Paula Baxter was 17 when she was murdered on February 4, 1976. She was last seen after a play rehearsal at Capuchino High School in San Mateo County. Her abandoned car was found, and two days later her nude body was located behind the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Ludeman Lane in Millbrae. She had been stabbed four times, sexually assaulted, and struck on the head with a piece of concrete.

Paula’s killing was part of a series later called the Gypsy Hill killings affecting several young women in the region in early 1976. Investigators linked her murder to 18-year-old Veronica Cascio through forensic evidence. Decades later DNA testing tied both murders to Rodney Halbower, a convicted offender serving time in Oregon. Halbower was extradited to California, convicted in September 2018 of the murders of Paula Baxter and Veronica Cascio, and sentenced to concurrent life terms; he was required to complete his Oregon sentence first and remained in prison. His defense indicated plans to appeal, raising mental health and trial concerns.

Does anyone have memories of Capuchino High School or the Millbrae area from 1976 that might shed light on Paula’s last movements?