The "Zodiac" Atlanta letter was mailed on March 8th 1981 claiming to be the Bay Area murderer of five, and suggesting their passion was to now target children. The author was clearly interjecting themself into the Atlanta Child Murders, for which Wayne Williams would eventually be convicted on February 27th 1982. The only way to prove this is an authentic Zodiac communication is to find something on the letter that corresponds strongly with something that the Zodiac mailed between 1969 and 1974, but was unreleased to the public. The Zodiac letters and cards were widely published in the newspapers, however, the majority of the envelopes were not in the public domain by the arrival of the Atlanta letter in 1981. The Vallejo Times-Herald, October 28th 1987 "Halloween" envelope was shown to perfectly mimic the exact thirteen words on the unreleased Vallejo Times-Herald, August 31st 1969 envelope, including the lack of punctuation (and possible incorrect spelling of Herald to Herold). This attempted to show that the Zodiac Killer was still actively writing letters in 1987. A similar technique can be applied to the Atlanta envelope, postmarked March 8th 1981. The Atlanta letter may be pointing us in the right direction. In the letter (shown below) it can be noted that the author dedicates much of the text to the San Francisco murder of Paul Stine and October 13th 1969 letter.

The author begins the Atlanta letter referencing "San Francisco" and referring to the murder of children, stating "I'll kill children because they are so easy to pick off", and that he had "left certain clues" at his victims bodies. In the letter referencing the murder of Paul Stine on October 13th 1969, the Zodiac Killer stated "School children make nice targets, I think I shall wipe out a school bus some morning. Just shoot out the front tire + then pick off the kiddies as they come bouncing out". In the second letter on November 9th 1969 mentioning his exploits in San Francisco, the Zodiac Killer stated "If you wonder why I was wipeing the cab down I was leaving fake clews for the police to run all over town with, as one might say".  It is clear the author of the Atlanta letter heavily focused this communication towards the murder of children, reminiscent of the letter mailed in the aftermath of the Paul Stine killing.

The October 13th 1969 envelope mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle had not been released into the public domain at the time the Atlanta envelope and letter was mailed in 1981. The October 13th 1969 envelope was the only 'confirmed' communication mailed by the Zodiac Killer that carried small Zodiac crosshairs on the address side of the envelope, just like the Atlanta envelope mailed eleven and a half years later. An Atlanta letter that mimicked the October 13th 1969 letter threatening to "pick off" children. We now have two envelopes from the 1980s that mimicked previously unreleased envelopes in 1969, thereby pouring cold water on suspects like Ross Sullivan and Earl Van Best Jr, who died prior to 1987.  Unfortunately, I doubt any amount of evidence will change the Zodiac narrative of a killer whose confirmed communications ceased in 1974. These beliefs have become so embedded and entrenched into Zodiac folklore, that any attempt to challenge the pervading narrative can be likened to throwing a pebble into the Pacific Ocean. 

Imagine you are a hoaxer sitting down at your desk in 1981 pretending to mimic the Zodiac Killer. You mention San Francisco in the 1981 communication (only Paul Stine was killed in San Francisco), you mention "leaving clues" at the crime scene in the Atlanta letter (just like was claimed in the Bus Bomb letter regarding the Paul Stine crime scene), and mention picking off kids in the Atlanta letter, just like the Paul Stine letter on October 13th 1969 - then beyond belief - you add small crosshairs to the address side of the 1981 envelope, mimicking exactly the publicly unreleased envelope on October 13th 1969 concerning the Paul Stine murder, which also contained small crosshairs on the address side. Out of all the claimed authentic Zodiac communications in 1969, 1970, 1971 & 1974, you (the hoaxer) just happened to mimic the Paul Stine envelope that carried the same crosshairs on the address side of the envelope, while using language pertinent to the Paul Stine murder. You are an amazing hoaxer.  

Six days before the Atlanta letter, on March 2nd 1981, a business reply envelope, postmarked Cleveland, OH, bearing the press printed address "The Danbury Mint, Richards Avenue, P.O. Box 5260, Norwalk, Conn" was mailed with the handwritten note: "Please stop forced bussing or I will kill 3 more black boys in Atlanta in March". On or around May 2nd 1971, the Zodiac Killer encoded a message in a 148 character cipher instructing law enforcement to "stop listening to phonys" or he "will skin 3 little kids" (not in the public domain by 1981). The Zodiac Killer latched onto the murders of Debra Gaye Furlong (14), Kathie Reyne Snoozy (15) and Kathy Bilek (18) in San Jose and Saratoga (in 1969 and 1971), claiming he was responsible for stabbing all three, despite these murders having been committed by Karl Francis Werner. He then threatened to kill a further three children. The exact same tactic employed a decade later in Atlanta, by interjecting himself into the murders of black children he was likely not responsible for, by once again threatening to kill three more children if his demands were not met. 

