ZODIAC CIPHERS
RICHARD GRINELL, COVENTRY, ENGLAND
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CANCER AND LEO-TWO ZODIAC COMMUNICATIONS?

2/6/2020

 
On December 10th 1969 a paste-up horoscope communication was mailed and postmarked PM from Sacramento entitled Day-By-Day Forecast for Cancer, followed by a similar communication mailed and postmarked PM from San Francisco on December 11th 1969 entitled Day-By-Day Forecast for Leo. Not published in the newspapers, it was clear that both of these communications had the same author just one day apart. The following is a summary of the abduction and murder of Leona LaRell Roberts by Steph54 on Websleuths:

On Wednesday, 10 December 1969, 16-year-old Leona Larell Roberts worked her first day at a part-time job at the White Front Discount Store in Pleasant Hill. After her 1-5 p.m. shift, she drove to her boyfriend's apartment (749 Tormey Ave, Rodeo) where she planned to cook him dinner. At the time, Leona attended K's American Beauty College in Napa, where she also lived with her mother. Within 15 minutes of arriving at her boyfriend's apartment, a neighbor heard a girl scream. The neighbor called the sheriff and soon after heard someone running down the stairs at the back of the apartment house followed by the slam of a door from the direction of the downstairs apartment where Leona's boyfriend lived. When the boyfriend arrived, he saw Leona's red VW out front but did not find her inside the apartment. The apartment was dark and the back door was unlocked. He noticed scuff marks on the wall near the back door. He found that a pair of his pants had been removed from the bedroom closet and left on the living room couch, the belt missing. He noticed Leona's work smock crumpled on the couch. A sheriff's deputy arrived 30 minutes after the call. Another neighbor told the deputy of seeing a white male, about 25 years old, short blonde hair, acting suspicious. He walked several times from the front door to the rear of a blue station wagon before driving away. On 28 December 1969, a man searching for driftwood on the beach at Bolinas Lagoon in Marin County found the nude body of Leona Roberts.

From the postmark dates and times it is extremely likely the Forecast for Cancer communication was mailed prior to the abduction/murder of Leona Roberts, with the Forecast for Leo communication likely mailed after her abduction/murder. This meant that the author of the Cancer communication on December 10th in Sacramento traveled to San Francisco to mail the second correspondence. The most direct route is shown below and uses only Interstate 80. This journey between communications passes just 0.9 miles from the 749 Tormey Avenue residence from where Leona Roberts was abducted. 

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Less than 24 hours after the abduction/murder of Leona Roberts, the Forecast for Leo communication arrived. Was the perpetrator using a play on words to hint that her forecast was in his hands? The Forecast for Cancer communication was emblazoned with the pasted text of Zodiac - and we know that the Bay Area murder has become synonymous with abduction and murder. How many abductions and murders occurred in the Bay Area on December 10th 1969? Yet here we have two sinister communications mailed in Sacramento, followed by San Francisco, where the most direct route using Interstate 80 passes just 0.9 miles from the abduction site of Leona Roberts, which is then followed by a communication entitled Forecast for Leo. If this is a coincidence, it is one hell of a lucky one.

The question arises though - was the author of the two communications the Zodiac Killer or an impostor? Had somebody close to Leona Roberts planned her murder, and by mailing these communications with the word Zodiac in bold lettering, attempted to shift the focus of the investigation onto the Bay Area murderer, thereby making him the convenient fall guy? However, if the author of the Cancer and Leo communications wanted to achieve this goal, why would he be so cryptic? By sending a correspondence with nothing more than a heading of Day-By-Day Forecast for Leo, you are leaving open the possibility that investigators will not make the connection between the communication and the abduction of Leona Roberts. If you are attempting to lay the abduction squarely at the feet of Zodiac, then you simply create a communication using the pseudonym Zodiac and mentioning Leona Roberts by name, thereby creating no ambiguity. This may put the ball back in Zodiac's court.   
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But it doesn't end there. Two more Zodiac communications were mailed either side of the above two forecasts. The first was mailed on December 7th 1969 from Fairfield, with the second arriving from Fairfield on December 16th 1969. These again fall directly along Interstate 80. If the four communications were the work of the Zodiac Killer, then we have a murderer mailing a correspondence from Fairfield on December 7th, before traveling northeast to Sacramento, then abducting Leona Roberts in Rodeo and continuing on to San Francisco, before heading back to Fairfield on December 16th. The author of four consecutive communications would possibly be using one direct route back and forth.

The Bus Bomb letter mailed on November 9th 1969 claimed seven victims, while the Melvin Belli letter mailed on December 20th 1969 claimed a search for number nine and ten. The December 7th 1969 Fairfield letter claimed no update to victim seven, leaving open the possibility that the abduction and murder of Leona Roberts on December 10th 1969 was victim number eight.

