Latest / U.S SECRET CRIMES / The Man Who Believed Murder Would Save California
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- 1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,600 #TheKiller who thought he was saving California. The terrifying case of Herbert Mullin. 2 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:10,480 What if a man could convince himself that killing innocent people was an act of heroism? 3 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:15,360 What if a promising student became so consumed by disturbing beliefs that he imagined murder 4 00:00:15,360 --> 00:00:21,360 was the only way to save an entire state from destruction? Between October 13th, 1972, 5 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:28,800 and February 13th, 1973, 13 people lost their lives in California. The man responsible claimed he 6 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:34,160 was carrying out a mission to prevent a catastrophic earthquake. His name was Herbert William Mullin, 7 00:00:34,160 --> 00:00:38,400 and the investigation into his crimes would leave an entire community asking a chilling question. 8 00:00:38,400 --> 00:00:43,600 How did a young man once voted most likely to succeed become one of the most notorious killers 9 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:48,400 in Santa Cruz County? To understand this tragedy, we must return to Santa Cruz County, 10 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:54,400 California in the early 1970s. It was a place known for its beautiful coastline, towering 11 00:00:54,400 --> 00:01:00,640 redwood trees, quiet neighborhoods, and relaxed atmosphere. Families went about their daily lives, 12 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:05,200 students spent time outdoors, and elderly residents tended their gardens. 13 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:09,280 Nothing about the peaceful surrounding suggested that a series of apparently unrelated 14 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:13,440 killings would soon leave residents afraid to trust the ordinary world around them. 15 00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:18,480 As bodies continued to be discovered, police struggled to understand what connected the victims, 16 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:22,720 because they came from different backgrounds and had been killed in different circumstances. 17 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:28,800 At the center of the investigation was Herbert William Mullin, born on April 18th, 1947, 18 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:34,640 at 606 in the morning. He grew up in Felton, a small community in the Santa Cruz mountains, 19 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:39,840 and attended San Lorenzo Valley High School. He was a capable student, a football player, 20 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:45,920 and a young man who received a college scholarship. His classmates voted him most likely to succeed. 21 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:51,360 To those who knew him in his younger years, he appeared to have the potential for a promising future. 22 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:56,880 He was not widely known as a violent person, and investigators would later find themselves examining 23 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:02,880 how such a dramatic transformation had taken place. His childhood did not reveal an obvious explanation 24 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:07,600 for the crimes that followed. His mother was described by an investigator as a kind, 25 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:12,560 ordinary woman, while his father worked for the postal service and had served in the Marines. 26 00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:17,200 His father was strict and believed strongly in the distinction between right and wrong. 27 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:21,280 Herbert himself recalled being a good student who completed his homework and wanted to 28 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:26,800 become a responsible member of his family and community. Investigators did not uncover clear evidence 29 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:30,880 that his childhood had been marked by the kind of extraordinary abuse that people sometimes 30 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:35,520 expect to find when trying to understand a serial killer. The changes became more apparent 31 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:41,280 after high school. Herbert had been in a relationship for several years, and the couple became engaged 32 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:47,600 in 1967. According to accounts gathered during the investigation, his behavior grew increasingly 33 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:53,920 strange and controlling. His fiancee reportedly became afraid of him at times, particularly when he 34 00:02:53,920 --> 00:02:59,680 attempted to control her decisions or reacted angrily. His sister also described an incident in which 35 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:05,280 Herbert began copying the movements of her husband at the dinner table. When his brother-in-law moved, 36 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:10,400 Herbert appeared to imitate him, creating the impression that he was acting without ordinary awareness 37 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:16,160 of his own behavior. Such observations later became part of the effort to understand his deteriorating 38 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:22,480 mental state. Another important part of Herbert's history was his reported use of marijuana and LSD. 39 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:27,520 He later blamed people he knew for introducing him to drugs, and his family initially suspected 40 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:32,800 that drug use had contributed to his unusual behavior. However, investigators and experts 41 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:37,280 interviewed in the documentary did not agree that drugs alone explained his condition. 