CA CA - The Doodler *UNSOLVED*

[Leprikawn]

It is suspected he has other victims out there.

Hmm…I wonder if police ever looked at art students. Theoretically there should be enrollment records at the California College of the Arts dating back to when the Doodler was active. He was described as making drawings for his victims and his age suggests a college student. If he was enrolled at CCA as a student then there should be a few staff members still around who would recognize his composite sketch. I would enquire especially in the departments of comics, illustration and painting and drawing. Hopefully someone remembers his work. Assuming of course he was a student there.

Great idea. Most schools have year books they could probably look back on. Sites like Classmates some times archive them. Sounds like the police know who he is and are just looking for a match on DNA. It's upsetting that the Diplomat and Entertainer still will not testify. Things have changes so much over the decades and this is a killer we are talking about.

 

[GracefulD1an]

Great idea. Most schools have year books they could probably look back on. Sites like Classmates some times archive them. Sounds like the police know who he is and are just looking for a match on DNA. It's upsetting that the Diplomat and Entertainer still will not testify. Things have changes so much over the decades and this is a killer we are talking about.

Based on my knowledge of the case and how genealogy is dealt with in the African American/Caribbean American communities it might be easier to do the college route. I mean from what I heard there are a limited number of people of those communities who do DNA tests as compared to the abundance of European Americans on genealogy databases. Not only that but it wasn’t until 1870 that African and Caribbean Americans were listed in census records as individuals coupled with the practice of breaking up families via the act of slave markets. Then there’s the diversity of genetic profiles in individuals of African ancestry and the chance he was born from a one night stand or something worse alongside the chance he was adopted out meaning finding his family would be complicated. Hence why I suggested college archives.

Sorry if I wrote a long diatribe but I wanted to highlight the problems the investigators are likely running into via reliance on genealogy alone.

 

[moonglow123]

I haven't read about this case in years, I didn't know they had a probable suspect but his surviving victims weren't willing to testify. Completely understandable to not want to face the stress and stigma of testifying, but heartbreaking they couldn't get justice.

 

[GracefulD1an]

Yeah they have had a rough idea for a while now but don’t have concrete evidence to connect the person of interest to the crimes.

 

[M.315]

So I am new to this website. I saw this and I haven't read what you people have said about this case but from what I understand. This killer is a black male. Who kills gay men but sketches them before he kills them? And there was victims who survived but didn't testify. Why didn't they want to testify? Was it due to them being gay in the 1970s? Is that why? I don't actually know so I don't know if is this inappropriate to say. I am not trying to be inappropriate I am just wondering if that is the truth

 

[Leprikawn]

So I am new to this website. I saw this and I haven't read what you people have said about this case but from what I understand. This killer is a black male. Who kills gay men but sketches them before he kills them? And there was victims who survived but didn't testify. Why didn't they want to testify? Was it due to them being gay in the 1970s? Is that why? I don't actually know so I don't know if is this inappropriate to say. I am not trying to be inappropriate I am just wondering if that is the truth

That's would most likely be the reason. They were closeted and it would have ruined their lives.

If they had a suspect then any DNA would be easy to link him to without having to go the route of Familial DNA.

 

[M.315]

Why didn't the police try to make a trap for the killer? Like what if they got an undercover officer to fit the profile of a doodler victim and he just waited around san Francisco in bars (I am assuming that's where the doodler went to search for potential victims) and see if the doodler would sketch them and attempt to kill the undercover cop.

 

[dotr]

February 27, 2026 lengthy article.

A Serial Killer, the 'Doodler,' Is Likely Still At Large | A&E

Victims are still waiting for the Bay Area killer to be apprehended.

www.aetv.com

''The SFPD’s failure to charge anyone in the series of at least six brutal murders may be partly due to the homophobic tenor of the era: Even in liberal San Francisco, gay men lived in fear of violent gangs, police harassment and social ostracism. ''

'Three prominent victims—including a famous entertainer—who survived the suspected killer’s attack have thus far refused to testify because they still fear being outed as gay. They all came to know the suspect by his nickname, “the Doodler,” for his habit of sketching portraits of his victims before attacking them, usually by stabbing them repeatedly with a knife.'

 

[Leprikawn]

In a situation where people have lost their lives, and the suspect is still around and could have many more victims who are now missing, the police could use a very unpopular tactic. They could convene a grand jury and subpoena these people to testify.

 

[GracefulD1an]

Why didn't the police try to make a trap for the killer? Like what if they got an undercover officer to fit the profile of a doodler victim and he just waited around san Francisco in bars (I am assuming that's where the doodler went to search for potential victims) and see if the doodler would sketch them and attempt to kill the undercover cop.

That’s a good question. My best guess is it had to do with the cultural climate at the time. Being gay at the time carried a lot of stigma and the local LGBTQIA+ community would be very reluctant to work with the police out of fear of more arrests coming in turn. It was going on a couple of years after the Stonewall Riots so there were fears of hidden clubs being raided by the police.

