Robert Graysmith Although Chief Martin Lee ridiculed the idea that the Zodiac entered the Presidio Park, it appeared that Inspectors David Toschi and Bill Armstrong weren't so dismissive according to Robert Graysmith, who wrote "The detectives heard from neighbors that a stocky figure was seen dashing across Julius Kahn playground and into the dense undergrowth of the Presidio. The dog patrol units, seven of the best search dogs in the country, gathered at the front entrance of the Presidio and were deployed one at a time in various directions. Armstrong and Toschi considered the possibilities. Had the killer gone quickly through the dark woods and emerged from the Presidio at Richardson Avenue, and taken Highway 101 past Fort Point onto the Golden Gate Bridge and vanished into Marin County". The thoughts of Toschi and Armstrong were well founded, especially when you consider that the man seen running into the Julius Kahn Playground carried an extremely similar description to the one given by Officer Donald Fouke and the three Robbins kids.
If the Zodiac Killer had entered the park here, it is highly unlikely he would have backtracked in a westerly direction towards the crime scene. An escape route north on foot to escape the park would have been extremely time consuming. The detail given by the Zodiac Killer in his November 9th 1969 letter (if true), suggests that once he entered the park at Julius Kahn Playground he headed east, where in the wooded section opposite Laurel Street, he observed dogs that never came within 2 blocks of him, because they were to the west. Two blocks west was Julius Kahn Playground, where "seven of the best search dogs in the country, gathered at the front entrance of the Presidio". The Zodiac Killer's claim in his letter was correct that dogs were assembled by Julius Kahn Playground, but this detail had been released in the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper as early as October 15th 1969, which stated "A large contingent of police with dogs and searchlights secured the area around Cherry Street, which included the wooded south boundary of the Presidio and Julius Kahn Playground. So any escape through the park in a westerly direction, two blocks towards Cherry would have been highly unlikely.
If the Zodiac Killer had entered the park here, it is highly unlikely he would have backtracked in a westerly direction towards the crime scene. An escape route north on foot to escape the park would have been extremely time consuming. The detail given by the Zodiac Killer in his November 9th 1969 letter (if true), suggests that once he entered the park at Julius Kahn Playground he headed east, where in the wooded section opposite Laurel Street, he observed dogs that never came within 2 blocks of him, because they were to the west. Two blocks west was Julius Kahn Playground, where "seven of the best search dogs in the country, gathered at the front entrance of the Presidio". The Zodiac Killer's claim in his letter was correct that dogs were assembled by Julius Kahn Playground, but this detail had been released in the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper as early as October 15th 1969, which stated "A large contingent of police with dogs and searchlights secured the area around Cherry Street, which included the wooded south boundary of the Presidio and Julius Kahn Playground. So any escape through the park in a westerly direction, two blocks towards Cherry would have been highly unlikely.
The Zodiac Killer, after stating "The dogs never came with in 2 blocks of me + they were to the west", mentioned that "there was only 2 groups of parking (or barking)". Did he lift this information from the newspapers which reported a "large contingent of police and dogs with searclights" by Cherry Street and Julius Kahn Playground, which was "two groups"? Or was he able to see the searchlights at these approximate locations as he hid in the park? Motorcycles and police cars were mobilized to circle Presidio Park to restrict the movements of the killer, but according to the Zodiac in his October 13th 1969 letter they were "holding road races" instead of "quietly waiting for him to come out of cover". He further elaborated on this on November 9th 1969, stating "the motor cicles went by about 150 ft away going from south to north west".
If the Zodiac Killer had continued eastwards through the park from the wooded area opposite Laurel Street, he would have reached Presidio Boulevard, where police motorcycles would have been traveling from the "south to north west" (see map below). The two yellow circles on the map show two positions exactly 150 feet from Presidio Boulevard, so if the Zodiac Killer was at either of these locations he would have been in prime position, nestled in the woods, with the ability to observe motorcycles traveling along the roadway, and ready to escape from the park to the nearby Lyon Street, which was 370 feet from Presidio Boulevard.
If the Zodiac Killer had continued eastwards through the park from the wooded area opposite Laurel Street, he would have reached Presidio Boulevard, where police motorcycles would have been traveling from the "south to north west" (see map below). The two yellow circles on the map show two positions exactly 150 feet from Presidio Boulevard, so if the Zodiac Killer was at either of these locations he would have been in prime position, nestled in the woods, with the ability to observe motorcycles traveling along the roadway, and ready to escape from the park to the nearby Lyon Street, which was 370 feet from Presidio Boulevard.
If Robert Graysmith was correct, this thought process must have been considered by Toschi and Armstrong, who conceived the notion of a killer heading towards Richardson Avenue, traveling west on Highway 101, and over the Golden Gate Bridge. The only difference to my analysis, is that they thought the killer may have emerged from the Presidio at Richardson Avenue. However, this would have required the Zodiac Killer to have spent an excessive amount of time in the park, rather than exiting from the south-eastern corner and entering a vehicle parked on Lyon Street. From here, in a vehicle, he would have reached Richardson Avenue in a much quicker time.
The Zodiac could have combined his experience from that night with maps and the coverage in the newspapers in the intervening four weeks, to concoct a reasonable story of his excursion into the park. However, the description of the man running into Julius Kahn Playground near-matched the description given by the teenagers at the crime scene and Officer Donald Fouke. So if the Zodiac Killer had entered the park at this location, he had to go somewhere. That safest somewhere, based on the police search, would most likely have been east in the direction of Lyon Street and Broadway.
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