[Part 5 of 5]

When Part 4 began, it was August 1978. Sergeant Jim Bevins and Lieutenant Ray Root from the Sacramento Task Force held a special meeting with law enforcement agencies in Contra Costa County. They believed The East Area Rapist was heading south, possibly to Southern California, and they felt he would strike in Contra Costa County on the way.

They advised Contra Costa law enforcement agencies to form a task force and work together, but there was pushback – the general feeling in the room was, “Not in our county”.

When Bevins and Root were proven right, a task force was formed headed up by Detective Larry Crompton. Crompton consulted a criminal psychologist, Dr Emily, who warned him that the East Area Rapist wanted to kill, he just needed justification.

During a search after attack 43, the first attack in Danville, investigators found pages torn from a spiral notebook, known as “The Homework”. They were “The General Custer essay”, “The 6th grade rant” and “The punishment map” – a hand-drawn map of a housing development.

On July 5th, 1979, the East Area Rapist attacked a couple in Danville, but they had a plan in place. The husband stood over the rapist and yelled at him, while his wife ran outside and screamed for help. The rapist took a few steps back. He didn’t attack, and he made no move for a weapon. He didn’t say anything. He just stared at the husband through the jagged holes of his mask. The husband made a run for it, and the East Area Rapist escaped. Police were on scene in minutes, and tracking dogs picked up his scent. But he slipped through their fingers again.

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Open and download map #5 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

– Retired Detective Carol Daly

– Jane Carson-Sandler