Zebra murders

The Zebra murders were a number of connected murders performed by a black supremacist serial killer ring that took place in San Francisco, California in 1973 and 1974. They were dubbed the Zebra Killings because of the radio channel used by the San Francisco Police ("Z") exclusively for this case.

The First Wave of Murders

On October 19, 1973 a couple, Richard and Quita Hague, who were kidnapped by a group of men and forced into a white van as they took an after-dinner stroll near their home in Telegraph Hill. Quita was nearly decapitated with a machete after being sexually molested, and Richard was similarly hacked, but miraculously survived after being left for dead.

Related Topics:
October 19 - 1973 - Telegraph Hill - Machete

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Ten days later, on October 29, Frances Rose was repeatedly shot by a black man who asked for a ride as she was driving up to the entrance gate of the University of California at Berkeley.

Related Topics:
October 29 - University of California at Berkeley

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On November 9, a PG&E clerk, Robert Stoekmann, was assaulted by another black man but luckily he was able to take the gun away and fire back. The black man, identified as Leroy Doctor, was later arrested and convicted of assault with a deadly weapon.

Related Topics:
November 9 - PG&E

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Another victim, a Jordanian Arab, Saleem "Sammy" Erekat, was not so lucky. On November 25, a tall black man pulled out a gun, took Erekat to the back of his grocery store, and shot him behind the right ear, killing him instantly.

Related Topics:
Jordanian - Arab - November 25

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On December 11, Paul Dancik, a 26-year old heroin addict, was shot three times in the chest by a black man while we has calling a dealer at a phone booth.

Related Topics:
December 11 - Dealer

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Then two days later, on the evening of December 13, Art Agnos, then a member of the California Commission on Aging, was attending a meeting in Potrero Hill. Agnos was in the largely black neighborhood to discuss building a government-funded health clinic in the area. After the meeting ended, Agnos was talking to two women when a black man shot him twice in the back. He barely survived the attack.

Related Topics:
December 13 - Art Agnos

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During the same evening, Marietta DiGirolamo was walking along Divisadero when she was shoved into a barbershop by a black man and shot twice in the chest, once in the back when she turned around to flee. She died on the sidewalk.

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On December 20, Angela Roselli, a 20-year old college student was shot three times ? one bullet hit her spine ? near her apartment by one of two black men. She survived.

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An 81-year-old janitor, Ilario Bertuccio, was shot that same evening on his way home from work in the Bay View district. He died almost instantly after four shots to the shoulder and chest.

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On December 22, two more whites died within six minutes of each other. Neal Moynihan was killed while walking near the Civic Center after doing his Christmas shopping. A black man walked in front of him and shot him in the face, neck and heart. The killer then approached Mildred Hosler as she was walking to her bus stop, and shot her four times.

Related Topics:
December 22 - Whites - Christmas

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The killings stopped for a few days during the Christmas holidays, then resumed with a vengeance on December 28, with four more shootings of white victims. One of them, Vincent Wollin, had celebrated his 69th birthday that day. Only one of the victims, Roxanne Macmillan, survived, although she would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

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