Reconstructions of the victim by NCMEC and Barbara Martin-Bradley; suspect Taylor Morris Teaford and age progression. To view a postmortem photograph, please click here.
Reconstructions of the victim by NCMEC and Barbara Martin-Bradley; suspect Taylor Morris Teaford and age progression. To view a postmortem photograph, please click here.
Date of Discovery: October 2, 1969
Location of Discovery: Oakland, Alameda County, California
Estimated Date of Death: Hours prior
State of Remains: Recognizable face
Cause of Death: Homicide by beating and strangulation
Estimated Age: 16-25 years old
Race: White
Sex: Female
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 105 lbs.
Hair: Dark brown or auburn, short to medium length.
Eye Color: Blue
Distinguishing Marks/Features: "Indefinite scarring" of her right forearm spanning from just below elbow and right hand. Needle mark scarring inside both elbows (also listed as only the right arm), indicating drug abuse. Slim build.
Dentals: Not available. "Commercially-made" partial denture plate subsituting a front upper central incisor tooth. It appeared the denture had been repaired on multiple occasions.
Fingerprints: Available.
DNA: Not available
Clothing: She wore a white knit dress with a zipper in the back, black bra, and blue panties. Additional clothing included a white sweater, white knee-height leather boots, multi-colored (pink, green, orange, purple) bell-bottom jeans, multi-colored (yellow, grey, orange, brown, black) blouse, and a multi-colored (black, white, orange, yellow striped) miniskirt dress.
Jewelry: Unknown.
Additional Personal Items: Unknown.
The victim entered room 15 of the St. Louis Hotel, 539 7th St., Oakland, California, which is now the site of the North Alameda County Jail, in Oakland with a man named Taylor Morris Teaford on October 2, 1969. He beat her and then strangled her with an article of her own clothing.
A 1971 news article states that the victim was a prostitute and a victim of a serial killer nick-named "the crewcut killer." It is not confirmed if Teaford and the crewcut killer are one and the same.
There is a current warrant out for Taylor Morris Teaford's arrest for murder. He may go by the name "Melvin Teaford", he is Native American, and originally from North Fork, California.
Teaford was born on June 18, 1935, at a height of 6'0", a weight at 170-190 lbs., with black hair, brown eyes, and a crippled right leg. As a result, he was known to walk with a limp.
While crippled, he is a strong walker and was known to regularly lift weights. He is skilled at hunting and fishing. He reportedly drinks heavily and may abuse narcotics.
He is proficient with firearms of all types and has a "vicious and explosive temper." His criminal record began when he was 8-years-old, including burglary and rape convictions.
Allegedly, he murdered his grandmother and shot his sister. He was previously on the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted list, but for different charges than listed above, which were dropped in 1972.
Agency Name: Alameda County Sheriff's Office - Coroner's Bureau
Agency Contact Person: Jesika Grubaugh
Agency Phone Number: 510-382-3000
Agency E-Mail: ACSOCoroner(at)acgov.org
Agency Case Number: 1969-02266
Agency Name: Oakland Police Department
Agency Contact Person: Unknown
Agency Phone Number: 510-238-3821
Agency E-Mail: oaklandhomicide(at)oaklandca.gov
Agency Case Number: 6966670
NCIC Case Number: U765653912
NamUs Case Number: 10945
NCMEC Case Number: 1184565
NamUs
NCMEC
SF Gate
Wikipedia - Taylor Morris Teaford
1969 Police Bulletin
Oakland Police Department
The Oakland Tribune News - Sep. 19, 1971
Fugitive.com
Added: Prior to 2005; Last Updated: 2/27/22
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information may be estimated.
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