The following will examine the Lake Herman Road double murder of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen on December 20th 1968 independently, without the future Zodiac connection.
Here are some excerpts from newspapers and magazines indicating David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen may have attended the Hogan High School concert.
#1. Vallejo Times-Herald December 22nd 1968: "They were to have gone to the Hogan High School Christmas music program which lasted until around 10 pm."
#2 Sunday Examiner December 22nd 1968: "Detective Sergeant Leslie Lunblad, the graying, husky officer in charge of the investigation, said there was a distinct possibility the young couple had been trailed to the murder scene from a pre-Christmas concert in Vallejo to the Lake Herman Rd, 10 miles east of here." and "The couple had attended a Christmas concert at Hogan High School in Vallejo where Bettylou was a third-year student."
#3 December 23rd 1968: "The two youths on their first date had apparently "parked" alongside the road following a Christmas concert they were attending."
#4 San Francisco Chronicle December 23rd 1968: "Sergeant Lunblad said the young couple had attended a pre-Christmas concert and then parked on a dirt road off Lake Herman Road, ten miles east of here near Benicia."
One of the first tasks in the investigation was to secure a timeline of the young couple's movements, by tracing people who attended the Hogan High School concert, and ascertain whether David or Betty Lou attended. But despite the above, there are doubts.
#5 Vallejo Times-Herald December 23rd 1968: "Authorities are experiencing some difficulty in tracing the slain pair's whereabouts after 9 pm Friday. At approximately that hour they left the home of a close friend of the Jensen girl, but their immediate destination has not been learned. Lunblad is convinced they did not go to the Lake Herman Road trysting spot much before 11 pm." The close friend was Sharon Henslin, detailed in the police report.
#6 San Francisco Chronicle December 24th 1968: "We're getting to the point where we have times pretty well established as to the couple's movements and now we are trying to match those times with the whereabouts of possible suspects in the case." said Sheriff's Sgt Leslie B Lunblad."
#7 Vallejo News Chronicle December 26th 1968: "If you drove on any portion of Lake Herman Road east of Vallejo last Friday between 9 and 11.30 pm you may be able to help authorities capture the killer who shot to death two teenagers with a .22 caliber automatic rifle."
#8 Sunday Times-Herald March 30th 1969: "Mrs Faraday reminisced "but he hadn't done much dating- for one thing he could use the car only when I didn't need it to go to work." She is employed in the passenger reservations department at Travis Air Force Base. She said that when he did take the car for a date "he was good about observing curfews" (12.30 on Friday nights). "So I didn't think a thing about it that night. I was asleep when the phone rang at 3 am."
#9 Two Magazine excerpts:
[A] "During his many hours of investigation (Les Lunblad), the graying veteran detective sergeant learned the terrible murders on Lake Herman were the tragic end of a first date for the young couple. They had attended a pre-Christmas concert and chorale at Vallejo's Hogan High School, where pretty Betty Lou had been a student. The couple had left the school auditorium at 10.00 pm, bidding goodnight to their school chums."
[B] "At the concert, classmates of Betty Lou noticed the couple sitting side by side in the gymnasium bleachers (retractable seats), holding hands. Nobody remembers seeing them after they left the concert."
Here are some excerpts from newspapers and magazines indicating David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen may have attended the Hogan High School concert.
#1. Vallejo Times-Herald December 22nd 1968: "They were to have gone to the Hogan High School Christmas music program which lasted until around 10 pm."
#2 Sunday Examiner December 22nd 1968: "Detective Sergeant Leslie Lunblad, the graying, husky officer in charge of the investigation, said there was a distinct possibility the young couple had been trailed to the murder scene from a pre-Christmas concert in Vallejo to the Lake Herman Rd, 10 miles east of here." and "The couple had attended a Christmas concert at Hogan High School in Vallejo where Bettylou was a third-year student."
#3 December 23rd 1968: "The two youths on their first date had apparently "parked" alongside the road following a Christmas concert they were attending."
#4 San Francisco Chronicle December 23rd 1968: "Sergeant Lunblad said the young couple had attended a pre-Christmas concert and then parked on a dirt road off Lake Herman Road, ten miles east of here near Benicia."
