Throughout the early 1970s, California’s Bay Area was in the grip of terror as multiple serial killers operated at the time same time and in more or less the same space. In time, some of these killers, like Ed Kemper, would be caught, while others, like the Zodiac Killer, would remain unidentified. Yet it was the ones who appeared to kill at random, without any preferred victim, that would prove the most terrifying and most difficult to catch. Herbert Mullin was one such killer, and while he may have been active for a very short period, he managed to do a tremendous amount of damage in such a little amount of time.Over a five-month period in late 1972 and early 1973, Herbert Mullin killed thirteen people, including a college girl, a Catholic priest, and a former high school friend and that friend’s neighbors. To investigators, Mullin’s victims appeared to be—and indeed largely were—chosen at random and the weapons used were chosen more out of convenience than pathology. Had Mullin’s final murder not been committed in full view of witnesses, there’s a very good chance he would have gone on to kill many more people before being caught, if he ever was.Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!ReferencesAssociated Press. 1972. "Dragnet set up for Catholic priest's slayer." Los Angeles Times, November 4: 34.Dowd, Katie. 2022. "'Murder capital of the world': The terrifying years when multiple serial killers stalked Santa Cruz." SF Gate, August 21.Green, Ryan. 2024. I Hear Voices: A Descent into the Dark Half of Psychotic Killer, Herbert Mullin. Herefordshire, UK: Independent.Honig, Tom. 1973. "Did Mullin slay fourteen." Santa Cruz Sentinel, August 10: 1.—. 1973. "Mullin enters plea: innocent, insanity." Santa Cruz Sentinel, June 13: 1.—. 1973. "Mullin explains his reason for killing." Santa Cruz Sentinel, August 15: 1.—. 1973. "Mullin is found guilty." Santa Cruz Sentinel, August 20: 1.—. 1973. "'Overtones' of drugs in five slayings." Santa Cruz Sentinel, January 28: 1.—. 1973. "Slaying suspect called a 'quiet, regular guy'." Santa Cruz Sentinel, February 15: 1.Lunde, Donald, and Jefferson Morgan. 1980. The Die Song: A Journey into the Mind of a Mass Murderer. New York, NY: Norton.Santa Crus Sentinel. 1973. "Suspect charged in six shootings." Santa Cruz Sentinel, February 15: 1.Santa Cruz Sentinel. 1972. "Another disturbance at SC County Jail." Santa Cruz Sentinel, September 14: 19.—. 1972. "Body of slain transient is identified." Santa Cruz Sentinel, October 16: 10.—. 1972. "Investigator hired to find Cabrillo coed." Santa Cruz Sentinel, November 26: 46.—. 1972. "Priest slain in confessional box of church." Santa Cruz Sentinel, November 3: 2.Smith, Dave. 1973. "Killer of killers? Town waiting for answer." Los Angeles Times, February 19: 3.United Press International. 1973. "Friends claim man charged with 7 deaths used drugs." Sacramento Bee, February 16: 21.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chapter 1: How do I access ad-free episodes of Morbid Podcast?
Hey weirdos, before we unleash today's macabre mystery, we were wondering, have you ever heard of Wondery Plus? It's like a secret passage to an ad-free lair with early access to episodes. You can join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or in Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
You're listening to a Morbid Network podcast. When a young woman named Desiree vanishes without a trace, the trail leads to Kat Torres, a charismatic influencer with millions of followers. But behind the glamorous posts and inspirational quotes, a sinister truth unravels. Binge all episodes of Don't Cross Kat early and ad-free on Wondery+.
Hey weirdos, I'm Elena. I'm Ash. And this is Morbid.
Hey. It's morbid. It sounded like you said smorbid. Smorbid. Smorbid, bitch.
You can have smore of morbid.
Funny. We've just been roasting each other all day. I love the ha ha ha ha. I was like, ha ha, you're so funny.
We have been roasting each other all day. The whole week, really. And it's not just me roasting Ash. Ash is roasting me back. Guys, somebody come get her. She being mean. Nothing has happened since the last time we recorded.
