Just over a year ago we ran an article outlining the missing evidence at Lake Herman Road. Not only did a shell casing go missing from the crime scene to the submitted items at the Department of Justice, but a bullet was also missing from both the police report and the Department of Justice records. Ten shots were fired that night - 5 shots to the back of Betty Lou Jensen, 1 shot into David Faraday, 2 shots into the Rambler and 2 were unaccounted for, believed to have missed their intended target. Betty Lou Jensen had five entry wounds and three exit wounds, however, only two bullets were ever recovered from outside the body of Betty Lou Jensen. These were noted in the police report and Department of Justice files below. In total, only seven bullets were ever retrieved. One bullet is missing from the record. 

​"But any doubts about the killer's identity were dispelled the next day when a letter from Zodiac arrived at the San Francisco Chronicle. With it was a bloodstained piece of the driver's shirt and a bullet from the same pistol that had killed Jensen and Faraday". Had the Zodiac Killer walked towards the stricken Betty Lou Jensen to check on her status and retrieved a bullet from the turnout floor for 'future use"? This may explain why only two of the three exit wound bullets were recovered from Betty Lou Jensen at the crime scene. The police reporting of Presidio Heights was less than transparent in the aftermath of the Paul Stine murder. It wasn't too difficult to confirm that the bloodstained piece of shirt came from the corpse of the taxicab driver, but if a bullet had also been mailed with the letter, this would require interdepartmental cooperation from police involved with the murder of Jensen and Faraday to run a ballistics check. This may be the reason the details of the bullet were withheld from the newspapers until confirmation was acquired, or left out altogether. The police have openly admitted some evidence has been withheld from the public domain. 

The October 13th 1969 letter was only the second time the killer had announced himself as the 'Zodiac', so despite linking himself with the Stine murder using the swatch of shirt, he may have wanted to leave no doubt in the mind of investigators that he was also the "same man who did in the people in the north bay area". In effect, bringing all four crimes under the banner of the Zodiac Killer.

Tom Voigt made a good point regarding the Lake Berryessa attack on the Zodiackiller.com message board, stating "I've always felt that Zodiac might have written a letter regarding the Berryessa attack, perhaps to the Napa newspaper, and since it wasn't printed (for whatever reason) he decided to include physical evidence in future letters".

When Vallejo Police Chief Jack E. Stiltz asked the Zodiac Killer for more proof that the letter writer and killer were the same person in the August 3rd 1969 Sunday Examiner & Chronicle, the Zodiac Killer could have supplied the bullet at this juncture, but as we know, the Zodiac Killer didn't always play by the rules. This may point to the fact that the killer had a broader agenda and always intended to kill in San Francisco. There had been a spate of taxicab robberies in San Francisco in the months prior to the Paul Stine murder, so by inserting a bullet from the murder of Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday into the October 13th 1969 letter, this notion or connection would be completely dispelled. The narrator in the 1995 'Great Crimes and Trials' documentary may have made a gross error in statement, but to add to the Stine letter "a bullet from the same pistol that had killed Jensen and Faraday" from thin air, considering the missing bullet at Lake Herman Road, begs the question nonetheless.       

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.

It seemed rather fortunate that the 'Halloween' card mailed on October 27th 1970, if designed totally independently to the 340 cipher, that Paradice and Slaves could be found perfectly bisecting the 340 cipher, 17 by 17 characters. Not to mention the word "By" being found in all four quadrants. This is discussed in more detail in the article 'The Illusion of the 340 Cipher.'  
The 'Halloween' card was almost certainly highlighting the Lake Berryessa attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard, tied up with rope (plastic clothesline) and brutally stabbed sixteen times by the Zodiac Killer. The phrase "peek-a-boo you are doomed" referencing the children's game peekaboo, where 'hiding behind that tree' is sometimes added. This would also be the second time "by knife" would be used - linking the 'Halloween' card to the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia of Bryan Hartnell.
Since these two 'methods of death' (rope and knife) were instrumental to the attack on the young couple, we will focus on Paradice, Slaves, By Knife and By Rope. 
On the 'Halloween' card it is apparent that "By" is written vertically for "knife" rather than horizontally, as displayed by the other 'methods of death'. Could this be a sinister inference to a knife being driven downwards and the predominant focus of this card?   

If we color in the five characters underneath the 'Y' in the bottom left quadrant of the cipher, as is portrayed on the 'Halloween' card, it can be seen that the 'right facing V' would represent the 'E' of knife.
If we  color in the four characters underneath the 'B' in the bottom right quadrant of the cipher, as is portrayed on the 'Halloween' card, it can be seen that the 'right facing V' would represent the 'E' of rope.
To complete the word Paradice and Slaves a 'left facing V' had to be found in the last section of both words for parity. In this instance a 'left facing V' represented the letter 'E'.
When the Zodiac Killer introduced his 408 cipher in the July 31st letters, he stated "Here is part of a cipher" or "Here is a cyipher." When challenged to design another cipher by D.C.B. Marsh in the San Francisco Examiner on October 22nd 1969, the 340 cipher arrived just over two weeks later. The article was entitled 'Cipher Expert Dares Zodiac to Tell Name'. Bearing in mind that the 340 cipher began with "Her," could it have started with "Here is a cipher" or "Here's a cipher" (to marry with the 'P' of Paradice) in direct response to cryptographic expert D.C.B. Marsh.
There are 10 'left or right facing' V's in the entire 340 cipher. If the latter hypothesis was correct, then at least 50% of these would be represented by the letter E, in respect of Here, Paradice, Slaves, Rope and Knife.  

On December 30th 2013, Tahoe27 gave us the Wheel of Death from the Tim Holt comic book. It contained a Rota Fortunae style game in which Redmask would discover his fate based upon twelve methods of death.

​The Zodiac Killer appeared to be inspired by the comic, either before or after his canonical crimes began on December 20th 1968, writing the words "by knife" on the car door of Bryan Hartnell's 1956 white Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. He may have hinted towards this comic when designing a crude code and drawing on the Fairfield letter, mailed on December 16th 1969. However, on October 27th 1970 the Halloween card contained a design depicting the four methods of death, all of which mirrored the cover of the Tim Holt comic book. In total, the twelve methods of death ran around a Zodiac styled wheel:

"In medieval and ancient philosophy the Wheel of Fortune, or Rota Fortunae, is a symbol of the capricious nature of Fate. The wheel belongs to the goddess Fortuna (Greek equivalent Tyche) who spins it at random, changing the positions of those on the wheel: some suffer great misfortune, others gain windfalls. Fortune appears on all paintings as a woman, sometimes blindfolded, "puppeteering" a wheel. The origin of the word is from the "wheel of fortune" - the zodiac, referring to the Celestial spheres of which the 8th holds the stars, and the 9th is where the signs of the zodiac are placed".

