It is clear that the author of the three Bates' letters on April 30th 1967 parroted the words used by Jack Matthews, the Staff Writer of the Press-Enterprise newspaper. On the same day the three threatening letters arrived (one to the Press-Enterprise), he wrote an extensive article about the murder of Cheri Jo Bates and the content in the confession letter, stating "The letter told of how Cheri struggled while she was being stabbed to death and the writer said there would be more killings to come". The author of the Bates' letters mimicked this wording by writing "Bates had to die, there will be more" (see foot of article).

​The author of the confession letter used the same mimicry on November 29th 1966 by taking phrases and inspiration from the Press-Enterprise newspaper on November 24th 1966 (see below). This newspaper article was about a 19-year-old woman who was offered a ride in a man's car and then attacked, just like the claims in the confession letter five days later. The newspaper article stated that the man "grabbed her around the neck". The confession letter author typed "I grabbed her around the neck with my hand over her mouth". The newspaper article stated "I could just hit you in the head with this piece of wood". The confession letter author typed "She let out a scream once and I kicked her in the head to shut her up". The assailant mentioned in the newspaper stated "I'm not Jack the Ripper". The confession letter author typed "But I shall cut off her female parts and deposit them for the whole city to see". At one point the assailant offered to "take her home", with the confession letter author typing he "would give her a lift home". The author of both the Bates' letters and confession letters borrowed phrases from a recently published newspaper article in the Press-Enterprise, and summarily addressed two of these offerings to the same newspaper..The menacing letters came in duplicate on November 29th 1966 and in triplicate on April 30th 1967. The methodology of both authors was extremely similar. The strange signature on two of the Bates' letters followed the wording "There will be more". The author was implying more victims?

​The murder of Cheri Jo Bates (18) and the attack on the 19-year-old woman happened 2 1/2 miles from each other. The man who picked up the woman on Linden Street on November 22nd 1966, had initially given her a lift in his car three weeks earlier. This would have been approximately November 1st 1966, one day after the body of Cheri Jo Bates was found murdered in the driveway alongside Terracina Drive. He was described as 35 years old, 5-foot 9-inches, with a "chunky protruding stomach". I wonder what he looked like on October 11th 1969?

​It is difficult not to see a connection between the Riverside Desktop Poem, Confession letter and Bates' letters when they have the common language of "to die" running through all three, along with the numerous similarities between the poem and the Confession letter, explored here in great detail. A further comprehensive examination of the Confession letter with the then unreleased autopsy report of Cheri Jo Bates, strongly points to an author who knew too much. If the Confession letter author on November 29th 1966 was the murderer of the young college student, then he was very likely responsible for the desktop poem also. 

Only three days after the discovery of Cheri Jo Bates' body on Halloween morning (October 31st 1966), the Riverside Daily Press newspaper published an article on November 3rd 1966 entitled "Key Clue Goes to C11 Unit", comparing the attempted murder of Roslyn Atwood (19) on April 13th 1965 with the murder of Cheri Jo Bates.(18) on the same campus (see below). It was soon discovered that Rolland Taft (19), responsible for the attack on Atwood, was still in jail when Cheri was murdered and therefore was not responsible for her murder and any of the subsequent communications. I suspect that the murderer of Cheri Jo Bates read this newspaper article and composed a desktop poem mentioning how Roslyn Atwood was "unwilling to die" and had escaped to a nearby house after her stabbing. with "blood spurting, dripping and spilling over her new red dress". The author concluded that she wouldn't "die this time," but Cheri Jo Bates wouldn't be so lucky, stating "just wait till next time", The addition of "rh" likely dating her demise as happening in Riverside on Halloween, because that is when her body was discovered.

The poem was predominately structured around the Roslyn Atwood attack, and was possibly written in blue ballpoint pen a matter of days after the November 3rd 1966 newspaper article. The Confession letter on November 29th 1966 likely continued where the desktop poem finished off, by describing that "next time". The Confession letter would contrast the fact that Roslyn Atwood was "unwilling to die" by remarking how Cheri Jo Bates "went to the slaughter like a lamb" and "went very willingly". The Confession letter also used the phrase "to die" again, stating "I said it was about time. She asked me "about time for what". I said it was about time for her to die". It must also be noted how the word "time" appeared 5 times in these two communications.   

It is hard to believe that when the desktop poem was discovered in December 1966, a connection wasn't made between the Roslyn Atwood story and the contents of the desktop poem. I have trawled through approximately a dozen newspaper articles about the attempted murder of Roslyn Atwood and found no mention of a "new red dress" in any. All police really had to do was reinterview Roslyn Atwood and discover if she had bought a new red dress shortly before she was stabbed. If she had been able to confirm this fact, it would have placed the desktop poem author and likely murderer of Cheri Jo Bates in her proximity the day she was stabbed. How else could he have reasonably acquired the knowledge she had recently purchased a new red dress and had worn it that night, other than her telling him directly, by somebody who knew Roslyn telling him, or through him overhearing a conversation of her telling someone else?

Roslyn Atwood attended night classes at the Riverside City College and had been attacked traveling home at 9:30pm that night, so it isn't beyond the realms of possibility that the desktop poem author attended the same night class as Roslyn, or had been at the Riverside college for other classes on April 13th 1965. Either way, if police could have confirmed she had bought such a dress and was wearing it when she was stabbed, it would have placed the author of the desktop poem extremely close to Roslyn Atwood at the Riverside City College. A college he would have been writing a desktop poem about 19 months later. For those who believe Zodiac to be responsible for the murder of Cheri Jo Bates, Roslyn Atwood could be the key.

