On June 19th 1970 Sgt Richard Radetich was gunned down by three shots from a .38 caliber revolver at point blank range through the driver side window of his vehicle, while in the process of serving a parking ticket. He was sat in his police car near 643 Waller Street, San Francisco, in the Lower Haight District, where he sustained life threatening injuries and subsequently died 15 hours later. Local residents heard a vehicle speeding away from the scene, but the number of assailants involved is unknown. The ticket Radetich had just written was for a 1965 Oldsmobile bereft of 1970 license tags, but Police Chief Alfred J. Nelder at the time said they had no reason to suspect the owner of the vehicle. Detectives suspect the killer or killers pulled their vehicle alongside the officer's police car and without exiting their vehicle fired through the closed window, shattering the glass and fatefully striking Richard Radetich in the head. Not far from the crime scene a gas station attendant recalled seeing a white Cadillac racing down Oak Street and entering Divisadero Street only 0.3 miles from the murder scene. His murder shocked the community, as he left behind a wife, Nancy and an eight month old daughter Janine. Seven days later, a letter from the Zodiac Killer arrived at the San Francisco Chronicle that suggested that he may be the responsible; stating he "shot a man sitting in a parked car with a .38". But was the Zodiac Killer the murderer or an attempt to lay claim to somebody else's crime.
Two violent groups operating in the early 70's needed little prompting to come forward to admit their crimes, however the 'Black Liberation Army' and the 'Weather Underground' never admitted any involvement in the Richard Radetich murder. As was with this case, the Zodiac appeared extremely lucky to always lay claim to crimes that were never solved, or he indeed was the murderer of Richard Radetich.
On April 20th 1970, two months before this murder, Zodiac mailed his '13 Symbol' cipher and proclaimed "I hope you do not think that I was the one who wiped out that blue meannie with a bomb at the cop station. Even though I talked about killing school children with one. It just wouldn't doo to move in on someone else's teritory. But there is more glory in killing a cop than a cid because a cop can shoot back. I have killed ten people to date. It would have been a lot more except that my bus bomb was a dud. I was swamped out by the rain we had a while back."
The Zodiac Killer was referencing the murder of Sgt Brian McDonnell (44) on February 16th 1970, who was killed by a bomb packed with fence staples, planted on the window ledge of the 1899 Waller Street Park Police Station in Upper Haight, San Francisco. It seems strange that the Zodiac Killer would deny this murder stating "It just wouldn't doo to move in on someone else's teritory." A murder that took place in Upper Haight, yet was all too eager to claim the Richard Radetich murder that occurred on the same street, less than 2 miles away. in Lower Haight.
Two violent groups operating in the early 70's needed little prompting to come forward to admit their crimes, however the 'Black Liberation Army' and the 'Weather Underground' never admitted any involvement in the Richard Radetich murder. As was with this case, the Zodiac appeared extremely lucky to always lay claim to crimes that were never solved, or he indeed was the murderer of Richard Radetich.
On April 20th 1970, two months before this murder, Zodiac mailed his '13 Symbol' cipher and proclaimed "I hope you do not think that I was the one who wiped out that blue meannie with a bomb at the cop station. Even though I talked about killing school children with one. It just wouldn't doo to move in on someone else's teritory. But there is more glory in killing a cop than a cid because a cop can shoot back. I have killed ten people to date. It would have been a lot more except that my bus bomb was a dud. I was swamped out by the rain we had a while back."
The Zodiac Killer was referencing the murder of Sgt Brian McDonnell (44) on February 16th 1970, who was killed by a bomb packed with fence staples, planted on the window ledge of the 1899 Waller Street Park Police Station in Upper Haight, San Francisco. It seems strange that the Zodiac Killer would deny this murder stating "It just wouldn't doo to move in on someone else's teritory." A murder that took place in Upper Haight, yet was all too eager to claim the Richard Radetich murder that occurred on the same street, less than 2 miles away. in Lower Haight.
Click for Dragon Card and Button letter. Two months after the Brian McDonnell murder and eight days after his previous correspondence, the Zodiac sent us the 'Dragon Card' on April 28th 1970 depicting what appears to be characters from a novel by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.
