News Releases

Jessie Lee Cooks, convicted of “Zebra” killings, dies in prison

VACAVILLE – Jessie Lee Cooks, 76, was found unresponsive in his assigned bed in the hospice unit at California Medical Facility on June 30 and was pronounced deceased at 10:26 p.m. His cause of death will be determined by the Solano County Coroner.

Cooks, known as one of the “Zebra Killers,” was sentenced in San Francisco County on March 29, 1976, to serve life with the possibility of parole for first-degree murder, kidnapping, and first-degree robbery.

Cooks was convicted along with three other men following a string of killings that took place in San Francisco from October 1973 to April 1974. All had been sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.

J.C.X. Simon passed away at San Quentin State Prison on March 12, 2015; he was 69. Manuel Moore passed away at California Health Care Facility in Stockton on Nov. 15, 2017; he was 73.

Larry C. Green, 69, is incarcerated at California State Prison-Solano in Vacaville.

deceased incarcerated person Jessie Lee Cooks
Jessie Lee Cooks

Contact: CDCR Press Office, (916) 445-4950 or opec@cdcr.ca.gov