There were no direct eyewitnesses to the murder of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen on December 20th 1968, with some detectives and Zodiac researchers of the opinion these murders were not part of the Zodiac crimes, only a crime he belatedly laid claim to some seven months later, after the murder and attempted murder of Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau at Blue Rock Springs Park. Some argue for multiple assailants at Lake Herman Road or at the very least more than one person being involved in the crime. There were claims by William Crow of suspicious activity between 9.30pm and 10.00pm that night prior to the murders, detailed in the police report "He 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 Owen 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 would later change some details in this account, but this was the original statement typed up by police.
1967 Plymouth Valiant https://www.flickr.com/photos/greggjerdingen/ Approximately 30 minutes later Stan, a 14 year old described a 1963 Chevrolet Impala, blue in color, with two persons, driving from Lake Herman Road on to Columbus Parkway, heading towards Blue Rock Springs.
In later years William Crow would later state "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". The question arises, how do we interpret these overlapping features.
The recollection of William Crow appears however, an often overlooked feature of this case, and if true, the activity he described within 75-90 minutes of the actual double murder, at the identical location should not be underestimated. Whether William Crow saw one or two Caucasians is open to scrutiny, and although he claimed the Sheriff 'suggested' the Valiant, his later recollection of the occupants was less than clear, stating "After some moments, the other car turned around in the roadway and went back down the road from which we had come. I kept making macho statements, but not totally without some sense about me, I drove home. I did not see the car again. 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." Reading between the lines, if he couldn't see the passenger seat, there could have been two occupants. This may be significant when considering the sighting of Stan and more importantly the report issued by the Department of Justice, Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, conducted by David Burd regarding the murder of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen.
In later years William Crow would later state "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". The question arises, how do we interpret these overlapping features.
The recollection of William Crow appears however, an often overlooked feature of this case, and if true, the activity he described within 75-90 minutes of the actual double murder, at the identical location should not be underestimated. Whether William Crow saw one or two Caucasians is open to scrutiny, and although he claimed the Sheriff 'suggested' the Valiant, his later recollection of the occupants was less than clear, stating "After some moments, the other car turned around in the roadway and went back down the road from which we had come. I kept making macho statements, but not totally without some sense about me, I drove home. I did not see the car again. 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." Reading between the lines, if he couldn't see the passenger seat, there could have been two occupants. This may be significant when considering the sighting of Stan and more importantly the report issued by the Department of Justice, Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, conducted by David Burd regarding the murder of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen.
Whenever a firearm is discharged, ballistic evidence left at a crime scene will come into play, such as firing pin impressions and breech marks on bullet casings. These can help identify a seized weapon or be used to compare expended casings from a crime scene to determine whether they were fired from the same gun, or whether multiple shooters may be involved. The analysis of recovered bullets for imparted lands and grooves has similar benefits. So was there more than one shooter at Lake Herman Road. Did it require two or more assailants to control a situation in which two people were removed from a vehicle in pitch darkness, unlike the scenario at Blue Rock Springs, where the lone assailant kept the couple contained within the vehicle. Did one assailant have control of David Faraday, while the other fired five shots into Betty Lou Jensen. Were both killed by the same person; enter the ballistics evidence. The logical approach would be to examine the bullets recovered from Betty Lou Jensen at autopsy, along with the single bullet recovered from David Faraday, hoping they haven't been completely disfigured on impact, and make a comparison. The same is true for the casings.
'The following exhibits were submitted [1] Bullet from Faraday's body. [2] Two bullets from Jensen's body. [3] Bullet found in panties of Jensen. [4] Five Super X .22 cartridge cases found at scene by coroner. [5] Four Super X cartridge cases found at scene by Sgt Silva. [6] One bullet found on top of 1961 Rambler. [7] One bullet found in floor mat, left side storage area of 1961 Rambler. [8] One bullet found on ground near Jensen's body. [9] Purple dress of Jensen.'
What is important is how you interpret these findings.The report continued 'Intercomparison of the cartridge cases in items [4] and [5] indicate that all were probably fired from the same weapon and all are the same make and type of ammunition. Due to the lack of sufficient unique structure it appears that considerable difficulty will be encountered in positively identifying the responsible weapon if it should be recovered.' This seems to indicate that nine of the casings found at the crime scene were likely fired from one weapon. However there were ten casings recovered. Did the final casing match the other nine, why is this not mentioned in [1] through [9]. What is important mind is the following statement
'All bullets submitted were Western copper coated .22 long rifle bullets, Although some were damaged, it was possible to determine ALL had 6 right hand groove class characteristics.' This is not exactly what was documented, one important part has been left out. All had the '6 R H' groove characteristics, 'apart from item' [1]'.
Item [1] was the bullet recovered from David Faraday and didn't have these characteristics. Is this the proof that more than one person was involved in the Lake Herman Road murders. It would seem highly unlikely the Zodiac Killer fired 9 shots with one weapon, but used a similar model, yet separate gun to murder David Faraday. Was the murderer of David Faraday the assailant given the responsibility of subduing him, possibly restraining him from behind by a left handed shooter, while a second subject initiated the attack and murdered Betty Lou Jensen. Does this ballistic evidence suggest there were two shooters at Lake Herman Road on December 20th 1968, especially considering the suspicious activities experienced by William Crow only 90 minutes earlier, possibly involving two Caucasian males, and the long held belief the killer or killers were opportunistic by nature, cruising up and down Lake Herman Road looking for potential victims. Or were the murders planned in advance by two or more assailants. The answer in part may begin with 'Item [1]'.
'The following exhibits were submitted [1] Bullet from Faraday's body. [2] Two bullets from Jensen's body. [3] Bullet found in panties of Jensen. [4] Five Super X .22 cartridge cases found at scene by coroner. [5] Four Super X cartridge cases found at scene by Sgt Silva. [6] One bullet found on top of 1961 Rambler. [7] One bullet found in floor mat, left side storage area of 1961 Rambler. [8] One bullet found on ground near Jensen's body. [9] Purple dress of Jensen.'
What is important is how you interpret these findings.The report continued 'Intercomparison of the cartridge cases in items [4] and [5] indicate that all were probably fired from the same weapon and all are the same make and type of ammunition. Due to the lack of sufficient unique structure it appears that considerable difficulty will be encountered in positively identifying the responsible weapon if it should be recovered.' This seems to indicate that nine of the casings found at the crime scene were likely fired from one weapon. However there were ten casings recovered. Did the final casing match the other nine, why is this not mentioned in [1] through [9]. What is important mind is the following statement
'All bullets submitted were Western copper coated .22 long rifle bullets, Although some were damaged, it was possible to determine ALL had 6 right hand groove class characteristics.' This is not exactly what was documented, one important part has been left out. All had the '6 R H' groove characteristics, 'apart from item' [1]'.
Item [1] was the bullet recovered from David Faraday and didn't have these characteristics. Is this the proof that more than one person was involved in the Lake Herman Road murders. It would seem highly unlikely the Zodiac Killer fired 9 shots with one weapon, but used a similar model, yet separate gun to murder David Faraday. Was the murderer of David Faraday the assailant given the responsibility of subduing him, possibly restraining him from behind by a left handed shooter, while a second subject initiated the attack and murdered Betty Lou Jensen. Does this ballistic evidence suggest there were two shooters at Lake Herman Road on December 20th 1968, especially considering the suspicious activities experienced by William Crow only 90 minutes earlier, possibly involving two Caucasian males, and the long held belief the killer or killers were opportunistic by nature, cruising up and down Lake Herman Road looking for potential victims. Or were the murders planned in advance by two or more assailants. The answer in part may begin with 'Item [1]'.