David Allen Likens: California Murderer and Suspected Serial Killer
Background
David Allen Likens was an American murderer and suspected serial killer whose known and alleged crimes occurred in California during the 1970s. Born on July 12, 1949, in Tucson, Arizona, Likens became associated with a series of violent attacks against young men in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Mateo County. His criminal history included one murder conviction, several alleged homicides and multiple nonfatal assaults.
Likens is commonly described as a serial killer because investigators connected him to several deaths after his release from prison. However, the legal record is more limited than that description suggests. He was convicted of one murder and formally accused of additional killings, but he died before those later charges could be tried. Other deaths were only investigated as possible Likens crimes and were never conclusively attributed to him in court.
The Murder of Rod Thorpe
Likens' first known murder occurred in Los Angeles in 1974. The victim, 21-year-old Rod Thorpe, was reportedly a hitchhiker who had been brought to or was last seen at Likens' apartment. Thorpe was subsequently killed inside the residence. Accounts of the case describe his body as having been found in a bathtub with stab wounds and evidence of mutilation.
Likens was arrested and prosecuted for Thorpe's death. Rather than face a trial for the most serious possible charge, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He received a sentence of five years to life in prison. Despite the brutality of the crime, he was eventually released on parole in 1977, approximately three years after the killing.
The exact calendar date of Thorpe's death is not consistently available in reliable public accounts, so only the confirmed year of 1974 should be used. Thorpe's murder remains important because it established that Likens had already committed a particularly violent homicide before the later series of deaths and assaults in Northern California.
Release and Return to San Francisco
After leaving prison, Likens returned to the San Francisco area. He reportedly worked as a male prostitute and spent time in neighborhoods where vulnerable or transient men could be approached without immediately attracting attention. Investigators later believed that his familiarity with this environment gave him access to potential victims and allowed him to move among people whose disappearances might not be reported quickly.
During 1978, several men were found dead in San Francisco and San Mateo County under suspicious circumstances. Some had known connections to the Tenderloin District or the local gay community. The bodies were discovered in isolated locations, including wooded areas, roadsides and embankments. Authorities eventually examined whether Likens was responsible for a number of these deaths.
The Death of Daniel Joseph Oller
Daniel Joseph Oller was a 24-year-old man who reportedly advertised his services as a male prostitute in San Francisco's Tenderloin District. He died on March 17, 1978. His body was discovered near Huddart Park in the Woodside area of San Mateo County. A plastic bag had been tied over his head, indicating that he had been deliberately suffocated.
Oller's occupation and movements placed him within the same social environment in which Likens was active. Investigators later connected Likens to the killing and prepared to prosecute him for Oller's murder. Likens pleaded not guilty, and a preliminary hearing was eventually scheduled. His death in jail prevented the evidence from being presented at a full trial, leaving Oller's family without a verdict.
The Death of Ronald Young
Ronald Young, identified in case records as Ronald Allen Young, was 27 years old when he died on March 31, 1978, in San Francisco. Accounts of the investigation describe signs of strangulation and mutilation. The nature of the injuries led investigators to compare Young's death with the violent behavior already associated with Likens.
Young's death occurred only two weeks after Daniel Oller was killed. The short interval between the two cases strengthened the theory that one offender was attacking young men in the San Francisco area. Likens was investigated as the primary suspect, although the case was never resolved through a criminal trial.
Raymond Oscar Wilson and the Tunitas Creek Road Remains
Raymond Oscar Wilson was approximately 23 years old when his remains were discovered on June 7, 1978, along Tunitas Creek Road in San Mateo County. His badly decomposed body was found about 30 to 40 feet down an embankment near a creek. Wilson was described as a young man with brown hair, brown eyes and a short beard and mustache.
Another unidentified man's remains were found in the same general location. Decomposition made it difficult for investigators to establish precisely how the men had died. The discovery of two bodies together raised concerns that they might have been killed by the same person and deliberately abandoned in the isolated area.
Likens was considered a possible suspect because of his activities in 1978, his previous murder conviction and his alleged pattern of targeting young men. Nevertheless, no definitive evidence publicly established that he killed Wilson or the unidentified man. Their deaths should therefore be described as suspected connections rather than confirmed Likens murders.
