Arlis Perry
Around 11:30 p.m. the night of October 12, 1974, the Perrys had an argument about their car's tire pressure. Perry told her husband that she wanted to pray alone inside the Stanford Memorial Church, and they parted. Bruce became concerned when his wife had not returned home by 3:00 a.m. and called the Stanford police to report her missing. However, officers from the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office went to the church and reported all the outer doors were locked.
Campus security guard Stephen Crawford, a former Stanford police officer, claimed to have found Perry's body around 5:45 a.m. October 13, in the church's east transept, near the altar. She was found face-up with her hands folded across her chest. An ice pick was sticking out of the back of her head, though the handle had broken off and was missing. There were also signs of strangulation. Police also noted that Perry was naked from the waist down. A three-foot (1 meter) long altar candle was inserted in her vagina, and another placed between her breasts. Her jeans had been arranged across her legs in a diamond pattern.
Crawford told police he had locked up the church a little after midnight after noticing no apparent activity inside. He also claimed (later found to be false) to have rechecked the doors around 2:00 a.m. and found they were still locked. When Crawford visited the church at 5:45 a.m. to open it for the day, he said he found the west side door open and that it had been forced from the inside.
Investigators found semen on a kneeling pillow near Perry's body. They also found a partial palm print on one of the candles. Neither the semen nor the print matched Bruce Perry nor Crawford. The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office also ruled out any links between the murder and three previous killings in the area dating back to February 1973. Perry’s husband was an initial suspect, but was eventually ruled out
At least seven people were in the Stanford Memorial Church during the night of October 12 and the morning of October 13; among them were Perry and Crawford. Four other people were identified; a seventh was not. A passer-by noted this young man was about to enter the church around midnight. He had sandy-coloured hair and was not wearing a watch; was of medium build; and stood about five-foot-ten.
