The double stabbing at Lake Berryessa on September 27th 1969 has been constantly questioned as a Zodiac crime, often backed up by the argument that the Zodiac Killer never bragged to newspapers in the following weeks. On the face of it he didn't really have to, as Bryan Hartnell was able to recall virtually every chilling detail in the aftermath of the attack. To claim that the lack of correspondence by the Zodiac Killer after this crime is evidence of a copycat killer is a false dichotomy. They are not the only two options. There are many features of this crime that suggest a Zodiac connection, but there is actually no evidence whatsoever to the contrary.

The first claim is that the modus operandi (MO) of the crime was totally different from the other three attacks. This is clearly not true. It was an attack on a young couple, seemingly random, just like the first two crimes preceding it, despite the sample size being relatively small and statistically weak. Had the killer not mailed pieces of Paul Stine's shirt with three subsequent letters or written to the newspapers, neither the police or anybody else would have likely connected his murder to the Zodiac Killer. The modus operandi would have been called into question. So claiming the Lake Berryessa crime as not that of the Zodiac Killer because it didn't marry up perfectly with the first two crimes, is again, not evidence of anything. Absence of perfect continuity is not evidence to the absence of Zodiac.

The message on the car door detailing his crimes to date shows distinct Zodiac traits in the handwriting, but expecting it to match up perfectly with his mailed correspondence is not a reasonable premise. He had just stabbed a couple sixteen times, his adrenaline was likely raised, he had then traversed back up the hill and proceeded to write on the car door of Bryan Hartnell's car, on a different surface, in larger handwriting, in a totally different position he would adopt if he were writing calmly on a desktop. The comparison between the two must take this into account, so the fact it looks somewhat similar to his mailed correspondence is actually quite an achievement. Had this been written by a copycat it would actually have been a lot harder, who not only had all of the above to contend with, but had to replicate the handwriting from an awkward stance or seated position, side on to the vehicle.  

The phraseology of the killer in both phone calls to the police is virtually identical. After the Blue Rock Springs Park attack he stated "I wish to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east on Columbus Parkway to a public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They have been shot by a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye". After Lake Berryessa he stated "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".

It is possible a copycat read the transcript of the Zodiac Killer's first payphone call to police in the newspapers and reproduced its phraseology during the Napa payphone call, but why is it easier to believe that, rather than believing it was the Zodiac Killer? What evidence exists to promote a copycat making the call above the Zodiac Killer? There is none. The same can be said of the handwriting on Bryan Hartnell's Karmann Ghia.
 
In terms of the content of the handwriting, it is often said it was not the Zodiac Killer because his November 8th 1969 'Dripping Pen' card made reference to a murder or possible double murder in August, which the killer at Lake Berryessa did not refer to on the car door. But the reverse could be argued, that the reference to September in the 'Dripping Pen' card is equal proof that he was claiming the Lake Berryessa crime as his, particularly in light of no other valid murders in September where a killer wore a crossed circle costume and made a phone call with all the hallmarks of Blue Rock Springs Park. This again is a false argument. Even if the Zodiac Killer had murdered in August, the police were apparently unaware of this fact prior to the Lake Berryessa attack, so he simply wrote the dates of the crimes he knew the police would recognize.

​At the top of the Karmann Ghia door the Zodiac wrote 'Vallejo,' so any murder outside of this area would have been unnecessary to include in the message. This indicated that the Zodiac believed that both the Lake Herman Road murders and the attack at Blue Rock Springs Park were both committed in the jurisdiction of Vallejo. This is understandable, because the jurisdictional line that separates Benicia and Vallejo is a short distance from the Lake Herman Road turnout. ​The Zodiac never mentioned Benicia in any of his correspondence to the newspapers, however, he did refer to Vallejo several times. Curious then, that a copycat would make the same mistake and lump the 12-20-68 on the car door under the banner of Vallejo also. If this alleged copycat had read the newspaper transcripts of the Blue Rock Springs Park phone call, he certainly didn't take the time to read the multiple references in the newspapers to Benicia when referring to the first crime on the car door. It could be argued that he studied the Zodiac letters intently and knew the tendencies of the Zodiac Killer, or we could opt for the more likely reasoning, that he was the Zodiac Killer.

Much debate has occurred on whether the man spotted by the three girls at Lake Berryessa was the assailant of Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard, with comparisons made of this man to the Presidio Heights sketch. Many have stated the two artist impressions are dissimilar in appearance, yet with a quick hair change and slight alteration to the eyebrows, the difference is much less significant between the two. Eyewitness recollections are also proven to be notoriously unreliable. These hair changes have been made to the Lake Berryessa sketch below, without altering any of the facial features.             

The executioner's costume at Lake Berryessa is often used to discredit this as a Zodiac crime. It is claimed it wasn't his modus operandi. In this instance what MO?  We only have two confirmed attacks by the Zodiac Killer as of September 27th 1969 - one of which we have no idea what he was wearing - and both committed in virtual darkness. So, in terms of clothing we would actually be deducing that Lake Berryessa wasn't the Zodiac Killer because he didn't wear the costume at Blue Rock Springs Park. Not a really convincing argument. When the scientific community needs to draw any conclusions from trials, or politicians from polls, the larger the sample the better. Drawing conclusions from a pool of one or two crimes is utterly meaningless, and falls into the category of subjective opinion.