Nevertheless, the Zodiac Killer only chose four - death By Gun, By Rope, By Knife and By Fire. He also added a strange symbol to the card that has perplexed many an observer over the years - a symbol that has prompted many suggestions, including cattle branding, a depiction of Mount Diablo and a form of victim running total. The symbol may possibly be a joined Z and F, indicating that Zodiac is claiming fourteen victims, or maybe a joined Z, V and F symbolizing Zodiac Victims Fourteen. However, the four dots accompanying the symbol have always been difficult to explain with any degree of confidence. We have four methods of death chosen by Zodiac, therefore the possibility exists that the four dots are somehow related. What we may be looking for, could be Zodiac Victims Fourteen By Gun, By Rope, By Knife and By Fire. The Zodiac Killer in all likelihood drew inspiration for his 'methods of death'/Paradice and Slaves configuration from the Tim Holt comic book, so why should the strange symbol be any different.        

If we superimpose the strange symbol Zodiac designed over the four 'methods of death' on the wheel of the Tim Holt comic book, the four dots land squarely over the four prescribed methods of death. 

The following is a little background information for people just starting to learn about the Zodiac case.
Approximately seventy minutes after the attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard at Lake Berryessa, the Zodiac Killer made a payphone call to the Napa County Sheriff's Department from a payphone located near the corner of Main and Clinton Streets, just slightly north of the old Sam Kee Laundry Building, now a wine tasting bar called Vintner's Collective. 

The phone call was received by stand-in dispatcher Dave Slaight who heard Zodiac speak the words "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. I'm the one that did it." After completing his message the Zodiac Killer, probably learning from his experience at Blue Rock Springs, failed to hang up the phone. Dave Slaight contacted the Sheriff's Office to inform them of the call, and at approximately 7:45 pm the Napa County Sheriff's Office, unable to trace the call, asked for assistance - and a news director at KVON radio by the name of Pat Stanley sprang into action after hearing about the brutal attack on his police scanner.

He stated "The receiver on the phone the Zodiac used was put down, but not hung up. Technology then was not like it is today. The phone company could only report that the call came from a pay telephone somewhere between Lake Berryessa and Napa. The Napa County Sheriff's Department wanted to find the phone, and fast, so virtually any official with a radio was asked to help. This reporter jumped into action. After a brief stop at the Sheriff's Department, I drove north on Main Street. Driving past a car wash and the historic Sam Key Laundry Building, I spotted a pay phone, but thought the call must have come from closer to the lake, nearly 30 miles away. At the last second, though, I swerved my car toward the phone booth and was shocked to find the receiver off the hook. I used my own two-way radio back to KVON where I instructed the on-duty deejay to call police. They, in turn, told me not to move until officers arrived."  Napa Valley Register.    

The payphone receiver was found laying on the shelf where it had been placed down by the Zodiac Killer. The phone company couldn't trace the call using 'ring-back' as had been the case at Blue Rock Springs. So, when Pat Stanley arrived, how could he be certain that this was the correct payphone used by the Zodiac Killer? This is where Dave Slaight helps out.

In the 2007 Zodiac documentary he stated "As I sat there I could hear voices in the background and traffic. So I called the Sheriff's Office on another line and kept the one line open. The Sheriff's Office had broadcast, I had possibly broadcast, I'm not exactly positive, that this person had left the phone off the hook. As it turned out one of the local reporters for the newspaper had heard this broadcast on his scanner, and so he started driving around the city of Napa to see if he could find the phone, and he was the one who actually saw the phone. He was then yelling "can you hear me, can you hear me," and I could hear the voice, and that's how we located the phone." 

​They were able to confirm that this was the correct payphone because police dispatcher Dave Slaight kept the connection alive, making contact with Pat Stanley. 
However, when Pat Stanley yelled "can you hear me, can you hear me" to Dave Slaight, had he picked up the receiver, accounting for the fresh palm prints recovered by police upon arrival, or was Pat Stanley simply shouting down the phone as it lay on the shelf. Some accounts state that the latent prints were effectively useless because of how they were recovered. One would suspect that responding personnel would have cross examined Pat Stanley as to whether he had handled the phone, thereby eliminating him as the contributor of any latent prints lifted from the receiver.

Why though, had the Zodiac Killer chosen this payphone? It wasn't located directly en route to Vallejo (assuming he lived there), suggesting the killer may have had some previous knowledge of downtown Napa. Perhaps he had previously frequented some establishments in the area of the payphone. The quickest and most direct route from Lake Berryessa to downtown Napa is via California State Route 121. Then you have to break off west and travel 1,100 meters (0.68 miles) away from State Route 121 to find the payphone. The alternative is heading west along Lincoln Avenue or Francis Street, then traveling south on Soscol Avenue, which brings you out on Clinton Street by the payphone.

One would have thought that there were more readily accessible payphones had the killer been traveling directly back to Vallejo. It may suggest he knew of this payphone beforehand and had it earmarked in advance of his Lake Berryessa attack. It certainly provides a good buffer zone from the Springs and Tuolumne payphone in Vallejo - fifteen miles south of this location. But after the payphone call, did the Zodiac Killer continue south and head towards Springs Road for a third time?

The long held narrative of Lake Herman Road is of a couple, David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen, pulling into the Gate #10 turnout and parking on the east side facing the field. They remained parked here throughout, when at sometime after 11:10 pm the Zodiac Killer parked alongside them and forced them from their Rambler with two shots striking the right rear window and headliner of the vehicle. The problem is that none of the eyewitness testimony supports this being the case. It is easy to write off eyewitness testimony because it makes the overall story difficult to explain, however, you do so at your peril. This was the case with Robert Connelly, who testified twice on December 21st 1968 and December 26th 1968. In his first statement the police detailed "a light colored 1960 Rambler S/W that was parked at the gate. It was parked southwest of where we finally found the car. This discrepancy wasn't noted at first." In the second interview "Connelly insists that the Rambler was parked on the bank. That would be the south side. He did not see any person in the car." Detectives concluded this was probably due to the victims having reclined the seat and were in a prone position. The seat was later found in this position at the crime scene. Rather than conforming to the story depicted by Peggy and Homer Your, James Owen and Stella Medeiros, he maintained and insisted the Rambler was parked alongside the west bank, facing south towards the gate/fence. This was turned into a crude sketch.

