BEYOND THE GATE #10 TURNOUT

12/3/2024

Detective Sergeant Leslie Lundblad

In the immediate days after the Lake Herman Road murders on December 20th 1968, investigators appealed for any eyewitnesses who traveled the route that night and saw any activity in the area. The newspapers reported that "Sheriff's Det Sgt Leslie B. Lundblad today asked all such persons to contact him immediately. He's interested in any other vehicle you saw on that road, any person, any shots you may have heard, in fact any activity that may have occurred".

That night, an empty white 1959/1960 Chevrolet Impala was spotted in the turnout by Robert Connelly & Frank Gasser at 9pm and Bingo Wesner at 10pm. It sat idle in pitch darkness on an extremely cold night (22°F) on two occasions in an extremely remote location, yet there appeared to be no newspaper coverage of this Chevrolet Impala, asking the public if they saw such a vehicle anywhere else in the vicinity that night (or requesting assistance to locate it). Investigators questioned the workers at nearby Humble Oil to see if they passed the turnout that night, therefore common sense should have meant they would have questioned everybody in and around the Benicia Water Pumping Station, including the Marshall Ranch, Frank Dotta Ranch (and others), to determine whether any had an association with an individual connected to a 1959 or 1960 white Chevrolet Impala. This should have been routine police work, yet we have read nothing beyond the sighting of Frank Gasser, Robert Connelly and Bingo Wesner.

Without the aid of headlights, the owner of this vehicle would have required the use of a flashlight to venture any substantive distance into the surrounding fields beyond the Gate #10 turnout. If we believe the account of Robert Graysmith, the Chevrolet Impala was spotted at 9pm when Robert Connelly & Frank Gasser passed the turnout on their way to the Marshall Ranch, and several minutes later on foot, when they headed towards the Benicia Pumping Station to go raccoon hunting, with Frank Gasser seemingly shining a flashlight into the empty vehicle.

At 10pm, Bingo Wesner also noticed the Chevrolet Impala while walking the adjoining field, tending to his sheep. Or he noticed the Chevrolet Impala when driving into Gate #10 to check his sheep. Clearly, this was unlikely a motorist relieving himself on two occasions for an extended period. A furher eyewitness, William Crow, was parked up in the turnout for a brief time between 9:30pm and 10pm, without seeing the Chevrolet. So it's fairly obvious that the driver of the Chevrolet had twice parked up in the turnout that night, and vacated the vehicle on both occasions. The only reasonable conclusion is that its occupant (or occupants) entered one of the surrounding fields. But seemingly, with no follow up regarding this vehicle in the police report, the only logical conclusion is that nobody in the vicinity of the turnout could shed any light regarding its owner. So why is at least one individual wandering the adjoining fields in freezing temperatures in pitch darkness, if not for nefarious reasons?

MANUFACTURED IMAGE OF THE TURNOUT IN 1968

Anybody reading the numerous Lake Herman Road newspaper articles would have been aware that one eyewitness reported seeing a second vehicle in the turnout with the Faraday Rambler, but nobody would have been aware of the empty Chevrolet Impala parked in the turnout at 9pm and 10pm on December 20th 1968, except each of the eyewitnesses that night, and probably the killer. If the occupant of this vehicle had traveled into the adjoining fields on two occasions, looking for victims, they would have required additional illumination such as a carry flashlight or gun-mounted flaslight.

If this was the murderer's vehicle he would have known this. Therefore, the claims of the August 4th 1969 letter writer stating he used a pencil flashlight for extra illumination, is extremely noteworthy. Extra illumination would not have been required in the turnout when you have the use of headlights from your vehicle, along with the illumination from within each vehicle. Also, extra illumination would certainly not have been required if the murderer had kept the couple penned inside their vehicle. The only person that would have required additional illumination (either carried or gun-mounted) would have been somebody venturing into the fields surrounding the turnout. Such as the driver of the white Chevrolet Impala, who apparently never came forward. There is a distinct possibility that this Chevrolet owner wrote the "Debut of Zodiac" letter, because this person had a viable reason to carry additional illumination as he distanced himself from his vehicle that night. Not once, but twice, on a freezing dark night in Benicia. Possibly an individual, who on July 31st 1969, would promote the idea of hunting humans in the wilderness because it was more fun than killing wild game in the forest.

RAY GRANT'S ROAMING CHEVROLET IMPALA
RAY GRANT'S ROBERT CONNELLY TIMELINE
THE CONNELLY AND GASSER SIGHTING OF THE CHEVROLET IMPALA WAS 9PM
HUNTING BY THE BENICIA PUMPING STATION
CONNELLY AND GASSER NEVER SAW WESNER
WAS THE HELEN AXE SIGHTING WRONG?

