The second confirmed set of victims of the Zodiac Killer.

Late on the evening of July 4, 1969, Darlene Ferrin and Mike Mageau had driven to a parking lot at Blue Rock Springs Park (on the outskirts of Vallejo) to talk. Darlene was married and Mike was a friend. For a while a group of rowdy teens set off firecrackers nearby, but soon left and the lot was deserted.

Shortly after midnight, a car later described by Mike as a light brown Corvair or Mustang pulled in, turned off its headlights, waited briefly, then backed up and left.

About 10 minutes later the car returned and parked near Darlene's car.

The driver of the car exited his vehicle and swung a heavy-duty police-type flashlight on the couple as he walked toward them.

Believing it to be a police officer, Mike pulled out his ID.

However, when the man got close to the car he opened fire with a 9mm luger, shooting both Darlene and Mike multiple times.

He then headed back to his car.

Upon hearing a cry from Mike, he returned and shot inside the vehicle a few more times.

In the end, he shot Darlene five times and Mike four times.

Despite a valiant effort at resuscitation, Darlene was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

Mike Mageau's Recollection

Despite the intensity of his wounds, Mike Mageau survived the attack and gave a description of the assailant from his hospital bed.

He described the attacker as heavy set, blubbery, about 5'8", with curly light brown hair, and a large face.

He said the man was not wearing glasses.

Mike also noted that after the initial shots he managed to crawl into the back seat, and the assailant, when he drove off, peeled out at a high rate of speed.

The Phone Call

About 40-45 minutes after the attack Nancy Slover, a police dispatcher, received a phone call from a man at a gas station phone booth, claiming to be the shooter.

He told her the location of the victims and also took responsibility for the unsolved killings of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen, that had occurred on the outskirts of Vallejo about six months earlier.

This call and both events had not yet been connected to the Zodiac.

The identity of the killer was made a few weeks later when Zodiac sent his first letters and cipher to three bay area newspapers (see Zodiac Ciphers). In the letters he announced his name as Zodiac and provided information about both murders that only the killer would know. He also took exception with Mike Mageau's retelling of events in a subsequent letter he sent to the San Francisco Examiner a few days later:

This is the Zodiac speaking. In answer to your asking for more details about the good times I have had in Vallejo, I shall be very happy to supply even more material. By the way, are the police having a good time with the code? If not, tell them to cheer up; when they do crack it, they will have me. On the 4th of July I did not open the car door. The window was rolled down all ready. The boy was origionaly sitting in the front seat when I began fireing. When I fired the first shot at his head, he leaped backwards at the same time, thus spoiling my aim. He ended up on the back seat then the floor in back thashing out very violently with his legs; that's how I shot him in the knee. I did not leave the cene of the killing with squealling tires + raceing engine as described in the Vallejo paper. I drove away quite slowly so as not to draw attention to my car. The man who told police that my car was brown was a negro about 40-45 rather shabbly dressed. I was in this phone booth having some fun with the Vallejo cop when he was walking by. When I hung the phone up the damn thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me + my car.

This event is often referred to in Zodiac lore as theBlue Rock Springs Murders.