Cold Cases of the Golden Coast

At about 12:05am on Saturday, July 5, 1969, Darlene Ferrin, 22, and Michael Mageau, 19, parked at the parking lot of secluded Blue Rock Springs Park on the eastern outskirts of Vallejo, Solano County, CA — a popular area for couples — to talk. Darlene parked 70 ft from the lot entrance. Soon, another car parked about 80 ft to her left. The driver turned the headlights off and sat motionless at the steering wheel before leaving the parking lot at a high speed. Michael Mageau and Darlene Ferrin. Five minutes later, the other driver returned and parked a few feet next to Darlene's vehicle at the passenger side. He exited his car and shined a flashlight into Darlene's car; the couple assumed he was a police officer and rolled down the passenger side window. The man wordlessly fired a gun into the car. One bullet hit Michael in the right arm, and the other Darlene in the neck, causing her to slump towards the steering wheel and become motionless. After five shots were fired, the man...

On Friday, December 20, 1968, David, 17, drove his mother's station wagon to Betty Lou's, 16, house at 8:00pm. They left in the car at 8:30pm for the house of one of Jensen's friends. Sometime after 9:00pm they then drove to the outskirts of Vallejo, Solano County, CA and parked at a gravel parking area — a lovers' lane — along remote Lake Herman Rd. This is near/at the entrance to the city of Benicia, Solano County. A passing motorist noticed the couple between 10:15-10:30pm, parked on the side of Lake Herman Rd, on a gravel runoff near the gate to a Benicia water pumping station. They were spotted again at 11:00pm. David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen. Photo from Wikipedia. Sometime between 11:05 and 11:10pm, an unknown assailant pulled his car up next to David's, about 10 ft away from the passenger's side of the vehicle. The unidentified man left his vehicle and approached the couple's car, firing several shots inside. The bullets hit various parts of the c...

Deana and an older girl, Tonna, were adopted from an orphanage in Hong Kong by their (white) foster father Dean Hooper in 1966; because of this, Deana and Tonna regarded each other as sisters. Deana, her adoptive parents, her older sister, and a brother lived together in Sonoma. Eventually her sister became married and moved to Vallejo, Solano County, CA. Deana lived in Yountville at the time with her family. Photo from the March 13, 1975 edition of the  Vallejo Times-Herald . Edited by me for clarity.   At the time of her death, Deana, 18, was staying with her older sister, Mrs Tonna Albright, who lived at 901 Georgia St in Vallejo. According to the missing person's report filed by Tonna on July 15, 1974, on Monday, July 11th, she and Deana had attended a party at the Enlisted Men's Club on Mare Island, and when it came time to go home, Tonna couldn't find Deana. That was the last time she was seen. When Deana did not return home following the party, Tonna called their fat...

On Saturday, April 28, 1979, the body of a white male was found concealed above the shoulder/near the side of North Meridian Rd in Vacaville, Solano County, CA. All parts were recovered, though his remains were deemed not recognizable due to insect/animal activity. John Doe had suffered a blow to the forehead and a possible fatal laceration of the throat. He is estimated to have died two weeks prior to discovery, putting his date of death at about Saturday, April 14, 1979. The man's death has been considered a homicide from the onset, as his body was deliberately covered with grass. According to NamUs, John Doe was a 35 to 55 year old white male who weighed 185 lbs and is estimated to have been 5'5 to 6'1 tall. However, the bulletin released at the time — which is available in the Documents section of his NamUs profile — states that he was approximately 40 years old, 6'1, and 185-190 lbs. The April 30, 1979 edition of the Vallejo Times-Herald puts him as in his 20s or ...