Pigeon Boy

I'm not sure who originally found this story, but this happened in December of 1947. A man named William J. Keating found spears in his back yard with notes attached to them. The notes were signed as "The Red Phantom," who was a 9 year old boy. Zodiac, of course, once mailed a letter that he had signed as The Red Phantom as well, so this is interesting. The boy (also referred to as "Pigeon Boy") who threw the spears, if the newspaper has his age accurate, would have been born in 1938, but could have been born at the end of 1937 as well.










It has been determined by researchers that William J. Keating lived at 918 Evelyn Ave, Albany, CA. in 1947. This gives us an area to work around. The only problem is that I cannot find a 1947 Albany directory. The best option was to use the 1940 census and hope that something would come of it. Within a 2 block radius, the only family I found with a son in the appropriate age range was the Verga family living at 914 Evelyn, 2 houses down from Keating's home. I must also mention that Keating was not listed at 918 Evelyn in 1940, so he must have moved there at some point between 1940 and 1947. At 918 Evelyn in the 1940 census was the Bruno family, who also had a son, Richard, who would have been the right age to be "Pigeon Boy," but the Bruno family would have had to move before 1947. They most likely moved out of the neighborhood, maybe even to another city or state.

It's hard to find anything on the Verga kid, but here is what I have come up with thus far...

John C. Verga (still living)
DOB: Nov. 30, 1938 (in San Francisco)
Parents: Charles "Carlo" S. Verga (DOB: April 21, 1910) and Nellan Raffanti Verga (DOB: October 20, 1909)
Siblings: Charlene Verga (DOB: Feb. 24, 1933 - married, I believe in late 1953, to Henry "Hank" Richard Tigri) and Barbara Marie Verga (DOB: Sept. 6, 1936)
Spouse: Dawnita M. Verga
Children: David C. Verga (DOB: April 28, 1964, died Nov. 5, 2007), John Christopher Verga
Grandchildren: Tawny Verga (DOB: March 23, 1993..... daughter of David C. Verga and Nicki Kay Bogdanoff Verga-DOB: July 1, 1962)

Known addresses for our John Verga...
Known addresses:
John C Verga
176 Oak Creek Blvd
Scotts Valley, CA 95066

John C Verga
1024 San Diego Rd
Santa Barbara, CA 93103

John Verga
2902 Hidalgo Ct
San Jose, CA 95125

John C Verga
15840 Old County Hwy
Boulder Creek, CA 95006

John C Verga
2034 Colusa Way
San Jose, CA 95130

John C Verga
5912 Valley Dr
Felton, CA 95018

NOTE: Pigeon Boy most likely attended Cornell Elementary in Albany at the time of this incident. The school was right around the corner from the Keating house.

I'm pretty sure this is the same John C. Verga. A daughter born April 9, 1971

I'm pretty sure he has a daughter named Dawnita so I'd guess this is her.

My 7 day free trial to newspapers.com expired right after getting this article... boo!!!

EDIT: Fuckers charged my account over $80 for a one year subscription that I wasn't planning on keeping.

According to morf over at zodiackillersite.com, "The threat was against a WILLIAM J. KEATING. Darlene Ferrin's Brother, Leo, is related somehow to a William J. Keating, age 60."

This would be Keating's son, William Jr. And he worked at Union Oil in Vallejo in 1970.

NAME: William J. Keating (this is the one that received the threat, not his son, William Jr.)
BIRTH: 6 Jan 1925
DEATH: 17 Oct 1987 - Vallejo, Solano, California, USA
CIVIL: California

I found a Bill Keating in the class of '59 for Albany H.S., but there was no photo available. I'm 99% sure that would be William Jr. There was a William James Keating born July 5, 1941 in Alameda County. Mother's maiden name Perine. Has a sister named Linda Marie Keating born May 06, 1943. I'd assume that is the same guy that graduated in 1959 from Albany HS. Either the William J. Keating listed as being born in 1925 had a kid when he was only 16, or 1925 might not be accurate for his year of birth. Or he is not actually the father of William James Keating, which is unlikely. How many William J. Keatings could there be in Albany (population of less than 20,000).

