Prompted by some excellent research and discussion by Darla Jones and others on possible Process Church and/or occult ties to Zodiac, I was reminded of the Arlis Perry murder. I thought we had a thread on Arlis Perry but I could not find one here. I brought over these posts on the case from the old site, plus one post on a related issue by Entropy done at the new site, and a new post by me.
This thread is open to all discussions on this tragic case, including possible Zodiac ties as well as it being a non-Zodiac crime. Also open to discussion of all suspects, including Mentzer and Kaczynski, and including possible ties to the Process Church, Manson Family or other occult groups.
DREAMNINE: I find this case very interesting; and I’m posting it here although I don’t think she was a Z victim, but just to get other peoples’ opinions on this case. Do you think that she just evangelised to the wrong people? The date is notable – linked to Alester Crowley.
Much of what I was able to find comes from this thread: http://www.findadeath.com/forum/showthr … -and-Slain
From Wikipedia:
Arlis Perry, a newlywed 19-year-old North Dakota native, was killed in Stanford Memorial Church on the grounds of Stanford University on October 12, 1974. Her murder remains unsolved as of late 2009.
She was found murdered with an ice pick in the church in the early morning hours of October 13, 1974. Perry was sexually assaulted with altar candles.
David Berkowitz, the notorious "Son of Sam" killer from New York City, mentioned the Perry murder in a few letters, suggesting that he heard details of the crime from "Manson II", the culprit. In the San Jose Mercury News, Jessie Seyfer noted that "investigators interviewed [Berkowitz] in prison and now believe he has nothing of value to offer" regarding the Perry case.
Her murder is notable because she is among a small but important genre of murders, that of women killed at elite universities, possibly by known or inside assailants. A second notable slaying in this category was that of Annie Le at Yale in September 2009.
Also interesting is that no-one knows the origin of that photograph of Arlis, and that she didn’t generally look like that.
There are mentions of The Son of Sam in New York who was ruled out but nevertheless had knowledge of the case which would seem strange back then in pre-internet times.
AK WILKS: On or around January 12, 1974, a caller claiming to be "Zodiac" says a body will be found in a church. Apparently this was in reference to Daly City and/or San Mateo County.
On January 29, 1974, the Zodiac "Exorcist" letter is mailed, thought to be mailed from San Mateo County.
October 12, 1974 – 9 months after the phone call from "Zodiac" saying a body would be found in a church – the body of Arlis Perry is found inside the Stanford Memorial Church. A sandy haired man is seen entering the church before the murder. Perry was killed by an icepick to the back of the head. The body was posed obscenely with a candle inserted in her vagina. In the film "The Exorcist" the girl inserts a crucifix in her vagina while controlled by the demon.
Oct. 30-31, 1974, Halloween Holiday Period: Temporary headstone of Arlis Perry is stolen from gravesite in Bismarck North Dakota.
In the book "The Ultimate Evil" the Son of Sam David Berkowitz claims a satanic network links his cases, the Manson cases and the Perry murder. There is some interesting evidence but the case is far from proven and authorities eventually dismissed Berkowitz’s claims. I think Manson/Process connected William Mentzer is a valid suspect for this case. But I also think the Zodiac should be regarded as a suspect for this crime which happened within one day of the 5th year anniversary of the Paul Stine murder.
SEAGULL: Arlis’s death record:
California Death Index, 1940-1997 about Arlis K Perry
Name: Arlis K Perry
Social Security #: 50272xxxx
Sex: Female
Birth Date: 22 Feb 1955
Birthplace: North Dakota
Death Date: 13 Oct 1974
Death Place: Santa Clara
In all likelihood Arlis was probably killed on the 13th not the 12th.
AK WILKS: Stanford Memorial Church. At one time I found it mildly interesting that you can see Z like crosses inside circles – as if maybe if Z did this crime he picked a location that gave a subtle hint. Now I think that is probably too obtuse to mean anything!
Picture of Perry below.
Then two pictures of WILLIAM MENTZER. In bottom picture he appears to have sandy colored hair.
Like PA victim Lindy Biechler aka Lindy Little, Perry had her gravesite desecrated.
Suspect in this case is a sandy haired man who did not wear a watch. That narrows it down, huh?
In the 1960’s and early 1970’s, the hair of Ted K could be described as "sandy". That description also matches the Visalia Ransacker,the Maggiore Killer and the EAR/ONS, who police think could all be the same person.
THE FOREIGNER: By request from oue forummember, Daniel Gillotti, here is a post of mine on the Arlis Perry case dated April 18, 2009:
This is a murdercase which som people have suggested might be a Zodiac murder and/or a Process Church of the Final Judgment murder.
