Despite the vast majority of the 408 cipher being deciphered on August 8th 1969, we still had the small matter of 18 unsolved or unexplained characters at the foot of the cryptogram that were thought may have contained the name of the Zodiac Killer. Sergeant John Lynch of the Vallejo Police Department pondered this conundrum in a newspaper article on August 12th 1969 entitled "A Name in Murder Cipher", in which "Robert Emmet the hippie" was suggested as one possible solution to the mystery. Sergeant John Lynch stated that he was "pursuing the possibility that the name might be a nom de plume - or not the cipher sender's name at all". Later in the article it mentioned that the cipher was turned over to Navy cryptographers before it was solved, and suggested that the Zodiac Killer send another letter explaining the final 18 characters of the 408 cipher. 

A letter mailed on October 7th 1969 signed by a "good citizen" was addressed to Sergeant John Lynch, giving him some advice. It read "On occasion, while thinking of the code letters, the pencil wrote: Go to 56 Beach Street. I get the name Jerry, perhaps he knows people or his name is XXXXXXX". It is fairly evident that "code letters" was a reference to the three cryptograms mailed to the Vallejo Times-Herald, San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Examiner, postmarked July 31st 1969 - and the author of this letter was giving Sergeant John Lynch a name, who could maybe assist him by way of his knowledge of other people in codebreaking. In other words, it is possible that "Jerry" could assist Sergeant John Lynch because of his connection to law enforcement or Navy cryptography (or was holding a more advantageous position in attempting to solve the final 18 characters). If the "Jerry" mentioned in the correspondence was a real person, it could be argued that the sender believed "Jerry" could be of benefit to Sergeant John Lynch with the remaining unsolved portion of the 408 cipher. Therefore, I needed to find somebody called "Jerry", possibly with links to the Navy (and cryptography), who had a surname of seven letters, thereby explaining the XXXXXXX placed at the end of this correspondence. How Beach Street factors into the equation, I cannot ascertain. Unless Jerry is somehow linked to that address through a friend or acquaintance.   

Jerry Johnson was a Naval Intelligence Agent stationed at the Mare Island Naval Base in Vallejo, who worked on the Zodiac case with former California Highway Patrol officer, Lyndon Lafferty, who went on to release the book "The Zodiac Killer Cover-Up: The Silenced Badge" with the assistance of Jerry Johnson. He appeared in a photograph alongside long-time Zodiac contributor Sandy Betts and other Zodiac researchers, when they gathered at Lake Herman Road for a reunion in 2016. The Vallejo Times-Herald article stated that "Orinda resident, Johnson said he was a federal agent stationed on Mare Island in the late 1960s, and it was then that the late Lyndon Lafferty, a retired California Highway Patrol officer, came to him about an encounter with a man he believed was the Zodiac Killer".

It was later claimed that Lafferty's suspect, William Grant, once sought help from Dr. Edward C. Adams, a psychiatrist living in Orinda, California, and the potential recipient of a Zodiac Killer communication on October 17th 1970 with the pasted newspaper text of "Mon Oct 12, 1970. Edward Adams. The Zodiac is going to change the way of committing murders. I shall announce when I shall commit my murders, The Adamses are Next. you taught me to mean it.  ADAMS YOU ARE NEXT. Zodiac".  

It is important to identify "Jerry" because the author of the October 7th 1969 communication was almost certainly the author of the "concerned citizen" card mailed on August 10th 1969, two months earlier. Both communications had a similar signature of "good citizen" and "concerned citizen", both were addressed to Sergeant John Lynch of the Vallejo Police Department, both referenced the 408 cipher (by way of "code letters" and the sending of a cipher key), and both used the word "name" in the correspondence twice. This is despite neither being published in the newspapers. The mischievous and cryptic nature of the "good citizen" letter may suggest that the "concerned citizen" author - if one and the same - was playing games with investigators all along. Something we know the Zodiac Killer enjoyed doing throughout his letter-writing campaign.

OFFERING A SOLUTION TO 18 ON 10/7/1969   

Despite some interesting avenues having been pursued in the search for "Jerry" in the "Good Citizen" letter mailed on October 7th 1969, it is clear that the cryptic nature of the language adopted in this communication has made it difficult to interpret its meaning. Both the August 10th 1969 "Concened Citizen" card and October 7th 1969 "Good Citizen" letter were addressed to Sgt John Lynch of the Vallejo Police Department, both utilized the word "citizen" in the signature, both used the word "name" twice in the message, with the "Good Citizen" author referring to the "code letters", which can only be reasonably assumed to be the letters mailed to the Vallejo Times-Herald, San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Examiner on July 31st 1969 (and the 408 cipher).  A footnote from Sergeant John Lynch concerning the "Good Citizen" letter stated that the writer has a strong feeling of ESP. While having these feelings, the writer writes with a pencil. "On occasion, while thinking of the code letters, the pencil wrote: Go to 56 Beach Street. I get the name Jerry, perhaps he knows people or his name is XXXXXXX''. 

The last major article featuring Sgt John Lynch and the 408 cipher, entitled "A Name in Murder Cipher", suggested the name "Robert Emmet the hippie" as one possibility, despite it being too long to accommodate the 18 unsolved characters at the foot of the 408 cipher. At the end of the August 12th 1969 article, Sgt John Lynch stated "We aren't sure Robert Emmet is who we are looking for. Maybe he'll send another letter and let us know". This request from Sgt John Lynch was specifically about the 18 seemingly nonsensical characters remaining at the base of the "murder cipher" and the search for a name. Therefore, the response of the "Good Citizen", stating "On occasion, while thinking of the code letters, the pencil wrote: Go to 56 Beach Street. I get the name Jerry, perhaps he knows people or his name is XXXXXXX", was likely a response to this conundrum. Sgt John Lynch was searching for a name in the 408 cipher, to which the "Good Citizen" replied: "I get the name Jerry" or "his name is XXXXXXX". The October 7th 1969 letter mentioning Beach Street (at the north-eastern edge of Presidio Park), just four days before the Paul Stine murder, is so cryptic in nature, it could be construed as unhelpful and possibly malevolent or mischievous in nature. There is a high degree of probability that the same author was responsible for the "Concerned Citizen" card and "Good Citizen" letter, bearing in mind the August 10th 1969 communication was not in the public domain by October 7th 1969. The two communications both offering answers to the 408 cipher, in addition to the aforementioned similarities. To believe these were authored by separate individuals would require a high degree of mental gymnastics.  

