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? 

Michael Morford, an avid Zodiac researcher, conducted an interesting interview with James Owen in 2012 about his recollections on the night of December 20th 1968, in which he seemed rather unaffected or unconcerned about the gravity of the night that ultimately drew him into the Zodiac story. When responding to questions such as "How closely did you follow the case?", he replied "it was no biggie" and was apparently unaware of the month the actual crime occurred. It was a rather curious and subdued interview from somebody involved in what has now become the most infamous unsolved murder case in American history. There is little doubt that James Owen was not the Zodiac Killer, but there are definite conclusions that could be argued from his statements to investigators on December 21st and 24th of 1968. 

[1] 12.21.68 "He states he saw two cars parked near the entrance to the pumping station. He stated the car parked nearest was a 1955 or 1956 station wagon, boxy type, neutral in color. The other was parked to the right and abreast of the station wagon. The cars were about ten feet apart. He stated he could not give a description of the make or color of the other car".
[2] 12.24.68 "He definitely saw two cars, a station wagon and another vehicle, parked approximately three or four feet to the right of the station wagon. He did not see anyone in the cars or around them. He stated as he traveled approximately one quarter of a mile beyond, he thought he heard a shot". He also stated that "just before he approached the scene, a vehicle passed him going in the opposite direction toward Vallejo. He could give no description of the vehicle. This occurred near the Borges Ranch".

​James Owen recalled this vehicle passing him by the Borges Ranch, but no vehicles ahead or behind him as he traveled towards Benicia on Lake Herman Road. This route is an unlit, pitch-black road - and any vehicle's headlights or taillights would have been obviously visible to James Owen had there been one. There is a notable area just past Syar Industries, where the road is relatively straight and flat, and any vehicle ahead of James Owen would be noticeable in the distance. His obvious failure to mention any such vehicle would suggest that when he arrived at the ill-fated turnout and saw the second vehicle alongside the Faraday Rambler, that it simply hadn't just pulled up that instant - it had been there a reasonable amount of time.

David Faraday had taken Betty Lou Jensen out that evening on their first date, charged with taking care of the young woman, and supposedly under a curfew of around 11:00 pm. The autopsy of Betty Lou Jensen showed her bladder was full. These elements therefore make it extremely unlikely that David Faraday, by all accounts a responsible and caring young man, would allow a second vehicle to pull alongside the Rambler in a deserted and dark turnout and just sit there doing nothing, when they have no idea what the occupant of this vehicle had in mind. Additionally, we are of the understanding, that when the Zodiac Killer pulled alongside the Rambler he would have immediately left his vehicle and fired the warning shots into the rear window and headliner of the Rambler to drive the couple from their vehicle. But if he was slightly ahead of James Owen (but out of sight) traveling in the same direction, or had entered the turnout from the Benicia side, he clearly didn't do this, because James Owen stated that he saw no persons "in or around the vehicles" when he arrived at the turnout. He also heard no shots coming from the turnout as he approached. One would assume if he had heard a shot a quarter of a mile after passing the turnout, then he logically would have heard shots a quarter of a mile preceding the turnout - but he didn't.

​The Zodiac Killer, by the fact that James Owen saw no vehicles in front of him, or entering the turnout from the opposite side as he approached the area in question (see below), would indicate the Zodiac Killer had been in the turnout for a measurable amount of time, but failed to initiate his attack on the Rambler the moment he pulled up. We know this, because James Owen failed to see any occupants in or around either vehicle. We also have to believe, David Faraday not only didn't pull out of the turnout in the amount of time from when Zodiac arrived, to the time James Owen arrived, but continued to remain in the turnout for a further 30 seconds (or quarter of a mile) after James Owen passed. The shot that James Owen supposedly heard being the beginning of the attack. Is it reasonable to believe David Faraday, past his curfew, Betty Lou Jensen needing the toilet and a 'mysterious vehicle' parked literally feet to the right side of the Rambler in pitch-black conditions, David Faraday would just sit in his vehicle without doing anything upwards of a minute or more?              

James Owen was clear that nobody was in or around the vehicles as he passed. Therefore, had the attack already begun and the Zodiac Killer had arrived considerably earlier than James Owen, why were the couple supposedly still alive and now out of sight? If the Zodiac Killer had already fired off the warning shots while Owen was out of audible or visible range, he certainly didn't immediately kill the couple the instant they left their vehicle. Let us assume he had already forced the couple out of their vehicle, but as he did so he heard or saw James Owen in the distance - he then had to close the Rambler door and hide the couple out of view, before resuming the attack when he thought James Owen had traveled a reasonable distance past the turnout. But then why did he re-open the Rambler door - the condition it was found in when investigators later arrived? This scenario makes little sense. The further we put James Owen away from the turnout on his approach to it, the more time Zodiac has to begin his attack, and the more time David Faraday has to leave - neither of which apparently happened. The closer we put James Owen to the turnout on his approach to it, the more likely he would have heard any shots fired, and the more likely he would have seen the Zodiac entering the turnout ahead of him, or from the Benicia side. Yet he still saw nobody in or around the vehicles as he passed. 

Peggy Your who passed the turnout before James Owen, stated "As they were driving west on Lake Herman Road at the turn off to the Benicia Water Pumping Station, she observed a Rambler station wagon parked with front end heading east, there were two Caucasians in the front seat, male and female, when the lights from the car came upon the station wagon, the male sat up in the seat. Mrs Your said it was a cold night and she noticed no frost on the station wagon". Are we to assume that when James Owen passed everybody ducked down in their vehicles? Because James Owen heard no shots on his approach to the turnout - by his statement alone - we could conclude that he was out of audible distance from the turnout and therefore a considerable distance away. But again, why did Zodiac supposedly just sit there doing nothing and why did David Faraday fail to leave? One could argue, if it's not logical it's not true.      

Peggy and Homer Your stated that they saw the couple in the Rambler on their approach to the Marshall Ranch and when they passed for a second time returning to Benicia, but saw no second vehicle. ​Fifteen minutes later Stella Medeiros passed the turnout and saw the bodies of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen lying on the turnout floor, cut down by six bullets to the head and back. In between these two eyewitness statements, James Owen saw nobody anywhere "in or around the vehicles".

We cannot rectify the open door conundrum easily. Neither can we explain the inaction of both Zodiac and David Faraday to any great satisfaction - and are we to assume everybody just vanished during this fifteen minute period.
However, it can be resolved if we take away the "dark car" that James Owen couldn't describe - because  it may not have existed.

James Owen stated in the interview with Michael Morford “as I was getting ready to leave work the next morning, a worker on the morning shift came in talking about the crime. When I left work, I passed the scene, and there were police there working, so I stopped and told them what I had seen". It has been suggested that James Owen embellished his version of that night, edging the two vehicles closer to one another and possibly hearing a shot once he had passed the turnout, in his second interview. It wouldn't be the first time somebody exaggerated their recollection of events, as demonstrated by the second version of William Crow's story that night.

There are two schools of thought when approaching this. The eyewitness is just remembering more details about the events, or they are inflating their importance within those events to become more integral to them. This can be seen throughout the Zodiac case - then and now. The sequence of events that night on Lake Herman Road would be a lot easier to explain if James Owen saw one vehicle in the turnout that night, and the Zodiac Killer arrived after James Owen. But believing he may have invented the second vehicle or was mistaken, doesn't make it true. 

Below is the police sketch of the Lake Herman Road crime scene, measured in regards to the telephone pole still present today. The turnout has changed measurably since 1968, becoming noticeably smaller in Google maps, with the telephone pole now beyond the gated section in modern images. Using the image below, along with aerial shots of the turnout today, I have recreated the turnout a little closer to how it would have looked on the night of December 20th 1968.     

The distances in the police sketch above are not proportionate- the 53'3" line is actually marginally shorter in length than the 28'6" line. There are also no angles accompanying the drawing, so we don't actually know how close the Rambler was to the turnout edge.  

This is shown in the diagram of James Owen below. The Rambler has shifted past the 12 o' clock position with respect to the telephone pole, compared to before the 12 o' clock position above. This could give the impression that David Faraday moved the Rambler after James Owen had passed the turnout.

Stella Borges (Medeiros) passed the turnout after the shooting, with a police sketch detailing her recollections..
​However, if you compare the drawing below to the measurement sketch at the top of this page, Betty Lou Jensen has migrated to the middle of the turnout. Again, the 53'3" and 28'6" lines do not tally (see below). 
The only way to make this sketch work and get the distances proportionate, is twofold: Either move the Rambler extremely close to the roadside edge, keeping the same distance from the Rambler to Betty Lou Jensen, or move the Rambler into the center of the turnout, thereby shifting Betty Lou Jensen nearer to the western bank slope, as shown in the Google image above.   

To make sense of the measurements in the first sketch, and get a fix on where the Rambler and Betty Lou Jensen are positioned within the turnout, we have to calculate the total distance from the front of the Rambler to Betty Lou Jensen's feet. The Rambler is approximately 16 feet in length, Betty Lou Jensen's head is 28'6" from the rear of the Rambler, and Betty Lou is just over 5 feet in height.   
Therefore from the front of the Rambler to Betty Lou Jensen's feet is approximately 50 feet (see below). If we then draw the final line back to the telephone pole on Google maps it must measure 73'1" or thereabouts. The total triangular circumference measuring approximately 176 feet. It fits perfectly (see below). 
Betty Lou Jensen's feet are facing west, and she is close to the western bank. The Rambler would be positioned close to the eastern bank in the image below. However, the turnout was wider and deeper in 1968, effectively moving the Rambler away from eastern bank once again, and more in line with the measurement sketch at the top of this page.

We could swivel the triangular configuration above, using the axis of the telephone pole to pull the Rambler away from the turnout edge (see below for extreme example which fails). The above depiction can swivel slightly anticlockwise, bringing the Rambler further from the eastern edge, but this would alter position of Betty Lou Jensen's feet closer to the western bank, as well as further into the turnout. Even with a wider turnout, there is little wriggle room. 

As shown in the diagram below, the amount of wriggle room is extremely limited. To maintain a distance of 50 feet between the front of the Rambler and Betty Lou Jensen's feet severely restricts how far you can pull the Rambler away from the eastern bank, without pushing Betty Lou Jensen beyond the western edge and out of the turnout altogether. 

Below is a side image of the turnout today. Measuring 73'1" from the telephone pole to near the western bank, we can place the approximate position of Betty Lou Jensen. Then by running a line 50 feet across towards the eastern bank, we can then put the Faraday Rambler into position. These two lines together total 123 feet, yet again leaving 53 feet to reach back to the telephone pole. You can see the margin of error on both sides of the turnout is limited. The turnout was slightly wider in 1968, allowing for a little more flexibility.  

However, we have a major problem. Take a look at this newspaper cutting of the crime scene. Drawing a line through the pools of blood from the head of each victim, it can be seen that the green line clearly heads out of the turnout, whereas a line drawn between these two points above would skirt the edge of the turnout at best. Remember, these are just approximations and allow for a margin of flexibility.   

So, let us consider that the measurement on the police sketch looks like 73'1", but is actually 93'1". This will now be placed into a new depiction within Google images below.

Now we will add the green line into the image above and show that it tallies with the newspaper cutting. The yellow line is based upon a 73'1" distance and again skirts the turnout edge.