The victim Arlis Perry and her husband was from North Dakota so it made me think of Gutsygals supect which she claims was from North Dakota.
(TF note April 2012; we now know that Gutsygals suspect was a hoax)
North Dakota has also ties to the "Son of Sam" murders due to that David Berkowitz´s "friend" John Carr was found dead by either suicide or murder in North Dakota Feb 16, 1978.
After reseaching this murder case, I have come to belive that the murder of Arlis Perry was a satanic ritualistic murder "tribute" to Aleister Crowley, commited on the 99 year anniversery of his birth.
Arlis Perry, 19 years old, was killed, in Memorial Church, at Stanford, October 12 1974, in the midnight hours.
She had been posed in a ritualistic fashion. The cause of death was an ice pick behind her left ear.
Aleister Crowley was born October 12, 1875 between 11PM and midnight.
AP was killed on the 99th (upsidedown: 66) anniversery of AC´s birthday Oct, 12, 1875
AP murdered on 27th aniversery of AC´s death Dec 1, 1947 (last to numbers reverse 1974)
AP and her pants was posed in a way so that it became an image of Crowley´s version of the hexagram.
"The body was naked from the waste down. The legs were spread
wide apart. Her jeans were spread apart, across her calfs,
going in the opposite direction."
Se image below:
SO alltogether:
AP was murdered on AC´s 99 birthday anniversery
AP was killed within the same hours as AC was born (midnight between Oct 12 and 13)
AP was murdered partly on the reverse year of his death
AP´s killer arranged AP and her pants to forme AC´s hexagram
AP was a Christian
AP was murdered in a Church
AP was sexually assulted in the Church
I would say that it is 99 % chance that Arlis Perry´s killer/killers were HEAVILY Aleister Crowley followers.
THE FOREIGNER: Here is some info on the case:
http://bloodonthealtar.tripod.com/ARLISMRA.HTM
The ritualistic murder Of Mrs. Arlis Perry
By: Andrew L. Nichols
Back in 1974, in a lonely church on the campus of Stanford
University, the young wife of Bruce Perry was murdered in a
ritualistic fashion. The fact that the murder happened in a
church was terrible enough, but coupled with the fact the
murder was the result of a ritual performed made it even
worse. Author Maury Terry in his book entitled, “The
Ultimate Evil,” ties this murder to both the Son of Sam
(David Berkowitz) slayings, and also the (Charlie) Manson
“Family” murders. Was the murder of Arlis Perry, indeed the
work of some Satanic cult, as Author Terry supposes?
Arlis was a student at Stanford University, and a committed
Evangelical Christian. She had no qualms about witnessing
for the Lord. She would witness about her faith to everyone.
No one was immune from her Gospel; the Gospel of Hope, and
the Gospel of Peace. Back in her hometown of Minot, ND, she
even wtinessed to die hard Satanists about her faith. David
Berkowitz alluded that Arlis had been followed from Minot,
ND to Stanford University, and was murdered. Author Terry
alludes that the reason she was murdered was because of such
witnessing to Satanists. Was that the case?
Arlis was the wife of Bruce Perry, who had aspirations of
becoming a Doctor. Since the murder happened almost 30 years
ago, it is highly likely Mr. Perry has already become a
Doctor. At first, the Police had thought that perhaps Bruce
was involved in the murder. They also thought that Mrs.
Perry had been victimized by some type of sexual predator,
with Satanic worship leanings. The way the body was found
clearly indicated a ritualistic styled murder. Author Terry
says that when the Police did find Arlis in the church, that
they quickly deduced that her muder was indeed a ritual. Was
Arlis Pre-Chosen by Satanists for ritualistic murder? Or was
she a victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time?
The body, the way it was laid out was in a ritualistic
fashion. (NOTE: This part is a little graphic, so if you
have a weak stomach, you better skip over this part!) The
body was naked from the waste down. The legs were spread
wide apart. Her jeans were spread apart, across her calfs,
going in the opposite direction. Author Terry says that the
whole set up of her body was decidedly a "Diamond Pattern."
The left breast of her blouse had been torn open, and the
breast was exposed. Her hands were laid carefully between
her breasts, with an altar candle between her hands. To
complete the Desecration, another altar candle had been
forced into her vagina. Remember: All this happened in a
church. She had been tortured, and abused, but that wasn’t
what caused her death. What caused her death is an ice pick
had been forced into her skull, just behind the left ear.
This was truly a heinous crime!