The dimensions of the sketch are not totally accurate with respect to the road, however, the Rambler has moved position from that described by Peggy and Homer Your, who headed to Benicia only a matter of minutes before Robert Connelly and Frank Gasser.
​
As they passed the turnout Peggy Your would recollect in the police report: "As they were driving west on Lake Herman Road at the turn off to the Benicia Water Pumping Station, she observed a Rambler station wagon parked with front end heading east, there were two Caucasians in the front seat, male and female, when the lights from the car came upon the station wagon, the male sat up in the seat. Mrs Your said it was a cold night and she noticed no frost on the station wagon". She went on to say "at the time she saw the boy sitting in the driver's seat and the girl against his shoulder. When the lights of their car flashed on the Faraday car, the subject in the driver's seat put his hands on the (steering) wheel of the car. Mrs Your had noticed this action. When the Your's returned a few minutes later, after having turned around, subjects in the Rambler were still sitting there in this position. The car was facing east towards the field at the left side of the gate." 

David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen had been parked in the turnout for a considerable period of time at this point- so why would they change the position of the vehicle in the turnout? The Rambler's seats were in the reclined position, after all, they weren't in the turnout playing scrabble - they wanted some privacy, hence their choice of location. Peggy Your described David Faraday sitting up in the vehicle on one occasion, and also described him placing his hands on the steering wheel. Clearly he was disturbed by the headlights and approach of vehicles on Lake Herman Road. The next eyewitness along the road was Robert Connelly, who not only described the change in position of the Rambler, but that he didn't see any occupants in the Rambler. It is perfectly reasonable to assume David Faraday moved the Rambler into a position seeking more privacy, reversing the vehicle across the turnout onto the west bank, facing south. From this location the Rambler would be free from encroaching headlights in either direction. The reason Robert Connelly saw no occupants in the Rambler can be explained by the vehicle being shrouded in relative darkness, or that the couple were in the reclined position. This hypothesis isn't foolproof, but it would explain the movement of the Rambler immediately after Peggy and Homer Your headed to Benicia, and before Robert Connelly passed the turnout for the final time.             

Using the measurements given in the police report, it is not too difficult to discover that the Rambler also changed position from the sketch based on Peggy Your's positioning of the Rambler, to the final sketch of the Rambler as police would have found it.
This lends credence to the Robert Connelly sighting of the Rambler, having reversed across the turnout to the west bank, before returning back to the position found by police (different from Peggy Your's). This contradicts the long held narrative of a static Rambler throughout, and is supported by the actual statements of the eyewitnesses.

The testimony of James Owen, the last person to pass the turnout before the murders, also depicts a Rambler devoid of occupants, but a Rambler flanked by an unknown vehicle. Therefore, we have consecutive eyewitnesses detailing a Rambler without any visual on the occupants inside. If the Zodiac Killer arrived at the turnout from Vallejo, he could easily have approached the Rambler from the rear, as it was sitting on the west bank, thereby forcing David Faraday back across the turnout as he attempted to leave. The turning circle of the Rambler may have required this movement. The Zodiac Killer then pulled up alongside the Rambler and forced the couple to halt their vehicle in its tracks with shots to the window and headliner.
"Lunblad said the bullets were small caliber, that it appeared the Faraday youth stopped his car when a slug was fired through a rear side window of the family station wagon he was driving. Once the vehicle stopped, the two young people were helpless at the hands of the slayer." Vallejo Times-Herald 12/22/68. These shots could be argued unnecessary had the killer immediately parked alongside using the current narrative. Why not immediately point the gun towards the passenger side window? But the James Owen testimony puts a massive spanner in the works.           

James Owen was traveling towards Benicia and reported seeing no vehicles ahead of him.
On the right is a straight section of Lake Herman Road before the ill-fated turnout. It is 765 meters (0.475 miles) of unobstructed road. Traveling at 30 mph (calculated based on police reports of a 19 minute journey), this section of road would take approximately 50 seconds to negotiate. So if Zodiac had traveled from Vallejo in the same direction as James Owen, then he had to be in excess of 50 seconds ahead of James Owen as he pulled into the Gate #10 turnout. Had Zodiac been closer to James Owen, he would have seen the Zodiac Killer's taillights ahead of him.

If the Zodiac Killer had approached the turnout from the Benicia end, then James Owen as he approached from Vallejo would have had unobstructed eyes on the turnout entrance at least 282 meters (0.175 miles) before arriving at it. That is at least 20 seconds viewing time. James Owen never saw the Zodiac Killer enter the turnout, so at a bare minimum, it is reasonable to argue that Zodiac had already been present in the turnout for approximately half a minute prior to James Owen passing it. It may have been much longer.
​
When James Owen passed the turnout he saw no occupants in either vehicle parked on the east side. When you consider the reaction of David Faraday when Peggy Your drove past the turnout earlier: "When the lights of their car flashed on the Faraday car, the subject in the driver's seat put his hands on the (steering) wheel of the car" and "when the lights from the car came upon the station wagon, the male sat up in the seat," it doesn't make any sense whatsoever that a strange vehicle occupied by the Zodiac Killer could actually pull into the turnout alongside the Rambler, and David Faraday doesn't react at all - continuing his romantic tryst in the reclined seats of the vehicle for a bare minimum of 30 seconds. Additionally, why had Zodiac just sat in his vehicle for the corresponding amount of time doing nothing. The obvious thing for Zodiac to have done, would have been to pull up alongside the Rambler and strike immediately - not read a newspaper first. Had he done this, James Owen would have seen the victims on the turnout floor - which he obviously didn't.    

The idea the couple were forced from the vehicle and hidden out of sight makes equally little sense. James Owen reported seeing no car doors on either vehicle open. Had Zodiac shut the Rambler door when he observed James Owen's vehicle approaching and hidden the couple behind the vehicles, why was the Rambler door discovered open by responding police officers? James Owen also never heard the two shots into the Rambler window or headliner, as he claimed to have possibly heard one shot a quarter of a mile past the turnout. If he did hear this shot, why didn't he hear the two shots on his approach? He may have been out of range on his approach to the turnout to hear the initial two shots. But the further he is away, the longer Zodiac did nothing after forcing the couple from the Rambler.

The testimony of James Owen provides a major stumbling block in creating a reasonable narrative for the happenings of December 20th 1968. ​Without the presence of the second vehicle it doesn't help matters, because the couple were back over on the east side of the turnout without being forced there. We would have to believe they moved to the west bank for privacy, as described by Robert Connelly, then decided to move back across the turnout into a similar position (but not the same), as described by Peggy Your.​ The long held narrative of a killer arriving alongside the Rambler on the east bank, exiting his vehicle, shooting at the Rambler and executing the young couple almost immediately after they exited their vehicle, doesn't work. David Faraday and the Zodiac Killer would have displayed at least 30 seconds or more of inactivity upon their encounter in the turnout, and this makes little sense from either perspective.    