In an ABC Primetime documentary the narration was as follows "However if Doctor Cydne Holt can find enough genetic material from Zodiac's stamps and letters, she can compare it to a wafer thin slice of brain tissue from Arthur Leigh Allen's autopsy." Dr Cydne Holt "This brain tissue from Arthur Leigh Allen is the reference sample that I would use for the comparison."  Narrator "Dr Holt has already detected the possible presence of Zodiac's DNA in the seal of the envelope that contained the greeting card (Dripping Pen Card and 340 cipher), and just in case that test fails to provide a full DNA profile, she also prepares to look for DNA beneath the stamps on two of these three letters (July 31st letters)." Dr Cydne Holt "Depending on whether those DNA's match each other, might allow me to include or exclude Arthur Leigh Allen as potentially contributing the DNA on the Zodiac letters." She was able to exclude Arthur Leigh Allen as the contributor, indicating a positive match was found between the letters. So if we maintain that the 'Dripping Pen' card and August 31st letters were mailed by Zodiac - and he claimed September as his crime - it lends credence to the Lake Berryessa crime being committed by Zodiac (this DNA has subsequently been questioned).
​
The Zodiac Killer probably believed that by writing on the car door and making the telephone call, it would be enough for people to conclude he was the killer. However, this has not proved to be the case. He probably believed that mailing a section of Paul Stine's bloody shirt would be proof enough. This has also failed in certain quarters. The details only known to him and the police at Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs Park he thought would be enough, but it wasn't. The reality: is that for some people there is nothing he could have done to prove he was the killer. If it's claimed that this crime had a totally different modus operandi to the first two crimes and was therefore not the Zodiac Killer, then the copycat was obviously not doing a particularly good job. A copycat attempts to replicate the crimes of a known killer. Therefore, we could conclude that by failing to stick to the known MO at Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs, the Lake Berryessa perpetrator was more than likely the Zodiac Killer after all. But the fact remains, that not one piece of tangible evidence points to a copycat killer, only the idea that such a person exists. ​ 

​http://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/was-the-lake-berryessa-sketch-the-zodiac-killer
​http://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/lake-berryessa-killer-and-caller-the-same 

The following is supplementary to the article American Canyon-Hot Zone, exploring the possible home location of the Zodiac Killer. Using the premise of the Zodiac Killer working a regular 9-5 job, and the buffer zone and least effort principle of geographic profiling, we shall examine the idea that our killer strategically planned out every crime in advance, using precise distance and time as the overriding factors. This attention to detail, his use of maps in his correspondence, including the term radians, his mailing of ciphers, diagrams and access to multiple firearms, could suggest a historically disciplined and attentive individual, although not necessarily of military roots. Taking American Canyon as our point of interest, the crimes at Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs would obviously employ a buffer zone to his residence, with both occurring on a Friday (9-5 job), that would also bring into play the least effort principle, where he is likely to travel less distance from his residence on a day in which he has worked. This would be the case in both of these crimes. But time and distance may have been paramount to the Zodiac Killer, plotting precisely how far he was prepared to travel, in conjunction with how long it would take.      

American Canyon to Lake Herman Road is approximately 11 miles or 19 minutes traveling time by vehicle. 
American Canyon to Blue Rock Springs is approximately 8 miles or 15 minutes traveling time by vehicle. 

The Zodiac Killer's buffer zones would be within 4 minutes of each other during the first two crimes. His next crimes would be on Saturday, at Lake Berryessa and Presidio Heights. Assuming this was a non-working day, the least effort principle would apply less constraint to his movements. Not limited by time, he can now travel further afield, which is exactly what he did. But would time and distance yet again come into play in his plans. 

American Canyon to Presidio Heights is approximately 48 miles or 1 hr 12 minutes traveling time by vehicle.
American Canyon to Lake Berryessa is approximately 38 miles or 1 hr 09 minutes traveling time by vehicle. 
 
The buffer zone difference in these two crimes is a mere 3 minutes. It was only 4 minutes in Vallejo and Benicia. From American Canyon to the Springs and Tuolumne payphone is a 16 minute journey. From American Canyon to the 1231 Main Street payphone is a 26 minute journey. The buffer zones from American Canyon to Lake Herman Road, Blue Rock Springs and the Springs and Tuolumne payphone are 19 minutes, 15 minutes and 16 minutes respectively.   

​In the article Lake Berryessa-North of the Crime Scene Pt 2 it was considered that the Zodiac Killer after stabbing Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard likely returned to his vehicle, parked not by the Karmann Ghia, but 0.8 miles further north along the Knoxville Road, where he may have been observed by Dr. Clifton Rayfield and his son David, who described seeing an individual wearing a "long-sleeved dark shirt with red coloring." It was considered this may have been blood. The journey time on foot 0.8 miles north, using caution, would have taken 20-25 minutes, arriving at his vehicle at around 6:50 to 6:55 pm, The 45 minute journey time to the 1231 Main Street, Napa payphone from this location would have him making the call to police dispatcher Dave Slaight at exactly 7:40 pm, the exact time the call was logged.

The buffer zone in terms of minutes from the Knoxville Road to the Napa payphone would be 45 minutes, if the above scenario was correct. In other words, the Zodiac Killer allowed 45 minutes to elapse before calling the police. After the Blue Rock Springs attack on Michael Mageau and Darlene Ferrin he waited 40 minutes, which is only a 5 minute difference. It seemed like everything he did was based on the clock. The 4 minute difference to his Friday murder sites. The 3 minute difference to his Saturday murder sites. The 5 minute difference between the second and third crime scene to each phone call. A total of only 12 minutes. If we include the time difference to each payphone from American Canyon, which is 10 minutes, that gives us a grand total of 22 minutes over four crime scenes, based on a Monday to Friday, 9-5 job, using the criteria of the least effort principle. But only if the Zodiac Killer lived in American Canyon. 

