We as humans fall into patterns or habits that may last for months, years, or even a lifetime, depending on our circumstances at any given point. The Zodiac Killer may have changed weapons, vehicles or his residency during his reign of terror from December of 1968 to his eventual drift into complete anonymity, so the concept of this article is to focus in on the last three chronological attacks he committed or claimed to have committed. That of Paul Stine, murdered in Presidio Heights, San Francisco on October 11th 1969, the abduction of Kathleen Johns near Modesto five months later, on March 22nd 1970 and finally the murder of Richard Radetich on June 19th 1970, in his police car near 643 Waller Street, San Francisco. These three attacks spanned an eighth month period, after which no future crimes were ever directly claimed by the Bay Area Killer. Two of these three crimes deviated from his previous attacks, in the sense the killer actually positioned himself within the vehicle with the victim - as a passenger in Presidio Heights and as the driver on Highway 132, near Modesto. But are the crimes linked in any other way? What follows are slim pickings, however we shall proceed.   
  

A white car was noted precedent to the Lake Herman Road murders by several eyewitnesses, notably a 1959/60 Chevrolet Impala. The factory specifications show this 1960 model of Chevrolet was produced in Ermine White. The color has a distinctive brown hue, which is further enhanced under dim or artificial light conditions. Kathleen Johns described the assailant's vehicle as light tan.

On the same evening as the Kathleen Johns abduction, two men, Frederick Beaman and William Horton were traveling on Highway 132, near Highway 33 and Interstate 580, when a man passed them in a white 1959 Buick and continued about a mile down the road where he pulled up and attempted to flag them down. They continued on without stopping. The incident was reported to Sergeant Hall of the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office on March 23rd 1970, the day after the Kathleen Johns abduction. They had read the abduction account in the Modesto Bee newspaper - and believing it to be relevant information - reported it to authorities. Whether these two vehicles are one and the same will never be known, however, three months later Richard Radetich was murdered and another white car would come into play.

The Zodiac Killer on April 20th 1970, in his '13 Symbol' cipher correspondence, intimated the murder of a policeman, stating "There is more glory in killing a cop than a cid because a cop can shoot back". Two months later, Richard Radetich was dead, gunned down by three shots from a .38 caliber revolver at point blank range through the driver side window of his vehicle while in the process of serving a parking ticket. A crime the Zodiac Killer would claim only seven days later. Curiously, a white car was spotted speeding away from the area of the murder that night. A gas station attendant recalled seeing a white Cadillac racing down Oak Street and entering Divisadero Street only 0.3 miles from the murder scene. Could this white car have been the one observed in the area of Highway 132? It's a stretch, so let us examine any parallels between the last two murders claimed by the Zodiac Killer, separated by only eight months and 2.5 miles. View here on Google Maps.

The Zodiac Killer traveled in Paul Stine's taxicab along Washington Street, yet when he exited from the crime scene and headed up Cherry Street, he effectively backtracked on himself. He headed east along Jackson Street, when he may as well have exited the taxicab at least one block earlier, the destination of Washington and Maple, written on the trip sheet. It's as though he had his plans changed by unforseen circumstances, or was leaving a 'buffer zone' to his vehicle or residence.
Parking his vehicle somewhere near to Jackson Street, to travel away to the theater district, then hail a taxicab to enable his return to Presidio Heights in order to commit a murder and make his escape by vehicle, has always seemed a convoluted way of perpetrating a crime. There are far easier ways of negotiating this crime.

The movements of the killer also suggested there was no vehicle lying in wait somewhere by Jackson Street, as eyewitness recollections and Zodiac ramblings in the Bus Bomb letter seem to indicate. Zodiac stated that he entered the park at Spruce Street "p.s. 2 cops pulled a goof abot 3 min after I left the cab. I was walking down the hill to the park when this cop car pulled up + one of them called me over + asked if I saw anyone acting suspicious or strange in the last 5 to 10 min + I said yes there was this man who was runnig by waveing a gun & the cops peeled rubber + went around the corner as I directed them + I disappeared into the park a block + a half away never to be seen again". This was corroborated by eyewitnesses in Spruce Street, who described a man similar in nature to the three teenagers and Donald Fouke, seen running into the Julius Khan playground entrance.               

The Zodiac Killer would further state in the Bus Bomb letter that "The dogs never came with in 2 blocks of me + they were to the west". The sniffer dogs were assembled by the Julius Khan playground, so at this point in time Zodiac had obviously moved eastwards by two blocks, now placing him in the bushes opposite Laurel Street. The dogs were fanning across the park from the north, west and south (by the park entrance). The Zodiac Killer had only one option - the one he had most likely already planned - to head for the safety of home and so continued eastwards. His final directional statement was "there was only 2 groups of parking about 10 min apart then the motor cicles went by about 150 ft away going from south to north west". The only possible vantage point that appears to corroborate this statement are the bushes and trees bordering Presidio Boulevard (see here). From here the motorcycles circling the Presidio Park would be 150 feet from Zodiac, traveling along Presidio Boulevard from the 'south to the nothwest'.

