The July 31st 1969 letters to the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner and Vallejo Times-Herald provided information that proved the Zodiac Killer was the murderer at Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs. To all three newspapers he threatened to go on a kill rampage over the weekend if his demands were not. To the San Francisco Chronicle he stated he was going to target "lone people". To the San Francisco Examiner he stated he was going to target "people who are alone at night". To the Vallejo Times-Herald he stated he was going to target "stray people or coupples that are alone". When he addressed the San Francisco newspapers he promised to target "lone or alone people", but to the Vallejo Times-Herald he opted to use the words "stray people" and "couples". Believing that his first two attacks on couples were committed in Vallejo, it really isn't surprising that he only used the word "couples" when writing to the Vallejo newspaper. Did this suggest his knowledge of courting couples and the areas they frequented was greater in Vallejo rather than San Francisco, because he lived there? 

But why did he opt to use the word "stray" when addressing the Vallejo Times-Herald​, rather than just "alone" or "lone". Stray can mean wander away from the correct path or from a given area, but is commonly used to refer to an animal. A stray sheep symbolizes a person who has wandered from their faith, community, or moral path, representing vulnerability and separation, but also the focus of divine compassion and pursuit, as shown in the Biblical parable where a shepherd joyfully retrieves the single lost sheep. Did the word "stray" leak into the Zodiac Killer's thought process when writing to the Vallejo newspaper because of what occurred on December 20th 1968, and the individual the Zodiac may have originally targeted? Who would have been a person off the beaten path in solitude? Somebody who would have been in pitch darkness, known to frequent a particular remote location (possibly with a schedule), that required the Zodiac Killer to attach a pencil flashlight onto his gun to facilitate a hunt in the wilderness. And more importantly, a relatively safe area for a first kill, where gunshots are a familiar sound to the residents nearby. 

The driverless white Chevrolet Impala was noticed in the Lake Herman Road turnout at 9:00 pm by Robert Connelly and Frank Gasser on their way to the Marshall Ranch. The white Impala was also noticed in the turnout at 10:00 pm by sheepherder Bingo Wesner, who was tending his sheep in the adjoining field, and possibly by Helen Axe at 10:15 pm and 10:30 pm, who after reading publicity surrounding the murders, likely assumed she had seen the Faraday Rambler. But for a few minutes, when William Crow was parked in the turnout (and chased by a mystery vehicle) sometime between 9:30 pm and 10:00 pm, the Chevrolet Impala could have been in the turnout for upwards of 90 minutes on at least two separate occasions.

​The question being, did it arrive a third time carrying the Zodiac Killer to the murder of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen? The individual driving this vehicle had obviously ventured beyond the roadside for at least 60 minutes (and upwards of 90 minutes) on a freezing night in December, in total darkness. Routine enquiries by police on local residences could have easily eliminated this person as doing anything suspicious, but we have heard nothing about this individual being cleared from the investigation in 57 years. If the person driving the Chevrolet Impala wasn't there on business or visiting friends, what other reason could there be to venture into the fields and hillsides in such inclement weather, other than "hunting"?          

When we first learn of the Zodiac Killer story it's easy to become controlled by the narrative that has gone before, of a killer that arrived at the turnout, pulled alongside the Faraday Rambler, immediately left his vehicle and began the attack to its conclusion, where Betty Lou Jensen received five shots to her back as she is running away, square on to the killer. Of course, the preponderance of the evidence doesn't point to a killer pulling alongside the Rambler when arriving at the turnout, with the killer failing to immediately vacate his vehicle and kill the couple in one continuous sequence, if we believe the testimony of James Owen. And the autopsy proves beyond any doubt that Betty Lou Jensen was not square on to the killer when he began firing at her. But hey, why let facts get in the way of a generational story.

We have an unaccounted for white Chevrolet Impala with an occupant that has seemingly never been traced, parked in a remote turnout in freezing weather, who was confirmed present in the same location twice, as testified by Robert Connelly and Bingo Wesner, within (or close to) one hour before a double murder. A double murder that wouldn't have required an illuminated gunsight had he initially parked behind the Faraday Rambler and prevented it from escaping the turnout. However, when you leave the confines of the turnout on foot at night, additional lighting would have been an absolute must. When we consider the illuminated gunsight mentioned by the Zodiac Killer and the reference to hunting humans rather than wild game in the forest, it brings the unoccupied white Chevrolet, parked next to rolling hills and woods, into sharp focus. High hills and trees that the Zodiac Killer pointed out didn't produce silhouettes on the horizon, and necessitated the use of his pencil flashlight. Everything the Zodiac Killer said here is true, but only for a killer standing in the surrounding fields and trees, not for somebody looking for victims in the turnout with the use of a vehicle. A fact that the Zodiac Killer admitted when finishing his "Debut of Zodiac" letter on August 4th 1969, by stating "there was no need to use the gun sights".

​The.confidence that the Zodiac Killer exhibited when proclaiming "Bullshit that area is surrounded by high hills and trees. What I did was tape a small pencel flash light to the barrel of my gun". suggested he was more than familiar with that area. He knew that he required a sighting flashlight to roam those hills, but he must also have known he didn't need a sighting flashlight for the turnout, which he ultimately admitted to in his communication. So the fact he claimed he fastened a pencil flashlight onto his gun prior to venturing out that night, strongly indicates he knew he was heading for the fields beyond the Gate #10 turnout that night, rather than cruising around looking for uncertain victims in random turnouts.