Betty Lou Jensen's position in the image above looks closer to Lake Herman Road than previously, and certainly looks a lot closer fit to the newspaper cutting. So, the question arises- is this 73'1" or 93'1". 

Here we will try to take a different approach to the Lake Herman Road murders and the little discussed testimony of Robert Connelly, that has appeared to be somewhat conveniently dropped from the Lake Herman Road story as a recollection that doesn't fit the narrative of events that night. The widely held belief, is that sometime during the night of December 20th 1968 David Faraday parked the Rambler on the east bank of the turnout and the killer drew up alongside their vehicle. According to Peggy Your, the Rambler was parked in this position when she approached the Marshall Ranch and when she left circa 11:00 pm, heading back to Benicia. The next eyewitnesses to pass the turnout circa 11:05 pm, also heading to Benicia, were Frank Gasser and Robert Connelly. However, Robert Connelly stated in the police report that he "insists that the Rambler was parked on the bank. That would be on the south side. He did not see any person in the car". (see below) When James Owen passed at approximately 11:09-11:15 pm, the Rambler was back on the east side (as described by Peggy Your), but this time it had a second vehicle parked alongside. If all these accounts were accurate, then the David Faraday Rambler had reversed over to the opposite bank after Peggy Your had passed the turnout, and then returned to its original position, or thereabouts, when James Owen arrived. But this time, with the second vehicle.    

In the 2007 Zodiac documentary Officer Pierre Bidou stated: "During that night we had served a search warrant at what we call The Cottage at Lake Herman which was owned by the city of Benicia, a narcotics search warrant my partner and I, we confiscated about a pound and a half of marijuana, which in the 1960s was a big drugs bust, today it wouldn't get very high on the Richter scale. We were heading back to the police department to put the marijuana into evidence and as we drove by, we did not see or observe anyone in that area, because it's a turn there and your headlights shine right in there as you go by. I was pulling into the lot in the police department, we heard the Benicia Police Department dispatch about a call of a possible shooting and victims on Lake Herman Road, and described the location. My partner and I turned around at that time and responded to the call. We felt we were only minutes from the crime scene when it actually happened and for the best of my recollection we did not pass any other vehicle or traffic. I'm pretty sure of that because that is one of the things we told the sheriff's office, that we did not see any other vehicles coming our way. What could have happened, depending on where a vehicle turned onto Lake Herman Road, if it came from behind us, from Vallejo, we would not have seen them".
​https://youtu.be/HI0jnsbZwys?t=3m28s

Benicia Police Department was only 8 to 10 minutes from the Lake Herman Road turnout - so if Officer Pierre Bidou had passed the crime scene and spotted no bodies on the ground (or Rambler in the turnout), what are the odds that he passed at approximately the same time as Robert Connelly, and the Rambler was on the opposite bank, as shown above. Then his headlights would not have illuminated the Rambler, even though it was in the turnout. This would have meant that Officer Pierre Bidou would have passed the turnout "only minutes from the crime scene when it actually happened". In fact, as little as 5 minutes before the murders.

The last person to pass the turnout that night was Stella Medeiros, who raced off to Benicia and reported her sighting of bodies lying in the turnout to Captain Daniel Pitta circa 11:18-11:22 pm. Therefore, if Officer Pierre Bidou had just pulled into Benicia PD and heard the "dispatch about a call of a possible shooting and victims on Lake Herman Road", we could argue that he passed the turnout approximately 8-10 minutes ago - as early as 11:08 pm. Allowing for some leeway in the timeline of both Robert Connelly and Officer Pierre Bidou, the police officer could have passed the Lake Herman Road turnout just after the Raccoon hunters somewhere between 11:08-11:12 pm, and crucially just before James Owen saw both vehicles on the east side again. When traveling to Benicia your headlights would not catch any vehicles alongside the "south bank" described by Robert Connelly. Yet he "insisted" he saw the Rambler parked there. Whereas Officer Pierre Bidou only stated "we did not see or observe anyone in that area, because it's a turn there and your headlights shine right in there as you go by" (referring to the east side). Maybe Robert Connelly looked towards the "south bank" and Officer Pierre Bidou didn't. The officer only referred to the area where your headlights shone in, so may not have observed the Rambler on the opposite side. 

​Below is a photograph of the turnout in 1968 - it was much wider and deeper than the visual on Google maps today - showing a vehicle approaching the turnout heading to Benicia, with the Rambler parked on the opposite bank to where it was ultimately found. 

The banking on the turnout edge is vehicle height as it approaches the road - and Lake Herman Road itself, as it nears the turnout is traveling a slight incline, making any vehicle parked on the "south bank" difficult to spot if you are not looking in that direction - particularly at night without streetlights. If the rear lights of the Rambler were on, then obviously it's possible, but only if you are looking. Here is the approach to the turnout today (remembering to dismiss the foliage on the trees).

It is clear that any car parked on the "south bank" in a considerably larger turnout and further from the road, would be incredibly difficult to spot if you were focused on the road ahead and not looking specifically in that direction. If Robert Connelly was not mistaken, and "insisted" he saw the Rambler parked here, then it's not inconceivable that Officer Pierre Bidou was also not mistaken in seeing no vehicle on the east bank as he passed by just minutes before the murders. In other words, they were both correct. The only difference being, that Robert Connelly may have looked to his right. But why had the couple moved the Rambler? One possibility is that they wanted privacy, and the constant illumination of their vehicle from passing motorists was a distraction - so David Faraday maneuvered the vehicle to the opposite bank further from the road. 
 
Peggy Your stated in the police report: "As they were driving west on Lake Herman Road at the turn off to the Benicia Water Pumping Station, she observed a Rambler station wagon parked with front end heading east, there were two Caucasians in the front seat, male and female, when the lights from the car came upon the station wagon, the male sat up in the seat. Mrs Your said it was a cold night and she noticed no frost on the station wagon". But why, just a few minutes later, had the Rambler moved back to the east side of the turnout when James Owen passed, noticing two vehicles at this point? Maybe the Zodiac Killer had parked behind the Rambler on the "south bank" as he had done at Blue Rock Springs Park - but something transpired and David Faraday shifted position. 

A brief time later, James Owen passed and stated "he saw two cars parked near the entrance to the pumping station. He stated the car parked nearest was a 1955 or 1956 station wagon, boxy type, neutral in color. The other was parked to the right and abreast of the station wagon. The cars were about ten feet apart. He stated he could not give a description of the make or color of the other car. He did not see anyone in the cars or around them. He stated as he traveled approximately one quarter of a mile beyond, he thought he heard a shot". What happened from the Robert Connelly sighting, to when James Owen passed by, only Zodiac knows. But it appears he got lucky once again. 

The above shows how the timeline could work based on a James Owen sighting of 11:14 pm. However, there is a major problem. If Officer Pierre Bidou passed the turnout circa 11:10 pm and took 10 minutes to reach Benicia PD (11:20 pm), and upon arriving heard the report by Captain Daniel Pitta about the incident at Lake Herman Road, then Stella Medeiros was obviously with Officer Pitta. Her journey from the turnout to East 2nd Street, Benicia is 3.2 miles - so even belting along at 60 mph, it would have taken her just over 3 minutes. Allowing for her to locate Captain Daniel Pitta, relay the message, and for Captain Daniel Pitta to broadcast it, must be 4 minutes minimum. That has Stella Medeiros passing the turnout at 11:16 pm, narrowing the window of time for Zodiac down to 2 minutes. If Officer Pierre Bidou passed the turnout earlier, at 11:08 pm, and arrived at Benicia PD at 11:18 pm upon hearing the radio broadcast, then Stella Medeiros likely passed the turnout at 11:14 pm - the same time as James Owen. This clearly makes even less sense. We need to widen the timeline.

Therefore, the statement of Officer Pierre Bidou "I was pulling into the lot in the police department, we heard the Benicia Police Department dispatch about a call of a possible shooting and victims on Lake Herman Road. My partner and I turned around at that time and responded to the call" should not be taken too literally. If Officer Bidou had passed the turnout at 11:08-11:10 pm and arrived at Benicia PD at 11:18-11:20 pm, but the radio broadcast came in at 11:22 pm or even as late as 11:25 pm, then this allows Stella Medeiros to pass the Lake Herman Road turnout at 11:18-11:21 pm, opening up the window once more. Furthermore, if James Owen passed the turnout at 11:10-11:12 pm instead of 11:14 pm, the window could widen to as much as 11 minutes. But the earlier we place James Owen at the turnout (say 11:10 pm), and Officer Pierre Bidou passed at 11:08 pm, then the Zodiac Killer only has 2 minutes to enter the turnout and 'shift' the David Faraday Rambler from the "south bank" to the east side before James Owen passes by.

If Captain Daniel Pitta's report is totally accurate, indicating his encounter with Stella Borges at 11:25 pm, then Pierre Bidou didn't immediately swing his vehicle around in the parking lot of Benicia Police Department - he likely pulled into Benicia Police Department, unloaded the seized marijuana and the two individuals he had arrested at The Cottage - and then received the broadcast delivered by Captain Daniel Pitta a short time later at 11.25 pm. This was ultimately condensed in the 2007 Zodiac documentary to "I was pulling into the lot in the police department, we heard the Benicia Police Department dispatch about a call of a possible shooting and victims on Lake Herman Road. My partner and I turned around at that time and responded to the call". This is an incredibly difficult timeline to negotiate.

"The new evidence of a possible accomplice at the murder scene consists of a .38 caliber bullet hole in the roof panel of the Faraday station wagon. The hole is on the passenger side of the vehicle and is slightly forward of a .22 caliber bullet hole in the rear window on that side. Lunblad declined to speculate on the importance of the .38 hole. He did say Faraday's parents had said the hole had not been there before, and the hole appeared new to him. Lunblad had previously said he thought the bullet had been fired through the window to speed the couple's exit from the vehicle. The .38 caliber bullet could have been fired for the same purpose. It was also revealed for the first time that ten .22 caliber long rifle bullet casings were found at the murder scene. One slug was fired though the window, one was pumped into the head of Faraday and five were fired into the back of Miss Jensen. The killer apparently missed with three shots". Vallejo Evening News Chronicle: 12/23/68.

Bearing in mind ten .22 casings were observed at the crime scene, investigators must have considered more than ten shots were fired, to accommodate the perceived .38 bullet hole. Investigators eventually realized that that no .38 bullet was involved in the shootings, stating "Only one gun was used in the double slaying Friday night on Lake Herman Road, of Vallejo teenagers David L Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen, and in shooting up their car, it was learned positively Monday by Sheriff's Sgt Leslie B Lunblad. The investigator said that what appeared to be a .38 caliber bullet hole in the roof of the Faraday station wagon actually was made by a small caliber bullet as the same size as those that killed the two youngsters". The premise of one gun and one shooter, however, is inherently flawed - not only from the standpoint that just nine casings were sent and analyzed by the Department of Justice, Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, but the interpretation of the evidence submitted. Nowhere in the DOJ report does it positively confirm that one gun was used in the Lake Herman Road murders. In fact, the following will show that there is no evidence proving that one shooter was responsible, and the switching to a 'lone crazed gunman' in the eyes of the investigators has no evidence to support such a claim.
   
The 'Physical Evidence Examination Report' was submitted on January 3rd 1969, and listed the following items for testing.      

