Register Misses the Big Scoop in Debunked Zodiac Daughter Story!

By Nick Schou Thu., May 7 2009 at 10:48 AM

Categories: OC Media

Pin It

The Orange County Register ran a front page story today about Deborah Perez, the Corona woman who claims her adoptive father, Guy Ward Hendrickson, a carpenter who died in 1983, was actually the Zodiac killer. In case you don't already know, Perez' colorful claim first surfaced in an April 29 press conference in San Francisco, in which she asserted to have been present for some of the actual Zodiac murders, but forgot all about them until decades later.

In newspaper jargon, Perez' story is already old news. Which leads to an important question: Why is the Register ignoring the most incredible developments in this intriguing tale, which I first exposed a few days ago in a Navel Gazing blog post revealing that Perez' biological father is actually none other than--wait for the drum roll and circus music please--US President John F. Kennedy!

Okay, so that's a slight exaggeration. I didn't break this incredible story, True Crime Report did, and the story isn't as amazing as you'd think. In fact, True Crime Report simply reported that Perez, who grew up in Tijuana before Hendrickson adopted her, once told her former boss, Chris Sorenson, then the mayor of Corona, that JFK was her dad. Not only that, she claimed, but she was even with Robert F. Kennedy the day before he was assassinated. (You can also read a story about this at our sister paper SF Weekly's blog, the Snitch).

Apparently Perez tried selling this story to true crime writer M. William Phelps a year ago. Thing is, she'd already told Phelps that Hendrickson was the Zodiac. Phelps was considering writing a book about the Zodiac claim until Perez piled on with the JFK story, at which point Phelps decided that maybe her story didn't exactly fit within the true crime genre.

In the Register's defense, the front-page Perez profile did note that not everyone believes her story. Buried near the end of the piece is the following sentence. "Critics accused Perez of avarice or called her a fame-seeker." In any case, the newspaper isn't alone in ignoring the mounting evidence that Perez is actually a real-life Forrest Gump with famous father figures. As far as we know, none of the mainstream newspapers or media outlets that have hyped Perez' amazing story have bothered following up on these fascinating new details.

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Weekly Newsletter: Our weekly feature stories, movie reviews, calendar picks and more - minus the newsprint and sent directly to your inbox.