​http://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/the-american-canyon-hot-zone

Cheri Jo Bates, by all accounts, was a gregarious and sociable young woman who easily made friends. The day of her murder she had called her friend Stephanie Guttman at approximately 3:45 pm to see if she wanted to accompany her to the Riverside library that evening to study, but Stephanie declined the offer. It would be another 45-75 minutes later that Cheri Jo Bates left her 4195 Via San Jose residence in her lime-green Volkswagen Beetle (between 4:30-5:00 pm). The journey time from her residence to the Riverside City College library is little more than 10 minutes journey time, which evidently would place her outside the library at around 5:10 pm at the latest, rather early for a library that doesn't open until 6:00 pm. We have Cheri placing a phone call to her co-worker Donna from the Riverside National Bank at approximately 5:30 pm, explaining that she had misplaced her term paper bibliography. So we know she had to have made this call somewhere other than her home residence, likely from somewhere near to the library. Strangely though, the next two sightings of Cheri Jo Bates by eyewitnesses have her driving towards Terracina Drive and the library annex at 6:10-6:15 pm. This would be 40-45 minutes after the call to Donna. Where did she go for this extended period of time?

Had she called on a friend to seek companionship, in light of Stephanie Guttman being unable to accompany her to the library that night? Clearly she had left her residence that night at least one hour prior to the library opening that evening. She certainly wasn't going to sit in her Volkswagen Beetle outside the library for 50 minutes in temperatures that exceeded 80 degrees Fahrenheit in October. It is also clear she wasn't sitting outside the library, well in advance, waiting for it to open.

A Mexican-American student: stated 'he knew Cheri Jo Bates and had noticed her in the library the night in question. He said he saw the girl "writing something with a ball point pen" in her blue spiral school notebook." The boy told us he was outside about 5.30 pm, waiting for the library to open at 6, and it was then he saw the girl'. This statement is open to interpretation, but the Mexican-American student does indicate he saw Cheri Jo Bates IN the library, not outside. He was waiting outside the library at 5:30 pm, but it was only once the library opened at 6:00 pm, that he saw the girl "writing something with a ball point pen" in her blue spiral school notebook.

We know two eyewitness saw her approaching Terracina Drive at approximately 6:10 pm - so it is likely the Mexican-American student saw Cheri Jo Bates shortly after it opened? He was likely able to recollect such precise details regarding her ball point pen and blue spiral school notebook, because the library was probably quite empty at this point. The details he gave lends credence to the fact Cheri Jo Bates did enter the library that evening, albeit for a very brief period of time. Detectives could easily have authenticated the accuracy of his statement from the victim's belongings retrieved from her vehicle or the crime scene.

We know that no further eyewitnesses saw Cheri Jo Bates in the library that evening from 6:30 to 9:00 pm, indicating she spent likely 15 minutes or less in the library. She had earlier misplaced her bibliography, so unless she had already returned home to retrieve it, she may have felt she was unable to do the studying she had planned and went elsewhere. It is also equally possible, that because Stephanie Guttman was unable to accompany her to the library, she may have made alternative arrangements before leaving her residence. Whatever the case, from approximately 6:30 pm to 10:30-10:45 pm - when screams were heard coming from the alleyway - her movements are unaccounted for. It could be argued however, that spending 4 hours elsewhere, was somewhere she likely felt comfortable.           

Shortly after 6:10 pm, four young men, under police interrogation stated "they had seen Cheri Jo near her car the previous night". They didn't recall any suspicious activity around the Volkswagen Beetle that evening, so the claim she was abducted as she arrived on Terracina Drive, or had returned to a disabled Volkswagen Beetle could not have happened during the time they were sitting on the fence opposite her vehicle. They were later spotted by other eyewitnesses in exactly the same location. Walter Siebert stated that 'he and a few friends were in the library from 7.15 pm until 9, but did not see Miss Bates, whom they all knew. They said they saw four men dressed in work clothes sitting on a fence across from the spot where Miss Bates' car was found, but they did not know them.' 

The remaining options appear to be that Cheri Jo Bates left the library that evening with person or persons unknown, or had arranged earlier that day to visit another friend after Stephanie declined her offer. Two crucial factors come into play here: [1]. The Riverside light was fading badly shortly after six and 'Detectives learned from the slain girl's friends that Cheri Jo had been "terribly afraid of the darkness", and [2]. Cheri Jo Bates vehicle would have been parked on Terracina Drive for upwards of 4 hours.

If Cheri Jo Bates had prearranged to visit somebody that evening, it would suggest the secondary location was within reasonable walking distance. The question to ask would be, how far was Cheri Jo Bates prepared to walk that evening in the dark? Or how far would you be prepared to walk when you have a vehicle parked right outside the library. There is a reasoned argument to be had, to suggest the secondary location, possibly a friend's apartment or house, was extremely close to the Riverside campus grounds. Quite possibly situated in the adjoining streets. If Cheri Jo Bates did visit a nearby friend's residence for several hours, they clearly failed to reveal this information to investigators. One could argue they feared being implicated in the crime having been the last person to see Cheri Jo Bates before her death, or they were the actual killer of Cheri Jo Bates, possibly while escorting her back to her vehicle. But if she visited them, when did they disable her vehicle - in a heated argument when they both returned to her vehicle? If the latter were the case, then the 'smoking man' observed by a female student in the alleyway at 9:30 pm may have a reprieve - but it's not the likeliest of scenarios. Cheri Jo Bates was certainly 'missing' for approximately 4 hours, with her Volkswagen Beetle sitting idle in Terracina Drive - and if she hadn't been abducted - then she was seemingly comfortable in her surroundings, likely with a friend, and possibly very close by. 
​
​http://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/the-cigarette-butt     

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.