We know 10 casings were present at the crime scene (9 casings on the turnout floor and 1 casing inside the Rambler on the front passenger floorboard), but only 9 casings were recorded and tested for identifying marks. We know 8 bullets were recorded as being retrieved (5 shots at Betty Lou Jensen, 1 shot at David Faraday and 2 recovered from the Rambler). But again, one can see in the list above, that only 7 bullets have been submitted into evidence. We have a missing bullet and missing casing. The missing bullet is highly unlikely to be connected to the missing casing, nevertheless, with two pieces of missing evidence, it could never be argued that a second gun and second shooter were not a key player in the December 20th 1968 double murder. This has been covered before - although we will delve a little further.

The premise here, is that a possibility remains that two shooters were present in the vehicle that pulled alongside the Faraday Rambler that night. The assailant in the driver side exited closest to the Rambler and fired into the headliner and window to force the couple from the vehicle. Betty Lou Jensen is first to exit the Rambler and is secured by the same individual, who would later release her and fire the five shots that struck her back. This individual could very well be responsible for 9 of the 10 shots fired that night. The assailant in the passenger side of the rogue vehicle arrived slightly after his accomplice, securing David Faraday by the right rear of the Rambler - as he was second to exit.

He can secure David Faraday in two ways - facing him with the gun pressed behind his left ear (meaning he is a right-handed shooter), or securing him from behind with the gun pressed to his left ear (meaning he is a left-handed shooter). Either way, David Faraday is now helpless to influence events. From a ballistics standpoint, there is every reason to believe David Faraday had his back to the Rambler at this point.

If the Lake Herman Road murders were achieved by one person, unknown to the victims, who simply wanted to murder the young courting couple - one has to ask - why extricate both David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen from the vehicle at all? There was extremely limited visibility that night, and the couple were effectively boxed in their vehicle like sitting ducks. Furthermore, David Faraday was executed at point blank range, behind his left ear, evident by the stippling marks noted at autopsy. If you have both victims out of the vehicle, positioned side-by-side, with your supposed pencil flashlight targeting them, why not just shoot David Faraday from a couple of yards away, thereby eliminating any risk of engagement. The Zodiac Killer applied caution in his three other attacks, blindsiding Paul Stine at Presidio Heights, shooting Michael Mageau and Darlene Ferrin while they were penned inside their Corvair, and keeping his distance at Lake Berryessa until Cecelia Shepard had bound Bryan Hartnell. He never gave the male victims a chance to take any counter measures. Without meaning to sound insensitive - which is not the intention - the Zodiac Killer could have just shot David Faraday in the head, face on. There was never any need to get into a position where you are pressing the gun behind David Faraday's left ear. Engagement, this close to a potential victim carries risk - something the Zodiac never portrayed in any of his other attacks. The suggestion being, that one assailant was securing David Faraday as Betty Lou Jensen was fleeing across the turnout, powerless to act.

The Zodiac stated in the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter "What I did was tape a small pencel flash light to the barrel of my gun. If you notice, in the center of the beam of light if you aim it at a wall or ceiling you will see a black or darck spot in the center of the circle of light about 3 to 6 inches across. When taped to a gun barrel, the bullet will strike in the center of the black dot in the light. All I had to do was spray them as if it was a water hose". The Zodiac Killer was clearly referring to the murder of Betty Lou Jensen when he referred to "spraying them as if it was a water hose", because David Faraday was executed from near touching distance. This may suggest, that the person who wrote the letter is the assailant who fired into the Rambler and murdered Betty Lou Jensen, and is simply recollecting the night from the first person perspective, not his accomplice's - who never sprayed anyone. The second assailant would then coldly execute David Faraday with a single shot. One assailant fired 9 shots, the other just one. This is borne out in the Department of Justice report which we will analyze now.  

"Examinations have been conducted of all bullets and cartridge cases present in items 1 thru 8. Various markings on those exhibits  were extensively examined, evaluated and checked against records maintained by this laboratory and our rather large test bullet and cartridge file. As a result of these studies, we find that the exhibits correspond only with tests fired in J.C. Higgins Model 80 .22 automatic pistol.  It should not be assumed the exhibits must have been fired in such a weapon, but this is the only type presently in our files that corresponds, therefore, it appears somewhat probable the weapon was of this type. In addition to subjecting to further tests any J.C. Higgins Model 80 automatic pistol recovered, further tests should be made on any weapon having the following characteristics;

(A) Cartridge cases: Semi-circular firing pin impression at 12 o' clock position, small extractor markings at 3 o'clock position. Very faint ejector marking at 8 o' clock position (latter may not always be detectable).
(B) Weapon barrel or test bullets: Six right hand grooves, land and groove ratio 1:1+. Bullet groove width approximately 0.056 inch. Bullet land width approximately 0.060 inch". 

The report clearly states, that it must "not be assumed the exhibits must have been fired in such a weapon", but likely. 
These exhibits, however, are missing two vital pieces of evidence - one bullet and one casing - of which could have been fired from an altogether different weapon. If you don't test all the items recorded at the crime scene, it is impossible to rule out two guns or two shooters.

The next line of the DOJ report is significant, stating; "Intercomparison of the cartridge cases in items 4 and 5 indicates that all are probably fired in the same weapon and all are the same make and type of ammunition. Due to lack of sufficient unique structure it appears that considerable difficulty will be encountered in identifying the responsible weapon if it should be recovered".  The cartridge cases mentioned in items 4 and 5 are the nine cartridge cases tested from the Lake Herman Road crime scene (recovered from the turnout floor). The problem is, that ten cartridge cases were ejected and removed from Lake Herman Road that night. It is with a high degree of certainty that the bullet casing lying on the floorboard of the Rambler, towed away to a designated location, was ultimately separated from the other nine and never reached the DOJ for testing. This means that any person of interest who has had a firearm eliminated as a possible murder weapon, has been incorrectly eliminated. The fact of the matter, is that without testing the missing cartridge case or the missing bullet, no firearm or person of interest could ever be cleared as a responsible, barring a solid and incontrovertible alibi.   

Here is the crucial part of the Department of Justice report: "All bullets submitted were Western copper coated .22 long rifle bullets, although some were damaged, it was possible to determine ALL but Item [1] had 6 right hand groove class characteristics".

It states that it "was possible to determine" that 6 bullets had right-hand twist characteristics, which could mean that the one recovered from David Faraday was either unable to be determined, or didn't have right-hand class characteristics like the other bullets (it may have had left-hand class characteristics, indicating a separate and distinct firearm). However, the key phrasing is "although some were damaged, it was possible to determine". In other words, it was possible to determine that the bullet recovered from David Faraday didn't exhibit the same characteristics as the other 6 bullets, otherwise the statement should have read "it wasn't possible to determine the characteristics from the bullet recovered from David Faraday". If the bullet was too damaged, it would have been impossible to determine if it exhibited 6 right-hand groove class characteristics like the others - but the fact it wasn't damaged enough - meant it had sufficient detail and was seemingly able to be compared.

We can rephrase the passage from "All bullets submitted were Western copper coated .22 long rifle bullets, although some were damaged, it was possible to determine ALL but Item [1] had 6 right-hand groove class characteristics", to "All bullets submitted were Western copper coated .22 long rifle bullets, although some were damaged, it was possible to determine Item [1] didn't have 6 right hand groove class characteristics".  If the bullet recovered from David Faraday was too damaged, this distinction could not have been made. 

A reminder to earlier: "Intercomparison of the cartridge cases in items 4 and 5 indicates that all are probably fired in the same weapon and all are the same make and type of ammunition. Due to lack of sufficient unique structure it appears that considerable difficulty will be encountered in identifying the responsible weapon if it should be recovered". Items 4 and 5 are the cartridge cases retrieved from the turnout floor, not the casing recovered from the Rambler floorboard. This tenth was likely the casing ejected when David Faraday was shot close to the open passenger door. This casing has disappeared and was never tested, leaving open the distinct possibility that the bullet recovered from David Faraday, which didn't exhibit the same characteristics as the other bullets tested, is inextricably linked to the missing casing. This means we could have a second firearm, and thus a second shooter.

The DOJ report added "The best bullets were those in items 2, 3 and 8. Each of these were microscopically compared with the others but in no case was an absolutely positive identification possible. This is apparently due to the condition of the rifle barrel, which does not leave coarse structure on bullets fired therein, as well as the effect of the copper coating on the bullet. From our examination it appears that a conclusive identification of the responsible weapon will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, should it be recovered".  If you cannot identify the responsible weapon, you cannot be certain there weren't two, even if they were both J.C. Higgins Model 80 or otherwise. 

This is where the 'missing' casing comes into play - the tenth casing not documented in the Department of Justice report, and the one observed lying on the front passenger seat of the Rambler station wagon.

​With David Faraday standing by the right side of the Rambler, facing away, a weapon pressed up to the left side of his head from this position would likely eject the casing to the shooter's rear (toward the rear of the gun), in a direct line with the open door of the Rambler, either deflecting off the door or landing unimpeded onto the passenger side floorboard. If the bullet that killed David Faraday was distinct and separate to the other tested bullets, this 'missing' casing may hold all the answers.

If the markings on this casing are similarly unique, compared to the other nine casings, then it is not inconceivable that a link exists between the bullet and casing used to murder David Faraday - and may implicate a second assailant on December 20th 1968. There should have been a further item listed in the Department of Justice report: [10] 'One Super X cartridge case found on the front passenger side of the Rambler station wagon".  But there wasn't. ​

When we look at the Department of Justice report, coupled with the statements in the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter, it is not inconceivable that more than one person was responsible for the murder of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen back in 1968. The relentless pursuit of a single 'crazed maniac' may very well have been a false premise on behalf of the investigators, who likely dismissed this option far too early. The Lake Herman Road murders may have involved two perpetrators, with one falling by the wayside after the first crime, forever bound in silence. But there still remains a possibility that two could have been involved throughout the 'Zodiac' crimes. Whatever the case, the Department of Justice report has certainly left the door open to speculate.     

Department of Justice report.

The assailant at Blue Rock Springs Park walked up to the brown Corvair and immediately opened fire. The perpetrator at Lake Berryessa, not wanting to open fire at 6:15 pm with potential eyewitnesses in the area, secured both victims before stabbing them. In his final confirmed act at Presidio Heights, the killer callously executed Paul Stine with one shot to the head  However, the first confirmed crime at Lake Herman Road was altogether different. If the responsible was embarking on a life as a serial killer, beginning with Lake Herman Road, why didn't he simply employ the method he used in his second attack, where all nine bullets struck their target? Whether he knew that people were in the area that night, or was just lucky in finding a slender timeline between eyewitnesses, may never be known - but if we assume this was the beginning of his quest for immortality as the Zodiac Killer, one would assume he would take less risks. 

Firstly, we have to question why he supposedly parked alongside the right of the Rambler, furthest from the road. Wouldn't a more calculated and foolproof strategy have been to park to the rear of the Rambler, effectively boxing the couple into the turnout. Secondly, the killer fired off 10 shots that night, with only 6 striking their target. It has been speculated that the killer fired off an array of warning shots, two that struck the vehicle, and possibly one or two into the air - but why? The purpose of the 'exercise' (as it was at Blue Rock Springs Park), was to murder the couple. The assailant could simply have shot both victims through the passenger side window, or shot them the instant the passenger door opened.           

