In 1967, Doug enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served at various locations in Colorado and Ohio. After his discharge from the Air Force, he spent the next decade drifting, frequently finding employment as a mechanic.Later, he relocated to Los Angeles and secured a position as a steam plant operator with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, initially working at the Valley Generating Station before abruptly resigning. Following this, Doug transitioned into the role of a boiler operator at the Jergens soap factory located in Burbank.

In April 1980, Carol acquired two Raven .25-caliber automatic pistols from a Van Nuys pawnshop. The day prior to this purchase, Doug had visited the pawnshop, chosen the specific firearms he desired, and subsequently sent Carol to complete the transaction. Doug explained to Carol that he was a former felon with a prior armed robbery conviction in Indiana, rendering it illegal for him to personally buy the firearms. Doug retained possession of the nickel-plated Raven pistol, whereas the chrome-plated Raven became Carol's firearm. Nonetheless, Doug had access to both guns and occasionally carried both of them.

The raven bird here represents the Raven guns: Raven Arms was a firearms manufacturer established by firearms designer George Jennings in 1970.

While Doug and a prostitute were behind an East Hollywood gas station inside a parked car engaging in their 'business,' with Carol present, Doug ended up fatally shooting the prostitute.

The pair differ on the exact accounts of the story. According to Carol, she had arranged this encounter as a birthday gift for Doug, and acknowledged her presence, but said that Doug was the trigger man.

However, Doug maintained that Carol was the one who pulled the trigger.

Both parties agreed that they had jointly disposed of the victim's body.

Doug was cruising the Sunset Strip, where he encountered a sex worker who would become his next victim. He picked her up and as she began to perform oral sex, he took out his pistol and shot her in the head. In an involuntary reaction, she bit Doug's genitals, which really pissed him off.

He got a bag from the trunk in which he had sharp knives, liquid cleaners, trash bags, and paper towels. Doug cut off the head of his victim and placed it inside a trash bag.

After Doug had severed the head of his victim, he left the body next to a trash bin behind a Studio City Sizzler restaurant. He was in his vehicle with the victim's head in the back seat when he spotted another prostitute, who happened to be friends with the girl he had just killed. He asked her to get into the car with him, and she did so, unaware of the gruesome object right behind her. Doug shot her and then pushed her body out of the car.

Doug took the severed head from his victim and went home to Carol. He placed the head in the freezer to preserve it for later use as a sex toy. Carol admitted to a journalist that they had enjoyed their time with the head: "Where I had my fun was with the make-up…I was making her over like a big Barbie doll."

Doug would wait until Carol had the head made up to his satisfaction, and then he would penetrate the mouth as a sick form of necrophilic oral sex, and even take it into the shower with him. They continued to use it in this way for three days. When they were finished, they scrubbed it fresh, put it an ornate wooden box, and discarded it.

In the early hours of June 27th, a man ventured down the alley near his apartment at around 1:00 A.M. As he attempted to park his car, he encountered an obstacle and noticed an intricately designed wooden box, resembling a treasure chest. The box had a disproportionately large lid, sparking his hope that he had stumbled upon something valuable. Upon closer inspection, he observed exterior damage to the wood, suggesting it had been struck or thrown.

Curious, he leaned in, unfastened the metal clasp, and lifted the lid, revealing an unusual and unsettling odor emanating from within. Amidst the coarse material inside, he made a startling discovery. Nestled amidst discarded blue jeans and a T-shirt was the severed head of a human. Though he could see that the individual was a brunette female with her mouth slightly ajar, he didn't linger for a closer examination. It was obvious clear that this was no mere Hollywood prop. Overwhelmed by shock, the man rushed from the open box into his apartment to alert the police.

The head, significantly colder than the ambient air, appeared to have been frozen at some point and subsequently washed.

It was the head of Doug's victim that he and Carol had kept in her freezer, which was wrapped in a pink t-shirt designed with the saying "Daddy's Girl."

