Nikki Alexander Benedict, 14 , considered by law enforcement a possible Zodiac victim

morf13 wrote:

I am working on obtaining a copy of this sketch.

In regards to a suspect in the murder of NIKKI BENEDICT did you or anyone else ever have any luck in getting closer to that sketch?

I would love to see that sketch!!!

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ALSO: In regards to the numbers found on the hand of Nikki Benedict.

She had a business selling rabbits, so perhaps she wrote the numbers herself for some reason, and the letter "H" for reasons unknown.

But it does seem odd, and suggests the possibility that the killer wrote them.

It says on the left palm are:

271

277

278

H

And next to the "H" another marking, perhaps a letter, but can't be made out.

Did she write this on her hand, a note of some kind?

Or did the killer write it? If so, what does it mean?

Someone, perhaps the killer of Cheri Jo Bates, and the police experts said the writing matched the Zodiac, wrote a morbid poem and signed it "RH".

Here we have numbers and the letter "H" and perhaps another letter. Could it have been an "R"?

What do the numbers mean? They add up to 826.

271 = B G A
277 = B G G
278 = B G H
826 = H B F

From KITE:

There certainly seem to be some things here to consider as far as the possibility of Zodiac being involved. The date of May 1, 1967, arguably places Zodiac in the nearby area. If 271 277 278 were possibly cryptic using number for letters and going thru the alphabet, they would go thru the alphabet ten times and result as K Q R. The 826 would go thru the alphabet 31 times and result as the letter T, if I'm not mistaken.

271 would be 26x10+11, giving you K in number for letters. 271=K, 277=Q 278=R. If the H is after that, you could get an RH there with the continuation, KQRH. H reverted back to the number in this sequence would be 268, an anagram for the total of 826. The 826 would be 26x31+20=T.

From AK:

So perhaps he have a cryptic message of:

K Q R H T

or

K Q R T H

or

K Q R H

What that may mean, if anything, I don't know!

Not sure about the sketch. Nikki's Sister told me herself that she had seen a sketch, and it DID look like the Z sketch that would come out a couple years later. However, the Detective on the case that has just reviewed it (as he is new to the case), found no sketch or record of a sketch. So I dont know what to think. He was somehwat interested in a couple other Zodiac clues, and asked me to supply him with a couple pieces of info. I don't want to reveal what info he asked me for at this time. He actually emailed me today, and told me that so far, there is no Zodiac connection that he can find.

Theforeigner wrote:

Concerning when Jim Crabtree was in southern california /Mexico:


August 1966: Santa Barbara CA
Spring 1967: went possibly to Mexico
(Crabtree posted at Zee forum about his car: "the CAR was found in Tiajuana" so I presume that he might have been in Tiajuana, though he denied it and said he gave his car away to somone who was going there. But the police report stated that he told them he was in Mexico spring 1967)




From the old Zee forum:


August 1966: Santa Barbara CA

Jim Crabtree Posted: 26 Feb 2010 :

Have been to Santa Barbara... actually stopped there for a few weeks with Dee... worked at the Santa Barbara Star Free Press... covered the story of Jayne Mansfield's child getting mauled by a lion... more timeline goodies for you guys...


The "Mansfield's child getting mauled by a lion" happened AUG 1ST 1966, so JC was in Santa Barbara with Darlene at that time.


And in police report it was stated that Crabtree:
"after the divorce with Darlene in spring 1967, went to Mexico in spring 1967, stayed a few weeks and returned to San Francisco."

So this would have been right at the time of the Nikki Alexander Benedict which occured may 1st 1967, which is spring 1967

Spring 1967: went possibly to Mexico


Theforeigner posted . 27 Feb 2010

Concerning Darlene´s death

As I understand it from the police report you first got to know that Darlene had died/been killed, Feb 3rd 1970.
That is 7 months after her death.
According to the police report, you, after the divorce with Darlene in spring 1967, went to Mexico in spring 1967, stayed a few weeks and returened to San Francisco.
Then "Wandered around the country" and returned to San Francisco in Jan 1969 and met your comming wife.
In May she got pregnant and you both moved into a house in Santa Cruz, were you lived at the time the police first contatced you. (all this according to police report)
Now what I´m wondering about is; didn´t anyone you knew, and who knew you had been married to Darlene, tell you that she had been murdered?
I mean it was a very high profile case in the bayarea, were you lived, and two of the murders, Faraday and Jensen Dec 20, 1968 and Darlene Jul 4th, 1969, had been commited in the Vallejo area were Darlene lived.
Another thing I wonder about is; do you know why it took the police 7 months to get in contact with you? I´m asking because husbands and x-husbands are always the prime suspects in cases like Darlenes murder.

