I have recently read Zodiac researcher Mike Rodelli's new book 'The Hunt for Zodiac: The Inconceivable Double Life of a Notorious Serial Killer'. In it he tackles the payphone call from the Springs and Tuolumne intersection to the Vallejo Police Department in the early morning of July 5th 1969. He takes the widely perceived directions given by the killer to identify the location of St John's Mine Road along Columbus Parkway, from which investigators would be led 'one mile east' to the location of the crime scene. The Zodiac Killer chose this location because he was creating radian angles using the payphone as a vertex to St John's Mine Road and the Lake Herman Road murder site.

This theory relies entirely on the transcription of the message given by Zodiac being written and recorded correctly, despite the fact that police dispatcher Nancy Slover and the Zodiac Killer were talking over each other for part of the message. The police report clearly stated "Writer received call from male subject who did not identify himself. Substance of statement was as follows". The 'substance of statement' reference, indicates that this is not necessarily a verbatim transcription of the spoken message, just the overall substance of the call. The above theory also relies on these locations being predetermined to create the necessary radian angles, and supposes that the killer already had 'radians' in his mind one year in advance of his letter proclaiming the use of such a term. The killer has once again been elevated to a master criminal, creating a labyrinth of puzzles from the terrain of northern California. This is the truth - or there is a much simpler and far more mundane answer.
The idea that the Zodiac Killer was just a ruthless killer scouring the Bay Area for victims using 'hit and miss' tactics, isn't half as appealing as the Moriarty style puzzle merchant he has metamorphosed into in recent years.
What is the likelihood that a killer calling the Vallejo Police Department from a payphone near the police station, was directing the police to the crime scene from their location, rather than creating an elaborate puzzle from a predetermined position along Columbus Parkway to manufacture radian angles? This is for you to decide. 

Thomas Horan, author of 'The Great Zodiac Killer Hoax of 1969', admits that the Nancy Slover police report statement of the message is not a verbatim transcription, but goes on to say "Blue Rock Springs is not one mile east of Vallejo Police Department." Despite this, he then uses the transcription to identify a fire station one mile west of the crime scene in his following hypothesis. Both theories rely on the wording and context of the message having been recorded exactly as it was spoken by the killer.
The crime scene is neither 'one mile east' of the fire station or St John's Mine Road. A significant portion of the journey would be traveling closer to south than east. At best (as the crow flies), southeast would be the more accurate determination.  

Zodiac researcher Gian Quasar also tackled this problem on his website 'The Quester Files'.  He stated "The Zodiac does not know the name of the park. Nor was he in a state to notice the sign. Feigning ignorance would buy him nothing. Not knowing the name or just pretending he didn’t know the name would not indicate he was a stranger. Under normal circumstances a stranger would have noticed the park sign. When he calls the police, he actually gives them directions. But even in these he is quite wrong. He is really not aware of directions and distances.
Blue Rock Springs was neither 1 mile east of where he called, nor a mile east of the junction of Springs Road and Columbus Parkway. It is north of Springs Road by about 1 mile and 3 miles away from where he had called. Instead of simply saying the name of the park, which would tell all and sundry the location, The Zodiac gives instructions and doesn’t really have a grasp on distance and direction. He didn’t stalk his ground much at all. Nor was he in a state to notice the sign. He could not have been a Vallejoan."

​This statement makes the assumption that Nancy Slover recalled and recorded the spoken message of Zodiac 100% correct, while just assuming that Zodiac was incorrect with his payphone message. It doesn't consider the possibility that Zodiac was 100% correct and Nancy Slover recalled and recorded the message incorrectly. This same bias was not applied to either party at Presidio Heights, regarding the incorrect negro male adult description given to responding personnel. We will show later that the message by Zodiac was in all likelihood correct - and Nancy Slover also got the wording of the message correct, but with one crucial mistake. Reading into the message and claiming Zodiac was feigning ignorance by only mentioning the word 'park' is a stretch, and again the same argument could be applied to "The S.F. Police could have caught me last night if they had searched the park properly". Using the word 'park' is not proof of Zodiac knowing the area or not. 

Here is a newspaper article statement regarding the murder of Cheri Jo Bates in Riverside on October 30th 1966.
A Mexican-American student who noticed Cheri Jo Bates close to opening time, stated "he knew Cheri Jo Bates and had noticed her in the library the night in question. He said he saw the girl "writing something with a ball point pen in her blue spiral school notebook." The boy told us he was outside about 5:30 pm, waiting for the library to open at 6:00 pm, and it was then he saw the girl". This statement is confusing, as it can be read in two different ways - did he see Cheri at 5:30 pm or 6:00 pm. 

Let us consider the three teenagers at the corner of Washington and Cherry Streets, and assume they had a direct hotline to Officer Armond Pelissetti one mile west on Washington Street. They are viewing Zodiac heading up Cherry Street, so they call Officer Pelissetti and state "If you go one mile east, on Cherry Street you will see Zodiac." In the second instance they call Officer Pelissetti and state "If you go one mile east on Cherry Street you will see Zodiac." Both statements are composed of the same words, but mean two different things entirely. The only difference is intonation or the use of a slight pause or break, making the first statement correct, while the other giving the impression of directional unawareness. 

Applied to the Blue Rock Springs call, we go from "If you will go one mile east on Columbus Parkway to the public park, you will find the kids in a brown car" to "If you will go one mile east. On Columbus Parkway to the public park, you will find the kids in a brown car." The wording hasn't changed, but the meaning of the payphone call has changed entirely 
The Zodiac Killer is instructing police to head east to Columbus Parkway, from where they will find the stricken couple at the public park. All this is achieved by a simple full stop. Why would he be directing Vallejo police from a point on Columbus Parkway, when he is ringing the police station near to the payphone? 
Police traveling from the station along Solano Avenue to Springs Road, would then have to travel 1.34 miles east before reaching Columbus Parkway, on which they would head north towards the crime scene. 
Do you want this boring answer, or do you want something far more exciting? The choice is yours. 

Here I will tackle the question of the Blue Rock Springs phone call, traced to the Springs Road and Tuolumne Street payphone on the morning of July 5th 1969. The Zodiac Killer stated in the August 4th 1969 'Debut' letter, that "the man who told police that my car was brown was a negro about 40-45 rather shabbly dressed. I was in this phone booth having some fun with the Vallejo cop when he was walking by. When I hung the phone up the damn thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me + my car."
Despite the fact that there was no mention of this individual in the police report, and his supposed description of Zodiac and his vehicle never surfaced in the newspapers, the debate regarding his existence rages on.

This negro male individual became the perfect eyewitness for Zodiac, tying the phone call and brown car into one neat package. The Zodiac Killer attempted to authenticate this individual by giving us his color, age and mode of dress - along with the convenient timing of a phone call which drew attention to him and his brown car. How absolutely unfortunate for the Zodiac Killer to have his vehicle confirmed by this individual as brown, just like the recollection of surviving victim Michael Mageau. This selling job should be viewed with skepticism, when we consider the tracing of the phone call by ring-back.

The Zodiac Killer described in his own words, that once he "hung the phone up" it began to ring. This must have happened almost immediately, because the negro male (according to Zodiac) was "walking by" the phone when it rang, which caused him to notice both Zodiac and his vehicle together. The premise of the following, is that Zodiac is selling us a big fat red herring and he wasn't in his vehicle. He had driven home and had walked back to the payphone to place the call. The introduction of a brown vehicle, designed for purpose, and give the impression that Zodiac could have driven anywhere after the payphone call - and the proof is in the police report, time-stamped at 12:47 am.     

But before we discuss the police report, here are a few commentaries by some Zodiac researchers.
In 'The Cases That Haunt Us' by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker, they stated "It took seven minutes for Pacific Telephone to trace the call to a payphone in front of a service station".

In 'Unsolved in America' by by Harold Schechter, Lee Mellor, Michael Newton, Kim Cresswell, Aaron Elliott, Robert Hoshowsky, they stated "Within an hour, the call had been traced to a payphone outside Joe's Union Station". 

In 'The Hunt for Zodiac: The Inconceivable Double Life of a Notorious Serial Killer' by Zodiac researcher Mike Rodelli, he stated "Several minutes later the call was traced back to a phone booth located at Joe's Union 76 Station in Vallejo". 

The question that has to be asked - is that, if the trace was achieved after several minutes, or even seven minutes, why was Zodiac still at the payphone when the ring-back occurred. He clearly stated "the damn thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me + my car." If this were the case, then are we to conclude that the Zodiac Killer after hanging up the telephone, remained alongside his vehicle by the payphone for several minutes until police traced the call and rang it back. This clearly doesn't stack up. That is why we know he is lying. The whole negro eyewitness story of a man spotting his "brown car" was designed to divert attention away from the truth - that he was on foot and lived nearby.

