The killer that his victims knew and never named.

The killer that his victims knew and never named

A serial killer attacked men in San Francisco, but his victims and witnesses refused to identify him, leaving him free. Why did silence protect a ruthless criminal?

In this episode, the case of "The Doodler" is analyzed, a killer who operated in San Francisco between 1974 and 1975, and how the social stigma of the time prevented his victims and witnesses from cooperating with justice. The devastating impact of his crimes on families and the gay community is explored.

Case: The Doodler
Location: San Francisco, California
Period: 1974-1975
Victim: Gerald Kavanaugh
Victim: Frederick Kappen

- The body of Gerald Kavanaugh was found with seventeen stab wounds to the chest, torso, front, and back.
- Kavanaugh's hands showed defensive wounds, indicating that he tried to stop the attack.
- Ten feet from Kavanaugh's corpse, there was a pool of blood with drag marks.
- A suspect was recognized by survivors and identified in a police lineup.
- The Doodler killed six men between 1974 and 1975, destroying entire families.

Topics Covered: true crime, #TrueCrime, #TrueCrimePodcast, true crime, #CrimenReal, #CrimenEnEspañol, murders, #AsesinatosReales, #FamousCriminals, unsolved cases, #CasosSinResolver, #CriminalInvestigation, criminal stories, #HistoriasCriminales, #CriminalNarration, crime podcast, #PodcastDeCrimen, #MysteryPodcast, disappearances, #Desapariciones, #Mystery, criminal investigation, true crime in Spanish, #TrueCrimeEnEspañol, mystery, real cases, #CasosReales, #HistoriasReales, real murders, mysterious disappearances, famous crimes, #CrimenesFamosos, #FamousCases, serial killers, #AsesinosSeriales, #SerialKillers, crime stories, #HistoriasDeCrimen

Recommended Listening: Criminopatía, True Crime with Martha Caballero, Dossier Negro, Territorio Negro, CRIMES THAT MARKED SPAIN, Sofa, blanket, and crime, Elena in The Land of Horrors, Explicit content, Podimo True Crime, Behind the truth, Mimicidios, Beasts, Case, Araknne, Passages of Terror, Series Criminology, NIGHT CRIMINALIST, Shots and daggers: chronicle of events in Madrid, True Spies - Spanish, The Idiot, HorrorTales, True Crime in Spanish, Crime Stories, Real Stories, True Crime Spanish, The Dark Chronicle, Rotten Mango, Maje: autopsy of a killer, Arny, The profiler, Crimes with M, No pengis, The footprint of the crime | Crimi Jess, Imperfect Crimes, Chronicles of the Morgue Street, Love Trapped, Crime Junkie, Paul Landó, Shall we talk about Crimes?, Real Crimes: Dark Mysteries that Impacted, L'Heure Du Crime, Triun Arts, Casefile True Crime, The Brotherhood, CriminalMente, Intrigue, RedHanded, The Epstein Files, Hate Crimes, Hondelatte Raconte, Operation Black Widow, Criminal Behavior, Operation Moon

To listen ad-free and access premium episodes, start your 30-day free trial at obomedia.com

OBOMEDIA presents true crime storiesa true crime podcast built on real cases.

Every true crime story in our crime files follows the crime investigation from the missing person report to the trial: investigators and police building a murder case, a police investigation gone cold, justice for the victim and those who survived.

We open the unsolved murder, the cold case reopened decades later, the mysterious death, the disappearance, the serial killer, the family murder, the murder mystery; the missing persons a missing woman, a missing girl, a missing man found dead and the missing and murdered.

From the infamous case to the unsolved case, from classic true crime to dark true crime and disturbing true crime: true crime reports, real crime stories, real murder cases, true murder stories and unsolved mysteries one true crime case at a time, from the OBOMEDIA true crime vault.

© 2026 Created with OBOMEDIA technology. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text and related materials) are the property of their respective creator and are distributed under the OBOMEDIA name on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited. For permissions, licensing and business inquirie