Write Comment

Email to Friend

Print Article

Related Content

I WOULD LIKE TO ASK, WHY WOULD "SOMEONE" GO TO ALL LENGTHS DIGGING AROUND IN THE PAST SOMEONE OTHER THAN DEBRA PEREZ. THIS IS WHO THIS IS ABOUT, HER, HER WILD CLAIMS, HER LIES ABOUT JAN HENDRICKSON, ,,WHY? ANYONE CAN CALL THE SAN FRANCISCO FBI, THEY FOUND NO MERIT TO DEBRA'S STORIE'S. MOST READER'S WITH ONLY ARTICLE'S ABOUT DEBRA'S CLAIMS, DOUBT THAT SHE IS TELLING THE TRUTH-GOOD, BECAUSE SHE IS NOT. IF MY FATHER HAD A FAULT,THAT WAS PASSED DOWN TO HIS REAL CHILDREN WHO LOVED HIM, IT WOULD BE HIS CAPACITY FOR TONS OF COMPASSION FOR HIS FELLOW MAN,WOMAN AND CHLDREN. THIS IS WHY HE TOOK ON THE TREMENDOUS JOB OF BRINGING JUST ONE LARGE FAMILY UP FROM POVERTY IN TIJUANA MEXICO--AN ADULT FAMILY MEMEBER ACCOMPANIED HIM TO VISIT THEM IN THAT POVERTY, ALONG WITH A DAUGHTER. WE ALL HAD COMPASSION ON THEM, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE HAD TO FRISK THEM FOR STOLEN ITEMS FROM OUR HOMES. I JUST FLOORS ME THAT ONE SEVEN YR OLD?? COULD CONJUR UP ALL THIS "BALONEY". JH 07/17/09 CONTACT jang9333@aol.com
THIS IS SUCH A SHAM,,, WHY DO THE "TRUTH FINDER'S" GET PAID TO FIND THE TRUTH AND NOT INVESTIGATE ALL THE FALSE CLAIMS OF MS DEBRA PEREZ? I AM A DIVORCED, MOM OF FOUR, DIVORCED YEARS AGO,,OPP'S THAT MAKES YOUR LONG "INFO" BORING ABOVE ANCHIENT. BUT WE ADULTS IN GUY WARD'S FAMLY, DO NOT HAVE TO BE PUT ON "TRIAL" HERE, WE ARE NOT THE ONE'S NEEDING OUR "REPRESSED MEMORIES DEBRA?" INVESTIGATED REMEMBER? WE ARE NOT THE ONES TO RUN TO THE MEDIA, OR TELL OUR BOSS WE ARE THE ILLEGIT DAUGHTER OF PRESIDENT JFK LIKE YOU HAVE DEBRA PEREZ. WHY DO YOU KEEP SAYING THESE FALSE THINGS? WHY NOT REALLY DO A DECENT INVESTIGATION INTO THAT CASE YOU SO WILLINGLY PRINTED ALL OUT ABOVE? FIND OUT WHY THE CA.SUP.COURT HAS OVERTURNED THAT CASE TWICE,AND THE JUDGE COMMITTED SUICIDE FOR BEING CAUGHT MOLESTING HIS OWN DAUGHTER? BECAUSE, YOU ALL STAND TO MAKE ALOT OF MONEY ON MY DEAD FATHERS GRAVE WITH YOUR FALSE TALES, FANTASIES,MOVIE,DOCUMENTARY AND BOOKS!! SHAME ON YOU DEBRA, FOR ALL THE HURT AND TROUBLE YOU ARE CAUSING THE FAMILY OF A NICE CARPENTER, WHO RESCUED NOT ONLY YOU BUT YOUR WHOLE FAMILY FROM STARVATION! IN TIA JUANA MEXICO. I WILL PRAY FOR YOU TO GET THE MENTAL HELP YOU NEED NOW. JANICE HENDRICKSON, GWH SECOND NATURAL AND LOVING DAUGHTER.
JANICE GAY HENDRICKSON JANICE GAY EXAMPLES OF YOUR DENIAL AND DECISION MAKING MENTAL STABILITY: YOU CANT FOOL ALL OF THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME: LEST YE BE JUDGED: OFFICER'S KILLER MERITS DEATH, PROSECUTOR TELLS VALLEY JURY MEDAL OF VALOR WINNER'S 1983 SLAYING SUBJECT OF RETRIAL. Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer SAN FERNANDO San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (s?n f?rn?n`d?), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. - Convicted cop killerCop Killer may refer to: Mumia Abu-Jamal,convicted and on death row for the murder of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner on December 9, 1981. Rapper Christopher "Cool C" Rooney,convicted and on death row for the murder of Philadelphia Police Officer Lauretha ..... Click the link for more information. Kenneth Gay should be sentenced to death because of his brutal, execution-style slaying of a Valley police officer 17 years ago, a county prosecutor told a jury Wednesday. ``This was a cold-blooded, calculated, brutal, savage, sadistic sa�dism n. 1. The deriving of sexual gratification or the tendency to derive sexual gratification from inflicting pain or emotional abuse on others. 2. The deriving of pleasure, or the tendency to derive pleasure, from cruelty. , merciless, remorseless killing,'' said Deputy District Attorney Lawrence Morrisson in San Fernando Superior Court. ``The proper penalty is death. Anything less than the penalty of death is a reward.'' Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer SAN FERNANDOSan Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (s?n f?rn?n`d?), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. ..... Click the link for more information. - Convicted cop killerCop Killer may refer to: Mumia Abu-Jamal,convicted and on death row for the murder of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner on December 9, 1981. Rapper Christopher "Cool C" Rooney,convicted and on death row for the murder of Philadelphia Police Officer Lauretha ..... Click the link for more information. Kenneth Gay should be sentenced to death because of his brutal, execution-style slaying of a Valley police officer 17 years ago, a county prosecutor told a jury Wednesday. ``This was a cold-blooded, calculated, brutal, savage, sadistic sa�dism n. 1. The deriving of sexual gratification or the tendency to derive sexual gratification from inflicting pain or emotional abuse on others. 2. The deriving of pleasure, or the tendency to derive pleasure, from cruelty. , merciless, remorseless killing,'' said Deputy District Attorney Lawrence Morrisson in San Fernando Superior Court. ``The proper penalty is death. Anything less than the penalty of death is a reward.'' Ads by GoogleDr. Barbara E. Miner Psychotherapist. Heal and Grow. Visit my site for more information: barbaraminer.com Therapy for Anxiety Effective Short-Term Psychotherapy. Experienced Therapist & UCLA Prof. CognitiveTherapyLA.com Morrisson presented his closing arguments during a penalty phase retrial retrial n. a new trial granted upon the motion of the losing party, based on obvious error, bias or newly-discovered evidence. (See: newly-discovered evidence) hearing for Gay, who was convicted of killing LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. Officer Paul Verna during a traffic stop in 1983. Verna's family and about 25 uniformed motorcycle officers from the Valley Traffic Division showed their support for the slain officer by attending Wednesday's court session. Also in the courtroom, hung over a chair, was the leather police jacket Verna wore the day he was killed, bullet holes intact. Verna, a Valley Traffic Division motorcycle officer who won the Los Angeles Los Angeles (l�n`j?l?s, l?s, ?n`j?l?z'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Police Department's Medal of ValorFor other medals of the same name, see . The Medal of Valor (O't Ha'gvora, Hebrew: ????? ??????) is the highest Israeli Military decoration. ..... Click the link for more information. nine months before his death, was shot June 2, 1983, during a traffic stop on Hoyt Street in Lake View Terrace. Gay and several associates in a stolen getaway car were fleeing the scene of a robbery that day, and crossed Verna's path when they failed to stop at a stop sign in a quiet residential neighborhood. Raynard Cummings fired the first shot, which hit Verna in the neck. As Verna tried to grab his service revolver, Gay fired several more rounds at Verna as he lay on the ground. Cummings and Gay, who had been passengers in the stolen getaway car, were convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1985. In 1994, the state Supreme Court affirmed their convictions and death sentences. In 1998, the Supreme Court granted Gay a new penalty hearing because he did not have adequate representation during that phase of the trial. Over the course of the five-week retrial that began Sept. 11, Gay's public defenders called up reverends, investigators and fellow inmates who described Gay as religious now. For nearly 15 years Gay has been on San Quentin's Death Row, where he got married 12 years ago. His wife, Janice Gay, has been attending the court sessions, and visited Gay at a maximum security prison in Castaic where he has been incarceratedincarcerated /in�car�cer�at�ed/ (in-kahr�ser-at?ed) imprisoned; constricted; subjected to incarceration. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- in�car�cer�at�ed adj. Confined or trapped, as a hernia. ..... Click the link for more information. during the trial. ``I think the judge is very biased and cruel-hearted,'' she said in an interview outside court. Yet, ``I have a lot of confidence in (Gay's) lawyers, and that they are sincere and not cruel-hearted. They are doing their best to show my husband's innocence.'' Officer's Killer Again Gets Death By CAITLIN LIU, TIMES STAFF WRITER December 05, 2000 LAPD Officer Paul Verna's widow looked across the courtroom at her husband's killer, who had just been sentenced to death for the second time in 15 years. "I don't accept your apology--I never will," said a tearful Sandy Jackson on Monday. "You viciously took Paul's life and a part of