The police and other outlets received many calls from individuals who claimed to be the Zodiac Killer, which were routinely passed off as potential hoaxers. The most infamous of these calls came on October 22nd 1969, firstly at 2:00am to the Oakland Police Department headquarters at 455 7th St, asking for either Melvin Belli or Francis Lee Bailey to appear on the popular Jim Dunbar TV Show. The second contact, later that morning, was a series of calls to the TV show from somebody claiming to be the Zodiac Killer, who was eventually discovered to be a mental patient by the name of Eric Weill, who chose to use the name "Sam" when prompted and ultimately delivered a rambling psychotic message to the two hosts and viewing public.
The police were clearly unconvinced by many of the "Zodiac" calls they received, so it should have been an obvious choice to have vetted anybody wanting to "appear" on a mainstream television show in front of a considerable audience. The Oakland Police Department, either by their request or by wilful submission from the caller, appeared to have done this by getting "undisclosed knowledge about the killings" from the mystery man. This would have been extremely easy, by simply asking the caller to disclose the wording "by knife", written on the white 1956 Karmann Ghia of Bryan Hartnell at Lake Berryessa, which was withheld from public knowledge. So why wasn't this done when "Sam" rang the Jim Dunbar TV Show a few hours later? This could have immediately removed Eric Weill from the phone line and increased the chances of the real Zodiac Killer delivering his message on the airwaves, to possibly be recognised by one of the many listeners or attending law enforcement. At the very least, investigators may have gained extra insight into the murderer of five, who had undoubtedly rang the Jim Dunbar Show earlier that month when Melvin Belli was last on the show.
The police were clearly unconvinced by many of the "Zodiac" calls they received, so it should have been an obvious choice to have vetted anybody wanting to "appear" on a mainstream television show in front of a considerable audience. The Oakland Police Department, either by their request or by wilful submission from the caller, appeared to have done this by getting "undisclosed knowledge about the killings" from the mystery man. This would have been extremely easy, by simply asking the caller to disclose the wording "by knife", written on the white 1956 Karmann Ghia of Bryan Hartnell at Lake Berryessa, which was withheld from public knowledge. So why wasn't this done when "Sam" rang the Jim Dunbar TV Show a few hours later? This could have immediately removed Eric Weill from the phone line and increased the chances of the real Zodiac Killer delivering his message on the airwaves, to possibly be recognised by one of the many listeners or attending law enforcement. At the very least, investigators may have gained extra insight into the murderer of five, who had undoubtedly rang the Jim Dunbar Show earlier that month when Melvin Belli was last on the show.
Melvin Mouron Belli When the Zodiac impersonator rang into the Jim Dunbar Show on October 22nd 1969, the caller was asked by the host "Did you try to call us one other time, about two or three weeks ago. Did you attempt to call this program one other time when Mr. Belli was with us?". Jim Dunbar was clearly aware of a previous attempt by the "Zodiac Killer" to call the television show, but as had become usual, this call was probably dismissed as a hoaxer wasting police time. If the caller to the Oakland Police Department was confirmed to be the Zodiac Killer - who asked for Melvin Belli - then it's hugely significant that a previous caller had asked to appear on the very same Jim Dunbar Show two or three weeks previously, when Melvin Belli was once again the guest. An earlier call that would have been placed a matter of days before the Paul Stine murder in San Francisco. Especially when you consider that the caller rang KGO Radio in San Francisco when no murders had yet been committed by the Zodiac Killer in San Francisco. If the caller to the Oakland Police Department on October 22nd 1969 was fully verified as the Zodiac Killer, then it is with near certainty he rang the Jim Dunbar Show before the Presidio Heights murder on October 11th 1969.
He may have rang the Jim Dunbar Show between October 1st 1969 and October 10th 1969 to announce that he was about to unleash terror into the heart of the big city, but after being thwarted on this occasion and his attempt on October 22nd 1969, he probably lost patience and declared on November 9th 1969 that he would no longer announce when he was going to commit his murders. The apparent lack of vetting of the Jim Dunbar Show caller, ultimately allowed Eric Weill to waste everyone's time and send law enforcement down another blind alley.
