California woman claims her father was the Zodiac Killer

Her name is Deborah Perez and she said: My father was the Zodiac Killer. Her father was Guy Ward Hendrickson who died in 1983 of cancer. He was a carpenter and father of 6 children.

California police have never been able to capture the Zodiac Killer and believed that a child molester that died in 1992 by the name of Arthur Leigh Allen, was the killer. A case dating back to 1969 of a San Francisco, California, taxi driver that was killed by the Zodiac Killer is still an open police investigation. Perez has provided police with a pair of glasses that she claims belonged to that taxi driver and letters she wrote to the newspaper on her father's behalf about the crimes.

Deborah Perez mentioned that when she was a child, her father would tell her that he was very sick and that he had killed many, many people. She remembers that all she wanted to do was help her father.

More evidence against Craigslist murder suspect, Philip Markoff

The latest evidence this morning is that officials found underwear belonging to one of the alleged victims in Philip Markoff's apartment. The victim, Trisha Leffler said she was attacked by him and later tied up. She also informed the police that he afterwards took her money and also a pair of her underwear that was left on the floor.

On a recent family visit, Markoff told his brother "forget about [him]" and that "there's more coming out,".

Craigslist murder suspect Philip Markoff

Philip Markoff, 22, is being held without bail on charges of armed robbery, kidnapping and murder. He is a 2nd year medical student at Boston University.

The murdered victim was Julissa Brisman who had placed an ad on Craigslist for massage services. Brisman and Markoff had exchanged emails and cell phone calls to set up an appointment to meet at a hotel. Brisman, the victim, was bashed in the head and shot with a bullet through her heart. The email exchange is what fortunately helped police officials track him down. Markoff is also charged with tying up and robbing another female victim on April 10th, who had placed an ad in Craigslist for massage services. Police found duct tape, restraints and a semiautomatic weapon in Markoff's home. They commented on the fact that this evidence was "critical and powerful". They also mentioned that there might be other victims.

Many of Markoff's friends and family members commented on the fact that he was very friendly, and smart. The media interviewed people who described Markoff as carrying himself well, he was clean cut and good looking.

Ted Bundy was good looking and smart as well... We all know that appearances can be deceiving and this is yet another case in which it holds true. Philip Markoff has not been declared guilty yet of murder, but if he is guilty or not, people should never make an assumption of a person's intentions solely on their appearance or intelligence. This should be an eye opener for everyone, especially for women, who become victims of violent crime in epidemic proportions.

Shopping for a Gun or Taser?

There has been an increase of firearm purchases recently in the U.S. Whether this increase is due to the government administration considering the return of restrictions on semi automatic weapons or the increase in crime, Americans are buying ammunition and firearms by the thousands.

If you are a person considering purchasing a self defense product such as a gun or a Taser, here are a few things you need to take into consideration.

First, your family as well as yourself are priority number one. The weapon you choose should be reliable and safe to use. A break-in, in your home can take place at any time and you may or may not be there. It's important to learn how to use and take care of a gun or self defense product. A question you might want to ask yourself is, how comfortable do you feel teaching your spouse or significant other how to use this self defense weapon?

Second, is the weapon you want to buy lethal or non lethal? This is an important question. Do you want to kill your perpetrator(s) with a gun or do you want to temporarily incapacitate them with a Taser? Ask yourself the following questions:

• If the perpetrator gets a hold of your weapon, will they be able to turn it against you or your family?
• If the perpetrator uses your weapon, can it incapacitate you or kill you or your family?
• What repercussions with your state laws will there be if you incapacitate or kill someone under these conditions?

Third and lastly, how easy or difficult will it be to buy a weapon? Will you need a special permit? If you are considering a firearm, you will need a permit to carry it. Depending on the state you live in, it could be as little as 24 hours or maybe 30 days. If you are considering a non lethal, self defense product such as a Taser, you will need to pass a felony background check, and that only takes a few minutes.

It's your choice on how you want to protect yourself and your family, it's not an easy decision to make. Please keep in mind that, whichever weapon you decide on, it could help save your life and also your family's life.

National Sexual Assault Awareness Month

April is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center chose this month, to make the public aware of this criminal act that results in so many devastated victims. Rape is a serious problem that affects mostly women, but also includes, in a smaller amount, men. Many times sexual assaults end in fatality. This reminds the public of the seriousness of these crimes.

