This is a list of notable homicides in California. This list includes notable homicides committed in the U.S. state of California that have a Wikipedia article on the killing, the killer, or the victim. It is divided into four subject areas as follows:
Listed in chronological order
No. | Incident | Location | Date | Deaths | Description | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lexington murders | Lexington | 1883-03-11 | 2 | Double murder, two of the perpetrators were hung | [1] [2] [3] |
2 | Los Angeles Times bombing | Los Angeles | 1910-10-1 | 21 | Union member bombed the Los Angeles Times building | [4] |
3 | Adele Ritchie | Laguna Beach | 1930-04-24 | 2 | Prima donna of comic opera who shot and killed a set designer and then shot herself | [5] |
4 | Pacific Air Lines Flight 773 | Contra Costa County | 1964-05-07 | 44 | Pilot of airliner shot during flight causing plane to crash | [6] |
5 | 1965 Highway 101 sniper attack | Orcutt | 1965-04-25 | 4 | Teenager of 16 years opened fire on cars traveling along the 101 freeway | [7] |
6 | Tate–LaBianca murders | Los Angeles | 1969-08-08/10 | 8 | Murders perpetrated by members of the Manson Family, victims included actress Sharon Tate | [8] [9] [10] [11] |
7 | William Ray Bonner | Los Angeles | 1973-04-22 | 7 | Rampage shooting by former service station attendant | [12] [13] |
8 | 1974 Los Angeles International Airport bombing | Los Angeles | 1974-08-06 | 3 | Bombing by Yugoslavian immigrant in Pan Am's international terminal killed three and injured 36 | [14] |
9 | Golden Dragon massacre | San Francisco | 1977-09-04 | 5 | Gang-related shooting at Chinese restaurant | [7] |
10 | Robert Alton Harris | San Diego | 1978-07-05 | 2 | Murdered two teenagers eating cheeseburgers in a supermarket parking lot; executed in 1992, first person executed in California since 1967 | [15] [16] |
10 | Moscone–Milk assassinations | San Francisco | 1978-11-27 | 2 | San Francisco Supervisor Dan White shot Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk | [17] |
11 | Keddie murders | Keddie | 1981-04-11 | 4 | Unsolved quadruple homicide of one woman and three children at the Keddie Resort | [18] [19] |
12 | Wonderland murders | Laurel Canyon | 1981-07-01 | 4 | Unsolved murder of four persons at a drug house, also known as the "Laurel Canyon Murders" | [10] [20] |
13 | San Ysidro McDonald's massacre | San Ysidro | 1984-07-18 | 23 | Mass shooting at McDonald's restaurant | [21] |
14 | Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 | San Luis Obispo County | 1987-12-07 | 43 | Plane crashed after being hijacked | [22] |
15 | Richard Farley | Sunnyvale | 1988-02-16 | 7 | Workplace shooting at ESL Incorporated | [23] [24] |
16 | 1991 Sacramento hostage crisis | Sacramento | 1991-04-04 | 6 | Hostage crisis at Good Guys store in Florin Mall, 40 hostages held at gunpoint | [25] |
17 | Lynwood Drake | Morro Bay/Paso Robles | 1992-11-07 | 7 | Spree killing at two homes and a card club | [26] |
18 | 101 California Street shooting | San Francisco | 1993-07-01 | 9 | Mass shooting at offices of Petit & Martin law firm | [7] |
19 | O. J. Simpson murder case | Los Angeles | 1994-06-12 | 2 | Unsolved murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. O. J. Simpson tried and acquitted | [10] [7] |
20 | Heaven's Gate | Rancho Santa Fe | 1997-03-26 | 39 | Mass suicide by cult members at direction of cult leader [27] | [28] |
21 | Black Widow Murders | Los Angeles | 1999, 2005 | 2 | Two elderly women convicted of murdering two vagrants, the first in 1999 and the second in 2005 | [10] |
22 | Glenn Helzer | Concord | 2000 | 5 | Former leader of the "Children of Thunder" cult murdered five people as part of an extortion plot | [29] [30] |
23 | 2001 Nevada County shootings | Nevada County | 2001-01-10 | 3 | Shooting spree by 40-year-old man with semi-automatic pistol | [31] |
24 | 2002 Los Angeles International Airport shooting | Los Angeles | 2002-07-04 | 3 | Gunman opened fire at ticket counter of El Al, Israel's national airline | [32] |
25 | 2004 Jenner, California, double murder | Jenner | 2004-08-14 | 2 | Young Midwestern couple shot as they slept on a Sonoma Coast beach | [33] |
26 | 2005 Glendale train crash | Los Angeles | 2005-01-26 | 11 | Suicidal man parked on tracks and caused crash of Metrolink commuter train | [34] |
27 | Goleta postal facility shootings | Goleta | 2006-01-30 | 8 | Spree killing by former postal worker | [35] |
28 | Murder of Jan Pawel and Quiana Jenkins Pietrzak | Riverside County | 2008-10-15 | 2 | Married couple tortured, sexually assaulted and shot by four Marines | [36] |
29 | SiPort shooting | Santa Clara | 2008-11-14 | 3 | Former employee returned to workplace and shot the CEO and two other executives in the head | [37] [38] [39] |