On November 16th 1970 Paul Avery published an article in the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper about a possible link between the Zodiac Killer and the murder of Cheri Jo Bates in Riverside on October 30th 1966. The Redlands Daily Facts newspaper also covered this story (see below), by noting the resemblance between the Halloween card mailed by the Zodiac Killer and the "Bates Had to Die" letters, which both were argued to have the "Z" signature. The San Francisco Chronicle and Redlands Daily Facts newspapers also covered the abduction story of Kathleen Johns, who at the time of her ordeal on March 22nd 1970 lived at 847 West Campus Way in San Bernardino, 12 miles from the murder site of Cheri Jo Bates, alongside Terracina Drive. The Zodiac Killer would graciously accept this "riverside activity" on March 13th 1971 when he wrote to the Los Angeles newspaper. But how could he simultaneously attach himself to the Kathleen Johns crime once again, while interjecting himself close to Riverside?     

On July 30th 1971, somebody claiming to be the Zodiac Killer mailed a letter to a Redlands resident stating "There is a bomb in your house that will go off tonight at midnight. Leave $1,000,000 at your front door at 11 p.m". Most reasonable people will accept that this demand was unlikely to be met by the resident of the house, yet it was a malicious threat nonetheless. We obviously do not know whether this letter was mailed by the Zodiac Killer, but if it was, it would be interesting to discover the name of the homeowner. A letter from the Zodiac Killer to somebody connected to the case would have had far more impact than a random Redlands resident plucked from the telephone directory.

​The border of Redlands was only 4.25 miles from the once home of Kathleen Johns (847 West Campus Way), where she had lived at the time of her abduction. Where was she living on July 30th 1971? Could the homeowner have been somebody connected to Kathleen Johns or to Cheri Jo Bates? If this letter was mailed by the Zodiac Killer, it may have been a strategic move on his behalf to connect himself to an area relevant to both Kathleen Johns and Riverside, arriving just 4 months after his claim of "riverside activity". 

The San Francisco Chronicle and Redlands Daily Facts newspapers highlighted the "Z" connection between the Halloween card and "Bates Had to Die" letters, so did the author of the July 30th 1971 letter provide a compelling literary connection to a Zodiac Killer letter? (preferably using a letter unreleased into the public domain). Although spelt slightly differently, the author of the July 30th 1971 letter signed off his communication with "har! har! har!", using three exclamation marks. When the Zodiac Killer mailed the second Fairfield letter on December 16th 1969 he signed off the letter with "ha! ha! ha!". We have two letters with laughing signatures, both referencing the Zodiac Killer, with the later communication mailed relatively close to the once residence of Kathleen Johns and Riverside murder of Cheri Jo Bates, both of whom were the main focus of the above two newspapers (and many more), coming 4 months after his admission of "riverside activity". Was this his attempt to apply significance to his claims on March 13th 1971? 

Recently deceased Zodiac researcher Howard Davis spoke with Kathleen Johns, stating "She told us when she jumped from the car and ran to a vineyard he was calling out to her and scanning the area with a flashlight and he was holding a gun. She told me she did mention it to an officer who didn’t take any notes as she spoke. They really didn’t want this to be a kidnap. Then in departing we were talking (and) she mentioned he sent her a Halloween card Oct.70 as l have posted several times. Inside it read:“To the lady in the blue station wagon”. She sent it to Paul Avery who had interviewed her relative to the abduction and did an article. We called him but he said he never got it". This claim by Kathleen Johns may carry some weight, because the telephone threats to Daniel Williams over a two week period beginning October 23rd 1969 by somebody claiming to be the Zodiac Killer, made the threat to "kill the lady in the blue house". The language adopted of "the lady in the blue" was pertinent in both instances. 

The one enduring feature of the Zodiac Killer is his ability to play with words, often using contemporary stories in the newspapers to surreptitiously weave into his communications. But was November 1966 one such instance, when the landmark story of "the confession" heavily featured in the newspapers throughout the year to the chagrin of law enforcement, who would become three years later, the target of mockery and ridicule at the hand of the Zodiac Killer. 

On June 13th 1966 Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, was a decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that law enforcement in the United States must warn a person of their constitutional rights before interrogating them, or else the person's statements or confession cannot be used as evidence at their trial. Specifically, the Court held that under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the government cannot use a person's statements made in response to an interrogation while in police custody as evidence at the person's criminal trial unless they can show that the person was informed of the right to consult with a lawyer before and during questioning, and of the right against self-incrimination before police questioning, and that the defendant not only understood these rights but also voluntarily waived them before answering questions. 

​Ernesto Arturo Miranda (March 9, 1941 – January 31, 1976) was an American laborer whose criminal conviction was set aside in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona, which ruled that criminal suspects must be informed of their right against self-incrimination and their right to consult with an attorney before being questioned by police. This warning is known as a Miranda warning. Ernesto Miranda had been convicted of kidnapping, rape, and armed robbery charges based on his confession under police interrogation. Wikipedia. 

