Marin County, despite being the 10th safest county in California, has experienced one of the most appalling, under-studied homicide cases in California.
Throughout the history of Marin County crimes, the common occurrences of theft, robbery, and assault have typically remained low. However, David Carpenter changed that in the late 70s.
On May 6, 1930, Carpenter was first charged with a sex crime at the age of 17. He was later institutionalized two weeks after he’d molested a three-year-old girl, according to SF Gate.
Carpenter started to show more aggressive and violent tendencies as he got older and targeted women in particular. Early on, before his attacks in Marin, Carpenter tried to rape a young woman named Lois DeAndrade, mother of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Lisa Rinna. He was charged with seven and a half years in prison after attacking DeAndrade with a knife and a hammer. Soon after his release in the late 60’s, he was quickly arrested again for robbery, kidnapping, and rape.
During Carpenter’s arrest, a psychiatrist profiled him and offered a disturbing conclusion about his likely future behavior. The psychiatrist suggested that Carpenter:
“Ever since the age of eight, whenever he was under significant stress, he would commit a sex offense,” “The only way he can think straight… is to rape the nearest female.”
The psychiatrist was proven right after Carpenter’s release from prison in 1979 when he struck as the “Trailside Killer” for the first time.
Targeting female hikers, Carpenter was convicted of multiple murders in famous state parks in the Bay area, including Mount Tamalpais State Park, Point Reyes National Seashore, and San Francisco Presidio. He was famous for stalking and killing his victims in these beautiful, yet remote locations.
Starting in the early 80’s Carpenter also contributed to 44-year-old Edda Kane, 23-year-old Barbara Schwartz, and 26-year-old Anne Evelyn Alderson were found murdered on Mount Tam, and 23-year-old Mary Frances Bennett was found murdered at Land’s End.
Schwartz and Bennett were stabbed, and Kane and Anderson had been shot. To add insult to injury, Carpenter stabbed Bennet 25 times.
Marin County police officers warned hikers, especially women, to remain vigilant and find safety in numbers. “Do not hike alone,” warned signs at trailheads in Point Reyes, while others stated “women should be especially cautious” with a killer on the loose.
After these killings, Carpenter remained undetected for almost two years.
On May 8, 1981, Carpenter’s last acts of violence finally landed him in prison for life. Carpenter’s final victims were 20-year-old Ellen Hansen and her boyfriend, 20-year-old Steve Haertle, both of whom were students at the University of California, Davis at this time.
Haertle was able to survive despite being shot in the head and reported back to investigators in Marin County. With this information, the police found a gun in Carpenter’s name and found their man.
Carpenter was found guilty of murder, attempted murder, rape, and attempted rape. Despite this, he continues to deny that he was the Trailside Killer.
David Carpenter remains in San Quentin prison as the oldest person on death row in California, though the state is going through the process of diminishing this capital punishment.
Carpenter’s legacy will remain unknown to many residents of Marin today. Still, many residents in the early 80’s may recall the warning signs dotted along trails, and the wariness of hiking alone that followed these horrific events. Despite Marin’s otherwise safe history, Carpenter remains memorable.
