by Mark Hewitt
The eerie quietness of the scene belied the horrendous violence that would, in a few short hours, rock the community. Butterbach and Waterman ordered Butler and his camera out of the area until Lundblad and the coroner gave permission for the press to approach.
At the arrival of Coroner Horan and Dr. Byron Sanford of Benicia, Jensen was pronounced dead at the scene by Sanford. The subsequent autopsy, conducted by pathologist S. Shirai, revealed that a bullet had pierced her heart, traveling right to left, penetrating both atria. Another bullet had penetrated her liver. Still another, her right kidney. The cause of death would be reported as “multiple bullet wounds to the chest and abdomen with hemorrhage.” So severe was the damage that immediate attention from a modern, twenty-first century trauma center would not have been able to save her.
The autopsy noted that Jensen’s body exhibited five entrance wounds on the right side of her back. Two holes on her front—one at the left breast area and the other on lower right side of the waist—revealed that some of the shots had penetrated and then exited her body. When the mortician removed her clothing, a .22 caliber bullet fell down from her panties, where it had apparently been trapped.
The gun must have been held at a distance from Jensen, since only the uppermost wound had any accompanying gunpowder residue—and that hole had only a single grain.
The veteran Lundblad—described by The San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner as “the graying, husky officer in charge”—would later report that he received a telephone call at midnight. He was notified of a possible slaying on Lake Herman Road. He was also informed that Sheriff’s deputies, Coroner Horan, and representatives of the BPD were standing by at the scene. Upon his arrival, a few minutes past midnight, he learned that Faraday was en route to the hospital by ambulance. Jensen was dead and was awaiting transport to Colonial Chapels, a funeral home in Vallejo.
Taking control of the mix of officers, Lundblad ordered Butterbach and Waterman to follow the speeding ambulance and get a statement from Faraday.
The two-vehicle convoy arrived at Vallejo General Hospital, 601 Tennessee Street, at 12:23 in the morning. When the officers found the nurse on duty, Mrs. Barbara Lowe, and requested permission to see the patient, she informed them that Faraday was dead on arrival (DOA), having been pronounced at 12:05 a.m. by a Dr. Siebert. Their work at the hospital was far from over.
Butterbach and Waterman inspected Faraday’s remains. It became apparent that the victim had been shot in the upper portion of the left ear with a small caliber bullet, which penetrated both his ear and his head. They noted a large lump on the right cheek, and the hair on the left side of his head was matted with blood. Blood was present on his hands and on the sleeves of his shirt. They also noted his clothing.
For the evening, the deceased young man had worn brown corduroy pants—a Levi brand—black socks, tan leather shoes of a rough texture, and a Timex wristwatch with a chrome case and band. His left front pants pocket held 85 cents: three quarters and a dime. His left hip pocket had a black comb. Though there was nothing in his right hip pocket, his right front pocket concealed a white handkerchief and small bottle of Binaca breath drops. He grasped a class ring—which was made of a yellow metal and topped with a red stone—by the tips of the ring and middle fingers of his left hand, a cadaveric spasm that refused to relinquish its property. Butterbach was particularly interested in this piece of jewelry. It appeared to him as though someone had attempted to take it away from the victim who even in death held it tight.
The officers received Faraday’s small, black wallet from nurse Lowe. It contained several ID cards, including a Social Security card and a driver’s license. They also received a brown leather belt. When Butterbach called Sergeant Cunningham to have someone come to the hospital to take photographs of Faraday’s body, Deputy J.R. Wilson obliged.
Not long after midnight, Lundblad learned that the male was DOA. He spent some more time at the crime scene, and then proceeded at 1:38 a.m. to Colonial Chapels, where he learned that the female had five bullet holes in the right side of her back, three of which had emerged from her right side. The coroner described the entry holes as placed in a “remarkably close pattern.”