"The S.F. Police could have caught me last night if they had searched the park properly instead of holding road races with their motorcicles seeing who could make the most noise. The car drivers should have just parked their cars and sat there quietly waiting for me to come out of cover". But they didn't, so Zodiac took his opportunity once the motorcycles had passed and exited the park via Presidio Boulevard into the Cow Hollow region on the eastern flank of the park. Was the killer's residence close by? Now of course, this is speculation and we cannot know for sure, but the Zodiac Killer's statements, allied to the eyewitness observations by Spruce Street are the only tangible snippets we have to go on regarding the events of October 11th 1969. Well almost....     

The Paul Stine letter was mailed from the Inner Richmond area two days later, very close to Presidio Park. If indeed the Zodiac Killer lived in the Cow Hollow region bordering the park, this would certainly exhibit the least effort principle, where humans tend not to expend any extra energy to what is required - yet in the case of a serial killer using a measure of caution, applying a buffer zone to his activity is logical. In the case of Inner Richmond and Cow Hollow, this would be the bare minimum.

As stated earlier, a white Cadillac was observed speeding away from the Richard Radetich murder site, traveling on Oak Street, before turning north on Divisadero Street. The murderer had options after the killing, to travel east, west, north or south. The driver made three directional changes to enable a northerly heading on Divisadero Street. If the killer had proceeded north on Divisadero Street, he would eventually have passed Washington Street and Jackson Street into the Cow Hollow region on the eastern fringes of Presidio Park and aligned with the directional movements of the Zodiac Killer on October 11th 1969. It's weak, but it's all we have from the Zodiac and eyewitness testimony.

Finally, Alex Lewis secured the redacted FBI file naming Xenophon Anthony as a possible subject in the murder of Paul Stine on October 11th 1969, who resided at 3218 Jackson Street. This is the only subject named by an eyewitness regarding all four confirmed attacks - so from this standpoint it carries some measure of weight - although from here the trail appears to go cold again. 3218 Jackson Street however, is only 0.4 mile or 2 minutes west of Divisadero Street, and a stone's throw from Presidio Park.

The connections are weak, but the killer's movements are literally all we have to go on - and in both instances, that of the Richard Radetich and Paul Stine murder - a collision course somewhere along Jackson Street could be argued, along with a white vehicle, possibly identified three times inside of three months, from the Modesto abduction of Kathleen Johns to the murder of Richard Radetich by 643 Waller Street.

There are many basement properties along Divisadero Street, and steep inclines from at least two directions entering the intersections, so I wonder if the Zodiac stating "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" could be a consideration.
Throughout the Zodiac Killer's correspondence the focus would remain on the San Francisco Chronicle, but did he work in the area, live there or possibly both. The jury is out.

On June 19th 1970, Sgt Richard Radetich was gunned down by three shots from a .38 caliber revolver at point blank range through the driver side window of his vehicle, while in the process of serving a parking ticket. He was sat in his police car near 643 Waller Street, San Francisco in the Lower Haight District when he sustained life threatening injuries and subsequently died 15 hours later. Local residents heard a vehicle speeding away from the area, unfortunately however, the number of assailants present at the crime scene is unknown. The parking ticket Richard Radetich had just written, was for a 1965 Oldsmobile bereft of 1970 license tags, albeit, Police Chief Alfred J. Nelder at the time said they had no reason to suspect the owner of this vehicle to be a participant in the commission of the murder. Detectives suspect the killer or killers pulled their vehicle alongside the officer's police car, and without exiting their vehicle, fired through the closed window, shattering the glass and fatefully striking Richard Radetich in the head. ​

A short distance from the crime scene (0.3 miles), a gas station attendant recalled seeing a white Cadillac racing down Oak Street and entering Divisadero Street. Officer Radetich's murder shocked the local community, as he left behind a wife, Nancy, and his eight-month-old daughter Janine. Seven days later, a letter from the Zodiac Killer arrived at the San Francisco Chronicle that suggested that he may have been the responsible - stating that he "shot a man sitting in a parked car with a .38".  But was the Zodiac Killer the murderer or was it an attempt to lay claim to somebody else's crime?
Two violent groups operating in the early 70s needed little prompting to come forward and admit their crimes, despite this however, neither the 'Black Liberation Army' or the 'Weather Underground' ever admitted any involvement in the Richard Radetich murder. As with this case, the Zodiac appeared extremely lucky to seemingly always lay claim to crimes that were never solved - or he was indeed was the murderer of Richard Radetich. 

On April 20th 1970, two months before this murder, the Zodiac Killer mailed his '13 Symbol' cipher to the San Francisco Chronicle and proclaimed "I hope you do not think that I was the one who wiped out that blue meannie with a bomb at the cop station. Even though I talked about killing school children with one. It just wouldn't doo to move in on someone else's teritory.  But there is more glory in killing a cop than a cid because a cop can shoot back.  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". The Zodiac Killer was referencing the murder of Sgt Brian McDonnell (44) on February 16th 1970, who was killed by a bomb packed with fence staples, planted on the window ledge of the 1899 Waller Street Park Police Station in Upper Haight, San Francisco. It seemed strange that the Zodiac Killer would deny this murder, stating "It just wouldn't doo to move in on someone else's teritory"- because this murder took place in Upper Haight, less than 2 miles from the Richard Radetich murder in Lower Haight, to which he was intimating a link.  