If we have the Zodiac Killer as the author for both of these communications - and consider the message in the 408 cipher and "Concerned Citizen" card declaring "I will not give you my name" and "please forgive the absence of my name" - then the offering of "I get the name Jerry" or "his name is XXXXXXX" as a possible solution to these 18 unsolved characters, would shed doubt on the credibility of, not only the "Good Citizen" author, but the "Concerned Citizen" as being genuinely concerned. If the author of both communications was the same person, we have two conflicting messages. If it's Zodiac, then he is likely playing a game. An individual who helpfully provides a valid key to the 408 cipher on August 10th 1969, while subsequently offering an array of unhelpful cryptic nonsense just two months later, appears to invalidate the original communication as a concerned citizen.

​Does the name "Jerry" or the grouping of seven X's in the "Good Citizen" letter have any bearing on the 18 unexplained characters at the foot of the 408 cipher, or is it just another wild goose chase? One would like to think that the reference to "Jerry" or "XXXXXXX" had some meaning to its author and had some benefit to Sgt John Lynch, rather than complete nonsense that achieves nothing for the sender. The fact that the "Good Citizen" letter (if Zodiac) appears totally unhelpful and arguably bereft of a reasonable aid to solution, could suggest the 18 unsolved characters have no meaning to be found (in complete contradiction to the code key supplied on August 10th 1969 which did aid a solution). Whatever the case, it is with little doubt that the author of these two communications are one and the same - whether that author is Zodiac or not.

When determining whether the "concerned citizen" card mailed to Sergeant John Lynch on August 10th 1969 was written by a helpful member of the public or the Zodiac Killer, we need look no further than the "good citizen" letter mailed on October 7th 1969. Despite the fact the "concerned citizen" card was not in the public domain in 1969, the "good citizen" author would also adopt the word "citizen" in their signature, address the communication to Sergeant John Lynch once again, and refer to the July 31st 1969 cryptogram by mentioning "code letters", just as the "concerned citizen" author was addressing the "code letters" by supplying us with a key to the 408 cryptogram. These are compelling reasons to believe that both communications were composed by the same author. The question being; is the wording in the "good citizen" letter that of a helpful citizen or a mischievous individual playing games with the police. The "good citizen" letter read "On occasion, while thinking of the code letters, the pencil wrote: Go to 56 Beach Street. I get the name Jerry, perhaps he knows people or his name is XXXXXXX".  

The "good citizen" letter was postmarked October 7th 1969 and mentioned 56 Beach Street, which is the old block numbering from the original planning maps, which comes out as 1654/1656 on the street numbering. The address at 1654/56 Beach St, San Francisco, California is a condominium home that measures 2,141 sq ft, and was built in 1938. Irrespective of the exact numbering, Beach Street is just 240 meters from the Presidio of San Francisco, where eyewitnesses saw a white male, about 40 years of age, weighing 170lbs, sporting a blond crewcut and wearing glasses, running into Julius Kahn playground shortly after the murder of Paul Stine on October 11th 1969. Of all the places in northern California or the Bay Area the author could select, the composer of the "good citizen" letter was not only referring to Zodiac's code letters, but managed to choose the location of Beach Street, bordering the Presidio in which the Zodiac Killer possibly escaped into just four days later. Possibly coincidence, but noteworthy nonetheless. The "good citizen" author may have been referring to Beach Street in San Francisco just a matter of days before the Zodiac Killer first struck in the big city, before mailing a letter on October 13th 1969, again detailing a destination in the form of a street name - this time "Washington St and Maple St".   

This letter, likely referring to San Francisco, may hold some significance when we consider the statement of Jim Dunbar on October 22nd 1969, when somebody pretending to be the Zodiac Killer rang into the KGO-TV Jim Dunbar Show. He asked the caller "Did you try to call us one other time, about two or three weeks ago. Did you attempt to call this program one other time when Mr. Belli was with us?" It can be understood why the hoaxer, Eric Weill, would ring into the Jim Dunbar Show, because he got wind that the Jim Dunbar Show was possibly entertaining a call from the Zodiac Killer that morning. Therefore, it isn't unreasonable to conclude he used opportunism to hijack the limelight. But why would Eric Weill claim to be the Zodiac Killer and ring into the Jim Dunbar Show "two or three weeks" earlier, when the Zodiac Killer had never comitted an attack in San Francisco at this juncture?

The Zodiac Killer wanting a TV audience in San Francisco on October 22nd 1969 after his murder of Paul Stine in San Francisco eleven days earlier, can be argued. It is also possible that the Zodiac Killer may have rang into the Jim Dunbar Show "two or three weeks" earlier (between October 1st and October 8th), requesting a slot on the show to announce his intentions of bringing terror to the heart of San Francisco. A phone call placed to the Jim Dunbar Show in San Francisco on October 8th 1969 would coincide with the "good citizen" letter on October 7th 1969, also possibly involving a location in San Francisco - and both would predate the murder of Paul Stine in San Francisco by just a matter of days. A murder, in which the Zodiac Killer was spotted entering the Presidio grounds, which Beach Street borders. If we are to determine whether the "concerned citizen" card on August 10th 1969 was mailed by the Zodiac Killer, we have to factor in the letter on October 7th 1969 and the phone call to the Jim Dunbar Show around the same time - and the significance they may, or may not hold.  

The "Good Citizen" letter mailed on October 7th 1969 by a possible Zodiac Killer read "On occasion, while thinking of the code letters, the pencil wrote: Go to 56 Beach Street. I get the name Jerry, perhaps he knows people or his name is XXXXXXX". The Haslett Warehouse at 680 Beach Street has been identified in recent articles as the common workplace of Robert Salem, Carl John Welz and Jerry Hatcher. However, 680 Beach Street wasn't 56 Beach Street, so more work was needed. Then it was discovered by Cragle that the Haslett Warehouse Company operated a state refrigeration terminal at pier 56 in China basin. This may have been the meaning behind the cryptic message above. The Haslett Warehouse was situated on Beach Street, San Francisco, and operated from pier 56. Cragle conjectured that the seven X's may be Haslett. 