On December 20th 1968 the Zodiac Killer, supposedly acting alone, pulled into Gate #10 just off Lake Herman Road and parked his vehicle alongside the Rambler of David Faraday. The headlights of each vehicle were illuminating the field beyond. It was a handful of minutes after 11:00 pm, close to freezing temperatures, with the turnout in near pitch darkness. The Zodiac Killer then fired at least two shots towards the Rambler to force the young teenage couple from the vehicle - Betty Lou Jensen exited the passenger side of the vehicle first, followed immediately by David Faraday. The Zodiac Killer then did something that belied the situation.

From what we are led to believe, the Zodiac Killer was apparently more cautious of the male, dispatching them first, before venting his hatred on the female victim. He shot Michael Mageau while he was effectively trapped in the confines of Darlene Ferrin's Corvair at Blue Rock Springs, kept his distance from Bryan Hartnell at Lake Berryessa, ordering Cecelia Shepard to tie her companion securely, and blindsided Paul Stine at the intersection of Washington and Cherry, execution style from behind. This man is likely not afraid of the male, albeit, he is applying common sense in completing his mission without being disarmed or thwarted. The attack on David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen was committed in near complete darkness. If we are to believe eyewitness James Owen, the Zodiac Killer didn't even park behind the Rambler to illuminate his prey. Fortunately for the Zodiac Killer he came prepared with a small pencil flashlight in which the "center of the beam of light, if you aim it at a wall or ceiling you will see a black or darck spot in the center of the circle of light about 3 to 6 inches across. When taped to a gun barrel, the bullet will strike in the center of the black dot in the light".

What an extremely cunning move using a pencil flashlight - that is, until you walk forward towards your victim - in this case David Faraday. The closer you get, the smaller the circle of illumination becomes. When you finally press the .22 caliber handgun to the left ear of David Faraday the light has effectively become extinguished. The turnout has now, in essence, been plunged back into darkness in the near vicinity. For a killer seemingly wary of the male, this on the face of it, appears rather a foolish choice under the conditions experienced at Lake Herman Road that night. Why not just approach David Faraday and shoot him in the head from 2 or 3 feet away with your extremely accurate pencil flashlight? Why get within contact range and not only risk being disarmed, but lose a visual on Betty Lou Jensen? From a man who carefully crafted a 340 character cipher, took the time to construct a sighting implement for his nighttime weapon and applied caution towards his intended male victims, this seems a rather odd choice to say the least. Unless, it didn't happen this way.  

The Lake Herman Road police report stated "he had been shot in the upper portion of the left ear by a small caliber bullet which penetrated the ear and head. There was what appeared to be powder burns on the left ear where the bullet had entered. There was a large lump on his right cheek and the hair on the left side of his head was matted with blood."

There was absolutely no need for the Zodiac Killer to negate the use of his 'claimed' pencil flashlight and make contact with David Faraday. He supposedly has them herded together just outside the open door of the Rambler and cannot afford for them to be separated into the darkness. The idea of Betty Lou Jensen making a dash for freedom and being targeted accurately by Zodiac at least five times, while David Faraday is still alive and standing behind him, is extremely problematic and unlikely. Seemingly, David Faraday had moved little since being forced from the vehicle. He was found lying perpendicular to the Rambler with his feet just shy of touching the rear right wheel. It appears he was shot, execution style in close proximity to the vehicle.
​
There is every indication based upon the reasoning suggested, that the Zodiac Killer may not have been alone in the turnout that night - he had an accomplice. With two assailants, possibly goading one another into action, the idea of removing the couple from the Rambler is paradoxically not without reason. Why extricate the couple from the vehicle in near pitch darkness when you have them exactly where you want them, just like at Blue Rock Springs Park. The Zodiac Killer never took any liberties with his victims in the comission of his subsequent attacks.                

The Department of Justice, Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation stated 'All bullets submitted were Western copper coated .22 long rifle bullets, although some were damaged, it was possible to determine ALL but Item [1] had 6 right hand groove class characteristics.' Item [1] was removed from the brain of David Faraday. If the bullet removed from David Faraday exhibited different class characteristics to all the others, then it may become problematic from the standpoint of a lone gunman.

If a left-handed, second assailant, had David Faraday secured around the neck alongside the Rambler for the duration of the attack on Betty Lou Jensen, with a gun pressed to his left ear, then the ejected cartridge case could be the one discovered on the front passenger floorboard of the Rambler by responding officers. This cartridge case was missing from the D.O.J. report. If it was to be found, then the story of the Zodiac Killer could turn on its head.  

The sighting of a 'suspicious' male roaming the hillside of Lake Berryessa was reported by Dr. Rayfield & Son and the three young women at different times during the Saturday of September 27th 1969. Two unusual or notable sightings, both at virtually the same location (0.8 miles from the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia), of similar description and separated by approximately 3 hours is certainly food for thought. If this was our suspect, then a comparison of his footprints to the boot prints documented from the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia to the crime scene, could have added considerable weight to the description given by the three young women. Bearing in mind their description led to the first sketch of the possible Zodiac Killer, it shouldn't have been too surprising that the description of the killer at Presidio Heights painted a different picture. The difference in hairstyle and the presence of prescription glasses, probably the result of what had occurred two weeks earlier. The Zodiac Killer stated in the November 9th 1969 'Bus Bomb' letter "I look like the description passed out only when I do my thing, the rest of the time I look entirle different. I shall not tell you what my descise consists of when I kill". His disguise, in the instance of the Paul Stine murder, likely not a disguise at all - just a radical change of his facial appearance because of his widely publicized exploits just 14 days previously.      

In a previous article entitled 'Lake Berryessa-The Two Sightings' the possibility of blood on the shirt of the subject viewed by Dr. Rayfield & Son, along with the 70 minute difference between the supposed 6:30 pm attack and the phone call in Napa, were given as supporting evidence that the man described by Dr. Rayfield & Son was actually the killer.

Some have wondered whether the couple were followed to Lake Berryessa, hence the killer's ability to connect the victims to the correct vehicle. 
According to Ken Narlow in the 2007 Zodiac documentary "There's a lot of activity up at Lake Berryessa during the summer months, but after Labor Day when all the kids go back to school it kind of quiets down. This was September 27th probably 3 and a half weeks after labor day, so it was a very, very quiet Saturday evening out there". Therefore, the ability to connect a vehicle to its owners wouldn't have been that difficult for a killer able to construct ciphers.

