ZODIAC CIPHERS
RICHARD GRINELL, COVENTRY, ENGLAND
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DONNA LASS-A MURDER PLOT FOILED?

9/21/2017

 
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In several articles we have explored the concept of geographical profiling to narrow down the search area for the likely residence of the Zodiac Killer, using timelines and his own words in an effort to identify the elusive murderer. A forum member of Zodiac Killer Site with the moniker 'Seagull' has been invaluable in this quest, mailing me names and addresses around the Springs Road and Tuolumne Street payphone in Vallejo in 1969. By cross checking these to previous residency in Riverside and other locations using ancestry records, a common thread is hoped to be unearthed. The problem is, it may take months or even years to manually trawl through a sample area radius of just 0.5 miles around the payphone. 

Another common thread that has been explored, is a possible link between Donna Lass and the Zodiac Killer. According to former police officer Harvey Hines "During the time she worked in San Francisco she lived at 4122 Balboa Street with a roommate named Carol Emerich. Emerich was also a nurse. According to the employment records, Lass was working a late night shift in October of 1969 when the San Francisco cab driver, Paul Stine, was killed by the Zodiac". This, bearing in mind the disappearance and likely murder of Donna Lass only eleven months later, along with the alleged Zodiac 'Pines' card mailed on March 22nd 1971, it is something not to be overlooked. It may be coincidence, but the 'Pines' card does reveal an interesting feature, long believed to be from the hands of a hoaxer because of the victim count not marrying up with known Zodiac correspondence. However, it does in fact fit perfectly into the Zodiac timeline.         
PictureThe Letterman Army Hospital
'Lemonboy', a contributor to this site triggered this article, when he stated "What if Donna lass saw Zodiac as he was walking away from the Stine murder? After that he targets her thinking she might have recognized him. The fact she lived so close to the crime scene seems more than coincidence". But what if the Zodiac moved in the circle of Donna Lass, knew the young nurse, or even worked alongside her. His confidence in these surroundings was evident after the murder of Paul Stine in Presidio Heights on October 11th 1969, apparent by his detailed account of events in the November 9th 1969 'Bus Bomb' letter. He may have lived in the Vallejo area and worked in San Francisco, hence the copious mailings to the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper. If we could tie this person to Donna Lass through San Francisco and South Lake Tahoe, and possibly Cheri Jo Bates at Riverside, we may inch a little closer. The 'Pines' card may be suspect Zodiac material, but the wording on the postcard does leave a subtle hint that a connection may exist.

It all lies in the wording "Sought Victim 12", considered by some an error on behalf of its sender. But if we examine the victim count of the Zodiac Killer, the past participle of seek, indicated the killer may have been targeting Donna Lass during her residency in San Francisco some four months earlier.
"Sought Victim 12" suggested that the Zodiac Killer at some point in his recent history had trailed victim 12. Bearing in mind the 'Pines' card was supposedly referencing the disappearance and murder of Donna Lass on September 6th 1970, then it isn't a giant leap of faith to believe that the murderer was searching for victim 12 relative to his timeline and the young nurse.

On April 20th 1970, the Zodiac Killer mailed the '13 Symbol' cipher claiming 10 victims. On June 26th 1970, the killer mailed the 'Button' letter and Phillips 66 map claiming 12 victims. His search for victim 12 was clearly over, according to him, therefore it couldn't have been Donna Lass, who was abducted just over two months later. However, she may have been the original target. If she had been earmarked as victim 12, as hinted by the 'Pines' card, his plans were clearly thwarted or sidelined.​      

PictureDonna Ann Lass
Before Zodiac could "seek victim 12" though, he had to secure victim 11, which he wasn't claiming when the 'Dragon' card landed at the offices of the San Francisco Chronicle on April 28th 1970. Donna Lass left her job at the Letterman General Hospital and moved to South Lake Tahoe on June 6th 1970 to begin her new post at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel and Casino. If he had targeted Donna Lass in San Francisco, it would likely have fell somewhere between the dates of April 28th 1970 and June 6th 1970, but was ultimately denied to him by circumstances unknown or her move away from the Bay Area. Even if Zodiac had claimed victim 11 as early as the end of April, then we could be looking for a man who either worked with the young nurse during the month of May, was in her near circle, or had a romantic or unhealthy interest in Donna Lass during this short timeframe.

