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Richard Grinell, Coventry, England
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THE MURDER OF CAROL BETH HILBURN

9/5/2020

 
PictureCarol Beth Hilburn. Photograph courtesy of Rick & Gavin from their website "Solve Crimes". Click image to visit.
Carol Beth Hilburn (22) was last seen at Lloyd Hickey’s Forty Grand Club at 1819 Del Paso Boulevard in Sacramento (where she had previously worked) at approximately 5:00 am on Saturday, November 14th 1970. She was discovered murdered later that day, her near naked body beaten about the face, with a deep cut to her throat. The severity of her injuries were such, that her face was unrecognizable and had to be identified through dental records and fingerprints. Coroner George Nielsen reported that she was not sexually molested, but that seems difficult to believe when a naked and lifeless woman is discovered lying in a field beaten to death. The ferocity of the injuries to her face reminiscent of the destructive blows suffered by Judith Hakari, whose remains were discovered near Weimar on April 25th 1970. 

Carol Beth Hilburn was found lying in weeds, 30 feet south of West Ascot Avenue and West 4th Street near Rio Linda, just 6 miles (14 minutes) north along Rio Linda Boulevard from her last known location. Investigators concluded she had been bludgeoned to death, transported to this location and dragged naked through the field for approximately 30 feet and dumped in some weeds. With only one suede boot on her feet and her panties around one knee, it clearly indicates she was murdered elsewhere and transported to this location. 

Fishermen occasionally use the field where her body was discovered to park their vehicles and fish in the nearby Dry Creek. The nearest point of Dry Creek to the location her body was found is only 398 meters. The time between Carol Beth Hilburn going missing and being discovered, is 10 hours or less, leaving the perpetrator or perpetrators little time to consider where to dispose of her body. Often a murderer will choose somewhere remote and somewhere they are familiar with. Her body lay next to the 265 acre Hansen Ranch Park Site, through which the Dry Creek runs.

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Click the image above to zoom in on the Hansen Ranch Park Site and Dry Creek
Carol Beth Hilburn had previously separated from her husband, Jay Hilburn (24) of Sebastopol, California, in what was described as an amicable separation only three months earlier. As the crow flies, 1819 Del Paso Boulevard is 2.6 miles from the Markston Apartments, where Judith Hakari was also snatched from the street and transported to a second location, while also suffering devastating injuries to her face and neck, as well as her underwear displaced. The noticeable difference between the two cases lies only in the time difference of the two women's discovery. Could Judith Hakari have been killed within hours of her abduction, buried inside of 10 hours, and the three men spotted on Ponderosa Way be unconnected to her abduction and burial? Or were the same three men cruising the nightlife along Del Paso Boulevard on November 14th 1970, emboldened by their "successful" exploits on March 7th 1970.

Add to the equation the murder of Nancy Bennallack on October 25th 1970, and we have three attractive young women murdered or abducted in eight months, within a 3-mile radius of one another. Denise Kathleen Anderson (22), who resided in Sacramento at 925 16th Street, also went missing and was last seen at 5:30 am on April 13th 1971 by her roommate. Her residence was 2.6 miles from the location Carol Beth Hilburn was last seen alive. 
Shawn
9/5/2020 04:19:03 pm

In 2003 Phillip Arthur Thompson was found guilty of the murder of Betty Cloer in 1971. DNA match.

Betty Cloer was listed as potential Zodiac Victim in yellow book.

Some think he is also responsible for Hilburn. Others think Hakari and Nancy too. A minority think he might have been Zodiac.

If I remember Correctly he is a tall big guy. Probably too young to be Z in 1969.

Richard
9/6/2020 01:39:40 am

My guess is the killer/killers responsible for the Bennallack and Hakari murders could very well have been jailed subsequently for other murderous or criminal exploits. As was Thompson when he was linked to the Betty Cloer rape and murder. This guy is a possible candidate for the Hakari and Bennallack murders, but certainly not the Zodiac Killer.

Richard
9/6/2020 01:40:21 am

Have we a photograph of him in 1970/71?

Shawn link
9/6/2020 06:45:59 am

Click my name.....I’m pretty sure this is a picture of him from around the time of the murder.

Richard
9/6/2020 07:15:06 am

Don't see much resemblance to the Hakari/Bennallack sketches Shawn. If his hair was always that sort of length at the time the three "bottle hunters" were observed, along with the man looking for a "Judy" at the Sutter Hospital, I don't see him as a viable suspect in either of those murders. Some of the newspaper articles around 1970/71 from MurderInc could be useful in looking for a pattern in these crimes.

Mo
9/6/2020 05:24:09 pm

Thank you Shawn. I remember reading about Phillip Arthur Thompson a few years ago in the SF Weekly. Apparently he hooked up with two other whack jobs (John Gordon Abbott and Mike Hennessey), who were also likely involved in the murder of Betty Cloer.

I think Hennessey died in a shootout with the police in Canada, while Abbott made a lot of money and was last living comfortably in New Zealand.