To understand the full story, please read  Robert Salem-The Complete Story and The Spirit of Zodiac  

China Basin is a neighborhood built on landfill along the San Francisco Bay. It lies north of Mission Creek and the Mission Bay neighborhood, and includes Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, numerous restaurants, and the Caltrain railroad station. It borders on the South-of-Market (SOMA) neighborhood to the northwest and the South Beach neighborhood to the north. The term China Basin also refers to the body of water from which the neighborhood takes its name. This inlet where Mission Creek flows into the bay, home to a number of houseboats, was once an active ​industrial waterfront, though in recent decades the shore has been developed with residential condominiums.

The state refrigeration terminal at pier 56, operated by the Haslett Warehouse Co. was situated less than one mile from pier 64, where Paul Stine picked up his last paying fare on October 11th 1969. China basin is just over one mile from the intersection of Mason and Geary streets.

LATEST UPDATE, INCLUDING POLICE REPORTS & PHOTOGRAPHS   

Recently I have been examining the inspiration behind the "Good Citizen" letter mailed on October 7th 1969, and its possible connection to the murder of Robert Salem at 745 Stevenson Street, San Francisco on April 15th 1970. Cragle, a contributor to both Zodiac forums, found a viable connection to 680 Beach Street through Carl John Welz, Jerry Hatcher and Robert Salem, who all worked at the Haslett Warehouse in 1969. To get up to speed on this unfolding story, please visit Robert Salem-The Complete Story. Cragle has recently contacted me again with even more compelling material to advance this story.

The message in the Good Citizen letter to Sergeant John Lynch read "On occasion, while thinking of the code letters, the pencil wrote: Go to 56 Beach Street. I get the name Jerry, perhaps he knows people or his name is XXXXXXX".  Cragle correctly concluded that this form of writing is called automatic writing or psychography, which is a claimed psychic ability allowing a person to produce written words without consciously writing. Scientists and skeptics consider automatic writing to be the result of the ideomotor effect and even proponents of automatic writing admit it has been the source of innumerable cases of self-delusion. Automatic writing is not the same thing as free writing. Spirit writing, later called Fuji (planchette writing), has a long tradition in China, where messages from various deities and spirits were received by mediums since the Song dynasty. In the 19th century, messages received through spirit writing led to the foundation of several Chinese salvationist religions. The spread of Chinese cultural techniques, such as printing and painting, introduced the influence of "spirit writing", practiced by Japanese Zen Ōbaku monks, who were said to communicate with an ancient Taoist sage credited with creation of the kung fu system. Parapsychologist William Fletcher Barrett wrote that "automatic messages may take place either by the writer passively holding a pencil on a sheet of paper, or by the planchette, or by a ouija board. In spiritualism, spirits are claimed to take control of the hand of a medium to write messages, letters, and even entire books. Automatic writing can happen in a trance or waking state. Some psychical researchers such as Thomson Jay Hudson have claimed no spirits are involved in automatic writing and the subconscious mind is the explanation. Wikipedia. So, it's pretty apparent the author of the Good Citizen letter was referring to spirit messages received through a planchette or ouija board.

Miss Winifred Moyes practiced this form of mediumship. Here is an excerpt from a Christian spiritualism website: Perhaps only those who were closest in the work could truly judge the remarkable gift of mediumship possessed by Miss Moyes, and the sensitiveness which enabled her to be used by Zodiac. Suffering from ill-health from the age of ten, when she was eventually used as an instrument by Zodiac, her weak physical body was compensated for by an iron will and a determination which forced the body to do the bidding of the Spirit. Such was her state of health that there were many times when Spirit Power alone enabled Zodiac to control his instrument and deliver his message. The strength of Miss Moyes lay in her implicit faith in the Christ power around her. Zodiac's first act on "taking control" was to place his medium under the protection of the Cross on the altar with upstretched arms and using the invocation: "Saviour Christ, into Thy hands I commend the spirit of this Thy child". Miss Moyes dedicated her gift of mediumship entirely to Zodiac's work. How closely she was attuned to the higher vibrations of Zodiac is shown in the perfection of the messages given. They are given in purity, unobstructed by the physical mind. Read the full story. 

The important section, not withstanding the constant reference to "Zodiac", was the following "My sister-in-law used the planchette several times, and we were very disappointed when the message came that she must not go on with it, and that i was to take the messages instead. I protested that the board would not move for me, and the reply came "Try to pencil alone". 

It is clear that the author of the Good Citizen letter when referring to ESP and the pencil writing, was referring to messages received from the afterlife. Cragle pointed out that just six weeks later, on November 21st 1969, the Zodiac Killer mailed a communication directed towards Diane Kennedy Pike through the San Jose Police Department, that caused police to instigate 24-hour protection because of the threat on the widow. She had recently lost her husband, James Albert Pike (born February 14, 1913 – died September 3–7, 1969), who was an American Episcopal bishop, accused heretic, iconoclast, prolific writer, and one of the first mainline, charismatic religious figures to appear regularly on television. In 1966, after they had shared a sabbatical study at Cambridge University, Pike's son, Jim Jr., fatally shot himself in a New York City hotel room. Shortly after his son's death, Pike reported experiencing poltergeist phenomena—books vanishing and reappearing, safety pins open and indicating the approximate hour of his son's death, along with half the clothes in a closet disarranged and heaped up. Pike led a public pursuit of various spiritualist and clairvoyant methods of contacting his deceased son to reconcile. In September 1967, Pike participated in a televised séance with his dead son through the medium Arthur Ford, an ordained minister in the Disciples of Christ church. Pike detailed these experiences in his book The Other Side (released on January 1st 1968). In 1968, in defiance of C. Kilmer Myers, the Bishop who'd succeeded him, he married Diane Kennedy, a Methodist student twenty-five years his junior, with whom he had collaborated on The Other Side. Wikipedia   ​