Friends and colleagues of Donna Lass included Carol Emerich and Jo Anne Goettsche, the latter of which visited her around the time she disappeared - and it is these friends or persons close to them - that may hold the key to the identity of the Zodiac Killer during that crucial month in 1970. When the killer mailed the 'Pines' card on March 22nd 1971, either by accident or design, his mask of anonymity may have slipped even further upon pasting the words "Sought Victim 12," and place him a lot closer to Donna Lass than we care to imagine.   

Lemonboy
9/22/2017 03:31:42 pm

Richard glad to be of help. I also beleive zodiac knew paul stine. His other known murders were for his pleasure. In lake barryessa he could he easily shot them and make it quick and painless, but chose to stab them instead even though it would make his getaway that much harder since to stab some one is more time consuming that just shooting them at point blank range. A shot to the head is all he needed and they would of both died instantly, yet he chose the stabbing method which didn't work as well since Hartnell survived. Stine I think was a kill of necessity since he used a sure method of killing him. I also think there was something in Stine's wallet that may have led us to the killer. A business card maybe?

Richard
9/22/2017 11:05:10 pm

I don't believe Zodiac's prime motive was murder, but the letter writing. All six victims at LHR, BRS, and LB were alive when he left the scene. Zodiac appeared to want to create fear within a community and get their attention, hence the letter writing. Zodiac could easily have killed Bryan Hartnell and Cecilia Shepard with a knife in two deadly strikes, or cuts to the neck. The fact he didn't do this indicates this is not what drove the killer. The reason he never used a gun, is likely, because it was 6.30 pm in complete daylight, with a restrictive exit route along Knoxville Road. At this time of the evening there would have still been people in the area, along with park rangers. Firing off a gun, without a silencer, probably wouldn't have been the greatest idea. I personally, at this juncture, don't believe Zodiac knew any of the five canonical victims. I find it difficult to believe Paul Stine was pre-selected that night, considering it was a random pick up from the theatre district that night, likely from a payphone, or Zodiac just happened to know the taxicab driver and decided Washington and Cherry was the best location for the murder. One day things may change my perspective, but for now we'll have to agree to disagree on that one. Cheers.

Lemonboy
9/23/2017 06:26:02 am

I agree on using a gun in clear daylight wouldn't have been very smart but I beleive he used a silencer in both the paul stine and Darlene ferrin murder, so I think he had access to a silencer just didn't care to use it. Your point about he could've just murdered then by slashing there throat is a good one that I can't really counter since the bates murder had a slash to the throat and if we assume zodiac killer her then he could've just done it again. A question I have though is why is zodiac's mo questioned when he himself said why he killed. He wanted to collect slaves for his afterlife. I beleive he really believed this and was obviously mentally ill, but I do beleive that this was his motive. If he did it for the letters why would he say he was gonna change his way of killing and not be heard of again? It's very likely he killed again after his last confirmed letter. Any thought?thanks

Richard
9/23/2017 06:26:55 am

I have seen no solid evidence that he murdered anyone after the canonical five. Kathleen Johns and Donna Lass are still possibilities, if we believe the Johns letter and Pines card as Zodiac material. He certainly carried on claiming victims such as Johns, Radetich and Lass, but whether he had a hand in any, is down to what you believe. None of the crimes he claimed have ever been solved to another offender. So he is either extremely lucky in claiming crimes or he is the perpetrator. Out of Johns, Lass, Radetich and Bates, the Lass crime holds most water for me. The Bus Bomb letter claimed only he was to change his way of collecting slaves, and because nothing since has credibly been hailed as a Zodiac crime, he has either done a good job or killed nobody. I don't question any of his first four attacks, regardless of MO. Lake Berryessa and Presidio Heights could be argued as totally different to his first two attacks. Not all serial killers stick to formulaic pattern of killing. Some do, but not all. Personally 'Lemonboy' examining the psychology of these monsters is nigh on impossible. Ask 20 people, you get 20 different answers on his mental state. At a guess, I would say he was of average intelligence, who deliberately misspelled his communications, probably similar to Dennis Rader. I do think he was religious and this manifested in his communications. Not much of a help in the USA, where the overwhelming majority have some form of religious affiliation. It didn't however seem to exhibit itself in the actual crimes. I am not totally convinced he wrote any more correspondence after the Los Angeles letter or Pines card in 1971. Possibly the Exorcist letter in 1974. I believe it's certainly possible he died in 1971 or 1974. Or was incarcerated in 71 and 74, the final time possibly for murder. He then died in prison. But who knows. He certainly was a braggart, so staying quiet for 40+ years of his own choice I find extremely hard to swallow.

