San Francisco police release sketch of ‘Doodler’ killer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) | Police announced a reward and released a sketch Feb. 6 depicting what a serial killer might look like now in a cold case involving at least five stabbing deaths of gay men in the mid-1970s in San Francisco.

The killer was dubbed the “Doodler” after he told a person who later became a victim and survived that he was a cartoonist. Police say the attacker was doodling while he and the man talked at a late-night diner.

The Doodler is believed to have killed at least five men between January 1974 and September 1975.

“In the 1970s, this was gripping the gay community and San Francisco,” police Commander Greg McEachern told a news conference, saying authorities were releasing the new sketch in hopes of bringing justice to victims of the “horrendous homicides.”

It’s one of several cases, particularly serial crimes, being re-examined after the capture last year of the notorious “Golden State Killer” through DNA analysis, McEachern said.

Police released two sketches of the person in the Doodler case. One was an image from 1975 and the other was an “age progression” showing what the he might look like now.

Police described the killer as an African-American male, about 5 feet, 11 inches tall with a lanky build who was likely in his early 20s at the time of the atacks.

The killer targeted white men he met at after-hours gay clubs and restaurants in San Francisco. He usually sketched them before having sex and stabbing them.

The bodies of four men were found along the beach. Another stabbing victim was found in Golden Gate Park.

Police also announced a reward of $100,000 for information leading to the arrest of the killer and released audio of an anonymous call made to police on Jan. 27, 1974, reporting a body found near Ocean Beach in San Francisco.

Responding officers discovered the body of 50-year-old Gerald Cavanaugh, the first of the killer’s five known victims.

Police are seeking information on the identity of the caller, who declined to give his name.

At the time, a witness was able to give investigators a description of the attacker, leading to a man being detained in 1976 but never charged.

McEachern said police have interviewed the man since returning to the case and he remains a person of interest. His name was not released.

An Associated Press story from 1977 quotes police saying they needed testimony from victims in order to charge the suspect. However, three survivors, including a “well-known entertainer” and a diplomat, were reluctant to “come out of the closet” to testify against him, the AP reported.

AP interviewed gay rights advocate Harvey Milk at the time about the victims’ refusal to testify.

“I can understand their position,” Milk said. “I respect the pressure society has put on them.”

The interview with AP came just over a year before Milk, the first openly gay man elected to public office in the U.S., was assassinated.

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