Serial Murderer Known As ‘Trailside Killer’ Stalked Victims Hiking In California Wilderness

David Joseph Carpenter fatally shot seven people during his reign of terror in the early 1980s.

David Joseph Carpenter, pictured here, fatally shot seven people during his reign of terror in the early 1980s.

A man who became known as the “Trailside Killer” terrorized hikers on remote paths in California’s Santa Cruz and Marin Counties over four decades ago.

Photo by: Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (Screenshot from ID's "Very Scary People")

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (Screenshot from ID's "Very Scary People")

By: Aaron Rasmussen

A man who became known as the “Trailside Killer” terrorized hikers on remote paths in California’s Santa Cruz and Marin Counties over four decades ago.

On Oct. 11, 1980, Richard Stowers, 19, and his fiancée, 18-year-old Cynthia Moreland, were in the woods on the Point Reyes National Seashore when they were fatally shot in the head, according to a case report.

Then, on Oct. 15, 1980, the body of Anne Alderson was discovered on Mount Tamalpais — two days after the 26-year-old former Peace Corps volunteer was last seen alive. Investigators believed she had been sexually assaulted.

In late November 1980, during a search at Point Reyes National Seashore for Stowers and Moreland almost seven weeks after they disappeared, investigators found their bodies as well as those of two more shooting victims around 200 yards away from the couple’s remains.

Diane O'Connell, 22, and 25-year-old Shauna May were both shot dead. The women’s nude bodies were facedown and O’Connell had a pair of panties stuffed in her mouth. There were indications she had been strangled with a cord or wire. May had been raped.

The following year, 1981, Heather Scaggs, 20, accepted a ride from a colleague at a Hayward trade school. A short time later, she was found nude and shot to death in Big Basin State Park.

The serial killings would soon come to an end with the arrest of a suspect, but not before one more woman lost her life.

On March 29, 1981, a gunman confronted UC-Davis sophomore Ellen Hansen, 20, and her junior boyfriend, Steven Haertle, while they were hiking at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains. According to the report, the gunman said he was going to rape Hansen and she resisted. The man shot her and turned the gun on Haertle, sending a bullet into his neck.

Haertle survived his injury, and he was able later to help investigators crack the case wide open by providing a composite sketch that was key in identifying his attacker, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The suspect, David Joseph Carpenter, was arrested in May 1981 and he was linked to the cases.

Carpenter’s criminal record included a series of violent sex crimes dating back to as early as 1947, and he had just been paroled after serving a nine-year stint behind bars, according to the Chronicle.

The first of Carpenter's adult victims is believed to be Lois Rinna, the mother of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Lisa Rinna. Carpenter kidnapped Lois in 1960 before stabbing her in the hand and hitting in the head with the hammer multiple times. She was rescued by a military policeman who saw them on the deserted road.

Dubbed the “Trailside Killer”, Carpenter was tried and convicted of the charges against him during two separate trials. The first, in 1984, covered the Santa Cruz killings, while the other, in 1988, was for the Marin slayings. He was sentenced to death after each.

The California’s Supreme Court upheld both rulings the following decade. One court justice noted in his opinion that Carpenter’s brutal crimes were “appalling even by the standards of capital cases.”

In 2010, DNA evidence also confirmed Carpenter was responsible for the 1979 death of 23-year-old Mary Frances Bennett, who was jogging in the Bay Area when she was stabbed dozens of times, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Carpenter, now 92, remains on death row in San Quentin State Prison.

For more on this case, stream Very Scary People: "The Trailside Killer" on discovery+.

Next Up

‘The Scorecard Killer’: Southern California Man May Have Murdered As Many As 67 Victims

Randy Steven Kraft was caught after police pulled him over with a dead Marine in his front passenger-side seat.

Serial Killer William Reece Pleads Guilty To The 1997 Murders Of Three Young Texas Women

Convicted murderer William Reece was sentenced to death for another young woman’s murder in August 2021.

Illinois Police Raced To Find A Vicious Serial Killer Before He Could Strike Again

There were already two unsolved deaths in Peoria County, Illinois, when detectives were notified of another body dumped in a field.

Inside The 1990s Serial Killings Targeting Minnesota’s Gay Community

‘I fully intend to expedite a number of souls to the gates of heaven or the dungeons of hell,’ murderer Jay Johnson wrote in his journal.

A Texas Serial Killer Left His Victims Without Their Eyes

From 1990 to 1991, the city of Dallas, Texas was gripped with fear after authorities linked two brutal and bizarre homicide cases.

‘Torso Killer’ Richard Cottingham Indicted In 1968 Slaying Of Long Island Dance Teacher

More than five decades after the body of 23-year-old Diane Cusick was found murdered in her car, investigators have linked her death to a serial killer.

A Florida Nightclub Owner Taped His Own Homicide

Investigators trying to figure out who was responsible for a triple homicide in Miramar, Florida, got a very lucky break when they discovered a home surveillance system hidden at the scene of a 1994 murder.

Midwestern Civil War Buff May Be Serial Killer Connected To Dozens Of Females’ Deaths

Larry DeWayne Hall was identified as a suspect in a kidnapping after a witness took down his van’s license plate number.

How The Boston Strangler’s Identity Was Finally Confirmed 50 Years After His Reign Of Terror Ended

Albert DeSalvo confessed to the serial killing of 13 women, but he never faced justice for the brutal slayings.

Serial Killer Who Preyed On Women In New York City Area Admits To 5 Murders 50 Years Ago

Richard Cottingham became known as the Torso Killer because he often decapitated his victims and cut off their feet.