The following is an accompaniment to the Blue Rock Springs Park page on this site, attempting to narrow down the timeline of events leading up to and after the double shooting at the Blue Rock Springs parking lot, to discover whether the Zodiac made his approach to Darlene Ferrin's 1963 brown Corvair just before the stroke of midnight on July 4th 1969, or slightly after on July 5th. The timeline will be reconstructed from the numerous statements contained within the police report.

In the run up to the Blue Rock Springs attack, Michael Mageau "stated that Dea came over at approximately 11:30 pm or shortly thereafter and picked him up in her car". Michael went on to say they headed in the direction of Mr Ed's along Springs Road before turning around and heading eastward toward Blue Rock Springs Park. Michael Mageau resided at 864 Beechwood Avenue and Darlene Ferrin at 1300 Virginia Street, both in Vallejo. However, further on in the report it states that Dean Ferrin (Darlene's husband) and Bill Lee (Darlene's employer) recounted that "Darlene and her sister Christina Suennen had been at Mr Ferrin's place of employment 'Ceasers' in the 300 block of Tennessee Street at approximately 10:30 pm and at this time Darlene left, stating that she was going to take Christina home, then go home herself to 1300 Virginia Street."  Then, at "approximately 11:30 pm Lee called Darlene to ask her if she would try to find a fireworks booth open and purchase some as they were going to have a party at 1300 Virginia Street".
In combination with this, Pamela and Janet, who were babysitting for Darlene, stated that "Darlene didn't return until about 11:30 pm or shortly before that", and after a few minutes cleaning up the house she was going out to buy fireworks, "Darlene left the house around 11:40 pm and they didn't see her again".  It was clear by the accounts of several people that Darlene was still at 1300 Virginia Street at 11:30 pm, and left approximately 10 minutes later, to arrive at Michael Mageau's Beechwood residence "shortly thereafter".

The traveling time from 1300 Virginia Street to 864 Beechwood Avenue is approximately 5 to 6 minutes, so at the earliest Darlene Ferrin arrived at Michael Mageau's residence is 11:45 pm. This is likely the exact time, because if we backtrack through events that subsequently happened at the Blue Rock Springs parking lot, as recounted by numerous people, along with Michael Mageau, this time is confirmed. Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau's journey time from 864 Beechwood Avenue to Blue Rock Springs Park is 7 to 8 minutes, but factoring in that they initially headed along Springs Road to Mr Ed's, away from Blue Rock Springs, before altering their plans, we will take the top estimate of 8 minutes - although it could be conceivably up to 9 minutes.

​This places the couple entering the parking lot at 11:53 pm. We now have three independent statements to factor in the events hereafter, starting with Michael Mageau. Michael stated "they were there just a very short time, a few minutes, and three cars pulled into the parking lot where they were. They were apparently young kids and they heard some laughing and carrying on and a few firecrackers were set off, then the three vehicles left within a short time. Shortly after this and about 5 minutes before the shooting occurred, Michael states a vehicle pulled into the lot, coming from the direction of Springs Road and Vallejo. The driver turned the lights off on the car and pulled around to the left or east side side of their car, approximately six or eight feet away and sat there for a minute. The car drove off and headed in the direction of Vallejo and Springs Road. He stated approximately 5 minutes later it returned". The killer then approached the Corvair.

Deconstructing these statements and estimating the kids arriving after the couple by "a few minutes", considering the kids stayed to laugh and joke (and let off some firecrackers), we can place a minimum of 3 minutes on this duration. Michael stated after the kids left it was about 5 minutes before the shooting. Combining these two estimations puts the duration at 8 minutes, indicating that if they arrived at the parking lot at 11:53 pm, the time would now be 12:01 am on the 5th of July. However, Michael also stated that after the kids left a vehicle pulled up behind them, "sat there for a minute and returned approximately 5 minutes later", thereby extending the timeline to 6 minutes. This, coupled with a minimum of 3 minutes for the kids arriving and leaving, totals 9 minutes, thereby extending the time of the shooting to 12:02 am. All the timelines above are conservative estimates, so the 12:02 am calculation could equally be as late as 12:04 am. To verify or back up this prediction we shall now examine some further statements. 

George Bryant lived only 800 feet from the Blue Rock Springs parking lot and stated "He could hear laughing and a few firecrackers being shot off". This tallies exactly with the statement of Michael Mageau. He continues by saying "at approximately midnight he heard what appeared to be a gunshot". This also fits the timeline nicely.

