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Richard Grinell, Coventry, England
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DONNA LASS - AN ENDURING MYSTERY

9/29/2016

 
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Another crime on the fringes of the Zodiac story was the likely abduction and murder of Donna Ann Lass from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel and Casino on September 6th 1970. Planning to meet her friend Jo Anne Goettsche immediately after her shift at 2.00 am, the only telltale sign that she had been interrupted, was a pen mark trailing off her log book, estimated at fifteen minutes to the hour. She had left her 1968 Chevrolet Camaro at the Monte Verdi Apartments and traveled to work from her previous residence by foot to begin her shift, planning to ride home to the new flat with her friend, but unfortunately this meeting never happened and the young 25-year-old woman was never seen again. This was Labor Day weekend, so obviously Donna Lass not returning to work in the following days may not have aroused concern, ultimately circumvented by an anonymous caller ringing her employer and workplace, and stating Donna Lass had been called to a family emergency.  

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But what does the phone call tell us about the perpetrator/s?
It seems on the face of it, to suggest the mystery phone caller is buying time. They appear to want to delay any police involvement - and since family, friends and associates are usually the first port of call for investigating officers, this is who would benefit most from any investigative delay.
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The perpetrator/s most likely had a vehicle parked outside the Sahara Tahoe Hotel, Abducting a woman at a busy casino and hotel by dragging her away on foot is extremely unlikely and far too risky. Whatever happened subsequent to this is in the realm of speculation, but one reason to want to buy time in the following days, can be attributed to a forensic standpoint. Had Donna Lass been taken to a second location connected to the abductor, or attacked within the confines of the assailant's vehicle leaving trace evidence, then clearly this provides good reason for the perpetrator to want the clean up before the police come knocking. A murder distinct and separate, leaving nothing of forensic value to connect to the perpetrator, does not necessitate the further risk of identification through a phone call. The phone call itself provides another clue. If Donna Lass had driven to work on the day in question, her car would have been laying dormant in the casino car park, so an anonymous caller claiming she had been called out of town on family business could easily have raised suspicion from her employers, and simply negated the caller's intention of buying time. In fact, it would have had the opposite effect. The same could be said regarding the landlord of the Monte Verdi Apartments, if the landlord was familiar with her vehicle or was regularly present on site.                    

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It would also suggest the abductor was not aware of Donna's intention to meet her friend Jo Ann Goettsche that night, as she could easily have raised concern about Donna's non-appearance. Was the abductor familiar enough with Donna's movements that day, that told him she had not traveled to work in her vehicle that evening? She also disappeared close to the end of her shift, having already changed from her nurses uniform into her casual clothes - another convenient circumstance for the abductor. Had she vanished from her post, let's say, hours earlier, her disappearance would have certainly raised more eyebrows, indicating the abductor likely had some knowledge of Donna Lass prior to September 6th 1970 and thereby negating the idea this was a random perpetrator. The abduction of Donna Lass has all the hallmarks of a planned abduction by somebody familiar with the young woman, her vehicle and her 'clocking off' time. And more importantly, somebody who needs to keep the police off their doorstep for as long as possible.

Her Chevrolet Camaro parked outside her Monte Verdi Apartments and the apartment itself, showed no signs of foul play or disturbance. The likelihood is she disappeared from the vicinity of the casino at approximately 1:45 am to 1:50 am - and unlikely from her nurses station - as this would have attracted too much attention. As Zodiac researcher Raymond Grant has already stated, the likeliest scenario is Donna Lass was enticed away from her work station close to the end of her shift in a planned abduction, performed under the guise of a medical emergency, that not only explains the abrupt pen mark trailing off her log book, but is the perfect ruse to necessitate her separation from the confines of the building and into the darkness. She is bundled into the abductor's vehicle with relative ease and is never seen again.            

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Apart from the four confirmed Zodiac attacks, the Bay Area killer would also indicate his involvement in the Richard Radetich murder, the Cheri Jo Bates stabbing and the Kathleen Johns abduction, however, here he doesn't specifically attach himself to the crime, just the locality of the crime, some six and a half months after the fact.
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The phone call after the Donna Lass abduction is not unusual to Zodiac and neither is the mailed correspondence, but the nature of the crime is, along with the purpose of the phone call. His previous two phone calls were designed for menace and the taunting of police, whereas this call had the sole design to create breathing space, indicative of somebody connected to the victim and area. Of course, Zodiac could have been resident in the area, known Donna Lass and been the abductor. But from what we know of Zodiac's confirmed attacks, by all accounts, he attacked strangers at a specific location and never abducted them.
The phone call in the case of Donna Lass was designed to misdirect for a reason, and quite possibly the 'Pines' card was mailed for the same purpose; - the first to delay the focus and the second to take the focus away. This time the perfect fall guy would be Zodiac. However, one killer may have been responsible for both phone call and postcard and it may not be the killer we have been tracking for nearly fifty years.         

