The sighting of a 'suspicious' male roaming the hillside of Lake Berryessa was reported by Dr. Rayfield & Son and the three young women at different times during the Saturday of September 27th 1969. Two unusual or notable sightings, both at virtually the same location (0.8 miles from the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia), of similar description and separated by approximately 3 hours is certainly food for thought. If this was our suspect, then a comparison of his footprints to the boot prints documented from the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia to the crime scene, could have added considerable weight to the description given by the three young women. Bearing in mind their description led to the first sketch of the possible Zodiac Killer, it shouldn't have been too surprising that the description of the killer at Presidio Heights painted a different picture. The difference in hairstyle and the presence of prescription glasses, probably the result of what had occurred two weeks earlier. The Zodiac Killer stated in the November 9th 1969 'Bus Bomb' letter "I look like the description passed out only when I do my thing, the rest of the time I look entirle different. I shall not tell you what my descise consists of when I kill". His disguise, in the instance of the Paul Stine murder, likely not a disguise at all - just a radical change of his facial appearance because of his widely publicized exploits just 14 days previously.      

In a previous article entitled 'Lake Berryessa-The Two Sightings' the possibility of blood on the shirt of the subject viewed by Dr. Rayfield & Son, along with the 70 minute difference between the supposed 6:30 pm attack and the phone call in Napa, were given as supporting evidence that the man described by Dr. Rayfield & Son was actually the killer.

Some have wondered whether the couple were followed to Lake Berryessa, hence the killer's ability to connect the victims to the correct vehicle. 
According to Ken Narlow in the 2007 Zodiac documentary "There's a lot of activity up at Lake Berryessa during the summer months, but after Labor Day when all the kids go back to school it kind of quiets down. This was September 27th probably 3 and a half weeks after labor day, so it was a very, very quiet Saturday evening out there". Therefore, the ability to connect a vehicle to its owners wouldn't have been that difficult for a killer able to construct ciphers.

According to page 11 of the police report "Miss Marilyn Denise, a student at Pacific Union College, stated that about 5.15 pm Saturday 9/27/69 she was in the Lake Berryessa area with a male companion. She stated at this time they were parked on the Knoxville Road approximately one mile south of the Lake Berryessa Marina. She stated shortly after they parked the vehicle they observed the victims who were known to them, Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard, driving south on Knoxville Road in Bryan's white Karmann Ghia. She stated as the Hartnell vehicle drove by, Bryan waved out of the window and said "Hi John", referring to her companion".

It is clear from this statement that Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard would have parked up by 5:30 pm. Had the killer parked behind them shortly after, with the intention of trailing them to the edge of the lake, we would have to assume there was an approximate 40 minute delay before he first made contact with the couple. But, had the killer ever parked his vehicle to the rear of the Karmann Ghia, by the stile? The killer may have parked 0.8 miles north of the crime scene, hence the two sightings before and after the attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard. It is perfectly conceivable he was traversing the hillside looking for vehicles and victims, rather than driving directly to this parking area. This may explain his confusion regarding the distance he stated in the later payphone call to police dispatcher Dave Slaight.   

The police report states "Reporting officer observed footprints leading from the foot stile to the passenger side of the Karmann Ghia. The footprints were measured and Sgt. T. Butler photographed the impressions. Sgt. Butler also photographed Reporting Officer pointing to the footprint which was to be cast. Said footprint indicating the direction of travel was toward the vehicle". This is important, because if no footprints were leading towards the foot stile (only beyond the stile), then the killer may not have approached the crime scene from the car park, and by inference, hadn't parked his vehicle in this area.

It is extremely likely the killer wore gloves during the attack, as mentioned in the police report - so it would have been rather a strange decision to then drive 27 miles to Main Street and handle the telephone receiver with bare hands. "At 20:50 hours Reporting Officer met Eric Ronback and Reserve Officer Donald Stanley at the Napa Car Wash, Main and Clinton Streets, They stated that they had secured the scene and the area around the phone had been searched for physical evidence. The phone booth was then processed for latent impressions and latent impression lifts #1 thru 35 were taken into evidence. Heavy beads of moisture remained on the impressions photographed".

The Zodiac Killer was almost certainly right-handed, as he had holstered his gun on the right side during the attack on the young couple. Had these been the payphone prints of the killer, then they could have confirmed a right-handed assailant. Although not beyond argument, a right-handed killer would likely handle the telephone receiver with his left hand while dialing with his right. The four fingers of the left hand on the top side of the receiver. In the case of a left-handed person holding the receiver with their right hand, the four finger impressions would be on the opposite side of the receiver. If the killer was wearing leather gloves, this may still have opened up the possibility of confidently tying together this crime with the attacks at Blue Rock Springs and Presidio Heights.           

The leather gloves left in the taxicab of Paul Stine may have been mistakenly forgotten by a previous passenger, nevertheless, the attacker at Blue Rock Springs and Lake Berryessa on both occasions made a payphone call. Had the killer wore the same gloves during these two crimes, it is conceivable that the glove impressions (which are as unique as a fingerprint) could have been matched, along with any latent impressions taken from Presidio Heights - or the taxicab gloves themselves. This could have undeniably tied these three crimes together.

Assuming the physical evidence was retained from Presidio Heights, it shouldn't have been that difficult to detect any traces of airplane cement had the Zodiac used such a defense. "Many criminals often wear gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints, which makes the crime investigation more difficult. Although the gloves act as a protective covering for the wearer's prints, the gloves themselves can leave prints that are just as unique as human fingerprints, thus betraying the wearer. After collecting glove prints, law enforcement can then match them to gloves that they have collected as evidence as well as glove prints retrieved from other crime scenes. In earlier decades, investigators would dust for fingerprints only to find smears and smudges caused by gloves. Often in earlier decades these smudges were ignored because very little of their detail was retrievable. With the advent of latent fingerprint detection in the late 20th century, investigators started to collect, analyze, and record prints left at crime scenes that were created by the wearing of gloves. Glove prints can be as simple as marks caused by seams or folds in fabric of a glove, or they can be as complex as marks left behind by the grain or texture of the fabric of a glove. When gloves are collected as evidence their prints can be taken and compared to glove prints that were taken at crime scenes or from evidence.
Over time, the pores and grain of leather gloves will pick up dirt and grease from surfaces that they have touched or handled. The dirt and grease can in return help to create prints on surfaces. Also, unlined gloves provide the most dexterity but can over time become saturated with the oils and sweat of the wearer's hands. This helps to increase the gripping properties of the gloves but causes the gloves to leave prints. A print that contains the glove wearer's sweat and oils will contain their DNA, which can incriminate them." Wikipedia.

With the 50th anniversary of the Lake Herman Road murders fast approaching, can another form of fingerprint evidence finally snare the Zodiac Killer - or are we heading to an irrevocable dead end?

At 4.20 pm on September 28th 1969 'Dean' from Pacific Union College contacted the Napa County Sheriff's Office and informed police that three young women from the college had been sunbathing by Lake Berryessa the day of the stabbings, outlining the girls recollections of a suspicious man in the vicinity who appeared to be watching them for a prolonged period. One of the women recalled a man watching them from the edge of the trees for approximately 30 minutes, before the subject came down by the beach and passed within 20 feet.
 
Sergeant Kenneth Narlow dispatched Deputy Sheriff Raymond Land to interview the girls that evening. The following morning (September 29th) he reported his findings to his superiors. At 2.45 pm that day, the three young girls came to the police department and were interviewed by Sergeant Lonergan, Sergeant Snook and Captain Donald Townsend. A sketch of the suspicious man was ultimately created from the three girls recollections. To this day, nobody knows for sure if this was the Zodiac Killer preparing for an attack on the young girls, before abandoning his plans and switching his attention to Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard some two hours later.

'Dean' contacted police at 4.20 pm, about 22 hours after the double stabbing by the lake. Had Deputy Sheriff Raymond Land and/or his superiors acted immediately after he interviewed the girls, and had took them back to the location where they saw the suspicious man standing/walking, then they could have compared the many boot prints leading from Bryan Hartnell's vehicle to the crime scene and back, with the boot prints of the suspicious man. This may have given us a definitive answer on whether the murderer of Cecelia Shepard and the suspicious man were one and the same. It would also have given much more credence to the Lake Berryessa sketch over the Presidio Heights sketch, bearing in mind the length of time they viewed the man in daylight hours. 
 
The police report stated "When they left their car they noticed a subject driving a late model silver blue Chevrolet, 2-door sedan, pull up behind them. What appeared to be a white male adult was sitting in the vehicle. They did not observe this subject leave the vehicle. The girls proceeded to the beach area and were sunbathing in their bikinis. After approximately one-half hour had passed, they observed what appeared to be the same subject standing within 40 or 50 feet of them, apparently observing them." They described him to be 28-30 years of age during their interview at the police station. However, the day before, according to 'Dean', they had "described the subject as approximately 40 years old." If this were truly their initial recollections, it would place the subjects age bang in the center of the revised descriptions given by the eyewitnesses at Presidio Heights. The uncertainty in both crimes may represent the difficulty in pinning an accurate age on this subject, if of course, the subject at Lake Berryessa described by the three women, was in fact the Zodiac Killer.  

In the October 1st 1969 San Francisco Chronicle article, police stated "there were a couple of things we're still holding back so we'll be able to identify the man if he wants to call us again." This may be a subtle reference to the two words "by knife" written on the car door, which they withheld from the newspapers. Had a caller contacted the police and answered the question of what the full message contained, it would be an easy and quick way of ruling out the crank calls. 

The October 1st 1969 Vallejo Evening News Chronicle, contained three paragraphs of great interest. It stated "Vallejo police were investigating a Vallejo man who was previously convicted of accosting "lovers lane" couples - and wore a hood while doing so. While his molestations did not involve shooting or stabbing his victims, he has a streak of violence in him, police said. And his criminal activities resembled those of the slayer of four young persons.  
This man is much older than descriptions of the killer. However, it was pointed out that fat-faced people often look much younger than their years. His general physical description tallied with that of the hunted man, officers said."
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We must also remember that the Paul Stine murder was just 10 days in the making, in which eyewitnesses would ultimately settle on a man described as 35-45 years of age, older than currently believed. One can't help thinking that a great opportunity was missed at Lake Berryessa. Had the boot prints of the subject viewed by the three girls matched the boot prints from the Lake Berryessa crime scene, it would have cast a very different light on the Presidio Heights sketch of the Zodiac Killer and changed our perceptions to this day.

There are many ways to interpret the Dripping Pen card mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle by the Zodiac Killer on November 8th 1969, and here is another. ​Some people use the 'evidence of absence' argument to suggest that the Lake Berryessa attacker was not the Zodiac Killer - articulating that his lack of mailed correspondence after the double stabbing was evidence for his absence from the crime scene. ​His communication on the car door just six minutes after the attack, probably to him, seemed like unassailable proof he was placing himself at the crime scene, just like the addition of a shirt piece from Paul Stine shirt in his October 13th 1969 letter.

​At Lake Berryessa he took his handwriting to the crime scene, while at Presidio Heights he took the crime scene to his handwriting. A reverse signature one might say. However, not many people question Zodiac's involvement in the murder of taxicab driver Paul Stine. The idea that the Zodiac Killer never communicated his involvement in the Lake Berryessa crime is patently false, despite our need for a more comprehensive attribution to the events of September 27th 1969. Yet, his correspondence on October 13th 1969 and November 8th 1969 may have both referenced the Lake Berryessa attack, but in different ways.