Two months after the Brian McDonnell murder and eight days after his previous correspondence, the Zodiac Killer mailed the 'Dragon' card on April 28th 1970, depicting what appears to be characters from a novel by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. The novel featured Don Quixote and his horse Rocinante, along with his squire Sancho Panza, perched on a nameless donkey, who both embark on a mission to restore chivalry.

The Zodiac Killer wrote on the face of the card "I hope you enjoy yourselves when I have my Blast". Was this postcard chosen for a specific reason - a case of Zodiac rubbing salt into the wounds of the San Francisco Police Department by bringing up the suggestion of another impending bomb. The 1899 Waller Street Police Station and location of the murder of Sgt Brian McDonnell is situated on the boundary of the San Francisco Golden Gate Park and in close proximity to the memorial statue of Miguel de Cervantes, featuring Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. So, was this card really just a random choice, or was the Zodiac Killer simply 'needling the blue pigs' with the threat of another blast in that location.
Furthermore, standing outside the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park, just opposite the Miguel de Cervantes statue, is a memorial to Robert Emmet, an Irish nationalist. Robert Emmet the hippie was suggested as a solution to the indecipherable 18 characters at the foot of the Zodiac 408 cipher.
   
Then came the 'Button' letter on June 26th 1970, hinting at the murder of Richard Radetich, despite earlier protestations it wouldn't do to move in on somebody else's territory. The murders in Upper and Lower Haight, and the Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra statue, mentioned in these three correspondences by the Zodiac Killer, are all contained within a 2 mile radius.
Shortly after the murder of Richard Radetich a white Cadillac was spotted speeding north on Divisadero Street from Oak Street. In a previous article it was reasoned that the Zodiac Killer shortly after the murder of Paul Stine, entered the Presidio Park and made his escape eastwards into the Cow Hollow region. A murderer heading northbound on Divisadero Street is on a direct collision course with the Cow Hollow region. Divisadero Street terminates at Marina Boulevard on San Francisco's northern edge. 

On July 24th 1970, the Zodiac Killer would claim his involvement in the abduction of Kathleen Johns just west of Modesto, California - a crime that has also gone unsolved - despite the claims of Kathleen Johns it was indeed the Zodiac Killer. The contradictions and connections between the '13 Symbol' cipher, 'Dragon' card and 'Button' letter are there for all to see - but did the Zodiac Killer ever take the unlikely step from 'needling the blue pigs' to killing them?

In a recent article we examined the Mount Diablo code in conjunction with the Phillips 66 road map and suggested a possibility that the Zodiac 32 Symbol cipher may have revealed San Francisco International Airport, situated at 4 radians or 229 degrees from Mount Diablo. However,  coupled with the Magnetic North value of 17 degrees at the time of mailing, was to give us a final value of 246 degrees, exactly corresponding with the bold circle the Zodiac Killer provided within his crosshairs on the 'Little List' letter mailed on July 26th 1970.  View initial article (Part One). View Part Two.
This final part of the trilogy will attempt to cement the motivation behind the Zodiac Killer's crosshairs, which he gave us on the Phillips 66 road map (as part of the Button Letter) mailed on June 26th 1970 and the 'Little List' letter one month later on July 26th 1970. In the following diagram we have incorporated the three crosshairs together to better explain the findings. This idea has been covered before, but finalizes the three part story under one banner in a little more detail.

The Zodiac Killer stated on the Button letter "The Map coupled with this code will tell you where the bomb is set". In other words, the two are to be used in conjunction with each other. This is what we did in the earlier articles, taking the code of San Francisco International Airport at 229 degrees and coupling it with the map, set at a Magnetic North value of 17 degrees, to arrive at the final value of 246 degrees.
However, this would not have been possible using the Button letter and Phillips 66 road map alone. The Zodiac Killer realizing this, gave us the two additional crosshairs on the Little List Letter, with a couple more hints. Firstly, the bold circle and secondly the phrase "PS The Mt Diablo code concerns Radians + inches along the radians". The Zodiac Killer placed this phrase over the crosshairs itself, when he could have easily accommodated both elements separately - unless of course he had an ulterior motive.

The phrase "PS The Mt Diablo code concerns Radians + inches along the radians" runs over the south axis; or to be precise, over the 180 degree axis or number 6 on the Zodiac dial. The only word bisected by this south axis is​ Diablo. 
Let us expand upon the "Map coupled with this code will tell you where the bomb is set" to better explain things, using this phrase "The Phillips 66 Map coupled with this code will tell you where the bomb is set". In the first instance, the code of San Francisco International Airport or 229 degrees was coupled with the map set to Magnetic North of 17 degrees, to equal 246 degrees. The 'Mount Diablo code' was written on the 180 degree axis, so we will couple this 180 degrees with the map (or more specifically the Phillips 66 map), to give us 180 + 66 = 246 degrees, the exact position of the bold circle he provided us in the 'Little List' letter and exactly the same as 4 radians and 17 degrees. Then we shall take the number 6 he provided on the 180 degree axis and once again couple this with the Phillips 66 map to give us 666, the mark of the Devil or Diablo.