One of the first tasks in the investigation was to secure a timeline of the young couple's movements, by tracing people who attended the Hogan High School concert, and ascertain whether David or Betty Lou attended. But despite the above, there are doubts.
#5 Vallejo Times-Herald December 23rd 1968: "Authorities are experiencing some difficulty in tracing the slain pair's whereabouts after 9 pm Friday. At approximately that hour they left the home of a close friend of the Jensen girl, but their immediate destination has not been learned. Lunblad is convinced they did not go to the Lake Herman Road trysting spot much before 11 pm." The close friend was Sharon Henslin, detailed in the police report.
#6 San Francisco Chronicle December 24th 1968: "We're getting to the point where we have times pretty well established as to the couple's movements and now we are trying to match those times with the whereabouts of possible suspects in the case." said Sheriff's Sgt Leslie B Lunblad."
#7 Vallejo News Chronicle December 26th 1968: "If you drove on any portion of Lake Herman Road east of Vallejo last Friday between 9 and 11.30 pm you may be able to help authorities capture the killer who shot to death two teenagers with a .22 caliber automatic rifle."
#8 Sunday Times-Herald March 30th 1969: "Mrs Faraday reminisced "but he hadn't done much dating- for one thing he could use the car only when I didn't need it to go to work." She is employed in the passenger reservations department at Travis Air Force Base. She said that when he did take the car for a date "he was good about observing curfews" (12.30 on Friday nights). "So I didn't think a thing about it that night. I was asleep when the phone rang at 3 am."
#9 Two Magazine excerpts:
[A] "During his many hours of investigation (Les Lunblad), the graying veteran detective sergeant learned the terrible murders on Lake Herman were the tragic end of a first date for the young couple. They had attended a pre-Christmas concert and chorale at Vallejo's Hogan High School, where pretty Betty Lou had been a student. The couple had left the school auditorium at 10.00 pm, bidding goodnight to their school chums."
[B] "At the concert, classmates of Betty Lou noticed the couple sitting side by side in the gymnasium bleachers (retractable seats), holding hands. Nobody remembers seeing them after they left the concert."
Here is the police report omitting any visit to Hogan High School, but the shallow timeline to reach the turnout from Hogan High School may work in our favor.
The Helen Axe sighting of David Faraday's Rambler in the turnout at 10.15 pm would just about tally with the couple leaving the concert at 10.00 pm on a 15 minute journey. But this sighting will come under scrutiny.
On page 48 of the police report it states "Betty Lou brought David home to her parents at 8.00 pm on the 20th. There he met her parents and they left with their permission to go to Hogan High School and then to a party afterwards."
On page 53 it states "Mrs Faraday stated she did not know Betty Lou that she and David had only been going together for a short time, she had never met Betty Lou. She stated she did not know of any enemies David may have had. She stated that on Friday night at 7.10 pm David drove his sister Debbie to a meeting of the Rainbow Girls at the Pythian Castle on Sonoma Boulevard, and David came back home at 7.20 pm and left again at 7.30 pm. Responding officer talked to Debbie Faraday, WFJ 16 years, sister of David. She relates the following David told her on the afternoon of Friday 12/20/68 that he was going out to Lake Herman Road that night because a bunch of the kids were going out there that night."
If these statements were true, was there a party planned with a bunch of kids on Lake Herman Road?
On page 34 it states "The story went on to say that David was going to turn in a subject for pushing grass (or marijuana)." This was supposed to have occurred at the Pancake House on Tennessee Street.
The Helen Axe sighting of David Faraday's Rambler in the turnout at 10.15 pm would just about tally with the couple leaving the concert at 10.00 pm on a 15 minute journey. But this sighting will come under scrutiny.
On page 48 of the police report it states "Betty Lou brought David home to her parents at 8.00 pm on the 20th. There he met her parents and they left with their permission to go to Hogan High School and then to a party afterwards."
