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Richard Grinell, Coventry, England
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DONNA LASS-TWO DAYS AFTER SPRING

9/19/2017

 
The first three crimes of Lake Herman Road, Blue Rock Springs Park and Lake Berryessa were committed in situ, in that the Zodiac Killer attacked the couples where he discovered them. The Zodiac at Presidio Heights entered the taxicab of Paul Stine in the bustling theater district of San Francisco and murdered him at Washington and Cherry, although Paul Stine effectively remained in situ, within the taxicab throughout. The three crimes that have widely been attributed to Zodiac, are the Riverside murder of Cheri Jo Bates, the Modesto abduction of Kathleen Johns and the disappearance of Donna Lass from the Sahara Tahoe Casino, all of which were followed by alleged communications from the Zodiac Killer. These three crimes had one thing in common - the perpetrator used a ruse - to lure the women into his vehicle and remove them from the first point of contact.
Cheri Jo Bates' car distributor was tampered with, followed by the promise of a lift home, to lure the young woman into his vehicle. Kathleen Johns, again would fall prey to the same tactic, when her wheel was tampered with, followed by the promise of a lift to a service station. Donna Lass was lured away from her place of work, likely by a false medical emergency, to again draw the nurse toward his vehicle. Three crimes, involving three young women, and in all instances similar tactics were employed, followed by a correspondence claiming the crime. Here though, it is the Donna Lass abduction we shall concentrate on.

In the aftermath of the disappearance, the search for Donna Lass would be badly affected by the inclement weather in the coming months, highlighted by Police Chief Ray Lauritzen in the newspapers from the outset: "We don't know where we're going to begin. There's a four or five foot pack of snow out there and it's still snowing heavily. There's no point to a search at this time. It's unlikely a victim would be uncovered before spring". It is far from certain the perpetrator of this crime knew Donna Lass, but the following will explore reasons why this may be the case.  
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Similar to the second and third crimes by the Zodiac Killer, the disappearance of Donna Lass was again followed by a phone call from the supposed perpetrator. But unlike Blue Rock Springs Park and Lake Berryessa, this phone call didn't brag about his crime, it claimed Donna Lass had been 'called away' or 'called out of town' due to a family illness, all of which was subsequently proved to be false. The caller was seemingly trying to give the impression nothing sinister had happened, suggesting the act of the phone call was simply to 'buy time'. If the abductor was affording himself some extra breathing space, then the real possibility he was local to the area or known to Donna Lass is a credible argument, and he was either holding Donna Lass at this juncture, needed time to dispose of her body, or possibly needed to remove incriminating evidence from his home or vehicle before the police came knocking. This may have suggested that the responsible moved in the circle of Donna Lass, such as friends and work colleagues, who are inevitably the first people to be questioned in most police investigations. 

The nature of the call was also suggestive of a perpetrator who knew Donna Lass. A friend or work colleague through conversation or private details, would be privy to information about her family, and the fact they lived in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 1,555 miles away. A phone call in this instance, using a family illness as a ruse, would be of the utmost benefit to the caller, possibly 'buying' the perpetrator plenty of time. The caller, it would seem, knew her family did not reside in South Lake Tahoe or nearby, because this would have made the call ineffectual.

Two phone calls were laid, one to her employer and one to her landlord. The first would obviously explain her absence from work after the Labor Day weekend, the second would possibly allay the concerns of her landlord over rent collection. He may have known Donna Lass, but would unlikely have known the exact date her payments were due. The fact he called her landlord at all, is indicative of somebody who was familiar with Donna Lass, unlikely to be known by a random killer or abductor who just turned up at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel that morning. If the perpetrator was the Zodiac Killer, then his close ties to Donna Lass could be of crucial importance, bearing in mind the widely held belief he was unknown to his victims in the first four confirmed attacks in the Bay Area. If the Zodiac Killer was also known to Cheri Jo Bates, due to the specific targeting of her Volkswagen Beetle, then Riverside and South Lake Tahoe may be more closely linked than ever imagined.  

