In 1973, two students were murdered by an 8-10 inch knife, one at Stanford, one at Berkeley. Both were science students, both attacks happened at night, while school was out of session. Both are still cold cases.

More information about David Levine and Eric Abramson

David Levine

David Levine, the lone remaining cold case of the four Stanford murders in 1973 and 74. Solving this crime remains a duty we have, to him and to all the victims. If Zodiac was at Stanford, does this change our perception of this crime? Keep in mind that even if my discoveries are validated, they are in 1969 and 1971; David Levine was killed in 1973.

The prevailing view in the 2020s is that the murder was a random killing by a stranger, the hypothesis put forward on the very day it happened, September 11, 1973. Investigators posited this theory in the first news articles about the murder.

Investigators also said they had no idea why David Levine would have been out walking at 1 to 3 am on campus, which shows they had no idea about the life of the student and campus activity. There is no chance that a thorough investigation could have been done on the same day the murder happened, so, there is no way that this first take could have any solid basis. No. Way. That is obvious.

If they indeed conducted a thorough investigation and then came to the same conclusion as their first take, well that’s possible, but it has yellow lights flashing as to poor logic and confirmation bias. Nevertheless, the random stranger hypothesis has taken hold.

Conjecture: The Zebras did not kill David Levine nor Eric Abramson

The second “theory” on the death of David Levine is that his murder and the murder of Eric Abramson in Berkeley were part of the Zebra Killings. This idea is still often posited by people today as the answer to the Levine murder, but I find this idea quite unlikely. Here’s why:

In May of 1974, eight months after Levine and five months after Abramson, both cold cases were included in a long list of murders claimed by San Francisco Mayor Alioto to be part of the Zebra Killings, murders perpetuated by a “black terrorist group,” against whites. According to Alioto, they were responsible for over fifty unsolved murders around California.

Of the 56 listed murders, forty used a gun, sixteen were by a knife. Of those sixteen knife attacks, nine were by machete or meat cleaver. Four murders list knife or stabbing or cut but provide no details about the type of knife used. This leaves three attacks committed with a similar, 8 to 10-inch knife.

One of the three, was a bizarre and gruesome case, John Doe #169, also in fall of 1973, where the victim was cut up and wrapped in plastic and dumped on Ocean Beach in San Francisco. The other two were David Levine and Eric Abramson.

Now the Zebras were known for shooting people and quickly getting away by car. It was unclear why any knife victims were included. And while some of the murders included descriptions of the attackers, thus leading to their inclusion on the list, no such information was provided about how Levine and Abramson were tied to the Zebra killings. Also starkly missing from the list of victims, was why and how did the San Francisco Police Department have all this information on murders across the entirety of California? Wouldn’t the FBI or California State Police be the agencies to release such information? I described all this to my wife.

“Sounds like Mayor Alioto was up for reelection,” she said.

As it turns out, not reelection, but a bigger election. Mayor Alioto was running in the California Democratic Gubernatorial Primary in June 1974 and was polling a distant second place to Jerry Brown. The announcement of the killings was statewide news. Eight of the “Death Angels” were arrested, with a lot of national press and fanfare. Alioto not only got press across California, but it was also carried in papers from coast to coast.

Four of the eight were released on May 4, 1974. The four remaining suspects were tried, and eventually convicted of 22 murders, 21 by gunshot, and one stabbing, John Doe #169. No information was listed in the papers relating how investigators linked John Doe #169 to the Zebra Killings, other than it was contemporary to the crimes. It is completely unlike their other murders, and quite frankly, much more like a serial killer than a terrorist group.

When the four of the eight initially arrested were released, there was some ado that one of the four was going to be charged with the murder of Eric Abramson. The DA announced on a Friday that the following Monday there would be an indictment. But over that weekend the statement was retracted, with the DA saying there was insufficient evidence to file a criminal complaint.

And that was the last time the murder of Eric Abramson, or David Levine for that matter, was mentioned in the press, that I could find, other than articles noting the anniversaries of their deaths or charitable awards set up in their name—and noting that they were still cold cases.

I can tell you it appears to me that the Zebras did not kill Levine and Abrahamson. It was already being reported that Abramson was not considered a Zebra victim when the four suspects were released. Zebras shot people, with a quick escape. The Levine and Abramson murders are strikingly alike, and strikingly NOT like the other Zebra killings, both with an 8 to 10-inch knife, just like Lake Berryessa.

Here in the 2020s, the idea that terrorists killed David Levine persists. But it is apparent this idea is less of a legitimate criminal theory, and more of a political stunt by a campaign in need of a gamechanger.

Conjecture: Who killed David Levine?

It’s possible that David Levine was murdered by someone who knew him. Perhaps they had become acquaintances because of their shared avocations of computers, debating politics, films, and comic wordplay. The individual knew David Levine’s schedule, could see when his time on the mainframe would be ending, and knew when he would be traveling from the lab to his apartment. The murderer was able to get close enough to strike a fatal blow with no struggle not because it was a total surprise out of the darkness, but because David Levine knew the individual.

David Levine was a roommate, or was scheduled to be the roommate, of a future Chaparral editor – the chances he visited the Chaparral office, or met people from there, are high. This story runs through the offices of the Chaparral, the Daily, and the scene in and around the Storke Publications Building. In 1971, an individual using the name “Dick Geikie” wrote several articles for the Stanford Daily. One of those articles was lifted and used in the fake Chaparral “Missing Link” issue.

Was “Dick Geikie” that same person as “Dick Gaik,” the pen-name of Zodiac suspect Richard Gaikowski?

This point deserves much closer examination.

I wonder about computer logs of the era. Do they exist? If so they should be scoured for the name, or potential fake name, of the killer. The same should be done for participant lists of any workshops from the summer of 1973, or other programs that could have been attended by non-students.

I was surprised to see that the ASSU Senate, of which Levine was a senator, advertised a meeting for August 2, 1973, but found no reporting of that meeting. If the minutes or record of attendees to that meeting exist today, they should also be examined.

Moreover, I propose this entire case needs to be re-examined from the angle that a non-student interested in politics, computers, publications, and film is potentially the perpetrator.

Conjecture: Who Killed Eric Abramson

I propose that the same individual killed Eric Abramson on December 20, 1973, under similar circumstances.

Computer logs and class lists for UC Berkeley should also be examined for the killer’s name, and/or fake name. Any connections between the two student newspapers, the Stanford Daily and the Daily Californian, should be explored, both via possible staff overlap, via the printing vendor, or other possible connections between Berkeley and Stanford.