A local sheepherder with a routine, in the middle of nowhere, where heard gunshots were nothing out of the ordinary, seems like the perfect victim for a first murder. The stumbling block that may have scuppered the Zodiac Killer's plans, could have been the presence of Robert Connelly and Frank Gasser with their guns and dogs, who chose to go raccoon hunting in the very same area that night. Crossing paths with Bingo Wesner and a safe avoidance of the two hunters probably never materialized for the Zodiac Killer on December 20th 1968. But maybe everything fell into place on his third attempt, with the arrival of the unfortunate David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen into the turnout on their first date. The Zodiac Killer, having failed in his original mission of targeting "stray people in the night", was presented with the conundrum of going home or murdering the young teenagers from Vallejo. The rest is history. 

On November 7th 2025, respected Zodiac researcher Cragle, sent me close-up images of the dividing panel (B-pillar) from the taxicab of Paul Stine, showing bloody prints in the image below. The B-pillar is located between a vehicle's front and rear side glass, where it serves as a structural support of its roof. The average male hand width (across the widest part of the palm) is about 3.5 inches (8.9 cm). The distance between the extreme prints on the dividing panel measure about 3 1/4 inches or 8.3 cm, approximating that of closed fingers from the hand (excluding the thumb). We can't learn a great deal from this, but we can assert that these were almost certainly the fingerprints of the Zodiac Killer, who was witnessed by the teenagers across the road to have opened the driver side door from the outside. 

The extended recollection of the teenagers read "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 only way the Zodiac Killer can create the leverage to pull Paul Stine from his fallen position to upright, was to either (A) brace his right hand upon the central fixed dividing panel of the taxicab, and use his left hand to lever the body of Paul Stine back into the seated position, or (B) grip the upright post of the left driver door frame and use his right hand to upright Paul Stine. The location of the bloody fingerprints are consistent with the actions of Zodiac as observed by the eyewitnesses that night. These were the prints that Officer Armond Pelissetti claimed he saw as he approached the taxicab, once he had escorted the kids back to the alcove of their house. Of course, Zodiac researchers with suspects will do anything to claim these are not the bloody fingerprints of the killer, because any evidence that has the power to rule out their suspect has to be vigorously rubbished. They will fight tooth and nail to dismiss any fingerprints and DNA found in the Zodiac case. 

​The bloody fingerprints shown above are not on the central (middle section) of the pillar, and are listed as "OUTSIDE REAR POST OF LEFT FRONT DOOR". It is with certainty that these bloody fingerprints were noted on the upright post of the driver side door. In other words, the right side of the glass on the driver's door (as shown below). This being the case, suggests that these fingerprints should be from the left hand of the Zodiac Killer. With his left hand pulling the door into his body, he can acquire the leverage and use his dominant right hand to pull up the body of Paul Stine. It would have been easier to brace the right hand on the fixed central pillar and use the left hand to upright the stricken taxicab driver, but this apparently wasn't the methodology used by the Zodiac Killer. The only other plausible option for the location of these fingerprints, is that he used the fingertips of his right (or left) hand to push the driver door shut by using this upright post of the left door. However, this would have been totally unnecessary, with multiple other more sensible ways to achieve the same task. 

The Robbins kids may have observed the Zodiac Killer wiping down the taxicab driver door area, but this doesn't necessarily mean he managed to erase all of the fingerprints he deposited that night. He may have wiped the taxicab inadequately, or failed to wipe this section of the door post. This was an extremely dynamic situation in reduced lighting, with the pressure of time and the impending arrival of law enforcement - so it really isn't that surprising that the Zodiac Killer wasn't able to remove every fingerprint he left at the scene of the murder.  

HOW THE SHIRT PIECE WAS REMOVED: PART ONE PART TWO

On September 25th 1990, the Zodiac Killer mailed the Celebrity Cypher to the Vallejo Times-Herald, very likely responding to the Sally Jessy Raphael TV Show featuring Robert Graysmith and Pam Huckaby, which aired a few weeks earlier. This postcard, written largely in code, suggested an introductory message, a name and a return address  But before the name (or more likely a pseudonym) of 13 characters (5 and 8) we have three coded words of 2, 4 and 2 characters, very reminiscent of the April 20th 1970 "My name is" letter.

​It is with little doubt that this was the intention of the sender. This meant that the ciphertext character "M" was represented by itself, and the fourth word in the message sequence of seven words, was likely two letters in length (one hidden beneath the stamp). If this had been designed as only one word (either "I" or "A") then the next word in the sequence becomes problematic. Bearing in mind who appeared on the Sally Jessy Raphael Show, it would be reasonable to conclude that the sender was addressing Pam Huckaby by coding the words "To Pam from me, my name is" or "To you from me, my name is". Once the letter M's were placed into the cryptogram below, the introductory message becomes very limited. 

Just after the television show, the Vallejo Times-Herald released a comprehensive newspaper article about Pam Huckaby, mentioning that she had received cryptograms and zodiac signs at her home in Antoch, entitled "Zodiac victim's sister says killer is after her". So it's not surprising that a few weeks later the Vallejo Times-Herald received a cryptographic correspondence from the killer, that may have included her name.

In my recent articles I have presented a case that the Zodiac Killer jokingly gave his name as "ME ⊕" ("ME" followed by the Zodiac crosshairs) in his April 20th 1970 letter. And here in 1990, we possibly have a message of "To Pam from me, my name is" or "To you from me, my name is". The Zodiac Killer could have been jokingly referring to himself as "me" yet again, followed by "my name is", to remind us what was present in the code on April 20th 1970.

​A few months later, somebody masquerading as the "Scorpion" mailed several cryprograms to John Walsh, host of the TV show "America;s Most Wanted", one of which was headlined by "Hi, Remember me". Therefore, we have two sets of cryptographic mailings in response to two TV shows in 1990 and 1991 (just like the Zodiac Killer did when he responded to the Jim Dunbar TV show in 1969), and mailed the 340 cryptogram to the San Francisco Chronicle. Three TV shows and three cryptograms, headlined by "I hope you are having lots of fun trying to catch me", "To Pam from me, my name is" or "To you from me, my name is" (maybe). and "Hi, Remember me".

