The Soquel Massacre

One quiet evening in October 1970, the Live Oak Fire Department in northern California responded to fire at a hilltop mansion.

When they got to the back of the house, the chief saw what appeared to be a mannequin floating in the pool. But it wasn't a mannequin. It was a woman who had been gagged and bound.

Four more people would be pulled from the pool that night.

Ohta house: An aerial view of the pool and the house damaged by fire.

The opulent home belonged to Soquel Ophthalmologist Dr. Victor Ohta and his wife Virginia, along with their four kids, Taura, Lark, Derrick and Taggart.

The family had only recently moved in. The home was newly-built. It boasted views of both the Monterey Bay and the Santa Cruz Mountains, and had been designed by Aaron Green, a protégée of the famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

The peace and serenity of the Japaneses-influenced property was shattered on that Fall evening when five people were brutally murdered. The new stone in the backyard was stained with their blood.

A note was found at the scene that read like a manifesto. The Santa Cruz Sheriff's Office was terrified that this massacre might have been the work of a cult... just like the Manson Family Murders in Southern California roughly a year before.

Join us for today's Episode as we follow the investigation behind the Soquel Massacre of 1970.

Photo's from The Soquel Massacre:

The victims:

-Dr. Victor Ohta, 45

-Virginia Ohta, 43

-Derrick Ohta, 12

-Taggart Ohta, 11

-Dorothy Cadwallader, 38

Evidence:

(Top) The train tunnel Virginia Ohta's car was found in after it had been set on fire and struck by the train.

(Bottom) Damage to her vehicle.

Killer: John Linley Frazier

Diagram: An aerial view that shows the proximity of Frazier's home to the Ohta mansion.

A Killer's Home: A news photo that shows a rickety suspension bridge that led to the shack killer John Frazier was living in after murdering five people.

Sentencing:

Convicted mass murderer John Frazier walked into his sentencing hearing smoking a cigarette and sporting a new cut. Half of his head was completely shaved off.

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Sources:

• https://law.justia.com/cases/california/supreme-court/3d/5/287.html

• https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/232392

• https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/232386

• https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/232305

• https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/232388

• https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/232387

• https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/232391

• https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/232394

• https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/232390

• https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Santa-Cruz-mass-murderer-kills-self-in-prison-3221281.php

• https://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/files/original/e64b1474e76a42924cdaeaa30be83778.PDF

• https://www.goodtimes.sc/when-santa-cruz-was-the-murder-capital-of-the-world/

• https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-jlf-juvie-pic/90499777/

• https://www.nydailynews.com/2009/03/22/crazed-hippy-killer-caused-horror-with-1970-murder-of-california-doctor/

• https://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/files/original/2f94be426caacdb1bc20e895cc9b21c6.PDF

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/61319252/?terms=john%20frazier&match=1

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/460380613/

• https://labyrinthos.co/blogs/tarot-card-meanings-list/knight-of-cups-meaning-tarot-card-meanings

• https://biddytarot.com/tarot-card-meanings/minor-arcana/suit-of-wands/knight-of-wands/

• https://biddytarot.com/tarot-card-meanings/minor-arcana/suit-of-swords/knight-of-swords/

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/60933055/?terms=%22John%20Frazier%22 

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/619492822/?terms=John%20Frazier&match=1 

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/61069128/?terms=John%20Frazier&match=1

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/658238724/?terms=victor%20ohta&match=1

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/561796780/?match=1

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/277499169/?terms=victor%20ohta&match=1

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/60932132/?terms=victor%20ohta&match=1

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/60933299/?match=1&clipping_id=144278061

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/531060653/?terms=victor%20ohta

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/460380613/?terms=taura%20ohta&match=1

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/60933299/?match=1

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/62720746/?terms=taura%20ohta&match=1

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/658238730/?terms=taura%20ohta&match=1

• Murder Capital of the World, by Emerson Murray