“ I would like to say that I leave with a clear conscience as I did not commit the murders I am charged with. This situation has shown me, however, that I will always be vulnerable to charges every time some kook kills somebody...I have never deliberately hurt anyone and the only person I am (or was) ever capable of killing is (or was) myself...I am not feeling sorry for myself, just too tired to continue in this life without any real goals. „
Biography[]
Early life[]
Little is known about Likens' early life. Born on July 12, 1949, in Tucson, Arizona, he was the only child of Allen W. Likens and Hedwig Lindenburg. Sometime during the 1960s, Likens moved from Arizona to California, where he is known to have worked as a field coordinator for a construction firm in Hollywood and also as a bartender. From July 26, 1966, to May 1967, he served in the United States Army, but was discharged for unknown reasons and returned to California.[2]
Murders[]
Rod Thorpe[]
On April 12, 1974, Likens was arrested for the murder of 21-year-old Rod Thorpe, a hitchhiker who was last seen at Likens' apartment in Los Angeles.[2] The young man's body was found in the bathtub, showing signs of stab wounds, as well as scratches on his chest and abdomen. Notably, Likens had sliced his genitalia off with a knife before ultimately strangling him. At trial, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 5-years-to-life imprisonment.[2]
From 1975 to November 8, 1977, Likens was incarcerated at the San Quentin State Prison and later the Sierra Conservation Center in Sonora, where he was described as a model prisoner who worked as an office clerk, and was even commended for his good performance. He was upfront about his sexual orientation, with one correctional officer later saying that Likens told him he was "committed permanently to that lifestyle".[2]
He was eventually released on parole, whereupon he moved to San Francisco.[2] While initial newspaper accounts could not manage to establish if he had an occupation at this time, it would later be revealed that Likens worked as a male prostitute for the Richard Elmon Escort Service, a prostitution ring which advertised services ranging from one-night stands to bondage and sadomasochistic practices.[3]
Serial murders[]
From March to October 1978, Likens often seen hanging around various gay bars in the Tenderloin District, propositioning various men to have sadomasochistic sex with him. Officially, he was accused of committing three murders during this period, and was considered a possible suspect in two more.[2]
The first victim was 24-year-old Daniel Joseph Oller from Redwood City, a graduate of the Sequoia high school who advertised himself as a male prostitute in the Tenderloin District.[2] His body was found near Huddard Park in Woodside, San Mateo County, on March 18, with a plastic bag tied over his head.[4]
The second victim was 27-year-old Ronald L. Young, a drifter from Texas who was also a male prostitute. His body was found off Purisima Creek near Half Moon Bay, approximately two weeks after Oller's murder on March 31.[2][4]
The third victim was 20-year-old John Tomlin Goodman III, a resident of San Francisco hailing from New York.[note 1] He was last seen alive at a gay bar in the Tenderloin District on October 5, and, according to at least three witnesses, it was in the company of none other than David Likens.[2] The pair, along with a third unidentified man, apparently had sex in the bar's restrooms, before Likens and Goodman went to an apartment on 118 Henry Street, owned by the former's friend, Danny Hepburn.[2] Just a day later, Goodman's body was found inside a sleeping bag abandoned at a ravine off Tunitas Creek near San Gregorio.[4] Hepburn would later recall that when he returned to his apartment, he noted that his leather jacket had gone missing, after which Likens gave him another - that of Goodman. In addition, Hepburn also saw a portable radio that was not his, which later on was also traced to Goodman, as he used to have one in his car. That car, a blue Volkswagen, was abandoned on a street in Oakland on November 20.[2]
Aside from these victims, Likens was proposed as a possible suspect in the murders of two more men. On June 7, the bodies of two white men were found on Tunitas Creek in unincorporated San Mateo County, both having been strangled to death.[5] Both shared enough similarities to Likens' known victims to be considered potential additional ones, but he was never charged with either murder. At some point in time, one of the victims was identified as a man named Raymond Oscar Wilson, but the other remains unidentified to this day and is known only as the "San Mateo County John Doe".[6]
Arrest and charges[]