42 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:41,280 Some suggested that substance use might have aggravated an existing vulnerability, 43 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:46,800 while others found insufficient evidence to establish it as the decisive cause. This distinction 44 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:51,280 matters because the history of one individual cannot be used to conclude that everyone who uses 45 00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:56,400 drugs will develop a severe mental illness or become violent. Herbert also moved away from the 46 00:03:56,400 --> 00:04:00,720 Catholic faith in which he had been raised and developed an intense interest in other religious 47 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:06,640 and philosophical ideas. During his time in San Francisco, he lived in inexpensive hotels in the 48 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:12,160 Tendriloin district and spent considerable time boxing. His trainer remembered him as determined but 49 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:18,320 unusual, sometimes talking to himself when nobody was engaging him in conversation. Investigators later 50 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:23,600 discovered boxes of writings and drawings he had left behind. The material contained extensive 51 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:30,320 references to religious figures, numbers, death, and his own supposed significance. One recurring theme 52 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:35,200 suggested that he imagined himself as an additional disciple beyond the twelve apostles. 53 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:39,920 These writings offered investigators a disturbing glimpse into the belief system that developed 54 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:45,200 before the killings. Herbert reportedly became preoccupied with the date of his birth, the death of 55 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:51,600 Albert Einstein, and the devastating San Francisco earthquake of 1906. He began connecting dates, 56 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:56,640 death rates, and natural disasters in ways that had no established scientific basis. 57 00:04:56,640 --> 00:05:01,840 From these ideas, he constructed a delusion that California faced another catastrophic earthquake 58 00:05:01,840 --> 00:05:06,960 and that he had somehow been chosen to prevent it. He came to believe that taking human lives could 59 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:13,360 have hurt a greater disaster. This was the extraordinary explanation Herbert later offered for his actions. 60 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:18,160 He claimed that voices communicated with him and that he was receiving instructions from a higher 61 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:23,920 power. According to his account, some victims had supposedly volunteered themselves through telepathic 62 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:29,520 messages. There was no reliable evidence that these people had consented to anything. Their deaths 63 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:35,040 were real, while his claimed supernatural instructions were part of the belief system he described. 64 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:39,520 His conviction that he was performing a heroic act did not change the fact that the people he 65 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:44,960 targeted were innocent individuals whose lives had been taken without justification. On October 13th, 66 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:52,000 1972, Herbert's killing spree began. His first known victim was Lawrence White. A local man also 67 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:57,680 known as Whitey. White was found dead near a road outside Santa Cruz, and investigators initially 68 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:02,640 had no clear reason to connect his death to any broader pattern. According to the account presented 69 00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:07,680 in the documentary, Herbert had used the appearance of car trouble to draw White's attention before 70 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:12,800 attacking him. The two men had no established personal dispute that explained the killing. 71 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:18,400 When detectives investigated White's acquaintances and possible conflicts, they found no obvious motive 72 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:23,440 that pointed towards Herbert. That absence of an apparent motive was one of the details that made 73 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:29,760 the case so difficult. In many investigations, detectives begin by examining a victim's relationships, 74 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:35,840 financial disputes, enemies, or recent disagreements. But when a victim is selected by a stranger for 75 00:06:35,840 --> 00:06:41,760 reasons that exist only in the offender's mind, familiar investigative approaches may lead nowhere. 76 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:46,800 White's death initially appeared isolated, and the opportunity to recognize the larger pattern 77 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:52,400 was lost in the uncertainty surrounding the crime. Eleven days later, on October 24th, 78 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:59,360 Herbert killed again. His next known victim was Mary Gillfoyle, a 24-year-old Cabrillo college student. 