On July 13th 1971, the Zodiac Killer claimed his involvement in the April 11th 1971 murder of Kathy Bilek, brutality stabbed at Villa Montalvo in Saratoga. The Monticello card also inferred his involvement in the murders of Kathy Snoozy and Deborah Furlong on August 3rd 1969 in San Jose. This wasn't the first time he implicated himself in the murder of these girls, and it wouldn't be the last. On April 29th 1971, Karl Francis Werner (18) was arrested for the knife slayings of all three girls, much to the surprise of many who knew him. Karl Werner, a lanky 6'2" freshman at San .lose City College, who worked six nights a week at a hamburger stand, was described by his boss as “very sincere, hard-working, quiet, of good character.” Eve Schulman, 19, a classmate who rode to the campus with Werner each day, called him “the typical boy next door.” She said Werner, a high ranking student in mathematics and physics, who has been constructing a computer as a class project, is “really smart, really neat.”  

I believe the Zodiac Killer constantly followed the newspapers with respect to the murders he was claiming. He knew that if the police believed he was the likely murderer his reign of terror would be continue, and the newspaper coverage he so badly craved would extend his perceived legacy. The newspaper cutting on the left was authored by Paul Avery (a journalist from the San Francisco Chronicle), and somebody the Zodiac Killer followed closely at the height of his 'reign of terror'. Karl Francis Werner had just been arrested for the murders of the three young girls, and his story was covered by Paul Avery on April 30th 1971 under the title of 'San Jose Student Held in Slaying of Three Girls'. In a revised timeline, I believe the Zodiac Killer responded to this particular newspaper article, when he mailed the '148 Character' cipher to the San Francisco Chronicle, most likely in the May of 1971. 

The newspaper article stated "He was immediately advised of his rights concerning any statements he may make and legal representation to which he is entitled, the detectives said. Werner was then taken to the scenes of the crimes. Late yesterday her was undergoing questioning. The detectives would not reveal what statements, if any, he had made concerning the killings of the three girls". The Zodiac Killer would respond in his letter to the San Francisco Chronicle, warning the police "Tis the Zodiac Speacking. Why can't you stop me. I can't stop killing. Stop listening t(o) phonys. If this is not on your front page in a week I will skin 3 little kids and make a suit from the skin".  

He was effectively saying to police who were questioning Karl Werner "stop listening to this phony (impostor, fraud). I am the real killer". In view of the title of this article 'San Jose Student Held in Slaying of Three Girls', it probably isn't too surprising he threatened a further "three little kids" if they didn't print this letter and cipher on their front page. 

He also wrote on the '148 Character' cipher letter "Next time I will send a patch of skin if their is some left over". Bearing in mind the 200+ stab wounds these young girls suffered, this statement doesn't require much explanation. 

Both the Monticello card and '148 Character' cipher inferred a total of 21 victims, suggesting they were authored by the same individual.    

Using old and new material, we will take a comprehensive look at the 'Dripping Pen' card mailed by the Zodiac Killer on November 8th 1969, and attempt to link it to a future threat of murder. The card itself was most likely chosen for purpose, referencing the immediate aftermath of the attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard at Lake Berryessa on September 27th 1969. Approximately five minutes after the brutal stabbing, the killer walked to the side of Bryan Hartnell's white Volkswagen Karmann Ghia and wrote "Vallejo 12-20-68, 7-4-69, Sept 27-69 -6:30 by knife". The hand the killer wrote on the car door with, was likely the hand he used during the attack on the young couple, almost certainly peppering his dominant hand with blood, and consequently to the marker pen he wrote with. So, the choice of greeting card stating "Sorry I haven't written, but I just washed my pen" was likely a sardonic reference to the callous and bloody attack at Lake Berryessa. The addition of "Aug" on the card inner, a suggestion of his involvement in the double murder of Deborah Furlong and Kathy Snoozy in San Jose on August 3rd 1969. This, coupled with the footnote of "by knife" written on the car door, was likely deliberately engineered to steer investigators toward this conclusion. They had after all considered this premise in the October 1st 1969 edition of the San Francisco Examiner, in which was stated "And today San Jose police, to the south, inquired of law enforcement officers here whether there was indication that the "Cipher Killer" might be linked to the knife slaying of two teenage girls Aug.3, still unsolved". This wouldn't be forgotten by the Zodiac Killer.   

Another reason to believe the 'Dripping Pen' card was referring to Lake Berryessa can be found in its design. The Zodiac Killer, almost without exception, would give us a running total of his victims, occasionally writing the victim count on the horizontal wing of the crosshairs. The only two times this was not the case, was the November 8th 1969 'Dripping Pen' card and the car door of Bryan Hartnell's white Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. In both of these writings he gave us his Zodiac crosshairs with the months of his murders underneath. This was the first and last time he would ever do this.

If you run the message from the face of the 'Dripping Pen' card to inner, it reads "Sorry I haven't written, but I just washed my pen and I can't do a thing with it". So, when the Zodiac Killer wrote "I get aufully lonely when I am ignored, so lonely I could do my Thing", he was indicating that in the future when he needed some attention, he would write again. His Thing being his propensity to put pen to paper, or in the case of Lake Berryessa, to metal. He was effectively addressing the police when he wrote "I though you would need a good laugh before you hear the bad news. You won't get the news for a while yet". In fact, the bad news would arrive in exactly thirteen days time - and it was directed towards the police in regards to the month of August. In effect, his next correspondence would be pushing the same narrative as the car door and greetings card, of his involvement in the deaths of Deborah Furlong and Kathy Snoozy. 

​On November 21st 1969, a letter arrived at the San Jose Police Department, addressed to a particular law enforcement officer. The letter was threatening a widow - so much so - that police initiated 24-hour surveillance on the woman's home. The police stated that "they believed the widow in the message may be Mrs......" In other words, the woman wasn't directly named in the correspondence, but they had by reasonable deduction, concluded who the threat was aimed at. I believe that the Zodiac Killer, in his continued drive to cement the notion of his involvement in the two teenage girls murders, mailed this "bad news" to the San Jose Police Department. Can it really be a coincidence that he wrote "by knife" on the car door to plant the seed, added the "Aug" on the 'Dripping Pen' card, then mailed his next correspondence to the City of San Jose? In addition, this new communication began with some familiar words: "There's no doubt I will do my Thing".  

On November 21st 1969, the San Jose Police Department would still have been devoting many hours to the unsolved murders of these two teenage girls, and likely receiving many tips from potential eyewitnesses and the residents of San Jose, eager to assist in the investigation. What better way for the Zodiac Killer to convince law enforcement of his potential involvement in this crime, by threatening to do his Thing on one of these residents.

I have no doubt the Zodiac Killer was scouring the newspapers about this crime - so imagine he came across such a headline:
"An elderly widow, Maureen Jones, was today helping police with their investigation into the senseless murders of two young girls in San Jose, Sergeant Johnston said", or "An elderly widow, residing at Seacreek Way, was today helping police with their investigation into the senseless murders of two young girls in San Jose, Sergeant Johnston said". These article excerpts are fictitious, designed to show what Zodiac  may have read in any number of articles I have no access to. 

The Zodiac Killer never mentioned his victims by name, so it is entirely plausible that whether he knew this woman's name or not, he could, by sending a threatening letter to police using the term "widow", and addressing the communication to "Sergeant Johnston", convince police that the threat was a credible one. This may be why the police believed they knew who the woman was, despite the fact her name was never mentioned in the correspondence mailed to the San Jose Police Department. Because she had recently received newspaper coverage.     

A small code arrived with the November 21st 1969 communication. The short code (shown above in the FBI files) was
​-- + 6 2 + --, containing two dashes either side, two pluses, and the numbers 6 and 2. The idea that anybody looking at this code could arrive at 1620, without having previous reason to suspect this four number solution, seems unlikely. But if investigators knew that "Maureen Jones" lived at a residence, such as 1620 Seacreek Way, San Jose, then they might have reason to believe this is what the code was implying. Earlier newspaper reports stated "A killer armed with a thin-bladed stiletto was hunted here today as the one who savagely stabbed to death two teenage girls yesterday as they picknicked in Almaden Valley. The scene where the bodies were found is just south of Blossom Hill Road, two blocks west of Calahan in the northern end of the valley. About 10:00 am yesterday, the girls packed a lunch and left Deborah's parents' San Jose home for a picnic atop a grassy knoll nearby. The picnic ground is a rugged area, near a narrow, serpentine trail used by motorcyclists for hill-climbing contests".  So, if we could find a 1620 residence in San Jose, possibly close to the crime scene, this may be the location of the "widow" Zodiac was targeting.

