Almost Trailside: A True Story (12 page)

“Don’t pay any attention to what’s printed in the newspapers. What they print isn’t always so. We
have
to give some misinformation. That helps us weed out the real leads. We
know
his car is a red import. You’re right. You
did
see his car.”

He could tell I was crying again.

“I know this has been upsetting, Mrs. Stonewall, and I’m sorry for that. Please, take my name and phone number and call me if you think of anything else. May I call you again?”

“Yes. Okay.” I barely managed to say it out loud.

I wrote down his name and telephone number and promised to call him if I thought of anything else. Then he hung up.

Art Danner sounded like a nice man and I wanted to help in any way I could to catch the Trailside Killer as soon as possible.

I was an emotional wreck after that unsettling telephone call from Art Danner. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t call Tommy because he wasn’t available by phone during the work day. Sometimes he would call me at work during his lunch break but not every day.

I sat frozen on the bed staring out the window. Silent tears streamed down my face. I thought about Art Danner’s words, about Ellen Hansen and her boyfriend and how awful it must have been for them, and the undeniable fact that
I
could have been the Trailside Killers next victim.

I didn’t know if I could compose myself enough to go to work that morning, but I knew I had to try. I was already late by this time. I washed my face again, ran an ice cube over my eyes, and put some extra make up on to try and hide the redness. I called the office at school to tell them I would be in later.

I made a cup of hot tea and retreated to the bedroom again. I sat with my knees tucked up on the bed looking out the window at the beautiful green Santa Cruz Mountains that I loved so much and that
always brought me so much peace and comfort. The soothing cup of hot tea warmed my stomach and helped me regain composure.

“How could something so beautiful turn so dark and ugly so quickly?” Art Danner’s words and the thought of what could have happened to our family and to me were disturbing.

I went to work that morning but stayed clear of the rest of the staff. I didn’t want to talk to any one.

As luck would have it, Tommy
did
call me during his lunch break. I told him about the telephone call and everything that Art Danner said. Talking about it brought me to tears, again. Tommy said he would come home, if I wanted him to. But, I told him it was okay, that I would make it through the day, and that we could talk more when he got home from work that evening.

It was definitely a glass of wine night.

Chapter VIII

T
he telephone call from
Art Danner
made me realize that the Trailside Killer was still out there and how dangerous he really was. I thought I saw him at the grocery store, the book store, the mall. I called the Santa Cruz District Attorneys Office to report the sightings.

Knowing that the Trailside Killer stalked me once in the forest it seemed likely that he could stalk me again here, where I live. Art Danner’s words consumed me, “You’re what he likes.”

I watched the nightly news and read the daily newspaper looking to see if he was captured and behind bars. I knew I wouldn’t feel safe until I could hear or see the words that would set me free.

Recalling Ellen Hansen with the Trailside Killer, being within arms length of both of them, and knowing that he violently murdered her and tried to rape her, made me sad and afraid.

I
n 1969, Art Danner had only been out of law school for one year when he was hired by the Santa Cruz, California District Attorney’s Office. Within a few years, Santa Cruz was named the nation’s murder capital in national headlines. Within a decade, three men were convicted of twenty-eight brutal murders, citizens began locking doors, and gun sales soared. In 1978, Art Danner was elected District Attorney, launching a twenty year career (1978 to 1998) that likely will never be rivaled. He was widely respected and known to his peers as the Bulldog for his competitive spirit. By the early 1990’s, he had established his reputation as a take-no-prisoners prosecutor. Danner said that he would most-likely be remembered for trying murderer and rapist David Carpenter, known as the Trailside Killer, for which he secured the death penalty. In 1998, Art Danner accepted an appointment to the Superior Court bench. Both as a District Attorney and Superior Court Judge, Danner demonstrated a sensitivity to victims’ rights, particularly in delicate cases involving domestic violence or sexual abuse. He is credited with establishing systems to better support the victims of these violent crimes. Danner’s contributions to the county of Santa Cruz extended well beyond the court house. He was generous with his time, often volunteering for the good of the community. As a Superior Court Judge, Art Danner made a distinguished name for himself. Before that, as District Attorney, he made legend. On January 28, 2006, Superior Court Judge Arthur Danner III, while on vacation with his family, suffered a sudden heart attack which took his life. The news of his death shocked the community. He was 62 years old
.

Tommy was supportive but anxious to take the new travel trailer out camping again and so were the boys. But, I didn’t feel comfortable. I didn’t feel safe yet out in nature, in the woods, on the hiking trails knowing that
he
was still out there. I just couldn’t do it until I knew for sure that the Trailside Killer was in custody.

I found myself praying more than ever; praying for Ellen Hansen, praying for her boyfriend Stephen Heartle, and praying that the Trailside Killer would soon be caught. My faith in God helped me make it through this difficult time. I knew the Lord would take care of it in his own time and in his own way…and he did.

I didn’t have to wait long. On May 2, 1981, less than five weeks after the Trailside Killer brutally took the life of Ellen Hansen and shot her boyfriend Stephen Heartle in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, the Trailside Killer took the life of another unsuspecting young woman.

By May 15th the
Trailside Killer
was identified as
David Joseph Carpenter
of San Francisco, California. He was arrested, and in jail…at long last.

The FBI and local authorities set up surveillance outside of David Carpenter’s home in San Francisco where he lived with his aging parents. They thought he resembled the police sketch of the man seen at the trailside murder sites. When the FBI finally approached him on the street for the arrest he seemed confused but soon asked for a lawyer.

When the police and agents searched David Carpenter’s car, the red Fiat with a bent tailpipe as described by witnesses, they found books about local hiking trails. More than sixty additional maps were found in his home.

D
avid Joseph Carpenter, widely known as the Trailside Killer, is an American serial killer and rapist who stalked, murdered, and raped women hikers and joggers (and their male companions) in woodlands and on hiking trails near and around the San Francisco Bay Area and Santa Cruz Mountains. His preferred method of killing is execution style gun shots to the head or repeated stabbing. He is a mixed lust serial killer often making his victims beg for their lives. David Carpenter’s childhood was disturbing and sad. He was born and raised in San Francisco, California by a domineering mother and an alcoholic father. Both parents physically and psychologically abused him. By age seven he had a severe stutter. His grades in school were excellent but he was teased horribly because of his speech impediment and the fancy clothes his parents forced him to wear. They also forced him to take ballet lessons. David Carpenter only went through the tenth grade but completed his GED years later. His 125 IQ, (115- 129 is considered above average or bright intelligence) was lacking the elements of social and emotional factors. David Carpenter has a long record of sex crimes. At age fourteen he was committed to Napa State Hospital for sexual offenses and diagnosed with sociopathic personality disorder. He was in and out of prison most of his life for rape convictions and parole violations. Even so, he managed to hold down a job, have girlfriends, marry, and have children, resembling somewhat of a normal life although he was deeply troubled. He also served in the Coast Guard, receiving an honorable discharge, before he started serial killing and destroying the lives of so many innocent people
.

The police put David Carpenter in a line-up and invited everyone who had made a report to participate. Despite his newly grown beard every one of the seven witnesses except one was able to immediately pick him out as the perpetrator. A car line-up was also arranged and witnesses identified his red Fiat.

Although I knew that David Carpenter, the Trailside Killer, had been arrested and was in custody for the Santa Cruz murders and others, I still felt uneasy about going camping out in the woods.

We had this beautiful new travel trailer that was so comfortable and perfect for our family, it didn’t make sense to just let it sit because I was having issues. I knew that I had to get over it so that our family could enjoy camping and being out in nature again.