This is a continuation to the article 'Two Assailants at Presidio Heights', examining the statement given by the Robbins teenagers in the aftermath of the Paul Stine murder. The initial police report found on most websites is noticeably brief compared to the other three crimes, and certainly doesn't encompass the whole story that night. The Robbins teenagers themselves have certainly not been publicity hungry during the last 48 years, so couldn't be accused of witness embellishment. Furthermore, their story has been totally corroborated by Officer Armond Pelissetti in the 2007 Zodiac documentary, along with the bloody fingerprints noted from two areas of the taxicab. Here is a reminder of their story:
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"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." ​

The bloody fingerprints shown on the right are indicative of a suspect bracing his right hand on the dividing panel to pull Paul Stine upright with his left hand, in line with the version given by the Robbins teenagers. Lindsey's venture to the corner of Washington and Cherry, latterly joined by the others, is also backed up by the first responding officer, Armond Pelissetti. There is every reason to believe that this is the expanded version of a very brief and inadequate police report consisting of less than two full pages. But more importantly it helps us with the timeline. A timeline that could suggest the person seen by the three teenagers is not the killer of Paul Stine, just an accomplice to the crime.
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Lindsey went downstairs as the phone call was being placed. What they saw subsequent to this is: "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." The amount of time this took is subjective, but a minimum of 30 seconds is a fair estimate. Then the suspect walked casually north on Cherry Street.

Officer Armond Pelissetti arrived when the suspect was approaching the corner of Jackson and Cherry - approximately 50 seconds walking time. This indicates that Armond Pelissetti was very close when he received the radio dispatch, likely no longer than one-and-a-half minutes after the teenagers called the police. The first job of the police dispatcher, however, is to take the description and reported offence, before then relaying this information to responding units. This would suggest that Armond Pelissetti received the message and arrived in one minute or less. All the indications are, that the suspect began his journey up Cherry Street the moment that Armond Pelisstti received the initial dispatch. When he arrived, the suspect was approaching the intersection of Jackson and Cherry, approximately 50 seconds later.

​The major problem, is that Officer Donald Fouke also responded to the initial radio broadcast at the identical time as Pelissetti. This means that Donald Fouke began his journey from the intersection of Washington and Presidio Avenue at the time the suspect began his journey from the crime scene, just like Armond Pelissetti did. The journey time for Donald Fouke traveling at a moderate speed of 30 mph, places him at the intersection of Jackson and Maple one minute later, where he spots the 'Zodiac'. For this to be the responsible observed by the three teenagers, the suspect would have to travel this 3 minute journey at walking pace in approximately one minute. Something he ultimately failed to achieve, because he was pointed out to Armond Pelissetti at the top of Cherry by Lindsey.

If we take the story of the three teenagers as reliable, which by all accounts it is, then the man observed removing the shirt piece of Paul Stine cannot be the man who pulled the trigger that night. This man would have exited the scene just prior to the teenagers looking out of the window. This would be the suspect observed by Officer Donald Fouke, and may explain the lack of blood on the clothes of the man walking on Jackson Street - because he was never present in the front of the taxicab. Donald Fouke described the sketch given by the three teenagers as 'similar' - only that he was 'older and heavier'. Is it likely these two assailants were related, father and son, or brothers? Or did Donald Fouke exhibit confirmation bias, meshing his story to fit that of the three teenagers? It would have been far more helpful had two independent sketches been sought. Had the sketches then matched, the validity of the eyewitnesses recollection would have been greatly enhanced. 

What is extremely difficult to reconcile is the wildly different versions given by Donald Fouke. The first was from his memorandum only one month after the murder on November 12th 1969 where he stated "The Zodiac Killer was observed walking in an easterly direction on Jackson Street and then turning north on Maple Street."
However, his description in the 2007 Zodiac documentary was taken after observing a man heading into a residence: "We turned west on Jackson Street, as we approached Maple Street I noticed on the north side of the street a white male adult. We slowed down as we passed him, I don't know, we we're still rolling, saw that it was a white male, step on the gas, 5, 10, 15 seconds tops from first spotting him to passing him. He sort of looked down, perhaps this lumbering gait, stumbling along, like a semi-limp might have come up in my mind, because he was putting his head down when he spotted the police car, and turned into the entrance way of a house, and by entrance way I mean stairs that are leading up that are concrete to a path, that leads to a front door. Never saw him get to the top of the stairs. You want the address of that residence, 3712 Jackson Street." 
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"Never saw him get to the top of the stairs" suggests this is when the subject went out of view. This does not tally with a man last seen heading north on Maple in the November 12th memorandum. He also stated this in the 2007 documentary: "we 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." But in the above recollection the last place he saw the subject heading was up the stairs of 3712 Jackson Street. Bearing in mind these two wholly irreconcilable statements, what is the possibility both accounts have a shred of truth, muddled by time, and Officer Donald Fouke actually saw two men on Jackson Street that night. The first heading north on Maple, with the second feigning a move into 3712 Jackson Street.
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The timeline would have the first assailant heading towards Maple as Officer Donald Fouke is approaching the intersection. The second assailant is turning the corner of Jackson and Cherry. Officer Donald Fouke slows down and beckons the man over, who states he saw somebody waving a gun heading towards Arguello Boulevard. The second assailant meanwhile is heading towards his accomplice, thinking he may have to intervene. But fortunately, Officer Donald Fouke, under the impression he is searching for a negro male adult buys the story and continues on Jackson Street, when he spots the second subject. The second assailant then instinctively feigns a turn into 3712 Jackson Street to give the impression to the patrol car he is a resident of that house. Officer Donald Fouke, satisfied by the first assailant's story slows down to observe this man, but ultimately decides to head off towards Arguello Boulevard. This may explain the conflicted versions given by Officer Donald Fouke that night - and his difficulty when it comes to a coherent account of the events that night.
 