This was met with dismay by many police departments the length and breadth of the country, who feared the balance of power shifting toward the criminal. with the day-to-day operations of law enforcement being shackled by the ruling of the Supreme Court. A confession was now inadmissable without a prior Miranda warning.from interrogating officers. This may have amused the Zodiac Killer (or author of the Confession letter) when they twice addressed Chief Lambert Kinkead of the Riverside Police Department and headed two letters on November 29th 1966 with "THE CONFESSION", reminding them of a prior "WARNING" they issued to police, typing "Yes I did make that call to you also. It was just a warning". This form of mockery wouldn't have been lost on the Zodiac Killer, had he been present in Riverside during this period. A "just warning" by telephone, followed by a typed confession of murder to police.

On December 10th 1969, somebody mailed the Day-by-day forecast for Cancer horoscope page to the Sacramento Bee newspaper, lollowed by the Day-by-day forecast for Leo horoscope page to the San Francisco Newspaper Printing Company on December 11th 1969. The mailing date of the Forecast for Cancer page on December 10th coincided with the abduction date of Leona Roberts from 749 Tormey Avenue, Rodeo. The pasted phrase "Birds Fly South" seemed relevant to Bolinas Lagoon, Marin County where her body was ultimately found on December 28th 1969. And it must also be noted that a novel by Stanton Arthur Coblentz called "When the Birds Fly South" (1945) was published in Marin County. The Cancer page also contained the pasted text "Zodiac".

The Forecast for Leo(na) page mailed the following day was considered a play on the name and fate of "Leona", who wasn't murdered for at least a week after her abduction. At the end of December, the newspapers told of the discovery of her body at Bolinas Lagoon and refreshed the memories of the readers by reporting on the day of her abduction from the 749 Tormey Avenue apartment. Alongside the story of Leona Roberts in the Solano-Napa News Chronicle on December 29th 1969 was the headline "Zodiac Security Tightened", warning that the Bay Area murderer might strike again soon.  

So it's probably unsurprising that this newspaper coverage was shortly followed by another "Zodiac" phone call on January 4th 1971 to Peggy Trainer, threatening her murder. Peggy Trainer lived at the same 749 Tormey Avenue address from where Leona Roberts was abducted from. The Zodiac Killer could easily have read the newspaper coverage and phoned a death threat to Peggy Trainer to attach himself to that address and the murder of Leona Roberts, but if this phone call was all he did, then how lucky was he that his pseudonym "Zodiac" was mailed by somebody else on December 10th 1969 (the day of her abduction), who pasted "Birds Fly South" which appeared to coincide with the north-south Pacific flyway of Bolinas Lagoon where her body was found, and who mailed a "Forecast for Leo" page that coincided with her name and not immediate death. 

However, there is a major problem with the timeline presented above. One of the neighbors reported hearing screams from the ground floor apartment at approximately 6:15pm on December 10th 1969, with police arriving shortly thereafter. This, as yet undetermined "disturbance", was obviously not reported to the public on the 10th, so any communication mailed with a PM postmark on the same day by somebody pasting "Zodiac" onto a horoscope page, could not have been a response to the abduction, whether Zodiac or not. The Cancer horoscope page, with pasted newspaper cuttings on its face, was mailed in Sacramento, a 60 minute journey from the 749 Tormey Avenue address.

The notion of an abductor, forcibly removing a 16-year-old girl from a residence and securing her at an undetermined location, manufacturing an immediate multi-pasted communication, and then driving 58 miles to Sacramento to mail the letter, for it to somehow receive a December 10th postmark, is totally unrealistic. The fact that the designer of the two December communications chose horoscope pages from November rather than December - which would have been more relevant to the crime - could suggest that these two letters were prepared in advance of Leona Roberts abduction and the generic Cancer page mailed prior to 6:15pm on December 10th 1969.

​After the successful abduction had been achieved, the more specific "Forecast for Leo" page could then have been dispatched. The other alternative, is that neither communication had anything to do with the abduction of Leona Roberts, and the phone call on January 4th 1971 was unrelated, but for the pseudonym "Zodiac" that was relevant to both. It has yet to be definitively established whether any connection exists between the abduction of Leona Roberts and the December 10th/11th letters, or any Zodiac involvement whatsoever. The communications and phone call on January 4th 1969 could have been somebody attempting to misdirect law enforcement away from a killer known to Leona Roberts, who had personal reasons to end her life. Implicating the Zodiac Killer for a murder (especially by phone) was an easy option through 1969 and beyond. I think it much more likely that the murderer of Leona Roberts was a mentally inadequate individual with an unhealthy fantasy he failed to control. Sounds just like Zodiac doesn't it.

Postmarked June 18th 1970, but received on June 19th 1970, Gerald Tagert of 1423 Roleen Drive, Vallejo was the recipient of a letter containing two Oakland A's baseball tickets for Saturday, June 20th 1970 against the Chicago White Sox, with the attached message "Gift from Zodiac" wrapped in a piece of paper. Gerald Tagert moved to California in 1967 and worked as an electrician at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard. Why would the Zodiac Killer (if responsible) mail two baseball tickets to Gerald Tagert for this particular game at the Oakland Coliseum - and who was the second ticket for? One thing we know about the Zodiac Killer was his ability to play on words when mailing his communications, so what was the meaning behind the wording "Gift from Zodiac"? See Vallejo Police Department crime report.

Gerald Tagert had a 7-year-old son in 1970 (Greg Tagert), who went on to become a professional baseball coach. There is a high probability that if these tickets were mailed by the Zodiac Killer, he knew Gerald Tagert well enough to know he had a young son obsessed with baseball, who was a potential recipient of the second baseball ticket (Gerald had two other sons, Dave and Chris). The two Oakland A's tickets were likely a "gift" for "Father's Day", which was on Sunday, June 21st 1970 (the day after the date on the Oakland A's tickets). A "Gift from Zodiac" for father and son, wrapped up in "wrapping paper" like a present. If these tickets were mailed to Gerald Tagert exclusively with "Father's Day" in mind, then the fact that Chicago While Sox were the opponents that day had no relevance to the sender of the letter. The tickets were presented as a gift addressed to Gerald Tagert rather than Mr and Mrs Tagert.

If Gerald and Greg Tagert were the intended recipients on June 19th 1970, then the act of offering a baseball ticket to a 7-year-old child with the accompanying signature of "Zodiac" should undoubtedly be perceived as sinister, bearing in mind the Zodiac Killer had previously threatened school children on more than one occasion. At the very least, the sender of this letter knew the name of the householder, understood it wasn't a single occupancy residence, and was fully aware that the occupants had an interest in the Oakland A's baseball team. They may also have been aware that Saturday, June 20th 1970 was "Helmet Day" when 25,000 gold batting helmets were being given away free to all youngsters 14 years of age or under (see newspaper cuttings below). This was the first "Helmet Day" in the club's history. 

The Athletics Major League Baseball franchise began in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 and then to its home at the Oakland Coliseum in 1968. The Oakland A's made their Bay Area debut on Wednesday, April 17, 1968, with a 4–1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles in front of an opening-night crowd of 50,164. Greg Tagert's earliest memories of baseball were evenings spent at the Oakland Coliseum. 

FURTHER READING: A POSSIBLE AUTHOR OF THE NOVATO LETTER?

On June 18th 1970, somebody claiming to be the Bay Area murderer mailed a letter to Gerald Tagert of 1423 Roleen Drive in the northern section of Vallejo. Inside was a note stating "Gift from Zodiac" and two Oakland A's baseball tickets. An avid baseball fan, his son, Greg Tagert, would go on to manage the Gary SouthShore RailCats. On June 29th 1972, Edward J. Salmina, sports editor of the Novato Advance who funded and managed the Novato Knicks team, received a death threat from an individual claiming to be the Zodiac Killer, stating "If you leave your house past 3:13:47 on the next ten Saturdays, you will be killed". It was thought that the threat was an attempt to prevent his management of the Novato Knicks baseball team. Two sinister threats (one perceived) on two people, with baseball a factor in both.

Four months later, on Saturday, October 21st 1972, Beatrice Kolby, an operator at the San Rafael Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company received a bomb threat at approximately 6:30pm aimed at the Oakland Coliseum. The caller's voice, described by the operator as slow and southern in nature, threatened "I just wanted to tell you that a bomb is going to go off at the Oakland Coliseum when the A's return tonight". The call was traced with the help of a supervisor and Luther Elmer Jackson (32) was arrested on Sunday, October 22nd 1972 and given $5,000 bail. A preliminary hearing was set for November 14th at the Marin Municipal Court. He lived at 572 Fernando Drive, Novato. This individual combined facets of both the "Zodiac Killer" communications on June 18th 1970 and June 29th 1972, through Novato and the Oakland A's. His address at 572 Fernando Drive, Novato, was located just 1.5 miles (by crow) from the 25 Crescent Lane, Novato residence of Edward J. Salmina. 
​

I found an obituary of Luther Jackson (72), who passed away in Santa Rosa in 2012, so the age and location fits with the Luther E. Jackson mentioned in the newspapers. It stated that Luther Jackson coached the Phillies baseball team in the Novato Little League for several years, just like Edward J. Salmina coached the Novato Knicks baseball team. A few hours before Luther E. Jackson rang in a bomb threat to the Oakland Coliseum stating "I just wanted to tell you that a bomb is going to go off at the Oakland Coliseum when the A's return tonight", the Oakland A's baseball team had defeated the Cincinnati Reds in the baseball World Series at the Riverfront Stadium. It appears that Luther E. Jackson was extremely upset at the Oakland A's victory. Had he previously become upset with the Novato Knicks baseball team - and disguised as Zodiac - threatened the life of their coach, Edward J. Salmina on June 29th 1972 in an attempt to interfere with his coaching duties, or through just plain anger? The telephone bomb threat on the Oakland A's team was issued on October 21st 1972 from a man who lived 1.5 miles (by crow) from Edward J. Salmina's residence, who likewise received a threat just four months earlier. Both threats concerning Saturday's. And both related to baseball.   

Two weeks before the telephoned bomb threat on October 21st 1972 by Luther E. Jackson, upset after the Oakland A's beat the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series, somebody telephoned a bomb threat on October 8th 1972 toward the Oakland A's chartered plane heading to Detroit, following their 5-0 victory over the Detroit Lions in the second game of the American League playoffs. Two bomb threats on the Oakland A's team following two victories, within two weeks of one another, while traveling back from Cincinnati and traveling to Detroit. The previous year, another telephoned bomb threat on Monday, October 5th 1971 delayed their return to the west coast from Baltimore during the playoffs. An anonymous caller at 4:20pm claimed a bomb was on board the chartered flight, which proved to be a hoax.

FURTHER READING: BASEBALL "GIFT FROM ZODIAC" 

When "The Most Dangerous Game" movie was released in 1932, its associate producer, Merian C. Cooper, reflected on the evil of the human condition and stated "man is the most dangerous animal of all". This would be the wording used by the Zodiac Killer in his decrypted 408 cipher, solved by Donald and Bettye June Harden on August 8th 1969. Thirteen years after "The Most Dangerous Game" was released, "A Game of Death" starring John Loder and Audrey Long opened in US cinemas on November 23rd 1945. A poor remake of the original, the only real difference was that the evil Russian, Count Zaroff, had turned into the insane German, Erich Kreiger.

​This later movie featured on television throughout California from November 5th 1966 to November 8th 1966 - so if the Zodiac Killer was present in Riverside (or California) during this period, and was responsible for any of the communications down south - could this movie have had any influence on the phrases chosen in the Confession letters? Did the flawed character traits of Count Zaroff and Erich Kreiger, who were insane, heartless, and psychopathic men with a thirst to hunt human beings, form the basis of the wording "I am insane. But that will not stop the game" in the Confession letters on November 29th 1966? That "game" being "a game of death", in which the insanity of Erich Kreiger and the Confession letter author created no barrier to the murderous game and ambitions of either.. "A Game of Death" in 1966 turning into a "Most Dangerous Game" in the Bay Area, two to three years later. The murders in southern and northern California cloaked under the banner of the Richard Connell short story of 1924. 

The film Rampage (1963) borrowed elements of "The Most Dangerous Game", including "The woman who was the most dangerous game of all", while using "Big, Bold, Bob Mitchum is on a Rampage" in its promotional advertisements, along with "They lived, loved and fought by the code of the jungle" and "His code was to snare everything". Bearing in mind the choice of words used by the Zodiac Killer in his code and letters on July 31st 1969, coupled with the crosshairs he adopted, which featured in the opening sequence of the "Rampage" movie, this production had many interesting parallels and appeared on US television screens in California just 11 days prior to Zodiac's opening communications. "A Game of Death" was showing in California three weeks before the typed Confession letters arrived at the Riverside Homicide Detail and Riverside Press Enterprise in 1966.

The Riverside Desktop Poem, Confession letters and "Bates Had to Die" letters had a consistency of language that permeated all three, shown in this article (and the image below). Another point of interest, is that all three communications ended in similar fashion. The Riverside Desktop Poem finished with "Just wait till next time", the two Confession letters finished with "Beware....I am stalking your girls now", and the Bates' letters finished with "there will be more". All three, by implication, promising death in the near future. These Riverside communications had a consistency of menace and language, but they were all fashioned in markedly contrasting ways. One was written on a desktop in blue ballpoint pen (for the most part) in lower case handwriting. Both Confession letters were typed (with the envelopes in capital letters), and the Bates' letters were written in, what can only described as scrawl (with no consistency). One could argue that if all of these communications were authored by one person, then they had deliberately manufactured them with such difference of design, so as to disguise this fact to the reader. If deception was their intention, I would argue that they failed miserably because of the similarity of language that flowed from one to the other.  

"The Most Dangerous Game" heavily focused on a tense stalking sequence in the second half of the movie as Rainsford and Eve attempted to outwit Count Zaroff as he tracked them while wielding his prized Tatar war bow. The 1945 film mimics the original for the most part. Therefore, is it a coincidence that after the Confession letter stated "I am insane. But that will not stop the game", it concluded with "I am stalking your girls now". It appeared that the "game" was stalking women as prey. This stalking would seemingly continue on July 31st 1969, when the Zodiac Killer began with "I like killing people because it is so much fun - it is more fun than killing wild game in the forest because man is the most dangerous animal of all". Was the game employed by the Zodiac Killer, at least in a literary sense, continuing after 32 months? Was the Zodiac Killer operating in Riverside in 1966 (at least with his communications), or was he simply incorporating the story of Riverside into his current campaign of terror in the Bay Area of northern California?  
​
ADDITIONAL READING: RETHINKING "THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME" 

When the author of the July 19th 1978 letter typed their cryptic communication they used the word "tape" four times, including "I like friction tape", "I have my name on the bottom of the lid with the scotch tape", "My tape is waiting for me all over California" and "I have my real name on a small metallic tape". The fourth phrase is different from the rest because it singularises the object by using "a small metallic tape" rather than "I have my name on metallic tape". It also makes a point of distinction in this instance by describing the tape as small, which the author fails to do in the three other examples. The author continued by stating "I have my real name on a small metallic tape. You see, while you have it in your possession, I want you to know it belongs to me and you think I may have left it accidentally". This wording implies that law enforcement have in their possession "a small metallic tape" that was left deliberately by the author and was secured by investigators. 

Metallic mini-cassettes (Phillips) and micro-cassettes (Olympus) were introduced in 1967 and 1969 respectively, so the wording of somebody claiming to be Zodiac, who stated "I have my real name on a small metallic tape", could conceivably have left police a message on "a small metallic tape" with his name written on the casing. The author used the wording "a small metallic tape" instead of "a small tape", suggestive that the word "metallic" was to distinguish this tape from the others. The same reasoning can apply to the use of the word "small", which wasn't used in the three other phrases. This descriptor may have been important if the author of the letter had left a micro or mini-cassette at a crime scene with a message.

​On Sunday November 2nd 1975, a man walked up to a couple parked in a lovers' lane in Belmont, California (Monte Cresta Drive) and opened fire with a shotgun, killing  Anthony Vincent Bruno instantly.

Zodiac researcher, Mike Morford, highlighted a San Mateo newspaper article dated November 14th 1975 (shown below) and stated "The reporter, a man named Bob Foster, mentions that on the night of November 3, 1975, the 11 pm TV news on channel KGO ran a story about a Zodiac letter being found in a phone booth. This is pretty interesting to me for a couple reasons regarding the timing. First of all because, the night before, on 11/2/75, a young man and his girlfriend were attacked on a lovers' lane by a gun wielding man. The male victim, Vincent Bruno was killed, but his girlfriend survived. If I recall correctly, there may have been a letter & cassette tape found the same night in a phone booth not far from the attack site, from someone claiming to be Zodiac". 

​If Mike Morford's recollection is correct, then a potential message may have been left in Belmont by the Zodiac Killer in the form of a cassette tape, irrespective of whether he committed the crime or not. He may have heard the news of the murder and mischievously left a letter and cassette tape in a nearby phone booth, yet again claiming a murder he didn't commit. But, if this were true, why would the Zodiac Killer have revisited Belmont in his mind on July 19th 1978, nearly three years later? The act of leaving "a small metallic tape" in Belmont may have been triggered by recent activity. 

One month before the mailing of the typed July 19th 1978 letter, on June 11th 1978, somebody claiming to be the Zodiac Killer telephoned the Redwood City and Belmont police announcing that "I'm still around". The newspaper article (June 12th 1978) stated "Copies of three tape-recorded calls, received one right after the other starting at about 3:20am, have been sent to San Francisco Police Department homicide investigator James Tedesco. He had not received the tapes yet but was told that the caller identified himself as the Zodiac Killer". Therefore, we have the possibility of the Zodiac Killer making several threats to Belmont police on June 11th 1978, which they recorded on tape, followed one month later by somebody mailing a letter to the San Francisco Chronicle on July 19th 1978, stating  "I am the Zodiac" and using the word "tape" four times, including "I have my name on a small metallic tape" and "you have it in your possession". Did the Zodiac Killer suggest that he was "still around" in Belmont, having previously left a cassette tape there three years earlier, which was also forwarded to the San Francisco Police Department and remained in their possession?  

FURTHER READING: A PAWN IN A GAME OF DEATH 

Ten years ago Mike Morford released an image of a letter mailed in Sacramento to the editor of the Sacramento Bee newspaper on June 8th 1977 (see below), demanding the release of several prisoners under the threat of murder. The author produced a comprehensive list of politicians, actors and actresses that they promised to kill, including Steve McQueen, Burt Reynolds, Jimmy Carter, Jackie Kennedy and Jaclyn Smith. This letter was discussed on the Tapatalk forum regarding its viability as a Zodiac Killer communication. The letter (on lined paper) appeared similar to the December 16th 1969 Fairfield letter, which also gave us an extensive kill list, with both letters beginning with similar phraseology of "to tell the people" and "I just want to tell you". There is limited information to be gleaned from looking at the June 8th 1977 letter in order to consider it's authenticity or otherwise, but there may be something else that occurred in early 1977 that mirrors this communication. 

On February 11th 1977, an anonymous letter was received at Folsom Prison threatening to kill the driver and children on a school bus if two inmates were not let out of prison. Folsom State Prison is approximately 20 miles northeast of the state capital of Sacramento, from where the June 8th 1977 was mailed. Both letters demanded the release of prisoners, but the earlier letter "received by prison officials Friday, said the driver and children on the Folsom-Cordova Unified School District bus would be killed unless two inmates were let out. The prisoners are Pancho Agila, who was placed in special confinement Jan.28 on suspicion of escape, and Jerry Pena, who was segregated Jan.30 on suspicion of possessing a weapon and narcotics". Whether the Zodiac Killer mailed the February 11th 1977 and/or June 8th 1977 letters is unknown, but we certainly know he had a history of threatening schoolchildren and school buses in numerous communications to Bay Area newspapers.      ​

You may be wondering why the Zodiac Killer mailed the April 24th 1978 letter with the statement "I am waiting for a good movie about me" - and then possibly - followed this up with a mailing on May 2nd 1978 to KHJ-TV Studios in Los Angeles, writing "Hey-you actors-this is your lucky Break. Remember-whoever plays me has his work cut out for him". We know that most Zodiac Killer correspondence had purpose, by taking something he had read in the newspapers and incorporating it into his letters. The year 1978 was a special occasion for the Oscars because it was celebrating its 50th Academy Awards ceremony at the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion in Los Angeles on April 3rd 1978. The Dorothy Chandler Pavillion at North Grand Avenue was situated 4.5 miles from the KHJ-TV Studios at 5615 Melrose Avenue Three and four weeks later, the two above communications arrived mentioning "actors" and "movies", with the second letter addressed to Los Angeles.​

Debby Boone became a household name with her 1977 hit song "You Light Up My Life", which spent 10 weeks at No 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song won the Oscar for Best Original Song, which she performed at the 1978 Academy Awards ceremony. Debby Boone was the daughter of actor-singer Pat Boone, who was threatened as a third target by the "Zodiac Killer" in the May 2nd 1978 letter, when he wrote "Pat Boone-his theocratic crap is an obscenity to the rest of the world". Pat Boone was present at the awards ceremony. Therefore, we can connect "actor" Pat Boone in the letter, to the Academy Awards ceremony of "actors", through his daughter. But why would the "Zodiac Killer" choose KHJ-TV Studios​ to mail his correspondence? 

​Wayne Thomas joined KHJ-TV Studios as an announcer in 1959 and served for 27 years. He created a show on the eve of the Oscars called "Your Choice for the Oscars", in which public polling decided upon the nominations in six categories. On the eve of the 50th Academy Awards ceremony, the predicted awards by KHJ-TV were John Travolta, Jane Fonda, Star Wars, Melinds Dillon, Alec Guiness and the song "You Light Up My Life" (sung at the ceremony by Debby Boone). This now binds Pat Boone, KHJ-TV and the Oscars into one neat bundle. So it's no surprise that the "Zodiac Killer" wanted to know which actor was going to play him in a movie a few weeks later, hinting at the Academy Awards and stating "I have decided to start killing again-please hold the applause". Two months prior to the May 2nd 1978 letter, in which the "Zodiac Killer" targeted "Ex Chief piggy Ed Davis" as his second potential victim, the once Los Angeles police chief (turned politician) spoke with KHJ-TV interviewers Ann Kesner and Nathan Roberts about his reputation as "the marshal from Dodge City who will make this a safe state".

On October 14/15th somebody claiming to be the Zodiac Killer phoned either the Santa Rosa Police Department or the Press Democrat newspaper, and stated "I am the Zodiac and I am going to blow up a school bus and kill kids in Santa Rosa". This phone call was reported to have been made prior to the newspaper release of the threat made in the October 13th 1969 Zodiac letter of "school children make nice targets, I think I shall wipe out a school bus some morning. Just shoot out the front tire + then pick off the kiddies as they come bouncing out". The Santa Rosa phone call threatening to bomb a school bus was issued at least 25 days prior to the perceived first threat on school buses, when the Zodiac Killer mailed the Bus Bomb letter on November 9th 1969. The realistic conclusion being that the Santa Rosa caller was the Zodiac Killer. On October 17th 1969, a female school bus driver believed somebody had fired a shot at her vehicle during the morning run. 

On October 22nd 1969, a few hours after the Jim Dunbar Show featured an imitation "Zodiac", somebody mailed a communication from Santa Rosa threatening that a school child there would become his next victim. The brief note was mistakenly delivered to KRON-TV news and read out on air on October 23rd 1969, before being turned over to San Francisco authorities. The note was declared a prank by Chief Melvin "Dutch" Flohr. While this is possible, other communications have been declared hoaxes by authorities, despite subsequently being shown to be genuine Zodiac offerings. It's practically impossible to make any determination about this note with the limited information available, but I thought it was important to present a fuller picture of "Zodiac" activity during this hectic period. 

The Zodiac Killer, his double postage, and the inspiration behind his communications has long been a discussion point in the Zodiac community. On October 22nd 1938, Chester Floyd Carlson made a major breakthrough when he developed the first ever xerographic copy of the handwritten message 10-22-38 ASTORIA, that paved the way to the multi-million dollar industry of photocopying that we are familiar with today. United States Public Law 100-548, signed into law by Ronald Reagan, designated October 22, 1988, as "National Chester F. Carlson Recognition Day". He was honored by the United States Postal Service with a 21¢ Great Americans series postage stamp. It was the 50-year anniversary of Carlson's discovery, recognised by extensive coverage in the newspapers  

On November 26th 1990, The Des Moines Register (and other newspapers throughout 1990) reported on plans for a new national postal museum, housing "the world's largest and most comprehensive postal and philatelic collection". The article referenced Chester Carlson as a rather obscure but important American, whose discovery of the xerographic process would become known as "the invention that no one wanted". This would ultimately prove to be one of the biggest misstatements ever, when you consider this form of technology is still widely used in current times.

In 1990, a television program profiling the life of Chester Carlson and his dry printing process would be released statewide, entitled the "Invention No One Wanted". This production ran throughout the year, as shown by the excerpt on the right from the San Francisco Examiner, stating "Chester Carlson invents xerography".  

The Zodiac Killer appeared to be a well-read individual, with one eye in the newspapers, and one eye on history. The only time the Zodiac Killer employed the use of a photocopied image (Xerox) in his communications was when he mailed the 1990 Eureka card (Christmas card) sometime in December, with the cover message of "From your secret pal. Can't guess who I am yet? Well, look inside and you'll find out". Inserted within the greetings card was the photocopied image of two post office box keys.

When analysed, the numbers on the keys would be traced back to Chester Clark Klingel, the namesake of Chester Carlson (first spotted by forum contributor Nin).  His obituary read "Chet's first wife Yolanda passed away in a car accident. His second marriage was short but his third to Blandina Sarkis added love, happiness, family and great food to his life. He had many good years in Tam Valley, CA, before beginning a farming venture near Turlock, CA. Chet and Blandina bought nut orchards and developed a successful walnut hulling and drying business. After Blandina passed away, the farming project lost appeal. Chet sold the farm and moved to Eureka, CA, where he made new friends". The Zodiac Killer was certainly clever in the design of his communications, so were the photocopied keys leading to an individual called "Chester" Clark Klingel, a deliberate and calculated choice by the Bay Area murderer, who covertly slipped the name of "Chester" Carlson into the communication through inverted imagery "to clue us in"? Assuming of course, the Christmas card was mailed by the Zodiac Killer. 