The author of the October 13th 1969 Paul Stine letter opened with the words "This is the Zodiac speaking. I am the murderer of the taxi driver over by Washington St + Maple St last night, to prove this here is a blood stained piece of his shirt. I am the same man who did in the people in the north bay area". The Zodiac Killer on the car door of Bryan Hartnell's white Karmann Ghia clearly attributes both of his first two attacks under the banner of Vallejo, despite the fact David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen were murdered in Benicia. In fact, the Zodiac Killer never referenced Benicia in any of his communications, while he mentioned Vallejo several times. If the Zodiac Killer played no part in the Lake Berryessa attack, then his above introduction could have read "This is the Zodiac speaking. I am the murderer of the taxi driver over by Washington St + Maple St last night, to prove this here is a blood stained piece of his shirt. I am the same man who did in the people in the Vallejo area". However, he chose to use the "north bay area" for the first time, which incorporates the Napa and Sanoma wine regions. ​

Despite the claims that an impostor could have faked the Lake Berryessa phone call to mimic Zodiac's rhetoric of the Blue Rock Springs call, by reading the transcripts widely publicized in the newspapers, it appears the copycat would then fail to read the newspapers of the Benicia attack and combine both attacks under the banner of Vallejo on the car door, in complete harmony with a Zodiac Killer who always failed to document the simplest of facts - that his first crime was perpetrated in Benicia. The implication being, they are one and the same person.
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The divergence from Vallejo in the October 13th 1969 Stine letter confession, was therefore proof of his admission to the Lake Berryessa attack. The Zodiac Killer would then further indicate his involvement in the attack by the lake in his cryptic November 8th 1969 Dripping Pen card communication, not only by the addition of "Sept"  in his running victim count, but possibly through the image he chose on the card and the wording contained within it. The style of the card may have been purposely chosen in reference to the Lake Berryessa attack, and mailed in unison with the 'November 9th 1969 Bus Bomb letter which elaborated upon his recent murder.

On October 18th 1969, Attorney General Thomas C. Lynch implored Zodiac to turn himself in, stating "We will see that he gets help and all his rights are protected. He is obviously an intelligent individual. He knows that eventually he will be taken into custody, so it would be best that he give himself up, before tragedy is written in blood". Three weeks later, the Zodiac Killer mailed a greeting card, depicting a fountain pen having been washed by its owner. The card itself read "Sorry I haven't written, but I just washed my pen...and I can't do a thing with it." Zodiac then added the words "This is the Zodiac speaking. I though you would nead a good laugh before you hear the bad news. You won't get the news for a while yet. Could you print this new cipher in your frunt page? I get aufully lonely when I am ignored, so lonely I could do my Thing".

It is clear the Zodiac has simply parroted the word "thing" from the prewritten wording on the card, and began to write the letter 'T' in lower case. It is equally probable the Zodiac wrote the entire word "thing" in normal writing, before emphasizing it in bold fashion, to highlight its importance. ​The phrase "and I can't do a thing with it" is suggestive of a pen that now cannot be used, having been damaged by water. This is often taken as a pen accidentally left in clothing and washed, but it may very well have a more sinister implication in this instance.

The threat of "I could do my Thing," is obviously referencing murder - but by parroting the word "thing" from the card, which is explicitly referencing the pen, the Zodiac Killer may be associating the pen with murder. More specifically, the murder of Cecelia Shepard. The Zodiac Killer's dominant hand would certainly have been covered in blood after the Lake Berryessa double stabbing, so any pen subsequently used to write on the car door would equally have been smothered in blood, thereby making the November 8th 1969 Dripping Pen card depicting a washed pen, not an unusual choice by the killer. The killer may have worn gloves and removed them before writing on the car door, but the implication of the card remains. 
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The six exclamation marks after the word "Thing" are as notable, as they are excessively repetitive. The Zodiac Killer has also deliberately or accidentally underlined the word "Thing" exactly six times. These two characteristics may be purely unintentional on behalf of the author, but considering the Zodiac Killer is claiming 7 victims at this juncture, it would be remiss of me not to mention that the Lake Berryessa murder of Cecelia Shepard would have been the Zodiac Killer's sixth victim. One theory behind the origin of the exclamation mark, is that it is derived from a Latin exclamation of joy, which may not have been lost on a killer bereft of empathy. 

For many years some observers have questioned the September 27th 1969 Lake Berryessa attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard as a genuine Zodiac crime. It is claimed that the MO of this crime wasn't like previous Zodiac attacks, despite the fact he altogether only committed three other confirmed attacks in which Presidio Heights, one could argue, wasn't his MO either. The amount of crimes ascribed to the Zodiac Killer isn't a large enough sample size to make such profound claims based on modus operandi. 
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Some people also believe that the attacker at Lake Berryessa intended to leave at least one victim alive (in this case Bryan Hartnell), because murdering both would have negated the purpose of wearing the costume. This argument carries no weight whatsoever. ​Bryan Hartnell was bound hand and foot approximately 510 yards from the nearest roadway (Knoxville Road), and was brutally stabbed in the back six times, which resulted in extensive blood loss. In the 2007 Zodiac documentary he recalled the memories of his fight for life:after struggling to free himself from the clothesline bindings: "So I got up and made it about 5 feet and the sparkles and the darkness came back and I had to drop down immediately to keep from passing out. I'd just lost too much blood and had no energy to move. So I waited a minute, got some more strength, and thought I'm going to have to do this a little slower. I made it another five feet and dropped down myself. So I started just taking 5, 10 feet intervals, and found that if I wasn't trying to walk fast and walked bent over holding my chest and walk slower, I could make more distance in between having to stop and rest. I made it about halfway to the road and saw some lights coming". This is where he was eventually aided by park ranger Dennis Land.

At approximately 7:10 pm, or very shortly after, Ranger William White radioed Park Headquarters to summon an ambulance and deputies to the crime scene. An ambulance from Naps arrived at the crime scene at approximately 7:55 pm, and returned back to the Queen of the Valley Hospital, arriving at 8:50 pm. That is an approximate journey time of 45 minutes each way, including 10 minutes negotiating the crime scene. Therefore, one would have to assume that the attacker with an extensive knowledge of anatomy, surgically delivered the knife wounds to Bryan Hartnell, knowing he would free his bindings and would be discovered by a third party in a particular amount of time, as well as somebody who could factor in advance the overall time the ambulance would take to arrive at the crime scene and return to the hospital. Not to mention, calculating the blood loss to be suffered by Bryan Hartnell in order for him to be subsequently saved by the hospital surgeons and thereby recount his experience of being attacked by a costumed slayer with crosshairs on his chest. This is a totally unrealistic proposition.

It is clear that the Zodiac Killer (or copycat) intended to kill both Cecelia Shepard and Bryan Hartnell - and thought he had - evident by the payphone call placed in Napa approximately 70 minutes later, in which the killer stated "I want to report a murder, no, a double murder. They are two miles north of Park Headquarters. They were in a white Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. I'm the one that did it". ​So why did the attacker wear a costume with crosshairs on the front if he had no intention of leaving the couple alive? ​The Zodiac had every reason to wear the crosshairs symbol, but the copycat didn't.

The attack took place during daylight hours, at 6:30 pm or slightly earlier - so the killer, whether Zodiac or copycat, had good reason to wear a costume or disguise in case he was spotted by any eyewitnesses - something I'm sure he was keen to avoid. For those in the copycat camp, the writing on the car door of Bryan Hartnell's 1956 White Karmann Ghia and the telephone call to police dispatcher Dave Slaight is not sufficient proof it was the Zodiac Killer, because the style of the handwriting on the car door and composition of the message in the phone call (based on the Blue Rock Springs call) were widely available in many newspapers, and could easily have been reproduced by a copycat. It is therefore imperative we find another reason to tie the Lake Berryessa attack to the Zodiac Killer rather than a copycat. 
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Bryan Hartnell stated that the assailant wore a black hooded mask made of a cloth material, covering his entire head and shoulders, reaching down to the waist. On the front of the four cornered mask at the chest area was a white circle (3 x 3 inches in diameter) and a symmetrical cross. He would further elaborate on the design of the crosshairs, as well as later in the 2007 Zodiac documentary, stating "It looked like it was made with a machine or with some degree of care- it wasn't just scrawled on with white paint. It was proportional".      

Why would a copycat killer meticulously sew on perfectly symmetrical crosshairs onto a carefully crafted costume, when he had no intention of leaving anybody alive to report it. If the crime had been committed by a copycat, then imitating the Zodiac Killer's writing on the car door and subsequent phone call should have sufficed. He could simply have disguised his features with a mask, balaclava or plain hood. The same could be said of the Zodiac Killer, I hear you saying. However, there is one big difference.
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The Zodiac Killer had murdered three and seriously injured a fourth person at this juncture, and had bathed in the spotlight of numerous newspaper articles in his name. This must have fed his egotistical nature - and in his own mind - elevated him to another level of self-aggrandizement. The idea that he would then carefully craft a costume befitting of such an infamous and feared villain, doesn't seem that far-fetched. Would a copycat spend this much time creating an elaborate costume bedecked with crosshairs, when nobody was going to be left alive to report their observations to police? It would be a pointless waste of time. A copycat would have just reproduced the handwriting on the car door and made the payphone call. The Zodiac Killer, on the other hand, had every reason to adorn himself with a costume befitting of the man he thought he was.

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

What better way to have knowledge that Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs were frequented regularly by courting couples, than if you routinely traveled this route to reach your place of work, not unlike eyewitness James Owen who lived at 1735 Mini Drive and would have likely used California State Route 37 at the beginning of his journey, to arrive at Humble Oil in Benicia. The same applies to an area around Mare Island Shipyard and Rancho Vallejo, where Tuolumne Street nears State Route 37. Lake Herman Road on the eastern fringes of Vallejo and Benicia, is a dark, unlit stretch of rural road infrequently used. It is, however, a logical choice for somebody living in Ranch Vallejo (north Vallejo) or American Canyon to use, if they worked in the industrial area of Benicia.

The northern side of the green line on the map above, shows that access to State Route 37 would take somebody towards the northern side of Columbus Parkway, before heading southeast along Lake Herman Road towards Benicia, and crucially encompassing both crime scenes. If the killer lived in the northern region of Vallejo and worked in Benicia, his 'compass' knowledge of specific locations would not be surprising. This was evident in his first attack when he stated in the July 31st 1969 letters, that Betty Lou Jensen "was on her right side feet to the west." Of course, he had six and a half months to work this out, but had only 36-38 minutes after the Blue Rock Springs attack, in which he was able to direct Vallejo police to the crime scene along Springs Road and Columbus Parkway with completely accurate directions when he called Nancy Slover, stating "I wish to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east...... on Columbus Parkway to the public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They have been shot with a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye." 

Knowledge such as this, could suggest complete familiarity with the public park, golf course, Lake Herman Road and the location of the police station with respect to the Springs and Tuolumne payphone. The killer would have one direct route, to and from his residence to the payphone at the intersection of Springs Road and Tuolumne Street. His route to work (possibly a night-shift) also giving him first hand knowledge of courting couples and where to trawl for victims at the weekend.   

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

There may be another reason why the Zodiac Killer chose the 'wrong way' after leaving the Blue Rock Springs parking lot. A reason that involved near eyewitnesses to the murder in the parking lot..