The timeline is suggestive of two assailants, along with two subjects spotted in two different locations by Officer Donald Fouke. This may explain why the man observed in and around the taxicab that night by the three teenagers was apparently so calm. He possibly had no gun - or not the gun that fired the fatal shot into Paul Stine - and was simply aiding a stricken taxicab driver. This may have been his alibi had he required one. 
The Zodiac stated "This is the Zodiac speaking. 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." He didn't say we, so maybe we shall have to take his word on it.

​This is not designed to promote the idea of two assailants at Presidio Heights, merely to point out the discrepancies in the timelines that simply make no sense.   

TWO ASSAILANTS AT PRESIDIO HEIGHTS [PT1]

Desert Sun Newspaper -November 10th 1969: Arsenic Is Found In Soft Drink MARTINEZ (UPI)-- 'A young schoolteacher who received threatening telephone calls for 10 days thought the caller was a crank who was pretending to be the Zodiac killer. But police took the threats seriously after 24-year-old Daniel Williams found a lethal dose of arsenic in a bottle of soft drink in his refrigerator. Williams, a teacher at Salesian High School in Richmond, told police the caller talked of how he intended to kill several persons, then last; Sunday said: “You’re the dead duck.” Williams went out and when he returned home found someone had pried open the screen on a back door. However, a police search showed nothing was missing. But after the officers left and Williams took a drink from a bottle of opened soft drink in his refrigerator, he found it tasted “metallic” and immediately spit it out. Police reported Friday that the bottle contained more than enough arsenic to kill a human being. Williams said the caller identified himself as the still sought Zodiac killer of five, but police discounted the idea. The caller would “sob and complain of headaches.” Williams said, and on one occasion said he had gone to a Martinez school in search of victims but left when he found police there. Williams said the caller told him: “I’m too smart for them". link

The San Francisco Chronicle ran an article on the same subject on November 8th 1969, stating "The string of sadistic calls began on October 23rd. On one occasion, the caller told Williams he had gone to a Martinez school in search of victims but had left when he found police there. Another time, the teacher said the caller, whose voice he described as muffled as if speaking through a handkerchief, said he was going to "kill the lady in the blue house". The arsenic laden drink was discovered on November 2nd 1969, so clearly the intention was to kill. The jury is still out on whether this was the Zodiac Killer, but nevertheless this threat was persistent through October and November. 

The article ran in the San Francisco Chronicle on November 8th 1969, so if this was the Zodiac he may have been unaware at the point he mailed the Dripping Pen card on November 8th as to whether his deadly attack had been successful. He mailed the "poison pen" letter on the same day and declared "I thought you would need a good laugh before you hear the bad news. You won't get the news for a while yet". Clearly, had Daniel Williams died from the poisoning, he may not have been discovered immediately. The style of attack would also conform to Zodiac's new declaration on November 9th that "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".  
  
The threatening phone calls and attempted murder of this high school teacher would precede the second cipher offering from the Zodiac, in what could be interpreted as a "poison pen" letter. The Zodiac Killer's first cipher was cracked in a matter of days by Donald Gene and Bettye June Harden. Don Harden began teaching at North Salinas High School in 1960. 

Martinez and Richmond, California, where Daniel Williams lived and worked are direct routes from Vallejo and Benicia through to San Francisco. The threatening caller stated he was going to "kill the lady in the blue house". So if the caller was Zodiac, however small the likelihood, what is the reasoning behind this threat, and was he familiar with the woman or the area in question? One famous San Francisco "blue house" is situated in the Castro District at 3841 18th Street, San Francisco, near Haight-Ashbury and the Golden Gate Park. It is 3.4 miles southeast of the October 11th 1969 murder of Paul Stine, a month earlier.

It was memorialized in music by French singer Maxime Le Forestier in 1971, inspired by his time living in the blue house with a hippie commune called "Hunga Dunga". 'Maxime Le Forestier spoke of the house where everyone was welcome, where Tom, Phil and Psylvia lived. The house was in fact home to the Hunga Dunga commune, and several of the people mentioned in the song still live in the Bay Area'. Mission Local. 

Could Daniel Williams have been Zodiac's intended eighth victim, and was the Bus Bomb letter mailed on November 9th 1969 stating "This is the Zodiac speaking up to the end of Oct I have killed 7 people" indicative that an eighth victim was yet to be discovered, somewhere between October 31st 1969 and the date of this letter. The fact that Zodiac made a point of highlighting the "end of Oct" in the Bus Bomb letter, rather than just stating "to date I have killed 7 people" is extremely suggestive that we hadn't "heard the bad news yet".  

The following is nothing new, but is a further re-examination of the critical period after the Blue Rock Springs Park and Lake Herman Road attacks, focusing in on 'two phone calls' made shortly after each crime. It will place particular emphasis on the area around the Springs/Tuolumne payphone, and the possibility the killer's residence on foot, was mere minutes away. We shall also look again at the wording of the Zodiac Killer in the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter received by the San Francisco Examiner on August 4th 1969. Here is what we noted in a previous article:
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'In the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter received by the San Francisco Examiner on August 4th 1969, the Zodiac Killer stated; 
"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." This negro male was never traced and did not feature in the police report. The details of his age range and what he was wearing, on the face of it appear unnecessary, unless of course the Zodiac Killer was deliberately creating a fictional character who just so happened to observe his brown car. Bearing in mind Zodiac had likely read newspaper reports of Michael Mageau detailing a brown car in the parking lot of Blue Rock Springs, what better way to corroborate his sighting by further implanting the seed of a brown car into the minds of investigators, by the hand of this fictional eyewitness. If Zodiac's vehicle was 'Ermine White' then clearly this is to his advantage. Voluntarily offering the color of his vehicle as brown, if in fact it was brown, must be viewed with suspicion'.      

