It all started in Southern California in December of 1979 and continued to at least May of 1986. I will refer to the Original Night Stalker as ONS.
In a condo in Goleta California on December 30, 1979, Debra Manning, thirty-five, and Dr. Robert Offerman, forty-four, were found shot to death in bed. Some neighbors thought they’d heard gunfire, but weren’t sure and never reported it. The killer had actually brought along his German shepherd, and after he’d shot couple he’d fed the dog leftover turkey. He then went next door, which was vacant, and stole a bike. The neighbor, who happened to be an FBI Agent, heard the noise and gave chase on foot, but the ONS abandoned the bike and ran off.
On March 13, 1980, another couple was found murdered in their home. Lyman Smith, forty-three, and Charlene Smith, thirty-three, were beaten to death with a fireplace log, and bound with drapery cords on their ankles and wrists. Then, again in 1980, on August 19, newlyweds, Patrice Harrington, twenty-seven, and her husband Keith, twenty-four, were beaten to death in their home in Dana Point.
The following year there was another home attack and this time only the woman was home because her husband was in hospital recuperating from an illness. On February 6, 1981, Manuela Witthuhn, twenty-eight, was murdered in her home in Irvine. Her body showed signs of being tied before being beaten, but no ligature marks or murder weapons were found at the scene. It was believed that the ONS tried to make it look like a botched robbery, as he left her TV in the backyard, and stole a crystal curio and lamp.
Just five months later in Goleta on July 26, 1981, the ONS went to the home of Gregory Sanchez, twenty- seven, and Cheri Domingo, thirty-five, and brought along his German Shepherd again, as shown through trace evidence. Both victims were shot to death and Gregory’s body was found in the closet. Neighbors heard no gunshots even though the houses were close together.
There was a five year break between kills, but potentially not. Ten murders were linked through the dog’s DNA, but it is suspected the ONS killed approximately fifty people.
Janelle Cruz was only eighteen years old, and home alone as her family was in Mexico on vacation. On May 4, 1986 the ONS entered her home and beat her to death with a pipe wrench.
Some Law Enforcement authorities guesstimate that the ONS’s combined total number of victims is around fifty, including his rape victims in Sacramento County and Contra Costa County, and his murder and rape victims in Ventura, Dana Point, and Irvine, California. In the beginning, the ONS was actually called the East Area Rapist and was believed to be responsible for the raping of almost 100 women. He would target females living alone, but escalated his modus operandi and moved on to couples and killing; hence he is called the Original Night Stalker.
It is interesting to note that the East Area Rapist/Original Night Stalker case was the determining factor in the passage of legislation leading to the organization of California's DNA database which authorizes the collection of DNA from all accused and convicted felons in California. California's DNA data retrieval and storage program is considered by experts to be second only to Virginia's in size and effectiveness in solving cold cases. Ironically, while the California DNA database motivated by this case has solved numerous previously unsolved cold cases across the country, the original case remains unsolved.
The Twin Cities Killer
There was a growing concern among the residents of the twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis between 1986 and 1994. Over that span, thirty-four young women in their twenties and thirties were found dismembered, mutilated, and sometimes decapitated. Most of them were prostitutes who, unfortunately, have always been easy prey for serial killers.
The police came up with various scenarios to explain the mounting list of dead young women: there was one or more serial killers plundering these women; there was a serial killer; possibly several murderers who were killing under the guise of the initial serial killer; or an abundance of non-serial killers targeting prostitutes.
There is a PDF file online called “Minnesota Homicides 1985 to 1997,” and nowhere in the twenty-two-page document does it mention the murders or the word “prostitutes.” Cover up?
The I-45 Killer
There is a 50-mile stretch between Houston and Galveston, Texas called the Interstate 45. Over three decades, starting in 1971, thirty-two or more women have been killed or dumped on the side of the road. Through evidence from various crime scenes, differences in patterns, and differences in trace data, it is believed by Special Agent in Charge Don Clark of the Houston office of the FBI, that there may actually be multiple serial killers operating in that area. If that is true, it would be more difficult in catching the UNSUBs.
The authorities believe the interstate to be a dumping site, not the crime scenes where the women were killed. It is an easy place to hide bodies due to the terrain, small country roads, bayous, oak and pine trees, and small towns. The victims usually disappear while out alone. Weeks, sometimes months later, they are found dead in an isolated location somewhere along the interstate. The killer or killers do not leave hints of motive or identification.
The latest victim was discovered in 1999 when a little boy and his dog were out for a walk in some marshy woods. The dog came up with a bone, and then the boy saw a skull. Nearby, the police later found earrings, shreds of clothing, and a belt tied around a tree. Investigators believe the killer used it to bind the young woman while he sexually assaulted her. Police have a suspect, and have been following him very closely, but they have not publicly identified him.
League City Lt. Gary Ratliff said,
Colonial Parkway Killer