EXTRA READING:  Four and Half Years of Me and The Identity in the Halloween Card 

​Many Zodiac researchers have contemplated whether the Z13 code mailed on April 20th 1970 contains a name or meaningful message, but extensive analysis of this cipher appears to show that neither are hidden beneath the ciphertext supplied by Zodiac. The first thing we notice when looking at the 13-character code is its symmetry. We have three alphabetical characters at the beginning and end. We have three circled 8's at positions 5, 7, and 9. And we have two non-alphabetical symbols four positions in from either side.

​This code can contain a valid name or message as shown by cryptographer David Oranchak. However, if the Zodiac Killer provided a genuine message or name of 13 plaintext characters, which creates the ciphertext scenario of three 8's, two A's, two M's and two N's, it must be considered highly unusual that when these ciphertext characters are placed alongside the alphabet (A through M) and we count the alphabetical difference between the two rows (as shown below), it produces yet further symmetry. Positions 1 to 4 and 9 to 13 gives us "03110" twice. The middle five positions gives us "05050". Therefore, we have a symmetrical ciphertext offering by Zodiac on April 20th 1970, that generates further symmetry in number form when placed alongside the alphabet.

​Using an identical technique in the 340 cipher, we took the pseudonym ZODIAC and placed it above the "near Zodiac" in the form of ZO∆AIK on the 20th row, and counted the alphabetical difference between the two rows. This generated the numbers 000888 that formed the basis of the three 8's in the symmetrical Z13 code, which produced further symmetry when placed alongside the alphabet. This was a 13-character code almost certainly inspired by the October 22nd 1969 newspaper article by Will Stevens, in which Dr. D. C. B. Marsh challenged Zodiac to give us his name in cipher form. An article in which Dr. Marsh invoked the name of Edgar Allan Poe, probably hoping that Zodiac would research and use cipher techniques outlined by Poe. The essay by Poe entitled "A Few Words on Secret Writing" contains all the ingredients used in the decryption of the 340 cipher and the design of the 13-character code, including the scytale method of decryption, the splitting of the alphabet, A throgh M and N through Z, and the cipher wheel, which finds the potential message in the Z13 code.
​
See    Cracking the Crackproof.   Same Methodology Between Z340 and Z13.   Effectively a 353 Character Cipher.
​

For the Z13 code to contain a random and/or spontaneous message, we would have to believe that all of the above scenarios were created by sheer happenstance. The only reasonable way the Zodiac Killer could have formulated these interlocking occurrences between the 340 cipher, 13-character code and Edgar Allan Poe, is if his message on April 20th 1970 was anything but random. It had to be a decipherment of simplicity, in which the majority of his ciphertext characters were chosen for the sole purpose of manufacturing this web of symmetry, not to create a plaintext message (or name) of 13 characters. 

The only constraints the Zodiac Killer faced when constructing the Z13 code, was beginning it with the ciphertext character A and ending it with the ciphertext character M, to allude to Poe. It was then a simple task of adding the three circled 8's, along with the ciphertext character E and the crosshairs, in such a position that a right shift of eight from each circled 8 (across and around the code) created the message of "ME ⊕". A message that was further explored in Four and Half Years of Me and The Identity in the Halloween Card. ​The A, M and three circled 8's all produced a numerical shift of zero when placed alongside the alphabet, allowing the Zodiac Killer to add the "E" and "⊕" (to complete the message) and manufacture the remainder of the code with symmetry in mind.

EXTRA READING: THE DEMON INSIDE OF ME 

On October 30th 1966, Cheri Jo Bates was brutally murdered alongside the Riverside City College library by a knife-wielding Caucasian male, whose identity remains heavily clouded in mystery to this day. Numerous individuals have been investigated by law enforcement and suspected by amateur sleuths, but there is one man, known only by the alias "Bob Barnett", who has received more attention than anyone. A student at the Riverside City College, "Bob Barnett" came under the spotlight for the murder of Cheri Jo Bates because of his "close friendship" with the 18-year-old college girl, and whisperings that he had admitted to killing her. Hair and skin cells were retrieved from the fingernails and right thumb of Cheri Jo Bates and later tested for DNA, which proved negative in a comparison to the Riverside Police Department's prime suspect, "Bob Barnett". Despite this evidence appearing to rule him out of the murder, it seems to have done little to extinguish or dampen the belief of some police officers to the guilt of their long-time suspect.    

The Zodiac Killer has long been thought to be the killer of Cheri Jo Bates by many researchers, who threatened the Bay Area and once promised to "pick off the kiddies as they come bouncing out" of a school bus in a letter, mailed just two days after the murder of Paul Stine on October 11th 1969. The Zodiac connection to Riverside hit the newspapers on November 16th 1970 in an article by Paul Avery. Three days later, on November 19th 1970, a sniper (believed to have fired from across the street, behind a wall) took one shot at "Bob Barnett" as he left his home in Riverside and prepared to enter his vehicle. Fortunately for "Bob Barnett", the sniper missed their target and he managed to race inside his home and call the police. The Riverside Daily Press newspaper reported that the driver side window of his car was shattered, with police retrieving a .22 slug from the garage door. Although the timing of this shooting is unusual, it is very unlikely to have anything to do with the Zodiac Killer, and may be connected to his activities of a more current nature. I have obscured the real name and address of the prime suspect in the murder of Cheri Jo Bates from the newspaper article below. This information, along with the newspaper cuttings, were supplied to me by Zodiac researcher "NickDotterbart", who has done extensive work on this subject.    

