Doreen Gaul (19) and James Sharp (15) were murdered on November 21st 1969, their bodies discovered in a Los Angeles alleyway, between Arapahoe Street and Magnolia Avenue. A threatening typed letter signed "The Zodiac Killer" was discovered in Doreen Gaul's belongings with the message "So you think you can fool the old killer, ha ha. I know all your movements and the time they are made. Time is short, enjoy life while you can. You are to beautiful to live and I must kill you".

On August 1st 1973, a letter postmarked Albany, New York was mailed to the Albany Times Union newspaper declaring "You were wrong, I am not dead or in the hospital. I am alive and well and I'm going to start killing again. Below is the name and location of my next victim. But you had better hurry because I'm going to kill her August 10th at 5:00 pm when the shift change. Albany is a nice town". It contained a code stating "(name) Albany Medical Center this only the beginning". The Albany Letter was a direct response to a New York Daily News article about the Zodiac Killer.

The two-page news article was published on July 22nd 1973, speculating on whether the Zodiac Killer was in "a mental hospital or dead", so it wasn't too surprising that the author of the Albany Letter replied just nine days later and began with "You were wrong, I am not dead or in the hospital. I am alive and well". And then added a cryptogram threatening a medical center. But was the Zodiac Killer or hoaxer a resident of Albany, New York, or had traveled there for family or business? Albany Medical Center was 350 feet from Myrtle Avenue, the street on which Doreen Gaul previously lived. The exact address was 570 Myrtle Avenue, shown here on Google Maps. 

Five months after the Albany Letter, The Exorcist film was released in the USA on December 26th 1973 - a supernatural horror movie showcasing the fight between good and evil through the practice of exorcism and the Catholic Church. Sixteen or seventeen days later, on January 11th/12th 1974, somebody claiming to be the Zodiac Killer telephoned the San Francisco police and several news outlets, stating they had killed a woman and placed her body in a Daly City church. Despite an extensive search, no such victim was discovered. This newspaper cutting is courtesy of Seagull from the Zodiac Killer Site forum.   

 Was the release of The Exorcist film the trigger for the phone calls? These telephone calls arrived at about the same time as a San Francisco Chronicle publication on January 11th 1974 by Paul Avery, entitled "Weird Goings-On At the Movies" and describing the audience reaction to The Exorcist film. The Zodiac Killer may have been responding to this Paul Avery newspaper article by phoning the police and applying a religious angle to his threats. A movie featuring Catholicism and exorcism, shortly followed by the claim of a "murdered woman in a church" would be remiss to ignore. The 01/29/74 Exorcist Letter postmark has been linked to San Mateo County, California, in which Daly City is the largest city.

On July 10th 1972, Jan and Brian Neven requested the assistance of psychics, reporting that paranormal activity and fires were spontaneously occurring in their home in Daly City (bordering San Francisco). This "poltergeist activity" eventually drew the services of Greek Orthodox priest Father Karl Pazelt, renowned for performing exorcisms.

This story was featured heavily 18 months later in a New York Times article on January 25th 1974, stating  "Father Pazelt said the family members were reportedly the victims of peculiar forces that he labeled as “exterior signs of the devil.” At times, he said, the devil choked them by the throat, knocked them unconscious, threw knives and glasses through the air and caused objects to break, burn, move, and fly.” Father Pazelt concluded that After receiving permission from San Francisco Archbishop Joseph T. McGucken, Father Pazelt performed 14 exorcisms of the Nevens family and Dr. Freda Morris in 1972-73". If the Zodiac Killer (or impersonator) had been living in New York (in or near Albany), could this New York Times article only four days prior to the mailing of the Exorcist Letter on January 29th 1974, coupled with The Exorcist film, have been the inspiration behind the Exorcist communication? The Daly City escapades of Father Karl Pazelt also appeared in a January 19th 1974 Watertown Daily (New York) feature, describing the unfolding drama in the Nevens family home.link.

With the former home address of Doreen Gaul, the typed letter and her eventual murder, the Albany Letter, and the New York publications regarding Father Karl Pazelt occurring in the ten days run-up to the Exorcist Letter, can we argue a case for the Zodiac Killer in New York on these dates? Or was he firmly resident in the Bay Area and vicinity, claiming a "church murder" as a response to Paul Avery or the recent release of the Exorcist film - or both?

