The Doodler | 5. An Actor and a Diplomat Walk into a Bar

Summary

The Binge Crimes: The Doodler Episode 5: An Actor and a Diplomat Walk into a Bar Release Date: July 29, 2025

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Introduction to the Investigation

In this episode, hosts Kevin Fagan and Mike Taylor delve deeper into the haunting case of "The Doodler," a serial killer who terrorized San Francisco's gay community in the mid-1970s. Unlike more infamous serial killers like the Zodiac or Ted Bundy, The Doodler remains relatively obscure despite potentially matching the Zodiac Killer's victim count.

Investigation Progress and Challenges

Kevin and Mike discuss the complexities of reporting a case overwhelmed with uncertainties. Mike Taylor candidly shares the difficulty of piecing together fragmented historical data, stating, "We're relying on history" (01:18). The investigation is likened to assembling a jigsaw puzzle without all the pieces.

The Fifth Victim: Harold Goldberg

The narrative shifts to the discovery of Harold Goldberg's body in June 1975 at Fox Plaza, near Lincoln Golf Course at Land's End. Goldberg, a 66-year-old Swedish immigrant and merchant seaman, was found with his throat slashed and his pants unzipped (05:21). The investigation into his death proved challenging due to his age and the lack of available records:

"Any contemporary would be 110 years old, or at least 100. So that's sort of a problem." — Mike Taylor (06:45)

Key Investigators: Earl Sanders and Rotea

Inspectors Earl Sanders and Rotea were assigned to the case, renowned for their street-level connections, particularly within San Francisco's gay bars (06:22). Their efforts, however, were hampered by the elusive nature of Goldberg's background and the limited information available.

Potential Witnesses: The Actor and the Diplomat

Newspaper clippings from the 1970s hint at possible survivors and key witnesses, including a well-known actor and a diplomat. The hosts explore these leads, uncovering that an actor frequented upscale gay bars, as noted by investigator Ron Huberman:

"Rock and Cary Grant were two that were, you know, everybody talked about, oh my God, Rock Hudson came into that club." — Ron Huberman (10:14)

The investigation also uncovers a diplomat who survived an attack by The Doodler, providing crucial but limited information about the killer's appearance and demeanor.

The Diplomat's Attack and Its Implications

In a pivotal moment, the diplomat was brutally stabbed six times but survived, offering the first detailed physical description of The Doodler. The diplomat's reluctance to come forward was rooted in fear of public exposure and personal trauma, as explained by Inspector Cunningham:

"He's got some other issues throughout the years because of that attack." — Dan Cunningham (17:42)

The Composite Sketch Debate

A composite sketch based on the diplomat's description was released to the public in November 1975. However, experts like attorney Karen Neuwirth critique the reliability of such sketches, especially in cross-racial identifications:

"Composite sketches are unreliable, that the ability to describe a person is not well correlated to the ability to identify them." — Karen Neuwirth (27:14)

Psychology Professor Jennifer Dysart further explains the cognitive challenges in creating accurate sketches, highlighting potential biases and inaccuracies.

Ongoing Leads and Research Efforts

Despite the flawed sketch, the investigation received an anonymous tip that provided a license plate number, hinting at a possible breakthrough (32:08). The team continues to pursue leads, focusing on a potential Swedish diplomat and leveraging international contacts to access archival records.

Mike Taylor details their methodical approach to narrowing down suspects by cross-referencing names from the 1975 San Francisco city directory with Swedish consular records, emphasizing the challenges posed by legal restrictions on accessing foreign archival data.

Conclusion and Future Directions

As the episode concludes, the hosts reflect on the intricate web of leads and the enduring mystery of The Doodler. The composite sketch remains a double-edged sword, offering both hope and potential misdirection. The next episode promises to explore the impact of an anonymous tip on the investigation, potentially bringing new clarity to the decades-old case.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• "We're relying on history." — Mike Taylor (01:18)
• "Any contemporary would be 110 years old, or at least 100. So that's sort of a problem." — Mike Taylor (06:45)
• "Rock and Cary Grant were two that were, you know, everybody talked about, oh my God, Rock Hudson came into that club." — Ron Huberman (10:14)
• "He's got some other issues throughout the years because of that attack." — Dan Cunningham (17:42)
• "Composite sketches are unreliable, that the ability to describe a person is not well correlated to the ability to identify them." — Karen Neuwirth (27:14)

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Next Episode Tease

The episode wraps up hinting at a significant phone call from an anonymous woman that could potentially shift the investigation's direction. Listeners are left anticipating the next installment to uncover whether this tip could finally lead to identifying The Doodler.