 

[GracefulD1an]

In a situation where people have lost their lives, and the suspect is still around and could have many more victims who are now missing, the police could use a very unpopular tactic. They could convene a grand jury and subpoena these people to testify.

And that would backfire on them spectacularly with trust in law enforcement dropping even further. Ideally it would work but it would step on a lot of people’s toes and cause a boatload of awkward situations.

 

[Leprikawn]

But wouldn't solving the murder of gay men be a priority to people over having their toes stepped on? I get what you are saying but the police would likely be looked at as not forgetting these men because they were on the fringe of society in the 70's but still victims. On the other side the argument could be made that by not testifying they allowed whatever this person did after continue, because I don't think he stopped, he just got rid of the bodies and changed his MO.

 

[Leprikawn]

Interesting video

 

[M.315]

I have a question for yous. Do you think the doodler stopped killing? I thought killers stopped killing once they die or get caught. But he seems to have stopped at his own free will. Or he just moved to another state or country and people don't recognise his MO. I don't know much about this stuff so I am curious what yous have to say

 

[GracefulD1an]

I have a question for yous. Do you think the doodler stopped killing? I thought killers stopped killing once they die or get caught. But he seems to have stopped at his own free will. Or he just moved to another state or country and people don't recognise his MO. I don't know much about this stuff so I am curious what yous have to say

Honestly I don’t know. It is suspected he committed murders in other states based on investigations being done but if that’s before or after his spree as the Doodler I have no clue. I know there are a few serial killers who have stopped out of their own free will for years (BTK (I forgot his actual name) being one of the most prominent as well as James Joseph Deangelo as EAR/ONS and possibly Zodiac). Theoretically he could have moved away from California after graduating college and changed tactics. Honestly I think we need to find him first and track his movements.

 

[Leprikawn]

I was watching a video earlier that said the detective that is involved in the case has been looking at cases in Louisiana and other states. apparently the suspect had traveled to a few places after they talked to him in the 70's. They recently talked to him again in 2018.
They also said in the video that a person at highland hospital named the same man and they were sure he had committed the crimes. It seems his Psychiatrist gave the police information saying he had admitted in therapy to the crimes. The new detective was trying to get the notes from Highland Hospital. The suspect told the police that he "used to be a certain way" years ago but changed. He refused to say anything else. The detective said he was now living as an openly gay man. The video was about 45 minutes long but had a lot of information.

 

[moonglow123]

In a situation where people have lost their lives, and the suspect is still around and could have many more victims who are now missing, the police could use a very unpopular tactic. They could convene a grand jury and subpoena these people to testify.

I really wish they'd do this so his poor victims could have justice. There's no reason for him to still be walking around free when they functionally know who he is. So much time has passed now so I don't know how viable it is, but it seems like he may still be alive and he really should face consequences for these murders.

 

[GracefulD1an]

I was watching a video earlier that said the detective that is involved in the case has been looking at cases in Louisiana and other states. apparently the suspect had traveled to a few places after they talked to him in the 70's. They recently talked to him again in 2018.
They also said in the video that a person at highland hospital named the same man and they were sure he had committed the crimes. It seems his Psychiatrist gave the police information saying he had admitted in therapy to the crimes. The new detective was trying to get the notes from Highland Hospital. The suspect told the police that he "used to be a certain way" years ago but changed. He refused to say anything else. The detective said he was now living as an openly gay man. The video was about 45 minutes long but had a lot of information.

Thank you for the clarification. When I read it the statement was ambiguous about when those other crimes were committed so thanks for the information. Gods I really need to ask my dad’s maternal cousin and his husband if they heard of any of this in New York City as they were young during this period although not together (they didn’t get together until the 90s when they were adults and after receiving blessings from their ex-spouses and only got married in 2017).

 

[Leprikawn]

The video is really interesting, maybe the best look at this case that I have seen. The 2 detectives that were looking into it were legends in the department. One of them had written the name down of the Doctor as Piest and I guess in 2018 they realized it was likely Peece, or something like that. The doctor died in the early 2000's and his daughter didn't have any of his notes. They sent a court order to get them and a judge refused to allow it...........because they said there was no imminent danger. Which is amazing. They also said they were waiting on the DNA to give them a profile. Hopefully it is a complete profile and they can arrest him immediately.

 

[Leprikawn]

Thank you for the clarification. When I read it the statement was ambiguous about when those other crimes were committed so thanks for the information. Gods I really need to ask my dad’s maternal cousin and his husband if they heard of any of this in New York City as they were young during this period although not together (they didn’t get together until the 90s when they were adults and after receiving blessings from their ex-spouses and only got married in 2017).

That's a good point with New York. Would not surprise me if he traveled there and did the same thing. Considering that San Francisco is a smaller version of New York he could easily go undetected, whereas in San Francisco it was noticed.