INVESTIGATIVE CASE DOSSIER: THE GYPSY HILL MURDERS SOLVED: HOW DNA CONVICTED RODNEY HALBOWER OF 1976 SERIAL KILLINGS
- Victims: Veronica Cascio, Paula Baxter, Ronnie Pitchford, Tatiana Blackwell, Tanya Blackwell
- Historic Designation: The Gypsy Hill Murders / San Mateo Serial Killings
- Active Period: January – April 1976 in San Mateo County, California
- Perpetrator: Rodney Lynn Halbower (Born 1948; Oregon Prison Inmate)
- Cause of Death: Multiple stab wounds and blunt force trauma following sexual assault
- Breakthrough Method: CODIS STR DNA database match from retested clothing evidence
- Date of Conviction: September 18, 2018 (San Mateo County Superior Court)
- Sentence: Two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole
In early 1976, five young women and teenage girls were abducted and stabbed to death in the coastal foothills of San Mateo County, California. Dubbed the Gypsy Hill Murders, the string of slayings terrified the San Francisco Peninsula for decades. In 2014, modern STR DNA technology re-examined preserved semen evidence from victims Veronica Cascio and Paula Baxter, establishing a CODIS match to 66-year-old incarcerated predator Rodney Lynn Halbower and ending a 38-year reign of mystery.
The 1976 San Mateo Serial Murders
Between January and April 1976, five young women vanished from Pacifica, Millbrae, and South San Francisco. Their bodies were discovered posed in rural parks and ravines. Pathologists preserved physical evidence from the scenes, but early forensic tools could not identify the killer.
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