The conventional view is that the Mount Diablo peak derives its name from the 1805 escape of several Chupcan Native Americans from the Spanish in a nearby willow thicket. The natives seemed to disappear, and the Spanish soldiers thus gave the area the name "Monte del Diablo", meaning "thicket of the devil." Diablo was placed over the 180 degree mark and the number 6 axis, and on both occasions coupled with the 66 from the Phillips 66 road map, it gave us something significant. But whether or not this was his true intention is still unclear and may never be resolved. 

Footnote: What level of understanding the Zodiac Killer had regarding the concept of radians is unknown, but they are a counterclockwise value around the circumference of a circle. He placed his crosshairs over Mount Diablo, to which he added a sort of clock face, replacing the number twelve with a zero, stating it was "to be set to Mag.N". It can be shown that 4 radians and Magnetic North will fall within the bold, black circle he placed on his 'Little List' crosshairs. In addition, it can be shown that traveling 2 radians counterclockwise from True North will again fall within the bold, black circle. The use of the clock face and the directional north marker set at zero, may indicate that Zodiac intended this as his starting point for any calculations. The mere fact that the above measurements, either clockwise or counterclockwise, using whole radians, both fall inside the black circle, would seem to suggest that the 246 degree angle subtended from Mount Diablo over San Francisco is where we should be looking.​

In a recent article we examined the Mount Diablo code in conjunction with the Phillips 66 road map and suggested the possibility that the Zodiac 32 Symbol cipher may have revealed San Francisco International Airport, situated at 4 radians or 229 degrees from Mount Diablo. However, coupled with the Magnetic North value of 17 degrees at the time of mailing, it was to give us a final value of 246 degrees, exactly corresponding with the bold circle the Zodiac Killer subsequently provided within his crosshairs on the 'Little List' letter mailed on July 26th 1970. Here we will take this one step further and see where the adjustment of the Magnetic North value of 17 degrees takes us from the airport location and see if the pinpointed location makes any sense in respect to all we think we know about the Zodiac Killer. View initial article (Part One).  

It is difficult to be exact using the Zodiac diagrams, but the angle of 246 degrees passes over the Bayview-Hunters Point region of San Francisco, situated only 5.5 miles from the Mason and Geary intersection, where it is believed Paul Stine picked up the Zodiac Killer on October 11th 1969.
Passing through the Bayview area is 3rd Street, close to Highway 101, and two possible routes Paul Stine may have traveled on his return back from San Francisco International Airport after dropping off his final paying fare, before returning back to the San Francisco theater district. The Bayview-Hunters Point region has a colorful history and has courted much controversy and conflict down the years. 
​
After a San Francisco ordinance in 1868 banned the slaughter and processing of animals within the city proper, a group of butchers established a "butchers reservation" on 81-acre of tidal marshland in the Bayview district. Within ten years, 18 slaughterhouses were located in the area along with their associated production facilities for tanning, fertilizer, wool and tallow. The "reservation" (then bounded by present-day Ingalls Street, Third Street, from Islais Creek to Bayshore) and the surrounding houses and businesses became known as Butchertown. The butcher industry declined following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake until 1971 when the final slaughterhouse closed.
Taken from Wikipedia.
​
If we insert a Zodiac timeline to this, the final slaughterhouse closed in 1971, which is the year the Zodiac mailed us his second to last confirmed correspondence on March 13th 1971 to the Los Angeles Times, before he disappeared for close to three years, the irony of which cannot be ignored. Also from our experience, we have the suggestion that the Zodiac Killer may have served in the military, or had naval connections, a common theme in Zodiac circles. The Zodiac timeline is not a certain one, predominantly because of earlier murders that may or may not be attributed to him, such as the Riverside murder of Cheri Jo Bates on October 30th 1966, nevertheless, this is where we shall start.  

Is there anything that ties Riverside, Vallejo, Benicia and the Bayview-Hunters Point in San Francisco? We shall explore some options. The Long Beach Naval Shipyard, which closed in 1997, was located at Terminal Island between the city of Long Beach and the San Pedro district of Los Angeles and was situated approximately 23 miles south of the Los Angeles International Airport. It was a 1 hr 20 minutes drive west of Riverside. The Mare Island Naval Shipyard is located in Vallejo, the hot zone highlighted by geographic profiling pioneer, Kim Rossmo, who zoomed in on a possible home location of the Zodiac Killer. And finally, the Hunters-Point Naval Shipyard, San Francisco, located on 638 acres in the southeast corner of the city. 

