FULL NAME: Cecelia Ann Shepard
DATE OF BIRTH: January 1, 1947
DATE OF DEATH: September 29, 1969
AGE AT DEATH: 22 years old
GENDER: Female
RACE/ETHNICITY: White / Caucasian
LOCATION OF INCIDENT: Western shore of Lake Berryessa, Napa County, California
TIME & DATE OF INCIDENT: Approximately 6:30 p.m., September 27, 1969
BACKGROUND
Cecelia Ann Shepard was known for her intelligence, warmth, and musical talent. Friends described her as compassionate and deeply thoughtful. She attended Pacific Union College in Angwin, California, where she studied music and was active in her campus community.
By the fall of 1969, Cecelia was spending the weekend near Lake Berryessa with her friend Bryan Calvin Hartnell, a law student at Pacific Union College. The two decided to picnic along the lake’s western shore, a serene, grassy area secluded from crowds. It was an ordinary Saturday afternoon that would become one of the most infamous days in California criminal history.
INCIDENT SUMMARY
At approximately 6:30 p.m. on September 27, 1969, a man wearing an executioner-style hood with clip-on sunglasses and a black bib bearing a white cross-circle emblem approached Cecelia and Bryan. He carried a gun and claimed to be an escaped convict from Deer Lodge Prison who needed their car and money to escape to Mexico.
He ordered Cecelia to tie Bryan’s hands with pre-cut plastic clothesline, then tied her own. Once the couple was secured, he calmly drew a knife and stabbed Bryan six times in the back. He then turned the weapon on Cecelia, stabbing her more than ten times in the front and back.
After the attack, the man walked to Bryan’s white Volkswagen Karmann Ghia and used a black felt-tip pen to write the following message on the passenger door:
“(Cross-circle symbol) Vallejo 12-20-68 / 7-4-69 / Sept 27-69 – 6:30 / by knife.”
A passing fisherman later heard distant cries for help and alerted park rangers. When rescuers arrived, both victims were still conscious. Bryan recounted the details of the assault, while Cecelia drifted in and out of awareness. They were airlifted to Queen of the Valley Hospital in Napa. Bryan survived; Cecelia succumbed to her injuries two days later without regaining full consciousness.
INJURIES & MEDICAL OUTCOME
Cecelia suffered approximately ten to twelve deep stab wounds to her chest and back, resulting in extensive internal bleeding. Medical staff at Queen of the Valley Hospital performed emergency surgery, but her injuries were too severe. She died on September 29, 1969. Autopsy reports noted the wounds were delivered with force and precision, consistent with deliberate and repeated thrusts.
INVESTIGATIVE SUMMARY
The Napa County Sheriff’s Department led the primary investigation, assisted by the California Highway Patrol and the FBI. The crime scene yielded several key pieces of evidence:
- Tire impressions from a vehicle parked behind Bryan’s car.
- Size 10½ “Wing Walker” military-style boot prints leading from the scene.
- The hand-lettered message on the car door, written with a black felt-tip marker.
A payphone call placed to the Napa Police Department later that evening reported the crime in a calm, emotionless voice. The caller stated, “I want to report a murder—no, a double murder. They are two miles north of Park Headquarters. They were in a white Volkswagen Karmann Ghia.”
Investigators confirmed the voice matched previous Zodiac communications. The writing on the car also aligned with the cross-circle symbol used in Zodiac letters sent to Bay Area newspapers earlier that year.
Bryan Hartnell’s detailed description of the suspect—approximately six feet tall, heavyset, with a deep voice and measured speech—became one of the most reliable eyewitness accounts in the Zodiac investigation.
Despite multiple suspects over the decades, no arrest has ever been made.
VICTIM IMPACT & REMEMBRANCE
Cecelia Shepard’s death devastated her family, friends, and the Pacific Union College community. She was remembered as a bright, compassionate young woman who loved music, faith, and helping others. Her murder shocked the state and deepened public fear surrounding the Zodiac case, which by then had already gripped Northern California.
Cecelia’s gravesite at the Pacific Union College Cemetery in Angwin remains a point of remembrance for those honoring her life. To this day, her family and community continue to advocate for truth and justice in her name.
CURRENT STATUS
Cecelia Shepard is officially recognized as a confirmed victim of the Zodiac Killer. The case remains open and active under cold-case protocols. Advances in DNA analysis have raised hopes that preserved evidence, such as the clothing bindings or car door writing, may one day yield a conclusive lead.
KILLER THEORY
The Lake Berryessa attack marked a significant evolution in the Zodiac Killer’s behavior. Earlier murders in Vallejo and Benicia involved shootings at night, targeting couples in vehicles. The assault on Cecelia and Bryan was carried out in daylight, at close range, with a knife.
The killer’s hooded costume and symbolic cross-circle insignia indicated a ritualistic or performative intent. This was not a simple crime of opportunity; it was an act staged for psychological impact. His claim of being an escaped convict was likely a deception meant to manipulate compliance.
Investigators believe this was an escalation—an attempt by the Zodiac to cement his reputation through spectacle and fear. His subsequent phone call reporting the attack suggests a need for control and recognition.
The Lake Berryessa case remains one of the most critical in understanding the Zodiac’s mindset: a calculated, methodical, and sadistic individual whose violence was intertwined with ego and identity. Until conclusive DNA evidence or a verified confession emerges, Cecelia Shepard’s murder remains one of California’s most haunting unsolved homicides.
SOURCES
Crime Library – “Shepard and Hartnell: The Zodiac Killer”
Zodiac Ciphers – “Lake Berryessa Attack Analysis”
Zodiac Killer Facts – “Lake Berryessa Case File”
Oxygen Crime News – “List of the Zodiac Killer’s Confirmed Victims”
Wikipedia – “Zodiac Killer”
The Quester Files – “Lake Berryessa, 9/27/69 – The Zodiac’s Evolving Method”