Even if the call was traced within 30-40 seconds, how could the Zodiac have heard the phone ring. As soon as he had hung up the phone (bearing in mind his claims of a negro eyewitness and brown car), he would have immediately returned to his vehicle and driven away. He would have been out of audible range. If the call was traced fairly quickly, or if the call was traced after several minutes, a killer in a car would have been long gone. But if the killer lived nearby and was on foot, he could easily have heard the phone ring as he was walking away. The distance he can cover is reduced, keeping him within earshot of the payphone for longer.
Below is an example of the distance the Zodiac Killer could have traveled on foot, putting him within audible range of the payphone. He could have traveled further than the examples shown below and still have heard the payphone ring. 

If you believe the Zodiac researchers above, then the only feasible way the Zodiac Killer can hear the payphone ring after several minutes, is if he is walking away from the intersection of Springs and Tuolumne, negating his claim of being in his vehicle. This could have wide reaching implications regarding the home location of our killer as of July 5th 1969. Here is a further angled view of the location.      

What one has to ask themselves, is which was more likely in 1969 - a call traced to the payphone in about 1-5 seconds, or a call traced to the payphone after 30 seconds, or upwards of a minute. The answer may lie in the police report. This may back up the statements of the Zodiac researchers above.

Page 13 of the police report stated "At 12:47 am Mrs JOHNSON PT&T Operator called. The above call was traced to a coin operated telephone at Joe's Union, Tuolumne and Springs Road. The call was traced by Betty Main whose supervisor would not allow her to give a statement at this time."
It states that Mrs Johnson called the police at 12:47 am to report the call had been traced to Joe's Union Gas Station. But what time was the actual call traced using ring-back. 
This was an urgent matter- a killer had just rang in to Vallejo Police Department at 12:40 am via the operator. If they had rang back the payphone immediately, as Zodiac claimed, and traced the call by at least 12.41 am, why on earth, considering the gravity of the matter, would Mrs Johnson wait 6 minutes before calling the police. One would suspect they would have called the police the instant they had traced the call. The fact that they called the police at 12:47 am, would indicate they had just traced the call moments earlier. Had this been approximately 12:46 am and Zodiac heard the payphone ring, we would have to assume he was still at the payphone over 5 minutes after he hung up. Having just committed a heinous crime at nearby Blue Rock Springs, and made a phone call to Vallejo Police Department, situated in close proximity to the payphone, do we really believe that he just sat by the payphone in excess of 5 minutes. 

But after 5 minutes, had he walked away from the payphone, he realistically should have been out of earshot, as he would have been in a vehicle. However, if he lived in a residence within earshot of the payphone, it wouldn't have mattered when the phone rang back. He would always be in audible range. Was this why the Zodiac Killer was so eager to convince police he was in his vehicle alongside the payphone? Had the police interviewed neighbors close to the payphone about anything they heard or saw that night? Was the residence of the Zodiac Killer closer to the payphone than we ever could have imagined, and the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter was the perfect opportunity to paint a completely different picture of the events that morning.

Officer Richard Hoffman arrived at the Blue Rock Springs parking lot at approximately 12.13 am on July 5th 1969. Shortly thereafter, an ambulance was summoned (arriving at around 12.20 am), and removed the victims from the crime scene for the 10 minute journey to Kaiser Hospital, where Darlene Ferrin was pronounced dead upon arrival at 12.38 am.
Here is an extract from page 7 of the police report:
'On initial arrival, RO requested by radio an ambulance & an investigation at the scene & upon returning to Officer Hoffman RO went to assistance of subject on ground, as Officer Hoffman was with a subject that was sitting on left front seat behind wheel that was also injured. This subject later identified as Darlene E. Ferrin, WF, 19, of 864 Beechwood. 
On preliminary examination of Mageau, it was apparent he had been shot a number of times, he had blood all over his face & blood coming from his mouth as well as his left leg with blood. RO felt it was necessary to question subject inspight of the fact the subject was in great pain. Subject was coherent & RO asked him, "do you know who shot you?" and he replied "no". RO then asked Mageau to give me some type of description & he replied that he can't. RO then asked a series of questions & was told by Mageau that the responsible was a white male, young & heavyset by himself & that he was in a brown vehicle. Questioning continued until the arrival of the ambulance. By this time Sgt's Rust, Lynch and Odiorne had arrived at the scene & RO gave them the information from the victim & gave a description over the air to all units'  Michael Mageau also told Officer Hoffman that the perpetrator was last seen heading in the direction of Springs Road and Vallejo. 
By 12.20 am a rudimentary description of the perpetrator, his vehicle, and direction of travel had been given to all units, who likely scoured the area of Springs Road towards Vallejo. The killer couldn't be certain his vehicle wasn't spotted leaving the Blue Rock Springs parking lot and couldn't be certain that both Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau were dead, despite his proclamation in the 12.40 am payphone call to police dispatcher Nancy Slover. With multiple units searching for a description of the vehicle, how likely is it that, the killer parked his car outside Joe's Union gas station and made a telephone call to the operator and Vallejo Police Department - a police station situated in extremely close proximity to the payphone. He may have been under the impression that his crime had not been discovered at this juncture, but would it have been the sensible option to remain in his vehicle, with possibly blood transfer on his clothing and the gun still in his possession. If the killer did not have a residence nearby, then he had either driven around or parked up somewhere from midnight to 12.40 am- all while a police search of the area is unfolding around him. There is, however, a new and compelling argument to be had, that may dispel the idea of a killer making a payphone call while in the presence of his vehicle- and can be found in the police report and August 4th 1969 'Debut of Zodiac' letter.  

This is an extract from page 13 of the police report:
'7-5-69 A call received at 12.40 AM by unknown citizen "I want to report a double murder. If you will go 1 mile east on Columbus Parkway to the public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They were shot with a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year. Good-Bye" 

'12.47 AM Mrs Johnson PT&T operator called. The above call was traced to a coin-operated telephone at Joe's Union, Tuolumne and Springs Road. The call was traced by Betty MAIN whose supervisor would not allow her to give a statement at this time.' 

This is the recollection of Nancy Slover in the 2007 Zodiac documentary, describing the latter part of the telephone call:
'But he said something like goodbye (drawn out in nature) and he hangs up, and I'm just kind of sitting there thinking "Oh my God."' 

Here is part of Zodiac's August 4th 1969 'Debut' letter:
'The man who told police that my car was brown was a negro about 40-45 rather shabbly dressed. I was in this phone booth having some fun with the Vallejo cop when he was walking by. When I hung the phone up the damn thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me + my car.'

These four sections of text should be enough to pour huge doubt on a killer making a telephone call to police, having driven to the payphone in a "brown car." Further bolstering the idea of a killer on foot, who lived nearby.
The Zodiac Killer, in his own words, places his vehicle right next to the payphone. He corroborates this using the 'negro male', who spotted him and his vehicle when the phone rang as he hung it up. If the Zodiac Killer is in his vehicle as he claimed, it is highly doubtful that once he replaced the receiver he perched himself alongside his vehicle and smoked a cigarette for several minutes, with an eyewitness clocking him and his vehicle. He would have "hung the phone up," returned to his vehicle immediately and driven away. This sequence of events couldn't have taken much longer than 10 seconds.
Police dispatcher Nancy Slover, once the Zodiac Killer had hung up, contemplated the gravity of what she had just heard, likely finishing off writing details of the call, "kind of sitting there thinking "Oh my God." She then had to reconnect to the operator to discover the origin of the call - who would then have traced the call to Joe's Union on Springs and Tuolumne.
'Ringback' would have been used to 'dial' back to this payphone, thereby making it ring. Unless this sequence of events could be accomplished in less than 10 seconds using the technology of 1969, the Zodiac Killer would never have heard the phone ringing. He would have returned to his vehicle and been long gone. The ringing payphone was never reported in any newspapers, so the Zodiac Killer had to be within audible range to know of this occurrence. 
Nancy Slover received the phone call at 12.40 am, and the Zodiac spoke for approximately 30 seconds. The call would surely have ended before 12.41 am, yet, Mrs Johnson (PT&T operator) didn't get back to police, stating the call had been traced, until 12.47 am. That is just over 6 minutes later. If the trace and 'ringback' had occurred almost immediately (in under 10 seconds), why, bearing in mind the gravity of the murderous phone call, did it take 6 minutes to relay this crucial information to police.   

