This time, the Doodler won’t walk away free
The Golden State Killer. The Unabomber. Ted Bundy. You’re probably familiar with these serial killers. But in the mid-1970s, another monster terrorized San Francisco’s gay community. He was coined “The Doodler,” and he may have been responsible for as many victims as the Zodiac Killer, yet you’ve probably never heard of him. Plagued by a complicated investigation, a frightened public, and the hesitation of many to come forward, the case went cold, and a killer walked free. Nearly 50 years later, a renewed hunt for a forgotten serial killer seeks to change that. Follow the story on The Doodler podcast, out now! Have a tip? Email thedoodlerline@gmail.com or…
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“One homicidal maniac got very little notice, and bigotry against LGBT people played no small part in that. He was dubbed, ‘the Doodler’.”
— Kevin Fagan, The San Francisco Chronicle
In 2019, the San Francisco Police Department released a new forensic sketch showing what The Doodler might look like today. Suspected to be aged between 19 and 25 at the time of the murder spree, he would now be in his mid-to-late 60s or early 70s.