Foreigner, am I recalling this correctly, that Crabtree denied living in Poway, but somebody found proof that he lived there? Was it listed on his marriage cert or something?

I know you previously said that he lived at some point near the home of Benedict. I am certainly not accusing him of anything, but if the description of the suspect in Nikki's case, looked like the Zodiac sketch that would come out two years later, than that certainly is of interest. Did you ever verify what year Crabtree lived at the home a few houses down from Nikki?

Hi Morf

To my knowledge noone has ever asked Crabtree about the address he is listed to in Poway, Ca, a few houses from Nikki Benedicts house.

And I don´t know what year Crabtree was listed at the address, sorry.

Here is the info I have on the issue:


U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 1
about James D Crabtree
Name: James D Crabtree
Birth Date: 8 Apr 1944
Phone Number: 277-3610
Address: 8621 Complex Dr 44, San Diego, CA, 92123 (1987)
]13421 Olive Tree Ln, Poway, CA, 92064-4921]
[633 Post St # 630, San Francisco, CA, 94109-8215 (1995)]
[44-106 Kalenakai Pl, Kaneohe, HI, 96744-2523 (1994)]




Darlenes x-husband Jim Crabtree is listed to an address a few hundred feet (ca 4 houses apart) from the possible Zodiac murdervictim Nikki Alexandra Benedict
And the Suennen family have relatives in Poway, the question is how far back.
Also it is importent to find out what year Jim Crabtree lived at the different adresses :
Note that Poway was a very small little town back then only a few thousend people I belive it was ca 8000. Poway didn´t officially become a city until December 1980.

Possible Zodiac murdervictim in Poway
Nikki Alexandra Benedict , 14 years old, murdered by stabbing May 1st 1967 , the very day after the "Bates had to die letters" April 30, 1967.
Howard says that LE told him that Zodiac was a suspect in the case. The suspect was apparently a perfect match of the Zodiac killer composite.
The case is still unsolved.
Nikkis mother Julie Benedict was an editor at the "San Diego County Indepedent"
The lived at : 13530 Olive Tree Ln, Poway, CA


Jim Crabtree and Poway
James Crabtree/Jim Phillips Darlene´s x-husband have, at som point, been listed to an address in Poway, Ca, a few hundred feets (ca 4 houses apart) from the possible Zodiac murder victim Nikke Benedict, who was killed (stabbed) May 1st 1967, the very day after the "Bates had to die letters".
Jim Craabtree´s address: 13421 Olive Tree Ln, Poway, CA
Nikki Benedict address: 13530 Olive Tree Ln, Poway, CA
(Jim also is listed to an adress 633 Post St in San Francisco, the record says it was in 1995.
This is right by were it is belived that Paul Stine picked up Zodiac)



Johanna and Frank Suennen and Poway
Add to that that Darlene´s sister Johanna Suennen (born Jul 11th 1960) is listed with LOTS of adresses in Poway.
Also kind of interesting that Johanna married a Michael SLOVER (as in Nancy Slover, not sure if they are related, and they didn´t marry until 1977, and divorced 9 Feb 1982 both marry and divorce in Solano County).
Also Darlenes brother Frank Arthur Suennen is listed in the Poway area and San Diego.


SO, my thought is this; did the Suennen family have relatives in Poway all the way back in 1960´s? and did Jim and Darlene visit Poway when they traveled around in 1966/1967?.

Don't think that is the right Jim Crabtree TF.

Also (Morf)--it was Rosemead on the marriage certificate.

This is the correct birth record for Jim, TF.

