CA CA - Nikki Benedict, 14, Poway, 1 May 1967

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There was a vigil for Nikki the other night.


Vigil Set for Victim of Decades-Long Cold Case
Nikki Benedict, 14, was stabbed to death in Poway on May 1, 1967, and nearly five decades later, her case remains unsolved
By Monica Garske and Vanessa Herrera
Thursday, Mar 13, 2014 • Updated 7:33 PM PDT

On Thursday, a candlelight vigil was held to remember Nikki Benedict on what would have been her 61st birthday. She was murdered in Poway in 1967. NBC 7’s Vanessa Herrera reports.

Family, friends and former classmates will gather Thursday evening to take part in a candlelight vigil for the victim of an unsolved murder case that happened nearly 47 years ago in San Diego’s Poway community.

The vigil will honor Nikki Benedict, a 14-year-old who was killed while walking home from a friend’s house on May 1, 1967.

According to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, during the early hours of that day, the teenage girl was stabbed in the neck and chest, and left to die on a dirt trail in the 12700-block of Poway Road.

[snipped]

Bacilla said detectives re-opened her sister’s case about 13 years ago and ran DNA tests. However, the tests turned up no answers.

Today, anyone with information on this cold case should contact the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Unit at (858) 974-2321. Anonymous tips can also be called into Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477 or submitted via this online tip form.

Benedict's family has kept her memory alive through a memorial photo album on Facebook, which can be seen
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Never heard of this case before- but hoping the new information pans out. The fact that her parents went to their graves never knowing just breaks my heart....
 
She would have been Zodiac's youngest known victim but do we have a good description of her size? Some 14-year-olds are big enough and mature enough looking to pass for a college coed. The stabbing with no sexual assault does seem to be a Zodiac trait. If I recall, Zodiac did mention, in one of his letters, some earlier activity in this area without being specific. Presently, I'm not pushing the Zodiac angle-just keeping the door open. The Zodiac possibility must be a fairly recent development because I just checked the index in Graysmith's book (1987 edition) and there is no Benedict in there.
 
STANDREID said:
She would have been Zodiac's youngest known victim but do we have a good description of her size? Some 14-year-olds are big enough and mature enough looking to pass for a college coed. The stabbing with no sexual assault does seem to be a Zodiac trait. If I recall, Zodiac did mention, in one of his letters, some earlier activity in this area without being specific. Presently, I'm not pushing the Zodiac angle-just keeping the door open. The Zodiac possibility must be a fairly recent development because I just checked the index in Graysmith's book (1987 edition) and there is no Benedict in there.
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There are a couple reasons that this case has been linked to Zodiac over the years.

1-The timing of the case is very close to the Cheri Jo Bates Knife murder(although Bates was killed in Riverside, and Nikki in San Diego area)

2-The young Friend of Nikki who was with her the day she was killed, reported a strange man watching them. His description was supposedly close to the sketch of the Zodiac killer that would come out in 1969. I attempted to verify with Poway police that a sketch existed of the mystery man, but with no results.

3- A Man, closely associated with a Zodiac Victim, and considered by some as a Z suspect,(I would rather not name him)lived, at some point, within a hundred yards of Nikki, although I can't verify if he lived there after Nikki's murder or during that time period.

I think it's a long shot that Nikki was killed by Zodiac, but glad people have considered it. Learn more about the Z case at my site zodiackillersite.com where there is mention of Nikki's case
 
NEW POTENTIAL LEAD IN THIS CASE:::

http://www.cbs8.com/story/25322427/...rt=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=10091090

A man who went to the same school as Nikki says that a classmate had told him twice that his brother killed a girl.

Other information: Jay Kenneth Miller was a suspect early on and the sister planned on writing him a letter, and the zodiac link has been explored.


EDIT: OOPS. not so new and already posted. consider this a bump for Nikki! LOVE to her and her family
 
Frustrating case. Nikki's Friend that was with her the day she was killed reported that they had seen a suspicious man. Wish there was more known about this man
 
STANDREID said:
She would have been Zodiac's youngest known victim but do we have a good description of her size? Some 14-year-olds are big enough and mature enough looking to pass for a college coed. The stabbing with no sexual assault does seem to be a Zodiac trait. If I recall, Zodiac did mention, in one of his letters, some earlier activity in this area without being specific. Presently, I'm not pushing the Zodiac angle-just keeping the door open. The Zodiac possibility must be a fairly recent development because I just checked the index in Graysmith's book (1987 edition) and there is no Benedict in there.
Click to expand...

