David Carpenter

The Trailside Killer

  Active for 3 years
(1979-1981) in United States

7

CONFIRMED
VICTIMS

11

POSSIBLE
VICTIMS
Jump to:
  1. Summary
  2. Serial Killer Profile
  3. Serial Killer Type
  4. General Information
  5. Characteristics
  6. Childhood
  7. Cognitive Ability
  8. Incarceration
  9. Death
  10. 13 Timeline Events
  11. Serial Killers Active During Spree
  12. Boolean Statistical Questions
  13. 2 Books About David Carpenter
  14. 6 External References
  15. Internal References

David Carpenter (David Joseph Carpenter) an American serial killer known as The Trailside Killer. Carpenter murdered women hikers on San Francisco-area hiking trails between 1979 and 1981. He would stalk, rape and kill hikers by shooting the victims in state parks near San Francisco, California. He was convicted of an attempted murder in 1960. In 1970, Carpenter was convicted for kidnapping. After his release, he was a suspect in the Zodiac murders, although he was eventually cleared. In 1984, Carpenter was sentenced to death, he received a second death sentence in 1988. David Carpenter remains on death row at the San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, California.

David Carpenter Serial Killer Profile

Serial Killer David Carpenter (aka) The Trailside Killer, was active for 3 years between 1979-1981, known to have ( 7 confirmed / 11 possible ) victims. This Serial Killer was active in the following countries: United States

David Carpenter was born on May 6th 1930 in San Francisco, California, US. He was raised by both parents. His father abused alcohol and/or drugs. He had a speach defect. During his education he had academic, social or discipline problems, including being teased or picked on. David Carpenter was physically abused at some point of his life.

Carpenter a heterosexual male citizen of the United States of America. He took an intelligence quotient test before or after his crimes, David Carpenter had an IQ of 125. Carpenter married. He had 3 children.

Prior to his spree he had commited crimes, served time in jail, and served time in prison. He saw a psychologist.

In 1979 (Age 48/49) David Carpenter started his killing spree, during his crimes as a serial killer he was known to stalk, rape, and murder his victims. David Carpenter used a weapon and was in possession of a firearm during his crimes. He was known to kill at the home of the victim. At the time of his crimes he was living with his wife in San Francisco, California, US, where Carpenter was known to work as a serial killer.

He was arrested on May 14th 1981 (Age 51), convicted on May 10th 1988 (Age 58), sentenced to death by gas chamber at San Quentin State Prison, San Francisco, California, US. Carpenter was convicted on charges of murder, robbery and other possible charges during his lifetime.

Profile Completeness: 85%
serial killers by profile completeness

David Carpenter has been listed on Killer.Cloud since November of 2016 and was last updated 5 years ago.

David Carpenter a known:

David Carpenter
Serial Killer Profile:

Updated: 2019-05-13 Collected by Killer.Cloud
General Information
Name: David Carpenter
Nickname: The Trailside Killer
Victims: 7 - 11
Years Active: 1979 - 1981
Ages Active: 48/49 - 50/51
Active Countries: United States
Convicted Of: murder, robbery
Life Span: 1930 -     
Characteristics
Gender: Male
Citizenship: United States of America
Sexual Preference: Heterosexual
Astrological Sign: Taurus
Apr 20 - May 21
Birth Month: May
Marital Status: married
Children: 3 children
Living With: his wife in San Francisco, California, US
Occupation: serial killer
Childhood Information
D.O.B.: May 6, 1930
Family Name: Carpenter
Given Name: David
Birth Location: San Francisco, California, US
Birth Order: N/A
Siblings: N/A
Raised By: both parents
Birth Category: N/A
Mother: N/A
Father: N/A

Cognitive Ability
IQ: 125
Highest School: N/A
Highest Degree:

Incarceration
Arrested: May 14, 1981 (Age 51)
Convicted: May 10, 1988 (Age 58)
Sentence: death by gas chamber
Prison Location: San Quentin State Prison, San Francisco, California, US
Executed: N/A
Previous Crimes: TRUE
Previous Jail: TRUE
Previous Prison: TRUE

Death Information
Death Date: N/A
Cause of Death: N/A
Death Location: N/A
Killed In Prison: N/A
Suicide: N/A
13 Timeline Events of Serial Killer
David Carpenter

The 13 dates listed below represent a timeline of the life and crimes of serial killer David Carpenter. A complete collection of serial killer events can be found on our Serial Killer Timeline.