Mailed to the Albany Times Union newspaper and postmarked August 1st 1973, this correspondence was secured by Zodiac researcher Tom Voigt of the hugely successful website Zodiackiller.com. The letter suggested an impending threat of murder on the precise date of August 10th at 5.00 pm during a shift change at the Albany Medical Center. An FBI cryptanalysis unit 

deciphered the material at the foot of the letter to reveal the following: "ALBANY MEDICAL CENTER. THIS ONLY THE BEGINNING". The targeting of a nurse at the end of her shift would seem eerily similar to the disappearance of Donna Lass from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel on September 6th 1970. This is a debatable Zodiac letter, in which the author failed to follow through on his threat of murder.
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Rumblings of a Richard Gaikowski connection surfaced due to his familiarity with Albany, having worked for the Knickerbocker News from 1966 to the latter part of 1968, before traveling to Europe and then returning to America, relocating in Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco. However, there were notable crimes in the months and years surrounding the August 10th 1973 timeline, relative to the Albany Medical Center.

The first was the murder of prostitute Gloria South (18), shot once behind her left ear with a .25 caliber pistol. Her body was found close to Morris and Lark Street, behind the Veterans Hospital. But this murder was committed approximately two years prior to the Albany letter, on June 29th 1971, despite the location being very close to the Albany Medical Center. Investigators had a prime suspect in this case, but without any solid evidence tying him to the crime, they were unable to make good on their suspicions.

The second was a lot closer to the timeline, occurring four and a half months after the said date of August 10th 1973, on December 27th 1973, when Barbara Smith (24) of Hamilton Street, was murdered close to the St Philips Day Care Center on Road Street. The perpetrator had shot the young woman in the head, although it had failed to penetrate her skull. He had then used a rock to inflict the severe injuries noted at autopsy. This location was also close to the other murder, along with the Albany Medical Center.

On November 2nd 1974, Kathleen Kolodziej vanished after leaving the Vault Bar in Cobleskill, having turned down the chance to return to her dormitory with a roommate - last seen heading along Main Street. The village of Coblekill lies approximately 40 miles west of Albany. Although not a confirmed sighting, she was last seen getting into a yellow Volkswagen Beetle just before 2:00 am. Twenty six days later on November 28th 1974 she was discovered on MacDonald Road, Richmondville, lying on a stone wall. She was partially clothed, having been brutally stabbed in the back and shoulders numerous times. Kathleen Kolodziej's autopsy was carried out at the Albany Medical Center.

These murders occurred from June 1971 to November 1974. The Zodiac's hiatus in confirmed correspondence occurred between the March 13th 1971 'Los Angeles' letter or the questionable March 22nd 1971 'Pines' card, and January 29th 1974, with his last confirmed mailing to the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper, in the form of an 'Exorcist' letter. Is it possible the Zodiac switched from one location to another during this timeline, or is it more likely that the Zodiac Killer is simply being credited for crimes far and wide, with little other than letters as evidence? Many researchers question the nature of certain crimes having been committed by the Zodiac Killer, despite the fact he did once claim in the November 9th 1969 'Bus Bomb' letter that he would "change the way the collecting of slaves. I shall no longer announce to anyone. When I committ my murders, they shall look like routine robberies, killings of anger, + a few fake accidents, etc".

The murders of Doreen Gaul (19) and James Sharp (15) provided another link, in that the Gaul residence was located on Myrtle Avenue, Albany, within touching distance of the Albany Medical Center. Doreen Gaul and James Sharp had been brutally murdered and disfigured - their bodies found on November 21st 1969 in a Los Angeles alleyway, between Arapahoe Street and Magnolia Avenue - although it was thought they had been killed at a secondary location. They had been stabbed over 50 times and their eyes were slashed. Doreen Gaul had been resident at the Scientology Thetan Manor hippie commune, having graduated one year earlier from high school in Albany. A note found in her room was claimed to have been authored by the Zodiac Killer.  The letter found in in Doreen Gaul's belongings read: "SO YOU THINK YOU CAN FOOL THE OLD KILLER HA HA. I KNOW ALL YOUR MOVEMENTS AND THE TIME THEY ARE MADE. TIME IS SHORT, ENJOY LIFE WHILE YOU CAN. YOU ARE TO BEAUTIFUL TO LIVE AND I MUST KILL YOU. THE ZODIAC KILLER".
​(full stops added for clarity).

Was the Zodiac a resident of Albany at some point, or had close ties with Albany, having known, or known of Doreen Gaul. The Zodiac link to Albany can be argued through both letters, but whether the Zodiac Killer ever set his Wing Walkers down in the streets of Albany, we may never know.