This actually ties-in nicely with the three men witnessed in connection with the Hakari murder as referenced by Richard in his previous post.

https://www.sfweekly.com/news/yesterdays-crimes-a-box-of-bones-and-the-disappearance-of-valerie-mcdonald/

https://www.sfweekly.com/news/yesterdays-crimes-working-and-homicide-is-two-different-things/





Richard
9/7/2020 04:17:27 pm

On June 18 -- a Friday -- Betty Cloer left Rob with a roommate and went dancing. She met a guy. It is unknown what happened, but police believe she impulsively agreed to go to Lake Tahoe with the man. At 2 a.m., she stopped by the apartment as Rob slept and picked up a coat. The next afternoon, two young girls on horseback found her body near Placerville, Calif.

The location of Betty Cloer's body in respect to Weimar has convinced me to reconsider this Phillip Arthur Thompson as a possible candidate in the Hakari case Shawn. I'm trying to find the exact location she was discovered, because Placerville has the Gold Bug Park & Mine. While the Placerville District includes some Mother Lode quartz lode mines, it is best known for its highly productive Tertiary channel deposits, the most important being at Coon Hollow, Diamond Springs, Smith's Flat, Texas Hill, and White Rock. Interesting, bearing in mind Hakari being found by an abandoned mine entrance.

Richard
9/7/2020 04:28:49 pm

Now I've read she was discovered in an isolated field approximately 15 to 20 miles west of Placerville?

Richard
9/8/2020 05:35:21 am

For anybody interested, here are the court documents for Betty Cloer.
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-caed-2_11-cv-01318/pdf/USCOURTS-caed-2_11-cv-01318-3.pdf

Richard
9/8/2020 05:37:44 am

Cloer’s body was discovered at approximately 1:00 p.m. the following afternoon in an isolated field approximately 15 to 20 miles west of Placerville. She was lying on her back and was nude except for a bra. Cloer had sustained three gunshot wounds, one each to the head, chest and arm. She had also suffered such crushing blows to the head that she was unrecognizable. Items of her clothing were discovered strewn about the area. There were stains on Cloer’s panties that were still moist. Officers found several .32 caliber shell casings, a .32 caliber bullet, and a set of keys. A later examination revealed a milky fluid inside the victim’s vagina, but the fluid contained no sperm.

Richard
9/8/2020 05:42:54 am

Again, crushing blows to the head and face, like Hilburn and Hakari. This person (or people) although driven by a sexual desire, certainly had an intense hatred for women, so much so, they was driven to erase their identity and beauty by extreme violence to the facial area. This person was certainly a sick monster - and that seems an insult to monsters.

Richard
9/8/2020 05:49:47 am

Placerville is 5 miles across, therefore the 15-20 miles west of Placerville means her body was found in between Clarksville and Folsom.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Placerville,+CA+95667,+USA/@38.6290761,-121.093096,17868m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x809a4f453ba558ed:0xb5032ced3367ea36!8m2!3d38.7296252!4d-120.798546

Richard
9/8/2020 05:56:29 am

That is just 15-17 miles east (as crow flies) from the Markston Apartments. Folsom is only 15 miles from Del Paso Boulevard where Hilburn was last seen.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/W+4th+St+%26+W+Ascot+Ave,+Rio+Linda,+CA+95673,+USA/Del+Paso+Blvd,+Sacramento,+CA,+USA/Dry+Creek+Rd,+Rio+Linda,+CA,+USA/Dry+Creek+Ranch+House,+6852+Dry+Creek+Rd,+Rio+Linda,+CA+95673,+United+States/Linda+Creek,+California,+USA/Folsom,+CA,+USA/Markston+Apartments,+Markston+Road+%2329,+Sacramento,+CA,+USA/@38.619728,-121.3640574,26387m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m44!4m43!1m5!1m1!1s0x809b282052e7cabb:0x1cecf112821543f3!2m2!1d-121.4707628!2d38.6699581!1m5!1m1!1s0x809ad75f42597d1f:0xe6306eab13cc64b0!2m2!1d-121.4442558!2d38.6144474!1m5!1m1!1s0x809ad8193d0cc3c9:0x2d78acd2bebe6bb4!2m2!1d-121.4384061!2d38.6692023!1m5!1m1!1s0x809b27e670d44f49:0x841af86acfde1477!2m2!1d-121.4361508!2d38.6924621!1m5!1m1!1s0x809ae044af8dfe57:0x93022e3c95a40de5!2m2!1d-121.2377453!2d38.7140086!1m5!1m1!1s0x809ae11b89d97a7f:0xd44e4c2e31e1ce2a!2m2!1d-121.1760583!2d38.6779591!1m5!1m1!1s0x809ada313d293c39:0x865cc8461c52ec46!2m2!1d-121.407729!2d38.5974689!3e0

Richard
9/8/2020 06:03:49 am

Hakari, Hilburn and Cloer all had their faces smashed in, and all were deposited in a 37 mile radius with their clothes removed in near full or part, with the obvious sexual angle and transported to the area they were discovered - in relatively extremely remote areas in the case of Hakari and Cloer, a relatively remote in the case of Hilburn. This aforementioned guy could be a viable candidate in all three murders. Good one Shawn.

