There are several striking features of the Santa Rosa Hitchhiker cases that link them. First is the similarity between the murderer's victims. His named victims were known hitchhikers and/or were hitchhiking when they became victims.Victims being considered in this analysis are:
Maureen Sterling (age 12) and Yvonne Lisa Weber (13)
Kim Wendy Allen (19)
Lori Lee Kursa (13)
Carolyn Nadine Davis (14)
Theresa Diane Walsh (23)
Calistoga Jane Doe (about 19)
Kerry Graham (15) and Francine Trimble(14)
* Jeannette Kamahele (19): not considered due to paucity of information
All of the Santa Rosa Hitchhike victims were Caucasian or Hispanic females; none were African-American or Asian. Eight of his victims were teenage girls. A ninth was 23 years old, but appeared much younger. All nine victims were physically unprepossessing, being typically 5 feet 6 inches tall or shorter, and weighing about 125 pounds or less. None of the victims had been murdered where they were found; the actual murder location(s) are unknown. The victims' bodies were pretty well cleansed of potential clues.
In those cases where cause of death could be determined, it was gratuitously cruel. In three cases, the victim was hogtied in such fashion that they throttled themselves to death when excruciating pain forced them to relax their legs. In another case, the victim was poisoned with strychnine—a viciously painful toxin. In the fifth case known, the victim was flung down an embankment with a broken neck and left to slowly die in the cold. His disposal method of flinging dead or dying girls down embankments indicates he was a physically powerful man. At one disposal site, he slipped over the edge of the bank while throwing a body. This leads me to believe he did not have a partner, based on the following line of reasoning. If one of a pair of murderers had slipped in mid-fling, the victim would have been pitched in a diagonal direction instead of directly downhill. As it was, the victim was found directly downhill from the slip marks. Thus, one assailant.
It becomes readily apparent that the murderer has a mortal grudge against teenage girls. I would surmise that he was pretty roundly rejected in the middle school and high school courting games and did not take it lightly. The cause of his rejection may have been readily apparent, such as a severe case of acne, birthmark, or other facial deformation. Otherwise, or in addition, he just may have seemed too “creepy” for the girls to want to date. At any rate, he developed a deadly rage against adolescent females because of rejection. This rejection may have lasted past his teens, given the common young male tendency to “date down” in age by two to five years.
Working off this thesis, the UNSUB is unlikely to have completed high school. Lack of education thus limits him to blue collar work and blue collar expectations. He is probably single and/or only tangentially involved with a significant other, who will be younger than he and will be subservient to him. If not living with family, he probably lives alone rather than with roommate(s). He may have grown facial hair to obscure his facial deformity. He will live an orderly and well planned life.
Because the Santa Rosa dump sites were so obscure, it seems likely that the perpetrator is very familiar with the Santa Rosa area. He is likely to live locally, as serial murderers tend to operate in environments well-known to them. He may have had a service, maintenance, or delivery job that took him into these lesser traveled roads. Such a job would have supplied him not only with an anonymous commercial vehicle for cover, but may have given him access to a garage or warehouse as a murder site. In addition to a company vehicle, such as a van or truck, he probably owned personal vehicles. If so, that vehicle was probably an older model, due to his finances, but kept in good shape and appearance. Expect it to be a “macho” vehicle, such as a sport pickup, muscle car, or full-size pickup truck.
I also note that two of the victim discoveries were by motorcyclists. These obscure roads used for his body dumps seem to be favorites for motorcycle excursions. Might the killer also be a biker?
The two victims dumped outside Willits were found down a bank in a location consistent with the Santa Rosa victim discoveries. The use of a turnout on a major highway would seem to mark a difference in the killer's modus operandi, until the state of Mendocino County's back roads is considered. “Outsiders” on Mendocino scarce back roads are usually noted, and distrusted, by the locals because of widespread marijuana cultivators watching for LE. (My personal experience doing census work there will verify that.)
The locations where the bodies were found are strikingly consistent. In all but one case, the victims were dumped down an embankment on an isolated road. The ninth victim was found in a creek downstream from such embankments. In all cases, the approach to any turnout used to discard the girls was along a winding road; at night, oncoming vehicle headlights would announce an intruder long before it arrived at the killer's chosen turnout. At any rate, the killer seems to have taken only the time necessary to hurl the dead or dying girls down the bank; there was no posing or other activity detected. He did not discard their clothing or other goods with them.
One peculiarity of the victims' remains was the presence/absence of earrings. Both pairs of victims were found with an earring on site. So was one of the lone victims. LE has previously posited that the earrings were left to signify the femininity of the victims. I have a complementary point of view.
It is a common signature for a serial killer to collect souvenirs from his victims. Instead of concentrating on the found earrings, let's look at the missing ones. In the cases above, comprising five victims, one of a pair of earrings is missing. In another case, the victim was found with wire loops but no earrings. A seventh victim had pierced ears but no earrings were found. An eighth was found with a hole in her right ear that may have held an earring. In only one case, there was no mention of earrings. To me, that points to a killer who collects earrings, and/or possibly other jewelry or feminine personal items, as trophies.
Given that serial killers almost always choose victims of their own race, the UNSUB will be a Caucasian male. He is very much a cunning and organized lust killer, and a sadistic one, as shown by his brutal methods of killing. His removal of his victims' clothing removes a host of clues, as well as humiliating the deceased and showing his contempt for them. He is very much a methodical and organized killer. His only error known at present is the dumping of pairs of victims together; splitting those pairs would have complicated the investigation still further.
The murderer is a control freak, as shown by his elaborate binding of his victims. Serial killers usually have
collections; his stash will skew strongly or entirely toward bondage and discipline. Don't be surprised if there is a Nazi motif in the
collection. The UNSUB will be contemptuous of women in his personal and social life. Expect him to have a background of sexual offenses against minor girls.
As his known offenses began in 1972, the UNSUB will be in his late 60s or older if he is still living. He may be incarcerated, given his high probability of having sexually offended against teenage girls.
Any additions, corrections, or extensions of this offender profile are most welcome. This is strictly an amateur attempt, and could use professional input.
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