by Mark Hewitt
A session with a hypnotist was eventually scheduled, and Karen was able to provide some additional facts. She described the stranger she had seen out of Darlene’s window as a heavyset, middle-aged, white male with a very round face, and curly, wavy dark brown hair. The white sedan had a large windshield. She recalled a phone ringing, which suggested to the hypnotist that Karen might have been afraid of testifying in court (and therefore subconsciously she refused to remember anything more about him). Regarding the painting party, Karen recalled being present and caring for Darlene’s daughter, Deena. When three unidentified young men arrived for the party, Darlene felt very uncomfortable with them and eventually left, but not before advising Karen to stay away from them.
***
The investigation into the shooting brought the VPD into contact with many of the victim’s friends and relatives.
Judith, a 25-year-old friend of Darlene’s, went to the Vallejo Police Station to provide a statement on July 6. She described an argument that she had witnessed between Darlene and her husband, Dean. Following a movie that she and Darlene had attended, Darlene had wanted to go hang out at the Coronado Inn, but her husband had refused to take her. This set off a heated exchange. Judith chose not to intervene. The family spat drove a wedge between Darlene and Judith, the latter choosing to see less of her former friend in the future, though she used to be very close to Darlene when they worked together at Terry’s restaurant.
Michael Mageau’s parents, Robert and Carmen Mageau, submitted to interviews, but could not offer much additional information. Carmen was approached by Detectives Rust and Lynch at her ex-husband’s home, 864 Beachwood Street, just after midnight on July 6. When she had initially heard of the shooting the day before, she had traveled with her two sons—Michael’s twin, Stephen, and a younger son—from her home in Southern California.
As far as his parents knew, Michael had no enemies. His father Robert, age 43, was given a preliminary interview when he went to the Vallejo Police Station at 9:00 a.m. on the morning following the attack. He had stayed at the Kentwig motel the previous night. Rust and Odiorne had the unenviable task of informing him that his son had been shot and was in critical condition at the hospital. At the time, Robert had agreed to inform his ex-wife and other sons about the shooting, after which he rushed to the hospital to check on Michael.
Robert was interviewed again that night at 8:00 at the Vallejo Police Station. He reported that Darlene telephoned the house daily, sometimes more than once a day. He received many of these calls and dutifully passed the phone to his son. Darlene had called several times on the day of the shooting, but he was unaware of how they had finally gotten together that evening. Though he had never met his son’s friend in person, Carmen had, and approved of her.
When twin brother Stephen was questioned, he informed Rust and Lynch that he had lived in Los Angeles from February until June of that year. He had moved back to Vallejo at that time, only to return to Los Angeles three weeks prior to the attack. He stated that he chose to reside with his mother because he didn’t get along very well with his father. He acknowledged that many people were aware of Darlene’s love of the Blue Rock Spring Park, a place she had gone with many men. He emphatically added that his twin had no enemies. Michael would have said something to him if he had.
Rust interviewed Darlene’s co-workers on July 6. He was ushered into the restaurant’s office by Marlin, the manager, who brought several of the restaurant’s employees, one at a time, off the floor to speak with the officer. Bobbie was first.
Bobbie stated that she and Darlene were good friends. On the night of her death, Darlene had worked until 4:00 p.m. and then had gone home. Later, at 10:30 p.m., Bobbie reported, Darlene and her sister, “Chris,” had come into the restaurant. They had only spoken for a few minutes. Darlene had promised to return to talk about something—nothing important as far as she could tell. Darlene and her sister left shortly before 11:00. Bobbie was certain that her friend had spoken only to other waitresses. When pressed, she could think of no one with a motive to harm her friend. She knew that Darlene had many male friends, but did not think that any of them posed a threat to her. She recalled the name of Warren, a man who had given her and Darlene a ride to work one day.
Rust then spoke with an older woman, a waitress named Evelyn. She described her contact with the deceased as a sort of mother/daughter relationship. Evelyn knew that Darlene had many boyfriends. Darlene had confided to her that she thought Dean didn’t love her anymore, and that the marriage was just about over. After hearing this, Evelyn noticed that Darlene spent more time with other men. Though Evelyn knew that her friend and co-worker went out with many guys, she was sure that none of them was a serious relationship and that Darlene had had no problems with any of them.
