ZODIAC CIPHERS
Richard Grinell, Coventry, England
  • Home
    • Search This Site With Google
    • My Interview on the Zodiac Killer Channel
    • The Mount Diablo Map and Code Solution
  • Zodiac News
    • Zodiac News Archives
    • Santa Barbara Attack
    • Cheri Jo Bates
    • The Confession
    • Riverside Desktop Poem
    • Bates Letter
    • The Forgotten Victims
    • Zodiac RSS Feed
    • Welsh Chappie - Zodiac News
  • Lake Herman Murders
    • Blue Rock Springs Attack
    • Vallejo Times Letter
    • Examiner Letter
    • Chronicle Letter
    • Complete 408 Cipher
    • Vallejo and Benicia Map
    • Kathie Snoozy and Debra Furlong Murders
    • Debut of Zodiac Letter
  • Lake Berryessa Attack
    • Presidio Heights Attack
    • Call to Chat Show
  • 340 Cipher
    • Bus Bomb Letter
    • Betsy Aardsma Murder
    • The Fairfield Letter
    • Melvin Belli Letter
    • Santa Barbara Murders 1970
    • Modesto Attack
    • My Name is Cipher
    • Dragon Card and Button Letter >
      • Phillips Road Map
    • The Sleeping Bag Murders
    • The Little List Letter
  • The Halloween Card
    • Lake Tahoe Disappearance
    • Los Angeles Times Letter
    • The Monticello Card
    • The Exorcist Letter
  • SLA Letter
    • Red Phantom Letter/American Greetings Card
    • The 1978 Letter
    • Zodiac Letters Real or Fake
    • Zodiac Documentary
    • Zodiac Killer Net Forum - Hot Topics
    • Unsolved Mysteries
    • The Colonial Parkway Murders
  • Suspects
    • Arthur Leigh Allen
    • Rick Marshall
    • Lawrence Kane
    • Theodore Kaczynski
    • Richard Gaikowski
    • Gareth Penn
    • Jack Tarrance

THE MURDER ON MONTE CRESTA DRIVE

1/20/2021

 
Picture
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.  

Picture
"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.  

Picture
The original image was poor quality, so I have superimposed a Stevens Model 124 12-guage shotgun into the newspaper article
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.
Picture
Picture
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.

THE CRYPTIC 1978 LETTER TO TOSCHI?

1/3/2021

 
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.   

Picture
[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?  

Picture
[4] 7/14/78 Chronicle: Maupin turned his phony fan mail 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 recommendation" said DeAmicis "was that because of ego problems we thought it in the best interests of Dave Toschi and the department" to reassign him to the pawn shop detail. 
Zodiac:
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.
Was David Toschi the pawn in Zodiac's game of chess?

7/12/74 Chronicle: Officials Jittery Over Latest Zodiac Puzzle: Federal, state and local officials clamped a lid of secrecy over the controversial removal of San Francisco police Inspector David Toschi from the Zodiac murder case yesterday.
Zodiac:
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".


These comparisons are only speculative and may have in no way inspired the author's wording in the July 19th 1978 cryptic letter. 

'SYMBOLS OF AMERICA' SERIES

4/26/2020

 
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. 
Picture
May 2nd 1978 Channel Nine envelope
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.
Picture
Picture
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.

THE 7/19/78 LETTER [PART TWO]

7/14/2019

 
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". ​
PictureInspector David Toschi
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. 

Picture
This is an extract from Wikipedia about cassette tapes: At about the same time chromium dioxide (CrO2) tape, later designated Type II, was introduced by DuPont, the inventor of the particle, and BASF, the inventor and longtime manufacturer of magnetic recording tape. Next, coatings using magnetite (Fe3O4) such as TDK's Audua were produced in an attempt to approach or exceed the sound quality of vinyl records. Cobalt-absorbed iron oxide (Avilyn) was introduced by TDK in 1974 and proved very successful. Here is a timeline regarding the history of cassette tapes.