According to page 11 of the police report "Miss Marilyn Denise, a student at Pacific Union College, stated that about 5.15 pm Saturday 9/27/69 she was in the Lake Berryessa area with a male companion. She stated at this time they were parked on the Knoxville Road approximately one mile south of the Lake Berryessa Marina. She stated shortly after they parked the vehicle they observed the victims who were known to them, Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard, driving south on Knoxville Road in Bryan's white Karmann Ghia. She stated as the Hartnell vehicle drove by, Bryan waved out of the window and said "Hi John", referring to her companion".

It is clear from this statement that Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard would have parked up by 5:30 pm. Had the killer parked behind them shortly after, with the intention of trailing them to the edge of the lake, we would have to assume there was an approximate 40 minute delay before he first made contact with the couple. But, had the killer ever parked his vehicle to the rear of the Karmann Ghia, by the stile? The killer may have parked 0.8 miles north of the crime scene, hence the two sightings before and after the attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard. It is perfectly conceivable he was traversing the hillside looking for vehicles and victims, rather than driving directly to this parking area. This may explain his confusion regarding the distance he stated in the later payphone call to police dispatcher Dave Slaight.   

The police report states "Reporting officer observed footprints leading from the foot stile to the passenger side of the Karmann Ghia. The footprints were measured and Sgt. T. Butler photographed the impressions. Sgt. Butler also photographed Reporting Officer pointing to the footprint which was to be cast. Said footprint indicating the direction of travel was toward the vehicle". This is important, because if no footprints were leading towards the foot stile (only beyond the stile), then the killer may not have approached the crime scene from the car park, and by inference, hadn't parked his vehicle in this area.

It is extremely likely the killer wore gloves during the attack, as mentioned in the police report - so it would have been rather a strange decision to then drive 27 miles to Main Street and handle the telephone receiver with bare hands. "At 20:50 hours Reporting Officer met Eric Ronback and Reserve Officer Donald Stanley at the Napa Car Wash, Main and Clinton Streets, They stated that they had secured the scene and the area around the phone had been searched for physical evidence. The phone booth was then processed for latent impressions and latent impression lifts #1 thru 35 were taken into evidence. Heavy beads of moisture remained on the impressions photographed".

The Zodiac Killer was almost certainly right-handed, as he had holstered his gun on the right side during the attack on the young couple. Had these been the payphone prints of the killer, then they could have confirmed a right-handed assailant. Although not beyond argument, a right-handed killer would likely handle the telephone receiver with his left hand while dialing with his right. The four fingers of the left hand on the top side of the receiver. In the case of a left-handed person holding the receiver with their right hand, the four finger impressions would be on the opposite side of the receiver. If the killer was wearing leather gloves, this may still have opened up the possibility of confidently tying together this crime with the attacks at Blue Rock Springs and Presidio Heights.           

The leather gloves left in the taxicab of Paul Stine may have been mistakenly forgotten by a previous passenger, nevertheless, the attacker at Blue Rock Springs and Lake Berryessa on both occasions made a payphone call. Had the killer wore the same gloves during these two crimes, it is conceivable that the glove impressions (which are as unique as a fingerprint) could have been matched, along with any latent impressions taken from Presidio Heights - or the taxicab gloves themselves. This could have undeniably tied these three crimes together.

Assuming the physical evidence was retained from Presidio Heights, it shouldn't have been that difficult to detect any traces of airplane cement had the Zodiac used such a defense. "Many criminals often wear gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints, which makes the crime investigation more difficult. Although the gloves act as a protective covering for the wearer's prints, the gloves themselves can leave prints that are just as unique as human fingerprints, thus betraying the wearer. After collecting glove prints, law enforcement can then match them to gloves that they have collected as evidence as well as glove prints retrieved from other crime scenes. In earlier decades, investigators would dust for fingerprints only to find smears and smudges caused by gloves. Often in earlier decades these smudges were ignored because very little of their detail was retrievable. With the advent of latent fingerprint detection in the late 20th century, investigators started to collect, analyze, and record prints left at crime scenes that were created by the wearing of gloves. Glove prints can be as simple as marks caused by seams or folds in fabric of a glove, or they can be as complex as marks left behind by the grain or texture of the fabric of a glove. When gloves are collected as evidence their prints can be taken and compared to glove prints that were taken at crime scenes or from evidence.
Over time, the pores and grain of leather gloves will pick up dirt and grease from surfaces that they have touched or handled. The dirt and grease can in return help to create prints on surfaces. Also, unlined gloves provide the most dexterity but can over time become saturated with the oils and sweat of the wearer's hands. This helps to increase the gripping properties of the gloves but causes the gloves to leave prints. A print that contains the glove wearer's sweat and oils will contain their DNA, which can incriminate them." Wikipedia.

With the 50th anniversary of the Lake Herman Road murders fast approaching, can another form of fingerprint evidence finally snare the Zodiac Killer - or are we heading to an irrevocable dead end?

On September 27th 2018, the third instalment of Dr. Mark Hewitt's trilogy of Zodiac books will be available. 'EXPOSED: The Zodiac Revealed, the final instalment of the Zodiac Serial Killer series, brings to light the truth about the Zodiac. In it, Hewitt presents definitive evidence of the killer’s identity, and names him directly. This incontrovertible work of investigation will confirm the suspicions of many Zodiac investigators and change the public’s understanding of the case forever.' Dr. Mark Hewitt.
Having listened to Dr. Mark Hewitt on numerous occasions, it is refreshing to hear a level-headed approach to the Zodiac case using police reports, FBI files and documents from the standpoint of impartiality. Dr. Mark Hewitt is an intelligent and thoughtful individual, taking a reasoned approach to the available evidence gathered thus far.
However, in the prelude to the final book of the series, he states "definitive evidence of the killer's identity." 'Definitive' can be described as reached decisively and with authority- and while I would take note of Dr. Mark Hewitt above most, he is not the first Zodiac researcher to claim such a discovery. The trilogy is certainly striving for a conclusion, having hunted and profiled the confirmed murderer of five in the previous two instalments. Whether an answer to the Zodiac case is required upon conclusion of the trilogy, is debatable, and dependent on the reader.
Putting aside the current DNA research into the case, I have yet to see any definitive evidence or scientific breakthroughs to conclusively pin down any suspect to the Zodiac Killer mast. Many excellent researchers have come and gone, and while plenty have advocated for a particular suspect, none have achieved even a general consensus within the Zodiac community. This bears testament to how the 'evidence' can be manipulated to reach the conclusion you were originally looking for. This has been achieved, not only in shaping the case around a suspect based on cherry-picking the evidence, but also by finding the suspect's name in the ciphers through less than compelling reasoning. 
Dr. Mark Hewitt states of the Zodiac that he will "name him directly," but, whether such a bold statement holds any sway with a tired and weary Zodiac audience, who have heard such proclamations innumerable times before, we will have to wait and see. I wish Dr. Mark Hewitt every success in his final offering, and have no doubt that it will be a thoroughly well researched and informative addition to the Zodiac mystery. However, my guess, is that the "killer named" in 'Exposed-The Zodiac Revealed'  will certainly not close the book on this case any time soon.          

