Daemon S. Francis was 4 years old when he was killed on January 25, 1973, in Santa Cruz County, California. He and his family were found dead in a remote cabin outside Santa Cruz on January 24, 1973; reports name his mother, Kathy Prentiss Francis, 29, and his older brother, David Hughes, 9, among the victims. The deaths were part of a series of killings carried out by Herbert Mullin during a violent spree that shocked the community.

Mullin, 25 at the time and described as having a history of drug use and mental instability, reportedly purchased several firearms and initially intended to kill a high school friend, Jim Gianera. After finding Gianera had moved, Mullin killed Gianera and his wife, Joan, at their new home, then returned to the Francis cabin and murdered Kathy Francis and her two sons, including Daemon. Investigators linked bullets in the victims to a pistol found in Mullin’s possession and charged him with multiple murders.

What details about the Francis family or the remote cabin might help clarify what happened that night for readers who remember the area?