If the PT&T operator had contacted police the moment they had traced the phone call (12.47 am), then this operation would have taken several minutes. If this were the case, then the Zodiac Killer could never have heard the phone ring if he had driven away in his vehicle. If Joe's Union payphone had been rung in a reasonable estimate time of 30-60 seconds by PT&T operators- once Zodiac had hung up- he still wouldn't have failed to reach his vehicle and driven away. However, it is certainly possible he could have heard the payphone ring if he was on foot while walking away towards his residence. He would still be within audible range.
The Zodiac Killer would have rang the operator that morning and asked for the Vallejo Police Department- hence their ability to 'trace' the call. But, once the Zodiac Killer had 'hung the phone up', is it possible that Nancy Slover could finish up her written record of the call, sit there briefly, thinking "Oh my God," contact the PT&T operator, who then facilitated a trace on the call, and rang the Joe's Union payphone inside of the time it takes for Zodiac to reach his vehicle and drive away.
If the 'ringback' took as little as 30-60 seconds, then it's highly likely the Zodiac Killer heard the payphone ring as he was walking away from the Springs Road and Tuolumne Street intersection on his way home.
The 40-45, rather shabbily dressed, negro male now becomes the perfectly described eyewitness, who saw Zodiac in his "brown car by the payphone." What a helpful guy.
 

The best evidence we have in the Zodiac case, are not the murders themselves, but the copious letters and cards the killer mailed over many years. They may not have told us who the killer was, however, they can reveal information about the confirmed murderer of five with respect to his use of language- in particular his use of the present and past tense. This was examined in the article 'Zodiac Killer- A Vallejo Resident', attempting to pinpoint the home location of the Zodiac Killer. We attempted to narrow this further by examining his July 5th 1969 payphone call, along with the language he used in the August 4th 1969 'Debut of Zodiac' letter concerning the negro male eyewitness. Although not an exact science, the phone call to police dispatcher Nancy Slover is worth another look.
The murderer of Darlene Ferrin made a phone call 40 minutes after the attack, directing officers from the police station to the parking lot at Blue Rock Springs Park. He made the payphone call from the intersection of Springs Road and Tuolumne Street at 12.40 am, stating "I want to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east...... on Columbus Parkway to the public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They were shot with a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye." The overriding impression from the use of language adopted in the phone call, is that of a killer seemingly unaware that the crime has already been discovered by responding police officers. The use of the future tense, with respect to police that "will go" and "you will find," suggests that the Zodiac Killer is of the opinion that his deadly deed is not known to police at this juncture. Bearing in mind his directions are from the police station across the road from the payphone, it could be surmised that the killer has either been somewhere in the vicinity of the payphone or police station for at least 30 minutes, to have drawn such a conclusion. The only way the murderer could assume nobody had responded to the crime scene from the police station, from which he gave his directions, is by a notable lack of activity in responding police units from this location, This could be in the form of visual confirmation or the audible nature of police sirens. But to know this, he has to be close by-either in his vehicle or residence. We will later give reasons, to pour doubt on a killer driving from Blue Rock Springs Park to somewhere close to the payphone or police station, to watch the unfolding activity from the confines of his vehicle. This will further corroborate the likelihood of a killer living extremely close to the intersection of Springs Road and Tuolumne Street, or very close to the police station itself.       

The most direct route of travel from the police station to Blue Rock Springs would be to take Solano Avenue to Springs Road and head east to Columbus Parkway. The Zodiac Killer got his distance slightly wrong, but from the perspective of traveling in an easterly direction, he is only 0.4 miles off. His expanded phone call should have read "I want to report a double murder. If you will go 1.4 miles east on Springs Road...... on Columbus Parkway to the public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They were shot with a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye." This should leave little doubt, the Zodiac Killer was directing officers from the police station east towards the crime scene.
But why was the killer under the impression his "double murder" had yet to be discovered. This is where the police reports and crime documentaries come in handy.
Officer Richard Hoffman stated: 'I was working as a patrol officer in a juvenile division. It was a plainclothes assignment. I wasn't far away, so I turned around and went back out there (Blue Rock Springs parking lot)."  
Detective Sergeant Ed Rust stated 'My partner and I, John Lynch, who was also a detective sergeant, he was the senior of our team. We worked a late shift, three to midnight, something like that, and I was driving the plainclothes car- we were plainclothes detectives- and we were round the downtown area in Vallejo. It was close to midnight, when we heard reports of a possible shooting at Blue Rock Springs Park over the radio and they had dispatched a patrol car, and I told John "you wanna head out there" and he said "no, it's probably just firecrackers or something."' It was actually just after 12.10 am, when Debra, Jerry and Roger had rang in the crime to police dispatcher Nancy Slover.
Detective Sergeant Ed Rust continued 'So, since I was driving, I started meandering in that direction, and a few minutes later I believe we got another report of shots fired, again at Blue Rock Springs, and the officer Dick Hoffman, patrol officer, got there first and said he had a shooting- two people involved. So then, obviously, I put it in high gear and took off and we got out there pretty quickly.'

These were the first officers at the crime scene- and it's clear they were both plainclothes officers- one responding from close to the crime scene, and the other "meandering" towards the crime scene. Both likely inside the radius of the Springs/Tuolumne intersection and the Blue Rock Springs parking lot, before the gravity of the radio dispatch became evident. Was the Zodiac Killer expecting a massive charge of vehicles from the police station from 12.10 am onward- and when nothing happened- he decided to place a phone call at 12.40 am, instructing police to head to the crime scene?
If he had a visual on the police station from 12.10-12.40 am, one could argue he had seen little activity to suggest the police had discovered the crime in the preceding 40 minutes. Thereby, explaining his use of the future tense in his directions to police.
Dispatcher Nancy Slover would corroborate this lack of activity in the 2007 'This is the Zodiac Speaking' documentary, stating 'At 12.10 am, the first call I received, was from a young white woman in her late teens, and she was really agitated, excited or whatever. She reported that there were kids being shot at at Blue Rock Springs. So, I took the call and I gave it to the dispatcher, and I remember her saying "I don't know who I'm gonna send, because I don't have anybody free."'
If the Zodiac Killer had driven to Benicia or Napa, and made the phone call from such a place, would he not have just proclaimed the murders, as he did at Lake Berryessa seven weeks later, when he used the phrase "I'm the one that did it", rather than "you will find the kids in a brown car." This is not conclusive proof he was close to the Vallejo Police Station in the 30 minutes after the crime, however, the possibility exists, especially when we consider his August 4th 1969 'Debut of Zodiac' letter, in which he tries to sell us a story. 
The police or newspapers have never confirmed the existence a negro male adult reporting his sighting of Zodiac by the Springs and Tuolumne payphone. Therefore, it must be viewed with great suspicion, a killer offering up confirmation that he was in his "brown" vehicle, rather than on foot, when making the phone call to Nancy Slover. If the Zodiac Killer lived close to the payphone, or close to the police station, he may have naively been expecting some activity in the area of Solano Avenue or Springs Road in the 40 minutes after his crime- particularly in view of increased activity at Blue Rock Springs Park during the July 4th celebrations. He may have expected his crime to have been discovered by now. 
The area of Blue Rock Springs was considerably more rural than it is today. Despite this fact, would it be conceivable that the Zodiac Killer just parked up somewhere before he made the call to police. He couldn't be certain his vehicle wasn't spotted exiting the Blue Rock Springs parking lot. He was wearing only a blue t-shirt during the shooting, and had leaned into Darlene Ferrin's passenger side window, over the front seat, to fire the final shots at Michael Mageau. This would have greatly increased the likelihood of blood transfer to his clothing from the window, passenger seat and interior of the brown Corvair. The lighter the t-shirt, the more evident the transfer would have become. Taking these factors into consideration, not withstanding, he was still in possession of the firearm, it may have been extremely foolhardy not to have headed straight for home, before heading back to the payphone.
Was the Zodiac Killer's apparent knowledge, of the lack of police activity around the police station, the reason for the language adopted in the phone call to Nancy Slover. Of somebody, who knew more than he should have known. 
The journey time to the payphone from the parking lot is approximately 10 minutes. So, why not just make the phone call at 12.10 am and be done with it. Or had he planned to watch the unfolding action from a vantage point close to the police station, in fond anticipation of police "running around town." Unfortunately for Zodiac, the wait was too long.   