RELEVANT ARTICLE: THE MISSING DARRON GLASS 

On March 2nd 1981, a business reply envelope postmarked Cleveland, OH, bearing the press printed address "The Danbury Mint, Richards Avenue, P.O. Box 5260, Norwalk, Conn" was mailed with the message: "Please stop forced bussing or I will kill 3 more black boys in Atlanta in March". On March 8th 1981, the Atlanta letter arived, signed Zodiac and replete with crosshairs, intimating he was killing the black children of Atlanta.  On March 18th 1981, the Washington Post received a letter addressed to "Editor of the Washington Post", claiming to have information on the Atlanta killings and requesting that the editor place an advertisement in the newspaper, stating "Daniel Please Call Home". Another letter, postmarked Williamsport PA 177 PM 23 APR 1981, bearing a pre-printed address was mailed with the accompanying handwritten note beginning "You shall die I'm going to..." The postage-paid envelope was used by a company to distribute literature to its prospective customers. The distribution was made from the New York office of the company.

On or about January 20th 1982, a Santa Claus card was mailed to the family home of missing 25-year-old Harvard graduate, Joan Webster, with the pre-printed address of 654 Grandview Avenue, Ridgewood, New York, mailed inside a business reply envelope for the Better Life Journal with the press-printed address of 7617-D Metro Drive, Austin, Texas. The Santa Claus card carried the message "Please, where can I write you,?" Three of these ominous/cryptic brief messages contained the polite request of "Please", either in the first or second word of the message. At least three of the communications had another thing in common - notably the use of pre-printed or business reply envelopes. There may be a geographical connection as well.

If you look at the map above you will notice the close proximity relationship of the Santa Claus card (with the pre-printed address of 654 Grandview Avenue) to the Glen Ridge home of the Webster family, to where it was mailed. The author had glued a newspaper cutting around the envelope carrying the message "Offer 10G reward for missing coed". This was cut from the New York Daily News article of January 18th 1982. The Santa Claus card was almost certainly a response to a heartfelt appeal by the Webster family for any information pertaining to their missing daughter, which was broadcast throughout New England on Christmas Day of 1981, less than a month after her disappearance.on 28th November 1981.

The March 2nd 1981 business reply envelope, postmarked Cleveland, OH, bearing the press printed address "The Danbury Mint, Richards Avenue, P.O. Box 5260, Norwalk, Conn" was mailed with the handwritten note: "Please stop forced bussing or I will kill 3 more black boys in Atlanta in March". The Danbury Mint ran advertisements in eighteen newspapers through a mail order company, advertising miniature pewter models of classic automobiles. The Danbury Mint is a division of MBI, Inc. that markets a variety of collectibles. Danbury Mint historically marketed high quality medals and ingots produced by others exclusively for them. The company also sold numerous other collectible offering including plates, bells, sculptures, etc. Danbury Mint is well known for its 1:24 scale die-cast vehicles, including a now discontinued James Bond's DB5. These advertisements ran on March 1st 1981, the day before the press printed Danbury Mint envelope was mailed. These envelopes were inserted inside each newspaper. One prominent newspaper on the list was the Staten Island Advance in New York, which could very well be where the author of the "forced bussing" letter sourced the envelope. The Better Life Journal business printed envelope, used for the Joan Webster family Santa Claus card, may also have been sourced from the Staten Island Advance. The Better Life Journal advertised its literature through subscription advertisements in selected newspapers. Here is an image of the Better Life Journals, including 1981.     

There is good reason to believe the March 2nd 1981 "forced bussing" letter is connected to the March 8th 1981 "Zodiac" Atlanta letter. If this was the Zodiac Killer, then the Danbury Mint business reply envelope used in the March 2nd correspondence - possibly sourced from inside the Staten Island Advance newspaper - could place the Zodiac Killer in and around New York in 1981. The business reply envelope used for the Santa Claus card (addressed 654 Grandview Avenue, Ridgewood, New York), mailed to Glen Ridge, New Jersey and using a New York Daily News cutting, could easily be the same author. Whoever mailed these communications had a propensity to use pre-printed business reply envelopes, distributed free in the newspapers. And in both instances, readdressed them to their desired recipient. In the case of the Better Life Journal envelope, it was readdressed to the Webster family. In the case of the Danbury Mint envelope, it was directed to investigators in the Atlanta child murders. Gareth Penn believed the Santa Claus card was mailed to the Webster family by the Zodiac Killer in the aftermath of their daughter's disappearance. The links shown above may bolster his case - but only if the March 8th 1981 "Zodiac" Atlanta letter can be comprehensively proven to be the real Zodiac Killer.

