It was common for the Zodiac Killer to compose letters and cards inspired by newspaper articles he had recently read, so it wouldn't have been out of the ordinary for the murderer of five to have been a regular consumer of the San Francisco Chronicle, including the games and puzzles section. On November 8th 1969 the Zodiac Killer mailed his infamous 340 cipher, unsolved for 51 years, until it was cracked by David Oranchak, Sam Blake and Jarl Van Eycke in 2020 using a knight's move (period 19) decryption technique. Could the Zodiac Killer have had an avid interest in chess, followed the popular column by George Koltanowski in the San Francisco Chronicle and incorporated a shift move into his encoding of the 340 cipher, that required a knight's move to unlock its secrets half a century later? Did the individual outlined below have an influence on the Zodiac Killer? The answer may lie in a newspaper article in the San Francisco Examiner on July 16th 1978, announcing the upcoming World Chess Championship beginning on July 18th 1978 with a match between ​Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi, covered by guest speaker George Koltanowski at the Paul Masson Vineyard in Saratoga, Santa Clara County. A county where only 3 months earlier, the Zodiac Killer may have mailed the April 24th 1978 "I am back with you" letter from.   

George Koltanowski, the legendary grandmaster of chess who wrote more than 19,000 chess columns for The San Francisco Chronicle with the same ease with which he dispatched countless opponents in a career that spanned 10 decades, died Saturday (February 5th 2000) in a San Francisco hospital after a brief illness. He was 96. His column, which appeared in The Chronicle every day without interruption for 52 years, was the longest-running daily chess column in history.

He was also the world champion of a form of the game known as blindfold chess, in which the player commits the game to memory and does not look at the board or touch the pieces used by opponents, who play in the normal fashion. Mr. Koltanowski's 1937 feat of playing 34 opponents simultaneously while blindfolded without losing a game has never been equaled. Koltanowski was the former president of the U.S. Chess Federation, which bestowed upon him the title of "Dean of American Chess." He served during the years after the Bobby Fischer boom of 1972, when interest in chess soared to record highs after the mercurial American grandmaster won the world title. Koltanowski seized the momentum of those heady days to install chess clubs in countless schools, community centers and even at San Quentin Prison. San Francisco Chronicle.

Among his countless chess feats, Mr. Koltanowski was well-known for performing the Knight's Tour, where random bits of information such as names and phone numbers would be supplied by audience members and written in the 64 squares of a giant chessboard. In seconds, Mr. Koltanowski would commit the entire hodgepodge to memory. Then, while blindfolded, he would call out the intricate path required for a chess knight to make its series of L-shaped hops around the board -- by recalling the scraps of information in order.  ​If the Zodiac Killer had a liking or fascination with chess and puzzles, he would very likely have known about the knight's tour challenge, a mathematical problem where you have to move a knight around a chessboard (8 X 8 grid) and visit all 64 squares without landing on a square more than once. The Knight's Tour is very well-known, recognized as a classic, over-thousand-year-old mathematical puzzle and graph theory problem, first appearing in 9th-century Sanskrit texts and later analyzed by Leonhard Euler, becoming famous for its complexity and links to magic squares, popularizing it through chess history and computer science as an illustration of algorithms. ​

To commemorate the opening of the World Chess Championship in the Philippines on July 18th 1978, George Koltanowski appeared at a chess tournament in the Paul Masson Vineyard in Saratoga, Santa Clara County, which offered $15,000 in prize money and was open to 700 players. A chess tournament was held there annually in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The San Francisco Examiner newspaper reported on July 16th 1978 that it had not yet been decided whether George Koltanowski would be performing his mind-blowing Knight's Tour chess puzzle while blindfolded, or would be taking on the Controlled Data's computer in St. Paul Minnesota, while sitting in the shade of the sycamore trees in the Paul Masson Vineyard in the mountains of Saratoga.

Whatever the case, the day after the World Chess Championship began (and while George Koltanowski was giving his performance in Saratoga), the Zodiac Killer mailed a letter to the San Francisco Chronicle on July 19th 1978, stating "But maybe you play chess with me. I have several cheap sets in closets all over. I have my name on the bottom of the lid with the scotch tape....My tape is waiting for me all over California". Clearly this was no coincidence, especially when you consider that this Zodiac letter was probably composed on July 18th 1978, the day the World Chess Championship began, the day that George Koltanowski gave a talk in Saratoga about the opening chess match between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi, and the same day that the Santa Cruz Sentinel (and numerous others) reported on this very same chess game, with a Zodiac Killer newspaper article right next to it, entitled "SF Chief Says Inspector Didn't Write Zodiac Letter". A newspaper article on July 18th 1978 about David Toschi who had been demoted to pawn detail, followed by a Zodiac letter on July 19th 1978 inviting the former inspector to "maybe play chess". 

In the Zodiac Killer letter postmarked July 19th 1978, it stated "I am the ZODIAC and I am in control of all things. I am going to tell you a secret. I like friction tape. I like to have it around in case I need to truss someone up in a hurry....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. I am athletic. It could be swim fins, or a piece of scuba gear. But maybe you play chess with me. I have several cheap sets in closets all over. I have my name on the bottom of the lid with the scotch tape....My tape is waiting for me all over California. Do you know me? I am the ZODIAC and I am in control". You will notice that the letter mentions Scotch Tape, invented in 1930 by 3M engineer Richard Drew in St. Paul, Minnesota (and manufactured there). The very location of the computer being challenged by George Koltanowski at the time the Zodiac Killer letter arrived at the San Francisco Chronicle, mentioning chess. Designed as a moisture-proof sealant for food packaging, it quickly became popular during the Great Depression for repairing household items. The Zodiac Killer informed us that he had his name "on the bottom of the lid with the scotch tape", leading many to believe that the Zodiac Killer's name may have been "Paul", contained within the location of St. Paul, Minnesota. 