Faraday’s lifeless body was transported to Colonial Chapels as well. The coroner noted and recorded other details of both victims. Faraday’s body had one bullet hole in his left ear that proceeded into the back of his head. The ear had a dark area that appeared to be powder burns, indicating that the shot was fired at close range. The coroner recorded that the young man had worn black socks, low cut brown “fruit boots,” white cotton shorts, a white cotton t-shirt, a light blue boy’s long sleeve shirt (size 20), and brown corduroy trousers. On her final evening, Jensen was attired in black strap shoes that were now blood-stained, a blue and white padded bra showing blood stains on the left side and on the straps, full panty-type hose, pink and white cotton panties, and a purple dress with a white collar and cuffs that was thoroughly stained with blood. A Christmas broach adorned the dress’s white trim.
Back at the entrance to the pump house, Lieutenant Little created several sketches of the death scene, gathering and recording relevant measurements. One drawing showed the final resting place of the .22 caliber shell casings, including one that had ejected so far that it was recovered 20 feet away from the body of the female, and in a different direction than the one in which she had fled. It noted that her head pointed almost exactly east and just slightly to the north. Later, these sketches would be enhanced and refined by the witnesses who claimed to have observed the victims, some before the attack, as well as from Stella Medeiros who saw them soon afterwards.
Little also photographed the area. A search for a weapon in or around the vehicle proved futile, ruling out a murder-suicide. Because the ground was frozen solid under a reported 22-degree temperature, no footprints were found. Also, no visible fresh tire tracks were observed at or near the entrance to the road. One deep heel print was located among some brush, behind a fence that ringed the pump house. The investigators noted that the brushy growth was the only area offering a potential sniper any semblance of cover, if indeed that is how the attack unfolded, with the killer lying in wait. The car was carefully dusted for fingerprints.
***
In early January, the Solano County Sheriff’s Office sent the following items away to the CII at the Office of the Attorney General in Sacramento for further analysis:
One damaged bullet removed from Faraday’s head during the autopsy.
Two bullets removed from Jensen during her autopsy.
A bullet found in the underpants of Jensen that appeared to come from her lower back through her body, emerging under the waistband elastic of her panties.
Five shell casings found at the scene by Coroner Dan Horan, which were turned over to Lundblad at the scene.
Four shell casings found at the crime scene by Sergeant Silva of the BPD, and turned over to Detective Sergeant Lundblad at the mortuary.
A damaged bullet recovered in the top of the 1961 Rambler, the vehicle registered to David’s mother, Mrs. Jean Faraday.
A damaged bullet recovered in the 1961 Rambler, having entered the right rear window and become lodged in the floor mat on the left side of the cargo area.
A bullet recovered near victim Jensen along the blood-strewn path of her attempted escape route. It had apparently entered her back, emerged from the center of her stomach, and fallen to the ground without passing through her dress.
Jensen’s white-trimmed purple dress bearing five holes in back and one in the front, heavily stained with blood.
Butterbach and Waterman left the hospital for Colonial Chapels, completing the two-minute drive at 1:38 a.m. They remained there until 4:30 in the morning. The initial search for clues was wrapped up at about 4:00 a.m., Butterbach later estimated. Because the murders had occurred within the Solano County Sheriff Department’s jurisdiction, its office would head up the investigation. The BPD would have to accept the posit
ion of second fiddle and provide any assistance needed, despite being the first department on the scene.
Officer Butterbach, much to his surprise and amusement, received a telephone call later that morning in which he was invited to conduct the investigation into the murders with the more seasoned Detective Sergeant Lundblad. Butterbach, a mere patrolman, had become a detective by fiat. Together, the two would run down leads, collect evidence, and attempt to answer all relevant questions about the crime, especially the burning question of who was responsible for this despicable act.
Years later, Bidou acknowledged the limitation of the investigation, as though he wished that he could have done more. The officers at the time simply did not have the experience, with so few people being murdered in the area. In fact, there had been none in the previous five or six years. Their first concern was for the welfare of Faraday, of course. Only secondarily did they apply themselves to gathering evidence.
Besides, the state of forensics was limited in 1968. Law enforcement officials did not have the benefit of today’s knowledge or the ability to collect and analyze hairs, fibers, soil samples, and other types of trace evidence.