"Bob Barnett" was currently awaiting trial on burglary charges, connected to a burglary ring masterminded by Riverside restauranter, Harold Fine. Owner of The Green Turtle restaurant just a short walk from the home of "Bob Barnett", Harold Fine made the unusual claim he got involved with stolen goods because it would enable him to identify the murderer of Cheri Jo Bates, who he had known as a patron of The Green Turtle. The restaurant address was 9356 Magnolia Ave, approximately 2 1/2 miles from the home of Cheri Jo Bates at 4195 Via San Jose.

In a transcript from the Inland Empire magazine in 2008 (see below), Harold Fine revealed that "Bob Barnett" had admitted to him that he had killed Cheri Jo Bates. The reasoning being rejection, and the recent news that Cheri Jo Bates had become engaged to Dennis Highland. However, this obviously cannot be substantiated, and must be taken with a large pinch of salt from The Green Turtle owner. 

The validity of "Bob Barnett" as a suspect in the murder of Cheri Jo Bates depends on many factors. We have to weigh up the DNA evidence ruling him out as being the donor of the hairs clutched in the blood-soaked hand of Cheri Jo Bates, with the murderous claims of friends and informants whose utterances cannot possibly be corroborated, and the notion of the Zodiac Killer being responsible, who is distinct and separate from the individual known as "Bob Barnett".

Recently Dion Walker, a diligent Zodiac researcher, acquired 55 FBI files concerning the fingerprint evidence in the case of Cheri Jo Bates, including documents pertaining to the Riverside Police Department's prime suspect, "Bob Barnett". With the permission of Dion Walker, I have placed a link to all the 55 FBI files below, which you are free to share. Also, a big thanks to "NickDotterbart" for his contribution to this article. .

                   ACCESS TO THE 55 FBI FILES OF CHERI JO BATES  

One puzzling aspect of the Zodiac Killer's 340 cipher is his decision to separate the encipherment into three parts of 9, 9 and 2 rows, rather than simply dividing the cipher into two parts. The third section of two rows didn't follow the same technique as the other two parts. Therefore, one could conclude that it was important for the Zodiac Killer to separate the cipher into two equal parts of 9 rows, leaving the final 2 rows for an entirely different purpose, such as his signature on the 20th row. If we assert that the "near Zodiac" signature (ZO∆AIK) on the final row was a deliberate choice and not accidental, it may follow that this misspelling of "Zodiac" was purposely designed as a key.    

When we place the correct spelling of "ZODIAC" above the "near Zodiac" of ZO∆AIK, and count the alphabetical difference, the Z to Z requires a 0 shift, the O to O requires a 0 shift, and the D to ∆ requires a 0 shift, giving us three zero's. But when we look at "IAC" to "AIK", we require three shifts of 8, giving us three eight's (which when combined, gives us the three circled 8's seen in the Z13 code). Therefore, we have a 340 cipher split downwards into three parts of 9, 9 and 2 rows, with a "near Zodiac" signature on the 20th line that easily gives us three circled 8's.

​If we apply the same technique across the Z13 code, and cycle around the ciphertext to the 9th, 18th and 20th positions (9, 9 and 2), it again completes the 888 signature (shown below)..The 20th position of the Z340 and Z13 puzzles both highlight the 888 signature of Zodiac. When we apply the three shifts of 8 found by comparing ZODIAC to ZO∆AIK into the Z13 code, we get "ME ⊕" ("ME" followed by the Zodiac crosshairs)​. Two of the signatures used by Zodiac to identify himself in his letters. This has been pointed out previously by the use of "Me" as his signature within the Exorcist letter on January 29th 1974.  

In David Oranchak's excellent YouTube video entitled Let's Crack Zodiac, the 340 Cipher is Solved, he stated "The message doesn't really say a whole lot, it's more of the same attention seeking junk of Zodiac. We were disappointed that he didn't put any personally identifying information in the message, but we didn't expect him to. Maybe his name really is in the thirteen character cipher sent almost six months after the 340. Unfortunately there is not much hope of confirming any solutions for such a short cipher without getting lucky and discovering new evidence". 

I believe the personally identifying information in the 340 cipher is the "near Zodiac" on the 20th line, that gave us the three circled 8's present in the Z13 ciphertext, which produced "ME" and the "crosshairs" by employing a simple right shift of eight. The Zodiac psuedonym has been shown to be inextricably linked to the three 8's. thereby giving us "Zodiac", "Me" and the "crosshairs" in the Z13 code. The Z13 code is believed by many Zodiac researchers to be too short to solve, but by combining it with the 340 cipher it effectively becomes a 353 character cipher, where traveling 9, 9, and 2 downwards and across in both Z340 cipher and Z13 code, ultimately finds the key of 888. Which we can then apply using three right shifts of eight to reveal two further identities of "ME" and "⊕".


FURTHER READING: SAME METHODOLOGY BETWEEN Z340 AND Z13
                                     FOUR AND A HALF YEARS OF "ME"

On January 29th 1974, the introduction of "I saw + think "The Exorcist" was the best saterical comidy", arrived three days after the Golden Globe ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on January 26th 1974, winning four awards for "Best Film", "Best Director", "Best Supporting Actress" and "Best Screenplay". However, the germination of the Exorcist letter may have begun after the January 11th 1974 Paul Avery article in the San Francisco Chronicle, which told of the audience reaction to "The Exorcist" movie at the Northpoint Theater at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, entitled "Weird Goings-On at the Movies". In the 2 1/2 weeks subsequent to January 11th 1974.

Beginning two years ago and culminating with fourteen exorcisms in the latter part of 1973, Catholic priest, Rev. Karl Patzelt, director of the Catholic Russian Center and pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Church, attempted to rid the "curse of Satan" from a young family home in Daly City, San Mateo, California. This story in the newspapers and on television overlapped the release of The Exorcist movie, which was hit the cinemas on December 26th 1973.