There remains a widespread misconception that the Zodiac Killer's directions in the phone call after the Blue Rock Springs Park attack were incorrect, even though the police report clearly specified that the recollection of police dispatcher Nancy Slover was in effect the 'substance of the statement', not a verbatim transcription. The Zodiac Killer likely planned the payphone call and location, yet, we assume his directions to the crime scene were horribly wrong based on the version remembered by Nancy Slover. There is no evidence to support such a conclusion based on the wording of the call shown below. Nancy Slover even recalled that the Zodiac Killer was speaking in a rehearsed, monotone fashion, as if reading from a script- which is a perfectly reasonable hypothesis. If we conclude he had prepared a written script, then this would seemingly fly in the face of him getting his directions completely wrong. 
The Zodiac Killer was correct when he placed Betty Lou Jensen's feet facing west, along with his apparent knowledge of the the infrequently traveled Lake Herman Road as a location for courting couples, yet, somehow became completely disoriented when making one turn off Columbus Parkway to the payphone at Springs Road and Tuolumne Street.
When Zodiac made the Blue Rock Springs and Lake Berryessa phone calls, he rang the police. Therefore, it follows logically, that any directions given would be to direct the police to the crime scene from their location. In these cases, ​the Sheriff's Office was located at the junction of Virginia and Tuolumne Streets, the Vallejo Police Department at 111 Amador Street, and Park Headquarters at Lake Berryessa.         

If you were calling the police at 12.40 am on July 5th 1969, issuing them with directions to Blue Rock Springs, then your first statement would be to tell them to go east, which is what the Zodiac Killer did. Then take Columbus Parkway to the crime scene. Police dispatcher Nancy Slover was certainly not prepared for the call she was about to receive, crucially interrupting the caller and asking him for his details as he began his message. In other words, she spoke over the killer while simultaneously having to register what he was saying. She may have been a trained police dispatcher, but little prepares you for a serial killer ringing in, claiming the murder of four people in total. She often recalled how unnerving the phone call was.
In the aftermath of the call, she then had to remember its totality, word for word, along with the exact sequence of the message and any pauses or sentence breaks within it, to fully recollect the message delivered in its correct context. 
The message shown above was composed of 46 words, delivered in approximately 20 seconds. The chances of recalling this amount of words in exactly the correct order and context, one could suggest is extremely unlikely and unrealistic. There is often the false assumption that the Zodiac Killer was incorrect in his delivery of the message, whereas, it is a far more credible proposition that Nancy Slover simply recalled the message incorrectly. 
We have previously shown, that by inserting one break into the message, it reads perfectly from a directional standpoint, although incorrectly regarding the distances given. Here is the message with the break or pause inserted "I want to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east...... on Columbus Parkway to the public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They were shot with a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye." 
This message now makes sense regarding a killer directing police from 111 Armador Street to Blue Rock Springs Park. However, there are many alternatives.   

You can see from the map above, it is impossible to direct anybody to the crime scene traveling "one mile east on Columbus Parkway"  You would be traveling "one mile north northeast" or "one mile southeast". Additionally, you would be traveling to the crime scene from effectively nowhere of any note- least of all a police station.
It can be seen that responding officers heading away from the police station would be traveling along Springs Road or Georgia Street, approximately 2 miles east, as opposed to the 'supposed' one mile east given in the phone call. But, this may not be the case if Nancy Slover jumbled her recollection of the message.
The widely portrayed message reads ""I want to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east on Columbus Parkway to the public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They were shot with a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye."  The important parts to look out for, are the words "to" and "one" in the second sentence. This shall now be flipped to give coherent and correct directions from the police station to the public park.
"I want to report a double murder. If you will go two miles east. then one mile on Columbus Parkway to the public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They were shot with a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye" 
​The Zodiac Killer wasn't going to deliver fractions of distances in his payphone call, so rounded 1.88 miles east to 2 miles, and 1.5 miles to 1 mile, now giving a perfectly reasonable set of directions and distances in his message to Nancy Slover. Unfortunately, yet understandably, it was recalled incorrectly through memory and talking over the killer during the first part of the message. We must not make the blind assumption that the "substance of the statement," was in fact a perfect transcription of what the Zodiac Killer actually said that night. If it was a perfection transcription, then it makes little sense regarding a call directing the police to the crime scene. If it makes little sense, one can argue it wasn't spoken.

Footnote: 
"I want to report a murder, no, a double murder. They are two miles north of Park Headquarters. They were in a white Volkswagen Karmann Ghia ...... I'm the one that did it".
"I want to report a murder, no, a double murder. There are two people one mile north of Park Headquarters. They were in a white Volkswagen Karmann Ghia ...... I'm the one that did it".

Kim Rossmo is a Canadian criminologist who pioneered the art of geographic profiling- a technique used to compliment conventional police work in the tracking of criminals. He has used data from the Zodiac Killer case to narrow down the likely residence and possible commuter routes of the murderer, and even a suggestion of where he may have worked. When the details from the Zodiac case were placed into the Rigel crime mapping software it created significant zones of interest in Rancho Vallejo, northern Vallejo, American Canyon and Benicia. These areas have one critical commuter route relevant to all- that of California State Route 37- which the significance of regarding Zodiac's knowledge of courting couples, his base location and possible workplace will become apparent. Some of Kim Rossmo's ideas will be presented here, but to read his excellent analysis of the Zodiac case, please visit here. 
Below is a map showing all the relevant locations concerning the killer's first two crimes- the red circle at the northern end of Tuolumne Street being of significant interest, as it also brings into focus the easy access to and from the payphone after his murder and attempted murder of Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau at the Blue Rock Springs parking lot on July 5th 1969. The journey time to the payphone from the crime scene of less than 10 minutes, and the phone call to police nearly 40 minutes after the attack lends good weight to the premise the killer was a native Vallejoan, and possibly returned home to ditch his weapon and/or clothes before returning to place the call to police dispatcher Nancy Slover.  

What better way to have knowledge that Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs were frequented regularly by courting couples, than if you routinely traveled this route to reach your place of work, not unlike eyewitness James Owen who lived at 1735 Mini Drive and would have likely used California State Route 37 at the beginning of his journey, to arrive at Humble Oil in Benicia. The same applies to an area around Mare Island Shipyard and Rancho Vallejo, where Tuolumne Street nears State Route 37. Lake Herman Road on the eastern fringes of Vallejo and Benicia, is a dark, unlit stretch of rural road infrequently used. It is, however, a logical choice for somebody living in Ranch Vallejo (north Vallejo) or American Canyon to use, if they worked in the industrial area of Benicia.
The northern side of the green line on the map above, shows that access to State Route 37 would take somebody towards the northern side of Columbus Parkway, before heading southeast along Lake Herman Road towards Benicia, and crucially encompassing both crime scenes. If the killer lived in the northern region of Vallejo and worked in Benicia, his 'compass' knowledge of specific locations would not be surprising. This was evident in his first attack when he stated in the July 31st 1969 letters, that Betty Lou Jensen "was on her right side feet to the west." Of course, he had six and a half months to work this out, but had only 36-38 minutes after the Blue Rock Springs attack, in which he was able to direct Vallejo police to the crime scene along Springs Road and Columbus Parkway with completely accurate directions when he called Nancy Slover, stating "I wish to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east...... on Columbus Parkway to the public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They have been shot with a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye." 
Knowledge such as this, could suggest complete familiarity with the public park, golf course, Lake Herman Road and the location of the police station with respect to the Springs and Tuolumne payphone. 
The killer would have one direct route, to and from his residence to the payphone at the intersection of Springs Road and Tuolumne Street. His route to work (possibly a night-shift) also giving him first hand knowledge of courting couples and where to trawl for victims at the weekend.   

Kim Rossmo, referring to Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs Park, stated "In contrast, his target selection at Lake Berryessa and San Francisco did not show any evidence of local area knowledge. Also, the time lapse between the Blue Rock Springs shooting and the Zodiac’s telephone call was approximately 40 minutes, even though the distance between these two locations is only 3.5 miles (7 minutes normal driving time). What did he do for that other half hour? One possibility is that he returned home and disposed of his weapon. If so, that means he most likely lived within a five-mile radius of the crime site. The Zodiac also knew to telephone the Vallejo Police Department, even though the Blue Rock Spring Golf Course and park area was an unusual offshoot of municipal jurisdiction, totally surrounded by Solana County. The Zodiac’s comfort zone clearly includes the Vallejo area."
However, there is one thorn in our side- the testimony of Michael Mageau. He stated in the police report "as he fell out onto the ground the vehicle the subject was in backed up in a turning movement and then took off toward Springs Road in Vallejo at a very high rate of speed." The obvious route back home for the killer, had he lived somewhere by the top of Tuolumne Street, and wanted to ditch his weapon and clothes before making the call to police, would have been to head north and west along Columbus Parkway- the opposite direction that he chose for work. There may be several explanations for this.
Michael Mageau was simply mistaken, the killer's initial intention was to make the phone call immediately but changed his mind, preferring to remove his weapon and possibly bloodied clothing from the equation, or the intended payphone at the initial time of his arrival had potential eyewitnesses, forcing a hasty change of plan. This may have been his preferred choice of payphone, as it provided easy access to and from his home residence, yet allowed a reasonable 'buffer zone' of just over two miles. It had the added benefit of a voyeur killer who wanted to remain in his vehicle and watch responding officers scurry into action from the police station, along Springs Road to the crime scene. It may actually have been the primary reason he chose this particular payphone so close to the police station, despite it seemingly being an added unnecessary risk on his part.        