Bidou would also express a belief that he was just minutes from the crime scene when the murders occurred. He did not recall passing any other vehicles as he made his way to Benicia on the night of the murders, a fact which he related to the Sheriff’s Office. Probably what transpired, he later opined, was that the killer had driven from Vallejo, where he would not have crossed paths with Bidou’s police car, though Bidou admitted that they did take a bit of a short cut when traveling to Benicia, which may have prevented him from encountering the perpetrator.
***
Just before 5:00 in the morning, Deputy Vehrs of the Solano County Sheriff’s Office received a telephone call from Lieutenant Colonel Verne M. Jensen, the grief-stricken father of Betty Lou. After 27 years of service in the army, Colonel Jensen had retired in 1963, and was now employed in San Francisco as a supply officer for the General Services Administration, an agency of the federal government tasked with managing real estate. The sleep-deprived family man was still in a state of shock. Despite his pain, he wanted to share some potentially important information for the investigation. He and his wife, upon hearing that their daughter had been shot, had called their Vallejo home from Mare Island and received a piece of provocative news. Their daughter, Melodie, Betty Lou’s 24-year-old sister, informed them that on December 20, Betty Lou had confided in her that Richard “Ricky” Burton, a friend of Betty Lou’s, had threatened the now-deceased girl. Dutifully, Vehrs took down the information and promised that Sergeant Lundblad would contact them later in the morning.
The lead detectives were back at the pump house entrance soon after daylight. While the two were rechecking the crime scene to see if anything had been overlooked in the darkness of the previous night, they were approached by Bingo Wesner, a rancher who lived on the Old Borges Ranch, not far from the Humble Oil Company property. It was 8:00 a.m. Wesner told the officers that he tended sheep in the area east of the Benicia Pumping Station, and that while he was checking the area around 10:00 p.m. the previous night, he noticed a white Chevy Impala sedan that was parked by the south fence at the entrance to the pumping station. At about the same time, he also observed a red Ford flatbed pick-up truck with wooden sideboards in the area. He did not see a Rambler station wagon. Wesner’s observations would prove particularly helpful to the investigation in corroborating the statements of other witnesses during the creation of a timeline.
The officers eventually left the scene to embark on a series of interviews with the victims’ friends and immediate family members. They hoped to uncover a motive for the puzzling double murder, ultimately expecting to identify the responsible “who.” They knew that finding the reason behind the carnage, the “why,” might suggest a pathway to a suspect. For now, the event was a mystery, and many of the early police reports filed in the case reflected law enforcement’s bewilderment: “no apparent motive.”
Soon after 9:00 in the morning, they met with Sharon, one of Betty Lou’s closest friends. The Hogan High School student was brought to the officers’ attention by Betty Lou’s mother, Virginia, who knew of her daughter’s close relationship with the 16-year-old. Sharon explained that David and Betty Lou had come to her house at approximately 8:20 the previous evening, and had remained there until 9:00 p.m. At that time, as she walked the couple to their car, they gave no hint to her of where they were headed. She stated that she herself had attended a party held at 254 Frisbie Street from 10:30 until after 1:00 a.m., her mother supplying for the detectives the precise return time of 1:10 a.m. Sharon related that Betty Lou had “gone steady” with a mutual friend named Ricky from December 1 until December 14, though they had only talked around school and had never actually gone out on a date. As far as Sharon knew, Ricky did not drive and did not own a gun.
At 3:45 that afternoon, Lundblad and Butterbach met with Verne and Virginia Jensen at their cozy suburban home, which was just a couple of rooms on a tiny lot. Before speaking with Betty Lou’s parents, the officers interviewed Melodie, Betty Lou’s older sister, to question her about the threats her sister had received prior to her death. She told them what everyone who followed the troubling case would soon discover: the night she was killed, Betty Lou was on her first date.