Two other things strike you about this section of correspondence. The Zodiac's willingness to accept he made an error of judgment when he hung up the phone, unless of course he had an ulterior motive for it. In his communications to police the Zodiac would never refer to his victims by name, calling them boy, girl, people, teenagers or taxicab driver. He only expanded on their descriptions when attempting to verify he was the killer, or in this case to verify he was spotted in his "brown car", by a "40-45 year old shabbily dressed negro male". Indeed, very helpful descriptions by the murderer, yet somewhat unnecessary. What had the killer to gain by adding this superfluous information, other than to benefit himself? He made specific reference to "that drew his attention to me + my car", when he could simply have said "that drew his attention to me". The killer appeared to be emphasizing, that not only was he in his car, but it was also brown, just like Michael Mageau had previously described.

By placing himself at the payphone in his vehicle approximately 40 minutes after the attack, when it was only 10 minutes from the Blue Rock Springs parking lot, may have suggested to police that he drove to the payphone and could live almost anywhere. Or was that what he wanted them to believe, by being so utterly unselfish and extremely forthright, in adding in the detailed description of the eyewitness and his brown car parked nearby. When in fact he was on foot - and had placed the phone call after returning home, ditching his weapon, vehicle and clothing (which may have received blood transfer from the shooting).  
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The downside of a killer resident in downtown Vallejo, American Canyon or Benicia, is that, had he driven home to these locations to ditch his clothing and weapon, he would effectively be driving back towards or nearer to the crime scene to place the phone call. What killer would make a phone call after a murder extremely close to his residence? A killer who was implanting the seed of a brown car, when in fact it was probably white and not present at the payphone.

The content of the phone call may also be telling. The directions he gave were correct, apart from the distance. 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". This appears incorrect on first reading - whether from the payphone or the police station - but by inserting one break or comma, the directions make perfect sense: "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". Or by changing one word regarding the recollection of Nancy Slover: "I wish to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east..... on Columbus Parkway by 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". However, is the killer playing down his familiarity with this particular payphone by placing it one mile west of Columbus Parkway, when its true distance is 2 miles.  

Let us consider the Zodiac Killer lived in a residence extremely close to the payphone - but how close? If he drove to a residence ten minutes from Blue Rock Springs, would he be prepared to walk 20-30 minutes to the payphone, and place the call, knowing he had the equivalent journey back home? In distance terms, one mile from the payphone. Or would he more likely venture 5 or 10 minutes? Could the 'crank call' made after the Lake Herman Road double murder help us - and did the Zodiac Killer place this phone call on foot from the exact same payphone? This much shallower timeline may place his residence yards from the Springs and Tuolumne intersection.

The timeline of Lake Herman Road is debatable, but it is fairly certain that James Owen passed the turnout at 11:08-11:10 pm and heard a shot 30 seconds later. This being the case, it puts the killer in the turnout at around 11:10 pm. Stella Medeiros spotting the bodies in the turnout, raced off to Benicia and flagged down Captain Daniel Pitta. This has been argued between 11:19-11:25 pm (Captain Daniel Pitta's police report states 11:25 pm), with his radio call to Benicia Police Department shortly thereafter. It is widely believed to be around 11:28-11:30 pm.

"Bidou and his partner had served a warrant on a Lake Herman Road cabin Dec. 20, 1968, and were on their way to deposit some marijuana in the police department’s evidence locker when they were dispatched back to Lake Herman Road. Initially, they were told a woman was lying outside a car; they thought they were being sent to a crash. Police at first speculated it might have been a crank call, but the officers headed back north. But when they arrived, Bidou realized it was no crank call and no car accident. Instead, it was a sinister crime scene". But why, in the plural, had "police at first suspected it was a crank call". What gave them this idea, after all, this incident was radioed in by an experienced officer? Was the report of a crank call, which police "first suspected," allayed when the radio message arrived moments later from Captain Daniel Pitta? ​Had this mystery call been issued by Zodiac? Had this been called in from the payphone at Springs and Tuolumne, just like the phone call after the Blue Rock Springs attack some six and a half months later? If police first suspected this was a crank call, then it was likely called in before Captain Daniel Pitta radioed the Benicia Police Department - whose confirmation would effectively quash the idea it was an accident, as police first suspected.

The journey time from the Gate #10 turnout to the Springs and Tuolumne intersection is approximately 12 minutes. Had the Zodiac Killer left the turnout at approximately 11:10 pm or shortly thereafter (let us say 11:11-11:12 pm), then the killer was able to place the phone call 12 minutes later at 11:23-11:24 pm, just before Captain Daniel Pitta radioed in, leading to the initial confusion experienced by police officers and the assumption it was a crank call. The Zodiac Killer may even have had a small window of extra time to travel home, ditch his vehicle and weapon, and walk to the payphone. Whatever the case, the author of the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter was seemingly eager to sell us a false narrative.   

