The Zodiac Killer

EVERYTHING HAS A BEGINNING


The bullets that killed David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen were from a .22-caliber J.C. Higgins 80 model or Hi Standard model 101. The bullets were not a common ammunition. The Super X copper-coated bullets had only been in production by Winchester since 1967. What the police did not recognize yet was that a pattern of murder was in its early stages.

Darlene Ferrin knew David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen. Darlene had also been a student at Hogan High School. She was a likeable, friendly girl who had a "hello" for everyone, even strangers. It was the extrovert in her that would mean the end of her life.

She was twenty-two years old. She still looked like a girl of seventeen or eighteen. Darlene had short blond hair, was 130 pounds, 5'5 inches tall, had piercing blue eyes, and wore braces. Darlene lived with her second husband Dean and their little girl Dena. Darlene may have been by all accounts hiding a terrible secret.

On the evening of Thursday, February 27, 1969, her babysitter Karen noticed a white American-made Sedan parked outside of the house. Alarmed, she went to speak with Darlene. Darlene didn't seem overly alarmed as she continued getting ready for a night out.

Karen described the man she saw sitting in the car. He was heavyset with curly brown hair and a round face. Darlene remarked, "I guess he's checking up on me again. I heard he was back from out of state. He doesn't want anyone to know what I saw him do." Pausing, she continued, "I saw him murder someone."

Darlene actually said the man's name. It was short and common. However, Karen never heard her. Though Darlene tried to keep a calm demeanor, she was obviously terrified.

Packages were being delivered to Darlene's house. On one occasion, her sister Pam actually opened the door at precisely the time another one was being delivered. Pam recognized the man as someone who had been sitting outside the home in his white car. The man, who wore horn-rimmed glasses, warned Pam not to open the package. After dropping it off, he once again returned to his car only to sit outside for awhile once again.