Yes, this was an isolated road, but with residences within earshot and limited escape routes, the killer wasted valuable time by firing off warning shots before the murders. Investigators believed that the couple were effectively forced out of the vehicle before being shot - but for what purpose?. According to most observers, the Zodiac Killer's actions were not that of a sadist - his murders being secondary to his primary goal - that of publicity from the crimes he committed and his incessant contact with the newspapers. One could argue, that if the killer ushered David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen from the Rambler, he did so for a reason. A sexual motive and robbery were soon ruled out, but this may not necessarily have been the case. 

One of the first responding officers on December 20th 1968 was Russell Butterbach. He stated in the 2007 Zodiac documentary "that's where he found out about the ring (David Faraday's class ring). I noticed he had it like this (gesturing that David Faraday was holding it between his finger and thumb), holding it like somebody was trying to take it from him".

Then we have the final eyewitness, before the victims were spotted lying on the turnout floor by Stella Medeiros. James Owen passed the turnout on his way to Humble Oil in Benicia, and stated in the police report that "he definitely saw two cars, a station wagon and another vehicle, parked approximately three or four feet to the right of the station wagon. He did not see anyone in the cars or around them". Several minutes later both victims were discovered dead in the turnout.
James Owen never mentioned the Rambler door being open. So, if the killer had closed the Rambler door and forced the couple out of sight, behind the Rambler, as James Owen passed, why did somebody reopen the passenger door after shooting both David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen, later to be observed by investigators at the crime scene (courtesy of Ray Grant). Was the perpetrator looking for valuables, drugs or money - and had David Faraday earlier begun the process of loosening his class ring to offer to the assailant. An action that angered the perpetrator, resulting in the close quarter execution to the left side of his head.​ 

The killer could have parked to the rear of the Rambler, illuminating it using his headlights, and in the process, boxing it into the turnout. Then, without the need for a pencil flashlight strapped to his gun, that he claimed in the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter, he could have executed the couple within their vehicle as he did at Blue Rock Springs Park. The loose class ring on the hand of David Faraday, the passenger door being open, and the need to usher the couple out of the Rambler by force, using several warning shots, could indicate that the individual or individuals wanted the couple out of the vehicle for a reason. Either to confront them, or rob them.

In a previous article we explored the idea of a connection between the white Chevrolet Impala, the drugs bust at The Cottage and the arrival of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen shortly thereafter. Could the killer have opened the Rambler passenger door looking for the recently purchased drugs in a case of mistaken identity, and connected with the Chevrolet Impala. See here. 

Many eyewitnesses gave their accounts of that night, apart from the occupant/s of the Chevrolet Impala and the 'pursuer/s' of William Crow (assuming they were separate). I wonder why? But there was another rarely mentioned vehicle on Lake Herman Road that night, which passed the turnout only 3 1/2 minutes before James Owen heard a shot pierce the night. James Owen in his statement on the 24th December 1968 stated "just before he approached the scene a vehicle passed him in the opposite direction towards Vallejo. This occurred near the Borges Ranch".  The Borges Ranch is 1.5 miles from the turnout, or about 3 minutes journey time traveling at 30 mph. Had this vehicle been in the turnout prior to James Owen passing it - indicating that two vehicles were in the turnout, as well as the Rambler? But when things turned sour, the occupant/s of this vehicle decided to leave and head towards Vallejo. Or was this just an innocent motorist, unaware of the unfolding events that night. Either way, the occupant/s of this vehicle never came forward to report seeing the Rambler or another vehicle alongside it in the turnout, and thereby add validity to the sighting of James Owen. Did they fear being implicated - or more importantly, did they know the killer?  

What may have begun as a 'confrontation' that descended into murder, may ultimately have morphed into something completely different approximately six and a half months later. The killer may not have created the Zodiac, he may have evolved into him, 'mesmerized' by the newspaper coverage he received after the Lake Herman Road double murder..        

The following will examine the Lake Herman Road double murder of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen on December 20th 1968 independently, without the future Zodiac connection.  

Here are some excerpts from newspapers and magazines indicating David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen may have attended the Hogan High School concert.
#1. Vallejo Times-Herald December 22nd 1968: "They were to have gone to the Hogan High School Christmas music program which lasted until around 10 pm."
#2 Sunday Examiner December 22nd 1968: "Detective Sergeant Leslie Lunblad, the graying, husky officer in charge of the investigation, said there was a distinct possibility the young couple had been trailed to the murder scene from a pre-Christmas concert in Vallejo to the Lake Herman Rd, 10 miles east of here." and "The couple had attended a Christmas concert at Hogan High School in Vallejo where Bettylou was a third-year student."
#3 December 23rd 1968: "The two youths on their first date had apparently "parked" alongside the road following a Christmas concert they were attending."
#4 San Francisco Chronicle December 23rd 1968: "Sergeant Lunblad said the young couple had attended a pre-Christmas concert and then parked on a dirt road off Lake Herman Road, ten miles east of here near Benicia."

One of the first tasks in the investigation was to secure a timeline of the young couple's movements, by tracing people who attended the Hogan High School concert, and ascertain whether David or Betty Lou attended. But despite the above, there are doubts.
​
#5 Vallejo Times-Herald December 23rd 1968: "Authorities are experiencing some difficulty in tracing the slain pair's whereabouts after 9 pm Friday. At approximately that hour they left the home of a close friend of the Jensen girl, but their immediate destination has not been learned. Lunblad is convinced they did not go to the Lake Herman Road trysting spot much before 11 pm." The close friend was Sharon Henslin, detailed in the police report.
#6 San Francisco Chronicle December 24th 1968: "We're getting to the point where we have times pretty well established as to the couple's movements and now we are trying to match those times with the whereabouts of possible suspects in the case." said Sheriff's Sgt Leslie B Lunblad."
#7 Vallejo News Chronicle December 26th 1968: "If you drove on any portion of Lake Herman Road east of Vallejo last Friday between 9 and 11:30 pm you may be able to help authorities capture the killer who shot to death two teenagers with a .22 caliber automatic rifle."
#8 Sunday Times-Herald March 30th 1969: "Mrs Faraday reminisced "but he hadn't done much dating- for one thing he could use the car only when I didn't need it to go to work." She is employed in the passenger reservations department at Travis Air Force Base. She said that when he did take the car for a date "he was good about observing curfews" (12:30 on Friday nights). "So I didn't think a thing about it that night. I was asleep when the phone rang at 3 am."
#9 Two Magazine excerpts:
[A] "During his many hours of investigation (Les Lunblad), the graying veteran detective sergeant learned the terrible murders on Lake Herman were the tragic end of a first date for the young couple. They had attended a pre-Christmas concert and chorale at Vallejo's Hogan High School, where pretty Betty Lou had been a student. The couple had left the school auditorium at 10:00 pm, bidding goodnight to their school chums."  
[B] "At the concert, classmates of Betty Lou noticed the couple sitting side by side in the gymnasium bleachers (retractable seats), holding hands. Nobody remembers seeing them after they left the concert."
​

Here is the police report  omitting any visit to Hogan High School, but the shallow timeline to reach the turnout from Hogan High School may work in our favor. ​The Helen Axe sighting of David Faraday's Rambler in the turnout at 10:15 pm would just about tally with the couple leaving the concert at 10:00 pm for the 15 minute journey. But this sighting will come under scrutiny.
​ 
On page 48 of the police report it states "Betty Lou brought David home to her parents at 8:00 pm on the 20th. There he met her parents and they left with their permission to go to Hogan High School and then to a party afterwards."  
On page 53 it states "Mrs Faraday stated she did not know Betty Lou that she and David had only been going together for a short time, she had never met Betty Lou. She stated she did not know of any enemies David may have had. She stated that on Friday night at 7:10 pm David drove his sister Debbie to a meeting of the Rainbow Girls at the Pythian Castle on Sonoma Boulevard, and David came back home at 7:20 pm and left again at 7:30 pm. Responding officer talked to Debbie Faraday, WFJ 16 years, sister of David. She relates the following David told her on the afternoon of Friday 12/20/68 that he was going out to Lake Herman Road that night because a bunch of the kids were going out there that night." 
If these statements were true, was there a party planned with a bunch of kids on Lake Herman Road? 
On page 34 it states "The story went on to say that David was going to turn in a subject for pushing grass (or marijuana)." This was supposed to have occurred at the Pancake House on Tennessee Street. 

Officers Pierre Bidou and Steve Armenta secured a drugs bust at The Cottage on Lake Herman Road that night. Pierre Bidou stated on the 2007 documentary "During that night we had served a search warrant at what we call The Cottage at Lake Herman which was owned by the city of Benicia, a narcotics search warrant my partner and I, we confiscated about a pound and a half of marijuana, which in the 1960s was a big drugs bust, today it wouldn't get very high on the Richter scale. We had left and were heading back to the police department to put the marijuana into evidence and as we drove by we didn't see or observe anybody in that area, there's a turn there (the crime scene turnout) and your headlights shine right in there as you go by. As I was pulling into the lot at the police department we heard the Benicia Police Department dispatcher put out a call of a possible shooting and victims on Lake Herman Road and described the location. My partner and I turned around at that time and responded to the call." https://youtu.be/HI0jnsbZwys?t=3m5s

According to the Benicia Herald online "Bidou and his partner had served a warrant on a Lake Herman Road cabin Dec 20th 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." http://beniciaheraldonline.com/citizens-police-academy-signs-of-the-zodiac/

Several eyewitnesses passed the turnout that night and saw the Faraday Rambler. Peggy and Homer Your passed the turnout, heading for the Marshall Ranch at approximately 10:55 pm. They saw the Rambler parked up. It didn't leave the turnout again that night. For Officer Pierre Bidou to have seen no vehicles in the turnout, he must have passed prior to 10:55 pm (assuming he wasn't mistaken). There was however, a vehicle parked in the turnout between 10:15 pm and 10:30 pm. according to Helen Axe's police statement. It was stated in the police report that "Miss Axe reports that she and her boyfriend, a sailor, were driving on Lake Herman Road. They passed the area of the pumping station, she recognized the Rambler and the victims, Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday. Stated that when she went by about 10:15 pm, the car was facing in towards the gate and when she returned about 15 minutes later after having gone to the end of the road and then came back, the car was turned around and the front was facing the field, a little to the side."

However, this may not have been the Rambler in the turnout, with Helen Axe possibly having inadvertently replaced the vehicle she observed with the Rambler, after subsequently reading newspaper reports of the double murder at the Lake Herman Road turnout, effectively jigsawing the two together in her mind. This was ably pointed out by Ray Grant in Zodiac Killer Solved. What she likely saw, was the white Chevrolet Impala described by Robert Connelly, Frank Gasser and Bingo Wesner, who all saw an empty 'white 4-door hardtop, 1959 or 1960 Impala' parked in the turnout at about 10:00 pm. This vehicle could have driven away shortly after 10.00 pm and been replaced by the arrival of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen in the Rambler at around 10:15 pm. But the vehicle shifting in position is interesting, coupled with an approximate 10:30 pm sighting of a blue 1963 Chevrolet Impala, with two occupants, at the crossroads of Lake Herman Road and Columbus Parkway by Stan, a 14 year old boy. The Helen Axe sighting and Stan's are only approximations of time, so with the journey from the turnout to Columbus Parkway taking about five minutes, this could be the same vehicle. The white Chevrolet under street lighting may have skewed the color. This again, an insightful observation by Ray Grant.