John Rose from Australia has uncovered some interesting features within the Zodiac Killer's unsolved 340 Cipher, mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle on November 8th 1969. This does not tackle the entirety of the cipher, as the extremities of the code still remain unbroken. What it does do however is show an extremely promising correlation between the 340 Cipher and Halloween Card, using predominantly 81 characters in a 9 X 9 grid formation at the center of the cipher. It has been achieved using nothing more than Dave Oranchak's Web Toy, implementing zkdecrypto cipher-cracking software. The tool can be found on the Zodiac Killer Ciphers website here. If you place the following letters into the Web Toy, you can recreate the results shown in the grid below.  For further correspondence on this matter email: [email protected] 

The following has been covered many times before on this site, but on this occasion we will examine the premise of two assailants present in the rear of Paul Stine's taxicab at the intersection of Washington and Cherry Streets on October 11th 1969. It is not necessarily a position I subscribe to, however, in the interest of neutrality it must be examined. This will not be based on speculation, it will be reasoned using the three teenage eyewitnesses and the timelines of Donald Fouke and Armond Pelissetti, two of the initial police responders that night.

Many eyewitnesses involved in the Zodiac crimes have changed, if not embellished their testimony down the years, and rightly must treated with skepticism. An ever changing and elaborate story is to be considered suspect. But what we notice in the police report of the Paul Stine murder is very little detail - and a report of only one-and-a-half pages long, drafted by the following morning of October 12th 1969. The three teenagers have been noticeably quiet during the last 48 years, in which publicity seeking opportunism can certainly not be leveled at them. They gave a second account of the night's events on October 11th 1969 in later years - and although one usually views with suspicion, second, third and fourth generation accounts of the same event - their full account of the murder of Paul Stine was never originally made public and documented in a rather limited police report. Their recounting of events at a later date carries much weight, because not only does it explain why a bloody fingerprint was found on the dividing panel between Paul Stine's driver side door and the left rear passenger door, their testimony is fully corroborated by the statement of Armond Pelissetti in the 2007 Zodiac documentary.   

This is the statement of the Robbins teenagers "As both Robbins kids were the oldest, their statements were the given the most weight. Also they were the least traumatized by the event. One of the kids (not sure which) noticed a cab parked outside (in that now famous spot) with the interior lights on. So when Lindsey told me that the light inside the car was like a spotlight, it was so bright. The first kid at the window said the driver looked "sick, or something". Lindsey and Rebecca went to the window and saw the driver laying across the front seat, head toward the passenger door. His head was in the lap of another man (passenger). Rebecca saw blood and said out loud, "he's stabbing that man." She was seeing blood on the victim and saw the glint of a knife, so she assumed a stabbing was taking place. (No shots were heard by anyone). We know now that Zodiac was cutting off a large piece of Stine's shirt with the knife.

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. Not many know this, but Lindsey (being 16. feeling immortal, and believing the suspect to be armed with only a knife) ran out of his door to see where Zodiac was going. He ran to the corner of Cherry and watched as Zodiac continued his casual pace right up to the corner of Jackson & Cherry. At this exact point, the first SFPD car arrives with two officers. One, Pelissetti, approached Lindsey and tried to extract what was happening. The other officer went to the cab and found the bloody victim. While Pelissetti was asking questions, Lindsey was trying to explain that the suspect was in sight on Cherry St. By the time Pelissetti got the point, they both looked and the Zodiac was gone".

There are two key points to remember in this account:
​#1. "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". The Zodiac may very likely have deposited bloody fingerprints on the taxicab door divider as he braced his right hand to lever Paul Stine back to a seated position, albeit he didn't remain in this position.

​#2. "Not many know this, but Lindsey (being 16. feeling immortal, and believing the suspect to be armed with only a knife) ran out of his door to see where Zodiac was going. He ran to the corner of Cherry and watched as Zodiac continued his casual pace right up to the corner of Jackson & Cherry". This was backed up by Armond Pelissetti in the 2007 documentary when he stated "We responded to a radio call that told us a cab driver was being robbed and possibly assaulted at the corner of Cherry and Washington Street in Pacific Heights. We fortunately were very close and responded to that corner, and able to do so red light and siren, and got there very quickly. I parked the car in the middle of the intersection, facing the Yellow Cab. There were three children that were heading over to that car, they were about 15 or 16 feet away. I made the assumption they were coming from the home on the corner and herded them immediately back to that alcove. I didn't know if the suspect was still there.....  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".

It is clear from Officer Armond Pelissetti's statement and that of the three teenagers, that indeed they were milling around near the intersection of Washington and Cherry, not confined in their residence throughout, as one could easily interpret from the police report alone. The testimony of the three teenagers, however, provides a massive headache regarding the perceived order of events that night.  

The attack was logged at 9:55 pm, with the police dispatcher sending out the radio message to responding officers at approximately 9:58 pm. This meant that Donald Fouke and Armond Pelissetti both received the initial broadcast at 9:58 pm. Donald Fouke stated he was traveling northbound on Presidio Avenue, having just passed Washington Street. Armond Pelissetti we shall come to shortly.

Donald Fouke stated he saw a male subject as he was approaching the Jackson and Maple Street intersection. The white male adult was close to the intersection. The traveling distance to this point for Donald Fouke is exactly 862 meters (0.5 mile). He stated after receiving the initial broadcast he was traveling at 35-40 mph, but taking into account slowing down as he passed the intersections, it has been calculated that his journey time to the Jackson and Maple intersection from his original position, would have been approximately 1 minute. This places him at the Jackson and Maple intersection at 9:59 pm. This also places the mystery man here at 9:59 pm.

