On November 21st 1969 a suspected Zodiac letter was received.

The FBI file read: Re Butte tel to Bureau 11/21/69. Enclosed herewith for the FBI laboratory are two copies of the letter received by (redacted) San Jose PD, San Jose, California on this date. As noted, the message reads (redacted). The laboratory is requested to have the Cryptogram Section attempt to immediately decipher the message and furnish the results to the San Francisco Office. For the information of the Bureau and Sacramento, after a cursory analysis, officers of the San Jose, California PD, believe widow in message may be Mrs (redacted), San Jose, California. San Jose PD instituting 24 hour surveillance on Mrs (redacted).

A further page read:
11/24/69 - Copy of handprinted note beginning "There's no doubt I will do my Thing!" and ending with the symbol (drawn crosshairs). Results of examination: The ciphertext portion of Qc33 is not readable using previously recovered key. Its brevity precludes further cryptanalytic examination at this time. The furnished interpretation of  "- + 62 + -" as representing "1620" can be neither proved nor disproved analytically. The = between "November" and "8" could represent the number "2". Such interpretation would be based on inferences drawn from the date of the postmark, not from cryptanalytic examination.  (see below for FBI files).​ 

The FBI files ponder the idea of "November" and "8" being bridged by the number 2, possibly giving us November 28th, therefore tying in with a presumed threat on a widow from San Jose. Here are some thoughts on Zodiac Killer Site forum. 
However, there may be a much simpler explanation, bearing in mind the Zodiac Killer's last two communications on November 8th and 9th of 1969. In particular the Dripping Pen card.

The "November=8" attribution is much more likely claiming that the Zodiac (or copycat) is threatening (or has already claimed) victim number 8, sometime in November.

​The Bus Bomb letter mailed on November 9th 1969 had already claimed 7 victims, so we should be looking for a victim between November 9th and November 21st (or a potential target, such as the widow threatened, subsequent to the receipt of the letter}. A future victim in November would have to be murdered between November 21st and November 30th to comply with November=8.

The phrase "There's no doubt I will do my Thing!" seemed to suggest an impending threat - hence the urgency of 24-hour surveillance on the woman and her house. The use of the term "widow" in the FBI file may not carry a sinister connotation of a prior murder.
  
The Zodiac Killer was certainly looking for a ninth and tenth victim on December 20th 1969 when he mailed a further correspondence to Melvin Belli's residence, so one has to assume an eventual victim was found by the Zodiac Killer, if of course, he was telling the truth. Which I doubt he was.

On the left is the Fairfield letter, mailed on December 16th 1969. Nine days prior to this communication another Fairfield letter was received, dated December 7th 1969 (see below). These two communications were mailed by the same author, not only based on the handwriting and tone of each correspondence, but because neither were published in the newspapers, thereby denying the possibility of a copycat. Many have questioned these two letters as being genuine Zodiac material, however, there is every reason to consider them as being true Zodiac correspondence based on several factors.

Without knowledge of these 'dubious' letters existence or having seen them in any newspapers, it would be uncanny how the Zodiac Killer would continue the theme of these two letters into the Melvin Belli letter on December 20th 1969, the My Name Is letter on April 20th 1970 and the Button letter mailed on June 26th 1970. In other words, three of his next four communications. Here is the theme running consecutively through these communications, starting with the December 7th 1969 letter:
 
"I just need help. I will kill again so expect it any time now. The will be a cop. Then I will turn myself in OK. I will kill in SF 3 times (including cops). The one thing I ask of you is this, please help me. Please help me I cannot remain in control for much longer. But there is more glory in killing a cop than a cid because a cop can shoot back. I shot a man sitting in a parked car with a .38".

It is clear from the December 7th and 16th communications, the author is threatening 'government life'- most likely the police. In the December 7th 1969 communication the author has supplied a code containing 38 characters, followed by the December 16th 1969 letter threatening another 38 kills including cops, and curiously in his June 26th 1970 Button letter, the claim of shooting "a man with a .38". Most likely coincidence, but you never know. Here is a forum thread on Zodiac Killer Site with some of the same salient observations, particularly by AK Wilks. The December 7th 1969, 38 character Fairfield letter (below) has been cleaned up and darkened to make the letter more readable. 
"I just need help. I will kill again so expect it any time now. The will be a cop. Then I will Turn myself in  OK".

Was this code a crude attempt at pushing us in the right direction regarding his infamous 340 character cipher mailed just one month earlier. The obvious similarities are there, particularly the first four characters of this code mimicking the opening four characters of the 340 cipher, and the last five characters of each code in both instances. It certainly isn't difficult to spot an inference to 'Zodiac' once again, possibly indicating its importance within the 340 cipher. 

A hoaxer could easily have copied elements of the 340 cipher and incorporated them into what many believe is a poor imitation of a Zodiac correspondence. But if the Zodiac Killer hadn't seen either of the two Fairfield letters, do we attribute the continuing theme through three of the next four genuine Zodiac correspondences as just sheer luck, referring to "needing help" and his suggestion of "killing a cop".  Additionally, from the 'double event' November 8th/9th 1969 contact, we have effectively been given four ciphers or codes (whether crude or not) in five correspondences. These observations may lend more credence to the Fairfield communications and their rightful place as having been penned by the hand of the Zodiac Killer. 
​THE MESSAGE WITHIN THE FAIRFIELD LETTER

THE 340 CIPHER WAS CRACKED ON DECEMBER 3RD 2020 BY DAVE ORANCHAK, SAM BLAKE AND JARL VAN EYCKE, SO THIS EARLIER ARTICLE SHOULD BE VIEWED IN RESPECT TO RECENT DEVELOPMENTS.

The following will provide an alternative to an earlier article 'The Lake Berryessa Greeting Card,' regarding the inspiration of the 340 character cipher and the two week period it was designed by the Zodiac Killer. 

On October 22nd 1969, Will Stevens wrote an article for the San Francisco Examiner entitled Cipher Expert Dares Zodiac to Tell Name. Dr D.C.B. Marsh, president of the American Cryptogram Association challenged Zodiac to reveal his name by creating a cipher for them to crack. He stated "The killer wouldn't dare, as he claimed in letters to the newspapers, to reveal his name in a cipher to established cryptogram experts. "Zodiac" had not done this, Marsh suggested, because to tell the complete truth in relation to his name, in cipher code, would lead to his capture. I invite 'Zodiac' to send The American Cryptogram Association a cipher code-however complicated".

​Michael Cole authored an excellent article detailing how Zodiac would take up this challenge exactly six months later, when he mailed the 13 Symbol Cipher to the newspapers, beginning with the line "This is the Zodiac speaking. By the way have you cracked the last cipher I sent you. My name is...."  However, we will slightly deviate from the Michael Cole article by suggesting that both the 340 character cipher and 13 Symbol Cipher were responses initiated by the challenge of Dr D.C.B. Marsh. He issued the challenge - however complicated - and Zodiac would certainly oblige with his most complex cipher of all, just 17 days later. The Zodiac Killer, knowing he was dealing with cryptogram experts such as  Dr D.C.B. Marsh, professor of mathematics at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, would certainly not disappoint, mailing the 340 character cipher just over two weeks later. He would then follow up on April 20th 1970 with a smaller code, implying he was now prepared to reveal his name.  

In his first correspondence to the newspapers the Zodiac Killer promised that the 408 Cipher would contain his name, by stating "In this cipher is my idenity". This notion would soon be quashed, when the three-part cipher was cracked by Donald Gene and Bettye June Harden of Salinas, California in a matter of days.

But this challenge on October 22nd 1969 was laid down by cryptogram experts, and probably the reason the Zodiac Killer went to the extreme, creating a cipher that remains unbroken nearly half a century later. Dr D.C.B. Marsh​ stated "The killer wouldn't dare, as he claimed in letters to the newspapers, to reveal his name in a cipher". But the Zodiac wasn't going to play ball that easily, yet he did likely answer this challenge directly on the final line of the 340 character cipher by revealing his name in part. He placed the 'near Zodiac' from character 333 to 338. 

In the 408 Cipher, the final section of the decoded message read "I will not give you my name because you will try to slow down or stop my collecting of slaves for my afterlife". The 13 Symbol Cipher opened with the line "This is the Zodiac speaking. By the way have you cracked the last cipher I sent you. My name is...."  Therefore, this should give us a clue to how the Zodiac Killer constructed the final two lines of the 340 character cipher, bearing in mind it was a response to the challenge proffered by Dr D.C.B. Marsh, and in part, revealed his pseudonym Zodiac. Here is one example of how the Zodiac may have signed off the 340 Cipher, when you consider there are only two symbols after the 'near Zodiac,' in positions 339 and 340. There cannot be many reasonable options to consider for a two-letter word.  

There are of course alternatives, such as "I will soon tell you who the Zodiac is", "My next cipher will reveal who the Zodiac is" or "The day will come when you'll know who Zodiac is". There are a myriad of possibilities, but always with the final two words being "Zodiac is".

