 Melvin Mouron Belli photographed in 1967
On December 20th 1969, the first anniversary of the Lake Herman Road murders, the Zodiac Killer mailed a letter to the home address of prominent attorney Melvin Belli at 1228 Montgomery Street in San Francisco (image above), asking for his help and claiming he was afraid of "losing control again and taking his ninth or possibly tenth victim". He also included another piece of Paul Stine's shirt to verify its authenticity. The letter read:
Dear Melvin This is the Zodiac speaking. I wish you a happy Christmass. The one thing I ask of you is this, please help me. I cannot reach out for help because of this thing in me wont let me. I am finding it extreamly difficult to hold it in check. I am afraid I will loose control again and take my nineth & possibly tenth victom. Please help me. I am drownding. At the moment the children are safe from the bomb because it is so massive to dig in & the triger mech requires much work to get it adjusted just right. But if I hold back too long from no nine I will loose all controol of my self & set the bomb up. Please help me I can not remain in control for much longer. Melvin Belli had traveled to Munich for a conference on December 20th 1969, so his housekeeper forwarded the letter to his office, where it remained until after the Christmas break. When employees finally returned to work they found the letter and its contents and handed it in to authorities. It was subsequently analysed and found to be genuine Zodiac correspondence. Two months earlier on October 22nd 1969 the Oakland Police Department took a call in the early morning hours from somebody claiming to be the Zodiac, requesting that either Melvin Belli or Francis Lee Bailey, high profile lawyers at the time, appear on a chat show hosted by Jim Dunbar on KGO-TV later that day. Melvin Belli agreed to appear on the show, to which a man would eventually contact via telephone, claiming not only his name was 'Sam', but was also the infamous Zodiac Killer. Three people had heard the voice of the Zodiac Killer, including two police dispatchers; Dave Slaight who took the second Zodiac phone call after the Lake Berryessa attack on September 27th 1969 and Nancy Slover who received the first phone call from the killer at 12:40 am on July 5th 1969 from the intersection of Springs Road and Tuolumne, approximately 40 minutes after the attack on Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau at the Blue Rock Springs Park in Vallejo. Bryan Hartnell who survived the brutal attack in Napa, became the third and last person ever to hear the Zodiac - all three of which categorically stated that the man called 'Sam', who rang into the Jim Dunbar show, was not the same voice they had recalled from the Blue Rock Springs and Lake Berryessa attacks - and therefore not the Zodiac Killer.  Melvin Belli plea to Zodiac
With regards to Zodiac "losing control again and taking his ninth or possibly tenth victim", two months after the Melvin Belli letter on Saturday February 21st 1970, John Franklin Hood (24), who had served decorated time in Vietnam in the 64th Armoured Division and Sandra Garcia (20), who worked in the California Department of Motor Vehicles, decided to visit the quiet retreat of East Beach, Santa Barbara one evening, when they fell victim to a knife wielding assassin.
The John F. Hood and Sandra Garcia murders seem to bear all the hallmarks of the Lake Berryessa attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard on September 27th 1969, accredited as a confirmed Zodiac attack. Both Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard were stabbed repeatedly without mercy. Although the couple survived the initial attack, Cecelia Shepard succumbed to her injuries two days later at the Queen of the Valley Hospital. John F. Hood and Sandra Garcia, soon to become married, were enjoying the evening tranquility lying on a blanket under a full moon, when a knife-man carrying a bone handled 4" blade approached them, taking them by surprise - and despite evidently fighting back against their attacker, both unfortunately had their lives cruelly snatched away on that fateful night. John Franklin Hood suffered 11 stab wounds, the majority inflicted to the face and back, with Sandra Garcia receiving the brunt of the attack, leaving her almost unrecognizable, in what appeared a senseless and motiveless crime. There appeared to be no sexual interference, with their possessions left untouched where they lay. http://www.zodiacciphers.com/santa-barbara-murders-1970.html  Click to enlarge envelope
On December 28th 1969, Paul Avery of the San Francisco Chronicle got in touch with Melvin Belli in Germany, who was understood to have offered his help to the Zodiac, despite his gesture falling on deaf ears. Melvin Belli was to remain out of the country until at least the middle of January.