On October 12, 1978, Likens was arrested in San Francisco for a series of non-fatal assaults committed against three men, for which he was charged with two counts of attempted murder and one felonious assault.[7] The complaint came from a reluctant surviving victim who approached Police Inspector James Cole, after being convinced by his mother to report his experience to the police. In his testimony, the unnamed man claimed that he and Likens met at a gay bar in San Francisco's Tenderloin District, where they agreed to have sex at the 118 Henry Street apartment.[2] Once they were inside, Likens tied him down to the bed so they can engage in BDSM, but he suddenly started beating and choking him, all while boasting of having killed other men. The victim then said that despite being knocked unconscious, he later awoke, managed to free himself somehow and then fled to Los Angeles. Not long after, two other men contacted the authorities with similar stories, with the only notable difference being that one of them went to Likens' own apartment in Inglewood.[2]
While residing in the San Francisco County Jail, investigators linked him to the murders of Oller, Young and Goodman, and was held on $250,000 bail.[8] His assault charges were eventually stayed by San Francisco authorities, who wanted to turn him over to San Mateo County to stand trial for the murders.[9] A few days after his extradition, Likens pleaded not guilty to the crimes.[10]
Suicide[]
Likens' first preliminary hearing for the murder of Oller was scheduled to take place on February 5, 1979. By that time, due to the gruesome nature of the killings and his previous murder conviction, Deputy District Attorney Cliff Gretan had announced that he would seek the death penalty against him.[11]
During his incarceration, Likens was held in an eight-man jail cell at the Hall of Justice in San Mateo, where he preferred to stay in the back. At about 8:55 PM on January 19, 1979, he and his cellmates were invited to go to the recreational area to have telephone calls, but Likens declined, claiming that he had nobody to call at the moment.[11] At around 9:30 PM, deputy William Buckwalter and nurse Pam Ketzler went to the cell so they can give him some medicine, only to find Likens hanging by a bedsheet tied to a punching bag support frame.[11] Buckwalter yelled out to another deputy, Charles Arnold, who came to help him bring him down so Ketzler could administer aid. When this failed, Likens was immediately rushed to the Kaiser Hospital in Redwood City, but was pronounced dead on arrival.[4]
While inspecting his cell, jailers found what appeared to be a suicide note addressed to Likens' defense attorney Tom Nolan.[11] In the note, he reasserted his innocence, but said that he did not want to continue living if that meant he had to face charges whenever a gay man was killed.[1] Not long after, it was also first publicized that Likens had attempted suicide on at least two previous occasions - once in 1966, and another in 1974, shortly after his conviction for the Thorpe murder.[11]
Victims[]
Confirmed victims[]
| Name | Age | Date of Death | Cause of Death |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rod Thorpe | 21 | April 12, 1974 | Strangulation |
| Daniel Joseph Oller | 24 | March 17, 1978 | Strangulation |
| Ronald L. Young | 27 | March 31, 1978 | Strangulation |
| John Tomlin Goodman III | 20 | October 5, 1978 | Strangulation |
Suspected victims[]
| Name | Age | Date of Death | Cause of Death |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raymond Oscar Wilson | May - June 1978 | Strangulation | |
| "San Mateo County John Doe" | May - June 1978 | Strangulation |
Timeline[]
Bibliography[]
Literature[]
Articles[]
Documentaries[]
Television[]
YouTube Documentaries[]
Podcasts[]
In popular culture[]
Film adaptation[]
Related Articles[]
See also[]
Links[]
Notes[]
- ↑ Some newspaper accounts list his name as "A. Tomlin Goodman III", and his age as 26.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Mark Nelson (January 19, 1979). Suspected killer found hanged in jail cell. The Peninsula Times Tribune.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 Raul Ramirez (December 14, 1978). Convicted L.A. mutilation-murderer now jailed here on same charge. The San Francisco Examiner.
- ↑ Larry Maatz (March 9, 1979). Vice cops net a male 'escort' ring. The San Francisco Examiner.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Accused Coastside Killer Is Suicide In Prison Cell. Half Moon Bay Review and Pescadero Pebble (January 25, 1979).
- ↑ Identities of two slain men sought. The San Francisco Examiner (December 29, 1978).
- ↑ NamUs
- ↑ San Franciscan Named In Gay Murders. The Fresno Bee (December 14, 1978).
- ↑ Don West (December 13, 1978). Ex-con held in 3 gay killings. The San Francisco Examiner.
- ↑ Convicted Killer Charged In Three SF Gay Slayings. Santa Cruz Sentinel (December 14, 1978).
- ↑ Not guilty plea in murders. The Peninsula Times Tribune (December 19, 1978).
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Accused murderer hangs self in jail. The San Francisco Examiner (January 19, 1979).