As shown above, in the October 1st 1969 San Francisco Examiner article, "San Jose police, to the south, inquired of law enforcement officers here whether there was indication that the "Cipher Killer" might be linked to the knife slaying of two teenage girls Aug.3".  Therefore, would it really be that surprising if the Zodiac Killer had capitalized on their suspicions and mailed a threat to the San Jose Police Department? He knew he would be taken seriously by police - and why they were prepared to instigate 24-hour surveillance on the residence of the "widow" mentioned in the letter.

Diane Louise Gerrish (19), a young and attractive cosmetologist, who resided at 1042 Peralta Avenue, Albany, was found beaten and strangled to death in the grounds of the San Francisco Presidio by three soldiers on Monday, August 30th 1965 at 7:30 am. The blonde, blue-eyed, North Berkeley Beauty College graduate had been strangled with a garrotte, fashioned from her own stockings and brassiere. It was determined she had been dead for approximately 8 hours, so was likely murdered during the late night hours of Sunday, August 29th. She was last seen on Friday night after having an argument with her family over the use of a car. Diane was found lying on the bed of an ice plant near Lincoln Boulevard, close to the southern entrance of the Golden Gate Bridge.

San Francisco Coroner, Henry Turkel, concluded the attack was sexually driven. Her skirt had been pulled up, her undergarments were removed and then her depraved attacker had subsequently mutilated her with the branch of a shrub. She had also been savagely beaten about the face and body, by what was believed to be the fists of her assailant. Investigators clearly understood they were looking for a sexual psychopath. The case was turned over to the FBI as the Presidio base came under federal jurisdiction. 

Diane was a regular visitor to the Fort Scott Presidio Enlisted Men's Club, a log cabin on Presidio Hill. 

Courtesy of Murder Inc Wordpress.com.

SAN FRANCISCO (UPI) FBI agents pressed their search today for a “sexual” psychopath" who strangled a young cosmetologist and dumped her body on a field of iceplant at the Presidio of San Francisco.

​Agents said Diane Louise Gerrish, 19, of Albany, had been killed with a garrotte fashioned out of her stockings and brassiere and had been mutiliated sexually in an appalling manner. Her face was covered with blood and her skirt had been tossed carelessly over her body.

Miss Gerrish’s body was discovered by three Presidio soldiers Monday. They called MP’s who immediately turned the case over to the FBI since the military post is under federal judisdiction.

​Miss Gerrish had been missing from her family home since last Friday after she stormed put of the house in an argument over use of the family car. She was a popular girl who had recently graduated from the North Berkeley Beauty College and was to have taken her operator’s examination in San Francisco today. The tall, blue-eyed girl was considered extremely attractive and was described as a "friendly, kind girl" who was "very good with children".

In the last article 'More Than Just By Knife' we looked at the message "by knife" on the car door at Lake Berryessa and the month of "Aug" on the 'Dripping Pen' card, mailed on November 8th 1969. It was argued that the reference to "by knife" meant so much more to the killer than just telling us the patently obvious, that Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard were attacked with a knife. It was a declaration of what was soon to be revealed on November 8th 1969, that the Zodiac Killer was suggesting his involvement in the Kathy Snoozy and Deborah Furlong double stabbing on August 3rd 1969.  

The addition of the time on the car door also appeared to be lacking any great purpose, so this led me to believe that the time of 6:30, just like "by knife", also had some significance to the killer. The Zodiac Killer would certainly have been scouring the newspapers around the time of his July 31st 1969 and August 4th 1969 communications to the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner and Vallejo Times-Herald. It is apparent that his narcissistic tendencies would have compelled him to purchase the newspapers for any reading material about himself. 

It must therefore have annoyed him greatly that the Kathy Snoozy and Deborah Furlong murders featured on the front pages of the San Francisco Examiner on August 4th 1969 and the San Francisco Chronicle on August 6th 1969, when he had declared at the same time that he "was not happy to see that he did not get front page coverage" in the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter. This is probably the moment he decided on an altogether more hands-on approach to his method of murder - by knife. The inspiration for the Lake Berryessa attack may have come straight from the pages of the San Francisco Examiner. On the same day the Zodiac Killer hand delivered his 'Debut of Zodiac' letter to the Examiner offices, the San Francisco Examiner headlined with '2 Girls Stabbed-Picnic Murders Footprint Clue'. Apart from "Girls", this headline could easily have been written for the September 27th 1969 Lake Berryessa attack.       

Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard were enjoying a pleasant afternoon/early evening picnic near the Oak Shores Recreation Area, when a man in an executioner's outfit changed everything. The San Francisco Examiner (above) stated "San Jose-A killer armed with a thin-bladed stiletto was hunted here today as the one who savagely stabbed to death two teenage girls yesterday as they picknicked in Almaden Valley. The scene where the bodies were found is just south of Blossom Hill Road, two blocks west of Calahan in the northern end of the valley. About 10:00 am yesterday, the girls packed a lunch and left Deborah's parents' San Jose home for a picnic atop a grassy knoll nearby. The picnic ground is a rugged area, near a narrow, serpentine trail used by motorcyclists for hill-climbing contests". 

​The question being: did the Zodiac Killer switch from gun to knife, head down the serpentine trail of Lake Berryessa to target unsuspecting picknickers or people enjoying a relaxing day out, because he just fancied a change, or did he believe this was his path to guaranteed "front page coverage", just like the brutal stabbing of the two young girls in San Jose? The car door may have held the answer, by the addition of the "by knife" phrase. The Zodiac Killer was effectively saying "do I get front page coverage now". But how does the time of 6:30 (pm) on Bryan Hartnell's car door play into the Kathy Snoozy and Deborah Furlong murders of August 3rd 1969.

Serial killer Karl Francis Werner may inadvertently have been responsible for the murder of Cecelia Shepard and attempted murder of Bryan Hartnell at Lake Berryessa on September 27th 1969. Many people have made the case for questioning the Lake Berryessa attack as a Zodiac crime, by pointing out that the Zodiac Killer included the month "Aug" on his November 8th 1969 'Dripping Pen' card, yet he failed to include this date on the car door of Bryan Hartnell's white Karmann Ghia. However, the inclusion of August on the 'Dripping Pen' card may be the confirmation of the "by knife" message on the car door withheld by police. As early as October 1st 1969, only four days after the Lake Berryessa attack, an article in the San Francisco Examiner entitled 'Sex Fiend Sought For Six Killings' stated "A psychotic killer police say brutally slays females for sexual gratification is loose in the North Bay today". Extremely irresponsible and factually incorrect journalism, that may have driven the attack on a lone male in San Francisco to prove this assertion incorrect.

The Zodiac Killer would use this "North Bay" reference only twelve days later, after the callous execution of taxicab driver Paul Stine on October 11th 1969 in San Francisco, to confirm his link to Berryessa. The Zodiac Killer mailed a letter to the San Francisco Chronicle with the admission "I am the same man who did in the people in the north bay area". The San Francisco Examiner would detail the withholding of part of the message on the car door at Berryessa, stating "There was more to the inked car door message than dates. But Captain Townsend masked the information, considered it "classified". In the September 30th 1969 edition of the Examiner, entitled 'Police Dare Cipher Killer', Captain Don Townsend dared him to write or phone again to prove he wrote the message: "There is more, and we are not releasing it now. Why? Because this man has a pattern of contacting the police and newspapers by phone and letter after his killings. We are holding back part of the note because, when and if he writes, he can say what else was written there - and thus prove he is the 'man who loves to kill'"   

I believe the Zodiac Killer did respond - not as the police had hoped - but indirectly, by the inclusion of the month of "August" on the November 8th 1969 'Dripping Pen' card, just five weeks later. The killer wrote "Des, July, Aug, Sept, Oct = 7". The murders in December, July and October were all perpetrated with a firearm, and police knew that September represented the Lake Berryessa attack with a knife. Therefore, it left "Aug" to figure out.