According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) statistics, 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. Statistics from RAINN also show that college women are 4 times more likely to be raped compared to other women. The most astonishing statistic from RAINN is that every 2 minutes, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted! Unfortunately 60% of all rape victims, don't report the crime to the police. This lets too many rapists keep assaulting more women and men. Statistics reported that only 6% of rapist go to jail for their crime. Rapist are also not held in jail for a long enough time, they get out of jail too soon for their crime, which gets them quickly back out on the streets and raping again.

Unfortunately the reality is that this is a global issue and needs to be dealt with by each nation very seriously in order for women to overcome this horrendous act against them. Society in general should be aware of sexual assault every day of every year and not just in April. This crime is committed so often that society has become numb to it. Victims on the other hand, know what it felt like and never forget this horrible experience.

Why should walkers, runners and hikers carry pepper spray?

Why not? Women and men should always carry self defense products if they are walking, running or hiking alone.

This statement was not acceptable in a women's message board I posted recently. I contributed to a "Walking" discussion on a well known women's publication, which shall remain anonymous. A particular woman had posted that she was getting ready to go on her walk and was taking her cell phone for safety. I replied to her post that she would be much safer carrying a pepper spray or stun gun instead. Well, a few minutes later, the moderator of the message board for walking women, reprimanded me. She mentioned that I should not scare women and that I should only post the pleasurable things about why they walk. She also mentioned that women should not be constantly worried about their safety while walking and that doing so would make their walks less enjoyable... Of course, I didn't want to be banned from this discussion board, so I did not comment back. But, I can think of many reasons why my comment was necessary and important for walkers, runners and hikers.

A question I would have liked to have asked the walking women's moderator was, 'Do you buckle up when you get in your car to drive?'. This is a very fair question and analogues to the topic in question. Most all of us do buckle and forget about it and continue to drive. Well, the same thing applies while practicing personal safety by carrying a personal spray or self defense spray that you can put on your keychain, belt or in your pocket. It's a habit that you develop and also a good one! You don't drive down the street constantly in fear of an accident, just because you have your seat belt fastened, but you do feel safer knowing that you're buckled up! The same applies to self defense products such as a pepper spray. Walkers, runners and hikers that carry a personal spray, can actually enjoy more of their training routine because they know that they are carrying some sort of personal protection. There are other similar comparisons to using self defense products such as, 'Why wear a helmet while riding your motorcycle?' or 'Why put on knee pads when skating?', etc... All of these personal safety habits we practice, keeps us safer and NO, they do not make our time less enjoyable, on the contrary, it makes us feel protected.

Whether you carry a personal spray, stun gun, personal alarm or even a taser, you will certainly feel more at ease knowing that you have some sort of personal safety!

A Must Have for College Women!

It's a known fact that college women are 4 times more likely to be sexually assaulted than other women. With this in mind, college students and particularly female college students, need some sort of self defense product. Let's face it, most women do not have a black belt in karate and we are, physically speaking, the weakest sex.

Parents should be aware of the dangers presented to their daughters when they live in a college dorm or live near a college campus. The news is full of sexual assaults of college women and to a lesser degree, even male students. Just this past month prior to spring break, the college women attending Kansas State University and the University of Kansas, were warned by Kansas police of a serial rapist. They were informed of a rapist that is still on the loose near the universities, that has sexually assaulted 13 women in the past 8 years. The police informed university students before spring break because apparently this rapist attacks during college breaks. This is not to say that rapes or sexual assaults only occur during breaks though!

Arming college women or students in general with self defense products is a simple solution to a potentially lethal situation. Non lethal, self defense products are inexpensive and are made to conveniently be carried by a person. They are light, some have belt clips or key chains for fast retrieval and proven effective in deterring attackers or impairing them. It's a good idea to ask the student what type of self defense product they would like to carry, since every student has their particular needs and tastes as far as what they might feel comfortable carrying around campus.

There are a variety of self defense products on the market today. Among them are pepper spray, personal alarms, stun guns and yes even a citizen taser, such as the TASER C2! Many self defense products come disguised as other things. For example there is a pepper spray that looks like a pen and one that is disguised as a pager. There are stun guns that look like cell phones and some that are as small as a cigarette box. Some self defense products have extra features added to them. An example of this are stun guns that also have flashlights and built-in alarms! There is even a great product for protection in college dorms, a door stop product which has a built-in alarm, to let a student know that someone is trying to walk into their room. As you can see, there are many options available for each particular student. A student that carries a back pack, might want to carry a taser in it where as another student might feel more comfortable carrying pepper spray or a personal alarm.

Whether you have a daughter or a son in college or know someone that does, keep in mind that they not only need to study but they also need to stay safe.