Richard

12/4/2024 07:51:15 am

If the Zodiac Killer wasn't the driver of the Chevrolet Impala, he wouldn't have been aware of its presence in the turnout on December 20th 1968, because this information seemed confined to the police report. Bringing up the details of a "pencil flashlight" appears very relevant to a killer venturing from the Chevrolet into the adjoining field, but less relevant to a killer just searching for victims in parked cars. I suspect that the Zodiac Killer's inital plan of killing a victim in the nearby fields was the thwarted by the presence of Connelly & Gasser, but when later presented with a young couple in a vehicle shortly after 11pm, he still had the desire to use his gun mounted flashlight, which is why he opted unnecessary to remove both victims from the Rambler, rather than just kill them in an illuminated vehicle. His failure to use his "pencil flashlight" in the surrounding fields in a "Most Dangerous Game" style hunt possibly caused him to remove the couple from the car, in a second best scenario act of murder. It is probably no surprise he went out of his way on August 4th 1969 to sell us the notion he drove a brown car, when it was likely white all along. A white Chevrolet Impala hovering around a turnout in the dead of night for a span of time exceeding one hour, just 60 minutes prior to a double murder in the very same turnout. This has to be the prime suspect vehicle that belonged to the Zodiac Killer. I can't help thinking that the police never made this vehicle public, to avoid the possibility of the killer hiding, destroying or selling it. If this was the vehicle of the Zodiac, did the police check registered owners in the areas of Benicia and Vallejo, or was this another chance missed by law enforcement, who focused heavily on a revenge motiive, and people known to the victims. The Zodiac Killer made a big issue of making sure we understood his vehicle was by the payphone on July 5th 1969, and was extremely helpful with supplying police with its brown colour to support the statements of Mageau. No multiple killer is that truthful with information that could narrow down the search for him. The Zodiac Killer's reference to "The Most Dangerous Game" could have been the giveaway to his true intentions on December 20th 1968, but after two hours or more of hunting for victims that night, he likely opted for the opportunity that eventually presented itself. His desire to remove both Faraday & Jensen from the vehicle, despite this being totally unnecessary, may have indicated his wanting to try out his gun-mounted flaslight after all. But more importantly, show that he didn't require it in this style of murder. Because this style of murder wasn't his first choice that night.

JIbberjabber

12/4/2024 09:40:49 am

I wonder how far back the police worked the timeline that day.

The impala was already parked there when Gasser & Connelly first saw it at 9PM, if that was Zodiac already out on foot then was he roaming around looking for other people out in the fields ? if so then who else would have been out there prior to 9PM?

Or was his plan to go out there and lay in waiting to ambush the next people to come along, but if so how did he know anyone would come along?

I would like to have known the patterns of people in the area, eg was Bingo Wessner out every night checking on sheep, were Gasser & Connelly regularly hunting in that area. who else had reason to be out there and regularly.

If the Impala did belong to Zodiac, then why was he out there before the other players seem to have been in the area.

Perhaps this could be explained by the alternative way the police report could be read, one way of reading it is Wessner's truck exited at the gate the same time Gasser & Connelly's truck went by. I know you dont read it that way, but if Wessner was coming out of the gate and the Impala was there, then maybe that means Wessner was in the fields on foot prior to 9PM and so could have been the reason the driver of the Impala was out there too.

if there was no one else in the fields before 9PM it just does not make sense for the driver of the Impala to be out there for so long.

UNLESS the driver of the Impala was also doing some non-human hunting (eg racoons) but maybe after doing some shooting and his blood was flowing he wanted to keep going, on his way back to the car he noticed the turnout was getting busy and decided to reload and try a spot of human hunting.

Wessner would have been a safer target for Zodiac than Gasser & Connelly who were both armed. I have to think a pencil light as an aid to firing would only be effective at a short distance, so he would need to get close to his prey to use it. Was getting that close to Gasser & Connelly something Zodiac would have done, and did they have dogs as well?

That coward would not have taken on Gasser & Connelly in my opinion.
I am wondering if Zodiac was maybe stalking Wessner that night.

Like you, my main question about the empty Impala at 9PM is why would he bother leaving the car to hunt in the fields if there was no one there to go after? yes a killer on foot needs a flashlight to hunt that late at night and away from the car headlights, but who was the target?

If Wessner was in the fields prior to 9, then maybe Zodiac had followed him there. Then Wessner leaves the area in his truck at 9PM, and the Impala leaves too. Wessner is back in the area later at 10PM? and the Impala is back too

But if Wessner did not leave the turnout at 9PM then that maybe my theory does not hold water.

