City · California, United States

True crime cases in San Francisco

13case filesUpdated Jul 16, 2026

Casepin holds 13 case files in San Francisco. By legal status, 5 marked unsolved and 8 marked solved.

5unsolved 8solved

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Files: 13
Unsolved: 5
Solved: 8
Span: 1877–2022
With coverage: 2
Creators: 4

Map of the 13 case files in San Francisco, pinned by legal status — 13 files in San FranciscoPins coloured by legal statusExplore live

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The files to open first

Credit: Stine family scrapbook, via zodiackiller.comEditorial useSourceUNSOLVEDListen
San Francisco Bay Area, California (multiple crime scenes including Benicia, Vallejo, Napa County, and San Francisco) · 1960s
Zodiac Killer case
An unidentified serial killer known as "Zodiac" killed at least five people and wounded two others in Northern California between December 1968 and October 1969, taunting police and press with letters and ciphers. The case remains unsolved despite thousands of proposed suspects and decades of investigation.
4 to watch & hear
Credit: Daniel ArauzCC BY 2.0SourceSOLVEDListen
Pacific Heights, San Francisco, California, United States · 2022
Attack on Paul Pelosi
On October 28, 2022, David Wayne DePape broke into the San Francisco home of Paul Pelosi, husband of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and beat him with a hammer, fracturing his skull, after planning to take Nancy Pelosi hostage.
1 thing to watch or hear
Credit: StaceyEOBCC BY-SA 4.0SourceUNSOLVEDListen
Crocker Galleria, San Francisco, California · 1997
Disappearance of Kristen Modafferi
Kristen Modafferi, an 18-year-old college student, vanished in San Francisco on June 23, 1997, after finishing a shift at a coffee shop. Her disappearance remains unsolved as of 2025.
Credit: California Department of CorrectionsPublic domainSourceSOLVEDListen
San Francisco, California, United States · 1973
Zebra murders
Between October 1973 and April 1974, a group calling itself the "Death Angels" killed at least fifteen white people and wounded eight others in racially motivated attacks across San Francisco, prompting a controversial police manhunt known as Operation Zebra and the eventual conviction of four men.
Credit: San Francisco ExaminerPublic domainSourceUNSOLVEDListen
Steuart Street near Market Street, San Francisco, California · 1916
Preparedness Day bombing
A suitcase bomb packed with shrapnel exploded during San Francisco's Preparedness Day Parade on July 22, 1916, killing 10 and wounding 40. Labor leaders Thomas Mooney and Warren Billings were convicted based on testimony later shown to be false; both were eventually pardoned, and the bombers' identities remain unknown.
Image recordCC BY-SA 4.0SourceSOLVEDListen
101 California Street, San Francisco, California, United States · 1993
101 California Street shooting
On July 1, 1993, a gunman opened fire inside a San Francisco office tower at 101 California Street, killing eight people and injuring six others before killing himself as police closed in.
Image recordCC BY-SA 2.0SourceSOLVEDListen
Ingleside, San Francisco, California, United States · 2012
Lei family murders
Five members of a Chinese immigrant family were found beaten to death in their Ingleside, San Francisco home in March 2012; a family friend, Binh Thai Luc, was later convicted of all five murders and sentenced to five consecutive life terms.
Image recordEditorial useSourceUNSOLVEDListen
Clara Street, South of Market, San Francisco, California · 2018
Death of Brian Egg
In August 2018, the remains of 65-year-old Brian Egg were found concealed in a fish tank inside his San Francisco home after neighbors and family reported him missing; his death was ruled a homicide caused by blunt-force trauma, and although two men were briefly held as persons of interest, no one has been convicted.
Image recordCC BY-SA 4.0SourceUNSOLVEDListen
Golden Gate Bridge / Crissy Field, San Francisco, California · 2020
Disappearance of Sydney West
Sydney Kaitlyn West, a 19-year-old UC Berkeley student, vanished near San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge on the morning of September 30, 2020, after being seen on surveillance footage walking into heavy fog and wildfire smoke. Her case remains unresolved.
SOLVEDListen
San Francisco Chinatown and City Hall sand-lots, San Francisco, California · 1877
San Francisco riot of 1877
A three-day riot targeting Chinese immigrants swept San Francisco's Chinatown and surrounding neighborhoods from July 23 to July 25, 1877, killing four people and destroying more than $100,000 in Chinese-owned property.