The white Chevrolet Impala spotted at Lake Herman Road has been considered a prime candidate for involvement in the murders of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen on December 20th 1968. But what are the chances that this vehicle was the one that pulled into the parking lot on two occasions at Blue Rock Springs Park on July 4th 1969 and was instrumental in the attack on Michael Mageau and Darlene Ferrin? Frank Gasser (69) and Robert Connelly (27), along with Bingo Wesner, were in agreement that they spotted a white Chevrolet Impala parked in the turnout circa 10:00 pm at Lake Herman Road. These were older gentlemen who clearly knew the vehicle they had observed (and it was corroborated), whereas Michael Mageau (19) was altogether vague, on not only the assailant's description, but was indecisive on the vehicle he observed that night. He evidently was not an avid car enthusiast. Factor in the traumatic night's events and it is not surprising his recollection of details are sketchy at best.

Michael Mageau stated "Dea turned the lights and motor off and had the radio playing. They were there just a very short time, a few minutes, and three cars pulled into the parking lot where they were. They were apparently young kids and they heard some laughing and carrying on and a few firecrackers were set off, then the three vehicles left within a short time. This was just a short space of time, a few minutes. Shortly after this and about 5 minutes before the shooting occurred, a vehicle pulled into the lot, coming from the direction of Springs Road and Vallejo. The driver turned the lights off on the car and pulled around to the left or east side of their car, approximately 6 or 8 feet away and sat there for a minute. He asked Dea if she knew who it was and she stated 'Oh, never mind'. "  He added "He could not see the car too clearly, however the shape of the car looked similar to the car that Dea owns, a Corvair. He could not see the color or anything as it was too dark out there".   

The vehicle was only 6-8 feet away but he couldn't make out the "color or anything", but it looked similar to Darlene Ferrin's Corvair. It seems he didn't really know and may have just been trying to please the police by giving them something, rather than nothing.
The next statement he gave puts it into context "The car then drove off at a fairly fast rate of speed. Five minutes later the vehicle pulled up approximately 10 feet behind and to the right side of Dea's car. The vehicle's lights were left on and the subject got out and walked toward the car. He had a large high-powered flashlight, the kind you carry with a handle". The assailant's vehicle was directly behind, facing the Corvair, in an extremely dark parking lot - and Michael Mageau had both the headlights from the other vehicle and a high-powered flashlight in his eyes. There is absolutely no way he could determine with confidence what vehicle was parked behind them. If he couldn't determine the "color or anything" of the vehicle parked 6-8 feet to the left 5 minutes earlier, when his vision was unobstructed, he had no chance here.

After the assailant had shot the couple he drove away. Michael again described the vehicle "He only saw the rear portion of it, this rear part appearing to be a vehicle similar to or the same type as Dea's car, a Corvair. Also a very similar color, possibly a little bit lighter brown". These descriptions are less than convincing. The first page of the police report details the assailant's vehicle as a Corvair or Mustang. In a later newspaper article Michael Mageau described the vehicle as a "1958 or 1959 Falcon. The color was brown or bronze".  It is apparent he was simply unsure of what vehicle he observed that night, which under the circumstances is totally understandable. But did Michael Mageau get the color correct? The answer may be yes, but he was incorrect. In other words, his eyes saw brown, when in fact the color was closer to white. The factory specifications of a 1959 or 1960 Chevrolet Impala show the vehicle was manufactured with a set range of colors - one of which was 'Ermine White'. This color has a distinctive off white appearance. 

On the right is a 1963 Corvette in 'Ermine White'. It can be clearly seen that it has a distinct brown hue, although it is classified as white. In the image below I have created a night setting similar to that experienced by Michael Mageau. The 'Ermine White' vehicle takes on a distinctly more medium brown or bronze color, similar to the Corvair driven by Darlene Ferrin. This could easily account for the discrepancies in identification between Robert Connelly, Bingo Wesner and Michael Mageau. particularly considering the circumstances Michael Mageau faced that night.
Because of Michael Mageau's uncertainty, it is certainly possible the vehicle he encountered that night could have been the same vehicle observed at Lake Herman Road - a 1959 or 1960 white Chevrolet Impala - and go a long way in linking both these crimes together.  

But was the vehicle that pulled alongside Darlene Ferin's Corvair only 6-8 feet to the left, the same vehicle that returned 5 minutes later and parked 10 feet behind? The answer is yet to be determined, but the curious behavior of the first sighting in an empty parking lot just prior to the shooting seems to suggest the two may very well be connected.
Raymond Grant-​ The White Chevrolet Impala. 

Although we disagree on the mechanics of the crime, Raymond Grant does raise some interesting issues regarding the Lake Herman Road timeline and discrepancies in certain eyewitness testimony, particularly that of Robert Connelly and Helen Axe.
With just a cursory glance at the police report, it becomes immediately apparent that if we take it at face value, either the eyewitness recollections are incorrect, or a strange sequence of events occurred that night, heaping more suspicion onto the white Chevrolet Impala than ever before. Raymond Grant has emphasized these points in his book 'Zodiac Killer Solved,' and whether you agree or disagree with his overall take on the Zodiac murders, he does make some incredibly insightful and valuable points. Firstly, we will focus on the white Chevrolet Impala and take the initial eyewitness testimony at face value.

This is what Robert Connelly stated in the police report "They said that when they arrived there (LHR turnout) at 9.00 pm a white 4-door hardtop, a '59 or '60 Impala, was parked there, and also, a truck coming out of the gate. This coincides with information from Bingo Wesner that when he came out of the gate he saw the same Impala and also saw the red pick-up truck go by". Bingo Wesner, a local sheepherder, also stated in the police report "he was checking his sheep at approximately 10:00 pm and he observed a white Chevrolet Impala Sedan parked by the south fence of the entrance to the pumping station. He also observed a red Ford pick-up truck with wood side boards in the area".