The connection between the Good Citizen letter and the San Jose letter can now be seen, through spirituality, mediumship, seance and the afterlife. In the words of Cragle: "So let us look at this is relation to the Welz's. Christian Science strongly condemns the idea of spirituality as this is a direct contradiction to their belief system, and we have a couple living in San Francisco responsible for the main publication of the Christian Science faith, being referenced in a communication that "was" made by one of the fundamental practices in spiritualism. I can only interpret this as a direct jibe at Christian Science and their beliefs. Also we have the two correspondences being linked by their theme and the associated work of Winifred Moyes and the "Zodiac" speaking through her. All tying in with Zodiac ideas on the afterlife. Something that is interesting regarding Winifred's "Zodiac" is that the small group of people which formed around her were the Zodiac Circle and their symbol was a cross. "Total control refers to the trance states into which a person goes when they are allowing another soul to pass messages"  

​One month after the letter to Diane Kennedy Pike, the Zodiac Killer wrote a letter to Melvin Belli on December 20th 1969, in which he stated "I cannot reach out for help because of this thing in me wont let me. I am finding it extreamly difficult to hold it in check. I am afraid I will loose control again and take my nineth & possibly tenth victom. Please help me. I am drownding. At the moment the children are safe from the bomb because it is so massive to dig in & the triger mech requires much work to get it adjusted just right. But if I hold back too long from no nine I will loose all controol of my self & set the bomb up. Please help me I can not remain in control for much longer". Was the thing inside of him the spirit of Zodiac, controlling his every move? Or was this what he wanted us to believe?  

If we continue the angle of spiritualism, the afterlife and contacting of the dead, and consider that the April 20th 1970 letter was mailed on the same day the Robert Salem murder story broke in the newspapers, then we can look at the 13 character code beginning with A and ending with M (half the alphabet). The ouija board was split into the two halves of the alphabet and contained the numbers 0 and 8, present in the 13 character code.

LATEST UPDATE, INCLUDING POLICE REPORTS & PHOTOGRAPHS

An amalgamation of articles: 
LATEST UPDATE, INCLUDING POLICE REPORTS & PHOTOGRAPHS

Sergeant John Lynch of the Vallejo Police Department received a typewritten card from a "concerned citizen" on August 10th 1969 stating "Dear Sergeant Lynch. I hope the enclosed "key" will prove to be beneficial to you in connection with the cipher letter writer. Working puzzles criptograms and word puzzles is one of my pleasures. Please forgive the absence of my signature or name as I do not wish to have my name in the papers and it could be mentiond by a slip of the tongue. With best wishes. concerned citizen". It also contained a working key to the 408 cipher, which was mailed by the Zodiac Killer in his three "code letters" to the Vallejo Times-Herald, San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Examiner on July 31st 1969. On October 7th 1969, another concerned citizen, this time describing himself as a "good citizen", mailed another cryptic message to Sergeant John Lynch, stating "On occasion, while thinking of the code letters, the pencil wrote:Go to 56 Beach Street. I get the name Jerry, perhaps he knows people or his name is XXXXXXX". The author by mentioning "code letters" is clearly referring to the trinity of communications mailed on July 31st 1969, to which the August 10th 1969 communication provided a key. Despite both the "concerned citizen" and "good citizen" communications being extremely brief in nature, both utilized the word "name" twice. The author of these two communications can be argued to be the Zodiac Killer, who also mailed the April 20th 1970 letter, teasing us with "my name is". Crucially, the "concerned citizen" card and code key had not been released into the public domain by the arrival of the "good citizen" letter.  

Recently I have been examining the murder of Robert Michael Salem, who was found stabbed in his 745 Stevenson Street, San Francisco apartment on April 19th 1970. The April 20th 1970 Zodiac Killer letter was received at the San Francisco Chronicle the same day the Robert Salem murder was reported in their newspaper. The letter read "This is the Zodiac speaking. By the way have you cracked the last cipher I sent you? My name is", belatedly followed by "I hope you have fun trying to fiygure out who I killed". The Zodiac Killer chose three Christian symbols in his enclosed 13 character code, that mirrored the Christian symbolism written in blood on the apartment wall of Robert Salem. Above the Japanese tatami mat where Robert Salem's body lay, was the drawing of an Egyptian ankh or "crucified man", along with the wording "Satan Saves" and "Zodiac". The murder of Robert Salem and the April 20th 1970 letter so reeked of Christian symbolism, that it was hard to ignore that the two weren't connected, and led me to believe that the wording "Satan Saves" had some biblical meaning with respect to Robert Salem and his homosexual lifestyle. Whether the drawing of the Egyptian ankh or "crucified man" on the wall of Robert Salem were interchangeable in the mind of the killer is unknown, but the San Francisco Chronicle on April 20th 1970 made no mention of the Egyptian ankh - making the appearance of the Christian anchor in Zodiac's 13-Symbol cipher intriguing. Anchor and ankh have the same phonetic root - and when the Zodiac Killer's crude anchor in the code is superimposed over the ankh drawing on Robert Salem's wall - a full and complete Christian anchor is revealed.   .

The ankh (key of life) was commonly held in the hands of ancient Egyptian deities, or being given by them to the pharaoh, to represent their power to sustain life and to revive human souls in the afterlife. The ankh was one of the most common decorative motifs in ancient Egypt and was also used decoratively by neighbouring cultures. Coptic Christians adapted it into the crux ansata, a shape with a circular rather than oval loop (as seen in the image above), and used it as a variant of the Christian cross. The message of "Satan Saves" rather than "Jesus Saves", along with a crucifix style cross, gives the strong impression of a murder with religious connotations, bearing in mind the anti-gay and intolerant Christian attitudes that permeated society in 1970 (and to a lesser extent today). Robert Salem was a gay man, who may have unfortunately attracted somebody with the belief he was a sinner or non-believer - and hence the sarcastic message of "Satan Saves" and the "key of life" being drawn on his stomach. Clearly, the person who drew the symbol and writing, was portraying a message to the viewer (whether a belief sincerely held or not).

