Police Release Updates Sketch of Uncaught Serial Killer "The Doodler"

Police Release Updates Sketch of Uncaught Serial Killer "The Doodler"

This is a serial killer I have never heard of before. In the 1970s, a serial killer targeted white gay men in San Francisco. He killed at least 6, although that number could be higher. This is a serial killer I have never heard of before. In the 1970s, a serial killer targeted white gay men in San Francisco.

He killed at least 6, although that number could be higher. Police believe that he hunted for victims at gay bars and diners. One of the surviving victims told police that he had met the man the Truck Stop Diner. The man claimed to be an art student and kept drawing animals on his napkin throughout dinner. The police have received several leads, some more promising than others, but the Doodler has never been caught. Police were able to develop a sketch, and they just released an updated version. At the time of the murders, the Doodler was 19 to 25.

He's an African American man who is about 6 feet tall. Now The story in Full Kevin was 10 when he disappeared off the streets of San Francisco in February 1984. His disappearance represented a turning point in abduction awareness. Before he vanished, missing children were often classified as "runaways" or "off on a lark," but Kevin's disappearance prompted a massive search effort -- including a nationwide distribution of flyers, pictures of the boy on milk cartons and pleas from local politicians. Such responses later became commonplace.

Though police at one point had a suspect in mind, a man seen chatting with Kevin on a doorstep near Oak and Masonic streets where he was last seen, the case remains baffling to police. "This is a case that haunts the San Francisco Police Department and the city of San Francisco," Chief Greg Suhr said in 2013. "We carry it with us every day." Kevin was 10 when he disappeared off the streets of San Francisco in February 1984. His disappearance represented a turning point in abduction awareness. Before he vanished, missing children were often classified as "runaways" or "off on a lark," but Kevin's disappearance prompted a massive search effort -- including a nationwide distribution of flyers, pictures of the boy on milk cartons and pleas from local politicians.

Such responses later became commonplace. Though police at one point had a suspect in mind, a man seen chatting with Kevin on a doorstep near Oak and Masonic streets where he was last seen, the case remains baffling to police. "This is a case that haunts the San Francisco Police Department and the city of San Francisco," Chief Greg Suhr said in 2013. "We carry it with us every day." With DNA providing a major break in the Golden State Killer case, investigators around the country are reviving long-cold cases, hoping modern technology can finally provide justice for victims.

One of those cases is that of The Doodler, a little-known San Francisco killer who murdered at least five gay men in the 1970s. On Wednesday, San Francisco police are set to announce an update in the case: an age-progressed image of what they think the killer would look like today. They also plan to release audio from a call made to police in 1974 reporting a body found on Ocean Beach. Here's what we know about The Doodler, and where the case stands now: Who was "The Doodler"? The Doodler is one of San Francisco's most infamous cold-case murderers — although not for lack of leads.

The Doodler is believed to have killed at least five and up to 14 men in San Francisco between Jan. 1974 and Sept. 1975. He targeted gay men, likely luring them into sexual encounters before stabbing them to death and leaving their bodies on beaches or in parks around the city. Why is the case back in the news now? SFPD investigator Dan Cunningham was recently put in charge of the department's cold case unit, and he's put The Doodler case back on the front-burner. Cunningham told CNN he's sent DNA samples from two crime scenes to the lab and police are working on an updated sketch of their suspect. At the time, Cunningham said they were beginning to "connect the dots." 

Why wasn't The Doodler caught? Police at the time believed they found their man. Multiple victims survived encounters with The Doodler and described the suspect to the police. Among the victims was reportedly a "well-known entertainer" and a diplomat, both men with much to lose if their sexual orientation became public knowledge.

The suspect was cooperative with law enforcement, although he never admitted to any of the crimes. Because testifying in court would mean publicly outing themselves, the surviving victims all kept silent. Without their testimony, the case couldn't go forward. Harvey Milk defended their refusal to testify. "I understand their position," he told the Associated Press in 1977. 

"I respect the pressure society has put on them." Where did his nickname come from? Although the name sounds infantile, the killer's M.O. was chilling. The man prowled bars and restaurants that were popular with gay men, and according to witnesses, he would draw sketches of men before he assaulted and killed them Gerald Cavanaugh, Joseph "Jae" Stevens, Klaus Christmann, Frederick Capin and Harald Gullberg are The Doodler's five confirmed victims. Cavanaugh was found on Jan. 27, 1974 at Ocean Beach. He had been stabbed to death, and investigators found defensive wounds, indicating he fought back against his killer. 

Stevens, who The Chronicle described at the time as a "female impersonator who worked in a North Beach nightclub," was discovered at Spreckels Lake five months later. He'd been stabbed five times. A few weeks later, Christmann, a German tourist, was found dead at Ocean Beach. He'd been slashed across the throat. Unlike Cavanaugh and Stevens, who were single, Christmann was married with children. Capin, a Vietnam War veteran and nurse, was killed in May 1975. His body, too, was discovered on Ocean Beach. Gullberg was the last confirmed victim; his decomposing body was found in Lincoln Park in June 1975.

 The coroner told The Chronicle the body was hidden in a "igloo like cove of brush near the 16th hole of the golf course." Police believe he'd been dead for at least two weeks. Continue reading