If the Zodiac began the 340 character cipher top down, are we to believe the 'near Zodiac' fell out by chance, and was not created specifically as a response to the American Cryptogram Association to reveal his name. The cipher may have signed off with something similar to the wording above, but could have been created from the bottom up, so as to lead us into his next cipher on April 20th 1970. The 408 cipher stated "I will not give you my name because you will try to slow down or stop my collecting of slaves for my afterlife". The Zodiac Killer was then laid down a challenge on October 22nd 1969, and we know his propensity to reply to individuals when challenged. Seventeen days later, a cipher arrived at the San Francisco Chronicle. Can this be a coincidence such a short time after the challenge by Dr D.C.B. Marsh? He signs off the 340 character cipher, now promising he will soon reveal who the Zodiac is. Then 5 months later, he is seemingly true to his promise, stating "This is the Zodiac speaking. By the way have you cracked the last cipher I sent you. My name is...."
The second and third ciphers may be linked by the name Zodiac and a simple trick of mathematics, shown here. 
​           

Did the fact that Dr D.C.B. Marsh, being a professor of mathematics, play any part in this possible numerical solution, or the Zodiac Killer's  circled three eights (if indeed that is what they were). The killer would later state in the April 20th 1970 letter "PS I hope you have fun trying to figgure out who I killed".
​​​   
Dr Marsh told the Examiner "That first code was complicated... and the maker obviously knew what he was doing. But it never included the true identity of Zodiac". But can we be sure the Zodiac read this article and responded from his basement residence.

Look at the accompanying news article to the Dr D.C.B. Marsh article, entitled  "Tunisia Hit by Heavy Rains". It reads "New torrential rains pounded Tunisia all last night and today, nearly isolating Tunis and Bezerte from the rest of the country. Broadcasts warned residents of low-lying suburbs to head for higher ground. Basements filled, and some ancient buildings in the Medina showed signs of crumbling". The Zodiac Killer replied in the April 20th 1970 offering, by stating "I have killed ten people to date. It would have been a lot more except that my bus bomb was a dud.  I was swamped out by the rain we had a while back". This however, is most likely too cryptic even for Zodiac. 

But the fact remains, that Dr D.C.B. Marsh set the Zodiac Killer a challenge, and a little over two weeks later he responded with an even more "complicated" cipher than the 408, possibly promising the professor of mathematics a solution to his identity in due course. One that arrived on April 20th 1970 - but whether it held true to the promise of his name is another matter.​ 

Michael Cole- http://zodiacrevisited.com/name-cipher-motivation

The Zodiac Killer gave us a running victim count during his five year reign of terror, but how much of what he claimed in his communications can be be attributed to reality or fantasy?

There are differing opinions to how many victims the Zodiac may have condemned to an early grave, ranging from as little as five or less in his widely publicized canonical crimes, to as many as thirty-seven or more, claimed in his final confirmed correspondence on January 29th 1974. The canonical crimes began on December 20th 1968 with the murders of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen on a lonely turnout in Benicia, and ended with the brutal and callous execution of Paul Stine in Presidio Heights on October 11th 1969.

But can we use mathematics and statistical analysis of his running murder count to evaluate the voracity of the Zodiac Killer's claims. This will be an experimental examination, using the frequency of his alleged murders, to unlock the likelihood of whether he carried on murdering after October 1969, or he simply used statistics himself, and painted a picture of murder by numbers. ​The Zodiac Killer claimed to have murdered seven people between December 20th 1968 and October 11th 1969 (stated on the Dripping Pen card). That is a span of 295 days, or one victim every 42.14 days. The following will have to use the postmark on communications as the time period - so will be approximate.  

The next notable period is from December 20th 1968 to January 29th 1974, when the Zodiac Killer had claimed 37 victims. That is 1,866 days, or one victim every 50.43 days. The next relevant time span is from December 20th 1968 to March 13th 1971 when the Zodiac Killer was claiming 17+ victims, before his communications ceased for nearly three years. Dispensing with the plus symbol for now, this gives a frequency of one victim every 47.82 days. From the Los Angeles letter of March 13th 1971 to the arrival of the Exorcist letter on January 29th 1974 his communications to the newspapers were no more (omitting the 'Pines' card), leaving some to speculate he may have been abroad, or incarcerated in prison or a mental institution. If the Zodiac Killer was denied the opportunity of murder during this period, did he have the foresight to create a viable murder count during his absence - or if still committing murder - had his frequency slowed or increased?

His rest periods from Lake Herman Road to Presidio Heights had considerably shortened between attacks, however, his alleged victim count didn't maintain this pace up to the arrival of the Exorcist letter. From the March 13th 1971 Los Angeles letter to the January 29th 1974 Exorcist letter, he would add a further 20 victims (again disregarding the + symbol for now). If the killer was indisposed for a significant period of this communication 'absence', was he able to create a realistic frequency to his running victim count when he resumed writing. This period of 1,053 days indicated a victim count frequency of 52.65 days - closely aligned with his 47.82 days from December 1968 to March 1971.

The Zodiac Killer had claimed 14 victims by the time the Halloween card arrived on October 27th 1970, and 17+ victims just 5 1/2 months later. It is not likely the Zodiac failed to remember how many victims he had murdered during this relatively short period. ​The use of 17+ to denote his victim count is also an extremely curious and rather meaningless total in regards to current crimes. If you had killed 30, 50 or possibly 100 victims and had lost count, you may write 50+ for example, but you certainly don't write a specific number such as 17 and bolt an addition sign to it, when it was only a few months since you were claiming 14.

March 13th 1971 possibly marked the last day the Zodiac Killer used the pseudonym under which he was killing. He would never use it again in any future confirmed correspondence, including four letters received in 1974. The addition sign was likely signifying the crimes he was claiming down south, including the murder of Cheri Jo Bates in Riverside on October 30th 1966, when he stated "This is the Zodiac speaking Like I have allways said, I am crack proof. If the Blue Meannies are evere going to catch me, they had best get off their fat asses + do something. Because the longer they fiddle + fart around, the more slaves I will collect for my after life. I do have to give them credit for stumbling across my riverside activity, but they are only finding the easy ones, there are a hell of a lot more down there. The reason I'm writing to the Times is this, They don't bury me on the back pages like some of the others".

After his so-called admission of previous crimes, that may have included the Domingos and Edwards murders in Santa Barbara on June 4th 1963, unlikely to have been committed under the Zodiac umbrella, it may have been the final curtain for the Zodiac Killer. His return just under three years later had dropped the "This is the Zodiac Speaking" opener, and his crosshairs were notably absent. He was reduced to Me- 37 SFPD- 0. But his change may have come a lot sooner than that.

The Zodiac maintained a statistically significant victim count throughout his five-year reign, that may have been more by design than actual reality - something that was closely aligned with the delivery of his communications. The author had throughout maintained a close correlation between his victim count and the correspondence he mailed. By the time his 'in tandem' communications of the Dripping Pen card and Bus Bomb letter had arrived, he had mailed, in total, seven letters, and was claiming 7 victims. By the time he had mailed the 13-Symbol cipher on April 20th 1970 (including the Fairfield correspondence), he had mailed 10 letters and was claiming 10 victims. When the Button letter arrived on June 26th 1970, both communication and victim count totaled 12. There was a slight difference shortly after that, but parity would be soon resumed by March 13th 1971, when the Los Angeles letter arrived - his seventeenth communication with 17 victims.

The Zodiac Killer appeared very structured in the frequency of his alleged victim count and the regularity of his communications, bound tightly to one another. But was it too structured, given his marked absence for nearly three years,  thereby lending credence to the idea that it was all just a case of murder by numbers.                   

It was considered that the Zodiac Killer after attacking Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau at Blue Rock Springs on July 4th 1969, drove back to his residence and walked to the Springs and Tuolumne payphone from the north side. This premise was covered extensively in the article 'I Want to Tell You a Story'. 
​I would like to thank Deb from Zodiac Killer Site forum for supplying me with the Vallejo directory records from 1969. The Zodiac Killer may have lived within a 10-15 minute walking radius of the payphone. Here are the relevant streets from the north side. Click the visual on the left side of 'Download File' to view directly on this site. Once opened, click again to magnify.   

Robert Graysmith stated "The operator jotted down the answers (of the phone call by the kids). Immediately, the card was handed to the dispatcher, who leaned forward over his lighted panel, consulted a complex map of San Francisco divided into districts and sectors, and broadcast a general call to all police units, cars, and wagons: an APB". The time was 9.58 pm. ​

"At this time, Lindsey went downstairs to get a better look at what was happening, while one of the kids upstairs called the police. Downstairs, the lights were off, so Lindsey knew he could not be seen from the outside. He got close to the window and watched his actions. He was shortly joined by Rebecca. They both watched and observed in silence as Zodiac pushed the driver to an upright position behind the steering wheel, exited the car and walked around the rear of the car and opened the driver's door. Stine had fallen over onto the seat and Zodiac pulled him back up into the seated position and had some difficulty keeping him upright. Once upright, he was seen to have a rag, or something like a handkerchief and began to wipe down the door area and leaning over the driver, part of the dashboard. When he was finished, Zodiac calmly walked to Cherry St. and walked north".

This is a brief section from the account of the three teenagers who observed the subject in the taxicab at Presidio Heights on October 11th 1969. But why was the Zodiac Killer spending valuable time attempting to hoist Paul Stine into an upright position behind the steering wheel, when he should have been making good his escape? If the Zodiac had been aware of the three teenage eyewitnesses, it seems unlikely he would have spent an unnecessary period of time tearing a piece of shirt, then compounding the situation by trying to maneuver Paul Stine into an upright position, before casually walking north on Cherry Street and taking no evasive action upon seeing the approach of Donald Fouke and Eric Zelms' patrol car. But what was the purpose of raising Paul Stine, who was covered in blood, into a more visible position to the casual passerby? It would seem the taxicab driver out of view would be the better option in delaying his discovery and any resulting search. Here is one possibility.
 
After Paul Stine had been shot - and either slumped or was pulled into a lying position - the Zodiac Killer had to gain access to the back of the taxicab driver's shirt. The Zodiac Killer, having entered the right front passenger seat, likely gripped the jacket of the victim and pulled him towards and to the right, with Stine face down in the passenger side floorboard. This is where the largest pooling of blood was located and where responding officer Armond Pelissetti ultimately discovered the stricken taxicab driver. It is evident that the jacket of the victim has been pulled upwards - an obvious necessity to gain access to the rear of Stine's shirt and tear a portion of the fabric. But in maneuvering the body into this position, the jacket had bunched up and may have become wedged between the victim and passenger seat. Once the Zodiac had acquired the shirt piece, he may have wanted to conceal this fact by pulling the jacket back down over the victim. However, there is one big problem - he cannot easily achieve this with the jacket trapped between seat and victim. The Zodiac Killer attempted to elevate the victim upwards to free the jacket and pull it back down over the shirt, but from the passenger side, with dead weight, achieving the leverage is extremely difficult - and Stine inevitably fell back. The Zodiac Killer exited the vehicle, traveled around the taxicab and opened the driver side door - and with his right hand braced on the dividing panel (leaving the blooded fingerprint) attempted to haul Stine back into an upright position, to where he can now release his right hand in order to pull the jacket down over Stine's exposed back - but he ultimately failed. The teenagers may have mistaken the killer simply attempting to elevate the victim, as trying to prop him back behind the steering wheel. This cannot be proven as the objective of the killer, but it could be argued that the only function of altering the position of Paul Stine inside the taxicab after the fact, was to alter the visible scene viewed by responding investigators.​

The police report stated "R/Os immediately checked the interior of the cab and found the victim to be slumped over the front seat with his upper torso in the passenger side, head resting on the floorboard". Armond Pelissetti did not interfere with the crime scene.

​The next portion of the police report is crucial: "P.E.H. ambulance #82 responded, steward Dousette, victim was examined and pronounced dead at 10:10 pm." Later Toschi and Armstrong would arrive: "A check with the Yellow Cab Co. revealed the victim arrived at work at approximately 8:45 pm and had only one fare prior, that being from Pier 64 to the Air Terminal. Sgt. Falk responded in G-10. Homicide inspectors Armstrong and Toschi responded and took charge. G-40, Lt. Kiel also responded". But by the time Inspectors Toschi and Armstrong had arrived, the victim had been pulled from the floorboard of the passenger side into the position seen in the crime scene photographs. This was undertaken by responding medical personnel to determine the status of Paul Stine (likely to check for vital signs), before pronouncing him deceased at 10.10 pm.

With Paul Stine in this position it would have been impossible for Dave Toschi and Bill Armstrong to notice a section of the taxicab driver's shirt had been removed. The police report continued "The coroner responded, Deputy Schultz and Kindred and took charge of the necessary photographs of the preserved scene." The crime scene had not strictly been preserved, because the body had been moved prior to Toschi and Armstrong arriving. Furthermore, the "crime lab's initial investigation showed that the victim was devoid of any U.S. Currency, nor did he have the possession of a wallet; the ignition keys for the cab were also missing". But no mention of any missing shirt.

Once the police had finished their assessment, the victim was taken away from the crime scene. At what point in the investigation did they become aware of the missing shirt piece? Was it the Zodiac Killer's intention to somehow delay its discovery, so his declaration in the October 13th 1969 letter had the maximum impact and shock value, upstaging the police, who believed this crime was nothing more than a routine robbery and taxicab murder at this point. The whole reason behind his attempted crime scene manipulation.

According to Robert Graysmith "Stine's body was the first to be autopsied that morning, a little after 9:30 am. Before the blood and grime are removed, close-up photos are made of the body fully clothed, under the guidance of the pathologist. Stine's blood-stained clothing had been removed, an identification tag wire put on each article, and placed under a drying lamp. When his clothes had dried completely, they were laid flat, with butcher paper between each article to avoid the possibility of any sort of transfer. The clothing was listed on a clothing slip and turned into the property clerk's office to be safeguarded for future lab tests". So, at what point did investigators learn of the missing shirt piece - before Zodiac mailed the October 13th 1969 letter, or afterwards.     

On October 14th 1969, the  Zodiac Killer's letter arrived at the San Francisco Chronicle. Robert Graysmith outlined the reaction of investigators: "Toschi saw the fabric and remembered it from Saturday night. "Jesus Christ" he said. "This looks like Stine's shirt Bill, I think this is Stine's shirt." Armstrong stated "We're going to bring this shirt down to the coroner's office. Stine's clothing is being held there". ​On the main floor annex, Toschi and Armstrong saw the coroner, Dr Henry Turkel, who got all of Stine's clothing out of the property clerk's office. They went back upstairs and told Lee that the cloth enclosed with the letter had come from the left lower portion of Stine's shirt". It appears from the wording above that David Toschi and Bill Armstrong only checked on Paul Stine's shirt at the coroner's office to see if a piece was missing after receiving the Zodiac letter. Therefore, it seems that investigators were unaware of the torn shirt piece of Paul Stine at the point it was received by the Chronicle. Was this the intention of Zodiac when attempting to maneuver Paul Stine in the taxicab?

On October 12th 1969, the San Francisco Chronicle ran an article on the murder, entitled  'Robbery Victim' - "A Yellow Cab driver was found shot to death in his cab last night, the victim of an apparent robbery attempt in Presidio Heights". On October 13th 1969 the police issued a wanted poster, lumping this crime in with other taxicab robberies, with the poster carrying the message "Wanted for murder and robberies of cab drivers. Suspect takes cab in downtown area at 9:30 pm and sits in front seat with driver. Tells driver destination is Washington and Laurel area or area near park or Presidio. Upon reaching destination, suspect orders driver to continue on at gunpoint into or near park where he perpetrates robbery".
 
The police still appeared to consider this a simple matter of robbery, with the suspect possibly having taken a small amount of cash, the driver's wallet and the keys to the taxicab. But what thief would take the time to carefully tear a rectangular portion of the victim's shirt and remove it from the crime scene? This fact alone, should have told investigators they were not dealing with the routine robbery of a taxicab driver and thereby associating it with other robberies committed in recent weeks. The removal of the shirt piece should have set this crime apart, had they been aware that a piece was missing. Is this what the Zodiac Killer had envisioned when he mailed the October 13th 1969 letter, gaining the element of surprise and getting one over on the police? Or did the police know all along that a section of shirt was missing - with the removal of the shirt piece being deliberately withheld from publication as to verify any future contact by the killer? But why label it as a routine robbery to both the press and public alike, when it was anything but. 

Here we will try to take a different approach to the Lake Herman Road murders and the little discussed testimony of Robert Connelly, that has appeared to be somewhat conveniently dropped from the Lake Herman Road story as a recollection that doesn't fit the narrative of events that night. The widely held belief, is that sometime during the night of December 20th 1968 David Faraday parked the Rambler on the east bank of the turnout and the killer drew up alongside their vehicle. According to Peggy Your, the Rambler was parked in this position when she approached the Marshall Ranch and when she left circa 11:00 pm, heading back to Benicia. The next eyewitnesses to pass the turnout circa 11:05 pm, also heading to Benicia, were Frank Gasser and Robert Connelly. However, Robert Connelly stated in the police report that he "insists that the Rambler was parked on the bank. That would be on the south side. He did not see any person in the car". (see below) When James Owen passed at approximately 11:09-11:15 pm, the Rambler was back on the east side (as described by Peggy Your), but this time it had a second vehicle parked alongside. If all these accounts were accurate, then the David Faraday Rambler had reversed over to the opposite bank after Peggy Your had passed the turnout, and then returned to its original position, or thereabouts, when James Owen arrived. But this time, with the second vehicle.    

In the 2007 Zodiac documentary Officer Pierre Bidou stated: "During that night we had served a search warrant at what we call The Cottage at Lake Herman which was owned by the city of Benicia, a narcotics search warrant my partner and I, we confiscated about a pound and a half of marijuana, which in the 1960s was a big drugs bust, today it wouldn't get very high on the Richter scale. We were heading back to the police department to put the marijuana into evidence and as we drove by, we did not see or observe anyone in that area, because it's a turn there and your headlights shine right in there as you go by. I was pulling into the lot in the police department, we heard the Benicia Police Department dispatch about a call of a possible shooting and victims on Lake Herman Road, and described the location. My partner and I turned around at that time and responded to the call. We felt we were only minutes from the crime scene when it actually happened and for the best of my recollection we did not pass any other vehicle or traffic. I'm pretty sure of that because that is one of the things we told the sheriff's office, that we did not see any other vehicles coming our way. What could have happened, depending on where a vehicle turned onto Lake Herman Road, if it came from behind us, from Vallejo, we would not have seen them".
​https://youtu.be/HI0jnsbZwys?t=3m28s

Benicia Police Department was only 8 to 10 minutes from the Lake Herman Road turnout - so if Officer Pierre Bidou had passed the crime scene and spotted no bodies on the ground (or Rambler in the turnout), what are the odds that he passed at approximately the same time as Robert Connelly, and the Rambler was on the opposite bank, as shown above. Then his headlights would not have illuminated the Rambler, even though it was in the turnout. This would have meant that Officer Pierre Bidou would have passed the turnout "only minutes from the crime scene when it actually happened". In fact, as little as 5 minutes before the murders.

The last person to pass the turnout that night was Stella Medeiros, who raced off to Benicia and reported her sighting of bodies lying in the turnout to Captain Daniel Pitta circa 11:18-11:22 pm. Therefore, if Officer Pierre Bidou had just pulled into Benicia PD and heard the "dispatch about a call of a possible shooting and victims on Lake Herman Road", we could argue that he passed the turnout approximately 8-10 minutes ago - as early as 11:08 pm. Allowing for some leeway in the timeline of both Robert Connelly and Officer Pierre Bidou, the police officer could have passed the Lake Herman Road turnout just after the Raccoon hunters somewhere between 11:08-11:12 pm, and crucially just before James Owen saw both vehicles on the east side again. When traveling to Benicia your headlights would not catch any vehicles alongside the "south bank" described by Robert Connelly. Yet he "insisted" he saw the Rambler parked there. Whereas Officer Pierre Bidou only stated "we did not see or observe anyone in that area, because it's a turn there and your headlights shine right in there as you go by" (referring to the east side). Maybe Robert Connelly looked towards the "south bank" and Officer Pierre Bidou didn't. The officer only referred to the area where your headlights shone in, so may not have observed the Rambler on the opposite side. 

​Below is a photograph of the turnout in 1968 - it was much wider and deeper than the visual on Google maps today - showing a vehicle approaching the turnout heading to Benicia, with the Rambler parked on the opposite bank to where it was ultimately found. 

The banking on the turnout edge is vehicle height as it approaches the road - and Lake Herman Road itself, as it nears the turnout is traveling a slight incline, making any vehicle parked on the "south bank" difficult to spot if you are not looking in that direction - particularly at night without streetlights. If the rear lights of the Rambler were on, then obviously it's possible, but only if you are looking. Here is the approach to the turnout today (remembering to dismiss the foliage on the trees).

It is clear that any car parked on the "south bank" in a considerably larger turnout and further from the road, would be incredibly difficult to spot if you were focused on the road ahead and not looking specifically in that direction. If Robert Connelly was not mistaken, and "insisted" he saw the Rambler parked here, then it's not inconceivable that Officer Pierre Bidou was also not mistaken in seeing no vehicle on the east bank as he passed by just minutes before the murders. In other words, they were both correct. The only difference being, that Robert Connelly may have looked to his right. But why had the couple moved the Rambler? One possibility is that they wanted privacy, and the constant illumination of their vehicle from passing motorists was a distraction - so David Faraday maneuvered the vehicle to the opposite bank further from the road. 
 
Peggy Your stated in the police report: "As they were driving west on Lake Herman Road at the turn off to the Benicia Water Pumping Station, she observed a Rambler station wagon parked with front end heading east, there were two Caucasians in the front seat, male and female, when the lights from the car came upon the station wagon, the male sat up in the seat. Mrs Your said it was a cold night and she noticed no frost on the station wagon". But why, just a few minutes later, had the Rambler moved back to the east side of the turnout when James Owen passed, noticing two vehicles at this point? Maybe the Zodiac Killer had parked behind the Rambler on the "south bank" as he had done at Blue Rock Springs Park - but something transpired and David Faraday shifted position. 

A brief time later, James Owen passed and stated "he saw two cars parked near the entrance to the pumping station. He stated the car parked nearest was a 1955 or 1956 station wagon, boxy type, neutral in color. The other was parked to the right and abreast of the station wagon. The cars were about ten feet apart. He stated he could not give a description of the make or color of the other car. He did not see anyone in the cars or around them. He stated as he traveled approximately one quarter of a mile beyond, he thought he heard a shot". What happened from the Robert Connelly sighting, to when James Owen passed by, only Zodiac knows. But it appears he got lucky once again. 

The above shows how the timeline could work based on a James Owen sighting of 11:14 pm. However, there is a major problem. If Officer Pierre Bidou passed the turnout circa 11:10 pm and took 10 minutes to reach Benicia PD (11:20 pm), and upon arriving heard the report by Captain Daniel Pitta about the incident at Lake Herman Road, then Stella Medeiros was obviously with Officer Pitta. Her journey from the turnout to East 2nd Street, Benicia is 3.2 miles - so even belting along at 60 mph, it would have taken her just over 3 minutes. Allowing for her to locate Captain Daniel Pitta, relay the message, and for Captain Daniel Pitta to broadcast it, must be 4 minutes minimum. That has Stella Medeiros passing the turnout at 11:16 pm, narrowing the window of time for Zodiac down to 2 minutes. If Officer Pierre Bidou passed the turnout earlier, at 11:08 pm, and arrived at Benicia PD at 11:18 pm upon hearing the radio broadcast, then Stella Medeiros likely passed the turnout at 11:14 pm - the same time as James Owen. This clearly makes even less sense. We need to widen the timeline.

Therefore, the statement of Officer Pierre Bidou "I was pulling into the lot in the police department, we heard the Benicia Police Department dispatch about a call of a possible shooting and victims on Lake Herman Road. My partner and I turned around at that time and responded to the call" should not be taken too literally. If Officer Bidou had passed the turnout at 11:08-11:10 pm and arrived at Benicia PD at 11:18-11:20 pm, but the radio broadcast came in at 11:22 pm or even as late as 11:25 pm, then this allows Stella Medeiros to pass the Lake Herman Road turnout at 11:18-11:21 pm, opening up the window once more. Furthermore, if James Owen passed the turnout at 11:10-11:12 pm instead of 11:14 pm, the window could widen to as much as 11 minutes. But the earlier we place James Owen at the turnout (say 11:10 pm), and Officer Pierre Bidou passed at 11:08 pm, then the Zodiac Killer only has 2 minutes to enter the turnout and 'shift' the David Faraday Rambler from the "south bank" to the east side before James Owen passes by.

If Captain Daniel Pitta's report is totally accurate, indicating his encounter with Stella Borges at 11:25 pm, then Pierre Bidou didn't immediately swing his vehicle around in the parking lot of Benicia Police Department - he likely pulled into Benicia Police Department, unloaded the seized marijuana and the two individuals he had arrested at The Cottage - and then received the broadcast delivered by Captain Daniel Pitta a short time later at 11.25 pm. This was ultimately condensed in the 2007 Zodiac documentary to "I was pulling into the lot in the police department, we heard the Benicia Police Department dispatch about a call of a possible shooting and victims on Lake Herman Road. My partner and I turned around at that time and responded to the call". This is an incredibly difficult timeline to negotiate.

"Paul Avery and Kate Coleman who wrote the sizzling expose of Black Panther violence in the July 10th New Times 'have gone out of the area' after receiving the predictable threats", wrote Herb Caen. The bogus letter reopened old wounds, driving the populace to seek closure on the long-unsolved case. Zodiac tips quadrupled. "The Zodiac was shot to death by San Francisco police in March of 1976," a reader informed Caen, "about four months after he set the Gartland Hotel fire that killed thirteen people". Zodiac Unmasked. 
​
On July 19th 1978 a typewritten letter from Los Angeles arrived at the San Francisco Chronicle stating:
"I am the ZODIAC and I am in control of all things. I am going to tell you a secret. I like friction tape. I like to have it around in case I need to truss someone up in a hurry....I have my real name on a small metallic tape. You see, while you have it in your possession, I want you to know it belongs to me and you think I may have left it accidentally. I am athletic. It could be swim fins, or a piece of scuba gear. But maybe you play chess with me. I have several cheap sets in closets all over. I have my name on the bottom of the lid with the scotch tape....My tape is waiting for me all over California. Do you know me? I am the ZODIAC and I am in control". 

Sergeant John Lynch from the Vallejo Police Department interviewed Arthur Leigh Allen, with Allen stating that he traveled to Salt Point Ranch, located on the coast, due west of Napa on September 26th 1969 for a spot of scuba diving. Clearly, Arthur Leigh Allen was a prime suspect for Zodiac, so it must have been obvious to Allen that he would incriminate himself by inserting "swim fins" and "scuba gear" into the narrative of the 1978 letter, unless you believe a double bluff. 

This letter followed the "I am back with you" correspondence mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle on April 24th 1978, just three months earlier. Arthur Leigh Allen had been released from the Atascadero State Hospital on August 31st 1977, and this letter is often touted as his return to the persona of the Zodiac Killer after a lengthy  absence. Or was it more likely that somebody known or unknown to Allen was attempting to implicate him in the murders by dropping subtle clues pointing in his direction? The author of the July 1978 letter seemingly wants to push us in the direction of tape: "I like friction tape", "I have my real name on a small metallic tape", "I have my name on the bottom of the lid with the scotch tape", and "My tape is waiting for me all over California". It appears like a selling job, trying to push the tape angle in connection with trussing people up, whereas the author may have had other intentions.

The Zodiac Killer mailed us a 'Bus Bomb' diagram on November 9th 1969 and April 20th 1970, employing the use of electrical circuits.
'Friction tape is a type of adhesive tape made from cloth impregnated with a rubber-based adhesive, mainly used to insulate splices in electric wires and cables. Because the adhesive is impregnated in the cloth, friction tape is sticky on both sides. The rubber-based adhesive makes it an electrical insulator and provides a degree of protection from liquids and corrosion. In the past, friction tape was widely used by electricians, but PVC electrical tape has replaced it in most applications today. The frictional properties of the tape come from the cloth material, which is usually made from cotton, while the fabric base protects electrical splices against punctures and abrasion. Wikipedia.' 

Was this the implication, with 'pipe bombs' having been discovered at Allen's residence, along with supposed bomb manuals. But more credible, is the emphasis on "swim fins" and "scuba gear," considering Allen's penchant for scuba diving, and the opportunities for such pursuits provided by Lake Berryessa, Lake Tahoe and Fisherman's Wharf near to the Presidio Park - in three Zodiac linked crimes. 
Permanent marker pens, in conjunction with water resistant tape or labels, are ideal for scuba divers and boat enthusiasts for personalizing your equipment. dolphindiveathens.com/marking-your-dive-gear/. "I have my name on the bottom of the lid with the scotch tape....My tape is waiting for me all over California".

With Arthur Leigh Allen the prime Zodiac candidate for many years, isn't it plausible that somebody was attempting to throw Allen under the proverbial 'school bus' in an attempt to keep him in the frame, while keeping an interest in the Zodiac case burning bright. These two letters could actually be from Zodiac (depending on the validity of DNA evidence), and is simply a game by the real killer to keep the spotlight firmly focused on his convenient "fall guy".

"Evil has visited the earth in many forms.....now it returns as 'The Car'. A car possessed. Who knows what it wants. They all know nothing can stop the car. There's nowhere to turn, nowhere to hide, no way to stop 'The Car'. What evil force drives the car." The Car (1977) Official Trailer.

On October 28th 1987, a letter was mailed to the Vallejo Times-Herald stating "This is the Zodiac speaking. I am crackproof. Tell herb caen that I am still here. Tell the blue pigs if want me I will be out driving around on Halloween in my death machine looking for some kiddies to run over. Cars make nice weapons. The pigs can catch me if They can find me out there. Just like in the movie The Car. Tell the kiddies watch before they cross the street on Halloween nite. Tell Tochi my new plans". It is unknown whether this correspondence is a genuine Zodiac communication, and the content of the letter is vague. However, we will attempt to discover the inspiration behind this correspondence and the location of where the threat was intended or inferred to have been carried out, even though it never materialized. 

The Zodiac Killer mailed the 'Exorcist' letter on January 29th 1974, just over one month after the USA release of 'The Exorcist' movie on December 26th 1973. He then mailed the 'Badlands' letter on May 8th 1974, just over one month after the Los Angeles, California release date of Badlands on March 29th 1974.

​The Car was released on May 13th 1977, so this time the Zodiac (or a hoaxer) would take 10 years to reference this movie in the 1987 letter. Was this really the primary inspiration for this letter, or had the author read something in the newspapers far more recently that triggered his recollection of the 1977 film, bearing in mind the tone of the letter and his threat of running over kids in his vehicle.

Just over a month before the arrival of this correspondence, on September 12th 1987, Jose Santo Bugarin (26) and Rodolfo Alvaro (31) were traveling on King Road, San Jose, California when their car slammed into four children playing on the front lawn of a residence, killing three and injuring one. The driver then backed over the bodies and left the scene. Both were apprehended a short time later. "Bugarin was arrested on three counts of second-degree murder. Alvaro also was arrested on murder charges". Chicago Tribune.  This was covered extensively in the newspapers.

"SAN JOSE (AP) A man who ran over and killed three children entered a plea bargain on Wednesday, pleading no contest to second degree murder and two vehicular manslaughter charges. Jose Santos Bugarin, 26, of San Jose, had two of the original murder charges filed against him changed to manslaughter. He will be sentenced to 21 years and eight months in state prison. Bugarin was the driver of a car that plowed through a front yard on King Road in San Jose on Sept. 12, killing three children".
San Bernardino Sun- December 3rd 1987.

​Did the Zodiac Killer or the author of the 1987 letter read the news stories of this senseless crime and callously draw inspiration from this tragedy (Cars make nice weapons), compelling him to write the above correspondence, piggybacking off newspaper articles in not dissimilar fashion to his early communications?

The Car movie featured a satanic driverless car running people over in the fictional desert town of Santa Ynez in Utah. IMDB. However, Santa Ynez is not so fictional in California. The town of Santa Ynez is one of the communities of the Santa Ynez Valley. It is situated just 20 minutes or 12 miles (as the crow flies) from the site of the Robert Domingos (18) and Linda Edwards (17) murders on June 4th 1963, widely touted as an early Zodiac crime. Anton LaVey was awarded the title of Technical Advisor in the movies credits, with a quote from his Satanic Bible.

Analysis of the 1986 'Zodiac' letter. 

The three teenagers at Presidio Heights described the suspect in the Paul Stine taxicab on October 11th 1969 as "a white male, 25-30 years old, 5'8" to 5'9", stocky build, reddish-brown hair worn in a crew cut, heavy rimmed glasses and dark clothing". A sketch was drawn up and released to the public on October 13th 1969 describing the suspect as "WMA, 25-30 years, 5'8" to 5'9", reddish brown hair, crew cut, heavy rimmed glasses, navy blue or black jacket". It is clear that this was a poster garnered from the three teenagers. 

A new and updated sketch was distributed on October 18th 1969 upon further consultation with the three teenagers. The new description was given as a "WMA, 35-45 years, approximately 5'8", heavy build, short brown hair, possibly with red tint, wears glasses".
 
On October 21st 1969, the San Francisco Chronicle ran an article entitled 'Lawmen Pool Their Zodiac Clues', stating "Meanwhile, police circulated a new composite drawing of the 'Zodiac' suspect based on further questioning of the three witnesses to Stine's killing". It appears on the face of it, that the sighting of a trained police officer, Donald Fouke, who apparently told Armond Pelissetti mere minutes after the murder of Paul Stine his passing of a man on Jackson Street, played absolutely no part in either composite. To disregard the input of a highly trained professional police officer seems rather curious, if not disrespectful.
 
Armond Pelissetti stated in the 2007 Zodiac documentary "It seemed that Officer Fouke in that amount of time felt that he had stopped the Zodiac. Well, it's very hard to say whether he did or not, it would be a point of conjecture at this point, and he seemed quite upset. Fouke was also very clear about what the person was wearing- it just so happens the area is extremely well lit, and I cannot imagine him not seeing the shine of blood on the clothing if it had been Zodiac. I feel bad for him if he believes that was Zodiac. I don't think it was".
 
Despite the fact Donald Fouke gave an extensive description of the man, in an "extremely well lit" area of Jackson Street, not dissimilar to the description given by the three teenagers - that he witnessed only minutes after the murder, traveling in the same direction as proffered by the three eyewitnesses - his recollection was roundly dismissed as Zodiac, by not only Armond Pelissetti, but the hierarchy involved in submitting both police sketches, who seemingly never consulted him. Only eight and a half hours later, dated October 12th 1969, Armond Pelissetti countersigned a police report with Frank Peda stating that the suspect was "last seen walking north on Cherry Street, from Washington Street".  Officer Donald Fouke's sighting near Jackson and Maple was therefore clearly not recognized in this police report at all. Evidently, not a ringing endorsement to the observations of a trained member of law enforcement. The three teenagers apparently were the only eyewitnesses considered. 

That makes it all the more surprising, when we read page two of the police report: "​'#2 SUSPECT: WMA, in his early forties, 5'8", heavy build, reddish-blond, crew cut hair. wearing eyeglasses, dark brown trousers, dark (navy blue or black) "Parka" jacket, dark shoes. Suspect should have many blood stains on his person and clothing, suspect may also be in possession of the keys to the Yellow Cab, possibly has wallet belonging to the victim. Last seen walking north on Cherry Street, from Washington Street'.

This description tallied with the teenagers, but is described as #2 SUSPECT in his early 40s. By October 13th 1969,  and up to October 18th 1969, the suspect in the sketch submitted to the public was described as 25-30 years. But in the October 12th 1969 police report it details a man in his early 40s. If this wasn't Donald Fouke or the three teenagers description - then who was it?

There was a report in the San Francisco Chronicle on October 12th 1969, describing a man seen running into Julius Khan playground, but this couldn't have been #2 SUSPECT in the police report, because the police report stated the suspect was "last seen walking north on Cherry Street, from Washington Street". The only other eyewitness was an 8-year-old child in the FBI files, secured by Alex Lewis and later redacted to read 'Xenophon Lusby Anthony, WMA, DOB 28th February 1931, resides at 3218 Jackson Street, San Francisco. For Info Ident Division, San Francisco Police Department advised; 8-year-old witness in murder of cab driver identified Anthony as possible subject in this matter'.  The individual in this document would have been 37 years of age on October 11th 1969 - between the 35-45 age range offered in the revised sketch on October 18th 1969. This is not inferring that  Xenophon Lusby Anthony was the Zodiac Killer, only that the description of the 8-year-old could very well have been the #2 SUSPECT description given in the police report, and the sighting must have occurred somewhere between the crime scene and the top of Cherry Street. After all, the man was "last seen walking north on Cherry Street, from Washington Street".

3898 Washington Street overlooks the crime scene, on the opposite side of the street to the three teenagers. Using ancestry records it was possible to identify the owner of 3898 Washington Street on October 11th 1969 as Alexander Henry von Hafften. He had a child aged 8 years and 2 months named Robert, who lived at this residence. Is it likely that this is the child mentioned in the FBI document, who recognized Xenophon Anthony from his bedroom window that night, directly overlooking the crime scene?

However, Sick E. Von Brutal, a member on Ophion1031's 'This is the Zodiac Speaking' forum, stated that he "got a Facebook reply back from Robert von Hafften today and he told me that he was not the 8-year-old witness from the FBI report". Whether he didn't want to get involved in the Zodiac case, or actually wasn't the 8-year-old child described in the FBI report- one may never know. But if this definitely wasn't the child, who observed somebody he thought was Xenophon Lusby Anthony, subject in the murder of Paul Stine, then this unidentified 8-year-old child must still have resided somewhere between the crime scene and the top of Cherry Street (if responsible for the description in the police report).
 
Was Xenophon Anthony a case of mistaken identity by the 8-year-old child? If so, then we could still be looking for a killer who resembled Xenophon Anthony on October 11th 1969. Somebody described as "35-45 years, approximately 5'8", heavy build, short brown hair, possibly with red tint, wears glasses" and "in his early forties, 5'8", heavy build, reddish-blond, crew cut hair and wearing eyeglasses" by four eyewitnesses, before the killer even reached Jackson Street that night. It may be the case, that the Zodiac Killer's features lie somewhere between Xenophon Anthony and the widely distributed police sketch. Xenophon Anthony was cross checked for fingerprints in the FBI report and ruled out as the contributor to any retrieved from the taxicab of Paul Stine, but his identification by the 8-year-old, assuming the child previously knew Xenophon Anthony, could still be be very useful in validating the accuracy of the sketch supplied from the memories of the three teenagers that night. 

This article has subsequently been developed into a revised version, doubting that the three teenagers ever gave a description to police of a suspect aged 25 to 30 years. See the article The Zodiac Was About 40 in 1969.

This website contains no advertisements. To help keep it running, any donations, however small, would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Richard. ​

The Zodiac Killer appeared to have targeted specific areas in his search for victims, such as the secluded areas of Lake Herman Road, the Blue Rock Springs parking lot and Lake Berryessa, as well as his venture into the theater district of Union Square to deliberately target a San Francisco taxicab driver. But if the Modesto abduction of Kathleen Johns was a Zodiac crime, and he lived in the Bay Area, or more specifically Vallejo, then he went to extraordinary lengths to perpetrate his fifth recorded attack. Modesto is 86 miles from the site of his first attack at Lake Herman Road. That is a 172 mile round trip from Benicia.

If the abduction was the only purpose of his visit, we would have to believe he left his residence at sometime around 9:30 pm on Sunday night at the latest, to travel for 1.5 to 2 hours to a random stretch of highway in Modesto, for the sole purpose of flagging down a passing motorist, when this same technique could have been applied anywhere from Martinez, Concord or Walnut Creek - or an area he was possibly more familiar with. Three to four hours of driving to and from the destination, plus a 2 hour abduction, would mean anywhere up to 6 hours driving, for what turned out to be nothing more than a 'joyride'. Unless of course, there was a purpose behind his visit to Modesto, and the Kathleen Johns abduction was a mere afterthought and spur of the moment decision on his way home.       

On October 11th 1969, taxicab driver Paul Stine was murdered in Presidio Heights. On October 22nd 1969, the same day as the supposed Oakland PD phone call by Zodiac, requesting that either Melvin Belli or Francis Lee Bailey, high profile lawyers at the time, appear on a chat show hosted by Jim Dunbar, Joe Stine, brother of the victim, issued a challenge to Zodiac on a KPIX news report. It was reported in the San Francisco Chronicle the following day. Joe Stine stated "Zodiac has to be sick, a maniac. I hope that by offering myself as a target I can flush him out. I work at the Richfield Service Station at 706 Sutter Street in Modesto, near Rouse Street. I start at 7 am. I go to lunch at the Walk-In Chicken in a shopping center two blocks away, riding a bicycle along Sutter Street and leaving the station at noon each day. I go back to the service station and work until 5".
Joe Stine lived with his mother in Modesto. 

During the interview on the KPIX news report, Joe Stine was asked: "What is your feeling among them or people in the city that you may be drawing the Zodiac here unnecessarily". Joe Stine stated that it was 99% likely the Zodiac wouldn't take up his challenge. It seemed unlikely, but exactly 5 months later the Zodiac appeared on Highway 132, west of Modesto. If this was Zodiac - was it a coincidence? Did the Zodiac make the journey to Modesto over the weekend of March 20th to the early hours of March 23rd (possibly even stopping over) with the express intention of taking up Joe Stine on his challenge and proving this 99% assertion incorrect?

Joe Stine rode a bicycle to work, that may have indicated his mother's residence was relatively close to the Richfield Service Station at Sutter Street. Had the Zodiac Killer traveled to Modesto and followed Joe Stine at any point over the weekend, thereby locating the residence of his mother - presumably Joe Stine would not have been working on a Sunday. Whatever the case, the attack never materialized. Then Kathleen Johns was abducted just shy of Bird Road on Highway 132, en route to Petaluma, and ironically, according to the police report, the suspect drove "west on Highway 132 and pulled into a Richfield service station that was closed". He surely must have been aware it was closed?        

Kathleen Johns traveled from San Bernardino, California to Highway 132, via Highway 99, turning west just by downtown Modesto. She would have traveled on Highway 99, just 4,840 feet, or 1.48 km east of the Richfield Service Station where Joe Stine worked - and likely close to where he resided with his mother. ​Is this where Zodiac picked up her trail, somewhere along Highway 132, en route to his weekend residence, or on his way home to the Bay Area? This may be an unlikely scenario of events, but if the Modesto abduction of Kathleen Johns was unrelated to Joe Stine, why did the Zodiac Killer make a daunting 6 hour trek all over California just to flag down and give a ride to a random motorist, that he could have done anywhere? Additionally, do we put the abduction in Modesto as a coincidence, bearing in mind Joe Stine's connection to Modesto, and the previous attack was on his brother in San Francisco. Was it just a case of happenstance?

On Zodiac Killer Site forum there is an interesting letter highlighted- sent to the editor of the Modesto Bee newspaper. AK Wilks stated "Someone reacted to Joe Stine very strongly. Doug Oswell and I, and some others, wonder if this letter from AROUSED is actually the Zodiac"  Joe Stine worked near ROUSE Street. Bearing in mind how Zodiac signed off some of his letters, it's worthy of consideration.​ The Modesto Bee communication can be viewed on the forum, or directly here.

Inspired by the excellent feedback in comments, we will tackle the widely perceived notion that the murderer of five, known as the Zodiac Killer, enjoyed bragging and boasting about his four canonical crimes. The skepticism surrounding the brutal knife attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard lingers - not only from the theatrical aspect of the crime - but from the evident lack of correspondence detailing his exploits by the lake. The Zodiac Killer (assuming the 340 cipher was not Lake Berryessa specific) did not mail any communication outlining the murder and attempted murder of the couple alongside the Knoxville Road. It will be argued, that the lack of communication, boasting and detailing the Lake Berryessa crime, was not unusual in regard to the Zodiac. The Bay Area killer never willingly boasted or went into extensive detail about any of his first two crimes either.​ 

The Zodiac refrained from any communication after the December 20th 1968 murders, until three communications arrived six-and-a-half months later to three newspapers.
There was no boasting about either Lake Herman Road or Blue Rock Springs. The killer simply provided details and 'evidence' he was the responsible:

"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. To prove I killed them I shall state some facts which only I + the police know".

Christmass. [1] Brand name of ammo Super X [2] 10 shots were fired [3] the boy was on his back with his feet to the car [4] the girl was on her right side feet to the west. 
4th July. [1] girl was wearing paterned slacks [2] The boy was also shot in the knee [3] Brand name of ammo was western.

​The decrypted 408 cipher contained a rambling message, but made no direct reference to either of the first three murders. The details he did provide in the three letters, were only given as evidence that the author was indeed the killer. No facts about how each crime unfolded and how he terrorized the victims was given by the Zodiac Killer. This probably would have been the end of it regarding the Benicia and Vallejo murders, but for Vallejo Police Chief Jack E. Stiltz, who still expressed doubts regarding the author's claims. He specifically asked for the killer to contact the newspapers or police again. Chief Jack E. Stiltz was less than satisfied that the letter writer and killer were one and the same, as detailed in an extract from the Saturday August 2nd 1969 San Francisco Chronicle. He requested the writer to send a second letter "with more facts to prove it." Another Zodiac article featured the following day on Sunday August 3rd 1969 in the San Francisco Examiner. Jack E Stiltz was "still not convinced the letters and codes were written by the actual killer". The police chief "urged the writer to send more letters, with more facts to prove his connections to the crimes".

The response by the Zodiac was swift, when the following day the San Francisco Examiner received the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter giving the police chief what he had asked for. It stated "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". Without the prompt by Jack E. Stiltz, it is extremely likely this communication would never have been composed and sent to the newspapers. Our knowledge of the 'pencil flashlight', the supposed negro eyewitness, or his recollection of the Mageau shooting would never have been known. In other words, he didn't willingly brag about the crimes, he was prompted into a response by the utterances of the Vallejo police chief. But for Jack E. Stiltz, the Zodiac Killer may not have written from July 31st 1969 until October 13th 1969, when the Paul Stine letter arrived. In two-and-a-half months the killer had murdered five people and attempted to murder two people, yet during this time period he would have likely written only two sets of communications. Not much of a braggart. ​Therefore, the fact the killer failed to write extensively about his Lake Berryessa exploits was not particularly out of character.

But for two phone calls taking credit for the second and third crime, he seemed rather less than forthcoming about detailing the mechanics of his murders unless prompted.

His murder of Paul Stine on October 11th 1969 was followed by a relatively short letter. It declared "I am the murderer of the taxi driver over by Washington St + Maple St last night, to prove this here is a blood stained piece of his shirt. I am the same man who did in the people in the north bay area". He was once again supplying evidence he was the killer, just like the July 31st 1969 letters, but added no details whatsoever about the actual murder of the taxicab driver or his exploits in the taxicab.

He added a brief description about his venture into the park, stating "The S.F. Police could have caught me last night if they had searched the park properly instead of holding road races with their motorcicles seeing who could make the most noise. The car drivers should have just parked their cars and sat there quietly waiting for me to come out of cover". The inability of police to capture him was highlighted, but again, there was no maniacal boasting about the murder or extensive details regarding it. Then came the prompting once more. This time by Chief of Inspectors ​Martin Lee.
 
Chief Martin Lee, speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle, stated "His boast of being in the area we were searching while we were searching, it is a lie. We had the whole area flooded with lights. We had seven police dogs and a large number of patrolmen searching the area tree by tree and bush by bush. The dogs are the best in the country. A mouse couldn't have escaped our attention". link.  He added "The fact Zodiac failed to mention the dogs and floodlights proves he wasn't anywhere in the vicinity". This last statement is patently flawed logic, because absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. This, coupled with the police stating Zodiac made mistakes, forced Zodiac into a response outlining details about the crime. Whether this was a cunning ploy by police to rile the Zodiac Killer into further communication and possibly trip himself up, or whether they really believed Zodiac never entered the park, can only be speculated. But it worked.

.On November 9th 1969 the Zodiac Killer mailed the Bus Bomb letter, opening with the lines "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". Remember, Chief Martin Lee had called Zodiac a liar. 

However, not once did the Zodiac Killer brag or boast about the callous murder of Paul Stine. He reacted to the police claims, by retorting "2 cops pulled a goof, hey pig doesnt it rile you up to have your noze rubed in your booboos, the police don't have much to work on, as of yet I have left no fingerprints behind me contrary to what the police say, and I was leaving fake clews for the police to run all over town with". The rest of his communication was reserved for the bomb he was allegedly constructing. The Zodiac Killer was full of threats, but so far hadn't willingly boasted about the very nature and details of his chilling crimes.

The final line of the Bus Bomb letter is testimony to the agenda of the Zodiac Killer up to this point, adding "To prove that I am the Zodiac, Ask the Vallejo cop about my electric gun sight which I used to start my collecting of slaves".  The Zodiac Killer was referring to the Vallejo cop Jack E. Stiltz, who prompted the Debut of Zodiac letter, asking for more details, The Zodiac did respond - informing Jack E. Stiltz about his 'pencil flashlight' or electric gun sight. The Bus Bomb letter was in direct response to Chief Martin Lee, to whom, he was trying to prove he did venture into the park and didn't leave any evidence at the crime scene. However, what is evidently lacking in this communication, is the lack of glorification in the murder or detailing of the actual crime itself. 

The Zodiac Killer was undoubtedly a ruthless and merciless killer, but as of November 9th 1969, the closest the Zodiac Killer came to boasting about the actual murders and attempted murders thus far, was when asked to do so. He replied to Jack E. Stiltz, informing him that "I fired the first shot at his head, he leaped backwards at the same time, thus spoiling my aim. He ended up on the back seat then the floor in back thashing out very violently with his legs; that's how I shot him in the knee" and "All I had to do was spray them as if it was a water hose".

The Bus Bomb letter may still have been mailed, but that is probably all it would have contained - details of his bus bomb and the threat of more murders - and likely little or no reference to the murder he had already committed. Had he wanted to provide copious material about the Paul Stine murder, he had every opportunity when he mailed the October 13th 1969 letter, but he refrained from doing so. The premise of the Zodiac Killer, as somebody who enjoyed boasting about his crimes is not apparent in his writings, unless pushed. The threats however, would still continue.

The Zodiac Killer thought he had provided all the evidence required to prove he was the Lake Berryessa perpetrator, by writing on the car door of Bryan Hartnell's white Karmann Ghia and making the telephone call, yet it wasn't enough for some. Despite this being his most audacious crime to date, he again remained deafeningly silent on the specifics of the attack. Bryan Hartnell's survival and testimony of the crime, would inadvertently give the Zodiac Killer all the newspaper coverage of the actual crime he needed, if this was ever a requirement of the Zodiac Killer. Every correspondence to date, other than the extra details he was prompted into supplying, had one thing in common.

July 31st 1969: "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".

October 13th 1969: "School children make nice targets, I think I shall wipe out a school bus some morning. Just shoot out the front tire + then pick off the kiddies as they come bouncing out".

November 8th 1969: "This is the Zodiac speaking. I though you would nead a good laugh before you hear the bad news. You won't get the news for a while yet. Could you print this new cipher in your frunt page ? I get aufully lonely when I am ignored, so lonely I could do my Thing".

November 9th 1969: "What you do not know is whether the death machine is at the sight or whether it is being stored in my basement for future use. I think you do not have the manpower to stop this one by continually searching the road sides looking for this thing. + it wont do to re roat + re schedule the busses because the bomb can be adapted to new conditions. Have fun!! By the way it could be rather messy if you try to bluff me. PS. Be shure to print the part I marked out on page 3 or I shall do my thing".

It was the threat of the crime itself, not the basking in the crime that had passed. The Zodiac Killer was prompted into ridiculing the police and supplying them with "more details" about the crimes, but terror was the 'thing' he enjoyed most.     

Searching an ever growing and endless suspect list with limited DNA evidence for the identity of the Zodiac Killer, is akin to looking for a needle in a haystack, with that haystack getting larger every year. DNA may eventually help us in the future, but we need to narrow the suspect pool not make it larger. There have been many studies on serial killers down the years, and although these observations cannot be applied to every serial killer, there are patterns that exist which can be used to narrow down the search for the killer's base or home location. Applying what limited details we believe of the killer - the vehicle, age range and description, handwriting and occupation, coupled with possible fingerprints, palm prints and a partial DNA code (if reliable) - if we can then identify a small enough sample of the population to test, we may just strike lucky. Even if the killer has died, he may have had children from whom DNA could be acquired, and using modern forensic genetic fingerprinting it may provide a link to the murderer.

The Kathleen Johns abduction lies on the periphery of the Zodiac crimes, but if her journey around the outskirts of Tracy, California into the early morning hours of March 23rd 1970 was at the hands of the Zodiac Killer, then she may have provided us with some vital information. She described the interior of her abductor's vehicle "as messy- she had noticed men's and children's clothing scattered about, books and papers, a black rubber handled flashlight, and two colored plastic scouring pads on the console dashboard.  Kathleen estimated that the smaller patterned T-shirts were of the age range 8-12 years". If these clothes were not part of his profession, he may have had children - adding another layer to consider when searching for a likely residence and home location. In an initial whittling down process, we could consider married men with at least one child in the age range of 8-12 years in 1970, living in the geographical area we have identified. Throw in what we think we know of the killer, such as age, weight, glasses, vehicle  etc, and the suspect list would narrow to only a manageable number of people.