ENTROPY: This may well have been a hoax but I’ve always found this call interesting since it almost seems to foreshadow the Exorcist letter. Thanks to Seagull for the newspaper article.
A caller claiming to be Zodiac apparently contacted San Francisco police and "various news outlets" reporting that he had killed a woman and dumped her body in a Daly City church. The report was obviously false since Daly City police checked every church in Daly City and found nothing. Zodiac, after being silent for almost three years, then writes 17 days later to comment on the Exorcist and the letter is postmarked from the San Mateo County area, which includes Daly City.
There was also the case of a Catholic priest, Father Patzelt, who apparently performed numerous exorcisms for a family in Daly City in 1973 (presumably before the Exorcist was released) and then was deluged with exorcism requests in 1974 after this was publicized and after the release of the Exorcist movie. This case certainly could have inspired both the call and Zodiac’s Exorcist letter at a time when "Satanic panic" was in full force. The call is also kind of an eerie foreshadowing of the case of Arlis Perry, whose mutilated body was found in a Palo Alto church on 10/13/74.
http://articles.latimes.com/1988-05-23/ … _exorcisms
http://www.greatplainsexaminer.com/2012 … lis-perry/
Was this a case of Zodiac copycatting a copycat or could Zodiac have actually placed this call as well? Or are both call and letter hoaxes?
AK WILKS: In re the October 1974 murder of Arlis Perry inside the Stanford Memorial Church. It happened almost 5 years to the day after the Stine murder, and 9 months after someone claiming to be Zodiac had called in a threat to dump a body in a church. And I just found out that her husband, Dr Bruce Perry, had as his academic advisor and mentor Dr. Seymour Levine, a man famous for rather cruel animal experimentation and behavioral theories that would have put him likely on the top of someone’s death list who hated those types of researchers (Ted K). Also, Arlis Perry’s car had apparently just suffered deflated tires, bringing to mind Johns and other car trouble ruse attacks Morf has looked at that might have been Zodiac. Also, the Oct 12 date could be a reference to the Crowley birthday. But consider that bot the Stine and Perry murders happen on or near Columbus Day, which could be regarded as a day of celebration for European conquest of native cultures. For someone who believed in the primacy of pre-industrial native cultures over so called civilization, that day could be a day to attack civilized society.
MODERATOR
I have a booklet on the Stanford Memorial Church with a layout of what was where in the church. The booklet discusses the history, principles, architecture and the inscriptions that are on the walls of the church. The church has many mosaics and stained glass windows and is Romanesque in style. The booklet was published in 1964.
I do not know why this came out so huge, maybe one of the mods can fix it for me?????
I have a booklet on the Stanford Memorial Church with a layout of what was where in the church. The booklet discusses the history, principles, architecture and the inscriptions that are on the walls of the church. The church has many mosaics and stained glass windows and is Romanesque in style. The booklet was published in 1964.
I do not know why this came out so huge, maybe one of the mods can fix it for me?????
I resized it. Interesting layout – it is actually in the form of a cross.
MODERATOR
Thank you AK. The church is full of symbolism from its shape to the many inscriptions and mosaics.
This crime has always disgusted me, all murders are bad, but this one might take the cake to know what was done to her in a church, and how it was done, just pure evil. Didn’t Son of Sam David Berkowitz hint that he or his people had something to do with her murder?
There is more than one way to lose your life to a killer
http://www.zodiackillersite.com/
http://zodiackillersite.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/Morf13ZKS
This crime has always disgusted me, all murders are bad, but this one might take the cake to know what was done to her in a church, and how it was done, just pure evil. Didn’t Son of Sam David Berkowitz hint that he or his people had something to do with her murder?
Yes I mention that above. The book The Ultimate Evil has info from Berkowitz and points to involvement by the Process Church, the extended Manson Family and William Mentzer.
MODERATOR
http://murderpedia.org/male.M/m/mentzer-william.htm
William Mentzer
Killer jailed for murder of impresario Roy Radin, who was suspected of being the head of the Son of Sam cult. Mentzer was an associate of Charles Manson and also implicated in the killing of Arliss Perry, a devout Christian slain in North Dakota.
Mentzer is suspected as being the person identified by David Berkovitz, the man convicted of the Son of Sam slayings, as Manson II. Los Angeles Police openly acknowledged Mentzer’s membership in "some kind of hit squad". The Process Church of the Final Judgement has been associated with both the Manson and Sam slayings, and has been said by some commentators to be the operation running such a hit squad.