The author of the Bus Bomb letter one month later, stated that "p.s. 2 cops pulled a goof abot 3 min after I left the cab. I was walking down the hill to the park when this cop car pulled up + one of them called me over + asked if I saw anyone acting suspicious or strange in the last 5 to 10 min + I said yes there was this man who was runnig by waveing a gun & the cops peeled rubber + went around the corner as I directed them + I disappeared into the park a block + a half away never to be seen again". The movements of Donald Fouke and Eric Zelms were never publicized in the newspapers before November 9th 1969, indicating that the author of the Bus Bomb letter knew the exact location of where Donald Fouke's patrol car was at exactly the right time. This means the man spotted by Donald Fouke was most likely the author of the Bus Bomb letter. But was he the killer? The journey time up Cherry Street is 1 minute. The journey time from the top of Cherry to the intersection of Jackson and Maple is about 2 minutes, corroborating the letter writer when he stated "p.s. 2 cops pulled a goof abot 3 min after I left the cab". Working backwards, this places the mystery man at the top of Cherry at 9:57 pm, and leaving the taxicab at 9:56 pm. (shown on the map below).

Now, remember what the three teenagers stated: "Not many know this, but Lindsey (being 16. feeling immortal, and believing the suspect to be armed with only a knife) ran out of his door to see where Zodiac was going. He ran to the corner of Cherry and watched as Zodiac continued his casual pace right up to the corner of Jackson & Cherry.
At this exact point, the first SFPD car arrives with two officers. One, Pelissetti, approached Lindsey and tried to extract what was happening. The other officer went to the cab and found the bloody victim. While Pelissetti was asking questions, Lindsey was trying to explain that the suspect was in sight on Cherry St. By the time Pelissetti got the point, they both looked and the Zodiac was gone".

When Armond Pelissetti arrived, the suspect was in sight approaching the corner of Jackson and Cherry. We know from the diagram above, this was 9:57 pm. Therefore, Armond Pelissetti must have arrived at the corner of Washington and Cherry Street at about 9:57 pm. However, this is very odd, because Armond Pelissetti didn't even get the initial radio broadcast until 9:58 pm, and still had to travel to the scene "red light and siren".

We know that Armond Pelissetti didn't arrive at the crime scene at 9:56 pm or earlier, because we know Zodiac left the taxicab at 9:56 pm and reached the top of Cherry at 9:57 pm. He couldn't have arrived at 9:56:30 pm, because the mystery man would have only journeyed half way up Cherry (30 seconds traveling time on a 1 minute street). So it is clear that Armond Pelissetti did arrive at 9:57 pm. Therefore, Armond Pelissetti received the initial broadcast prior to 9:57 pm. He stated in the Zodiac 2007 documentary "We fortunately were very close and responded to that corner, and able to do so red light and siren at 9:55 pm at night, and got there very quickly". This time of 9:55 pm makes perfect sense. They "were very close" and would have been exactly two minutes traveling time away from the intersection of Washington and Cherry when they received the initial broadcast, arriving at the intersection at 9:57 pm, just as Zodiac was approaching the top of Cherry. This means the logged attack and initial broadcast would have been 9:55 pm, not 9:58 pm, as detailed in the police report. But here is the major problem.    

Donald Fouke received the initial broadcast at the same time as Armond Pelissetti. So, if Armond Pelissetti received the initial broadcast at 9:55 pm, Donald Fouke received it at 9:55 pm. His journey time traveling northbound on Presidio Avenue, having just passed Washington Street (his initial position that night) to the intersection of Jackson and Maple is again 1 minute. He would now arrive at Jackson and Maple at 9:56 pm, where he viewed the suspect. The problem is, we know from all the above facts, along with the map, that Zodiac had left the taxicab crime scene at 9:56 pm. He cannot be in both places at the same time, separated by 3 minutes walking time. This is a major discrepancy, if we use the corroborated timeline of Armond Pelissetti and the three teenagers.
This would place Zodiac leaving the crime scene at 9:56 pm, and approaching the Jackson and Maple intersection at 9:56 pm.     

We surely cannot have Donald Fouke spotting Zodiac at 9:56 pm, because this would have him leaving the taxicab at 9:53 pm, two minutes before the actual attack occurred. Additionally, Armond Pelissetti would not have been at the Washington and Cherry intersection, when Zodiac was apparently approaching the northern edge of Cherry at 9:57 pm (it doesn't take Zodiac 4 minutes to walk up Cherry). So could Donald Fouke have been mistaken and never saw the Zodiac Killer at all. This doesn't seem likely, as we know the author of the Bus Bomb letter knew that "2 cops" were present at the intersection of Jackson and Maple that night, something not disclosed in the newspapers. Therefore, is it possible Donald Fouke saw the "letter writer" traveling along Jackson Street,  but not his accomplice, who was just leaving the taxicab.

We know that Donald Fouke in the 1989 'Crimes of the Century' documentary, stated that after receiving the initial broadcast "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, 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". The question arose, as to why Donald Fouke was heading towards Arguello Boulevard, away from the crime scene of an "assault and robbery" when he should have been heading towards it. The logical assumption was that he did indeed stop Zodiac - and Zodiac directed him that way. If there were two assailants, and one was still present near or at the crime scene, it would make perfect sense for the accomplice on Jackson Street to direct Donald Fouke away towards Arguello Boulevard to protect his accomplice.          