79 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:04,240 According to the documentary, he offered her a ride but took her somewhere other than her intended 80 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:09,840 destination. He attacked and killed her in his vehicle. Investigators later learned that evidence 81 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:14,800 from the killing remained in the car, and Herbert spoke about the difficulty of removing it. 82 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:20,160 The apparent absence of remorse in his account further disturbed those trying to understand him. 83 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:24,880 For Mary's family and friends, the central reality was not Herbert's private explanation, 84 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:29,440 but the sudden loss of a young woman whose life had been taken in circumstances she could not have 85 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:34,560 anticipated. The killings continued, and one of the most shocking incidents occurred on All Souls 86 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:41,120 Day in November 1972. Herbert went to St. Mary's Church in Los Gatos, where Father Tomé, 87 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:45,760 a respected local priest and former French resistance fighter during the Second World War, 88 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:51,040 was hearing confessions. Herbert had been raised Catholic and entered the church before attacking the 89 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:56,800 priest. Father Tomé died from his injuries. Herbert later claimed that the priest had willingly 90 00:07:56,800 --> 00:08:02,320 accepted his supposed role as a sacrifice. Investigators had no credible evidence to support 91 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:06,960 that claim. The killing demonstrated how Herbert's distorted interpretation of religion 92 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:11,360 had become entangled with his violence. While the priest's compassion in his final moments 93 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:15,840 became one of the deeply painful details recalled by those who investigated the case. 94 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:21,280 As the number of victims grew, fear spread through Santa Cruz County. The victims included people 95 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:27,040 who had no apparent connection to one another. A local man, a college student, a priest, 96 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:32,400 an elderly resident, and others whose ordinary lives had suddenly ended. Investigators were 97 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:37,440 under mounting pressure to identify the offender. The district attorney reportedly described the 98 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:42,560 county in terms that reflected the extraordinary number of killings. While residents wondered whether 99 00:08:42,560 --> 00:08:47,440 the next victim might be someone they knew, police officers faced a particularly difficult problem 100 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:51,840 because the crimes occurred in different locations and involved different circumstances. 101 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:56,640 Without a clear pattern, they could not easily predict where the killer might strike next. 102 00:08:56,640 --> 00:09:02,000 One of the most devastating crimes involved 30-year-old Kathy Francis and her two young sons. 103 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:06,800 Around Christmas, Detective Terry Medina was called to their Woodland cabin near the mystery spot. 104 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:11,760 A tourist attraction in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The weather was wet and rainy, 105 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:16,720 and the cabin stood beside a dirt road surrounded by the quiet landscape. Inside, 106 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:22,000 investigators encountered a scene that would remain with Medina for years. The Christmas tree had been 107 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:27,840 knocked over, decorations were broken, and the evidence indicated that a struggle had taken place. 108 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:33,440 Kathy and her children had been killed. The details that stayed with investigators were not merely 109 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:38,320 the circumstances of the deaths. They were the reminders that this had been a family home. 110 00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:43,040 Christmas decorations had been put up, and the children had been playing a board game in their 111 00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:48,640 bunk. What should have been a place of warmth and security had become the scene of an irreversible 112 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:53,680 tragedy. Kathy's death was particularly significant to the investigation because she had reportedly 113 00:09:53,680 --> 00:09:59,440 given Herbert the address of his former friend, Jim John Arah, that ordinary act of providing 114 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:04,960 information had unknowingly placed her family in danger. The connection to Jim John Arah revealed 115 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:09,680 another side of Herbert's thinking. Herbert had come to blame John Arah for introducing him to 116 00:10:09,680 --> 00:10:14,800 marijuana and believed that this had contributed to the collapse of his life. He turned that grievance 117 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:21,120 into a reason for revenge. He went to Jeyanar's home and killed him and his wife. Investigators believed 118 00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:26,240 Herbert then returned to the Francis cabin, apparently seeking to conceal his connection to the 119 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:31,040 earlier killings. The incident showed that although Herbert presented some of his crimes as sacrifice 120 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:35,760 is intended to prevent an earthquake, other attacks appeared connected to personal resentment and a 121 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:40,960 desire to punish people he blamed for his problems. His explanations were not consistent, 122 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:45,840 and that inconsistency became an important part of the wider question surrounding his motives. 