Is it possible that the Zodiac Killer attended this chess tournament at the Paul Masson Vineyard in Saratoga as a competitor or spectator? This location is situated 2 miles (by crow) from where Kathy Bilek (18) was stabbed to death on April 11th 1971 in the woods of Villa Montalvo, whom the Zodiac Killer claimed responsibility for on July 13th 1971 by mailing the "Monticello" card, stating "Near Monticello Shought Victims 21 ...... In The Woods Dies April". Saratoga is close to San Jose, which has consistently featured in the Zodiac Killer story.

The company (3M) that produced Scotch Tape also invented Post-it Notes (sticky notes) in 1974. George Koltanowski famously used sticky notes (or small pieces of paper) as part of his demonstration of the "Knight's Tour" during his exhibitions. During his demonstration of the knight's tour, George Koltanowski would ask audience members to call out random words, names, or numbers, which were written on sticky notes and placed on each of the 64 squares of a large demo chessboard. He was then blindfolded, and another person would select a random square. Starting from that square, Koltanowski would recite the text on the note and continue to call out the contents of every other square in sequence, without error, following the path of a knight's tour until all 64 notes were removed. A knight's move that was required to solve the Zodiac Killer's 340 cipher, mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle where George Koltanowski had a chess column. The audience members sometimes had their names placed on sticky notes, not unlike the Zodiac Killer, who claimed his name was on Scotch Tape all over California. 

The Scotch Tape letter upon first reading makes little sense, but everything contained within Zodiac communications usually have their foundation in Bay Area newspapers, which the Zodiac Killer borrowed from and inserted, often cryptically, into his writings to the San Francisco Chronicle (and occasionally others). Whether this extended to the 340 cipher through an interest in chess, is open to question.    

FURTHER READING: A PAWN IN A GAME OF DEATH

Thanks to the brilliance and determination of David Oranchak, Sam Blake and Jarl Van Eycke, the 340 cipher was finally cracked after 51 years on December 5th 2020. However, with the exception of a few people, little has been done to find the inspiration for a killer who created a cipher that required the knight's move in chess to reconfigure the ciphertext and allow the message to be broken using homophonic substitution. The 340 cipher needed a one down, two across system to make the cipher easier to crack, with the Zodiac Killer's errors creating a further roadblock. Ciphers are mathematical, relying on algorithms, modular arithmetic, and complex equations for encryption and decryption, evolving from simple letter shifts to advanced concepts in number theory and abstract algebra for modern digital security. They use mathematical procedures to transform readable text (plaintext) into unreadable text (ciphertext) and back, making them a core part of cryptography, which sits at the intersection of math and computer science.

Radians, chosen by the Zodiac Killer for us to discover the location of his hidden (likely pretend) bomb, are fundamental to mathematics, serving as the standard unit for measuring angles, especially in calculus and physics, because they simplify formulas by relating angles directly to the circle's radius, making calculations for arc length, sectors, and trigonometric functions much cleaner than using degrees. Radians are essentially a unitless count of "radius units", making them a natural fit for mathematical expressions. This was another of Zodiac's puzzles that lay unbroken for 51 years until Zodiac researcher, Druzer, filled in the blanks on December 27th 2020. But what is another form of mathematics that may have inspired the Zodiac Killer to fashion the 340 cipher the way he did? A form of mathematics that Zodiac mentioned in his letters?​  

On July 19th 1978, a deeply controversial communication, that is almost certainly genuine Zodiac material, was mailed to the Los Angeles Times. It read: "I am the ZODIAC and I am in control of all things. I am going to tell you a secret. I like friction tape. I like to have it around in case I need to truss someone up in a hurry....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. I am athletic. It could be swim fins, or a piece of scuba gear. But maybe you play chess with me. I have several cheap sets in closets all over. I have my name on the bottom of the lid with the scotch tape....My tape is waiting for me all over California. Do you know me? I am the ZODIAC and I am in control". This letter probably formed the basis of Robert Graysmith's mentioning of Zodiac's crimes as an "outdoor game of chess".

Chess is deeply mathematical, relying on logic, patterns, probability, and combinatorics, even though it's not about traditional arithmetic; it's a game of finite states and algorithms with a vast solution space, making it a practical application of mathematical thinking. While you don't need advanced math skills to play, the underlying principles of strategic calculation, geometry, and problem-solving connect it directly to mathematics. Coming the day after the opening game in the World Chess Championship between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi on July 18th 1978, this letter told of a person who had "chess sets all over California" and suggested that David Toschi, who had been demoted to pawn detail, play a game of chess with him.

​If the Zodiac Killer really had an avid interest in chess and puzzles, he would very likely have known about the knight's tour challenge, a mathematical problem where you have to move a knight around a chessboard (8 X 8 grid) and visit all 64 squares without landing on a square more than once. The Knight's Tour is very well-known, recognized as a classic, over-thousand-year-old mathematical puzzle and graph theory problem, first appearing in 9th-century Sanskrit texts and later analyzed by Leonhard Euler, becoming famous for its complexity and links to magic squares, popularizing it through chess history and computer science as an illustration of algorithms. 