​Two weeks after the film release, Paul Avery wrote the above article for the San Francisco Chronicle on January 11th 1974 about the William Friedkin movie, that focused on the exorcism of a young 12-year-old girl in the family home by two Catholic priests. Later that day, just before 11 pm, somebody identifying as the Zodiac Killer phoned the newspapers and police and stated that they had killed a woman and placed her body in a Daly City church, resulting in immediate searches that found nothing. We appeared to have the convergence of several themes amounting from this. The numerous attempts at exorcism by Rev. Karl Patzelt in Daly City that somewhat mirrored the film, a newspaper report about The Exorcist movie by Paul Avery, who wrote about the Zodiac Killer for many years, and a threat from a claimed Zodiac Killer, centered around churches in Daly City, with the Catholic church likely being the focus of all three   

​Eighteen days after the Paul Avery article, the Zodiac Killer mailed the Exorcist letter on January 29th 1974, threatening that he would kill again if his letter was not printed in the newspapers. A letter probably aimed at Paul Avery, to whom he had contacted by name twice before and never mentioned the pseudonym "Zodiac" in either of those communications also. What was even more curious, is that this latest letter was mailed from San Mateo County (or Santa Clara County), which contains Daly City, the second-most populous city behind San Mateo - and the focus of numerous exorcisms by Rev. Karl Patzelt at the back end of 1973.

​The "Zodiac" phone caller on January 11th 1974 claimed he had killed a woman, with the Exorcist letter stating "If I do not see this note in your paper, I will do something nasty, which you know I'm capable of doing". Although we do know the Zodiac Killer was capable of killing, it appeared as though the claim on January 11th 1974 had no validity, and was simply a case of issuing fake information for "police to run all over town with, as one might say, And giving the cops some busy work to do to keep them happy".

The exorcism case Father Patzelt was involved in was widely covered in January 1974, with articles appearing in various newspapers like The New York Times on January 25th 1974 and the Napa Valley Register.on January 21st 1974  The event was frequently compared to the popular novel and film The Exorcist. The phrase "work of the devil" was used in newspaper headlines and captions in 1974 to refer to the real life exorcism case he performed in Daly City, California, which gained significant media attention at the time. There were many newspaper articles reporting this story just prior to the Zodiac Killer's Exorcist letter on January 29th 1974, including the Catholic Northwest Progress on January 25th 1974. One notable statement was uttered by Father Patzelt in many of these newspapers, which read "The activity lasted approximately 22 hours a day, seven days a week for 20 weeks. It would be impossible to relate all the nasty tricks the devil plagued them with". A matter of days later, the Zodiac Killer mailed the Exorcist letter (possibly from San Mateo County/Daly City) and wrote "If I do not see this note in your paper, I will do something nasty, which you know I'm capable of doing". This coming just 18 days after a "Zodiac Killer" phoned the police and press claiming a dead woman in a Daly City church. Was the Zodiac Killer suggesting it wasn't only the devil that could do "nasty" things?​

      HERE IS THE FULL TRANSCRIPT THAT APPEARED IN MANY NEWSPAPERS 

SAN FRANCISCO (NC)— Exorcism is a horror now being experienced vicariously by movie goers all over the country, but to a suburban family here it has all been very real and very horrible. The lives of the young Daly City couple and their baby had been so wrecked by two years of bizarre happenings, attributed to the devil, that last summer they sought the help of Church authorities here who sanctioned a solemn exorcism. A number of exorcism services were held between September 4 and 18. Since that time the family is said to have experienced a return to peace with no undue occurrences being reported. Details of such exorcisms are normally kept secret by the Church. However, national interest in the subject, generated by the movie ‘“The Exorcist’”’, has refocused attention on the Daly City events. A recent Jesuit newsletter disclosed that an exorcism had been performed. Now the full story has been told by the exorcist, Jesuit Father Karl Patzelt, a Byzantine rite priest who heads the Russian Catholic Center and who is also pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Church here. The name of the family involved is being kept secret to protect their privacy. It can be disclosed, however, that the father is a 29-year-old transportation worker. His wife is 26 and they have a two-year-old baby. The father was born in Britain and was brought up an Orthodox Jew. He has lived in the San Francisco Bay area for about 12 years. His wife was born a Catholic. Since last year's experiences with what he genuinely believes was the devil, the husband has been converted to Catholicism. According to Father Patzelt, the couple had suffered ‘‘devilish attacks and temptations for over two years.” They spent weeks explaining their problem to all kinds of persons whom they felt might help them, but they met nothing but skepticism, even from their own local parish priest. Yet according to a statement issued by the pastor, associate pastor and deacon assistant at St. Andrew’s Community, the couple’s home parish, reports that the parish would not help or could offer no solutions are *‘grossly inaccurate.” The parish staff said that the priests “plus two law enforcement officers and numerous others” investigated the case for weeks in 1972. But the results of the investigation left “a multitude of unresolved questions", which, while not ruling out the possibility of the supernatural presence of evil, indicated that ‘‘the situation is not as clear cut as present news reports describe.” The statement by the pastor, Father James M. Moher, associate pastor Father James Dillon Riley, and Rev. Mr. Thomas M. RolYe asserted that the question ‘‘is not whether there was an exorcism—for Father Patzelt has made clear that there was ... the concern in our minds is the evidence which we accumulated over a series of "weeks, and the decision which we reached as a consequence of this evidence.” Meanwhile the prioress of a Marin County Carmelite Monastery had come to know the suffering family and she introduced the couple to Father Patzelt. On July 17, 1972, the Jesuit visited their home and was shown evidence which the couple called the work of the devil. “There were broken windows, damaged walls, ceilings and doors dented and scraped, caused by flying objects such. as boots, knives, a poker and any other objects the devil could grab,” Father Patzelt said. ‘‘There were many articles burnt in the house. The rugs, wallpaper, curtains, chairs—even a dress being worn by the wife caught fire while she walked down the hall.” The priest said he asked the couple why they didn’t move out of the house. They told him, “We have already moved twice. It follows us.” The family had moved into the Daly City home in November, 1972, hoping that their troubles would end. However six months later—on May 27 of last year—the ‘‘devilish phenomenon” started all over again. They told Father Patzelt that every night the disturbances would last until about 4 am, leaving them with only two hours sleep a night. They had to get up for work at 6 am. “Often, their arising was not of their own will, the devil made sure they had little sleep,” the exorcist said. ‘“‘During the day there was no peace either. The activity lasted approximately 22 hours a day, seven days a week for 20 weeks. It would be impossible to relate all the nasty tricks the devil plagued them with. Also the physical and mental anguish they suffered was far beyond human endurance. Among the devil’s tricks they told me about were a pot of soup disappearing from the stove while boiling hot; one or the other of the couple would be knocked down, often unconscious, and the young husband would be constantly pestered at work. Objects kept disappearing—especially those with great sentimental value to the couple. Sometimes they would reappear, but often damaged beyond repair. “The couple could not keep food in the house for it, too, would disappear. The wife related how she would prepare dinner for the family, but when they would sit down to enjoy their meal, it had vanished.”. Three day's later, July 20, Father: Patzelt told what he found out for: himself when he visited the home: “I was absorbed in conversation: with the couple and their parents in the living room when the wife excused herself to get the baby ready for bed,” the exorcist said. “On her return to the living room she was pushed to the ground with her arm extended into a strong rigid position. ‘Where is my wedding ring,’ she asked when she got up. ‘lt's gone. He took it". As always in the case, everyone tried to dismiss the incident and went back to the conversation at hand. A short interval elapsed when all smelled something burning. Everyone ran into the kitchen where they found a paper bag, standing on the floor for trash, had burned down and was reduced to smoldering ashes. No sooner had they attended to this when the little boy started crying in his crib. The mother stated that "he always cries like that when he is being disturbed". “I led the way,” Father Patzelt said, “with the others close behind. When we entered the little boy’s room, we found him in the corner of his crib obviously very frightened. The cause of his fright was the fact that his little rocking chair had been lifted into his crib. It had been on the floor.”