The most unusual and notable features inflicted to the body of Robert Salem, were the crucifix style design "drawn" on his stomach and the removal of his left ear. Both of these featured heavily in the crucifixion of Jesus. Simon Peter, a disciple of Jesus, attempted to "save" and protect Jesus from arrest by severing the ear of Malchus, who was a servant of the Jewish High Priest Caiaphas. According to the gospels, Calaphas organized a plot to kill Jesus. The arrest of Jesus was a pivotal event in Christianity recorded in the canonical gospels. It occurred shortly after the Last Supper (during which Jesus gave his final sermon), and immediately after the kiss of Judas, which is traditionally said to have been an act of betrayal since Judas made a deal with the chief priests to arrest Jesus. This event ultimately led, in the Gospel accounts, to the crucifixion of Jesus. Although the right ear of Malchus was severed, as opposed to the left ear of Robert Salem, this was the most viable connection I could find that links the two unusual features discovered by investigators on the body of Robert Salem.​

The immediate murder with a Zodiac connection after the "latent homosexual" suggestion was floated in the San Francisco Chronicle, where the Bay Area murderer's pseudonym was found at the crime scene, was the murder of gay man, Robert Salem on April 15th 1970 in San Francisco. The Zodiac Killer's 13-Symbol cipher is arguably contemporary in nature, with his April 20th 1970 letter being mailed the same day this murder was published in the newspapers. Homosexuality and acceptance has been a continuing struggle for gay activists to this day, but the 1960s and 1970s were arguably more difficult times, with newspaper coverage on this topic less than acceptable. Many religious people were unwilling to accept individual rights, claiming that homosexuality was the mark of the beast, and was an abomination in the eyes of God. The writing in blood on Robert Salem's apartment wall stating "Satan Saves" must have had some meaning to the killer - so was it in any way connected to the sexual preferences of Robert Salem? I couldn't help thinking that the "Satan Saves" element written in blood on the apartment wall had a more important role to play, not only in the fact Robert Salem was homosexual, but in the damage inflicted to his body and the removal of his left ear. So I looked for a bible verse that may have been known to the killer. 

​I also had to be mindful that the bible verse was relevant to perceived "sins of the flesh". In other words, the murderer of Robert Salem had an issue with homosexuality, believing it to be satanic, and wanted to deliver him unto Satan to be saved (see image above). Hence the wording "Satan Saves". 1 Corinthians 5:5 featured Paul, who had commanded the Christians in Corinth to remove from among them a man who was sleeping with his father's wife, a form of sexual immorality that even their own pagan culture condemned. The killer of Robert Salem may have considered his lifestyle the devil's work and a form of sexual immorality, that resulted in "destruction of the flesh" as witnessed by investigators at the crime scene. I also took the "Satan" element from the apartment wall and combined it with the "destruction of the flesh", to create a relevant solution to the 13-Symbol cipher of "Skin A Satanist". Not only did the Zodiac Killer encipher the word "skin" twice in the 148 character cipher in 1971, but it was relevant to the Robert Salem crime scene in April 1970.

Robert Michael Salem was found murdered in his 745 Stevenson Street San Francisco apartment on April 19th 1970, accompanied by the drawing of a religious crux ansata (crucified man) and the words "Satan Saves" scrawled in blood on the wall. This somewhat mirrored the religious characters in the 13 character code mailed by the Zodiac Killer the following day (April 20th 1970), when he posed the question "I hope you have fun trying to fiygure out who I killed". Investigators found no forced entry at Robert Salem's apartment, and little appeared to have been taken from the property, other than possibly some money from an open wallet on a shelf. The crime scene appeared to scream of far more than a simple robbery. This opens up the possibility that Robert Salem was murdered by somebody known to him, or somebody that befriended him with common interests. Robert Salem was a lamp designer, whose products had been exhibited in Japan, England and Russia. His apartment certainly showed an Oriental influence, with a Japanese hurricane lamp hanging from the ceiling, tree trunks prominent in the apartment in the style of Japanese tea houses, and he was discovered murdered wearing Oriental lounging clothes on top of a Japanese tatami mat.

Three months after this crime, the Zodiac Killer mailed the Little List letter on July 26th 1970, paraphrasing two acts from The Mikado, a Gilbert & Sullivan comic opera set in Japan. The first act he paraphrased was entitled A More Humane Mikado, followed by As Some Day It May Happen, in which victims or society offenders must be found, and who would never be missed. His introduction in the communication detailed how he would torture his victims in paradise, stating in one part: "Others I shall skin them alive + let them run around screaming". In the middle of 1971, the Zodiac Killer would again mention the skinning of victims, when he encrypted the following in his 148 character cipher: "If this is not on the front page in a week I will skin 3 little kids and make a suit from the skin", and wrote in accompaniment to the cipher "Next time I will send a patch of human skin". This is why I found the phrase "Skin A Satanist" very interesting, when from a cryptology standpoint, it satisfied the 13 character code on April 20th 1970, arriving the same day the Robert Salem story broke in the San Francisco Chronicle detailing the "Satan Saves" on the apartment wall. Robert Salem was effectively skinned, when his left ear was severed and taken from the crime scene. On January 29th 1974, the Zodiac Killer would again recite a section from The Mikado, using a verse from Tit-Willow. Not only did he paraphrase the Japanese based opera, but he added some Oriental characters at the foot of the letter. One line in this act reminded me of the introduction in the April 20th 1970 (My Name Is letter). It read "Now I feel just as sure as I'm sure that my name Isn't Willow, titwillow, titwillow", 

Robert Salem was a flamboyant character with an interest in the arts, having been the lighting designer for the historic Haslett Warehouse at 680 Beach Street, San Francisco in 1969. Other than the mention of Washington and Maple streets on October 13th 1969, the only other street the Zodiac Killer ever imentioned in his communications (if authentic} was when he mailed a letter to Sergeant John Lynch on October 7th 1969, when he wrote ''Go to 56 Beach Street. I get the name Jerry, perhaps he knows people or his name is XXXXXXX''. So, was the Zodiac Killer in the apartment of Robert Salem in April 1970?​​​