Stay tuned for Episode 6: [Next Episode Title] as Kevin Fagan and Mike Taylor continue unraveling the enigmatic case of The Doodler.

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This summary captures the essence of Episode 5, highlighting key discussions and insights while omitting non-content segments such as advertisements and introductions.

Transcript

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[Kevin Fagan]

The binge. You're listening to the Doodler, a re release series from the Binge archives. If you're a subscriber to the Binge, you can listen to all episodes ad free right now. Visit the Binge channel on apple podcasts or getthebinge.com to browse all the great shows on the channel. The feed your true crime obsession. This series contains depictions of violent assault and murder. Listener discretion is advised. Listen to this series carefully and let us know if anything you hear in this show jogs a memory of yours. And if you've got a tip, you can call us at 415-570-9299.

[Mike Taylor]

We're about, you know, I don't know, maybe 3/4 75 or 80% done with the reporting. You know, I mean, short of actually standing there and watching someone kill someone else. Yeah, we're relying on history.

[Kevin Fagan]

Mike Taylor and I are talking out the difficulties of reporting a case with more questions than answers. You know, it's putting together little threads and you can't have the threads together if you don't have the, you know, the semblance of a cloth.

[Mike Taylor]

Right. Exactly.

[Kevin Fagan]

Until the summer of 1975, the Doodler had managed to kill at least four people, mostly undetected, leaving little evidence and no witnesses, as though he'd planned out everything perfectly. But of course, nobody is perfect.

[Mike Taylor]

We really want to find a key witness in this case, an unnamed young man who we think was attacked by the Doodler, right. In July of 1975 in his apartment at the Fox Plaza apartment building in San Francisco.

[Kevin Fagan]

Around this time, the Doodler started to make mistakes. Some of the many attacked may have gotten away with memories of exactly what happened. Are any of them still alive? If so, we want to find them. But before the end of 1975, the Doodler would claim one more life. I'm Kevin Fagan from the San Francisco Chronicle, Ugly Duckling Films and Neon Hum Media. This is the untold story of the Doodler.

[Dan Cunningham]

So I'm not sure what hole this is, but it's by the 16th hole.

[Kevin Fagan]

Of Lincoln and evidently down a road that's got this divider to it. Investigator Dan Cunningham and I are right by Lincoln Golf Course at Land's End. It's just a skip north of the previous Doodler kill sites, Ocean beach and Spreckles Lake. The fifth and final presumed victim was found near the course's 16th hole.

[Dan Cunningham]

Hey, do you know where the 16th hole's at?

[Kevin Fagan]

The 16th one is the one that goes down the hill right here on that side. Cunningham is using crime scene photos to pinpoint the exact spot.

[Dan Cunningham]

So I think we're close, right?

[Kevin Fagan]

I guess so.

[Dan Cunningham]

Probably about where the sign is up there.

[Kevin Fagan]

The next one somewhere around that area, I think. So if the 16th, there's the. Well, there's the flag right up there. Several months into this investigation, I think Cunningham is starting to think that my work could benefit him too. Maybe that's why he's starting to be a little less reticent. Oh, look at that down there.

[Dan Cunningham]

Exactly. That could be it.

[Kevin Fagan]

We settle on a spot that looks pretty close. There's a gap in the brush in front of us to a cliff that drops down to the ocean. It's pretty safe to say this is the same kind of sound you'd be hearing 45 years ago, right?

[Dan Cunningham]

Right. And it was probably as nice that day as it is today. I mean, it was in June, June of 1975.

[Kevin Fagan]

June 4, 1975, around 6pm that was when a hiker stumbled upon the body of Harold Goldberg.

[Dan Cunningham]

His body was. Was found probably between 10 to 14 days after he was killed. So he was probably killed in the middle of May, I'm guessing. It was probably a nice day that day. And beautiful view. You got the best view in the world right here. It's like a panoramic postcard of the bridge, the ocean.

[Kevin Fagan]

Golden Gate Bridge is Baker's beach, the beach.

[Dan Cunningham]

And beautiful. It's ironic that a horrific act like that would have taken place in such a lovely location as this.

