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The Doodler, also known as The Black Doodler, was a serial killer active in the San Francisco area from 1974 to 1975, responsible for 14 murders and three assaults of gay/transgender men in the area.
Overview
The Doodler's modus operandi was that he would go to gay bars and meet gay and transgender men and take them home with them. When he took them home, he would sketch them in black pencil (hence his name.) Afterwards, he would stab them to death. He was known to be more brutal with transgender people, usually mutilating their throats. His murders ended after June 1975.
It has been theorized that the Doodler may have been a closeted homosexual himself and was so ashamed of this fact that he decided to kill other gay men.
Though a few suspects have been arrested in connection to the murders perpetrated by the Doodler, the killer has never been identified properly. As of 2018, the case is still open at the San Francisco Police Department and the Doodler himself is presumed to still be at large, though it is unknown if he is alive or dead.
List of victims
| Name of Victim | Age of Victim | Location of Corpse | Date of Discovery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gerald Cavanaugh | 49 | Ocean Beach in San Francisco, California | January 27, 1974 |
| Joseph "Jae" Stevens | 27 | Spreckels Lake in San Francisco, California | June 25, 1974 |
| Klaus Christmann | 31 | Ocean Beach in San Francisco, California | July 7, 1974 |
| Warren Andrews | 52 | Land's End | April 1975 |
| Frederick Capin | 32 | San Francisco, California | May 12, 1975 |
| Harald Gullberg | 66 | Lincoln Park in San Francisco, California | June 4, 1975 |
Investigation
Police questioned a young man as a murder suspect in the case, but could not proceed with criminal charges because the three surviving victims did not want to "out" themselves by testifying against him in court.
Among the Doodler's survivors were a "well-known entertainer" and a diplomat. The suspect cooperated with police during his interview but he never admitted guilt for the murders and attacks. Officers stated that they strongly believed that the man in question was responsible for the crimes, but he was never tried or convicted because of the survivors' refusals to appear in court.
To date, the suspect has not been named publicly or apprehended; very little information is available to the public about the crimes.
Two other potential suspects arose in 1977 after a pair of men from Redondo Beach were arrested in Riverside County, California, and questioned on suspicion of approximately 28 murders that, like the San Francisco killings, occurred after "homosexual encounters".