30 | Daniel Wozniak | Los Alamitos | 2010-05-21 | 2 | Struggling actor murdered soldier to steal his combat pay and then murdered a friend of the soldier to make it appear the soldier killed her and then disappeared | [40] [41] |
31 | 2011 Seal Beach shooting | Seal Beach | 2011-10-12 | 8 | Mass shooting at a hair salon, deadliest mass shooting in Orange County history | [7] |
32 | Southern California Edison shooting | Irwindale | 2011-12-16 | 3 | Workplace shooting | [42] [43] |
33 | 2012 Ingleside, San Francisco homicide | San Francisco | 2012-03-23 | 5 | Murder of family of Chinese immigrants, sometimes called the "Lei family quintuple slayings" | [44] [45] |
34 | Murder of Ming Qu and Ying Wu | Los Angeles | 2012-04-11 | 2 | Chinese graduate students at USC shot to death while sitting in their BMW near campus | [46] |
35 | Murders of Claudia Maupin and Oliver Northup | Davis | 2013-04-14 | 2 | Torture, mutilation and murder of elderly couple in their home, perpetrator a 15-year-old psychopath | [47] |
36 | 2015 San Bernardino attack | San Bernardino | 2015-12-02 | 16 | Terrorist attack by Muslim couple on public health department Christmas party | [48] |
37 | San Francisco UPS shooting | San Francisco | 2017-06-14 | 4 | Workplace shooting at UPS facility | [49] |
38 | Rancho Tehama shootings | Rancho Tehama | 2017-11-13 | 6 | Shooting spree in which five were killed and 18 injured at 8 crime scenes | [50] |
39 | Yountville shooting | Yountville | 2018-03-08 | 5 | Murder-suicide shooting at Veterans Home of California | [51] |
40 | Thousand Oaks shooting | Thousand Oaks | 2018-11-07 | 13 | Mass shooting at Borderline Bar and Grill | [52] |
41 | Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting | Gilroy | 2019-07-28 | 4 | Mass shooting at garlic festival | [53] |
42 | Orinda shooting | Orinda | 2019-10-31 | 5 | Mass shooting during a house party | [54] |
43 | 2019 Fresno shooting | Fresno | 2019-11-17 | 4 | Mass shooting at football watch party | [55] |
44 | Aguanga shooting | Aguanga | 2020-09-07 | 7 | Mass murder at residence used to grow illegal marijuana | [56] |
45 | 2021 Orange, California office shooting | Orange | 2021-03-31 | 4 | Shooting at office building | [57] |
46 | 2021 San Jose shooting | San Jose | 2021-05-26 | 10 | Mass shooting at transit rail yard | [58] |
47 | 2022 Sacramento shooting | Sacramento | 2022-04-03 | 6 | Mass shooting by multiple shooters in downtown Sacramento | [59] |
Listed in chronological order
No. | Incident | Location | Date | Deaths | Description | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | California State University, Fullerton massacre | Fullerton | 1976-07-12 | 7 | School shooting perpetrated by university custodian | [7] [60] [61] |
2 | Cleveland Elementary School shooting (San Diego) | San Diego | 1979-01-29 | 2 | 16-year-old girl shot 11 persons, killing two | [60] |
3 | Cleveland Elementary School shooting (Stockton) | Stockton | 1989-01-17 | 5 | School shooting | [7] [60] |
4 | Lindhurst High School shooting | Olivehurst | 1992-05-01 | 4 | School shooting perpetrated by former student | [60] |
5 | San Diego State University shooting | San Diego | 1996-08-15 | 3 | Graduate student shot and killed three professors at engineering building | [7] |
6 | Costa Mesa school car attack | Costa Mesa | 1999-05-03 | 2 | Man drove his Cadillac into preschool playground and opened fire, killing two and wounding five | [62] |
7 | 2001 Isla Vista killings | Isla Vista | 2001-02-23 | 5 | Vehicular homicide and assault near UCSB campus, perpetrator was son of director Dan Attias | [63] [64] |
8 | Santana High School shooting | Santee | 2001-03-05 | 2 | School shooting perpetrated by 15-year-old student | [7] [60] |
9 | 2012 Oikos University shooting | Oakland | 2012-04-02 | 7 | Mass shooting at Korean Christian college | [7] [60] |
10 | 2013 Santa Monica shootings | Santa Monica | 2013-06-07 | 6 | Spree shooting at Santa Monica College campus following domestic dispute and house fire | [60] |
11 | 2014 Isla Vista killings | Isla Vista | 2014-05-23 | 7 | Perpetrator conducted vehicular homicide and murder with knives in Isla Vista (close to UCSB), killing six UCSB students and himself. Perpetrator was son of Director Peter Rodger. | [65] |
12 | 2016 UCLA shooting | Los Angeles | 2016-06-01 | 3 | Unsuccessful Ph.D. student shot his thesis adviser, his estranged wife, and himself | [66] [67] |
13 | 2017 North Park Elementary School shooting | San Bernardino | 2017-04-10 | 3 | Man shot his estranged wife at the school where she worked and a student standing behind her and then killed himself | [68] |
14 | 2019 Saugus High School shooting | Santa Clarita | 2019-11-14 | 3 | Student age 16 shot five schoolmates, killed two, then killed himself | [60] |
