Victim lived on nearby San Carlos Street, but was babysitting at neighbors on El Divisadero Drive. This was the first time she had been babysitting this particular neighbor in a month. Victim was 17 years old. She was sitting at the kitchen table doing her homework and watching Saturday Night Live. A sound attracted her attention to the hallway. There in the doorway leading from the kitchen to the hallway stood a man with a white mask. He carried a hunting knife in his right hand, still in the sheath.

     Assailant grabbed her and forced her down on the table. “Shut the fuck up! Don’t look at me! If you don’t do what I say, I’ll slit your fucking throat.” Assailant then took her by the arm and walked her to the master bedroom, pushing her on the bed. He forced her hands behind her back and tied her wrists. Then he tied her ankles. “I’m not going to hurt you. All I want is money.” He ran the knife up and down her throat slowly. “If you don’t keep your fucking mouth shut, I’ll slit your throat.” Despite this, the assailant never asked where any money was. It must be noted that he repeatedly told her he only wanted money.

     Assailant then gagged victim with pantyhose and tied a towel around her head as a blindfold. Victim could hear him rummaging throughout the bedroom and then in the bathroom. 

     Assailant returned from the bathroom. He rolled her over on her back and untied her ankles. He then removed her shoes and socks, then her pants and underwear. She could tell he was standing beside her and lubricating himself. He got on top of her, ordered her to spread her legs. He straddled her. He hissed in a villainous voice: “Have you ever fucked before?”

   Victim could not respond verbally because of the gag in her mouth.

     Assailant attempted to rape.

     Victim was a virgin, but the rapist was never aroused. He got frustrated. He got off. He then rolled her around on her stomach and put his penis and her hands. “Play with it,” he ordered. He rolled her over on her back again, lifted her sweater and tore at her Bra. He bit her left nipple softly a few times and then bit hard, leaving teeth marks on her breast.

     He raped her.

     He rolled her on her stomach afterward. “Don’t move,” he hissed, “or I’ll kill you.”

     Victim heard him get dressed. Then she felt the knife at her neck. “I’m going to leave. Don’t scream for help or anything or I’ll cut your throat.”

     Soon it was silent.

Investigation

Investigators arrived to find all the telltale clues that it had been an EAR attack. Plastic bindings (similar to flex cuffs) have been used to tie the victim. Pantyhose had been knotted and used as the gag. There was next to it a knotted halter top. Strips of towel had been used as blindfolds.

     In this case the bloodhound became extremely excited in the bathroom. The bloodhound followed the scent to the bedroom sliding glass door, round the house to and through the open side gate, down El Divisadero to San Carlos and then down San Jose Court, where the dog lost the scent. Another bloodhound followed the same trail. 

     Canvas of the neighborhood also uncovered that a boy on Los Banos Court (near Ygnacio Valley Road) reported to a patrolling officer that his bicycle had been stolen between 9:30 and 11:30 p.m. Bicycle had subsequently been located in front of a residence on El Divisadero Drive. The chain was off the sprocket when found.

   Investigation also uncovered several peculiarities. The victim had not babysat for these people for a couple of months. Prior, however, she had sat there regularly on Saturday night. There was little way EAR could have known she would be there this night. She may not have been the night’s intended victim, but rather an alternate. Apparently EAR had sufficiently stalked the victim for sometime. Victim’s mother had called the police and reported that someone had broken into their home nearby and stolen a nightgown plus an address book that had been lying on the counter. Victim admitted she had received hang-up phone calls at home and at other homes where she babysat. No one would answer on the other side when she would repeatedly say “hello.” With the address book, EAR appears to have been able to follow the victim’s babysitting agenda and call her during those times that she was babysitting at the respective houses.

     This victim must be one of the most stalked victim’s in the entire dossier of the East Area Rapist’s files. From the clues available, when his intended victim was not available this night he scouted the neighborhood and found her at one of her babysitting locations.

Description

Description tallies with the East Area Rapist. This case the white mask was loosely fitting. He had a hunting knife still in the sheath. No gun.

Geography

The area at El Divisadero fit the EAR’s pattern to ripple out from bike paths and canals. However, most noticeable here is the fact that a line of CATs— power pylons— leads from the trails near Highway 680 to this area. He followed the CATs from Ygnacio Valley Road, the main thoroughfare, and to his surprise they did not lead over an open corridor, but they led him to this community.

House

The house was a single story, detached home.

Analysis

This incident helps explain No 32 in Little Pocket. There the victim lived on the levee but on an intersecting street to the house in which she would baby sit that night. Yet EAR still found her. The same is true here. He must have parked on San Jose Ct, prowled yards and did not find her home. Then he stole a bike and searched the neighborhoods, knowing her baby sitting locations. He left the bike, moved through yards on El Divisadero until he found her. He must then have walked back to his car, otherwise the bloodhound could not have followed his trail.

   Clearly EAR had followed this victim quite closely. EAR moved through several yards while he prowled, one reason why neighbors never really saw him on the nights of the attacks. Just think of how many yards EAR must have moved through on Adams Place in order to come out on Pine Valley Road (No. 40).

     What is most significant about this attack is that EAR must have followed the CATs. Despite the fact there was no open space corridor under them, for they are only a single and not double line of pylons), he spread out and found the community closest to the Ygnacio Canal Trail, park and school.

     Further underscoring the supposition that EAR followed the “CATs” are a few more reports of prowling during this time to the Walnut Creek Police. Lt. Larry Crompton mentions them in his book Sudden Terror. They occurred where one would expect EAR to strike— near the municipal golf course. To this location the same line of CATs lead, cross through and then into the foothills. They extend the width of Walnut Creek, on a line from the main highway. Yet EAR stalked no community in between. He stalked off San Carlos, near the Ygnacio Valley Trail and near the golf course, where once again the trail has wound around and there is more than one canal here as well. His unholy trinities comes together.

     All of the prowling reports by the municipal golf course involved homes with women in them or homes owned by a single woman. In two cases, apparently the prowler had entered the home while the families were out.  A picture of one of the homeowner’s daughters had been removed from his bureau. In another instance, a homeowner’s wife’s photo in a skimpy bikini had been found to be missing when the sheriffs asked the women  to search for any missing pictures.

   There is no doubt that EAR followed these CATs, prowled these canals, and used Ygnacio Valley Trail. But this is as far as we need take it here. We can reserve a discussion about why he never came back to strike at the golf course later. This was not be the only time that sheriffs responded over such calls, as in Lacing with Ligatures, only to stake an area out and come up empty handed.

     What is the most important clue about this case is how EAR stole the bicycle. He had, in fact, parked on San Jose Court, kibitzed to the opposite direction of the area he intended to strike, stole the bike, road past his own car on San Jose Court (parked in a blind spot of course) and then road to the house in the opposite direction, though it was close enough to walk.

     This is a lot of stalking and prowling back and forth.

     EAR may have known bloodhounds were being used. He could thus completely confuse a bloodhound’s ability to track him if he sped away on a bike. This night the bike was sprung and he walked back to his car.

     Personally, I think he was using a van sometimes and had a bike in the back. On nights where he stole a bike he did not have it. Rather he had a car and had to steal a bicycle.

     The next attack will suggest to us that.

Night Predator
Files on the East Area Rapist/Original Night Stalker