aug 16, 1965 - the Boles family FAMILY ANNIHILATION & ANIMAL MURDER

Description:

James, 41 or 43, Darlene, 37, Bobby, 13, and Tommy, 12, Boles lived at 15947 Silvertip Court in Fountain Valley, Orange County, CA. James was an engineer for Hughes Aircraft in El Segundo. Darlene was an electronics assembler at Hughes Aircraft in Fullerton. The family had recently finished building their mountain cabin on Jung Frau Rd in the Club San Moritz area of Crestline, San Bernardino County, CA, and were spending their very first weekend there. They were last seen the evening of Saturday, August 14, 1965, strolling through the shopping area of the nearby Crestline resort.

When they didn't arrive home Monday, Aug. 16 as planned, Darlene's brother, Floyd Rice, 54, of Long Beach, called the police, but was unable to give directions to the cabin, as he'd never been to Crestline before; however, no action was taken by police. Not hearing anything back from LE, Floyd then decided to go to the cabin himself with a coworker, John P Wilcoxen, having to stop to ask directions multiple times. There, he found the entire family, including their dog, shot to death. At 5pm, the San Bernardino County police received a call from the Crestline sheriff's substation, who had been called by Floyd Rice.

According to one clipping, August 16th was a hot, muggy day; it had rained the day before. When police arrived, they found the body of the family's dog, Barbara, lying on the couch in a pool of blood. The rest of the family was in one of the bedrooms. James was lying in the middle of the floor. Bobby was slumped against a wall. Darlene was lying on top of Tommy in the closet. One clipping states that it seemed like Darlene had tried to hide Tommy by covering him with both clothing and herself.

The four of them had been shot a total of either 39 or 42 times with a .22 caliber weapon, believed to be a rifle. Investigators believed they had been dead since Saturday night, possibly around 8:30pm. James was shot 15 times, and Darlene was shot 13 times. Bobby was hit eight (8) times, and Tommy three. James's empty wallet was found on a table, though it's possible it hadn't held any money to begin with. The killer —investigators determined there was only one perpetrator — removed the car key from Darlene's key ring before leaving in the family's car, a 1962 red Dodge Polara/Lancer four-door hardtop automobile with the license plate number GFT940. Almost two dozen empty shells were found throughout the cabin. No one in the area heard anything, including screams or shots. The windows of the cabin were closed. Investigators stated that it's possible that the killer used a silencer on the gun. There was a party going on in a nearby residence at the time, with more than 300 people attending.

While searching for the family's car, a patrolman spotted a man camping above the murder cabin. The man, described as a white male adult, probably in his early 40s with thinning hair in front, was with a camper and a light-colored station wagon, possibly a Chrysler. The car was, "stuffed with camping equipment," and the man, "appeared to be enjoying a carefree night of camping under the stars." The car was illegally parked on Club San Moritz property. Thinking nothing of it at the time, however, the officer did not approach the man to speak to him. According to investigators, the light-colored station wagon had been seen three other times in the area: twice driving by the Boles cabin, and once parked in the Boles's driveway on the day of the murders.

The family car was found abandoned on Forest Shade Drive near Bowl Rd in the Lake Gregory area, a half mile away from the cabin, eight hours after the bodies were found by police. The ignition key was found underneath the car. The car had not been on Forest Shade Rd two hours before it was found.

In January 1966, patrolmen found the doors of the unoccupied Boles residence standing open. It then happened several more times after that. However, no one had been authorized to enter the house, and the doors had been locked before being found open. The doors had not been "jimmied or pried open." Police discreetly staked out the cabin, but it never happened again.

In response to a nationwide bulletin that had been sent out, authorities from Sarasota, FL stated that another family of four had been murdered there in a ranch home on Dec. 19, 1959. The weapon was also .22 caliber. The father, Clifford Walker, was shot once in the head. His wife Christine was shot twice. The four-year-old son was hit four times, then apparently crawled across the floor to die by his father's side. Their two-year-old daughter was also killed. The case was unsolved at the time that FL authorities responded in 1966.

All suspects who have been investigated in the murders of the Boles family have been cleared. Some theorize that they may have been killed by the Zodiac. I found out about this case when it was mentioned on a Zodiac forum among possible victims.

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CONFIRMATION OF COMPLETION DATE: May 31, 2025
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AUG 14 - 16
LUNAR PHASE: waning gibbous
ZODIAC SIGN: leo
DAY OF WEEK: Saturday - Monday

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