The empty white Chevrolet Impala was spotted by Robert Connelly, Frank Gasser and Bingo Wesner at 10:00 pm. The two occupants may have returned from their travels at approximately 10:30 pm and started to turn the vehicle to exit the turnout. At this precise moment, Helen Axe passed the turnout heading in the direction of Vallejo and noticed the vehicle had shifted its position. Once Helen Axe had passed the turnout, the white Chevrolet Impala followed behind.

We don't know exactly when the Chevrolet Impala arrived at the turnout. It was spotted at 10:00 pm. However, William Crow and his girlfriend were parked in the turnout earlier.

The police report stated "he was driving his girlfriend's sports car and he was testing it out and adjusting the motor. He was parked in the open area by the pump station and he observed a blue car, possibly a Valiant coming down the road from Benicia towards Vallejo. They passed his location, stopped in the middle of the road and he saw the white lights of the reverse come on and the car started backing up towards them. Mr Crow put the car in gear and took off at a high rate of speed and the car followed him at a high rate of speed. They did not attempt to gain on him, but when they got to the turn off towards Benicia, William Crow turned towards Benicia and the other car went straight ahead. The subjects were both Caucasians and there is no further identification on the car or the subjects." William Crow and his girlfriend were estimated to have been on Lake Herman Road between 9:30 pm and 10:00 pm.

William Crow would later claim he never said "blue valiant." In a revised offering he said "I could not see the passenger seat, but the driver was a man with short hair and glasses. I did not see his specific facial features. I never told the sheriff who interviewed me that the car I encountered was a Valiant. As I recall, as I was attempting to describe the car, the sheriff came up with a “Valiant”. In the years that have passed, when I have shared the events of that night, I have described the car as a four-door light-colored Chevy."  He couldn't see the passenger seat, so it could have been another man, a woman, or a single occupant.  

Was this the four-door white Chevrolet Impala described by Robert Connelly, Frank Gasser and Bingo Wesner? After effectively 'removing' William Crow from the turnout (and assuming this was the same vehicle as observed by the above three eyewitnesses), did it then park in the turnout shortly before 10.00 pm. The two occupants vacate their Chevrolet Impala just before 10.00 pm and return at 10:30 pm, when spotted turning their vehicle by Helen Axe at 10:30 pm or thereabouts. 

But where would the two occupants have gone for 30-35 minutes on an extremely cold 22 degrees Fahrenheit night? You would think under these circumstances that the occupants were certainly determined in their goal and had parked in the turnout for something nearby. We are therefore looking for an approximate 10-12 minute journey either way, that necessitated them leaving their vehicle in the turnout. The Marshall Ranch was just up the road, but one would assume the occupants of the ranch would have been questioned, not withstanding the fact, that if the occupants of the Chevrolet were visiting the Marshall Ranch at 10.00 pm at night, they would likely have arranged in advance for their ease of entrance to be accommodated. The Cottage, however, is exactly 10 minutes walking distance from the turnout, and the turnout is the nearest accessible parking area to The Cottage. 'The Cottage at Lake Herman was owned by the city of Benicia,' so it may have been gated or secured that night by either the city, or the occupants of The Cottage, requiring the search warrant for entry by Officers Bidou and Armenta. This may have been why the occupants of the Chevrolet had to park their vehicle at the closest point. Either that, or they didn't want their vehicle being seen by The Cottage when buying their drugs. After all, police 'confiscated about a pound and a half of marijuana, which in the 1960s was a big drugs bust.' 

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. Were the drugs at The Cottage connected in any way to Warren Avenue.

The two occupants left their Chevrolet in the turnout slightly before 10:00 pm, walked the 10 minutes to The Cottage and bought their drugs. They spent 5-10 minutes at The Cottage, before the 10 minute journey back to their vehicle around 10:25-10:30 pm. But what if they had a conversation with an undetermined number of people at The Cottage, stating they were parked down the road in the turnout and were heading back? They left the 'drugs party' at approximately 10:15 pm, and shortly thereafter, the police rolled up to The Cottage securing 'about a pound and a half of marijuana.' The two dealers are hauled off to Benicia Police Department by Officers Pierre Bidou and Steve Armenta, leaving a scattered crowd. The two officers pass the turnout heading back to Benicia sometime around 10:45 pm. Remember, Pierre Bidou stated "We had left and were heading back to the police department to put the marijuana into evidence and as we drove by we didn't see or observe anybody in that area, there's a turn there (the crime scene turnout) and your headlights shine right in there as you go by."  The Chevrolet had now gone, but...David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen pull into the turnout shortly after - and within 25 minutes both are dead.

The crime was eventually attributed to a 'crazed maniac' serial killer, who belatedly owned up to the double murder nearly seven months later. The person may have been 'crazed' that night, but was it because they had been party to a 'big drugs bust', and were looking for revenge. They recalled the two occupants heading back to the turnout just minutes before the police arrived. Did they eventually head to the pitch-black turnout, seeing two occupants parked up, before committing the brutal double murder of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen in error, that ultimately initiated the birth, of who we now know as the Zodiac Killer.

This is a representation of the likely order of the 10 shots fired in the Lake Herman Road turnout on December 20th 1968, resulting in the murder of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen. Each bullet/s fired is represented by four colors, red, green, yellow and blue. This may also be the order the weapon was discharged. [1] The shot into the headliner of the Rambler [2] The shot traveling above the Rambler (shots 1 and 2 can obviously be interchanged). [3] The shot into the rear window [4] The murder of David Faraday [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] The six shots fired at Betty Lou Jensen, with one missing the young girl. The respective casings for each of the ten shots have been allocated the corresponding color.
This representation will be explained in greater detail below. 

[1] The killer parked approximately 10 feet alongside the Faraday Rambler. The killer exited the driver side door of his vehicle and immediately fired at the Rambler. The distance creating a relatively flat trajectory, with the bullet striking the headliner and embedding in the upper portion of the Rambler on the left side of the vehicle. The casing flew behind the shooter and bounced off the metallic surface of his vehicle, coming to rest by the red circle, approximately 20 feet from the right side of the Rambler.

[2] The second shot immediately following the first, with the casing flying to the right and rear, likely striking the hood of the assailant's vehicle and coming to rest by the front of his vehicle, 14 feet to the right side of the Rambler. 

[3] The killer approaches the Rambler and fires off his third shot (green line) into the right rear window, just above the window liner. The bullet came to rest in the left rear wheel well of the Rambler. By calculating the angle of the bullet trajectory of approximately 17 to 19 degrees to the horizontal, we know that the shooter based on a height of 5'10", had to be standing no more than 4-5 feet from the Rambler. With an extended arm, this would place the gun 25-30 inches from the Rambler window when fired. So, unless the shooter walked backwards after this shot and fired into the headliner, this was likely the third shot that night, as the killer approached the couple's vehicle. The ejected casing flies to the rear, somewhere in the region of the green circle, measured at 8'2" from the right side of the Rambler. The positions of these circles are only approximations based on the measurements given in the police report.  

[4] The couple are forced from the vehicle and David Faraday is callously executed with a bullet to the left side of his head (just under the ear). He is standing with his back to the Rambler, and the casing ejects to the rear, traveling either directly or indirectly off the Rambler door, coming to rest on the front passenger floorboard of the Rambler (yellow line and circle).

[5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] The shooter takes a step or two forward and fires at Betty Lou Jensen as she flees into the distance. The first shot at extremely close range left gunpowder residue on her dress, despite this however, she would reach 33 feet from the rear of the Rambler before collapsing backwards, ultimately being discovered 28 feet from the Rambler (where the policeman is shining his torch in the background). The casings are ejected in the blue grouping - close to the right side of the Rambler. The dark blue circle representing 1 of the 6 shots he fired at Betty Lou Jensen, that possibly missed their target. 

Two bullets were never retrieved from the scene, indicating they either missed Betty Lou Jensen while she was running for her life, missed the Rambler on the shooter's approach to the vehicle, were fired into the air as a warning, or were a combination of these possibilities. However, considering the tight grouping of six casings close to the vehicle, it is arguable, they were fired from the same location. It is unlikely the shooter would miss the Rambler standing right next to it. He likely missed the Rambler when initially exiting his vehicle, the two bullet casings at 14 and 20 feet striking his vehicle and coming to rest in the respective positions shown below. 

If you have any alternative thoughts on the sequence of shots fired on December 20th 1968, or opinions on the Lake Herman Road double murder, please leave your contributions in the comments section below. 

​The following will be a further in depth examination of the area around the payphone at the intersection of Springs Road and Tuolumne Street, where the Zodiac Killer placed a phone call to police dispatcher Nancy Slover at 12:40 am on July 5th 1969.
Firstly, we will take a closer look into the possibility the Zodiac Killer placed three phone calls rather than the accepted two, beginning on December 20th 1968, shortly after the double murder of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen on Lake Herman Road.

Pierre Bidou, one of the responding officers to the Lake Herman Road murders was interviewed by the Benicia Herald, in which was stated "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".

If true, somebody may have phoned the police to report a car accident - although it was perceived as a crank call. ​Clearly, something must have triggered this belief, as a car accident is not something to be taken lightly, yet it was perceived as suspect. This phone call (if placed) must have been received between the time of the murders and 11:25 pm, the earliest time that Captain Daniel Pitta received the disturbing account of Stella Medeiros and then radioed in to police headquarters. There should be no conceivable reason why a respected officer of the law, radioing in on police frequency the account of Stella Medeiros (Borges) about bodies on the ground, should be construed as a crank call, unless shortly before or around the same time they had received another incoming call pertaining to a car accident on Lake Herman Road. If this phone call had been placed by an unknown party, they would have rang police literally minutes after the murders.
 
The last person to pass the fateful turnout prior to the murders was James Owen, estimated between 11:09 -11:14 pm. The phone call (if the murderer), would indicate the payphone used to have been approximately 10 to 15 minutes away from the Lake Herman Road turnout, had he traveled directly there. This is because Officer Pierre Bidou received the information about the crank call as he and his partner were "on their way to deposit some marijuana in the police department’s evidence locker", after which they immediately returned back to Lake Herman Road. We know his approximate time of arrival at the crime scene and therefore the approximate time he was dispatched to it. This ties nicely with a potential phone call from the Zodiac Killer, delivered from the exact payphone he used after the Blue Rock Springs Park attack on Michael Mageau and Darlene Ferrin. This payphone is 11 to 13 minutes traveling time from the Lake Herman Road turnout.     

If this call was the Zodiac Killer, why didn't he just lay claim to the murders as he had done in his two following attacks. He may simply have just gained pleasure by calling it in and describing it as a car accident, toying with police - or does his following two phone calls give us a clue. If he had spotted a potential eyewitness near the payphone, he may have instinctively changed the message from a double murder to a car accident, thereby avoiding any future ramifications had he somehow been traced. He then would have only been a concerned citizen. Did this influence his method of operation on July 5th 1969?