15 | Union City, California elementary school double murder | Union City, California | 2019-11-20 | 2 | Boys ages 11 and 14 shot in school parking lot by two gang members | [69] [70] |
Listed in chronological order
No. | Incident | Location | Date | Deaths | Description | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | James Dunham | Campbell | 1896-05-26 | 6 | Killed his wife, 3 members of her family and 2 household servants | [71] |
2 | George Hassell | Whittier | 1917, 1926 | 13 | Spree killer, killed his wife and three children in Whittier, then killed his second family in Texas in 1926 | [72] [73] |
3 | Ralph Works | Pasadena | 1941-08-08 | 2 | Murder-suicide in which former professional baseball pitcher shot himself and his wife | [74] |
4 | Barbecue murders | Terra Linda | 1975-06-21 | 2 | Married couple murdered in their home by adopted daughter and her boyfriend who attempted to dispose of bodies by burning in a barbecue pit | [7] |
5 | Judith Barsi | Canoga Park | 1988-07-25 | 3 | Murder suicide in which father killed his 10-year-old actress-daughter and wife | [75] |
6 | Ramon Salcido | Sonoma/Cotati | 1989-04-14 | 7 | Spree killer of six family members and workplace supervisor | [76] [77] |
7 | Lyle and Erik Menendez | Beverly Hills | 1989-08-20 | 2 | Shotgun murders of José and Mary Louise ("Kitty") Menendez by their sons | [10] [7] |
8 | Betty Broderick | San Diego | 1989-11-05 | 2 | Convicted of murdering her ex-husband and second wife, later depicted in A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story | [10] |
9 | Dana Ewell | Fresno | 1992-04-19 | 3 | Ordered the killing of his father, mother and sister | [78] |
10 | Marcus Wesson | Fresno | 2004-03-12 | 9 | Father murdered his family | [9] [7] |
11 | Covina massacre | Covina | 2008-12-24 | 10 | Christmas Eve shooting by family member wearing Santa suit | [9] [10] [7] |
12 | Hart family murders | Mendocino County | 2018-03-26 | 8 | Murder-suicide in which white lesbian couple murdered their six adopted black children and then killed themselves | [79] [80] |
Listed in chronological order
No. | Incident | Location | Date | Deaths | Description | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Walter H. Auble | Los Angeles | 1908-09-09 | 1 | Police chief of Los Angeles shot and killed by a burglary suspect while trying to make an arrest | [81] |
2 | September 1937 Folsom escape attempt | Folsom | 1937-09-19 | 5 | Attempted prison escape in which the warden, two guards, and two prisoners were killed; five others involved in the attempt were executed | [82] [83] |
3 | The Onion Field | Los Angeles | 1963-03-09 | 1 | Kidnapping and murder of LAPD officer, later a book by Joseph Wambaugh | [10] |
4 | Murders of Theodore L. Newton Jr. and George F. Azrak | Anza | 1967-06-17 | 2 | Two Border Patrol agents kidnapped and murdered by marijuana smugglers | [84] [85] |
5 | Marin County Civic Center attacks | San Rafael | 1970-08-07 | 4 | Kidnapping of judge followed by shootout with police, led to manhunt for Angela Davis | [86] [87] |
6 | Newhall incident | Valencia | 1970-04-05 | 5 | Shootout in which four California Highway Patrol officers were killed, deadliest day in California law enforcement history | [88] [89] |
7 | Symbionese Liberation Army shootout | Los Angeles | 1974-05-17 | 6 | Members of the group shot or burned in South LA house during shootout with LAPD | [90] [91] |
8 | Norco shootout | Norco | 1980-05-09 | 3 | Shootout between five heavily armed bank robbers and sheriff deputies, one officer and two perpetrators killed; eight other officers, a civilian, and two perpetrators injured | [92] |
9 | North Hollywood shootout | North Hollywood | 1997-02-28 | 2 | Shootout between police and bank robbers wearing body armor, both bank robbers killed | [93] |
10 | Kevin Gaines | Los Angeles | 1997-03-18 | 1 | Police officer who also worked security for Death Row Records and was living with Suge Knight's estranged wife was shot by an undercover LAPD detective | [94] |
11 | Stevenson Ranch shootout | Stevenson Ranch | 2001-08-31 | 2 | Shootout resulting in deaths of a convicted felon and a sheriff's deputy | [95] |
12 | 2009 shootings of Oakland police officers | Oakland | 2009-03-21 | 5 | Wanted felon shot two officers during a traffic stop, then shot and killed two SWAT officers | [96] [97] |
13 | Christopher Dorner shootings and manhunt | Southern California | 2013-02 | 5 | After being fired, former LAPD officer killed two civilians and two law enforcement, manhunt ended in shootout at cabin in Big Bear | [98] [99] |
14 | 2013 shooting of Santa Cruz police officers | Santa Cruz | 2013-02-26 | 3 | Two police officers shot and killed, perpetrator then killed in shootout with police | [100] |