The Zodiac Killer opened up his November 9th 1969 letter with his disdain for police, stating "This is the Zodiac speaking up to the end of Oct I have killed 7 people. I have grown rather angry with the police for their telling lies about me. So I shall change the way the collecting of slaves. I shall no longer announce to anyone. When I committ my murders, they shall look like routine robberies, killings of anger, + a few fake accidents, etc". The lies that the Zodiac Killer was speaking of were likely the utterances of San Francisco Chief of Inspectors, Martin Lee, who stated in the newspaper below that the Zodiac Killer was lying when he claimed he had entered the Presidio Park on October 11th 1969. He rejected the claim of Zodiac that he was close by "in the Julius Kahn Playground" and was a killer who had "almost certainly left his fingerprints somewhere in the Yellow Cab". But there is something unusual about Chief Martin Lee's statements.
He may have rang the Jim Dunbar Show between October 1st 1969 and October 10th 1969 to announce that he was about to unleash terror into the heart of the big city, but after being thwarted on this occasion and his attempt on October 22nd 1969, he probably lost patience and declared on November 9th 1969 that he would no longer announce when he was going to commit his murders. The apparent lack of vetting of the Jim Dunbar Show caller, ultimately allowed Eric Weill to waste everyone's time and send law enforcement down another blind alley.
The Zodiac Killer opened up his November 9th 1969 letter with his disdain for police, stating "This is the Zodiac speaking up to the end of Oct I have killed 7 people. I have grown rather angry with the police for their telling lies about me. So I shall change the way the collecting of slaves. I shall no longer announce to anyone. When I committ my murders, they shall look like routine robberies, killings of anger, + a few fake accidents, etc". The lies that the Zodiac Killer was speaking of were likely the utterances of San Francisco Chief of Inspectors, Martin Lee, who stated in the newspaper below that the Zodiac Killer was lying when he claimed he had entered the Presidio Park on October 11th 1969. He rejected the claim of Zodiac that he was close by "in the Julius Kahn Playground" and was a killer who had "almost certainly left his fingerprints somewhere in the Yellow Cab". But there is something unusual about Chief Martin Lee's statements.
Officer Donald Fouke The above newspaper article is correct that the Zodiac Killer chided police for not searching "the park properly (who were) instead holding road races with their motorcicles seeing who could make the most noise". However, the newspaper article claimed that the Zodiac Killer "wrote (in a taunting letter) that all the while police were looking for him he was not far away in the Julius Kahn Playground". But this article was published on October 19th 1969 when the Zodiac Killer had never mentioned his presence in the Julius Kahn Playground. His October 13th 1969 "Stine letter" only mentioned the "park", which could have been anywhere in San Francisco's Presidio Park.
It wasn't until November 9th 1969, twenty-one days later, that the Zodiac Killer made any inference to Julius Kahn Playground, when he informed police that "p.s. 2 cops pulled a goof abot 3 min after I left the cab. I was walking down the hill to the park when this cop car pulled up + one of them called me over + asked if I saw anyone acting suspicious or strange in the last 5 to 10 min + I said yes there was this man who was runnig by waveing a gun & the cops peeled rubber + went around the corner as I directed them + I disappeared into the park a block + a half away never to be seen again".
It wasn't until November 9th 1969, twenty-one days later, that the Zodiac Killer made any inference to Julius Kahn Playground, when he informed police that "p.s. 2 cops pulled a goof abot 3 min after I left the cab. I was walking down the hill to the park when this cop car pulled up + one of them called me over + asked if I saw anyone acting suspicious or strange in the last 5 to 10 min + I said yes there was this man who was runnig by waveing a gun & the cops peeled rubber + went around the corner as I directed them + I disappeared into the park a block + a half away never to be seen again".
