On January 25, 1973, Kathleen Louise Kathy Prentiss Francis, 29, and her two sons, 9-year-old David Hughes and 4-year-old Daemon Francis, were murdered at their remote cabin in the Santa Cruz Mountains near the Mystery Spot. Herbert Mullin had earlier visited the Francis home asking about a former high school friend, Jim Gianera; Kathy gave him Gianera’s new address. Mullin then went to the Gianera residence and killed Jim and his wife, Joan.

Fearing Kathy could connect him to the Gianera killings, Mullin returned to the Francis cabin and shot Kathy and her sons, then stabbed all three post-mortem. Investigators initially considered a possible drug-related motive because Jim Gianera and Kathy’s husband, Bob Francis, were known to be involved in marijuana distribution. A .22 caliber pistol found in Mullin’s car was linked to several of the murders, including the Francis and Gianera killings.

Mullin’s killing spree extended from October 1972 to February 1973, with 13 confirmed victims. He told authorities he had been hearing voices instructing him to commit human sacrifices to prevent earthquakes. Mullin was later arrested, tried on ten counts of murder, and convicted of first-degree murder for the deaths of Kathy Francis and her children and for Jim and Joan Gianera; other murders resulted in second-degree convictions. Mullin received life sentences.

Did anyone ever know Kathy’s family personally or have information about the cabin or the area around the Mystery Spot in 1973?