This is a follow up article exploring the idea a phone call was placed approximately 10-12 minutes after the Lake Herman Road murders of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen on December 20th 1968, using the concept of a 'laughing killer' and the disputed 1986 'Zodiac' letter to the San Francisco Chronicle. Many magazine and newspaper articles are littered with basic errors regarding the Zodiac case, however some recurring themes not widely recognized as fact are present in many.
The Tuscaloosa News ran an article on October 17th 1969, just 20 days after the Lake Berryessa attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard. It stated 'Then the man said "I'm going to have to stab you people." Hartnell said "Please stab me first, I'm chicken. I couldn't stand to see her stabbed." The man told him "I'll do just that." He stabbed Hartnell until he passed out. The poor girl, she just had to watch. Then he knifed her until she fainted. When he stabbed Hartnell it was deliberate. When he stabbed the girl he laughed in a frenzy. Hartnell had been stabbed 10 times with a thin 12-inch blade. Miss Shepard, whose writhing provoked her attacker to laughter, had been stabbed 24 times.' 
One can see the embellishment in the fact the newspaper reported 34 stab wounds as opposed to 16, so did the killer really laugh in a frenzy during his attack on Cecelia Shepard.  
The second article involves the Argosy Magazine dated September 1970 and the murder of Paul Stine on October 11th 1969, two weeks after the Berryessa attack. The following is extremely unlikely, but was a section of the October 13th 1969 letter omitted from public consumption in similar fashion to the phrase 'by knife' written on the car door of Bryan Hartnell's Karmann Ghia, to provoke a reaction from the killer. It is highly doubtful, and likely sensationalized reporting, however this magazine article actually adds a phrase attributed to the killer, written in the October 13th 1969 Paul Stine letter to the San Francisco Chronicle. The article read 'Four days after the murder of Paul Stine yet another scrawled letter arrived at the San Francisco Chronicle. With it was a bloodstained piece of cloth, later established by laboratory technicians as a small part of the missing swatch ripped from Stine's shirt. The rambling letter, signed with the crossed-circle symbol, began, as had the others, with "This is the Zodiac Speaking."  The writer went on to say that he was the killer of the cabbie-student, adding "and to prove it, here is a piece of his shirt." The letter also disclosed that the fugitive, from some nearby hiding place, had watched with uncontrollable amusement while police searched the area. He said "they could have caught me if they had done it right, instead of dashing around waiting for me to come out of cover. I like to died laughing."       

The Argosy Magazine article continued with reflections of the Lake Berryessa stabbing 'The mention of laughter at a murder scene struck a responsive chord in the minds of the manhunters. During his recovery, young Hartnell had told Napa sleuths that "the man in the hood" had laughed diabolically as he plunged his knife again and again into Miss Shepard beside the lake.' This would be repeated in the Coronet Magazine in October 1973 where it described the following 'He held an automatic pistol on them, tied them securely with plastic-coated clothesline, and then stabbed them repeatedly, laughing hysterically as they thrashed and rolled in pain.'  
The Front Page Detective Magazine article of February 1970 stated "He (the killer) dropped to his knees and slowly, deliberately, forcefully plunged a 12-inch, double edged knife into Bryan's back 10 times. When the youth fainted in pain, the killer turned on the girl. His demeanor changed, kneeling beside her, he laughed wildly as he plunged the dagger 20 times into her back in a frenzied assault."  
In April of 1974 Detective Cases Magazine covered the Berryessa stabbing: "He ordered Miss Shepard to tie up Hartnell, then he bound the girl, hands and ankles. The gun had been replaced with a knife and when both victims were securely trussed, the hooded monster began plunging the weapon repeatedly into first, the man, then, the girl, accompanying each thrust with a maniacal laugh. For what seemed an eternity to the horrified, screaming, helpless victims, the merciless butchery continued. Their torturer first slashed, then stabbed as his hideous laughter echoed along the banks of the lake."        

Officer Pierre Bidou remembered a 'crank call' after the Lake Herman Road murders. He described this to the Benicia Herald newspaper ""Bidou and his partner had served a warrant on a Lake Herman Road cabin Dec. 20, 1968, and were on their way to deposit some marijuana in the police department’s evidence locker when they were dispatched back to Lake Herman Road. Initially, they were told a woman was lying outside a car; they thought they were being sent to a crash. Police at first speculated it might have been a crank call, but the officers headed back north. But when they arrived, Bidou realized it was no crank call and no car accident. Instead, it was a sinister crime scene." 
Officer Pierre Bidou also recalled this 'car accident' to Zodiac investigator Michael Butterfield. “…we got the call from the dispatcher that an accident, or something, had occurred on Lake Herman Road, so we turned around and came by.” Source.
This is from a previous article: 'When Stella Medeiros observed the crime scene at 11.20 pm, she raced off to seek help in Benicia, eventually locating Captain Daniel Pitta at the Enco Gas Station on East 2nd Street. This is 3.4 miles from the turnout, an estimated journey time of 5 minutes on Google Maps. She is obviously driving faster than normal and flags down Captain Daniel Pitta probably slightly shy of 11.25 pm, allowing her to give her account and for Captain Daniel Pitta to head to the crime scene by 11.28 pm. In the course of this, the information would have been relayed to Benicia Police Department.
So where did the supposition of a crank call or a car accident originate from. The description given by Stella Medeiros may have been interpreted as a car crash originally and relayed this way, but why would a radio message from a respected officer of the law be interpreted as a crank call. He was a captain reporting an incident on official police channels. Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday are lying prostrate in the turnout, whether a crash or not, why would Pierre Bidou be under any illusion of a crank call, unless a payphone call had come in slightly earlier than the radio message from Captain Daniel Pitta. The Zodiac Killer made phone calls after both his subsequent attacks, so why not this one. The only difference being, he called it in as a car accident, unwilling to show his hand as the murderer.

​Had James Owen passed the turnout around 11.08-11.09 pm, and the Zodiac Killer had exited the turnout somewhere between 11.12-11.14 pm and headed to Vallejo via Springs Road, his journey time to the payphone at the intersection of Springs and Tuolumne would be approximately 10-12 minutes, placing the 'crank call' at 11.22-11.24 pm, just prior to Stella Borges' meeting with Captain Daniel Pitta at 11.25 pm. The 'crank call' and the radio message from Captain Daniel Pitta would have been received in close proximity, leading to the confusion. The crank call being received slightly before the official police radio message.
This is where the 'laughing killer' and the phone call intersect in the aftermath of the Lake Herman Road murders. The Argosy Magazine wasn't finished yet. It continued on further '"The man in the hood" had laughed diabolically as he plunged his knife again and again into Miss Shepard beside the lake. He had also laughed in his phone call to Vallejo Police in December 1968.'  Does this validate the claim by Pierre Bidou. If the Zodiac Killer had laughed down the phone, could this be why the dispatcher had interpreted it as a crank call. Additionally, the article stated the phone call was made to Vallejo Police, exactly as the phone call would be 6 1/2 months later, after the Blue Rock Springs Park attack on July 4th 1969.
Russell Butterbach of the Solano County Sheriff's Department and his partner Wayne Waterman were just heading onto Lake Herman Road, when they received a call from the sergeant to go to the Hells Angels pad on Warren Avenue, Vallejo. After approximately 30 minutes they then received a double 187 on Lake Herman Road. 
If a crank phone call from the killer was received after the Lake Herman Road double shooting, then the time of this call, likely just before 11.25 pm, ties in perfectly with a 10-12 minute journey from the turnout to the Springs and Tuolumne payphone.
This wasn't the only time that the Zodiac Killer may have directed police to the scene of an accident.

http://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/sacramento-cold-case-contact

The following is nothing new, but is a further re-examination of the critical period after the Blue Rock Springs Park and Lake Herman Road attacks, focusing in on 'two phone calls' made shortly after each crime. It will place particular emphasis on the area around the Springs/Tuolumne payphone, and the possibility the killer's residence on foot, was mere minutes away. We shall also look again at the wording of the Zodiac Killer in the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter received by the San Francisco Examiner on August 4th 1969. Here is what we noted in a previous article:
'In the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter received by the San Francisco Examiner on August 4th 1969, the Zodiac Killer stated; 
"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." This negro male was never traced and did not feature in the police report. The details of his age range and what he was wearing, on the face of it appear unnecessary, unless of course the Zodiac Killer was deliberately creating a fictional character who just so happened to observe his brown car. Bearing in mind Zodiac had likely read newspaper reports of Michael Mageau detailing a brown car in the parking lot of Blue Rock Springs, what better way to corroborate his sighting by further implanting the seed of a brown car into the minds of investigators, by the hand of this fictional eyewitness. If Zodiac's vehicle was 'Ermine White' then clearly this is to his advantage. Voluntarily offering the color of his vehicle as brown, if in fact it was brown, must be viewed with suspicion'.      

Two other things strike you about this section of correspondence. The Zodiac's willingness to accept he made an error of judgment when he hung up the phone, unless of course he had an ulterior motive for it.
In his communications to police the Zodiac would never refer to his victims by name, calling them boy, girl, teenagers or taxicab driver. He only expanded on their descriptions when attempting to verify he was the killer, or in this case to verify he was spotted in his "brown car", by a "40-45 year old shabbily dressed negro male." Indeed, very helpful descriptions by the murderer, yet somewhat unnecessary. What had the killer to gain by adding this superfluous information, other than to benefit himself. He made specific reference to "that drew his attention to me + my car", when he could simply have said "that drew his attention to me". The killer appeared to be emphasizing that not only was he in his car, but it was also brown, just like Mageau had described. By placing himself at the payphone in his vehicle approximately 40 minutes after the attack, when it was only 10 minutes from the Blue Rock Springs parking lot, may have suggested to police that he drove to the payphone and could live almost anywhere. Or was that what he wanted them to believe, by being so utterly unselfish and extremely forthright, in adding in the detailed eyewitness and his brown car parked nearby. When in fact he was on foot, and had placed the phone call after returning home, ditching his weapon, vehicle and clothing (which may have received blood transfer from the shooting).  
The downside of a killer resident in downtown Vallejo, American Canyon or Benicia, is that, had he driven home to these locations to ditch his clothing and weapon, he would effectively be driving back towards or nearer to the crime scene to place the phone call. What killer would make a phone call after a murder extremely close to his residence? A killer who was implanting the seed of a brown car, when in fact it was white and not there.
The content of the phone call may also be telling. The directions he gave were correct, apart from the distance. He stated "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"
This appears incorrect on first reading, whether from the payphone or the police station, but by inserting one break or comma, the directions make perfect sense. "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"  Or by changing one word regarding the recollection of Nancy Slover. "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" 
However, is the killer playing down his familiarity with this particular payphone by placing it one mile west of Columbus Parkway, when its true distance is 2 miles.  

