San Francisco's Zebra Murders

Art Agnos, San Francisco Mayor
targeted by Zebra Killers

The Zebra Murders were a series of racially motivated yet seemingly random murders and attacks that took place in San Francisco in 1973 and 1974.. The perpetrators of these murders and violent attacks were dubbed the "Zebra Killers."

The San Francisco press originated the term Zebra Killers/Murders. The name stuck, and even the police picked it up, using channel Z on their radios strictly for the Zebra case. The designation may have had something to do with the fact that the killings appeared to be committed by black people against white people.

The first known Zebra Murder took place on October 19, 1973. A young married couple, Quita and Richard Hague, were out walking in San Francisco when two young, well-dressed black men assaulted them. They were forced into a white van. Quita was sexually assaulted and then stabbed in the neck several times with a machete. Her head was nearly severed. After watching his wife be murdered, Richard was tortured and left for dead. He was found stumbling in the streets of San Francisco. The skin on his skull was hanging off in strips, such was the ferocity of the attack against him.

At this point, the police knew that a horrific crime had taken place, but there was no way of knowing how much the situation was going to escalate, but it wouldn't be long before it did just that. Another Zebra Murder occurred ten days later. Twenty-eight-year-old Frances Rose was pulling up to the University of California's Berkeley Campus when a young black man asked her for a ride. She tried to pull away, but the man opened the passenger side door and shot her three times. She died as a result.

Another Zebra attack occurred on November 9, 1973. A man named Leroy Doctor cornered 26-year-old Robert Stoeckmann and put a gun to his face. After a struggle, during which Robert was grazed by a bullet, Robert gained control of the gun. He then shot Leroy three times. Police found him nearby. He was arrested and convicted of assault with a deadly weapon. If police thought that they had the killer, they were wrong. Leroy was definitely involved, but he was not the only one by a long shot.

On November 25, 1973, Saleen Erakat was shot and killed in his grocery store by a black man. Saleen was not white. He was Arabic, but pale enough for one of the Zebra Killers to target him. A few weeks later, on December 11, 1973, one of the Zebra Killers targeted a young man who had stopped to use a pay phone. Paul Dancik was shot three times and died in the street.

Two attacks occurred on December 13–one of which was a high profile attack on San Francisco's mayor, who was shot. He barely lived. Later that night, 31-year-old Marietta DiGirolamo was shot three times in the street. Another double attack happened a week later. On December 20, 1973, Angela Roselli was shot three times in the street. She was only 20-years-old when she died. The next Zebra Murder victim of the night was 81-year-old Ilario Bertuccio. He was shot four times. Like Angela, he died in the street, suggesting utterly random attacks. The next double attack happened two nights later. Nineteen-year-old Neal Moynihan and 50-year-old Mildred Hosler were shot and killed within minutes of each other.

December 28, 1973, brought the worst night the Zebra Killers ever gave San Francisco. The following were Zebra Murders that occurred that night. All of the victims were shot. Jane Holly, 45 was shot in a laundromat. Tana Smith, 32, was shot twice in the street. Vincent Wollin, 69, was also shot twice in the street. John Bambic, 84, shot in the back in the street. Roxanne McMillan, 23, was lucky enough to escape with her life. She was shot twice as she walked from her car. She was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

Obviously, the killings were unnerving San Francisco residents. Furthermore, tourists were afraid to visit the city. Who could blame them? The police were unable to do anything and after the bloodbath on December 28, the Zebra Murders stopped for several months. In April of 1974, five more people were attacked. Two of them died. The police were forced to offer a reward after they were unable to continue stopping people who fit the description due to civil rights issues. The reward worked.

A man named Anthony Harris came to the police with information about a group called the Death Angels. They were the Zebra Killers that had been terrorizing the city. Anthony explained to the police that they all worked at Black Self Help Moving and Storage, as had Leroy Doctor. These men were a Black Muslim sect with radicalized ideas about religion and race. They believed that an evil scientist had created white people and that they were inferior. They also believed that killing white people was a ticket to heaven. Police knew Harris was telling the truth when he told them about a murder that the public did not know about. A man had been chopped into pieces at the warehouse. The police found the body the previous December.

The Zebra Murders ended when police raided Black Self Help Moving and Storage. Seven men were arrested. Three were released. Jesse Lee Cooks, Manuel Moore, J.C. Simon and Larry Green faced a trial that lasted more than a year–the longest in San Francisco history. They were all convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Larry Green laughed as his verdict was read. There were people, at the time, who believed that the men were innocent. There is no denying that the crimes stopped when they were detained. It is highly likely that the police got the Zebra Killers.