EDIT: Here is the 1959 Sr. photo of William James Keating.

Albany is a pretty small city. I have a list of names I could find of Albany H.S. grads between 1954 and 1958. If Pigeon Boy was a genius, he could have graduated a year or two early. If he was a dumb shit, he may have graduated a year or two late, if at all. So I gave myself a 4 year window. He probably was born in 1938 as I mentioned previously, but also could have been born at the tail end of 1937. So I am going through this list trying to find DOBs on these people. I have crossed several names off the list because their DOB would make them too young or too old to be Pigeon Boy. I will post names of the ones I can verify were 9 years old at the time of the incident. If we can somehow find addresses on these guys then that would help a ton. I think anywhere within a half-mile square radius of the Keating house should be good.

If we can place anyone within that area, and their age is a match, then we can go from there. Right now, John C. Verga is the only name we have and we are not positive he lived at that Evelyn Ave. address in 1947. We know he lived there in 1940, but his father died in 1941 so it's really hard to say if the widow and children stayed or moved. The house is only 822 sq. feet, so it may have been cheap and affordable for the family.

This is one of the best topics to read about. I wish we could find the kids identity and see if he suffered from any mental diseases as a young boy.

Jan. 13, 1948

There was a masked wrestler called Red Phantom (wrestling out of Fresno) during this time as well. He also used the names Red Scorpion, Red Hangman and Red Mask. His real name was Thomas C. Rice, born Feb. 19, 1914 in Bozeman, Montana and died Aug. 24, 1996.

I wonder if Pigeon Boy saw Tom wrestle and was inspired to use the alias of the Red Phantom. Tom may have been too old to be the Zodiac, but he was in excellent shape his entire life so he may have looked younger than he actually was.

Here's his obit:
A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. today at St. Ignatius Church in San Francisco for Thomas C. Rice, a retired insurance executive who led a long and colorful life as an athlete and a booster of the University of San Francisco.

Mr. Rice, who was 82, died in Santa Rosa on Saturday after a series of strokes.

He was a philanthropist who made a living for awhile as a professional wrestler who called himself "The Masked Marvel," a business executive who prided himself on physical conditioning.

Mr. Rice swam in San Francisco Bay every day, and when he was 63 he towed a 200-ton sailing vessel several hundred yards. At the age of 67 he was strong enough to pull a 120-ton San Francisco tour boat 200 yards using a backstroke and a harness. The boat was loaded with USF alumni; it was a stunt for the school's annual fund drive.

USF was one of his passions. He played football there in the late 1930s at the old Kezar Stadium. He was captain of the team and was good enough to make All-Pacific Coast as a tackle.

He served in the Coast Guard during World War II and after the war embarked on a 20-year long career as a pro wrestler. At first, he called himself "The Red Scorpion" and then "The Red Phantom." After awhile, however, he became "The Masked Marvel."

"He wrestled with all the greats, including Man Mountain Dean, Monte Montana and Strangler Lewis," said Al Alessandri, a lifelong friend. These were the days when pro wrestling, which featured matches between good guys and bad guys, was a big draw.

Tom Rice was a bad guy, and people loved to boo him. He wrestled all over the world, but one of his favorite matches came when he played so many dirty tricks, he was booed right out of the Stockton Civic Auditorium. Asked years later if the sport were fixed, he said, "How should I know? I always wore a mask."

"He always said you made more money as a bad guy," said Alessandri, "but underneath he was really a good guy."

At USF, Mr. Rice created the President's Ambassadors Club, fund-raising telephone campaigns, luncheons and dinners to honor sports teams old and new. He was named to the USF Athletic Hall of Fame in 1969 and was the school's alumnus of the year in 1981.

He was also a member of the board of directors of the Hanna Boys Center in Sonoma, helped organize the Petaluma People's Service Center and was president of the Old Time Athletes Association and the National Foundation Football Hall of Fame, which supports Northern California high school sports.