In an old interview someone linked Nikki's mother states that Nikki looked mature but was not emotionally mature enough to date.
 
My name is Kevin Barry, and I uncover the who, what, when, where and how details, of the Zodiac Killer case.

I'm astonished that no one has attributed the murder of 14-year-old Nikki Alexandra Benedict, to the Zodiac Serial Killer. I have centralized my research on the essential elements surrounding the case. I have painstakingly read every police and FBI report, read all the newspaper accounts, reminding myself that the majority of media douchebags over elaborate and falsify their crime reporting, have thoroughly analyzed every single eyewitness statement, and taken great care examining the Zodiac’s correspondence. Nevertheless, I’m fully aware that spoliation of evidence by the local authorities, most likely took place. Police often hold back clues or information, from the public. It helps them distinguish between the impostor and the real thing. In this instance, it has been of no help whatsoever.

When Paul Avery joined the San Francisco Chronicle in 1959, little did he know that years later an avalanche of correspondence would fall on his lap. And from a serial killer. The craftsmanship of the content received surpassed anything he had seen before. The Zodiac was committed to his trade and loved taunting authorities with puzzles and codes that he ingeniously created. It was an art to him, and no one on any of the contemporary media or law enforcement institutions seems to understand that creation is a synthesis and an analysis. If you have mastered many crafts, then mix your media. And that’s exactly was the Zodiac did.

Avery is, perhaps, best known for the discovery of the 1966 murder of Cheri Jo Bates in Riverside, and linking it to the Zodiac. He was the first person that related criminal activity to the serial killer that terrorized San Francisco for the best part of seven years. Therefore, the Zodiac was impressed with Avery’s intellectual pedigree and responded in kind by posting the crime reporter a gift, the Halloween card. He had previously responded to the newspaper taunts, and he was doing it again now with Avery.

Consisting of copious clues and allusions, the card made its way to the San Francisco Chronicle on October 27, 1970. It was addressed to Paul Averly (Avery), had a strange looking symbol on the topmost left corner, and carried a six-cent Apollo 8 stamp. The phrase “In the beginning God…” is one of the stamp’s prominent features. From a religious standpoint, the phrase is taken directly from the first book and first line of the Christian Bible, in Genesis 1:1. The full verse is “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” However, if there’s a religious overtone to the Zodiac’s stamp, I think it’s found further down the passage, beginning with Genesis 1: 24, and ending at Genesis 1:31 with, “And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

The Chronicle, scandalous as ever, attributed fourteen murders to the Zodiac. It seems that they interpreted the card as a revelation that bodies laid scattered all over the Californian territory. Sensationalism sells newspapers, and the Hearst Corporation was big business. Their employees were required to feed their credulous reading audience with material that fashioned vast sums of money. This all happened because on the front of the card the person wrote the figure ‘14’, and on the back, ‘4-teen.’

Be that as it may, before offering you my analysis of the card itself, and so that my audience is acutely aware of the implications of the Halloween Card, it’s necessary to begin with an examination of the envelope itself. In fact, the implication is awfully simple–that is if you know how to master the craft of the Zodiac’s correspondence–and it’s a revelation of another Zodiac murder. It’s a murder that’s remained unrevealed by the Zodiac–albeit it verbally–and, therefore, unattributed to the serial killer for next half-a-century.

Why did the Zodiac underscore the letters “Lav?” I’ve asked myself this question time and time again and have been left scratching my head, unable to conjure up a reasonable explanation. However, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. And that’s precisely what I’ve done. I trust that I’m now fully equipped to present my audience with the rudiments to this most mysterious of Zodiac’s word games, and after hours of exhaustive work, I guarantee you that it’s the only credible solution to the puzzle.