Three young kids, Debbie, Jerry and Roger were the first to find Michael Mageau just after he had extracted himself from the brown Corvair and was lying adjacent to it. They must have arrived extremely close to the time of the attack - possibly as little as a minute or two after the brutal shooting. The time of the attack can be calculated with a fair degree of confidence to 12.02 am on July 5th 1969. See here. 
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Police dispatcher Nancy Slover received a phone call from Jerry's house at  938 Catlewood Drive, Vallejo from Debbie at 12.10 am. The drive to 938 Castlewood Drive from Blue Rock Springs is approximately 6 minutes, indicating they would have had to leave the parking lot by about 12.04 am to make this phone call in time.
​Yet, this isn't the time they arrived at the parking lot, which must have been around a minute earlier at 12.03 am - just after the attack at 12.02 am. The Zodiac Killer may literally have been leaving the Blue Rock Springs parking lot as they were approaching it. This may have influenced the direction Zodiac exited from the crime scene.

Debbie, Jerry and Roger stated in the police report that "they had been downtown to see the festivities for the 4th of July. After this was over, at about 11 pm, they decided to look for this girl that Roger knows. They drove around town and did not see her and decided to go to Blue Rock Springs Park to look for her. They went out the freeway to Columbus Parkway and came into the park the back way. While they were driving in toward the park neither boy recalls seeing any vehicle coming out, none parked along the road, nor did they pass any vehicle."  They must have been almost on top of Zodiac as they approached from the north side of Columbus Parkway. Had Zodiac intended to travel home before making the phone call, his obvious route north and then west along Columbus Parkway, was now not so obvious if he didn't want himself or his vehicle spotted by the three kids. They obviously didn't see him, but he may have spotted their vehicle approaching in the distance. This may have forced a change of plan and coerced Zodiac south toward Springs Road. The Zodiac Killer's journey time heading in this direction to somewhere close to the green circle at the top of Tuolumne Street, would take approximately 11-12 minutes. The Zodiac Killer would arrive home at about 12.14 am - leaving him approximately 20 minutes at his residence before driving back to the Springs and Tuolumne payphone to make the call. Once doing so, his escape home is a mere 4 minutes. 
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Calfornia State Route 37 and Highway 101 may have played a decisive factor when selecting a quick and easy separation from San Francisco after the murder of taxicab driver Paul Stine on October 11th 1969. Whether or not the murderer had entered the Presidio Park is a moot point today, but in 1969 the Zodiac Killer would certainly have wanted to escape from the area in as little time as possible. A vehicle parked somewhere along West Pacific Avenue or to the east of the park in Cow Hollow, would provide immediate access to Highway 101 across the Golden Gate Bridge, and in a handful of minutes out of San Francisco. The killer can then head north and eventually east just before Novato, taking California State Route 37 right onto his doorstep.  

The selection of a taxicab driver to take him to a predetermined destination so close to an exit route from San Francisco, one could argue was the perfect choice for a resident of Vallejo. The killer has a nearby park in case things don't go to plan, along with an immediate escape and separation from the crime scene via Highway 101 and the Golden Gate Bridge. Even Inspector Dave Toschi thought this a viable proposition: "The detectives heard from neighbors that a stocky figure was seen dashing across Julius Khan playground and into the dense undergrowth of the Presidio. The dog patrol units, seven of the best search dogs in the country, gathered at the front entrance of the Presidio and were deployed one at a time in various directions. Armstrong and Toschi considered the possibilities. Had the killer gone quickly through the dark woods and emerged from the Presidio at Richardson Avenue, and taken Highway 101 past Fort Point onto the Golden Gate Bridge and vanished into Marin County."

Kim Rossmo made an extremely salient point regarding the murder of Paul Stine. He stated: ​​"The San Francisco murder differs significantly from the Zodiac's other crimes. Up to this point he was hunting in locations that had a good probability of containing his desired victims. Target selection was a function of area, not of an individual. However, it is unlikely the Zodiac was successful in all his searches; serial killers typically engage in extensive hunting activities, and for every attack there are many unsuccessful search attempts. In San Francisco, however, the Zodiac controlled the situation through his selection of victim type. The need for such control could be indicative of the distance the Zodiac had to travel to the crime site. Criminals who travel longer distances to offend are less likely to use uncertain target selection techniques."  Control your location and you control your escape route.
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The Lake Berryessa attack on September 27th 1969 speaks for itself. The killer headed to downtown Napa and the payphone at 1231 Main Street. He may have been only 12 miles from California State Route 37 and home, had he continued the trajectory he had set for himself. Was the Zodiac Killer's apparent knowledge of a road on the fringes of Vallejo more indicative of his recreational habits or a route he traveled daily..... particularly when the sun went down? 

For those of you who dislike using measurements and timelines in the Zodiac case, look away now. The following will be a detailed analysis of the Lake Berryessa sighting of Dr Rayfield & Son and the three young girls - the latter of whom provided a possible sketch of the Zodiac Killer to police. This article will argue that the sketch created from the three girls recollection of a suspicious individual was most likely the murderer of Cecelia Shepard and four others in the Bay Area.

Using only the police report, there are enough details contained within it to place Dr Rayfield & Son and the three girls at virtually the identical location alongside the Knoxville Road that day. The "The three girls left the area about 4:30 pm and the subjects vehicle was gone." Dr Rayfield & Son, it was argued in a previous article, noticed a "white male adult subject walking in the area, described as about 5'10", heavy build, wearing dark trousers, a dark shirt with red in it, long sleeves" at about 6.50 pm that evening. Lake Berryessa-A Killer's timeline. If the shirt with "red in it" was blood, this may likely have been the killer returning to his vehicle after the double stabbing by the lake, negating the idea it was parked behind Bryan Hartnell's Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. If Dr Rayfield & Son were at the same location as the three girls, who saw the suspect vehicle no more at 4:30 pm, this may suggest that after he had 'eyed' up the young girls for a potential attack, he ultimately decided to move his vehicle away from any potential crime scene- possibly slightly north - but not too far.

​The Zodiac Killer was therefore likely trawling Lake Berryessa along the hillside for victims, and after the attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard (signing the car door at approximately 6:30 pm or marginally earlier), he returned to the approximate location of where the three girls were earlier, and was spotted by Dr Rayfield & Son returning to his vehicle for the 28 mile journey to the 1231 Main St, Napa payphone. Two different sets of eyewitnesses, spotting a suspicious character before and after the Lake Berryessa attack, one could argue, has a high probability of being the Zodiac Killer, and more importantly the subsequent sketch created thereafter has greater significance.   

But the first thing we have to do is place Dr Rayfield & Son at the approximate location alongside the Knoxville Road as the three girls. We will use these details from the police report: The three young women who potentially saw Zodiac, "parked their vehicle at a location two miles north of the A & W Root Beer stand on Knoxville Road". The Sugar Loaf Park A & W was situated at 5100 Knoxville Road.

A second set of eyewitnesses saw the Zodiac later that day: "Dr Rayfield and his son stated that they did not notice a vehicle in the area of their vehicle and only this subject at a distance of about 100 yards. This location was approximately 8/10ths of a mile from the scene of the victim's vehicle. There are four coves of water between the scene of the crime and the area where the doctor saw the subject". ​So it's time for some calculations.
​
The three girls were 2 miles north of 5100 Knoxville Road. The Rayfield's were 0.8 miles from Bryan Hartnell's vehicle. If the premise above is correct, the two sets of eyewitnesses may have seen the same suspicious individual at two different times of the day, before and after the brutal stabbing of the young couple. Below details these findings.

You will notice that the white horizontal line above passes through the identical features on both images of Lake Berryessa, indicating that Dr Rayfield & Son and the three girls were visiting the near identical location that day, adding weight to the idea, that the suspicious character observed by both had good reason to be in that area. Firstly, to contemplate an attack on the three girls, and secondly, to return to his vehicle that evening. It suggested that once he had moved it slightly before 4:30 pm, it remained in that position until he returned later that day- after the attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard with a "red color" on his shirt. 

The payphone call he made to police dispatcher Dave Slaight at 7:40 pm from 1231 Main Street, may be further evidence, suggesting the Zodiac Killer traveled from the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia, 0.8 miles on foot back to his vehicle. Somewhere just past the location of Dr Rayfield & Son. The distance from the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia to the payphone (had Zodiac parked here) is 27 miles. The time estimated for this journey on Google maps is 46 minutes. I shall apply some leeway and say 50 minutes. This would have Zodiac reaching the Napa payphone at 7:20 pm, traveling the journey at an average speed of just 32.4 mph.- arriving at the payphone 20 minutes too early. If he took the 70 minutes available to him (6:30 to 7:40 pm) his speed would be reduced to a sluggish 23.1 mph. So dispelling the latter speed, we are seemingly missing 20 minutes.

The distance of 0.8 miles, to walk from the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia to his vehicle, parked somewhere by Dr Rayfield & Son, would take at a sedentary walking pace of 3 mph (1 mile every 20 minutes) approximately 16 minutes. Allowing for a slightly slower pace, changing any clothes and preparing to leave, 20 minutes is a reasonable estimate. This accounts for the missing 20 minutes above. It has the Zodiac Killer entering his vehicle (now approx 28 miles away) at 6:50 pm, for the 50 minute journey back to the payphone traveling at an average speed of 33.6 mph. This now makes far better reading than 23.1 mph using California State Route 128 and California State Route 121 for the majority of the journey.

The two sets of eyewitnesses, both detailing a suspicious character on the same section of hillside alongside the Knoxville Road, in combination with the distance and timeline presented, hopefully presents a case that the Zodiac Killer had his vehicle parked approximately 0.8 miles north of the ​Volkswagen Karmann Ghia - the tire tracks examined by police were not the Zodiac's car, and the sketch compiled from the recollections of the three girls was very likely the Bay Area murderer.  

The 'Dripping Pen' greeting card and cipher were purportedly mailed virtually alongside the 'Bus Bomb' letter, on November 8th and November 9th 1969 respectively. The postmark on the 'Dripping Pen' card envelope is less than clear in many reproductions, but there may be a better version available somewhere online. However, there is something rather out of place regarding this Zodiac communication, particularly when one compares it to the 'Bus Bomb' letter postmarked just one day later.   

The Zodiac wrote his victim count using months of the year: "Des, July, Aug, Sept, Oct = 7," but in his next 'Bus Bomb' communication he adds "This is the Zodiac speaking up to the end of Oct I have killed 7 people. I have grown rather angry with the police for their telling lies about me. So I shall change the way the collecting of slaves. I shall no longer announce to anyone. When I committ my murders, they shall look like routine robberies, killings of anger, + a few fake accidents, etc."
​
Why is the killer informing us he has killed seven people up to the end of October, when he has made this plainly obvious in the 'Dripping Pen' card by addition of the last entry as "Oct," meaning October. If the Zodiac Killer had murdered anybody in November, then surely the total would be 8 victims, with November added to the list of months. The killer further states "I though(t) you would nead a good laugh before you hear the bad news. You won't get the news for a while yet." But we didn't hear of any bad news before he mailed the Melvin Belli letter on December 20th 1969, or for months thereafter. 
This may be because we had already heard the bad news, and the 'Dripping Pen' card was intended to be mailed slightly over a month earlier. Mail can go astray from mailing to being postmarked, however, that avenue will not be explored here.