There may be another reason why the Zodiac Killer chose the 'wrong way' after leaving the Blue Rock Springs parking lot. A reason that involved near eyewitnesses to the murder in the parking lot..
Three young kids, Debbie, Jerry and Roger were the first to find Michael Mageau just after he had extracted himself from the brown Corvair and was lying adjacent to it.
They must have arrived extremely close to the time of the attack- possibly as little as a minute or two after the brutal shooting. The time of the attack can be calculated with a fair degree of confidence to 12.02 am on July 5th 1969. See here. 
Police dispatcher Nancy Slover received a phone call from Jerry's house at  938 Catlewood Drive, Vallejo from Debbie at 12.10 am. The drive to 938 Castlewood Drive from Blue Rock Springs is approximately 6 minutes, indicating they would have had to leave the parking lot by about 12.04 am to make this phone call in time.
​Yet, this isn't the time they arrived at the parking lot, which must have been around a minute earlier at 12.03 am- just after the attack at 12.02 am. The Zodiac Killer may literally have been leaving the Blue Rock Springs parking lot as they were approaching it. This may have influenced the direction Zodiac exited from the crime scene.
Debbie, Jerry and Roger stated in the police report that "they had been downtown to see the festivities for the 4th of July. After this was over, at about 11 pm, they decided to look for this girl that Roger knows. They drove around town and did not see her and decided to go to Blue Rock Springs Park to look for her. They went out the freeway to Columbus Parkway and came into the park the back way. While they were driving in toward the park neither boy recalls seeing any vehicle coming out, none parked along the road, nor did they pass any vehicle."  They must have been almost on top of Zodiac as they approached from the north side of Columbus Parkway. Had Zodiac intended to travel home before making the phone call, his obvious route north and then west along Columbus Parkway, was now not so obvious if he didn't want himself or his vehicle spotted by the three kids. They obviously didn't see him, but he may have spotted their vehicle approaching in the distance. This may have forced a change of plan and coerced Zodiac south toward Springs Road.
The journey time heading in this direction to somewhere close to the green circle at the top of Tuolumne Street, would take approximately 11-12 minutes. The Zodiac Killer would arrive home at about 12.14 am- leaving him approximately 20 minutes at his residence before driving back to the Springs and Tuolumne payphone to make the call. Once doing so, his escape home is a mere 4 minutes.  
Calfornia State Route 37 and Highway 101 may have played a decisive factor when selecting a quick and easy separation from San Francisco after the murder of taxicab driver Paul Stine on October 11th 1969. Whether or not the murderer had entered the Presidio Park is a moot point today, but in 1969 the Zodiac Killer would certainly have wanted to escape from the area in as little time as possible. A vehicle parked somewhere along West Pacific Avenue or to the east of the park in Cow Hollow, would provide immediate access to Highway 101 across the Golden Gate Bridge, and in a handful of minutes out of San Francisco. The killer can then head north and eventually east just before Novato, taking California State Route 37 right onto his doorstep.  

The selection of a taxicab driver to take him to a predetermined destination so close to an exit route from San Francisco, one could argue was the perfect choice for a resident of Vallejo. The killer has a nearby park in case things don't go to plan, along with an immediate escape and separation from the crime scene via Highway 101 and the Golden Gate Bridge. Even Inspector Dave Toschi thought this a viable proposition: "The detectives heard from neighbors that a stocky figure was seen dashing across Julius Khan playground and into the dense undergrowth of the Presidio. The dog patrol units, seven of the best search dogs in the country, gathered at the front entrance of the Presidio and were deployed one at a time in various directions. Armstrong and Toschi considered the possibilities. Had the killer gone quickly through the dark woods and emerged from the Presidio at Richardson Avenue, and taken Highway 101 past Fort Point onto the Golden Gate Bridge and vanished into Marin County."
Kim Rossmo made an extremely salient point regarding the murder of Paul Stine.
He stated: ​​"The San Francisco murder differs significantly from the Zodiac's other crimes. Up to this point he was hunting in locations that had a good probability of containing his desired victims. Target selection was a function of area, not of an individual. However, it is unlikely the Zodiac was successful in all his searches; serial killers typically engage in extensive hunting activities, and for every attack there are many unsuccessful search attempts. In San Francisco, however, the Zodiac controlled the situation through his selection of victim type. The need for such control could be indicative of the distance the Zodiac had to travel to the crime site. Criminals who travel longer distances to offend are less likely to use uncertain target selection techniques."  Control your location and you control your escape route.
The Lake Berryessa attack on September 27th 1969 speaks for itself. The killer headed to downtown Napa and the payphone at 1231 Main Street. He may have been only 12 miles from California State Route 37 and home, had he continued the trajectory he had set for himself. Was the Zodiac Killer's apparent knowledge of a road on the fringes of Vallejo more indicative of his recreational habits or a route he traveled daily..... particularly when the sun went down. 

Below I have placed a visual timeline of the final 90 minutes of Darlene Ferrin's life, to understand her movements in the critical period running up to the brutal attack at Blue Rock Springs Park close to midnight on July 4th and 5th of 1969. To the best of my knowledge these are the correct addresses of the key locations she visited that night, but if anybody knows better please inform me and I can correct the timeline. We cannot be sure if the Zodiac Killer knew Darlene Ferrin, but as Phillips 66 (a contributor to this site) stated "Of course I think it is possible that she did not know her killer but that requires writing off a lot of things as coincidence and writing off a lot of people as liars or dramatists. It seems far more likely to me that she did actually know her killer. To me this is the best lead in an attempt to solve the case."  
When the killer is known to the victim, it certainly provides a greater opportunity to apprehend the responsible, as opposed to a completely random assailant. We will use the visual below, in conjunction with the estimated times in the police report, to pinpoint Darlene Ferrin's movements and what time she and Michael Mageau arrived at the Blue Rock Springs parking lot that night, and possibly explore where her murderer tagged onto her that night, if at all.  

Following the numbers in red above we will follow her movements:
1.Page 19 of the police report "Stated that Darlene and her sister Christina Suennen WFJ 15 years. had been at Mr Ferrin's (Dean) place of employment Caesar's in the 300 Block of Tennessee Street at approximately 10.30 pm and at this time Darlene left, stating that she was going to take Christina home, then go home herself to 1300 Virginia Street. Take her babysitter home, and return home herself." Christina stated "she collaborated the above story, but stated she and her sister had gone from Caesar's to Terry's on Magazine St, before going home." Therefore she left Caesar's at approximately 10.30 pm, arriving at Terry's Waffle Shop nearly 3 miles away, approximately 6 minutes later at 10.36 pm. 
2. We cannot be sure how long she stayed at the Waffle Shop, but according to Robert Graysmith she talked to her friend for around 10 minutes, before briefly chatting to a man. This can only be estimated at 15 minutes, which would have Darlene and Christina heading off to their parents home on 130 Jordan Street at 10.51 pm. This is a small journey time of approximately 3 minutes, arriving at the Suennen family home at 10.54 pm. We know from the police report that Darlene arrived home shortly before 11.30 pm, as can be seen on page 21. This can be corroborated by page 19 of the police report, because "at approximately 11.30 pm Bill Lee (Dean's employer at Caesar's) called Darlene to ask her if she would try to find a fireworks booth open. She stated she would try to find one and hung up." The journey from the Suennen family home to Darlene's residence of around 2.6 miles is estimated at 7 minutes. 
3. Therefore, Darlene Ferrin likely stayed at the 130 Jordan Street residence for about 25 minutes, leaving at 11.18-11.20 pm for her 7 minute journey, having Darlene back at the 1300 Virginia Street residence shortly before 11.30 pm.
4. On page 21 of the police report the two girls stated "that Darlene didn't return until about 11.30 pm or shortly before that. Darlene then told them that she had changed her mind about going to San Francisco and was going to have a small party when her husband got home. Darlene then spent a few minutes cleaning up the house and then she said she was going to go out and buy some fireworks and other things for the party and that she would be back by 12.30 am. Darlene left the house around 11.40 pm and they didn't see her again."
Darlene Ferrin left her residence and traveled to Michael Mageau's house at 864 Beechwood Avenue. On page 8 of the police report he stated "that Dea came over at approximately 11.30 pm or shortly thereafter and picked him up in her car."
We know it wasn't 11.30 pm, because Bill Lee and the two girls stated otherwise- plus she still had the 2 mile journey to 864 Beechwood Avenue to negotiate. This journey time is 5 minutes, placing Darlene Ferrin at Michael Mageau's residence at 11.45 pm or thereabouts (11.40 pm plus 5 minutes).
5. Michael stated in the police report "they were both hungry as they had not had supper and were going to get something to eat. Stated that she was driving her vehicle, the Corvair they were found in. Stated they drove west on Springs Road and as they were driving down Springs Road to go get something to eat, Dea stated to him that she wanted to talk to him about something. Michael stated that at approximately at the location of Mr Ed's on Springs Road they turned around and headed east at his suggestion to go to Blue Rock Springs Park where they could talk. They went directly to this location." 
The journey from 864 Beechwood Avenue to approaching Mr Ed's Drive-In is about 2 minutes allowing for turning around.
They would be turning around, heading back east at approximately 11.47 pm. 
6 and 7. The journey from Mr Ed's to the parking lot at Blue Rock Springs Park of 3 miles takes approximately 6-7 minutes, placing Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau arriving at the parking lot in their brown Corvair at 11.53-11.54 pm.  