15 | Luis Bracamontes | Sacramento | 2014-10-24 | 2 | Undocumented immigrant opened fire on sheriff's deputies, killing two; Donald Trump ran an ad blaming Democrats for the murders | [101] [102] |
16 | 2020 boogaloo murders | Oakland Ben Lomond | 2020-05-29 2020-06-06 | 2 | Two ambush-style attacks occurred against security personnel and law enforcement officers in California. The attacks left two dead and injured three others. | [103] [104] |
17 | 2023 Goshen shooting | Goshen | 2023-01-16 | 6 | Execution-style killing of six persons, including a 10-month-old baby at a house where a search warrant had been executed one week earlier as part of a drug investigation | [105] |
18 | 2023 Monterey Park shooting | Monterey Park | 2023-01-21 | 12 | Mass shooting at a dance studio following Lunar New Year celebration on nearby street | [106] |
19 | 2023 Half Moon Bay shootings | Half Moon Bay | 2023-01-23 | 7 | Mass shooting/workplace violence at two farms | [107] |
Listed in chronological order by date of earliest homicide
No. | Incident | Location | Date | Deaths | Description | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Earle Nelson | California, Oregon + | 1926–1927 | 22–29 | Known as the "Gorilla Man", the first serial killer in USA to receive widespread media attention | [108] |
2 | Wineville Chicken Coop murders, Gordon Stewart Northcott | Wineville | 1926–1928 | Series of abductions and murders committed by a 19-year-old farmer, his mother, and his nephew | [10] [109] | |
3 | Bouncing Ball Killer | Los Angeles | 1959–1960 | 6–7+ | Serial killer also known as the Rubber Ball Strangler | [110] [111] [112] [113] [114] [115] |
4 | Patrick Kearney | Southern California | 1962–1977 | 21–43 | Serial killer and child molester, a list of men believed to be victims was found in his trunk | [10] [116] |
5 | Zodiac Killer | San Francisco | 1968–1969 | 5–37 | Killed three couples and a cab driver and wrote 15 letter to local newspapers, including cryptograms and clues | [8] [117] |
6 | Rodney Alcala | California | 1968–1979 | 8+ | Serial killer sometimes known as "The Dating Game Killer" because he won an episode of The Dating Game television show | [10] [61] [118] |
7 | Samuel Little | 19 states | 1970–2005 | 60–93 | Confessed to murdering 93 women, most prolific serial killer in U.S. history | [9] |
8 | Juan Corona | Sutter County | 1971 | 25+ | Mexican serial killer who was convicted of the murders of 25 migrant farm workers found buried in shallow graves in peach orchards along the Feather River in Sutter County | [9] [119] |
9 | Randy Kraft | Southern California | 1971–1983 | 16–67 | Known as the "Scorecard Killer", raped and murdered at least 16 young men | [8] [9] [120] [10] [61] |
10 | Santa Rosa hitchhiker murders | North Bay | 1972–1973 | 7+ | Female hitchhikers found nude in rural areas of Sonoma and Santa Rosa Counties | [8] |
11 | Zebra murders | San Francisco | 1973–1974 | 15–73+ | Racially-motivated attacks a group of four black serial killers | [121] |
12 | Doodler | San Francisco | 1974–1975 | 6-16 | Unidentified serial killer responsible for who sketched his male victims before having sex and killing them | [8] |
13 | Joseph James DeAngelo | California | 1974–1986 | 13 | Serial killer and rapist | [8] [9] |
14 | William Suff | Lake Elsinore | 1974–1992 | 13+ | Serial killer known as "The Riverside Prostitute Killer" and "The Lake Elsinore Killer" | [122] |
15 | Gypsy Hill killings | San Mateo County | 1976 | 5+ | Homicides of young women and girls by a suspected serial killer known in media as the "San Mateo Slasher" | [123] [124] |
16 | Steven David Catlin | Bakersfield, Fresno | 1976–1984 | 3 | Convicted of murdering two wives and his adoptive mother | [125] |
17 | Hillside Strangler | Los Angeles | 1977–1978 | 12 | Serial killers later identified as cousins Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono Jr. | [9] [10] [20] |
18 | Roger Kibbe | Sacramento | 1977–1987 | 8+ | Serial killer and rapist known as the "I-5 Strangler" | [126] |
19 | Joseph Naso | Northern California | 1977–1994 | 6–10 | Serial killer and rapist | [127] |
20 | Richard Trenton Chase | Sacramento | 1977–1978 | 6 | Serial killer, necrophile, and cannibal that murdered 6 men, women, and children at random in a month long killing spree | [128] |
21 | Skid Row Stabber | Los Angeles | 1978–1979 | 12 | Unsolved murder of homeless people | [129] |
22 | Gerald and Charlene Gallego | Sacramento | 1978–1980 | 10 | Serial killers who kidnapped and murder teenagers after keeping as sex slaves | [130] |
23 | Joseph Edward Duncan | California, Idaho | 1978–2005 | 5–8 | Convicted serial killer and child molester | [131] [132] |
24 | Terry Peder Rasmussen | California, New Hampshire | 1978–2002 | 6+ | Serial killer sometimes known as "Bob Evans and "The Chameleon Killer" | [133] |
