The ‘Doodler’: The California Serial Killer Who Has Never Been Caught
Public DomainA composite sketch of the so-called Doodler from 1974.
Between January 1947 and September 1975, a killer stalked gay neighborhoods in San Francisco. Dubbed the “Doodler” because he often sketched a picture of his victims — then used the sketch as a pickup line — this mysterious killer murdered six men.
“He’d pick a guy somewhere at the bar, he’d sit at the table, he’d sketch them, he was a good artist, so then he would walk up to the guy and say like my doodle?” San Francisco Chronicle reporter Kevin Fagan explained, according to ABC 7 News.
Police know about the Doodler’s peculiar M.O. because he left some surviving victims in his wake. But those victims, one a diplomat, another an actor, didn’t want to be associated with “gay” crimes — and refused to engage with the case beyond reporting the initial attack.
Public DomainHow the California serial killer dubbed the “Doodler” might look today.
Even so, police in San Francisco did identify a potential suspect as they investigated the Doodler’s crimes. According to In Magazine, they determined that the Doodler was a thin, tall, Black man between the ages of 19 and 25.
They also knew that the Doodler had certain locations where he liked to take his victims after picking them up. As NBC News reported, all of the Doodler’s victims were found near Ocean Beach or Golden Gate Park.
With these clues in hand, investigators even pursued a specific suspect in the 1970s. But though this person — whose name has never been revealed — cooperated with police, he was never charged with a crime.
But there is still hope that the Doodler will be unmasked. According to ABC 7 News, police found DNA evidence on the Doodler’s sixth victim. That DNA could possibly solve the mystery of this California serial killer for good.