If someone asked me was there anything else unusual about Lake Herman Road at that point in time, then only working from the books & reports I have read, I would have to point out the laying of the water pipes taking place.

Which I think I have found was going on all down LHR to where it joins Columbus Parkway and the work continued from late 68 into summer 69.

That has always struck me as interesting - 2 Zodiac attacks at either end of the pipe work project and spanning the time the work was being undertaken??

Were engineering crews in the area at night, was Zodiac thinking about taking pot shots at people laying the pipework.

Why did Homer Your have the urge to be out looking at the pipe so late at night and with his family in the car?

If the Impala was there at 9PM then at 10PM, but not in between when William Crow was there then where did it go in between and why did it move?

etc etc

I am absolutely with you on the car itself being the most likely candidate for Zodiac's vehicle *****with the caveat that it could pass for a dark car lacking chrome when James Owen comes along later that night****

But there has to be a limit to how many unidentified cars there were that night where the driver did not come forward.

Which is itself similar to the 2 or 3 strange guys at Lake Berryessa. From what I have read it was so deserted up there I tend to think that was infact Zodiac seen by the sunbathers, Hartnell Shepard and then later David Rayfield - it was not 3 different people who all 3 failed to come forward to clear themselves, it was Zodiac.

Likely same with the car at LHR, there was not the white Impala, the blue Valiant and then a 3rd car dark lacking chrome, I would have to think it more likely it was all the same vehicle and was the killers car which is why the driver never came forward.

There was no forensics from LHR (other than ballistics) and anyone could throw a gun away, so the way I see it the only thing the true killer may be fearful of (and therefore why he would not come forward in Dec 68) was his fingerprints maybe link him to a previous crime?

Richard

12/4/2024 11:24:58 am

I suspect he did the same at Lake Berryessa by stalking the reservoir shore, rather than continually moving his vehicle, without any idea of who belonged to any vehicle he came across. As for Lake Herman Road, if Zodiac knew that area, he may have known that Wesner tended his sheep on a regular basis. Especially if he drove that route regularly, travelling to such places as Humble Oil workers or Syar industries. Bingo Wesner would have been an easy mark for somebody wanting a low risk crime, or possibly the Frank Dotta Ranch at the base of Lake Herman. Make a noise outside the ranch and target somebody who came out would be an option. Or lone raccoon hunters, but not two armed with guns.

If you read the police report literally, it is clear that it says Connelly & Gasser at 9pm and Wesner at 10pm. They lazily bound two different statements as one by interpretation.Connelly & Gasser could never have identified that truck coming out of the gate as Wesner's at that distance. I cannot see any good reason for an empty vehicle in that area, in absence of anybody local to that area divulging they had a visitor that night. Whether police checked local ranches as to whether they had any possible visitors, who may have owned such a vehicle that nightt, who knows. If the Zodiac travelled that route regularly, only he would know what targets were available from say 8:30pm to 10:30pm. Obviously people hunted there. The examples you've given are all possibilities. If the Impala owner was there once (which I don't believe) there aren't many good reasons I can think for its presence. Twice, for over an hour, becomes very suspicious. If Graysmith was correct, then Frank Gasser must have certainly found it unusual to approach it with his flashlight. If they saw it at 9pm and then sometime later when in the field, then this vehicle was present for upwards of 5 minutes at least. But it could conceivably have been parked there for 20 or 30 minutes before they arrived. It's impossible to say. If James Owen's testimony had been able to identify the 2nd vehicle as an Impala, any lingering doubt would now probably be extinguished. How far a timeline did the police seek? We know it captured from 9pm to 11:20pm, but did anybody else see a white Impala at say 8pm to 9pm. If they did, they never came forward. Bingo Wesner said he was checking his sheep at 10pm, but gave no other relevant time that night. Unfortunately Jibber, we have totally inadequate and undetailed accounts that leave too many holes to be filled. Whether the police have more, I don't know, but it certainly would have been beneficial. All I can say, is the white 59/60 Chevrolet Impala should have been (and probably was) the prime focus of police in the following days. It just depends on how much importance they applied to this sighting, or whether the description of a "dark car" by James Owen shifted their focus.

Gorillatrain

12/8/2024 10:19:24 pm

Do we know for certain the Impala came and left twice? Could it not be possible that the Impala just never left?

As for JibberJabber's comment about the pipe work - I have often found that to be alarming. Could it not be one of the contract workers. Getting familiar working in one area (LHR) and then getting familiar in the area further on at Columbus Parkway (BRS)? The timeline definitely works. It's an intriguing possibility.