25 | Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris | Southern California | 1979 | 5 | Known as the "Tool Box Killers", murdered and raped five teenage girls | [134] |
26 | William Bonin | Southern California | 1979–1980 | 21–36+ | Serial killer, pederast and sex offender who committed the rape, torture, and murder of a minimum of 21 young men and boys | [8] [9] [10] [61] [135] |
27 | David Carpenter | San Francisco | 1979–1981 | 8–10+ | Serial killer known for stalking and killing victims in state parks near San Francisco, also known as the Trailside Killer | [136] |
28 | Doug Clark (serial killer) | Los Angeles | 1980 | 6+ | Serial killer with accomplice Carol Bundy known as the "Sunset Strip Killers" | [137] |
28 | David Mason | Oakland | 1980 | 5–6 | Serial killer killed at least four elderly people; executed in 1993 | [138] [139] |
30 | Dorothea Puente | Sacramento | 1982–1988 | 9 | Ran a boarding house and murdered elderly and mentally disabled boarders before cashing their Social Security checks | [140] |
31 | Leonard Lake and Charles Ng | Calaveras County | 1983–1985 | 11-25 | Ex-Marine who had a cabin that he described as a "dungeon" where he kidnapped, raped, and murdered women | [9] [136] |
32 | Speed Freak Killers | San Joaquin County | 1984–1999 | 4–19 | Methamphetamine users convicted of four murders | [141] |
33 | Grim Sleeper | Los Angeles | 1984–2007 | 10-25+ | Serial killer who received nickname when he appeared to have taken a 14-year break from his crimes, from 1988 to 2002 | [8] [9] [10] [142] |
34 | Richard Ramirez | Los Angeles, San Gabriel Valley | 1984–1985 | 13 | Serial killer known as the "Night Stalker" | [8] [9] [136] [10] [61] [143] |
35 | Michael Hughes (serial killer) | California | 1986–1993 | 7+ | Former security guard who killed women living or working on the streets | [9] [120] [144] |
36 | Joseph Danks | Los Angeles | 1986-1990 | 7 | Murdered 6 homeless men in a month long killing spree, and strangled his cellmate after being convicted | <ref "Man Gets Death Sentence for Killing Cellmate". Los Angeles Times. Apr 4, 1993.</ref> |
37 | Chester Turner | Los Angeles | 1987–1998 | 15+ | Convicted of murdering 10 women; another man was earlier wrongfully convicted for his crimes | [9] [120] |
38 | Efren Saldivar | Glendale | 1988–1998 | 6–200+ | Respiratory therapist at Adventist Health Glendale, killed patients by injecting a paralytic drug inducing cardiac and respiratory arrest, known as Angel of Death | [10] [145] |
39 | Keith Hunter Jesperson | California, Oregon | 1990–1995 | 8–185 | Known as the "Happy Face Killer" because he drew smiley faces on his many letters to the media and authorities | [146] |
40 | Michael Gargiulo | Southern California | 1993–2008 | 3–10 | Serial killer known as The Hollywood Ripper | [147] |
41 | Wayne Adam Ford | California | 1997–1998 | 4+ | Long-haul driver murdered and dismembered three sex workers and a hitchhiker | [9] [148] |
42 | Pittsburg serial murders | Pittsburg | 1998–1999 | 5 | Killings of one man and four women, some of the victims either engaged in prostitution or were drug addicts | [149] [150] [151] |
43 | Cary Stayner | Mariposa County | 1999 | 4 | Serial killer who killed women near Yosemite | [9] [152] |
Listed in chronological order
No. | Incident | Location | Date | Description | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Virginia Rappe | San Francisco | 1921-09-09 | Silent film actress, comedian Roscoe Arbuckle tried and acquitted of manslaughter | [153] |
2 | William Desmond Taylor | Los Angeles | 1922-02-01 | Director of 59 silent films shot in the back at his apartment, unsolved, subject of frenzy of sensationalist press coverage | [154] |
3 | Murder of Marion Parker | Los Angeles | 1927-12-17 | 12-year-old girl abducted and murdered, billed as "the most horrible crime of the 1920s" by the Los Angeles Times | [155] [156] |
4 | Brooke Hart | San Jose | 1933-11-09 | Son of department store owner kidnapped and murdered, perpetrators then lynched | [157] [158] |
5 | Sleepy Lagoon murder | Commerce | 1942-08-02 | Murder of José Gallardo Díaz, who was discovered unconscious and dying near a swimming hole | [10] [159] |
6 | Barbara Graham | Burbank | 1943-03-09 | Murdered widow Mabel Monohan in home burglary; Graham later depicted in I Want to Live! | [10] [7] [160] |
7 | Black Dahlia | Los Angeles | 1947-01-14 | Unsolved murder and mutilation of 22-year-old woman | [10] [153] [161] |
8 | Bugsy Siegel | Beverly Hills | 1947-06-20 | Mobster murdered in his Beverly Hills home, shot through window with .30 caliber military M1 carbine | [10] [162] |
9 | Murder of Johnny Stompanato | Beverly Hills | 1958-04-04 | Murder of Lana Turner's boyfriend by Turner's 14-year-old daughter Cheryl Crane | [10] [7] [153] [163] |