It seemed unusual for two such prominent communications to be sent either in tandem, or one day apart. The Zodiac Killer had obviously invested a lot of time crafting a new and innovative cipher, after becoming aware his first cipher had been cracked in a matter of days, and announced in the San Francisco Chronicle on August 9th 1969. So, after investing time and energy into his new masterpiece, it seemed strange he would take the shine and emphasis away from this new cipher, by tying it alongside the rather lengthy 'Bus Bomb' letter about the murder of Paul Stine on October 11th 1969 and his exploits in the park.
The 'Dripping Pen' card and cipher could have been mailed two weeks later to maximize impact. The context and choice of card, if chosen for purpose, also makes little sense. The message on the purchased greetings card read "Sorry I haven't written, but I just washed my pen."  The Zodiac Killer, however, had written only 27 days earlier, when he mailed the October 13th 1969 Paul Stine letter containing the swatch of blooded shirt. The bad news we were supposed to get also never materialized, and in addition, he would repeat the month of October just one day later, reminding us of seven victims claimed, as if our attention span only lasted 24 hours. All these factors place this correspondence and its contents curiously out of place. ​​We will attempt to put this card chronologically in its rightful place, where its contents can be understood. 

The wording "Sorry I haven't written, but I just washed my pen,"​ if this card was chosen carefully, seems to imply the killer had not written to the newspapers for a while - longer than 27 days. The Zodiac Killer prior to the October 13th 1969 Paul Stine letter, had not written to the newspapers since August 4th 1969, when the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter arrived at the San Francisco Examiner. That is over two months. It is longer regarding the San Francisco Chronicle, of over 10 weeks. This card now makes more sense. But why would the dripping pen (possibly red in color) be relevant to the Zodiac. 

On September 27th 1969, Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard were enjoying a pleasant picnic at Lake Berryessa when a knife-wielding man approached wearing an theatrical executioner's costume, brutally stabbing the young couple 16 times in their back and abdomen. The assailant's hand or glove would have been covered in blood. Minutes later he wrote on the car door with a pen: Vallejo 12-20-68, 7-4-69, Sept 27-69 -6:30 by knife.
The pen would have been covered with blood. What better time to ironically proclaim in your next correspondence "Sorry I haven't written, but I just washed my pen," as if to imply he was the responsible for the callous attack and murder of Cecelia Shepard just days earlier, and was washing the blood from his pen. The author of the 'Dripping Pen' card further added "Could you print this new cipher in your frunt page? I get aufully lonely when I am ignored, so lonely I could do my Thing."
The Zodiac Killer, like most serial killers, don't have horns growing from their head- they go largely unnoticed and blend into society. The Zodiac Killer was certainly searching for notoriety, as opposed to the loneliness he experienced in everyday life. What better way, than to dress up in an executioner's costume and do his "thing." 

The 'Dripping Pen' card would sit nicely between the Lake Berryessa attack and the murder of Paul Stine, had it been mailed sometime around September 30th 1969. The text on the card would then make further sense in respect to the month of October and the wording "I though(t) you would nead a good laugh before you hear the bad news. You won't get the news for a while yet."
The seventh victim was to become Paul Stine (or another taxicab driver) in San Francisco. He had already earmarked his next murder, and this was the "bad news" we were soon to receive. The addition of the month of October was the precursor to death, and unlike his previous attacks where he had to search out victims - in San Francisco they would literally come to him.

But why wasn't the 'Dripping Pen' card mailed after the Lake Berryessa attack, assuming the communication didn't go astray from posting to postmark? The Zodiac Killer likely had his ego dented after Donald Gene and Bettye June Harden cracked his 408 cipher in a matter of days. He may have begun developing his more challenging cipher immediately in response, or at the very least sometime in August or September. 

The Zodiac Killer chose the greetings card in respect to the Lake Berryessa stabbings, for which he could have then attached his cipher and mailed it. But something changed. Did he want to revise or add to his cipher to incorporate the attack by the lake? Some have suggested the cipher may have been separated into two halves. Did the killer originally encipher a banal message, much like his original code, and wanted to completely redesign it. The intended murder at Presidio Heights was looming, and the killer was planning ahead. The cipher and card may have been placed on the back-burner. 
​
On October 11th 1969, taxicab driver Paul Stine was murdered in Presidio Heights. The killer mailed a piece of the taxicab driver's shirt two days later, and followed up with more details on November 9th 1969 about his excursion into the park. 
In between the October 13th 1969 Stine letter and November 9th 1969 'Bus Bomb' letter, the killer may have finalized his cipher, unable to replace the 'Dripping Pen' greeting card with an identical or relevant card, and with the Lake Berryessa attack cooling, mailed off both communications in unison. He stated we wouldn't "get the news for a while yet," totally negating the message he delivered one day later, that "I shall no longer announce to anyone when I committ my murders." Seemed like a quick change of heart. The card choice still made sense to him, if not us at this juncture, with the message inside now appearing chronologically repetitive in respect to the 'Bus Bomb' letter and the intended "bad news" had already occurred. 

In the previous article we estimated that the Zodiac Killer arrived at the location of Bryan Hartnell's 1956 White Karmann Ghia at approximately 6:00 pm. Here we shall reverse the timeline of Ronald Fong, the man who noticed the stricken couple from his boat on Lake Berryessa and set off for help at the Rancho Monticello Resort, and hopefully attempt to verify or negate this finding. It may also answer the question of whether the 6:30 written on Bryan Hartnell's vehicle was the time of the attack or the time of writing. Here are some key statements to consider.

#1. On page 6 of the police report it read "White stated at approximately 18:55 hours 9/27/69 he was on routine patrol around the Lake Berryessa area when he received a call from Park Headquarters to proceed to the Rancho Monticello Resort where a person was reporting a possible stabbing. Ronald Fong advised him that he had seen a male and a female victim on the beach area south of Rancho Monticello Resort, hollering that they had been stabbed". link

#2. Bryan Hartnell interview: "There was a boat kept circling around out there in the lake and we started yelling at it and finally it came within about 100 yards of the shore and turned off its motor and stayed there watching us for about 15 minutes". link

#3. "I heard this screaming", said Fong, who has relocated to Washington state but was back in San Francisco last week visiting his family. "I used binoculars to see what was going on. He wanted me to go help him. But I had my 9-year-old son. ... I was close to the boathouse, so I went and told the park rangers". link

#4. "Victim stated he thought suspect had been with the couple for approximately 15 minutes from time of observing suspect until suspect departed". link 

The Rancho Monticello Resort is 3.7 miles by road from the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia (3.2 miles as the crow flies). By boat from the area of the crime scene to dock at the Rancho Monticello Resort is also approximately 3.7 miles. We shall use these pieces of information to calculate the time of the attack, by first using the shortest timeline.  

What we don't know is the speed that Ronald Fong traveled in his boat, so we will estimate this to begin with, giving an initial value of 10.mph. ​Sergeant William White received a call from Park Headquarters regarding the attack and proceeded to the Rancho Monticello Resort at 6:55 pm. Because this time is approximated, we will take 6:55 pm as the time Ronald Fong reported the stabbing at the Rancho Monticello Resort, and assume it was transferred through fairly quickly. The journey time of Ronald Fong at an estimated 10 mph is 22.2 minutes (22 approx). After docking his boat he traveled by foot to the Rancho Monticello Resort, and allocating little time to the delay in transferring the call to Sergeant William White, this will be estimated at 6 minutes. Thus far, a minimum of 28 minutes had elapsed since Ronald Fong departed the crime scene.

Bryan Hartnell stated that after the attack Ronald Fong had "stayed there watching us for about 15 minutes". This time may have appeared longer than it actually was, but it will be left untouched, because Bryan Hartnell certainly wouldn't have started shouting for help immediately with the Zodiac Killer nearby. This delay in calling for help will be incorporated into the 15 minutes. Keeping these timelines as tight as possible will compensate for the speed of Ronald Fong's boat, had it traveled slightly quicker. Adding the 15 minutes to the 28 minutes already elapsed after Ronald Fong left the crime scene, we have 43 minutes to deduct from 6:55 pm (18:55 pm), to give us an indication of when the Zodiac Killer finished his attack on the young couple. This would have been 6:12 pm.

Now let us ramp up the speed of the boat to 20 mph. This would cut his journey time in half, to 11 minutes. Giving us a total time elapsed of 32 minutes, placing the end of the attack at 6:23 pm. Traveling at an unlikely 30 mph, the end of the attack would be 6:27 pm. But having kept the timeline as tight as possible, to allow the 10 mph boat speed, the end of the attack can be approximated to 6:12-6:17 pm.

On page 6 of the police report it continued "Sergeant William White stated he proceeded to the Rancho Monticello Resort where a person was reporting a stabbing. Ranger Sgt White, accompanied by Archie White, Mrs Elizabeth White and Ronald Fong, proceeded to the beach area via speedboat owned by Archie White. When they arrived on the beach they observed a young female lying on the ground with what appeared to be numerous stab wounds. White stated he immediately radioed in and had Park Headquarters radio the Sheriff's Office to dispatch an ambulance and deputy". Deputy Ray Land and Sergeant David Collins were dispatched directly to the crime scene from St Helena and Napa respectively. Sgt David Collins spoke on the documentary 'This is the Zodiac Speaking', stating "It took us a half hour from Napa and/or St Helena to arrive at the location. And we later found out of course that crime had occurred at least half an hour before we were notified". They were notified at approximately 7:10 pm, which by their statement above, would place the crime at around 6:10 pm.

Allowing Sergeant William White 8 minutes from being radioed at 6:55 pm to entering the speedboat and 1 minute to docking and reaching Cecelia Shepard once they arrived at the crime scene (9 minutes), and then contacting Park Headquarters, who in turn contacted the Sheriff's Office, would give us 6 minutes for the speedboat journey (15 minutes in total: ie 6:55 pm to 7:10 pm). Or 7 minutes if we tighten the timeline. The speedboat was therefore traveling approximately 30-37 mph. This is the reason they took Archie White's speedboat - it likely accommodated four people and could travel at a far greater speed than Ronald Fong's small fishing boat. Indicating that the 10-20 mph range of Ronald Fong's boat - and more likely the lower end estimate - is likely the correct one. 

But what time did the Zodiac Killer approach the couple?
Bryan Hartnell estimated that "he thought suspect had been with the couple for approximately 15 minutes from time of observing suspect until suspect departed". Therefore, if the end of the attack was 6:12 pm, the Zodiac must have approached the couple at 5.57 pm. The distance from the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia to the crime scene was approximately 510 yards. Allowing for the terrain, and the time for the killer to hide behind the tree and don his costume, it would take approximately 7 minutes. This would have the Zodiac Killer spotting the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia at 5.50 pm, slightly earlier than the anticipated 6:00 pm in the previous article. But allowing for a little flexibility in the timeline and taking the end of the attack at 6:17 pm, would have the killer approaching the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia at 5.55 pm - only five minutes out from the previous article. Had the attack finished at 6:12-6:17 pm, then Zodiac would be writing on the car door at 6:19-6:24 pm.

Keeping a tight timeline, with Ronald Fong's boat traveling between 10-20 mph, the end of the attack on the young couple never would have exceeded 6:23 pm. His small boat was extremely unlikely to have reached anything in excess of this range, and indicates the Zodiac Killer more than likely 'signed' the car door by at least 6:30 pm, or possibly slightly earlier. 

The last article theorized Zodiac's vehicle just over a mile north of this location. However, if he had parked by the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia, the Zodiac Killer could have had anywhere from 70-80 minutes for his 40-50 minute journey to the payphone in Napa, indicating he either went off route on the return journey, he stopped or was delayed, or his vehicle wasn't parked behind the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia of Bryan Hartnell. 