Let us consider the Zodiac Killer lived in a residence extremely close to the payphone, but how close? If he drove to a residence ten minutes from Blue Rock Springs, would he be prepared to walk 20-30 minutes to the payphone, and place the call, knowing he had the equivalent journey back home. In distance terms, one mile from the payphone. Or would he more likely venture 5 or 10 minutes. Could the 'crank call' made after the Lake Herman Road double murder help us, and did the Zodiac Killer place this phone call on foot, from the exact same payphone. This much shallower timeline may place his residence yards from Springs and Tuolumne.
The timeline of Lake Herman Road is debatable, but it is fairly certain that James Owen passed the turnout at 11.08-11.10 pm and heard a shot 30 seconds later. This being the case puts the killer in the turnout at around 11.10 pm.
Stella Medeiros spotting the bodies in the turnout, raced off to Benicia and flagged down Officer Daniel Pitta. This has been argued between 11.19-11.25 pm (Officer Daniel Pitta's police report states 11.25 pm). The dispatch to Benicia Police Department was shortly after. It is widely believed to be around 11.28-11.30 pm.
"Bidou and his partner had served a warrant on a Lake Herman Road cabin Dec. 20, 1968, and were on their way to deposit some marijuana in the police department’s evidence locker when they were dispatched back to Lake Herman Road. Initially, they were told a woman was lying outside a car; they thought they were being sent to a crash. Police at first speculated it might have been a crank call, but the officers headed back north. But when they arrived, Bidou realized it was no crank call and no car accident. Instead, it was a sinister crime scene." 
But why, in the plural, had "police at first suspected it was a crank call." What gave them this idea, after all this incident was radioed in by an experienced officer. Was the supposition of a crank call, which police "first suspected," allayed when the radio message arrived moments later from Officer Daniel Pitta. ​Had this been called in by Zodiac? Had this been called in from the payphone at Springs and Tuolumne, just as it was to be some six and a half months later? If police first suspected this was a crank call, then it was likely called in before Officer Daniel Pitta radioed in, whose confirmation would effectively quash the idea it was a hoax, as police first suspected.
The journey time from the Gate #10 turnout to Springs and Tuolumne is 12 minutes. Had the Zodiac Killer left the turnout at approximately 11.10 pm or shortly thereafter, let us say 11.11-11.12 pm, then the killer was able to place the phone call 12 minutes later at 11.23-11.24 pm, before Daniel Pitta radioed in, leading to the initial confusion experienced by police officers and the assumption it was a crank call. The Zodiac Killer may even have had a extra 3-5 minute window to travel home, ditch his vehicle and weapon, and walk to the payphone. Whatever the case, the author of the 'Debut Letter' was seemingly eager to sell us a narrative.   

The white Chevrolet Impala spotted at Lake Herman Road has been considered a prime candidate for involvement in the murders of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen on December 20th 1968. But what are the chances that this vehicle was the one that pulled into the parking lot on two occasions at Blue Rock Springs Park on July 4th 1969 and was instrumental in the attack on Michael Mageau and Darlene Ferrin. Frank Gasser (69) and Robert Connelly (27), along with Bingo Wesner, were in agreement that they spotted a white Chevrolet Impala parked in the turnout circa 10.00 pm at Lake Herman Road. These were older gentlemen who clearly knew the vehicle they had observed, as it was corroborated, whereas Michael Mageau (19) was altogether vague, on not only the assailant's description, but was indecisive on the vehicle he observed that night. He evidently was not an avid car enthusiast. Factor in the traumatic night's events and it is not surprising his recollection of details are sketchy at best.
Michael Mageau stated "Dea turned the lights and motor off and had the radio playing. 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 short space of time, a few minutes. Shortly after this and about 5 minutes before the shooting occurred, a vehicle pulled into the lot, coming from the direction of Springs Road and Vallejo. The driver turned the lights off on the car and pulled around to the left or east side of their car, approximately 6 or 8 feet away and sat there for a minute. He asked Dea if she knew who it was and she stated 'Oh, never mind'. "  He added "He could not see the car too clearly, however the shape of the car looked similar to the car that Dea owns, a Corvair. He could not see the color or anything as it was too dark out there".   

The vehicle was only 6-8 feet away but he couldn't make out the "color or anything", but it looked similar to Darlene Ferrin's Corvair. It seems he didn't really know and may have just been trying to please the police by giving them something, rather than nothing.
The next statement he gave puts it into context "The car then drove off at a fairly fast rate of speed. Five minutes later the vehicle pulled up approximately 10 feet behind and to the right side of Dea's car. The vehicle's lights were left on and the subject got out and walked toward the car. He had a large high-powered flashlight, the kind you carry with a handle." The assailant's vehicle was directly behind, facing the Corvair, in an extremely dark parking lot, and Michael Mageau had both the headlights from the other vehicle and a high-powered flashlight in his eyes. There is absolutely no way he could determine with confidence what vehicle was parked behind them. If he couldn't determine the "color or anything" of the vehicle parked 6-8 feet to the left 5 minutes earlier, when his vision was unobstructed, he had no chance here.
After the assailant had shot the couple he drove away. Michael again described the vehicle "He only saw the rear portion of it, this rear part appearing to be a vehicle similar to or the same type as Dea's car, a Corvair. Also a very similar color, possibly a little bit lighter brown." These descriptions are less than convincing. The first page of the police report details the assailant's vehicle as a Corvair or Mustang. In a later newspaper article Michael Mageau described the vehicle as a "1958 or 1959 Falcon. The color was brown or bronze."  It is apparent he was simply unsure of what vehicle he observed that night, which under the circumstances is totally understandable. But did Michael Mageau get the color correct. The answer could possibly be yes, but he was incorrect. By that I mean, his eyes saw brown, when in fact the color was closer to white.
The factory specifications of a 1959 or 1960 Chevrolet Impala show the vehicle was manufactured with a set range of colors.
One of which was 'Ermine White'. This color has a distinctive off white appearance. 

On the right is a 1963 Corvette in 'Ermine White'.
It can be clearly seen that it has a distinct brown hue, although it is classified as white. In the image below I have created a night setting closer to that experienced by Michael Mageau. The 'Ermine White' vehicle takes on a distinctly more medium brown or bronze color, similar to the Corvair driven by Darlene Ferrin. This could easily account for the discrepancies in identification between Robert Connelly, Bingo Wesner and Michael Mageau. particularly considering the circumstances Michael Mageau faced that night.
Because of Michael Mageau's uncertainty, it is certainly possible the vehicle he encountered that night could have been the same vehicle observed at Lake Herman Road, a 1959 or 1960 white Chevrolet Impala, and go a long way in linking both these crimes together.  
But was the vehicle that pulled alongside Darlene Ferin's Corvair only 6-8 feet to the left, the same vehicle that returned 5 minutes later and parked 10 feet behind. The answer is yet to be determined, but the curious behavior of the first sighting in an empty parking lot just prior to the shooting seems to suggest the two may very well be connected.
Raymond Grant-​ The White Chevrolet Impala. 

Yet again we shall return to the possible residence and location of the Zodiac Killer when he committed his four attacks, assuming he remained at the same address during his reign of terror. Kim Rossmo, pioneer of geographical profiling and the software Rigel, has made some excellent observations regarding the Zodiac Killer and his movements after each crime.
In his letters the Zodiac Killer made some telling remarks, that indicated he likely had a regular weekday profession. Not only were all his confirmed attacks on Friday and Saturday, but if we make the claim he was a resident in the Vallejo area, then he traveled further afield to San Francisco and Lake Berryessa on his rest day, when he had negligible time constraints. His first three letters to newspapers on July 31st 1969 held some vital clues. The Zodiac stated "I will go on a kill ram-Page Fry. night that will last the whole weekend.", "I will cruse around all weekend killing", and "I will cruse around killing people who are alone at night untill Sun Night." His span appears to cover Friday night to Sunday night, suggesting this was his window of opportunity and indicative of commitments during the week.      

The killer mentioned the "golf course in vallejo", "good times I have had in Vallejo", "that area is surrounded by high hills + trees". In addition he targeted isolated spots frequented by courting teenagers, that suggested prior knowledge of the local area, and maybe locations that he frequently passed while traveling to work, visiting friends or engaging in pastimes. His compass or navigational markers were correct regarding both Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs Park, despite the widely held belief he was incorrect during his phone call to police dispatcher Nancy Slover. Despite his distances being off slightly, simply adding a comma or pause, changes the whole meaning of the phone call. Nancy Slover attempted to talk over Zodiac to acquire details and in addition had to recall the phone conversation word for word, in context, at a later time, so we can assume it may not have been the original message verbatim.
Let us add the breaks or pauses into the passage, and other than 'one mile east', which should be 2 miles east from the payphone or police station (see here), the rest is pretty much correct. "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."  Or simply adding a comma and the word 'by', you end up with "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." 
To assume the Zodiac directions were wrong, would be to assume the 100% accuracy of Nancy Slover's recollection, which cannot be proved, as phone calls were not recorded during this time. 
The Zodiac Killer was also correct in his description of Lake Herman Road and Betty Lou Jensen, when he wrote "the girl was on her right side feet to the west."
Another key feature was the phone call made from Springs Road and Tuolumne Street 40 minutes after the Blue Rock Springs attack, despite this payphone being only 10 minutes journey time from the crime scene. In 40 minutes the Zodiac Killer could have traveled at least 25-30 miles from Blue Rock Springs, placing the phone call in relative safety on his journey to a distant residence, but chose to remain in the area of Vallejo. This gave credence to the idea the killer traveled home, concealed his weapon, changed his clothes and returned to the payphone, greatly reducing the risk of incrimination.        

One area Kim Rossmo highlighted was American Canyon, and there are many good reasons for this. If we take the location of Eucalyptus Drive, Rio Del Mar and Cassayre Drive and calculate the journey time to these areas from Blue Rock Springs and back to the payphone, we find it takes approximately 24-34 minutes. This coupled with stashing the weapon, changing clothes and preparation for the return journey, would place us nearer to the 40 minute mark.   
Eucalyptus Drive to payphone: 7 miles (12-17 minutes). 
Blue Rock Springs to Eucalyptus Drive: 7 miles (12-17 minutes).
If the Zodiac Killer had taken time to plan his crimes carefully, then California State Route 29 would have taken him directly from home to Florida Street, only one mile from the payphone. Spending as little time as conceivably possible on the smaller roads and a speedy entry and exit, to and from the location of the payphone. Would the Zodiac Killer have assessed the risk factor in determining the buffer zone between his crimes and his residence, as well as the payphones and his residence. How did the buffer zones change on a Saturday, compared to Friday?
The Zodiac Killer clearly had more time to venture further afield on Saturday, but with only two attacks on this day, it is extremely difficult to compare Presidio Heights and Lake Berryessa from the standpoint of a pattern. However the route back by car from Spruce Street to Eucalyptus Drive is 46 miles and one hour. The journey time from Lake Berryessa to Eucalyptus Drive is very similar, 40 miles and just over an hour. Staying with the home location of Eucalyptus Drive in American Canyon, the Friday buffer zone would be 11 miles from Lake Herman Road and 7 miles from Blue Rock Springs. The buffer zone from each payphone after the second and third attack to Eucalyptus Drive is 7 miles and 9.5 miles respectively. But were these considerations in his planning.
The direction of the Zodiac Killer after Lake Berryessa to the 1231 Main Street, Napa payphone, is on a direct path to California State Route 29. The quickest route to San Francisco via State Route 29, is along state route 37 and Highway 101, straight to the Golden Gate Bridge into Presidio Park. Did the Zodiac Killer again plan a quick entry and exit plan after the murder of Paul Stine, creating an immediate separation within minutes of the crime. Once over the Golden Gate Bridge, he is a ghost in the night.     

In the 'My Name is' letter mailed on April 20th 1970, the Zodiac Killer stated "I have killed ten people to date. It would have been a lot more except that my bus bomb was a dud.  I was swamped out by the rain we had a while back."
A cursory search on Google will show many examples of flooding in the region of American Canyon. It lies next to wetlands and an old landfill site, close to the eastern fringes of the Napa River.
City of American Canyon website:
"Our waters, wetlands and uplands are part of an interconnected watershed system that drains into San Francisco Bay, the largest estuary on the Pacific coasts of North and South America. 
From its headwaters near Calistoga to San Pablo Bay 55 miles downstream, a drop of water falling at the top of the ridge flows by gravity into the Napa River. There are 47 tributary creeks that flow into the Napa River. Fagan Creek, Sheehy Creek, Suscol Creek, American Canyon Creek and the North Slough are in our community. The Napa River Bay Trail is located on Wetlands Edge Road and Eucalyptus Drive. Parking is provided at the Wetlands Edge Viewing Area and Trailhead. There are several trail options for an enjoyable day hiking or biking."

