[Part 4 of 5]

Part 3 began with an emergency press conference in mid-1977. A composite sketch, as well as a physical and psychological profile of the East Area Rapist, was released. The public were warned to be vigilant.

Police received thousands of tips, and there were countless sightings of the rapist, unfortunately, these sightings weren’t always reported at the time. Many persons of interest made the suspect list, some even looked like prime suspects due to many similarities, but these turned out to be nothing more than strange coincidences, and most were eliminated from the investigation.

The East Area Rapist enjoyed communicating with police, the press and survivors. In August 77, the Sacramento County Sherriff’s Office received a letter, known as the “afraid letter” from someone claiming to know who the East Area Rapist was. The letter writer requested to be contacted by the press if the police wanted further contact. The police did what the letter writer asked, but they never heard from the person again.

The rapist started calling survivors, ranging from hang up calls to obscene calls and threats to kill.

A local TV station received a poem, called “Excitement’s Crave”, claiming to be from the East Area Rapist.

After a dentist went public and added more to the reward offer for the East Area Rapist’s capture, he attacked close to the dentist’s office in South Sacramento. The furthest south he had attacked up to that point.

Police had another close call when they set up a covert operation in a Rancho Cordova 7-Eleven store. This backfired when the suspicious male they were waiting for, called the store and asked to speak to the officers.

Brian and Katie Maggiore were shot dead in Rancho Cordova in February 1978. With the exception of one further attack in South Sacramento after the shooting, the attacks moved outwards after this, to Stockton, Modesto and Davis.

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Open and download map #4 of the attacks here

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

– Michelle Cruz

– Debbi Domingo

– Patti

– Orange County District Attorney’s Office Investigator Erika Hutchcraft

– Contra Costa County DA Cold Case Investigator Paul Holes

– Detective Richard Shelby

– Detective Larry Crompton