But why did Ronald Fong, if he frequented the area regularly, travel 3.7 miles north to the Rancho Monticello Resort for help, when he could have traveled 0.7 miles south - directly to Park Headquarters.  
​
LAKE BERRYESSA- A KILLER'S TIMELINE [PART ONE]

The following will re-examine the timeline of the Lake Berryessa attack on September 27th 1969, placing the Zodiac Killer's vehicle approximately 1.1 to 1.2 miles from the crime scene during the brutal stabbing of Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard. 
Two other sets of eyewitnesses, Dr Rayfield and his son, and the three young women, all may have seen the killer that day, possibly from the near identical location around Smittle Creek. This location being 0.8 miles from the 1956 White Volkswagen Karmann Ghia of Bryan Hartnell. To get an overview of the crime scene we must use details given in the police report - and in addition to this - use the Zodiac Killer's phone call to Dave Slaight to pinpoint the likely location of his vehicle that day. These are some of the crucial measurements:

The Zodiac Killer stated in the phone call to police, "I want to report a murder, no, a double murder. They are two miles north of Park Headquarters. They were in a white Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. I'm the one that did it".  The victims were in fact 0.7 miles north of Park Headquarters. The three young women who potentially saw Zodiac, "parked their vehicle at a location two miles north of the A & W Root Beer stand on Knoxville Road." The Sugar Loaf Park A & W was situated at 5100 Knoxville Road. The second set of eyewitnesses saw the Zodiac later that day: "Dr Rayfield and his son stated that they did not notice a vehicle in the area of their vehicle and only this subject at a distance of about 100 yards. This location was approximately 8/10ths of a mile from the scene of the victim's vehicle. There are four coves of water between the scene of the crime and the area where the doctor saw the subject". Using these statements we can now create the relative positions of everybody that day, using the measurement tools on Google Maps.   

The first thing to be noticed using these approximate measurements, is that the position of Dr Rayfield & his son would be at the very same location as the three young women - or at the very least - in the same vicinity (Smittle Creek). The Zodiac Killer's vehicle would have been relocated slightly north of the three young women, after he had 'stalked' them from the hillside. In fact, he could have been as little as 600 meters north at the Smittle Creek Day Use Area. The police report stated that "at 3:30 pm she and her two girlfriends parked their vehicle at a location two miles north of the A & W Root Beer stand on Knoxville Road". They then walked to the beach. "After approximately one-half hour had passed, they observed what appeared to be the same subject standing with 40 or 50 feet of them, apparently observing them. The subject hung around the area for approximately 45 minutes and then the girls observed him walk up the hill". This would have the man walking up the hill at around 4:45 pm, or marginally later.

One page later in the police report, it stated "The three girls left the area about 4:30 pm and the subjects vehicle was gone".  This discrepancy is not crucial to the remaining timeline, so we will estimate the time the man left at 4:45 pm, with the girls shortly after. If the Zodiac Killer was preparing an attack on the three girls, then he certainly had second thoughts and departed the scene, not unlike his attack at Blue Rock Springs on July 4th 1969 and his switch of intersections at Presidio Heights on October 11th 1969. In both of these examples he was not to be denied, and continued on with his murderous intentions. There may be good reason to believe he had the very same intentions here. The reason being:   

"Dr Rayfield stated that about 6:30 pm the previous evening, he and his son had parked their car north of Park Headquarters in the general area of the crime scene. They stated they went down towards the beach area when David noticed a white male adult subject walking in the area, described as about 5'10", heavy build, wearing dark trousers, a dark shirt with red in it, long sleeves".
By the time they reached the beach and then noticed the man, it was likely closer to 6:45-6:50 pm. There is a very good chance that the individual they saw that evening was the Zodiac Killer - and the dark shirt he was wearing "with red in it" was likely the blood of Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard. The Zodiac Killer was returning to his vehicle from the crime scene 0.8 miles south. The killer was effectively traveling from south to north, and likely had to pass the location of Dr Rayfield and his son to reach his vehicle. 

We have established that this is virtually the same location the three girls were present earlier that afternoon. Therefore, when the three sunbathing girls saw the man leave up the hill at approximately 4:45 pm, it could be argued he drove northwards, just beyond this location, which is why he had to pass this area after the brutal double stabbing of the young couple. The journey time on foot from the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia (6:30 pm) to the location of Dr Rayfield and son, is approximately 20 minutes along the hillside, This ties in with the estimated time of the David Rayfield sighting, given earlier as 6:50 pm. But why did the Zodiac Killer leave the scene of the three girls and park a short distance north of their location? This cannot be fully established - but he may have had second thoughts about murdering the three girls with his vehicle in such close proximity to the scene. There is every chance he left with the full intention of returning 15 minutes later with a 'buffer zone' in place. However, the girls had left shortly after him, and his murderous plot was foiled. I have made a calculated guess on the position of the Zodiac Killer's vehicle that afternoon and evening, based on his possible movements after leaving the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia, the fact an off-road parking area is present at that position on Google Maps (and maybe 1969), and the phone call he made from 1231 Main Street - which we shall return to later.    

The man would have walked back to the girls location at around 5:00 pm (4:45 pm + 15 minutes). He then had to walk back down the hill to approach the girls for a second time. Unfortunately for him, they had left the area and returned home, leaving the Zodiac Killer searching the area in vain, possibly for alternative victims. The search, and travel time up and down the hill, we shall guesstimate at 30 minutes, taking the time to 5:30 pm. The Zodiac Killer then travels 0.8 miles south along the hillside, searching for potential targets along the way. He happens upon the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia at 5:50 pm (0.8 miles walking time of 20 minutes). This allows the killer 30 to 40 minutes to approach Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard, enter into brief dialogue, secure them, and begin his deadly attack, before returning up the hill to 'sign' the car door with 6:30 pm.

His journey time back to his vehicle, past Dr Rayfield and his son, would have taken roughly 25-30 minutes, which placed him entering his vehicle at approximately 6:55 to 7:00 pm for his 28 mile return journey towards the Napa payphone. Traveling at near 40 mph, he would have arrived at the 1231 Main Street, Napa payphone circa 7:35-7:40 pm and the exact time the call was logged by police dispatcher Dave Slaight. The phone call contained the ominous message "I want to report a murder, no, a double murder. They are two miles north of Park Headquarters. They were in a white Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. I'm the one that did it". However, Park Headquarters was only 0.7 miles from the crime scene, not 2 miles as he had claimed. So how could the killer make such a pronounced error, particularly if he was familiar with the area.

If the Zodiac Killer had parked at the Smittle Creek Day Use Area, left it there, and trawled the hillsides of Lake Berryessa traveling south, while looking for potential victims, then on his return from the attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard he would have to pass by Dr Rayfield & Son at Smittle Creek Trailhead to reach his vehicle. That is why they spotted a suspicious man traveling across the upper reaches of the hillside sometime after 6:30 pm, wearing a shirt with red in it. The Zodiac Killer traveled a further 600 meters to the Smittle Creek Day Use Area, got in his vehicle and drove 1.83 miles south along Knoxville Road past the Park Headquarters. When he reached the payphone at Napa he mistakenly described this distance of 1.83 miles as "two miles north of Park Headquarters", accidentally giving away the location of where he parked his vehicle on September 27th 1969. Or maybe he was just terrible at distances - but great at cryptograms, codes, maps and radians. We all have to be bad at something.

Deputy Ray Land and Sergeant David Collins were dispatched directly to the crime scene from St Helena and Napa respectively.  Sgt David Collins spoke on the documentary 'This is the Zodiac Speaking' "It took us a half hour from Napa and/or St Helena to arrive at the location. And we later found out of course that crime had occurred at least half an hour before we were notified." They were notified at 7:10 pm, so arrived en scene at approximately 7:40 pm. 
The Zodiac Killer would have exited the Berryessa-Knoxville Road literally minutes before they entered it.

​LAKE BERRYESSA- A KILLER'S TIMELINE [PART TWO]

​When somebody has a suspect they believe to be the Zodiac Killer, often a side-by-side comparison using the Presidio Heights sketch is presented to bolster their argument. However, the idea that the Zodiac Killer wore black-styled 'prescription' glasses in his daily life is likely a false one. There could well be seven possible eyewitnesses to the Zodiac Killer, all of whom failed to mention any eyeglasses whatsoever. The reasoning for this comes courtesy of Deborah Perez, the woman who falsely claimed her father Guy Ward Hendrickson was the Zodiac Killer. She claimed she had the glasses worn by Paul Stine, removed from the taxicab that fateful night and the response of the police was telling. Had it been previously established that Paul Stine's glasses were found at the crime scene or at his home, then it would be immediately obvious to police she was a liar. But that was not their response.

"San Francisco police said Thursday that they were still waiting for Perez to produce a pair of glasses that she said her father took as a souvenir from a cab driver he killed. Police believe the Zodiac shot a San Francisco taxi driver named Paul Stine on Oct. 11, 1969. Reports of the crime say that Stine's glasses were missing. Once you make complaints to a police department, you are required by law to provide the evidence to a police agency, and there is no reason to believe she is not going to do that", said San Francisco Police Sgt. Lyn Tomioka. Asked whether police were taking her claims seriously, Tomioka said: "We take any new leads or any new information or evidence and look at it seriously, and then we follow up to see if there is any legitimacy to the statements".

During the press conference, Perez produced the glasses she said her father took from Paul Stine, the San Francisco taxicab driver, who was the Zodiac’s only confirmed victim in that city. But an investigation determined the glasses didn’t belong to Stine, said Kevin Jones, an inspector in the San Francisco Police Department’s Homicide Bureau. Jones handled the Zodiac case. “They’re not Paul Stine’s glasses,” Jones affirmed this month, though he added he’s still working on other leads that Perez provided him with during lengthy interviews earlier this year. Jones would not say what those leads were. Perez had hoped the glasses might yield some DNA or other evidence. Why would police contemplate the arrival or wait for them to be presented, if they had already known the glasses had never been taken? This strongly indicates -- if they had done a cursory search into the their files - that Zodiac had indeed removed Paul Stine's glasses from his person. Otherwise they would have dismissed her claim immediately. One phone call to Dave Toschi or reviewing the inventory of items recovered from the taxicab would have been a 10 minute job to discover whether the glasses were retrieved that night or not. This suggests Zodiac likely wore the glasses of Paul Stine as he exited the taxicab and was subsequently spotted by the three teenagers. He likely kept wearing them, or donned them as Donald Fouke approached also.

The Zodiac stated in the November 9th 'Bus Bomb' letter: "I look like the description passed out only when I do my thing, the rest of the time I look entirle different. I shall not tell you what my descise consists of when I kill". He possibly looked like the description due to the glasses he secured from Paul Stine's lifeless body. Had he been aware of the three teenagers observing him from the window, then the choice of using Paul Stine's glasses to help disguise his appearance may have been a wise choice.

Michael Mageau, after the Blue Rock Springs attack, asserted that the killer had not worn glasses, and had noted that his assailant had a particularly large face, all in line with the Berryessa sketch. Bryan Hartnell stated: "And he had clip on sunglasses...it was hard to tell. You know, the sunglasses you clip on when you're wearing glasses, eyeglasses. He had those clipped on. I'm pretty sure...I don't think he had glasses, though. I just think he had these clipped onto his suit....you know, that little mask".

