THE MURDER OF NIKKI BENEDICT

9/27/2019

Nikki Alexandra Benedict

Nikki Alexandra Benedict (14) had left her friend Kathie Gomski's house in Halper Road, Poway on May 1st 1967 shortly after 6:00 pm, to walk the 2 1/2 mile journey to her home at 13530 Olive Tree Lane, when approximately 25 minutes into her journey her life was cruelly snatched away. She was just passing the intersection of 12784 Poway and Carriage Road, traveling along a dirt pathway that straddled the Poway Road, when an unknown assailant, presumed to be laying in wait, leapt from a grassy depression and viciously attacked the young teenage girl with a short-bladed knife. She had a knife wound to her neck and bruises on her elbows and knees, but the fatal injuries were two stab wounds that penetrated her heart. The young girl did not succumb to her injuries immediately, with a trail of blood extending 200 yards to the west side of Carriage Road as she desperately sought help near a local shopping center. At approximately 6:30 pm, an 11-year-old boy, Ronald Fisk, discovered the critically injured girl and raced away on his bicycle to seek help from his father, who worked at a nearby market store. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of responding personnel, Nikki Benedict would be pronounced dead upon her arrival at Palomar Hospital.

Nikki Benedict would usually travel the 2.3 mile journey home from Meadowbrook Junior High School on the school bus, however, on this Monday she visited her friend Kathie in Halper Road to discuss an art project. Kathie was planning to escort Nikki along the initial part of her journey home, but was unable to accompany her friend because she had to stay home for her dinner. Nikki Benedict would have traveled south, before heading east alongside the Poway Road toward home, or traveled southeast from Halper Road to the intersection of Poway and Carriage Road, near to where her body was discovered. Whether she had been trailed by her attacker or had walked into his path has yet to be fully determined, but the attack was swift and deadly, with no robbery or sexual interference apparent. One eyewitness recalled a white man fleeing the scene, although no solid suspects have subsequently emerged from this sighting and the case has remained relatively trapped in time for just over 52 years.

Cheri Jo Bates

Links have been forged to the Riverside murder of Cheri Jo Bates on October 30th 1966, some six months earlier. She too was savagely attacked with a short-bladed knife, with the Zodiac Killer belatedly laying claim to her murder on March 13th 1971 when he wrote to the Los Angeles Times, stating "I do have to give them credit for stumbling across my riverside activity, but they are only finding the easy ones, there are a hell of a lot more down there". Poway, San Diego is 83 miles south of Terracina Drive in Riverside, where Cheri Jo Bates body was ultimately discovered on Halloween morning by Riverside City College caretaker, Cleophus Martin.

I always find it helpful to provide a map regarding any crime scenes, so below I have identified the relevant locations in the murder of Nikki Benedict, despite the fact the topography has changed over the last half-century.

Click image to enter Google maps

On the map I have highlighted a second attack - that of Patricia Lee Kuzara (7), who was murdered while walking home on Saturday, September 28th 1974, with her badly beaten body discovered the following morning in a field just off Midland and Hilleary Road, Poway, just alongside the First Baptist Church. She was just a few blocks from her home in Putney Road when the attacker struck, inflicting numerous blows to her head with a blunt instrument. She had been staying with family friends/babysitters approximately 2 1/2 miles away and had left shortly before dusk (6:30 pm) according to the friends. Why on earth a babysitter would allow a seven-year-old girl to walk this distance unaccompanied I have no idea? Four days after her body was discovered, a 40-inch long angle iron with pieces of wood attached was found on Hilleary Road. It was believed to have been innocently moved from its original location in the field.

Patricia Lee Kuzara

Sergeant Doug Clements was of the opinion that the killer probably lived nearby, creating understandable apprehension in the local community. The killing of Patty Lee Kuzara was only a mile from the murder site of Nikki Benedict - and both were attacked alongside the Poway Road in a grassy area. Both young girls lived only 660 meters from one another. Investigators in a press release stated that the Patty Lee Kuzara murder appeared sexually motivated, so whether any connection exists to the murder of Nikki Benedict is sheer speculation. Had the murderer of Nikki Benedict failed to complete his objective that day because of the vigorous defence she displayed in countering his attack, and therefore had chosen easier prey in his subsequent attacks? (if any). Of course, the two may be totally unrelated.