123 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:51,440 The danger did not end with the deaths at the Francis home. For teenage campers were found dead in a 124 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:57,200 makeshift shelter in a remote part of Henry Cowell State Park. At first, the crime seemed especially 125 00:10:57,200 --> 00:11:02,560 puzzling because Herbert was already in custody when the bodies were discovered. Investigators therefore 126 00:11:02,560 --> 00:11:07,920 had reason to believe another killer might be responsible. Detective Medina and another officer 127 00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:12,880 remained at the remote site overnight because the bodies could not be removed immediately. Medina 128 00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:17,440 later described the experience as one of the most frightening crime scenes of his career. 129 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:22,080 The officers did not know who had killed the teenagers or whether the offender might return. 130 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:26,960 Subsequent examination revealed that the teenagers had been dead for about a week before they were 131 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:32,320 discovered. The ammunition recovered in connection with the killings linked the crime to Herbert. 132 00:11:32,320 --> 00:11:37,440 He had committed the murders before his arrest, even though investigators did not discover the bodies 133 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:42,160 until several days later. The documentary explains that Herbert had become angry about people 134 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:46,560 violating rules on property and believed the teenagers should be punished for camping where they 135 00:11:46,560 --> 00:11:52,080 were not permitted to stay. Once again, he claimed that the young people had communicated their willingness 136 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:57,600 to be sacrifices. There was no credible evidence that they had done so. There were teenagers enjoying 137 00:11:57,600 --> 00:12:03,120 time outdoors and their lives were lost because Herbert imposed his delusions and personal judgments 138 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:08,960 on them. The significance of this discovery extended beyond adding more victims to the investigation. 139 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:14,160 It demonstrated how easily an offender's apparent capture can create a false sense of security. 140 00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:19,840 When Herbert was arrested, police still had incomplete information about the crimes he had committed. 141 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:25,760 Some deaths had not yet been connected to him and other victims remained undiscovered. The investigation 142 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:30,720 required officers to continue examining evidence even after they believed they had found the person 143 00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:37,520 responsible for the most recent killing. The final victim was 73-year-old Fred Perez. On February 13, 144 00:12:37,520 --> 00:12:43,200 1973, Perez was tending to his garden when Herbert drove into the neighborhood and shot him. 145 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:47,840 A neighbor noticed the vehicle leaving and provided information that helped police stop it. 146 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:52,640 The date was significant because February 13 was the same day of the month on which Herbert had 147 00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:57,280 begun his killing spree's final phase of violence in his own strange numerical belief system. 148 00:12:57,280 --> 00:13:03,920 The shooting also brought the spree to an end. Herbert was 25 years old when police took him into custody. 149 00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:09,840 The arrest finally gave investigators a person to question, but it did not immediately resolve the case. 150 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:16,400 Herbert appeared quiet, withdrawn, and unassuming. He did not resemble the threatening figure many 151 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:21,680 residents had imagined while the murders remained unsolved. Police soon charged him in connection 152 00:13:21,680 --> 00:13:27,040 with several killings and began investigating whether he was responsible for as many as 13 deaths. 153 00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:32,800 During interviews, he described his belief that he had been chosen to prevent a catastrophic earthquake. 154 00:13:32,800 --> 00:13:37,840 Investigators also examined his earlier life, his writings, his relationships, 155 00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:42,480 and his movements to understand the development of those beliefs. Detective Terry Medina and 156 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:46,880 defense investigator Harold Cartwright were among the people who tried to make sense of Herbert's 157 00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:52,560 transformation. Their task involved more than gathering admissions. They needed to establish which 158 00:13:52,560 --> 00:13:56,800 crimes could be linked to him, determine what evidence supported those connections, 159 00:13:56,800 --> 00:14:02,080 and examine the state of his mind. The investigation exposed a troubling contrast between the promising 160 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:06,640 young student remembered by former classmates and the man who now spoke of killing as a sacred 161 