​The answer lies in the October 1st 1969 San Francisco Examiner edition, where investigators contemplated a link to the brutal stabbing and murder of two young girls in San Jose on August 3rd 1969. Deborah Gaye Furlong (14) and Kathie Ann Snoozy (15) were found murdered in the Bay Area of San Jose, in what can only be described as a barrage of knife wounds. These murders were eventually linked to the hand of Karl F. Werner, who was also convicted of the Kathy Bilek murder. However, these murders were not solved until 1971. The October 1st 1969 Examiner stated "And today San Jose police, to the south, inquired of law enforcement officers here whether there was indication that the "Cipher Killer" might be linked to the knife slaying of two teenage girls Aug.3, still unsolved".   

This is exactly what the Zodiac Killer had hoped - and why he perpetrated the Lake Berryessa attack in the first place. He was laying the seeds for law enforcement to conclude this very idea - and the reason he switched to a knife attack on this occasion. The "Aug" reference was pushing law enforcement to conclude he was responsible for the brutal slaying of Kathy Snoozy and Deborah Furlong - "by knife" - and therefore, in his mind, unequivocally linking himself to the Lake Berryessa stabbings. Had Karl Francis Werner not killed Kathy Snoozy and Deborah Furlong, it is my contention that Cecelia Shepard would still be alive today.

The Zodiac Killer knew that he had to kill to secure the attention of the newspapers, and the bolder the attack, the more publicity he would generate. He had murdered three young people by July 4th 1969 and had sent newspapers a trinity of communications on July 31st 1969 containing three parts of a cipher, determined to secure the headlines he felt he deserved. His letters promised more murder if "you do not print this cipher by the afternoon of Fry.1st of Aug 69, I will go on a kill ram-Page Fry. night. I will cruse around all weekend killing lone people in the night then move on to kill again, until I end up with a dozen people over the weekend". To his dismay, he felt he was being short-changed, writing in the August 4th 1969 'Debut of Zodiac' letter "I was not happy to see that I did not get front page coverage". At this point in time, without doubt, the Zodiac Killer would have been scouring the newspapers for progress on solving his cipher, along with updates on his crimes. Then came the savage knife attack on Kathy Snoozy and Deborah Furlong in San Jose, featured on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle on August 6th 1969: ​   

The Zodiac Killer likely read this article and knew the course of action he needed to take to secure "front page coverage". His next crime had to be bolder, more savage and more personal - using a knife. The brutal murder of these two young girls by Karl Francis Werner would ultimately change the tactics of the Zodiac Killer in his relentless pursuit of notoriety. Seven weeks later he arrived on the shores of Lake Berryessa.

It has been questioned as to why the Zodiac Killer wrote "by knife" on the car door of Bryan Hartnell's vehicle, when it was patently obvious the couple had been stabbed with a knife. But it was much more than this. The writing of "by knife" on the car door was a statement to the publicity he felt he deserved - and was also partly alluding to the Snoozy and Furlong murders he would lay claim to just six weeks later. The "Aug" reference on the November 8th 1969 'Dripping Pen' card was further corroboration to the 'hidden' message on the car door of Bryan Hartnell. The Zodiac Killer attacked Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard with a knife at Lake Berryessa, then planted the seed on the car door to hint towards the San Jose murders just seven weeks earlier, to which he would finally confirm on his 'Dripping Pen' card at the beginning of November. He knew the month of August would be interpreted by law enforcement as the murder of Snoozy and Furlong, because law enforcement had contemplated the link only weeks earlier. The "by knife" message on the car door at Lake Berryessa, would on November 8th 1969, now hold much more significance than it did on September 27th 1969. 

Confirmation of the Snoozy and Furlong "August" link, would arrive on July 13th 1971, when a pasted card was mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle with the words "Near Monticello Shought Victims 21 ...... In The Woods Dies April". The Zodiac Killer was now claiming (or at the very least associating himself with) Karl Francis Werner's third victim, Kathy Bilek. On Sunday, April 11th 1971, Kathy Bilek (18) visited Villa Montalvo in Saratoga, with the intent to read and engage in a spot of birdwatching in the seclusion of a remote, wooded portion of the park, near a small stream. Her body was found the next day by her father, Charles, while Santa Clara County Sheriff's deputies searched nearby. She had been stabbed 17 times in the back and 32 times in her chest and stomach. The Zodiac Killer's requirement to associate himself with three brutal stabbings, despite the fact he wasn't responsible for any, tells you all you need to know regarding his quest for notoriety - and why he was only too willing to write "by knife" on the car door at Lake Berryessa.on September 27th 1969. Its meaning went far beyond the obvious.      

It is no coincidence that the Zodiac Killer only wrote "in this cipher is my idenity" in the letter he mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle on July 31st 1969, because this one-third of the cipher contained the 18 unsolved characters at its foot. This was also the only letter of the three to begin with "This is the murderer". The other two communications to the San Francisco Examiner and Vallejo Times-Herald began with "I am the killer". This shift in introduction may be completely accidental, may be subconscious or may be completely deliberate on account of the "identity" he is to place at the foot of the cipher. The author of these three communications had deliberately separated them into three parts, and therefore when he was preparing the San Francisco Chronicle letter, one would like to think he was considering the opening line when placing his identity at the end of the cipher. If he was ever going to disclose his identity (but not his name), then logically it would be an extension of "I am the killer" to "I am the Zodiac Killer", and therefore satisfy the quota of 18 unsolved characters required by the cipher. I have inserted "I am the Zodiac Killer" at the end of the opening lines of the San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Examiner to show how the revelation of his identity in the Chronicle better suits the introduction of "This is the murderer". 
San Francisco Chronicle: "Dear Editor, This is the murderer of the 2 teenagers last Christmass at Lake Herman + the girl on the 4th of July near the golf course in Vallejo. I am the Zodiac Killer" 
San Francisco Examiner: Dear Editor, I am the killer of the 2 teen-agers last Christmass at Lake Herman and the Girl last 4th of July. I am the Zodiac Killer"     

The Zodiac Killer may have accidentally dropped the word "people" from the San Francisco Chronicle cipher (shown in red above) when he transitioned from one cipher to another, unwittingly missing out this word from his original draft to final version, and thereby forcing him to switch from the intended 12 characters he meant to leave, to a revised 18 characters.To rectify his mistake he simply changed "I am the Zodiac" to "I am the Zodiac Killer". The confirmed murderer of five never used the term "Zodiac Killer" in any of his subsequent communications, opting for "This is the Zodiac speaking", but may have had his hand forced on this occasion. It would have been relatively easy to just rewrite the San Francisco Chronicle cipher, but this was an easy solution. One can see how the Zodiac Killer chose his words in the October 13th 1969 letter, opening up with "This is the Zodiac speaking. I am the murderer of the taxi driver over by Washington St + Maple St last night". He uses the words "I am" because he has already introduced himself as the Zodiac. In the July 31st 1969 San Francisco Chronicle letter he uses the words "This is the murderer" because he has thus far failed to introduce himself, which he reserves for the final line of the cipher, stating "I am the Zodiac (Killer)". It is effectively a reversal of the Paul Stine letter. 
Paul Stine letter: "This is the Zodiac speaking. I am the murderer of the taxi driver".  
San Francisco Chronicle: "This is the murderer of the 2 teenagers. I am the Zodiac Killer"    

The murderer would very quickly introduce himself in the August 4th 1969 'Debut of Zodiac' letter: "This is the Zodiac speaking. In answer to your asking for more details about the good times I have had in Vallejo, I shall be very happy to supply even more material. By the way, are the police having a good time with the code? If not, tell them to cheer up; when they do crack it, they will have me". He was introducing himself as "Zodiac", so when the police did eventually crack the code, in effect, they would have "had Zodiac". 

An anonymous caller in San Francisco declared that whoever devised the code "would have to have a vast knowledge in three fields - surveying, nautical science and marksmanship". How the caller could derive that the triple murderer had a vast knowledge of marksmanship from these attacks is hard to justify, not to mention nautical science and surveying. Was the Zodiac Killer ringing the police and blowing his own trumpet? The murderer did ultimately commit his murders with varied weaponry and did eventually introduce a map and radians into his communications.   