​​Cragle, an excellent Zodiac researcher who contributes to both forums, sent Michael Morford some invaluable information that he knew I would like (and Mike subsequently added some extra findings). It was fantastic news. A letter was possibly mailed by the Zodiac Killer on October 7th 1969, containing the wording ''Go to 56 Beach Street. I get the name Jerry, perhaps he knows people or his name is XXXXXXX'' (and mentioned code letters). This letter can now be inextricably linked to the Concerned Citizen card postmarked August 10th 1969, which gave us a key to the 408 cipher, mailed by the Zodiac Killer within three "code letters" on July 31st 1969. The 56 Beach Street address never existed in 1969, only on street planning maps. Cragle found a Carl John Welz (married to Jerry Hatcher) who were working at 680 Beach Street, San Francisco and living at 2529 Union Street, San Francisco in 1969, He had a Batchelor and Master of Arts, taught in many public and  private schools and was well known in Christian science circles, with a mentioned periodical from him in 1967 (see below).

If this was the "Jerry" a possible Zodiac Killer was referring to, then this is an enormous find, Carl John Welz (and wife) would most likely have been working at 680 Beach Street at the same time as Robert Michael Salem, who was murdered by somebody claiming to be the Zodiac Killer on April 15th 1970. Throughout 1969, Robert Salem worked as the lighting designer for the historic Haslett Warehouse at 680 Beach Street. Carl John Welz wrote an anti gay article entitled Homosexuality Can Be Healed, so the fact that murdered Robert Salem was a homosexual, with the wording "Satan Saves" and a "crucified man" drawn in blood on his apartment wall, with the pseudonym Zodiac present also, makes this is a significant find. We can now connect the August 10th and October 7th 1969 communications, link the name "Jerry" to the Haslett Warehouse at 680 Beach Street, and to murder victim Robert Salem, who also worked there - and finally - combine the religious overtones from the above article to the apartment wall, and to the Zodiac Killer's 13-Symbol cipher.. 

Cragle, an excellent Zodiac researcher who contributes to both forums, sent Michael Morford some invaluable information that he knew I would like (and Mike subsequently added some extra findings). It was fantastic news. A letter was possibly mailed by the Zodiac Killer on October 7th 1969, containing the wording ''Go to 56 Beach Street. I get the name Jerry, perhaps he knows people or his name is XXXXXXX'' (and mentioned code letters). This letter can now be inextricably linked to the Concerned Citizen card postmarked August 10th 1969, which gave us a key to the 408 cipher, mailed by the Zodiac Killer within three "code letters" on July 31st 1969. The 56 Beach Street address never existed in 1969, only on street planning maps. Cragle found a Carl John Welz (married to Jerry Hatcher) who were working at 680 Beach Street, San Francisco and living at 2529 Union Street, San Francisco in 1969, He had a Batchelor and Master of Arts, taught in many public and  private schools and was well known in Christian science circles, with a mentioned periodical from him in 1967 (see below).

If this was the "Jerry" a possible Zodiac Killer was referring to, then this is an enormous find, Carl John Welz (and wife) would most likely have been working at 680 Beach Street at the same time as Robert Michael Salem, who was murdered by somebody claiming to be the Zodiac Killer on April 15th 1970. Throughout 1969, Robert Salem worked as the lighting designer for the historic Haslett Warehouse at 680 Beach Street. Carl John Welz wrote an anti gay article entitled Homosexuality Can Be Healed, so the fact that murdered Robert Salem was a homosexual, with the wording "Satan Saves" and a "crucified man" drawn in blood on his apartment wall, with the pseudonym Zodiac present also, makes this is a significant find. We can now connect the August 10th and October 7th 1969 communications, possibly link the name "Jerry" to the Haslett Warehouse at 680 Beach Street and to murder victim Robert Salem, and finally, combine the religious overtones from the article to the apartment wall. 

LATEST UPDATE, INCLUDING POLICE REPORTS & PHOTOGRAPHS

Thanks to Cragle and Mike.

ASSOCIATED ARTICLES:
ANCHORS AWEIGH
ROBERT SALEM-A ZODIAC MURDER?
A CONTEMPORARY CODE ON APRIL 20TH 1970
THE ZODIAC KILLER-DRIVEN BY DEVIANCY     
A SATANIC MESSAGE IN CODE? 
THE "SKIN MARKINGS" ON ROBERT SALEM 
​DELIVER UNTO SATAN
MURDER THROUGH THEATRE?

Robert Michael Salem was found murdered in his 745 Stevenson Street San Francisco apartment on April 19th 1970, accompanied by the drawing of a religious crux ansata (crucified man) and the words "Satan Saves" scrawled in blood on the wall. This mirrored the religious characters in the 13 character code mailed by the Zodiac Killer the following day (April 20th 1970), when he posed the question "I hope you have fun trying to fiygure out who I killed". Investigators found no forced entry at Robert Salem's apartment, and little appeared to have been taken from the property, other than possibly some money from an open wallet on a shelf. The crime scene appeared to scream of far more than a simple robbery. This opens up the possibility that Robert Salem was murdered by somebody known to him, or somebody that befriended him with common interests. Robert Salem was a lamp designer, whose products had been exhibited in Japan, England and Russia. His apartment certainly showed an Oriental influence, with a Japanese hurricane lamp hanging from the ceiling, tree trunks prominent in the apartment in the style of Japanese tea houses, and he was discovered murdered wearing Oriental lounging clothes on top of a Japanese tatami mat.