00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:12,320 responsibility. Herbert's mental condition became central to the legal proceedings. The documentary 162 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:18,240 describes behavior consistent with severe mental illness, including paranoia, unusual beliefs, 163 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:23,520 and his reported experience of hearing voices. Some experts discussed paranoid schizophrenia and 164 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:29,120 explained that symptoms can emerge during late adolescence or early adulthood. However, a diagnosis 165 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:34,000 of schizophrenia does not mean that a person is violent, and the vast majority of people living with 166 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:39,120 mental illness do not commit crimes of this nature. Herbert's actions must be understood as the 167 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:44,960 actions of one individual, not as a representation of everyone with a psychiatric condition. The question 168 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:50,880 of drug use also remained contested. Herbert insisted that people who introduced him to marijuana and 169 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:57,120 LSD had contributed to his deterioration. His family had also suspected a connection, yet the 170 00:14:57,120 --> 00:15:02,000 investigators and specialists interviewed in the documentary did not establish that drug use alone 171 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:07,120 had caused the killings. Other accounts suggested that an emerging mental illness might have played a 172 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:12,560 role. The available material does not provide a single, conclusive explanation for why Herbert 173 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:17,600 developed his beliefs or why he acted on them. What it does establish is that his claims about 174 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:23,120 preventing an earthquake were not a legitimate reason for harming anyone. The investigation also raised 175 00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:28,720 the difficult distinction between being mentally ill and being legally insane. These are not interchangeable 176 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:34,000 terms. A person may have a serious psychiatric disorder and still meet the legal standard for 177 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:39,440 criminal responsibility. The question before a court is not simply whether a person has a diagnosis, 178 00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:43,440 but whether the law considers that person's mental state sufficient to excuse criminal 179 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:48,400 responsibility under the applicable legal test. In Herbert's case, the issue would become the 180 00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:54,640 central battle of the trial. During the proceedings, Herbert's behavior continued to attract attention. 181 00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:59,440 His court appointed lawyer recalled that Herbert objected to him because he did not look sufficiently 182 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:05,200 like Richard Nixon. Herbert also interrupted proceedings and reacted when evidence about the murders 183 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:10,960 was discussed. At one point, he chose to testify and address the court with his own explanation of 184 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:16,800 the events. He claimed that his family, friends, and neighbors had conspired against him and contributed 185 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:22,400 to his actions. Those involved in the investigation rejected the allegation that his family had knowingly 186 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:27,840 driven him to murder. They regarded his accusations as part of the paranoid beliefs that had developed 187 00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:33,280 in his mind. The jury was therefore faced with two separate questions. The evidence linked Herbert 188 00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:38,080 to the killings, but the defense argued that his mental condition affected his understanding of 189 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:43,520 what he was doing. After three days of deliberation, the jury found him legally sane at the time of the 190 00:16:43,520 --> 00:16:49,280 crimes and convicted him of two counts of first degree murder and eight counts of second degree murder. 191 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:54,640 According to the documentary, these ten counts should not be confused with the 13 victims attributed 192 00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:59,680 to his killing spree. The verdict established his criminal responsibility for the counts on which he 193 00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:05,520 was convicted, despite the debate surrounding his mental state. The case left behind questions that 194 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:10,640 no verdict could completely answer was Herbert's violence driven primarily by psychosis, 195 00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:16,400 personal resentment, or a combination of factors. Did his beliefs become a way of giving meaning to 196 00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:22,160 actions he had already begun to justify? Could earlier recognition of his deterioration have changed 197 00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:27,840 the outcome? The available evidence cannot settle every part of that debate. What is clear is that 198 00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:33,200 his explanations were not a defense for the suffering he caused, and his victims were not responsible 199 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:39,120 for the delusions he imposed on them. The consequences extended far beyond the 13 people who died. 200 00:17:39,120 --> 00:17:44,000 Families were left to grieve loved ones who would never return. Children lost their mother, 201 00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:50,160 parents lost their children, and friends lost people whose ordinary lives had once seemed secure. 