[Kevin Fagan]

Harold Goldberg was a 66 year old merchant seaman, a Swedish immigrant, naturalized as a US citizen 20 years before he died. Inspector Frank Falzon was the first responder that morning, along with his partner, Dave Toski.

[Mike Taylor]

I remember the coroner telling us the body had been there for a while because of the size of the lava that was left by flies, that the body had began to decay.

[Kevin Fagan]

Goldberg's throat had been slashed, his pants unzipped. Falzon and Toschi worked the Goldberg crime scene. But they wouldn't be the ones to take the case.

[Mike Taylor]

So the lieutenant at the time, and I believe it was Charlie Ellis, took the case away from Tuske, also away.

[Ron Huberman]

From myself, and gave it to Rotea.

[Mike Taylor]

Guilford and Earl Sanders, the Doodler investigators.

[Kevin Fagan]

Former Mayor Willie Brown says they were the guys for the job, and they.

[Mike Taylor]

Did a considerable amount of police work together. And they were. They became really well known as the two top cops.

[Kevin Fagan]

They were well wired into the street, and that included gay bars where people might know what was going on. But Earl and Rotea quickly learned that Goldberg would be a hard nut to crack.

[Mike Taylor]

Harold Goldberg in Sweden. I'm getting 00 of anything. Anyone close to him. Partially, it's because of his age. He was 66 when he died 45 years ago. So any contemporary would be 110 years old, or at least 100. So that's sort of a problem.

[Kevin Fagan]

We do know that Goldberg was a merchant seaman for most of his life.

[Mike Taylor]

I'm in touch with the Sailors Union of the Pacific, which is the big seafaring union in California, and I gave them the name, date of birth, date of death and all that to see if they have anything.

[Kevin Fagan]

Turns out the Union had no records on Goldberg and could tell us nothing. But with some help from Mike's PI Pal, Tamara Thompson, we learned Goldberg traveled to ports in Shanghai, Fiji, New York, Liverpool, and of course, San Francisco, among many others. He didn't stay in one place for very long, but from what we've gathered, San Francisco seems to have been his home base. It was the friendliest port a gay man like Goldberg could find. That's about all we know about Goldberg. He's the last known and confirmed Doodler fatality. And on paper, his being an enigma reminds me of the Doodler's first victim, Gerald Kavanaugh. Both older loners. I began this journey wanting to find out more about the victims so I could understand more about the Doodler. And while I've got a better handle on the Doodler's potential motive and his inner turmoil, I don't have much else. But according to rumor, there were other Doodler victims. Ones who survived, men that I believe Rotea and Earl spoke to. And at least one of them might still be alive. Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. Now, I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited Premium Wireless for $15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made $15 bills, but it turns out that's very illegal. So There goes my big idea for the commercial. Give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment.

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[Kevin Fagan]

Newspaper clippings from the 70s make passing reference to potential survivors of the Doodler. Mike and I have been trying to find them. Back then investigators protected their identities. But Mike and I have gleaned a little info. So who were these witnesses? According to talk at the time, there was an actor who hung around gay bars. Rotea mentioned to the press that he was an actor famous enough to be nationally known. He was deep in the closet for the sake of his career. But there were places in San Francisco for famous gay men to indulge their desires in private.

[Ron Huberman]

Rock and Cary Grant were two that were, you know, everybody talked about, oh my God, Rock Hudson came into that club. And these were upscale clubs, you know what I mean? These are jacket and tie clubs.

[Kevin Fagan]

That's Ron Huberman again. He's the investigator you heard last episode. He says Hudson and Grant were the kind of nationally known actors whose sexuality was the subject of rumors. It later came out that Hudson was gay, but Grant was only speculated about. Yet they both went to clubs where famous gay men were known to flock. The actor in question likely did too. Gossip about these men must have passed from bartender to bartender until they trickled down into the dive bars.

[Ron Huberman]

Wayne was so gregarious. I mean, he was a perfect bartender. He talked to everybody.

[Kevin Fagan]

Wayne Friday tended bar at a gay spot called the New Bell Saloon. He was a friend of Jay Stevens. He heard a lot of and he saw a lot.

[Ron Huberman]

He had to be very careful. He didn't out people. But he, he would hint.