In the August 4th 1969 'Debut of Zodiac' letter he stated "I drove away quite slowly so as not to draw attention to my car. The man who told police that my car was brown was a negro about 40-45 rather shabbly dressed. I was in this phone booth having some fun with the Vallejo cop when he was walking by. When I hung the phone up the damn thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me + my car". There are several reasons to believe the Zodiac Killer invented this eyewitness, but not the ringing payphone. The way he constructed this passage of text may be extremely well thought out, to give the impression he was still in his vehicle, as opposed to on foot. Had he parked his vehicle at his residence and walked to the payphone, the last thing he wanted to do is reveal this to investigators, as reconstructing the timeline would place his residence in the very near vicinity.
The first section of the passage is effectively true -  he drove away from the scene of the crime in his car. He then immediately reinforces the idea to police that he is still in his vehicle, by offering up a potential eyewitness to the said vehicle and giving up unnecessary details about the eyewitness in an attempt to make him more real, such as his age range and mode of dress. Information that not only could be helpful to police in possibly tracking the eyewitness down, but also an eyewitness who potentially could reinforce the notion his vehicle was brown (knowing he would never be found, because he didn't exist). The Zodiac Killer, having read the newspaper reports of his vehicle being described as brown by Michael Mageau, is effectively using the negro male to corroborate the color of his vehicle - which may indicate his vehicle was anything but brown. A killer offering up useful information to investigators has to be viewed with suspicion. 

Finally, just in case the police hadn't got the message, he delivers his car into the passage for a third time: "When I hung the phone up the damn thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me + my car". The phone rang - but there was no vehicle. The ringing payphone could have drawn attention to him in the early morning hours, and may have been the reason he left the receiver off the hook at 1231 Main Street, Napa, after the Lake Berryessa attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard. The ringing payphone was the perfect opportunity to fictitiously place his brown car at the payphone and corroborate the 'fact' by an over-detailed description of an eyewitness. Using this hypothesis and the time of the shooting, would likely place the killer's residence within a 15-20 minute walking radius of the payphone. His experiences after the Lake Herman Road murders may have influenced his decision to place the phone call without his car in tow, and lessen the risk of his vehicle being connected to that location.    

After the Lake Berryessa attack, the Zodiac Killer was possibly heading along California State Route 29 towards Vallejo, where many observers believe he lived. The western edge of Tuolumne Street by Flosden Acres, borders this route, so would take the killer to the area just north of the payphone. Whether he took this route is obviously unknown, but his directional movement after the first two crimes may possibly suggest this is a viable option. 

The Zodiac Killer in all likelihood didn't know any of his victims, but this cannot be totally ruled out. David Faraday was present on Sonoma Boulevard four hours prior to his murder. The 4th July 1969 annual parade in Vallejo began at 10:00 am and traveled south on Sonoma Boulevard. Darlene Ferrin went to the lighted boat parade the evening of her death.
Ricardo Gomez of MK Zodiac has written an excellent article on this topic, with a possible connection to the Zodiac 408 cipher and the Zodiac 'buttons'.
 
On page 31 of the LHR police report it states "Joe was interviewed at the Faraday residence, 1930 Sereno Drive. He was a personal friend of David. He states David had no enemies to his knowledge. David met Betty Lou approximately a week ago at the Pythian Castle where they were decorating the hall for a social event". 
On page 53 it states "Mrs Faraday stated she did not know Betty Lou that she and David had only been going together for a short time, she had never met Betty Lou. She stated she did not know of any enemies David may have had. She stated that on Friday night at 7.10 pm David drove his sister Debbie to a meeting of the Rainbow Girls at the Pythian Castle on Sonoma Boulevard, and David came back home at 7.20 pm and left again at 7.30 pm. Responding officer talked to Debbie Faraday, WFJ 16 years, sister of David. She relates the following David told her on the afternoon of Friday 12/20/68 that he was going out to Lake Herman Road that night because a bunch of the kids were going out there that night".
 ​
What is the likelihood Zodiac resided close to the intersection of Springs Road and Tuolumne Street, and had crossed paths with some of his victims in this neighborhood? Did his profession give him intimate knowledge of the movements or plans of his young victims? A serial killer usually begins his crimes close to home, somewhere he is familiar with, before he eventually gains in confidence and ventures further afield. So, if the Zodiac Killer had lived in Vallejo near the payphone, he would use victim availability, the least effort principle and a buffer zone to select his first attacks (both on Friday), particularly if he worked 9-5, Monday to Friday, in which time constraints would obviously have a bearing. A recent survey in Germany studied the locations of serial killer victims in respect to the killer's home residence and found that 63% of the time the killer lived within a 6 mile traveling distance to the crime scene. So putting all these factors together, we could expect the Zodiac Killer's first murders at Lake Herman Road on December 20th 1968 and Blue Rock Springs Park on July 4th 1969 to be only a matter of a few miles from his house. The payphone is 6.2 miles from the turnout at Lake Herman Road and 3.6 miles from Blue Rock Springs Park.

We also have to consider that if the Zodiac Killer lived further away from the payphone area, such as American Canyon, Napa or San Francisco, why didn't he apply a greater buffer zone from the crime scene to his choice of payphone, as opposed to making the phone call only 3.6 miles (2.85 miles as the crow flies) from the crime scene and extremely close to the police station. Possibly, because in his early crimes he chose to take less risk - his objective being to head home almost immediately to discard the weapon and secure his vehicle. His third and fourth crimes showed increased confidence, but crucially both were on a Saturday, therefore he was less constrained by time, had he worked during the week. 

The Zodiac Killer's first two attacks in remote areas may have indicated that he trolled Lake Herman Road and Columbus Parkway looking to find victims. This would suggest a prior knowledge of these areas being frequented by courting couples. ​"David told Debbie on the afternoon of Friday 12/20/68 that he was going out to Lake Herman Road that night because a bunch of the kids were going out there that night". Was the killer aware of these plans? Did he track Darlene Ferrin after the parade? It may be unlikely, but these questions have to be asked. 

Additionally, would a killer who didn't live in the near vicinity of the crimes, have such a good grasp of his spatial awareness. In the July 31st 1969 letters he stated the "Girl was lyeing on right side feet to west", and contrary to popular belief, his payphone directions were also fairly accurate, if taken from either the payphone or police station. 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"  When you insert a break or comma after "east", the directions are perfectly fine, other than "one mile east" should have been "1.34 miles east on Springs Road".  Columbus Parkway is east of the payphone and police station. His compass directions were correct in both instances. He could of course (if unsure) have checked a map prior to the Blue Rock Springs attack, but that would rely on knowing in advance exactly where his attack was going to take place. He could have checked a map after the attack and before the payphone call. Or he could have known the area well.

THE ADDITION OF ONE FULL STOP - Examining the phone call after the BRS attack and showing the directions given by the killer were correct.

A home location for the Zodiac Killer was previously examined based on his movements after the July 4th 1969 Blue Rock Springs Park shooting and his possible misdirection in the August 4th 1969 'Debut of Zodiac' letter, where he stated "The man who told police that my car was brown was a negro about 40-45 rather shabbly dressed. I was in this phone booth having some fun with the Vallejo cop when he was walking by. When I hung the phone up the damn thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me + my car". It was argued, that by drawing our attention to the description of the male negro and the fact he had spotted the Zodiac's brown car, the killer was in fact disguising the reality, that he had actually walked to the payphone at Springs and Tuolumne rather than driven, thereby safeguarding his identity.

Approximating the attack at Blue Rock Springs Park to midnight, had he lived in the vicinity of the payphone, then his journey time from the attack site would have been approximately 10 minutes. Allowing for a further 10 minute turnaround to park his vehicle, ditch his weapon, change his clothes and prepare himself, we are left with a reasonable estimate of 15-20 minutes walking time to the payphone, affording him a reasonable buffer zone to his residence or base location. 

Many observers have speculated as to whether the Zodiac Killer knew any of his victims, or had crossed paths with them at any point in time. There is no solid evidence to believe such a relationship ever existed, but to even try to contend one existed, common ground must be sought. If our killer lived 15-20 minutes walking distance from the payphone, then it is reasonable to assert that he likely interacted with neighbors and the local community by way of convenience stores, churches and community centers. Although not fully established, the Zodiac Killer has been touted as having a military connection. It has also been suggested he may have belonged to a secret society, fraternal organization or satanic circle. So, in an attempt to give this notion a fair examination, we must first look at the locale in a 15-20 minute walking radius of the payphone, as well as any possible connections to the victims at Blue Rock Springs Park or Lake Herman Road, where his reign of terror began. To narrow down the search field further, the north side of the payphone was examined first, as it afforded separation from the police station nearby.              

First take a look at these three repeated symbols in the 340 character cipher, mailed on November 8th 1969. The following connection, pointed out on many Zodiac forums is extremely tenuous, nevertheless it has relevance to the following segments in the Lake Herman Road police report.

On page 31 it states "Joe was interviewed at the Faraday residence, 1930 Sereno Drive. He was a personal friend of David. He states David had no enemies to his knowledge. David met Betty Lou approximately a week ago at the Pythian Castle where they were decorating the hall for a social event".

On page 53 it states "Mrs Faraday stated she did not know Betty Lou that she and David had only been going together for a short time, she had never met Betty Lou. She stated she did not know of any enemies David may have had. She stated that on Friday night at 7:10 pm David drove his sister Debbie to a meeting of the Rainbow Girls at the Pythian Castle on Sonoma Boulevard, and David came back home at 7:20 pm and left again at 7:30 pm. Responding officer talked to Debbie Faraday, WFJ 16 years, sister of David. She relates the following David told her on the afternoon of Friday 12/20/68 that he was going out to Lake Herman Road that night because a bunch of the kids were going out there that night".

Here is an extract from the Calvary Baptist Church: "Calvary Baptist Church held its first services on Sunday, January 13, 1959. Pastor Emmit Duckett and the Fairfield Baptist Church commissioned the beginning of Calvary Baptist Church on February 1, 1959. On that day, the 20 charter members unanimously called Patrick Everitt as their pastor. The first meeting place was the Pythian Castle Hall at 2618 Sonoma Boulevard in Vallejo, California". link.

This following snippet is from the Vallejo Times-Herald newspaper on December 22nd 1968: "The Jensen girl, whose family resides at 123 Ridgewood Ct, was a native of Colorado. She was a junior and an honor student at Hogan High School. She was also grand royal guide of Prima Vera Council 32. Pythian Sunshine Girls".

On the left is the emblem of the Knights of Pythias, referring to  Friendship, Charity and Benevolence. The Knights of Pythias was the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress. It was founded by Justus H. Rathbone who had been inspired by a play by the Irish poet John Banim about the legend of Damon and Pythias. This legend illustrates the ideals of loyalty, honor, and friendship that are the center of the order. The order has over 2,000 lodges in the United States and around the world, with a total membership of over 50,000 in 2003. The order is headquartered in Stoughton, Massachusetts. Some lodges meet in structures referred to as Pythian Castles. Extract from Wikipedia. The Pythian Sisters have a youth affiliate, the Pythian Sunshine Girls, started in 1930. It is open to girls 8–20 and has local Councils in Arizona, New Mexico, California, Ohio, Virginia and Texas,.