Two written messages were received on March 2nd and March 8th of 1981 in Atlanta, Georgia, either from the Zodiac Killer or somebody purporting to be him. The first, a business reply envelope postmarked Cleveland, OH, was mailed with the message "Please stop forced bussing or I will kill 3 more black boys in Atlanta in March", while the second continued a similar theme, but this time signed off with the name "Zodiac" and included the infamous Zodiac crosshairs. On March 18th 1981, a letter addressed to the "Editor of the Washington Post" was received (but postmarked February 17th from Prince George's County, Maryland), claiming to have information on the Atlanta killings, and requested that the editor place an advertisement in the newspaper stating "Daniel Please Call Home", after which, the writer would initiate further contact with the editor of the Washington Post. The author had incorrectly used the name Daniel instead of Darron, in reference to the missing Atlanta child Darron Glass.

It is unknown whether any of these communications originated from the pen of the Zodiac Killer, but it doesn't hurt to explore every avenue, particularly regarding the March 8th 1981 communication where the author stated "I used to stalk women, but I like to kill children now. At all my victims bodies I have left certain clues, but I guess it's too much for you Rebels to handle". So, are there any crimes or murders in the preceding months where the killer left any clues on or near any of his victims. Especially clues misinterpreted as inadvertent oversights by the murderer of the Atlanta children. We need to look at the March correspondence, allied to any recognisable Zodiac traits in previous months in Atlanta, particularly bearing in mind brown Caucasian hairs had been noted in the FBI files in at least one of the crime scenes - and considering the possibility that Wayne Williams may not be responsible for all the Atlanta killings.      

An unknown male Caucasian telephoned the Conyers Sheriff's Offce in Atlanta at 7:30 pm on January 8th 1981 and at 11:45 am on January 15th 1981, claiming responsibility for the recent Atlanta killings and giving directions to his latest victim. A search of the area failed to uncover any murder victims, resulting in the second telephone call to police by the white male, indicating they had searched the wrong area. The calls had been placed from a local convenience store. The caller made further threats to kill a white child from one of the subdivisions off Sigman Road in Conyers and giving a deadline of February 1st 1981. In between the two telephone calls, a search was conducted on January 10th 1981 close to Redwine Road and the I-285 in southwest Atlanta, uncovering the skeletal remains of two young children. Evidentiary value or "certain clues" were discovered at that location, which included The Best of Penthouse Letters: No.1 (a pornographic collectors edition), two pieces of white cloth with a blue stripe and magnetic recording tape.

Were these deliberately placed at the crime scene, or plain debris scattered at that location unrelated to the crime itself? Aural examination of the magnetic tape only revealed commercially recorded music. 

The Atlanta murders are extremely unlikely to have any connection to the Zodiac Killer. However, that doesn't mean he can be unequivocally ruled out in being the responsible for some or all of the letters and telephone calls to police, We know of his propensity to claim crimes he wasn't a participant in, along with his willingness to write communications and direct police to the scene of his crimes. But the most important feature regarding the two telephone calls to the Conyers Sheriff's Office on January 8th and January 15th 1981, is that they were both recorded. The white male's voice giving directions to the dump sites of victims (whether they bore fruit or not), should be of significance when considering the alleged letter from the Zodiac Killer on March 8th 1981. Many media hoaxers are prevalent during serial killings, muddying the investigations and making it difficult to ascertain truth from fiction. But if the Zodiac Killer was present in Atlanta during the early 1980s, then these two recordings would be worth listening to. 

A business reply envelope postmarked Cleveland, OH, March 2nd 1981, bearing the press printed address "The Danbury Mint, Richards Avenue, P.O. Box 5260, Norwalk, Conn", contained the message "Please stop forced bussing or I will kill 3 more black boys in Atlanta in March". Six days later, a letter claiming to be from the Zodiac Killer arrived at the television station WXIA-TV "11 Alive" at 1611 West Peachtree Street, Atlanta, 30308 on March 8th 1981, stating "Hello its me. Haven't you people figured out who is killing these little people yet". I therefore went in search of other communications from these postmark locations that bore any similarity to the Zodiac Killer. The following find is extremely unlikely to have any connection to the Bay Area murderer, but it was a threatening greeting card that carried the same message apparently included with the Zodiac Killer's October 27th 1970 Halloween card, the arrival date carries some significance, the card was postmarked just 22 days before the 2001 Happy New Year "Zodiac" greeting card, which was mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle on January 10th 2001, and it was postmarked from Cleveland, Ohio, just like the March 2nd 1981 letter above.   