The Zodiac Killer, having witnessed the young girl in the film being possessed by a "thing" inside of her, as he had claimed several years earlier by writing "help me" to Melvin Belli three times, must have been influenced by the writing on Regan's torso in one particular gruesome scene, when the words "help me" appeared on the young girl's skin, as her inner soul pleaded to be free from the force that had invaded her body.

​And you wonder why the Zodiac Killer, who mentioned The Exorcist movie in this letter, changed his signature to "Me" at the foot of the communication. He obviously altered his signature for a reason. The immediate correspondence after the Melvin Belli letter, stating "help me" three times, was mailed on April 20th 1970 and has been shown to contain the signature of "Me" by employing a simple right shift of eight. 

​But after mocking the 1973 movie by writing "I saw + think "The Exorcist" was the best saterical comidy", the Zodiac Killer completely switched to the Japanese themed theatre production of The Mikado by adding a verse from Tit-Willow (and the Japanese style symbolism). Why would the Zodiac Killer introduce this apparent dichotomy into his communication? In one scene from The Exorcist movie, Father Damien "Demis" Karras, one of the main protagonists in the 1973 film, enters the language laboratory with his tape recordings of Regan's "demonic voice" for analysis. Above the door is the word TASUKETE written on a poster. This is a Japanese word meaning "Help Me" or "Save Me". This poster foreshadows the "Help me" message that appears on Regan's body in the next scene of the film.

​The Zodiac Killer added this verse from Tit-Willow by introducing it with "yours truley", The signature of "yours truly" simply means "me". The next line of the Tit-Willow verse, which the Zodiac Killer didn't write on the Exorcist letter, contained the phrase "My name is". An introduction that gave us the 13 character code on April 20th 1970, which has been shown to contain the signature of "Me", just like the Exorcist letter, which featured The Exorcist movie and "help me" on the girl's torso, that mimicked the Melvin Belli letter on December 20th 1969.

In The Exorcist (1973), the phrase "me" relates to the demonic entity possessing young, Regan MacNeil, who claims to be the devil ("I am the devil himself!") and often uses "me" in threats, demands, and insults, particularly toward her mother, Chris MacNeil, and the priests during the harrowing exorcism rituals, revealing the entity's powerful, blasphemous identity. It's a core part of the possession, highlighting the internal struggle and the demon's contempt for humanity. 

• Identity: The demon (using Regan's voice) asserts its divine status, saying, "I am the devil himself!".
• Blasphemy: It uses "me" in conjunction with obscene acts, like masturbating with a crucifix, shocking the mother and priests.
• Manipulation: It taunts the priests with "Lick me, lick me!" and other vile commands, using "me" to exert control.
• Physical Manifestation: The word "ME" also famously appears scratched onto Regan's stomach, a terrifying visual cue of the demon's presence and power. 

Essentially, "me" in The Exorcist isn't just a pronoun; it's the voice of pure evil, a declaration of self from the demonic entity fighting for control of Regan's soul. ​

The unsolved 18 characters at the base of the 408 cipher have been widely shown to be EBEORIETEMETHHPITI, however there are other options, as shown by the author of the "concerned citizen" card on August 10th 1969. Below is one of those options. One of the questions that has arisen, is was it important for the concerned citizen to send these amendments to better understand the 18 unsolved characters that ended the cipher? The following observations are extremely speculatory and must be taken with a grain of salt. But the concept is that the Zodiac Killer was jokingly inserting his identity of "ME" into communications such as those mailed on April 20th 1970, October 27th 1970 and January 29th 1974, which were all teasing us with his identity or name. The whole story can be better understood by reading the article Four and a Half Years of Me. 