California Birth Index, 1905-1995
about James Douglas Phillips
Name: James Douglas Phillips
Birth Date: 8 May 1944
Gender: Male
Mother's Maiden Name: Crabtree
Birth County: Los Angeles

He did not change his name from Phillips to Crabtree until 1969. It is discussed by his step-brother in the police report here:

http://www.zodiackiller.com/DFR57.html

Yes--Seagull is correct.

That is a different Jim Douglas Crabtree that resided in those areas. He has different family and now lives in a completely different location.

Thanks for the input guys...or should I say, GALS.

So, some way or another, we have Crabtree and/or Darlene, with ties to the city of POWAY. Pretty interesting, and I would have to think that Jim was checked closely by LE to rule him out in the Z case. I know some people have asked him hard questions and were not satisfied with his answers. (of course, we are not police, so he is not obligated to answer at all). The one question he specifically answered for me was whether he and Darlene had gone to the state of PA at some point for a while. I asked him where they had gone to in PA, and he told me "I have never set foot in PA". Not sure if that is true, but it seems to clash with what Darlene's Family has stated. Not sure why he would lie about it. Maybe it was incorrect info that they ever went to PA.

Regarding Johanna Suennen and Michael Slover. Here is their marrige record:

Nevada Marriage Index, 1956-2005
about Michael G Slover
Name: Michael G Slover
Gender: Male
Residence State: California
Spouse: Johanna P Suennen
Spouse residence state: California
Marriage Date: 27 Aug 1977
Marriage City: Reno
Officiant type: Religious celebrant
Recorded date: 21 Sep 1977
Recorded city: Reno
Book: 644
Page: -520

Here is Michael Slover's birth record:

California Birth Index, 1905-1995
about Michael George Slover
Name: Michael George Slover
Birth Date: 11 Oct 1954
Gender: Male
Mother's Maiden Name: Laverne
Birth County: Solano

Nancy Slover was 23 years old when she received the call from Zodiac so she would have been born in 1946 or thereabouts. She would be way too young to be Michael Slover's mother but he could have been related to her husband, maybe a nephew, cousin or something.

I believe Michael Slover is the son of Nancy's ex-husband. Maybe from a marriage prior to Nancy. Still trying to confirm.

I am confused. Is there any proof Darlene's ex-husband lived in or had any ties to Poway? Is there proof Darlene had any connections to Poway?

A Jim/James Crabtree lived in Poway, but not OUR Jim?James Crabtree? Is that correct?

Just because Darlene's sister lived there many years after Darlene was murdered doesn't mean Darlene had connection to Poway.

Am I missing something?

Tahoe, your right! I checked Michael is the son of Nancy's first husband. She was his step-mother. I have no idea if she had a hand in raising him. And Tracers reminded me that Nancy was 27 when she received the Zodiac call. I'll get it right eventually!

I´m quite sure I have the RIGHT Jim Crabtree.

Here is why:


Here you can see that Jim Crabtree and Sunny Lewis (his partner/wife) work together:

Environmental News Service, The Environment News Service is the original daily international wire service of the environment. Established in 1990 by Editor-in-Chief Sunny Lewis and Managing Editor Jim Crabtree, ENS is independently owned and operated and presents late-breaking environmental news "in a fair and balanced manner." ENS news reports are indexed by Reuters/Dow Jones Factiva, and KeepMedia.


And here you can see they are connected in Poway :


CRABTREE, JAMES DOUGLAS (Age 66)

Associated names:

CRABTREE, JIM

Possible Employment / Business Associations:

E-WIRE Metals Service Centers and Offices
VALENTINE HOLDINGS, LTD

Available(6) Available

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
BOULDER, CO
HONOLULU, HI
LAKE HAVASU CITY, AZ
LAS VEGAS, NV
SAN DIEGO, CA
KANEOHE, HI
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
POWAY, CA
PHOENIX, AZ Possible Relatives:

MERRELL, JOSETTE GEORGIA (Age 64)
CREABTREE, ALAN J (Age 52)

Possible Roommates / Associates:

LEWIS, PATRICIA S (Age 66)
LEWIS, SUNNY P





And here that this Jim Crabtree is connected to BOTH "Environment News Service (ENS)" AND "E-Wire":

http://goodsky.homestead.com/files/thomas.html




Jim CrabtreeManaging Editor
Environment News Service (ENS)
E-Wire
editor@ens-news.com
http://ens.lycos.com
"We Cover the Earth for You"





And here that they are listed to the Poway address.