us." Closure for her family will only come when Kenneth Gay is put to death, Jackson said, in a San Fernando courtroom packed with Verna's family and Los Angeles police officers, including Verna's now-grown son, Bryce. Gay, soon to be the 172nd person from Los Angeles County to be on death row out of the 565 in the state, continued to insist that another man had killed Verna. He blamed his plight on a corrupt defense attorney who represented him during his first trial in 1985. "I've never murdered anyone," said Gay, speaking out for the first time since his penalty-phase retrial in San Fernando Superior Court. He offered an apology for causing the family pain by insisting on his innocence. Gay was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1983 Lake View Terrace slaying that he and his new defense lawyers argued he did not commit. In 1998, the California Supreme Court overturned the death penalty on the grounds of incompetent counsel, but left intact the guilty verdict. After a retrial, a San Fernando jury in October unanimously recommended death, and Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge L. Jeffrey Wiatt agreed Monday. Gay acknowledged that he has committed "a number of horrible crimes" in the past, but maintained that another man, Raynard Cummings, was the person who shot and killed Verna. According to prosecutors, Cummings fired the first shot at Verna before passing the gun to Gay, who fired the remaining five bullets. Cummings was also convicted of first-degree murder in 1985 and is currently on death row. Wiatt said overwhelming evidence against Gay fully supported the death sentence. "You murdered in cold blood Officer Paul Verna," Wiatt said. During the retrial, witnesses testified about Gay's violent past, including robbery victims who recounted how the ex-con had beaten them, and an ex-girlfriend who testified that he firebombed her family's house. Several prosecution witnesses, including Cummings' former wife, Pamela, also testified they saw Gay shoot Verna. EXECUTION JOURNAL - Add Gas Chamber to the List of Marriage's Stresses By AMY WALLACE, TIMES STAFF WRITER April 19, 1992 SAN QUENTIN � In spite of it all, Janice Gay wanted a traditional wedding. Determined to spruce up the drab prison cell that would serve as her chapel, she ordered flowers and a small, heart-shaped cake. She bought a long, lacy wedding dress--light blue, to match her groom's state-issue uniform. And then, on a Thursday in June, 1989, she went to San Quentin prison and married the man who, against all odds, had won her heart: Death Row inmate Kenneth Gay, one of two men convicted of the 1983 murder of a Los Angeles police officer. "We fell in love behind glass," Janice said, recalling when they first met, she and the man she calls "Kenny" sat on opposite sides of a dirty, plate-glass window, trading hellos on a prison telephone. Today, three years since they wed, Janice says their love has endured. "I'd have to look a long way to find a man who has the depth my husband does," she said. "We've broadened together." But stress takes its toll on any marriage. And for the women--and there are several--who have met, fallen for and married condemned men, these are very stressful times. As the state prepared to carry out its first execution in 25 years, Janice Gay, founder and chairwoman of a support group called Wives, Families & Friends, is hearing from these women every day. She does not care what their husbands were convicted of. Usually, she does not even ask. Instead, she talks to them about their anxiety--and about her own. "I'm ending up this advocate for a lot of loose ends," she said. As the governor and the courts refused to spare Robert Alton Harris' life, she said she had "a feeling of sliding right off a cliff." Janice Gay, a nurse's aide and artist who is in her 40s, is a crusader. She believes that her husband, now 34, is innocent--that he did not fire five bullets into Paul Verna, a 35-year-old Medal of Valor officer. She also believes that if somehow more people could get to know the men on Death Row, like she has, the gas chamber would never take another life. Many people think she is wacko. Her grown children from a previous marriage are embarrassed by her public statements, she says. Recently, one daughter told her she was not welcome to visit a new grandchild. But her romance with Kenneth Gay, she says, is the most mature relationship she has ever had. Devotion, loyalty and trust--are not those the qualities most women want in a marriage? Well, she says, she has them. By AMY WALLACE, TIMES STAFF WRITER April 19, 1992 And, although California does not allow conjugal visits, she says "there are intimacies. . . . I don't see any reason why I would ever be happier with anyone else." AMERICANS FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE! WHAT SAY YE?