​At the start of World War II the Navy recognized the need for greatly increased naval shipbuilding and repair facilities in the San Francisco Bay Area, and in 1940 acquired the property from the private owners, naming it Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. The property became one of the major shipyards of the west coast. It was later renamed Treasure Island Naval Station Hunters Point Annex. During the 1940's, many workers moved into the area to work at this shipyard and other wartime related industries.
The key fissile components of the first atomic bomb were loaded onto the USS Indianapolis in July 1945 at Hunters Point for transfer to Tinian. After World War II and until 1969, the Hunters Point shipyard was the site of the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory, the US military's largest facility for applied nuclear research. The yard was used after the war to decontaminate ships from Operation Crossroads. Because of all the testing, there is widespread radiological contamination of the site. After the war, with an influx of blue collar industry, the area remained a naval base and commercial shipyard. The Navy operated the yard until 1974, when it leased most of it to a commercial ship repair company. Extract from Wikipedia. The Navy ceased operations in 1974, the year the Zodiac mailed his final confirmed letter, the Exorcist Letter on January 29th 1974. In fact, three further potential Zodiac letters were mailed that year, before the Zodiac Killer finally disappeared for good.

The Zodiac letters definitely switched emphasis after the Paul Stine murder on October 11th 1969, from the November 9th Bus Bomb letter through to the 'Little List' letter on July 26th 1970, making references to the murder of two San Francisco police officers, Brian McDonnell on February 16th 1970 and Sgt Richard Radetich on June 19th 1970. Bombing was definitely on the agenda, although it was believed he never followed up in any of his proposed threats. 

The question remains, was irony his intention, if he had indeed selected Hunters Point as a location, somewhere he may have been familiar with or even worked. Even the surrounding areas were once known as 'Butchertown'. It should be noted that a bombing did occur in the January of 1970 at Hunters Point Police Station, highlighted in this KPIX eyewitness report - and although with near certainty it was not the Zodiac Killer, it may have been something he was aware of, had he worked in this region of San Francisco.

Did the Zodiac Killer live and work in San Francisco during the majority of his crimes, placing distance between himself and the first three attacks, before coming home to roost, or did he live across the bay in the Vallejo/Benicia areas and only used San Francisco as a mailing point on his route to work?

The 246 degrees subtended from the center point of Mount Diablo runs directly across the Hunters-Point Naval Shipyard in the Bayview District, and was consolidated by the accuracy of the 'Little List' letter crosshairs. The Mare Island Naval Shipyard has always courted some attention in Zodiac circles, on account of the proposed naval connection to our killer. Did the Zodiac Killer work at both facilities, or even the third at Riverside. Was irony at work here, or is the Hunters-Point connection just simply wide of the mark once more. 

SEE PART THREE -  http://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/sfi-airport-hunters-point-part-three

The Zodiac Killer after killing four people in Benicia, Vallejo and Napa, suddenly switched the emphasis to the heart of San Francisco, mailing a letter to the San Francisco Chronicle on October 13th 1969, promising to target a school bus and "pick of the kiddies as they come bouncing out". In the following months came multiple references to bombs, notably in his 'My Name is' letter, detailing a bus bomb diagram and suggesting he was not responsible for wiping out "that blue meannie with a bomb". He was describing the murder of San Francisco police officer Brian McDonnell on February 16th 1970, two months earlier, when a bomb packed with fence staples exploded on an outside ledge of Park Police Station in the Upper Haight neighborhood. The Zodiac Killer then mailed the Dragon card on April 28th 1970 stating "I hope you enjoy yourselves when I have my blast" and then the Button Letter on June 26th 1970, cementing his connection to San Francisco by part referencing the murder of a policeman in a parked car, thought to be Officer Richard Radetich outside 643 Waller Street. In this correspondence he attached a Phillips 66 road map of San Francisco and Vicinity, stating "the map coupled with this code will tell you where the bomb is set". Then on July 26th 1970 the 'Little List' letter was mailed, including two crosshairs, one with a prominent black circle including the acronym SFPD = 0 and the second referring us back to the Button letter, stating "The Mt Diablo code concerns radians + inches along the radians". The emphasis appeared squarely over the region of San Francisco, so was the bomb the Zodiac Killer promised us, to be found somewhere in this region.

What level of understanding the Zodiac Killer had regarding the concept of radians is unknown, but they are a counterclockwise value around the circumference of a circle. He placed his crosshairs over Mount Diablo, to which he added a sort of clock face, replacing the number twelve with a zero, stating it was "to be set to Mag.N". It can be shown that 4 radians and Magnetic North will fall within the bold, black circle he placed on his 'Little List' crosshairs. In addition, it can be shown that traveling 2 radians counterclockwise from True North will again fall within the bold, black circle. The use of the clock face and the directional north marker set at zero, may indicate that Zodiac intended this as his starting point for any calculations. The mere fact that the above measurements, either clockwise or counterclockwise, using whole radians, both fall inside the black circle, would seem to suggest that the 246 degree angle subtended from Mount Diablo over San Francisco is where we should be looking.