The teenagers never saw the taxicab pull up to the corner of Washington and Cherry Street, they only began observing the crime when the man was already in the front passenger seat of the taxicab. They never observed or heard the shooting, so it could never be claimed as fact or certainty, that the man observed tearing a swatch of Paul Stine's shirt was the actual killer of the taxicab driver. His accomplice may have already shot Paul Stine and cleared the intersection of Washington and Cherry Street before the three teenagers even looked out of the window. If this man (the actual killer) was the man spotted by Donald Fouke at 9:56 pm by Jackson and Maple, he would have left the taxicab at 9:53 pm, before the teenagers looked out of the window at approximately 9:55 pm, and would now back up the timeline of Donald Fouke receiving the initial broadcast at 9:55 pm. This man may very well have been the trigger man, while his accomplice stayed behind to secure the swatch of Paul Stine's shirt. This would have been the man observed by the three teenagers, not the killer. This would have reduced the risk of capture for the man holding the 'smoking gun.' Had the police arrived as his accomplice was tearing a piece of shirt, he could simply have claimed to be a passer by, who was aiding the stricken taxicab driver. After all, Paul Stine was shot and this man possessed no gun. This places the killer at Jackson and Maple at 9:56 pm, and his accomplice leaving the scene of crime at 9:56 pm. Donald Fouke is directed to Arguello Boulevard by the killer, leaving a clear path for his accomplice traveling up Cherry to a predetermined destination and meeting place.       

This lends credence to arguments given by such people as Thomas Horan, who claim that the individual seen by the three teenagers and Donald Fouke are actually two separate people. Here are the two descriptions given:

#1. The three teenagers stated in the police report that the subject was a "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.

#2. Donald Fouke in his typed memorandum on November 12th 1969 stated he was a "WMA, 35-45 yrs, about 5'10", 180-200 lbs, medium heavy build, barrel chested, medium complexion, light colored hair possibly graying in rear, crew cut, wearing glasses".
 
These descriptions appear to indicate that the person spotted by the teenagers and Donald Fouke were one and the same, again exposing the deep flaws in the timelines examined that night. Donald Fouke would later remark on the sketch of the suspect given by the three teenagers, stating he believed the suspect to be "older and heavier." However, he never apparently challenged the facial description of the suspect. So was he mistaken and just went along with the description given by the teenagers, or was it the same person all along? The timeline seems to challenge this notion. Were the two accomplices related, wearing the same disguise, or just visually similar, with a crew cut and glasses? As stated at the beginning, I am not closed to the idea of two assailants at Presidio Heights on October 11th 1969, but neither am I totally convinced either. The timeline is the key.

One of the smallest and most underrated pieces of evidence in the Cheri Jo Bates murder case is the cigarette butt recovered from the alleyway on October 31st 1966. At 9:30 pm on Sunday October 30th 1966, a female student was walking through the ill-fated alleyway where Cheri Jo Bates' body would ultimately be discovered, when she observed a man smoking a cigarette. The two exchanged pleasantries, unfortunately however, she was unable to furnish a facial description of the man as he was standing in the shadows. Clearly the police believed this a valid and significant sighting, as not only was this woman the last eyewitness before the murder but she was evidently able to specify the man's exact location, resulting in the police retrieving a cigarette butt from the alleyway, that years later would yield a DNA profile. The cigarette butt had a DNA concentration of 0.003 nanograms per microliter. Hair, believed to be from the killer, was found in a blood clot at the base of Cheri Jo Bates' right thumb, which also yielded DNA. If these two specimens were able to be matched then we could say that the killer of Cheri Jo Bates is the man responsible for discarding the cigarette retrieved. This may not necessarily be the man viewed by the female student, but there is a strong likelihood as she would have led or described to police the exact location she had encountered him, and seemingly this was the only cigarette butt tested. This opens up many possibilities.

The unidentified male had a line of sight to Cheri Jo Bates' Volkswagen Beetle parked on Terracina Drive, he was standing in the alleyway 30 minutes subsequent to the library closing its doors, and was the last person seen in the alleyway prior to screams being heard, approximately 45 to 60 minutes later by local residents. This is the most viable suspect in relation to the murder. We know Cheri Jo Bates was not present in the library at 9:00 pm and did not leave at closing time. If this was her murderer, he may have been under the impression Cheri Jo Bates was in the library when he arrived to the Riverside campus. He disabled her vehicle and waited for her to exit. By 9:30 pm he would have realized she hadn't exited the library, but with her vehicle close by knew she would be returning sooner rather than later, and the alleyway was the perfect vantage point. If this man was a random killer not familiar with Cheri Jo Bates, simply on the lookout for lone women, he certainly rejected the opportunity that presented itself at 9:30 pm when a young female student passed him in the alleyway. Does this, along with the disabling of Cheri Jo Bates' vehicle indicate he had a specific target in mind? It definitely points in this direction. 

Does the fact that Riverside Police have consistently dismissed any link to the Zodiac Killer suggest a DNA comparison has been established. If the DNA retrieved from the Riverside crime scene has all but ruled out long standing suspect 'Bob Barnett,' then for anybody who believes the Cheri Jo Bates and Zodiac cases are connected, and have a 'favorite' suspect, then available DNA could effectively rule them out too.

The DNA comparison ruled out 'Bob Barnett', but how many of Cheri Jo Bates' colleagues, companions and friends of the day have latterly been screened and been eliminated or otherwise.
This crime has all the hallmarks of a killer who knew Cheri Jo Bates, knew where she was going that evening, knew her vehicle - and if the man in the alleyway was our killer, he was prepared to wait a substantial period of time to secure his objective. The answer to how close this person was to Cheri Jo Bates may lie in the discarded cigarette butt, how long he was prepared to lie in wait in the alleyway, and possibly his mistaken belief that Cheri Jo Bates was studying in the library until closing time. These, coupled with the disabling of the Volkswagen Beetle may point to the inner circle rather than a stranger.    