Rubislaw 32 link
2/6/2020 06:26:36 am

As a general observation , Richard , the Day-by-Day forecasts arrived at their desired destination , about a day apart , in December 1969 , and in astrological order , so to speak .

Cancer : June 21st - July 22nd

Leo : July 23rd - August 22nd

Hence , part of what the ( presumed ) Zodiac wished to convey was that , the period : June 21st - August 22nd , held particular significance to him .

Well , retrospectively , just one attack , Blue Rock Springs , and one murder victim , Darlene Ferrin , transpired in that June 21st - August 22nd period .

Given the perceived pasted contents of both cards appear '' reflective '' in nature , it would seem , on the surface at least , that the period in question had more to do with events in the Zodiac's private life , than what is documented publicly .

'' Travel and geographic movement '' does seem most obvious ( ? ) , as to pasted content .

I sense that the period in question represents '' moving sticks '' and necessary upheaval . That , specifically , the Zodiac , though still a resident of the Vallejo area , had moved '' primary home residence ''.

From '' somewhere '' to Greater Los Angeles , I would guess .

Rubislaw 32 link
2/11/2020 01:32:26 pm

If anyone takes an interest ( ...as I do...) in Lyndon Lafferty's library finds , then :

A man borrowed David Kahn's Codebreakers book , giving his address as that of WJGrant ,and took constant custody of the book , between :

February 13th 1968 and August 20th 1969 , and from the Civic Center Library , Fairfied .

If this unknown man was the Zodiac , then we can assume that the book educated the Zodiac enough to create the '' 408 '' ,and may have satisfied the Zodiac , with confidence for further cipher making .
The book , being returned permanently to the library , is just two days shy of the last day of the Leo sign ( August 20th 1969 ) .

Had Zodiac returned to Vallejo , and realized he need take no further responsibility for the book ?

In those days , most people acquired most of their home reading material and music , on a borrow basis , from a library .

Rubislaw 32 link
2/11/2020 01:39:13 pm

Or , was the Zodiac preparing to leave Vallejo , not to return until close to the late September attack , at Lake Berryessa ?

Effectively , about a one month summer vacation , away from the Bay area .

Richard
2/11/2020 02:00:27 pm

I have just purchased David Kahn's Codebreakers book to see if I can find anything in it that may have inspired any of Zodiac's ciphers, particularly the 408. Unfortunately, after a quick scoot through the first two thirds of the book, nothing as yet has stood out. Are the dates February 13th 1968 and August 20th 1969 from Lafferty's book? Assuming Zodiac wasn't knowledgeable in ciphers, then he certainly got his inspiration from somewhere - and Fairfield library wouldn't be a bad place to start, bearing in mind the letters mailed from Fairfield. If Zodiac didn't find any inspiration from Codebreakers, then there is a reasonable possibility he used another book for cryptic inspiration. I will now probably return to the Codebreakers book and give it a thorough airing in light of this information. Is this information gleaned from Lafferty - and if so - how did he discover it, and can we vouch for its authenticity Rubislaw?

Rubislaw 32 link
2/11/2020 02:04:37 pm

Come to think about it...what is lacking in the handful of regular Zodiac contributors , who know Jerry Johnson personally , who appear '' sheepish '' in approaching him , about Lafferty's library finds ( ? ) .

Johnson , being Lafferty's '' Dr,Watson '' , may have more information to contribute , to this Zodiac case , for internet sleuths .

And yet , those handful of associates of Jerry Johnson , remain silent .

Astonishing .

Richard
2/11/2020 02:55:11 pm

If the person withdrawing the book was giving the address of William Grant, how do we know it wasn't William Grant?

Carl krash link
2/6/2020 01:38:20 pm

What was the cause of death for Leona? By gun by knife, etc? Do the 4 letters seem to be written by the same author? If so this might appear to be a convincing 8th victim. A really interesting find, Richard

Richard
2/6/2020 03:10:36 pm

Her death was reported as an unexplained viral infection, which quite frankly I take with a pinch of salt. She was taken against her will and turned up dead approximately 2 weeks later. It is fair to say she wasn't shot or burnt, so we are are probably looking at asphyxiation or poison. It really depends on the condition of her body - suffice to say she hadn't been dead for 18 days. I am 99.99 % convinced that the Fairfield letters are Zodiac for multiple reasons, and the Cancer and Leo communications about 90%.