It was a threatening communication, cut into four pieces and mailed to the Republican Headquarters, 526 Superior Avenue Northeast, Cleveland, Ohio on December 19th 2000 to U.S. Senator George Voinovich, and received on December 20th 2000. Two stickers apparently came with the Zodiac Halloween card in 1970 with the messages "Thinking of you" and "Have a nice day". This greeting card, adorned with an image of flowers, also came with the message "Thinking of you". Three parts of the handwritten threat stated "Hey you stinking white bitch", "We don't want no TV bullshit" and "we will cut off your head and impale it on a spear". The envelope bore a zip code of 44126-1906 and a 33c upside down General Omar N. Bradley stamp.

In essence, we have a 2000 greeting card bearing the message "Thinking of you", the exact wording previously mailed with the 1970 Halloween card. The 2000 communication bore the postmark Cleveland, Ohio, the same as a potential Zodiac correspondence from 1981. The 2000 greeting card was postmarked 22 days before a suspected Zodiac greeting card on January 10th 2001. The March 2nd 1981, December 19th 2000 and January 10th 2001 communications all carried a racial overtone of "Please stop forced bussing or I will kill 3 more black boys in Atlanta in March", "Hey you stinking white bitch" and "Those bastard Muni Drive (The majority Black and asians) What happened to the White people Drivers we once had".

To find out the reason Senator George Voinovich was targeted, we have to look at his timeline on Wikipedia, where it states "In the Senate, Voinovich opposed lowering tax rates. He frequently joined Democrats on tax issues and in 2000 was the only Republican in Congress to vote against a bill providing for relief from the "marriage penalty". In previous suspected Zodiac communications the author had targeted many notable Democrats, so the fact Senator Voinovich "frequently joined with Democrats on tax issues" is in keeping with a Zodiac Killer of Republican persuasion attacking anybody who opposed his views. However, it must be stressed, that this greeting card was unlikely to have been mailed by the Zodiac Killer despite some of the overlapping features.

Darron Glass (10) was last seen at approximately 4:00 pm on September 14th 1980, having left the house at 2289 Memorial Drive SE, Atlanta, Georgia, where he lived with his foster mother Fannie Mae Smith. Shortly after Darron had left the house she received an emergency phone call from a person claiming to be Darron, who abruptly hung up before she could speak. Young Darron Glass has never been seen or heard from again. His case was considered part of the Atlanta child murders, in which Wayne Bertram Williams was attributed responsibility for 18 child victims. He was additionally found guilty for the murder of two adult victims, Jimmy Ray Payne and Nathaniel Cater. 

On March 2nd 1981, a business reply envelope postmarked Cleveland, OH, was mailed with the message "Please stop forced bussing or I will kill 3 more black boys in Atlanta in March". It is believed that the author was also responsible for the letter mailed six days later.

The Zodiac Killer, or somebody claiming to be the Zodiac Killer, would mail a communication on March 8th 1981 to the television station WXIA-TV "11 Alive" at 1611 West Peachtree Street, 30308, insinuating it was he that was killing all these "little people". The author stated:

Hello its me. Haven't you people figured out who is killing these little people yet. I'll give you a hint, I used to be in San Francisco. I used to stalk women, but I like to kill children now. At all my victims bodies I have left certain clues, but I guess it's too much for you Rebels to handle. So I guess I'll have to tell you. I'll (to) kill children because they are so easy to "pick off: Buy the way, if you still have letters from the other murders, I am not writing in the same hand writing. 

On March 18th 1981, a letter addressed to the "Editor of the Washington Post" was received (but postmarked February 17th from Prince George's County, Maryland), claiming to have information on the Atlanta killings, and requested that the editor place an advertisement in the newspaper stating "Daniel Please Call Home", after which, the writer would initiate further contact with the editor of the Washington Post. Three communications in close succession that may be from the same author, or quite possibly the Zodiac Killer. The message "Daniel Please Call Home" appears to be an appeal for a male to make contact. If the named person in the communication is a missing person, then the request is either an innocent appeal, or a sinister taunting. If the author claimed to have information on the Atlanta killings, yet didn't initiate later contact with the editor of the Washington Post, one could assume malintent.