Chief Martin Lee Three days later, on November 12th 1969, a police memorandum from Officer Donald Fouke began with "Sir; I respectfully wish to report the following", before going on to describe his encounter with the Zodiac Killer on Jackson Street (which was about "a block + a half away" from Spruce Street and Julius Kahn Playground). If this was the first time Officer Donald Fouke had told of his encounter with Zodiac to his superiors, it seems odd that Chief Martin Lee was responding to a claim in a newspaper article on October 19th 1969 that Zodiac had told them he was in Julius Kahn Playground. Admittedly, there was an October 12th 1969 San Francisco Chronicle article describing a man seen running into the Julius Kahn Playground, but Zodiac hadn't suggested this was him until November 9th 1969 when he claimed he disappeared into the park at the northern terminus of Spruce Street (a block and a half away from the cops). So how could Zodiac have lied about being in Julius Kahn Playground by October 19th 1969, when he had made no such claim until November 9th 1969?
It has long been suspected that the above memorandum was a belated offering, issued by Donald Fouke's superiors in response to the Zodiac's November 9th 1969 letter, when in fact, they had long known that Officer Donald Fouke had reported his sighting of the white male (Zodiac) shortly after it happened. Chief Martin Lee had been aware before October 19th 1969 that a man was seen running into the Julius Kahn Playground. He was also likely knowledgeable of Donald Fouke's sighting of Zodiac traveling east on Jackson Street towards Julius Kahn Playground. This being the case, it's easy to see how Chief Martin Lee may have coalesced the two stories together on October 19th 1969, when asserting that Zodiac claimed he was hiding in Julius Kahn Playground, when in fact, the Zodiac Killer had only ever claimed he was hiding in the "park" at this juncture.
This is not insignificant, because it shows knowledge of Officer Donald Fouke's sighting of Zodiac long before the police memorandum was issued on November 12th 1969. All that Chief Martin Lee knew, was that a white male adult was seen running into Julius Kahn Payground by eyewitnesses. The Zodiac Killer had made no such claim of entering at this location by October 19th 1969. Therefore, why would Chief Martin Lee be refuting a claim that had never been issued by the Zodiac Killer up to this date? The mere contemplation of a killer hiding in the Julius Kahn playground, suggests a knowledge that the Zodiac Killer was heading in this direction after passing Officer Donald Fouke on Jackson Street. The sighting detailed in the October 12th 1969 newspaper article has never been officially connected to the Zodiac Killer, so why would Chief Martin Lee have been responding to (or brought up) the notion of the Zodiac Killer hiding in Julius Kahn Playground, when the Zodiac Killer had never been conclusively linked to this location, or had even mentioned it in any communication by October 19th 1969? Only by November 9th 1969, in Zodiac's writings, could it have been determined that the Zodiac Killer had entered the park at Julius Kahn Playground. Something that Chief Martin Lee couldn't have known by October 19th 1969.
It has long been suspected that the above memorandum was a belated offering, issued by Donald Fouke's superiors in response to the Zodiac's November 9th 1969 letter, when in fact, they had long known that Officer Donald Fouke had reported his sighting of the white male (Zodiac) shortly after it happened. Chief Martin Lee had been aware before October 19th 1969 that a man was seen running into the Julius Kahn Playground. He was also likely knowledgeable of Donald Fouke's sighting of Zodiac traveling east on Jackson Street towards Julius Kahn Playground. This being the case, it's easy to see how Chief Martin Lee may have coalesced the two stories together on October 19th 1969, when asserting that Zodiac claimed he was hiding in Julius Kahn Playground, when in fact, the Zodiac Killer had only ever claimed he was hiding in the "park" at this juncture.
This is not insignificant, because it shows knowledge of Officer Donald Fouke's sighting of Zodiac long before the police memorandum was issued on November 12th 1969. All that Chief Martin Lee knew, was that a white male adult was seen running into Julius Kahn Payground by eyewitnesses. The Zodiac Killer had made no such claim of entering at this location by October 19th 1969. Therefore, why would Chief Martin Lee be refuting a claim that had never been issued by the Zodiac Killer up to this date? The mere contemplation of a killer hiding in the Julius Kahn playground, suggests a knowledge that the Zodiac Killer was heading in this direction after passing Officer Donald Fouke on Jackson Street. The sighting detailed in the October 12th 1969 newspaper article has never been officially connected to the Zodiac Killer, so why would Chief Martin Lee have been responding to (or brought up) the notion of the Zodiac Killer hiding in Julius Kahn Playground, when the Zodiac Killer had never been conclusively linked to this location, or had even mentioned it in any communication by October 19th 1969? Only by November 9th 1969, in Zodiac's writings, could it have been determined that the Zodiac Killer had entered the park at Julius Kahn Playground. Something that Chief Martin Lee couldn't have known by October 19th 1969.