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If there is a mathematical aspect to the Zodiac’s work–and keeping in mind that he often refers to ‘code’ and ‘game’ therefore, it’s a possibility–in mathematical terms, an obelus is a symbol consisting of a short horizontal line with a dot above and below. It is mainly used to represent the operation of division. It is therefore commonly called the division sign. Division may also be indicated by a horizontal line (fraction bar), or a slash. In this instance, the ‘obelus’ works as the divider between the letters ‘lav’ and ‘CH’. In other words, “lav÷CH.” But, for these words to be divisible by each other, and, therefore, allowing me to present a realistic solution, it’s essential for numbers to be involved. There are twenty-six letters in the alphabet, and each letter holds a corresponding number. In other words, A = 1, B = 2, C = 3, and so on.
Let me clear up a common misconception. When most people declare that they are writing in code, what they mean is they are writing using a cipher. The code is when a symbol, word, or phrase is used to stand for a different word, phrase, or sentence. A cipher is where each letter in a word is represented by a different letter or symbol. For an example, the simplest cipher there is is the one mentioned above, where each letter has a number. A = 1, B = 2, etc… If I wanted to say hello, I would use 8(H)-5(E)-9(L)-9(L)-15(O). If you want to decipher 11-5-22-9-14, you would match the numbers to the letters, and, therefore, realize that it means my name, Kevin.
The letters LAV represent 12, 1, and 22 (the dividend), and CH, 3 and 8 (the divisor), 38. At school, we were taught the sanity test of casting-out-nines. Therefore, let’s apply the method to LAV:

L = 1+ 2 = 3, A = 1, V = 2 + 2 = 4. (LAV = 314).

The divisor CH remains 38.

The number 38 seems to play a vital part in the work of the Zodiac. The first envelope ever mailed by the individual contained 38 letters (DAILY ENTERPRISE RIVERSIDE CALIF ATTN CRIME), and when the Hardens finally solved the cryptogram, the first 38 letters were “I LIKE KILLING PEOPLE BECAUSE IT IS SO MUCH FUN.” Then, there was the Zodiac’s claim about shooting a man in a parked car with a .38.

Therefore, LAV÷CH (314÷38) = 826

The number “826” is the clue, the indicator that links the Zodiac to the murder yet to be verbally revealed. What better way is there than to hide something in plain sight?

But, what is the meaning of 826?

The number 826 is the indicator that links the Zodiac to a crime that he had never revealed. Furthermore, I also consider the Halloween Card to be a revelation of this unaccounted Zodiac crime. As I explained, the Zodiac was playing a game with Avery because he (Avery) had the intellectual know how to link the murder of Cheri Jo Bates in Riverside, to him (the Zodiac). All through the investigations, Avery was the only person ever to connect the Zodiac to a crime he did not claim responsibility for. The Zodiac found this mentally challenging, therefore, decided to mail Avery the card, taunting him to link this latest card to this unrevealed murder. But, Avery was ignorant of this fact and therefore never assimilated the card to this secret Zodiac murder. He was more worried about being a Zodiac victim himself and decided to buy a .380. In fact, over time, no one has linked the heinous act to the Zodiac. Be that as it may, I will attempt to do that now.

In 1967, in the city of Poway, a fourteen-year-old girl was murdered. Her name was Nikki Benedict, and she was born March 13, 1953.


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Circa 6:00 pm on the evening of May 1, 1967, Nikki Benedict leaves her friend’s home located on Halper Road and heads to her home on Olive Tree Lane. Nikki Benedict is attacked with a knife, stabbed twice in the heart, and left for dead in the 12700 block of Poway Road. Nikki’s body was later found by an eleven-year-old boy riding his bike through the location. She was pronounced dead at 7:15 pm, on arrival at Palomar Memorial Hospital by doctors G. Marshall and V. Thomas.

Nikki’s autopsy protocol was carried out on May 2, 1967, by pathologist F. J. Luibel at the San Diego County Examining Room. The examination of Nikki’s body revealed that she had a laceration on the right side of her neck, varying in depth from a scratch to exposure of the underlying muscular tissue. This indicates that her attacker tried slitting her throat. Nikki had dirt on her legs and several abrasions, possibly indicating that she put up a fight. From the depth of her stab wounds—the knife only reached the pericardium, the membrane enclosing the heart–it appears that her attacker used a short knife. It is further noted that there is strong evidence suggesting that the knife was plunged all the way to the hilt or handle.

