Halloween Murder Spree Claims Seven

by Catherine Snotgrass

Los Angeles and Orange County law enforcement agencies are still trying to piece together the horrific story behind the murder spree that claimed the lives of seven people on Halloween night. Santa Ana police say that the body of 25 year old May Canady, along with the remains of an unidentified person were found Thursday, Nov. 4th, at an apartment on Cypress Street in Tustin. The apartment was leased to Canady and according to neighbors and the managers, Canady lived alone.

Police are still speculating whether or not Canady carried out the murders and then committed suicide. Her left eye was gouged out and the eyeball was found near her body.

The other corpse appeared to have been dressed post portem in clothing haphazardly quilted together. Scraps of fabric and bloody toilet paper were scattered near the bodies. Canady owned a sewing machine. Some of the clothing was actually "stiched into the skin" of this second body. It also appeared that body parts had been removed and then sewn on with thick black surgical suture material.

A search of the apartment yielded other grisley human remains, including the head of an unidentified male in the freezer. What appeared to be the remans of a cat or other small animal was found wrapped in plastic in the freezer, most of its fur removed.

Canady was an employee of Zarkezian's Animal Hospital in Tustin. Dr. Ahmed Zarkezian, the veterinarian Canady worked with, stated the young woman had missed several days of work in a row in late October and had appeared "very depressed about something". She had returned to work for two days, only to disappear again, this time without calling in. Zarkezian stated that several surgical tools were taken from his establishment, and that he never suspected that Canady would be the person who took them.

However, upon discovery of Canady's body and the other human remains in her apartment, police discovered scalpels, a large bone saw, and other instruments with human blood and bone fragments on them. Zarkezian reported another employee missing: 26 year old Polly Marks of Sherman Oaks. Marks was a receptionist who worked Zarkezian's front office and had only been employed with him for about three months. Marks and Canady had always gotten along well, stated Zarkezian.

Police broke into Marks' home on the 5th and discovered her body sprawled on the living room floor. Her head and neck were missing and the head was found underneath her bathroom sink. The neck has not been found.

Another body found in Marks' home was that of 24 year old Ambrosia Hooker. Hooker's legs were missing. An investigation into her background revealed she lived alone in West Hollywood and had a record of two arrests for prostitution. Police are unable to determine whether or not there had been some kind of confrontation between Marks, Hooker and Canady.

Two more bizzare murders took place at a home on Lark Avenue in Anaheim. After a frantic call to police made by 26 year old Robert Johnson, the bodies of 26 year old Adam Stubbs and 25 year old Lorna Hooper were found. Stubbs' hands were gone, and Hooper's ears had been removed.

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