Source: The Giant Book of Conspiracies by Jonathan Vankin and John Whelan
http://murderpedia.org/male.M/m/mentzer-william.htm
William MentzerKiller jailed for murder of impresario Roy Radin, who was suspected of being the head of the Son of Sam cult. Mentzer was an associate of Charles Manson and also implicated in the killing of Arliss Perry, a devout Christian slain in North Dakota.
Mentzer is suspected as being the person identified by David Berkovitz, the man convicted of the Son of Sam slayings, as Manson II. Los Angeles Police openly acknowledged Mentzer’s membership in "some kind of hit squad". The Process Church of the Final Judgement has been associated with both the Manson and Sam slayings, and has been said by some commentators to be the operation running such a hit squad.
Source: The Giant Book of Conspiracies by Jonathan Vankin and John Whelan
The portion that I bolded is flat out wrong. There is no proof that Manson and Mentzer knew each other, just the same old stuff, inaccurately regurgitated online. Arliss Perry did not die in North Dakota. She died at the Stanford Memorial Church at Stanford in the SF Bay Area.
Darla, you really need to filter some of this stuff you’re posting. Check the sources and verify, verify, verify.
Mentzer was convicted in the murder of Roy Radin. Terry in Ultimate Evil links Mentzer to the extended Manson Family and to Process but not to Manson directly. Mentzer has been named as a suspect by Terry and others in the Arlis Perry case.
Terry and other writers on occult topics sometimes make leaps of logic and give in to sensationalism. The topic seems to bring that out in people. I don’t think Terry proves a nationwide Satanic network. But there is some solid reporting, facts and evidence in the book. Just keep your skeptical awareness and try to seperate facts from speculation. Always consider the nature of a source.
I hope more people look at the Perry case. It has not got a lot of attention from the amateur research community. Foreigner does an excellent job presenting some evidence above. There are enough distinctive clues here that it seems progress could be made by many taking a fresh look.
And while I may be in the minority on this, but considering all the facts including the January Zodiac phone call about dumping a body in a church and the Exorcist tie in, I think Zodiac should be considered a suspect.
MODERATOR
I’m not sure what is fact and what is fiction. I have given up on guessing the answer. I’m just working on finding the big picture. I know I post a lot of material, but sometimes, something in an "unvetted" article jumps out that leads to another way of thinking about things. I’ll hold my single link posts and put them together as one single post.
http://murderpedia.org/male.M/m/mentzer-william.htm
William MentzerKiller jailed for murder of impresario Roy Radin, who was suspected of being the head of the Son of Sam cult. Mentzer was an associate of Charles Manson and also implicated in the killing of Arliss Perry, a devout Christian slain in North Dakota.
Mentzer is suspected as being the person identified by David Berkovitz, the man convicted of the Son of Sam slayings, as Manson II. Los Angeles Police openly acknowledged Mentzer’s membership in "some kind of hit squad". The Process Church of the Final Judgement has been associated with both the Manson and Sam slayings, and has been said by some commentators to be the operation running such a hit squad.
Source: The Giant Book of Conspiracies by Jonathan Vankin and John Whelan
The portion that I bolded is flat out wrong. There is no proof that Manson and Mentzer knew each other, just the same old stuff, inaccurately regurgitated online. Arliss Perry did not die in North Dakota. She died at the Stanford Memorial Church at Stanford in the SF Bay Area.
Darla, you really need to filter some of this stuff you’re posting. Check the sources and verify, verify, verify.
This case has been finally solved – it was the campus security guard who claimed to have "found" her body. He had been a suspect, but apparently his fingerprints didn´t matched the evidence, but he has been linked thanks to the DNA evidence. Unfortunatelly, he commited suicide while they were going to arrest him. I don´t see how he could be Zodiac – the crime was way to vicious to fit into Zodiac´s MO.
But this still leaves open into question if that phone-call months before the killing was really from the Zodiac or if the murderer was connected to any weird cult that was planning foul play.
Sounds a bit like DNA contamination to me. Do we know where his DNA has been taken from? If he had put up the candles earlier even his prints could have been on those..
QT
*ZODIACHRONOLOGY*
"Sheriff Laurie Smith said DNA found on Perry’s clothing re-tested in 2016, helped formally implicate Crawford. Sources confirmed that DNA most recently tested came from semen found on the Levi’s blue jeans Perry had worn to the church."
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/07/09/ … es-ending/
Fortunatelly, the people who originally collected the evidence were intelligent enough to think outside the box (taking in consideration the possible future developments in forensic science) and retrieved the DNA from the semen found at the crime scene as evidence. But unfortunatelly, the same cannot be said about the collection of evidence in regards to the Zodiac attack at Lake Berryessa…