In the police report it chronicles three other people, Jerry, Roger and Debbie, who were heading along Columbus Parkway, entering the area of Blue Rock Springs from the northwest:. "it was dark and they looked for any vehicles. The only one they saw was the victims brown Corvair".  They approached Mageau, wounded on the floor, and left to get help. "Both boys had to guess the time they were at the park as real close to midnight, possibly a little before midnight." However, it was likely slightly after midnight as we shall estimate. At approximately 12:10 am, Richard Hoffman "copied a radio message from KMA 818 regarding two teenagers being shot at in the area of Blue Rock Springs, R.O. had just checked this approximately 15 minutes prior to this transmission, and found the parking lot of Blue Rock Springs clear of people or motor vehicles".  This statement uses approximation, because as we can see, 15 minutes prior to 12:10 am is 11:55 pm, and Michael Mageau and Darlene Ferrin pulled into the parking lot at around 11:53 pm, meaning they would have been spotted by Richard Hoffman. However, what it does tell us, is that Richard Hoffman likely missed the couple's arrival by a matter of minutes, probably passing the parking lot just prior to 11:53 pm.

​The three youths, Debbie, Jerry and Roger, after seeing Michael Mageau pleading for help, set off to Jerry's home at 938 Catlewood Drive, Vallejo and subsequently called police. The time to reach 938 Castlewood Drive from Blue Rock Springs Park is about 6 to 7 minutes. We have estimated the shooting at 12:02 am. So Jerry, Debbie and Roger likely arrived at 12:03 am to 12:04 am, immediately after the shooting. The 6 minutes to arrive home and call police tallies nicely with the 12:10 am call by Debbie to dispatcher Nancy Slover and the transmission to Richard Hoffman.  

​Richard Hoffman stated in the 2007 'This is the Zodiac Speaking' documentary, after having previously checked the park "I wasn't far away, so I turned around and went back out there and told dispatch I was going to go out there to check on that report". Had that took Hoffman a couple of minutes after receiving the 12:10 am dispatch to arrive at Michael Mageau's side, then Michael's statement of "A white man drove up in a car, got out, walked up to the car, shined flashlight in and started shooting. Man was older than me, window was down. After stop shooting I got out of car, I tried to get the people to come over but they drove off. After finally 10 minutes the policeman came" seems about correct, placing Michael Mageau on the ground in the aftermath of the shooting around 12:02 am, with Richard Hoffman arriving at 12:12 am, or shortly thereafter.
  
​With all the time periods above, a conservative approach has been adopted, implying the double shooting may have occurred slightly later - but from the phone call to the police and dispatch times, 12:04 am is the latest cut off point. The most likely time of the attack can be narrowed to 12:02-12:03 am on July 5th 1969. Although, the Zodiac Killer having begun the night with murder on his mind was clearly content with "On the 4th of July I did not open the car door. The window was rolled down all ready. The boy was origionaly sitting in the front seat when I began fireing".  Debut of Zodiac Letter-August 4th 1969.

The identity of the Zodiac Killer still remains a mystery after nearly five decades of searching, despite numerous suspects being thrust into the limelight, some with more merit than others. This often involves digging deep into the history of the suspect, their profession, acquaintances, social life, personality and movements in and around the Zodiac timeline, to get a better understanding on their viability as a serial killer. But in the following analysis we shall do the complete opposite and examine what the Zodiac Killer didn't do. The only tangible evidence we have to go on, are the crimes themselves and the correspondence he mailed, so we shall use these to search for any anomalies or departures from the expected, bearing in mind that the Zodiac Killer courted attention, with an insatiable appetite for baiting the newspapers for nigh on five years. However, two things stand out during the Zodiac timeline, one of which happened, or should I say didn't happen after the 'Los Angeles' letter mailed on March 13th 1971, that is particularly telling. Or quite possibly after the 'Pines' card mailed on March 22nd 1971, if you are inclined to believe this card to be genuine Zodiac material. The second is something that has been covered before in an article entitled 'Away for the Winter', and concerns the Zodiac Killer's notable absences during three consecutive years. For now though we will concentrate on the March of 1971.  