[Kevin Fagan]

It's a good bet that Earl and Rotea talked to Wayne. The rumor they heard went something like this. A well known actor went home with a man to have sex. And as they were about to go to bed, a knife fell from his coat. I wonder how long the knife sat on the floor between them before the actor bolted out of the room. He must have been quick. There was no attack, no blood. It was barely a story, really, until it caught Earl and Rotea's attention. They thought it might be related to the Doodler case. Reports suggest the investigators tracked down the actor in question and after talking with him, they seemed convinced that it was connected. Rotea was later quoted saying it would be terrible if his name got out.

[Dan Cunningham]

So a lot of people throughout the years have thought it's a lot of different people. And I don't want to say anybody's name specifically, but whoever that person was, they never made a police report.

[Kevin Fagan]

Dan Cunningham at SFPD has access to Earl and Rotea's files and he says even he doesn't know for sure who the actor is.

[Dan Cunningham]

At that time, it wasn't a popular thing if you were a celebrity to come out and to be acknowledged as a gay man. So that report was never made because there would have to be a name with that, even though it was an attempt. We don't have that information.

[Kevin Fagan]

Cunningham has looked into several different names and so have we. Mike and I have called agents of the few living actors from that time who were speculated about. We traced any actor who may have been in town performing, promoting something or just hanging out. And we called relatives and acquaintances of the deceased stars too. The ones who responded didn't want anything to do with this project. The details around the actor's run in with the Doodler are admittedly murky, but we learn that there's potentially a second surviving witness and he has a much more harrowing tale.

[Dan Cunningham]

So there was. There was a diplomat.

[Kevin Fagan]

There was a diplomat, one that Dan Cunningham says had a run in with the Doodler at a late night restaurant.

[Dan Cunningham]

It was called the Truck Stop, Market and Church. And the victim was in this bar, 2:00 o' clock in the morning, whatever, 2:15. And I guess they started putting all the chairs and tables together to make room and everybody just kind of sat together because a lot of people wouldn't eat getting out of the bars. And there was an individual that was there and he was drawing on a napkin with some expertise, he was drawing animal figures. And an individual that was there started chatting with him and ended up going, bringing him back to his place at the Fox Plaza.

[Kevin Fagan]

The diplomat took this man and the restaurant back to his place in a high rise apartment. Complex just south of the Tenderloin. It's called Fox Plaza. The building, which is still there, had offices and a bar on the lower floors. And apartments with fabulous views all the way up to the 29th floor. When they got there, the artist locked himself in the bathroom for a while.

[Dan Cunningham]

Guy went in to check on him at some point, and he said he was okay. The victim went back and sat down. Was back to the door of the bathroom.

[Kevin Fagan]

Not long after that, the man emerged.

[Dan Cunningham]

This guy came out some point. He was steak knife and just started attacking him. He's trying to get his front in his back, stabbing him. And it was consistent with what the other injuries that he'd done to the other victims.

[Kevin Fagan]

The attacker stabbed the diplomat six times, piercing his lung.

[Dan Cunningham]

The blade broke off. He survived. The guy ran.

[Kevin Fagan]

In fact, Dan told me that as soon as the blade broke, the diplomat grabbed his attacker and threw him against the wall. The attacker, now unarmed, ran from the scene. The diplomat was gravely wounded, bleeding from six places in his chest and his back. But he was alive, miraculously. He walked himself to a hospital clinic down the street, where he stayed for several weeks. He didn't go to the cops at first. If he did, he'd have to tell them exactly what happened, why this man was in his apartment in the first place. At best, he would have to out himself to the police. At worst, he would be outed to the public, his colleagues. For which a gay man in 1975 would mean public humiliation and potential criminal liability. But a few weeks later, the diplomat filed a police report on the incident. I don't know what changed his mind. Inspectors Rotay Guilford and Earl Sanders took the report into their file. The attack on the diplomat was an outlier. It marked a complete change in pattern from the five murders we've talked about. Those killings happened in remote locations, all within walking distance of each other. Starting at the beach and curving up the coast to the wooded Lands end. Places where victims were unlikely to receive help. The diplomat had neighbors in Fox Plaza. His screams could be heard through the walls. If this was a doodler attack, why would he change things up? Why would he take such a huge risk?

[Mike Taylor]

Does Dan have the police reports of those attacks from July 75?

[Kevin Fagan]

He does, yeah.

[Mike Taylor]

I mean, did the cops go back to the building and start interviewing people up and down the hall?

[Kevin Fagan]

Why? Curiously, he did not fill me in on all those intricate details.

[Mike Taylor]

I see.

