-obituary?id=20239657

He sounds like an interesting guy. I didn't know he owned the health food store where his daughter had been working. Its sad he died without receiving any closure but we don't know what background information he knew (abought his daughters art teacher for example) or what theories detectives may have shared with him.

 

[kemo]

T

Found these posted newspaper clippings on a low post volume forum that looks like it hasnt been active for a while:

1956 assault allegation...

Originally posted these in the newspaper thread. Fred was charged and subsequently acquitted. I'm not certain what the grounds for acquittal were, though I wou

zodiackiller.forumotion.com

A 21 year old Fred Manalli arrested for assaulting a young woman while working as a meter reader. The 600 block of S. Greenview where the assault took place isn't far from Mark West Springs road, I think. However the Fred in the article had his home address listed as 1020 Scottswood Road, I couldn't find that address in Santa Rosa, only in Illinois in fact. So I'm not sure if this is "Santa Rosa Fred". (EDIT: the paper is the Rockford Morning Star, in Illinois) If it is, that means Manalli and Moak both had area arrests for some sketchy behavior around young women. Given that Deb Silva has said that detectives believed sex offender Richard Dale Anderson was involved in missing area women and had one or more associates I'd lean to these three as being the Franz Valley group.

I also found this obit for Kim Wendy Allens father:

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/eastbaytimes/name/kimball-allen-obituary?id=20239657

He sounds like an interesting guy. I didn't know he owned the health food store where his daughter had been working. Its sad he died without receiving any closure but we don't know what background information he knew (abought his daughters art teacher for example) or what theories detectives may have shared with him.

This is very interesting information. That probably was the suspect Fred Manalli. Right age and city of residence in 1956 (Rockford Ill). This definitely raises his standing as a suspect. The trouble is that there is no direct evidence linking him to any of the attacks. After he died in an auto accident, there was some drawings that depicted “ bondage *advertiser censored*” with a victim that looked an awful lot like Kim Allen. He may have been an instructor of hers at the local community college. There was semen recovered from Kim’s body. Any chance a DNA comparison was done?

 

[Benoit Bawles]

T

This is very interesting information. That probably was the suspect Fred Manalli. Right age and city of residence in 1956 (Rockford Ill). This definitely raises his standing as a suspect. The trouble is that there is no direct evidence linking him to any of the attacks. After he died in an auto accident, there was some drawings that depicted “ bondage *advertiser censored*” with a victim that looked an awful lot like Kim Allen. He may have been an instructor of hers at the local community college. There was semen recovered from Kim’s body. Any chance a DNA comparison was done?

The forum with the article is a treasure trove of clippings about Manalli found and posted by several people. I never knew about Fred's grandmother's arrest, Fred's assault against the girl, I'd heard of his alter ego "Frida". He was certainly an interesting individual whether or not he was involved. IMO, Deb Silva and George seem to have put together most of the puzzle pieces in this case to give credit where credit is due. I reread the end of Lost Coast Highway discussing the Topanga Canyon find and I'm pretty sure George has already made the connection with a certain individual who has moved around Ventura county most of his life. I hope he gets his Paul Holes moment and gets to publicly crack the case at some point.

 

[Benoit Bawles]

Does anybody have a photo of Donna Maria Braun? Or know what she looked like?

I can't get high res images to the point where I can read names but this might be a yearbook from Alisal high school when she was in attendance:

Alisal High School - Trojan Yearbook (Salinas, CA), Class of 1974, Page 85 of 264 | E-Yearbook.com has the largest online yearbook collection of college yearbooks, university yearbooks, high school yearbooks, middle school yearbooks, military yearb

Alisal High School - Trojan Yearbook (Salinas, CA), Class of 1974, Page 85 of 264 | E-Yearbook.com has the largest online yearbook collection of college yearbooks, university yearbooks, high school yearbooks, middle school yearbooks, military yearbooks, and naval cruise books | Yearbook...

www.e-yearbook.com

edit: it's a pay site that requires a subscription for high res.

 

[Daphne1972]

Who are these two persons?

 

[cenazoic]

On the left, Lisa Smith, and right, Rosa Perez, listed as possible victims of SRHM.

 

[Mountain Mama]

Not sure if this has been mentioned before. I find it interesting that Ted Bundy used the moniker Officer Roseland. Roseland is an area of Santa Rosa. His use of Officer Roseland was documented to occur on November 8th, 1974 in Utah when he pretended to be a cop to lure Carol DaRonch into a mall parking lot. Its obviously a made up name. Sick inside joke with himself?

 

[BDHOLLAND]

Does anybody know why Susan Lorie Dye (age 19, killed 1975, Santa Rosa) once listed as a SRHM, isn't anymore?

 

[cenazoic]

As far as I can tell, it was fellow web-sleuther @kemo who first suggested Susan Dye as a potential victim:

Susan Dye was found strangled under an overpass near Cloverdale on 10/16/75. She had been hitchhiking from Humboldt County. It is unclear why both of these cases are not linked to the SRHM.

She hasn’t otherwise come up (officially) as far as I can tell, so it’s not a matter of ‘was once considered, but no longer is” - she never was considered. She’s also not discussed on the srhh site, or in the Lost Coast Highway book.

 

[BDHOLLAND]

As far as I can tell, it was fellow web-sleuther @kemo who first suggested Susan Dye as a potential victim:



She hasn’t otherwise come up (officially) as far as I can tell, so it’s not a matter of ‘was once considered, but no longer is” - she never was considered. She’s also not discussed on the srhh site, or in the Lost Coast Highway book.

Ok thanks. I couldn't find her in the LCH book either.

I found a newspaper entry that suggests the lead investigator in the SRHM said she does not appear to have any connection to those crimes. I wonder why he thought that?

 

[Richard]