If we are looking for an identity or pseudonym in the 18 unsolved characters of the 408 cipher, then it must include appropriate word usage in order to increase the originally intended 12 characters up to 18 characters. So if the original message was "I am the Zodiac" or "Zodiac Killer", then the author had to supplement it with an extra 6 characters to replace the word "people". The simplest avenue available was to add "Killer" or "I am the", in order to generate these 6 characters. These were all used consecutively in two of the three communications mailed on July 31st 1969, when the Zodiac Killer wrote "I am the killer of the 2 teenagers last Christmass at Lake Herman + the girl last 4th of July" to the San Francisco Examiner and Vallejo Times-Herald.  

The Zodiac Killer had seemingly failed to fully convince Vallejo Police Chief Jack E Stiltz, who was less than satisfied that the letter writer and killer were one and the same, urging the author of the July 31st 1969 letters to send in more details of the crimes. The Zodiac Killer immediately dispatched the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter on August 4th 1969 with the introduction of "This is the Zodiac speaking". Although the Zodiac Killer could add more details of the crimes in this new letter to prove he was the killer, It is conceivable he revealed his pseudonym after only four days to inextricably link himself to the first three letters. The only way he could achieve this beyond any doubt, was to reveal a significant word in the unsolved cipher. Then the police would know for certain when the code was broken, that the author of the August 4th 1969 letter was not only the killer, but the designer of the cryptogram. So he introduced his pseudonym "Zodiac" earlier than he had originally intended and immediately rushed it off to the San Francisco Examiner newspaper on August 4th 1969, before the cryptogram was solved.

​Remember, if Vallejo Police Chief Jack E. Stiltz had not urged the author of the July 31st 1969 letters to send in more details to prove the letter writer was the killer, the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter would likely never have been written and sent to the Examiner. The "Zodiac" would still have been the "killer" by the time of the Paul Stine murder. He revealed his pseudonym to link himself to the San Francisco Chronicle's 18 characters, but unfortunately for him, he clearly underestimated the difficulty of the encryption. The release of his identity or pseudonym "Zodiac" so quickly, may lend credence to its presence in the remainder of the 408 cipher, and by extension, the 18 unsolved characters harboring a genuine and coherent message. 

​"This is the Zodiac speaking. By the way, are the police having a good time with the code? If not, tell them to cheer up; when they do crack it, they will have me".

THE 18 UNSOLVED CHARACTERS [PT1]
THE 18 UNSOLVED CHARACTERS [PT2]
​THE 18 UNSOLVED CHARACTERS [PT3]

In 2002, a new round of DNA testing was performed on some of the Zodiac letters by Dr. Cydne Holt, yet despite an ABC Primetime documentary opening up with the promising statements of "But today thanks to new crime scene technology there's reason to believe time may have run out on Zodiac. Somewhere, perhaps on the back of this postage stamp or in the seal of this envelope, may be microscopic clues that will now finally lead police to the killer", it appears the early optimism of a Zodiac breakthrough has soured. Dr. Cydne Holt stated "We are hoping to be able to get some genetic information about the individual or individuals that did seal these envelopes or place stamps on them". 

It is patently obvious by these statements the importance of securing genetic material from the sealed sections of the stamps and envelopes. Any testing performed on the outside of the stamps and envelopes is absolutely meaningless from a standpoint of identifying the person who was present at the time of their sealing. Since this documentary aired, it is now claimed that this is exactly what transpired in the laboratory - with the letters being swabbed from the outside. The only reason to perform such a pointless procedure, would be if you had failed to find any or enough saliva on the sealed section of the envelopes or stamps tested, yet were determined to carry on with the 'show'. In other words, the ABC Primetime documentary ended up becoming a circus sideshow for ratings, rather than applying the correct procedure which was promised in the opening statements of the documentary. This led to previously ruled out suspects getting a new day in the sun. Despite the fact this round of testing has been routinely discredited by many in the Zodiac community, the documentary has inadvertently revealed so much more about the Zodiac case. 

The San Francisco Police Department DNA report of communications tested in the late 1990s, indicates that "few cells" were found on any of the Zodiac communications up to and including the June 26th 1970 'Button' letter. The letters subsequently tested after this date were all labelled as "cells found". The Kathleen Johns, Little List, Exorcist and 1978 letters all contained potentially measurable genetic material.

​Even Criminalist Alan Keel (according to Mike Rodelli) revealed: "In contrast (to earlier communications), Keel analyzes two other letters, one of which is the 1978 forgery, and finds that this letter and one of the 1974 letters are loaded with saliva and cells. He then easily extracts DNA from both of these letters using the more primitive DNA technology of that time and finds that the DNA matches between those two letters, thus proving that one person sent both."  The only other letter in 1974 processed for DNA (where cells were found), was the Exorcist letter. Therefore, the two letters described by Alan Keel "as matching between them" had to be the 1978 letter and the Exorcist letter. If the 1978 letter is 'not an authentic Zodiac letter', then the Exorcist letter is 'not an authentic Zodiac letter' either.​

So, here we have four communications that provided notable results, but none were featured in the 2002 ABC Primetime documentary. The fact that the 1978 letter or Exorcist letter were apparently never tested in the documentary, despite being "loaded with saliva and cells", should be enough evidence to conclude that this round of testing didn't consider these two letters as reliable Zodiac communications. Whereas the majority of Zodiac sleuths consider the Exorcist letter to be genuine Zodiac material, the findings of Alan Keel and the reluctance to use this letter at all in the documentary, seems to reject this premise. The documentary made specific reference to the July 31st 1969 letters, the October 13th 1969 Paul Stine letter and the November 8th 1969 'Dripping Pen' card, all of which apparently contained "few cells" according to the San Francisco Police Department DNA report only two years earlier, but made no mention of the July 24th 1970 Kathleen Johns letter or the July 26th 1970 Little List letter, both of which were labelled as "cells found". If you were to choose letters for testing, surely you would choose ones that contained more cells on the sealed sections of the envelopes and stamps. 

Despite the controversy this documentary has generated, it did clearly state "Dr. Holt has already detected the possible presence of Zodiac's DNA in the seal of the envelope that contained the greeting card, and just in case that fails to provide a full DNA profile, she also prepares to look for DNA  beneath the stamps on two of these three letters (July 31st 1969 letters)." 

They would ultimately claim a partial DNA fingerprint which they used to rule out Arthur Leigh Allen, Kjell Qvale and Charles Collins as the infamous Zodiac Killer. But many believe they failed to find enough material from the sealed sections of the communications and thus resorted to swabbing the outside of the envelopes and stamps. However, Dr. Cydne Holt did affirm that she needed to find DNA matching between the envelope seal of the greeting card and the July 31st 1969 letters, stating "Depending on whether those DNA's match each other, might allow me to include or exclude Arthur Leigh Allen as potentially contributing the DNA on the Zodiac letters". The act of later ruling out all three suspects, including Arthur Leigh Allen, implied she had found a DNA match between these two separate correspondences. Even if she had swabbed the outside of the letters to keep the 'show' on the road, it would still imply (using her words) that a match between separate communications must be found before ruling Arthur Leigh Allen in or out as "contributing the DNA on the Zodiac letters". But what are the realistic chances of finding a DNA match between the Dripping Pen card envelope and one of the July 31st 1969 letters by swabbing the outside of each correspondence? The concluding elimination of the suspects near the finale of the show seemed to suggest, one way or another, she did. The subsequent reluctance of the participants in the documentary to confirm the validity of the testing and the new round of testing in 2018, appears to negate the ABC Primetime documentary as a reliable venture. 