10 | Elizabeth Ann Duncan | Ventura | 1958 | Woman hired hitman to kill her daughter-in-law; last woman executed in California | [10] [164] |
11 | Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer | Mission Hills | 1959-01-21 | Former child star shot and killed trying to collect a $50 debt | [165] [166] |
12 | Karyn Kupcinet | West Hollywood | 1963-11-28 | Actress murdered six days after assassination of President Kennedy, prompting John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories | [167] |
13 | Sam Cooke | South Central Los Angeles | 1964-12-11 | R&B singer shot and killed by motel manager | [10] [7] |
14 | Murder of Cheri Jo Bates | Riverside | 1966-10-30 | 18-year-old college freshman stabbed and slashed to death on grounds of Riverside City College | [168] |
15 | Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy | Los Angeles | 1968-06-05 | Assassination at the Ambassador Hotel by Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan | [10] |
16 | Ramon Novarro | Laurel Canyon | 1968-10-30 | Actor murdered by brothers hired for sexual services | [10] [7] |
17 | Killing of Meredith Hunter | Alameda County | 1969-10-24 | Killed by members of Hells Angels during Altamont Free Concert by The Rolling Stones | [169] |
18 | Marcus Foster | Oakland | 1973-11-06 | Superintendent of Oakland school district assassinated by the Symbionese Liberation Army | [170] |
19 | Murder of Arlis Perry | Stanford | 1974-10-12 | Newlywed murdered inside Stanford Memorial Church, solved 40 years later with DNA evidence | [171] |
20 | Murder of Betty Van Patter | San Francisco | 1974-12-13 | Bookkeeper for Black Panther Party was beaten to death, unsolved, she had reportedly threatened to make public her discovery that the party doctored its books | [172] |
21 | Sal Mineo | West Hollywood | 1976-02-12 | Actor stabbed in the heart by a mugger | [10] [7] [165] |
22 | Danny Lockin | Anaheim | 1977-08-21 | Actor stabbed over 100 times by man he met in a gay bar | [173] [174] |
23 | Murder of Mary Quigley | Santa Clara | 1977-09-10 | High school senior attended a beer party and was discovered the next day hanging from a chain-link fence in a park near the site of the party, case solved 30 years later with DNA evidence | [175] |
24 | Glen Stewart Godwin | Palm Springs | 1980 | Murdered drug dealer Kim LeValley, stabbing him 26 times, later escaped from prison and was on FBI's 10 most wanted list | [176] |
25 | Murder of Suzanne Bombardier | Antioch | 1980-06-22 | 14-year-old honor roll student raped and murdered by a convicted sex offender and dumped in the San Joaquin River | [177] [178] |
26 | Dorothy Stratten | Los Angeles | 1980-08-14 | Playboy Playmate and actress murdered by her estranged husband and manager Paul Snider | [10] [7] [20] |
27 | Death of Susan Louise Jordan | Riverside | 1980-10-28 | 15-year-old girl abducted and dragged to an orange grove where she was raped and strangled | [179] |
28 | Dominique Dunne | Los Angeles | 1982-11-04 | Actress murdered by ex-boyfriend | [10] [165] |
29 | Killing of Marvin Gaye | Los Angeles | 1984-04-01 | Shot and killed in an altercation with his father | [10] [7] |
30 | Killing of Roberta 'Bibi' Lee | Oakland | 1984-11-04 | UC Berkeley student killed by her boyfriend | [180] |
31 | Herb Wallerstein | Los Angeles | 1985-09-27 | Television director and director was killed with a baseball bat by his Salvadoran housekeeper, she was found not guilty in light of testimony of physical abuse by Wallerstein | [181] |
32 | Murder of Michele Avila | Los Angeles | 1985-10-01 | Murder of 17-year-old girl by her former best friends and rivals | [182] [183] |
33 | Murder of Sherri Rasmussen | Van Nuys | 1986-02-24 | Woman beaten and shot by female LAPD officer | [184] [185] |
34 | Death of Dag Drollet | Los Angeles | 1987-05-16 | Shooting of Cheyenne Brando's boyfriend by her brother Christian Brando who pled to voluntary manslaughter | [10] [186] |
35 | Rebecca Schaeffer | Los Angeles | 1989-07-18 | Murder of actress by 19-year-old obsessed fan/stalker Robert John Bardo | [10] [20] [187] |
36 | Huey P. Newton | Oakland | 1989-08-22 | Murdered on the streets of Oakland | [7] [188] |
37 | William Arnold Newton | West Hollywood | 1990-10-29 | Gay pornographic actor (stage name Billy London) murdered and placed in dumpster with head and feet in plastic bags | [189] |
38 | Murder of Lea Mek | El Monte | 1993-12-03 | Cambodian refugee and gang member killed in a gang shooting in a pool hall, incident triggered a chain reaction of gang violence | [190] |
39 | Murder of Polly Klaas | Petaluma | 1993-10-01 | 12-year-old kidnapped during a slumber party and later strangled by Richard Allen Davis | [191] |