People Search: 13421 OLIVE TREE POWAY, CA<< Search Again


22 Matches Found (100 max.)

Name/AKAs Phone Address City, State Possible Relatives
1. Available Jim Crabtree

Possible Employment / Business Associations:

E-WIRE Metals Service Centers and Offices
VALENTINE HOLDINGS, LTD
Available(6) Available OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
BOULDER, CO
HONOLULU, HI
LAKE HAVASU CITY, AZ
LAS VEGAS, NV
SAN DIEGO, CA
KANEOHE, HI
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
POWAY, CA
PHOENIX, AZ Possible Relatives:

MERRELL, JOSETTE GEORGIA (Age 63)
CREABTREE, ALAN J (Age 51)

Possible Roommates / Associates:

LEWIS, PATRICIA S (Age 65)
LEWIS, SUNNY P





And here that they are connected to the Valentine Holding company:

VALENTINE HOLDINGS, LTD

Available Lake havasu city, AZ

CRABTREE, JIM
(STATUTORY AGENT)
CRABTREE, JIM
(PRESIDENT / CEO)
LEWIS, SAMMY (SECRETARY)






And here that Crabtree is listed as having birthday 04/08/1944 (he use a fake birthday, using April insted of May, but it IS him ) :



People Search: CRABTREE born 04/08/1944
<< Search


CRABTREE, JAMES DOUGLAS (Age 66)

Associated names:

CRABTREE, JIM

Possible Employment / Business Associations:

E-WIRE Metals Service Centers and Offices
VALENTINE HOLDINGS, LTD

Available(6) Available

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
BOULDER, CO
HONOLULU, HI
LAKE HAVASU CITY, AZ
LAS VEGAS, NV
SAN DIEGO, CA
KANEOHE, HI
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
POWAY, CA
PHOENIX, AZ


And here you can see that the Jim Crabtree born 05/08/1944 is listed in PHOENIX, AZ just like the Jim Crabtree above, born 04/08/1944, SAME GUY !!!


People Search: CRABTREE born 05/08/1944<< Search Again


1. CRABTREE, JAMES DOUGLAS (Age 66)


PHOENIX, AZ


Hope this helps:)

TF

I still think it is a mish-mash of two different Crabtrees.

Nikki was killed in 1967, when Jim Crabtree still went by the last name Phillips.

TF--did you come across anything in WA?

Also, these searches keep saying "possible" this and "possible" that. So at this point, I can't give an opinion one way or the other. I remember when people thought the artist named Jim Phillips was Darlene's ex-husband and all the confusion THAT caused (and sometimes still causes), so I am not not comfortable right now saying this info TF posted is correct or incorrect.

tahoe27 wrote:

I still think it is a mish-mash of two different Crabtrees.

Thats fine with me tahoe but I have to repectfully disagree.
When you check one of Crabtree´s OTHER addresses, the San Diego one, it STILL IS him, and he is STILL also listed to Poway.

Maybe somone could check out some local Poway records ?:


U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 1
about James D Crabtree
Name: James D Crabtree
Birth Date: 8 Apr 1944
Phone Number: 277-3610
Address:
8621 Complex Dr 44, San Diego, CA, 92123 (1987)
[13421 Olive Tree Ln, Poway, CA, 92064-4921]
[633 Post St # 630, San Francisco, CA, 94109-8215 (1995)]
44-106 Kalenakai Pl, Kaneohe, HI, 96744-2523 (1994)





People Search: 8621 COMPLEX SAN DIEGO, CA<< Search Again

1 Match Found (100 max.)
Name/AKAs Phone Address City, State Possible Relatives
1. Available

Possible Employment / Business Associations:

E-WIRE Metals Service Centers and Offices
VALENTINE HOLDINGS, LTD
Available(6) Available OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
BOULDER, CO
HONOLULU, HI
LAKE HAVASU CITY, AZ
LAS VEGAS, NV
SAN DIEGO, CA
KANEOHE, HI
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
POWAY, CA
PHOENIX, AZ Possible Relatives:

MERRELL, JOSETTE GEORGIA (Age 64)
CREABTREE, ALAN J (Age 52)

Possible Roommates / Associates:

LEWIS, PATRICIA S (Age 66)
LEWIS, SUNNY P



And here you have his partner/wife at the same hawaii town:


LEWIS, SUNNY P

Available(2) Available

LAKE HAVASU CITY, A

KANEOHE, HI Possible Relatives:

LEWIS, PATRICIA S (Age 65)

Possible Roommates / Associates:

CRABTREE, JAMES DOUGLAS (Age 67)

tahoe27 wrote:

TF--did you come across anything in WA?

Jim Crabtree list himself on facebook in Wa, but I can´find any address for him in WA.

However Jim Crabtree´s son Jacob (born Dec 22 1969 in CA) is listed in Eatonville, WA, Tacoma, WA and Neah Bay, WA

I think some is definitely correct TF--I just don't have confidence that all of it is. (at no fault of your own of course!)

Again, our Jim Crabtree went by the last names PHILLIPS in 1967, not Crabtree. Can you find that a Jim Phillips lived at 13421 OLIVE TREE POWAY, CA in or around 1967?

What dates did James Douglas Crabtree live at this Poway address? do you have any specific info on that? I think there is a real danger in taking non specific information from an online records search and coming to any set conclusion.


Think about it and the police report information

The stuff on Jim is on pages 56 through 67 in the police report.

http:/www.zodiackiller.com/DFR56.html

Jim and Darlene's divorce was final June 2, 1967. Nikki was killed May 4, 1967. Darlene went to Reno for six weeks prior to June 2, 1967 during that time she went to SF to have Jim sign divorce papers because that is where he lived.

Jim had numerous bad check charges some from around the time he and Darlene were still married. Like the Fairfield charges. He passed bad checks in Redding, El Dorado county and Watsonville too. None that we know of in Southern California.

I do not understand how he could have established an address in Poway in 1967 when he had all this other stuff going on in Northern California. And I do not see him doing it under the name of Crabtree. He went by the last name Phillips at the time.

I don't see how he can have any connection to Nikki's murder.

TF, I am having a hard time understanding the business listings. For example:

Quote :

E-WIRE Metals Service Centers and Offices
VALENTINE HOLDINGS, LTD
Available(6) Available OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
BOULDER, CO
HONOLULU, HI
LAKE HAVASU CITY, AZ
LAS VEGAS, NV
SAN DIEGO, CA
KANEOHE, HI
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
POWAY, CA

Does that mean that VALENTINE was a part of E-Wire Metal Services, or are they two distinct businesses? Are the cities listed underneath cities for both E-Wire and Valentine, or just Valentine, or either E-Wire or Valentine?

thanks!

Since ALL OF THE INFO listed above by Foreigner is PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION, and doesnt include ss#'s, etc, there is no harm posting it here. Nobody as far as I can tell has accused Crabtree of anything.

This page troubles me:



The report states that Crabtree & Darlene spent several months in PA before returning to Vallejo. Again, I asked him specifically where at in PA did they go to, and his reply to me was "I HAVE NEVER SET FOOT IN PA". He also added that if Darlene went to PA, he had no knowledge of it.

Again, I am not a cop, so he had no obligation to answer to me. But why lie? Either he lied, or that report is wrong...those are the only 2 possibilities.

Morf--that is a statement made by Darlene's mother, who knew him as "John or James" (see pg 64).

Darlene left and came back a year later...Mom said they hadn't heard from her.

Mom didn't know Jim for squat except for the time he lived with her and she thought he was a bum. Heck, she didn't even know if his name was John or Jim. Darlene didn't talk to her mother while she was gone.

Where she got PA from, who knows, but just because she said it, doesn't make it true. imo.