This makes perfect sense if we pick up the police report on page 8.
Michael stated "they were there just a very short time, a few minutes, and three cars pulled into the parking lot where they were. They were apparently young kids, and they heard some laughing and carrying on and a few firecrackers were set off, then the three vehicles left within a short time. This was just a very short space of time, a few minutes. Shortly after this and about 5 minutes before the shooting occurred, a vehicle pulled into the lot."  
We know from Michael's statement approximately 5 minutes elapsed between the first vehicle parking alongside them and supposedly returning to begin the attack. We know Michael allocated "a few minutes" from their arrival to the three cars arriving. He also allocated "a few minutes" to the duration the three vehicles remained in the parking lot. Taking this "few minutes" as about 3 minutes, we have a total of 6 minutes. Adding this to the 5 minutes the 'Zodiac' vehicle spent leaving and returning, we have a total of 11 minutes from their arrival at the parking lot to the commencement of the attack. This places the shooting of Michael Mageau and Darlene Ferrin at 12.04-12.05 am on July 5th 1969. Even if we take the "few minutes" as two, the earliest the attack could have began was 12.02-12.04 am- the earlier time of 12.02 am the most likely. It was extremely unlikely to have taken place before midnight.    

There are several unusual statements in the police report, notably on page 21, where the two girls stated "about 01.30 am Darlene's husband and friends came home and they told her husband what she had said and he didn't seem worried, said she's always late. Husband then took the girls home shortly before 02.00 am."
Dean Ferrin and Bill Lee were apparently under the impression she was nipping out to buy fireworks at 11.30 pm, when Bill Lee rang the 1300 Virginia Street residence from Caesar's restaurant, yet they, according to the police report, didn't arrive at the residence until 1.30 am. Apparently they stopped en route to pick up some drinks, but two hours had elapsed from the request to pick up fireworks to the time they arrived. This was apparently the exact time the suspicious calls came into the residence. Had somebody seen them arrive and made the phone calls shortly thereafter. 
This contradicts what Carmela Piccolo-Coakley, then co-owner of Caesar's restaurant, said to the Vallejo Times-Herald in 2007: "We were surprised when we all arrived at the house to find a babysitter. Darlene hadn't gotten home yet. It was midnight and we were a little worried. An hour or so later the phone rang but there was only breathing on the other end." This version of events, albeit in 2007, makes more sense than arriving at 1.30 am in the morning, when you have arranged for fireworks to be collected at 11.30 pm, and are expecting a party.
Darlene Ferrin traveling to Michael Mageau's residence and finally to Blue Rock Springs, suggested she had seemingly abandoned the party and chosen to do something completely different- but this may not necessarily be the case.
Although earlier arranging to meet Michael Mageau at some point that evening, she may very well have recruited Michael Mageau in her quest to buy some fireworks, along with getting something to eat. She stated to the two girls "she would be back by 12.30 am." Therefore, she was allocating herself 60 minutes to pick up Michael, head off for a bite to eat, pick up some fireworks and then head home. There may have been something else on her shopping list that night, as revealed by the two girls on page 21 of the police report when they stated "she was going to go out and buy some fireworks and other things for the party." What were these "other things?" However, something changed abruptly on their approach to Mr Ed's Drive-In, that facilitated a change of heart. She stated "that she wanted to talk to Michael about something."
She picked Michael Mageau up at 11.45 pm and had ample time before reaching Mr Ed's to have relayed to Michael what was on her mind. They both apparently had wanted something to eat, and Darlene required fireworks, yet the "something" on her mind seemingly only occurred two minutes into their journey while approaching Mr Ed's. Had she spotted something or somebody that forced this change of plan- somebody unpleasant enough that she had now abandoned her wanting to eat, her search for fireworks and possibly the party. On the other hand, Michael Mageau and Darlene Ferrin had arrived at the parking lot of Blue Rock Springs at approximately 11.53-11.54 pm, so still had at least 36 minutes to have their chat and for Darlene to arrive back at the 1300 Virginia Street residence at 12.30 am, with or without the fireworks she said she would try to find, and more importantly the time she told the two girls she would arrive back earlier that night. Unfortunately though, she never did.

Many have questioned whether or not Darlene Ferrin was stalked by an unwanted admirer in the run up to her murder during the late night hours of July 4th 1969 or early minutes of July 5th 1969, with little, if any verifiable evidence to support such a claim. This however, doesn't rule out the contention that she may have been murdered by somebody who knew her.
Much has been discussed regarding the mysterious phone calls received at the 1300 Virginia Street residence of Darlene Ferrin, and the 930 Monterey Street residence of Mr Arthur J Ferrin and Mrs Mildred Ferrin at approximately 01.30 am on the morning of July 5th 1969, just one and a half hours after the murder of Darlene Ferrin and attempted murder of Michael Mageau at Blue Rock Springs. It must be stressed that Darlene Ferrin had been alternatively listed as living at 930 Monterey, Vallejo on page 5 of the police report.
​But how much of this makes sense and is it totally accurate. Here are the extracts regarding the phone calls that morning:
Page 19 of the police report "Stated that Darlene and her sister Christina Suennen WFJ 15 years. had been at Mr Ferrin's (Dean) place of employment Caesar's in the 300 Block of Tennessee Street at approximately 10.30 pm and at this time Darlene left, stating that she was going to take Christina home, then go home herself to 1300 Virginia Street. Take her babysitter home, and return home herself. Stated that at approximately 11.30 pm Bill Lee (Dean's employer at Caesar's) called Darlene to ask her if she would try to find a fireworks booth open, and to purchase some as they were going to have a party at 1300 Virginia Street after they closed Caesar's and had decided to have some fireworks at that time. She stated she would try to find one and hung up. Stated that this was the last any of them heard from her. Stated that after they arrived at 1300 Virginia Street and waiting for Darlene that there was two phone calls where there was no answer on the other end."  There is no reference here to the time these two phone calls were received. These statements were given in the immediate aftermath of the murder, in the early hours of July 5th 1969.
Page 23 of the police report " Mr Arthur J Ferrin and Mrs Mildred Ferrin 930 Monterey Street came to the station and reported that shortly after 01.30 am on 07/05/69 their telephone rang and the party on the other end of the line said nothing but they could hear deep breathing and they were sure someone was there."  There are two things to note about this statement. The statement was given at 3.35 pm on July 7th 1969, two and a half days after they had received the mysterious phone call, and it appears as if the time of the phone call on the police report has been amended. So, were all the phone calls delivered at approximately 01.30 am, or were they all made at a completely different time during the morning hours.