40 | Sara Kruzan | Riverside | 1994-03-09 | Sexually trafficked at age 16, she shot and killed the surrogate father who was trafficking her, later became an anti-trafficking activist | [192] [193] |
41 | Murder of Stephanie Kuhen | Los Angeles | 1995-09-17 | Three-year-old girl killed by gang gunfire; President Bill Clinton condemned the incident and promised funding to fight gangs | [194] |
42 | Haing S. Ngor | Los Angeles | 1996-02-25 | Academy Award winning actor murdered in robbery outside his house | [10] [7] [195] [196] |
43 | Murder of Ennis Cosby | Los Angeles | 1997-01-16 | Son of Bill Cosby shot in the head in robbery attempt at the Mulholland exit to the 405 freeway | [7] [197] |
44 | Murder of the Notorious B.I.G. | Los Angeles | 1997-03-09 | Murder of rapper in drive-by shooting | [198] |
45 | Phil Hartman | Encino | 1998-05-27 | Actor/comedian shot by his wife as he slept | [10] [7] [199] |
46 | Murder of Michelle O'Keefe | Palmdale | 2000-02-22 | 18-year-old aspiring actress murdered on way home from shooting a Kid Rock video, featured on America's Most Wanted and Dateline NBC | [200] [201] |
47 | Killing of Latasha Harlins | South Central Los Angeles | 1991-03-16 | Fatal shooting of 15-year-old African-American girl by Korean-American convenience store owner | [10] |
48 | Bonny Lee Bakley | Los Angeles | 2001-05-04 | Wife of actor Robert Blake shot and killed in parked car at restaurant, Blake was tried and found not guilty | [10] [7] [202] |
49 | Murder of Samantha Runnion | Stanton | 2002-07-15 | Five-year-old girl abducted from her home and murdered | [203] [204] |
50 | Murder of Laci Peterson | Modesto | 2002-12-24 | Murder of pregnant woman by her husband, Scott Peterson | [136] [7] |
51 | Murder of Lana Clarkson | Alhambra | 2003-02-03 | Murder of actress by record producer Phil Spector | [10] [7] [165] |
52 | Murder of Yetunde Price | Compton | 2003-09-14 | Half-sister and personal assistant to Venus and Serena Williams killed in gang shooting in Compton | [205] [206] |
53 | Tara Correa-McMullen | Inglewood | 2005-10-21 | Actress who played gang member Graciela on TV series Judging Amy shot in front of an apartment complex | [207] [208] |
54 | Murder of Chauncey Bailey | Oakland | 2007-08-02 | Journalist shot by member of a crime syndicate he was investigating for a story | [209] |
55 | Murder of Jamiel Shaw II | Los Angeles | 2008-03-02 | 17-year-old high school player shot by two Hispanic men while returning home from Beverly Center | [210] |
56 | Murder of Sandra Cantu | Tracy | 2009-03-27 | Former Sunday school teacher kidnapped, raped, and murdered eight-year-old girl | [211] |
57 | Death of Michael Jackson | Los Angeles | 2009-06-25 | Physician Conrad Murray found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for improperly administering the anesthetic drug propofol | [212] |
58 | Ronni Chasen | Beverly Hills | 2010-11-16 | Hollywood publicist shot and killed while driving home as part of a random robbery | [10] [7] [213] |
59 | Murder of Jeff Hall | Riverside | 2011-05-01 | leader of neo-Nazis shot to death by his 10-year-old son | [214] |
60 | Murder of Michelle Le | Hayward | 2011-05-27 | Nursing student murdered by a woman who believed Le had an affair with her boyfriend | [215] [216] |
61 | Death of Elisa Lam | Los Angeles | 2013-02-19 | Body recovered from a water tank after a stay at the Cecil Hotel, later the subject of the Netflix series Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel | [10] [217] |
62 | Murder of Gabriel Fernandez | Palmdale | 2013-05-24 | Eight-year-old boy beaten to death by mother and her boyfriend, long history of abuse overlooked by county child protective services, depicted in the Netflix series, The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez | [218] [219] |
63 | Suge Knight | Compton | 2015-01-29 | Convicted of voluntary manslaughter for crashing car into and killing Terry Carter and injuring a second man | [10] [220] |
64 | Murder of Madyson Middleton | Santa Cruz | 2015-07-25 | 8-year-old girl lured into another apartment where she was strangled and placed in a dumpster by a 15-year-old boy | [221] |
65 | Nipsey Hussle | Los Angeles | 2019-03-31 | Rapper shot at least 10 times in parking lot of a clothing store, two others wounded | [222] |
66 | Murder of Brianna Kupfer | Los Angeles | 2022-01-13 | 24-year-old University of California, Los Angeles student stabbed and murdered by a 31-year-old man with an extensive criminal record. | [223] [224] |
67 | 2022 Laguna Woods shooting | Laguna Woods | 2022-05-15 | Mass shooting at Geneva Presbyterian Church, five injured, one killed | [225] [226] |
Listed in chronological order. NOTE: A more complete list of killings of indigenous peoples of California during the California Indian Wars is presented in the article on California genocide.
