6th victim identified in ‘The Doodler’ serial killer case in San Francisco
A sixth victim has been identified as police investigate a 1970s San Francisco serial killer known as “The Doodler.”
William Andrews, then 52, was attacked April 27, 1975, in Golden Gate Park and died several weeks later without waking up, San Francisco police said.
Andrews was one of six white, gay men that police have confirmed as victims of the “Doodler” who died between January 1974 and June 1975.
The killer would meet men in bars, sketch them — hence the name — and then convince them to hook up in a park or on a beach. Then he’d stab them to death.
Cops identified a suspect back in 1976, but never compiled enough solid evidence to build a case against him. Police have never identified the man, only releasing a sketch, but he remains “the focus of our investigation in 2022,” according to a wanted notice.
Andrews was found dead on a beach, but because he wasn’t stabbed to death, police didn’t initially link him to “The Doodler.” The San Francisco Chronicle examined Andrews’ death last year and interviewed detectives.
“The location, the time period, the victimology — it all makes me think that it might be connected,” investigator Dan Cunningham told the paper last year. “I’d be a fool not to consider him as a Doodler victim.”
Cops believe that the killer tried to stab Andrews to death but he fought back. Andrews died from being beaten to death with a rock and a tree branch.
Police also said Thursday they were doubling the reward in the case from $100,000 to $200,000. The reward was first announced in 2019.
