Robert Domingos and Linda Edwards were discovered in a dilapidated shack 30 feet from the beach in their bathing costumes, with Linda stacked on top of Robert with her one-piece bathing suit cut open and her breasts exposed. If the mindset of the killer at this point was driven by a sexual urge to expose Linda's breasts, what was he thinking about several minutes earlier when he encountered the young girl on the beach in a bathing suit in the company of Robert? Is it really beyond comprehension that he said something inappropriate about Linda, thereby invoking a response from Robert who would understandably be protective of his girlfriend, irrespective of the obvious danger this could entail. Something such as this could easily have led to a confrontation of escalating intensity between Robert and his eventual murderer. Robert may have got the better of this person physically after blows were exchanged, but decided it probably best that he and Linda, having had their day ruined, depart the beach and head back to their vehicle parked alongside Highway 101. Bruising on the face and hands of Robert at autopsy has been noted.
Until such time comes that we have definitive proof of pre-cut lengths of rope being retrieved from the crime scene in 1963, all we have is a Santa Barbara newspaper report from November 6th 1963 that states "A rope found at the murder scene had two marlin hitches, an uncommon knot", and a typed report detailing a "3/8 inch rope found with several marlin hitch knots, commonly used by weavers". This could be a random piece of rope left on the beach by anybody in the recent past and unconnected to the crime, or it could have been carried to the location by the Gaviota Beach murderer who became separated from it during the confrontation with Robert Domingos, inadvertently leaving it behind when he departed the crime scene. So it is perfectly feasible that it played no significant part as a restraining tool precedent to the double murder, even though we may wish to apply greater relevance to it. The chain of events described here may be totally wide of the mark, but they were achieved by focusing primarily on this crime, free from the confirmation bias in Zodiac circles, that attempts to forge a union with Lake Berryessa by rewinding back the hands of time from 1969 to 1963 and transplanting elements of one into another. The only clock we need to turn back is from shack to beach, to understand if one action was followed by another over a period of just a few minutes.
Six in depth articles examining the murders of Robert Domingos and Linda Edwards.
The Ballistics. The Shack. The Rope. The Ammo. Pistol or Rifle? The Final Analysis.