Officer Richard Hoffman arrived at the Blue Rock Springs parking lot at approximately 12:13 am on July 5th 1969. Shortly thereafter, an ambulance was summoned (arriving at around 12.20 am) and removed the victims from the crime scene for the 10 minute journey to Kaiser Hospital, where Darlene Ferrin was pronounced dead upon arrival at 12:38 am. Here is an extract from page 7 of the police report:

'On initial arrival, RO requested by radio an ambulance & an investigation at the scene & upon returning to Officer Hoffman RO went to assistance of subject on ground, as Officer Hoffman was with a subject that was sitting on left front seat behind wheel that was also injured. This subject later identified as Darlene E. Ferrin, WF, 19, of 864 Beechwood. On preliminary examination of Mageau, it was apparent he had been shot a number of times, he had blood all over his face & blood coming from his mouth as well as his left leg with blood. RO felt it was necessary to question subject inspight of the fact the subject was in great pain. Subject was coherent & RO asked him, "do you know who shot you?" and he replied "no". RO then asked Mageau to give me some type of description & he replied that he can't. RO then asked a series of questions & was told by Mageau that the responsible was a white male, young & heavyset by himself & that he was in a brown vehicle. Questioning continued until the arrival of the ambulance. By this time Sgt's Rust, Lynch and Odiorne had arrived at the scene & RO gave them the information from the victim & gave a description over the air to all units' 

Michael Mageau also told Officer Hoffman that the perpetrator was last seen heading in the direction of Springs Road and Vallejo. By 12:20 am a rudimentary description of the perpetrator, his vehicle, and direction of travel had been given to all units, who likely scoured the area of Springs Road towards Vallejo. The killer couldn't be certain his vehicle wasn't spotted leaving the Blue Rock Springs parking lot and couldn't be certain that both Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau were dead, despite his proclamation in the 12:40 am payphone call to police dispatcher Nancy Slover. With multiple units searching for a description of the vehicle, how likely is it that the Zodiac Killer immediately traveled to the payphone, parked his car outside Joe's Union gas station and made a telephone call to the operator and Vallejo Police Department - a police station situated in extremely close proximity to the payphone. He may have been under the impression that his crime had not been discovered at this juncture, but would it have been the sensible option to remain in his vehicle, with possibly blood transfer on his clothing and the gun still in his possession. If the killer did not have a residence nearby, then he had either driven around or parked up somewhere from midnight to 12.40 am - all while a police search of the area is unfolding around him. There is, however, a new and compelling argument to be had that may dispel the idea of a killer making a payphone call while in the presence of his vehicle - and can be found in the police report and August 4th 1969 'Debut of Zodiac' letter.  

This is an extract from page 13 of the police report:
'7-5-69 A call received at 12.40 AM by unknown citizen "I want to report a double murder. If you will go 1 mile east on Columbus Parkway to the public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They were shot with a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year. Good-Bye" 

'12.47 AM Mrs Johnson PT&T operator called. The above call was traced to a coin-operated telephone at Joe's Union, Tuolumne and Springs Road. The call was traced by Betty MAIN whose supervisor would not allow her to give a statement at this time.' 

This is the recollection of Nancy Slover in the 2007 Zodiac documentary, describing the latter part of the telephone call: 'But he said something like goodbye (drawn out in nature) and he hangs up, and I'm just kind of sitting there thinking "Oh my God."' 

Here is part of Zodiac's August 4th 1969 'Debut' letter:
'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.'

These four sections of text should be enough to pour huge doubt on a killer making a telephone call to police, having driven to the payphone in a "brown car", further bolstering the idea of a killer on foot who lived nearby. The Zodiac Killer, in his own words, places his vehicle right next to the payphone. He corroborates this using the 'negro male', who spotted him and his vehicle when the phone rang as he hung it up. If the Zodiac Killer is in his vehicle as he claimed, it is highly doubtful that once he replaced the receiver he perched himself alongside his vehicle and smoked a cigarette for several minutes with an eyewitness clocking him and his vehicle. He would have "hung the phone up," returned to his vehicle immediately and driven away. This sequence of events couldn't have taken much longer than 10 seconds.

Police dispatcher Nancy Slover, once the Zodiac Killer had hung up, contemplated the gravity of what she had just heard, likely finishing off writing details of the call, "kind of sitting there thinking "Oh my God." She then had to reconnect to the operator to discover the origin of the call - who would then have traced the call to Joe's Union on Springs and Tuolumne. 'Ringback' would have been used to 'dial' back to this payphone, thereby making it ring. Unless this sequence of events could be accomplished in less than 10 seconds using the technology of 1969, the Zodiac Killer would never have heard the phone ringing. He would have returned to his vehicle and been long gone. The ringing payphone was never reported in any newspapers, so the Zodiac Killer had to be within audible range to know of this occurrence. Nancy Slover received the phone call at 12.40 am, and the Zodiac spoke for approximately 30 seconds. The call would surely have ended before 12.41 am, yet, Mrs Johnson (PT&T operator) didn't get back to police, stating the call had been traced, until 12.47 am. That is just over 6 minutes later. If the trace and 'ringback' had occurred almost immediately (in under 10 seconds), why, bearing in mind the gravity of the murderous phone call, did it take 6 minutes to relay this crucial information to police.   

If the PT&T operator had contacted police the moment they had traced the phone call (12.47 am), then this operation would have taken several minutes. If this were the case, then the Zodiac Killer could never have heard the phone ring if he had driven away in his vehicle. If Joe's Union payphone had been rung in a reasonable estimate time of 30-60 seconds by PT&T operators - once Zodiac had hung up - he still wouldn't have failed to reach his vehicle and driven away. However, it is certainly possible he could have heard the payphone ring if he was on foot while walking away towards his residence. He would still be within audible range.