Known and Suspected Victims
- Rod Thorpe, 21: Murdered in 1974 in Los Angeles, California. Thorpe was reportedly a hitchhiker whose body was found in a bathtub inside Likens' apartment. He had been stabbed and mutilated. Likens pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. The exact date of Thorpe's death is not consistently documented in available public accounts.
- Daniel Joseph Oller, 24: Died on March 17, 1978. His body was discovered near Huddart Park in Woodside, San Mateo County, California. A plastic bag had been tied over his head. Likens was accused of Oller's murder but died before the charge could be tried.
- Ronald Allen Young, 27: Died on March 31, 1978, in San Francisco, California. His death reportedly involved strangulation and mutilation. Investigators suspected Likens, but no conviction was obtained.
- Raymond Oscar Wilson, approximately 23: His remains were discovered on June 7, 1978, near Tunitas Creek Road in San Mateo County, California. Likens was investigated as a possible suspect, but his responsibility was never conclusively established.
- Unidentified male: Remains were discovered on June 7, 1978, near Raymond Wilson's body along Tunitas Creek Road. The man's identity, precise date of death and cause of death were not conclusively established. Likens was considered a possible suspect, but the connection remained unproven.
Nonfatal Assaults and Arrest
Likens' suspected killing period ended after a series of attacks in which the victims survived. On October 12, 1978, he was arrested in San Francisco in connection with violent assaults against three men. These surviving victims gave law-enforcement officers an opportunity to examine his movements, behavior and possible involvement in unresolved homicides.
Investigators compared the assaults with the deaths of Oller and other young men. Likens' prior conviction for killing Rod Thorpe made him an especially serious suspect. Authorities eventually transferred him to San Mateo County, where he was held on substantial bail while prosecutors prepared the murder case involving Daniel Oller.
Likens pleaded not guilty to the later accusations. A preliminary hearing in the Oller case was scheduled for February 5, 1979. That hearing would have allowed prosecutors to outline their evidence and ask a judge to determine whether there was sufficient cause to proceed toward trial.
Death in Custody
On January 18, 1979, before the preliminary hearing could take place, Likens died by suicide while being held in the San Mateo County Jail. His death abruptly ended the prosecution. Because a deceased defendant cannot be tried, the pending charges were never examined by a jury and no legal determination was made regarding his responsibility for Oller's death or the other suspected murders.
Likens' suicide also prevented investigators from questioning him further about the unidentified victims and unresolved deaths associated with the same period. Any information he possessed about the locations of additional bodies or the circumstances surrounding the killings died with him.
Uncertainty Surrounding the Victim Count
The number of people killed by David Allen Likens remains uncertain. Rod Thorpe is his only confirmed murder victim because Likens admitted responsibility through his guilty plea. Daniel Oller was the subject of a formal murder case that remained pending when Likens died. Ronald Young, Raymond Wilson and the unidentified man found near Wilson have been described as possible victims, but their deaths were not proven to have been committed by Likens.
Some summaries credit Likens with at least four murders, while others distinguish between his single conviction, the later murder accusation and several suspected connections. The most accurate description is that he was a convicted murderer and suspected serial killer whose possible victim count could not be established because he died before his later cases reached trial.
Legacy of the Case
The Likens investigation illustrates the difficulty of resolving murders involving people living on the margins of society. Several of the victims were associated with prostitution, transient lifestyles or the gay community during a period when such victims often received limited public attention. Delays in identifying bodies, reporting disappearances and connecting cases across jurisdictions could provide a violent offender with additional opportunities to attack.
Likens' early release after the murder of Rod Thorpe also became a troubling element of his history. Within roughly a year of his 1977 parole, he was suspected of returning to lethal violence. His arrest for attacks on surviving men may have stopped further crimes, but his suicide ensured that the full extent of his activities would remain unknown.
David Allen Likens died without standing trial for the 1978 homicides attributed to him. The absence of a trial means that allegations surrounding several victims must be treated cautiously. What is certain is that he murdered Rod Thorpe, was later accused of killing Daniel Oller and became a major suspect in a disturbing group of deaths involving young men in Northern California during 1978.
