
The grouping of 15 casings 20 feet from the ocean appears to suggest that the killer fired 15 continuous shots from a rifle with a tube magazine, before walking toward the couple and reloading as he went. Had he been in possession of a .22 caliber handgun like Lake Herman Road, one might expect the shooter to have ejected 10 casings 20 feet from the ocean at this fixed position, reloading his weapon as he moved northwards and resuming firing as he approached the couple (or when he arrived at the stricken pair). It is unlikely he would have fired 10 shots from a handgun, stood still and reloaded, fired another 5 shots from the same position, and then moved forward. If the location of the casings is accurate, everything points to a killer who used a rifle on June 4th 1963.
This excerpt from Zodiac Killer Facts is typical of the consensus theory behind the Gaviota murders: "No one knows the precise timing and sequence of the events that followed, but, at some point, a man apparently confronted Robert and Linda. He was armed with a .22 caliber weapon, possibly a rifle. Investigators believed that the man produced pre-cut lengths of rope and ordered Linda to tie-up Robert’s hands. After that, the man may have tried to bind Linda’s hands, but, Robert somehow freed himself and fought back long enough for the couple to run away. The man apparently shot both Robert and Linda in the back and they fell to the ground together"..This sequence of events is highly unlikely because it requires us to believe that an assailant pointing a gun at Linda and ordering her to tie up Robert, got close enough to the couple for Robert to tackle the perpetrator. After the struggle with the man, rather than stay in the fight and make sure the man was disarmed before they left, it is theorised that Robert and Linda ran away into 75 feet of open space with a man positioned behind them armed with a rifle (who had already threatened them with it). This man then fired 15 shots at the fleeing couple who both managed to run 75 feet each before they fell, despite the fact it is claimed he fired 20 shots in total and struck the couple 19 or 20 times. This would mean that the killer, a very good marksman, managed to hit Robert and Linda at least 14 times as they ran a combined total of 150 feet away from his position (with Linda struck once in the right leg). Is it a realistic proposition that both would travel this distance before succumbing to their injuries? Betty Lou Jensen managed to run just 28 feet from the rear of the Rambler after being hit 5 times on December 20th 1968 with the same ammunition. There is something about the Gaviota Beach story that just doesn't ring true.
Six in depth articles examining the murders of Robert Domingos and Linda Edwards.
The Ballistics. The Shack. The Rope. The Beach. The Ammo. The Final Analysis.