Instantly we see, that despite the police report stating these two coincide, there is a one hour discrepancy. Raymond Grant believes that Robert Connelly's estimate of 9:00 pm is out by one hour - it should be 10:00 pm - with the facts bearing this out. 
If the white Chevrolet Impala had parked in the turnout just prior to 9:00 pm, and had remained there throughout until 10:00 pm, then the account of William Crow is patently false. He stated in the police report that "He and his girlfriend were in the Lake Herman Road area between 9:30 pm and 10:00 pm on 12/20/68. He was driving his girlfriend's sports car and he was testing it out and adjusting the motor. He was parked in the open area by the pump station and he observed a blue car, possibly a Valiant coming down the road from Benicia towards Vallejo. They passed his location, stopped in the middle of the road and he saw the white lights of the reverse come on and the car started backing up towards them. Mr Crow put the car in gear and took off at a high rate of speed and the car followed him at a high rate of speed. They did not attempt to gain on him, but when they got to the turn off towards Benicia, William Crow turned towards Benicia and the other car went straight ahead. The subjects were both Caucasians and there is no further identification on the car or the subjects". If the white Chevrolet Impala was there, then clearly William Crow, based on this account, failed to notice it for upwards of 30 minutes - and considering he was parked in the turnout, that doesn't seem likely.   

However, William Crow would later dispute this statement to police "I never told the sheriff who interviewed me that the car I encountered was a Valiant. As I recall, as I was attempting to describe the car, the sheriff came up with a “Valiant”. In the years that have passed, when I have shared the events of that night, I have described the car as a four-door light-colored Chevy. I could not see the passenger seat, but the driver was a man with short hair and glasses. I did not see his specific facial features".

This being the case, it highlights the significance of a white Chevrolet Impala circulating the area in and around the turnout that night. If Robert Connelly's recollection of a white Chevrolet Impala being present in the turnout at 9:00 pm was correct, which appears unlikely, then the Chevrolet Impala would have parked in the turnout sometime prior to 9:00 pm, leaving at some point before William Crow arrived at 9:30 pm. It would then return, spot William Crow and his girlfriend just before 10:00 pm, chase them down the road, before returning to the turnout and being spotted by Bingo Wesner at 10:00 pm. But on both occasions, just prior to 9:00 pm and 10:00 pm, the occupants of the white Chevrolet Impala would have had to vacate their vehicle, because Robert Connelly and Bingo Wesner implicitly stated the vehicle was unoccupied. If the Chevrolet Impala contained our killer or killers, then it could be argued they were coasting the area by foot and by car, searching for victims by whatever means. Raymond Grant highlights this important period of time in 'Zodiac Killer Solved', involving a 'holding area'. I won't elaborate on his explanation, as it wouldn't be fair to reveal potent sections of his book without permission. If he chooses, he can outline his ideas in the comments section below. However, it does address this critical timeline of events.

This above example of the timeline appears extremely convoluted, and the police report of "information from Bingo Wesner, that when he came out of the gate at 10:00 pm he saw the same Impala and also saw the red pick-up truck go by",  makes much more sense, bearing in mind William Crow's testimony of a light-colored Chevrolet chasing him down the road just before 10:00 pm. The three recollections coalesce around 10:00 pm that night. This critical period would suggest that the occupants of the white Chevrolet Impala spot William Crow, chase him along the road, return to the turnout and vacate their vehicle just prior to 10:00 pm. At which point, Robert Connelly and Bingo Wesner spot each other and the unoccupied Chevrolet. ​  

Raymond Grant also questions the account of Helen Axe at 10:15 pm and 10:30 pm. Her account is detailed in the police report: "Miss Axe reports that she and her boyfriend, a sailor, were driving on Lake Herman Road. They passed the area of the pumping station, she recognized the Rambler and the victims, Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday. Stated that when she went by about 10.15 pm, the car was facing in towards the gate and when she returned about 15 minutes later after having gone to the end of the road and then came back, the car was turned around and the front was facing the field, a little to the side. There is some conflict in this statement and Miss Axe has consented to bring her boyfriend to the office to clarify the actual position of the car. The first time she stated when she called, that the car was backed in. Nothing this discrepancy the RO contacted her by telephone".

Her account raises questions. For her account to be correct, the white Chevrolet Impala driver would had to have returned to the turnout just prior to 10:00 pm after chasing William Crow, with the occupants then vacating their vehicle so that Robert Connelly and Bingo Wesner saw it unoccupied. They would then had to have returned to their vehicle minutes later, driven away, without passing Helen Axe's vehicle, to be replaced in the turnout by the Faraday Rambler by 10:15 pm. Raymond Grant, understandably takes the position that Helen Axe likely saw the white Chevrolet Impala, not the Faraday Rambler. It returned to the turnout just shy of 10:00 pm, the occupants vacated the vehicle, and according to Bingo Wesner was "parked by the south fence of the entrance to the pumping station". A short time later, circa 10:15 pm, Helen Axe passed the turnout and viewed the Chevrolet Impala in the same position as viewed by Bingo Wesner, also "facing in towards the gate". Unless of course, we contend that the Faraday Rambler arrived just before 10:15 pm and parked in the identical position as the Chevrolet Impala previously - as viewed by Bingo Wesner. Fifteen minutes later, at approximately 10:30 pm, Helen Axe had returned up Lake Herman Road, by which time the occupants had returned to the Chevrolet Impala and repositioned it facing the road. It is a plausible line of investigation and is merited by the details of the case. The scenario presented by Raymond Grant would indicate that the white Chevrolet Impala had a much more pivotal role in the proceedings on December 20th 1968 than first imagined, and place this vehicle in the turnout much closer to the murders than ever before. The question is, how long did it remain in the area? This presentation just scratches the surface of Raymond Grant's Lake Herman Road timeline, and I have attempted to skirt around the issues presented in 'Zodiac Killer Solved', without giving too much away. To read the full story...
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ZODIAC KILLER SOLVED ON AMAZON​          