The question for most Zodiac sleuths, is whether any credence can be placed in his Los Angeles Letter of March 13th 1971, of "a hell of a lot more down there". The Zodiac Killer certainly claimed or insinuated many more murders than the canonical five attributed to him, so whether his exploits took him to Poway on May 1st 1967 is wholly dependent on which side of the fence you sit. The timeline bridges the gap between Riverside and Lake Herman Road - and the April 30th 1967 Bates' letters were mailed only one day before the murder of Nikki Benedict - and did promise "there will be more".

SHE NEVER REACHED HOME [PART TWO]

The green route shows the usual route Nikki took home, the yellow route the direction of travel that fateful day. Original topography of the area supplied by Zodiac Killer Insights.

Click image to enter Google maps

21 Comments

9/27/2019 06:18:12 pm

Good job with the timeline notion Richard
There seems to be a connection.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEbYPhRWuKs

Patricia Lee Kuzara murdered five years and a day after Cecelia Ann Shepard - who was murdered by Zodiac 50 years ago today.

Richard

9/28/2019 01:04:07 am

Cannot find any further information on another murder BB, that of an 18-year-old coed student Jackie Lynn Cogdill, who was murdered in Poway in 1974 I believe. She too was found in a vacant field in similar fashion to the others, on October 17th. If this was the same year, which when reading the newspaper report, it seems it was, then Jackie Lynn Cogdill and Patty Kuzara were killed within 3 weeks of one another in Poway. It's quite amazing how some murders are reported extensively in the paper and then transferred to the internet (as they should be), while others seem almost forgotten. Especially when there could be a viable connection, and certainly with the two in 1974 (if I'm reading the cutting correctly).

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15705881/murder_of_patricia_kuzara/

Richard

9/28/2019 01:17:13 am

This newspaper cutting was from the Independent Press-Telegram from Long Beach California, published on October 26th 1974. So, the murder of Jackie Lynn Cogdill was reported as October 17th - so likely 1974. If we could find the address that Patty Kuzara left from that night, we could get the route she took. If we could do the same with Jackie Lynn Cogdill and compare the routes taken with Nikki Benedict, it could reveal an origin point of where an attacker likely picked up their trail. OK, the perpetrator may be different in one or all of the cases, but it would be extremely helpful to have this extra information. If anybody can provide this, please post below. There must be more information in newspapers.com, which unfortunately I don't have.

Richard

9/28/2019 01:54:10 am

Patty Kuzara was being babysat off Lola Way, near what is now the Van Dam Peak Trailhead, in Poway, CA. So, that answers one question. That is extremely interesting, because her route from Lola Way has to pass Pomerado Road, where Halper Road is situated. Her journey would take he past the murder site of Nikki Benedict just off Poway Road. If the killer was the same person and hung around the area of Poway and Carriage Road, then he could have trailed her home until an opportune moment presented itself - likely when she crossed the field by the church in Midland Road.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/12784+Poway+Rd,+Poway,+CA+92064,+USA/12700+Poway+Rd,+Poway,+CA+92064,+USA/13530+Olive+Tree+Lane,+Poway,+CA,+USA/Carriage+Rd,+Poway,+CA+92064,+USA/The+Well,+13604+Midland+Rd,+Poway,+CA+92064,+United+States/Putney+Rd,+Poway,+CA+92064,+USA/Halper+Road,+Poway,+CA,+USA/Iola+Way,+Poway,+CA+92064,+USA/@32.9562495,-117.0608254,6069m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m50!4m49!1m5!1m1!1s0x80dbfa49b31d34a3:0x30b82cb0f7153d28!2m2!1d-117.0538135!2d32.9564817!1m5!1m1!1s0x80dbfa36276fbdbb:0xb1f5c28f77d3939b!2m2!1d-117.0561075!2d32.9549948!1m5!1m1!1s0x80dbfafbde07d065:0xad1ee2d961e81516!2m2!1d-117.0261002!2d32.9616594!1m5!1m1!1s0x80dbfa461d94765d:0xdc0f27c240dc3dda!2m2!1d-117.0539892!2d32.9601945!1m5!1m1!1s0x80dbfa573cf0b7e5:0xd645544709971353!2m2!1d-117.036937!2d32.9612539!1m5!1m1!1s0x80dbfa58134c5f81:0xb34f63bf267d0064!2m2!1d-117.0329901!2d32.9627931!1m5!1m1!1s0x80dbfa169302b137:0x52f4757f7a6233cc!2m2!1d-117.0630769!2d32.9703414!1m5!1m1!1s0x80dbfa2944580fed:0x8a7c649715e74b7e!2m2!1d-117.0740394!2d32.9498869!3e0