Don Quixote on his horse Rocinante and Sancho Panza, his squire, perched on a nameless donkey, embark on a mission to restore chivalry. The Zodiac Killer wrote on the face of the card "I hope you enjoy yourselves when I have my Blast." Was this a case of Zodiac rubbing salt into the wounds of the San Francisco Police Department, bringing up the inference of another bomb, and was this card chosen for a specific reason. The 1899 Waller Street Police Station is situated on the boundary of the San Francisco Golden Gate Park and in close proximity, also situated in the park, is the memorial statue of Miguel de Cervantes, featuring Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. So was this card really just a random choice, or was Zodiac simply 'needling the blue pigs'.
Furthermore, standing outside the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park, just opposite the Miguel de Cervantes statue, is a memorial to Robert Emmet, an Irish nationalist.
Robert Emmet the hippie was suggested as a solution to the indecipherable 18 characters at the foot of the Zodiac 408 cipher.
Then came the 'Button' letter on June 26th 1970, hinting at the murder of Richard Radetich, despite earlier protestations it wouldn't do to move in on somebody else's territory. The murders in Upper and Lower Haight and the Cervantes statue, mentioned in these three correspondences by the Zodiac Killer, are all contained within a 2 mile radius.
Shortly after the murder of Richard Radetich, a white Cadillac was spotted speeding north on Divisadero Street, from Oak Street. In a previous article it was reasoned that the Zodiac Killer after the murder of Paul Stine, entered the Presidio Park and made his escape eastwards into the Cow Hollow region. A murderer heading northbound on Divisadero Street is on a direct collision course with the Cow Hollow region. Divisadero Street terminates at Marina Boulevard on San Francisco's northern edge.
From March 22nd 1970 to July 24th 1970, the Zodiac Killer would again possibly commit and claim another crime, the abduction of Kathleen Johns on the fringes of Modesto, California. This too has gone unsolved. The contradictions and connections between the '13 Symbol' cipher, 'Dragon Card' and 'Button' letter are there for all to see, but did the Zodiac Killer ever take the step from 'needling the blue pigs' to killing them. I'm not convinced yet.
643 Waller Street, San Francisco
Don Quixote on his horse Rocinante and Sancho Panza, his squire, perched on a nameless donkey, embark on a mission to restore chivalry. The Zodiac Killer wrote on the face of the card "I hope you enjoy yourselves when I have my Blast." Was this a case of Zodiac rubbing salt into the wounds of the San Francisco Police Department, bringing up the inference of another bomb, and was this card chosen for a specific reason. The 1899 Waller Street Police Station is situated on the boundary of the San Francisco Golden Gate Park and in close proximity, also situated in the park, is the memorial statue of Miguel de Cervantes, featuring Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. So was this card really just a random choice, or was Zodiac simply 'needling the blue pigs'.
Furthermore, standing outside the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park, just opposite the Miguel de Cervantes statue, is a memorial to Robert Emmet, an Irish nationalist.
Robert Emmet the hippie was suggested as a solution to the indecipherable 18 characters at the foot of the Zodiac 408 cipher.
Then came the 'Button' letter on June 26th 1970, hinting at the murder of Richard Radetich, despite earlier protestations it wouldn't do to move in on somebody else's territory. The murders in Upper and Lower Haight and the Cervantes statue, mentioned in these three correspondences by the Zodiac Killer, are all contained within a 2 mile radius.
Shortly after the murder of Richard Radetich, a white Cadillac was spotted speeding north on Divisadero Street, from Oak Street. In a previous article it was reasoned that the Zodiac Killer after the murder of Paul Stine, entered the Presidio Park and made his escape eastwards into the Cow Hollow region. A murderer heading northbound on Divisadero Street is on a direct collision course with the Cow Hollow region. Divisadero Street terminates at Marina Boulevard on San Francisco's northern edge.
From March 22nd 1970 to July 24th 1970, the Zodiac Killer would again possibly commit and claim another crime, the abduction of Kathleen Johns on the fringes of Modesto, California. This too has gone unsolved. The contradictions and connections between the '13 Symbol' cipher, 'Dragon Card' and 'Button' letter are there for all to see, but did the Zodiac Killer ever take the step from 'needling the blue pigs' to killing them. I'm not convinced yet.
643 Waller Street, San Francisco