The author of the July 19th 1978 letter may have been referring to this (small metallic) tape, left in the phone booth on November 3rd 1975 alongside the letter claiming to be Zodiac. The author stated "I want you to know it belongs to me and you think I may have left it accidentally". Obviously the tape couldn't have held an audio message from Zodiac, because the author of the 1978 letter wouldn't have stated "I want you to know it belongs to me". But he wanted the San Francisco Chronicle to know it had been left there deliberately. So what could have been recorded on the tape, in keeping with the games of the Zodiac Killer - that also contained his name on the small metallic tape? Maybe something like this?  

Picture

A GAME OF CHESS - THE 7/19/78 LETTER

7/13/2019

 
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". 
Picture
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? 

Picture
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.
Picture
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]

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    All
    13 Hole Postcard
    148 Character Cipher
    1978 Letter
    1986 Letter
    1987 Letter
    2001 Happy New Year Card
    Albany Letter
    Allan/Peyton Murders
    Arthur Leigh Allen
    Atlanta Letter
    Betsy Aardsma
    Blue Rock Springs Attack
    Bus Bomb Letter
    Button Letter
    Call To Chat Show
    Carol Beth Hilburn
    Channel 9 Letter
    Cheri Jo Bates
    Cipher Theories
    Citizen Card
    Concerned Citizen Card
    Confession Letter
    Daniel Williams Poisoning
    Debut Of Zodiac Letter
    Deep Real Estate Ad
    DMV Letter
    Domingos/Edwards Murders
    Donald Lee Bujok
    Donna Lass
    Dragon Card
    Earl Van Best Jr
    Eureka Card
    Exorcist Letter
    Fairfield Letter
    Fingerprint Evidence
    Forecast For Cancer
    Forecast For Leo
    Gareth Penn
    General News Articles
    Gilbert And Sullivan
    Good Citizen Letter
    Halloween Card
    Hood/Garcia Murders
    Internet Articles
    Joan Webster
    Judith Hakari
    Kevin Robert Brooks
    Lake Berryessa Attack
    Lake Herman Road Murders
    Lake Tahoe Disappearance
    Larry Kane
    Leona Roberts Murder
    Los Angeles Letter
    Melvin Belli Letter
    Mike Morford (Morf13)
    Modesto Attack
    Molina/Rodriguez Murders
    Monticello Card
    My Name Is Letter
    Nancy Bennallack
    New Canaan Letters
    Novato Letter
    Oakland A's Letter
    Pines Card
    Possible Zodiac Attacks
    Possible Zodiac Letters
    Presidio Heights Murder
    Radians
    Red Phantom Letter
    Richard Gaikowski
    Riverside Desktop Poem
    Robert Salem Murder
    Ross Sullivan
    Saechao/Saelee Murders
    San Jose Code Letter
    Santa Claus Card
    Scotch Tape Letter
    Sla Letter
    Tamalpais Valley Attack
    Ted Kaczynski
    Telegraph Avenue Incident
    The 340 Cipher
    The 408 Cipher
    The Celebrity Cypher
    The Little List
    The Mikado
    Thomas Horan
    You Are Next Letter
    Zodiac Letters Poll
    Zodiac Postage
    Zodiac Theories

    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    The Zodiac Killer may have given us the answer almost word-for-word when he wrote PS. The Mt. Diablo Code concerns Radians & # inches along the radians. The code solution identified was Estimate: Four Radians and Five Inches To read more, click the image.
    Picture
    Picture
    The Zodiac Atlas: The Zodiac Killer Enigma by Randall Scott Clemons. Click image for details.
    Picture
    The Zodiac Killer Map: Part of the Zodiac Killer Enigma by Randall Scott Clemons. Click image for color version
    For black and white issue..
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    January 2012

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Photos used under Creative Commons from Marcin Wichary, zAppledot, vyusseem, Alex Barth, Alan Cleaver, jocelynsart, Richard Perry, taberandrew, eschipul, MrJamesAckerley