The infamous serial killer David Carpenter, sometimes known as the “Trailside Killer,” carried out a string of horrifying murders in the late 1970s and early 1980s near San Francisco, California.
Attacking largely female hikers, raping them, and then killing them was the killer’s modus operandi.
during ten victims are believed to have been murdered by him during a 21-month period when he was hunting them down in forests, mountains, and hiking trails. Carpenter is not frequently covered in the media despite his notoriety.
According to sources, he was caught after one of his final victims was able to flee and alerted authorities to the situation.
Around May 1981, the survivor gave crucial information that assisted detectives in locating the serial killer and murderer of David Carpenter.
Carpenter later received a death sentence after being proven guilty of numerous murders and other offences. He is still presently on death row.
The Trailside Killer, an episode of ID’s Very Scary People that detailed the prosecution of David Carpenter, broadcast on April 16, 2023.
David Carpenter murderer- Disturbing & abusive life
Carpenter was born and raised in San Francisco, California, by a controlling and violent mother and a violent alcoholic father.
He had a significant stutter by the time he was seven, which made it difficult for him to communicate with others. As a result, he was frequently the target of bullying.
In addition, his parents made him take violin and ballet classes against his will, which only served to make him a target for more bullying. Later, he demonstrated two of the three MacDonald Triad indicators—beddingwetting and animal abuse.
Carpenter served time in prison at the age of 17 for sexually assaulting two of his younger cousins.
He was nonetheless freed after serving only a year and continued to sexually abuse youngsters. He married in 1955 and gave birth to three kids: Michael David, Gabrielle Louise, and Circe Anne.
Carpenter had many jobs to support his family, including sales and printing, and he also served in the Coast Guard, from which he was honourably discharged.
Despite being married, he kept stalking women and pressuring his wife for more sex. He lured a woman into the Presidio woods where he tied her up with a clothesline, beat her with a hammer, and stabbed her hand in 1960 after making friends with her.
Fortunately, he was caught in the act by a military patrol officer who just happened to be passing by.
Carpenter pulled a gun on the officer and tried to shoot him, but he missed. Carpenter was then hit by retaliation fire and taken into custody.
For one count of assault with the intent to kill and two charges of assault with a deadly weapon, David Carpenter received a 14-year jail term the following year.
His wife sued for divorce while he was serving his sentence, and prison psychologists determined that he had a psychopathic personality condition and a 125 IQ.
The murderer of David Carpenter, who served just nine years in prison, was quickly remarried, but this union also failed.
Carpenter attacked a number of women between the end of January and the start of February. He attempted to rape a woman on January 27 after purposefully crashing his car into hers, forcing her out of the way.
Carpenter stabbed her, but she was able to flee and she was able to remember his number plate information. Then he broke into the home of a different woman, kidnapped, raped, and took her car.
On February 3, David Carpenter stole a woman’s automobile before robbing a another woman, who was carrying her infant kid at the time. Carpenter, however, was friendly to the kid.
On the same day, he was caught. He attempted to flee while awaiting trial together with four other prisoners, but they were quickly apprehended.
Carpenter entered into a plea agreement and was convicted of kidnapping and robbery. He was given parole in May 1979 and moved to a federal halfway home.
It’s thought that soon after his release, he started carrying out assassinations.
Carpenter enrolled in computer printing classes at the California Trade School around this time and graduated. He obtained employment as a typesetter instructor after completing his studies.
David Carpenter murderer of five young people in Marin County
The deaths of Cynthia Moreland, 18, and her fiancé Richard Stowers, 19, Diane O’Connell, 22, and Shauna May, 23, were the culmination of Carpenter’s furious killing spree during October and November 1980.
The same firearm was used to kill each victim.Gun of 38 calibre on Sky Trail at Point Reyes. Additionally, the same gun was used by David Carpenter’s killer to rape and kill 26-year-old Anne Evelyn Alderson on a Mount Tam route.
A breakthrough in the investigation happened on March 29, 1981, when UC Davis student Ellen Hanson, then 20 years old, and her boyfriend Steve Haertle, then 21, were attacked while hiking the Ridge Trail.
Haertle was able to alert the authorities about the nightmare because she survived the attack.
The pair had been approached by David Carpenter, who had produced a revolver and said, “I see we meet again.” Despite Haertle’s cries for mercy, Hanson rebuked him, warning, “Steven, he’s going to shoot us anyway, don’t listen to him.”
Carpenter had kidnapped and raped another lady after the attack on Hanson and Haertle, then released her unharmed.
Carpenter was ultimately detained after the woman recognised his vehicle. He was implicated in the murders of five teenagers in Marin County, according to ballistic evidence.
Is David Carpenter still alive?
David Carpenter has been incarcerated at San Quentin Prison in San Quentin, California, since November 1984. He is currently on death row.
The condemned murderer agreed to speak with The True Crime Report through email in September 2021 about what life is like for someone who has spent so much time on death row.
Carpenter was 91 when the interview took place. David Carpenter, who killed five innocent women, has his own cell as a death row inmate, which gives him some solace.
In an interview with The True Crime Report, he said that he had control over his lights, a 15-inch colour television, and that he could sleep or nap whenever he liked. Additionally, he enjoys the flexibility that a single cell affords him that a two-person cell does not.
Carpenter may leave his cell for church services, doctor’s appointments, or visits from friends and family three times each week and once per month.
