Joanne Yvonne Burdick at ages 11 and 13. Credit: Oakland PD
In 1972, Taylor Morris Teaford—also known as the “Crew Cut Killer”—was charged with the murder of an unidentified female after witnesses placed him with her at the hotel where she was later found deceased.
On Thursday, one day shy of the 57th anniversary of Jane Doe’s homicide, the FBI and Oakland (California) Police Department announced they have now identified her as 16-year-old Joanne Yvonne Burdick.
Teaford was added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in 1968, before being removed in 1972. However, he remains a fugitive as he was last seen my police after shooting and killing his grandmother and wounding his sister and another individual. Teaford is also suspected of committing additional murders in Northern California.
Burdick case background
On Oct. 2, 1969 at 3:30 p.m., Oakland Police officers responded to a hotel where a young woman was found deceased. Witnesses and hotel staff reported seeing the victim enter the room with a white or Native American male just after 2:45 p.m. Less than 30 minutes later, staff heard a scream. The suspect left before officers arrived. A subsequent autopsy confirmed the cause of death as strangulation.
Burdick was 16 years old at the time of her murder. While she lived in California, she was listed as a missing person at the time she was murdered—likely a runaway.
During the original investigation, Teaford was identified as a potential suspect due to a witness identification.
“Unfortunately, he was a predator, and he took advantage that she was a younger person who needed help,” said Chief James Beere of the Oakland Police Department in a press conference announcing Burdick’s name.
The FBI San Francisco office officially joined the investigation into Burdick’s cold case in 2020 to assist with forensic analysis, genealogy expertise and lab support. It was forensic genetic genealogy that pointed to Burdick’s brother, who voluntarily submitted a DNA sample. This same confirmed Jane Doe as 16-year-old Joanne Yvonne Burdick after 57 years.
Beere said police are still investigating Teaford’s current whereabouts, including whether or not he is even alive.
“There are leads on that portion of the case, but we don’t have an answer,” Beere said. “There will be additional searchers and some more technology that is going to be used to hopefully figure out where he is at.”
Teaford’s criminal background
Teaford has a significant criminal history and has served time for a multitude of crimes over the years. He has essentially been on the run since July 18, 1967, when he shot and killed his 72-year-old grandmother, Pearl Morris Teaford. That night, he also killed Pearl’s two cats, shot and injured his sister, Cheri Macintosh, as well as a good Samaritan who was trying to help the injured Macintosh. Macintosh’s 9-year-old daughter ran to a neighbor's home shortly after her grandmother was murdered and was able to escape injury.
When police arrived on scene of the murders, Teaford exchanged fire with them before escaping into Yosemite National Park. A manhunt commenced, but Teaford was never located.
Then, on April 10, 1969—six months prior to Burdick’s murder—the body of a woman was found on a dirt road beside the Oakland Estuary. The victim's head and face had been crushed with a 30-pound slab of concrete. She was later identified by fingerprints as 22-year-old sex worker Judith Lattaker.
Four months later on Aug. 3, 1969—two months before Burbick’s murder—the body of 27-year-old Alma Fay Dorough was recovered from Berkeley Aquatic Park. She had been beaten and stabbed to death. Dorough also had a criminal record for prostitution.
When Teaford was officially identified as the prime suspect in the murder of Burdick, he was also established as a person of interest in the unsolved deaths of Lattaker and Dorough.
From that point on, Teaford became known as “The Crew Cut Killer.”
The case remains active as investigators search for Teaford.