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​Donna Lass had recently moved into the Monte Verdi apartments on 3893 Pioneer Trail Road, located just a three minute drive from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel. When she first arrived in South Lake Tahoe in June she stayed with Ann and Larry Lowe at 4054 US Highway 50, and was just finding her feet in the new residence when she went missing. Although her 1968 Chevrolet Camaro convertible was discovered outside the Monte Verdi apartment complex in its usual parking spot, it is believed she had not driven it to work on the evening of her disappearance, having walked to work from this previous residence, which was a short walking distance to the Sahara Tahoe Hotel of approximately 8 to 10 minutes.

She had made plans to meet up with her friend 
Jo Anne Goettsche, intending to travel back to the Monte Verdi Apartments in her vehicle once her shift at the casino had finished. The fact she was targeted immediately on her shift change at around 1:50 am is also telling. Had a nurse just vanished from the start or middle of her shift, this would obviously have raised a red flag with the Sahara Tahoe Casino, negating the intention of the abductor, and most certainly rendering the phone call unnecessary and highly suspicious. She had already changed from her nurses uniform into her civilian clothes, as her shift was due to end at 2:00 am - something the perpetrator likely knew.

The last person apparently to see Donna Lass before her disappearance was a Joan Bentley from San Francisco, who stated that Donna appeared in good spirits at approximately 1:40 am. The last entry on her log according to her sister, Mary Pilker, was 
"patient complains of", before the pen trailed off the page. This pen mark is unlikely to have been created by her being physically manhandled from the casino, as it was extremely busy during the Labor Day weekend. More likely, is that somebody approached her nurses station and asked for medical assistance in the car park. Donna Lass may have been writing in her nurses log, when she had her arm tugged in a gesture of 'please help,' or had been in the middle of writing when she abruptly rushed off to aid the concerned citizen. Either way, her pen trailed down the page. 

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The person who made the phone call was also likely aware Donna Lass had not traveled to work that evening in her 1968 Chevrolet Camaro convertible. Had he contacted the Sahara Tahoe Hotel explaining the family illness, and that she had been called 'out of town', then this would have been negated had her employer or work colleagues noticed her vehicle sitting idle in the car park over the next few days. A vehicle she would likely have used for her trip to South Dakota.

​Was the perpetrator aware of her plans to meet Jo Anne Goettsche at around 2:00 am inside the casino, so acted just before the end of her shift? The subsequent phone call may then have served an extra purpose of allaying the worries of Jo Anne Goettsche had she informed the casino of her concerns or contacted the police. If the perpetrator knew of Donna Lass' arrangement with her friend, he may very well have spoken to her in the preceding days, further cementing the idea he was known to the young woman. Six and a half months after her disappearance, the 'Pines' postcard was mailed by the Zodiac Killer or an impostor to the San Francisco Chronicle on March 22nd 1971. But why did the likely killer of Donna Lass wait this long to mail the communication. Did his closeness to Donna Lass play any part?


Lemonboy
9/19/2017 10:40:57 am

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.

Richard
9/19/2017 11:31:38 am

On April 20th 1970 Zodiac was claiming 10 victims On June 26th 1970 Zodiac was claiming 12 victims. Had he "sought victim 12", it would have to fall between these two dates. Donna Lass moved from San Francisco to South Lake Tahoe on June 6th 1970, twenty days before the 'Button' letter claiming 12. It is certainly possible he may have known her from San Francisco and had sought her as victim 12, but she moved. The question is, did he trail her to South Lake Tahoe and murder her, writing the subtle clue of "sought victim 12" on the 'Pines' card, inextricably linking himself back to San Francisco. The X's on the November 9th 1969 Bus Bomb letter crosshairs, when oriented over Mt Diablo correctly pass over LHR, BRS, LB and PH, leaving two X's left. One passes over South Lake Tahoe. But whether this was ever the intention, who knows. But the connection of the Letterman and South Lake Tahoe is a curious one. Even more curious was two women from the Letterman General Hospital being murdered inside of three years.
Rosa Vasquez was also employed at the Letterman General Hospital as a keypunch operator. The body of Rosa Vasquez (20) was discovered close to the Arguello boulevard entrance of the Golden Gate Park on May 29th 1973. She had been strangled and thrown from the nearby road. A keypunch is a device for delivering punch holes at specific locations on a card face, to carry information for a relevant task. This was apparent on two cards possibly sent by the Zodiac Killer, when the 13 Hole Postcard was received on October 5th 1970, along with the Pines Card on March 22nd 1971. Both had punch holes in the card, and both were mailed after the murder of Donna Lass. Coincidence?

