The Doodler Killer was a serial killer responsible for at least sixteen murders and three assaults of gay men in San Francisco between 1974 and 1975. He was called a doodler because he drew pictures of his victims before killing them. The term "black" was also given to him by some media because the survivors of his attacks described him as an African American.
The Doodler Killer is still unidentified, and the case has never been brought to justice. The killer met his victims in casual settings such as gay restaurants or bars. He would draw cartoonish pictures of his victims and present his drawings to them to start a conversation, hoping to convince them to have a sexual encounter.
While The Doodler Killer was active, the police believed there were two other active gay serial killers in the San Francisco area as well. Five drag queens were murdered in the Tenderloin district, and another six men were murdered in what they called the “leather community.” Police now thought they were dealing with a third serial killer of gay men with the Doodler. Little did they know that all of these murders, though different in the victim type and the murder method, were actually being committed by the same killer.