As most of you know I wrote Sherriff Brown of Santa Barbara County in California before the 50th anniversary of the murders of this couple on June 4th of this year and requested a limited release of the police files of this case. None of the files have ever been released to the public. I have not heard back from the Sheriff as of this date. Just an update for this forum.

John B. Averitt

In fact it often needs to ask a second time to get a response..maybe this could be a good idea, as your request has already been placed.

QT

John, great try, thanks for the effort. They could at least, out of professional courtsey to you, reply even if it’s to say NO

John, once again you’ve done a remarkable job. Thanks for all your efforts. I’m sure the Domingos/Edwards family’s are forever greatful to you.

I really think that there needs to be some sort of understanding and transparency on behalf of LE. We all understand their need to protect information in active cases and we respect that. They do however, at times, concede and ask for the public’s help. I would think at the very least, if they aren’t willing to release any information or files, that they could respond to your requests John. It’s not as if you are a kook in a long line kooks. A cursory inspection of your devotion to this case would confirm that.

If they are protecting something vital it would be nice for them to even tell you that as a reason for not releasing info. We don’t know if this is a Z crime but there’s a chance it might be. Either way a little bit of help from LE might assist us in making a more informed decision. If we think it could be Z then that’s important in the bigger scheme but if, with more info, we think it isn’t that also helps.

This was a very real crime with devastating consequences for those involved. We, as an online community, don’t want to add this to the Zodiac freakshow. We just want to put in some work on it that might help and assist yourself, John, in your tireless efforts to bring resolution to this crime. God Bless your heart Sir.

Thank you everyone for your kind comments. I am really on both sides of this point. I have been in the same situation of not being able to reply to people with information in open cases in my job in law enforcement. I do not believe the detectives have any information they are "keeping from the public" because they are hiding it but they continue to hold some sensitive information that only the killer knows for investigative purposes. They also likely have at least one distant family member who does not want this information released, I have spoken to her. Her perspective is that just brings more hurt to the family, that is what she said about my documentary and the follow up stories in the media about the case that followed. Finally there is at least one person of interest who was investigated many years after the murders (after Bill Baker’s time) and that information should not be released to protect that person. I specifically requested that persons of interest that we do not already know about be stricken from the record. I know the identity of the young man that Bobby had the fight with a few days before the murder, he was cleared of the murders. His name was never released to the media and should not be released. There would be a great deal of detective work to sanitize these early records, the only ones I requested. That takes time and money. I do know the Sheriff is running for re-election next year and that might be a good time to request this information again. So, I have not given up. Fifty years is a good time/reason to request and 51, this next spring, is an even better time/reason.

jbaveritt

Thank you John for the update. Sometimes we as lay people, not affiliated with law enforcement, do not understand all the things associated with what qualifies as information that can be released or not. You made good points in your post and it helps us to understand a bit better. There does seem to be the notion that putting murders back in the spotlight is hurtful to the family members of the victims particularly by older members of a family. I have heard the same from family members of the SRHM. They would rather remember the good times regardless that the crimes have never been solved. I have also heard from much younger family members who were not born when the murders happened and they want to know everything because it was something rarely, if ever, talked about in their family.

Thanks for the update John, glad to hear from you, and that there are still persons of interest being considered. I know you and I disagree a bit about the possible age range of the perp, I think it could have been somebody close to Robert’s age, and you think it is likely somebody older. Regarding the ‘fight’ Robert had a few days before, I take it that person was close to RObert’s age? Without giving his name out, do you know the locations he has lived in over the years, any connection to the SF bay area??

I think the sniper incidents in the days before the murders have something to do with the D&E case, and I wonder,or at least would assume, that any suspects in that case may have been suspects in the D&E case.

Finally there is at least one person of interest who was investigated many years after the murders (after Bill Baker’s time) and that information should not be released to protect that person. I specifically requested that persons of interest that we do not already know about be stricken from the record. I know the identity of the young man that Bobby had the fight with a few days before the murder, he was cleared of the murders.

Well, that one is interesting…haven’t heard about that one, yet.

I think the sniper incidents in the days before the murders have something to do with the D&E case, and I wonder,or at least would assume, that any suspects in that case may have been suspects in the D&E case.

Has it ever been ascertained what weapon(s) was used in the beach sniper incidents? My understanding is that the weapon used in the D/E case was never fully agreed upon but that it was likely a rifle. I always thought a rifle was an odd choice of weapon to use for the type of close quarters confrontation in this case, and that it was used because the murders were not planned. It seems very likely that the unfortunate teens could have stumbled upon the sniper while he was scoping out new perches or vantage points (or he stumbled upon them), I believe there was a surfing area fairly nearby that would have been a typical target for the beach sniper?