Some proponents of a lone Zodiac, have a killer who knew the area of Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs Park fairly well - enough to know the area was frequented by courting couples, and a rich hunting ground in rural territory. The white Chevrolet Impala, if it contained the assailant or assailants, may have been observed by not only Robert Connelly, Frank Gasser and Bingo Wesner, but also William Crow and Helen Axe, in what can only be described as unusual behavior in an isolated, cold and dark turnout for at least 30 minutes.

Bearing in mind the murders happened as little as 40 minutes later, with James Owen the last person to drive past the turnout before the murders occurred, his testimony is crucial. In the police report, dated 12/21/68, he was unable to furnish a description of the vehicle alongside the Rambler, which means ruling out the Chevrolet Impala is not possible. He 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".  But he added an extra crucial detail in his 12/24/68 interview, in that "he did not see anyone in the cars or around them".  Earlier in the night, Robert Connelly, Frank Gasser and Bingo Wesner all observed an unoccupied white Chevrolet Impala parked in the turnout. Fast forward 75 minutes, and the same scenario, but this time two unoccupied vehicles and apparently nobody in the turnout. If this was the Chevrolet Impala, then its owners certainly appeared to have a habit of exiting their vehicle in a desolate turnout, on an extremely cold and dark night. But does this indicate a connection?

​Raymond Grant makes a valid point about vehicle recollection, particularly regarding color. It was pitch black that night and vehicle colors can easily be misinterpreted. This takes us to page 52 of the police report and Stan's identification of a blue Chevrolet Impala at 10:30 pm: "Stan, a 14 year old described a 1963 Chevrolet Impala, blue in color, with two persons, driving from Lake Herman Road on to Columbus Parkway, heading towards Blue Rock Springs". Raymond Grant highlights this in 'Zodiac Killer Solved', but here I will deviate from his version, to a killer or killers roaming Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs Park for potential targets.

If Helen Axe and her boyfriend had passed the Lake Herman Road turnout and Chevrolet Impala at 10:30 pm, heading towards Vallejo, then this vehicle may have pulled out and tracked the couple along the road, in not identical but similar fashion to William Crow and his girlfriend. If the occupants were searching for courting couples, they may have been waiting for the couple to possibly park up, which failed to materialize. Traveling from the turnout to Columbus Parkway takes about 4 minutes. This would place the Chevrolet Impala at the intersection of Lake Herman Road and Columbus Parkway at approximately 10:34 pm, aligning perfectly with Stan, who observed the same make and model of vehicle "at approximately 10:30 pm".

Three courting couples may have been targeted that night, with David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen the unlucky victims. The attack at Blue Rock Springs Park and Lake Berryessa may have employed similar tactics. The Chevrolet Impala with two persons, according to Stan, was last seen "driving from Lake Herman Road on to Columbus Parkway, heading towards Blue Rock Springs". Had the occupants traveled to the Blue Rock Springs parking lot to lie in wait for unsuspecting couples, which proved fruitless, before heading back towards Lake Herman Road sometime around 11:00 pm? An approximate journey time of six minutes, would have the Chevrolet Impala returning to the ill-fated turnout just after the Yours and raccoon hunters had left the Marshall Ranch and just prior to James Owen driving past on his way to the Humble Oil graveyard shift. The rest is well documented.

Raymond Grant's has highlighted some important overlapping timelines in the Lake Herman Road eyewitness recollections. His book 'Zodiac Killer Solved' covers all the 'Zodiac' crimes, with a different slant to the conventional understanding perceived by most, but without doubt punches holes in many widely held misconceptions.

Here we will take a closer look at the bloody fingerprints left on the Paul Stine taxicab in Presidio Heights on October 11th 1969, and see if they can reveal anything about the unfolding events that night.

In total, thirty latent fingerprints, three palm prints and one partial of value were retrieved from the taxicab. The latent prints that exhibited traces of blood were believed to have been deposited by the killer. The two key areas where bloody fingerprints were retrieved, were the exterior front passenger side door handle and the dividing panel between the driver side door and the left rear passenger door, just above half way. The FBI report only stated that the murderer was the likely donor of both bloody latent prints, probably because they likely contained different digit impressions, or one was lacking detail. There is very good reason to believe both impressions were from the killer, which we will explain later. In the photographs on various sites these two prints are circled with a red pen.

There is a possible explanation for the bloody prints shown on the left image, regarding a Washington and Maple murder, but here we shall stick with the widely held belief that the killing took place close to the intersection of Washington and Cherry.

The placement of the bloody print discovered on the front exterior passenger door handle challenges the premise of a passenger who rode in the front seat of Paul Stine's taxicab. Had this been the case, after removing the piece of shirt and exiting the front passenger side door, there would be no need to shut the door using the exterior door handle, but there would be every reason to wipe it down, as observed by the three teenagers. This is because the natural way to open the front passenger door after exiting the right rear of the taxicab would be to use your right hand. When opening a right-sided door it is more natural to use your right hand. Standing by a right-sided door and using your left hand would bring the door into your midriff.
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When the killer shot Paul Stine he likely received a fine mist of back spatter to his right hand. If he then exited the right rear passenger door with the gun still in his hand, or while putting it away, he would have used his left hand to open it and close it. This may explain why no bloody prints were found on the right rear inner or outer passenger door handle. The Zodiac Killer was described by the three teenagers to be wiping down the front passenger door. It is likely he didn't thoroughly remove the bloody fingerprints, evident by their discovery.  