But here we are again in 2019, waiting on results from the latest attempt to secure a viable genetic fingerprint of Zodiac to submit to GEDmatch. "Vallejo police Detective Terry Poyser, who has worked the Zodiac case for four years, said his agency has submitted two envelopes that contained letters from the Zodiac Killer for a type of advanced DNA analysis that previously had not been available in the case. Poyser declined to identify the lab, but said it would attempt to obtain a full DNA profile from saliva on the envelope flap and stamps. He said he expected to have results back from the lab as soon as in the next few weeks, and almost certainly by summer. The department has three letters and two envelopes from the Zodiac, Poyser said. The envelopes each have a double stamp, which Poyser said was a trademark of the Zodiac. They originally were sent to the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco Examiner, he said. The third letter was sent to the Vallejo Times-Herald, but does not have an envelope with it, he said. Allen largely was cleared as a suspect in 2002, when investigators obtained a partial DNA sample from the envelopes that didn't match his. Poyser said that DNA profile only had a few markers on it, less than half of the genetic points needed to definitively clear or identify a suspect". Sacramento Bee.

Again, the emphasis squarely focuses on the July 31st 1969 envelopes and stamps, despite the much earlier Zodiac correspondences showing a tendency toward "few cells" being discovered. The July 31st 1969 letters were not available during the San Francisco Police Department DNA testing in the late 1990s, but why are the Kathleen Johns and Little List letters seemingly passing under the radar again in this latest round of testing, when the 2000 SFPD report clearly states that "cells were found" on these communications? The apparent omission of the Exorcist letter for submission this time round, despite being "loaded with saliva and cells" according to Criminalist Alan Keel, may further bolster the notion that law enforcement have no confidence in this being a Zodiac letter. Does the apparent reluctance to consider the Kathleen Johns and Little List letters for testing in 2018, suggest an equal lack of confidence?

Were the July 31st 1969 letters submitted in 2018 because current law enforcement do believe in the validity of the findings of the 2002 documentary? After all, Detective Poyser did state "Allen largely was cleared as a suspect in 2002, when investigators obtained a partial DNA sample from the envelopes that didn't match his. Poyser said that DNA profile only had a few markers on it, less than half of the genetic points needed to definitively clear or identify a suspect". Law enforcement must believe that DNA was found on the sealed side of the envelopes and stamps from the July 31st 1969 letters, hence why they are focusing on these communications again, in the hope of finding a full or more complete DNA profile using more advanced technology. If law enforcement really believed the DNA testing from 2002 was only achieved by swabbing the exterior of the July 31st 1969 letters, then their unreserved targeting of these communications would be misplaced. But they seemingly don't believe this to be the case. ​They apparently don't share the reservations of the Zodiac community. 

It could be regarded as contradictory that the majority of the Zodiac community believe the Exorcist letter to be a genuine Zodiac correspondence - one that is widely touted as the final confirmed communication by the Bay Area murderer by ardent sleuths and law enforcement alike, which according to Alan Keel is "loaded with saliva and cells" - yet was seemingly roundly ignored in 2002, and once again in 2018, when this letter by all accounts should be the first port of call regarding biological material. It strongly suggests that the exhibited confidence in the January 29th 1974 letter is totally misplaced - and the Zodiac Killer may never have returned in 1974 at all.

DNA AND THE DAVID TOSCHI CONTROVERSY

Mike Rodelli wrote in his book, 'The Hunt for Zodiac:The Inconceivable Double Life of a Notorious Serial Killer', that Alan Keel, Criminalist at the San Francisco Police Department, San Francisco, California from 1996 to 1999 "revealed that there were two letters in possession of the department that, in contrast to the "true" Zodiac letters, had abundant saliva and DNA-containing oral epithelial cells on them, that DNA was easily extracted from these two letters, and that the DNA extracted from these two letters matched between them. These two letters were considered forgeries, since the "true" Zodiac verifiable letters had not been licked by the sender." Mike Rodelli also stated "In contrast (to earlier communications), Keel analyzes two other letters, one of which is the 1978 forgery, and finds that this letter and one of the 1974 letters are loaded with saliva and cells. He then easily extracts DNA from both of these letters using the more primitive DNA technology of that time and finds that the DNA matches between those two letters, thus proving that one person sent both."  

The San Francisco Police Department DNA report clearly states that the 1978 letter was tested for DNA (which was obtained) and deemed 'not an authentic Zodiac letter'. The only other letter in 1974 processed for DNA (where cells were found), was the Exorcist letter. Therefore, the two letters described by Alan Keel "as matching between them" had to be the 1978 letter and the Exorcist letter. If the 1978 letter is 'not an authentic Zodiac letter', then the Exorcist letter is 'not an authentic Zodiac letter' either. But how can the San Francisco Police Department claim that the 1978 letter is not an authentic Zodiac communication, when you don't have the Zodiac Killer's DNA to test it against? The only two possible answers, are that (Inspector) David Toschi, accused of forging the 1978 letter, had his DNA compared to the 1978 letter and it matched, thus proving it couldn't have been written by Zodiac, or the DNA markers on the 1978 letter confirmed it was written by a woman. Females typically have two of the same kind of sex chromosome (XX), and are called the homogametic sex. Males typically have two different kinds of sex chromosomes (XY), and are called the heterogametic sex. 

If we conclude that David Toschi hadn't forged either the 1978 letter or the Exorcist letter, and the "DNA matched between them" as stated by Criminalist Alan Keel, then we are left to conclude that both were authored by a woman. However, if this had been determined to be the case, why not release this to the public and officially exonerate David Toschi beyond any doubt and clear this perceived stain on his character. This would be the least you would do for a respected and dedicated law enforcement officer, who served the San Francisco Police Department from 1952 to 1987. The fact they didn't do this, suggests that both the 1978 letter and Exorcist letter were not authored by a woman. But this once again places the spotlight back onto David Toschi as the only other option. 

It has been claimed that a palm print discovered on the Exorcist letter has ruled out Arthur Leigh Allen as the contributor. Michael Butterfield wrote "The San Francisco Police department also announced that Allen’s palm print did not match the palm print found on the Zodiac’s “Exorcist” letter of 1974". Zodiac Killer Facts. If this palm print ruled out Arthur Leigh Allen as the author of the Exorcist letter, then it could also be used to rule out David Toschi. If the Exorcist letter and 1978 letter are inextricably linked through DNA and therefore the stamps and envelopes were licked by the same individual, as inferred by Mike Rodelli (from the findings of Criminalist Alan Keel), then by logical extension, if David Toschi was ruled out as the author of the Exorcist letter by palm print, he would also be ruled out as the author of the 1978 letter. 

Deputy Police Chief Clement DeAmicis stated on July 14th 1978, regarding the Exorcist and 1978 letter "We are looking into the authentication of the letters. We have submitted a number of specimens of handwriting. Toschi's is one". Referring to other Zodiac correspondence he continued "We want to know whether they are authentic or whether they are written by somebody we know." Why wouldn't you just compare David Toschi's palm print to the Exorcist letter, as they had apparently done to rule out Arthur Leigh Allen. The San Francisco Police Department stated in 1999 "The Police Department has never made a statement regarding accusations that Toschi faked a Zodiac letter one way or another. We will confirm that not all Zodiac letters are authentic". This final line tells you everything you need to know. The only way they can claim definitively that "not all Zodiac letters are authentic", is if they have confirmed this with DNA. Efforts to harbor DNA from these communications began in the late 1990s - the same time this SFPD statement was released. This lack of transparency from the San Francisco Police Department, the bold claim of ruling out the 1978 letter through DNA (without having confirmed Zodiac DNA), the failure to openly rule out David Toschi using the palm print, and the reluctance to publicly exonerate David Toschi using the 'apparent DNA match between the 1978 letter and Exorcist letter', unfortunately tells you everything. If the San Francisco Police Department have ruled out the 1978 letter through DNA, and not because it's a woman, then it doesn't leave too many other options.

In the last article 'The 340 Cipher-Trick or Treat?' we attempted to show how the Zodiac Killer used two xeroxed keys in the 1990 'American Greetings' card to intimate that the 340 cipher should be inverted or flipped, in order to begin the message with 'This is the Zodiac speaking'. The 'Halloween' card intersecting "sorry no cipher" key, was also used to show how Paradice and Slaves was pivotal to the design of the 340 cipher. But another cryptic communication arrived just 22 days before the 'Halloween' card, on October 5th 1970, entitled the '13 Hole' postcard. The Zodiac Killer could easily have drawn or photographed the keys in the 'American Greetings' card, but opted to xerox or photocopy them. The same could be said of "sorry no cipher", which he could easily have written once. This led to the notion that these two deliberate choices had a meaning or message. This brings us to the '13 Hole' postcard.