This area of American Canyon is noteworthy for many reasons, but as Kim Rossmo alluded: "There is no guarantee an offender will be found in the peak profile area, but all else being equal, suspects located there should be prioritized. Geographic profiling is strictly an investigative decision support tool, and a geoprofile must be considered in the context of all available investigative information."

With little progress in the Zodiac case, often we have to return to what we already know but examine it in more depth. The search for the Zodiac Killer has become wider as the years have passed, with ever more suspects being introduced into the fold, effectively diluting the identity of the real murderer. The bigger the haystack becomes, the harder the needle is to find.
One, if not the best clue in the Zodiac case, is the phone call he made from the intersection of Springs and Tuolumne at 12.40 am, on July 5th 1969, approximately 40 minutes after the attack at Blue Rock Springs Park, particularly in light of a journey that should have taken little more than 10 minutes. What did he do during this time period. We cannot rule out that he just sat in his vehicle for the entire duration, but if the killer lived nearby, then separating himself from the weapon and any blooded clothing, before making a risky phone call, appeared to be the sensible option. It has already been surmised that the killer may be local to the area, due to the fact he seemed aware that Blue Rock Springs Park and Lake Herman Road were a good place to target couples.
If the Zodiac Killer had lived in San Francisco, then he could have made this phone call anywhere en route back to his residence. There would appear little reason to sit closer to the crime scene than separate yourself from it, especially loaded down with incriminating evidence. The journey time back to San Francisco is approximately 40 minutes, with innumerable payphones on the way, thereby negating the logic of remaining in the danger zone, unless of course you lived in Vallejo and were determined to make a call to police no matter.    

Kim Rossmo, who pioneered the science of geographical profiling made an important observation that the killer exhibited target selection at Presidio Heights, as opposed to his first three crimes, where the location was the overriding consideration. If we believe the Zodiac Killer to be a resident of Vallejo or Benicia and less familiar with the San Francisco area, then control would be the order of the day and his 'search attempts' in alien surroundings are less certain. He could not afford to travel around looking for victims without designated prime locations and expect to escape with any surety, thereby he targeted the victim first and took him to a predetermined location, as opposed to the location being the prime requisite. In the Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs attacks, he frequented known locations to find a victim, whereas in San Francisco he searched for a victim and took him to a location. Kim Rossmo states that 'criminals who travel longer distances to offend are less likely to use uncertain target selection techniques'.
The Zodiac Killer knew Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs Park were secluded locations and knew that by cruising between these two areas he would eventually find his moment to strike, shrouded by the darkness and limited traffic. Using the software Rigel, Kim Rossmo entered various details in the Zodiac case, some of which were the murder locations, travel routes and phone calls and came up with some key areas of interest. These areas were [1] southeastern Napa County, including American Canyon and north Vallejo. [2] eastern Solano County, including east and north Vallejo, Mare Island and Benicia. [3] northern Contra Costa County, just south of the Carquinez Strait, including Crockett.
All of these areas are viable destinations to reach from Blue Rock Springs Park and back to the Springs and Tuolumne intersection in 40 minutes to make the phone call to police. This is great, but we need to narrow the field of view further and begin with the most likely first, before extending outward.     

In a recent re-examination of the Lake Herman Road murders, it was possible to open up the timeline of James Owen and Stella Borges to 12 minutes, to enable the Zodiac Killer to head to Vallejo after exiting the turnout and pass by the Borges Ranch before she entered Lake Herman Road in her vehicle. Michael Mageau stated the killer exited the Blue Rock Springs parking lot and headed in the direction of Ascot Parkway, Tennessee Street and Springs Road, so we could have the Zodiac approaching the same exit of Columbus Parkway on both occasions, heading in the direction of central Vallejo. However, with the many inconsistencies in Michael Mageau's testimony, we cannot be certain which direction the Zodiac traveled after leaving the parking lot.   
We know​ that killers employ a 'buffer zone' from their residence and we know that with increased confidence, a serial killer will move from their comfort zone further afield. Often though, their initial crimes start closer to home. This is why the Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs Park crimes, separated by only 3.9 miles, are of paramount importance.
Additionally both attacks fell on a Friday, which for somebody working a normal Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 job, would explain the lack of 'adventure', that was otherwise displayed at the Lake Berryessa and Presidio Heights attacks, which both fell on a Saturday. This is referred to as the 'least effort principle'.
There is one particular area of interest, that of northern Vallejo, we can examine for all the right reasons and also examine for all the wrong reasons.​        

The area of interest is denoted by the red circle in the diagram. The blue circle is the Springs and Tuolumne payphone.
This area of interest is 4.7 miles from Blue Rock Springs Park (10 minutes). This area is 4.1 miles from the payphone (10 minutes). The times are approximated based on the route. A murderer leaving Blue Rock Springs at 12.04 am at the latest, with 15 minutes to hide the weapon and clothes at home, and ready himself before returning to the payphone, would arrive to make the phone call at 12.39 am.
This area of interest is also in a direct line south from the 1231 Main Street, Napa payphone, only 12 miles away. It is situated 9 miles from Lake Herman Road.
In each case a reasonable 'buffer zone' is employed from the crime scene at Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs, and from both payphones, while still allowing the total journey time of 36-40 minutes to be achieved after the Blue Rock Springs crime.
But in all cases the 'buffer zone' is not too large either, it is a delicate balance.
Now we will focus on this area of interest for all the wrong reasons and the following must be taken with a huge pinch of salt.
Donna Ann Lass disappeared from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel and Casino on September 6th 1970, and was presumably highlighted by the Zodiac Killer in the March 22nd 1971 'Pines' card. The card itself indicated a location, thought to be the burial site of Donna Lass, but it was vague in nature, supplying what appeared to be directional markers. The text on the card read;   [1] 'Sierra Club'  [2] 'Sought Victim 12'  [3] 'Peek through the pines'  [4] 'pass Lake Tahoe areas'  [5] 'around in the snow' (pasted upside down). 
Two notable Sierra Club properties were identified. In a newspaper article it stated 'the site depicted on the 'Pines' Card was from an advertisement published last Sunday by several newspapers. It was an artist's rendition of houses among the trees at a project at Incline Village', located at 895 Tanager Street, Nevada. The other was Clair Tappaan Lodge at 19940 Donner Pass Rd, Norden, highlighted as a potential burial site and investigated by police officer Harvey Hines. An excavation of the site was performed but no body was unearthed. It has been stated that a pair of sunglasses, that may have belonged to Donna Lass were found, but this cannot be verified. The directions on the 'Pines' card, if from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel, seem to indicate that we have to pass some 'lake tahoe areas'. Traveling on the lake's western shore, along California State Route 89, brings us out by Truckee, only 2 miles from the Donner Memorial State Park, a few miles east of Clair Tappaan Lodge.
Here is an overhead view of Clair Tappaan Lodge on Google maps. Now let us drop to the roadside and 'peek through the pines' at Clair Tappaan Lodge.
Whether the Zodiac Killer was using a play on words, possibly bringing us out by the Donner Memorial State Park and suggesting she could be found in this area, only he knows. Or was his play on words suggestive of somewhere entirely different.  
As stated above, Clair Tappaan Lodge is situated alongside Donner Pass Road, but are we in the wrong place, and does the clue point towards a totally different area, somewhere we are much more familiar with. Somewhere only 4.7 miles from Blue Rock Springs Park. 

The testimony of Michael Mageau after the Blue Rock Springs attack on July 4th 1969, described an assailant who approached their vehicle, fired off five shots, before retreating and returning to deliver a final volley of four shots. Nine shell casings were recovered from the crime scene, seven found on the right side of the couple's Corvair and two on the floorboard of the back seat. But is this what actually happened.
One thing may help us uncover the order of events that night, that of the ballistics and Darlene Ferrin's autopsy report, which has some unusual details to untangle. Here is a section of that report, indicating that Darlene Ferrin had nine entry wounds and seven exit wounds. An extremely high number considering Michael Mageau was shot four times. Some bullets of course passed through both victims, but it still takes some explaining. The report describes two entry wounds on her right arm and two entry wounds on her left arm, with two bullets recovered internally.           

On page 13 of the police report it states 'With Sgt Rust went to the parking lot in front of Blue Rock Springs and observed a 1963 brown Corvair parked in the south east area of the lot. This Corvair had the head and tail lights on. The left blinker light was blinking front and rear. The ignition was in the on position, the transmission was in first gear, and the hand brake had not been set.' 
On page 17  it states 'After both victims were taken to the Kaiser Hospital, writer checked the area for any spent bullets, upon checking the Corvair writer observed what appeared a bullet hole in the left door panel.'
Hardly surprising if multiple shots were fired through the right side window.
Then we have one bullet described as having been recovered from Michael Mageau's thigh. Michael was struck in the neck, hip, left thigh and shoulder.  

The report above describes one bullet removed from Michael Mageau's left thigh. This was fired into his thigh while he was squirming on the back seat. There is no other alternative. Two spent casings were retrieved from the back seat floorboard. These are the two shots fired at Michael Mageau as he sought escape from the front seat, the two shots fired at him when Zodiac returned after the initial barrage. These two shots therefore did not pass through Mageau's body to strike Darlene Ferrin, one of which was described above in the police report, that lodged in his left thigh, the other likely struck his hip.
This is important because it leaves only seven shots left to create nine entry wounds and seven exit wounds detailed in Darlene Ferrin's autopsy. Two bullets remained inside Darlene Ferrin, so didn't produce any exit wounds. Now we have only five bullets remaining to create seven exit wounds, two of which struck Michael Mageau in the front seat.
Darlene Ferrin it has been surmised was shot in the arms while gripping the steering wheel, 2 bullets that struck her right arm, exited her right arm and struck her left arm, which they exited also, producing 4 entry and 4 exit wounds. 
The 2 bullets that struck Mageau on the front seat would have lost velocity, entering Darlene Ferrin but not exiting her body. These were the 2 bullets found internally at her autopsy. The other 3 bullets that struck Darlene Ferrin's torso directly produced 3 exit wounds (add this to the 4 exit wounds on her arms, gives us the total of 7 exit wounds).
She had 4 entry wounds in her arms from 2 bullets, she had 2 entry wounds via Michael Mageau (the lodged bullets at autopsy) in her torso and 3 entry wounds that struck her directly (one during the initial barrage and two when Zodiac returned).
In total giving us 9 entry wounds.
Michael Mageau was targeted directly 4 times, Darlene Ferrin was targeted directly 5 times (2 at her arms, 3 at her torso). 
One bullet, the one discovered in the left panel of the driver side door, therefore was the only bullet that exited her torso, because the other 2 were retrieved internally at autopsy. 