Richard

12/9/2024 03:07:41 am

We know factually Connelly & Gasser saw the Impala at 9pm according to the police report. The police report also stated Wesner saw the Impala at 10pm. If William Crow isn't lying about his testimony, he was in the turnout at some point between 9:30pm and 10pm, when no Impala was in the turnout. Therefore, if we believe everyones statements, the Impala had to have left and returned.

I don't know who Zodiac was, but if he chose this area to originally hunt humans in the field, I suspect he knew the area and what potential victims were available to him. Killers usually have a "target backcloth" of the area they operate in. I have little doubt Zodiac was accustomed to the area he chose, especially if Lake Herman Road was his first venture into murder. My guess is he travelled that route regularly. But guesses aren't facts. I just think it's highly unlikely you would kill in an area you know nothing about.

Rubislaw32 link

12/9/2024 12:16:41 pm

Certainly possible that the Zodiac was familiar with that area, Richard.

If, for example, he was residing in Vallejo and working in Benicia. A project like the construction of the Humble Oil refinery, at that time.

A twice-daily commute, 5 days a week.

Richard

12/9/2024 01:15:38 pm

Absolutely Rubi. A regular commuter to industrial Benicia a reasonable hypothesis.

Jibberjabber

12/9/2024 02:56:03 pm

And at the same time if it was the killers car then the longer it is parked there the more chance someone takes down the licence plate.

Richard

12/9/2024 03:11:05 pm

That is true Jibber, but how many people actually do that unless they strongly suspect a crime. If I had committed this, or one of the other crimes, I would have just changed the license plates. That is a pretty simple counter-measure.

Jibberjabber

12/9/2024 04:06:32 pm

It is certainly consistent with Zodiac behaviour. Unless he hid his car at Lake Berryessa it must have been parked in the car park and/or on Knoxville Road for anyone to notice. We do regularly point out how unashamedly brazen Zodiac could be, but is it more than that, did he really believe he was so untouchable? Not ego exactly but maybe there is a term for people whose risk perception is just that little bit unusual. Zodiac was no fool IMO but some of his behaviour is hard to rationalise. Is it ego, low risk perception, a lack of concern in his behaviour or all of those things (or maybe something else still?)

Richard

12/10/2024 02:03:28 am

Zodiac reminds me somewhat of Brian Kohberger, who thinks he is forensically smart and has taken precautions when committing his crime, yet is somebody who was naive, who but for poor police work should have been caught 55 years ago. He clearly took extra risk at Lake Berryessa and Presidio Heights that was unnecessary to more killing, but possibly felt the greater risk had greater reward from the standpoint of later newspaper exposure. He was correct. That is when he took the safer option of remote terror, by increasing his letter writing. He attempted to link himself to further crimes, however, this has a shelf life without proof. It's difficult to rationalize serial killers and murderers because we don't have the brain of psychopaths and can never put ourselves into that state of mind. Trying to reason the unreasonable has left a trail of "egg on the face" investigators. The only thing I try to do Jibber, is use geographic profiling because pretty much every human quantifies risk to some extent. Despite what some people say, most criminals don't want to get caught, so they employ basic human traits when committing murder. If I want to buy a pint of milk and the local store charges 1 pound, but I can walk or drive 3 miles to get the milk for 80p, I shop local. A killer has the choice of murder close by with the risk of increased cost, but that cost is mitigated by travel. Of course, he has to balance this with the increase in risk of travelling from the crime after the murder. Almost every human, whether or not a killer, makes these calculated decisions. Although we only have 4 canonical attacks, I feel that examining his decision making during these crimes is paramount, including the times he chose. I know not everybody is on board with Mike Morford's and my assessment of the BRS payphone call, but this is where my focus would begin.

JIbberjabber

12/10/2024 09:36:21 am

Everything you say makes perfect sense Richard, BUT then I remember he wore an executioners mask with his own symbol on it at Lake Berryessa, and I just wonder how much do we not know about this individual.

The logical and most probable answer is he lives within walking distance of the phonebooth. But do people who make their own executioners constumes with their own logos on (for secret) do the logical & probable thing, that is the question I always ask myself

Richard

12/11/2024 02:35:07 am

I will never live and die on the Zodiac living by the payphone, I would give it 70-75% probability. If the Zodiac saw the black man talking to the police by the payphone 9 minutes after he hung up the phone, I would increase that to 90%. But Jibber, I can absolutely accept that there are good arguments contrary to my position. You are correct that trying to reason with the unreasonable mind of a killer, is illogical by definition. If the Zodiac Killer leaned into the Corvair I cannot see how the murderer didn't get blood on his shirt. This alone may have changed his plans that night.

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