Richard

9/28/2019 02:01:34 am

What I don't understand, is why do you babysit a 7-year-old, then let her walk 2 and a half miles home on her own, approaching dusk. Especially knowing that the murderer of a young girl only 7 years earlier in Poway in that vicinity was still at large.

9/28/2019 05:31:30 pm

Patricia Lee Kuzara murdered forty-five years ago today.
The baby sitter, if over 17years old at the time should be exposed.
To be made to walk alone that far, and at the age of 7 is criminal.

KayElleSF

9/29/2019 01:27:59 am

Before the 1980s, it wasn't uncommon for young kids to walk all over the place by themselves. People were very naive when it came to looking after kids in urban areas.

I used to walk to and from Kindergarten about a 1/2 mile every day (early 1970s). Sometimes I'd walk with other kids and sometimes by myself. We felt safe in my diverse, working-class neighborhood. People generally looked out for each other.

One day my Kindergarten teacher asked me to walk a new girl home since she lived the closest to me out of all the kids in the class. I happily agreed. The girl was nice and I wanted to please my teacher.

The school, however, neglected to notify my mother and just sent us on our way after class. Being little kids with short legs it took us a while to get to her home - probably more than a half mile from where I lived (through winding streets). By the time we got there, I realized I better start heading home right away. A relative of the girl asked to escort me but I refused and started off by myself.

By this time, it was getting dusk and the streets were empty. I remember an acute sense of isolation and vulnerability, bordering on panic. I can still feel the strain in my legs as I tried as hard as I could to quickly move them.

Finally, I got to within a block or so from my house and I could see my mom up ahead calling my name. She ran to me and threw her arms around me. I was so unbelievably glad to be safe and with her...and almost home.

My mother had been waiting for me to arrive at my usual time but I never showed. She became very worried and called the school who informed her about the journey they had sent me on. She was livid but at least they told her the general direction to look for me.

To this day, I think how lucky I was that no one snatched me up on that dusky evening in hilly San Francisco.

Rubislaw 32 link

9/29/2019 04:53:28 am

A lovely and poignant comment,KayElleSF.....and it just makes one's heart reach out to the undeserving and unfortunate plight of Nikki Benedict.

Like you,I was lucky to have spent a fairly idyllic childhood,in a neighbourhood safe and free,where it was unusual to see anyone's front door closed,during the day.

For some,post-war 50's,60's and 70's was when the ''seven sisters'' Oil companies really did rule the world,and the driving force,behind most developed nation's economies....and many undeveloped ones,also.These companies created the ''wealth'',and initially the affordability of a sense of security.

Where did it go wrong ? Well,where does one start ?

I believe that the Zodiac came from one of these Oil financed secure backgrounds,and went on to carve a career in that same industry.More's the pity that,he became one of the bad guys that advantaged himself,of the trusting nature of folk,generally,and soured,what looked like,such an optimistic future,for everyone.

9/29/2019 10:42:55 am

True - and 2 1/2 miles on a Saturday night in California 1974 - 7 year old Patricia had no chance.

Criminal stats for California.
http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/cacrime.htm

KayElleSF

9/29/2019 11:18:33 am

Thanks Rubi. Yes, it's hard not to feel a kinship with the kids who were casualties of those changing times and demographics. There but for the grace of God..

I think a lot of people came from small towns back then and brought their "Mayberry" sensibilities to the larger urban environments, not having a clue of the evil was lurking about.

In the case of little Patricia, though, sending her out to walk that far at 6:30pm goes far beyond naïveté. Something was seriously wrong with the babysitter to do that. Poor little girl.