Crimecon 2017 is about to commence in Indianapolis, Indiana from June 9-11, described as 'A weekend of motives, murder and mystery. A celebration of all things true crime, Crimecon brings the cases you love to life through immersive experiences, incredible guests, and a ton of mystery and intrigue. It was created for those of us who binged on Making a Murderer or who spend more hours watching Dateline marathons than we'd like to admit. Crimecon transports fans from the couch to the crime scene and into courtroom. If your idea of the perfect night involves alibis, motives, and a bottle of wine, then this is the event you've been waiting for. Grab a few true crime-obsessed friends and join us in for a an unforgettable weekend'. 
​The three day event will feature many investigators, special guests and celebrities, including Nancy Grace, Josh Mankiewicz, Aphrodite Jones, Carl Marino and Jim Clemente, to name but a few. Packages for the event include Standard, VIP and Gold VIP, and can be purchased in block, covering all three days. Single day passes are also available for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, costed at $110, $175 and $95 respectively. To purchase tickets please visit here. http://www.crimecon.com/​
​Mike Morford of ZodiacKillerSite.com forum and Zodiac Killer 101 on Youtube will be attending the event to discuss the case of the Golden State Killer, and will be open to discussion on true crime, including the Zodiac Killer. 

The following timeline is my interpretation of events regarding the Presidio Heights murder of Paul Stine on October 11th 1969. It has been created using eyewitness accounts and the science of time and distance. It is however not the only possible scenario of events in the aftermath of Zodiac's perceived final attack.  

This is not necessarily the time the taxicab of Paul Stine drew up to the intersection of Washington and Cherry. This is the time the three teenagers first noticed what they believed to be some sort of altercation within the taxicab, documented as 9:55 pm in the police report. The Zodiac Killer actually left the crime scene at 9:56 pm to make good his escape north on Cherry Street. We know it was 9:56 pm from the testimony of Donald Fouke, one of the first responding officers that night.

His identification has been challenged, as possibly being a different subject, based on differences in weight, hair color and age compared the description given by the teenagers. However, this is not the case, when we look at the description of the suspect given to law enforcement by the three teenagers in the police report the following morning. The timeline of a subject leaving the taxicab at a normal walking speed of 3.1 mph, traveling north on Cherry Street and east on Jackson Street, matches perfectly with the sighting of Donald Fouke's timeline from when he received the first police broadcast. In addition, Zodiac specifically highlighted in his Bus Bomb correspondence on November 9th 1969 that he ran into two cops who "pulled a goof". The movement of the patrol car occupied by Donald Fouke and Eric Zelms was never disclosed in the newspapers but was known to the letter writer - and the timeline fits perfectly.  

This is the approximate time of the initial broadcast given to Donald Fouke and Eric Zelms as they were traveling northbound on Presidio Avenue, having just passed Washington Street. At the exact time, officers Armond Pelissetti and Frank Peda traveling on Washington Street would receive the same broadcast. Donald Fouke headed north, then west on Jackson Street, and reported seeing a white male adult approaching the intersection of Jackson Strret and Maple Street as he approached in his patrol car, just as Zodiac would allude to in the Bus Bomb letter. This 'meeting' fits the known timeline. The distance from the intersection of Presidio Avenue and Washington Street to the intersection of Jackson and Maple is 862 meters, indicating that Donald Fouke traveling between 30-40 mph, would arrive here at 9:59 pm. Zodiac stated he approached the police "about 3 min after he left the cab". This journey from the taxicab at 9:56 pm, walking at the average speed of 3.1 mph, takes approximately 3 minutes - indicating he would arrive at this point at 9:59 pm, thereby matching the timeline of Donald Fouke.

Although people point to discrepancies in the eyewitness identification, what we do know is that the revised sketch of the suspect on October 18th 1969 was requested by the three teenagers recollection (showing an older suspect) - and at no time to my knowledge did Donald Fouke view this sketch and state that this wasn't the man he observed. The facial features in the second sketch were virtually identical to the original, only marginally older. If Donald Fouke had spotted a totally different subject, he would surely have said so.  

Donald Fouke, in his original statement, stated he saw the subject turn into the northern section of Maple Street, however, there is no direct access from here into the park without negotiating bushes and a retaining wall, which at night may have appeared a dead end to the murderer. This drives to the heart of the killer's knowledge of the area. He may well have known the area fairly well - but to anybody other than the occupants of the residence at the top of Maple Street - why should the responsible be aware of a possible route through, when to all intense and purpose, the area looks like a blind alley. The Zodiac may simply have turned into Maple as a ruse to get out of sight, before continuing on down Jackson Street.  

The Zodiac described that after his meeting with Donald Fouke and Eric Zelms "the cops peeled rubber + went around the corner as I directed them + I disappeared into the park a block + a half away never to be seen again". This is where the Zodiac gives us a heads up on his exact movements that night. It has been suggested that the Zodiac Killer was a liar, and we should disregard his claims in the Bus Bomb letter - but any reference to his directional movements in and around the park that night is of little evidentiary value to law enforcement one month after the fact, and independent to his ridicule of the police. Additionally, his explicit detail may have served the purpose to focus the police investigation within the Presidio Heights or San Francisco region, particularly if he was a non-resident of the locale.

If the Zodiac disappeared into the park one and a half blocks from his 'meeting' with Donald Fouke, he would then arrive at Spruce Street at approximately 10:01 pm. For Zodiac, the journey eastwards to Spruce Street from just before the intersection of Jackson and Maple Street is 180 meters (0.112 miles) - so if we assume he picked up his walking speed to 4 mph after giving Donald Fouke and Eric Zelms the runaround, he would arrive somewhere in the vicinity of the Jackson Street and Spruce Street intersection in 1 minute 45 seconds. The time would be approaching 10:01 pm. This is where the October 12th 1969 San Francisco Chronicle article makes perfect sense from the standpoint of our third set of eyewitnesses. They describe a man with virtually the same characteristics given by all the previous eyewitnesses - a man about 40 years, with a blond crew-cut, wearing glasses, with dark clothing. It was 10:01 pm at night and the residences likely had their curtains likely drawn, so how were the 'neighbors', described by Robert Graysmith in his book, able to give a fairly detailed description of the suspect at all? We probably have Officer Donald Fouke to thank for that.

