The Doodler

Case background and investigation

'The Doodler' is the nickname of an unidentified serial killer believed responsible for the murders of at least five men in San Francisco between January 1974 and September 1975. Some investigators have suggested he may have been connected to as many as sixteen killings and three non-fatal assaults during the same period. His victims were gay men whom he met at nightclubs, bars, and restaurants in the city.

The killer's nickname came from his habit of sketching or 'doodling' his victims before attacking them. A survivor described meeting the man at a bar, where he drew caricatures on a piece of paper, struck up conversation, and left with him before the assault. The Doodler would typically leave with his victims and then stab them to death, often leaving the bodies at beaches and parks along the city's coastline.

Five confirmed murder victims have been documented: Gerald Earl Cavanagh, 49, killed at Ocean Beach on January 27, 1974; Joseph 'Jae' Stevens, 27, found near Spreckels Lake in June 1974; Klaus Christmann, 31, killed at Ocean Beach in July 1974; Frederick Elmer Capin, 32, in May 1975; and Harald Gullberg, 66, found at Lincoln Park in June 1975. In January 2022, police identified a sixth victim, Warren Andrews, who had been attacked at Lands End in 1975 and died weeks later.

Police described the suspect as a Black man, roughly 19 to 25 years old, about six feet tall and slender, sometimes seen wearing a watch cap. In the 1970s, detectives questioned a young man they considered a strong suspect, but they were unable to bring charges. Several surviving victims declined to testify publicly, unwilling to reveal their sexual orientation in the socially hostile climate of the era, and the case stalled.

The San Francisco Police Department has kept the case active for decades, revisiting it with modern DNA techniques and releasing an updated sketch of the suspect. Investigators have said they believe they know the man's identity and that he may be in his seventies and living in the region. Authorities have offered a substantial reward, later raised to $250,000, for information leading to an arrest and conviction, but the Doodler remains unidentified and the killings unsolved.