Because the last time we recorded was yesterday. I'm trying to think, did literally anything happen? What can we talk about, guys? What do you guys want to talk about? Raise your hand if you have something for the class.
We're coming up on our 666th episode.
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Chapter 2: Who are the hosts of the Morbid Podcast?
In Martin Mullen's mind, which is his father, the Marines would give his son some stability, some direction, help him grow out of whatever phase he was in. It's not a phase, Dad. It's not a phase, Dad. But from Herbert Mullen's perspective, the military is kind of ideal for him because he could, one, make his father proud of him finally.
Mm-hmm.
And he could also continue what he saw as his important work, saving the world, because he would be in an environment where killing wasn't just permissible. It was kind of expected. Yeah. So he figured that was like the way to make this better. Okay.
Now, having talked to so many doctors in the previous five years or so, he had become really good, and I mentioned this in part one, at like anticipating what people wanted to hear, you know? So like he could, he knew how to work the system. He knew how to get out of stuff. So the initial paperwork and interview phase flew right by. Like he killed it.
Damn.
But when it came to the criminal record and drug history part of it... He couldn't talk his way out of that one. Yeah. Can't talk your way out of your own past. No. His criminal record showed several interactions with law enforcement, many of which ended with hospitalization. And he was still actively using drugs, which was going to show up on drug tests. It usually does.
So in just a matter of weeks, his plan to turn his whole life around and manage his responsibilities, it all fell apart. But... Although there was really only one person to blame for not being accepted into the military, he obviously wasn't going to blame himself. He wasn't going to accept his responsibility in this. So this just became yet another paranoid delusion that the world was against him.
You know, it wasn't his behavior that had caused him to be rejected. It was society's conspiracy to prevent him from the greatness that he was destined for. Totally. So he wasn't just disappointed with this. He was pissed. That's not great. Now, in Herbert Mullen's mind, it wasn't just the universe that was conspiring against him, but it was the drugs. The drugs were conspiring against him?
Well, they had clouded his mind for years, and he blamed marijuana worst of all. Which is wild work.
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Chapter 3: What is the significance of episode 666 for Morbid Podcast?
Oh my God.
Then he walked around and stabbed each of them with the hunting knife to make sure that he had properly sacrificed them.
And he also has like, no matter what, this is so fucked, but he has no idea who this even is. No. So that's not, it's still not fitting the narrative that he's trying to. No. Like create. Yeah. What? A nine-year-old and a four-year-old. And a four-year-old. And their mother. And a nine-year-old. Oh my God.
Yeah. Now, unlike the three previous victims who had yet to be linked, investigators immediately suspected the Gianneras and the Francis's had been killed by the same person because there was a personal connection between the victims and similar circumstances under which they had been killed. Yeah. Right, it happened so quickly. Right. Right.
OK.
And a press release the following day, Sheriff Doug James stated there appear to be drug overtones in the case. And when they did finally locate Robert Francis, he was ruled out immediately as a suspect. Yeah. Now, not wanting to cause panic, Santa Cruz police captain Dick Overton urged residents to, quote unquote, keep cool. Stay cool, man. Babe. Just stay cool. Don't be all like uncool.
Babe.
And he said, just go about your daily lives as normal. Keep cool. Two families have been slaughtered, but like. Yeah. Keep it chill, man. And also he said, this is not a case of somebody running amok and shooting people.
That's actually exactly what this is.
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Chapter 4: Which movie recommendations are discussed on Morbid Podcast?
Yeah.
Which is also interesting. Or so he says, right? Well, he doesn't initially. Like this isn't the first thing he does. Okay. So he stands outside the tent and he coughs loudly to get their attention. And so they all made their way out of the tent and he tells them you're on public property and it's illegal to camp here and you're polluting the woods with your garbage. Okay. Pick it up.
So they are teenage boys. So they mocked him. Yeah. which only made Herb angrier with them. So he told them he was a park ranger and he was giving them until the next day to clear out the area or they'd be arrested. Okay. Which is so weird. Yeah, that is weird. You know, so he left the area and he continues his hike, but he just couldn't get this interaction out of his mind.
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