This backs up Michael Mageau's statement that the killer shot him twice while he was in the back seat (hip and left thigh), and therefore Darlene Ferrin was shot separately twice while alone in the front section of the vehicle (twice in her right back). 
The strange thing about this scenario is the conception many believe of how the shooting unfolded. That Michael Mageau was targeted first, yet Darlene Ferrin was still likely gripping the steering wheel with both arms even by the time of the fourth shot, to facilitate the through and through wounds to both her arms (see foot of article). Bearing in mind the vehicle was in first gear, with the hand brake off, had she attempted to prepare the vehicle to drive away, valiantly gripping the steering wheel as Michael was being shot.
A letter was received by the San Francisco Examiner on July 4th 1969 in which Zodiac describes his attack "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. "

​This account also confirms the ballistics, in that the shots to Michael Mageau's neck (head) and shoulder occurred while he was positioned in the front seat, passed through his body and struck Darlene Ferrin's upper torso. The shots to his lower body (left thigh and hip) occurred while he was in the back seat "thashing out very violently with his legs."
One possible order of events and by no means the only one, is that Zodiac targeted Darlene Ferrin first, striking both her arms with 2 shots, after all she was the driver and means of escape. He quickly turns the gun onto Michael Mageau, striking him in the neck and rear shoulder as he is turning away from the gun. He then fires a further shot into Darlene Ferrin's torso, as Michael hurls himself backwards into the rear seats. Five shots have now been fired. Zodiac walks away, then returns to shoot Michael in the rear seat twice (hip and thigh), then Darlene twice more into her torso, before leaving the scene.
Another plausible order of events derives from the words of Michael Mageau in the police report (see foot of article). Michael is searching for his ID as the assailant fires two shots at his neck and shoulder. Darlene Ferrin could have sensed danger early on, having prepared the vehicle for a quick exit, disengaging the hand brake and setting the transmission. Her hands could already be braced on the steering wheel or she could have placed them there when the assailant started shooting Michael Mageau. She may very well have reached for the ignition. But whatever the case, her arms were aligned to receive the injuries detailed at autopsy. Once she was struck in the arms, she then turned away in a defensive motion and was struck again in her right rear. Michael meanwhile has leapt into the back seat. The rest follows the same pattern as above- Zodiac leaves, returns, and delivers the final 4 shots.  
This article explains the movements of the killer that night, his account in the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter, the nine shots fired and the nine entry wounds and seven exit wounds detailed in Darlene Ferrin's autopsy report.​ 
What the autopsy does, is paint a picture of the sequence of events that night, and that Michael Mageau's version of catapulting himself backwards to the rear seats of the Corvair, to escape the initial barrage, is supported by all the ballistics evidence, but what the autopsy results won't reveal about the events that night, is why. 

The following will be investigating the idea that possibly two or more individuals may have been involved in the Zodiac crimes, or at least some of the crimes. It is not necessarily something I subscribe to, but certainly would not dismiss the idea out of hand, particularly when we consider the nature of the first two crimes at Lake Herman Road on December 20th 1968 and Blue Rock Springs on July 4th 1969, and many of the unanswered questions. Some of the following will  consider new angles regarding the crimes, that don't necessarily follow the widely accepted Zodiac narrative.
At Lake Herman Road, what strikes you, are the occupants of two vehicles observed in the run up to the murder of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen. These occupants, despite the publicity these murders generated, never came forward. This may be a fear of implication in the crime, nevertheless, the owner of the white Chevrolet Impala, spotted parked unoccupied in the Lake Herman Road turnout by three witnesses and the blue Valiant observed by William Crow, who stated he was pursued by two Caucasian males in this vehicle within 90 minutes of the double murder, have all remained unidentified. 
One has to ask, why is the empty Chevrolet Impala sitting parked in the turnout for an extended period, bearing in mind it was late evening, extremely cold and pitch black. What were the occupant/s of the vehicle doing that night, considering they were never observed in the vicinity at any time by Robert Connelly, Frank Gasser or Bingo Wesner.
The 'Blue Valiant' story by William Crow is difficult to dismiss as irrelevant, having occurred so close to the crime scene, and on the face of it appeared threatening. William Crow would later change the recollection of his encounter that night, in addition to altering his vehicle description to a white Chevrolet. This can be easily interpreted as witness embellishment.
Mike Rodelli attempted to contact William Crow in subsequent years to no avail. He addressed William Crow thus;
"Since that time, you have become a practicing attorney and are reportedly employed by the local government in Solano County. In February of 2004, you spoke to Zodiac researcher Howard Davis. At this time you had a much different story to tell. You clarified the reason you had pulled over to the side of the road near the pumping station as being to learn how to use "toggle switches" on the dashboard of your girlfriend's car. The chase is now much more detail-filled and very dramatic. The car tried to gain on you and, in trying to get inside your left rear quarter panel, presumably tried to force you off the road. He flashed his lights on and off. In taking the turnoff to Benicia, you apparently had to execute a high speed "evasive" maneuver which the less agile, older car could not handle. There was just one person in the car now and his description was eerily like that which was promoted for the Zodiac killer (i.e., short hair and glasses) after October 1969. The car was now remarkably the "white Chevy" that two other sets of eyewitnesses described that night. You stated that your girlfriend lived in (and presumably purchased her sports car in) San Francisco (or was it Napa?). After the encounter, your common sense kicked in and you went home." 
It is not unusual for eyewitnesses to become creative in later accounts and this drives at the heart of their credibility, similar in fashion to the changing stories of Donald Fouke at Presidio Heights. This is what William Crow originally stated;
"He was driving his girlfriend's sports car and he was testing it out and adjusting the motor. He was parked in the open area by the pump station and he observed a blue car, possibly a Valiant coming down the road from Benicia towards Vallejo. They passed his location, stopped in the middle of the road and he saw the white lights of the reverse come on and the car started backing up towards them. Mr Owen put the car in gear and took off at a high rate of speed and the car followed him at a high rate of speed. They did not attempt to gain on him, but when they got to the turn off towards Benicia, William Crow turned towards Benicia and the other car went straight ahead. The subjects were both Caucasians and there is no further identification on the car or the subjects."
The level of threat these individuals posed is indeterminable, however, they never presented themselves to investigators to clarify their account of proceedings, so the question will still persist, to what extent they were connected to the subsequent murders that night. The significance of the white Chevrolet Impala is equally unclear.          

The Zodiac Killer described his attack on David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen "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."
How difficult is it to control two frightened teenagers in near perfect darkness using just a 'pencil flashlight', bearing in mind his vehicle was supposedly parked alongside the victims Rambler, providing limited auxiliary lighting from the headlights of his car. The most obvious position to place his vehicle was to the right and slightly behind, to not only blind his victims and box them in, but to provide some extra illumination in the comission of the crime.
The Zodiac also stated "All I had to do was spray them as if it was a water hose; there was no need to use the gun sights." The fact he never used the gunsights may suggest this very scenario. His statement of "all I had to do was spray them", is open to scrutiny, in that he never sprayed both victims. David Faraday was shot point blank to the left side of his head. This brings us to the ballistics evidence, covered extensively in regards to two shooters, in the article http://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/lake-herman-road-the-ballistics-report  
In short, eight bullets were recovered from the crime scene, and only one failed to exhibit 'right hand groove class characteristics' - the one retrieved from David Faraday's head at autopsy. Ten casings were detailed in the crime scene sketches, but only nine were sent to the Department of Justice for testing. Since nine of the casings were retrieved from the turnout floor, it seems likely the tenth casing, marked as sitting on the front passenger side Rambler floor, got towed away with the vehicle and separated from the rest of the casings. This, therefore, could never have been tested. If this tenth casing had exhibited different characteristics to the other nine, then a plausible link could be attributed to this casing and the 'odd man out' bullet. It makes perfect sense, as a head shot into David Faraday from his left side by a right handed shooter would eject the casing to the right and rear, in direct line with the open passenger door, where it was ultimately found. The same could be said of a left handed shooter securing David Faraday from behind. But without ever locating this missing casing we will never know.
Mike Rodelli responded to this with some additional information, which if correct defies belief: "That missing casing is interesting. I remember being at Russ' home for several days in 2003 and he told me that he had one of the shell casings from LHR. We looked through several ashtrays of junk trying to find it but never did. I wonder if the one he had is the missing one, since the car would have been placed in possession of the SO after the shooting, as seen in several videos. Maybe he took it as a souvenir." 
If this were the case, then it is highly unlikely this promising lead will go anywhere, but it certainly does not discount the possibility that a second gun and second shooter may have been involved that night. Were the two Caucasians spotted by William Crow still en scene, and what role, if any, did the white Chevrolet Impala play.           

Comparing vehicles in the Zodiac attacks is extremely limiting, especially when considering Michael Mageau's less than reliable eyewitness account. Understandable after the horrific attack he was subjected to at Blue Rock Springs Park.
On the left is a blue 1966 Chevrolet Nova, which when compared to the 1966 Plymouth Valiant above has a similar square looking design. In addition, the Chevrolet Nova II and Chevrolet Nova II 327 exhibit equally similar features and specifications.
These vehicles have been selected for a reason.
The three women at Lake Berryessa, who spotted a suspicious man in the run up to the double stabbing of Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard, described his vehicle as a late model, 1966/7 Chevrolet, light or sky blue in color, with long rear taillights rather than round. These Chevrolet Nova models have long taillights.
Not a great match up admittedly, however, the police took tire impressions of a vehicle they suspected parked by Bryan Hartnell's Karmann Ghia on the day of the crime, that may have been the killer's vehicle. The mystery man spotted by the three women may not have been the Zodiac Killer, but the tire tracks or tread impression widths of a Chevrolet Nova, if he drove such a vehicle, are almost  identical to the track width of the observed tire impressions by police. 
Dragged kicking and screaming from a previous article we have this:    

This is what it states in the police report "Reporting officer observed one set of tire impressions approximately 20 feet to the rear of the victim's vehicle. The suspect track nearer the fence measured approximately 4 1/2 inches in width and showed a parallel tread design. This tread design was photographed by Sgt T Butler and then a plaster cast was made by reporting officer. The tire impression furthest from the fence measured approximately 5 1/2 inches in width. The distance between the inside of the left tread to the inside of the right tread measured approximately 52 inches." 
Track width is a measurement from tire center to tire center.
If you look at the specs of a 1959 or 1960 Chevrolet Impala, the tire width is 205 mm or 8.07 inches. This would mean the center of the tire is situated at roughly 4 inches. It would be nice to think, that if we added the 4 inches of both tires to the 52 inches, measured to the inside of the tread above, we would get 60 inches track width, the exact front width shown here of the 1960 Chevrolet Impala, although 59.3 in the rear. However tire width and tread width are not the same, shown in the photograph above, where the rubber cambers off on the edge of the tire, meaning the tread width is often smaller than tire width. This is often different bearing in mind the aspect ratio of a tire, given as 75% on a 1960 Chevrolet Impala, in respect to rim size. Here is a brief explanation on Youtube. 
If we take the median value of the tread impression widths (5 1/2 inches and 4 1/2 inches) stated in the police report above, we have an approximation of 5 inches tread width. This can vary front and back. ​

Who was the man who pulled alongside the victims car five minutes prior to the attack. If this man was the eventual shooter, why did he drive away when he had the perfect opportunity to attack the couple in the first instance. If he was unrelated to the murder and attempted murder, why did he pull alongside the couple in an empty car park in which he could have parked anywhere, and in similar fashion to the unknown occupants of the vehicles at Lake Herman Road, he never presented himself as a material witness to police regarding the events that night.
Was the occupant of the vehicle who initially pulled up alongside the victims Corvair, surveying the scene for an accomplice, possibly known to Darlene Ferrin. Hence, the strategy of parking a vehicle alongside, then behind. This certainly wouldn't be the first serial killer to target someone known to them, before continuing their rampage. Then there is the additional phone call to family members in the early hours of July 5th 1969, other than the call to police dispatcher Nancy Slover. This theory I doubt will ever be resolved. 
This attack, and the one at Lake Herman Road, both may have displayed some sort of reconnaissance before the murders ultimately took place, with unidentified vehicles and persons unknown present themselves before each crime.
At Lake Herman Road we had an extensive DOJ ballistics report (although missing one vital casing), along with detailed, if inaccurate police sketches. Blue Rock Springs Park on the other hand, has very little. No extensive ballistics report available to the public and no photographs of the crime scene whatsoever.
We know that nine expended bullet casings were retrieved from the crime scene, seven found to the right side of the Corvair and two on the back seat floorboard of the vehicle, as though the killer had leaned into the vehicle to deliver the final shots at Michael Mageau, who had clambered to the rear of the vehicle to escape the initial barrage.
The strange thing about this shooting, is that the killer had unleashed nine shots towards his victims, yet despite both Michael Mageau and Darlene Ferrin being alive after the first five shots, he retreated according to Michael Mageau. Why didn't he just use up the whole magazine, or nine shots in one 'sitting', so to speak.
Although not privy to the Blue Rock Springs ballistics report, I suspect the expended casings were compared and shown to have been the product of one firearm, but who fired the nine shots. This may seem a stupid question, but Michael Mageau by his own admission, stated a vehicle pulled up behind them with the headlights on and a man exited with a flashlight. At near midnight with limited alternative lighting, this would have made it extremely difficult to ascertain how many occupants were present in the assailant's vehicle.              