Richard
10/1/2016 01:51:28 am

Alex, this document shows the search details for Arthur Leigh Allen's house at 32 Fresno years after the attacks. At 9.08 into this video it shows the items to look out for. One section states 'Any personal items that may be linked to Cecelia Shepard or Bryan Hartnell'. The hooded costume, Wing Walkers and knife are already mentioned prior to this entry, suggesting investigators are to look for personal items directly connected to the two victims. Higher up the list it states 'Any personal items that may be linked to Darlene Ferrin or Michael Mageau'. Hard to spot but the same thing is stated for David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen. From what we have been led to believe, only Paul Stine had personal items removed, mentioned in the document as portions of grey and white shirt, the wallet and identification of Paul Stine, Yellow taxicab keys and anything that may be linked with Paul Stine. Is it possible that other items were taken from the other crime scenes and withheld, so the killer could effectively verify he was the author of any letters written by describing what he had taken, but never did.
If investigators knew nothing was taken from the scene of say Lake Berryessa, why ask people to look for any personal items connected to the two victims. In the Paul Stine case this obviously wasn't necessary to withhold information about the crime, because the killer completely linked himself to the crime with the shirt piece, hence full disclosure of all the items in this search document ie; keys, wallet and ID. But in the other three cases they mention personal items but don't list them. Was this a need to know basis. Why search for items personally connected to the victims that supposedly were never taken. It seems a bit odd. If items were taken from the victims, it would be understandable that the police would withhold this information, as they did with the 'By Knife' written on Bryan Hartnell's vehicle and regarding certain letters, deliberately designed to invoke a response from the Zodiac Killer.
https://youtu.be/XDy47Q_K9iI?t=9m7s

Alex Lewis
10/2/2016 03:00:41 pm

Rich sorry for just jumping on this article and not directly responding but I need to speak to You off Public Boards a minute so I am going to Email You now.

PS: I will come here to read & reply to the above Rich but at the moment, as I am sure you'll agree when you get the email, this potentia development recently I would say takes precedence. Check your inbox ASAP Mate.

Alex Lewis
10/11/2016 02:58:31 pm

"Is it possible that other items were taken from the other crime scenes and withheld,"

I'd say Rich it's not only possible, but probable. I think you'd have to go a long way before you'd find a homicide case where Law Enforcement did not hold anything back. They invariably do this in all homicide cases for obvious reasons. The crime being the Most Serious of all, Homicide, they don't want Joe Bloggs Crackpot serving up a false confession to being responsible without them having a way to know whether this is actually the offender, or a crackpot by asking Him for details never released that only They the Police and the Actual True offender know of.

I would go out on a limb Rich and say in the Four attacks we attribute to Zodiac, each and everyone of the Four will have details or evidence that We have never been told of and when done for the right reasons like weeding out the false confessions etc, I fully endorse them in doing it because it serves as a tool to ensure You get the real and true offender responsible for the crime.

Richard
10/12/2016 01:26:37 am

We actually don't know if anything has been sent to authorities and not recognized. If the 'Eureka' card was Zodiac material, then this lay undiscovered for 17 years until Daniel King of the San Francisco Chronicle found it stored away in some photo files. Hey Welsh I always wanted to get on the cover of Vogue, well I nearly made it.
"Ted Cruz the Zodiac Killer.
Ted Cruz hasn’t been in the presidential race for a couple of months now, but his legacy as looking exactly like the Zodiac Killer will most definitely live on forever. You can pick up a mask—or just a wig, if it’s easier—and put on a suit. Of course, the key to getting the costume right is wearing a shirt with the Zodiac cryptogram drawn on it so it’s immediately obvious what you’re going for."

http://www.vogue.com/13361981/halloween-costume-ideas-pop-culture/?mbid=social_facebook

Robin Smith
12/6/2016 12:56:03 am

I've been gone of this mess for awhile....I'll read for awhile to see if anything new.

Hi

Scott Bobbitt link
11/5/2018 03:25:19 pm

Hi my name is Scott. I have been working on this case since June 2018 and have made some huge discoveries . I mean huge !!!!!! . I have taken all of it to the FBI but have not heard a thing in months . If I don’t hear anything from them by new years I’m going to go public with it all . I would like to discuss this with you if your interested. I have gotten a lot of help and info from your site so thank you so much . Hope to hear from you . Ps this info is very sensitive . This stuff is no joke . I’m quite sure FBI watches everything I do to see how I received this info . Just a heads up . Thx

Richard
11/5/2018 03:45:15 pm

Hi Scott, I'm not giving my email out anymore because I simply can't keep up with the messages, plus I have received unwanted comments. Nevertheless, if you are prepared to reveal the information here I will be only glad to take a look at what you have If it's too sensitive I understand. Cheers, Richard.

Richard
11/6/2018 04:57:18 am

Alternatively Scott, if you join Zodiac Killer Site forum, you can send me a private message via that forum.


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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