About these files

Case files in San Francisco

The files run from 1877 to 2022. The 2010s hold the most, with 3 files. The oldest is San Francisco riot of 1877, from 1877.

By type, the largest groups are murder and homicide cases (7), hate crime cases (3) and robbery and burglary cases (2).

2 files of the 13 have coverage attached: 5 videos, podcasts and documentaries from 4 creators. The most covered is Zodiac Killer case, with 4 items to watch or hear. The Casual Criminalist, Kendall Rae and Bailey Sarian have covered the most of them.

Every file is written from cited sources and pinned where it happened, and every person named carries the legal status the record gives them. If you hold information about an unsolved case, contact the investigating agency named in its file rather than posting it publicly. Families and anyone involved can request a correction from any file.

Every file

Every case file in San Francisco

13 files

Paul Stine, late 1950s — Credit: Stine family scrapbook, via zodiackiller.comEditorial useSource
UNSOLVED AudioZodiac Killer caseSan Francisco Bay Area, California (multiple crime scenes including Benicia, Vallejo, Napa County, and San Francisco) · 1960s · 4 to watch & hear
2020-07-04-Code-Pink-Car-Caravan-in-San-Francisco-California 1,346 (50077894771) (cropped and rotated) — Credit: Daniel ArauzCC BY 2.0 Source
SOLVED AudioAttack on Paul PelosiPacific Heights, San Francisco, California, United States · 2022 · 1 thing to watch or hear
Kristen Modafferi (cropped) — Credit: StaceyEOBCC BY-SA 4.0 Source
UNSOLVED AudioDisappearance of Kristen ModafferiCrocker Galleria, San Francisco, California · 1997
"Zebra Killers" mugshots, 1974 - l to r, Manuel Moore, Larry Green, Jessie Lee Cooks, JCX Simon — Credit: California Department of CorrectionsPublic domainSource
SOLVED AudioZebra murdersSan Francisco, California, United States · 1973
Thomas Mooney July 1916 (cropped) — Credit: San Francisco ExaminerPublic domainSource
UNSOLVED AudioPreparedness Day bombingSteuart Street near Market Street, San Francisco, California · 1916
A suicide-prevention sign and crisis phone on the Golden Gate Bridge, San FranciscoCC BY-SA 3.0 Source
SOLVED AudioSuicides at the Golden Gate BridgeGolden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California · 1937
101 California Street office tower, San Francisco — the shooting siteCC BY-SA 4.0 Source
SOLVED Audio101 California Street shooting101 California Street, San Francisco, California, United States · 1993
City College of San Francisco, Ocean Avenue campus — in the Ingleside neighborhood where the Lei family (five victims) was killed at 16 Howth StreetCC BY-SA 2.0 Source
SOLVED AudioLei family murdersIngleside, San Francisco, California, United States · 2012
Brian Egg — the victimEditorial use Source
UNSOLVED AudioDeath of Brian EggClara Street, South of Market, San Francisco, California · 2018
The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco — the area Sydney West was last seen walking toward on Sept 30, 2020CC BY-SA 4.0 Source
UNSOLVED AudioDisappearance of Sydney WestGolden Gate Bridge / Crissy Field, San Francisco, California · 2020
SOLVED AudioSan Francisco riot of 1877San Francisco Chinatown and City Hall sand-lots, San Francisco, California · 1877
SOLVED AudioMurder of Robert HillsboroughNineteenth and Lexington Streets, Mission District, San Francisco, CA · 1977
SOLVED AudioSan Francisco UPS shootingUPS facility, 320 San Bruno Avenue, Potrero Hill · 2017

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Unsolved, cold and solved in California

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Questions

What people ask

How many case files in San Francisco are on Casepin?

13. By status: 5 unsolved and 8 solved. The count covers published files only and changes as new files clear review.

What is the oldest of these files?

San Francisco riot of 1877, from 1877. Open the file

Which case in San Francisco has the most coverage?

Zodiac Killer case, with 4 videos, podcasts and documentaries linked from its file. Open the file

Which creators have covered case files in San Francisco?

The Casual Criminalist (1 case), Kendall Rae (1 case) and Bailey Sarian (1 case), among 4 creators in all.

How current is this page?

It rebuilds hourly from the published files; the newest file change here is dated Jul 16, 2026. A status changes only when the record behind it does.

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