The Zodiac Killer remained silent for nearly three years until the Exorcist letter surfaced on January 29th 1974, widely regarded as his final correspondence - although a further three communications would be received in the February, May and July of that year. The S.L.A. letter was postmarked February 3rd 1974, the Citizen card was postmarked May 8th 1974 and the Red Phantom letter was postmarked July 8th 1974. Every other correspondence after this year has generally been received with widespread skepticism. Recently, an article on Zodiac Revisited sparked my interest detailing the Zodiac Killer movie released in the April of 1971, just one month after the 'Los Angeles' letter was mailed on March 13th 1971 and six months after the Halloween card mailed and addressed to Paul Avery on October 27th 1970. This article covers many aspects of the movie. Michael Cole, the author of this website and the Zodiac Revisited book due for release in 2019, highlights the involvement of Paul Avery as a consultant to the movie, and is credited as such on the Internet Movie Database.
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​So, bearing in mind the Zodiac's insatiable ego and penchant for letter writing, one would have expected the Zodiac Killer to have found it extremely difficult to resist contacting the newspapers to give us his review of the movie, considering he had no hesitation in giving us his opinion on The Exorcist and Badlands movies. The Exorcist movie was released in the USA on December 26th 1973 and one month later the Zodiac Killer would give his appraisal of the movie, calling it "the best satirical comedy that I have ever seen". The Badlands movie went on general release in the USA on March 24th 1974 and featured in his 'Citizen' card correspondence just over a month later, yet the Zodiac Killer failed to ever mention anything about a movie solely dedicated to his murderous rampage, when 'The Zodiac Killer' was released on April 7th 1971, directed by Tom Hanson. The Zodiac Killer replied to Vallejo Police Chief Jack E. Stiltz in the San Francisco Examiner on August 4th 1969, replied to Chief Martin Lee in the San Francisco Chronicle on November 9th 1969 and to journalist Paul Avery in a personalized Halloween card, yet in the instance, absolutely nothing. ​Eight months later, the Zodiac Killer would get a reprieve when the much higher profile movie 'Dirty Harry', starring Clint Eastwood, was released on December 23rd 1971 featuring aspects of the Zodiac case - a movie that wouldn't have escaped Zodiac's attention. Here was the perfect opportunity to bathe in his notoriety, but yet again, absolutely nothing. In fact, the Zodiac Killer would apparently keep up this silence for nearly three years until the Exorcist Letter in the January of 1974, commenting on a movie that has nothing to do with him. His moment in the sun had been lost. The Exorcist letter signed off with a threat: "P.S. If I do not see this note in your paper, I will do something nasty, which you know I'm capable of doing." I'm afraid he was three years too late.     

The three year hiatus was broken by the confirmed Exorcist letter, mailed on January 29th 1974, indicating he was still alive. So what interrupted his insatiable appetite for communication. It may be likely that he was incarcerated during this period for a lesser offence, curtailing his murderous exploits and communications with the newspapers. An inability to maintain his contact with the world surreptitiously from the confines of a cell, with constant vetting of correspondence, would certainly negate his literary prowess, thereby utterly refuting his exaggerated claim of 37 victims in the Exorcist letter. He may have massively increased his victim total by 20 since the 'Los Angeles' letter nearly three years ago, to give us the impression he was footloose and fancy free during this time period.
 
​One avenue to unearth the identity of the Zodiac Killer is to examine this three year period of 'absentia', which may ultimately prove more fruitful than examining the crimes and letters themselves. If we believe the Zodiac Killer to be a resident of the Bay Area, then it makes perfect sense to examine prison records of the locality and work outward - starting with San Quentin Prison, located in Marin County. The 'Los Angeles' letter was mailed on March 13th 1971 and the 'Exorcist' letter on January 29th 1974, so a prisoner jailed in late March of 1971 or possibly April or May, and released in late 1973 or early 1974, for a time period approximating two and a half years, may just give us the identity of the killer we have yearned. The answer may not lie in the crimes the Zodiac committed, but more in the crimes he didn't commit.

A special thanks to Michael Cole.- Zodiac Revisited.   

The Zodiac Killer appeared to enjoy taunting the police and newspapers, often replying to them directly. Two such examples were the 'Debut of Zodiac' Letter, where he replied the following day to the San Francisco Examiner's article on August 3rd 1969, giving more details regarding his first two attacks to Vallejo policeman Jack E. Stiltz. Then the Zodiac mailed the Bus Bomb Letter on November 9th 1969, responding to the San Francisco article featuring comments by Chief of Police Martin Lee, entitled Zodiac Called a Clumsy Criminal. So it makes perfect sense to examine the preceding article to Zodiac's Halloween Card mailed on October 27th 1970 to possibly unearth the trigger behind this correspondence. It is easy to search for correlations between any two pieces of work, so the following has to be treated with caution - but we will travel back to the San Francisco Chronicle article authored by Paul Avery on October 12th 1970, just two weeks prior to the mailing of the Halloween Card.

It was entitled Gilbert and Sullivan Clue to Zodiac, so it would come as no surprise that the Halloween Card opened with the line "I feel it in my bones, You ache to know my name, And so i'll clue you in".  It would appear that the Zodiac Killer deliberately chose this particular card in regards to the use of the word 'clue,' to be considered as his response. But once again he disappointed, revealing very little. However, what could be garnered from this card was his use of the pumpkin to strategically mask the pelvic gender of the skeleton, unashamedly revealed on the card inner to the accompaniment of the word 'Boo' - while in reverse, masking the face of the skeleton and suggestive of a hidden identity. The question is, what identity are we looking for - a sexual identity or the killer himself?        