Michael Mageau stated that the attacker retreated after the first volley of shots. It is entirely plausible that the assailant handed off the gun to a second man in the car, who was then told to 'finish the job'. They came as a team and wanted to be equally involved. The first assailant firing off five shots, the second four shots. This cannot be proved or disproved, especially considering Michael Mageau was blinded by the headlights from behind, in accompaniment to the flashlight, and for a brief period had no view of the assailant/s vehicle, as he had sought respite on the back seat of the Corvair. His account of the night and his description of the assailant's vehicle are extremely sketchy, and could also throw into doubt the actual number of perpetrators involved on July 4th 1969.

Lake Berryessa is totally different. We know that one masked man was responsible for the stabbing of Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard. What we don't know is who wrote on Bryan Hartnell's car door. We assume it was the same person who committed the stabbing.
Lake Berryessa had limited escape routes by car, with the crime being perpetrated during daylight hours, with boats still circling the lake. Would our killer be eager to leave the scene of crime as soon as he reached his vehicle? Would he take the time to write on Bryan Hartnell's Karmann Ghia? Or would it have been much easier for a second person to have written on the vehicle while the attack was underway, so as to facilitate a quick exit along Knoxville Road? Again, neither can be proved or disproved.
Finally, we have the Presidio Heights murder of Paul Stine on October 11th 1969. There have been many debates on where the actual murder took place, in view of no gunshot being heard by the three teenagers across the street, or any other resident for that matter. But what we do know, is that we cannot inextricably link the man observed in the taxicab with Paul Stine's shooting. By the time the three teenagers had looked out of their window that night, all they observed was a man in the front seat of the taxicab, presumably tearing off a swatch of Paul Stine's shirt. The shooter (his accomplice) may have already vacated the taxicab before the teenagers came to the window. Nobody knows the time period between the taxicab arriving at Washington and Cherry and the teenagers initial observations. The shooter could have been long gone and the 'clean up' guy was taking care of business. Without the gun, his lack of urgency is measurable by his actions.
I suppose in a way, the number of perpetrators is not really important, it is identifying the person or persons involved for the sake of all involved, but unfortunately I believe that chance was lost a long time ago.              

It has been often stated that many serial killers begin their activity close to home, before gaining in confidence and venturing further afield, so it may be the case that the crimes at Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs Park may reveal the most about the Zodiac Killer. Many, if not most people, believe the killer to be a native Vallejoan or at the very least have strong ties to the area. But what are the clues.
Some have questioned the Zodiac Killer's inability to name Blue Rock Springs during the first phone call as an indication of his lack of knowledge of the area, yet his directional sense in the first three letters he mailed to the newspapers and the directions he issued in the Blue Rock Springs phone call, were in essence correct. The caller after BRS spoke the following words in a monotone, rehearsed fashion, "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"
Many Zodiac enthusiasts and police officials have questioned the directional accuracy of the Zodiac phone call. Read or heard without breaks, give the impression that the directions given by Zodiac are incorrect, however, despite his distances being off slightly, simply adding a comma or pause changes the whole meaning of the phone call. Nancy Slover, the police dispatcher, attempted to talk over Zodiac to acquire details and in addition had to recall the phone conversation word for word, in context, at a later time, so we can assume it may not have been the original message verbatim.
Let us add the breaks or pauses into the passage, and other than 'one mile east', which should be approximately 2 miles east from the police station (see here), the rest is pretty much correct.  "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."  The Zodiac was either not a master of the English language or toyed with authorities, so unless Nancy Slover recalled the message slightly incorrectly, then ideally the phrase should have read "on Columbus Parkway 'by' the public park, you will find the kids in a brown car."
Considering Zodiac's compass accuracy at Lake Herman Road and Presidio Heights (Bus Bomb letter), it is highly doubtful he was was suggesting Blue Rock Springs Park was east on Columbus Parkway and the likely answer can be found in a misinterpretation and misrepresentation of the phone call under stressful conditions.

Bearing in mind Zodiac likely had a map at his residence, to add compass directions in his July 31st 1969 letters and to give rudimentary directions to Nancy Slover from the payphone, is not an indicator either way on his links to the area, as is his failure to describe Blue Rock Springs by name.
Having prior knowledge of Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs Park as a magnet for courting couples, apparently suggests a connection with the area, and while that may be true, it may be a historical one and not applicable to his current residency.
However, the phone call itself is confounding, relayed to Nancy Slover at 12.40 am, 40 minutes after the Zodiac left the crime scene- despite the journey time to Springs and Tuolumne being only 10 minutes by car. The police department's located in Vallejo in 1969 and early 1970, were situated extremely close to where the Zodiac Killer placed the call at Springs and Tuolumne. The Sheriff's Office was located at the junction of Virginia and Tuolumne Street, and the Vallejo Police Department at 111 Amador Street. So, if the Zodiac was giving directions in relation to these, then the distance east to Columbus Parkway is marginally over 2 miles. 
The Zodiac Killer could have made this phone call from anywhere, but decided to place himself only 667 meters from the Sheriff's Office (only 0.5 miles or one minute journey time by police car). Evidently a strange choice, unless your sheer bravado outweighs your fear of capture. Ironically, the Springs and Tuolumne payphone exactly bisected in distance the Sheriff's Office and the home of Arthur Leigh Allen at 32 Fresno Street, which sat 667 meters away.
The choice of payphone could be argued as a reason for the Zodiac not being a Vallejo resident, at least not recently, as he appeared unaware of a police station only yards from the intersection of Springs and Tuolumne. Or that he didn't do his homework. One can't help thinking that this payphone was chosen for a reason.​                   

Could it have been chosen to center police focus on Arthur Leigh Allen, similar in fashion to Don Cheney's attempts to implicate Allen to investigators. Or had the Zodiac Killer dumped his vehicle, weapon and possibly clothes at home nearby and walked to the payphone, thereby explaining the 40 minute time delay.
His claim in the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter, "When I hung the phone up the damn thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me + my car," may have been phrased in such a way as to not suggest he was on foot and had a residence nearby, deliberately tagging 'my car' to the end of the sentence, when totally unnecessary.  Again this could bring our focus back to Vallejo.
​The Zodiac Killer throughout his correspondence enjoyed needling the police, "Hey pig doesnt it rile you up to have your noze rubed in your booboos?
Curiously though, he missed the perfect opportunity, to not only embarass the police, but to make them public enemy number one, that would have likely surpassed all his other 'achievements'.
On July 17th 1969, only 13 days after the Blue Rock Springs murder, an almost unprecedented event occurred, when police and firefighters simultaneously went on a five day strike in Vallejo, the city's streets patroled by a skeleton crew of non union police. This seemed tailor made for a killer, who apparently kept up with current affairs and read the local newspapers for articles about himself. Bearing in mind Zodiac's first two attacks were on a Friday, here he was presented with Thursday through to Tuesday to stalk the dark streets almost unchallenged. Imagine the backlash toward police had he claimed a fourth or fifth victim during this period.
Was the killer closely allied with Vallejo, did he track the papers religiously or was he simply on holiday, returning fourteen days later to mail his first three letters on July 31st 1969. Either way it seemed a missed chance to taunt the police. 
To read the article '1969 Strike- A scary 5 days for Vallejo' click here.    

The following will examine the possibility that two people were in fact the 'Zodiac Killer', briefly touched upon in a previous Lake Herman Road article entitled 'Lake Herman Road-The Ballistics Report.' This is not necessarily a held opinion, but the idea of more than one person in some way being involved has long been touted in numerous postings, so is worthy of investigation. Let us start at the beginning with some observations noted at Lake Herman Road.
The first interesting aspect of the December 20th 1968 murders was that the bullet fired into David Faraday did not contain the same class characteristics as the other seven submitted bullets. What the Department of Justice report actually said was 'All bullets submitted were Western copper coated .22 long rifle bullets, although some were damaged, it was possible to determine ALL but Item [1] had 6 right hand groove class characteristics.'  Item [1] was the bullet recovered from David Faraday.  
This doesn't categorically separate this bullet as being fired from a second weapon, but it certainly opens up the possibility, as it couldn't be definitively linked to the other seven bullets. Furthermore, only nine casings were documented in the police report and the Department of Justice report, when clearly ten casings were ejected from the weaponry that night and marked in the police sketches. So, why did this tenth casing, described by Zodiac and depicted in the police sketches seemingly disappear on its journey from the crime scene to the Department of Justice evidence room.
In all likelihood, it is because this casing was the one discovered on the front passenger side floorboard of the Rambler, either left in situ purposely or inadvertently, but which would ultimately became separated from the other nine. Having never been tested, we will never know if this 'missing' tenth casing matches the other nine from a ballistics standpoint. Had it displayed unique characteristics then there may have been a strong possibility that this casing could have be the one ejected from the bullet fired into David Faraday's brain, as this was the only bullet to not be categorically linked the other seven. This would open up the notion of a second weapon that night and likely a second shooter, but without the tenth casing being unearthed, this remains just speculation. http://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/lake-herman-road-the-ballistics-report      

It has been suggested that one person may have written the letters to the newspapers, while the other was the killer. But it is equally possible both participated in the murders, while one or both wrote the correspondence.
It is easy to scrutinize every word penned by the author of the Zodiac letters, and interpret the wording in a multitude of different ways. One such example is present in the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter, received by the San Francisco Examiner on August 4th 1969.
Imagine that two attackers were present at Lake Herman Road, and as inferred above, one was responsible for the close quarter execution of David Faraday, while the other was responsible for the remaining nine shots. In other words, the second shooter had a containing role, securing David Faraday as he left the Rambler.
The assailant who murdered Betty Lou Jensen was the author of the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter and wrote "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."
The problem is, he didn't 'spray them', he only sprayed Betty Lou Jensen, but he is simply writing from his perspective, not his accomplice's, who may have clinically murdered David Faraday with a single bullet, suggested at the beginning of this article.

Another example of interpretation can be found in the wording on the first three letters mailed on July 31st 1969, where the author states accompanying part one of the cipher "the other 2 parts have been mailed to the S.F. Examiner + the S.F. Chronicle," - but on parts two and three of the cipher the author states "the other 2 parts of this cipher are being mailed to the editors of the Vallejo Times and SF Examiner". and uses the present tense of "are being mailed". On all three correspondences the author is veering towards the third person perspective. This is not like the Zodiac, who would usually not fail to refer to himself, such as "I have mailed the other two parts of the cipher."  Clearly though, this is down to the subjectivity of the reader and the dissection of such material.      