The following extract from an FBI file details the 'birthday call' to Melvin Belli's residence. The document is dated 14th January 1970. 1 14 70 RE: SAN FRANCISCO AIRTEL DECEMBER TWENTY NINE LAST. On instant date Insp. (name redacted), Homicide Detail, San Francisco Police Department, confidentially advised that UNSUB, who identified himself as ‘Zodiac,' telephonically contacted attorney Melvin Belli's residence in effort to contact Belli. UNSUB was advised Belli was in Europe and stated, "I can't wait. Today's my birthday". This FBI response was regarding a San Francisco Airtel sent on December 29th 1969. Airtel is an outdated data communication process used internally within the FBI, in addition to Teletype and facsimile. The above refers to a letter that must be typed and mailed on the same day. In other words, this communication is not referring to December 29th being related to the birthday call. The only credible information we can infer regarding the 'birthday call', is that the man identifying himself as Zodiac rang the Belli residence on or just prior to January 14th 1970. The police and FBI have no confirmation the 'Zodiac caller' to Melvin Belli's residence was anything other than a hoaxer and the 'birthday call' is considered by many to be a false lead in respect to the Zodiac case. In January of 1970, the person claiming to be Zodiac rang the Belli residence and spoke with his housekeeper Erna, requesting to speak with the flamboyant lawyer, only to be told he was unavailable and out of the country. The caller replied "I can't wait, today's my birthday". This interaction was detailed in the partially redacted FBI file on January 14th 1970 (shown below). The phone call would have been placed in the days before this urgent request, labeled "instant date January 14th". On February 18th 1970, the caller to the Jim Dunbar Show was traced and identified by San Francisco Police as Eric Weill. They contacted the FBI with the details, but this information did not appear in the newspapers. Eric Weill was almost certainly the responsible for both the Jim Dunbar Show call and the call to Bellii's residence, stating "I can't wait, today's my birthday". Eric Weill was born on January 10th 1940 and his father's name was "Sam". 
 KPIX Eyewitness News report from October 22nd 1969 by Don Knapp and Rollin Post in San Francisco. Click image for interview with Joe Stine and Melvin Belli.
At the foot of the Melvin Belli letter it appeared that the Zodiac Killer was mimicking lines from a previous crime scene, later accredited to William Heirens, who was also known as the Lipstick Killer. William Heirens was eventually captured and convicted for the murders of three females over a seven month period.
Josephine Ross had been stabbed numerous times in her apartment at 4108 North Kenmore Avenue on June 5th 1945. Frances Brown was discovered with multiple knife wounds on December 10th 1945 at her 3941 North Pine Grove apartment, again in Edgewater, Chicago. In her case, a knife was found protruding from the neck, along with a bullet wound to her head. But on this occasion the killer had left a calling card, in the form of a message written in lipstick on the wall. It read:
On January 7th 1946, 6-year-old Suzanne Degnan disappeared from her 5943 North Kenmore residence. A ladder was discovered outside the girl's window, and a ransom note was also found by police. The misspelled note read:
"GeI $20,000 Reddy & wAITe foR WoRd, do NoT NoTify FBI oR Police. Bills IN 5's & 10's." Later an anonymous phone call was received instructing police to check the sewers and subsequent searches found dismembered body parts of Suzanne Degnan at various locations. William Heirens confessed to the three murders on August 7th 1946 and spent the rest of his life in prison. He died on March 5th 2012 at the Chicago University of Illinois Medical Center. 