The San Francisco Chronicle article also stated "Homicide detectives who've been hunting Zodiac for nearly two years frankly admit he is as much an enigma now as he was on December 20th 1968, when he chalked up his first two victims". On the Halloween Card he chalked up 4-TEEN victims on the card inner in very bold stylized white writing - although whether this was as a response to the article rather than necessity based on the color of the card background, is unknown.

Very little, if anything about the Zodiac crimes can be regarded as sexual, as no apparent interference took place in any of the four crimes, but could this in its absence tell us anything about the killer himself. It has been suggested that his savage attacks on young courting couples is an attack on something unavailable to him, either from a standpoint of confidence and inadequacy, or in terms of his repressed or closet sexuality. After all, the Zodiac did state that killing people was "better than getting your rocks off with a girl". In a previous article 'From Your Secret Pal' we examined the possibility that the Zodiac Killer was a latent homosexual as alluded to in the San Francisco Chronicle, authored by Paul Avery on October 18th 1969 - so here we will slightly expand on that idea.

Jose Sarria was a high profile advocate of the LGBT scene in San Francisco, becoming synonymous with the Black Cat bar at 710 Montgomery Street from 1945 to its closure in 1974, also founding The League for Civil Education to highlight acceptance towards homosexuality and even finding the time to run for office. Jose Sarria encouraged patrons to be proud of their homosexuality, while often dressing up - and as a performer often sang in opera based shows and torch songs. However, there was fierce opposition from society, with constant police intimidation and raids, with cross dressing patrons routinely arrested on the pretext of impersonating a woman. Jose Sarria encouraged the arrested to demand jury trials in an attempt to clog up the court system, forcing a rethink by authorities. Despite this, the names and addresses of those arrested were routinely published in the newspapers as a form of deterrent and shaming. This oppression was certainly cause enough to ignite a hatred towards the police and newspapers, two things the Zodiac seemed to revel in during his barrage of communication for nearly five years - but whether this was the incendiary is pure conjecture.                

For one night only, that of Halloween, homosexuality was 'overlooked' by the police force, ultimately becoming a day that would prove emblematic for LGBT celebrations. However, the rest of the time it was business as usual - or for that matter, lack of business - as gay premises, including the Black Cat bar were routinely raided by police. Jose Sarria was annoyed by the constant harassment and sought the help of prominent attorney Melvin Belli, who had offices at 722 Montgomery Street, a stone's throw from the Black Cat bar - and together they formulated a plan to protect the cross dresser from the 'intent to deceive' law.

A button or label was created stating I am a boy, effectively negating deception as an intention. In response to the perceived threat on Paul Avery in the Halloween Card, colleagues would adorn buttons on their clothing similar to the I am a boy declaration, but on this occasion would read I am not Paul Avery.

The Zodiac Killer aligned himself with Melvin Belli for a brief period, even mentioning or inferring the attorney's name in the Dragon Card mailed on April 28th 1970, where the Zodiac declared "I would like to see some nice Zodiac buttons wandering about town. Everyone else has these buttons like, black power, melvin eats bluber, etc. Well it would cheer me up considerably if I saw a lot of people wearing my buton. Please no nasty ones like melvin's". The intention of Zodiac is rooted in the Irwin Weisfeld counterculture buttons of the 1960s, nevertheless the Sarria connection remains a viable influence. A further link exists in the maker of the Dragon Card (created by the Jolly Roger Card Company). After winning a court case, Melvin Belli would often raise a Jolly Roger flag over his Montgomery Street office building in the Barbary Coast district of San Francisco, returning full circle to the Halloween Card characteristics once more.

Mason and Geary Street, the supposed intersection where fate carried Paul Stine to his death, bisects the Nob Hill and Tenderloin districts, and combines both the LGBT and theater influences under one banner - but reference was made by Robert Graysmith, stating that Paul Stine picked up the Zodiac Killer from outside the Westin St Francis Hotel, situated at 335 Powell Street in Union Square. Jose Sarria was arrested at the Westin St Francis public restrooms for solicitation, a location often frequented by homosexuals, with police attempting to clamp down on such activities.

The Zodiac Killer liked dressing up, as we saw during his Lake Berryessa attack on September 27th 1969 and he apparently had access to disguises, that he alluded to in the Bus Bomb Letter on November 9th 1969, when in response to Chief of Police Martin Lee he stated "I look like the description passed out only when I do my thing, the rest of the time I look entirle different". The question is, how different did he look the rest of the time? The Halloween Card was taken as a perceived threat on the life of San Francisco reporter Paul Avery, but how serious a threat was it considered - after all, the Zodiac Killer apologized on the inside of the envelope addressed to Paul Avery with 'sorry no cipher' and sealed it with a kiss.