"Sudden Terror" - a new book about the Original Night Stalker

[nohwheregirl]

I just watched the E! special on EAR/ONS again, and had some questions for those of you who read the book. I still haven't read it myself...

It was mentioned upthread that the EAR/ONS didn't contact the media like BTK or Zodiac, but the E! special mentioned that he did send a poem to LE. Any mention of the poem/its contents in the book?

ETA: I found the poem (on Facebook, of all places). I still would like to know if the author talked about the poem or if there were any other attempts at contacting LE or the media.

Excitement's Crave

All those mortal's surviving birth
Upon facing maturity,
Take inventory of their worth
To prevailing society.

Choosing values becomes a task;
Oneself must seek satisfaction.
The selected route will unmask
Character when plans take action

Accepting some work to perform
At fixed pay, but promise for more,
Is a recognized social norm,
As is decorum, seeking lore.

Achieving while others lifting
Should be cause for deserving fame.
Leisure tempts excitement seeking,
What's right and expected seems tame.

"Jessie James" has been seen by all,
And "Son of Sam" has an author.
Others now feel temptations call.
Sacramento should make an offer.

To make a movie of my life
That will pay for my planned exile.
Just now I'd like to add the wife
Of a Mafia lord to my file.

Your East Area Rapist
And deserving pest
See you in the press or on T.V.

(Written to police (in Sacramento) by the
East Area Rapist / Original Night Stalker circa 1977)

[Zlatko]

nohwheregirl, I do believe the poem was in the book. However, Larry Crompton did not talk about it all that much. Really, most of the book seems like a giant chronology of the crimes committed by the EAR. Crompton doesn't go into specific details about the evidence; much to the detriment of the book IMO.

[soundandvision]

I have been obsessed with this case for years, since seeing the Cold Case Files episode. This guy is the single most prolific offender in American history, perhaps, yet he is largely unknown to the general public. Puzzling.

Something another poster mentioned about one of the rapes in (I think Contra Costa) where the police were literally 1 minute away and the mother realized EAR-ONS was naked from the waste down... but he was seemingly able to disappear into thin air. It makes me wonder, has anyone ever considered that EAR-ONS was a member of the law enforcement community?

[Corky Kneivel]

@nowheregirl: the poem is printed in full and there's a brief mention of it, however its never been proven to come from the EAR/ONS. Whoever wrote it displays a highly intelligent and creative mind, imo.

@soundandvision: I agree that I wish the book could have been more than just a chronology of the attacks. The problem is I don't think there could be much more to say than that. I mean, there is no idea who this guy is. All this time and all the manpower later and law enforcement agencies have no clue who EAR/ONS IS/WAS. Noone has talked. To me thats the most astounding aspect. There has been no ex girlfriend or ex-wife, friend, neighbor, family member, cell mate, stool pigeon....NOBODY to come forward and give the guy up.

Also I don't want to seem like I'm complaining about what the book is, I am so glad Larry Crompton wrote it and I was very glad to learn new aspects of the crimes I hadn't known before. ((That sounds like an odd thing to be glad about but well...))

Originally Posted by soundandvision

Something another poster mentioned about one of the rapes in (I think Contra Costa) where the police were literally 1 minute away and the mother realized EAR-ONS was naked from the waste down... but he was seemingly able to disappear into thin air. It makes me wonder, has anyone ever considered that EAR-ONS was a member of the law enforcement community?

That was in Rancho Cordova, the town EAR/ONS started in and the town I grew up in.

Amazing isn't it that he was able to flee buck naked from the waist down, the police pull up literally within minutes, and he still escapes arrest? Absotively posilutely amazing.

Originally Posted by soundandvision

I have been obsessed with this case for years,

I have as well. Ever since I stumbled upon that very detailed website earons.com and saw photographs of street signs and houses I saw every day as a child. When I saw those photos I got the clicje "hair standing up on the back of my neck". It was just so creepy to think he had prowled the areas I played in. He had terrorized people I saw every day.