The three female eyewitnesses at Lake Berryessa (if Zodiac) also recollected a man devoid of glasses. On the same day, around the time of the stabbing, Dr. Rayfield and his son recalled a stocky man wandering the hillside approximately 0.8 miles from the area of Bryan Hartnell's vehicle. Dr. Rayfield continued "He wasn't nimble when he was walking. And when he turned to walk away he wasn't like a smooth, athletic person. To me he seemed a little overweight and on the clumsier side." He added "His body type matches what police said at the time-two hundred pounds or more. He was pretty big and built, but he didn't move like he was a real coordinated, smooth walking guy". Dr Rayfield and his son did not recall or mention the man wearing any glasses. This description mirrors the three women, who remembered a stocky build of 200-225 lbs. They also stated that he favored one leg over the other. The idea of a clumsy, uncoordinated man would again be reported two weeks later by Officer Donald Fouke, who observed the killer walking along Jackson Street shortly after the murder of Paul Stine. He described a man with a "lumbering gait, sort of stumbling along, like a semi-limp'. Up to the point of the Presidio Heights murder, along with the sighting of the three teenagers and Donald Fouke, not one of a possible seven eyewitness recall seeing a man wearing eyeglasses.

In two instances, it may not have been the Zodiac Killer, but we cannot know for sure. The Lake Berryessa sketch has by many, been dismissed as the same man portrayed in the Presidio Heights sketch. However, the likeness may be a lot closer than you think. If the Zodiac Killer had changed his hairstyle during the intervening two weeks, and the Presidio Heights face is slightly widened to portray a man around 200 lbs, we get the following.              

This is a follow up article, exploring the idea a phone call was placed approximately 10-12 minutes after the Lake Herman Road murders of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen on December 20th 1968, using the concept of a 'laughing killer' and the disputed 1986 'Zodiac' letter to the San Francisco Chronicle. Many magazine and newspaper articles are littered with basic errors regarding the Zodiac case, however, some recurring themes not widely recognized as fact are present in many.

The Tuscaloosa News ran an article on October 17th 1969, just 20 days after the Lake Berryessa attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard. It stated 'Then the man said "I'm going to have to stab you people." Hartnell said "Please stab me first, I'm chicken. I couldn't stand to see her stabbed." The man told him "I'll do just that." He stabbed Hartnell until he passed out. The poor girl, she just had to watch. Then he knifed her until she fainted. When he stabbed Hartnell it was deliberate. When he stabbed the girl he laughed in a frenzy. Hartnell had been stabbed 10 times with a thin 12-inch blade. Miss Shepard, whose writhing provoked her attacker to laughter, had been stabbed 24 times'. One can see the embellishment, in the fact the newspaper reported 34 stab wounds as opposed to 16 - so did the killer really laugh in a frenzy during his attack on Cecelia Shepard?

The second article involves the Argosy Magazine dated September 1970 and the murder of Paul Stine on October 11th 1969, two weeks after the Berryessa attack. The following is extremely unlikely, but was a section of the October 13th 1969 letter omitted from public consumption in similar fashion to the phrase 'by knife' written on the car door of Bryan Hartnell's Karmann Ghia, to provoke a reaction from the killer. It is highly doubtful, and likely sensationalized reporting, however this magazine article actually adds a phrase attributed to the killer, written in the October 13th 1969 Paul Stine letter to the San Francisco Chronicle. The article read 'Four days after the murder of Paul Stine yet another scrawled letter arrived at the San Francisco Chronicle. With it was a bloodstained piece of cloth, later established by laboratory technicians as a small part of the missing swatch ripped from Stine's shirt. The rambling letter, signed with the crossed-circle symbol, began, as had the others, with "This is the Zodiac Speaking."  The writer went on to say that he was the killer of the cabbie-student, adding "and to prove it, here is a piece of his shirt." The letter also disclosed that the fugitive, from some nearby hiding place, had watched with uncontrollable amusement while police searched the area. He said "they could have caught me if they had done it right, instead of dashing around waiting for me to come out of cover. I like to died laughing".    

The Argosy Magazine article continued with reflections of the Lake Berryessa stabbing: 'The mention of laughter at a murder scene struck a responsive chord in the minds of the manhunters. During his recovery, young Hartnell had told Napa sleuths that "the man in the hood" had laughed diabolically as he plunged his knife again and again into Miss Shepard beside the lake'.

This would be repeated in the Coronet Magazine in October 1973 where it described the following 'He held an automatic pistol on them, tied them securely with plastic-coated clothesline, and then stabbed them repeatedly, laughing hysterically as they thrashed and rolled in pain'.

The Front Page Detective Magazine article of February 1970 stated "He (the killer) dropped to his knees and slowly, deliberately, forcefully plunged a 12-inch, double edged knife into Bryan's back 10 times. When the youth fainted in pain, the killer turned on the girl. His demeanor changed, kneeling beside her, he laughed wildly as he plunged the dagger 20 times into her back in a frenzied assault".

In April of 1974 Detective Cases Magazine covered the Berryessa stabbing: "He ordered Miss Shepard to tie up Hartnell, then he bound the girl, hands and ankles. The gun had been replaced with a knife and when both victims were securely trussed, the hooded monster began plunging the weapon repeatedly into first, the man, then, the girl, accompanying each thrust with a maniacal laugh. For what seemed an eternity to the horrified, screaming, helpless victims, the merciless butchery continued. Their torturer first slashed, then stabbed as his hideous laughter echoed along the banks of the lake".      

Officer Pierre Bidou remembered a 'crank call' after the Lake Herman Road murders. He described this to the Benicia Herald newspaper: "Bidou and his partner had served a warrant on a Lake Herman Road cabin Dec. 20, 1968, and were on their way to deposit some marijuana in the police department’s evidence locker when they were dispatched back to Lake Herman Road. Initially, they were told a woman was lying outside a car; they thought they were being sent to a crash. Police at first speculated it might have been a crank call, but the officers headed back north. But when they arrived, Bidou realized it was no crank call and no car accident. Instead, it was a sinister crime scene". Officer Pierre Bidou also recalled this 'car accident' to Zodiac investigator Michael Butterfield. “…we got the call from the dispatcher that an accident, or something, had occurred on Lake Herman Road, so we turned around and came by.” Source.

This is from a previous article: 'When Stella Medeiros observed the crime scene at 11:20 pm, she raced off to seek help in Benicia, eventually locating Captain Daniel Pitta at the Enco Gas Station on East 2nd Street. This is 3.4 miles from the turnout, an estimated journey time of 5 minutes on Google Maps. She is obviously driving faster than normal and flags down Captain Daniel Pitta probably slightly shy of 11:25 pm, allowing her to give her account and for Captain Daniel Pitta to head to the crime scene by 11:28 pm. In the course of this, the information would have been relayed to Benicia Police Department. So where did the supposition of a crank call or a car accident originate from. The description given by Stella Medeiros may have been interpreted as a car crash originally and relayed this way, but why would a radio message from a respected officer of the law be interpreted as a crank call? He was a captain reporting an incident on official police channels. Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday are lying prostrate in the turnout - whether a crash or not - why would Pierre Bidou be under any illusion of a crank call, unless a payphone call had come in slightly earlier than the radio message from Captain Daniel Pitta. The Zodiac Killer made phone calls after both his subsequent attacks, so why not this one? The only difference being, he called it in as a car accident, unwilling to show his hand as the murderer.

​Had James Owen passed the turnout around 11:08-11:09 pm, and the Zodiac Killer had exited the turnout somewhere between 11.12-11.14 pm and headed to Vallejo via Springs Road, his journey time to the payphone at the intersection of Springs and Tuolumne would be approximately 10-12 minutes, placing the 'crank call' at 11:22-11:24 pm, just prior to Stella Borges' meeting with Captain Daniel Pitta at 11:25 pm. The 'crank call' and the radio message from Captain Daniel Pitta would have been received in close proximity, leading to the confusion. The crank call being received slightly before the official police radio message.

This is where the 'laughing killer' and the phone call intersect in the aftermath of the Lake Herman Road murders. The Argosy Magazine wasn't finished yet. It continued on further "The man in the hood" had laughed diabolically as he plunged his knife again and again into Miss Shepard beside the lake. He had also laughed in his phone call to Vallejo Police in December 1968.' Does this validate the claim by Pierre Bidou? If the Zodiac Killer had laughed down the phone, could this be why the dispatcher had interpreted it as a crank call? Additionally, the article stated the phone call was made to Vallejo Police, exactly as the phone call had been 6 1/2 months later, after the Blue Rock Springs Park attack on July 4th 1969.

Russell Butterbach of the Solano County Sheriff's Department and his partner Wayne Waterman were just heading onto Lake Herman Road, when they received a call from the sergeant to go to the Hells Angels pad on Warren Avenue, Vallejo. After approximately 30 minutes they then received a double 187 on Lake Herman Road. If a crank phone call from the killer was received after the Lake Herman Road double shooting, then the time of this call, likely just before 11:25 pm, ties in perfectly with a 10-12 minute journey from the turnout to the Springs and Tuolumne payphone. This wasn't the only time that the Zodiac Killer may have directed police to the scene of an accident.

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

The Zodiac Killer wrote in his 'Bus Bomb' letter "If you wonder why I was wipeing the cab down I was leaving fake clews for the police to run all over town with, as one might say". This has been mulled over incessantly to discover the true meaning to which the Zodiac was referring, with many believing the Zodiac Killer was likely leaving fake fingerprints. But unless these fingerprints were by comparison matched to certain individuals, the police wouldn't be running anywhere.

Three years earlier in a Riverside alleyway, Cheri Jo Bates' lifeless body was discovered by groundskeeper Cleophus Martin. She had been brutally stabbed and slashed with a short-bladed knife on October 30th 1966. Sitting just 10 feet away was a Timex watch, believed to have been ripped from the assailant's wrist during the struggle. Or is that possibly what the killer wanted us to believe. It was determined that the wristband was set for a man with a 7-inch wrist. Was this a 'fake clew' designed to throw investigators off the scent of the killer. 

The Zodiac Killer appeared well read, certainly keeping abreast of the newspaper coverage of his crimes. The extract on the left was published in the Chicago Tribune on Tuesday November 1st 1966, only two days after the murder of Cheri Jo Bates. It states "Police have arrested no suspects, but they said they were examining several clews. A man's wristwatch was found about 10 feet from the body". Did the Zodiac drag these clews into his November 9th 1969 Bus Bomb Letter, but this time replacing the 7-inch leather watch with a pair of size 7 black leather gloves as his 'fake clews'?

Although Robert Graysmith claimed in his first book these gloves may have been left in the taxicab by a prior female passenger, he effectively contradicted this account in Zodiac Unmasked, using them, in effect, to implicate Arthur Leigh Allen.

Shortly after the murder of Paul Stine in Presidio Heights on October 11th 1969, three teenagers noticed a man in the front seat of the taxicab, stating "The suspect appeared to be searching the victim's pockets. The suspect then appeared to be wiping (fingerprints) on the interior of the cab, leaning over the victim to the driver's compartment". The three teenagers later recalled that "They both watched and observed in silence as Zodiac pushed the driver to an upright position behind the steering wheel, exited the car and walked around the rear of the car and opened the driver's door. Stine had fallen over onto the seat and Zodiac pulled him back up into the seated position and had some difficulty keeping him upright. Once upright, he was seen to have a rag, or something like a handkerchief and began to wipe down the door area and leaning over the driver, part of the dashboard". But was the Zodiac Killer only wiping down the driver side compartment and dashboard? Could he have been removing gloves from his own pocket to deposit them underneath the dashboard? Robert Graysmith stated in his first Zodiac book that "Just under the dash, Toschi found a pair of dull black leather gloves".  Were these Zodiac's "fake clews for the police to run all over town with", as one might say. The Zodiac Killer evidently missed a trick in his Bus Bomb Letter, when he could have stated "fake clews for the police to dash all over town with" - but he didn't. 