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Click to enlarge letter
1963 June 4th-The Domingos/Edwards Murders
1966 October 30th-The Cheri Jo Bates Murder 1966 November 29th -The Confession Letter 1966 December- The Riverside Desktop Poem 1967 April 30th- Bates Had to Die Letter 1968 December 20th-The Lake Herman Murders 1969 July 4th-The Blue Rock Springs Attack 1969 July 31st- Vallejo Times-Herald Letter and 408 Cipher Page1 (solved) 1969 July 31st- Examiner Letter and 408 Cipher Page 2 (solved) 1969 July 31st - Chronicle Letter and 408 Cipher Page 3 (87% solved) 1969 July 31st-The Complete 408 Cipher 1969 August 4th- Debut of Zodiac Letter 1969 August 10th- Concerned Citizen Card 1969 September 27th- The Lake Berryessa Attack 1969 October 7th- The Good Citizen Letter 1969 October 11th-The Presidio Heights Murder 1969 October 13th-The Paul Stine Letters 1969 October 22nd-Call to Chat Show 1969 November 8th-The Dripping Pen Card and 340 Cipher (solved in 2020) 1969 November 9th-The Bus Bomb Letter 1969 November 19th- The Riddler Notes 1969 November 21st-The San Jose Code Letter 1969 November 28th-The Betsy Aardsma Murder 1969 December 7th-The Fairfield Letter 1969 December 10th- Forecast for Cancer 1969 December 11th- Forecast for Leo 1969 December 16th-The Fairfield Letter 1969 December 20th-The Melvin Belli Letter 1970 Feb 21st- The Hood and Garcia Murders 1970 March 22nd-The Modesto Attack 1970 April 15th-The Robert Salem Murder 1970 April 20th-"My Name is" Letter, Cipher 3 and Bus Bomb Diagram 1970 April 28th-The Dragon Card 1970 June 26th-The Button Letter Cipher 4 (solved in 2019) and Map 1970 July 4th-The Sleeping Bag Murders 1970 July 24th-The Kathleen Johns Letter 1970 July 26th-The Little List Letter 1970 Sept 6th-The Donna Lass Disappearance 1970 October 5th-13 Hole Postcard 1970 October 17th- "You Are Next" Postcard 1970 October 27th-The Halloween Card 1971 March 13th-The Los Angeles Letter 1971 March 22nd-The Pines Card 1971 Unknown- The 148 Character Cipher 1971 July 13th-The Monticello Card 1973 August 1st- The Albany Letter 1974 January 29th-The Exorcist Letter 1974 February 3rd-The SLA Letter 1974 May 8th-The Citizen Card 1974 July 8th-The Red Phantom Letter 1974 December 27th- Christmas Card 1975 November 3rd- The Belmont Letter 1978 April 24th-The 1978 Letter 1978 May 2nd- The Channel Nine Letter 1978 July 19th- The Scotch Tape Letter 1981 March 8th- The Peachtree Letter 1986 May 6th- The Freeway Letter 1987 October 28th- The 1987 Letter 1988 February 1st- The McDonald's Letter 1988 February 8th- The McDonald's Letter [2] 1990 September 25th- The Celebrity Cypher 1990 December-American Greetings Card 2001 January 10th- Happy New Year Card Unknown DMV Letter (possibly November 1971) 
On October 22nd 1969 the Oakland Police Department took a call in the early morning hours from somebody claiming to be the Zodiac, requesting that either Melvin Belli or Francis Lee Bailey, high profile lawyers at the time, appear on a chat show hosted by Jim Dunbar later that day. Melvin Belli agreed to appear on the show to which a man would eventually contact via telephone, claiming not only his name was 'Sam', but also by inference that he was the infamous Zodiac Killer.
Three people had heard the voice of the Zodiac Killer, including two police dispatchers; Dave Slaight who took the second Zodiac phone call after the Lake Berryessa attack on September 27th 1969 and Nancy Slover who received the first phone call from the killer at 12:40 am on July 5th 1969 from the intersection of Springs Road and Tuolumne, approximately 40 minutes after the attack on Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau at the Blue Rock Springs Park in Vallejo. Bryan Hartnell, who survived the brutal attack in Napa, became the third and last person ever to hear the Zodiac - all three of which categorically stated that the man called 'Sam' who rang into the Jim Dunbar show was not the same voice they had recalled from the Blue Rock Springs and Lake Berryessa attacks and therefore not the Zodiac. It was believed that Eric Weill, a mental patient was responsible for the hoax call to the Jim Dunbar show in the October of 1969. In January of 1970, a person claiming to be Zodiac rang the Belli residence, spoke with his housekeeper Erna and requested to speak with the flamboyant lawyer, only to be told he was unavailable and out of the country. The caller replied "I can't wait, today's my birthday". This interaction was detailed in a partially redacted FBI file on January 14th 1970. The phone call would have been placed in the days before this urgent request, labeled "instant date January 14th". On February 18th 1970, the caller to the Jim Dunbar Show was identified by the San Francisco Police Department as Eric Weill. They contacted the FBI with the details, but this information did not appear in the newspapers. Eric Weill was almost certainly the responsible for both the Jim Dunbar Show call and the call to Bellii's residence, stating "I can't wait, today's my birthday". Eric Weill was born on January 10th 1940 and his father's name was "Sam". But there is a strong possibility that the "birthday call" was placed on January 10th 1970 - with Eric Weill likely believing that being honest about his birthday would never lead to his identification. It didn't. But the resultant tracing of the calls to him and the FBI files detailing the "birthday call" just prior to January 14th 1970, further strengthening the case against him. The choice of "Sam" as his chosen name on the Jim Dunbar Show call may also be very close to home. |
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