San Francisco Chronicle, October 18th 1969 On October 18th 1969, the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper stated "In a letter to The Chronicle, the Zodiac chided police for not finding him during their search of Julius Kahn Park and a nearby wooded portion of the park". Yet this wasn't true. The Zodiac Killer had not chided the police in his October 13th 1969 letter for their search of the Julius Kahn Playground or any nearby wooded portion of the park. However, the Zodiac Killer had chided the police for their search of this area on November 9th 1969.
In his November 9th 1969 letter the Zodiac stated "Hey blue pig I was in the park -- you were useing fire trucks to mask the sound of your cruzeing prowl cars. The dogs never came with in 2 blocks of me + they were to the west". If the Zodiac Killer had walked from Cherry Street to Spruce Street via Jackson Street, it is highly unlikely that once he entered the Julius Kahn Playground, he would have backtracked through the Presidio Park in a westerly direction (back towards the crime scene). If he entered the park, his first movements were likely east of Julius Kahn Playground. This was backed up by the Zodiac Killer's statements in his letter. Dogs were deployed by the entrance to the Julius Kahn playground (the location the man was seen running into the park on October 11th 1969), which was 2 blocks west of a wooded portion where Zodiac claimed he was watching the police activity from (which was two blocks east of Julius Kahn Playground in a wooded area). But the Zodiac Killer did not claim this until three weeks after the San Francisco Chronicle article on October 18th 1969.
The police knew of eyewitness reports shortly after the murder that a man was seen running into Julius Kahn Playground, but the Zodiac hadn't suggested this was him in any letter to the San Francisco Chronicle until November 9th 1969. This sighting is barely mentioned by Zodiac researchers and amateur sleuths. In fact, it is comprehensively ignored by the vast majority of people when examining the eyewitness descriptions given at Presidio Heights. Yet here, on October 18th 1969, they are placing the Zodiac Killer in Julius Kahn Playground by way of a letter he wrote to the Chronicle before November had even arrived.
In his November 9th 1969 letter the Zodiac stated "Hey blue pig I was in the park -- you were useing fire trucks to mask the sound of your cruzeing prowl cars. The dogs never came with in 2 blocks of me + they were to the west". If the Zodiac Killer had walked from Cherry Street to Spruce Street via Jackson Street, it is highly unlikely that once he entered the Julius Kahn Playground, he would have backtracked through the Presidio Park in a westerly direction (back towards the crime scene). If he entered the park, his first movements were likely east of Julius Kahn Playground. This was backed up by the Zodiac Killer's statements in his letter. Dogs were deployed by the entrance to the Julius Kahn playground (the location the man was seen running into the park on October 11th 1969), which was 2 blocks west of a wooded portion where Zodiac claimed he was watching the police activity from (which was two blocks east of Julius Kahn Playground in a wooded area). But the Zodiac Killer did not claim this until three weeks after the San Francisco Chronicle article on October 18th 1969.
The police knew of eyewitness reports shortly after the murder that a man was seen running into Julius Kahn Playground, but the Zodiac hadn't suggested this was him in any letter to the San Francisco Chronicle until November 9th 1969. This sighting is barely mentioned by Zodiac researchers and amateur sleuths. In fact, it is comprehensively ignored by the vast majority of people when examining the eyewitness descriptions given at Presidio Heights. Yet here, on October 18th 1969, they are placing the Zodiac Killer in Julius Kahn Playground by way of a letter he wrote to the Chronicle before November had even arrived.
The claims by Chief Martin Lee that Zodiac was lying about entering the park, it can be argued, caused the Zodiac to write his lengthy letter on November 9th 1969, and possibly make contact with the Oakland Police Department on October 22nd 1969 requesting an audience with the Jim Dunbar Show, rather than contact the San Francisco Police Department who he thought were telling lies about him. After all, Oakland was only 2.7 miles from San Francisco.
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