"He was a tough guy," said Alessandri. "When he became ill, he said, 'I'm not afraid to die, just reluctant.' "

Mr. Rice was born in Bozeman, Mont., and attended high school in Visalia, in the San Joaquin Valley. He graduated from USF in 1939.

His wife, Irene, died some years ago. Mr. Rice is survived by his brother, Hugh Rice of Tulare; his sister, Ruby Bailey of San Francisco; a stepson, Mark von Tagen; and a grandson.

Thank you so much! I've been wondering what the source of the boy and red phantom notes. I only would hear people refer to it. Riveting! I really love how organized this site is. Thank you!

The connection of Leo, brother of Darlene Ferrin, to a William J Keating interests me greatly.  

Keating Sr. was supposedly receiving these red phantom letters from the Pigeon Boy - If the pigeon boy grew up to play a part in the Zodiac killings and Darlene was a victim at the lover's lane murders in Vallejo - and if Keating's son Worked at the Union Oil in Vellejo in 1970 give or take a year after Darlene's murder... This all comes together quite nicely in some way.  If somehow Darlene's death was a threat or connection from Pigeon Boy to Keating Jr. then the car/automobile angle takes on a whole new meaning considering Keating Jr. Worked at the Union Oil there in town.  

Side note: kind of interesting many of the murders involve cars or tampering with cars.  The greasy prints on CJB's car sounds like someone who works at an auto shop or deals with grease/oil.  There is an auto body shop on the RCC campus btw.  Looks like it has been there for quite some time.  Old small building just SW of library.  When I drove through the campus the first time the autobody shop sent chills up
My spine.  I couldn't put my finger on it except that I thought "CJB car messed with - maybe the guy worked or studied at auto shop classes there." Just passing thought based on a gut feeling/paranoia.

Did Pigeon Boy and Keating Jr play together at any point?  I suppose maybe Jr. Was too much younger than Pigeon Boy to play with him.  Did Keating Jr. Or any of his relatives offend Pigeon Boy (Sounds like Keating Sr. Indirectly did).  

I'm assuming Pigeon Boy, if Zodiac, stalked Keating's family up to Vallejo just Bc he was pissed Keating's cat threatened his pigeons when he was a kid?  Bizarre.

Can't ignore the angle of Keating Jr. Being a Zodiac POI - how Jr could have grown up Hearing the "Red Phantom" story from his father and later referenced it in a Zodiac letter.  In fact anyone could have known about "Red Phantom" that read that newspaper article so it makes things more difficult.  

It's hard for me to believe pigeon boy would stalk the Keating's for that many years up to Vallejo, but it's not impossible.  

good POI's besides John Verga could be anyone who worked around Keating Sr. Or Keating Jr or were friends with them and maybe heard the story about Red Phantom.  Specifically whoever worked in something involving Oil/Union Oil with Keating.

CJB dad worked for an oil company didn't he or am I pulling that out of my ass?  Some think she was murdered through a contact of her father and that the murder was by someone that had anger toward her father as well given the letters were also addressed to Mr. Bates.  Automobile Oil distribution/sales connected to that Union Oil Station Might be an angle to look into.  Again I'm having a hard time following, was it Keating senior or junior that worked for the Union Oil station?  One site has told me senior and the other junior.

Is this the skylark flag?  The blue one with the 35 stars?   It is a maritime flag.  

http://m.nlmaritimesociety.org/?url=http://www%2enlmaritimesociety%2eorg%2fhome%2ehtml#2850

Or was it a flag with an actual skylark on it?  Like the bird or a Buick Skylark on it?  I know some cars were called Skylarks.

Also note the article says Pigeon Boy flew the flag from "his loft". So was the house not single story? Did the boy live on the second story "loft" area? How far could he throw these bamboo spears from his loft? Sorry if I am taking the term loft too literally, but simply it makes me think the spears were throw down from a "lofty" high up trajectory - not thrown over the fence from ground level.

Mrs. Green wrote:The connection of Leo, brother of Darlene Ferrin, to a William J Keating interests me greatly.  