Ciphers are essentially algorithms (or sets of rules/steps) used for encryption and decryption, transforming readable text (plaintext) into unreadable ciphertext and back again, using keys to control the process. So did the Zodiac Killer use a knowledge of chess and the well-known puzzle of the knight's tour, and create a more complex 340 cipher that required the very same move to begin decoding his message on November 8th 1969? 

FURTHER READING: A PAWN IN A GAME OF DEATH   ​

On April 24th 1978, the San Francisco Chronicle received a letter from the Zodiac Killer stating "Dear Editor:​ This is the Zodiac speaking I am back with you. Tell herb caen I am here, I have always been here. That city pig toschi is good - but I am smarter and better he will get tired then leave me alone. I am waiting for a good movie about me. who will play me. I am now in control of all things".

Seventeen days later, on May 11th 1978, Robert Graysmith had a cartoon featured in the San Francisco Chronicle "Letters to the Editor" page. It depicted Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (leader of the Soviet Union) swinging from a tiger's tail, with the phrase "I am in control of all things" (with only the word "now" dropped from the April 24th 1978 letter).  

In Robert Graysmith's book "Zodiac Unmasked" in 2002, he wrote of a typewritten letter mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle on July 19th 1978 (two months after his cartoon). It read "I am the ZODIAC and I am in control of all things. I am going to tell you a secret. I like friction tape. I like to have it around in case I need to truss someone up in a hurry....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. I am athletic. It could be swim fins, or a piece of scuba gear. But maybe you play chess with me. I have several cheap sets in closets all over. I have my name on the bottom of the lid with the scotch tape....My tape is waiting for me all over California. Do you know me? I am the ZODIAC and I am in control". 

​The wording in this letter exactly mimicked the wording from the Robert Graysmith cartoon, also dispensing with the word "now". The day before this letter arrived, on July 18th 1978, the opening game in the World Chess Championship between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi took place in the Philippines. Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi were two Soviet Union chess grandmasters. The story of their drawn match featured in the Santa Cruz Sentinel newspaper on July 18th 1978, alongside a Zodiac Killer story entitled "SF Chief Says Inspector Didn't Write Zodiac Letter". The following day, the July 19th 1978 letter was mailed according to Robert Graysmith. It carried the phrase "But maybe you play chess with me. I have several cheap sets in closets all over". This means we have a possible connection between the beginning of the World Chess Championship featuring two Soviet Union grandmasters and the phrase "I am in control of all things" from a cartoon featuring the Soviet Union leader, ​Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev.

So did Robert Graysmith copy most of the phrase from the April 24th 1978 "Zodiac" letter to use in his cartoon on May 11th 1978, subconsciously leaking the "I am in control of all things" phrase and the "Soviet Union" theme of the cartoon into a forged letter on July 19th 1978, the day after two "Soviet Union" grandmasters opened the World Chess Championship? Writing "But maybe you play chess with me". Did Robert Graysmith forge both letters on April 24th 1978 and July 19th 1978? Or did the Zodiac Killer author both letters - and Robert Graysmith plagiarized the Bay Area murderer? In later years Robert Graysmith spoke of the Zodiac Killer's "game of chess" with the police and newspapers. 

It is no coincidence that the April 24th 1978 letter stated "I am waiting for a good movie about me. Who will play me" just three weeks after the 50th Academy Awards ceremony at the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion in Los Angeles on April 3rd 1978, and was followed by a second communication on May 2nd 1978 stating "Hey-you actors-this is your lucky Break. Remember-whoever plays me has his work cut out for him" and "​please hold the applause". The May communication having been mailed to the KHJ-TV Studios in Los Angeles after they ran a public voting poll on the eve of the ceremony (April 2nd 1978) on who their viewers thought would win certain categories at the Academy Awards. A ceremony where the Oscar winning song "You Light Up My Life" was sung at the ceremony by Debby Boone, whose father Pat Boone was threatened in the May 2nd 1978 letter.

​These two letters came four years after the last Zodiac letter arrived on January 29th 1974, which stated "I saw + think "The Exorcist" was the best saterical comidy", three days after the 31st Golden Globe film awards at the Beverly Hilton, Beverly Hills, California on January 26th 1974, in which "The Exorcist" film won "Best Film", "Best Director", "Best Supporting Actress" and "Best Screenplay". Three consecutive communications that just happened to piggyback off award ceremonies for the film industry, that were all presumably conceived and written by Inspector David Toschi and/or Robert Graysmith according to some. If Inspector David Toschi wrote the April 24th 1978 letter, then he probably wrote all three of these letters, and had a hand in the phone call 42 days before the "I am back with you" letter, when somebody rang an individual living in the Mission District and stated "This is the Zodiac. Tell the press that I am back in San Francisco". ​

​Then we have the consistency of language between the April 24th 1978, May 2nd 1978 and July 19th 1978 letters, with all three using the verb "play" and the singular pronoun "me" in the same sentence. Only the first letter being published in the newspapers. They read "I am waiting for a good movie about me. Who will play me" (04/24/78), "whoever plays me has his work cut out for him" (05/02/78} and "Maybe you play chess with me" (07/19/78). The third author could not have copied the second author if different individuals, but they could have been the same person.