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL FROM RICHARD & ZODIAC CIPHERS

At the very early stages of the Saratoga murder investigation of Kathy Bilek (18) it was determined that her killer was likely the same individual who murdered Kathie Snoozy (15) and Debra Furlong (14) in San Jose on August 3rd 1969. It was highlighted by Santa Clara County Sheriff James Geary and Undersheriff Tom Rosa  that the pattern of wounds to all three girls seemingly made a deliberate effort to avoid stabbing the chest and pelvic regions. The Zodiac Killer connection was rightly considered tenuous, despite the Bay Area murderer insinuating his involvement in the murders of Snoozy & Furlong as early as November 8th 1969. 

On April 15th 1971, addressed to "homicide inspector", the sheriff's office received an unsigned, somewhat incoherent letter which Rosa says may or may not be connected with the Kathy Bilek slaying (see below). The letter, on ruled paper, mentioned Zodiac and another victim, stating "Gril (sic) works in hospital" could be his next victim. It continued with "Beleaved to be Zodiac, Killer and gril lover writes long poem asking how anyone ever could ever begin to understand our world of pot etc".

​Looking at the wording used in the letter it's impossible to determine whether this "Zodiac" correspondence is genuine or otherwise. Observers will obviously point out that the tone of the letter points away from the Zodiac Killer and towards a "drug fueled hoaxer". While this seems like the obvious superficial conclusion based on the wording in the letter, there is simply no way to determine the authorship of this communication. The only mildly interesting thing about this letter is the mention of "girl works in hospital" and "next victim", bearing in mind the Zodiac Killer mailed a letter to the Albany Times Union on August 1st 1973, which stated "I am not dead or in the hospital" and warned of a "next victim" from the "Albany Medical Center". This "next victim" believed to be a nurse (girl in hospital) during the "shift change".      

The 148 character letter and cipher mailed by the Zodiac Killer in (probably) May 1971 about the murders of Snoozy, Furlong and Bilek, with reference to their murderer, Karl Francis Werner, as a "phony", can be linked through its cryptogram to both the 340 cipher and Albany code, see here. The newspaper article above, from the Peninsula Times Tribune in Palo Alto on April 16th 1971, could possibly have inspired the Zodiac Killer in his creation of the Albany letter (or not). The murders of Kathy Snoozy, Debra Furlong and Kathy Bilek straddled the Zodiac case from 1969 and 1971, despite the Zodiac Killer having no involvement in their murders - but would claim so to the bitter end.

Seemingly inspired by the Confession letter mailed on November 29th 1966 and published in the Inside Detective magazine in January 1969, the Zodiac Killer used the words "twich", "sqwirm" and "victom" in his Little List letter on July 26th 1970, followed by the Halloween card on October 27th 1970, in which he used the words "by" and called himself "Z" for the first time. Cheri Jo Bates was found murdered on Halloween morning. with three letters arriving five months later on April 30th 1967, of which, two were described in the newspapers as carrying the signature "Z". Phil Sins and Paul Avery would explore the notion that the Zodiac Killer may have dropped some clues to investigators and deliberately fashioned these communications to force a conclusion that he was the murderer of Cheri Jo Bates on October 30th 1966 in Riverside. Some investigators concluded that the Halloween card was a direct threat towards journalist Paul Avery, who he addressed on the envelope of the correspondence. In fact, it would only be five months before the Zodiac Killer again addressed the journalist, when he wrote "att. paul averly = chronicle" on the Pines postcard on March 22nd 1971.

​An exclusive report by Paul Avery, sandwiched between the Halloween card and Pines card, was released by the San Francisco Chronicle on November 16th 1970 (and covered by the Riverside Press-Enterprise) detailing the forged connection between the Riverside murder of Cheri Jo Bates and the Zodiac Killer case in Northern California. It's without doubt that the Zodiac Killer was heavily focused on the San Francisco Chronicle and Paul Avery at this moment in time, because in addition to the November 16th 1970 Chronicle article, a column authored by Herb Caen on November 25th 1970, described how Paul Avery had communicated with the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) requesting the "personalized" license plates reading "ZODIAC". As Zodiac researcher Jibberjabber pointed out, this is one of the rare occurrences where "Paul Avery", "Zodiac", "Herb Caen" and a request to the "DMV" would arise in one newspaper publication. If there was ever a time when the Zodiac Killer would have written to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, this was it. There has been much speculation on what may have inspired the yet to be seen DMV letter, allegedly mailed by the Zodiac Killer on an undetermined date during his reign of terror. Paul Avery requesting a "personalized" license plate from the DMV using the pseudonym "ZODIAC" during the height of his activity, would have been the perfect time. Had the Zodiac Killer's response been prompt, then we have the possibility of the mysterious DMV letter being mailed by the Bay Area murderer in late November or early December 1970.  

Unless there has been crossed wires, and the communication by Paul Avery requesting "ZODIAC" license plates from the Department of Motor Vehicles is the mysterious DMV letter, then a yet to be unearthed letter mailed by the Zodiac Killer in late 1970 is a distinct possibility.

A big thanks to Zodiac researcher Jibberjabber, who suggested this as a realistic inspiration for the elusive DMV letter. Also, I would like to thank Jarett Kobek for his assistance in allowing me to use a screenshot from his book, Motor Spirit: The Long Hunt for the Zodiac, and for sending me the newspaper cutting from Herb Caen's column on November 25th 1970. Jarett Kobek's book, How to Find Zodiac, can be found by clicking the link provided. The personalized license plate article provided is courtesy of Cragle.