apr 19, 1970 - Robert Michael Salem HOMICIDE

Description:

On Sunday, April 19, 1970, Robert Salem, 40, an openly gay man, was found dead in his apartment at 745 Stevenson St in San Francisco by some of his friends. He had been stabbed several times. A crucifix-style design was "drawn" on his stomach, and his left ear was cut off. He was wearing lounge clothes, and his body was lying on top of his Japanese tatami mat.

The words "Zodiac" and "Satan Saves" had been written in Salem's blood on the wall, as well as a drawing of what seems to be an Egyptian ankh. Investigators found no signs of forced entry at the apartment.

The next day, in the morning edition of the SF Chronicle an article about Salem's death, titled "Bizarre 'Zodiac' Murder", was published, though it did state that investigators were reluctant to attribute the killing to the Zodiac. That same day, the Zodiac sent letter postmarked the morning of Apr. 20, 1970 to the SF Chronicle, stating that he had 10 victims to date, and that "I hope you have fun trying to figure out who I killed."

On November 2, 1970, SFPD received a call from Byron Robb, the Assistant DA in Livingston, MT. Robb stated that they had a man named Stanley Dean Baker in custody on another murder charge that he had plead guilty to and was doing a life term for. During an interview of Baker at the Warm Spring State Hospital in MT, Baker told one of the doctors at the hospital how he had been involved in Salem's murder. Upon comparison, Baker's fingerprints matched those found at the scene of Salem's murder. Due to the length of time Baker was serving in MT for the other murder, it was decided that he would not be prosecuted for Salem's murder. Baker was deemed responsible, but not prosecuted, and the case was closed.

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CONFIRMATION OF COMPLETION DATE: May 31, 2025
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LUNAR PHASE: waxing gibbous
ZODIAC SIGN: aries
DAY OF WEEK: Sunday

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