It was considered in this article that the Zodiac Killer drove home after the Blue Rock Springs attack, to somewhere around the location of the Springs Road and Tuolumne Street payphone and walked to the intersection to make the 12.40 am phone call to police dispatcher Nancy Slover. If the attack culminated shortly after midnight, the killer's journey has him entering his residence at approximately 12.15 am. He parks his vehicle, changes his clothes, ditches his weapon and prepares himself for the short walk to the payphone at around 12.25-12.30 am. This gives him a walking time of approximately 10-15 minutes to the payphone and a reasonable 'buffer zone'.
If the Zodiac Killer lived on the south side of the payphone, knew or lived close to Darlene Ferrin on Virginia Street, then his walking time to the payphone would be exactly 10 minutes. Once he had finished his call with Nancy Slover he would then likely have returned home at approximately 12.50-12.55 am. We don't know if the mysterious phone calls to the Ferrin family were from the Zodiac Killer, but had he returned from the public payphone at just before 01.00 am, he now has the opportunity to make these calls from the comfort of his own home. Did the Zodiac Killer make the phone call to police from a payphone fearing he could have been traced, but made the calls to the Ferrin family with no such reservations. It would seem rather foolhardy even by Zodiac's standards to reel off multiple calls that evening from payphones, with the police now in full investigative mode. If he did call the Ferrin family, one could argue he placed these additional calls shortly after arriving back at his residence, sometime between 12.50-01.00 am.  

Here is an extract from the Vallejo Times-Herald interview with Carmela Piccolo-Coakley, who part owned Caesar's Italian Restaurant with her husband in 1969. She described arriving at 1300 Virginia Street on July 4th/5th 1969 "We were surprised when we all arrived at the house to find a babysitter. Darlene hadn't gotten home yet. It was midnight and we were a little worried. An hour or so later the phone rang but there was only breathing on the other end. Later we heard a knock on the door. It was two police officers informing us that Darlene had been shot, and someone calling himself the Zodiac had called the Vallejo Police Department informing them of the killings. We told the officers it was that same time that we had received the call at Darlene's house. Whoever it was would not respond to our questions. They just breathed into the phone. The officer warned us not to open the door for anyone while my husband and Dean went down to the station. They warned that the person calling himself the Zodiac may be watching the house. It was a warm night and all the windows were open. We locked the door and windows and pulled the blinds closed." full article. 

She stated they arrived at 1300 Virginia Street at around midnight and the mysterious calls came in "an hour or so later." This is an approximation, so a reasonable estimate could be anywhere from 12.50 am to 01.10 am (with a 10 minute leeway either side), tying in with the Zodiac Killer after returning from the Springs and Tuolumne payphone, sometime around 12.55 pm.
More telling is the assertion that they "told the officers it was that same time (that of Zodiac's call) that we had received the call at Darlene's house." Does this actually open up the possibility that the Zodiac Killer made the call to police dispatcher Nancy Slover and the Ferrin family from the same payphone at around 12.40 am, and "an hour or so later" was really 40 minutes. Or did they arrive at 1300 Virginia Street shortly before midnight, bringing this statement somewhat back into line.
The only argument in favor of the 01.30 am phone calls in the above two pages of the police report are the recollections of ​Mr Arthur J Ferrin and Mrs Mildred Ferrin, two and a half days after the fact. Did they really clock the time correctly when the call came in, or was it just another estimation that may be slightly incorrect.

Footnote: In the interest of fairness, although the origin of Robert Graysmith's information is unknown, in his book Zodiac Unmasked he stated "Fifty minutes later, four phone calls were placed through the operator from a booth at Broadway and Nebraska." Arthur Leigh Allen had worked at a gas station at Tuolumne and Nebraska 3 months before Blue Rock Springs attack. Broadway and Nebraska is an approximate walking distance of 20-25 minutes from the Springs and Tuolumne payphone. A murderer living somewhere between or equidistant to these locations has the opportunity to make the phone calls to police dispatcher Nancy Slover and the Ferrin family. However, verifying the Broadway and Nebraska site as the origin of the calls to the Ferrin family, or that the Zodiac Killer made any of them on July 5th 1969, is an altogether more difficult task. 

It was considered that the Zodiac Killer after attacking Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau at Blue Rock Springs on July 4th 1969, drove back to his residence and walked to the Springs and Tuolumne payphone from the north side. This premise was covered extensively in the article 'I Want to Tell You a Story'. 
​I would like to thank Deb from Zodiac Killer Site forum for supplying me with the Vallejo directory records from 1969. The Zodiac Killer may have lived within a 10-15 minute walking radius of the payphone. Here are the relevant streets from the north side. Click the visual on the left side of 'Download File' to view directly on this site. Once opened, click again to magnify.   

Searching an ever growing and endless suspect list with limited DNA evidence for the identity of the Zodiac Killer, is akin to looking for a needle in a haystack, and that haystack is getting larger every year. DNA may eventually help us in the future, but we need to narrow the suspect pool, not make it larger. There have been many studies on serial killers down the years, and although these observations cannot be applied to every serial killer, there are patterns that exist which can be used to narrow down the search for the killer's base or home location. Applying what limited details we believe of the killer- the vehicle, age range and description, handwriting and occupation, coupled with possible fingerprints, palm prints and a partial DNA code (if reliable)- if we can then identify a small enough sample of the population to test, we may just strike lucky. Even if the killer has died, he may have had children from whom DNA could be acquired, and using modern forensic genetic fingerprinting it may provide a link to the murderer.
The Kathleen Johns abduction lies on the periphery of the Zodiac crimes, but if her journey around the outskirts of Tracey, California into the early morning hours of March 23rd 1970 was at the hands of the Zodiac Killer, then she may have provided us with some vital information. She described the interior of his vehicle "as messy- she had noticed men's and children's clothing scattered about, books and papers, a black rubber handled flashlight, and two colored plastic scouring pads on the console dashboard.  Kathleen estimated that the smaller patterned T-shirts were of the age range 8-12 years." 
If these clothes were not part of his profession, he may have had children- adding another layer to consider when searching for a likely residence and home location. In an initial whittling down process, we could consider married men with at least one child in the age range of 8-12 years in 1970, living in the geographical area we have identified. Throw in what we think we know of the killer, such as age, weight, glasses, vehicle  etc, and the suspect list would narrow to only a handful of people.
Kim Rossmo, the pioneer of geographical profiling, hit the nail on the head regarding one possible location, stating "There's a number of possibilities. But remember, Rancho Vallejo was possibly 26,000 people at that time, of which only 13,000 will be male, and only a certain proportion of those are of the correct age, and a certain portion of those are only going to be white. Then we start looking at the neighborhoods involved, we have a pretty small subset. Then we start combining that with some of the personal and behavioral descriptors, and then we work in the vehicle information. If this case was active today, it would not be too difficult to find this person." Narrow the original pool down to just a few thousand, and a much smaller radius, and the needle becomes more visible. This is a much more viable option than widening the suspect pool year on year, further muddying the waters. 
This will be collating several previous articles under one banner, throwing in a little extra for good measure, and then the book will be closed on this matter. We need to narrow the search, not widen it. That is why geographical profiling could be our last hope, using the mechanics of the human mind to unravel the pattern of the killer. None of the following is certain, but if we add brick by brick, we may reveal the house.

A recent survey in Germany studied the locations of serial killer victims in respect to the killer's home residence and found that 63% of the time the killer lived within a 6 mile traveling distance to the crime scene. Other studies suggest a 5 mile radius.
​The serial killer generally begins his crimes closer to home- in the case of San Francisco, this is the Zodiac Killer's final crime- it therefore should be one of the furthest from his home location. Lake Herman Road is 5.17 miles from the Springs and Tuolumne payphone. Blue Rock Springs Park is 2.83 miles from the payphone. Therefore both crimes sit within a 6 mile radius. The Zodiac Killer may have made two phone calls from this location and therefore should be our first port of call. 
If the killer had a normal Monday to Friday, 9-5 profession, it would be understandable that he would be less likely to venture any great distance on the Friday as compared to the Saturday (using the least effort principle). Which is exactly what he may have done in the commission of his first two crimes. 
The phone call is interesting for a number of reasons, notably for the fact it was made approximately 40 minutes after the crime, despite the payphone being only 10 minutes from Blue Rock Springs Park. Many have claimed the Zodiac Killer wasn't familiar with this area of Vallejo, as he failed to mention Blue Rock Springs- only a "public park". The directions given in the phone call are equally used as evidence he was unfamiliar with the area. Many assume the Zodiac Killer was incorrect in his directions to Blue Rock Springs, thereby by default, assume that police dispatcher Nancy Slover was perfectly accurate in remembering the exact message word for word. She wasn't expecting that a killer claiming four victims was about to call that morning, and therefore cannot be expected to recall verbatim what he said, because according to her, he had spoken over her as she tried to get the details.
The message was recalled as "I wish to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east on Columbus Parkway to a public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They have been shot by a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye". It was therefore deemed incorrect. However, if you just add a comma or break into the message, it makes perfect sense if the Zodiac Killer is directing the police from the station to Columbus Parkway.
"I wish to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east...... on Columbus Parkway to a public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They have been shot by a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye." 
Changing just one word, makes the message even clearer "I wish to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east...... on Columbus Parkway by a public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They have been shot by a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye."  We assume Zodiac got the message wrong rather than Nancy Slover hearing or recalling the message wrong. We have no problem coming to this conclusion concerning the dispatcher taking an incorrect message at Presidio Heights, sending out a radio dispatch "to be on the lookout for a negro male adult."