The Zodiac Killer referred to radians (an angle of measurement), of which one radian is valued at 57.296 degrees. If we look at the prominent black circle he gave us on the 'Little List' letter (shown on the right), its center falls over the 246 degree mark on a compass rose. 246 degrees is 4 radians + 17 degrees. When the Phillips 66 road map was mailed on June 26th 1970, Magnetic North was approximately 17 degrees. 

4 radians = 4 X 57.296 = 229.184 + 17 degrees = 246 degrees.
So, apparently the Zodiac Killer had some concept of radians and the value of Magnetic North, unless we are assuming he was just lucky in his placement of the bold circle on the diagram. His further reference to SFPD (San Francisco Police Department) next to this circle, suggests this is where we should be centering our focus, bearing in mind his disdain for law enforcement.
 
The Zodiac Killer wrote "The Mt Diablo code concerns radians + inches along the radians", so let us start with complete radians. We know from above calculations that the value of 4 radians (229 degrees) is significant, so we shall place a compass rose over Mount Diablo and see where this takes us, in respect of San Francisco. 

It can be seen that 229 degrees falls on the south edge of San Francisco International Airport by Old Bayshore Highway. 
Was the Zodiac Killer intending to ratchet up the fear by exploding bombs (or the threat of bombs) in the vicinity of the airport? This seems highly unlikely, so we shall take a further look at the Button letter mailed on June 26th 1970, where the Zodiac Killer stated "The Map coupled with this code will tell you where the bomb is set. You have until next Fall to dig it up" and enter something alongside the code.

San Francisco International Airport is comprised of exactly 32 letters and fits squarely alongside the 32 symbol Button letter code. However, the 246 degree mark falls further around the circumference of the compass rose. The 4 radians took us to San Francisco International Airport, but coupled with the map "to be set to Mag.N" gives us the final value of 246 degrees. The San Francisco International Airport may have been the clue but not the final destination, which should lie in the Hunters Point region or beyond.  

SEE PART TWO - http://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/sfi-airport-part-two-hunters-point

In a previous article it was shown how Kevin Robert Brooks and his team of investigators had formulated a plausible reason behind the design of the Button letter and its associated Phillips 66 Petroleum Map. The Button letter was mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle on June 26th 1970, accompanied by a map of San Francisco and its vicinity. On the map, the Zodiac Killer had added his traditional crossed circle centered over Mount Diablo, however, on this occasion he added the numbers 0, 3, 6 and 9 around its circumference - or to be more specific - on the cardinal points. Crucially though, he also added a directional marker on the north facing compass point as a positional indicator. 

It is believed, along with the inserted code, to possibly indicate the location of a hidden bomb buried by the Zodiac Killer. However, Kevin Robert Brooks is convinced he has unearthed the true reason behind the killer's motive for the design of the Phillips 66 Petroleum Map, with the answer lying a little closer to his suspect's home. In many Zodiac communications the Bay Area killer repeatedly taunted police and newspapers alike, promising to reveal his name, despite this never being a realistic hope. But it just may be, that despite his reluctance to offer us his name, he quite possibly offered us the next best thing - his residence or place of birth.

Donald Lee Bujok was born on July 6th 1936 in Roundup, Musselshell County, Montana. Kevin Robert Brooks believes the crossed circle design on the Phillips 66 Petroleum Map may indicate the county seat of Roundup, albeit in an extremely subtle way. If we take the crossed circle and superimpose it over the center of Roundup, Montana, the directional north marker points directly to two adjacent counties, that of Petroleum County and Phillips County, thereby giving us the reason behind his choice of map in the first place - and quite possibly the birth place of America's most elusive serial killer.

On the Phillips 66 Petroleum Map, the Zodiac Killer added a notation that his design "is to be set to Mag.N". Taken to be Magnetic North.

In 1970, Magnetic North was approximately 16.5 degrees.
If we adjust the crossed circle accordingly by 16.5 degrees clockwise, it becomes even more significant, with the directional morth marker passing exactly over both county seats of  Winnett and Malta, shown on the map to the left.
​
Most of this was addressed in the Phillip Petroleum Map Key article on December 26th 2013, however, there is just a little bit more.
​
The county code numbers of Petroleum County and Phillips County are 55 and 11 respectively. These totaled up equal 66, to provide yet another interesting feature in respect to the Phillips 66 Map.

Thanks again to Kevin Robert Brooks. 

The Button letter was mailed on June 26th 1970 containing a footnote that stated "The map coupled with this code will tell you where the bomb is set. You have until next fall to dig it up". No bomb or any other relevant location was subsequently discovered. The Zodiac Killer's November 8th 1969 340 cipher remained "crackproof", the April 20th 1970 '13 Symbol' cipher was simply too short for any meaningful decryption, and by late July of 1970, this new '32 symbol' code and 'Phillips 66 Road Map' mailed on June 26th 1970 failed to provide little relief for an audience on the wane.

Kevin Robert Brooks has recently released two videos on Youtube, outlining his case for Donald Lee Bujok as the man behind the mask, that we only know as the Zodiac Killer. The first was outlined in the previous article: Thirteen Holes in Time. The second will be described here.