The investigators certainly considered these gloves as belonging to the killer, and were taken into evidence (see right). It is equally certain they would have attempted to trace the origin and manufacturer of the gloves, as they did with the Wing Walker's that created the boot impressions noted at the Lake Berryessa crime scene. This would have given the police "some bussy work to do to keep them happy," and would most certainly have had them "running all over town".

In an interview with Bryan Hartnell shortly after the Lake Berryessa stabbing, he was asked if the assailant wore gloves. He replied "I don't remember if he had gloves on or not. I can't remember now. I keep thinking he had gloves on". Did the Zodiac Killer purchase gloves with the express intention of dropping them in the taxicab, to give police the runaround. Or was he steering us towards his previous exploits at Lake Berryessa. One doesn't know if the San Francisco Police Department traced the origin of the gloves, or indeed whether the gloves were labeled, although one of the premier glove manufacturers in the USA and California were the Napa Glove Company in Napa Valley, whose beginnings stretch back as far as 1888. The Napa Glove Company is situated one mile west of the 1231 Main Steet payphone, where Zodiac placed his second phone call to police. This would have been one hell of a 'fake clew'. Napa leather was first 'coined' by Emanuel Manasse in 1875 while working for the Sawyer Tanning Company in Napa, California, and can be found in Merriam-Webster's dictionary. See Wikipedia.

The double stabbing at Lake Berryessa on September 27th 1969 has been constantly questioned as a Zodiac crime, often backed up by the argument that the Zodiac Killer never bragged to newspapers in the following weeks. On the face of it he didn't really have to, as Bryan Hartnell was able to recall virtually every chilling detail in the aftermath of the attack. To claim that the lack of correspondence by the Zodiac Killer after this crime is evidence of a copycat killer is a false dichotomy. They are not the only two options. There are many features of this crime that suggest a Zodiac connection, but there is actually no evidence whatsoever to the contrary.

The first claim is that the modus operandi (MO) of the crime was totally different from the other three attacks. This is clearly not true. It was an attack on a young couple, seemingly random, just like the first two crimes preceding it, despite the sample size being relatively small and statistically weak. Had the killer not mailed pieces of Paul Stine's shirt with three subsequent letters or written to the newspapers, neither the police or anybody else would have likely connected his murder to the Zodiac Killer. The modus operandi would have been called into question. So claiming the Lake Berryessa crime as not that of the Zodiac Killer because it didn't marry up perfectly with the first two crimes, is again, not evidence of anything. Absence of perfect continuity is not evidence to the absence of Zodiac.

The message on the car door detailing his crimes to date shows distinct Zodiac traits in the handwriting, but expecting it to match up perfectly with his mailed correspondence is not a reasonable premise. He had just stabbed a couple sixteen times, his adrenaline was likely raised, he had then traversed back up the hill and proceeded to write on the car door of Bryan Hartnell's car, on a different surface, in larger handwriting, in a totally different position he would adopt if he were writing calmly on a desktop. The comparison between the two must take this into account, so the fact it looks somewhat similar to his mailed correspondence is actually quite an achievement. Had this been written by a copycat it would actually have been a lot harder, who not only had all of the above to contend with, but had to replicate the handwriting from an awkward stance or seated position, side on to the vehicle.  

The phraseology of the killer in both phone calls to the police is virtually identical. After the Blue Rock Springs Park attack he stated "I wish to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east on Columbus Parkway to a public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They have been shot by a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye". After Lake Berryessa he stated "I want to report a murder, no, a double murder. They are two miles north of Park Headquarters. They were in a white Volkswagen Karmann Ghia" and after a brief pause uttered the words  "I'm the one that did it".

It is possible a copycat read the transcript of the Zodiac Killer's first payphone call to police in the newspapers and reproduced its phraseology during the Napa payphone call, but why is it easier to believe that, rather than believing it was the Zodiac Killer? What evidence exists to promote a copycat making the call above the Zodiac Killer? There is none. The same can be said of the handwriting on Bryan Hartnell's Karmann Ghia.
 
In terms of the content of the handwriting, it is often said it was not the Zodiac Killer because his November 8th 1969 'Dripping Pen' card made reference to a murder or possible double murder in August, which the killer at Lake Berryessa did not refer to on the car door. But the reverse could be argued, that the reference to September in the 'Dripping Pen' card is equal proof that he was claiming the Lake Berryessa crime as his, particularly in light of no other valid murders in September where a killer wore a crossed circle costume and made a phone call with all the hallmarks of Blue Rock Springs Park. This again is a false argument. Even if the Zodiac Killer had murdered in August, the police were apparently unaware of this fact prior to the Lake Berryessa attack, so he simply wrote the dates of the crimes he knew the police would recognize.

​At the top of the Karmann Ghia door the Zodiac wrote 'Vallejo,' so any murder outside of this area would have been unnecessary to include in the message. This indicated that the Zodiac believed that both the Lake Herman Road murders and the attack at Blue Rock Springs Park were both committed in the jurisdiction of Vallejo. This is understandable, because the jurisdictional line that separates Benicia and Vallejo is a short distance from the Lake Herman Road turnout. ​The Zodiac never mentioned Benicia in any of his correspondence to the newspapers, however, he did refer to Vallejo several times. Curious then, that a copycat would make the same mistake and lump the 12-20-68 on the car door under the banner of Vallejo also. If this alleged copycat had read the newspaper transcripts of the Blue Rock Springs Park phone call, he certainly didn't take the time to read the multiple references in the newspapers to Benicia when referring to the first crime on the car door. It could be argued that he studied the Zodiac letters intently and knew the tendencies of the Zodiac Killer, or we could opt for the more likely reasoning, that he was the Zodiac Killer.

Much debate has occurred on whether the man spotted by the three girls at Lake Berryessa was the assailant of Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard, with comparisons made of this man to the Presidio Heights sketch. Many have stated the two artist impressions are dissimilar in appearance, yet with a quick hair change and slight alteration to the eyebrows, the difference is much less significant between the two. Eyewitness recollections are also proven to be notoriously unreliable. These hair changes have been made to the Lake Berryessa sketch below, without altering any of the facial features.             

The executioner's costume at Lake Berryessa is often used to discredit this as a Zodiac crime. It is claimed it wasn't his modus operandi. In this instance what MO?  We only have two confirmed attacks by the Zodiac Killer as of September 27th 1969 - one of which we have no idea what he was wearing - and both committed in virtual darkness. So, in terms of clothing we would actually be deducing that Lake Berryessa wasn't the Zodiac Killer because he didn't wear the costume at Blue Rock Springs Park. Not a really convincing argument. When the scientific community needs to draw any conclusions from trials, or politicians from polls, the larger the sample the better. Drawing conclusions from a pool of one or two crimes is utterly meaningless, and falls into the category of subjective opinion.

In an ABC Primetime documentary the narration was as follows "However if Doctor Cydne Holt can find enough genetic material from Zodiac's stamps and letters, she can compare it to a wafer thin slice of brain tissue from Arthur Leigh Allen's autopsy." Dr Cydne Holt "This brain tissue from Arthur Leigh Allen is the reference sample that I would use for the comparison."  Narrator "Dr Holt has already detected the possible presence of Zodiac's DNA in the seal of the envelope that contained the greeting card (Dripping Pen Card and 340 cipher), and just in case that test fails to provide a full DNA profile, she also prepares to look for DNA beneath the stamps on two of these three letters (July 31st letters)." Dr Cydne Holt "Depending on whether those DNA's match each other, might allow me to include or exclude Arthur Leigh Allen as potentially contributing the DNA on the Zodiac letters." She was able to exclude Arthur Leigh Allen as the contributor, indicating a positive match was found between the letters. So if we maintain that the 'Dripping Pen' card and August 31st letters were mailed by Zodiac - and he claimed September as his crime - it lends credence to the Lake Berryessa crime being committed by Zodiac (this DNA has subsequently been questioned).
​
The Zodiac Killer probably believed that by writing on the car door and making the telephone call, it would be enough for people to conclude he was the killer. However, this has not proved to be the case. He probably believed that mailing a section of Paul Stine's bloody shirt would be proof enough. This has also failed in certain quarters. The details only known to him and the police at Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs Park he thought would be enough, but it wasn't. The reality: is that for some people there is nothing he could have done to prove he was the killer. If it's claimed that this crime had a totally different modus operandi to the first two crimes and was therefore not the Zodiac Killer, then the copycat was obviously not doing a particularly good job. A copycat attempts to replicate the crimes of a known killer. Therefore, we could conclude that by failing to stick to the known MO at Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs, the Lake Berryessa perpetrator was more than likely the Zodiac Killer after all. But the fact remains, that not one piece of tangible evidence points to a copycat killer, only the idea that such a person exists. ​ 

​http://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/was-the-lake-berryessa-sketch-the-zodiac-killer
​http://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/lake-berryessa-killer-and-caller-the-same 

This is a follow up to the article Lake Berryessa-North of the Crime Scene, analyzing the sighting of an individual by Dr. Clifton Rayfield and his son David. This is what Napa County Sheriff's Department detective Ken Narlow said: "Dr. Clifton Rayfield, an ophthalmologist, and his son, David, had parked their car four-fifths of a mile further up the road from Hartnell’s Karmann Ghia. Rayfield reported to me that at approximately 6:30 P.M. he and his son had parked their vehicle north of Park Headquarters . . . in the general area of the crime scene and walked down toward the beach. While en route Rayfield observed a WMA described as five feet ten inches, heavy build, wearing dark trousers and a long-sleeved dark shirt with red coloring. Rayfield and his son both stated that they had not observed a vehicle parked in the area of their car". He continued “I think their time was off a little bit ’cause I think Rayfield actually saw the Zodiac killer just prior to him going south four-fifths of a mile to where Shephard and Hartnell had their car parked. It sure looks like he stumbled on them and had not followed them. I’m convinced that Zodiac was just stalking any singular parked cars along the route. And that’s why he stopped when he saw Rayfield’s car there. When he saw the father and son and they saw him, he decided to go back up to his car. Then he drove down the road a little ways and saw the white Karmann Ghia. Then he came down here and saw a boy and a girl laying on this blanket under this oak tree, and this is what his game was, to kill the boy and the girl. This is why he struck here and not further up the road".
http://www.zodiackiller.com/LBReport6.html

Many observers believe this could be Zodiac - but what is the likelihood?

The 6:30 pm time that Dr. Rayfield parked his vehicle can be argued. Had this 'mystery man' been Zodiac, then he would have had to return up the hill, get in his vehicle and drive 0.8 miles south to where Bryan Hartnell's Karmann Ghia was located. The time would now be approximately 6:33 pm. The walk from the Karmann Ghia to the crime scene location is a quarter of a mile. The average walking speed is 3.1 mph (1 mile taking approximately 20 minutes). Therefore, the journey down to the location where Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard were lying, considering the terrain, would likely be upwards of 5 minutes - but we will go with this figure. The time is now 6:38 pm. He hides behind a tree and prepares for his attack (6:39 pm). The Zodiac then entered into a fairly long dialogue with the couple, proceeded to secure them with bindings and then stabbed them multiple times. The minimum estimation is 10 minutes, taking us to 6:49 pm. Returning up the hill and writing on the car door, a minimum of 6 minutes, giving us a time of approximately 6:55 pm when he begins his journey to Napa. The journey time for the 27 mile trip to the 1231 Main St, Napa payphone is estimated on Google maps at about 45 minutes. This would place the Zodiac Killer at the payphone at 7:40 pm - the exact time of the call to police dispatcher Dave Slaight. This timeline, however, is very optimistic, and does not tally exactly with the time of the attack, written as 6:30 pm on the car door of Bryan Hartnell.  Nevertheless, it is within 10 minutes.   

