Decades-Long US Serial Killer Case Close to Being Solved, Investigator Claims
The main investigator for one of America's most chilling unsolved serial killers believes he has identified the perpetrator more than 50 years later.
Some of the most notorious serial killer cases in the history of the United States remain unsolved. This includes the Zodiac Killer case, the Texarkana Phantom Moonlight Killer, the Axeman of New Orleans and the I-70 Killer.
But as the resilient and determined authorities proved in 2018 when they finally identified and captured Joseph James DeAngelo as the Golden State Killer, it's never too late to solve a case and bring justice.
Now, police may be closing in on resolving another infamous serial killer case that terrified residents in California during the '70s.
Speaking to Max Harrison-Caldwell of The San Francisco Standard, SFPD Homicide Cold Case Unit investigator Dan Cunningham explained that they continue to monitor a prime suspect in 'The Doodler' murder cases, and that an arrest isn't out of the question.
"Once this person was made aware that they were a suspect in these murders, the murders stopped," Cunningham told Harrison-Caldwell.
Cunningham didn't disclose the suspect's name but told Harrison-Caldwell it's a man in his 70s who lives in the East Bay. Cunningham spoke to the suspect in 2018 and ran into him in public a few years later, though they haven't had any further encounters.
What to Know About ‘The Doodler' Case
The first victim linked to the Doodler killings was 49-year-old Gerald Earl Cavanagh, whose body was discovered dead on Jan. 27, 1974, at San Francisco's Ocean Beach.
The other four confirmed victims were 27-year-old Joseph "Jae" Stevens (body discovered on June 25, 1974), 31-year-old Klaus Achim "Claus" Christmann (July 7, 1974), 32-year-old Frederick Elmer Capin (May 12, 1975) and 66-year-old Harald Gullberg (June 4, 1975).
In 2022, police named 52-year-old Warren Andrews as a possible victim of the Doodler as well. Andrews was found savagely beaten at Lands End on April 27, 1975, and never regained consciousness.
According to the San Francisco Police Department, all of the victims were white men in the gay community. Police don't believe either of the victims knew the suspect before they were killed.
Per Harrison-Caldwell, survivors of an attack at Fox Plaza described the suspect "as a handsome, svelte Black man in his early 20s." One survivor identified their attacker.
The SFPD is offering a $250,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the Doodler.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published June 16, 2026 at 10:45 PM.