Three months after this crime, the Zodiac Killer mailed the Little List letter on July 26th 1970, paraphrasing two acts from The Mikado, a Gilbert & Sullivan comic opera set in Japan. The first act he paraphrased was entitled A More Humane Mikado, followed by As Some Day It May Happen, in which victims or society offenders must be found, and who would never be missed. His introduction in the communication detailed how he would torture his victims in paradise, stating in one part: "Others I shall skin them alive + let them run around screaming". In the middle of 1971, the Zodiac Killer would again mention the skinning of victims, when he encrypted the following in his 148 character cipher: "If this is not on the front page in a week I will skin 3 little kids and make a suit from the skin", and wrote in accompaniment to the cipher "Next time I will send a patch of human skin". This is why I found the phrase "Skin A Satanist" very interesting, when from a cryptology standpoint, it satisfied the 13 character code on April 20th 1970, arriving the same day the Robert Salem story broke in the San Francisco Chronicle detailing the "Satan Saves" on the apartment wall. Robert Salem was effectively skinned, when his left ear was severed and taken from the crime scene. On January 29th 1974, the Zodiac Killer would again recite a section from The Mikado, using a verse from Tit-Willow. Not only did he paraphrase the Japanese based opera, but he added some Oriental characters at the foot of the letter. One line in this act reminded me of the introduction in the April 20th 1970 (My Name Is letter). It read "Now I feel just as sure as I'm sure that my name Isn't Willow, titwillow, titwillow", 

Robert Salem was a flamboyant character with an interest in the arts, having been the lighting designer for the historic Haslett Warehouse at 680 Beach Street, San Francisco in 1969. Other than the mention of Washington and Maple streets on October 13th 1969, the only other street the Zodiac Killer ever imentioned in his communications (if authentic} was when he mailed a letter to Sergeant John Lynch on October 7th 1969, when he wrote ''Go to 56 Beach Street. I get the name Jerry, perhaps he knows people or his name is XXXXXXX''. So, was the Zodiac Killer in the apartment of Robert Salem in April 1970?

LATEST UPDATE, INCLUDING POLICE REPORTS & PHOTOGRAPHS

ASSOCIATED ARTICLES:
ANCHORS AWEIGH
ROBERT SALEM-A ZODIAC MURDER?
A CONTEMPORARY CODE ON APRIL 20TH 1970
THE ZODIAC KILLER-DRIVEN BY DEVIANCY     
A SATANIC MESSAGE IN CODE? 
THE "SKIN MARKINGS" ON ROBERT SALEM 
​DELIVER UNTO SATAN

On August 10th 1969, somebody mailed a typewritten communication to Vallejo Police Sergeant John Lynch providing the code key to the 408 cipher, that may or may not have been authored by the Zodiac Killer. The communication, ending with "concerned citizen", was withheld from publication. This means that a second communication mailed just two months later, on October 7th 1969, again addressed to Vallejo Police Sergeant John Lynch, with the phraseology "code letters" and ending with "a good citizen", was very likely the same author. This was the cryptic footnote by Sergeant John Lynch regarding the "good citizen" letter.

The writer has a strong feeling of ESP. While having these feelings, the writer writes with a pencil. On occasion, while thinking of the code letters, the pencil wrote: ''Go to 56 Beach Street. I get the name Jerry, perhaps he knows people or his name is XXXXXXX''.  

It had been approximately two months since any Zodiac communication was received, yet the "good citizen" letter referenced ESP and 56 Beach Street. A form of ESP (Extra Sensory Perception) is second sight, whereby a person perceives information in the form of a vision about future events before they happen. Four days after the "good citizen" letter, the Zodiac Killer entered the taxicab of Paul Stine on October 11th 1969. After his murder at the intersection of Washington & Cherry Streets, the Zodiac Killer was believed to have entered Presidio Park just a few minutes later, mocking law enforcement in a letter he mailed two days later, in which he stated "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". The northeast corner of Presidio Park is 296 meters from Beach Street. This means we have a letter mentioning 56 Beach Street just four days before the Zodiac Killer escaped into Presidio Park, the northeast corner of which sits near the western tip of Beach Street. This street runs from Pier 39 to the Palace of Fine Arts,  A contributor to this website informed me that:"56 Beach St is the old block numbering from the original planning maps, which comes out as 1654/1656 on the street numbering. 1654/56 Beach St, San Francisco, CA is a condo home that contains 2,141 sq ft and was built in 1938".  

On April 20th 1970, the San Francisco Chronicle ran an article on the murder of Robert Michael Salem at 745 Stevenson Street in San Francisco. The pseudonym "Zodiac" was written in blood on his apartment wall next to the body. The San Francisco Chronicle noted that "Salem's designs have been exhibited in England, Japan and Russia under State Department cultural exchange programs. Until last year (1969) he had been the lighting designer for restoration of the historic Haslett Warehouse. The address of the Haslett Warehouse is 680 Beach Street at Hyde. This location is less than one mile from 1654/56 Beach Street (see map below). The author of these two "code" communications from "concerned" and "good" citizens may not have been Zodiac, but did they know the identity of the killer?

The brutal stabbing and murder of Robert Michael Salem on April 15th 1970 is so much more compelling as a potential Zodiac crime compared to other outlier murders linked to the Bay Area killer. I will do a brief run through of what we know so far, before adding a little more to the equation. This additional information will include the Good Citizen letter mailed to Sergeant John Lynch on October 7th 1969, just four days before the murder of Paul Stine in Presidio Heights. 

The Melvin Belli letter mailed on December 20th 1969 appeared to invoke the Frances Brown murder scene on December 10th 1945 at her 3941 North Pine Grove apartment in Chicago. She had been stabbed multiple times, with the knife discovered protruding from her neck. Her killer (supposedly William Heirens} had left an ominous message written in red lipstick on the wall of her apartment stating "For heavens Sake catch me Before I kill more. I cannot control myself". The Zodiac Killer had written on the Melvin Belli letter "I will loose all controol of myself. Please help me. I can not remain in control for much longer". The message on the wall of Frances Brown's apartment was written above a table lamp. It was therefore uncanny that the Zodiac Killer's next correspondence arrived on April 20th 1970, on the same day that the San Francisco Chronicle published details regarding the murder of Robert Salem, in which the killer wrote a message on the wall in blood -. and Robert Salem was a lamp designer, having them displayed in museums and art fairs around the world. If the statement of "I hope you have fun trying to figgure out who I killed" on the April 20th 1970 letter wasn't Robert Salem, it is extremely fortunate timing off the back of the Melvin Belli letter four months previously.  