Just like the 'American Greetings' card, why does the Zodiac Killer punch 13 holes through the fabric of this card in a 10:3 configuration, rather than just fill in 13 circles like his ciphers? On the address side these holes can be found on the extreme left of the card, which then obviously switch position when the card is turned over. It can also be noted that the text at the bottom left of the card is also flipped over. It read ​"There are reports city police pig cops are closeing in on me. Fk I'm crackproof. What is the price tag now?" The 'American Greetings' card, it was suggested, used two keys to infer the 340 cipher code should be flipped - the bottom row becoming the top row and vice versa - allowing one of only two prominent 'words' on the 340 to settle on the top row, to facilitate the opening message of 'This is the Zodiac speaking'. The second prominent word of 'Her' (that begins the cipher) would now be flipped to the bottom line of the 340. The '13 Hole' postcard gives us the first clue to suggest the likelihood of this being the case.

The Zodiac Killer punched 13 holes into the card with a hole punch, A keypunch is also a device for precisely punching holes into stiff paper cards at specific locations as determined by keys struck by a human operator. Or in computing, a mechanical device whose keys are pressed, individually or in combination, to punch holes in punched cards or paper tape that correspond to particular characters. Programs or wording can be encoded onto a punched card. Did the Zodiac Killer encode a message in a 10:3 configuration using these punched holes, that would not only take 'Her' to the bottom line of the 340 cipher, but use the identical wording on the envelope of the 'Halloween' card to achieve it?    

The message the Zodiac Killer may have wanted to convey, was that "sorry no cipher" hypothetically written on the address side of the '13 Hole' postcard, would not only separate the word 'Her', but it would effectively be inverted or flipped over to the other side when the postcard was turned. The flipped text containing "Fk I'm crackproof" testament to the fact we have a 'Flipped key', despite the boast of Zodiac claiming he was "crackproof" because of it  The 'Her' has now switched sides, thereby giving us our third key to the workings of the 340 cipher. The Zodiac Killer used two keys in the 'American Greetings' card to flip the 340 cipher, and a hole punch here to project the same message. He even added a red crucifix with the number 13 above, to highlight the connection to the 'big thirteen' letters of paradice and slaves on the 'Halloween' card he was soon to mail. Inversion was at the heart of these three communications, using keys in all instances - and all pointing to a 340 cipher that should be turned on its head. 

The first section of this article is a refresher, before we incorporate the rarely mentioned 'American Greetings' card, postmarked December 1990. This card, devoid of any handwriting on the card inner, was the sister communication to the Halloween card, also beginning with "From your secret pal", but contained a photocopy or xerox of two keys that have mystified as to their meaning. We will attempt to combine this communication with the Halloween card and explain its relevance to the Zodiac Killer's unsolved 340 cipher. As always, this analysis must be treated with a healthy dose of skepticism.
  
So firstly, I would like to press home the notion that the Zodiac Killer's 340 cipher was nothing more than a ruse, designed to stick two fingers up to the challenge laid down by Professor D.C.B. Marsh of the American Cryptogram Association (ACA) on October 22nd 1969, when he "invited Zodiac to send The American Cryptogram Association a cipher code - however complicated - which will truly and honestly include his name." The Zodiac Killer would eventually reveal the workings of the 340 cipher just over a year later when he mailed the rather cryptic Halloween card on October 27th 1970, revealing the trick, not treat, he had perpetrated on his challengers. The killer couldn't have been any more obvious when he actually wrote "sorry no cipher" on the envelope inner.

​In 1970, the Zodiac Killer mailed the Dragon card, the Kathleen Johns letter, the Little List letter and the '13 Hole' postcard, none of which stated the glaringly obvious, that he hadn't sent a cipher with any of them. Why would he then apologize for not sending a cipher with the Halloween card when it was patently apparent upon opening the communication? Even if he had wanted to apologize, why didn't the Zodiac Killer just write "sorry no cipher"? The fact he wrote it twice in the form of two intersecting lines suggests this design was created for a purpose. The only other intersecting text on the entire card were the words "Paradice" and "Slaves", so was the author of the Halloween card telling us that something he had created wasn't a cipher, only the intersecting words of "Paradice" and "Slaves"? If we could find "Paradice" and "Slaves" intersecting each other in any previously unsolved cipher, structured in similar fashion to "sorry no cipher", then this should be a strong argument to the meaning behind the Halloween card. We need to find "Slaves" running horizontally, preferably at the center of the 340 cipher and bisect it with the word "Paradice" (hopefully beginning with the letter "P" somewhere at the top of the cipher along the 9th column). 

Fortunately, nine characters along the top row is the letter "P". Then we must travel downwards 17 characters in order to create two lines of equal length and find the "E" of "Paradice". This will now be represented by the character "<".  We now have two lines of 17 characters, bisected by a "+" sign (the center of the crosshairs). The 'wings' of the crosshairs are represented by two dashes, situated in columns 1 and 17. These represent the two "S" letters of "Slaves". This is all very convenient. 

​There are only two identical characters (the "+" sign) in the 9th column along the first 10 rows, and we know the letter "A" is center of the bisecting "Paradice" and "Slaves" on the Halloween card. It is then a simple task of placing the "R" of "Paradice" and "LV" of "Slaves" into position, to exactly mirror the Halloween card formation. It is then not difficult to find the word "By" in all four quadrants of the 340 cipher, again mirroring the Halloween card. See here for visual. 

The second clue may have also come from the envelope, when the Zodiac Killer underlined the 'LAV' of the misspelled Paul Avery on the address side. The three letters 'LAV' bisected the center point of the 340 cipher. What are the odds of "sorry no cipher" mimicking the "Paradice" and "Slaves" formation on the Halloween card, which then mimicked the 340 cipher, along with  the three alphabetical letters 'LAV' being integral to both. 

The Zodiac Killer knew that the first anniversary of his 340 cipher being unsolved was fast approaching, and this Halloween opportunity of revealing his trick to the world, albeit wrapped in another cryptic message, was simply too much to resist.

The words "Paradice" and "Slaves" were decoded in the 408 cipher and featured prominently in the Halloween card, so what are the chances they were an integral part in the design of the 340 cipher as well? So much so, they may have formed crosshairs, bisecting the cipher at its midpoint? If none of the above was an intentional creation by Zodiac and it all fell out by accident, then he is certainly one hell of a fortunate designer. 

In the words of Thomas Horan, the 340 cipher was certainly the "Great Zodiac Killer Hoax of 1969".

When the Zodiac Killer mailed his trinity of July 31st 1969 communications he withheld his identity or pseudonym, but beginning on August 4th 1969 with his 'Debut of Zodiac' letter through to his March 13th 1971 'Los Angeles' letter, every single letter the Zodiac Killer mailed began with "This is the Zodiac Speaking" (excluding cards). So why should the 340 cipher message be any different - which was effectively a letter within a card. 

We do not know if the Zodiac Killer was responsible for the mailing of the 'American Greetings' card, but for the purpose of this argument we will assume that he was. On the left is the photocopy of the two keys that arrived with the communication. The two keys must have had some meaning to the sender - but what? It is clear that the sender could have photographed the keys, drawn two keys or even pasted two 'newspaper keys' onto the card, but made the deliberate choice of photocopying two keys for a reason. The act of the photocopying, one would like to believe, was done to convey a message.

A negative photocopy inverts the colors of the document when creating a photocopy, resulting in letters that appear white on a black background instead of black on a white background. Negative photocopies of old or faded documents sometimes produce documents which have better focus and are easier to read and study. Wikipedia. ​To invert something is to put upside down or in the opposite position, order, or arrangement. Synonyms of invert, are to turn upside down, upturn, upend, turn around, turn about, turn inside out, turn back to front, reverse, flip (over) or transpose. Therefore, was the designer of the 'American Greetings' card hinting that we should "invert the key" or "flip the key". In other words, the key to the 340 cipher is to "invert" or "flip" it on its head in order to read it. The "sorry no cipher" arrangement on the Halloween card envelope was equated with "Paradice" and "Slaves", but could have been written with the 'vertical' "sorry no cipher" running downwards. Could this imply that "Paradice" was meant to be flipped on the 340 cipher, running from bottom to top?  

