The Blue Rock Springs murder site

This is the Blue Rock Springs parking lot where the Zodiac Killer shot Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau.

It is situated beside Columbus Parkway, on the eastern outskirts of Vallejo, California.

On the night of July 4th, 1969, Ferrin (22) and Mageua (19) drove into this secluded parking lot beside Blue Rock Springs Park.

While the pair were chatting, another car entered the lot and parked beside them. However, it did not stay for long, as the driver took off after a few seconds.

Roughly 10 minutes later, the exact same car returned.

This time, the motorist parked 10 feet behind them and proceeded to exit his vehicle with a flashlight.

When Ferrin and Mageua turned around and saw the flashlight, they initially believed that they were being approached by a police officer. As a result, they took out their ID cards and waited to be questioned.

Unfortunately, the man walking towards them was not a cop. Instead, he was the same individual who had previously murdered Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday at a "make-out" spot on Lake Herman Road.

Once the "officer" reached the passenger side door, he stood there silently and blinded the occupants by shining his flashlight directly in their eyes.

Then, without saying a word, he lifted up a 9mm pistol and fired five shots into the car.

Ferrin and Mageua were both hit multiple times.

Following the shooting, the gunman turned around and calmly walked back to his own vehicle. However, just as he was about to leave, he heard Mageua groaning in agony.

Realizing that he needed to "finish the job," the killer returned and fired two more bullets into each victim. He then got back into his car and drove off at a high speed.

Although Mageua was shot in the chest and face, he somehow managed to survive the attack.

Ferrin was not so lucky, as she was pronounced dead at Kaiser Hospital shortly afterwards.

Exactly two minutes after Ferrin passed away, the Vallejo Police Department received a phone call from an unidentified man.

During the call, the man claimed responsibility for the attack on Mageua and Ferrin. He also told the police that he had murdered Jensen and Faraday in December 1968.

The call in question was made from a public payphone at the corner of Springs Road and Tuolumne Street in Vallejo.

A few weeks after the shooting, the Zodiac Killer sent anonymous letters about his crimes to local newspapers. Because these letters contained specific details that weren't known to the public, it quickly became evident that a "boastful slayer" was on the loose.

Photos

Photos of the parking lot and other related images.

The Blue Rock Springs parking lot

This Google Street View image of the parking lot at Blue Rock Springs was taken in March 2019.

Over the years, this location has seen a significant number of changes.

For example, the lot was much smaller back in 1969. The sidewalk and the adjoining shrub area beside Columbus Parkway also didn't exist at the time.

Aerial image

This is an aerial image of the area. The red shape illustrates the size of the original parking lot.

Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageua were parked at the southern end.

Some websites have claimed that the original lot no longer exists and that it is now covered by trees. However, this is incorrect, as historical aerial photographs from 1968 and 1982 prove that the current lot at Blue Rock Springs is in the exact same spot.

Shooting

Judging by crime scene drawings and old aerial photographs, the shooting took place at this general location.

Note that the section of the lot that sits beyond the divider did not exist at the time.

In 1969, a stone fence stood where the current divider is.

Coordinates: 38.125610, -122.190862

Google Maps

Crime scene

The Zodiac Killer parked his vehicle (red) behind the couple (blue). He then approached the passenger window on the right, where Mageua was sitting.

When he opened fire, a number of the bullets went through Mageua and struck Ferrin.

Tuolumne Street

At exactly 12.40 a.m. on July 5th, 1969, the Zodiac Killer anonymously called the police from a public payphone outside of 700 Tuolumne Street.

It is a 10-minute drive between this location and the lot where the shooting took place.

Back in 1969, a gas station stood on the corner of Tuolumne Street and Springs Road. These days, it is the location of a nursing school.

View Location

Arthur Leigh Allen

This Google Street View image was taken from Columbus Parkway.

On the left, you can see a digitally enhanced photograph of a man named Arthur Leigh Allen, who died from a heart attack in 1992.

Allen is considered a strong suspect in the Zodiac killings.

In July 1992, Michael Mageua identified him as the shooter during a photo line-up. When asked why he had never identified Allen before, Mageua said that the police had never shown him a photograph of the suspect.

Zodiac (2007)

The shooting is dramatized at the start of the thriller film Zodiac (2007).

The two victims are portrayed by Ciara Hughes and Lee Norris.