For a copycat killer to read into the wording contained within the Melvin Belli letter, authenticated as Zodiac correspondence, and place Zodiac on the wall of Robert Salem's 745 Stevenson Street, San Francisco apartment in similar fashion to the Frances Brown murder scene, would take a special form of insight. Unless of course, it was the Zodiac Killer who murdered the lamp designer. This drives to the heart of the question - of whether the Zodiac Killer had crossed paths with Robert Salem in the preceding months to his murder - and was specifically targeted by the Bay Area murderer. By murdering somebody of relative acclaim and scrawling his pseudonym on the wall, he could certainly expect front page coverage in the Chronicle. We have speculated that the Zodiac Killer had a penchant for the dramatic, with his references to The Mikado, his Lake Berrryessa costume and the style of his communications. He certainly appeared to have artistic leanings. If the Zodiac Killer had befriended Robert Salem, then it may have come through a mutual love of the arts, either through a museum, the theater or an arts and crafts fair. 

The San Francisco Chronicle article on April 20th 1970 stated that "Salem's designs have been exhibited in England, Japan and Russia under State Department cultural exchange programs. Until last year (1969) he had been the lighting designer for restoration of the historic Haslett Warehouse on Hyde Street". In fact, the address is given as 680 Beach Street at Hyde, Russian Hill, San Francisco. It is situated just 1.5 miles from where Paul Stine began his fateful journey on October 11th 1969. Here is the view of the Haslett Warehouse from 700 Beach Street, just across the intersection of Hyde Road.  

"During the 1960s, California was the site of many outdoor art fairs, which nurtured a culture of independent artists and craftspersons. At this time there was an effort to sell crafts on the sidewalks of the liberal Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco. Artists and street performers who illegally set up in public areas were frequently harassed and arrested by the police. In the 700 block of Beach Street adjacent to Victorian Park and near Fisherman's Wharf, between 15 and 25 artists would set up their displays and use lookouts to alert them to the arrival of the police". Wikipedia. This certainly would have attracted the attention of somebody like Robert Salem, who was working at the Haslett Warehouse just yards away. Is it possible the Zodiac Killer crossed paths with Salem at an art and crafts fair such as this? I wouldn't normally attempt to use such a speculative link but for October 7th 1969 Good Citizen letter, possibly mailed to Sergeant John Lynch from the Zodiac Killer.

With immense gratitude to Rubislaw32,  this correspondence was mailed on October 7th 1969, just two months after the "concerned citizen" card and four days before the murder of Paul Stine in Presidio Heights on October 11th 1969. It has been dubbed the "good citizen" letter, postmarked San Mateo and signed ''A good citizen", with a footnote from Sergeant John Lynch. It stated that the writer has a strong feeling of ESP. While having these feelings, the writer writes with a pencil. On occasion, while thinking of the code letters, the pencil wrote: ''Go to 56 Beach Street. I get the name Jerry, perhaps he knows people or his name is XXXXXXX''. This letter referenced Beach Street, where Robert Salem worked during the latter months of 1969. So we have four intersecting points of interest - an art and crafts fair on Beach Street, where artist Robert Salem likely worked during the mailing of the October 7th 1969 "Beach Street" letter, with Paul Stine picking up his killer just 1.5 miles south, only four days later. It may not be compelling, but the possibility exists that the Zodiac Killer crossed paths with the lamp designer before April 15th 1970 and murdered him at his 745 Stevenson Street apartment, all while inspired by the December 20th 1969 Melvin Belli letter some four months earlier.
​
LATEST UPDATE, INCLUDING POLICE REPORTS & PHOTOGRAPHS

Beach Street runs from Pier 39 to the Maritime Museum, however, despite what Google maps indicates, there is no 56 Beach Street present today. Thanks to 'Nobody':"56 Beach St is the old block numbering from the original planning maps, which comes out as 1654/1656 on the street numbering. 1654/56 Beach St, San Francisco, CA is a condo home that contains 2,141 sq ft and was built in 1938".

"During the 1960s, California was the site of many outdoor art fairs, which nurtured a culture of independent artists and craftspersons. At this time there was an effort to sell crafts on the sidewalks of the liberal Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco. Artists and street performers who illegally set up in public areas were frequently harassed and arrested by the police. In the 700 block of Beach Street adjacent to Victorian Park and near Fisherman's Wharf, between 15 and 25 artists would set up their displays and use lookouts to alert them to the arrival of the police". Wikipedia.

Sergeant Lynch couldn't locate a 56 Beach Street in 1969, so considered Beechwood Street starting in the 700 block. This location was actually Beechwood Drive, Daly City, CA 94015 and it is 8.6 miles from Beach Street, San Francisco. This clearly indicates that Sergeant Lynch was considering the letter from the standpoint of San Francisco due to its proximity to San Mateo. 

The question that arises from this letter, is were the "concerned citizen" and "good citizen" communications designed by the same author or linked in any way? The first supplied a code key relating to the 408 cipher, solved by Donald Gene and Bettye June Harden of Salinas, California. The second referred to "code letters" - and both correspondences were mailed to Sergeant John Lynch. Bearing in mind the "concerned citizen" card wasn't mentioned in any newspapers, does this increase the significance of the October 7th 1969 mailing? U.S. Route 101 or U.S. Highway 101 links Salinas, San Mateo and Beach Street.​ Paul Stine picked up the Zodiac in the proximity of Union Square on October 11th 1969. The "good citizen" letter was mailed only four days earlier and mentioned ESP and Beach Street - a location that is only 1.4 miles from Union Square.   

Without knowing more about this communication and its exact contents, this analysis must be treated with caution. 

# "Zener cards are cards used to conduct experiments for extrasensory perception (ESP) or clairvoyance. Perceptual psychologist Karl Zener (1903–1964) designed the cards in the early 1930s for experiments conducted with his colleague, parapsychologist J. B. Rhine (1895–1980). The original series of experiments have been discredited and replication has proved elusive. The Zener cards are a deck of twenty five cards, five of each symbol. The five symbols are: a hollow circle, a plus sign, three vertical wavy lines, a hollow square, and a hollow five-pointed star. They are used to test for ESP." Wikipedia.