The Santa Barbara Murders

June 4, 1963. Two young people, Robert Domingos and his fiancé Linda Edwards, were found in a lean-to type of shack very close to a beach between Lompoc and Santa Barbara, California. They had been shot with a .22 caliber weapon.

A reconstruction of the crime showed that the perpetrator had the female victim tie up the male victim. As the perpetrator was tying up the female the male got loose, incapacitated the attacker and they were both able to flee. But the assailant quickly recovered and shot them in the back. He then approached them and shot Robert 11 times in the back and Linda 9 times in the chest. After putting the bodies, the rope used and the .22 shell casings into the lean-to he tried unsuccessfully several times to set the shack on fire.

June 4, 1963 was the last quarter phase of the moon - an important aspect in Celtic / Druid teachings. Former Police reporter Dave Peterson found that the number 4 connects to Zodiac. This was also the year Bruce Davis first came to California. The fact that the couple tried to run away is like what Betty Lou Jensen did on Lake Herman Road December 20, 1968. Having the female tie up the male before he tied up the female is like what Zodiac did with Shepard and Hartnell on September 27, 1969. Approaching the couple as he did is like the case with the San Diego couple. The knots tied by the killer were like the kinds that a fisherman would use. Pat Tan was tied and hung with fisherman knots in April 1970. Trying to set the shack on fire is like when Zodiac set Kathleen Johns' car on fire March 22, 1970. Zodiac wrote "by FiRE," "by ROPE," "by GUN," and "by KNiFE" on his October 27, 1970 Halloween card. This case seems to involve elements from several of Zodiacs future attacks.

San Francisco PD Inspector Bill Armstrong, working on the Zodiac case, and Mel Nicolai of C.I.I. believed it possible that this 187 was the work of Zodiac. Detective Bill Baker (retired) worked this Santa Barbara case for some time and still feels this could have been the work of the fledgling Zodiac. Det. Baker is very astute and careful in his investigations and his theories hold great weight. He is a regular poster to ZodiacKiller.com's message board. (Check the Archives section for his posts.)

Celtic / Druid lore tells of victims being burned as a sacrifice. Davis had studied such things before he met Manson. This case makes one wonder if this is what was referred to in the November 29, 1966 Bates letter - "She is not the first . . . ."

Were these lovers "the first"?

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In an Email to the author in August 2004, a Mr. Ron Neal had the following comment:

Hello,
I graduated from Lompoc High School in 1961, and was acquainted with Robert Domingos and Linda Edwards.

A possible addition to your "Water Connection" would be that Lompoc
(hometown of Robert Domingos & Linda Edwards) is a Chumash Indian word
meaning "lake" or "lagoon".

Best Regards,
Ron Neal

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The Water Connection

Water held a very important place in the symbolic teachings of Celtic / Druid lore. Charles Manson studied these subjects and in at least one taped interview affirmed Druidism. Manson instructed the Family that, whenever possible, they were to conduct their "activities" near water or it's symbolic representation. As Manson went so went Bruce Davis - both believed alike.

Cheri Jo Bates was killed at Riverside City College in Riverside, California. The killer's car was parked on Riverside Drive. In a typed letter the killer indicated that Bates was not the first.

Go back to 1963 and a couple was killed in Santa Barbara near water. This case is unsolved. In 1964 the unsolved Seaside Honeymoon Murders in San Diego were committed right next to the ocean. In Zodiac's 1968 attack, the couple was murdered on Lake Herman Road, very near the lake itself. In 1969 Zodiac attacked a couple at Blue Rock Springs. He may have left the area using Lake Herman Rd. The killer made his phone call from the intersection of Tuolumne and Springs Road. In September of that year he attacked another couple at Lake Berryessa and made a phone call from near the Napa Car Wash. Came October and Zodiac murdered a cab driver in San Francisco on Washington St. very near to a fire hydrant. At least one suspected Zodiac killing took place in Lake County. Donna Lass (a possible Zodiac victim) was murdered near Lake Tahoe.

On at least one occasion the killer appeared in Navy-like clothing. Zodiac was also interested in astrology and when the attack dates and times are astrologically charted the three water signs and their associated planets figure prominently.

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