The final observation, is the encounter of William Crow approximately 90 minutes prior to the Lake Herman Road double murder, in which he detailed being chased by another vehicle occupied by two male Caucasians. If his account is true, then this suspicious activity so close to the actual time of the murders has to be considered one of, if not the, most significant feature of the night's events when searching for suspects. Most telling, was that these two individuals never came forward and were never located. There are many reasons why individuals do not come forward - one being the fear of being turned from eyewitness into accused, however, guilt would certainly head the list. Taking the ballistics from above and linking it to these two white males is certainly worthy of consideration, albeit a little simplistic.

Did these two individuals reappear just over six months later, both of whom were possibly sighted and recalled by Michael Mageau, who survived the horrific onslaught at Blue Rock Springs Park on July 4th 1969.
Michael Mageau would recount two significant sightings that night. Firstly, the vehicle that pulled up alongside Darlene Ferrin's brown Corvair - and either this vehicle returning five minutes later to the rear of their Corvair, or a second vehicle now entering the scene, implying that two males may be involved in the crime. Michael Mageau stated in the police report "Shortly after this and about 5 minutes before the shooting occurred, a vehicle pulled into the lot, coming from the direction of Springs Road and Vallejo. The driver turned the lights off on the car and pulled around to the left or east side of their car, approximately 6 or 8 feet away and sat there for a minute. He asked Dea if she knew who it was and she stated 'Oh, never mind'."  
The Zodiac Killer appeared bold and brazen, particularly at Lake Berryessa and Presidio Heights where he took enormous risks beyond what was required to execute his murders. The wearing of an elaborate costume, the writing on the car door, the murder of Paul Stine in the heart of San Francisco, that included the tearing of Paul Stine's shirt, yet here, if we contend that both these sightings by Michael Mageau were of the Zodiac Killer, then the hesitancy looks out of place. When the first vehicle pulled into the parking lot it was empty, other than Darlene's Corvair. Why not pull up behind the intended victims, as in the second instance, and begin the attack. It could be argued that the first vehicle which pulled up alongside the Corvair was a totally innocent motorist, but the parking lot was totally empty, so why pull alongside the only other vehicle and extinguish the car's lights for upwards of a minute. This could be construed as suspicious activity in the run up to the attack at Blue Rock Springs, in similar fashion to Lake Herman Road, and again, as with Lake Herman Road, this person, if innocent, never came forward as an eyewitness to this crime and has never been traced. Three significant eyewitnesses over three murders that all failed to make themselves available.                     

The Zodiac would remind us of his individuality just two days after the murder of Paul Stine on October 11th 1969, "I am the same man who did in the people in the north bay area." 
We do not know exactly what alerted the three teenagers to the unfolding events outside their home that night, but it most certainly was not the gunshot, as they stated they heard no firearm being discharged. Therefore, it cannot be stated with any certainty that the man they observed in the front passenger seat of the taxicab was actually the killer of Paul Stine. In fact, we do not know exactly how long the taxicab was present at the intersection of Washington and Cherry Street prior to the teenagers looking out of their upstairs window. We can only determine that the person observed inside the taxicab was likely responsible for the removal of the shirt piece and the wiping down of the taxicab.
​It is perfectly feasible that two people were inside Paul Stine's taxicab as it approached the corner of Washington and Cherry. The first person shot Paul Stine and immediately left the scene, taking the 'smoking gun' with him. The second person remained to secure the shirt piece and wipe down the taxicab. Had the second person still been inside the taxicab as police approached, he could claim to be a witness to the murder or aftermath, and seeing a taxicab driver had been injured or shot, had entered the taxicab to assist the driver. After all, this accomplice was devoid of any firearm and incriminating gunshot residue, so how could he be the shooter? The tearing of any shirt could be attributed to first aid, acquiring material to staunch the blood loss. However, as police had not arrived in time, the back up plan was not needed and the accomplice headed north along Cherry Street.  
It would have been an extremely audacious act to have shot a taxicab driver in a built up area, only yards from nearby residences, and then have taken the time to carefully tear a rectangular section of Paul Stine's shirt, while still in possession of the only item that would inextricably link you to the crime - the smoking gun. The same could be said of remaining at the scene after the Lake Berryessa double stabbing, and taking the time to write on the car door of Bryan Hartnell's 1956 White Karmann Ghia. Unless, both of these tasks were performed by an accomplice, thereby reducing the risk factor of each crime. 
It is actually impossible to disprove that two people were involved in the Zodiac crimes, as it is for multiple co-conspirators. It is equally impossible to prove a lone killer in all four confirmed attacks - it simply boils down to what you believe.
The murderer crafted an elaborate costume for the attack on Cecelia Shepard and Bryan Hartnell on September 27th 1969, but the creation of the 'Zodiac Killer' just prior to August 4th 1969 may have been the greatest disguise of all.                    

The following is an accompaniment to the Blue Rock Springs Park page on this site, attempting to narrow down the timeline of events leading up to and after the double shooting at the Blue Rock Springs parking lot, to discover whether the Zodiac made his approach to Darlene Ferrin's 1963 brown Corvair just before the stroke of midnight on July 4th 1969, or slightly after on July 5th. The timeline will be reconstructed from the numerous statements contained within the police report.

In the run up to the Blue Rock Springs attack, Michael Mageau "stated that Dea came over at approximately 11.30 pm or shortly thereafter and picked him up in her car." Michael went on to say they headed in the direction of Mr Ed's along Springs Road before turning around and heading eastward toward Blue Rock Springs Park. Michael Mageau resided at 864 Beechwood Avenue and Darlene Ferrin at 1300 Virginia Street, both in Vallejo. However, further on in the report it states that Dean Ferrin (Darlene's husband) and Bill Lee (Darlene's employer) recounted that "Darlene and her sister Christina Suennen had been at Mr Ferrin's place of employment 'Ceasers' 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."  Then, at "approximately 11.30 pm Lee called Darlene to ask her if she would try to find a fireworks booth open and purchase some as they were going to have a party at 1300 Virginia Street." In combination with this, Pamela and Janet, who were babysitting for Darlene, stated that "Darlene didn't return until about 11.30 pm or shortly before that" and after a few minutes cleaning up the house she was going out to buy fireworks, "Darlene left the house around 11.40 pm and they didn't see her again."  It was clear by the accounts of several people that Darlene was still at 1300 Virginia Street at 11.30 pm, left approximately 10 minutes later, to arrive at Michael Mageau's Beechwood residence "shortly thereafter." 

The traveling time from 1300 Virginia Street to 864 Beechwood Avenue is approximately 5 to 6 minutes, so at the earliest Darlene Ferrin arrived at Michael Mageau's residence is 11.45 pm. This is likely the exact time, because if we backtrack through events that subsequently happened at the Blue Rock Springs parking lot, as recounted by numerous people, along with Michael Mageau, this time is confirmed. Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau's journey time from 864 Beechwood Avenue to Blue Rock Springs Park is 7 to 8 minutes, but factoring in that they initially headed along Springs Road to Mr Ed's, away from Blue Rock Springs, before altering their plans, we will take the top estimate of 8 minutes - although it could be conceivably up to 9 minutes.

​This places the couple entering the parking lot at 11.53 pm. We now have three independent statements to factor in the events hereafter, starting with Michael Mageau. 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. Shortly after this and about 5 minutes before the shooting occurred, Michael states a vehicle pulled into the lot, coming from the direction of Springs Road and Vallejo. The driver turned the lights off on the car and pulled around to the left or east side side of their car, approximately six or eight feet away and sat there for a minute. The car drove off and headed in the direction of Vallejo and Springs Road. He stated approximately 5 minutes later it returned." The killer then approached the Corvair.

Deconstructing these statements and estimating the kids arriving after the couple by "a few minutes", considering the kids stayed to laugh and joke, and let off some firecrackers, we can place a minimum of 3 minutes on this duration. Michael stated after the kids left it was about 5 minutes before the shooting. Combining these two estimations puts the duration at 8 minutes, indicating that if they arrived at the parking lot at 11.53 pm, the time would now be 12.01 am on the 5th of July. However, Michael also stated that after the kids left a vehicle pulled up behind them, "sat there for a minute and returned approximately 5 minutes later" extending the timeline to 6 minutes. This, coupled with a minimum of 3 minutes for the kids arriving and leaving, totals 9 minutes, thereby extending the time of the shooting to 12.02 am. All the timelines above are conservative estimates, so the 12.02 am calculation could equally be as late as 12.04 am. To verify or back up this prediction we shall now examine some further statements. 

George Bryant lived only 800 feet from the Blue Rock Springs parking lot and stated "He could hear laughing and a few firecrackers being shot off". This tallies exactly with the statement of Michael Mageau. He continues by saying "at approximately midnight he heard what appeared to be a gunshot." This also fits the timeline nicely.

In the police report it chronicles three other people, Jerry, Roger and Debbie, who were heading along Columbus Parkway, entering the area of Blue Rock Springs from the northwest:. "it was dark and they looked for any vehicles. The only one they saw was the victims brown Corvair."  They approached Mageau, wounded on the floor, and left to get help. "Both boys had to guess the time they were at the park as real close to midnight, possibly a little before midnight." However, it was likely slightly after midnight as we shall estimate. At approximately 12:10 am Richard Hoffman "copied a radio message from KMA 818 regarding two teenagers being shot at in the area of Blue Rock Springs, R.O. had just checked this approximately 15 minutes prior to this transmission, and found the parking lot of Blue Rock Springs clear of people or motor vehicles."  This statement uses approximation, because as we can see, 15 minutes prior to 12.10 am is 11.55 pm, and Michael Mageau and Darlene Ferrin pulled into the parking lot at around 11.53 pm, meaning they would have been spotted by Richard Hoffman. However, what it does tell us, is that Richard Hoffman likely missed the couple's arrival by a matter of minutes, probably passing the parking lot just prior to 11.53 pm.

​The three youths, Debbie, Jerry and Roger, after seeing Michael Mageau pleading for help, set off to Jerry's home at 938 Catlewood Drive, Vallejo and subsequently called police. The time to reach 938 Castlewood Drive from Blue Rock Springs Park is about 6 to 7 minutes. We have estimated the shooting at 12.02 am. So Jerry, Debbie and Roger likely arrived at 12.03 am to 12.04 am, immediately after the shooting. The 6 minutes to arrive home and call police tallies nicely with the 12.10 am call by Debbie to dispatcher Nancy Slover and the transmission to Richard Hoffman.  

​Richard Hoffman stated in the 2007 'This is the Zodiac Speaking' documentary, after having previously checked the park "I wasn't far away, so I turned around and went back out there and told dispatch I was going to go out there to check on that report." Had that took Hoffman a couple of minutes after receiving the 12.10 am dispatch to arrive at Michael Mageau's side, then Michael's statement of "A white man drove up in a car, got out, walked up to the car, shined flashlight in and started shooting. Man was older than me, window was down. After stop shooting I got out of car, I tried to get the people to come over but they drove off. After finally 10 minutes the policeman came" seems about correct, placing Michael Mageau on the ground in the aftermath of the shooting around 12.02 am, with Richard Hoffman arriving at 12.12 am, or shortly thereafter.
  
​With all the time periods above, a conservative approach has been adopted, implying the double shooting may have occurred slightly later - but from the phone call to the police and dispatch times, 12:04 am is the latest cut off point. The most likely time of the attack can be narrowed to 12:02-12:03 am on July 5th 1969. Although, the Zodiac Killer having begun the night with murder on his mind was clearly content with "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."  Debut of Zodiac Letter-August 4th 1969.

The negro male was supposedly never identified or mentioned in the Blue Rock Springs police report. Was the Zodiac lying about this encounter, as many people would argue, or was this a genuine encounter by the Zodiac Killer? Here we will run through some of the arguments.   