Darron Glass is the only child listed in the victims of Wayne Williams whose remains have never been found - so is effectively still missing. The newspaper clipping on the right is from the Indianapolis Star on November 29th 1980, stating: Darron Glass, one of four missing black children who have been the subject of widespread searches here, may have tried to contact his foster family recently, police said Friday. "We are investigating someone calling the foster parents and hanging up", said Atlanta Public Safety Commissioner Lee Brown. 

Bearing in mind the suspicious phone calls regarding Darron Glass and the headline in the newspaper of "Child may have tried to call home", it puts a new light on the trinity of potential Zodiac communications above - particularly the last one. The March 18th 1981 letter to the "Editor of the Washington Post" requested an advertisement be placed in the newspaper, stating "Daniel Please Call Home". Because the author of this letter mentioned the Atlanta killings, it is my contention the message should have read "Darron Please Call Home". 

If the person who contacted the Washington Post by letter was just a helpful citizen, did he accidentally get the name incorrect, using "Daniel" instead of "Darron". Or was this person responsible for the other two letters on March 2nd and March 8th, thereby giving a sinister and mischievous element to the March 18th 1981 appeal.

When we consider that the author of the March 18th 1981 letter claimed he had information pertinent to the Atlanta murders, and place this alongside Darron Glass, the missing boy from Atlanta, it isn't too difficult to reach the conclusion of a message that should have read "Darron Please Call Home". When you add in the newspaper headline on the right and the sinister phone calls, then a whole new line of investigation opens up in the case of the missing Darron Glass.  

In two recent articles [1] [2] we have been attempting to find potential Zodiac Killer communications along the route of California, Texas, Atlanta, Washington and New York, thereby bridging the gap between the March 8th 1981 "Zodiac" Atlanta letter, implying he was killing children, and the Santa Claus card mailed to the family of missing Joan Webster, on or shortly after January 20th 1982.

On March 2nd 1981, a business reply envelope postmarked Cleveland, OH, bearing the press printed address "The Danbury Mint, Richards Avenue, P.O. Box 5260, Norwalk, Conn" was mailed with the message: "Please stop forced bussing or I will kill 3 more black boys in Atlanta in March". On March 18th 1981, the Washington Post received a letter addressed to "Editor of the Washington Post" and claiming to have information on the Atlanta killings, requesting that the editor place an advertisement in the newspaper, stating "Daniel Please Call Home". In the Santa Claus card, mailed circa January 20th 1982, the author typed "Please, where can I write you,?" Three ominous/cryptic brief messages, all containing the polite request of "Please", either in the first or second word of the message.

Below is a further communication, postmarked Williamsport PA 177 PM 23 APR 1981, bearing a pre-printed address. The accompanying handwritten note began "You shall die I'm going to..." The postage-paid envelope was used by a company to distribute literature to its prospective customers. The distribution was made from the New York office of the company because it was printed in red ink. The company retained a list of individuals who received such an envelope, however, no suspects have been formally identified in the matter. The name "Bobby Doe" had been added over the erased return address on the face of the envelope, while the reverse side of the envelope carried a threat to President Ronald Reagan. This communication was reminiscent of the threat to kill Jimmy Carter in a suspected Zodiac letter postmarked June 8th 1977, and "You shall die I'm going to..." similar to the beginning of the October 17th 1970 card, stating "The Zodiac is going to". I am unsure whether the crosshairs on the second page below were sourced from the original letter, but a curious addition nonetheless, bearing in mind the two Zodiac crosshairs added to the March 8th 1981 Atlanta letter, one of which was present on the envelope.    

Williamsport, Pennsylvania is approximately 160 miles from New York and Washington, which featured regarding the "Daniel Please Call Home" letter and the Santa Claus card. The analysis of the letter determined that the author was probably a male, aged between 10 and 15 years. However, it is specified that the linguistic method employed is not considered a positive means of identification. Was it the scrawling childlike writing of the Zodiac Killer, akin to the scribbled Bates letters, or indeed an extremely youthful impersonator? 

Joan Lucinda Webster, a 25-year-old Harvard graduate, disappeared after her arrival at Boston's Logan International Airport on 28th November 1981, with her remains identified nearly nine years later on April 30th 1990 in Hamilton, Massachusetts. The envelope and card (shown below) were likely mailed to the parents of the missing woman on, or shortly after January 20th 1982 (because the postmark is missing the date). See previous article The Santa Claus Card.