The Zodiac Killer would have rang the operator that morning and asked for the Vallejo Police Department - hence their ability to 'trace' the call. But, once the Zodiac Killer had 'hung the phone up', is it possible that Nancy Slover could finish up her written record of the call, sit there briefly, thinking "Oh my God," contact the PT&T operator, who then facilitated a trace on the call and rang the Joe's Union payphone inside of the time it takes for Zodiac to reach his vehicle and drive away. If the 'ringback' took as little as 30-60 seconds, then it's highly likely the Zodiac Killer heard the payphone ring as he was walking away from the Springs Road and Tuolumne Street intersection on his way home. The 40-45, rather shabbily dressed, negro male now becomes the perfectly described eyewitness, who saw Zodiac in his "brown car by the payphone." What a helpful guy.
 

The most important editorial decision made in the Zodiac Killer case was the publication of an article in the Sunday, San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle newspaper on August 3rd 1969, labeling the murderer of three as the "cipher killer." This, along with the musings of Vallejo Chief Jack E. Stiltz brought about the inception of the Zodiac Killer, who has now become the most infamous serial killer in American history.

Vallejo Chief Jack E. Stiltz stated "he is still not convinced the letters and codes were written by the actual killer although the letters contained details of the crimes that are not public knowledge. The letter writer described the clothing of the victims, position of the bodies, and even the brand names of the ammunition used. Such a knowledge could have been obtained from any witness at the death scenes."  He urged the writer to send in more facts to prove his connection to the crimes. The fact that the killer responded immediately on August 4th 1969 with "In answer to your asking for more details about the good times I have had in Vallejo, I shall be very happy to supply even more material," and introducing himself as the 'Zodiac', is testimony to how this newspaper shaped the very nature of the Zodiac case.
​
Had Jack E. Stiltz not "urged" the killer for more material, it is highly likely this letter would not have been sent - and in view of the absence of any Lake Berryessa communication, the murderer of five would have been just that on October 11th 1969. The serial killer under the pseudonym Zodiac would very likely not have existed. Additionally, this would have left just one set of communications, the July 31st 1969 trinity of letters, the only correspondence mailed by the killer spanning his five confirmed murders. Subsequent to October 11th 1969, the Zodiac Killer mailed copious letters and cards with no confirmed further attacks. This brings us on to the modus operandi of the Zodiac Killer.

The Zodiac Killer committed only four confirmed attacks, so can we confidently attribute an M.O. to a killer with such a small sample size? The best we can say: Is that he attacked couples on three of the four occasions he embarked on his senseless murders.

Some people claim that the Lake Berryessa attack was not the Zodiac Killer based on M.O. Could a case ever be made that the Zodiac Killer had a pattern or M.O. after only two attacks at night? Why shouldn't the Zodiac Killer have worn a hooded costume, bearing in mind this attack was perpetrated in daylight hours in a recreational setting? The argument for an M.O. based on just the Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs Park attacks, appears rather groundless when we consider that no eyewitnesses survived the first attack and the limited sample size of the two known crimes to date.

The fact that he used a knife instead of a gun at Lake Berryessa as his primary weapon of attack is also used to discredit any Zodiac involvement. This argument is equally facile. ​From what we are led to believe, by the evening of September 27th 1969, he had used a knife in 33.33% of his attacks, yet he had attacked couples 100% of the time. Why does the 'knife' argument supersede the 'couple' argument in discrediting this as a Zodiac crime? The proponents of a Lake Berryessa copycat will concede that the M.O. of the Presidio Heights murder would have been equally questioned, had it not been for the subsequent letters and shirt pieces mailed by the killer. If not for this corroborative proof, his third and fourth attacks would have been wholly dismissed, based on just the first two crimes. Why is the Zodiac Killer compelled to stay rigid in his attacks forevermore subsequent to July 4th 1969? Any deviation to his first two attacks, must by inference, be regarded as grounds to rule it out, makes no sense whatsoever. The assumed deviation of Lake Berryessa based on M.O. is weakened and diluted as an argument, when the shooting of Paul Stine occurred in a built-up area in San Francisco, perpetrated within a taxicab on a lone 29-year-old male, with 'souvenirs' taken from the crime scene. If either the Modesto abduction of Kathleen Johns or Lake Tahoe disappearance of Donna Lass were confirmed as Zodiac crimes, then the M.O. of the Zodiac Killer based on just the first two attacks is made even weaker as a credible argument.   

One of the strangest arguments you will encounter, is that the Lake Berryessa attack was perpetrated by a copycat killer. Many reasons will be put forward as to why this wasn't the Zodiac Killer, such as the weapon of choice (the knife), the executioner's costume, the writing on the car door not looking like Zodiac's handwriting, and the fact the perpetrator of the crime didn't identify himself as Zodiac. If these are the arguments given for a copycat killer, then he wasn't really a very good copycat if people don't believe it was Zodiac at Lake Berryessa. It would mean that this person supposedly went out of their way to impersonate the Zodiac Killer, but failed to be a copycat. And if he wasn't a very convincing copycat, it is highly likely he wasn't trying to be one - because he was the Zodiac Killer. You cannot claim this crime not to be Zodiac because it was so different to Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs, while claiming the responsible at Lake Berryessa to be a copycat, mimicking the Zodiac Killer. The two are diametrically opposed. 

The only conceivable M.O. we have are the attacks on couples. If we remove the Lake Berryessa attack from the Zodiac story we effectively remove an M.O. altogether. If we remove, or diminish the M.O greatly, then it being used to argue against the Lake Berryessa attack is heavily compromised. Two crimes are not sufficient to proclaim a pattern. In fact, attacks three and four are different from one another, and both are different from the first two crimes. So Zodiac, it can be claimed, committed three different types of attacks within the four he was credited with.

A modus operandi or MO refers to the method or procedure that a criminal uses when committing a crime.  It comes from the Latin phrase meaning “mode of operation”.  Basically, all criminals have a method of operation that encompasses the habits, techniques, and any peculiarities of behavior.  The method can stay the same, but it will often grow and change over time as the criminal becomes more skillful at committing a specific crime. authorjenniferchase.com.

Can two crimes really be considered a habit? If we take the Lake Berryessa crime out of the canonical crimes, can we confidently claim the Zodiac Killer had formed a habit encompassing Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs, separated by nearly seven months? If we discount the Lake Berryessa attack, then what little method of operation the killer had, has literally vanished - just like he did nearly fifty years ago. 

The best evidence we have in the Zodiac case are not the murders themselves, but the copious letters and cards the killer mailed over many years. They may not have told us who the killer was, however, they can reveal information about the confirmed murderer of five with respect to his use of language - in particular his use of the present and past tense. This was examined in the article 'Zodiac Killer- A Vallejo Resident' which tried to pinpoint the home location of the Zodiac Killer. We attempted to narrow this further by examining his July 5th 1969 payphone call, along with the language he used in the August 4th 1969 'Debut of Zodiac' letter concerning the negro male eyewitness. Although not an exact science, the phone call to police dispatcher Nancy Slover is worth another look.