No. | Incident | Location | Date | Deaths | Description | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sacramento River massacre | Upper Sacramento Valley | 1846-04-05 | 120–700 | Mass shooting of Wintu people on banks of Sacramento River, perpetrated by soldiers led by John C. Frémont | [227] [228] |
2 | Sutter Buttes massacre | Sutter Buttes | 1846-06 | Murder of California Indians by militarized expeditionary band led by John C. Frémont, estimated Native American deaths range from several hundred to several thousand | ||
3 | Bridge Gulch massacre | Trinity County | 1852 | 150 | Massacre of Wintu people in retaliation for killing of Col. John Anderson | [227] |
4 | Yontoket massacre | Yontocket | 1853 | 400–500 | Massacre of Tolowa people in northwestern California | [227] |
5 | Mendocino War | Mendocino County | 1859–1860 | 283+ | White settlers known as the "Eel River Rangers" killed at least 283 Indian men | [227] |
6 | 1860 Wiyot massacre | Humboldt County | 1860 | 80–250 | Massacre of Wiyot people by white settlers | [227] |
7 | Los Angeles Chinese massacre of 1871 | Los Angeles | 1871-10-24 | 19 | Racial massacre targeting Chinese immigrants | [10] [229] |
8 | San Francisco riot of 1877 | San Francisco | 1877-07-23/25 | 4 | Three-day pogrom against Chinese immigrants | [230] |
9 | Trout Creek Outrage | Truckee | 1876-06-17/18 | 1 | Anti-Chinese violence in which cabins housing Chinese immigrants were set on fire and shot fired as they fled, killing one and wounding another | [231] |
10 | Los Angeles Jewish Community Center shooting | Granada Hills, Los Angeles | 1999-08-10 | 1 | White supremacist opened fire with an Uzi at the North Valley Jewish Community Center, killing one and injuring four | [232] |
11 | Murder of Gwen Araujo | Newark | 2002-10-04 | 1 | Teenager beaten and murdered by four men with whom she had been sexually intimate after discovering she was transgender | [233] |
12 | Murder of Larry King | Oxnard | 2008-02-14 | 1 | 15-year-old student shot twice by fellow student, a gay-bias crime, later the subject of the HBO documentary Valentine Road | [234] |
13 | 2017 Fresno shootings | Fresno | 2017-04-13/18 | 4 | Shooting spree aimed at whites by alleged black supremacist | [235] |
14 | Killing of Anthony Avalos | Lancaster | 2018-06-21 | 1 | Mother and her boyfriend beat to death her 10-year-old son, allegedly due to belief that he was gay | [236] [237] |
15 | Poway synagogue shooting | Poway | 2019-04-27 | 1 | Shooting at Chabad center during Passover holiday, three injured | [238] |
16 | Killing of Vicha Ratanapakdee | San Francisco | 2021-01-28 | 1 | 84-year-old Thai American killed by being pushed to the ground during wave of anti-Asian violence during COVID-19 pandemic | [239] |
San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (SQ), formerly known as San Quentin State Prison, is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in Marin County.
Chester Dewayne Turner is an American serial killer and sex offender who was sentenced to death for sexually assaulting and murdering fourteen women and an unborn baby in Los Angeles between 1987 and 1998.
Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. is an American serial killer, serial rapist, burglar, peeping tom, former police officer and mechanic who committed at least 13 murders, 51 rapes, and 120 burglaries across California between 1974 and 1986. He is responsible for three known separate crime sprees throughout the state, each of which spawned a different nickname in the press, before it became evident that they were committed by the same person.
Mule Creek State Prison (MCSP) is a California State Prison for men. It was opened in June 1987, and covers 866 acres (350 ha) located in Ione, California. The prison has a staff of 1,242 and an annual operating budget of $157 million.
Cleophus Prince Jr. is an American serial killer who was convicted and sentenced to death in 1993 for the rape and murder of six women in San Diego County, California. The killings occurred between January and September 1990 and became known as the Clairemont serial killings as most of the murders took place there. Before these crimes and while serving in the United States Navy, Prince was court-martialed in 1989 due to larceny. Upon being convicted, he was recommended to be discharged after serving his sentence. Multiple books have been written on Prince and his crimes.
Lonnie David Franklin Jr., better known by the nickname Grim Sleeper, was an American serial killer who was responsible for at least ten murders and one attempted murder in Los Angeles, California from 1984 to 2007. He was also convicted for rape and sexual violence. Franklin earned his nickname when he appeared to have taken a 14-year break from his crimes, from 1988 to 2002.
Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility (RJD) is a California state prison in unincorporated southern San Diego County, California, near San Diego. It is a part of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The facility sits on 780 acres (320 ha). It is the only state prison in San Diego County.
Roger Reece Kibbe was an American serial killer and rapist known as the "I-5 Strangler". Kibbe found all but one of his victims on freeways around Sacramento, California. In 1991, he was sentenced to 25 years to life imprisonment for the death of Darcie Frackenpohl.
Samuel Little was an American serial killer of women who confessed to committing 93 murders between 1970 and 2005. The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Violent Criminal Apprehension Program has confirmed his involvement in at least 60 murders, the largest number of confirmed victims for any serial killer in American history.
In late May and early June 2020, two ambush-style attacks occurred against security personnel and law enforcement officers in California. The attacks left two dead and injured three others.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite news}}
: Check |url=
value (help)