If we go on memory alone, then what Donald Fouke stated in the 1989 Crimes of the Century documentary is likely more accurate than his differing claims in the 2007 Zodiac documentary. In the 1989 documentary, he said after passing the subject on Jackson Street "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, 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 tends to give credence to Zodiac's claims that he spoke to and directed the police - bearing in mind Donald Fouke was traveling towards Arguello Boulevard and away from a crime scene he should have been approaching. When he received the update to a white male, he understandably would have realized that the man he had just encountered was probably the killer. Having last seen the subject enter the top part of Maple Street, he likely concluded that the man had entered the Presidio park over the retaining wall. After passing Zodiac, the journey westwards for Donald Fouke to Arguello Boulevard and eastwards along West Pacific Avenue to Julius Kahn playground is 810 meters (1/2 mile), taking approximately 1 minute traveling at 30 mph. However, he is obviously scouring the roadway and dense undergrowth bordering West Pacific Avenue, so his journey time to Julius Kahn Playground likely took closer to 90 seconds. This places Donald Fouke's patrol car, red light and siren, reaching the area adjacent to Spruce Street at 10:00:30 pm - just slightly before Zodiac also arrives at Spruce Street. At this point Donald Fouke finds nothing, but his patrol car has ultimately alerted the neighbors, who understandably have looked out of their windows in the area of Spruce Street. Donald Fouke begins to turn his vehicle around as Zodiac approaches (who obviously remains out of sight until Donald Fouke departs back up West Pacific Avenue). Zodiac then makes haste into the park to gain some cover from the resultant police search. What he doesn't realize though, is that the neighbors are still looking out of their windows and notice Zodiac as he makes haste into the park. Their description is the one given in the October 12th 1969 San Francisco Chronicle article.        

The search dogs have not yet been deployed, so the Zodiac would naturally head towards either his residence or his waiting vehicle. If he was a resident of Vallejo or Benicia, his obvious escape route would be to head towards Cow Hollow on the eastern fringes of the park. Inspector Dave Toschi also believed this was his likely exit route from the park, as described in Robert Graysmith's book: "The detectives heard from neighbors that a stocky figure was seen dashing across Julius Khan playground and into the dense undergrowth of the Presidio. The dog patrol units, seven of the best search dogs in the country, gathered at the front entrance of the Presidio and were deployed one at a time in various directions. Armstrong and Toschi considered the possibilities. Had the killer gone quickly through the dark woods and emerged from the Presidio at Richardson Avenue, and taken Highway 101 past Fort Point onto the Golden Gate Bridge and vanished into Marin County".

Richardson Avenue is situated right by Highway 101, and provides easy access to the Golden Gate Bridge back to the Vallejo area, forming an immediate separation from San Francisco within minutes of the crime. However, Zodiac is still by Julius Kahn playground, therefore his next move eastwards is telling. He describes this in the November 9th 1969 Bus Bomb letter, stating "I enjoy needling the blue pigs. Hey blue pig I was in the park -- you were useing fire trucks to mask the sound of your cruzeing prowl cars. The dogs never came with in 2 blocks of me, they were to the west". This suggests the Zodiac was likely just over two blocks east of Julius Kahn playground. We know this because the sniffer dogs had assembled at this location (as well as Arguello Boulevard), to sweep across the park in dragnet style. The Zodiac Killer had only one option to avoid capture - head east. Fortunately for him, he had already taken this option. The journey time by road to the mid-section of Laurel Steet and Walnut Street (just over 2 blocks) is approximately 5 minutes, likely nearer 6 minutes via the park. His next point of cover is shown by the map here, situated by dense undergrowth. The time is now 10:07 pm, with the motorcycles and police cars circling the park. He may at this point have been intending to ride it out until the coast was clear, but he likely hadn't banked on the sniffer dogs being deployed at around 10:10 pm, as detailed in the police report. Faced with reducing options the Zodiac Killer continued eastwards through the undergrowth towards Presidio Boulevard, shown here on the map.   

The journey time to Presidio Boulevard via road is approximately 4 minutes, but the killer is traveling through the park with dogs heading his way and motorcycles circling the park. He has to finely balance keeping up his pace, yet applying caution to avoid being spotted from the road to the south. This would likely take his journey time closer to 5 minutes, placing Zodiac at the edge of the park at 10:15 pm. It is extremely likely he is now hidden in the dense foliage bordering Presidio Boulevard, waiting for an opportune moment to escape the park into Cow Hollow. He alludes to this in the Bus Bomb letter: "there was 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". The only possible location he could be present 150 feet from a road, which travels from south to north west, is if he is sheltering in the trees on the western edge of Presidio Boulevard. It can be seen here on Google maps that Presidio Boulevard heads from the south before veering northwest. Ironically, the road situated close to Presidio Boulevard on the south-eastern fringe of the park is called Lover's Lane.

The Zodiac Killer made this apparent only two days after the crime, on October 13th 1969, when he mailed the first Stine letter: "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". That cover was probably on the south-eastern corner of the park. The Zodiac Killer waited for his opportunity until the coast was clear and made good his escape shortly after 10:15 pm. If his vehicle was parked somewhere near to Highway 101 in Cow Hollow or by the Lyon Steps, then he is across the Golden Gate Bridge in as little as 8 minutes. His escape is complete.