Keating Sr. was supposedly receiving these red phantom letters from the Pigeon Boy - If the pigeon boy grew up to play a part in the Zodiac killings and Darlene was a victim at the lover's lane murders in Vallejo - and if Keating's son Worked at the Union Oil in Vellejo in 1970 give or take a year after Darlene's murder... This all comes together quite nicely in some way.  If somehow Darlene's death was a threat or connection from Pigeon Boy to Keating Jr. then the car/automobile angle takes on a whole new meaning considering Keating Jr. Worked at the Union Oil there in town.  

Side note: kind of interesting many of the murders involve cars or tampering with cars.  The greasy prints on CJB's car sounds like someone who works at an auto shop or deals with grease/oil.  There is an auto body shop on the RCC campus btw.  Looks like it has been there for quite some time.  Old small building just SW of library.  When I drove through the campus the first time the autobody shop sent chills up
My spine.  I couldn't put my finger on it except that I thought "CJB car messed with - maybe the guy worked or studied at auto shop classes there." Just passing thought based on a gut feeling/paranoia.

Did Pigeon Boy and Keating Jr play together at any point?  I suppose maybe Jr. Was too much younger than Pigeon Boy to play with him.  Did Keating Jr. Or any of his relatives offend Pigeon Boy (Sounds like Keating Sr. Indirectly did).  

I'm assuming Pigeon Boy, if Zodiac, stalked Keating's family up to Vallejo just Bc he was pissed Keating's cat threatened his pigeons when he was a kid?  Bizarre.

Can't ignore the angle of Keating Jr. Being a Zodiac POI - how Jr could have grown up Hearing the "Red Phantom" story from his father and later referenced it in a Zodiac letter.  In fact anyone could have known about "Red Phantom" that read that newspaper article so it makes things more difficult.  

It's hard for me to believe pigeon boy would stalk the Keating's for that many years up to Vallejo, but it's not impossible.  

good POI's besides John Verga could be anyone who worked around Keating Sr. Or Keating Jr or were friends with them and maybe heard the story about Red Phantom.  Specifically whoever worked in something involving Oil/Union Oil with Keating.  

CJB dad worked for an oil company didn't he or am I pulling that out of my ass?  Some think she was murdered through a contact of her father and that the murder was by someone that had anger toward her father as well given the letters were also addressed to Mr. Bates.  Automobile Oil distribution/sales connected to that Union Oil Station Might be an angle to look into.  Again I'm having a hard time following, was it Keating senior or junior that worked for the Union Oil station?  One site has told me senior and the other junior.

another theory is that Darlene was involved in some drug ring. if only we could find out if this was true. i do like the pigeon boy thing and how it could possibly tie in to darlene's murder. how do we verify if this John Verga was or was not pigeon boy though?

Mrs. Green wrote:Thank you so much!  I've been wondering what the source of the boy and red phantom notes.  I only would hear people refer to it.  Riveting!  I really love how organized this site is.  Thank you!

Thanks! I have OCD, so this site has to be organized. I love some of the other sites, but sometimes it is hard to find certain things on them.

Dunderhead99 wrote:

Mrs. Green wrote:The connection of Leo, brother of Darlene Ferrin, to a William J Keating interests me greatly.  

Keating Sr. was supposedly receiving these red phantom letters from the Pigeon Boy - If the pigeon boy grew up to play a part in the Zodiac killings and Darlene was a victim at the lover's lane murders in Vallejo - and if Keating's son Worked at the Union Oil in Vellejo in 1970 give or take a year after Darlene's murder... This all comes together quite nicely in some way.  If somehow Darlene's death was a threat or connection from Pigeon Boy to Keating Jr. then the car/automobile angle takes on a whole new meaning considering Keating Jr. Worked at the Union Oil there in town.  

Side note: kind of interesting many of the murders involve cars or tampering with cars.  The greasy prints on CJB's car sounds like someone who works at an auto shop or deals with grease/oil.  There is an auto body shop on the RCC campus btw.  Looks like it has been there for quite some time.  Old small building just SW of library.  When I drove through the campus the first time the autobody shop sent chills up
My spine.  I couldn't put my finger on it except that I thought "CJB car messed with - maybe the guy worked or studied at auto shop classes there." Just passing thought based on a gut feeling/paranoia.