One notable feature of the Halloween card mailed on October 27th 1970 was the Zodiac Killer's use of eyes. He added 12 floating eyes to the one already present in the knothole of the tree, and sourced the skeleton from a card where a little girl peers through a rectangular opening on the skull of the skeleton. This effectively gave us 15 eyes in total on the card inner. The card outer teased us with "I feel it in my bones you ache to know my name. And so I'll clue you in", which when we open, we are greeted with numerous eyes that may be saying "can you see me".

If the Halloween card was going to give us the answer of "Me" proposed in the Z13 code, you would expect to find this word embedded in its design. Not only was the word "Me" curiously obvious in the Halloween card inner, it was present twice. The Zodiac Killer was clearly employing the eye in the knothole of the tree as himself, by surrounding the knothole with the ominous threat of "Peek-a-boo you are doomed".

But there is one striking feature about the writing on the tree. After the phrase "PEEK-A-BOO" the Zodiac Killer positions the word "DOOMED", such that the "ME" lines up with "PEEK-A-BOO" to create "PEEK-A-BOO, ME". It is definitely noticeable that the word "ME" is visibly larger and bolder than the rest of the writing, as if to place emphasis on this pronoun. The skeleton's left arm is also affixed to the Halloween card in such a manner that it separates the word "GAME" to spell "ME". The word "BOO" is written on the card inner at a 45 degree angle so that it too lines up with the word "ME".

The word "BOO" around the knothole and the word "BOO" to the immediate left of the skeleton, are both positioned in alignment with the word "ME". Was the Zodiac Killer giving us the answer of "ME" to "I feel it in my bones you ache to know my name. And so I'll clue you in"? Thereby replicating the answer of "ME" possibly given by the proposed solution to the Z13 code on April 20th 1970. And the signature of "Me" he would ultimately deliver on January 29th 1974 to the San Francisco Chronicle. Was the Halloween card saying "can you see me"?

This makes me return to the 408 cipher and the search for "ME" in its design. I have previously noted that the Zodiac Killer on August 4th 1969 stated "are the police having a good time with the code? If not, tell them to cheer up; when they do crack it, they will have me". Was this a humorous way of saying they would only find "ME" in the code? It can be found in the 18 characters at the foot of the cipher, but the personal pronoun of "ME" can be isolated a further five times in the rest of the cipher as shown below.

However, if we use the revised version of the 18 plaintext characters of EBSORIETEMETHHPITI (shown below), where everyone has searched for his identity, we can form the phrase "SEE ME", as suggested in the Halloween card of "CAN YOU SEE ME". 

The ninth line of the cryptogram is the portion of the 408 cipher that begins the message to the San Francisco Examiner. It opens with "VES ME", which in Spanish reads "YOU SEE ME" or "SEE ME" (matching the green highlighted letters above). This analysis of the 408 cipher still falls way short of proving that the personal identity of "ME" was ever intended to be found within his message, but that's all I have for now.

ADDITIONAL READING: 
FOUR AND A HALF YEARS OF "ME"      SAME METHODOLOGY BETWEEN Z340 AND Z13

The Zodiac Killer was heavily influenced by the newspapers throughout his campaign of terror in northern California, which may have continued up until January 10th 2001 with the "Happy New Year" card mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle and exclaiming "You thought I was dead. No Way" (and signed Zodiac). There are three festive greeting cards connected to the Zodiac Killer story, which ended in 2001 but included the December 27th 1974 card to Mary Pilker of Sioux Falls, South Dakota (sister of Donna Lass), and the December 1990 "Eureka" card mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle with photocopied keys tied to Chester Clark Klingel. However, none of these festive greeting cards ever mentioned the word "Christmas".

​The card on December 27th 1974 had the pre-printed message of "Holiday Greetings and Best Wishes for a Happy New Year". The Eureka card mailed in December 1990 had the pre-printed message of (in part) "Happy Holidays, anyway". The January 10th 2001 card had the pre-printed message of "Happy New Year. From January 1st to the end of December, here's wishing you a year to enjoy and remember". All three cards carried the word "Happy" and failed to mention "Christmas". There is a possibility that the Eureka card, with an unclear postmark, was mailed subsequent to Christmas day. 

Bearing in mind the Zodiac Killer's use of three of "The Mikado" verses in 1970 and 1974 (which Groucho Marx appeared in), and the comprehensive newspaper coverage of the 100 year anniversary of Groucho Marx's birth on October 2nd 1990, we can at best, only speculate if any of these had an influence on the choice of greeting card selected by a potential Zodiac Killer in December 1990. If the Eureka card was mailed on, say December 29th, 30th or 31st, we could reasonably argue that this festive greeting card with the phrase "Happy Holidays", was probably mailed with New Year's day in mind, similar to the "Happy New Year" message on both the December 27th 1974 and January 10th 2001 cards.

​I have previously wondered whether the selection of the Groucho Marx card in December 1990 on his birthday centenary year, was chosen because of his 1959 autobiography entitled "Groucho and Me", which resurfaced because of the publicity in 1990. In other words, the Zodiac Killer orchestrated a subtle way of suggesting that his identity was actually "Me" once again, as claimed in the article Four and a Half Years of Me. The idea that "Me" should be inferred from the Eureka card is not the most convincing argument thus far, so I revisited the autobiography "Groucho and Me", and discovered that it was released on New Year's day 1959, thereby complimenting the chosen greeting card and possible late December mailing date. 

The individual (or individuals) who mailed these three greeting cards opted every time to select a postage stamp of recent issue. The Currier & Ives "Winter Road" 10c stamps applied to the 1974 card were issued two months earlier, on October 23rd 1974. The 25c Contemporary Christmas:Tree and Greetings stamp applied to the 1990 card was issued approximately two months earlier, on October 18th 1990. The 34c Statue of Liberty stamp applied to the 2001 card was issued one month earlier, on December 15th 2000. 