On June 30, 1980, the nude body of a teenage runaway was found in a ravine in the San Fernando Valley. It was determined that had been dead for 20–40 days, and the autopsy showed that she had suffered three gunshot wounds to the chest area. Working backwards, it was determined that this was the first victim of Doug Doug (before Carol became involved).

At that time of her death, the victim was wearing a pink t-shirt with the words "Daddy's Girl” printed on it. The t-shirt was later found in the box with a severed head - the same head that Carol and Doug had showered, washed, put make-up on, and used for necrophilic oral sex.

Doug worked as a licensed steam engineer at the Jergens soap factory in Burbank, California. He was training an operator to operate the boiler. The operator had seen Doug cleaning two guns while at work - a smallish gun, as well as a .44.

On August 15, 1980, another employee told the operator that police were going coming to the plant to search for these guns. Before the police arrived, the operator found two Raven pistols inside a cosmetic bag hidden in a remote area near the top of the boiler room.

Despite being in a relationship with Doug, Carol's heart still yearned for her former boyfriend. She occasionally attended his performances at Little Nashville, and after a few drinks, her conversations would veer toward the illicit activities she engaged in with Doug. These hints began to worry her ex-boyfriend, who hinted that he might reveal their secrets to the authorities.

In an attempt to prevent this from happening, Carol lured him into a van after one of his shows under the pretense of a sexual encounter. Once inside the vehicle, she fatally shot him and subsequently decapitated him. However, in her haste, she inadvertently left behind a trail of evidence: witnesses had seen Carol and Murray together at the bar, and shell casings remained in the van.

Overwhelmed by guilt and pressure, Carol confessed to her horrified co-workers just two days later, revealing that she had murdered her former lover. Her co-workers promptly contacted the police, leading her to provide a comprehensive and candid confession about her and Doug's criminal activities.

Even though Carol had confessed to her co-workers that she murdered her ex, together with Doug they decided they should instead concoct a mutual alibi. They were to tell police that they had been at home in bed together.

During the investigations, Doug tried to blame Carol for many of the crimes, or aspects of the crimes. He said that Carol (last name Bundy but no relation), fancied herself the wife of Ted Bundy, and that she was the one who roped other men into diabolical schemes to commit murder.

However, the police had found plenty of evidence that pointed at Doug. At his rented garage, they found a bloody boot print that matched his foot size and boot brand. In a car that Doug had sold, they found blood that matched some of the victims. When Carol talked with police, she described a "kill bag" that Doug kept in his vehicle, which they found in his car as well. Also in the car were the gloves she had worn to handle the box with the prostitute's head.

In Doug's bedroom at Carol's apartment, they found news clippings about the head in the box, along with sordid pornography. They also found phone numbers in Doug's wallet, which could be traced back to friends of his victims.

A journalist who interviewed Carol in jail had this to say about her: “She seemed motivated by true sociopathy, as well as a desire to manipulate people. She wouldn't talk to me unless I bought her a typewriter... She wanted respect. Carol was colder, darker, less sympathetic, more cowardly (than Doug), yet more refined and perhaps more clever.”

Carol worked as a nurse, saving people, before she turned to killing them.

During his trial, Doug insisted representing himself, managing to prolong the legal proceedings for months through his persistent grievances about his defense counsel. He cycled through numerous attorneys while continuously lodging complaints about the legal system and accusing the police of tampering with evidence.

It wasn't until October 1982 that Doug's case finally reached trial, a duration of over two years. Unfortunately, Doug's own actions undermined his cause, as he frequently exhibited temper tantrums, outbursts, and engaged in arguments with the presiding judge. These actions severely eroded any credibility he may have initially held in the eyes of the jury. Lacking a substantial understanding of the intricacies of legal processes, he left himself and his witnesses vulnerable to rigorous cross-examination and missed numerous opportunities to undermine the prosecution's case during his own cross-examination.