Kimberly Best & Paige Sinclair

On Tuesday, October 4th, 1977, Kimberly Best and Paige Sinclair were 15-year-old high school sophomores who had run away from home in Dallas, Oregon. The girls were on the last leg of their trip. Their plan seemed to be to get jobs at Club Prima Donna, a casino and restaurant in Reno. Several witnesses reported seeing the girls at the base of Foresthill Road in Auburn between 10:00 am-2:00 pm, but nobody saw them get in a vehicle. 

Paige Sinclair

•The next day, at 10:45 am, two deer hunters were driving along Upper Lake Clementine Road, and noticed a large amount of blood on the roadway. Thinking that the blood may belong to a deer, they stopped and investigated. Looking a few feet down the embankment, they saw the bodies of both girls, laying on their backs. The location was about seven miles NE of where the I-80 runs through the city of Auburn, in Placer County. While the area was remote, the dirt road was the main route to a popular beach recreation area on Lake Clementine. The coroner confirmed that the girls had been killed shortly after they were last seen in Auburn the day before.

•Kimberly Best was found wearing her socks and moccasins, with her underpants around her ankles. Her blouse was torn, and appeared to be pulled up around her neck. It is unclear if she had been wearing a skirt or pants, and if that article was found at the scene. Kimberly had died from a close range shot to her right temple from a .38 automatic. There were no physical signs of a sexual assault, and lab results were also negative. 

•Paige Sinclair was fully clothed, but her blouse was “drawn up around her shoulders.” She had been bludgeoned to death by what appeared to be two different, unknown weapons. She had been struck at least 20 times, and her face was also beaten. She had not been sexually assaulted. The medical examiner placed the time of death for both girls at no earlier than 3:00 pm the day before, so about an hour after they were last seen in Auburn.

•Near the bodies, investigators found a green and yellow suitcase, which had clothing and jewelry belonging to the victims, and a suede coat. According to police reports, there were also several items found near the bodies that were not collected by Placer Sheriffs, including soft drink and beer cans, a shotgun shell, a notebook, cigarette papers, and a cigarette pack. It is unknown if any of those items had fingerprints, blood, or fibers, or what writing was in or on the notebook.

“The sheriff said Sacramento police were also investigating to determine if there was any link between the killing of the two Oregon girls and similar attacks involving young women in the California capital.” 

•It appeared that the girls were killed right on the road, and then placed out-of-sight down the embankment. There were hundreds of nearby places where the killer could have been alone with the girls for hours, and then hidden them where they would never be found—but he didn’t. 

• Although the dirt road is remote, being about seven miles from Auburn, it was well traveled. At the time that the girls were killed, there was a group of young people permanently camping on the beach below. The area was also a favorite teen party spot, and it was hunting season. The killer left a huge pool of blood right in the middle of the road, and the girls were only about four feet off the roadway. The killer did not seem to care if they were found quickly.

•In addition to the fishing, hunting, and SCUBA diving connections that DeAngelo would have had to Lake Clementine Road, and that access to the American River, he handled police matters involving the area:

•The house DeAngelo owned from 1976-80 was on Granite Lane, just off Auburn Ravine Road, which turns into Foresthill Road after it crosses I-80. 

•DeAngelo’s wife, Sharon, worked at the Jack-in-the-Box restaurant at the base of Foresthill Road—the last place Best and Sinclair were seen by the Auburn witnesses. It appears that they were in that area for at least four hours, immediately prior to being murdered.

•An often ignored MO of DeAngelo’s was “arresting” victims. He used his badge, uniform, car, and authority to handcuff, kidnap, and rape the 13-yr-old daughter of a Visalia PD officer. He approached her at a park near the high school, and told her she was arrested for being “truant.” She soon found herself handcuffed in the back of DeAngelo’s police car, heading out of Visalia on the freeway. He took her took a remote area near the river, raped her, made disparaging comments about her father and his status with Visalia PD, and threatened to kill her siblings and parents if she disclosed the attack. The victim believed DeAngelo because he described specific items in the bedroom of the girl’s young brother—proving that he had already been inside their home without being detected. 

•DeAngelo is a suspect in the kidnapping and homicide of Jennifer Armour, believed to have been taken in a false hitchhiking “arrest,” and a 1967 San Diego area false truancy “arrest” kidnapping and assault using a fake FBI badge. 

•DeAngelo did not work a shift at Auburn PD on October 4, 1977, so he was available to kidnap and kill Best and Sinclair, which he could have done using a false arrest ruse. 

•All of DeAngelo’s confessed homicide victims were either shot, bludgeoned, or shot and bludgeoned, so that is consistent with Best and Sinclair.