A Southern California woman has claimed that her father was the infamous Zodiac Killer — and that as a 7-year-old she accompanied him on two of the murders.
The Zodiac Killer’s identity has remained a mystery to investigators since the person terrorized the Bay Area in the late 1960s.
Deborah Perez held a news conference Wednesday in The City to announce that her father, Guy Ward Hendrickson, who died in 1983, was the wanted man.
Her father went through periods of mental illness, she said.
Perez, who is now taking part in a documentary about the crime spree, also said she wrote some of the killer’s letters to authorities.
The glasses worn by slain San Francisco cab driver Paul Stine, which she said her father took from the crime scene, are still in her possession, Perez said. She hopes forensic testing will prove her claims are true.
Attorney Kevin McLean, who led an independent investigation, offered reports from a handwriting analyst and forensic psychologist supporting Perez’s story. However, he offered no DNA, fingerprint or weapons testing to distinguish her assertion from the scores of people who have come forward through the years claiming to know the Zodiac Killer’s identity.
Perez said she had never heard of the Zodiac Killer until she saw a composite drawing on America’s Most Wanted several years ago and, after looking at letters online, determined it was her father. Hendrickson had confessed to his daughter that he had killed people, but never said he was the Zodiac Killer, she said.
The family was living in Orange County when she accompanied her father on a trip to Vallejo on July 4, 1969 — the day Darlene Ferrin was fatally shot and Michael Mageau was wounded.
Hendrickson and his daughter had visited Ferrin earlier in the day, and Hendrickson and Ferrin had argued “viciously” minutes before the killings.
Hendrickson was waiting in a car when her father shot the couple, she said.
Months later, Perez was also left waiting in a car when her father shot Stine as he sat in his cab in Presidio Heights on Oct. 11, 1969, she said.
San Francisco police Sgt. Lyn Tomioka said the group had given investigators a DVD, which they plan to review.
FBI Special Agent Joseph Schadler had no comment on the case.
Zodiac revealed?
Deborah Perez claims her deceased father was the infamous killer.
Evidence presented:
- Letter from forensic psychologist Jack N. Singer, stating that after examining Deborah Perez, he can say “unequivocally that there is absolutely no evidence of deception, delusional thinking or loss of contact with reality”
- Analysis from Bart Baggett, expert document examiner, determining that Deborah Perez likely wrote three letters believed to be written by the Zodiac Killer; however, Baggett notes his opinion is “preliminary and qualified,” since it is based on Perez’s handwriting now, not as a 7- to 9-year-old child
Evidence that may be forthcoming:
- DNA or prescription match on glasses purported to belong to victim Paul Stine
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DNA evidence on stamps and envelopes on Zodiac letters sealed by Perez