If the Zodiac Killer had travelled from Los Angeles to Texas by car, either in late 1980 or January 1981, he could have travelled through Texas and picked up the Better Life Journal envelope after a moderate stay. His next port of call in the early months of 1981 would have been Atlanta, Georgia, where he claimed in a letter that he had now killed children and was targeting more.
Not everybody believed that 23-year-old Wayne Bertram Williams was responsible for the totality of the Atlanta Child Murders.
The letter, purportedly written by the Zodiac Killer, was postmarked Atlanta, Georgia and mailed to the television station WXIA-TV "11 Alive" at 1611 West Peachtree Street, 30308 on March 8th 1981.

In accompaniment to the Atlanta letter, the author wrote another short note stating "Please stop forced bussing or I will kill 3 more black boys in Atlanta in March". This was a business reply envelope postmarked Cleveland, OH, March 2nd 1981, bearing the press printed address "The Danbury Mint, Richards Avenue, P.O. Box 5260, Norwalk, Conn". Shortly before these letters (or after, depending on how you interpret the files), an anonymous communication postmarked Prince George's County, Maryland, February 17th 1981, addressed to "Editor of the Washington Post" and claiming to have information on the Atlanta killings, demanded that the editor place an advertisement in the newspaper stating "Daniel Please Call Home", after which the writer would initiate further contact with the editor of the Washington Post. At approximately 2:30 pm on the same date, March 18th 1981, the Washington Field Office contacted (redacted) and he advised that he and his newspaper would cooperate fully and place the "Daniel Please Call Home" advertisement in the March 19th 1981 edition. If the Zodiac Killer was in Cleveland or Maryland, was he going to initiate further contact with the editor of the Washington Post when he arrived in Washington - once he had finished his promise of murdering three more kids in Atlanta in March. 

Did the Zodiac Killer commute between Atlanta, Cleveland and Maryland, before continuing eastwards toward New York. The question is, who is Daniel and did the Zodiac Killer initiate further contact with the Washington Post during his stop in Washington? Was the author insinuating his involvement in another missing person case? When the Zodiac Killer arrived in New York, he acquired the Santa Claus card in the latter months of 1981 (during the approach to the festive period). The card carried the return address of 654 Grand View Avenue, Ridgewood, New York. This New York Santa Claus card was soon to be placed inside the Better Life Journal Texas envelope 

Los Angeles to Atlanta is a virtual straight line across the country, through Texas. U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 is an east–west United States highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest all the way to New England. Once the Zodiac had collected the Santa Claus card in New York, did he continue north-east to Massachusetts (Boston's Logan International Airport) where he abducted and murdered Joan Webster? Then, a month later, on January 21st 1982 (or thereabouts) he used both envelope and card he picked up on his travels, mailing them in unison to the Webster family at Glen Ridge, New Jersey. The Zodiac Killer may have had nothing to do with Joan Webster's abduction and murder, but the Atlanta letter does place him on that trajectory 9 months prior to her disappearance, presuming any, or all of these communications have anything to do with the Bay Area murderer.

Below is the envelope of the May 2nd 1978 Channel 9 letter featured on zodiackiller.com, mailed to KHJ-TV in Los Angeles just eight days after the "I Am Back With You" letter, postmarked April 24th 1978. There have been links forged on the Zodiac Killer Site forum between two of the 1978 letters and the March 8th 1981 "Atlanta" letter, mailed to West Peachtree Street in Atlanta. All three carried the Symbols of America stamps of the 13c Liberty Bell, 13c Eagle and Shield, and 15c American Flag from the Americana Seies. In addition to these three communications, another communication was mailed on July 19th 1978 to the San Francisco Chronicle from Los Angeles, rambling on about tape waiting for him all over California. In this analysis, I would like to focus initially on the three 1978 letters mailed within three months of one another, as well as the Melvin Belli letter mailed to 1228 Montgomery Street in San Francisco on December 20th 1969. The reason to jump back to 1969, was not only because the handwriting on the Melvin Belli letter looked somewhat similar to the Channel 9 envelope, but because of the content contained within it. 

The Melvin Belli letter contained the phrases I am afraid I will loose control again, I will loose all controol of my self and Please help me I can not remain in control for much longer. The communications on April 24th 1978 and July 19th 1978, either side of the Channel 9 letter, both continued this theme of control. The April 24th 1978 letter concluded with "I am now in control of all things". The July 19th 1978 letter concluded with "I am the ZODIAC and I am in control," but also began with "I am the ZODIAC and I am in control of all things". One couldn't help thinking that this theme should be present in the Channel 9 letter, therefore binding it to the other two 1978 letters - and possibly the Zodiac Killer.

