Brenda Kaye Merchant, 19, was stabbed to death at home on Feb. 1, 1974 in Marysville, CA, about 40 miles North of Sacramento, CA.
She is #45 in RG’s list.
The following, from the Lodi News Sentinel on Feb 2, is all I’ve found on her:
Interestingly, the "Single Killer in Oakland" headline below the posted article is an interesting unsolved stabbing murder of 3 people. I posted the full (short) article in the non-Z crime forum:
Thanks for posting these, especially the ones that were in Graysmiths book, I know Seagull was also working on those. Makes one wonder were Graysmith got his information. So many victims.
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If Zodiac ever joined a Z forum, I’m sure he would have been banned for not following forum rules. Zam’s/Quote
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MODERATOR
Thanks for posting these, especially the ones that were in Graysmiths book, I know Seagull was also working on those. Makes one wonder were Graysmith got his information. So many victims.
Yes, I’m trying to coordinate a bit with Seagull.
I assume there’s was more local reporting on Merchant, but those newspapers’ archives aren’t easily accessible.
This is practically identical to the 1970 Nancy Bennallack murder in Sacramento: lone victim, home invasion, overkill stabbing, no sexual assault. Merchant was also a pretty blonde teenager like Cheri Bates.
Would it be possible to determine if Brenda had a sister named Joyce? Also, could the pronunciation of this surname be different than what would be the obvious one, based on spelling? Such as emphasis on the last syllable, perhaps sounding French?
Would it be possible to determine if Brenda had a sister named Joyce? Also, could the pronunciation of this surname be different than what would be the obvious one, based on spelling? Such as emphasis on the last syllable, perhaps sounding French?
I would like to know about the French thing as well
