Lake Herman Road Murders alternative theory
i accidentally started two newsletters and it was killing me, so i deleted other newsletter
In 1988, Ohlmeyer Communication produced a half-hour Zodiac documentary for their "The Crimes of the Century" series. The documentary features interviews with Robert Graysmith, Donald Foulke, Paul Avery, Ken Narlow, Rick Marshall, and George Bawart, as well as reenactments of the Zodiac’s maniacal murders. However, the real treasure of the documentary is producer Keith, who gave all his notes from his pre-interviews to ZodiacKiller.com site owner Tom Voigt.
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These are the Pre-interview notes for former Sgt Terry Cunningham of Solano county, he didn’t make the tv show.
The gist is he doesn't know who the zodiac is, but he claims to know who murdered David Faraday and Betty Lou Jenson. "He Knows the Red Headed Kid Killed the two teens"
On Tuesday, June 3, 1969, Standard Station at 1034 Lincoln Highway East, Vallejo, was robbed; attendant Steven Tompkins was kidnapped, driven 3 miles northeast of Vallejo, and killed with five bullets from a sawed-off M1 carbine. Later that same night, Dennis M Tapps was shot twice after being robbed at Pete's Texaco at 1604 Sears Point Road, Vallejo. Tapps survived and dragged himself to the phone and reported three men in a light blue 1960 Pontiac or Buick sedan shot him. The police acted quickly and tracked down three of the assailants, David Louis Magris, Mathew Francis Donohue, and Robert Sheridan Donohue, that night. Later, Michael J. Schwerdtfeger was arrested, and they were all charged with murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, and two counts of armed robbery.
Is this the case that Cunningham is talking about?
a kid was convicted of killing a service station guy with an M16
Steven Tomkins, who was killed, worked at a service station.
But it was a sawed of m1 carbine not an m16
four boys were together for the killing all went to jail
fits
he knows the red-headed kid killed the two teens
I have not found a color photograph, but it appears to me that Michael J. Schwerdtfeger has red hair.
redhead was convicted in service station case w/ physical evidence and eyewitnesses
According to the Newspaper articles Schwerdtfeger was not caught that night like Magris and the Donahue brothers were. Cunningham is pointing out they had to do police work to convict him.
kid's testimony was flimsy and they were scared redhead kid had been everywhere with serviceman father.
I noticed in the newspaper articles that Dennis Tapp, the surviving serviceman, originally said 3 people were at the robbery. So I think Tapp is a "kid." Cunningham is saying that Tapp's testimony was flimsy and alleging this is because Schwerdtfeger had intimidated Tapp's father into having his son change his testimony.
he talks to them in jail, they were afraid of the chair
told him things that they could only know if they were there
one of them told him the whole story about Jensen and Faraday
how they were dressed etc where shot-not mentioned anywhere
he verified it, passed it on to Lundblad
kids were just cruising, looking for excitement, redheaded one, especially who coerced others into going along
Cunningham claims “one of them told him the whole story”. It was not, Schwerdtfeger, so either one of the Donahue brothers or Magris.
Later in life, Magris became one of the poster boys for California, trying to abolish the death penalty. He gave interviews, talking in detail about his early life of crime. Magris says, "The judge said. 'having found absolutely no redeemable qualities about you, you should be sentenced to die in the gas chamber' Magris recalled "my Knees buckled"
In this article, Magris seems sincere that he was scared of the Gas chamber, just as Cunningham described "one of them" in 1988 to producer Keith.
So why isn't LHR solved?
Lundblad was too narrow in his thinking
This theory did get reported contemporaneously.
"New suspects are linked in Lake Herman slayings."
“Local authorities have obtained statements from two persons implicating another man and his accomplice as the slayers. But officers lack sufficient evidence to charge the men, later imprisoned with the murders. For example, the death gun. a 22 caliber automatic pistol, reportedly was hurled into the Bay.
The primary witness against the pair is a member of a motorcycle gang. His story is substantiated by a young woman. But neither their identities nor those of the accused killers, for obvious reasons. can be disclosed. Officers hope to make the case in the future. “
Cunningham was well on his way to building a strong case vs Magris and Schwerdtfeger. He seems to get a Member of a motorcycle gang to testify against them and a young women.
in the notes it says
“red headed one bragged about waitress killing to other boys”
I wonder if that is supposed to say, “red-headed one bragged to the waitress about killing with other boys.” I think producer Keith got confused that this waitress was another person, and he assumed he was talking about Darlene Ferrin.
Both Magris and Schwerdtfeger got the death penalty.
Cunningham probably felt both of these murderers would be put to death in a few years, so it’s not worth it to work for more evidence when Les Lundblad is going to always think it was a Zodiac murder. However, in a twist of fate, both Magris and Schwertdfeger had their death sentence reduced and were out of prison when he gave this interview to “The Crimes of the Century” in 1988.
Blue cars
December 20, 1968, 9:30-10:00pm William Crow and his girlfriend are scared by a blue sedan, possibly a valiant that stops in the middle of the road while they are parked at the pump station. They take off, and the car chases after them at a high rate of speed. Crow saw two Caucasians in the car
10:30 pm Stan and his friend see a blue HT 2-door Oldsmobile and blue Chevy Impala with two persons in the car
June 3rd, 1969 Robert Taps says he was shot and robbed by three men in a light blue 1960 Pontiac or Buick sedan
Did anyone else in Solano County believe Terry Cunningham?
John Lynch Vallejo PD 86 VTH article Lynch, when asked about Lake Herman says "I never did believe those two were connected."
John Lynch now it can be told tv show, "This kid had found out one way or another about some narcotics transaction that had taken place, and he was telling other kids about it, and they just eliminated him."
Wait I thought these guys were burglars? Lynch is saying Faraday and Jensen were killed because of a narcotics transaction.
In 1998 Schwerdtfeger got 28 years in jail for possessing and distributing meth.
George Bawart, in his pre-interview notes "Not sure zodiac did Lake Herman Road."
Where are the Police files of this investigation?
one of them told him the whole story about Jensen and Faraday
Cunningham's typed-out narrative of Magris telling him about Lake Herman Road is not in the Solano County Zodiac Files we have access to. I hope the files dealing with this investigation are not lost. I would like to see the girl and the member of the motorcycle gang's witness statements. Could they place Schwerdtfeger and Magris on Lake Herman Road that night?
False confessions do happen, and it's possible that’s what happened in this situation. But true confessions do happen. Prisons are full of people who are in there because they confessed. Magris and Schwerdtfeger were both intelligent individuals, so they were not a high-risk group to falsely confess to a crime.
Justice for Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday should be delivered regardless of whether they were killed by the Zodiac or someone else.