However, the interesting thing about the autopsy was revealed when the coroner inspected Nikki’s hands. On the palm of her left hand, the coroner found a series of numbers that appeared to have been written from above in a downward direction. The numbers were 271, 277 and 278. Furthermore, adjacent to these numbers the coroner found the letter “H,” and another indistinguishable letter. The right hand, however, had what the coroner determined to be ‘small lines and dots.”

Come on folks, it’s about now that the scales should start falling from your eyes. What was so important to Nikki that she had to write numbers, letter, lines and dots, all over her hands? She was a fourteen-year-old girl with not a care in the world. She loved rabbits and enjoyed playing with her friends. The truth of the matter is that there was no reason whatsoever for Nikki to have done that. Common sense shows that the Zodiac did these writings in an attempt to taunt the authorities.

The first thing that comes to mind when I read that there were ‘lines and dots’ on her hand is Morse Code. Morse code is a method of transmitting text information in a series of lines and dots. It would be interesting to know the pattern of these lines and dots. However, no photographic material is available. Then, we have the numbers 271, 277 and 278. It just so happens that they add up to “826.” Yes, the same “826” found on the envelope mailed to Paul Avery on October 27, 1970. It’s the reason I believe the number “826” is the indicator that links the Zodiac to the crime. The number is too accurate to be coincidental. Mathematicians have long thought that numbers are infinite, and I’m inclined to agree with them. The statistical probability of this number being found coded on an envelope and then on the hand of a murdered teenager goes beyond human comprehension. Well, in any case, mine that is. From this fact alone, it seems more and more likely that it’s ‘the’ murder never verbally revealed by the Zodiac.

However, to solidify this subject, it’s necessary to turn our attention to the Halloween Card. And, search for the clues that will further demonstrate that the card was a revelation that Nikki was another Zodiac victim:


  • When the Zodiac wrote “14” on the skeleton’s hand/palm, it was a clue to the fact that he had written on Nikki’s hands, when he murdered her in Poway. The “14” is a clue to Nikki’s age at the time of her death.

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  • The skeleton’s hands indicate the number 53. The left-hand illustrates “5” fingers, and the right-hand “3.” Nikki was born in “53.” It can also indicate her address because she lived at 13530 Olive Tree Lane.
  • People have used the pumpkin as a figurative representation of the female genitalia. The Zodiac placed the pumpkin in the exact location where we find human genitalia.
  • Nikki was murdered May 1, 1967, the very day after the three “Bates had to die” letters, postmarked April 30, 1967, mailed in Riverside. It’s an indication that the Zodiac was in the area because Poway is twenty miles north of San Diego, and eighty miles south of Riverside.
  • The date of Nikki’s birthday, March 13, 1953, is the same as the Zodiac Los Angeles letter, mailed eighteen years later, on March 13, 1971.
  • On the card, the Zodiac painted 13 eyes with eyelashes; a clear indication that the Zodiac was making comparisons to a girl. Nikki’s birthday was on the 13[SUP]th[/SUP]. However, was the Zodiac being ambiguous with the 13 eyes? Pay close attention to the makeup of the word 13 eyes. What if the Zodiac was giving us a clue to I's? In other words, 13 I's. The letter "I" is the ninth letter of the alphabet. Therefore 13 x 9 = "117". Now, here's the interesting thing. The longitude of Poway is 117° west. This is a clear indication the Zodiac was giving us a clue to the murder that occurred in that city.

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  • When the Zodiac wrote “By Knife,” he was killing two birds with one stone (pardon the pun). In other words, he was demonstrating that Nikki had been murdered “By knife,” and intended showing that her name was incorporated in the same word. Here, the indicator is the reversed “n,” in “by knife (the first letter of her name), followed by “iky.” Furthermore, when he wrote “by” (by fire, by gun, by rope), the “y” was after the “b.” However, with “by knife,” the “y” was written directly beneath the “b,” therefore, illustrating the name “Niky,” a different representation of her name.

