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Bruce
Davis was born Oct. 5 1942 in Monroe, Louisiana.
He later moved to Tennessee where he attended Roane High school and
held the position of Editor-in-Chief of the school year
book. He also won a Scholastic Award in Social Science. In 1961, after graduation,
he went to
college in Knoxville.
Davis
first came to
California in 1962. He worked in Lake Tahoe and, as he says,
"had a fake driver's license." He spent some time
along the coast and traveled to Seattle, Washington where a friend
saw him purchase military shoes at a PX. He came back to
California in 1963 (a couple was murdered in the Santa Barbara
area that same year) and
made money working various jobs.
He returned
to Tennessee but relocated back to California in 1964 (near the time of the San
Diego Honeymoon murders.) He lived in Anaheim, Riverside,
Buena  Park, Costa Mesa and spent
some time in Newport
Beach.  (Zodiac
victim, Cheri Jo Bates frequented this location.) During this time he worked as a welder, painter,
pipe
fitter,
general construction worker, long shore man, farm laborer, bar
assistant, road surveyor, and mechanic. Finally "dropping
out" of society in November 1966, (at the same time that the
Zodiac wrote the Bates "Confession" letter) Davis became a "transient
undergrounder."
Riverside City College was undergoing a renovation
during the years 1965 to 1967 and it is believed that Davis worked on that project
from time to time.
After a short stint in
jail for a drug charge, he was released for lack of evidence. Davis now
admits to taking hard drugs from 1965 until 1967, including the
hallucinogen LSD. He has a criminal history beginning in 1967 in
Los Angeles County (CII:3 479 135.) In September of 1967, Davis met Charles Manson and
became an ardent follower. He traveled to England
and other countries to spread Manson's word. While in England he associated with
occultists and a "coven of witches" in Manchester. He
also delved into the Process Church (a cult) and Scientology. He had studied these and other groups in the early
' 60s. He worked in the mailroom at the
center for Scientology in England but was fired for drug use.
He came
back to the US and traveled to Berkeley,
CA. One witness states that he saw Davis in Berkeley in
December of 1968 (near the time of the December 20, 1968 attack.) After engaging in Manson Family
activities (including two murders) he left again for England.
(This was just after the Gaul / Sharp murders on November 21,
1969.) He was there only a short time and returned to California in
early December 1969.
During most of
1970 he was pursued by the police and the FBI. The Los Angeles
District Attorney's Office has said that, "Bruce Davis was
Charlie's axe-man." He finally
surrendered to Los Angeles authorities on December 2, 1970.
He was tried and found guilty of two murders and sentenced to life
in prison.
Bruce McGregor Davis is a suspect in several other murders and declines
to talk when asked about the Zodiac crimes. Davis told a friend,
"I have not been charged with those crimes so I cannot
answer that question."
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