When Rust spoke to Lois, the third waitress that day, he heard a familiar theme: Darlene had many male friends but that none of them was a danger to her. Lois only knew one of the men who came in with his brother, both of whom worked in pest control (apparently Michael and Steve Mageau). Rust then spoke with the manager last and learned that Darlene had worked there since April of 1968. Marlin too was aware that Darlene ran around with many men.
The three waitresses shared with Rust that a man named George Waters wanted to date Ferrin, but she did not want to go out with him. To them, he seemed bitter and gave her a hard time. They reported that Waters was jealous and became visibly upset when Darlene did not pay him enough attention. She was friendly toward him only to keep him at a distance. They described him as short and stocky with black hair.
George Waters was identified as a part-time bartender who sometimes worked at the Elks Club (though very sporadically, according to Myra, the Elks’ office manager), as well as Casa De Vallejo, Kentwig, and the Fireside—all Vallejo bars. Born in Manila, the Philippines, George was not a citizen of the United States. He was a promising lead for police, his name having been raised by other people in Darlene’s circle. Some described him as the only person who truly sparked fear in Darlene. One of Darlene’s sisters explained that he was attracted to the now-deceased woman and craved her attention, but that the interest was not reciprocated. He had often visited Terry’s Waffle Shop when the bars closed at 2:00 a.m. He welcomed Darlene’s friendliness, and frequently drove her home at the end of her shift. Sometimes, according to Waters, she even called him for rides to work at Terry’s, a fact confirmed to police by Dean Ferrin. He had once purchased a faded red 1951 Ford pick-up truck from the Ferrins, but had only met Dean on that one occasion.
Eventually, Waters’ actions took on a sinister edge. Darlene related her concerns to Mageau, and he shared these with his twin brother, Steve, who never met the man. She related that Waters had threatened to rape her or “get into bed with her one way or another,” but she had been able to defuse the situation, and he eventually left the apartment. Steve told Lynch that he and his brother had not taken the claim too seriously at the time.
In addition to the faded red truck (described by some as pink), he owned a brown car, possibly a Corvair. The possibility of a brown Corvair instantly seized the attention of the investigators who sought a vehicle of similar size and color: the one that was driven by Ferrin’s murderer. On July 7, Lynch sent a teletype to CII in Sacramento requesting all information about Darlene’s fear-evoking friend. The reply came back: “No Record.”
Further investigation revealed that Waters had worked at Kaiser Steel. On July 7, Odiorne telephoned an employee of the company and learned that Waters had been laid off on June 13 and was residing in Yountville, some 23 miles north on Highway 29. Odiorne immediately contacted the Napa County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO) to arrange for an officer to escort Officer Blair and Odiorne to the correct Yountville address.
NCSO Sergeant Munk marshalled the two VPD officers to Waters’ house, in front of which they found a 1964 maroon Pontiac with California plates, MGW-681. By a radio call, they learned that it was registered to a George Waters. While th
e officers were observing the home, a man matching Waters’ description exited and approached the Pontiac, in which he drove off. Odiorne requested that Munk follow up on this lead by speaking with neighbors and uncovering all that he could about the man’s cars, his friends, and anything else relevant to the investigation. Munk agreed and asked Odiorne to contact him at 8:00 p.m. the following evening.
Dean Ferrin acknowledged that he had met Waters once, and only once, when he sold the stocky man his truck. He had no reason to believe that the truck buyer was involved with his wife. Leigh knew him a little better, explaining that Waters had often pestered Darlene when she lived at an apartment near him. He would hang around, apparently attempting to “pick her up.”
