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The victim was awakened by a sound at her bedroom’s sliding glass door. It leads to the backyard patio. She woke her husband. When he turned over, a flashlight beam caught him in the eye. A masked man was coming through the door. He told them to shut up several times or he would kill them. He also told them not to move. Then he ordered them onto their stomachs. The same procedure followed. The wife was ordered to tie the hands of her husband. And then the assailant tied his feet and then tied up the victim.
Again, as in other cases, assailant said all he wanted was money and food. In this case he said it was for his apartment. The assailant then asked where the husband’s wallet was and if there was anybody else in the house. The husband said they had two children. The assailant then warned them that if they caused any trouble he would chop up the kids and bring them their ears.
As with the earlier attacks the assailant left the bedroom for a while. The couple heard him closing the living room drapes. When he came back he said “Shut up!” He put a knife to the husband’s throat and threatened to kill him. He took the victim out of the room. She was already naked in bed, and she asked for her robe. He draped it over her shoulder. He then escorted her down the hallway with a knife to her throat. He came back and put plates on the husband’s back. If he heard these plates rattle, he warned the husband he would kill him.
The husband could hear a bag rattle with equipment inside when the assailant walked around, especially when he set it down. At these moments, assailant put a gun to the husband’s head and cocked it. He warned him he would kill him if he tried to get free. He returned more than once to the bedroom and on these occasions put a knife to the husband’s throat and threatened him.
He returned to the living room. A lamp was turned on, and a blanket was draped over it to give a dusky glow to the room. He raped her twice. Before each time, she heard him lotion himself up. She believed he used a fake penis on her once.
As in other cases, assailant laid red herrings. He told the victim that he had seen her in the store and just had to have her. He also said he only lived a few blocks away and he needed things for his apartment— basic things like soap, towels, utensils, televisions.
Investigation
Stockton Police arrived at the scene at 4.a.m. Investigation proved that the assailant had tied up the husband and wife with the husband’s shoelaces. The assailant had come in the bedroom’s glass slider which was unlocked. The screen had been locked and pry marks had been found. The blanket remained draped over the lamp in the living room to subdue the light.
Investigators also found a bottle of Fuller Brush lotion on the bathroom sink. Victim said that the assailant must have removed it from the medicine cabinet. Investigators also found a Pepsi can in the backyard and a jar of peanut butter on the kitchen counter. Assailant had removed them from the frig and helped himself.
Victim had actually seen assailant’s carry bag. It was like a doctor’s bag.
Both husband and victim said they heard a Volkswagen startup and leave after the suspect left.
Investigation of the neighborhood revealed that for the last week there had been reports of dogs barking, plus reports of some strange cars. A number of shoe impressions, both in the victim’s yard and in several neighbors’ yards, matched a size 9.5 Converse All-Star tennis shoe. Hang-up phone calls were received in the neighborhood within the last week.
Victim also contacted the police detectives later. She had found a pair of her pantyhose in one of the drawers that the assailant had ransacked. A finger hole had been punched in the crotch.
The morning after the rape the police had found a knife at the foot of the victim’s bed. At first the husband thought it was his, but later he found his own knife under the bed. He insisted the knife that they found definitely wasn’t his.
Missing from the house were 5 silver dollars, wedding and engagement rings, tie pin, cuff links and a man’s onyx ring. Seven dollars in the husband’s wallet was not taken.
Victim was put under hypnosis in Sacramento and recalled that the suspect had placed the gun to her head and cocked it repeatedly. He had said he would kill her and her children if she didn’t do as she was told. She confirmed she believed the rapist use an artificial penis as well. She repeated that she heard the Volkswagen motor shortly after the suspect left. Several neighbors, aside from her daughter and husband, also heard the Volkswagen leave the area.
During the rape, the 6 year old daughter had awakened and walked into the hallway. There she had seen the assailant standing. He told her that he was playing tricks on her mother and that she was to go to bed. The daughter was placed under hypnosis. She described the assailant. She also recalled having seen a tattoo on his right forearm. It was later determined to possibly be a bull, perhaps even the Schlitz Bull.
Description
As before, the assailant had spoken in a low, clenched and threatening whisper, but when excited he had spoken in a higher-pitched voice. He carried an automatic pistol. Small flashlight. He also wore gloves. The mask was brown. Victim described assailant’s penis as small and said there was an obvious difference between it and the rubber penis that he used. She also said he had a bad odor but not BO exactly. Said it was just a dirty smell.
In this case, there is that interesting visual observation from the 6 year old daughter. The daughter struck investigators is being very intelligent. When she had gone to the bathroom, she saw the assailant standing in the hall near the kitchen. She now described him in detail under hypnosis. She said he was wearing a purple T-shirt, brown ski mask, and black mittens. He was not wearing pants, but he had on a belt with a “sword” on the right side (probably a hunting knife) and a gun in a holster on the left side.
She said nothing to the man. Rather he addressed her. He told her that he was playing tricks on her mom and dad and asked her to come in and watch. She didn’t answer, but went to the bathroom and then went back to bed. The girl said he was wearing a watch on his right wrist.
The “bad odor” is an interesting clue. Could he have been busy working all day nearby? Or did the Volkswagen he drove smell of this strange, dirty smell, and it permeated him?
Geography
The area of Portage Circle is nearly identical to Sky Parkway and to Sandbar Circle developments, and fits perfectly with the East Area Rapist’s modus operandi.
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