[Kevin Fagan]

I would like to. I would assume they would, don't you think? I mean, that's. That kind of makes sense. You'd go bang on some doors if they did it.

[Ron Huberman]

Yeah.

[Kevin Fagan]

You know, a lot of times, investigators will go back to the crime scene and bang on a door, leave a card. Doesn't mean people are home. The next time I met Cunningham, he confirmed that the diplomat is very much alive. You talked to the diplomat, right?

[Dan Cunningham]

I've talked to that victim, yes.

[Kevin Fagan]

Does he want to come forward?

[Dan Cunningham]

I don't want to comment on that.

[Kevin Fagan]

From the sound of Dan's voice, it feels like something is still going on with the. This witness. Is he still scared and of being outed, or is that still an issue at this time, 25 years later?

[Dan Cunningham]

I don't. The issue with him is not about being out at all.

[Kevin Fagan]

What kind of.

[Dan Cunningham]

He's got some other issues throughout the years because of that attack.

[Kevin Fagan]

Yeah. Did he sustain injuries that. That stuck through these years? That bothered him? Yeah.

[Dan Cunningham]

Yes.

[Kevin Fagan]

Okay. Cunningham says this diplomat doesn't want to talk. Nearly half a century later, he appears to still live in fear that he'll be attacked again. We don't want to out the diplomat by name or to put him in danger, but if we talked, he could confirm what the doodler looked like, acted like, or maybe he could even give us a name. I feel like we can convince him to trust us if we can only figure out who he is. There's not much for us to go on other than his title. Diplomat. In 1975, San Francisco was home to consulates from all over the world. France, Sweden, Japan, India, the Philippines. The list goes on. Narrowing that list down without any guidance would be time consuming if not impossible. But I do wonder if rumors about the actor spread through the bar scene. Maybe there were rumors about a diplomat, too.

[Randy Alfred]

Yep.

[Kevin Fagan]

Randy Alfred was a journalist at the San Francisco Sentinel, a gay newspaper back when these attacks happened. He covered anti gay violence, and he worked closely with the guy who covered.

[Mike Taylor]

The doodler, which was Chuck Morris's beat.

[Kevin Fagan]

Chuck Morris passed away in 1986, but Randy remembers hearing one detail about the diplomat, a rumor that came from the sfpd.

[Mike Taylor]

I'm pretty sure that they thought it was a Swedish diplomat. And I think that may have been information that wasn't publicly released because it would have identified him.

[Kevin Fagan]

He's right. It wouldn't be hard to get information on a diplomat in a single consulate in San Francisco.

[Mike Taylor]

And that narrows it down from all of the countries, you know, 40, 40 or 50 or even 60 countries had consulates here because it's a port city. Unless it was one of those other Nordic countries like Denmark or Norway. But I remember it as Swedish.

[Kevin Fagan]

I asked investigator Ron Huberman if he ever heard anything similar about a Swedish diplomat from Wayne Friday or any other bartenders at the time.

[Ron Huberman]

I think the Diplomat. I can't remember his name now, but the Diplomat used to go into the New Bell, which is where the piano player was and where Wayne held Tenant Bar.

[Kevin Fagan]

Huberman makes it sound like this diplomat was a regular.

[Ron Huberman]

Everybody would just call him the Diplomat. I don't think he used his name, which is very common in some of his position.

[Kevin Fagan]

Do you know what country he might have come from?

[Ron Huberman]

I don't know. I don't. I just can't remember. But it wouldn't be strange for diplomats from, I would say, you know, northern Europe. In other words, from France or Germany or, you know, Switzerland or to be assigned in San Francisco and be gay.

[Kevin Fagan]

Seemed like I was onto something, so I pressed Dan again the next time I saw him. That conversation was off mic, but I updated Mike Taylor on the phone. I said, okay, diplomat. Is he Swedish? Scandinavian? The quote was, you're good, but I'm not gonna tell you any of that.

[Mike Taylor]

I'm pursuing some other lines on the Diplomat just to see if they pan out. There's actually a very strong Swedish or Swedish American community in the Bay Area, so. So I'm starting to find some names in there to go after.

[Kevin Fagan]

Mike wants to cross reference those names with the names that are listed in a 1975 San Francisco city directory. The directory lists the names of almost all of the residents in Fox Plaza, the diplomat's apartment complex. Mike has been culling a list of over 300 names. If we knew what floor he lived on, we could narrow it down. Mike also wants to compare the names to Swedish consular records.