Did Pigeon Boy and Keating Jr play together at any point?  I suppose maybe Jr. Was too much younger than Pigeon Boy to play with him.  Did Keating Jr. Or any of his relatives offend Pigeon Boy (Sounds like Keating Sr. Indirectly did).  

I'm assuming Pigeon Boy, if Zodiac, stalked Keating's family up to Vallejo just Bc he was pissed Keating's cat threatened his pigeons when he was a kid?  Bizarre.

Can't ignore the angle of Keating Jr. Being a Zodiac POI - how Jr could have grown up Hearing the "Red Phantom" story from his father and later referenced it in a Zodiac letter.  In fact anyone could have known about "Red Phantom" that read that newspaper article so it makes things more difficult.  

It's hard for me to believe pigeon boy would stalk the Keating's for that many years up to Vallejo, but it's not impossible.  

good POI's besides John Verga could be anyone who worked around Keating Sr. Or Keating Jr or were friends with them and maybe heard the story about Red Phantom.  Specifically whoever worked in something involving Oil/Union Oil with Keating.  

CJB dad worked for an oil company didn't he or am I pulling that out of my ass?  Some think she was murdered through a contact of her father and that the murder was by someone that had anger toward her father as well given the letters were also addressed to Mr. Bates.  Automobile Oil distribution/sales connected to that Union Oil Station Might be an angle to look into.  Again I'm having a hard time following, was it Keating senior or junior that worked for the Union Oil station?  One site has told me senior and the other junior.

another theory is that Darlene was involved in some drug ring. if only we could find out if this was true. i do like the pigeon boy thing and how it could possibly tie in to darlene's murder. how do we verify if this John Verga was or was not pigeon boy though?

I think it is definitely possible that Darlene was involved in some sort of drug thing, but who knows. Proving that Verga was Pigeon Boy will be extremely hard if not impossible. First thing I would like to know is if he still lived in the house on Evelyn Ave. in 1947. If so, finding out if he was into pigeons will be hard to determine unless someone contacted him or a family member and asked. I have been thinking about calling him up, but haven't yet.

Mrs. Green, I like your ideas!! Especially checking into Keating Jr., but I think he was too young. I'm pretty sure the William J. Keating who received the threats was born in 1925. I can't seem to find Jr's DOB, but I know I have it written down somewhere. Something interesting is that a "Bill" Keating graduated from Albany HS in 1959, which would mean he was probably born around 1942, when Keating Sr. would have been just 17 years old. Figuring out if Leo was related to one of the William Keatings in question could prove to be huge to the case.


EDIT: William James Keating was born 1941 in Alameda Co. Mother's maiden name Perine. There was a Michael Robert Perine of Castro Valley who was busted in 1971 with $50,000 (estimated at 900 lbs) worth of marijuana that he and a friend (Michael Scott Kelly) were transporting from Mexico. The possible Keating-Ferrin link is interesting, maybe even more now. If Michael Perine was related to the woman who was the mother of William James and Linda Marie Keating, then we really need to examine Darlene Ferrin's possible tie to drug dealing.

When I google "Michael Perine" guess what I find? This is a crazy coincidence. In 1916, there was a 24 year old man named Michael Perine who set his home on fire to collect insurance money because he was out of work and did not was to be evicted or for his family to starve. Guess where this home was located? At the corner of Evelyn and Dartmouth in Albany. A block and a half away from where William J. Keating received the threatening notes.