Date Event Description
May 06 1930David Carpenter was born in San Francisco, California, US.  #19300506
May 06 1950
(Age 20)
20th Birthday
May 06 1960
(Age 30)
30th Birthday
May 06 1970
(Age 40)
40th Birthday
1979
(Age 48/49)
David Carpenter started his serial killing spree. #1979
May 06 1980
(Age 50)
50th Birthday
1981
(Age 50/51)
David Carpenter ended his serial killing spree. #1981
May 14 1981
(Age 51)
David Carpenter arrested. #19810514
May 10 1988
(Age 58)
David Carpenter was convictedand sentenced to death by gas chamber at San Quentin State Prison, San Francisco, California, US.  #19880510
May 06 1990
(Age 60)
60th Birthday
May 06 2000
(Age 70)
70th Birthday
May 06 2010
(Age 80)
80th Birthday
May 06 2020
(Age 90)
90th Birthday
Back to top Serial Killers Active During

The following serial killers were active during the same time span as David Carpenter (1979-1981).

Serial Killers By Active Year


36 / 40
ANSWERED
Serial Killer
Boolean Questions:
Killer
Question
Killer
Answer
Total
Answered
father drug abuse TRUE 192
problems in school TRUE 221
teased in school TRUE 218
speach defect TRUE 300
physically abused TRUE 231
psychologist TRUE 258
previous crimes TRUE 367
previous jail TRUE 352
previous prision TRUE 336
kill at victims home TRUE 323
used weapon TRUE 453
used gun TRUE 451
rape TRUE 453
stalk TRUE 418
mother drug abuse FALSE 195
physically defect FALSE 300
head injury FALSE 299
psychologically abused FALSE 224
sexually abused FALSE 226
drug abuse FALSE 226
alcohol abuse FALSE 226
forensic hospital FALSE 257
previous killed FALSE 208
kill at killers home FALSE 320
torture FALSE 426
blindfold FALSE 363
bound FALSE 406
strangle FALSE 443
sex with body FALSE 430
mutilated FALSE 447
ate part of body FALSE 451
drank blood FALSE 442
posed body FALSE 365
totem body part FALSE 365
totem personal item FALSE 354
robbed FALSE 418


Books that Mention David Carpenter

Book: Serial Killer Rapists (mentions serial killer David Carpenter)
Kevin Smith
Serial Killer Rapists
Book: The Big Book of Serial Killers (mentions serial killer David Carpenter)
Jack Rosewood
The Big Book of Serial Killers

2 Books that mention Serial Killer
David Carpenter

ISBN10 Book Title Killers
1733630619 Serial Killer Rapists 266
1548119644 The Big Book of Serial Ki... 60

David Joseph Carpenter (born May 6, 1930), a.k.a. the Trailside Killer, is an American serial killer known for stalking and murdering several people on hiking trails in state parks near San Francisco, California. Carpenter killed at least ten people, with one attempted victim, Steven Haertle, surviving.

Wikipedia
External References
  1. David Carpenter on en.wikipedia.org, Retrieved on Sep 14, 2018.
  2. Juan Ignacio Blanco, David Joseph CARPENTER on murderpedia.org, Retrieved on Sep 14, 2018.
  3. Kristin Elink-Schuurman-Laura, Carpenter, David Joseph on skdb.fgcu.edu, Retrieved on Sep 14, 2018.
  4. George Bartenstein, Lauren Bergsten, David Carpenter on maamodt.asp.radford.edu, Retrieved on Sep 14, 2018.
  5. Q1173934 on www.wikidata.org, Retrieved on Oct 9, 2018.
  6. David Carpenter on www.serienkillers.de, Retrieved on Feb 17, 2019.
Internal References

David Carpenter is included in the following pages on Killer.Cloud the Serial Killer Database

  1. #14 of 30[ Page 1 ] of Serial Killers with birthdays in May
  2. #22 of 72[ Page 2 ] of serial killers sorted by IQ Level
  3. #24 of 53[ Page 2 ] of Serial Killer Stalkers sorted by Confirmed Victims
  4. #74 of 651[ Page 5 ] of the A-Z List of Serial Killers
  5. #82 of 185[ Page 6 ] of Taurus Serial Killers sorted by Confirmed Victims
  6. #121 of 327[ Page 9 ] of Serial Killers active in the United States
  7. #152 of 307[ Page 11 ] of Serial Killer Rapist sorted by Confirmed Victims
  8. #180 of 651[ Page 12 ] of serial killers sorted by Profile Completeness
  9. #279 of 651[ Page 19 ] of serial killers sorted by Confirmed Victims
  10. #390 of 651[ Page 26 ] of serial killers sorted by Years Active
Statistics:
Serial Killers Statistics, charts David Carpenter is included in: Active Serial Killers by Country, Serial Killers By Gender, Age of Serial Killer by Date, Killers By Astrological Sign, Killers By Birth Month, Years of School Completed, Sexual Preference, Active Serial Killers by Year and Statistical Boolean Questions.
Years Active: