When the Zodiac Killer mailed his July 31st 1969 letters to the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner and Vallejo Times-Herald, he informed each newspaper to the fact he had mailed letters to the other two. He addressed the San Francisco Chronicle as S.F. Chronicle on its envelope and in the letters to the other newspapers, the San Francisco Examiner as S.F. Examiner on its envelope and in the letters to the other newspapers, but addressed the Vallejo Times-Herald as Vallejo Times Herald on its envelope and Vallejo Times to the other newspapers. The 1969 Vallejo Times-Herald envelope had not been made visible to the public at the time the disputed October 28th 1987 Halloween letter arrived at the Vallejo Times-Herald (as far as I can ascertain). The three July 31st 1969 envelopes even failed to make the San Francisco Police Department DNA report in the late 1990s.

An article from ABC News in 2003: "The lab has found a partial DNA "fingerprint" on one of the envelopes, but not enough for definitive matching. However, a Primetime investigation prompted the discovery of three envelopes that offer new hope. The envelopes (July 31st 1969) were thought to have been lost, but an anonymous Primetime source — a long-retired investigator — found them, in mint condition, during a search of his personal files and turned them over to the San Francisco police".

Experts very quickly determined the 1987 letter was mailed by a hoaxer. "The fake letter sent to the Vallejo Times-Herald in midweek was a simulation of a hoax letter written in 1978", police Capt. Roy Conway said Thursday. "The determination was made by experts in the state Department of Justice", he said. In Sacramento, spokeswoman Melinda Stehr of the attorney general's office said handwriting experts confirmed the letter was a simulation of a letter sent to the San Francisco Chronicle a decade ago, which was also considered to be a hoax."Someone saw the letter and was using it as a copy."  Stehr said. "It's a fake. It's a hoax". When they made this determination, they clearly didn't have the July 31st 1969 Vallejo Times-Herald envelope at their disposal, so they could compare it to the October 28th 1987 envelope. If they had, they may very well have come to a different conclusion. The Zodiac Killer wrote 'Vallejo Times' in his letters when he addressed the Chronicle and Examiner on July 31st 1969 (which were made public), but his envelope to the Vallejo newspaper contained the full name of 'Vallejo Times Herald'. An envelope not made public prior to October 28th 1987. Yet the recent 1987 envelope contained the full title of 'Vallejo Times Herald', just like the unpublished 1969 Vallejo envelope.

If you compare the now available July 31st 1969 Vallejo Times-Herald envelope, with the October 28th 1987 Vallejo Times-Herald envelope, the similarity is noticeable. How could a hoaxer mimic the 1969 Vallejo envelope so closely if he had never laid eyes on it. The same words and amount of words (and abbreviations) are used in both, with no commas or full stops in either address. The dominant alphabetical V is present on both, with a distinct right leaning slant extending over the "a" of Vallejo. Up to October 28th 1987, these were the only two communications ever mailed to the Vallejo Times-Herald from either Zodiac, or a supposed copycat of Zodiac. If the July 31st 1969 Vallejo Times-Herald envelope was never made public prior to October 28th 1987, I suggest that this recent Halloween offering should be declared genuine Zodiac Killer correspondence. This is the best image available of the 1987 envelope. There are two March 29th 1985 issue date 22c stamps of Flag Over Capitol on the 1987 envelope. The May 6th 1986 'Zodiac' envelope contains one smaller Flag Over Capitol stamp.          

This article is what I would describe as an investigative piece written with impartiality to the best of my knowledge. We know that the July 31st 1969 letters were the Zodiac Killer because of their content, so if the October 28th 1987 envelope can unequivocally be tied to one of these letters through the handwriting style and composition of each envelope, we can say without doubt the Bay Area murderer was still alive in 1987. However, if any reader of this article can find the July 31st 1969 Vallejo Times-Herald envelope published prior to October 28th 1987, for the latest Halloween letter author to mimic, I will delete this article immediately.  

It has been shown recently that the February 3rd 1974 SLA letter and the July 8th 1974 Red Phantom letter were almost certainly authored by the same individual, assuming the author of the envelope in each case was responsible for its contents. The SLA envelope was not featured in the newspapers, so the author of the Red Phantom envelope could not have mimicked the address so accurately. It was also shown how the SLA letter was almost certainly authored by the Symbionese Liberation Army, who not only mailed it the day before Patty Hearst's kidnapping, but typed a letter and addressed it to the Hearst family on February 10th 1974 mimicking the introduction and signature of the SLA letter. Both communications began with "Dear" and ended with "a friend".  

A friend of the Symbionese Liberation Army, associate of the group or a member themselves, had they authored the SLA letter and envelope, were with little doubt also responsible for authorship of the Red Phantom letter and envelope. The problem being that the Red Phantom letter was mailed on July 8th 1974, nearly two months after the deadly shootout with Los Angeles police on May 17th 1974 at the 1466 East 54th Street SLA hideout. Six members of the Symbionese Liberation Army died that day, including Nancy Ling Perry, Angela Atwood, Camilla Hall, Willie Wolfe, Donald DeFreeze and Patricia Soltysik. Therefore, it is patently obvious that none of these individuals were responsible for the Red Phantom letter, and by extension, the SLA letter. That reduces the pool drastically and could open the door to an associate or friend of the Symbionese Liberation Army.  

Kathleen Soliah was born in Fargo, North Dakota, while her family were living in Barnesville, Minnesota. When she was eight, her conservative Lutheran family relocated to Southern California. After graduating from the University of California, Santa Barbara, Soliah moved to Berkeley, California with her boyfriend, James Kilgore. There she met Angela Atwood at an acting audition where they both won lead roles. They became inseparable during the play's run. Atwood tried to sponsor Soliah into the SLA. Regardless, Soliah and Kilgore, along with her brother Steve and sister Josephine, followed the SLA closely without joining. It is apparent these were fringe players in the early days of the Symbionese Liberation Army, but nonetheless sympathizers and friends who would later play a more integral part.

Sara Jane Olson (born Kathleen Ann Soliah on January 16, 1947) was one possible author of the SLA letter. She grew up in Palmdale, California, the daughter of Norwegian-American parents, Elsie Soliah (née Engstrom) and Palmdale High School English teacher and coach Martin Soliah. Engström, Engstrøm and Engstrom are surnames of Swedish and Norwegian origin. Was she responsible for authoring the SLA letter on February 3rd 1974, one or two days before the kidnapping of Patricia Hearst? She was "a friend" of the Symbionese Liberation Army with close ties to Angela Atwood. She also had Scandinavian ancestry, that may have influenced the "Old Norse" reference on the SLA letter. 

When Atwood and other key members of the SLA were killed in 1974 during a standoff with police in Los Angeles, the Soliahs organized memorial rallies, including a rally in Berkeley's Willard Park where Soliah spoke in support of her friend Angela Atwood while being covertly filmed by the FBI. Kathleen Soliah said that her fellow SLA members had been: "viciously attacked and murdered by 500 pigs in L.A. while the whole nation watched. Well, I believe that Gelina [Atwood] and her comrades fought until the last minutes, and though I would like to have her with me here right now, I know that she lived happy and she died happy. And in that sense, I'm so very proud of her. SLA soldiers – I know it is not necessary to say; but keep on fighting. I'm with you and we are with you". But if Kathleen Soliah was responsible for the February 3rd 1974 SLA letter, then she had to be responsible for the July 8th 1974 Red Phantom letter also (if we conclude the author of both envelopes were the same handwriting).

As with many female members of the Symbionese Liberation Army, Kathleen Soliah was a staunch advocate of women's rights and equality, and the polar opposite of the image portrayed by Marc H. Spinelli in his column in the San Francisco Chronicle. The Count Marco column drew regular ire from its female readership, who branded Count Marco a misogynist. The obituary of Marc H. Spinelli began with "Marc H. Spinelli, better known to Chronicle readers as Count Marco, a columnist who gave outrageous advice to women for 15 years. As Count Marco, Mr. Spinelli was a star performer in a circulation war in the 1960s between The Chronicle and other Bay Area newspapers. At the height of his fame, he wrote his newspaper column, appeared on his own daily television show, wrote three books, won prizes and developed a huge audience that was either amused or appalled by his words".

Therefore, it wouldn't have been too surprising if his column inches had caught the attention of one of the female members or associates of the Symbionese Liberation Army, who were voracious letter-writers throughout 1974. In the September and October of 1976 Olson, under the name Nancy Bennett, was still involved in female activism, appearing in two feminist plays in Seattle. She disappeared after four performances. The viability of female authorship through the SLA and Red Phantom envelope handwriting, makes her a credible candidate (although not a certainty). But there is one other crucial factor that links the SLA letter and Red Phantom letter together. 

In 1969, James Kilgore began dating Kathleen Soliah. She joined a band of extremists known as the Symbionese Liberation Army or SLA. In 1974, Soliah introduced Kilgore to group members Emily and Bill Harris. He soon became involved in the organization. He helped create fake IDs for several of the members and began orchestrating bank robberies. They claimed that they committed the robberies so they could finance their plan to overthrow the government. In late February of 1975, SLA members held up the Guild Savings and Loan in Sacramento. On April 21, 1975, Kilgore, Soliah, the Harrises, and Michael Bortin decided to rob the Crocker National Bank in Carmichael, California. At the same time, forty-two-year-old Myrna Opsahl and two of her friends arrived at the bank, planning to deposit money from their church group.  Unsolved Mysteries. So it is fairly obvious Kathleen Soliah and James Kilgore, heavily bound to the Symbionese Liberation Army, were extremely close to one another.   

James William Kilgore was born in California, graduating from San Rafael High School in 1965. Kathleen Ann Soliah grew up in Palmdale, Los Angeles, California. Los Angeles and San Francisco were the two headquarters of the Symbionese Liberation Army.

The February 3rd 1974 SLA letter (Old Norse being spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia) was mailed from Los Angeles, where Kathleen Soliah grew up with her Norwegian-American parents, and the July 8th 1974 Red Phantom letter was mailed from San Rafael (where boyfriend of Soliah, James Kilgore spent his early years). Two members and/or close associates of the Symbionese Liberation Army with close ties to both these locations.

Whether the SLA letter or Red Phantom letter were mailed by Kathleen Soliah cannot be proven, but with little doubt, these two communications were likely authored by the same individual. If a member of the Symbionese Liberation Army was responsible for the SLA letter, then a high probability exists they mailed a communication to Count Marco also.  

THE PHANTOM ZODIAC LETTER ON JULY 8TH 1974 [PART ONE]

"The individual I saw that night was a white male adult approximately 35 to 45 years of age, 5'10" tall, 180 to 210 pounds. Since we were looking for a negro male adult, we proceeded on Jackson Street towards Arguello continuing our search. As we arrived at Arguello Street the description of the suspect was changed to a white male adult, and believing this suspect was possibly the one involved in the shooting we entered the Presidio of San Francisco and conducted a search on West Pacific Avenue, the opposite side of the wall and the last direction we observed the suspect going, we did not find the suspect". This is the account of Officer Donald Fouke in the 1989 Crimes of the Century documentary that most people choose to ignore in favor of the account of Officer Donald Fouke in the 2007 documentary, some 18 years later. Notice that Officer Donald Fouke got the updated white male description as he arrived at Arguello. But who initiated the update to a white male? Officer Armond Pelissetti did.

In the 2007 This is the Zodiac Speaking documentary, Officer Armond Pelissetti stated "I was the first officer that responded on the scene. We responded to a radio call which told us that a cab driver was being robbed and/or possibly assaulted at the corner of Cherry and Washington. We fortunately were very close and responded to that corner, and were able to do so red light and siren at 9:55 at night and got there very quickly. I parked the car in the middle of the intersection facing the Yellow Cab, that was sitting a little bit back from the corner. There were three children that were heading over to that car about 15 or 16 feet away. I made the assumption they were coming from the home on the corner and I herded them immediately back to that alcove. The description that came out over the air was a negro male adult at the time. Went over to the cab, I could see Mr. Paul Stine, who was slumped over the front seat with his head into the well on the passenger side. There was blood all over the cab, on him, and I was 99.9% certain he was dead - and it was at that point I retook the description of the suspect and it was then I was told it was a white male - I couldn't get to the radio fast enough at that point to let everybody else know. The kids had told me whoever had done this crime had left the cab, went out the door and seemed to be wiping the cab down and reaching into the cab and ambling or walking down Cherry Street in a northerly direction, kind of towards the Presidio. I walked that way myself, I did not run because there are innumerable alcoves and parked cars, so I went down following every technique I knew so I didn't get my head blown off".  

Officer Armond Pelissetti got on the police radio at the crime scene and updated the new description of a white male to all other units. This is when Officer Donald Fouke would have been updated to the new description of a white male adult. At this point Officer Donald Fouke was at Arguello. In other words, Officer Donald Fouke was at Arguello Boulevard while Officer Armond Pelissetti was at the crime scene. They didn't meet directly from the first radio broadcast (APB) that night. Officer Donald Fouke's journey to the intersection of Jackson and Cherry from his position when receiving the first APB, can take no longer than 90 seconds (allowing for intersections). Officer Armond Pelissetti can't possibly reach the top of Cherry in 90 seconds from the first APB. That should be plainly evident. You can see from the map below, that had Officer Donald Fouke turned into Cherry Street instead of carrying on to Arguello Boulevard, he would have received the updated description of a white male at the crime scene, alongside Officer Armond Pelissetti.   

The overarching question has always been, was the Zodiac Killer stopped and spoken to by Officers Fouke & Zelms that night? If the officers didn't stop the Zodiac Killer, then why didn't they just simply turn south into Cherry and head to the crime scene alongside Officers Pelissetti & Peda? Why did they continue west towards Arguello Boulevard. Consider this possibility.

Officer Donald Fouke is just passing Washington Street on Presidio Avenue when he gets the first APB, informing him of an assault and robbery on a taxicab driver at the intersection of Washington & Cherry. He is given the additional information to be on the lookout for a negro male adult, along with the suspect last seen heading north on Cherry towards Jackson Steet. Therefore, when Officer Donald Fouke is heading towards the crime scene on Jackson Street, he is obviously scanning the sidewalks for a black male. He spots a white man approaching the intersection of Jackson & Maple, so uses his common sense and pulls over to ask the white man "has he seen a black man in the vicinity acting suspiciously". The Zodiac Killer, not wanting the police to head to the crime scene, where he knew he had been spotted by some teenagers, who would obviously inform Officer Fouke that the suspect was a white male, said "yes officer, I have just seen a black man heading round the corner by Arguello. I think he may have a gun". Officer Donald Fouke (knowing other officers would have been dispatched to the crime scene also), had to make a split decision of heading to the assault and robbery - or continuing west on Jackson Street to intercept the black man identified by Zodiac - who is likely the perpetrator in his mind and somebody who presents an imminent danger to public safety, carrying a gun.

Officer Donald Fouke made the correct choice. The one he was clearly describing in the 1989 documentary. Officer Donald Fouke when arriving at Arguello Boulevard, gets the second APB from Officer Armond Pelissetti (who is at the crime scene updating everyone else to the revised white male description). It is at this point the alarm bells go off in Donald Fouke's head - that the white male he just passed 30 seconds earlier, last seen heading north on Maple - has just duped him big time. Knowing he had last seen the white male heading north on Maple, he assumed the man had likely traveled over the retaining wall towards Presidio Park, so he swings his patrol car into West Pacific Avenue and heads east towards Julius Kahn playground. He does a cursory search of the area before heading back to the crime scene via Cherry Street. This diversion into West Pacific Avenue and back likely taking 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. It is then he bumps into Officer Armond Pelissetti, who has now been afforded the necessary time to reach the top of Cherry, which would have been impossible directly from the initial APB. 

Officer Donald Fouke made it appear in the 2007 documentary that he got the update to a white male off Armond Pelissetti at the top of Cherry Street. He stated "He (Armond Pelissetti) stopped us and said he was looking for a white male that had just gone down the street. There was a little conversation about what the initial description was, and he said "no he was a white male". I then used a slang term and said "oh, that was the suspect". The suggestion being, that Donald Fouke had cursed after being informed the suspect was white not black. However, in the 1989 documentary he stated "as we arrived at Arguello Street the description of the suspect was changed to a white male adult". This was before he had bumped into Armond Pelissetti that night at Cherry. Two completely different stories.

Let us use the statement of Armond Pelissetti of "we fortunately were very close and responded to that corner, and were able to do so red light and siren at 9:55 at night and got there very quickly". If he responded to the first APB at 9:55 pm, then so did Donald Fouke. It was shown that Donald Fouke could not have taken longer than 90 seconds to arrive at Jackson & Cherry from the first APB (likely less). That would be 9:56:30, where according to the 2007 documentary, he bumped into Officer Pelissetti. That means Officer Pelissetti is at the top of Cherry at 9:56:30 pm. How does Officer Pelissetti possibly arrive at the corner of Jackson & Cherry in 90 seconds, if you have read his complete statement above? This is why the version of events presented in the 2007 documentary is fiction. Officer Donald Fouke did not turn into Cherry on his approach to the crime scene - he headed to Arguello Boulevard, reacted to the updated APB, swung into West Pacific Avenue and traveled to Julius Kahn playground, before heading back to Cherry Street. He then bumped into Officer Armond Pelissetti, already knowing of the updated white male description. Because he had received it via Armond Pelissetti on the radio, approximately 2 to 2 1/2 minutes earlier at Arguello Boulevard.

Michael Butterfield has extensively covered the Zodiac case in a series of excellent podcasts, but it is his coverage of Presidio Heights I would like to delve into.

Michael Butterfield stated "Officer Pelissetti stated he was nearby when he heard the radio call and responded at 9:58 pm. In several interviews with many individuals, including myself, Pelissetti stated he arrived on the scene, saw the body in the cab, then proceeded north on Jackson Street. Officer Fouke said he and Officer Zelms were also nearby when they heard the radio broadcast. Fouke claimed he saw the suspect as he was driving west on Jackson Street. The narrow margin of time leaves little room for the encounter described by the Zodiac. In the Zodiac's version of the story, the patrol car pulled up and one of the officers called him over to ask him if he had seen anyone acting suspicious or strange. The Zodiac responded that he saw a man running and waving a gun. The police officers then sped off around the corner as the killer directed. This exchange must have lasted at least 10 seconds, if not longer. This exchange would be much longer in any scenario where the officers actually climbed out of the patrol car, walked to the killer, talked, ran back to the car, then sped off. The Zodiac himself claimed this exchange took place approximately 3 minutes after he had left the crime scene. A video of the Zodiac's possible escape route, shows that an individual can walk at a slow and casual pace from the intersection of Washington & Cherry Streets to the intersection of Jackson & Maple in less than 3 minutes. One of the witnesses saw Zodiac walk to the intersection of Jackson & Cherry Streets. The witness told Pelissetti that the Zodiac was walking north on Cherry Street, so Pelissetti followed. Pelissetti claimed he encountered Fouke and Zelms by the time he reached Jackson Street. The witness account and Pelissetti's statements leave virtually no time for any significant encounter between Fouke, Zelms and the Zodiac. The timing indicated that the story of the Zodiac stop was not compatible with the known facts, common sense, or logic".

Michael Butterfield provided a less than complete version in this passage, namely that [1] Pelissetti stated he arrived on the scene, saw the body in the cab, then proceeded north on Jackson Street, and [2] The witness told Pelissetti that the Zodiac was walking north on Cherry Street, so Pelissetti followed. Neither of these versions happened, because Pelissetti stated in his own words that he saw the kids about 15 or 16 feet from the taxicab and herded them back to the alcove of their residence. He then stated he went over to the taxicab to check on Paul Stine and was 99.9 % certain he was dead. He then retook the description off the teenagers, before updating everybody else to the updated white male description. He then went back to the intersection to begin his journey up Cherry, "following every technique he knew so he didn't get his head blown off". This now leaves plenty of time for Donald Fouke's encounter with Zodiac, and his excursion to Arguello Boulevard and West Pacific Avenue, before heading back to Cherry to meet with Officer Pelissetti. In Michael Butterfield's version, even if Pelissetti arrived quickly to the crime scene (say 30 seconds), then immediately traveled cautiously up Cherry to meet Donald Fouke, 2 minutes would already have elapsed. How on earth does Donald Fouke require 2 minutes to travel from Washington St/Presidio Avenue to the intersection of Jackson & Cherry. And this is omitting everything Pelissetti claimed he did at the crime scene.

From first APB, Armond Pelissetti requires at least 4 minutes to reach the top of Cherry Street. Donald Fouke requires 4 minutes to head west on Jackson Street, have a brief 10 or 20 second exchange with Zodiac, travel to Arguello Boulevard, West Pacific Avenue and Julius Kahn playground, before returning back to Cherry. From the initial APB to the intersection of Jackson & Cherry for Donald Fouke is no longer than 90 seconds (even with a brief exchange with Zodiac). Donald Fouke then has at least 2 1/2 minutes for a rudimentary search alongside Presidio Park, before his meeting at the top of Cherry with Officer Pelissetti. Michael Butterfield's timeline gives the impression of Officer Pelissetti getting the initial APB, and arriving at the top of Cherry in 90 seconds or less, which is impossible. The claim of "virtually no time for any significant encounter between Fouke, Zelms and the Zodiac" is therefore a false one.              

In the podcast Shadows & Fog, Michael stated "The crime scene was well preserved and police checked the fingerprints of various individuals who were there that night. Armond Pelissetti, the first responding officer at the scene, stated that he saw the traces of blood on the cab, where the fingerprints were found. More importantly, according to the available timeline of events, the witnesses watched as the killer walked away from the cab, and then watched as Pelissetti and his partner arrived at the scene. Nobody made contact with the cab between the killer's time of departure and Pelissetti's arrival". The podcast then switches to Pelissetti stating he was the "first one to be close to that cab, the kids were walking over to it - nobody else has been there. I saw the bloody prints as I approached the cab".  

This is another thing Officer Pelissetti did at the crime scene that night, again negating the version of him parking his patrol car at the intersection of Washington & Cherry and immediately heading north on Cherry. The notion of a narrow margin of time required for Donald Fouke and Eric Zelms to encounter Zodiac is way wide of the mark. The two officers had 4 minutes available to them, before arriving at the top of Cherry to meet Officer Pelissetti. They had plenty of time, to not only talk with Zodiac, but be directed away from the crime scene by him, towards Arguello Boulevard.  

The following will examine the claim that the author of the August 4th 1969 Debut of Zodiac letter may have acquired his information directly from the Blue Rock Springs police report and not the Vallejo Times-Herald newspaper, as the August 4th letter stated. If this were true, it could mean that [1] The Zodiac Killer had access to the police reports, or [2] The author of the Debut of Zodiac letter was not the killer, but somebody laying claim to the two attacks thus far under the Zodiac pseudonym. Either way, this would have major ramifications regarding the Zodiac story as a whole. Below is a newspaper cutting from the Vallejo Times-Herald on July 6th 1969 (two days after the attack at Blue Rock Springs Park).  

George Bryant lived just 800 feet from the parking lot at Blue Rock Springs and recalled the firecrackers and gunshots that night. As the murderer's vehicle left the scene, George Bryant described "the car take off at a high rate of speed, peeling rubber and cutting corners. He wasn't sure, but he thought it was headed to the freeway". The author of the Debut of Zodiac letter claimed this is where he read about the version of events by George Bryant, retorting "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". 

There is a subtle difference between the two accounts, in that the Vallejo Times-Herald newspaper article refers to peeling rubber, whereas the Debut of Zodiac letter alters this to squealling tires. When we take a look at page 15 of the Blue Rock Springs police report regarding George Bryant, it states that after the gunshots ceased "he then heard a car take off at super speed and it burned rubber and was squealing its tires as it sped along the road". 

It can be seen that the "Zodiac Killer" in the August 4th 1969 Debut letter described squealling tires, while the police report on July 7th 1969 described the car as squealing its tires. Is this an unfortunate coincidence of common phraseology, or did the author of the Debut of Zodiac letter inadvertently use the language he had read in the Blue Rock Springs police report?.