The Robbins teenagers gave a more detailed account of the night's events in a later interview - one partially corroborated by Officer Armond Pelissetti - who discovered the teenagers by the intersection of Washington and Cherry. They recounted their observations that night - observations that marry perfectly with evidence retrieved from the taxicab: 

"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".

The Zodiac Killer had entered the taxicab at the theater district, shot Paul Stine at the intersection of Washington and Cherry, exited the right rear passenger door and entered the front passenger door. He then removed the shirt piece, exited the taxicab and proceeded around to the exterior driver side door to wipe it down, presumably with his dominant right hand (or not). He then left the scene via Cherry Street. Where in this sequence of events should he had ever touched the panel between the driver side door and left rear passenger door with his bloody hands? This was the version in the police report, and fails to account for the bloody fingerprints discovered on the dividing panel of the taxicab. But the more expansive version given by the Robbins kids explains this anomaly perfectly. ​ 

The teenagers stated that the killer twice attempted to haul Paul Stine back into an upright position behind the steering wheel. The motivation for this has yet to be sufficiently explained. ​The teenagers clearly stated that after he rounded the taxicab, the subject then opened the driver side door, likely using his left hand (for reasons given above). He then attempted to pull the stricken taxicab driver back into an upright position. But to perform this action he needed stability and leverage. This would be achieved by bracing your right hand on the dividing panel between the driver side and left rear door in order to pull Paul Stine upright using your left hand. Once finished, the Zodiac Killer closed the driver side door and wiped down the door handle.

However, he made a crucial mistake. By concentrating on the door handles, he may have inadvertently overlooked the bloody fingerprints deposited by his right hand on the dividing panel. This was detailed in 'Zodiac' by Robert Graysmith : "At one point he opened up the driver's door and leaned forward to wipe off the area of the dashboard again. To steady himself, he leaned his right hand on the rail separating the front and rear windows. The fragment of cloth was still in his left hand. Then he closed the door and walked away". The Zodiac Killer then exited north along Cherry Street and into the night. Paul Stine's body at some point, aided by the camber of the road, fell back across the front passenger seat - his head coming to rest on the front passenger floorboard, where Armond Pelissetti would ultimately discover the stricken taxicab driver just a few minutes later.        

In a recent article from the Vallejo Times-Herald, a native Vallejoan, Lorraine Osuna DeGroat, who knew Betty Lou Jensen from school, described her encounter with a man on Lake Herman Road that she believed could have been the infamous Zodiac Killer. Sometime in March or April of 1969 according to DeGroat, a few months shy of the Blue Rock Springs Park attack (but more likely subsequent to 09/27/69), approximately two miles into Lake Herman Road, she recalled "a man wearing a big, bulky trench coat or army jacket that reached to his knees, and he’s in the middle of the road, waving his arms, trying to get us to stop. She describes the man as in his middle 30's to early 40's, with blondish, short-cropped hair and horn-rimmed glasses. His pants were dark, and his shoes may also have been dark army boots." http://www.timesheraldonline.com/general-news/20170710/vallejo.
​He apparently claimed he was out looking for his girlfriend, but they drove off in haste. 

The description of the man is reminiscent of the details given by Donald Fouke as he patrolled in Jackson Street, Presidio Heights on October 11th 1969 - although how much significance can be attributed to this latest news article and recollection is debatable. It is not unreasonable to consider the possibility that Zodiac cruised the lonely stretch of Lake Herman Road and the Blue Rock Springs Park area, before and after December 20th 1968, and subsequent to July 4th 1969. One widely held belief, is he was likely native to the area of Vallejo, Benicia or American Canyon, and had intimate knowledge of the area, specifically regarding areas frequented by courting couples. This tactic of trying to flag down a vehicle, bringing it to a halt on Lake Herman Road, is similar to a story in the Benicia Herald, where the nephew of Stella Medeiros, Albert Losado, stated that in the fall of 1969 he and his brother were prevented from traveling along Lake Herman Road near gate 10 by a log stretched across the road. The brothers had minutes earlier traveled the opposite way unhindered, from which, they suspected a sinister motive. In his words; "That’s why we didn’t get out of the car.” They backed up and got out of the area. It is possible this was an intentional act by a third party - and if the Zodiac Killer - a deviation in tactics. However, both of the above stories may have perfectly innocent explanations.    

One curious statement in the Vallejo Times-Herald article reminded me of Pierre Bidou. It stated "She was found in a runaway position, as if she’d been running, and was shot in the back multiple times,” said DeGroat, a retired forensic psych nurse at the Napa State Hospital. “He was found still in the car.”

It is fairly unanimous in Zodiac circles that David Faraday was discovered by responding police lying perpendicular to the right rear wheel of the Rambler. That is, until you watch two Zodiac Killer videos and read an excerpt from the above Benicia Herald article. It reports "On a dark turnout along the side of the road, the officers, wearing heavy winter coats, followed the path of their flashlights and their unmarked police car’s headlight. They found the body of a girl face-down on the ground between a bank slope and a parked Rambler station wagon pointing east toward Vallejo. “It was obvious she was trying to run,” Bidou said of the girl, who had five entry wounds in a tight grouping to her right upper back. Inside the car, the officers found a boy in the passenger’s seat who appeared as if “he was trying to get out” of the car. Bidou remembers seeing the shattered glass of the car window, pierced by a bullet. More poignantly, he also remembers that the boy was still breathing." 