If the author of the January 29th 1974 (Exorcist), April 24th 1978 and May 2nd 1978 letters is one person (linked through a film industry theme), then where does that leave us with the July 19th 1978 letter, which has a common theme with both the April 24th 1978 and May 2nd 1978 letters? The author of the July 19th 1978 letter could have borrowed wording from the published April 24th 1978 letter, however, they did manage to continue the consistency in language used in the May 2nd 1978 letter, which they could never have seen if not the same person. The author on May 2nd 1978 and July 19th 1978, on both occasions, opted to mimic the verb "play" and singular pronoun "me" in the same sentence, from the April 24th 1978 letter. That probably leaves one author responsible for the last two letters. And if the May 2nd 1978 letter is linked by one theme to the January 29th 1974 and April 24th 1978 letters, then the July 19th 1978 letter is probably genuine too.

​This consistency, now seen through four communications, would be implicating Inspector David Toschi in a much bigger hoax, who would have also investigated the "I am back in San Francisco" phone call on March 13th 1978 and then mailed the "I am back with you" letter the following month. Additionally, it could open the door to the similarities shown between the April 24th 1978 and Melvin Belli letters. Either David Toschi has played a leading role in fabricating many Zodiac communications, or he is responsible for none. The obvious choice seems to be none. Inspector David Toschi was a busy man, unlikely to be scouring the newspapers for Academy Award and Golden Globe ceremonies, KHJ-TV Studios polls and the World Chess Championships, to create common themes in order to manufacture an elaborate hoax. But there was one man that seemed to find the time. Bearing in mind that the author of the April 24th 1978 letter wrote "I am waiting for a good movie about me. Who will play me", it was quite ironical that the winner for best film in 1978 at the Academy Awards was a "satirical comedy", claimed by some to be semi-autobiographical about the life of "Allen". Woody Allen that is. The film was "Annie Hall", winner of four Academy Awards, not unlike "The Exorcist" movie, which won four Golden Globes on January 26th 1974  

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 

Recently it was shown how the Zodiac Killer responded to 31st Golden Globe film awards at the Beverly Hilton, Beverly Hills, California on January 26th 1974, by mailing the Exorcist letter on January 29th 1974, and reacted to 50th Academy Awards ceremony at the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion in Los Angeles on April 3rd 1978, by mailing the April 24th 1978 and May 2nd 1978 letters (the latter mailed from Los Angeles). See here. Two and a half months later, a questionable "Zodiac Killer" letter would be mailed from Los Angeles to the San Francisco Chronicle on July 19th 1978. This communication may also have been partly influenced by a big event. The culmination of the letter read "But maybe you play chess with me. I have several cheap sets in closets all over. I have my name on the bottom of the lid with the scotch tape....My tape is waiting for me all over California".

I have previously suggested that this section of the letter may have been poking fun at David Toschi, who had recently been demoted to "pawn" detail after suggestions he may have been the author of the 1978 letter. However, based on the Zodiac Killer's propensity to infuse recent newspaper articles into his wording, I looked for the keyword "chess" in the days prior to the July 19th 1978 letter. On July 18th 1978, the Santa Cruz Sentinel (and numerous others), reported on the opening game in the World Chess Championship between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi in the Philippines. And chess was a big thing in the 1970s. But the Santa Cruz Sentinel coverage had one peculiar aspect - it carried the headline "Korchnoi, Karpov Play To Draw" alongside another article entitled "SF Chief Says Inspector Didn't Write Zodiac Letter". Could the Zodiac Killer (or impostor) have read the two articles and coalesced them both into his July 19th 1978 letter, the following day. The Santa Cruz Sentinel article also mentioned that David Toschi had been "transferred from the homicide squad to the pawn shop detail last week". Therefore, we have the mention of "pawn detail", "chess" and David Toschi alongside each other, on the same page.       

The whole letter read "I am the ZODIAC and I am in control of all things. I am going to tell you a secret. I like friction tape. I like to have it around in case I need to truss someone up in a hurry....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. I am athletic. It could be swim fins, or a piece of scuba gear. But maybe you play chess with me. I have several cheap sets in closets all over. I have my name on the bottom of the lid with the scotch tape....My tape is waiting for me all over California. Do you know me? I am the ZODIAC and I am in control". 

I noticed that the author used "My tape is waiting for me all over California" and "I have cheap sets in closets all over", suggesting that his "cheap chess sets" and "tape" were maybe in the same locations or relevant to one another. The author also stated that "I have my name on the bottom of the lid with the scotch tape" - and we know a chess case or chess box has a lid. Was the author suggesting that he could play David Toschi at chess anywhere in California, now that he was reported in the newspapers to be "vacationing at an undisclosed location"? In a previous article (linked above), a common theme was shown between the January 29th 1974, April 24th 1978 and May 2nd 1978 letters through the film industry, so could any common verbiage be unearthed between the consecutive May and July letters mailed from Los Angeles, bearing in mind the May letter wasn't released to the public. On May 2nd 1978, the Zodiac Killer wrote in respect to the film industry "whoever plays me has his work cut out for him", while the following July 19th 1978 letter stated "But maybe you play chess with me". The two phrases of "plays me" and "play chess with me" both used in respect to another participant. It's not compelling, only noteworthy.  

