Original Night Stalker
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The Original Night Stalker is the nickname for an unidentified serial killer and rapist who murdered six people in Southern California from 1979 through 1986[1]. The crimes attributed to this serial killer are not related to the crimes of Richard Ramirez, who was also dubbed The Night Stalker in the mid-1980s[2]. Six murders in Ventura, Dana Point and Irvine, California, have been linked by DNA evidence to the Original Night Stalker. According to the A&E Cold Case Files episode that profiles the killer, the Original Night Stalker is considered one of the worst serial offenders in California history.
[edit] Victims
On March 13, 1980, Charlene Smith, 33, and Lyman Smith, 43, were found murdered in their home in Ventura. A log from the fireplace was used to bludgeon both the victims. Their wrists and ankles were bound with drapery cord and an unusual Chinese knot was used on their wrists.
On August 19, 1980, Keith Harrington, 24, and Patrice Harrington, 27, were found bludgeoned to death in their home in the Niguel Shores gated community in Dana Point. Although there was evidence that the Harringtons were bound at the wrist and ankles, no ligatures or murder weapon were found at the scene. The Harringtons were married only three months at the time of their deaths. Patrice was a nurse in Irvine, while Keith was a medical student at the University of California, Irvine.
On February 5, 1981, Manuela Witthuhn, 28, was murdered in her home in Irvine. Again, while the body showed signs of being tied before being bludgeoned, no ligatures or murder weapon were found at the scene. While the victim was married, her husband was recuperating from an illness in the hospital, thus she was alone at the time of the attack. A lamp and crystal curio were removed from her house, presumably by the killer. Also, detectives remarked that Mrs. Witthuhn's television was found in the backyard, which was possibly the killer's attempt to make it appear as a botched robbery.
On May 4, 1986, Janelle Lisa Cruz, 18, was found bludgeoned to death in her Irvine home. Her family was on vacation in Mexico at the time of the attack. A pipe wrench was reported missing by Cruz' stepfather and was the probable murder weapon. [3]
An additional four murders in Goleta in 1979 and 1981 are often considered to be the work of the same individual, although there is no DNA link between those crimes and the murders presented above. The perpetrator's modus operandi was to stalk middle-class neighborhoods for victims who lived in single story homes. He sought out women who were alone and couples. He stealthily entered their living space late at night, then took control, probably with a handgun, in a surprise home invasion. All victims were bound with ligatures the criminal brought to the crime scene. Law enforcement theorizes the male victims were killed first by bludgeoning. Female victims were raped before their death by bludgeoning.
In 2001, California law enforcement linked DNA evidence from the Original Night Stalker's crimes to DNA found from three victims of an unidentified serial rapist dubbed the East Area Rapist[4][5] in Northern California. The three linked rapes are not connected to the rest of the crimes considered to have been committed by the East Area Rapist by DNA evidence, but by presumed modus operandi similarities.
[edit] References
- ^ DNA Links '70s 'East Area Rapist' to Serial Killings. San Francisco Chronicle (2001).
- ^ Convict focus of 'night stalker' probe. San Francisco Chronicle (2002).
- ^ http://jjmcgr.googlepages.com/EARBKTL051706.pdf][http://www.ear-ons.com/investigate5.html
- ^ DNA Links '70s 'East Area Rapist' to Serial Killings. San Francisco Chronicle (2001).
- ^ Local Rape Case Unsolved After 3 Decades (2006-11-16).