202 00:17:50,160 --> 00:17:55,760 Residents of Santa Cruz County were forced to reconsider their sense of safety. Investigators carried 203 00:17:55,760 --> 00:18:00,720 the memories of the crimes scenes long after the case moved through the courts. The story of Herbert 204 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:06,320 Mullin is therefore not simply the story of a killer's unusual beliefs. It is also the story of 205 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:10,880 the people whose lives were interrupted and of the community that had to recover from a period of 206 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:16,720 extraordinary fear. There is a lesson here for the contemporary world, including our own communities. 207 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:22,080 When a person begins showing serious changes in behavior, persistent paranoia, or beliefs that 208 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:27,520 place themselves or others in danger, those signs should not automatically be dismissed as eccentricity 209 00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:32,720 or a temporary phase. Families and communities should take credible warning signs seriously 210 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:38,000 and seek appropriate professional support, where there is an immediate threat, safety, and timely 211 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:43,520 intervention must come first. At the same time, mental illness should never be treated as a synonym 212 00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:48,800 for violence, and people experiencing psychological distress, deserve care rather than ridicule or 213 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:54,320 blanket suspicion. Another lesson concerns the danger of allowing unverified beliefs to become 214 00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:59,600 justifications for harming others. Herbert believed that his actions served a higher purpose, 215 00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:04,880 but a belief does not become true simply because someone feels certain about it. In today's world, 216 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:10,400 people can also be drawn into conspiracy theories, misinformation, and extreme narratives that 217 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:15,360 encourage them to see innocent people as enemies or obstacles. The circumstances differ, 218 00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:20,320 but the principle remains important. Claims that cannot withstand evidence should never be used 219 00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:26,720 to excuse cruelty, persecution, or violence. The case also reminds us why the voices of victims 220 00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:32,000 must remain central in crime reporting. Stories about offenders can become consumed by their 221 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:38,160 personalities, their mental states, and the mystery of what made them act. Those questions matter, 222 00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:44,160 but they must not overshadow the people who suffered. Lawrence White, Mary Gillfoyle, Father Tome, 223 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:49,760 Kathy Francis, her two sons, the four teenage campers, Fred Perez, and the other victims were not 224 00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:55,760 merely entries in a criminal investigation. Each was a human being with relationships, experiences, 225 00:19:55,760 --> 00:20:01,360 and a future that was taken away. Remembering them restores the humanity that sensational accounts 226 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:06,320 can sometimes erase. Herbert Mullins' case ultimately demonstrates the difference between 227 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:12,400 explanation and excuse. Understanding the circumstances surrounding a crime may help investigators, 228 00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:17,760 clinicians, and society recognize warning signs, and improve prevention. It does not require us to 229 00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:23,280 accept an offender's account of events as truth, or to minimize the harm done. Compassion for people 230 00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:28,800 experiencing mental illness can exist alongside accountability for the consequences of their actions. 231 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:34,000 A humane society must be able to do both. The question of whether Herbert Mullins was born to kill 232 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:39,280 may never have a simple answer, and the evidence does not support the idea that mental illness inevitably 233 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:46,080 leads to murder. His history involved disturbing changes, delusional beliefs, possible contributing factors, 234 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:53,360 and decisions that brought irreversible consequences. What began on October 13, 1972, ended on February 235 00:20:53,360 --> 00:20:59,840 13, 1973, with 13 lives lost and a community struggling to understand what had happened. The most 236 00:20:59,840 --> 00:21:05,360 frightening part of the story is not that Herbert believed he was saving California. It is that he allowed 237 00:21:05,360 --> 00:21:12,160 that belief to override the value of every innocent life he encountered. This is u.ssecretcrimespodcast. 238 00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:16,720 Stick to US for more of information and stories of this nature see you on the next one.