​The article clearly suggests that David Faraday was in the passenger seat, as though he was half way out when he was shot.
This is backed up on three other occasions, starting twice in a 2010 interview with Aphrodite Jones, an American author, reporter, and television producer. At 11:17 and 11:45 into the video Bidou states "The young man was still in the car" and "you see the male in the car still breathing." Then in a 'Richard Gaikowski-The Case of the Zodiac Killer' video at 13.25, he states "The male was still halfway in the vehicle and he was showing signs of breathing." The two statements "found a boy in the passenger’s seat who appeared as if he was trying to get out of the car," and "the male was still halfway in the vehicle and he was showing signs of breathing," are definitely comparable.

This is the actual statement taken from Stella Medeiros in the police report of the day; "When she arrived at the scene, headlights picked up the car (Rambler) and she observed a boy and he looked like he had fallen out of the open door. The girl was lying on her side facing the road." The question is; how do you interpret "he looked like he had fallen out of the open door." Had he fallen 'halfway out', and was still 'halfway in' as Pierre Bidou stated several times. In responding officer Daniel Pitta's police statement it recalled "A white male (Victim #2) was lying to the southside of a 1960 Rambler 4-door station wagon. Victim #2 was lying face up with a large amount of blood at the base of his skull." If  we take all the above statements and recollections as true, then the only logical conclusion to draw would be David Faraday was discovered slumped in the passenger side of the Rambler and subsequently laid out on the turnout floor for medical intervention by the initial responders to the scene, before Daniel Pitta arrived. But this would throw doubt on the perceived timeline of several officers that night. It would certainly negate the chalk outline of having any consequence in the murder of David Faraday on December 20th 1968. On the other hand, it may be the case that Pierre Bidou was just mistaken four times. 

Two letters were mailed from Stamford, Connecticut. One on April 13th 1988, followed by another on April 21st 1988. A cryptogram was contained in each,  believed to be from the same author. The first letter contained six pages in total, laden with text. Page three of the first 1988 letter began with the wording "Eat pepper-mint and puff it in your face". Page five began with "You the other night"  Here is a section from The Mikado Act One Part 5a  As Some Day it May Happen, performed by Ko-Ko: It read "And the people who eat peppermint and puff it in your face. They never would be missed — they never would be missed". The two pages that contained cryptograms used familiar Zodiac characters, 54 in total. Both cryptograms contained 13 characters per row, however one didn't form a complete rectangle, the last line consisting of only three characters.

94 CHARACTER CIPHER: (REDACTED) MUST DIE FOR HER FIFTY MEGAHERTZ SCREECH AND HER FLIRTATIOUSNESS. SHE IS SO IMPOSSIBLY SHALLOW AND STUCK UP. 
Assuming the redacted section is a name, the deciphered text is reminiscent of the Confession letter and Bates Had to Die letters, mailed after the murder of Cheri Jo Bates in Riverside on October 30th 1966. This cipher has the three character line at its foot.

It contains 89 visible characters. Seven rows of 13 characters = 91. With the additional 3 characters over = 94. Therefore the redacted text it would seem, should contain 5 letters - although 'megahertz screech' is written as 'megahertscreech' by the author, to allow the redacted name to become 6 letters in length. The redacted name is SHAUNA. (see forum thread below).

169 CHARACTER CIPHER: (REDACTED) IF YOU WISH TO KNOW MY IDENTITY, YOU WILL HAVE TO PUT SOME EFFORT INTO IT, NOT FIDDLE AND FART AROUND. HERE IS A CLUE AS MISSUS (REDACTED) IF SHE REMEMBERS WHO DRAWS THE SYMBOL. THEN YOU WILL HAVE ME. GOOD LUCK. 
This cipher draws from much of the known Zodiac correspondence, and has no incomplete lines. It contains 154 visible characters. Thirteen rows of 13 characters = 169. Therefore the redacted text should be 15 letters in total. However, the author again makes errors in the cipher composition and the redacted text is only 12 letters. The redacted text is SHAUNA and TAYLOR (see forum thread below). 

We have a 263 character cipher in total (20 rows of 13 characters, and three over), from either Zodiac or a hoaxer.
The author began with Dear (redacted). "This is the Zodiac Speaking". One sheet of paper was the brand 'Conqueror' from the Sloan Paper Company, Doraville, Georgia. Four sheets of paper bore the watermark of Sheaffer Eaton, Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The remaining sheet contained no watermark.  

http://www.zodiacciphers.com/uploads/4/9/7/1/4971630/zodiac5  Page 5 onwards. 

Cryptogram images below courtesy of Zodiac Killer Site Forum.
​To view the six pages of text and the forum thread visit ​http://zodiackillersite.com/viewtopic.php?f=78&t=2326

#3. Richard Haefner, an assistant professor, was a major suspect in the murder of Betsy Aardsmaa, who allegedly briefly dated her. His initials match the desktop poem. 
#4. Reviled by many, Richard Haefner had anger issues. Excerpt from the Lancaster online: 'Haefner told investigators he'd found out about her death the evening of Nov. 29, a day after she was stabbed. But in fact, Skucek asserted, Haefner knew of the crime shortly after it was committed. He'd shown up at the home of a professor just hours after Aardsma was killed, asking, "Have you seen the papers?" The stabbing had not yet been reported in the local newspapers. But Haefner knew about it and "expressed concern about what had happened to this young lady," the professor told Skucek.'