[Mike Taylor]

If the laws were the same in Sweden as they are here, and you could file a Freedom of Information act request and say, you know, cough up any papers you have on problems in the Swedish Consulate in San Francisco in the mid-70s.

[Kevin Fagan]

The only catch is that the Swedish government is barred by law from sharing archival materials with non citizens. So Mike called up a researcher in Stockholm.

[Mike Taylor]

It's 8:30am in California. I'm with Nina. How do you pronounce it? Silvantoinen.

[Randy Alfred]

Perfectly.

[Kevin Fagan]

Nina Silventoin is going to look through the archives in Sweden for us.

[Mike Taylor]

I remember there was one email that, that I got from the Ricks Arkavit in Sweden and the man said, look in box shelf, this box number, etc. Etc. Did you get that? You got that?

[Randy Alfred]

Yeah, I actually had contact with her the woman from there. And I ordered the file, the dossiers that she mentioned. Okay, but she also said that be aware that the lists are not complete. But of course, I mean, I will pick them out for you. And I have a big box waiting for me when I get there tomorrow.

[Kevin Fagan]

I'll update you if those records from Sweden get us anywhere. The actor and the diplomat were linchpins to Earl and Rottea's investigation. Their combined memories told a story of a knife wielding man. A man intent to kill the men he went home with. If Rotea and Earl were right, this was the Doodler. But there's still more we need to know to be sure.

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[Kevin Fagan]

What I'm about to go into is a combination of details from my own research and new details from Cunningham. In July of 1975, the diplomat was laid up in a hospital bed recovering from severe stab wounds and a pierced lung. He had just agreed to file a police report. What he revealed to Earl and Rotea was to them the first description of the doodler to ever hit a policeman's ear. They wrote down the description in their report. Dan Cunningham laid it out for me.

[Dan Cunningham]

So this person was at the time, late teens, 19, 20 years old, slender, 6ft 5'11, slenderbill, African American.

[Kevin Fagan]

The diplomat's attacker was a young black man, not unlike the zebra killers. And he too had a motive. I read in some of the clippings that in one of the attacks the perpetrator said something about you gay guys are all the same. Or something like that. Is this that series of attacks?

[Dan Cunningham]

Yes. There was consistent comments made to both victims that survived.

[Kevin Fagan]

This attacker seemed to harbor some kind of hatred toward the actor and the diplomat for their sexuality. Same as the killer on Ocean Beach. We already know the Doodler had it out for gay men. So this language fits the Doodler's pattern. You gay guys are all the same. Rotea and Earl had to be pretty damn sure this was their guy. After gathering as much as they could from the diplomat and the actor, Earl and Rotea had enough information to start piecing together an image of this suspect. The Doodler was about to be doodled.

[Dan Cunningham]

One of the witnesses generated the sketch.

[Kevin Fagan]

Cunningham eventually said the diplomat was the one who described the attacker in the greatest detail. The sketch looks like a shaded pencil drawing. The man it depicts is young, with a long chin, serious eyes, and a medium dark complexion. He's wearing a navy type watch cap. The drawing is almost photorealistic. It's not a caricature like some other police sketches drawn with precision. A lot of time and effort went into this sketch. It was released to the public in November of 1975. Both the Sentinel and the Chronicle published it, along with a phone number for tipsters to call. Earl and Rottea were confident that the diplomat's attacker and the Doodler were one in the same. They needed any additional leads they could get to confirm that. The Sentinel warned readers, under no circumstances should the suspect be approached. It was a huge development for the case, and investigators were putting a lot of faith into this composite sketch. Would that be a problem?

[Karen Neuwirth]

The word I would probably use with respect to police sketches or composite sketches is dangerous.

[Kevin Fagan]

Karen Neuwirth is an attorney for the Exoneration Project. She's also an expert on eyewitness identification.

[Karen Neuwirth]

We know as a matter of scientific fact, based on laboratory research, that composite sketches are unreliable, that the ability to describe a person is not well correlated to the ability to identify them. Those are two separate functions in your brain.

[Kevin Fagan]

Neuwirth says that when we look at a face, we see it as a whole, not as individual parts.

[Karen Neuwirth]

Making a composite sketch the way it's done requires an individual to describe a person by their features. Individual features. We make the eyes, we make the nose, we make the mouth. And absent something really distinctive, that's asking people to do an entirely separate cognitive task describing about something that we don't actually process. If you show 26 people or 2,600 people the same photograph, you're going to get that many different composites.