Richard

9/29/2019 12:07:04 pm

"Four days after her body was discovered, a 40-inch long angle iron with pieces of wood attached was found on Hilleary Road". If this was the murder weapon, how does it take four days to find it, when she was supposedly murdered just off Midland and Hilleary Road. Also, no reasonable or unreasonable person premeditates a murder by leaving the house with a 40-inch bar under their jacket. All you would need is a heavy small object like a wrench, hammer etc. Did the perpetrator just find it there and happened to use it, or was this crime committed elsewhere and her body placed in the field, with the 40-inch bar thrown nearby. Mild Steel Angle is a length of steel or iron that is bent at a right angle, commonly used for making frames, racks and for construction purposes. This murder weapon was either found in the field dumped and used instinctively, or it came from somebodies house, possibly during renovation. It's likely a weapon of opportunity, rather than a killer pre-prepared heading out from their residence that evening. Whatever the case, if this was the weapon, it seems it didn't travel with the killer from their house as the intended weapon to be used at a later time, moreover something that was just picked up in the area and utilized.

9/29/2019 04:07:34 pm

The family-friend/sitter might have done it. Then hid the body.

Then when the heat died-down-a-little - dumped the body, and the bar.

Richard

9/29/2019 04:36:38 pm

It did cross my mind BB. The purpose of a babysitter I thought, was overseeing a child who should not be left alone when somebody (ie: the parent) goes out. Did she walk 2 1/2 miles alone to be babysat, then walk 2 1/2 miles back. 2 1/2 miles is about 50 minutes walking for an adult, both ways for a child is nearing 2 hrs. Didn't the parents or babysitters have a vehicle. Wasn't there a bus or taxi? It's all rather odd, but I suppose without the whole backstory, I may be making false assumptions.

SpartyWilly

9/29/2019 11:18:30 pm

Seriously? I don't know what to say. So BAD.

Joe

11/11/2019 04:06:12 pm

Dear Richard,

Just stumbled upon this page. Thanks for all your hard work regarding Nikki Benedict and for placing a link to my video. As you're aware, she's the underlying reason why I began my Zodiac investigations. Anyone who's prepared to bring her murder to light is a friend of mine. I know we've had our disagrements but regarding Nikki we're on the same page.
If you so wish, I can provide you with a map of the area (circa 1968) where she was murdered.

Richard

11/12/2019 01:11:59 am

Thanks Joe, a map would be very useful and something I could add to the article. It is always more rewarding writing articles such as these, particularly when we consider they were just children beginning their life's adventure, before having it cruelly snatched away by people I can only describe as cowards. The biggest problem with many of these cold cases is the very little coverage they receive - almost forgotten in many instances. I have attempted to contact police departments previously on other cases for more information, but have without exception been routinely ignored despite their cold case sections on their websites asking for assistance. Sometimes I believe it is almost placed there as window dressing to give the appearance of concern. We have had our disagreements because we have diametrically opposing theories on the Zodiac Killer - you believe in Gareth Penn and I have no suspect whatsoever - but the goal remains the same in identifying the Zodiac Killer no matter who he is. But people with different viewpoints don't have to be at loggerheads with each other. I have put that previous interaction behind me and so have you - and hopefully we can help each other out from time to time.

I tried to look at the Nikki Benedict case not in isolation in the area of Poway, as these sort of perpetrators do not generally kill in isolation, and I attempted to not necessarily link the murder of Patricia Lee Kuzara to the Nikki Benedict case, but consider it a possibility. The greater the pattern, the more options then present themselves. Thanks for the offer, that would be very helpful.

Joe

11/12/2019 10:51:20 am

Thanks, Richard. Please email me at [email protected]
Alternatively, please provide me with your email so I can and you the map.

Regards

Joe

Richard

11/12/2019 04:12:41 pm

I've sent the email Joe. Have you received it?

Joe

11/12/2019 09:17:25 pm

Yes, I have. I've replied. You'll understand the delay when you read my email.

J.R.

6/5/2024 11:00:05 pm

Patty Kuzara is/was actually a relative of mine on my maternal side. I don't quite remember what exactly she was in relation to me (21 yr old), but still, she is a piece of my family tree. I appreciate how her memory is being kept alive all these years later, even if it is speculation around connections to her murderer. Stay safe, stay vigilant.

6/13/2024 12:07:15 pm

I was a childhood friend and wrote a song about Patty & hope to record it this year. This occurrence shaped my life.

THE MURDER OF NIKKI BENEDICT

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