The upper left corner of an envelope is usually reserved for the sender's name and address, but the author of the Channel 9 letter has placed 1234567 All Good Children Go To Heaven (abbreviated) from The Beatles You Never Give Me Your Money lyrics, as well as drawing the Apple logo from their record label in the bottom left corner. However, we are left with the boxed off section in the top left corner of the envelope, which if a mirror image just like the other writing, should be the acronym AIC. Was the answer present in the July 19th 1978 letter, when he twice stated "I AM THE ZODIAC AND I AM IN CONTROL", or are we looking for a continuation of The Beatles theme regarding the letters AIC.

If we consider one author responsible for the April 24th 1978, May 2nd 1978, July 19th 1978 and March 8th 1981 letters - and he bought several "blocks of four stamps" of the Americana Series in one visit - then we may be able to track the selection of his stamps in respect to his mailings. The Americana Series stamps followed a very uniform plan that outlined the designs of individual stamps as well as the blocks of four. In all, there were five different blocks, each with a different theme, but similar design style – the subject in the center, and the title curving around two of the edges. When all four stamps were placed together, the titles created a frame around the stamps. The five themes were Roots of Democracy, Rights and Freedoms of the American People, Symbols of America, Pioneer America, and America’s Light. Mysticstamp.com.

If the Zodiac Killer was to purchase several of the Symbols of America Series (shown below), these would have been the appropriate postage for the time. The postage was 13c from December 31st 1975 until May 29th 1978, when it switched to 15c. Then on March 22nd 1981 the postage increased to 18c. So three of these stamps would be the correct postage for his three 1978 letters and March 8th 1981 letter, had he applied just one to each.

Let us assume that the Zodiac Killer buys these blocks of four stamps just prior to his first 1978 letter on April 24th 1978. We will use the two blocks shown above to follow his course of action. Being right-handed, he tears off the two upper right Liberty Bell stamps and affixes them to his April 24th 1978 (I Am Back With You) letter. He then tears off one of the upper left Eagle and Shield stamps and affixes it to his May 2nd 1978 (Channel 9) letter. On the block of four with only two stamps remaining, he tears off the 15c American Flag stamp and affixes it to his July 19th 1978 (Friction Tape) letter. This is the easiest of the two options available to him. The stamp on the July 19th 1978 envelope is unknown because we don't have this correspondence available, so this is just a calculated guess. This would have been his only choice from the Symbols of America Series, because the stamp price increased to 15c on May 29th 1978. Then on March 8th 1981 he used the only remaining 15c American Flag stamp from the block of three stamps.

The Zodiac Killer would be left with one redundant 13c Eagle and Shield stamp in respect to correct postage for any letter up to one ounce. If another potential Zodiac letter is discovered to have been mailed between April 24th 1978 (I Am Back With You letter) and May 29th 1978 (when the 13c postage increased), and it contains an Eagle and Shield stamp on the envelope from the Symbols of America Series, we have to consider it as a strong contender for the same responsible.

If the above letters were just mailed by random hoaxers unconnected to one another, it would be rather unusual to expect three independent and consecutive communications claiming to be the Zodiac Killer, to have all contained three Symbols of America stamps from the Americana Series. If the Zodiac Killer kept a secret stash containing his writing paper, marker pens and a supply of stamps for "future use", away from prying eyes, then it is not difficult to understand how the sequence of his mailings could have unfolded.

After the final flurry of communications had ceased in 1971, many have speculated on a killer who upped sticks and left the state of California. One dubious Zodiac letter was received nearly a decade later in 1981, postmarked Atlanta, Georgia and mailed to the television station WXIA-TV "11 Alive" at 1611 West Peachtree Street, 30308 on March 8th. Wayne Williams was a serial killer attributed with twenty plus murders in Atlanta between 1979 and 1981, primarily that of children. However, Wayne Williams was only ever convicted in the murders of Jimmy Ray Payne (21) on April 23rd 1981 and Nathaniel Cater (27) on May 22nd 1981, both of whom were adults. This has led some people to question whether Wayne Williams was responsible for any or some of the murders attributed to him. Wayne Williams wasn't arrested until June 21st 1981, which in retrospect, makes the alleged Zodiac letter on March 8th 1981 claiming he was responsible for some of the Atlanta child murders even more interesting. This letter was mailed 3 1/2 months prior to the arrest of Wayne Williams. Is it possible the Zodiac Killer was responsible for some or any of the child murders just over 2,300 miles from California, bearing in mind the doubt that has surrounded the crimes? Let us examine the letter and a similar threat received in the same timeframe. 