On page 53 it states "Mrs Faraday stated she did not know Betty Lou that she and David had only been going together for a short time, she had never met Betty Lou. She stated she did not know of any enemies David may have had. She stated that on Friday night at 7.10 pm David drove his sister Debbie to a meeting of the Rainbow Girls at the Pythian Castle on Sonoma Boulevard, and David came back home at 7.20 pm and left again at 7.30 pm. Responding officer talked to Debbie Faraday, WFJ 16 years, sister of David. She relates the following David told her on the afternoon of Friday 12/20/68 that he was going out to Lake Herman Road that night because a bunch of the kids were going out there that night."
If these statements were true, was there a party planned with a bunch of kids on Lake Herman Road?
On page 34 it states "The story went on to say that David was going to turn in a subject for pushing grass (or marijuana)." This was supposed to have occurred at the Pancake House on Tennessee Street.
View distance from the turnout to The Cottage by clicking the image above.
Officers Pierre Bidou and Steve Armenta secured a drugs bust at The Cottage on Lake Herman Road that night. Pierre Bidou stated on the 2007 documentary "During that night we had served a search warrant at what we call The Cottage at Lake Herman which was owned by the city of Benicia, a narcotics search warrant my partner and I, we confiscated about a pound and a half of marijuana, which in the 1960's was a big drugs bust, today it wouldn't get very high on the Richter scale. We had left and were heading back to the police department to put the marijuana into evidence and as we drove by we didn't see or observe anybody in that area, there's a turn there (the crime scene turnout) and your headlights shine right in there as you go by. As I was pulling into the lot at the police department we heard the Benicia Police Department dispatcher put out a call of a possible shooting and victims on Lake Herman Road and described the location. My partner and I turned around at that time and responded to the call." https://youtu.be/HI0jnsbZwys?t=3m5s
According to the Benicia Herald online "Bidou and his partner had served a warrant on a Lake Herman Road cabin Dec 20th 1968 and were on their way to deposit some marijuana in the police department's evidence locker when they were dispatched back to Lake Herman Road." http://beniciaheraldonline.com/citizens-police-academy-signs-of-the-zodiac/
Several eyewitnesses passed the turnout that night and saw the Faraday Rambler. Peggy and Homer Your passed the turnout, heading for the Marshall Ranch at approximately 10.55 pm. They saw the Rambler parked up. It didn't leave the turnout again that night. For Officer Pierre Bidou to have seen no vehicles in the turnout, he must have passed prior to 10.55 pm (assuming he wasn't mistaken). There was however, a vehicle parked in the turnout between 10.15 pm and 10.30 pm. according to Helen Axe's police statement. It was stated in the police report that "Miss Axe reports that she and her boyfriend, a sailor, were driving on Lake Herman Road. They passed the area of the pumping station, she recognized the Rambler and the victims, Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday. Stated that when she went by about 10.15 pm, the car was facing in towards the gate and when she returned about 15 minutes later after having gone to the end of the road and then came back, the car was turned around and the front was facing the field, a little to the side."
This however, may not have been the Rambler, and she may have replaced the vehicle she observed with the Rambler after subsequently reading newspaper reports of the double murder at the Lake Herman Road turnout, effectively jigsawing the two together. This was ably pointed out by Ray Grant in Zodiac Killer Solved. What she likely saw, was the white Chevrolet Impala described by Robert Connelly, Frank Gasser and Bingo Wesner, who all saw an empty 'white 4-door hardtop, 1959 or 1960 Impala' parked in the turnout at about 10.00 pm. This vehicle could have driven away shortly after 10.00 pm and been replaced by the arrival of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen in the Rambler at around 10.15 pm. But the vehicle shifting in position is interesting, coupled with an approximate 10.30 pm sighting of a blue 1963 Chevrolet Impala, with two occupants, at the crossroads of Lake Herman Road and Columbus Parkway by Stan, a 14 year old boy. The Helen Axe sighting and Stan's are only approximations of time, so with the journey from the turnout to Columbus Parkway taking about five minutes, this could be the same vehicle. The white Chevrolet under street lighting may have skewed the color. This again, an insightful observation by Ray Grant.