Melodie had been the one who had suggested that Betty Lou introduce David to her parents. Earlier that day, at about 6:00 p.m., the now-deceased girl had confided to her sister that she was afraid of a friend named Ricky because he had threatened to tell her parents that she smoked and was having dates. Ricky told Betty Lou that he was going to beat up David, and something about brass knuckles.
Acting on her sister’s advice, Betty Lou brought David home about 8:00 p.m. to meet her mom and dad, Melodie continued. The couple, with the permission of her parents, then left with the stated intention of attending a gathering at Hogan High School, and a party to be held afterwards. She noted that Betty Lou was expected home no later than 11:00 p.m.
Melodie also shared that on December 20, in the afternoon, David had gone over to Hogan High School to have some words with Ricky. Apparently, while they were talking, a Mr. Grove came upon the scene unaware that anything was taking place. There was no physical conflict, but David realized that he was in a place where he should not have been since he was not at his own school, and promptly left.
Melodie added that her sister would often say to her, “Close the blinds. Ricky is spying on me.” Apparently, her younger sister did not want to be in the house with him peeking around outside. Several times Betty Lou’s mother had noticed that the gate to their home’s backyard was open. The family suspected it was left in that condition by Ricky, but no one actually saw him on their property.
The officers then turned their attention to Virginia. Ruefully, the grieving mother told the detectives that the grisly evening had been Betty Lou’s one and only date. The parents had first met David at approximately 8:00 p.m. Virginia explained that the couple’s plans were to go to a festival at nearby Hogan High and attend a party afterwards. The Jensen’s were unaware of the address of the party. Virginia stated that Betty Lou had promised to be home by 11:00 p.m.
Virginia provided the officers with phone numbers that were listed in a small book among Betty Lou’s possessions. She then began to speak of a classmate of Betty’s who had been providing their daughter with much unwanted attention. Betty Lou was convinced that she was being spied on and had insisted that the curtains of the house be drawn. Ricky was known to call the house at any time after 3:00 p.m., the close of school. He would call every fifteen minutes, and this happened many times. Sometimes Betty Lou would speak with him; other times, she would cut him off. Virginia was unaware of any boyfriend—other than David Faraday—that her daughter had had. She referred them to two of Betty Lou’s best friends, Sharon and Dian, evidently unaware that the officers had already spoken to Sharon.
At 4:39 p.m., Lundblad met with Dian to take a statement. Dian shared that she had ridden home from school with David and Betty Lou about four times. Her take on Ricky was much less ominous than the detective had heard from others. He and Betty Lou were good friends, she told the officer. David had told her that Ricky had seen him in the halls of school on Friday, December 20, though he never said what time it was. She stated that Ricky, a person who had piqued the interest of the officers, did not drive, at least as far as she knew. She never heard of anyone being bothered. Ricky was merely an old flame, in her opinion.
Dian added that Betty Lou had been going with Ricky for the two weeks before December 14, at which time her friend had met and developed a crush on David. Betty Lou had only walked the halls with Ricky at school, but for the past two weeks she had been ignoring him. Dian shared that Betty Lou had been “going” with another student, Bob, for a short time before she went steady with Ricky. She suggested that Lundblad also speak to Alice, another friend of Betty Lou’s, who might add additional details about the social life of her slain friend.
Lundblad and Butterbach met with Brenda, another classmate of Betty Lou’s, at 5:15 p.m. She had heard around school that Ricky was merely “using” Betty Lou and that, according to Betty Lou, he called her all the time. Brenda had never seen him out at night and did not recall ever seeing him with a gun. She noted that Ricky did not have any close friends. He spent time with a brother-in-law who drove an old, blue car with chipped paint, and hung out at the Jumping Bean on Springs Road. A friend of Brenda’s thought she had seen Betty Lou talking to a boy named Jeff at Castlewood the previous night.
The thorough investigation revealed that there was no festival scheduled at Hogan High, and the couple never attended any of the three area parties that did take place. Instead, they visited Sharon’s home, the best friend of Betty Lou’s, arriving at about 8:30 p.m., Sharon estimated. There was talk of going to San Francisco, but no specific plans were mentioned.