Two black children and three black adults were murdered in March that year, with the three adults aged between 20 and 23 years, murdered between March 20th and March 25th of 1981. The letter stated:

Hello its me. Haven't you people figured out who is killing these little people yet. I'll give you a hint, I used to be in San Francisco. I used to stalk women, but I like to kill children now. At all my victims bodies I have left certain clues, but I guess it's too much for you Rebels to handle. So I guess I'll have to tell you. I'll (to) kill children because they are so easy to "pick off: Buy the way, if you still have letters from the other murders, I am not writing in the same hand writing. 

Both letters contain racist overtones, with the use of the capitalized Rebels and the demand to stop Forced Bussing.
Patriots (also known as Revolutionaries, Continentals, Rebels, or American Whigs) were those colonists of the Thirteen Colonies who rejected British rule during the American Revolution and declared the United States of America as an independent nation in July 1776. Their decision was based on the political philosophy of republicanism as expressed by spokesmen such as Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Thomas Paine. They were opposed by the Loyalists who supported continued British rule. Soldiers fighting for the southern states in the American Civil War were called rebels. Wikipedia. Therefore, by invoking the title of Rebels may indicate the identity or character of the person behind the letter, particularly if he was also responsible for the short note, stating "Please stop forced bussing or I will kill 3 more black boys in Atlanta in March".  

Busing, also called desegregation busing in the United States, was the practice of transporting students to schools within or outside their local school districts as a means of rectifying racial segregation. Although American schools were technically desegregated in 1954 by the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision handed down in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), in practice they remained largely segregated owing to trends in housing and neighbourhood segregation. Busing came to be the main remedy by which the courts sought to end racial segregation in the U.S. schools, and it was the source of what was arguably the biggest controversy in American education in the later 20th century.

With extremely limited information available to be gleaned from these communications, we have to consider the possibility that the author chose the WXIA-TV "11 Alive" Station at 1611 West Peachtree Street because he may have lived or worked somewhere close to this location. Because the letter was mailed on March 8th 1981, we shall look at three of the recent victims from January 22nd 1981 to March 2nd 1981 - that of Terry Pue (15), Patrick Baltazar (11) and Joseph Bell (15), who were last seen at 4796 Memorial Drive, 201 Courtland Street and Westview Drive respectively. These locations are all within an 8.5 mile radius of the television station. But it is the abduction and murder of Terry Pue on January 22nd 1981 that we will concentrate on, primarily because of the telephone calls that accompanied this crime. Telephone calls with a racist overtone, similar to the correspondence above. These calls and letters could have been a diversionary tactic to throw off police, employed to place the murders squarely at the feet of the Ku Klux Klan or some other white supremacy group, but equally we have to consider the Zodiac Killer because of the claims in the letter - however slim that possibility.

An excellent website covering the Atlanta Child Murders is http://atkid.weebly.com, from which this excerpt has been taken: "Terry Pue's body was found off Sigman Road in Rockdale County by a passerby.  This was where an anonymous man, on January 8th, called to tell police to find a boy's body. When police came up empty handed, the man called again, claiming he put another body there, just before Pue was found.  Another call, believed to be from the same man, was traced to North Indian Creek Drive. A couple years later, a second skeletal body was found in this area".

These were the sort of 'cat and mouse' games employed by the Zodiac Killer - although it is extremely difficult to sell this notion on the basis of a few telephone calls - even if they did contain a racial element to their content. This was featured in episode six (season 2) of the Mindhunter series by Joe Penhall. The author of the letter stated that he had left "certain clues" at all his victims bodies. If this were the case in respect to Terry Pue, what could he have possibly meant?

Earlier this year, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Atlanta police chief Erika Shields announced that, following advancements in DNA technology, the city would be retesting evidence associated with the Atlanta child murders, a series of gruesome killings of more than 25 black children and adolescents in the late 1970s and early 1980s. During the press conference, Shields said there were boxes of evidence associated with the case, some of which had never been tested, and that the department believed it had a responsibility to the families of the victims to reopen the case. Rolling Stone.

Terry Pue was discovered strangled near to Interstate 20 on Sigman Road, wearing a blue windbreaker with the name "Kim" in red lettering on its rear, with dog hairs adhering to his clothing. But I doubt these are the sort of clues that Zodiac would have left behind for the police. The phone calls in the run up to the discovery of Terry Pue's body are an interesting feature of this crime, with the caller in one instance traced to the area of North Indian Creek Drive. This location is approximately 8.5 miles east of 1611 West Peachtree Street Northeast.