Joan Picard, a 73-year-old woman, was murdered on March 6, 1980, in Oakland, California. She was one of several elderly victims targeted by David Edwin Mason, a serial killer who committed multiple murders between March and December of 1980. Mason had known Picard for several years, having done odd jobs for her in the past. On the day of the murder, he visited her home under the pretense of familiarity, but his true intention was robbery.
Once inside, he brandished an ice pick and informed Picard of his plan to steal from her. Initially, she did not believe him, but Mason proceeded with his crime.
Mason strangled Picard to death, making her one of his four elderly victims during that period. His modus operandi involved entering the homes of elderly individuals, robbing them, and then killing them. The prosecution primarily relied on Mason’s own admissions to prove his guilt. Before his arrest, Mason recorded a confession on a tape labeled "David E. Mason – Epitaph," in which he detailed the murders. After his arrest, he provided extensive statements to the police, describing the crimes and leading investigators to the locations where they had occurred.
Mason was arrested on February 4, 1981, and later convicted of multiple counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances, including robbery. He was sentenced to death, and after voluntarily waiving his appeals, he was executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin State Prison in 1993. His execution marked the last time the gas chamber was used in California. Mason’s case remains significant in discussions of capital punishment and criminal psychology, as his history of childhood abuse and violent tendencies were examined in detail during his trial.
