Infamous Killers: Minds, Motives, and Murders

Blood in the Bay: The DNA Hunt for Charles Jackson

By David G. Stone

Quick Summary

Blood in the Bay: The DNA Hunt for Charles Jackson delivers a gripping investigation into one of the most significant forensic breakthroughs in Oakland’s criminal history. For decades, a string of brutal murders from the 1970s and 80s remained unsolved, haunting the East Bay unti…

Blood in the Bay: The DNA Hunt for Charles Jackson delivers a gripping investigation into one of the most significant forensic breakthroughs in Oakland’s criminal history. For decades, a string of brutal murders from the 1970s and 80s remained unsolved, haunting the East Bay until advanced DNA profiling finally unmasked the killer.

Author David G. Stone reconstructs the painstaking cold case investigation that linked a deceased handyman, Charles Jackson, to at least seven murders across the San Francisco Bay Area. Through declassified police files, forensic lab reports, and interviews with the original detectives, this book explores how modern STR DNA technology and genetic genealogy finally provided answers for families who had waited forty years for justice.

More than a true crime procedural, Blood in the Bay is a testament to the persistence of investigators and a haunting look at a predator who hid in plain sight, proving that while secrets can be buried for a lifetime, the truth eventually surfaces.