On June 26th 1970, the Zodiac Killer mailed the Button letter to the San Francisco Chronicle, upset that the citizens of San Francisco had not complied with his wishes to wear his Zodiac buttons, claiming he had killed a man in a parked car with a .38 caliber weapon. He also designed a 32 symbol code - the fourth in a series of cryptic messages - of which only the first, the 408 cipher was ever solved. Also accompanying the letter, was a Phillips 66 road map of San Francisco and Vicinity. On this map the Zodiac Killer had emblazoned his crosshairs symbol, centered over the peak of Mount Diablo, along with a brief segment of writing, stating it was to be set to Magnetic North. The Zodiac Killer appeared a master of misdirection and false promises, placing the Bay Area into panic by proclaiming he would target a school bus and "pick off the kiddies as they came bouncing out".  A threat that fortunately never materialized. His threat to use a bomb in several letters, including the Button letter, also appeared to carry little weight other than to continue his campaign of terror using a pen, as opposed to a bullet.    

Kevin Robert Brooks and his team of investigators believe they have found the real reason behind the Button letter and Phillips 66 Petroleum map of June 26th 1970 - and it is another classic case of Zodiac misdirection. Donald Lee Bujok was born in Roundup, Musselshell County, Montana on July 6th 1936. Kevin Brooks believes the home address of the killer, namely Donald Lee Bujok, is the purpose behind the design of the Button letter and Phillips 66 Petroleum map.

Many serial killers collect trophies from their victims, often storing them for many years. Items were taken following the murder of Paul Stine in Presidio Heights on October 11th 1969 - and apart from the small sections of Paul Stine's shirt mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle on October 13th 1969, November 9th 1969, and attorney Melvin Belli's residence on December 20th 1969, the rest are unaccounted for. The innate desire to reveal one's identity and take credit for the crimes, is often counterbalanced with an equal desire to remain at liberty and feed the compunction to murder. This is the fine line some serial killers appear to tread - and undoubtedly the Zodiac Killer was no different.

The key to this mystery lies hidden in plain sight. In this instance, the clue lies within the map itself - a 1969 version of the Phillips 66 road map. The Phillips Petroleum Company (1917) was founded in Bartlesville, Oklahoma by brothers Frank and Lee Eldas Phillips, becoming an iconic American brand, the name in part, derived from testing undertaken on US Highway 66 in Oklahoma.

Kevin Robert Brooks takes us to the county seat of Roundup, Musselshell County, Montana where Donald Lee Bujok was born. This area of personal significance is where the Zodiac Killer was directing us all along. All we have to do now, is place the center of the Zodiac crosshairs over the area of Roundup, Musselshell County and follow the arrow placed at the top of the Zodiac crosshairs (set to Mag. N) and see where it takes us.

The two immediate counties above Musselshell County, are Petroleum County (established in 1925) and Phillips County (established in 1915). If we take the crossed circle and superimpose it over the center of Roundup, Montana, the directional north marker points directly to two adjacent counties, that of Petroleum County and Phillips County, thereby giving us the reason behind his choice of map in the first place - and the birth place of America's most elusive serial killer. On the Phillips 66 Petroleum map, the Zodiac Killer added a notation that his design "is to be set to Mag.N" (meaning Magnetic North). In 1970, Magnetic North was approximately 16.5 degrees. If we adjust the crossed circle accordingly by 16.5 degrees clockwise, it becomes even more significant, with the directional marker passing exactly over both county seats of Winnett and Malta, shown on the map above. The county code numbers of Petroleum County and Phillips County are 55 and 11 respectively. These totaled up equal 66, to provide yet another interesting feature regarding the Phillips 66 map. Thanks again to Kevin Robert Brooks. ​

It has been widely considered that the Exorcist letter mailed on January 29th 1974 may have been the final correspondence from the infamous Zodiac Killer. But is its claim of 37 murders, if indeed this is what was meant, a realistic one. Firstly, we will take the unusual step of acknowledging the Zodiac Killer at his word, when throughout his campaign of terror he constantly informed the authorities of his murder count, displayed on each subsequent letter or card. But how accurate were his claims, and could a timeline of potential Zodiac victims be attributed to the periods in between each correspondence, bearing in mind that his declaration of seven murders on the Dripping Pen card of November 8th 1969 could be attributed with almost complete accuracy, albeit the missing murders in August, has still yet to be fully resolved. As stated previously, the months displayed at the foot of the Dripping Pen card could indicate the murder of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen in December, Darlene Ferrin in July, Cecelia Shepard in September, along with Paul Stine and Cheri Jo Bates in October. This meant six murders possibly attributed and one unaccounted for, due to his proclamation on November 8th 1969 indicating a total of seven victims up to this point.

So let us examine the period from this letter to the next confirmed Zodiac correspondence on December 20th 1969, that of the Melvin Belli letter, claiming he may lose control and claim a ninth and tenth victim. The suggestion of a search for a ninth and tenth victim, by inference, meant he had already claimed his eighth murder victim and it must have occurred between November 8th 1969 and December 20th 1969. So who was the most likely Zodiac victim, based on age, locality and nature of the crime during this time period. One possibility is Betsy Aardsma, murdered in the campus library of Pennsylvania State University on November 28th 1969 - although this crime has a number of question marks, including the locality - seemingly out of kilter with what we know of the killer to this point. There is, however, another interesting case that deserves closer scrutiny.          