Michael Robert Perine
DOB: Nov 13, 1944 in Alameda Co., California
Mother's Name: Moschetti
Spouse: Jeannie Ann Griffin, married in 1962. Divorced in 1973. Jeannie's birth name was Shirley, but she legally changed it to Jeannie.
Children: Sherry Ann Perine, born Feb. 19, 1963.
Known addresses:
17344 Oscar
Grass Valley, CA 95949
Age 71 (Born Nov 1944)
(530) 477-0403

11930 Francis Dr
Grass Valley, CA 95949

120 Juanita
Incline Vlg, NV 89451
Age 71 (Born Nov 1944)
(775) 833-0154


HOLY SHITBALLS!!!!! This just keeps getting crazier. Mrs. Green, you will not believe this. There is a Michael Robert Perine who got married in California to a woman named Cynthia Blodgett on June 12, 1985 in Nevada. If this is the same guy who was busted with 900 lbs of weed, this could get very very interesting. It would just be a matter of connecting a lot of dots. The last name Blodgett has been popping up a lot lately in my research. Cynthia has worked at Dickson Realty Inc. and Colwell Banker Select. Michael might actually be a lawyer in Incline Village, NV (located right on Lake Tahoe!), but I'm guessing not since he probably was charged with a felony in the marijuana bust. The Michael Robert Perine who is a lawyer in Incline Village was licensed in 1982.

Mrs. Green wrote:Is this the skylark flag?  The blue one with the 35 stars?   It is a maritime flag.  

http://m.nlmaritimesociety.org/?url=http://www%2enlmaritimesociety%2eorg%2fhome%2ehtml#2850

Or was it a flag with an actual skylark on it?  Like the bird or a Buick Skylark on it?  I know some cars were called Skylarks.

Also note the article says Pigeon Boy flew the flag from "his loft".  So was the house not single story?  Did the boy live on the second story "loft" area?  How far could he throw these bamboo spears from his loft?  Sorry if I am taking the term loft too literally, but simply it makes me think the spears were throw down from a "lofty" high up trajectory - not thrown over the fence from ground level.  

I honestly haven't done any research on skylark flags, so I'm not sure what one looks like. Most of the houses in that area are single story. I have seen houses that have had "bird lofts" up against a house or garage, so that could be the case. Either way, the houses in the neighborhood are mostly very small and they are all pretty close together. This might sound weird... I may have seen some sort of bird cage up against a garage in a photo from a house on Talbot Ave., the street behind Evelyn Ave. I can't remember if I was dreaming that one night or if I actually saw it online. I tried to find it online one night and had no luck.

can someone post a pic of what a skylark flag looks like?

The Virus wrote:can someone post a pic of what a skylark flag looks like?

I'm not even sure what one looks like to tell ya the truth. I have done basically zero research on it.

The skylark flag itself had something to do with pigeons or birds, IIRC.

Skylark flag...

Not sure exactly what this is...

SKYLARK.

“Bursley, Master, is receiving cargo at Pier 12, East River, (Old Slip,)... The Skylark is of small capacity, and... has made the passage twice in 116 days...” The Skylark was an extreme clipper of 1209 tons, built in Somerset, Mass. in 1853. Howe and Matthews say, “She had the name of being a fast sailer and frequently logged 15 knots under royals and topmast stu’nsails.” The card’s mention of two passages in 116 days possibly dates it to 1860, which is the year Bursley first took command. She was sold to Germany in 1866. A pretty card, measuring 6 1/2 x 4 inches. Small spot on right margin, else fine condition. $2500 - SOLD

For what it's worth, in "Zodiac Unmasked," it is said that Arthur Leigh Allen owned a Buick Skylark.

Ophion1031, In this thread you looked at names who had a young 9 yr old boy and you mentioned two names. One of the names was Bruno. That name was one I was once investigating.
On a hill facing my home one Christmas, was a large lighted Z logo. I couldn't miss seeing it. It was positioned at four corners of the property lines. So I went to the recorders office and got all four of the owners names. One was a Anthony aka Tony Bruno. He moved to Vallejo right after Christmas.
If Darlene's brother Leo was related to this Keating guy and none of the other family members were. Then it would have to be Leo's wife that had the connection right ? I met her with Leo, she was very nice. As far as I know Leo was married only once and that was to his wife now.

IIRC correctly it was Leo's wife that was related to the Keating's but don't quote me on that. The Bruno family lived in the Keating house in 1940 so must have moved out some time between 1940 and the time the Pigeon boy letter was mailed. I would love to find out when the Keating's moved in to that house and when the Bruno's moved out. I'm even more interested now that the name Bruno came up for you also Sandy.