After finishing (devouring is a better term) the book in about 3 days I started talking to random people I met aeround town. People aged 50+. I have had lengthy discussion, mostly with women who were late teens/early twenties in the mid 70s, on the train, at the market, at the library, regarding that time here in Sacramento. Its fascinating to hear their stories. I've talked to a woman, who still lives in the same house near the Orangevale attack, and who's house is the proto-typical corner house with plenty of park/country cover, who saw him(?) staring into her sliding glass door/window while she and her husband lay in bed together. She saw a tightly drawn sweatshirt hood around a white face watching her. Staring straight into each others eyes they had locked contact for probably no longer than a quarter of a minute but she said it felt like forever. She said he silently moved back into the darkness as she started waking her husband. Said hubby went out into the backyard with his pistol but there was no trace. Their neighbor's dog, who barked at any and all visitors, didn't make a peep until her husband went into the yard.

I talked with a close family friend who lived on Aramon Dr. in Rancho Cordova, the last house on the street that had a rainwater ditch run along the back and large soccer field behind that. Again, these are EAR/ONS hallmarks. Some night around Christmas of 75 or 76 he was sleeping in his family's "rec room" and he woke up to see a hooded man walking through the unexpectedly opened sliding glass door, make a beeline for the fireplace where he lit several matches and rummaged through the presents under the tree. He said the intruder didn't once make a noise and had looked over several times at him: a frightened, wide-eyed, kid laying on the couch. He watched him go back out and go out the back fence gate.

There's a bunch more.

[nohwheregirl]

Originally Posted by Corky Kneivel

Its fascinating to hear their stories...
There's a bunch more...

Uh, Corky, THIS is why I will probably never be able to read the book. Your post scared the crap out of me!

Does anyone else find it amazing/disturbing that this detective had to SELF PUBLISH his book? There's no true crime writer out there willing to partner up with him? No major publishing house interested in this story? COME. ON.

[Zlatko]

C'mon Corky, what you said is a tease. Do you have any other interesting accounts of the EAR?

[Drakken]

Originally Posted by Corky Kneivel

I've talked to a woman, who still lives in the same house near the Orangevale attack, and who's house is the proto-typical corner house with plenty of park/country cover, who saw him(?) staring into her sliding glass door/window while she and her husband lay in bed together. She saw a tightly drawn sweatshirt hood around a white face watching her. Staring straight into each others eyes they had locked contact for probably no longer than a quarter of a minute but she said it felt like forever. She said he silently moved back into the darkness as she started waking her husband. Said hubby went out into the backyard with his pistol but there was no trace. Their neighbor's dog, who barked at any and all visitors, didn't make a peep until her husband went into the yard.

Seeing the composite sketch on page one, I can absolutely understand why, that sketch is mesmerizingly frightening and it made me shiver down my spine just like in the good'ole days of watching UM on TV.

Really, there should have been a forward warning, because that's one composite I did not want to see.

[Corky Kneivel]

Originally Posted by Zlatko

C'mon Corky, what you said is a tease. Do you have any other interesting accounts of the EAR?

hahaha. did those creep you out? listening to those stories when they're told is amazing. you can see how these things have stuick with these people and they were the lucky ones!!

I do have some written and two recorded on video. I'm going to try to do a Google Earth thingey showing you the houses in the two stories above, forgive me if I fail at it. But I reall think it will help to illustrate how this offender was able to slip in and around Easteren Sac county so easily. I'm of the opinion the 1st canonical ear/ons attacks weren't his first. I'd like to compare the geography of Rancho Cordova, East Sac (city), Citrus Heights, & Orangevale with Los Gatos, Goleta, & the areas he hit in Contra Costa. See if the bike trails connecting the communities exist. See if tyhere's an extensive ditch and rainwater runoff system he could have traveled through. And see the layout of the neighborhood cul de sacs with open fields/playgrounds.