The empty white Chevrolet Impala was spotted by Robert Connelly, Frank Gasser and Bingo Wesner at 10.00 pm. The two occupants returned at approximately 10.30 pm and started to turn the vehicle to exit the turnout. At this precise moment Helen Axe passed the turnout heading in the direction of Vallejo, and noticed the vehicle had shifted its position. Once Helen Axe had passed the turnout, the white Chevrolet Impala followed behind.
According to the Benicia Herald online "Bidou and his partner had served a warrant on a Lake Herman Road cabin Dec 20th 1968 and were on their way to deposit some marijuana in the police department's evidence locker when they were dispatched back to Lake Herman Road." http://beniciaheraldonline.com/citizens-police-academy-signs-of-the-zodiac/
Several eyewitnesses passed the turnout that night and saw the Faraday Rambler. Peggy and Homer Your passed the turnout, heading for the Marshall Ranch at approximately 10.55 pm. They saw the Rambler parked up. It didn't leave the turnout again that night. For Officer Pierre Bidou to have seen no vehicles in the turnout, he must have passed prior to 10.55 pm (assuming he wasn't mistaken). There was however, a vehicle parked in the turnout between 10.15 pm and 10.30 pm. according to Helen Axe's police statement. It was stated in the police report that "Miss Axe reports that she and her boyfriend, a sailor, were driving on Lake Herman Road. They passed the area of the pumping station, she recognized the Rambler and the victims, Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday. Stated that when she went by about 10.15 pm, the car was facing in towards the gate and when she returned about 15 minutes later after having gone to the end of the road and then came back, the car was turned around and the front was facing the field, a little to the side."
This however, may not have been the Rambler, and she may have replaced the vehicle she observed with the Rambler after subsequently reading newspaper reports of the double murder at the Lake Herman Road turnout, effectively jigsawing the two together. This was ably pointed out by Ray Grant in Zodiac Killer Solved. What she likely saw, was the white Chevrolet Impala described by Robert Connelly, Frank Gasser and Bingo Wesner, who all saw an empty 'white 4-door hardtop, 1959 or 1960 Impala' parked in the turnout at about 10.00 pm. This vehicle could have driven away shortly after 10.00 pm and been replaced by the arrival of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen in the Rambler at around 10.15 pm. But the vehicle shifting in position is interesting, coupled with an approximate 10.30 pm sighting of a blue 1963 Chevrolet Impala, with two occupants, at the crossroads of Lake Herman Road and Columbus Parkway by Stan, a 14 year old boy. The Helen Axe sighting and Stan's are only approximations of time, so with the journey from the turnout to Columbus Parkway taking about five minutes, this could be the same vehicle. The white Chevrolet under street lighting may have skewed the color. This again, an insightful observation by Ray Grant.
The empty white Chevrolet Impala was spotted by Robert Connelly, Frank Gasser and Bingo Wesner at 10.00 pm. The two occupants returned at approximately 10.30 pm and started to turn the vehicle to exit the turnout. At this precise moment Helen Axe passed the turnout heading in the direction of Vallejo, and noticed the vehicle had shifted its position. Once Helen Axe had passed the turnout, the white Chevrolet Impala followed behind.
We don't know exactly when the Chevrolet Impala arrived at the turnout. It was spotted at 10.00 pm. However, William Crow and his girlfriend were parked in the turnout earlier.
The police report stated "he was driving his girlfriend's sports car and he was testing it out and adjusting the motor. He was parked in the open area by the pump station and he observed a blue car, possibly a Valiant coming down the road from Benicia towards Vallejo. They passed his location, stopped in the middle of the road and he saw the white lights of the reverse come on and the car started backing up towards them. Mr Crow put the car in gear and took off at a high rate of speed and the car followed him at a high rate of speed. They did not attempt to gain on him, but when they got to the turn off towards Benicia, William Crow turned towards Benicia and the other car went straight ahead. The subjects were both Caucasians and there is no further identification on the car or the subjects."
William Crow and his girlfriend were estimated to have been on Lake Herman Road between 9.30 pm and 10.00 pm.