Albeit one character is reversed, the 340 cipher contains the letters FBC from the Knights of Pythias emblem, on the ninth and thirteenth lines. Had David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen come into contact with their killer through the Knights of Pythias fraternal organization - and somebody who knew their plans on Friday night. The Pythian Castle Hall at 2618 Sonoma Boulevard is only 24 minutes walking distance from the Springs and Tuolumne payphone. However, there is somewhere that lies inside our 15 minute walking radius from the payphone, that may have some greater relevance regarding the Zodiac Killer and the Knights of Pythias. Listed in the 1969 Vallejo directory under 1020 Alabama Street is The Knights of Pythias Organization 643-6087 and The Navy City Elks Lodge No 1268 643-6087. The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is a fraternal order founded in 1868, with veteran services provided by the society. The Elks pledge that "So long as there are veterans, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks will never forget them." Wikipedia link. 1020 Alabama Street is approximately 14 minutes or 0.7 miles from the Springs and Tuolumne payphone, that may center the Zodiac Killer's location very close to Alabama Street and Sanoma Boulevard, or indeed The Knights of Pythias Organization and The Navy City Elks Lodge.  The Mare Island Naval Shipyard is also in close proximity. ​However, If the Zodiac Killer did not live in this area, was he a staff member or visitor of these organizations? And did he at any time cross paths with David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen? It's a slim possibility, but can it be ruled out?

James Owen was the only eyewitness at Lake Herman Road who saw two vehicles parked in the turnout on December 20th 1968. He recalled very little about the vehicle parked alongside the Faraday Rambler, but remembered them being 3 to 10 feet apart. His statement to police noted that "he did not see anyone in the cars or around them." This is probably the most puzzling aspect of the Lake Herman Road murders, and is often explained away in unsatisfactory terms. Raymond Grant, author of 'Zodiac Killer Solved' alerted me to this problem, with respect to how the Faraday Rambler was discovered by police in the turnout - with the front passenger side door open. Ray has tackled this 'anomaly' in his book and presented a comprehensive timeline of the eyewitnesses present that fateful night. However, the following will view the crime from a different perspective.

It is possible that James Owen was mistaken and didn't notice David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen in the Rambler, but for now we will take his account in good faith and assume they were not present in the front seats. It is extremely unlikely David Faraday would have just remained in the pitch black turnout for any considerable time if another vehicle had pulled up alongside them. So it is likely that the vehicle that James Owen saw alongside the Rambler had just pulled into the turnout before he arrived. Approximately 30 seconds after he had passed the turnout he "thought he heard a shot." Many observers have speculated that the Zodiac Killer had already forced the couple from the Rambler before James Owen arrived. He was about to murder the couple when he saw or heard James Owen's vehicle approaching, so improvised and forced the couple out of sight between the vehicles. But we have a major problem. James Owen does not mention the car doors on either vehicle being open, particularly the Rambler. This can be simply explained away, in that the killer, keen to avoid drawing unwanted attention, simply closed the Rambler door before forcing the couple out of sight. 

Once James Owen had passed, the killer began his brutal execution of the couple, beginning with David Faraday just 30 seconds later. It was then assumed, he returned to his vehicle and left the turnout. If this version of events were true, then why did the killer reopen the passenger side door of the Rambler before he left, as this is how it was found by investigators responding to the crime scene? Nothing was apparently taken from the victims by the perpetrator, or mailed by the killer thereafter.

It has been suggested that James Owen likely didn't see the couple in the vehicle because they were 'making out' with the seats reclined. This would be highly unlikely, once a second vehicle had entered the turnout in extremely close proximity.
It was a dark, isolated turnout, late at night - and David Faraday, a conscientious young man, accompanying Betty Lou Jensen on a first date, would have been fully aware of the dangers and almost certainly would have reacted to a unknown vehicle pulling alongside them..If we take the statement of James Owen as literal, and the couple were not in the vehicle or under duress between the vehicles, then where were they?

Raymond Grant has presented his version of events in Zodiac Killer Solved, but here we will explore some alternatives. The simplest, is that the couple were in the vehicle but James Owen simply failed to notice them. If they were between the vehicles, then we have to believe that the killer pulled up alongside the Rambler, forced them out of the vehicle with warning shots not within audible range of James Owen's approaching vehicle, but didn't strike immediately. The assailant then noticed the vehicle of James Owen approaching and reacted by hiding the couple out of sight, while at the same time closing his door and the door of the Rambler. Once he believed James Owen had passed beyond audible range, he began his attack on David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen. Just before he left the turnout, however, he must have reopened the Rambler door, as this is how it was discovered by responding officers. But with nothing reported missing from the young couple, the murderer either didn't find anything of satisfaction within the Rambler, or this chain of events never occurred.  

Did James Owen see a vehicle parked alongside the Rambler at all? The sighting of the empty white Chevrolet Impala earlier that night, along with the suspicious vehicle reported by William Crow, seems to center the focus around the turnout that night, especially when we consider the events that ultimately unfolded approximately 75 minutes later. This appears to solidify James Owen's sighting of a second vehicle as correct. He may have been unsure of the distance between the two vehicles, but in his statement to police he confidently stated that "he definitely saw two cars".

Another alternative (if we dismiss the above), has been presented by Raymond Grant, hypothesizing that the couple were held captive, contained within the trunk of a vehicle, most likely the Chevrolet Impala. It is not a reasonable suggestion to argue that the killer entered the rear of the Rambler, forcing the couple out of sight as James Owen passed, because the rear doors were discovered locked by investigators when they arrived at the crime scene. Either James Owen was mistaken and he failed to notice the couple in the Rambler, the killer reopened the front passenger door after the murders to possibly collect a souvenir, which seem unlikely, or another unexplored option exists, not dissimilar to that suggested by Raymond Grant. 

The Department of Justice report clearly stated that the bullet recovered from David Faraday did not exhibit the same right hand twist characteristics as the other seven bullets recovered that night. Although this is not conclusive proof of a second weapon or second shooter, it raises the question.

With eight bullets supposedly recovered from the turnout and at autopsy, the notion of a second vehicle pulling up alongside the Faraday Rambler with two occupants stacks up, in terms of a ratio of 7:1 bullets fired from each particular weapon. Here is the scenario.

The assailants vehicle pulls up approximately ten feet to the right of the Faraday Rambler, and both assailants exit their vehicle immediately. Under this premise, it is  obvious that the driver of the second vehicle is closest to the Rambler, so he immediately upon exiting, fires a shot into the right headliner of the Rambler. This was found to have a straight trajectory and embedded in the upholstery on the upper left side of the Rambler. His ejected casing, as he is standing immediately outside his driver side door, flies to his rear, over the vehicle and likely lands to the right side of his vehicle, approximately 20 feet to the right of the Rambler, as shown in the police sketch. If the distance between the two vehicles is slightly greater, say 13 feet, then taking into account the width his vehicle of 5-6 feet, makes the 'stray' bullet casing look anything but stray.

He approaches the Rambler and fires a second shot into the right rear window from approximately 4 feet, accounting for its trajectory of 17-19 degrees relative to the horizontal. His accomplice at this juncture has not yet fired a shot. He is still rounding the unknown vehicle and is furthest from the Rambler, so he is not the instigator to drive the couple from the Rambler. Besides, his partner is effectively in front of him, so firing towards the Rambler is not required, and would present a risk in near darkness of striking his accomplice. The driver of the unknown vehicle has now fired at least two shots, and gestures to the couple to exit the Rambler. Betty Lou Jensen, who is seated in the passenger side, exits the vehicle first and is secured by this assailant. The assailant from the passenger side of the offending vehicle has now arrived, and he now secures David Faraday as he leaves the Rambler, by the right rear wheel of the Rambler. There is now no risk associated with getting close to David Faraday. Betty Lou Jensen is being held with a gun likely pointed at her head. David has no choice but to comply. His assailant is either standing directly in front of him, with the gun pressed to his left ear, making him a right-handed shooter, or he has him secured around the neck from behind, making him a left-handed shooter. David Faraday is essentially powerless to affect the situation.          

The other assailant then releases Betty Lou Jensen and tells her to run, firing 5 shots into her back from his illuminated weapon as she flees westwards, finally succumbing 28 feet to the rear of the Rambler station wagon. David Faraday, the only eyewitness left, is dispatched by the second assailant. His gun ejects the casing to the rear, into the open passenger side door of the Rambler, and is later noted lying on the passenger side floorboard. This casing, however, was later 'misplaced' and never submitted to the Department of Justice for ballistics testing, leaving us all scratching our heads on whether this cartridge case may have exhibited different characteristics to the other nine casings recovered. If so, then the importance of the bullet recovered from David Faraday at autopsy is greatly magnified, increasing exponentially the likelihood of two shooters at Lake Herman Road on December 20th 1968.

It may have been the murderer of Betty Lou Jensen who wrote the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter and stated "All I had to do was spray them as if it was a water hose; there was no need to use the gun sights". But he may have 'spoke' out of turn, issuing this statement from his perspective, not the perspective of his accomplice. There is of course no way of establishing which of the couple was shot first, but the above example would play into the scenario of two assailants who wanted to taunt the young teenagers, in particular David Faraday. We also cannot dismiss the testimony of William Crow, who approximately 90 minutes before the double murder was apparently chased along Lake Herman Road by two occupants in a light-colored Chevrolet or blue Valiant (depending on which version you believe). Two eyewitnesses incidentally, who never came forward. Is this because they returned to the turnout sometime after 11:00 pm? This would certainly explain their reluctance to present themselves to investigators. 

http://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/two-shooters-at-lake-herman-road

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

Here we will tackle the Lake Herman Road timeline for the umpteenth occasion, but examine it in relation to the movements of Officer Pierre Bidou. This is not the first article looking at the timeline of Pierre Bidou, but the previous have predominantly used the statements given by him in the 2007 Zodiac documentary, in which he said "During that night we had served a search warrant at what we call The Cottage at Lake Herman which was owned by the city of Benicia, a narcotics search warrant my partner and I, we confiscated about a pound and a half of marijuana, which in the 1960s was a big drugs bust, today it wouldn't get very high on the Richter scale. We were heading back to the police department to put the marijuana into evidence and as we drove by, we did not see or observe anyone in that area, because it's a turn there and your headlights shine right in there as you go by. I was pulling into the lot in the police department, we heard the Benicia Police Department dispatch about a call of a possible shooting and victims on Lake Herman Road, and described the location. My partner and I turned around at that time and responded to the call. We felt we were only minutes from the crime scene when it actually happened and for the best of my recollection we did not pass any other vehicle or traffic. I'm pretty sure of that because that is one of the things we told the sheriff's office, that we did not see any other vehicles coming our way. What could have happened, depending on where a vehicle turned onto Lake Herman Road, if it came from behind us, from Vallejo, we would not have seen them".​

However, just like Donald Fouke at Presidio Heights, it depends on which version of Pierre Bidou's account you believe when constructing your timeline. Pierre Bidou passing the turnout prior to 11:00 pm, has him arriving at Benicia Police Department (10 minute journey) far too early to simply "pull into the lot in the police department, and hear the Benicia Police Department dispatch about a call of a possible shooting and victims on Lake Herman Road". It hadn't been reported until 11:25 pm, when Stella Medeiros flagged down Captain Daniel Pitta.

It has been suggested that Pierre Bidou and Steve Armenta likely stopped en route back to Benicia PD to grab something to eat - something police officers have been known to do. But this seems unlikely, the reasons for which will be explained shortly. 