I think the sniper incidents in the days before the murders have something to do with the D&E case, and I wonder,or at least would assume, that any suspects in that case may have been suspects in the D&E case.

Has it ever been ascertained what weapon(s) was used in the beach sniper incidents? My understanding is that the weapon used in the D/E case was never fully agreed upon but that it was likely a rifle. I always thought a rifle was an odd choice of weapon to use for the type of close quarters confrontation in this case, and that it was used because the murders were not planned. It seems very likely that the unfortunate teens could have stumbled upon the sniper while he was scoping out new perches or vantage points (or he stumbled upon them), I believe there was a surfing area fairly nearby that would have been a typical target for the beach sniper?

That’s a good theory James, that he was out picking a new spot to shoot from, or that he was target shooting. I think the common belief is that the killer happened to come along their car parked on the highway above,and then pulled in next to them and walked down to D&E on the beach, but who knows, maybe it was the other way around, maybe they walked down on him. I think(but John Averitt would know more details)that the evidence seems to point to the couple being interrupted as they were relaxing on the beach already, similar to the Berryessa attack.

I could totally see a younger person starting off sniping,taking pot shots at passing cars, then working their way up to people, and then finally confronting somebody up close and personal. This may have happened with D&E

One interesting set of videos from the crime scene recently posted that some may have noticed is by Glan Julian Quasar who posts crime scene videos from around the country. He must have tried to find this scene, could not, and the found two key people to take him there. You can see them on several of the videos and they are worth seeing. The first, in the blue shirt is Lee Gnesa. He is the former 19 year old I talk about in my film who went looking for Bobby and Linda with Bobby’s father on June 5, 1963. Lee walked down to the crime scene with Trooper Paul Schultz. The trooper then walked up to the shack and found the bodies. The second person is Bobby’s cousin Brian Donaldson who was about 12 at the time of the murders. They do not speak much about the murders but do give some information about the crime scene back then. Lee was at the location of the old shack back before the murders and thinks he finds an old screen from the shack. I hardly remember walking up to the shack that one time fifty two years ago this next fall, much less what it looked like. His memory is likely much better that mine. If you are interested in seeing these many small clips go to You Tube and search for Domingos and Edwards and you will find them. They have some writing at the bottom of each clip that helps understand what they are about. Remember it will be 51 years this June 4! We are still searching for answers.

jbaveritt

Thank you John! There are a series of short clips at You Tube that chronicle the scene and surrounding area. I could not get all the clips to work but perhaps it is my internet connection that is to blame. I’ll keep trying.

Here is a link to an index of the clips-

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ … nd+Edwards

Thank you Seagull,
Nothing new here but it was good to see Lee again after all these years. I had not been up on the shelf where the shack was since before the murders and I was happy to see that site again. I was not sure the location was still there since the major flooding many years ago, after the murders. In the old days you just walked there up the path but the flooding washed all that away. As I said in the film, I was only at the shack one time in the fall or late summer of 1962–a long time ago. Now the creek is cut deep (many feet) below the level of the place where the shack was. There is a ledge now where the path was. I recall walking all the way up to the underpass where the cattle walked under U.S. 101. It was good to see that again. I plan to go back to the scene this August and perhaps I will be able to make some more photos. It is much better to go there in the winter when the growth is down.

jbaveritt

Hi John, just rewatched your documentary and I always come across new and interesting things of interest. One thing you may know the answer to, regarding the sniper incidents, it was reported that 2 men were shot at while at the shack from the train tracks above. Do you know if any attempt was made to locate shell casings from that incident?

Personally I think there’s a high probability that the sniper incidents are related to this double murder, and that the killer’s activity slowly gravitated to a close up attack as opposed to one from afar

As we approach the 52 anniversary of the murders of these two wonderful people I continue to push for resolution of these murders. One interesting note about the crime scene in the news.You may have noticed that there was a major oil spill just off the coast of California just south of the crime scene this week. I saw video of the spill today and it showed the place where Bobby and Linda were killed from a distance but I could not see if the "four miles of oil" had hit that far up the coast as of today. The beaches to the south have been hit by a "broken pipeline" early in the week and the up close shots look really bad. On the documentary you can see the wells off the coast and the pipelines bring the oil to the coast. Someone reported "a strong smell" this weekend and they traced the smell to the pipeline. They cut the flow but the damage was done. I called the sheriff’s department but they had not investigated the spread of the oil that far north as of today (5/19/15). My guess is that it will eventually hit the crime scene. That is a shame for that wonderful beach to be hit by the crude oil. It can take years for the beach, even with a major clean up, to be back to its former self. I recall a spill in the mid 1960’s to the north of Lompoc and the tar continues to be evident on the beach today. I just thought you might want to know if this development.

jbaveritt