But why did the Zodiac Killer (if him) mail the "Happy New Year" greeting card on January 10th 2001 and not in late December? The envelope address style in 2001 was a near repeat of the "Secret Pal" Eureka card envelope mailed in 1990, both of which have been thoroughly examined as being authored by the Zodiac Killer. Was there something about the 2001 mailing that suggested it was our "Secret Pal" in 1990? The 2001 "Happy New Year" card was postmarked January 10th, so its sender was probably hoping it would be received and opened by the San Francisco Chronicle editor on January 11th.

Secret Pal Day is an unofficial holiday celebrated annually on January 11th. It is a day to anonymously show appreciation for friends, coworkers, or family members, similar to a year-round "Secret Santa" concept for general kindness and emotional support. This date gained recognition in the 1990s, and was further accelerated in the 2000s by the growth of the internet. Therefore, the editor of the San Francisco Chronicle would have been receiving his 2001 "Happy New Year" card on "Secret Pal Day", stating "You thought I was dead. No way". So was the Zodiac Killer deliberately delaying the delivery of the "Happy New Year" card by a couple of weeks so it would arrive on this annually recognised day and further show he was the same "Secret Pal" who mailed the 1990 Eureka card eleven years earlier? 

In a recent article entitled Four and a Half Years of Me I came to the conclusion that the 13-character cipher was likely done in haste, and the Zodiac Killer jokingly provided his name as "ME ⊕" ("ME" followed by the Zodiac crosshairs), which I showed to be also present in the 408 cipher, Halloween card, Exorcist letter, and maybe was hinted at in the Eureka card. To achieve the "ME ⊕" identity, all we had to do was apply a "period 8" right shift to each circled 8 and cycle around the cipher, exactly the same methodology that was used in the 340 cipher five months earlier, where a "period 19" right shift was needed to decode his message.  .  

Many have speculated that the Zodiac Killer's opening wording in the April 20th 1970 letter of "This is the Zodiac speaking. By the way have you cracked the last cipher I sent you? My name is....", indicated that we needed to solve the 340 cipher to give us a clue to decoding the 13-symbol cipher. I have put forward that the Z13 may have revealed two forms of Zodiac identity in "ME ⊕", by using the three circled ​8's in the cipher. But how can we prove that this was the Zodiac Killer's intention? How can we prove that this was the Zodiac Killer's key? Did the answer lie in the decoding of the 340 cipher?

If the 340 cipher had been solved before April 20th 1970, we would have known that the Zodiac Killer split his cipher into three parts of 9, 9, and 2 rows. These three parts were comprised of row 1 to row 9, followed by row 10 to row 18, and finally the last two rows up to the 20th line. The Zodiac Killer gave us the key to the 340 cipher by splitting it into a 9, 9, 2 configuration. We then had to apply the "period 19" right shift to make the message possible. This configuration of 9, 9, 2 went down the cipher, so let's apply the same methodology to the Z13 by going across the cipher.

If we travel from position 1 to 9, we land on the right circled 8. If we travel from position 10 to 18, we land on the left circled 8. If we travel from position 19 to 20, we land on the middle circled 8. The configuration employed in the 340 cipher gave us the key to its solving. Does the same configuration applied to the Z13 gives us a clue to its solving? It gives us the three 8's. Once the configuration (of three parts) was identified in the 340 cipher, the "period 19" right shift was applied. Once the configuration (of three parts) was identified in the Z13 cipher, the "period 8" right shift was applied to get the message. The "period 19" right shift in the 340 cipher was crucial in finding the message. The "period 8" right shift in the 13-symbol cipher was crucial to finding the message of "ME ⊕". A personal pronoun that is seen twice in the Halloween card, and clearly written as the Zodiac Killer's identity on January 29th 1974 in the Exorcist letter.

The Zodiac Killer may also have highlighted these three circled 8 positions in his 13 punch holes in the October 6th 1970 "Pace" postcard. 

ADDITIONAL READING: FOUR AND A HALF YEARS OF "ME"     

I have superimposed the KRON crime scene footage from December 21st 1968 into the Lake Herman Road turnout of today, using the telegraph pole from the roadside edge (applying the correct angle and height), merged the roadway as close as possible, and used the turnout edge and tree-line to pinpoint the near exact body position of Betty Lou Jensen, approximately 18 feel from the road, The turnout, was of course, much bigger (wider and deeper) in 1968. From the head of Betty Lou Jensen to the back of the turnout today is about 40 feet, but to the gated fence at the rear of the turnout in 1968 would have been roughly 100 feet. Therefore, the Rambler would have been found by responding officers further from the eastern edge as witnessed today. The rear of the Rambler was located eastwards of Betty Lou Jensen, approximately 28 feet from her head (towards the left railing of the turnout on Google maps).  

Using the original 1968 video footage, we can further blend the images together (as shown below), to get the relative positions of both Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday. The angle of the detective's vehicle is different to that shown in the Google maps image above, so the head of David Faraday would have been much closer to the back of the turnout today. The approaching Stella Medeiros in 1968 would have easily seen Betty Lou Jensen lying on the turnout floor, but David Faraday less so  These merged images from 1968 are as close to accuracy as could be achieved, and shows that Betty Lou Jensen was heading westwards towards Lake Herman and Vallejo.     

The Robert Connelly sighting of the Rambler on the west bank (circa 11:05 pm), places it further into the turnout than the detective's vehicle (possibly 30 feet or more). Somewhere by the green circle below. This would have been the last sighting of the Rambler in the turnout before the Zodiac arrived. If it had remained in this position for several minutes longer, the Zodiac Killer would have likely contributed to it shifting towards the east bank, as noted by James Owen, who described two vehicles in the turnout.