The Zodiac Killer would shape his communications around previous newspaper articles - and I noticed that the author of the July 19th 1978 letter used the phrase "I am in control" at the beginning and end of the letter, rather than "I am now in control" that was used at the end of the April 24th 1978 communication. This meant that the author of the July 19th 1978 letter could have altered the wording to mimic the misquoted phrase used in some newspaper articles in April, such as the Atlanta Journal shown above. Was this the Zodiac Killer reaffirming to the public what he had read in the newspapers, or somebody simply misquoting or deliberately changing the wording of the Zodiac Killer? The April 24th 1978, May 2nd 1978 and July 19th 1978 letters all had one common theme, with only the first letter being published in the newspapers. They read "I am waiting for a good movie about me. Who will play me" (04/24/78), "whoever plays me has his work cut out for him" (05/02/78} and "Maybe you play chess with me" (07/19/78). All three used the verb "play" and the singular pronoun "me" in the same sentence. The third author could not have copied the second author if different individuals, but they could have been the same person. If the author of the January 29th 1974 (Exorcist), April 24th 1978 and May 2nd 1978 letters is one person (linked through a film industry theme), then where does that leave us with the July 19th 1978 letter, which has a common theme with both the April 24th 1978 and May 2nd 1978 letters? The author of the July 19th 1978 letter could have borrowed wording from the published April 24th 1978 letter, however, they did manage to continue the consistency in language used in the May 2nd 1978 letter, which they could never have seen if not the same person. The author on May 2nd 1978 and July 19th 1978, on both occasions, opted to mimic the verb "play" and singular pronoun "me" in the same sentence, from the April 24th 1978 letter. That probably leaves one author responsible for the last two letters. And if the May 2nd 1978 letter is genuine Zodiac material, then the July 19th 1978 letter probably is too. 
​
APRIL 24TH 1978: "I am waiting for a good movie about me. Who will play me".
MAY 2ND 1978: "Whoever plays me has his work cut out for him". (unpublished)
JULY 19TH 1978: "Maybe you play chess with me". (unpublished)

The following are a few extracts from the newspapers regarding the murder of Anthony Vincent Bruno on November 2nd 1975.

According to Police Captain George Stephenson, Bruno and his girlfriend (16 years) had been parked on Monte Cresta Drive, above Barclay Way in an isolated area of western hills when a man opened the driver's side door and apparently without saying anything fired the shotgun. The girl, who was not identified by police, pushed Bruno's body aside and drove the car to her home from where police were notified. She described the assailant as white, 5 feet 5 inches tall, 140 pounds and wearing an Army green parka with hood, according to police. Stephenson said also that a late model brown pick-up truck, possibly a Dodge or Chevrolet, had been seen in the area at about the time of the shooting. The killer then ran south on Monte Cresta from the dark hillside area, past a streetlight 50 yards away, and then possibly to a late model Dodge or Chevrolet pick-up truck.

Belmont police today are attempting to find a man who shotgunned a 17-year-old Carlmont High School student to death in a parked car early Sunday morning. The youth, Anthony Vincent Bruno of 213 Bayview Drive, San Carlos, died instantly, his body sprawled on the seat of the parked car beside his terrified 16-year-old girlfriend. The killer then turned, dropped the sawed-off stock of his weapon on the ground, perhaps by accident, and fled. It was disclosed Wednesday that about an hour and a half before the brutal slaying, a man was seen struggling to drag a box about two feet long and 18 inches wide up a steep rise about 100 feet from the slaying site. A rod, or perhaps a rope, protruded from the box, according to police, and the dragging was being done by a man in mechanic's overalls with longish, dark brown hair. Stephenson also confirmed that police are searching for the driver of a maroon pick-up truck, equipped with blackwall tires and white wheels; a vehicle which they have information to believe may have approached the parked couple 15 minutes before the slaying, stopped a distance away, made a u-turn, and apparently drove off. The girl gave a follow up description "She saw a face but couldn't identify him. She couldn't see whether he was black or white, or anything other than he was 5'5", 140 pounds and wearing a green army-type parka". One has to consider that under the circumstances, this description may be less than reliable.  

"We've never had a case like this before. This is the bloodiest, most brutal killing I've ever seen", Belmont Police Chief William R. Singer said as he surveyed the scene of Belmont's first potential murder case in over two years. "It could be another Zodiac", he added.  Wednesday afternoon, Juvenile Division Detective Gary Sickman drove this reporter to the scene of the slaying and replayed what police have linked together about it so far. "This is a little-known lovers' lane", Sickman said. "Many of the kids I've talked with at Carlmont were unaware of it." Sickman drove the patrol car down a narrow dirt road connecting with Monte Cresta Drive; a chuckhole-pocked stretch traversing a ridge high above Belmont Canyon. At the end of the road, a half-mile from the slaying site, a teenaged couple embraced in a parked car. Sickman checked their identification and jotted their names in his notebook after giving them a little fatherly advice.

The image on the right shows Belmont Police Chief William Singer and Captain George Stephenson examining the scene of the crime. To visit the location, click the image to enter Google maps.  

This crime has similarities to the two attacks at Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs, particularly the latter (highlighted above in blue). The couple in this instance were 16 and 17 years of age just like Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday, attacked on what was described as a lovers' lane area. The killer, without uttering a word, fired into the vehicle in similar fashion to the shooting at Blue Rock Springs, this time in the early morning hours of Sunday, November 2nd 1975. The assailant at Monte Cresta Drive may have driven up to the vehicle of the young couple just prior to the murder, driving away and returning a few minutes later, before unleashing his deadly assault. Had the gun not broke apart, we could again have been looking at a repeat of December 20th 1968.

The following day, on November 3rd 1975, it was reported by KGO-TV that a possible Zodiac letter was discovered near to the crime scene in a phone booth. Michael Morford, a researcher at the Zodiac Killer Site forum, also remembered a cassette tape accompanying the letter. The attack happened early Sunday morning, with the newspapers carrying the story on Monday, November 3rd 1975, so when the letter (and possibly tape) were placed in the phone booth is an important factor. If the letter was placed there in the minutes after the crime (or Sunday night) and not discovered until Monday morning, the greater the possibility that the letter was written by the murderer of Anthony Vincent Bruno, who hadn't read or heard any reporting of the crime.

The reporting in the San Mateo Times of a letter alleged to have been written by the Zodiac Killer appears to carry weight, when you consider the wording of Chief William R. Singer, who stated "It could be another Zodiac". If this letter existed, then it is fairly obvious that law enforcement and Chief William R. Singer would have been aware of it.

There are three main possibilities regarding the letter: [1] Somebody read or heard the details of the crime, noted the similarities to the Zodiac attacks, and decided to hoax a letter. [2] The person who murdered Anthony Vincent Bruno prepared a Zodiac-style letter to shift the emphasis away from the fact it was personal attack. [3] The person who committed the murder and wrote the letter was the Zodiac Killer, however unlikely this option may seem. The Zodiac Killer hadn't conclusively been linked to a murder for six years at this point, and hadn't written a confirmed letter for well over a year, which undoubtedly weakens the intent of a person attempting to shift the blame onto the Zodiac Killer. The last widely accepted letter from the Zodiac Killer was the Exorcist letter mailed on January 29th 1974, probably mailed from San Mateo County. If this was "truly" a Zodiac letter, it too would have a San Mateo connection.

Two and a half years later, a cryptic letter was mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle on July 19th 1978, in what can only be described as unintelligent ramblings. With respect to the 1975 letter (and possibly cassette tape) placed in the phone booth near the crime scene, a certain section of text in the July 19th 1978 was of particular interest. It may have no connection whatsoever to the Anthony Vincent Bruno murder, but read "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".  Was this "small metallic tape", a ferric cassette tape, which was deliberately placed in the phone booth and was now in the possession of law enforcement? The murder of Anthony Vincent Bruno in San Mateo on November 2nd 1975 is a difficult crime to connect to the Bay Area murders of the Zodiac Killer without access to this letter (and tape), but the broken stock of the shotgun found ten feet from the murder scene could contain valuable evidence if stored correctly.

Thanks to Zodiac Killer Site forum.

On July 19th 1978, a typewritten letter from Los Angeles arrived at the San Francisco Chronicle stating: "I am the ZODIAC and I am in control of all things. I am going to tell you a secret. I like friction tape. I like to have it around in case I need to truss someone up in a hurry....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. I am athletic. It could be swim fins, or a piece of scuba gear. But maybe you play chess with me. I have several cheap sets in closets all over. I have my name on the bottom of the lid with the scotch tape....My tape is waiting for me all over California. Do you know me? I am the ZODIAC and I am in control". 

It was not uncommon for the Zodiac Killer to draw his inspiration from the previous newspaper articles about him, with this rather cryptic offering possibly another such example. On July 14th 1978, an exclusive interview with David Toschi was reported in the San Francisco Chronicle entitled New Zodiac Disclosures. Everything in the letter above appears to be inspired by the wording in the newspaper article. Inspector David Toschi had suspicions lingering over him that he had authored the April 24th 1978 letter to reinvigorate the Zodiac Killer investigation, and this interview with him was conducted at the time he had been transferred from homicide detail.   

[1] 7/14/78 Chronicle:  As Toschi talked rapidly and nervously, skipping from subject to subject like a man who has too much feeling inside him to control or regulate, he never mentioned any of the 100 other homicide investigations in which he participated. Only Zodiac. 
Zodiac: I am the ZODIAC and I am in control of all things. I am the ZODIAC and I am in control.

[2] 7/14/78 Chronicle: "I came back. I was told to sit in a chair. A tape recorder was turned on" Toschi remembered. The policeman who was interrogating him, a member of his own detail, asked "Have you read the allegations". The 47-year-old inspector, a 25-year veteran of the police force was taken off the prestigious homicide squad after 10 years for writing letters in 1976 to Maupin to which Toschi praised himself and signed fictitious names.
Zodiac: I like friction tape. I like to have it around in case I need to truss someone up in a hurry....I have my real name on a small metallic tape.
If the tape used to interview Inspector David Toschi was labelled "Interview with Inspector Toschi", accused of using fictitious names when writing fan letters to Armistead Maupin, then the response by the Zodiac Killer of "I have my real name on a small metallic tape", could be reasoned.

[3] 7/14/78 Chronicle: When "Tales of the City" was completed, things quieted way down for Toschi. He knew he was tired. It was a bad week. He had pulled two all night murder investigations. He went to his doctor. The doctor said "Can you make it over to St Mary's hospital? Something is wrong with your heart". It turned out to be a leaky left valve. It wasn't pumping the way it should. Also, he was walking around with pneumonia.
Zodiac: I am athletic. It could be swim fins, or a piece of scuba gear.   
Was the Zodiac Killer ridiculing David Toschi's stamina and fitness?  

Below is the envelope of the May 2nd 1978 Channel 9 letter featured on zodiackiller.com, mailed to KHJ-TV in Los Angeles just eight days after the "I Am Back With You" letter, postmarked April 24th 1978. There have been links forged on the Zodiac Killer Site forum between two of the 1978 letters and the March 8th 1981 "Atlanta" letter, mailed to West Peachtree Street in Atlanta. All three carried the Symbols of America stamps of the 13c Liberty Bell, 13c Eagle and Shield, and 15c American Flag from the Americana Seies. In addition to these three communications, another communication was mailed on July 19th 1978 to the San Francisco Chronicle from Los Angeles, rambling on about tape waiting for him all over California. In this analysis, I would like to focus initially on the three 1978 letters mailed within three months of one another, as well as the Melvin Belli letter mailed to 1228 Montgomery Street in San Francisco on December 20th 1969. The reason to jump back to 1969, was not only because the handwriting on the Melvin Belli letter looked somewhat similar to the Channel 9 envelope, but because of the content contained within it. 

The Melvin Belli letter contained the phrases I am afraid I will loose control again, I will loose all controol of my self and Please help me I can not remain in control for much longer. The communications on April 24th 1978 and July 19th 1978, either side of the Channel 9 letter, both continued this theme of control. The April 24th 1978 letter concluded with "I am now in control of all things". The July 19th 1978 letter concluded with "I am the ZODIAC and I am in control," but also began with "I am the ZODIAC and I am in control of all things". One couldn't help thinking that this theme should be present in the Channel 9 letter, therefore binding it to the other two 1978 letters - and possibly the Zodiac Killer.

The upper left corner of an envelope is usually reserved for the sender's name and address, but the author of the Channel 9 letter has placed 1234567 All Good Children Go To Heaven (abbreviated) from The Beatles You Never Give Me Your Money lyrics, as well as drawing the Apple logo from their record label in the bottom left corner. However, we are left with the boxed off section in the top left corner of the envelope, which if a mirror image just like the other writing, should be the acronym AIC. Was the answer present in the July 19th 1978 letter, when he twice stated "I AM THE ZODIAC AND I AM IN CONTROL", or are we looking for a continuation of The Beatles theme regarding the letters AIC.

If we consider one author responsible for the April 24th 1978, May 2nd 1978, July 19th 1978 and March 8th 1981 letters - and he bought several "blocks of four stamps" of the Americana Series in one visit - then we may be able to track the selection of his stamps in respect to his mailings. The Americana Series stamps followed a very uniform plan that outlined the designs of individual stamps as well as the blocks of four. In all, there were five different blocks, each with a different theme, but similar design style – the subject in the center, and the title curving around two of the edges. When all four stamps were placed together, the titles created a frame around the stamps. The five themes were Roots of Democracy, Rights and Freedoms of the American People, Symbols of America, Pioneer America, and America’s Light. Mysticstamp.com.

If the Zodiac Killer was to purchase several of the Symbols of America Series (shown below), these would have been the appropriate postage for the time. The postage was 13c from December 31st 1975 until May 29th 1978, when it switched to 15c. Then on March 22nd 1981 the postage increased to 18c. So three of these stamps would be the correct postage for his three 1978 letters and March 8th 1981 letter, had he applied just one to each.

Let us assume that the Zodiac Killer buys these blocks of four stamps just prior to his first 1978 letter on April 24th 1978. We will use the two blocks shown above to follow his course of action. Being right-handed, he tears off the two upper right Liberty Bell stamps and affixes them to his April 24th 1978 (I Am Back With You) letter. He then tears off one of the upper left Eagle and Shield stamps and affixes it to his May 2nd 1978 (Channel 9) letter. On the block of four with only two stamps remaining, he tears off the 15c American Flag stamp and affixes it to his July 19th 1978 (Friction Tape) letter. This is the easiest of the two options available to him. The stamp on the July 19th 1978 envelope is unknown because we don't have this correspondence available, so this is just a calculated guess. This would have been his only choice from the Symbols of America Series, because the stamp price increased to 15c on May 29th 1978. Then on March 8th 1981 he used the only remaining 15c American Flag stamp from the block of three stamps.

The Zodiac Killer would be left with one redundant 13c Eagle and Shield stamp in respect to correct postage for any letter up to one ounce. If another potential Zodiac letter is discovered to have been mailed between April 24th 1978 (I Am Back With You letter) and May 29th 1978 (when the 13c postage increased), and it contains an Eagle and Shield stamp on the envelope from the Symbols of America Series, we have to consider it as a strong contender for the same responsible.

If the above letters were just mailed by random hoaxers unconnected to one another, it would be rather unusual to expect three independent and consecutive communications claiming to be the Zodiac Killer, to have all contained three Symbols of America stamps from the Americana Series. If the Zodiac Killer kept a secret stash containing his writing paper, marker pens and a supply of stamps for "future use", away from prying eyes, then it is not difficult to understand how the sequence of his mailings could have unfolded.

On July 19th 1978 a typewritten letter from Los Angeles arrived at the San Francisco Chronicle stating: "I am the ZODIAC and I am in control of all things. I am going to tell you a secret. I like friction tape. I like to have it around in case I need to truss someone up in a hurry....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. I am athletic. It could be swim fins, or a piece of scuba gear. But maybe you play chess with me. I have several cheap sets in closets all over. I have my name on the bottom of the lid with the scotch tape....My tape is waiting for me all over California. Do you know me? I am the ZODIAC and I am in control". ​

In the previous article on this topic we discussed how this letter may have been a sarcastic dig at David Toschi, who had been demoted from homicide detail to pawn detail after revelations of his possible authorship of the April 24th 1978 letter. The phrase "but maybe you play chess with me" a reference to his misfortune of ending up in the pawn section. Quicktrader, from Zodiac Killer Site forum, explained how the author of this letter may have given us a clue to his name Paul, which featured at the bottom of the lid on a well known brand of Scotch tape. In fact, the majority of the letter implicitly focuses on tape, beginning with "friction tape" to bind his victims, then "small metallic tape" which he didn't leave somewhere accidentally, and finally, the "scotch tape" which we've already covered.  

