FULL NAME: Betty Lou Jensen
AGE: 16
DATE OF BIRTH: 1949 (approx.)
PLACE OF BIRTH: Benicia, California, USA
DATE OF DEATH: December 20, 1968
LOCATION OF INCIDENT: Lake Herman Road, Benicia, California
CAUSE OF DEATH: Multiple gunshot wounds
CASE STATUS: Unsolved / Linked to the Zodiac Killer series
ASSOCIATED VICTIMS: David Arthur Faraday (17)
VICTIM BACKGROUND
Betty Lou Jensen was a 16-year-old honor student at Hogan High School in Benicia, California. She was known for her academic excellence and participation in the Pythian Sunshine Girls, a youth organization promoting purity and service (Shadow of the Zodiac).
On December 20, 1968, Jensen and her classmate David Arthur Faraday went on their first date. After visiting friends, the couple drove to a rural lovers’-lane turnout along Lake Herman Road, a known secluded area frequently used by teenagers seeking privacy (ZodiacKiller.com).
CRIME SCENE OVERVIEW
At approximately 11:15 p.m., passing motorists discovered the bodies of Jensen and Faraday on the gravel turnout near Benicia’s city limits. Faraday was found beside the driver’s door with a single gunshot wound to the head. Jensen’s body was located 28 feet from the vehicle, face-down, with five gunshot wounds to her back (ZodiacKillerFacts.com).
Deputies determined that the weapon used was a .22-caliber semi-automatic pistol. The crime scene showed no signs of robbery or sexual assault. Jensen’s position and the tight grouping of gunshots indicated that she was chased and shot while fleeing from the suspect (Reddit / r/ZodiacKiller).
INVESTIGATION DETAILS
The Solano County Sheriff’s Office conducted the initial investigation. The remote setting of Lake Herman Road complicated the collection of physical evidence. Several vehicles were reported in the area that night, but none led to a suspect. Ballistics confirmed that the .22-caliber rounds were consistent with ammunition later used in attacks attributed to the Zodiac Killer (Shadow of the Zodiac).
Police concluded the crime was a deliberate ambush. Witness statements placed a light-colored vehicle in the turnout shortly before the murders, but no license plate or driver description was confirmed. Investigators noted that Jensen appeared to have fled first, suggesting the gunman began shooting almost immediately after approaching the car.
CONNECTION TO THE ZODIAC CASE
The Lake Herman Road murders of Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday are widely believed to be the first confirmed attack by the individual later self-identified as the Zodiac Killer. Months later, Zodiac letters mailed to Bay Area newspapers claimed responsibility for the “two teenagers last Christmass” (Wikipedia).
The precision, choice of weapon, and lack of motive strongly link this case to Zodiac’s later crimes in Vallejo and San Francisco. Both victims were killed at a remote location, at night, with small-caliber ammunition and no sign of theft or sexual assault.
LEGACY
Betty Lou Jensen became an enduring symbol of the Zodiac Killer’s reign of terror across Northern California. Her death, alongside Faraday’s, marked the beginning of one of America’s most infamous unsolved serial murder cases. The Jensen and Faraday families maintained public appeals for justice for decades, though no suspect has ever been charged.
KILLER THEORY
Analysis of the Lake Herman Road crime scene suggests a calculated, opportunistic killer rather than a crime of passion. The shooter displayed tactical awareness: approaching from the dark, firing from cover, and leaving no traceable evidence. Jensen’s five tightly grouped back wounds indicate deliberate marksmanship, implying the killer had firearms proficiency.
The Zodiac’s later correspondence confirms knowledge of this scene and ballistic specifics not released publicly, further validating his claim. The psychological pattern—targeting vulnerable couples in isolated locations, killing for control and notoriety—fits Zodiac’s established behavioral signature.
Despite numerous investigations, including persons of interest like Arthur Leigh Allen, definitive forensic linkage remains absent. Until the Zodiac’s identity is proven, the murder of Betty Lou Jensen stands as the origin point of a case that still haunts California law enforcement.
