Dorothy Lang, a 72-year-old white female, was tragically murdered on December 6, 1980, in her second-floor apartment on Fruitvale Avenue in Oakland, California. That evening, around 9 p.m., her downstairs neighbors, Teresa and John Santos, heard a loud thump and scuffling noises coming from above. Concerned, they went upstairs and found Dorothy Lang lying on the floor, unconscious. Emergency responders were called, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. The cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation due to strangulation.
Dorothy Lang's murder was one of a series of killings committed by David Edwin Mason, a 24-year-old white male serial killer who targeted elderly residents in Oakland between March and December 1980. Mason entered the homes of his victims, robbed them, and strangled them to death. In addition to Dorothy Lang, his known victims included Joan Picard Arthur Jennings and Antoinette Brown. Mason's crimes were characterized by their brutality and the vulnerability of his chosen victims.
Mason was arrested on February 4, 1981, after confessing to the murders in a tape recording labeled "David E. Mason—Epitaph," which he had prepared for his family. Following his arrest, he provided detailed information about the murders to the police, including leading them to the locations where the crimes had occurred. He was convicted of five counts of first-degree murder, including the killing of his cellmate, Boyd Johnson, in 1982. Mason was sentenced to death on January 27, 1984, and was executed by gas chamber at San Quentin State Prison on August 24, 1993.
The murder of Dorothy Lang, a 72-year-old white female, was part of a chilling pattern of violence perpetrated by Mason against elderly individuals living alone. Her death, along with those of his other victims, underscores the importance of community vigilance and the need for protective measures for vulnerable populations. The resolution of these cases brought some measure of justice to the victims and their families.