William Crow would later claim he never said "blue valiant." In a revised offering he said "I could not see the passenger seat, but the driver was a man with short hair and glasses. I did not see his specific facial features. I never told the sheriff who interviewed me that the car I encountered was a Valiant. As I recall, as I was attempting to describe the car, the sheriff came up with a “Valiant”. In the years that have passed, when I have shared the events of that night, I have described the car as a four-door light-colored Chevy." He couldn't see the passenger seat, so it could have been another man, a woman, or a single occupant.
Was this the four-door white Chevrolet Impala described by Robert Connelly, Frank Gasser and Bingo Wesner. After effectively 'removing' William Crow from the turnout, and assuming this was the same vehicle as observed by the above three eyewitnesses, did it then park in the turnout shortly before 10.00 pm.
The two occupants vacate their Chevrolet Impala just before 10.00 pm and return at 10.30 pm, when spotted turning their vehicle by Helen Axe at 10.30 pm, or thereabouts.
But where would the two occupants have gone for 30-35 minutes on an extremely cold 22 degrees Fahrenheit night? You would think that the occupants were determined in their goal, or desperate. We are therefore looking for an approximate 10-12 minute journey either way, that necessitated them leaving their vehicle in the turnout. The Marshall Ranch was just up the road, but one would assume the occupants of the ranch would have been questioned, not withstanding the fact, that if the occupants of the Chevrolet were visiting the Marshall Ranch at 10.00 pm at night, they would likely have arranged in advance for their ease of entrance to be accommodated. The Cottage, however, is exactly 10 minutes walking distance from the turnout, and the turnout is the nearest accessible parking area to The Cottage. 'The Cottage at Lake Herman which was owned by the city of Benicia,' so it may have been gated or secured that night by either the city, or the occupants of The Cottage, requiring the search warrant for entry by Officers Bidou and Armenta. Which may have been why the occupants of the Chevrolet had to park their vehicle at the closest point. Either that, or they didn't want their vehicle being seen by The Cottage when buying their drugs. After all, police 'confiscated about a pound and a half of marijuana, which in the 1960's was a big drugs bust.'
The police report stated "he was driving his girlfriend's sports car and he was testing it out and adjusting the motor. He was parked in the open area by the pump station and he observed a blue car, possibly a Valiant coming down the road from Benicia towards Vallejo. They passed his location, stopped in the middle of the road and he saw the white lights of the reverse come on and the car started backing up towards them. Mr Crow put the car in gear and took off at a high rate of speed and the car followed him at a high rate of speed. They did not attempt to gain on him, but when they got to the turn off towards Benicia, William Crow turned towards Benicia and the other car went straight ahead. The subjects were both Caucasians and there is no further identification on the car or the subjects."
William Crow and his girlfriend were estimated to have been on Lake Herman Road between 9.30 pm and 10.00 pm.
William Crow would later claim he never said "blue valiant." In a revised offering he said "I could not see the passenger seat, but the driver was a man with short hair and glasses. I did not see his specific facial features. I never told the sheriff who interviewed me that the car I encountered was a Valiant. As I recall, as I was attempting to describe the car, the sheriff came up with a “Valiant”. In the years that have passed, when I have shared the events of that night, I have described the car as a four-door light-colored Chevy." He couldn't see the passenger seat, so it could have been another man, a woman, or a single occupant.
Was this the four-door white Chevrolet Impala described by Robert Connelly, Frank Gasser and Bingo Wesner. After effectively 'removing' William Crow from the turnout, and assuming this was the same vehicle as observed by the above three eyewitnesses, did it then park in the turnout shortly before 10.00 pm.
The two occupants vacate their Chevrolet Impala just before 10.00 pm and return at 10.30 pm, when spotted turning their vehicle by Helen Axe at 10.30 pm, or thereabouts.