In the police report it stated a call received at 12.40 am by unknown citizen: "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."

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.

The Zodiac Killer called at 12.40 am and the call was traced inside of seven minutes, which is not possible with the technology of 1969. A caller had to be on the line a minimum of 15 minutes for a call to be traced. Although not completely  accurate, this was referenced in the Zodiac (2007) movie, featuring a clip of the Melvin Belli 'call to chat show,' when Belli was instructed "Pacific Telephone says you need to keep him on the line for 15 minutes."

​It is likely the word 'traced' is being used in the loose sense of the word, and they actually 'discovered' the call was made from Springs and Tuolumne. 

The answer may lie in Zodiac's wording at the top of the page, where he said "When I hung the phone up the damn thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me + my car."  Betty Main traced the call, but was not allowed to give a statement. This could have meant that what the witness had to say, contained sensitive material, having been kept under wraps at that particular juncture. If Zodiac was telling the truth and the phone rang almost immediately after he hung it up, this was not likely a coincidence. Was it possible, that although Zodiac hung up the receiver, the operator didn't and was able to ring back the payphone. This would not identify the specific location of the payphone, but if somebody had picked it up, the operator could ask the person on the other end to identify their location, ie; the negro male Zodiac identified as walking by. We know police officers were redirected from the Blue Rock Springs Park to the corner of Springs Road and Tuolumne Street, and it is here the witness to the phone call may have been interviewed. It is equally conceivable that the Zodiac Killer gave the payphone number to the operator when he was patched through to the Vallejo Police Department. Either way, the Springs and Tuolumne payphone was rang back by the operator.
  
​Michael Cole, author of Zodiac Revisited made some interesting points on the Zodiackiller.com forum:
"(1) The information from the letter is being given in direct response to a request for additional identity verification. The other information given in the same context appears to be truthful (mostly). Therefore, I believe Z is being honest in the conveyance of this information. 
(2) We know that Z changed his behavior when he made his call to the Napa PD about three months later. Instead of hanging up the phone, he set it down thus avoiding the possibility of a ringback. This behavior modification is consistent with an experienced-based learning regarding the described ringback; not to mention it just sounds like good police procedure to implement a ringback under these circumstances. Therefore, I suspect the ringback did happen as described. Perhaps Nancy will provide some additional insight on this front. I've already asked the question in the other thread.
(3) We know that Mike Mageau described the car as being brown. 
(4) As mentioned previously, Z's statement implies that he knows somebody told police that his car was brown. Although I don't have the reference, this clearly implies that the detail was published somewhere.
Given all of the above, I suspect that Z honestly believed that the described witness was the person who told police about his car. He apparently, quite reasonably, believed that MM could not have ascertained the color of his car. This left the witness as the most probable source. The fact that the witness was never identified seems to imply that he chose not to come forward or that he was unaware of law enforcement's desire to talk to him."        

The most likely answer is ring-back as Michael Cole suggests, which is how the call was 'traced.' Somebody may have picked up and given the operator the details he had just observed. This was alluded to by Zodiac who stated in the Debut of Zodiac Letter  "The man who told police that my car was brown was a negro about 40-45 rather shabbly dressed." It is likely this information was withheld from the police report - and why Betty Main's statement was not made public. Either, as Michael Cole stated "The fact that the witness was never identified seems to imply that he chose not to come forward or that he was unaware of law enforcement's desire to talk to him," or he was located by responding officers, but requested his anonymity be respected and why this information was kept off the record.
But the fact the location of the payphone was 'traced' seems to implicate third party information, in that ring-back alerted somebody to its location. However, that still leaves the question - if the negro male was interviewed, was he able to give any additional information regarding Zodiac's description, that was 'incorporated' into the police report, or did his description simply tally with Michael Mageau's and was therefore not included. Or did he simply get no viable description of the killer or his vehicle at all. Either way, as Michael Cole stated, the Zodiac Killer would not make the same mistake again in Napa on September 27th 1969.       

Whenever polls are conducted on the Zodiac Killer many people fall down on the side of Vallejo as his most likely residence, with much justification. The first murders on Lake Herman Road were just inside Benicia limits, but very close to the jurisdictional line of Vallejo. The second crime at Blue Rock Springs Park was in Vallejo, and the phone call at Main Street, Napa after the Lake Berryessa stabbings, in respect to Lake Berryessa, is on a southerly collision course with downtown Vallejo and the direction the killer appeared to be heading. Pierre Bidou, one of the first police officers on scene at the Lake Herman Road turnout on December 20th 1968 stated on 'True Crime with Aphrodite Jones' "There's no streetlights here, there still isn't. If you come out at night time and look at this place it is dark, really dark. There was hardly anybody coming by here, if you had a car about once an hour that would probably be a lot. This was kind of known as a lovers point and a lot of people didn't know this road, so you had to be somewhat familiar with this area". When prompted by the host on whether the Zodiac may have lived in the area, Pierre Bidou replied "Oh I think so, he lived in the area that's for sure. Oh yeh he knew the area". It was supposed that the killer of five knew the area based on his knowledge, not only of this remote two lane highway, but the fact it was predisposed to courting couples seeking a little privacy, something that would not be apparent to somebody unfamiliar with this area. The killer himself referenced Vallejo several times in his letters to the newspapers, mentioned the uncommon term of 'radians', and supplied us with a map and compass directions. This would then make it all the more surprising, that during the Zodiac Killer's first contact with police at the Springs Road and Tuolumne Street intersection payphone, he would then get his directions so horribly wrong.     

The distance from this payphone or the police station, east to Columbus Parkway is approximately 2 miles. From here you would travel north on Columbus Parkway to the site of the second attack at Blue Rock Springs Park. So, if the killer was directing police to the scene of the crime from either his location or the police station, his claim of "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" makes absolutely no sense, leading some people to believe he knew little of the Vallejo area, even failing to mention Blue Rock Springs Park by name.

However, there may be a far simpler answer - that Zodiac was correct all along. When you examine the wording in the Zodiac phone call, it is easy to see how this could be changed ever so slightly to make perfect sense. The phone message delivered to Nancy Slover from the murderer and detailed in the police report was the one she remembered, but it may not necessarily be the actual message delivered by the killer.
 
​Let us go ahead and change the message from "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" to "I wish to report a double murder. If you will go east and one mile 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."
​Keeping the identical words, with the addition of the word 'and' in the correct place, changes the entire meaning of the message and now makes perfect sense, in respect to the Zodiac Killer making a phone call and directing police to the scene of the crime. Heading east along Springs Road brings you onto Columbus Parkway. But the section of Columbus Parkway that heads universally north to the crime scene is approximately 1 mile. See here. It is located on the junction with Lake Herman Road. The entire route along Columbus Parkway from Springs Road to the crime scene is 1.5 miles, but the Zodiac is no doubt approximating the distance in his phone message. Yet, the overall narrative of the phrase is now correct, heading east, before joining Columbus Parkway and continuing north to the public park.
​
The phone message can be slightly altered with no additions whatsoever, just inserting a comma or slight pause in the way it was spoken: "I wish to report a double murder. If you will go east, one mile 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."  The structure of the statement remains viable with respect to directions from Zodiac's location or the police station.
It is 2.3 miles in totality from the Vallejo police station to Columbus Parkway, but if Zodiac had underestimated the distance, one further option retaining the same order could be "I wish to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east onto 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."  or  "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."

In fact, the wording in Zodiac's message can remain totally unaltered, yet still contain a totally different meaning to the one widely accepted - if we just insert a comma or slight pause in the way it is spoken. This way, Nancy Slover could have remembered every word in order correctly, but simply failed to interpret the method of delivery: "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" 
  
The payphone is roughly 10 minutes by car from the crime scene, but there was a 40 minute delay after the murder and attempted murder of Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau, leading to speculation that the killer may have lived nearby, going home to possibly ditch the murder weapon before returning to place the call. If this were the case, it would surely lend credence to the idea that the Zodiac Killer was all too familiar with his his surroundings, and the phone message to Nancy Slover was simply a case of crossed wires.

The Zodiac Killer, having placed the phone call to the Vallejo Police Department, was clearly directing the police from the station to the crime scene. The quickest route for police leaving the 111 Amador Street police station, was to enter Solano Avenue and join Springs Road, from where they would be heading east towards Columbus Parkway and the crime scene. So, when the Zodiac Killer stated "if you will go one mile east" to the police, he was pretty much correct. When the police joined Springs Road, they would have traveled only 1.4 miles east before entering Columbus Parkway. If the Zodiac Killer hadn't approximated his distance, then the original message to Nancy Slover would have read "I wish to report a double murder. If you will go 1.4 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"   

After both the Blue Rock Springs attack on July 4th 1969 and the Lake Berryessa attack on September 27th 1969, the Zodiac placed a phone call, firstly to police dispatcher Nancy Slover at the intersection of Springs Road and Tuolumne and secondly to Officer Dave Slaight from the 1231 Main Street payphone, but on both occasions, the time each call was placed left us with a considerable shortfall. Had the Zodiac Killer left Blue Rock Springs Park at midnight, he should have arrived at the payphone at 12.10 am, not 12.40 am. Similarly, if we use the writing on the car door at Lake Berryessa as our guide, the journey to the Main Street payphone should have placed the Zodiac Killer there at approximately 7.20 pm, not 7.40 pm.
The Blue Rock Springs Park and Lake Berryessa crimes have one distinctive and advantageous feature- in that we can use the phone calls to generate his possible movements, using the two points of contact, and search into reasons for the 'lost time' after his departure from each crime scene.
Obviously his attacks were fraught with danger, but he would further gamble with his freedom, by ultimately making further contact at each payphone. Conversely, this risk would be greatly diminished had he disposed of the 'smoking gun' first, in the case of Blue Rock Springs, the 9 mm Luger, with a change of attire a possible consideration. Had the Zodiac Killer lived in Vallejo, as the majority of people contend, a return journey to parts of this region, including American Canyon, with a ten minute turnaround, would take the killer back to the payphone at the Springs Road and Tuolumne intersection at about the correct time of 12.40 am, when the call was logged. His journey back from Lake Berryessa in a southbound direction through downtown Napa, fortunately for us, sets him on a collision course with American Canyon and the heart of Vallejo once again.   

The journey time from Lake Berryessa to 1231 Main Street is approximately 50 minutes, but if he left the crime scene at 6.30 pm, he should have arrived at the payphone at 7.20 pm, leaving 20 minutes unaccounted for. There was of course greater traveling distance- but even allowing for this, the killer could not have taken the most direct route from Lake Berryessa to the payphone and placed the call immediately, to allow it to be logged at 7.40 pm. So which route did he take and why.
The difference between the second and third crime, is that he used a knife in the close contact attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard, and undoubtedly would have been covered in blood. His 'smoking gun' was greater in this case- that being the costume, gloves, knife, blood transfer and the unused handgun- and traveling from the crime scene directly to the payphone was a stretch, if the timeline was to be maintained. He could have simply placed these items in the trunk of his car, but like the Blue Rock Springs Park attack the unaccounted time suggests he made a deviation off route. Concealing the items in his car or taking these items home, still leaves us with 20 minutes spare time, that needs to be explained. If, like his previous crime, his first intention was to remove any incriminating evidence before placing the phone call, where did he go that fits our timeline, and was there anything we knew about the Zodiac Killer that may give us a clue.
It has been considered that the Zodiac Killer may have been a hunter, hiker or fisherman, or possibly all three, on account of the specific key words he used in his correspondence with police, the locations of his crimes and the weaponry he appeared to have access to. But can we use this line of thought to fill in our missing 20 minutes.
Lake Berryessa is 40 miles from Vallejo taking the Interstate Route 29 through Napa. It is a marked change in distance from Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs, if he lived in Vallejo, with many locations en route- suggesting that he carefully selected this as his destination, being familiar with, or at the very least had visited previously.

