Dorothy Jane Scott was born on April 23rd, 1948. In 1980 she was a single mother to a 4-year old boy named Shawn and was living in Stanton, California. She was a secretary for two jointly-owned Anaheim, California stores. One sold psychedelic items like love beads and lava lamps and the other was a head shop which sold paraphernalia used for consumption of cannabis and tobacco and items related to cannabis culture and related countercultures. Co-workers and friends said she preferred staying at home, was a devout Christian, and did not drink or do drugs. Her parents, who lived in Anaheim, babysat their grandson while Scott worked. Scott’s father, Jacob, said his daughter may have dated on occasion but had no steady boyfriend that the family knew of.
An interesting side note regarding the Psych Shop: it was previously owned by Dorothy’s father and was eventually sold to John Kocyla who already owned John’s Head Shop. While Jacob was no longer actively involved in the business, John kept him around as a handyman to take care of any repairs needed around the stores.
On May 28th, 1980 in Anaheim, Scott had been at a meeting for work. One of her co-workers was complaining of severe sharp pain and Scott offered to drive him to the hospital. Scott drove her co-worker, Conrad Bostron to the hospital with another co-worker named Pam Head. On the way to the hospital, Scott stopped at her parent’s house to check on her son and also changed her black scarf to a red one. Bostron ended up having being bit by a black widow spider and was treated and released at 11pm that night. Bostron and Head went to get the prescription filled and while they did, Scott went to get the car and bring it around to meet them. When Bostron and Head came out front, they couldn’t see her car anywhere. They waited and eventually saw Scott’s car driving towards the front of the building but the car sped passed them and they weren’t able to see who was driving because the headlights were shining in their eyes. They thought maybe something happened with Scott’s son and that is why she was driving away in a hurry. A few hours later, after not hearing from Scott, they reported her missing. In the preceding months, Scott had been receiving anonymous phone calls from a man who had reportedly been stalking her. He threatened to get her alone and cut her up into bits so nobody would ever find her. Scott had told her mother that she recognized the voice but couldn’t figure out who it was. The caller also told Scott of his love and devotion to her and could provide accurate day-to-day details of her life to prove he had been stalking her. Scott’s mother recounted, “One day he called and said to go outside because he had something for her. She went out and there was a single dead rose on the windshield of her car.” There is nothing stating that Dorothy reported these phone calls to the police at any time before her disappearance but she did consider buying a handgun which she ended up not purchasing for fear that her son would get a hold of it and hurt himself. Also, about a week before her disappearance, she began taking karate lessons.
At around 4:30pm on May 29th, 1980, Scott’s car, a white 1973 Toyota station wagon, was found burning in an alley about 10 miles (16km) from the hospital. Neither she or her supposed kidnapper were anywhere nearby.
Shawn’s father was investigated and questioned; however, he had an airtight alibi and had been in his hometown of Missouri at the time so he was immediately ruled out as a suspect. Dorothy’s coworkers at the Psych Shop and Head Shop were questioned numerous times. As Dorothy worked in the back office and never interacted with customers the chances were slim that any one of them was responsible.
In June, 1980, a man called the Orange County Register, a local newspaper that had published a story on the disappearance, and claimed he had killed Scott. He said that he was in love with her and he caught her cheating with another man. The editor also said that the caller knew Conrad Bostron had suffered from a spider bite the night of May 28th. He also knew that Scott had been wearing a red scarf. The caller also claimed that Scott phoned him from the hospital that night. Pam Head disputed that claim, saying she had been with Scott the entire time and she had not made a phone call. Police believe that the caller was Scott’s killer. From 1980 to 1984, Scott’s mother Vera also received phone calls from a man who claimed that he had Scott or killed her. Vera’s phone was tapped but the calls were never able to be traced because the caller didn’t stay on the line long enough. In August 1984, partial remains were found. There were also remains of a dog which people believe was to cover up the human remains and fool cadaver dogs. A turquoise ring and watch were also found with the remains which were identified by Scott’s mother as belonging to her. Scott’s mother said that the watch had stopped at 12:30am on May 29th, about an hour after Head and Bostron last saw Scott’s vehicle. On August 14th, the bones were identified as Scott’s by dental records. An autopsy could not determine the cause of death. A memorial service was held on August 22nd.
About a week after Scott’s disappearance, her parents received a phone call from an unidentified man who said “Are you related to Dorothy Scott?” “Yes.” The anxious Vera replied. “I’ve got her” the caller replied and hung up. The same man called “almost every Wednesday afternoon” and said either that he had Dorothy or had killed her. The calls were usually brief, and usually occurred when Vera was home alone. In April 1984, the man called during the evening; Jacob Scott answered and the calls stopped. After Scott’s remains were found in August 1984, the family received one final phone call from the assumed killer. He simply asked “Is Dorothy home?”
Jacob and Vera never received any answers about their daughter’s death. Both died before learning the killer’s identity. There was an article that stated Scott’s son, Shawn had investigated his mother’s death. Apparently, there was a potential suspect, but not enough evidence for an arrest. If this individual did kill Dorothy, he won’t face justice in any courthouse because he died of cancer in 2014.
In a blog online regarding this case, the author had the opportunity to speak with Shawn Scott which is how they knew that Jacob Scott was once the owner of the shop where Dorothy worked. Among the author’s other findings through Shawn was the name, Mike Butler. Shawn became aware of Mike Butler through some of Dorothy’s old friends in Missouri. Butler knew Dorothy through his sister who also worked at the shop and, according to those who knew Dorothy, he became obsessed with her. Butler lived around the Santiago Mountains and was known to be very unstable and involved in cult activities. Law enforcement was well-aware of him at the time but did not have sufficient evidence to take action.
A little back story on Mike Butler: he was a deeply religious man, well-known throughout his community. Mike’s family settled in Southern California after his father, who served as an Army Captain for many years, retired. After graduating from Fullerton Union High School in the early 1960’s, Mike Butler attended California State University, majoring in English. At the age of 20, he was drafted into the U.S. Army; finished Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training in Infantry; was then assigned overseas to Hohenfels, Germany in 1967 and became a writer who was often published in Stars and Stripes News.
When his time in the military came to an end, he worked as a roadie for several rock bands including the Beach Boys and his sister’s all-female band, Birtha. Mike’s sister is an accomplished musician and singer in Southern California and, at one time, worked at Swinger’s Psych Shop; the same shop where Dorothy worked and Dorothy’s father, Jacob, previously owned. To this day, the killer has never been found. Shawn deserves to know what happened to his mother and who was responsible for it. The stalking that Scott endured before her death is disturbing, and the fact that this stalking continued even after she died makes the fact that the killer was never caught astounding. The unsolved murder of Dorothy Jane Scott haunted her family, and haunts the unsolved case files even now.