If we go to David Oranchak's excellent Zodiac Killer Ciphers website and employ his 340 cipher Webtoy using the 'flip vertically' function, the 20th and 1st rows are flipped, the 19th and 2nd rows are flipped, and so forth. In essence, the bottom line now becomes the top line. The "Zodiac" he gave us on the 20th line is now in the perfect position on the top line to open up this communication or cipher with the infamous words "This is the Zodiac Speaking", just like every other letter from August 1969 to March 1971. 

The correspondence before the Halloween card was the October 5th 1970  '13 Hole' postcard. It too contained a cross and flipped text, stating "There are reports city police pig cops are closeing in on me. Fk I'm crackproof. What is the price tag now?"

Wouldn't it be nice if "Fk" meant "Flipped key" as well, and the '13 Hole' postcard was the third member of the trinity of solutions to the Zodiac Killer's unbreakable 340 cipher.

Without beating around the bush, we can now say with certainty that the 'Concerned Citizen' card, postmarked August 10th 1969, was not mailed by Donald Harden. The typist responsible for the 3" x 5" card had clearly read several of the recent newspaper articles before he fashioned this correspondence, including the August 4th 1969 edition of the Vallejo Times-Herald, the San Francisco Chronicle article on August 9th 1969 entitled 'A Murder Code is Broken' and the Vallejo Times-Herald on August 9th 1969, stating "Lynch talked to Harden and said, "I'm convinced he has it solved". He said he would talk to him again today. Meanwhile Lynch has Harden's worksheets and is studying and comparing them with the three-part cryptogram and the translation."  

The August 9th 1969 San Francisco Chronicle article stated "Vallejo Police Sergeant John Lynch, in charge of the investigation of the murders and of the cipher letter writer, asked The Chronicle to send Harden's code breaking worksheets to him for further checking; which was done." The author of the 'Concerned Citizen' card had used the same clumsy wording present in this article, when he addressed Sergeant John Lynch at the Vallejo Police Department. The 'Concerned Citizen' card stated "Dear Sergeant Lynch. I hope the enclosed "key" will prove to be beneficial to you in connection with the cipher letter writer.  Working puzzles criptograms and word puzzles is one of my pleasures. Please forgive the absence of my signature or name as I do not wish to have my name in the papers and it could be mentiond by a slip of the tongue. With best wishes. concerned citizen". 

The idea that the 'Concerned Citizen' would just happen to accidentally use this uncomfortable array of wording, such as "cipher letter writer", and didn't read the San Francisco Chronicle article one day before his August 10th 1969 card, would beggar belief. Additionally, why would Donald Harden mail the cipher key to Sergeant John Lynch, when the article clearly stated that Sergeant Lynch already had Harden's worksheets "and is studying and comparing them with the three-part cryptogram and the translation?"  We also have the 'Concerned Citizen' asking that his "signature or name" not appear in the newspapers. Why would Donald Harden request that his name not appear in the newspapers, when it had already been plastered all over them - and the "Concerned Citizen" card author had most certainly read them, on account of his word salad "cipher letter writer"?                           

The other reason we certainly know that the author of the 'Concerned Citizen' card was not Donald Harden, is because "he went to the University of Florida, Gainesville in 1956 for his master degree in education. During his time in University of Florida, Don gained experience by deciphering codes. Harden eventually graduated from the university. Harden began to teach at Howard High School in Orlando, Florida. Don eventually left Howard High School and went to teach at Aurora Central High School in Denver, Colorado in 1960. In 1960, Harden left Aurora Central High School and moved to Salinas, California. He began teaching history and economics at North Salinas High School in 1960". Fandom.com. 

So, would an educated school teacher, good at deciphering codes, be unable to spell the word "cryptogram"? The 'Concerned Citizen' was clever enough to mail in a cipher key to the Zodiac Killer's 408 cipher, but was incapable of spelling the word "cryptogram", failed to put an "e" in mentioned and failed to put a comma after the first "puzzles". And achieved all this in just 69 words. The author of the card was great with "word puzzles" but couldn't spell. This person was clearly pulling our leg - that much is apparent. One person that liked to play 'cat and mouse' games with the newspapers and police was the Zodiac Killer, who I have little doubt was the author of the 'Concerned Citizen' card on August 10th 1969. The cipher key worksheet he mailed to Sergeant Lynch contained mistakes, and was likely one of his draft copies. The Zodiac Killer certainly followed his stories in the newspapers, which is where he likely found his temporary pseudonym of the "concerned citizen" for one day only.   

Here is a newspaper cutting from the August 4th 1969 Vallejo Times-Herald, stating "Police received a few anxious telephone calls from concerned citizens Sunday, but no leads to the identity of the cipher writer who claims he killed two teenagers on Lake Herman Road and a young woman at Blue Rock Springs. The callers wanted to know if police had caught the man who confessed the slayings in letters to Gibson Publications and two San Francisco newspapers. His three cryptograms, sent with the letters and supposedly giving clues to his identity, still were in the hands of a Navy Cryptographer who at last report had not solved them".  

Was this newspaper article the origin of the "concerned citizen" offering his help to Sergeant John Lynch on August 10th 1969? If the Zodiac Killer created the 'Concerned Citizen' card, was he also concerned enough to have phoned the Vallejo Police Department on August 3rd 1969, asking the police if they had unearthed the identity of the triple murderer? I certainly wouldn't put it past him. 

It is clear, that whoever mailed the 'Concerned Citizen' card had read the August 9th 1969 San Francisco Chronicle article 'A Murder Code is Broken', by using the phrase cipher letter writer. They therefore knew the 'Murder Code was Broken', and the cipher key therefore unnecessary. But the Zodiac Killer didn't play by the rules.   

John Kelly, with numerous television and mass media appearances under his belt, is a renowned criminal profiler and forensic examiner whose extensive knowledge has been utilized by law enforcement in over 100 cases. The founder of S.T.A.L.K. Inc. (System To Apprehend Lethal Killers), he has recently initiated a Youtube channel entitled 'John Kelly Profiler', examining cases such as Jack the Ripper, the Golden State Killer, the Long Island Serial Killer and the Delphi Murders, to name but a few. In 2012 he teamed up with M. William Phelps, a crime author and researcher, for three seasons of the popular Discovery Network 'Dark Minds' series, delving into the sinister world of the serial killer with criminal profiling at its core. 

As of writing, John has currently amassed 40 videos dating back to May 5th 2018 and is keen to add more subscribers to his burgeoning channel. It is extremely important to support independent media, so please visit 'John Kelly Profiler' on Youtube and click the subscribe button. You can also click the notification bell to be alerted when any new videos are published. 

​After many viewer requests, a 55 minute episode of the Zodiac Killer is now available, but be sure to check out the rest of John Kelly's informative Youtube channel. 

I shall be taking a break from the Zodiac scene for a few months to consider my future contributions to the case. It has become increasingly more difficult to find topics that haven't already been covered extensively. The danger in continuing to contribute further articles, is the danger of repeating oneself or starting to fall into the realms of fantasy. I will maintain the website in its current form, although comments will be turned off in approximately two weeks. I will assess things again in the near future. I hope eventually this case will be solved by any means possible, but unfortunately I see little hope.
​Thanks, Richard.

The following is highly speculative and not intended as a solution to the identity of the Zodiac Killer, moreover, an exploration of the January 29th 1974 Exorcist letter in which the author wrote the tantalizing words "Signed, yours truley". Usually the word "signed" would be followed by an author's name, either in full or part. The author of the Exorcist letter stated "Signed, yours truley: He plunged himself into the billowy wave and an echo arose from the suicides grave, titwillo, titwillo, titwillo."
The designer of the Exorcist letter was effectively substituting the signature with a verse from The Mikado's Tit-Willow. In other words, it could suggest his name is present within the verse. The Zodiac Killer (if the author) chose a verse not in keeping with his two previous Mikado selections,  As some day it may happen and A more humane Mikado - both of which had threatening overtones of torture and murder. Whereas, Tit-Willow is about a little tom-tit's last reflective moments before his suicidal plunge into a billowy wave. This may suggest the verse Tit-Willow was chosen for an entirely different reason, particularly in view of the preceding line of "Signed, yours truley", notable on the Dear Boss letter signed by Jack the Ripper and postmarked September 27th 1988, just three years after The Mikado opened at the Savoy Theatre. It should also be noted that William S. Gilbert, responsible for the libretto of The Mikado, released Songs of a Savoyard in 1890 featuring many of the songs from their comic operas. Six songs from The Mikado can be found in Songs of a Savoyard, three of which Zodiac chose - assuming of course, Zodiac was responsible for the January 1974 offering. 