Kim Rossmo, the pioneer of geographical profiling, hit the nail on the head regarding one possible location, stating "There's a number of possibilities. But remember, Rancho Vallejo was possibly 26,000 people at that time, of which only 13,000 will be male, and only a certain proportion of those are of the correct age, and a certain portion of those are only going to be white. Then we start looking at the neighborhoods involved, we have a pretty small subset. Then we start combining that with some of the personal and behavioral descriptors, and then we work in the vehicle information. If this case was active today, it would not be too difficult to find this person" Narrow the original pool down to just a few thousand, and a much smaller radius, and the needle becomes more visible. This is a much more viable option than widening the suspect pool year-on-year, further muddying the waters. 

This will be collating several previous articles under one banner, throwing in a little extra for good measure - and then the book will be closed on this matter. We need to narrow the search, not widen it. That is why geographical profiling could be our last hope, by using the mechanics of the human mind to unravel the pattern of the killer. None of the following is certain, but if we add brick by brick, we may reveal the house.

The Zodiac Killer didn't get the directions wrong, but he may have got the distance slightly wrong, as he did at Lake Berryessa: "I want to report a murder, no, a double murder. They are two miles north of Park Headquarters. They were in a white Volkswagen Karmann Ghia" - and after a brief pause uttered the words  "I'm the one that did it".  On both occasions he was slightly over a mile off. But if we consider the Zodiac Killer's position alongside Springs Road, the police exiting the Vallejo Police Department and traveling on Solano Avenue to Springs Road, would only be traveling 1.3 miles in a true easterly direction.    

The Zodiac Killer mailed three letters to the newspapers on July 31st 1969, with confirmation of the attacks at Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs Park. The author stated "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". His compass directions were totally accurate in describing the position of Betty Lou Jensen in the turnout on December 20th 1968. He added "the girl was on her right side feet to the west". In the November 9th 1969 'Bus Bomb' letter after the Paul Stine murder, he again got his compass directions spot on: "The dogs never came with in 2 blocks of me + they were to the west" and "only 2 groups of parking about 10 min apart then the motor cicles went by about 150 ft away going from south to north west" (describing Presidio Boulevard in the park).

So why do we assume that he managed to completely get his bearings incorrect during the phone call to Nancy Slover?
He knew the parking lot at Blue Rock Springs was near the golf course. He also was directing the police east from the station to Columbus Parkway. He clearly had knowledge of where the police station and Columbus Parkway were in respect to one another, despite the fact he had committed the attack only 40 minutes earlier. The killer had plenty of time after the Lake Herman Road and Presidio Heights murders to look at a map and get his compass directions correct, yet here, he had only 40 minutes before the payphone call. He could have studied a map before the Blue Rock Springs Park attack, but had this been the case, why would he have got the directions wrong as many claim. Equally, had he studied a map beforehand, then he would have known the "public park" by name. The fact that he got his compass directions correct in every instance, it could be argued he was very familiar with the location of the police station, Columbus Parkway and very likely the parking lot.  
Then he sent the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter, received on August 4th 1969 - probably the most important correspondence he ever composed:
​
​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. 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. When I fired the first shot at his head, he leaped backwards at the same time, thus spoiling my aim. He ended up on the back seat then the floor in back thashing out very violently with his legs; that's how I shot him in the knee. I did not leave the cene of the killing with squealling tires + raceing engine as described in the Vallejo paper. I drove away quite slowly so as not to draw attention to my car. The man who told police that my car was brown was a negro about 40-45 rather shabbly dressed. I was in this phone booth having some fun with the Vallejo cop when he was walking by. When I hung the phone up the damn thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me + my car.
Last Christmass In that epasode the police were wondering how I could shoot + hit my victims in the dark. They did not openly state this, but implied this by saying it was a well lit night + I could see silowets on the horizon. Bullshit that area is srounded by high hills + trees. What I did was tape a small pencel flash light to the barrel of my gun. If you notice, in the center of the beam of light if you aim it at a wall or ceiling you will see a black or darck spot in the center of the circle of light about 3 to 6 inches across. When taped to a gun barrel, the bullet will strike in the center of the black dot in the light. All I had to do was spray them as if it was a water hose; there was no need to use the gun sights. I was not happy to see that I did not get front page coverage.  

This will be a deliberately exaggerated interpretation of this correspondence to highlight its misdirection.
In the latter part of the correspondence dealing with Lake Herman Road, the author doesn't mention anything regarding the shots into the David Faraday Rambler, forcing the couple from the vehicle, or his headlights illuminating the turnout to aid his visibility, however, in his story about Blue Rock Springs Park, he uses the word "car" on four occasions. He begins the 'message' by referring to the vehicle of Darlene Ferrin: "On the 4th of July I did not open the car door". He then reminds us about his vehicle as he leaves the parking lot, leading us into the payphone incident - almost selling it as one continuous sequence: "I did not leave the cene of the killing with squealling tires + raceing engine as described in the Vallejo paper. I drove away quite slowly so as not to draw attention to my car".
It is extremely strange that the killer didn't want to draw attention to his car when leaving the parking lot, when in the very next sentence he is drawing attention to his car at the payphone: "The man who told police that my car was brown was a negro". The police report and newspapers never mentioned any negro male eyewitness, so it was extremely generous of the Zodiac Killer to confirm Michael Mageau's testimony of a brown car, by offering up this valuable second eyewitness to the newspapers and police. One could believe this male negro eyewitness never existed, yet the Zodiac was to make sure he was real by adding valuable extra details. To prove he was the killer in the July 31st 1969 letters he gave "some facts which only I + the police know". In the August 4th 1969 'Debut of Zodiac' letter he was doing exactly the same thing: "The man who told police that my car was brown was a negro about 40-45, rather shabbly dressed. I was in this phone booth having some fun with the Vallejo cop when he was walking by". The age, color and attire of this eyewitness are entirely unnecessary and superfluous details designed to convince the reader this man is real - so real - he even reported the Zodiac to police.

The author has now imprinted the word "car" in our head three times. 'Don't forget' that he is still in his vehicle, despite the fact this payphone is only 10 minutes from the parking lot, and 40 minutes has elapsed at this point. But if you were in any doubt whatsoever that the killer is still in his vehicle, remember, the eyewitness "was walking by." The Zodiac missed a trick here.
​He should have said  "the very observant negro man was slowing walking by clocking the color of my car". Then the Zodiac put the icing on the cake by mentioning his car for a fourth time: "When I hung the phone up the damn thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me + my car". How convenient that the phone rang and drew the attention of the eyewitness, who just happened to be walking by. The killer could have written "When I hung the phone up the damn thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me", but chose to add in his vehicle once again, as if we'd forgotten he was in his brown car. The reason behind all this misdirection - is that the Zodiac Killer had likely driven from Blue Rock Springs Park to his residence first and walked to the payphone. He wanted the police to believe he was still in his vehicle, thereby not revealing that his residence was but a walking distance from the Springs and Tuolumne payphone. 

The Zodiac Killer was extremely helpful in confirming Michael Mageau's testimony of a brown vehicle by creating the fictitious negro eyewitness. Whether the killer was in his vehicle or not while making the payphone call to Nancy Slover, he certainly wanted to sell us the fact it was "brown" in color. That is because it was likely anything but brown. The above vehicle demonstrates how an 'Ermine White Chevrolet' spotted in the Lake Herman Road turnout at 10:00 pm on December 20th 1968, would have appeared to Michael Mageau at midnight in the Blue Rock Springs parking lot. In a prominent newspaper article Michael Mageau described the vehicle as a "1958 or 1959 Falcon. The color was brown or bronze". In the police report he stated "he could not see the color or anything as it was too dark out there". Michael was clearly not confident of the vehicle that parked behind him that night, but if the vehicle was 'Ermine White', it is easy to understand how this could be mistaken for brown under the conditions experienced within the parking lot that night. The Zodiac Killer, knowing he was driving a white vehicle, was only too happy to confirm Michael Mageau's description of his vehicle in the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter. The Zodiac, in his mind, had not only successfully placed his vehicle at the payphone, but had changed its color also. A very successful letter indeed. 

There will be many that will disagree with this analysis, but it is designed as an example of narrowing the search field down to a few hundred or few thousand men, who we can then narrow further based on what we have learned about the Zodiac Killer to this point in time. Find the location and find the killer. Using the geographic profiling developed by Kim Rossmo, such as 'buffer zones', 'least effort principle' and 'circle theory of environmental range,' we can give ourselves a more realistic search field, using the psychology of the human mind - or more specifically - the mind of the Zodiac Killer to work against himself. The alternative, is to keep adding suspects year-on-year, taking the journey down many blind alleys, before you ultimately realize - it is the avenue you should be searching for.