The Zodiac Killer didn't get the directions wrong, he got the distance wrong, as he did at Lake Berryessa:"I want to report a murder, no, a double murder. They are two miles north of Park Headquarters. They were in a white Volkswagen Karmann Ghia" and after a brief pause uttered the words  "I'm the one that did it".  On both occasions he was slightly over a mile off. 
The Zodiac Killer mailed three letters to the newspapers on July 31st 1969 with confirmation of the attacks at Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs Park. The author stated "This is the murderer of the 2 teenagers last Christmass at Lake Herman + the girl on the 4th of July near the golf course in Vallejo." His compass directions were totally accurate in describing the position of Betty Lou Jensen in the turnout on December 20th 1968. He added "the girl was on her right side feet to the west." In the November 9th 1969 'Bus Bomb' letter after the Paul Stine murder, he again got his compass directions spot on: "The dogs never came with in 2 blocks of me + they were to the west" and "only 2 groups of parking about 10 min apart then the motor cicles went by about 150 ft away going from south to north west" (describing Presidio Boulevard in the park).

So why do we assume that he managed to completely get his bearings incorrect during the phone call to Nancy Slover.
He knew the parking lot at Blue Rock Springs was near the golf course. He also was directing the police east from the station to Columbus Parkway. He clearly had knowledge of where the police station and Columbus Parkway were, and in relation to one another, despite the fact he had committed the attack only 40 minutes earlier. The killer had plenty of time after the Lake Herman Road and Presidio Heights murders to look at a map and get his compass directions correct, yet here, he had only 40 minutes before the payphone call. He could have studied a map before the Blue Rock Springs Park attack, but had this been the case, why would he have got the directions wrong, as many claim. Equally, had he studied a map beforehand, then he would have known the "public park" by name. The fact that he got his compass directions correct in every instance, it could be argued he was very familiar with the location of the police station, Columbus Parkway and very likely the parking lot.  
Then he sent the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter, received on August 4th 1969- probably the most important correspondence he ever composed:
​This is the Zodiac speaking. 
In answer to your asking for more details about the good times I have had in Vallejo, I shall be very happy to supply even more material. By the way, are the police having a good time with the code? If not, tell them to cheer up; when they do crack it, they will have me. On the 4th of July I did not open the car door. The window was rolled down all ready. The boy was origionaly sitting in the front seat when I began fireing. When I fired the first shot at his head, he leaped backwards at the same time, thus spoiling my aim. He ended up on the back seat then the floor in back thashing out very violently with his legs; that's how I shot him in the knee. I did not leave the cene of the killing with squealling tires + raceing engine as described in the Vallejo paper. I drove away quite slowly so as not to draw attention to my car. The man who told police that my car was brown was a negro about 40-45 rather shabbly dressed. I was in this phone booth having some fun with the Vallejo cop when he was walking by. When I hung the phone up the damn thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me + my car.
Last Christmass In that epasode the police were wondering how I could shoot + hit my victims in the dark. They did not openly state this, but implied this by saying it was a well lit night + I could see silowets on the horizon. Bullshit that area is srounded by high hills + trees. What I did was tape a small pencel flash light to the barrel of my gun. If you notice, in the center of the beam of light if you aim it at a wall or ceiling you will see a black or darck spot in the center of the circle of light about 3 to 6 inches across. When taped to a gun barrel, the bullet will strike in the center of the black dot in the light. All I had to do was spray them as if it was a water hose; there was no need to use the gun sights. I was not happy to see that I did not get front page coverage.  

This will be a deliberately exaggerated interpretation of this correspondence to highlight its misdirection.
In the latter part of the correspondence dealing with Lake Herman Road, the author doesn't mention anything regarding the shots into the David Faraday Rambler, forcing the couple from the vehicle, or his headlights illuminating the turnout to aid his visibility. However, in his story of Blue Rock Springs Park, he uses the word "car" on four occasions.
He begins the 'message' by referring to the vehicle of Darlene Ferrin: "On the 4th of July I did not open the car door." He then reminds us about his vehicle as he leaves the parking lot, leading us into the payphone incident- almost selling it as one continuous sequence: "I did not leave the cene of the killing with squealling tires + raceing engine as described in the Vallejo paper. I drove away quite slowly so as not to draw attention to my car."
It is extremely strange that the killer didn't want to draw attention to his car, when in the very next sentence he is drawing attention to his car: "The man who told police that my car was brown was a negro." The police report and newspapers never mentioned any negro male eyewitness, so it was extremely generous of the Zodiac Killer to confirm Michael Mageau's testimony of a brown car, by offering up this valuable second eyewitness to the newspapers and police. One could believe this male negro eyewitness never existed, yet the Zodiac was to make sure he was real by adding valuable extra details. To prove he was the killer in the July 31st 1969 letters he gave "some facts which only I + the police know." In the August 4th 1969 'Debut of Zodiac' letter he was doing exactly the same thing: "The man who told police that my car was brown was a negro about 40-45, rather shabbly dressed. I was in this phone booth having some fun with the Vallejo cop when he was walking by." The age, color and attire of this eyewitness are entirely unnecessary details designed to convince the reader this man is real. So real, he even reported the Zodiac to police.
The author has now imprinted the word "car" in our head three times. Don't forget that he is still in his vehicle, despite the fact this payphone is only 10 minutes from the parking lot, and 40 minutes has elapsed at this point. But if you were in any doubt whatsoever that the killer is still in his vehicle, remember, the eyewitness "was walking by." The Zodiac missed a trick here.
​He should have said  "the very observant negro man was slowing walking by clocking the color of my car." 
Then the Zodiac put the icing on the cake, mentioning his car for a fourth time: "When I hung the phone up the damn thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me + my car." How convenient that the phone rang and drew the attention of the eyewitness, who just happened to be walking by. The killer could have written "When I hung the phone up the damn thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me", but chose to add in his vehicle again, as if we'd forgotten he was in his brown car. The reason behind all this misdirection- is that the Zodiac Killer had driven from Blue Rock Springs Park to his residence first and walked to the payphone. He wanted the police to believe he was still in his vehicle, thereby not revealing that his residence was but a walking distance from the Springs and Tuolumne payphone. 

The Zodiac Killer was extremely helpful in confirming Michael Mageau's testimony of a brown vehicle by creating the fictitious negro eyewitness. Whether the killer was in his vehicle or not while making the payphone call to Nancy Slover, he certainly wanted to sell us the fact it was "brown" in color. That is because it was anything but brown. The above vehicle demonstrates how an 'Ermine White Chevrolet' spotted in the Lake Herman Road turnout at 10.00 pm on December 20th 1968, would have appeared to Michael Mageau at midnight in the Blue Rock Springs parking lot. In a prominent newspaper article Michael Mageau described the vehicle as a "1958 or 1959 Falcon. The color was brown or bronze." In the police report he stated "he could not see the color or anything as it was too dark out there." Michael was clearly not confident of the vehicle that parked behind him that night, but if the vehicle was 'Ermine White', it is easy to understand how this could be mistaken for brown under the conditions experienced within the parking lot that night. The Zodiac Killer, knowing he was driving a white vehicle, was only too happy to confirm Michael Mageau's description of his vehicle in the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter. The Zodiac, in his mind, had not only successfully placed his vehicle at the payphone, but had changed its color also. A very successful letter indeed. 
There will be many that will disagree with this analysis, but it is designed as an example of narrowing the search field down to a few hundred or few thousand men, who we can then narrow further based on what we have learned about the Zodiac Killer to this point in time. Find the location and find the killer.
Using the geographic profiling developed by Kim Rossmo, such as 'buffer zones', 'least effort principle' and 'circle theory of environmental range,' we can give ourselves a more realistic search field, using the psychology of the human mind, or more specifically the mind of Zodiac to work against him. The alternative is to keep adding suspects year on year, taking the journey down many blind alleys, before you realize- it is the avenue you should be searching for. The End.

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