But Waters was old news. When questioned by Lynch and Rust on July 11, he admitted to flirting with Darlene, whom he called “Deedee,” but denied ever threatening her. He had met her around the beginning of the year. He said he teased her, sometimes to the point where she became angry. By the time of the attack, however, he was married and had no contact with her—and he claimed he never became involved with her because he knew she was married. He was now employed as a bookkeeper and office manager in St. Helena. He had worked at the Pastime Club in Benicia from January until he quit on March 9. He started a job at Kaiser Steel where he received 12 weeks of training as a boilermaker, but was immediately laid off at the end of the orientation. He denied ever owning a Corvair, and had never driven Darlene’s to the best of his recollection. He had, over the previous year, owned the faded red 1951 Ford pick-up that he purchased from the Ferrins, a 1956 Chevrolet blue over white, and a maroon 1964 Pontiac.
His alibi checked out. During the day of July 4 he had managed a girls’ team in a baseball game sponsored by the Napa Police Department. Afterwards, he had gone home for a nap and then had attended the fair in Calistoga, returning home at 7:00 p.m. He had seen fireworks at the Veteran’s Center with his wife that night, and had arrived home to stay at about 11:30 p.m. He maintained that he had not seen Ferrin in a month and a half, not since the day he had taken his wife, Judith, to Terry’s Restaurant. On that occasion, even when he kidded her, she was kind of quiet. He denied owning a gun or going to Blue Rock Springs at any time with her.
***
Three days after interviewing the staff at Terry’s Waffle Shop, Rust and Lynch caught up with Phyllis, another waitress at Terry’s, at 8:30 in the evening. She did not know Darlene well, but thought that a customer named Steve resembled the description of the killer. To Phyllis, Steve appeared to act strangely. He had a mother with mental problems, and Phyllis believed that he had bought a 9mm pistol, something he had mentioned to her. She described him as five feet eight inches and heavyset with light brown hair.
Twenty-four-year-old Steve was eventually cleared. When he was interviewed in Room 28 at the Vallejo Police Station by Rust and Lynch at 9:00 p.m. on July 13, he admitted to possessing firearms—a Ruger .22 magnum pistol and a .30-30 rifle—but denied ever owning a 9mm, either pistol or rifle. His alibi was solid. With his cousin Gary and two of Gary’s friends, he had traveled on July 3 to Antelope Creek, 200 miles north of Vallejo, and remained in the area until Sunday, July 5.
Darlene parents, Mr. and Mrs. Leo Suennen, were interviewed by Lynch and Rust on the evening after the attack. They related that their other daughter, 15-year-old Christine, had been at Caesar’s, Dean Ferrin’s place of employment, at approximately 10:30 p.m. Their information matched what Dean and his employer had reported: that Darlene left then, planning to take her sister home, go home to retrieve the babysitters, take them to their respective homes, and then return home herself. The deceased victim’s parents noted that Darlene had been afraid of Mageau because he had initially represented himself as a wanted man from New York City. Mageau had later admitted to Darlene that it was just a story to impress her.
At 3:35 p.m. on the afternoon of July 7, Dean’s parents, Arthur Jay Ferrin and Mildred Louise McCarty, visited the VPD to report to Lynch that they had received hang up telephone calls around 1:30 a.m. on the night of attack. All they heard at the other end of the line was heavy breathing. They were certain that someone was there. Even though the investigator plied them with questions, they were unable to add anything to the investigation.
Earlier that day, Captain Bird jotted down a note for Lynch. Peggy Your, the woman who had passed the Lake Herman Road crime scene minutes before the December 20, 1968 shooting, had called. She shared that she knew a man, named Bob, who matched the description of the Blue Rock Springs Park assailant.
***
On the afternoon of July 8, Detective Rust re-interviewed two of the three young people who had found Mageau and Ferrin at the park and had first reported the shooting. Even though they had already been spoken to, and had supplied written statements, Rust wanted to ensure that the information that had been provided to him was correct. He also hoped to dislodge a few new nuggets of evidence.