Richard
2/6/2020 03:28:54 pm

The December 7th 1969 letter stated "I just need help. I will kill again so expect it any time now. The will be a cop. Then I will Turn myself in OK". If this letter was by a hoaxer and not published in any newspapers, then how was the Zodiac Killer able to know its contents. The December 20th 1969 'Melvin Belli' letter was confirmed Zodiac correspondence, as it contained a piece of Paul Stine's blooded shirt. The Melvin Belli letter pleaded for assistance: "Dear Melvin. This is the Zodiac speaking. I wish you a happy Christmass. The one thing I ask of you is this, please help me. I cannot reach out for help because of this thing in me won't let me. I am finding it extreamly dificult to hold it in check I am afraid I will loose control again and take my nineth & posibly tenth victom. Please help me I am drownding. At the moment the children are safe from the bomb because it is so massive to dig in & the triger mech requires much work to get it adjusted just right. But if I hold back too long from no nine I will loose complet all controol of my self & set the bomb up. Please help me. I can not remain in control for much longer".

Can it be argued that the Fairfield letter stating "I just need help" and the Melvin Belli letter thrice urging "please help me" just 13 days later, was just simple coincidence, or is it more likely the Zodiac Killer had written the earlier Fairfield letter and was just continuing the theme. In addition, the second part of the December 7th Fairfield letter is threatening to kill a cop just like the communication following the Belli letter on April 20th 1970, in which Zodiac suggested "there is more glory in killing a cop than a cid because a cop can shoot back". Additionally. the Fairfield letter after stating he "needs help," intimates he "will kill again," as does the Melvin Belli letter when warning he "will lose control again".

Rubislaw 32 link
2/11/2020 02:13:43 pm

Interesting Richard .

Jerry Johnson could be the key to authenticity , as outlined by Laffery , in his book .

David Kahn's book : Feb.13th 1968 - Aug.20th 1969 , Civic Fairfield .

The Mikado double LP : Feb.5th 1968 - March 17th 1970 , JFK Vallejo .

According to Lafferty , both items only ever had the one user , up until Lafferty notified law enforcement , who moved in and confiscated '' everything '' , including library sign in cards .

Rubislaw 32 link
2/11/2020 02:50:03 pm

And , to remind readers , the unknown man , with both libraries , signed up , to the name :

( A Christian name ) . Grant

What was the Christian name given , by the unknown man who , appears to have been making some effort , at least , to impersonate William Joseph Grant ?

It certainly seems , as if those claimed associates of Jerry Johnson , are so '' guarding '' of their adopted suspects , that they just don't want to know any answers ( ? ) .

They ought not to worry - it doesn't necessarily prove anything .

But , might give sleuths , at least more '' options '' for consideration .

Rubislaw 32 link
2/11/2020 03:23:03 pm

Just to answer your question , Richard .

There seemed no earthly reason , why Grant would employ a forename , other than '' William '' or '' Joseph ''.

Upon Lafferty's discovery , he had no explanation and the librarian on duty told Lafferty that she had never come across this before - an instance of someone actually signing for a different forename , than was typed up , by a librarian at the desk , and would normally have noticed a discrepancy immediately .

This inference being , that the presumed imposter desired to get away with a discrepancy , that would be uncovered at a later date.

As it so proved to be .

Also , I don't really think that libraries and devoted reading , was Grants '' thing ''....though incidental , perhaps....'' although '' one could make the point that the '' imposter '' probably had a fair idea that he would get away with this , in the knowledge that Grant wasn't exactly a '' book worm '' .

Rubislaw 32 link
2/11/2020 03:40:06 pm

If , for example , the unknown man signed for :

Ulysses S.Grant

We could take the opinion that the unknown man was , not only impersonating WJGrant , by employing Grant's address also , but , taking the proverbial p*ss in addition . Since the name represented the Civil war hero and ex-President .

Perhaps , in that sort of scenario , the notion that the unknown man was the Zodiac would become more persuasive ,

Rubislaw 32 link
2/11/2020 04:12:52 pm

As an '' extra '',and while I remember it , Lafferty claims that he took the hand signed portions , to show a handwriting expert , before notifying law enforcement . Together with samples of Grant's handwriting .

The handwriting expert concluded that the signatures for '' ( A Christian name , Grant ) and Grant's handwriting , was '' not '' a match .

Richard
2/11/2020 04:35:13 pm

That being the case, we have to determine any correlation between book and Zodiac's ciphers, akin to the suggestion of Edgar Allan Poe.

Richard
2/11/2020 04:36:51 pm

In the following few days, when I get a split second, I'll have another look at Codebreakers.

Rubislaw 32 link
2/11/2020 05:33:51 pm

Nice one Richard.

This chap , called '' David C '' who has his own Z32 site , posts to me every couple of months , at '' ZKM '' .Coincidentally , he posted to me yesterday , and left his promotional video . He has owned a copy for a long time , and every time he dips in and spots something that he thinks '' may '' have inspired the Zodiac , he leaves a bookmark behind .

He says , in all honesty , that there hasn't been anything that really jumps off the pages , but he intends to allocate some time just to go through his '' Zodiac alert '' bookmarks , at some point , to examine in more detail .


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