Young, Queer, and Dead: A Biography of San Francisco's Most Overlooked Serial Killer, The Doodler: Cold Case Crime, #6

By Reagan Martin

The Zodiac Killer may have been San Francisco's most notorious serial killer, but another equally cruel killer was also stalking the streets at the same time, and, just like the Zodiac Killer, has never been arrested for his crimes. The difference is, while the Zodiac Killer's murder spree was heavily publicized, this other killer, nicknamed The Doodler, went unreported by the media and is nearly unknown today.

How did this ruthless killer become almost forgotten? Because he didn't target helpless women or children--he targeted gays--and in the 70s many people believed they had it coming; if they would just stop being gay, then all would be well.

In this gripping short book, you will go on the trail for one of the most brutal killers who ever lived. Read about why his victims were disregarded by a homophobic press, and how he was positively identified by three escaped victims...only to walk away free without being arrested.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Absolute Crime
• Release date: Feb 19, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393468158

Book preview

About Absolute Crime

Absolute Crime publishes only the best true crime literature. Our focus is on the crimes that you've probably never heard of, but you are fascinated to read more about. With each engaging and gripping story, we try to let readers relive moments in history that some people have tried to forget. 

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Prologue

San Francisco, California, the city by the bay. It conjures up images of The Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf. It’s a city rich in history and culture, with top rated museums, cable cars, trendy shops and boutiques and the famed Chinatown District.

The city was nearly devastated in 1908 by the great San Francisco earthquake, which toppled buildings and ruptured gas lines, igniting hundreds of fires that burned out of control. With water mains destroyed, the fires burned for days, leaving the city in ruins. But San Franciscans quickly rebuilt, and the city has become one of the top tourist destinations in the world.

But San Francisco, like all major cities, also has history that tourists aren’t readily aware of. Dark and evil predators have called The Bay Area home, and used it to commit some of the most heinous crimes in history.

In 1895 Theo Durrant, a young, good-looking medical student, brutally raped and murdered two young girls, hiding their butchered bodies in The Emmanuel Baptist Church. Quickly tried and convicted of both murders, Theo Durrant was hung at San Quentin Prison on January 7, 1898.

In September of 1921, film star Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle was falsely accused of savagely raping and subsequently causing the death of aspiring actress Virginia Rappe in a downtown San Francisco hotel. Arbuckle was never convicted of this crime, but the scandal was enough to ruin his career for good.

The Durrant and Arbuckle cases were considered ‘crimes of the century’, and kept San Franciscans glued to their newspapers and eager for more. But by the time the mid-twentieth century rolled around, the city was dealing with a different breed of killer, the likes of which it had never seen before. So bizarre and unusual was this new type of criminal that law enforcement officers would coin a new phrase specifically to identify them; serial killers.

San Francisco’s introduction to serial killers began in the 1960’s with The Zodiac Killer, a phantom psychopath who murdered brutally, and indiscriminately, and left the city in a near state of panic. The Zodiac shot, stabbed, and maimed his victims, all the while taunting the police with bizarre letters and highly intricate cryptograms. And he has never been caught.

By the time the 1970’s arrived, and while The Zodiac was still causing mayhem, San Francisco found itself dealing with another series of crimes attributed to this new breed of serial killer.

The Zebra Killings, a series of grotesque acts of violence, terrified the city and