According to page 11 of the police report 'Miss Marilyn Denise, a student at Pacific Union College, stated that about 5:15 pm Saturday 9/27/69 she was in the Lake Berryessa area with a male companion. She stated at this time they were parked on the Knoxville Road approximately one mile south of the Lake Berryessa Marina. She stated shortly after they parked the vehicle they observed the victims who were known to them, Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard, driving south on Knoxville Road in Bryan's white Karmann Ghia. She stated as the Hartnell vehicle drove by, Bryan waved out of the window and said "Hi John", referring to her companion.'  Based on this police report, let us assume that Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard arrived and parked up the Karmann Ghia around 5:30 pm.
​
Dr. Clifton Rayfield reported that he had parked his vehicle four-fifths of a mile further north at 6:30 pm, likely one hour after Bryan Hartnell had arrived. So, Detective Ken Narlow's assumption that Zodiac was probably "stalking any singular parked cars along the route", would be extremely unlikely, as the Zodiac Killer would certainly have stumbled across the Karmann Ghia first, not Dr. Rayfield's vehicle. This could lend credence to the idea that Dr. Rayfield and his son saw the killer after the stabbing of the couple, hence the observation of a man wearing a "long-sleeved dark shirt with red coloring", that may have been blood. This, however, has a massive stumbling block. If the Zodiac Killer had discovered the Karmann Ghia first and parked alongside it, why would he be wandering around a hillside 0.8 miles north. He would simply have entered his vehicle and driven south towards Napa.

​In a previous article it was considered that the killer may have been searching for victims on foot, traveling along the hillside scanning for single vehicles and likely prey, as opposed to continually moving his vehicle back and forth. If this were the case, and the Zodiac Killer had written on the Karmann Ghia at 6:30 pm, then the journey on foot 0.8 miles north, using caution, would have taken about 20 to 25 minutes, thereby arriving at his vehicle at 6:50 to 6:55 pm, This again, considering a 45 minute journey to the Napa payphone, places him making the call to police dispatcher Dave Slaight at exactly 7:40 pm.

This would mean Dr. Clifton Rayfield and his son saw the Zodiac Killer roughly 20 minutes after they parked their vehicle, rather than shortly after 6:30 pm. In other words, the actual time they arrived at the lake was nearer 6:50 pm. If this was the Zodiac Killer after the attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard, it may explain the "red coloring" on the shirt.

Dr. Clifton Rayfield had driven from Cypress Way, Los Gatos, California - so he would have traveled northwards along Knoxville Road. Had Zodiac's vehicle been parked further north, just out of view, then this would explain why Dr. Rayfied and son claimed they "had not observed a vehicle parked in the area of their car". The 6:50 pm sighting would have put greater pressure on the already strained timeline, of Zodiac leaving this area and committing any subsequent attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard south of this location. This coupled with the fact Zodiac wrote 6:30 pm on the Karmann Ghia, strengthens Dr. Rayfield's initial assumption, when he stated, "I didn’t realize 'Zodiac' came upon us just before he stabbed the young couple. I sort of assumed I saw him making his getaway".

If this was the Zodiac Killer, then he was most certainly making his getaway, thereby bolstering the argument that he had never parked alongside the Karmann Ghia of Bryan Hartnell that evening. If it wasn't the Zodiac Killer spotted by Dr. Rayfield & Son, then what you have just read is inconsequential.     

LAKE BERRYESSA-NORTH OF THE CRIME SCENE [PT1]   

During the first two Zodiac crimes at Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs Park it is entirely plausible the killer knew the area was frequented by courting couples and systematically cruised between the two locations until the opportunity presented itself. He may very well have adopted the exact same technique at Lake Berryessa on September 27th 1969, moving between areas looking for suitable victims, either by moving his vehicle or trawling the hillside on foot. One interesting observation may indicate his direction of travel after the attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard, and negate the premise his vehicle was parked near to Bryan's 1956 White Karmann Ghia. In fact, it may have been parked just over 0.80 miles northwards along the Knoxville Road. Assuming he wrote on the car door after the attack, he certainly would not want to be conspicuous traveling along the roadside edge back to his vehicle, so likely walked along the hillside to attract less attention. Despite this choice, he still may well have been spotted.    

Three possible 'Zodiac' sightings may have occurred inside of three hours.
 
Earlier on in the day, three young women, students of Pacific Union College, parked their vehicle two miles north of the A & W Root Beer stand (5100 Knoxville Road). As they left their vehicle to go sunbathing, a white male, driving a silver or light blue Chevrolet 2-door sedan with California plates pulled up to the rear of their car, bumper to bumper, yet remained inside his vehicle. This man would seemingly remain in his vehicle for approximately 30 minutes before they spotted him again, observing them from about 40 to 50 feet away while they were sunbathing - and each time they looked at him he evaded eye contact thus drawing suspicion.

He was described as being between 28 and 40 years, 200-225 pounds, 6 feet tall, styled black hair, with rounded eyes and thin lips. He was good looking, with a muscular or stocky build, wearing dark blue or black pleated slacks and a dark pullover shirt. He remained observing them, by their accounts, for approximately 30 to 45 minutes. About two hours later, Bryan Hartnell described his attacker as having dark brown hair, 225-250 lbs in weight and 5'8'' to 5'10'' in height, but admitted he was a bad judge of height because he was so tall. He wore a dark blue windbreaker and dark blue or black pleated pants. Bryan Hartnell noted the assailant's greasy hair visible by the eyelets of the hood, suggesting a longer hairstyle, and not inconsistent with the drawing generated from the observations of the three women, with a swept back coiffured hairstyle.    

After deciding the three women were not viable targets, the suggestion is that Zodiac traveled along the Knoxville Road in his vehicle and parked at a location north of where Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard were ultimately attacked. He would then traverse the hillside, scouring the area for potential victims. The time is approximately 4:00-4:30 pm - so he had ample daylight remaining. The reason for this hypothesis are the observations of Dr. Clifton Rayfield and his son David.

In Zodiac Unmasked by Robert Graysmith, David Rayfield stated "I saw 'Zodiac' at a distance of about one hundred yards, so I wouldn’t be able to comment on his face. He was walking along the hillside about halfway between the road and the lake. But I remember him as being a stockier person. He wasn’t nimble when he was walking. And when he turned to walk away he wasn’t like a smooth, athletic person. To me he seemed a little overweight and on the clumsier side. Not having followed the story or ever having been re-interviewed by the police, I didn’t realize 'Zodiac' came upon us just before he stabbed the young couple. I sort of assumed I saw him making his getaway. I’ll tell you one thing, he didn’t like the fact I was carrying a gun. He turns and looks at me and my gun (which with its scope was pretty intimidating) for probably five, six seconds, and then turned and went up the hill up in a southerly direction. I said to myself, ‘That was funny. This guy wasn’t carrying a fishing pole. There’s no camping equipment. There’s no gun. What’s he doing out here?"

Napa County Sheriff's Department detective Ken Narlow would add "The kid had a .22 rifle, and 'Zodiac' came down within one hundred yards of them across an inlet. The kid saw the guy over there and he was wearing the blue windbreaker jacket. But evidently this wasn’t what he was looking for because it was a father-and-son deal. So the killer went a quarter mile up this road, went back up to the road, and evidently came down the road this way and saw this single car parked here, and then pulled in behind it. Rayfield and his son both stated that they had not observed a vehicle parked in the area of their car, and had only noticed the subject at a distance of approximately one hundred yards. Rayfield did report that there was a man with two young boys in the area shooting BB guns, but didn’t know whether or not they saw the subject. “I think their time was off a little bit ’cause I think Rayfield actually saw the Zodiac killer just prior to him going south four-fifths of a mile to where Shephard and Hartnell had their car parked. It sure looks like he stumbled on them and had not followed them. I’m convinced that Zodiac was just stalking any singular parked cars along the route. And that’s why he stopped when he saw Rayfield’s car there. When he saw the father and son and they saw him, he decided to go back up to his car. Then he drove down the road a little ways and saw the white Karmann Ghia. Then he came down here and saw a boy and a girl laying on this blanket under this oak tree, and this is what his game was, to kill the boy and the girl. This is why he struck here and not further up the road".

Of course, the man observed by Dr. Rayfield and son was not necessarily the Zodiac Killer, but let us run with the notion for a moment. ​Detective Ken Narlow may possibly be correct, that the Rayfield's "time was off a little bit". They estimated the time at about 6:30 pm, and Narlow thought that "Rayfield actually saw the Zodiac killer just prior to him going south four-fifths of a mile to where Shepard and Hartnell had their car parked". But what of the possibility that Clifton and David Rayfield saw the Zodiac after the attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard as David had initially assumed, with the time nearer 6:50 pm (20 minutes walking time for 0.80 mile). The Zodiac was traveling along the hillside equidistant from the road and the lake for obvious reasons. Despite having worn a three-quarter waistline bib during his attack, he may well be spattered with blood to some degree.

The reason for believing this sighting could have been after the attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard are threefold.
In Zodiac Unmasked, Detective Ken Narlow revealed "Dr. Clifton Rayfield, an ophthalmologist, and his son, David, had parked their car four-fifths of a mile further up the road from Hartnell’s Karmann Ghia. Rayfield reported to me that at approximately 6:30 P.M. he and his son had parked their vehicle north of Park Headquarters . . . in the general area of the crime scene and walked down toward the beach. While en route Rayfield observed a WMA described as five feet ten inches, heavy build, wearing dark trousers and a long-sleeved dark shirt with red coloring". Was this "red coloring" actually blood, with the Zodiac Killer heading back to his car parked nearby, likely just beyond the Rayfield vehicle. Had this been 6:50 to 6:55 pm, then the 45-50 minute journey time from Lake Berryessa to the 1231 Main Street, Napa payphone, would have placed him there at exactly 7:40 pm and the time of the call to police dispatcher David Slaight. Had the Zodiac Killer departed Lake Berryessa at 6:30 pm it would have left at least 20 minutes unaccounted for. The 20 minute walk to his vehicle from Bryan Hartnell's Karmann Ghia to his vehicle, just beyond the Rayfield sighting, fills in this time period. This period of walking may also account for the discrepancy in Zodiac's phone call, where he overestimated his distances by 1.3 miles: "I want to report a murder, no, a double murder. They are two miles north of Park Headquarters. They were in a white Volkswagen Karmann Ghia" and after a brief pause uttered the words  "I'm the one that did it".
 
Earlier, the three women described the man wearing a "white belt around his back" or possibly "a white T-shirt hanging out". It has been considered that bearing in mind the man was a distance away, this could have been the white clothesline, described later by Bryan Hartnell. Then we have the "long-sleeved dark shirt with red coloring". But were the two sightings connected - effectively ruling out the idea Zodiac parked alongside Bryan Hartnell's vehicle before the attack - and suggest the Zodiac Killer was actually trolling the hillside on foot looking for single vehicles and vulnerable targets, and his vehicle was actually parked just over four-fifths of a mile north of the crime scene.
 
LAKE BERRYESSA-NORTH OF THE CRIME SCENE [PT2]
​http://murders.ru/zodiac%20unmasked.pdf