when i saw this story on cnn, i knew that this was a Munchhausen syndrome by proxy type. no way this story washes. another sign of what is going to happen as investigative journalism dies, and the newspapers die. all hype no one to back up and follow thru.......... we are doomed.......
JH (from the comment above), I'm guessing that you and Deborah have never been close or in recent contact, since you used the spelling "Debra" in your post, but I'm hoping that you would know how I might find her. I'm a neutral observer in the case -- my only interest being in the unsolved cryptograms. I'd like to give her a brief test that could immediately confirm or debunk her claims. Please contact me at BreakingCodes@gmail.com.
THANK YOU!! I THOUGHT THE SAME WHEN IT WAS FIRST REPORTED ON THE STEPS OF THE SAN FRAN CHRONICLE NEWS,WITH DEBRA,HER DISBARRED ATTORNEY-MOUTH PIECE, FORMER PARTNER OF THE FLAMBOENT ATTORNEY MELVIN BELLI IN SF,NOW DECEASED. DEBRA SURE "REMEMBER'S" ALOT ABOUT MY NATURAL BORN FATHER,,, DAD WAS FULL OF TALE'S,A BIT OF A DREAMER,AN INVENTOR,ADVENTEROUS LOVING AND KIND,AND HE DID HAVE A RATHER SOCIALISTIC BENT ON LIFE. BUT A KILLER? WEARING A HOOD SHE EMBROIDERED? LOL HIS WRITINGS THAT WILL BE TURNED OVER NOW TO THE FBI, WERE RIGHT ON TARGET ABOUT WHAT IS CURRENTLY HAPPENING IN THE WORLD TODAY, WEALTH-GREED-CORRUPTION UNCHECKED-INFLATION,RECESSION.(BIG PAY OFF'S ), HUGE BONUS',POVERTY,CRIME AND CORRUPTION,,,,,,, A FLOURISHING COUNTRY -AMERICA, AND OTHERS, WHO DID NOT SEEM TO NOTICE THE TOTAL POVERTY/STARVATION IN MEXICO-TIA JUANA ETC.AT THAT TIME. HE COULD NOT ACCEPT IT,SO HE TRIED HIS BEST TO RESCUE JUST ONE FAMILY,DEBRA'S! IF YOU KNEW DAD, YOU USUALLY LOVED DAD. I REMEMBER WHEN DAD TALKED ABOUT THE POOR GARCIA FAMILY HE FOUND, AND HE EVENTUALLY MARRIED LUPE,DEBRA'S MOTHER, SHE WAS A GOLD DIGGER,HE KNEW IT,LUPE CAME UP AND SUED TACO BELLE. -EVENTUALLY LUPE WAS SCOFFING AT MY DAD BEHIND HIS BACK,MOVING IN MY DADS "FRIEND"WITH HER ,SO DAD DIVORCED HER. HE WAS DEVISTATED!!. THE DAY BEFORE MY FATHER DIED, WHILE HIS FAMILY WAS PUTTING HIM IN THE HOSPITAL, LUPE AND CHILDREN WERE RANSACKING HIS TINY APT FOR WHAT THEY COULD TAKE OF DAD'S.(REMEMBER LUPE WAS NO LONGER HIS WIFE) (ONE GIRL HAD PLAYED POKER ON THE STREETS OF TJ FOR MONEY, SHE WAS ONLY ABOUT SIX OR SEVEN AT THAT TIME). ONE WAS RETARDED FROM MAL NUTRICIAN, THE TINY YOUNGEST LUPE'S BABY, DIED OF MAL NUTRICIAN BEFORE DAD COULD RESCUE HER TOO.THE BOY HAD A BIG POT BELLY AND RETARDATION. ,LUPE WAS A DIME A DANCE GIRL TO SUPPORT THEM ALL IN TJ,SO DAD MARRIED LUPE/THE MOTHER, WITH ALL THESE ILLEGITIMENT CHILDREN , FATHERED BY A MARRIED MAN IN SAN DIEGO. DAD TOOK HIM TO COURT TO MAKE HIM PAY CHILD SUPPORT-AND WON!. DAD SPENT ALL OF HIS EARNINGS AND HIS LIFE INSURANCE ON THEM,COURT COSTS,AND FEEDING THEM,GIVING THEM ALL THE CHANCE TO BECOME CITIZENS, WHILE HE DIED IN POVERTY HELPING THEM. YOU CAN ONLY IMAGINE OUR HORROR AT MS PEREZ' CLAIM'S! I HOPE SHE GOES BACK TO SELLING HOMES AND NOT "STORIES" -JFK'S DAUGHTER? ,BOOKS AND HER "DOCUMENTARY" ???!!!. WE ARE CO- OPERATING WITH THE SF FBI. I THINK OF AN OLD SAYING " OH WHAT A TANGLED WEB WE WEAVE, WHEN FIRST WE PRACTICE TO DECIEVE'. I HOPE DEBRA'S FILM GOE'S NO WHERE! JH OF CA. DAD'S DAUGHTER
Perez is just another publicity seeker like thousands of other kooks who claim they were or knew the "Zodiac Killer"..an infamous unsolved murder in Riverside is the case of Cheryl Bates who was killed next to the old Riverside City College library in late October, 1966. The killer may have been the Zodiac, three years before the killing spree in the Bay Area according to a Zodiac fan. How many nuts claimed that they kidnapped the Lindbergh baby in 1932? Thousands?