But where would the two occupants have gone for 30-35 minutes on an extremely cold 22 degrees Fahrenheit night? You would think that the occupants were determined in their goal, or desperate. We are therefore looking for an approximate 10-12 minute journey either way, that necessitated them leaving their vehicle in the turnout. The Marshall Ranch was just up the road, but one would assume the occupants of the ranch would have been questioned, not withstanding the fact, that if the occupants of the Chevrolet were visiting the Marshall Ranch at 10.00 pm at night, they would likely have arranged in advance for their ease of entrance to be accommodated. The Cottage, however, is exactly 10 minutes walking distance from the turnout, and the turnout is the nearest accessible parking area to The Cottage. 'The Cottage at Lake Herman which was owned by the city of Benicia,' so it may have been gated or secured that night by either the city, or the occupants of The Cottage, requiring the search warrant for entry by Officers Bidou and Armenta. Which may have been why the occupants of the Chevrolet had to park their vehicle at the closest point. Either that, or they didn't want their vehicle being seen by The Cottage when buying their drugs. After all, police 'confiscated about a pound and a half of marijuana, which in the 1960's was a big drugs bust.'
Click for Google maps Russell Butterbach of the Solano County Sheriff's Department and his partner Wayne Waterman were just heading onto Lake Herman Road, when they received a call from the sergeant to go to the Hells Angels pad on Warren Avenue, Vallejo. After approximately 30 minutes they then received a double 187 on Lake Herman Road.
Were the drugs at The Cottage connected in any way to Warren Avenue.
The two occupants left their Chevrolet in the turnout slightly before 10.00 pm, walked the 10 minutes to The Cottage and bought their drugs. They spent 5-10 minutes at The Cottage, before the 10 minute journey back to their vehicle around 10.25-10.30 pm. But what if they had a conversation with an undetermined number of people at The Cottage, stating they were parked down the road in the turnout and were heading back? They left the 'drugs party' at approximately 10.15 pm, and shortly thereafter, the police rolled up to The Cottage securing 'about a pound and a half of marijuana.' The two dealers are hauled off to Benicia Police Department by Officers Pierre Bidou and Steve Armenta, leaving a scattered crowd. The two officers pass the turnout heading back to Benicia sometime around 10.45 pm.
"We had left and were heading back to the police department to put the marijuana into evidence and as we drove by we didn't see or observe anybody in that area, there's a turn there (the crime scene turnout) and your headlights shine right in there as you go by." The Chevrolet has now gone, but...
David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen pull into the turnout shortly after, and within 25 minutes both are dead.
The crime was eventually attributed to a 'crazed maniac' serial killer, who belatedly owned up to the double murder nearly seven months later. The person may have been 'crazed' that night, but was it because they had been party to a 'big drugs bust', and were looking for revenge. They recalled the two occupants heading back to the turnout just minutes before the police arrived. Did they eventually head to the pitch-black turnout, seeing two occupants parked up, before committing the brutal double murder of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen in error, that ultimately initiated the birth, of who we now know as the Zodiac Killer.
Were the drugs at The Cottage connected in any way to Warren Avenue.
The two occupants left their Chevrolet in the turnout slightly before 10.00 pm, walked the 10 minutes to The Cottage and bought their drugs. They spent 5-10 minutes at The Cottage, before the 10 minute journey back to their vehicle around 10.25-10.30 pm. But what if they had a conversation with an undetermined number of people at The Cottage, stating they were parked down the road in the turnout and were heading back? They left the 'drugs party' at approximately 10.15 pm, and shortly thereafter, the police rolled up to The Cottage securing 'about a pound and a half of marijuana.' The two dealers are hauled off to Benicia Police Department by Officers Pierre Bidou and Steve Armenta, leaving a scattered crowd. The two officers pass the turnout heading back to Benicia sometime around 10.45 pm.
"We had left and were heading back to the police department to put the marijuana into evidence and as we drove by we didn't see or observe anybody in that area, there's a turn there (the crime scene turnout) and your headlights shine right in there as you go by." The Chevrolet has now gone, but...
David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen pull into the turnout shortly after, and within 25 minutes both are dead.
The crime was eventually attributed to a 'crazed maniac' serial killer, who belatedly owned up to the double murder nearly seven months later. The person may have been 'crazed' that night, but was it because they had been party to a 'big drugs bust', and were looking for revenge. They recalled the two occupants heading back to the turnout just minutes before the police arrived. Did they eventually head to the pitch-black turnout, seeing two occupants parked up, before committing the brutal double murder of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen in error, that ultimately initiated the birth, of who we now know as the Zodiac Killer.
