Karl F. Werner

Overview

Karl Francis Werner (May 12, 1952 – May 5, 2015) was an American serial killer whose chilling crimes spanned Santa Clara County in Northern California from 1969 to 1971. Convicted of the brutal murders of three teenage girls, Werner left an indelible mark on his community and became a figure of fear for many.

Quick Facts

• Born: May 12, 1952, Marlborough, Massachusetts, U.S.
• Died: May 5, 2015 (aged 62), Vacaville, California, U.S.
• Conviction: First-degree murder (3 counts)
• Criminal Penalty: Life imprisonment
• Victims: 3
• Span of Crimes: 1969–1971
• Country: United States
• State: California
• Imprisoned at: California Medical Facility, Vacaville, California

The Furlong/Snoozy Slayings

On August 3, 1969, the bodies of 14-year-old Debra Gaye Furlong and 15-year-old Kathie Reyne Snoozy were discovered on a hillside in southern Almaden Valley. The girls had set out earlier that day from their homes in San Jose for a picnic, but the serene outing took a nightmarish turn. Their fully clothed bodies were found the same evening in a wooded knoll, mere steps away from their neighborhoods.

What’s particularly chilling is that neither girl had been sexually assaulted. Investigators initially suspected they had been murdered elsewhere due to the complete absence of blood at the crime scene. Dr. John E. Hauser, the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner, described their deaths as a “frenzied flurry of knife wounds.” Kathie Snoozy suffered over 200 stab wounds, while Debra Furlong had more than 100. Each wound was inflicted above the waist, and both girls showed no signs of resistance against their assailant. Dr. Hauser, who had seen his share of violence in his career, remarked that he had never encountered a case with such a horrifying number of knife wounds.

The Bilek Slaying

Fast forward to April 11, 1971, when Kathy Bilek, an 18-year-old, visited Villa Montalvo in Saratoga, hoping for a peaceful day of reading and birdwatching. Tragically, her body was found the next day by her father, Charles, during a search conducted by Santa Clara County Sheriff's deputies. Kathy had been brutally stabbed 17 times in the back and 32 times in her chest and stomach, yet her killer had taken a disturbing care to avoid stabbing her breasts. This level of violence raised alarm bells for investigators, who had already connected the dots between Bilek’s murder and the Furlong/Snoozy killings.

The Investigation and Arrest

The breakthrough came when a park maintenance worker, who had seen a suspicious individual around the time of Kathy Bilek’s murder, provided police with the name of Karl F. Werner. This name struck a chord; Werner was not just a local resident but a classmate of Furlong and Snoozy. Described by a former girlfriend as “accomplished in mathematics,” he didn’t fit the stereotype of a serial killer—there was nothing overtly sinister about him.

However, the investigation took a darker turn when it was revealed that Werner had previously been a suspect in an unsolved knife assault on another woman. Authorities obtained a search warrant for his residence, where they discovered the knife used in Kathy’s murder. The connection between the Furlong/Snoozy slayings and Bilek’s murder was undeniable; law enforcement dubbed the latter a "carbon-copy killing."

In September 1971, the case took a shocking turn when Karl F. Werner confessed to the murders of Furlong, Snoozy, and Bilek, ultimately leading to his life sentence in prison.

The Zodiac Connection

Interestingly, during the initial investigation, San Francisco police Inspector Dave Toschi speculated that the notorious Zodiac Killer might have been behind the Furlong/Snoozy murders. At the time of his arrest, Werner was even considered a potential suspect in the Zodiac case. However, it was later confirmed that Werner had been living in Marlborough, Massachusetts, during some of the Zodiac's earlier killings, effectively ruling him out as that infamous killer.

After spending years behind bars, Karl F. Werner ultimately died in 2015 while incarcerated at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville.

Sources

• Obituary of Karl Werner
• Graysmith, Robert. Zodiac: The Shocking True Story of America's Most Elusive Serial Killer.
• San Francisco Chronicle, "The Frenzy of San Jose Girls Slayer" (August 6, 1969 - retrieved August 22, 2011).
• Graysmith, Robert. Zodiac, published by the Penguin Group, January 2007 edition, ISBN 978-0-425-21218-9.
• "Pair Split $25,000 Reward for Murderer's Conviction." Lawrence Journal-World. Lawrence, Kansas: Associated Press. October 21, 1971.
• Hettiger, Joyce (July 30, 1997). "Murder, She Wrote." Sunnyvale Sun. Archived from the original on January 28, 2013.
• Avery, Paul (November 12, 1969). "'I've Killed Seven' the Zodiac Claims." San Francisco Chronicle.
• "Inmate Locator." Archived from the original on July 31, 2017.