Richard
9/8/2020 06:19:59 am

Cloer was found 2 exits from Prairie City Road by Folsom.

Richard
9/8/2020 06:24:56 am

On the evening of June 18, 1971, Betty Cloer went to a dance club in Sacramento with her friends Karen Chappell2 and Robin Messner. Chappell was Cloer’s co-worker, and Messner and Cloer lived in the same apartment complex in Sacramento. Cloer’s roommate Elizabeth Ford stayed home alone that evening, and Messner’s younger sister babysat Cloer’s young son at Messner’s apartment. Later that evening Messner left the club with her boyfriend. Chappell and Cloer left the club around 1:00 a.m. on June 19 in Chappell’s car. Chappell stopped at a Texaco gas station on Madison Avenue in order to use the restroom. The restroom was at the back of the station near a vending machine. When Chappell pulled into the station, she saw a vehicle at the back of the station and a young man squatting near the vending machines. The man appeared to Chappell to be young, of medium height and build, with dark hair. The vehicle was a white or off-white four-door with a hard top that appeared to Chappell to be a 1963 Oldsmobile.

Madison Avenue is but 5 miles from the Markston Apartments where Hakari was abducted.

Roger
9/23/2020 09:13:51 pm

Yes, similar MO is highly suggestive of the same killer.

Richard link
9/8/2020 07:15:58 am

Here is a quick crude photograph I altered giving Phillip Arthur Thompson a trim, and comparing it to one of the suspect sketches in the Hakari case. Click my name.
https://www.zodiacciphers.com/uploads/4/9/7/1/4971630/cloer_orig.png

Shawn
9/8/2020 10:45:42 am

Great Info. I looked into Phillip Thompson years ago and he seemed very capable of killing all three. I think someone coined them the "Nightingale Murders". At least the author Quester did.

There was interest by several people a few years ago.

Richard
9/8/2020 10:55:45 am

Do you know where Betty Cloer lived - which apartments - because I'm still looking?

Roger
9/23/2020 09:19:19 pm

Put it this way, if that sketch was a phenotype, I would say it is definitely him.

Shawn link
9/8/2020 02:45:03 pm

I found the name of her roommate and another person living at the apartment complex. I also read that it was in Northern Sacramento.

Good article on Cloer at my name link

"On the evening of June 18, 1971, Betty Cloer went to a dance club in Sacramento with her friends Karen Chappell and Robin Messner. Chappell worked with Cloer, and Messner lived in the same apartment complex as Cloer. Elizabeth Ford, Cloer’s roommate, was alone in their apartment that evening. Messner’s younger sister was looking after Cloer’s son at Messner’s apartment."

Richard link
9/8/2020 03:01:36 pm

Thanks Shawn. That article is just copied from the link I provided above.
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-caed-2_11-cv-01318/pdf/USCOURTS-caed-2_11-cv-01318-3.pdf

Lynda
9/18/2020 03:06:18 pm

I am the birthdaughter of Carol Beth Hilburn.
Thank you all. I would like her murder to be solved in my lifetime.

Richard
9/18/2020 03:20:57 pm

Sorry for the loss of your mother Lynda. If you have any extra information pertaining to Carol or the investigation into her murder, please add any details in comments that may help with her case. It's extremely difficult after 50 years because information is so sparse in the newspapers and the internet. I hope you eventually find the answers you're looking for.

Richard
9/18/2020 03:24:01 pm

Do they have DNA from the suspect Lynda?

Roger
9/23/2020 06:12:28 pm

I never knew that Carol Beth Bradshaw Hilburn had a daughter. The news reports from the time all said she had no children with Wilbur Jay and none of the 7 family trees on Ancestry mention a daughter. I am not saying I doubt you, I am just expressing my surprise, as the knowledge she had a child makes her murder seem all the more tragic. I can only conclude that Carol must have had a daughter earlier in her life and this was left out of the public record for any number of reasons, and of course we all need to be respectful of the wishes and privacy of families. I also hope that this case can be solved.

Lynda Sue Pinochi
9/23/2020 06:15:14 pm

Good conclusion Roger.

Roger
9/23/2020 09:07:35 pm

All the best Lynda, as I said I was not doubting you I was just surprised to learn this. Judging by what I have read in the newspaper articles, the police may have had some suspects but could not really prove anything. But with all the advances in DNA technology, now would be the time for detectives to send off all the evidence to the labs to check for traces of DNA. I am sure they are already doing this, but if not, it can never hurt to remind them. Family members and, to some extent, the public are often the ones who have to keep the ball rolling on these investigations. Please let us know if there are any breakthroughs.


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    The Zodiac Killer may have given us the answer almost word-for-word when he wrote PS. The Mt. Diablo Code concerns Radians & # inches along the radians. The code solution identified was Estimate: Four Radians and Five Inches To read more, click the image.
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