Daniel Williams, a Salesian High School teacher in Richmond, received ten days of sadistic telephone calls beginning on October 23rd 1969 from a man claiming to be the Zodiac Killer. These calls were probably dismissed as the genuine Zodiac Killer because of the language adopted in the calls, mimicking the hoax caller who addressed Melvin Belli on the Jim Dunbar Show on October 22nd 1969. Daniel Williams would recall that the menacing caller would also "sob and complain of headaches". However, the calls to Daniel Williams shouldn't be ruled out on this basis, because two months later the real Zodiac Killer did speak of "losing control" and having difficulty "holding it in check" when writing to Melvin Belli on December 20th 1969. In previous articles covering this topic, the city of Richmond was identified as a possible future target on his Bus Bomb crosshairs. Also, the phraseology of “I’m too smart for them" by the sadistic caller to Daniel Williams was compared to the passage in the Bus Bomb letter of "I have been too clever for them". However, there is a little bit more.
It was November 2nd 1969 when Daniel Williams received the final call from the man presumably impersonating the Zodiac Killer, with the menacing threat of “You’re the dead duck". He would then leave his house in Martinez and return later, only to find his screen door pried open and arsenic in his soft drink. Fortunately for Daniel Williams he noticed the metallic taste and spat it out, which undoubtedly saved his life. Clearly the murder of Daniel Williams had been thwarted, meaning the perpetrator had unfinished business. This is why I find the Zodiac Killer's opening statement in the Bus Bomb letter particularly unusual. The opening line of the November 9th 1969 communication began "This is the Zodiac speaking up to the end of Oct I have killed 7 people". But why didn't he just declare "This is the Zodiac speaking. I have killed 7 people to date", or "This is the Zodiac speaking. I have murdered 7 people". He deliberately chose to say "up to the end of Oct", almost like there was a murder he was still engineering or was attempting to complete between the end of October and November 9th 1969. In other words, he had unfinished business. Bearing in mind the murder attempt on Daniel Williams took place on November 2nd 1969, he may have been signalling by the statement of "up to the end of Oct" that he wasn't finished with Daniel Williams just yet. Especially when we consider that just a few lines later he issued the statement of "The police shall never catch me, because I have been too clever for them", in extremely similar fashion to “I’m too smart for them" spoken over the phone to Daniel Williams.
It was November 2nd 1969 when Daniel Williams received the final call from the man presumably impersonating the Zodiac Killer, with the menacing threat of “You’re the dead duck". He would then leave his house in Martinez and return later, only to find his screen door pried open and arsenic in his soft drink. Fortunately for Daniel Williams he noticed the metallic taste and spat it out, which undoubtedly saved his life. Clearly the murder of Daniel Williams had been thwarted, meaning the perpetrator had unfinished business. This is why I find the Zodiac Killer's opening statement in the Bus Bomb letter particularly unusual. The opening line of the November 9th 1969 communication began "This is the Zodiac speaking up to the end of Oct I have killed 7 people". But why didn't he just declare "This is the Zodiac speaking. I have killed 7 people to date", or "This is the Zodiac speaking. I have murdered 7 people". He deliberately chose to say "up to the end of Oct", almost like there was a murder he was still engineering or was attempting to complete between the end of October and November 9th 1969. In other words, he had unfinished business. Bearing in mind the murder attempt on Daniel Williams took place on November 2nd 1969, he may have been signalling by the statement of "up to the end of Oct" that he wasn't finished with Daniel Williams just yet. Especially when we consider that just a few lines later he issued the statement of "The police shall never catch me, because I have been too clever for them", in extremely similar fashion to “I’m too smart for them" spoken over the phone to Daniel Williams.
When we couple these observations with his Dripping Pen card on November 8th 1969, the story becomes a little more intriguing. It too gives the impression of unfinished business. The card read "This is the Zodiac speaking. I though you would nead a good laugh before you hear the bad news. You won't get the news for a while yet. PS could you print this new cipher in your frunt page? I get aufully lonely when I am ignored, so lonely I could do my Thing !!!!!! Des July Aug Sept Oct = 7".
The wording of "I though you would nead a good laugh before you hear the bad news". appears to indicate that the Zodiac Killer has, or is actively seeking to generate some bad news - which would usually involve murder. He then qualifies this statement by adding "You won't get the news for a while yet". This could indicate that he had plans for murder, but was yet to complete his mission. If he was the caller and poisoner of Daniel Williams, his failed murder attempt may have inspired the statement of "up to the end of Oct" and "You won't get the news for a while yet" in reference to his continued pursuit of the Richmond school teacher. Ironically, the Dripping Pen card would be accompanied by the Zodiac Killer's second lengthy cryptogram, the first of which was cracked by a Salinas High School teacher.
RELEVANT ARTICLES: THE PROMISE OF MURDER ON LINE 5 A KILLER ON LINE FIVE
The wording of "I though you would nead a good laugh before you hear the bad news". appears to indicate that the Zodiac Killer has, or is actively seeking to generate some bad news - which would usually involve murder. He then qualifies this statement by adding "You won't get the news for a while yet". This could indicate that he had plans for murder, but was yet to complete his mission. If he was the caller and poisoner of Daniel Williams, his failed murder attempt may have inspired the statement of "up to the end of Oct" and "You won't get the news for a while yet" in reference to his continued pursuit of the Richmond school teacher. Ironically, the Dripping Pen card would be accompanied by the Zodiac Killer's second lengthy cryptogram, the first of which was cracked by a Salinas High School teacher.
RELEVANT ARTICLES: THE PROMISE OF MURDER ON LINE 5 A KILLER ON LINE FIVE
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