[Kevin Fagan]

And the reliability of a composite sketch is even shakier when the victim and the perpetrator are different races. It's worth noting that the suspect described in the Doodler sketch was a man of color. And all the known Doodler victims were white.

[Karen Neuwirth]

These were cross racial in nature. And cross racial identifications are known to be white, more unreliable than same race identifications. And part of that problem is the lack of vocabulary, and particularly from white to black in the United States to describe features of other race persons or to appreciate distinctions in other race features.

[Kevin Fagan]

This all means that building an accurate composite sketch is a long shot at best. Jennifer Dysart is a psychology professor at the John Jay College of Criminal justice and an expert on eyewitness identification.

[Randy Alfred]

Research has also shown that by using a sketch artist or some of these older techniques where you kind of, let's say, build a face, that those processes can actually influence your recollection and your memory for the face of the perpetrator.

[Kevin Fagan]

And using an inaccurate sketch in your investigation can compound the problem.

[Randy Alfred]

The sketch is done. The witness says it's as good as it's going to get, or it's very close, or it looks just like him, whatever they say. And then the sketch is distributed. And the hope is what? That someone will see the sketch and go, oh my gosh, that's my neighbor. And so you call the police, you say, it's probably nothing. Let's say then the police, maybe they see the sketch, maybe they don't, but they go to the neighbor's house and the person opens the door and they think, looks just like the sketch, right? Like, what are the chances? The chances are very high, actually, because the person was calling because they already believe there's already already been a match.

[Kevin Fagan]

In a way, the sketch gives the police exactly what they want, a suspect. Now, anything the neighbor does will be seen through a lens of suspicion.

[Randy Alfred]

What the person doesn't realize, the neighbor who's now the suspect, is that the witness's memory of the perpetrator has been influenced by the sketch. And their memory for the perpetrator is going to look very similar to the sketch. And if the suspect has been selected because they look like the sketch, why should anyone be surprised when that guy gets selected from a photo array or a live lineup or an in court identification procedure? No one should be surprised.

[Kevin Fagan]

Professor Dysart says there is no scientific way to evaluate the accuracy of a police sketch. The only way to know if it's right or wrong is to identify the perpetrator by other means, like DNA testing or video evidence, things that SFPD didn't have then. DNA wasn't a tool for police until many years later. Whether the police knew it or not, the Doodler sketch was a shot in the dark. Who knows how much false suspicion it would raise around the streets of San Francisco. At the time, Rotea and Earl were two of the only black investigators at the sfpd. It's hard to know if any of this was front of mind for them. After all, just a year earlier, a composite sketch had helped them solve the zebra case. So this was a tool they likely had some faith in. And as it would turn out, the Doodler sketch got results. Next time on the Doodler.

[Dan Cunningham]

Once the sketch, the composite was put out there, then the phone call came from the anonymous woman.

[Kevin Fagan]

And it was that woman's phone call that started it. Police get a fateful phone call and.

[Dan Cunningham]

She gave a very specific name.

[Kevin Fagan]

Yeah.

[Dan Cunningham]

And approximately 10 days later, she called up again, a little upset, apparently agitated because she didn't think anything was getting done, and provided a license plate of the suspect.

[Kevin Fagan]

That's next time on the untold story of the Doodler.

[Mike Taylor]

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[Kevin Fagan]

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[Mike Taylor]

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[Dan Cunningham]

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[Mike Taylor]

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[Kevin Fagan]

The Doodler is created by the San Francisco Chronicle and Ugly Duckling Films and produced in association with Neon Hum Media and Sony Music Entertainment. It is reported by me, the hosts, Kevin Fagan and Mike Taylor. Produced and written by Tanner Robbins. Natalie Ren is our co producer and Odelia Rubin our supervising producer. Associate producers are Bennett Purser, Chloe Chobel and Ryan J.

[Mike Taylor]

Brown.

[Kevin Fagan]

Our sound designer and composer is Hansdale Sue. Our editor is Nick White and our executive editor is Catherine St. Louis. Editorial support from King Kaufman and Tim O' Rourke for the San Francisco Chronicle. Executive producers are Sophia Gibber and Lena Bowseger for Ugly Duckling Films and Jonathan Hirsch for Neon Hum Media.