On December 20th, 1968, David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen set out on their first date together as typical American teenagers and ended the night as tragic characters in a legendary true crime story. The fact that the murders remained unsolved was accepted as a simple consequence of the harsh realities in the sensational and seemingly endless Zodiac mystery. The man who called himself “The Zodiac” took center stage in the following media frenzy surrounding the ongoing crime spree. The payphone used by the Zodiac and the letter taking credit for the Lake Herman Road murders. The possible link between the two shootings was fueled by a subsequent letter from someone who claimed to be the killer. The dispatcher was surprised when the man claimed he was also responsible for the murders on Lake Herman Road. At 12:40 AM, Vallejo police dispatcher answered a call from a man who claimed he was responsible for the shooting at Blue Rock Springs Park. The man fired several more shots into the car and then walked back to his car and drove away. The gunman started to walk away but returned when Michael cried out in pain. Bullets hit Darlene as she sat behind the steering wheel. Michael was shot in the jaw and leapt into the backseat only to be hit again. Michael and Darlene initially thought the figure approaching the passenger window with a bright light was a police officer, but they were shocked by a sudden burst of gunfire and a swarm of bullets flying into the car.
Shortly after midnight, another vehicle parked behind the Corvair and the driver stepped out. On the night of July 4, 1969, twenty-two year old Darlene Ferrin and her friend, nineteen year old Michael Mageau, sat inside a brown Corvair at Blue Rock Springs Park, located approximately two miles northwest of the crime scene on Lake Herman Road. By the summer of 1969, many observers wondered if the mystery would ever be solved yet they had no idea that the nightmare had just begun. Investigators learned that the boy had an alibi, so the search for the killer continued as the case faded from the headlines. An investigation led to the young boy who argued with David Faraday over his relationship with Betty Lou. The murders horrified the community afraid that a mad gunman was on the loose. He was unresponsive and died before reaching the hospital.įriends of the victims organized a reward fund to help identify the killer. Betty Lou died in the darkness, but David was still breathing when police officers later arrived at the scene. Betty Lou’s body was found further away from the station wagon, an indication that she tried to run away but the killer shot her five times in the right side of her back. One bullet had penetrated his skull behind the left ear and entered his brain. David’s body was found on the ground near the back wheel on the passenger side. Ten shell casings were found around the crime scene.
A bullet had penetrated the roof of the vehicle, and another bullet passed through a back window. No one knows exactly what happened that night, the precise chain of events unknown, but the evidence revealed that the two teenagers were trapped in a violent attack.
Passing drivers noted the presence of the Rambler, but one driver stopped his vehicle and stepped out onto the cold ground. According to some accounts, David and Betty Lou were planning to attend a party with some other students but, for some reason, the couple traveled to Lake Herman Road and parked David’s Rambler station wagon at a lovers lane spot. The couple talked about attending a Christmas event and they promised Betty Lou’s parents to return by 11:00 PM. David was determined to continue the relationship and planned to take Betty Lou out on her first date. The boy confronted David and they argued over the girl. The relationship blossomed but also aroused jealousy in another young boy who liked Betty Lou.
Betty Lou and David met at a youth function and soon he was visiting her at school. Betty Lou Jensen was sixteen years old, a talented artist and a popular student with many friends. Like many teenage boys, David began dating and soon found himself attracted to a young girl. According to some reports, David once confronted a marijuana dealer and threatened to report the man to police. David Faraday was the all-American kid, seventeen years old, a good student, a Boy Scout, a handsome young man.