Regarding the tape - twice he mentioned his name in accompaniment. The author stated "I have my real name on a small metallic tape" and  "I have my name on the bottom of the lid with the scotch tape". If we are to discover what the Zodiac Killer (if the author) meant by "small metallic tape" we need to travel back to a murder where his name featured, at or close to the attack site, and where it was deliberately left. Fortunately we don't have to go back too far.

On Sunday November 2nd 1975, a man walked up to a couple's vehicle on Monte Cresta Drive, Belmont, California and shot 17-year-old Carlmont High School student Anthony Vincent Bruno Jr to death. "According to Police Captain George Stephenson, Bruno and his girlfriend (16 years) had been parked on Monte Cresta Drive, above Barclay Way in an isolated area of western hills when a man opened the driver's side door and apparently without saying anything fired the shotgun. The girl, who was not identified by police, pushed Bruno's body aside and drove the car to her home from where police were notified. She described the assailant as white, 5 feet 5 inches tall, 140 pounds and wearing an Army green parka with hood, according to police. Stephenson said also that a late model brown pick-up truck, possibly a Dodge or Chevrolet, had been seen in the area at about the time of the shooting." San Mateo Times.

​The description doesn't sound much like the Zodiac Killer, but often he would lay claim to murders he never committed. This may have been the case here, when on the following day (possibly having read or heard about the murder) placed something interesting in a phone booth. ​Mike Morford stated, in reference to a San Mateo news article, dated November 14th 1975 "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. Also, I will try to find it again, but in one of the FBI files, there IS mention of a letter & casette tape found together". Here is a previous article covering this topic. 

On July 19th 1978 a typewritten letter from Los Angeles arrived at the San Francisco Chronicle stating: "I am the ZODIAC and I am in control of all things. I am going to tell you a secret. I like friction tape. I like to have it around in case I need to truss someone up in a hurry....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. I am athletic. It could be swim fins, or a piece of scuba gear. But maybe you play chess with me. I have several cheap sets in closets all over. I have my name on the bottom of the lid with the scotch tape....My tape is waiting for me all over California. Do you know me? I am the ZODIAC and I am in control". 

This letter mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper and described by Robert Graysmith in his Zodiac book, appears like a mishmash of inane ramblings of somebody "not in control", although sometimes there is method in the madness if you look hard enough. The one thing the Zodiac Killer did on numerous occasions during his initial letter writing campaign, was to respond to the recent newspaper articles he read. There is no reason why this letter cannot be unpicked by looking at articles published in the San Francisco Chronicle in the days leading up to July 19th 1978 - the date of this typed correspondence.

In this newspaper collection compiled by cryptographer Dave Oranchak it can be seen that a flurry of newspaper articles preceded this 'Zodiac' mailing, from July 11th 1978 to July 18th 1978. They were entitled The Rise and Fall of a Good Cop, New Puzzles Further Muddle Zodiac Case, Officials Jittery Over Latest Zodiac Puzzle, New Zodiac Disclosures, Feinstein Says Toschi's Being Crucified and Gain Talks About Toschi. They all highlighted the plight of Inspector David Toschi of Homicide Detail, who came under suspicion for forging both the Exorcist letter, mailed on January 29th 1974, and the most recent 'Zodiac' communication on April 24th 1978, which stated "Dear Editor, This is the Zodiac speaking I am back with you. Tell herb caen I am here, I have always been here. That city pig toschi is good - but I am smarter and better he will get tired then leave me alone. I am waiting for a good movie about me. who will play me. I am now in control of all things". Considering this July 19th 1978 letter was mailed just after these newspaper articles about David Toschi, parroting "I am in control of all things", it is a fairly safe bet that this typed communication was addressing David Toschi personally.

Quicktrader, from the Zodiac Killer Site forum, highlighted the first clue in the letter, in which the author states "I have my real name on a small metallic tape", "I have my name on the bottom of the lid with the scotch tape" and "my tape is waiting for me all over California". Scotch Tape could be bought all over California, and this version of the product did have a name on the bottom of the lid. Was this the Zodiac Killer insinuating that his forename was Paul? 

But what inspired the author of the July 19th 1978 letter to hint at his "real name" in the correspondence? In the San Francisco Chronicle article on July 18th 1978, entitled ​Gain Talks About Toschi, the journalist writes "Zodiac is the name used by a man who killed six persons at random - five in the Bay Area - in the late 1960s". So this may have been the perfect retort, declaring his real name was all over California on the bottom of Scotch Tape lids.

However, the author of this communication also refers to chess, stating "But maybe you play chess with me. I have several cheap sets in closets all over". He was offering to play chess with David Toschi for a reason that was well known - and published in many newspapers precedent to this typed letter. Here is the possible answer lying in the pages of the July 14th 1978 San Francisco Chronicle. It stated Maupin turned his phony letters from Toschi over to DeAmicis, who confronted the inspector with them in the deputy chief's office last Friday morning. Toschi admitted writing them. "My recommendations" said DeAmicis "was that because of ego problems we thought it in the best interest of Dave Toschi and the department" to consign him to pawn shop detail.  

The author of this letter likely knew that David Toschi had been demoted from homicide detail to pawn shop detail and was currently taking a short holiday. What better way, in true Zodiac style, to ridicule the demoted inspector by offering the steward of the pawn shop detail a game of chess. The answer is always so black and white.

THE 7/19/78 LETTER [PART TWO]