After departing the Knoxville Road- heading westwards takes him directly to Interstate Route 29 and a direct route back through Napa to Vallejo. But it also has the added advantage of passing somewhere he may have been familiar with, if what we think we know of him to be true. Lake Hennessey is a man made 1,234 square mile reservoir serving Napa County, providing boating, fishing and hiking to the general public. If the Zodiac Killer knew this area, he knew Lake Hennessey.
It lies just 17 miles or roughly half an hour drive due west of Lake Berryessa, heading along Sage Canyon Road towards Rutherford, CA. It has all the familiar features, 'lovers lane' style turnouts, hiking trails, rest areas, parking facilities and more importantly seclusion. In fact the perfect area for a killer to get changed and possibly dispose of any incriminating evidence, before heading off to the Main Street payphone. The journey time to Rutherford, CA, then heading along Interstate Route 29 to 1231 Main Street Napa is 55-60 minutes, but crucially our killer now has that all important 10-15 minute time period, to rid himself of any link to the crime at Lake Berryessa and place himself in the vicinity of the payphone at exactly 7.40 pm. 

The topic of geographical profiling has been covered many times on this site, but I would like to return to it one more time to examine the possible home base of the infamous Zodiac Killer based on his movements, in particular, after the first two crimes, along with what he revealed either deliberately or inadvertently in many of his subsequent letters to local newspapers. However, what is far more important than what he told us, is what he didn't say. If you were the killer of five people, it would make perfect sense to never draw attention to the area in which you lived and in the contrary, attempt to throw the suspicion elsewhere, not only in the communications you sent, but in the very timing of them also. The only question is, was the Zodiac Killer impulsive when he drew up his communications or did he carefully construct them, with not only the intention to taunt authorities and police, but to mislead them with intent and throw them the ultimate red herring? Some of the following has been covered before, but hopefully this ties it up into one neat bundle.

In the late hours of December 20th 1968, David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen would be gunned down by a merciless killer. Two important eyewitness timelines, that of Stella Borges and James Owen would indicate the murders most probably occurred sometime between 11.14 pm and 11.20 pm, but based on the statement of Stella Borges it was determined that the Zodiac Killer in all likelihood exited the turnout east, in the direction of Benicia. She was heading from Vallejo to Benicia and reported passing no vehicles en route. The crime was late at night, may have been the Zodiac Killer's first murders, he had fired off at least 10 rounds, and as a result of the close contact wound to David Faraday's head, quite possibly had received blood transference to his clothing. Although not wholly conclusive, his logical choice after leaving the turnout would have been to head home and relative safety, not drive in the opposite direction. This is what he appeared to do, heading in the direction of Benicia.                 

A serial killer generally commits his early crimes closer to home before venturing further afield as he gains in confidence. The following attack  at Blue Rock Springs Park on July 4th 1969 had shifted from Benicia over the jurisdictional line into Vallejo, approximately 4 miles northwest  If the killer had lived somewhere in Benicia (or in its close vicinity), then he was starting to become more confident, before traveling 50 and 40 miles respectively to Lake Berryessa and San Francisco, for his final two crimes. After the Lake Herman Road murders the police were desperate to catch the killer, but at this point were justifiable in their actions to seek out motives such as jealousy or revenge, interviewing friends and possibly rivals of the young couple. The thought that this crime was the inception of a serial killer was understandably the last thing on their mind, especially considering that after the Lake Herman Road double murder, the killer had remained quiet for just over six and a half months. However, this premise would be shattered on Independence Day 1969 at Blue Rock Springs Park with the attack on Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau.
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The Zodiac Killer appeared to show extreme caution and patience between the first two crimes, or was there more to it? Had the extensive investigation that followed the Lake Herman Road double murder, driven the murderer of the young couple into the shadows, with the buffer zone he had created from his home location unnecessarily close? He was seemingly determined never to make the same mistake again, by taking his crimes well away from the Benicia area.

After the midnight attack at Blue Rock Springs Park, the Zodiac Killer made a phone call to police dispatcher Nancy Slover at 12:40 am from the payphone at the intersection of Springs Road and Tuolumne Street, 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".

However, it was not the phone call, but his first communications by letter that may have revealed the most. A trinity of letters arrived on July 31st 1969 to three newspapers, containing three portions of a cryptogram. In the San Francisco Chronicle letter he wrote "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". The Zodiac Killer mentioned both Lake Herman Road and Vallejo in these communications, but failed to mention Benicia in any. 

On the morning of August 4th 1969 the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter arrived at the San Francisco Examiner, in which the Zodiac Killer mentions Vallejo a further three times, writing "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", then "I did not leave the cene of the killing with squealling tires + raceing engine as described in the Vallejo paper", and finally "I was in this phone booth having some fun with the Vallejo cop". But it was the extension of this line that would spike the interest "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". Not only does the author of the letter instill Vallejo into our minds, he effectively gives up the color of his car, even though there was no mention of a negro eyewitness in the police report or newspapers - unless of course, the word 'negro' is not the important part of the phrase he wants us to notice -  but the claim his 'car was brown'. The author then unnecessarily uses the word car once again when he writes "When I hung the phone up the damn thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me + my car". He could easily have wrote "When I hung the phone up the damn thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me", but he doesn't. Twice he mentions the word car and on both occasions it was totally unnecessary, even forfeiting the color of the car for good measure.  

It is certainly conceivable that the police thought this too. His apparent willingness to give up a possible negro eyewitness to police and the color of his car may have been a complete ruse. His over emphasis of the word 'car' in his writings may have been intended to look deliberate, so police would refocus their attention around the payphone (because he walked there), placing the killer's home location somewhere in Vallejo. After all, it would seem perfectly logical for the killer to change his clothes, separate himself from his vehicle and dispose of the gun, before making the payphone call only 40 minutes after the attack. If the Zodiac Killer was a resident of Benicia, what better way to thrust the focus of attention away from where you live by the manufacturing of a carefully worded letter.

In the aftermath of the Lake Herman Road murders there was no need for deception, because the police were pursuing lines of inquiry that focused on family, friends and jealous suitors, which was effectively  taking them further away from the notion of a 'serial killer', and probably the reason why the Zodiac Killer stayed quiet for nearly seven months.
 
We now have to consider the timing of the phone call at 12:40 am on July 5th 1969. If the killer at Blue Rock Springs Park had driven straight to the payphone at Springs Road and Tuolumne Street, he could have made the call as early as 12:10 am, so what did he do during this unaccounted period of time? A journey to Benicia (or slightly beyond), with approximately 10 minutes to get changed, clean up and dispose of the weapon, then head back to the payphone, would take approximately 40 minutes in total. Because of the narrow window of time between the eyewitness testimony of Stella Borges and James Owen as they passed the Lake Herman Road turnout, it would suggest that Benicia was the area he headed toward after the murders of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen - and an area that is never mentioned once in any of his communications, despite committing his first attack there.

Then came the 'Bus Bomb' letter on November 9th 1969, describing his escape after the murder of Paul Stine in Presidio Heights on October 11th 1969, going into great detail of how he outwitted the police. However, he couldn't resist dropping us some breadcrumbs one more time: "To prove that I am the Zodiac, Ask the Vallejo cop about my electric gun sight which I used to start my collecting of slaves". Yes, ask the Vallejo cop about the electric gun sight you used in Benicia, an area you would always fail to mention. 

Many theories have been put forward in an attempt to locate the likely home residence of the Zodiac Killer during the period of his four confirmed attacks, presuming of course he had a fixed abode. But if he did, where was it and did he leave any clues to point us in the right direction. This has been tackled many times before under the banner of geographical profiling, but like anything, it relies heavily on a presumption of fixed residence, the killer's working pattern, traveling distances, buffer zones, the least effort principle and such like. Here we will make one preliminary assumption based on the killer's movements directly after the murder and attempted murder of Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau at Blue Rock Springs on July 4th 1969, that in all likelihood he headed for the safety of home after the attack and examines a timeline that suggests that San Francisco was an unlikely destination. This does not entirely preclude San Francisco as a possibility for a base location, it just suggests that if he traveled home that morning San Francisco would have seemed an odd choice, bearing in mind what we know of the events that night in the vicinity of the Blue Rock Springs Park.  

After the attack the Zodiac Killer exited Blue Rock Springs parking lot at approximately midnight and made the phone call to Nancy Slover at 12.40 am at the intersection of Springs and Tuolumne. The intervening 40 minutes are unknown. It has been stated many times that we have a missing 30 minutes, as we know the journey time to the payphone is roughly 10 minutes. This however is factually incorrect, as it makes the assumption of redundant time. If the killer for example headed to his Benicia home and returned to the payphone, he had 40 minutes available to him, as he did if he lived en route to the payphone or right beside it. The missing 30 minutes takes a premise that 10 minutes is wasted time.
But the question still remains, he made a phone call 40 minutes after the attack, when it could conceivably have been made as early as 12.10 am. So what was the Zodiac Killer doing during this timeline. Was he disposing his weapon nearby or at home, was he parked up somewhere or just driving aimlessly around in the night.
There are good reasons to believe the killer was a resident of Benicia as the driving time to this location for the safe disposal of the weapon and a turnaround time of 10 minutes, takes us back to the payphone at Springs and Tuolumne at approximately 12.40 am. But if he was a resident of Vallejo, a home location somewhere in the vicinity of the payphone is equally credible, particularly as some have suggested, he walked back to the Springs and Tuolumne intersection as a means of drawing less attention to himself. It has also been noted that prime suspect Arthur Leigh Allen's residence at 32 Fresno Street was only half a mile or as little as 9 minutes walking distance from the payphone. A journey time to Fresno Street from Blue Rock Springs Park is about 10 minutes, the walk to the payphone is 9 minutes, leaving a turnaround time of 21 minutes, had the killer gone straight home to this residence.
But the question remains, if the killer was a resident of San Francisco and headed for home immediately after the Blue Rock Springs attack, where is the logic applied to the missing 40 minutes and the choice of payphone. Are we to assume he drove around randomly in the night or sat in his car for a notable period of time, made the call to Nancy Slover, then departed for San Francisco.

Whatever route you take from Blue Rock Springs Park to San Francisco, there are innumerable opportunities to make a phone call on the journey home and most, if not all, provide a much safer option than placing the call at Springs and Tuolumne. If the killer lived in San Francisco the perfect buffer zone from the murder scene and his residence would be a mid point between the two locations. But based on San Francisco, the received phone call at Springs and Tuolumne appears on the face of it an unnecessary risk. The missing 40 minutes can be explained with Benicia or Vallejo on the understanding that his primary motive was to ditch the weapon before he placed the call. The same cannot be said of San Francisco, despite the reasoned argument that most of the Zodiac Killer's correspondence was mailed from this location, suggesting this was more likely his place of work rather than his doorstep.
Of course it would be presumptuous to exclude San Francisco based on this analysis alone, as there are other possibilities, but if the Zodiac Killer's first thought was to head home after the Blue Rock Springs attack, this choice of payphone has relevance. Had the Zodiac Killer headed across the bay, he would still have had a thirty plus mile journey ahead of him to the safety of home, seemingly in contradiction to traveling west towards the heart of Vallejo, some 40 minutes after the attack and placing a phone call, that inherently could have been made from anywhere. 

** Your opinion is valued and any theories or counter arguments can be placed in the comments section below. 
Here is a website that extensively covers certain aspects of the case in great detail, including the letters and can be accessed via the banner link below.