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At 3 a.m. one morning, a group of hippies came to Chang to report on John L. Frazier, 24, a former auto mechanic. He had dropped out of the straight world and attempted to join the Santa Cruz hippie community. But he was considered "a real freak," Chang was told, and "paranoid" about ecology. Acting on the tip, he learned that Frazier had lived for several months in a 6 ft. by 6 ft. shanty half a mile from the murdered family's home. Two days before the slayings, he had abruptly moved out.
One-Man Theory. Frazier next appeared at the home of his estranged wife Delores, carrying a .38 cal. Smith and Wesson revolver in his waistband and a backpack with food for several days. When he left, he handed her his wallet and driver's license with the remark: "I won't be needing these any more." Among the personal possessions he left behind was a book on tarot. A warrant was issued for Frazier's arrest and a watch put on his cabin.
The police did not have long to wait. Early one morning Frazier returned and was arrested without a struggle. Police speculate that if the killings had been carried out in stages—which the evidence suggests—they could have been done by one man, and District Attorney Chang is satisfied that the killer acted alone. Still, the air in Santa Cruz County is heavy with fear. Said one apprehensive resident, E.H. Gransbury: "You expect this sort of thing down in Los Angeles, Sin City, but when it happens in a small community like ours it makes you feel that your hands are tied and you are perfectly helpless."