Jessie Lee Cooks California

Status: Incarcerated

Jessie Lee Cooks is a serial killer in the United States. He was active from 1973–1974 . He currently have 15 confirmed victims, though they are suspected of 73+ . According to Wikipedia,  he is part of the "Death Angels" cult responsible for the Zebra murders .

This happened primarily in California. He was sentenced to life imprisonment .

His appeal includes:

In December 1973, and January 1974, a number of persons were randomly shot and killed or injured on the streets of San Francisco.   Random shootings occurred again in April 1974.   In each instance the victim was a Caucasian and the gunman a Negro male.   Witnesses gave police various descriptions of the gunman's height, weight, and appearance.   In most instances, the gunman was described as 25 to 30 years old, about 6 feet tall, 160 to 180 pounds.   The San Francisco Police Department took extraordinary measures to identify the person or persons responsible for the shootings.   The police investigation of these crimes became known as “Operation Zebra,” based on the police radio code letters for that particular investigation.   This case has become known as the “Zebra” case.


In April 1974, the City of San Francisco offered a reward of $30,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons involved in the “Zebra” crimes.   Police released to the news media two composite drawings of a suspect, and on April 18, 1974, those sketches appeared in local newspapers.   On April 22, 1974, Anthony Cornelius Harris telephoned the San Francisco Police Department and, during a number of interviews on successive days, Harris provided the police with information which led to the arrest (on May 1, 1974) and indictment of the defendants in this case.²  Although the defendants argued that Harris' main motive was revenge against the Black Muslims and collection of the reward, Harris said he telephoned the police primarily “to stop a lot of senseless killing, that's all.”

Victims

His victims include:  Ralph Gianino, and Geraldine Rose McDonald who were both beaten to death with a wrench.

You can write to Jessie Lee Cooks at:

Jessie Lee Cooks B29944

RJ Donovan Correctional Facility 

480 Alta Road

San Diego, CA 92179 

Videos are included when possible. Victim name links are to memorials or grave sites, while links on the killer's names are to their full appeal or articles that are of particular interest.