Lemonboy
9/23/2017 06:38:32 am

Good points Richard thank you for the response

Aleksandr
9/24/2017 11:32:57 am

Paul Stein was killed because the newspapers wrote that the Zodiac is not able to kill a man. Men survived at the scene, his main goal was women. And if to speak about the murder, the murder of women managed at it's best.

Now about Donna Lass. If she saw the Zodiac at the crime scene - only because She was on duty at the scene, it would probably have called the police, and did not wait for a whole month.

Richard
9/24/2017 02:34:12 pm

"Paul Stein was killed because the newspapers wrote that the Zodiac is not able to kill a man." I have definitely considered that a reasonable premise. It seems some of the newspaper articles were not helpful, provoking a reaction. They would additionally call him a 'latent homosexual'- not a particular constructive comment, when your priority is to protect the public.

Carl Karas
9/25/2017 05:22:15 am

Richard, it seems to me the Bates case has got to be a Zodiac killing as the letters sent, obviously Z's, seem to be sent more out of some obsessed need to confess rather than out of a desire to boast. I also think the Lass murder was his based purely on how twisted the card was- can't see anyone investing such creative energy in something they hadn't done. I could be totally wrong on both counts. There seems to be so little evidence in Donna Lass' case though. There must be some facts you haven't written about here that convince you it 'holds more water'?

Richard
9/25/2017 10:21:32 am

I believe the '13 Hole' postcard was genuine Zodiac material, authenticated by Sherwood Morrill and containing similar traits to the Pines Card. The sought victim 12 fitting nicely in the month of May, just before Donna Lass left for Tahoe, was unlikely to have been imagined by a hoaxer, and would have required previous knowledge that Donna Lass had worked and lived in San Francisco. Someone hoaxing a letter, in my opinion, doesn't think beyond what is necessary just to pin it on Zodiac. A hoaxer could simply have claimed the murder, rather than using this creative and unnecessary design. And it is now apparently the 4th time he claimed an attack that wasn't attributed to other perpetrators. Just lucky I suppose. The Cheri Jo Bates, Johns, and Radetich may also be Zodiac attacks, but I went for this one primarily because of the cleverness of the 12 attribute, that pointed some people into believing it was a hoaxer.
But a hoaxer would surely have written 18+, bearing in mind the 'Little List' letter (13), '13 Hole' postcard, 'Halloween' card (14) and 'Los Angeles' letter (17+). There was enough newspaper coverage for a hoaxer to get it right. This suggests to me the opposite, Zodiac.

Carl Karas
9/25/2017 06:29:18 am

Here's something a little off the wall to consider. The 'Pines' card may have been done during the time when Z got into montage, etc., his most 'artistic/visual' period in 1970. I made a chart to unravel all the dates and events mentioned for myself. What if the card was created between 06/06/70 when Lass moved and the 06/26/70 Buttons card? Afterwards it's a 'work in progress' until it's sent in '71, the phrase 'sought 12th victim' being left in place

Richard
9/25/2017 09:14:42 am

That is a real possibility Carl and considered this very scenario
http://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/s0ught-victim-12

Carl Karas
9/25/2017 10:29:21 am

Answered both my questions in one fell swoop! Thanks

Taz
10/14/2017 12:53:39 pm

Could the killer have been one of her patients at the hospital? Mostly men who had been wounded I assume.


Comments are closed.
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    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.
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