The latter 1970s were witness to a sudden rash of random, homicidal violence in America, alerting criminologists to a disturbing increase in the incidence of serial murders. Some regions of the country - Texas, Florida, New York - seemed bent on hogging headlines for their local maniacs, but none could hold a candle to the battlefield of Southern California, where the "Hillside Strangler," "Freeway Killer," "Sunset Slayer," "Skid Row Slasher," and a host of others plied their trade. One such - the "Orange Coast Killer" went his ghoulish counterparts one better, slipping out of newsprint into legend as the one who got away. In retrospect, detectives would agree the terror dated back to August 2, 1977, when Jane Bennington was slain in Corona Del Mar. Attacked in her home, the 29-year-old was raped , then beaten to death with a blunt instrument. Her killer left no clues for the police, and in the gap of eighteen months before his next appearance, other homicides took precedence, demanding the attention of investigators. The killer returned with a vengeance on April Fool's Day, 1979, raping Kimberly Rawlines in her Costa Mesa home before beating her to death. On May 14, Savannah Anderson, age 22, was assaulted and bludgeoned in Irvine. Ten days later, Kim Whitecotton, 20, survived an attack at her apartment, in Santa Ana Heights, her graphic description of the incident spreading panic among her neighbors. Overnight, there was a run on guns and guard dogs in the neighborhoods that seemed to mark the killer's chosen hunting ground. Publicity alerted women to the danger of an unlocked door or window, while composite sketches of the suspect - featuring a dark mustache and pock-marked cheeks - told women who to look for. Still, it seemed the slayer was invisible to everyone except his victims , free to come and go at will. Jane Pettengill, age 24, was chosen on July 19, assaulted in her Costa Mesa home. She would survive, unlike her Costa Mesa neighbor, 30-year-old Marolyn Carleton, who was raped and bludgeoned on September 14. The killer moved to Austin on the thirtieth, administering a near-fatal beating to Diana Green. A week later, he killed 24-year-old Debra Jean Kennedy in Austin. On December 21, the slayer claimed his only teenage victim, battering Debra Lynn Senior in Costa Mesa, afterwards raping her corpse. A special task force stalked the killer through a maze of clues and useless "tips" from frightened members of the public, all in vain. As summer faded into autumn, slowly giving way to winter, it became apparent that their man was gone. This time, his disappearance was no ruse, no holiday. The Orange Coast Killer, for whatever reason, had retired. As far as homicide detectives know, their man is still at large.