The murderer of Darlene Ferrin made a phone call 40 minutes after the attack, directing officers from the police station to the parking lot at Blue Rock Springs Park. He made the payphone call from the intersection of Springs Road and Tuolumne Street at 12:40 am, stating "I want to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east...... on Columbus Parkway to the public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They were shot with a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye". The overriding impression from the use of language adopted in the phone call, is that of a killer seemingly unaware that the crime has already been discovered by responding police officers. The use of the future tense, with respect to police that "will go" and "you will find," suggests that the Zodiac Killer is of the opinion that his deadly deed is not yet known to police at this juncture.

​Bearing in mind his directions are from the police station across the road from the payphone, it could be surmised that the killer has either been somewhere in the vicinity of the payphone or police station for at least 30 minutes, in order for him to have drawn such a conclusion. The only way the murderer could assume nobody had responded to the crime scene from the police station, from which he gave his directions, is by a notable lack of activity in responding police units from this location, This could be in the form of visual confirmation or the audible nature of police sirens. But to know this, he has to be close by - either in his vehicle or residence. We will later give reasons to pour doubt on a killer driving from Blue Rock Springs Park to somewhere close to the payphone or police station, to watch the unfolding activity from the confines of his vehicle. This will further corroborate the likelihood of a killer living extremely close to the intersection of Springs Road and Tuolumne Street, or very close to the police station itself.       

The most direct route of travel from the police station to Blue Rock Springs would be to take Solano Avenue to Springs Road and head east to Columbus Parkway. The Zodiac Killer got his distance slightly wrong, but from the perspective of traveling in an easterly direction, he is only 0.4 miles off. His expanded phone call should have read "I want to report a double murder. If you will go 1.4 miles east on Springs Road...... on Columbus Parkway to the public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They were shot with a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye". This should leave little doubt that the Zodiac Killer was directing officers from the police station east towards the crime scene. But why was the killer under the impression his "double murder" had yet to be discovered? This is where the police reports and crime documentaries come in handy.

Officer Richard Hoffman stated: "I was working as a patrol officer in a juvenile division. It was a plainclothes assignment. I wasn't far away, so I turned around and went back out there (Blue Rock Springs parking lot)". Detective Sergeant Ed Rust stated "My partner and I, John Lynch, who was also a detective sergeant, he was the senior of our team. We worked a late shift, three to midnight, something like that, and I was driving the plainclothes car- we were plainclothes detectives- and we were round the downtown area in Vallejo. It was close to midnight, when we heard reports of a possible shooting at Blue Rock Springs Park over the radio and they had dispatched a patrol car, and I told John "you wanna head out there" and he said "no, it's probably just firecrackers or something". It was actually just after 12:10 am, when Debra, Jerry and Roger had rang in the crime to police dispatcher Nancy Slover. Detective Sergeant Ed Rust continued "So, since I was driving, I started meandering in that direction, and a few minutes later I believe we got another report of shots fired, again at Blue Rock Springs, and the officer Dick Hoffman, patrol officer, got there first and said he had a shooting- two people involved. So then, obviously, I put it in high gear and took off and we got out there pretty quickly".

These were the first officers at the crime scene - and it's clear they were both plainclothes officers - one responding from close to the crime scene and the other "meandering" towards the crime scene. Both likely inside the radius of the Springs/Tuolumne intersection and the Blue Rock Springs parking lot, before the gravity of the radio dispatch became evident. Was the Zodiac Killer expecting a massive charge of vehicles from the police station from 12:10 am onward - and when nothing happened - he decided to place a phone call at 12:40 am, instructing police to head to the crime scene?

If he had a visual on the police station from 12:10-12:40 am, one could argue he had seen little activity to suggest the police had discovered the crime in the preceding 40 minutes. Thereby explaining his use of the future tense in his directions to police. Dispatcher Nancy Slover would corroborate this lack of activity in the 2007 'This is the Zodiac Speaking' documentary, stating "At 12:10 am, the first call I received, was from a young white woman in her late teens, and she was really agitated, excited or whatever. She reported that there were kids being shot at at Blue Rock Springs. So, I took the call and I gave it to the dispatcher, and I remember her saying "I don't know who I'm gonna send, because I don't have anybody free".

If the Zodiac Killer had driven to Benicia or Napa, and made the phone call from such a place, would he not have just proclaimed the murders as he did at Lake Berryessa seven weeks later, when he used the phrase "I'm the one that did it", rather than "you will find the kids in a brown car". This is not conclusive proof he was close to the Vallejo Police Station in the 30 minutes after the crime, however, the possibility exists, especially when we consider his August 4th 1969 'Debut of Zodiac' letter, in which he tries to sell us a story. 

The police or newspapers have never confirmed the existence a negro male adult reporting his sighting of Zodiac by the Springs and Tuolumne payphone. Therefore, it must be viewed with great suspicion, a killer offering up confirmation that he was in his "brown" vehicle rather than on foot when making the phone call to Nancy Slover. If the Zodiac Killer lived close to the payphone, or close to the police station, he may have naively been expecting some activity in the area of Solano Avenue or Springs Road in the 40 minutes after his crime - particularly in view of increased activity at Blue Rock Springs Park during the July 4th celebrations. He may have expected his crime to have been discovered by now. 

The area of Blue Rock Springs was considerably more rural than it is today. Despite this fact, would it be conceivable that the Zodiac Killer just parked up somewhere before he made the call to police. He couldn't be certain his vehicle wasn't spotted exiting the Blue Rock Springs parking lot. He was wearing only a blue t-shirt during the shooting, and had leaned into Darlene Ferrin's passenger side window and over the front seat, to fire the final shots at Michael Mageau. This would have greatly increased the likelihood of blood transfer to his clothing from the window, passenger seat and interior of the brown Corvair. The lighter the t-shirt, the more evident the transfer would have become. Taking these factors into consideration, not withstanding he was still in possession of the firearm, it may have been extremely foolhardy not to have headed straight for home, before heading back to the payphone.

Was the Zodiac Killer's apparent knowledge of the lack of police activity around the police station, the reason for the language adopted in the phone call to Nancy Slover? Of somebody, who knew more than he should have known. The journey time to the payphone from the parking lot is approximately 10 minutes. So why not just make the phone call at 12:10 am and be done with it. Or had he planned to watch the unfolding action from a vantage point close to the police station in fond anticipation of police "running around town". Unfortunately for Zodiac, the wait was seemingly too long.