Incidentally, a woman's body was discovered next to Paradise Drive, Belvedere, Tiburon in December 1966 - although the body, wearing a red dress had lain undiscovered for approximately three to four months, according to Marin County detectives. Also on December 1st 1969, Elaine Davis (17) disappeared from from her home in Walnut Creek, Contra Costa County, California. She was abducted during the evening hours through a sliding rear window. Two and a half weeks later on December 19th 1969 her body was discovered floating off  Light House Point, Santa Cruz, California, however, due to investigators misinterpreting the age of the victim at the time, her identity was only realized 31 years later when officials exhumed the body in 2000.
No link was ever ascertained between the murder of Elaine Davis and Leona Roberts, however, both victims fell within the correct age, area and timeline of the Zodiac Killer.    

On March 22nd Kathleen Johns was abducted and taken on a terrifying journey by an assailant she later claimed to be the Zodiac Killer. Even the Zodiac himself claimed his involvement, when he mailed a letter to the San Francisco Chronicle on July 24th 1970. There were many murders and disappearances in California during the month of March, including Cosette Ellison on March 3rd, Patricia King on March 5th, Judith Hakari on March 7th, Marie Anstey on March 13th and Eva Blau on March 20th. However, the 'My Name is...Letter' and Bus Bomb Diagram claimed 10 murders on April 20th 1970, with the Melvin Belli letter on December 20th 1969 indicating that 8 murders had taken place. If we therefore take the Zodiac at his word, only two murders had taken place in this four month period. If John Hood and Sandra Garcia were Zodiac victims, then none of the disappearances and murders in March were anything to do with the Zodiac Killer. On the other hand, if the Hood and Garcia murders were not Zodiac victims, then only two of these victims in March remain a possibility, not more. Unless for some reason only known to the killer, he committed more murders, yet failed to attribute them to himself. 

Moving forward two months to the Button letter on June 26th 1970, the Zodiac claimed 12 murders. He also stated he had "shot a man sitting in a parked car with a .38". The only event that tallied with the Zodiac's claim was the murder of police officer Sgt Richard P. Radetich (25) on June 19th at 5:25 am, who was gunned down by three shots from a .38 caliber revolver at point blank range through the driver side window of his vehicle while in the process of serving a parking ticket. He was seated in his police car by 643 Waller Street, when it is believed another vehicle pulled alongside and an occupant opened fire. Officer Richard Radetich would die 15 hours later. However, the Zodiac Killer, who almost always gained extreme pleasure from his mockery towards the police and authorities, only referred to his victim in the Button letter as a 'man', apparently failing to capitalize on the situation. This appears to shed reasonable doubt that he was responsible for the murder of Sgt Richard Radetich, although the caliber of the weapon was correct. 

The disappearance of Donna Ann Lass (25) from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel on September 6th 1970 seemed to push the Zodiac's murder count to 13, with the Halloween card mailed on October 27th 1970 proclaiming a possible fourteenth victim, arriving just two days after the murder of Nancy Bennallack (27), a court reporter, on October 25th 1970. Nancy Bennallack had been slain in her own apartment on Arden Way and Bell Avenue, Sacramento , cut down by over 30 knife wounds, indicating the severity of the brutal murder - although she had not been sexually assaulted. The crime scene indicated that the killer may have used tape to mask over his fingertips during the attack.  

Finally, onto the Los Angeles letter, mailed on March 13th 1971, where he laid claim to an estimated 17 or more murders.
In this letter he stated "I do have to give them credit for stumbling across my riverside activity, but they are only finding the easy ones, there are a hell of a lot more down there". He was apparently referring to the fact that detectives had forged a link between the Zodiac Killer and the senseless slaying of Cheri Jo Bates in Riverside on October 30th 1966, claiming there were many more victims in that region. 

One such attack, was the Robert Domingos (18) and Linda Edwards (17) double murder on June 4th 1963. The young couple were gunned down on a beach near Tajiguas Creek, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County. The killer had initially attempted to bind the couple, reminiscent of the Lake Berryessa Attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard on September 27th 1969. But clearly, if the Zodiac was responsible for this couple's murder, along with Cheri Jo Bates, then his murder total should have read 8, by the mailing of the Dripping Pen card on November 8th 1969, which clearly it didn't. The suggestion of "there are a hell of a lot more down there", seems to conflict with his declaration on the Dripping Pen card of seven murders. The only reasonable explanation being, that these murders were not committed under the Zodiac umbrella. A pseudonym he would only adopt just prior to the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter, received by the San Francisco Examiner on August 4th 1969. The killer may have belatedly attached the 1963 murders of Domingos and Edwards, and the Riverside murder of Cheri Jo Bate to the Los Angeles letter claiming 17+ murders. This may explain the increase from the 14 victims claimed in the Halloween card approximately five months earlier.