Roger and Jerry gave him corroborating information, the same story they had shared earlier. 19-year-old Debbie had been driving a brown Rambler with her two 17-year-old friends, the boys told Rust. Together they had been downtown for the Independence Day festivities. At around 11:00 p.m., they began to search for a friend of Roger’s. They wandered for a while, ending up eventually at Blue Rock Springs Park hoping that they might find her there. They traveled along Columbus Parkway from Interstate 80—often referred to at the time, according to an officer, as “the back way” to the park. They saw no other vehicles as they traversed the two miles from the Interstate to the park.
They arrived at the main parking lot at midnight or possibly shortly before and noticed a brown Corvair with its lights off. As they discussed whether or not to approach, thinking that Roger’s friend might be inside, the car’s lights lit up suddenly. The teenagers thought that the vehicle was preparing to leave the lot when the sound of screaming pierced the night. Debbie maneuvered her Rambler by backing it up so that she faced the Corvair with her headlights, and turned on her high beams. It was then that they noticed Mageau lying perpendicular to the vehicle out of which he had fallen. He was rolling around on the ground. Debbie drove closer.
Jerry sprinted to the victim to offer assistance, “Are you all right?”
“I’m shot; the girl’s shot. Get a doc.” Mageau cried out.
“All right, we’ll get one.” Jerry promised. Mageau told them to hurry. Roger had jumped out of the car and heard the exchange. They all saw Mageau, but none of them had looked in the car or noticed Ferrin.
Jerry offered to wait with the victims for emergency aid to arrive, but was talked out of it by Roger and Debbie. The three teenagers hurriedly drove to 938 Castlewood Road, Jerry’s home in Vallejo, to telephone the police. As they exited the park, turning left on Columbus Parkway and heading toward downtown Vallejo, the only other vehicle they saw was one that had turned onto Lake Herman Road and was already too far away for them to make any kind of identification, or even estimate its speed.
Though they had done their duty, and had notified the police of what they found, the youths were unsatisfied. They were not convinced that the call had been taken seriously, and were afraid that someone might think it a hoax, the boys told Rust. They decided to pile back into the car and race to the home of Bob, Debbie’s brother-in-law, who was a police officer. Nervous energy propelled them. Once there, they telephoned again to summon aid, only to discover that the VPD had already found the vehicle. They traveled next to the VPD to provide oral and written statements to Sergeant Odiorne.
To Rust, the three youths could offer no additional information. They had had no other conversation with the victims, and Mageau had shared nothing about the gunman or the gunman’s car. They promised to contact the department if they recalled anything else or any other information became available.
***
Further investigation provided an additional list of Ferrin’s many friends. A man named Lee had brought items for her from Tijuana. Bobbie, a
blonde woman who worked with her at Terry’s, chatted often with her. Bobbie in turn alerted police to Richard, who was slender, six feet tall, and drove a white Cougar. Dean’s cousin, Sue Ayers, was fond of Darlene and cultivated a respectful interaction. None of Darlene’s numerous friends and acquaintances could be tied to the attack, and none of them had any idea why this tragedy had happened or who was responsible.
***
A self-proclaimed hippy psychic, who had been dishonorably discharged from the Army, traveled from Chicago to San Francisco, and then Vallejo, to offer his help to law enforcement. He had no connection to the area or the case. He would not be the only citizen to attempt to inject himself into the murder investigation. After doing his own investigating and receiving psychic “vibrations,” he advised the detectives to take a close look at Darlene’s first husband, James Douglas Phillips.
But the officers didn’t need prompting. The VPD was already exploring the possibility that Darlene’s first husband was responsible for the shooting.
Born in Los Angeles, May 13, 1944, Phillips, who also went by the name James Douglas Crabtree, had been abandoned at the hospital by his birth mother. He was adopted by a couple bearing the name Phillips. After his foster father—a California Highway Patrol (CHP) Officer—was killed in 1968, he began to use his last name from birth.
Lynch contacted Phillips’ foster brother and learned that James, who went by “Jim,” had been in the Army and had married a German girl with whom he had a daughter. In fact, that marriage may or may not have been dissolved. Jim caused trouble with the Army, which led him to be confined to the stockade in the Presidio in San Francisco. Jim had been discharged dishonorably after he had gone on a hunger strike.