[Zlatko]

Originally Posted by Corky Kneivel

hahaha. did those creep you out? listening to those stories when they're told is amazing. you can see how these things have stuick with these people and they were the lucky ones!!

I do have some written and two recorded on video. I'm going to try to do a Google Earth thingey showing you the houses in the two stories above, forgive me if I fail at it. But I reall think it will help to illustrate how this offender was able to slip in and around Easteren Sac county so easily. I'm of the opinion the 1st canonical ear/ons attacks weren't his first. I'd like to compare the geography of Rancho Cordova, East Sac (city), Citrus Heights, & Orangevale with Los Gatos, Goleta, & the areas he hit in Contra Costa. See if the bike trails connecting the communities exist. See if tyhere's an extensive ditch and rainwater runoff system he could have traveled through. And see the layout of the neighborhood cul de sacs with open fields/playgrounds.

Yeah, the account is pretty creepy. Do you plan uploading the two videos on youtube? I'd love to hear more about the locals' accounts.

As for what you said, I grew up in Contra Costa County (Orinda to be specific) and yes, I can imagine how the EAR could have gotten away with his crime. A lot of Contra Costa County is sprawling suburbs, this includes Danville. He could strike at random in any area and just hide. As I recall, parts of Sacramento are just like Contra Costa County. Nothing but sprawling suburbs.

It's eerie now that I think about; my parents never even heard of the EAR, yet they've lived in the Bay Area most of their lives. This just shows how the lack of information given from county to county.

[Arnold_OldSchool]

Got the book for Xmas...about 60 pages in....

One quick question, the book casually mentions the EAS shot a teenager male, and thus the police knew he was capable of murder. There is no back story given to this and it is (so far) not touched on again.

Any more on this from anywhere?

[Arnold_OldSchool]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visalia_ransacker

A long line of burglaries lead to a murfer and attempted kidnapping... Suspect never caught, but may have became EAR - ONS

[cocytus]

Originally Posted by Arnold_OldSchool

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visalia_ransacker

A long line of burglaries lead to a murfer and attempted kidnapping... Suspect never caught, but may have became EAR - ONS

This case sounds very odd. I'm surprised that this guy could break into that number of homes (none of which apparently had alarm systems and/or dogs) and not be apprehended. I think that the police may have an idea w/ looking for people either in prison for hot prowl burglaries or rapes or looking prowlers that were killed by homeowners as being the fate of the EARS/ONS.

[Arnold_OldSchool]

Originally Posted by cocytus

This case sounds very odd. I'm surprised that this guy could break into that number of homes (none of which apparently had alarm systems and/or dogs) and not be apprehended. I think that the police may have an idea w/ looking for people either in prison for hot prowl burglaries or rapes or looking prowlers that were killed by homeowners as being the fate of the EARS/ONS.

The only catch being he stopped in 81 (IIRC), Had one more credited to him in 86 and called a victim in 91 (IIRC) So if he got shot it may have not been til 91....or there were copycats

[Arnold_OldSchool]

To answer my own question - The teen that the EAR shot heard him run into his Dad's "smoker" outside of their place, the kid gave chase and followed EAR over a fence where he was shot in the belly.

Now 200 pages in and the book is great! I have been experiencing legit heart skipping a beat moments. One case had a woman see a masked man walking/prowling while she is stopped at a intersection at like 2 am. She looks one way to check for traffic, when she turns back EAR is TAPPING ON HER CAR WINDOW WITH A KNIFE! She roared off and EAR gave chase briefly w/ a bike.

Another story had a EAR patrol stop a car right after a rape occured - the man had lube on his front seat and weapons in his trunk. They questioned him at length and never cleared him as a suspect.

[soundandvision]

Originally Posted by Arnold_OldSchool

Another story had a EAR patrol stop a car right after a rape occured - the man had lube on his front seat and weapons in his trunk. They questioned him at length and never cleared him as a suspect.

WOW. I can't imagine many people driving around late at night with that ensemble in their car. Sounds like our guy. I wonder if this suspect's dna has ever been compared to the known sample(s).