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  • Many theories have been put forward as to the meaning of the symbol on the Halloween envelope and card. For decades, researchers have presented their interpretation regarding the subject. However, every single solution has suffered from the poverty of the imagination. Again, the Zodiac is hiding something in plain sight, and everyone is ignorant of this fact. It will come as a shock that the symbol in nothing more than a member of the ‘Aves’ family, a well-disguised bird. I remember a time in my youth when I drew little flying birds, the ones that are just a line with a dip in the middle. Of course, you can make simple modifications. You could draw a very deep dip or shallow dip, and have longer or shorter wings. In the end, it’s left to the person to decide how to present the drawing. The Zodiac was aware of this fact, therefore, decided to submit his bird in plain view of everyone, knowing that folks would interpret the symbol as part of a NASA experiment. The two dots on the inside are the eyes, and the two dots on the outside are the legs. It’s that simple! Be that as it may, what bird did the Zodiac have in mind when drawing his symbol? There is only one bird that fits the description provided by the Zodiac, and one that has a direct link to Nikki’s murder, the Albatross. For decades, the Albatross has been recognized as the “Prince Of Waves.” The clue is right there in plain sight. Can you folks see it? Prince Of Waves (POW?) Once more, in what city was Nikki murdered? In POWay.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Zodiac is responsible for the murder of fourteen-year-old Nikki Alexandra Benedict, in Poway, California. Every single clue, beginning with the Zodiac’s taunting of Paul Avery with the Halloween Card–which was a revelation to the murder never verbally revealed–to the symbol representing the albatross (POW), fits the puzzle in ways that are too accurate to be coincidental.
 

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Just before Nikki was killed she and her friend were talking and a man drove 'very slowly' by them twice.This alone could rule out the boy.Police believed this person to be Nikki's killer.A SDPD det. told me her description of that driver matched that of the Zodiac killer composite they received in 1969! I have tried to get a description of the car.
Young Zodiac -some believe- sent three notes 4/30/67 saying "There will be more."Nikki was killed about a day later on May Day.
 
50 years ago Monday. I plan to post this event on my Centenary/Whole/Half thread tomorrow. R.I.P. Nikki.
 
Nikki's case has always stuck in my mind and broken my heart. Please please let this be the year her family gets answers
 
Police asking public for tips in unsolved 51-year-old cold case

http://www.cbs8.com/story/38086490/police-asking-public-for-tips-in-unsolved-51-year-old-cold-case

Homicide investigators and relatives of a 14-year-old Poway girl slain by an unknown suspect 51 years ago held a news conference Tuesday in hopes of generating tips in the unsolved case.

Nikki Benedict was walking home from a friend’s house when she was stabbed and left to die in a field on Poway Road on May 1, 1967.

The original on-scene investigation showed evidence of a struggle a short distance from the location where Benedict was found.
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Poway Teen's Killing Is a Mystery 51 Years Later

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/lo...-Nikki-Benedict-Murder-Mystery-481372761.html

Nikki Benedict was last seen walking home from a friend's house on May 1, 1967. Fifty-one years later, we still don't know who stabbed her and left her to die in a field.

Benedict's family and San Diego County CrimeStoppers are asking the public to help solve this cold case.
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I don’t really put much into the Zodiac theory at all. I do find it really interesting that “Mark” back in 1968 had seen the supposed same type of murder weapon being sold at the butcher shop owned by the father of the boy who found her body. No sexual assault and stabbed with a small knife with a struggle just seemed like a crime someone young might’ve committed.
 
folieadeuxnola said:
Police asking public for tips in unsolved 51-year-old cold case

Woman determined to find sister's killer 51 years after murder in Poway | cbs8.com




Poway Teen's Killing Is a Mystery 51 Years Later

Poway Teen's Killing Is a Mystery 51 Years Later
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"Detectives re-opened Benedict’s case in the 1990s and ran DNA tests. However, the tests turned up no answers.
However, investigators said DNA is not what would solve this case. They're hoping to get a lead from someone in the community who may know something or may have heard something. "

So, there is DNA evidence? Maybe they can re-test it now, like three decades later with enhanced technology
 
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