Did the Zodiac Killer embed his name somewhere in his communications as he had promised in his later correspondence? - giving away his forename would certainly not lead to his capture. It has been speculated that the Exorcist letter was a contemplation of suicide on behalf of the author, however, this is hardly in keeping with the threatening overtones of the Bay Area murderer and certainly out of kilter with the foot of the Exorcist letter, which threatens to "do something nasty, which you know I'm capable of doing." It gives the impression that he is threatening to take somebody else's life, not his own. 

There is a strange dichotomy evidenced in the letter, where the author begins by referencing 'The Exorcist' movie (1973) and immediately follows it up by paraphrasing 'Tit-Willow' from 'The Mikado' (1885). 'The Mikado' is often described as the best in British satire, as well as a comedy opera, therefore the word usage of the author describing it as a 'satirical comedy' is unlikely to be accidental. Additionally, the attempted blending of these vastly different productions into one correspondence seems forced, as if chosen for a specific purpose.

The libretto or text was plagiarized from William S. Gilbert. The Exorcist is an  American horror film released in 1973, directed by William Friedkin and adapted for screenplay by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 book. The movie divided audiences and critics alike, as it explored the subject of demonic possession, in this case, that of a 12 year old girl played by Linda Denise Blair. This masterpiece of evil still remains one of the most iconic movies in the horror genre to this day. It is fairly evident that the three main protagonists in these productions all have the forename "William". It is also apparent that every verse of Tit-Willow  ends with "Oh, willow, titwillow, titwillow!", in which the name "Will" can be observed three times. The shortened version of William is also present in "billowy". Did the Zodiac Killer choose the Tit-Willow verse after "Signed, yours truley" for no other reason than it contained his name embedded in the text? The next line after "Oh, willow, titwillow, titwillow!" is "Now I feel just as sure as I'm sure that my name".

Bearing in mind the estimated age of the Zodiac given as between 25-45 in 1969, this would make his birth date between 1924 and 1944. So, from a statistical standpoint, I looked at the most popular boys names in the USA in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. William was ranked 4th highest in the 1920s with 512,400, 4th highest in the 1930s with 416,646 and 4th highest in the 1940s with 556,399.

In the April 20th 1970 '13 Symbol' cipher, Zodiac stated "This is the Zodiac speaking. By the way have you cracked the last cipher I sent you. My name is...."  The cipher contained three characters twice (A, N, and M) and one character three times (joined O and 8). Therefore, the name "William" gives us a good starting point with two repeating letters.
As an experiment, I looked at the most popular American surnames that could possibly fit the criteria required by the '13 Symbol' cipher and the already inserted "William". Sixteenth on the list was the name Martin, giving us an estimated name of William Martin for the Zodiac Killer. There are many alternative second names that could be applied, but if "William" was the responsible's forename, we would be looking for a 6-letter surname for the confirmed murderer of five.

Unless something extremely important surfaces in the coming weeks, this will be the final installment regarding the 1974 communications, and the distinct possibility that none were authored by the Zodiac Killer - effectively stripping just over three years from his perceived reign of terror. Changing this perception will inevitably generate fierce resistance from the hierarchy of 'Zodiac researchers', who have built a comfortable and reinforced narrative over the last fifty years. This has been my experience with many aspects of the Zodiac case, and the S.L.A letter is just another example of circumnavigating the truth to keep a lie afloat. Faced with tearing a chapter from a prized book, will certainly galvanize the mind into sailing around the facts and ultimately create an alternative reality. It started when Tom Voigt unwittingly announced a new Zodiac letter on his website, labelled the S.L.A letter - mailed on February 14th 1974 and postmarked "unknown". Neither of which are true. Unfortunately however, nearly everybody has embraced this narrative, and will likely carry on believing it, no matter the truth.  

The S.L.A letter was postmarked "U.S. Postal Service, CA 913 PM 3 FEB 1974". This tells you unequivocally that the S.L.A letter was mailed from Los Angeles County, and was likely posted on February 2nd or February 3rd - a day or two before the Patricia Hearst kidnapping by the Symbionese Liberation Army, on February 4th 1974. 

What you will be told by the 'narrative keepers' is that a postmark is not visible on the S.L.A envelope, despite its obvious nth generation appearance. However, what they won't tell you - is they must therefore believe that the two FBI files have been created with malintent. They must believe the FBI files have simply been manufactured - just purposely created to deceive - despite the fact the general public had no access to them. Regardless of the fact that the Zodiac Killer mailed nearly all of his communications from San Francisco, the FBI (according to the doubters of a February 3rd postmark) must have apparently sat round a table and concocted both of these files, including the date and origin of the mailing. The idea that the FBI just chose, or 'plucked from thin air' the February 3rd 1974 date and zip code 913, from Los Angeles County, even though the Zodiac Killer had never mailed a correspondence from this location before, would be patently absurd. The 'narrative keepers' have two choices: If they have a book heavily reliant on a February 14th 1974 mailing, possibly involving a suspect, they can [1] Admit they are wrong and rewrite the chapter, or [2] Kill the messenger and destroy the credibility of the evidence presented. I think you know which number they will choose. This deliberate massaging of the facts to keep a narrative on track rears its ugly head throughout the Zodiac scene, evidently demonstrated in the Robert Graysmith Zodiac book, riddled with contradiction. Many have put faith in a DNA resolution to this case in the near future. But does anybody believe this will result in a mass book burning orgy by renowned Zodiac researchers, finally admitting their passionate fervor was flawed, or another round of circumnavigating reality? For many, the answer is set in stone and nothing will steer them away from the impervious cocoon they have built for themselves. 

I hope that the 'narrative keepers' maintain a February 14th 1974 mailing for the S.L.A letter, because then they have to explain how the Zodiac Killer reappeared after nearly three years of hibernation, to then write a letter about the Symbionese Liberation Army, beginning the correspondence with "Dear" and ending with "a friend", only four days after the actual Symbionese Liberation Army mailed a letter (not publicized) to the Hearst family on February 10th 1974, beginning the correspondence with "Dear" and ending with "A friend". Now that is one hell of a coincidence.  

Then we take a look at the Exorcist letter, mailed on January 29th 1974, which hopefully was not doctored by the FBI.
Kevin Robert Brooks created an extremely credible solution to the Exorcist letter symbols in the form of the words "To Kill". In view of the preceding paragraph, his solution is incredibly convincing: "If I do not see this note in your paper, I will do something nasty, which you know I'm capable of doing. To Kill". Whether this is the answer or not, it is certainly a powerful argument, when we consider the S.L.A letter was entirely geared to giving us the word "Kill". This seemed the only purpose behind the S.L.A communication - as though the letter was designed to give us an answer. The fact that the Exorcist letter symbols were withheld from the January 31st 1974 San Francisco Chronicle publication, may have been the inspiration for the February 3rd 1974 correspondence. It was certainly very fortunate that "Kill" could even be created by the symbols at all, and subsequently highlighted in quotation marks, a matter of days later. 

After the February 10th 1974 Hearst letter, ending with "A friend", another Symbionese Liberation Army communication quickly followed (shown above). Both were intercepted at the Burlingame, California, U.S. Postal Annex and both were addressed to Santa Inez Avenue in Hillsborough. The February 10th letter was postmarked CA 940 - so could have been mailed from Burlingame in San Mateo County, or Santa Clara County. The February 11th letter was postmarked Palo Alto, CA 943. Palo Alto is situated in the northwest region of Santa Clara County. Just shy of two weeks earlier, the Exorcist letter was mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle, postmarked CA 940. The FBI determined that the Exorcist letter was mailed from either San Mateo County or Santa Clara County, just like the two letters above. Probably another coincidence?     
​