The following explores the idea that Pierre Bidou did actually pass the turnout likely minutes before the murders, as he alluded to in the 2007 documentary, when he stated "We felt we were only minutes from the crime scene when it actually happened". In fact, he may have been the final person to pass the turnout before the murders and not James Owen. Multiple versions of the Lake Herman Road timeline can be created. There are so many conflicting versions of the same story, it becomes a matter of where you source your material and/or law enforcement quotes. This is not a character assassination of Pierre Bidou, who was a long standing and by all accounts a very good police officer, but with the passage of time memories become tainted, and recollections become blurred. Pierre Bidou, on no less than four occasions described finding David Faraday in the front passenger seat of the Rambler, yet in the 2007 documentary stated David Faraday was found lying outside the Rambler on the turnout floor. These are discrepancies compounded by ones recollection of a distant event - and totally understandable. It is from this confliction we shall create a new timeline for Pierre Bidou.

In an interview with the Benicia Herald, Pierre Bidou is consistent in his claim about arriving at Benicia Police Department, when they are informed of an incident on Lake Herman Road: "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. Bidou and his partner had been in the vicinity a short time before, but they hadn’t seen any traffic, let alone Faraday’s car parked in the turnout". Source.

In another Benicia Herald article the version differed. Although not a direct quote from Bidou, it could be argued that the interviewer simply didn't pluck this account out of thin air. It stated "The timing was remarkable. The officers had just participated in a narcotics raid at a building at the Lake Herman parking area and had driven back to town with suspects in the back of their cruiser. Perhaps, they thought, they had seen a car at the turnout. Maybe there were two. They couldn’t be completely sure". Source.

Here lies the problem. If more than one version can be given for the position David Faraday was discovered in the turnout, it is not unreasonable to consider their differing accounts on whether any vehicles were present in the turnout - "they couldn’t be completely sure". The two officers had just secured a big drugs bust of the day and apparently had suspects in the back of their cruiser. Not likely then, that they would stop off for a bite to eat on the way back to Benicia PD. Combine this with the fact that Pierre Bidou throughout the years has never mentioned any detour on the way back to the police department, yet has consistently reaffirmed that he had just arrived at the parking lot of the police department when he was dispatched back to Lake Herman Road, believing he had passed the turnout literally "minutes from the crime scene".  

Stella Medeiros raced for help after discovering the bodies in the turnout and located Captain Daniel Pitta, according to his police report account, at 11:25 pm. Pitta then radioed Benicia Police Department somewhere between 11:25 and 11:30 pm. Pierre Bidou's journey time from the turnout to Benicia PD is a maximum of 10 minutes. When he pulled into the parking lot the call came in: "I was pulling into the lot in the police department, we heard the Benicia Police Department dispatch about a call of a possible shooting and victims on Lake Herman Road". This had to be around 11:25 to 11:30 pm, radioed in by Captain Daniel Pitta. Therefore deducting this 10 minute journey by Pierre Bidou and Steve Armenta, has the officers passing the Lake Herman Road turnout at 11:15 to 11:20 pm, where "they had seen a car at the turnout. Maybe there were two. They couldn’t be completely sure".

If you believe that James Owen passed the turnout at 11:14 pm, then Pierre Bidou and Steve Armenta passed the turnout after James Owen - and therefore were the last witnesses before the murder. However, this would negate the idea that the shot James Owen thought he heard 30 seconds after passing the turnout, was the shot that began the murders of the young couple. If James Owen was mistaken about the gunshot, then Pierre Bidou could easily have passed after the Humble Oil worker, and before the arrival of Stella Medeiros, widely recognized as 11:20 pm.
 
This timeline has Pierre Bidou passing the turnout at 11:15 to 11:20 pm, and fits nicely with reaching Benicia PD around 11:25 to 11:30 pm. They likely dropped off the suspects and drugs before returning to the Lake Herman Road turnout, This, bearing in mind they are traveling at increased speed on the return journey, places them back at the turnout shortly after 11:30 pm, just after Captain Daniel Pitta, whose police report has him at the turnout at 11:28 pm. This seems consistent, as both officers recall David Faraday still breathing at the scene. 

It is very difficult to be specific fifty years after the crime, however, if Pierre Bidou and Steve Armenta had passed off the suspects to fellow officers and secured the drugs seizure, then received the dispatch of an incident on Lake Herman Road, it can easily be seen how five minutes could be added to the timeline. In this case the two officers would have passed the turnout sometime between 11:10 to 11:15 pm, the earlier of which (11.10-11.13 pm) would allow James Owen to pass the turnout after the officers, at 11:14 pm (and still hear the shot) - yet the gunfire would be inaudible to Pierre Bidou and Steve Armenta, who were further away towards Benicia. If James Owen passed the turnout circa 11:08 to 11:09 pm, then the earlier time of Pierre Bidou passing the turnout at 11:10 to 11:15 pm, or the later time of 11:15 to 11:20 pm, would in both instances have the officers passing after James Owen and likely negating the premise a gunshot had been heard.

If we believe the two officers took no detours that night, then they did literally pass the turnout minutes before the murders.

The following is nothing new, but is a further re-examination of the critical period after the Blue Rock Springs Park and Lake Herman Road attacks, focusing in on 'two phone calls' made shortly after each crime. It will place particular emphasis on the area around the Springs/Tuolumne payphone, and the possibility the killer's residence on foot, was mere minutes away. We shall also look again at the wording of the Zodiac Killer in the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter received by the San Francisco Examiner on August 4th 1969. Here is what we noted in a previous article:
​
'In the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter received by the San Francisco Examiner on August 4th 1969, the Zodiac Killer stated; 
"The man who told police that my car was brown was a negro about 40-45 rather shabbly dressed. I was in this phone booth having some fun with the Vallejo cop when he was walking by. When I hung the phone up the damn thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me + my car." This negro male was never traced and did not feature in the police report. The details of his age range and what he was wearing, on the face of it appear unnecessary, unless of course the Zodiac Killer was deliberately creating a fictional character who just so happened to observe his brown car. Bearing in mind Zodiac had likely read newspaper reports of Michael Mageau detailing a brown car in the parking lot of Blue Rock Springs, what better way to corroborate his sighting by further implanting the seed of a brown car into the minds of investigators, by the hand of this fictional eyewitness. If Zodiac's vehicle was 'Ermine White' then clearly this is to his advantage. Voluntarily offering the color of his vehicle as brown, if in fact it was brown, must be viewed with suspicion'.      

Two other things strike you about this section of correspondence. The Zodiac's willingness to accept he made an error of judgment when he hung up the phone, unless of course he had an ulterior motive for it. In his communications to police the Zodiac would never refer to his victims by name, calling them boy, girl, people, teenagers or taxicab driver. He only expanded on their descriptions when attempting to verify he was the killer, or in this case to verify he was spotted in his "brown car", by a "40-45 year old shabbily dressed negro male". Indeed, very helpful descriptions by the murderer, yet somewhat unnecessary. What had the killer to gain by adding this superfluous information, other than to benefit himself? He made specific reference to "that drew his attention to me + my car", when he could simply have said "that drew his attention to me". The killer appeared to be emphasizing, that not only was he in his car, but it was also brown, just like Michael Mageau had previously described.

By placing himself at the payphone in his vehicle approximately 40 minutes after the attack, when it was only 10 minutes from the Blue Rock Springs parking lot, may have suggested to police that he drove to the payphone and could live almost anywhere. Or was that what he wanted them to believe, by being so utterly unselfish and extremely forthright, in adding in the detailed description of the eyewitness and his brown car parked nearby. When in fact he was on foot - and had placed the phone call after returning home, ditching his weapon, vehicle and clothing (which may have received blood transfer from the shooting).  
​
The downside of a killer resident in downtown Vallejo, American Canyon or Benicia, is that, had he driven home to these locations to ditch his clothing and weapon, he would effectively be driving back towards or nearer to the crime scene to place the phone call. What killer would make a phone call after a murder extremely close to his residence? A killer who was implanting the seed of a brown car, when in fact it was probably white and not present at the payphone.

The content of the phone call may also be telling. The directions he gave were correct, apart from the distance. He stated "I wish to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east on Columbus Parkway to a public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They have been shot by a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye". This appears incorrect on first reading - whether from the payphone or the police station - but by inserting one break or comma, the directions make perfect sense: "I wish to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east..... on Columbus Parkway to a public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They have been shot by a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye". Or by changing one word regarding the recollection of Nancy Slover: "I wish to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east..... on Columbus Parkway by a public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They have been shot by a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye". However, is the killer playing down his familiarity with this particular payphone by placing it one mile west of Columbus Parkway, when its true distance is 2 miles.  

Let us consider the Zodiac Killer lived in a residence extremely close to the payphone - but how close? If he drove to a residence ten minutes from Blue Rock Springs, would he be prepared to walk 20-30 minutes to the payphone, and place the call, knowing he had the equivalent journey back home? In distance terms, one mile from the payphone. Or would he more likely venture 5 or 10 minutes? Could the 'crank call' made after the Lake Herman Road double murder help us - and did the Zodiac Killer place this phone call on foot from the exact same payphone? This much shallower timeline may place his residence yards from the Springs and Tuolumne intersection.

The timeline of Lake Herman Road is debatable, but it is fairly certain that James Owen passed the turnout at 11:08-11:10 pm and heard a shot 30 seconds later. This being the case, it puts the killer in the turnout at around 11:10 pm. Stella Medeiros spotting the bodies in the turnout, raced off to Benicia and flagged down Captain Daniel Pitta. This has been argued between 11:19-11:25 pm (Captain Daniel Pitta's police report states 11:25 pm), with his radio call to Benicia Police Department shortly thereafter. It is widely believed to be around 11:28-11:30 pm.

"Bidou and his partner had served a warrant on a Lake Herman Road cabin Dec. 20, 1968, and were on their way to deposit some marijuana in the police department’s evidence locker when they were dispatched back to Lake Herman Road. Initially, they were told a woman was lying outside a car; they thought they were being sent to a crash. Police at first speculated it might have been a crank call, but the officers headed back north. But when they arrived, Bidou realized it was no crank call and no car accident. Instead, it was a sinister crime scene". But why, in the plural, had "police at first suspected it was a crank call". What gave them this idea, after all, this incident was radioed in by an experienced officer? Was the report of a crank call, which police "first suspected," allayed when the radio message arrived moments later from Captain Daniel Pitta? ​Had this mystery call been issued by Zodiac? Had this been called in from the payphone at Springs and Tuolumne, just like the phone call after the Blue Rock Springs attack some six and a half months later? If police first suspected this was a crank call, then it was likely called in before Captain Daniel Pitta radioed the Benicia Police Department - whose confirmation would effectively quash the idea it was an accident, as police first suspected.

The journey time from the Gate #10 turnout to the Springs and Tuolumne intersection is approximately 12 minutes. Had the Zodiac Killer left the turnout at approximately 11:10 pm or shortly thereafter (let us say 11:11-11:12 pm), then the killer was able to place the phone call 12 minutes later at 11:23-11:24 pm, just before Captain Daniel Pitta radioed in, leading to the initial confusion experienced by police officers and the assumption it was a crank call. The Zodiac Killer may even have had a small window of extra time to travel home, ditch his vehicle and weapon, and walk to the payphone. Whatever the case, the author of the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter was seemingly eager to sell us a false narrative.