Nation in brief: Woman says father was Zodiac killer

A Southern California woman said Wednesday that her late father was the infamous Zodiac killer who terrorized the San Francisco Bay area four decades ago.

San Francisco homicide investigators said they will check into the information from Deborah Perez, who said her father, Guy Ward Hendrickson, killed at least two of the known victims 40 years ago.

Perez claims she was a naive 7-year-old tagging along with her father during the killings.

“He told me he was sick, and all I wanted to do was help my dad,” said Perez, who came to her conclusion about two years ago. “He kept telling me he was sick and he killed many, many people. I had no idea.”

The self-described Zodiac killer is blamed for at least five murders in 1968 and 1969. He was never caught, though many believe he was Arthur Leigh Allen, a convicted child molester who died in 1992.

Los Angeles

Child services visit octuplets’ mother

Orange County children’s services officials and La Habra police detectives visited the home of octuplets mother Nadya Suleman on Wednesday after her 4-year-old son went to school with a black eye.

Suleman told Radar Online that the injury was minor, adding: “He’s autistic; he bumps into things.” She also told the online celebrity news site that the boy had some bite marks on his body.

The visit is the latest twist for Suleman, who is living in her new La Habra home with 14 children.

Suleman’s attorney, Jeff Czech, said the boy likely got the black eye in a fall and that the bite marks probably came from another of Suleman’s children.

Little Rock, Ark.

Green lawmaker to turn Democrat

The nation’s highest-ranking member of the Green Party says he plans to become a Democrat.

Arkansas state Rep. Richard Carroll said Wednesday he plans to switch when the Democrat-controlled Arkansas Legislature adjourns Friday.

Carroll told the Associated Press his beliefs are “more in line with the Democrats so it was just something that made sense.”

From wire reports