Lemonboy
9/19/2017 03:51:28 pm

I think it's a possibility that as zodiac would write less and less on his letters he would leave more subtle clues to be found. Maybe he was making it more of a"game". The Vasquez case does fit his MO and I wouldn't be surprised if it was work of zodiac. We have to give him the benefit of the doubt that he was willing to kill, as we have proof he was. People refute his claim of number of victims too easily but I do beleive your victim was most likely killed by zodiac.

Drew
9/20/2017 05:19:30 pm

Hi Richard. I have an off topic and no doubt antiquated question for you if you have time. What first brought Leigh Allen to the attention of police? If Cheney did not come forward until Jan 70 (according to Butterfield) why did Lynch interview Allen on Oct 6, 69? If Allen at this juncture suspiciously offered unrequested information about his bloody knives why did they not follow up until Aug 71?

Richard
9/20/2017 10:38:35 pm

I believe Sgt John Lynch interviewed Allen on October 6th 1969 in relation to the Berryessa attack, having been reported to police regarding the bloody knives. Allen was one of numerous suspects at this juncture. According to Butterfield though, this interview of Allen by Lynch was unexplained. Quote "For reasons that have never been adequately explained, Detective Lynch traveled to the Elmer Cave Elementary School on October 6, 1969, and spoke to a man identified as "Arthur Lee ALLEN." The one paragraph entry in Lynch's report did not offer any explanation as to how or why he came to know of Allen in the first place. However, the brief entry does indicate that the questioning concerned Allen's whereabouts on the date of the Zodiac's attack at Lake Berryessa, which had occurred little more than a week prior to the interview." Clearly Lynch didn't think much of it, because it was never followed up, or was one of 100's names being considered in the crimes.
On July 15th 1971 SFPD received a call from Santo Panzarella, who relayed his suspicions about Allen. That he and Cheney had harbored these suspicions for a long time.
Then, quote ZKF "On July 27, 1971, Mulanax met with SFPD Inspectors Toschi and Armstrong in Vallejo. Agent Mel Nicolai of the C.I.& I. was also present and had traveled to Vallejo to assist in the investigation. Armstrong had talked to Cheney and told the other investigators that he believed the man was telling the truth. Mulanax wrote, "Armstrong strongly convinced that his source of information is good. He made personal contact with informant over past weekend and could not shake statement given in report as to dates, substance of suspect's remarks, etc."
The group decided to gather more information about Allen before confronting him, and asked Mulanax to contact the other investigators when the time came to interview Allen in person.
Seven days later, Mulanax reported the results of his "discreet background investigation" of Allen. He wrote that Allen had an excellent reputation with many of his neighbors. Most had known Leigh since he was a small boy. Allen's neighbors did not know the purpose of the police inquiries, and Mulanax discovered that, "contrary to prior reports, neighbors state Allen is very devoted to his mother and she to him."
At 11:30 am, Mulanax made a phone call to Allen's employer, Union Oil in Pinole, California, and arranged an interview at the refinery where the suspect worked as a junior chemist. Mulanax then notified Armstrong and Toschi.
On August 4, 1971, Mulanax, Toschi, and Armstrong drove to the refinery, and asked that supervisors call Allen to the personnel office. As previously agreed, Inspector Armstrong was to lead the questioning. Upon Allen's arrival at the office, the investigators identified themselves, and Armstrong then informed Allen that an unnamed informant had told police about certain statements he had allegedly made in January of 1968. Armstrong then described the alleged statements, but he did not divulge the source of the information. Allen stated that he did not recall having had such a conversation.
The 10.6.69 Lynch report was clearly not apparent to investigators when they traveled to Pinole, and the Cheney info in Jan '70 got swallowed up with the rest of the calls.

Drew
9/21/2017 10:12:00 am

Thank you for this Richard. I believe that all makes sense to me. A neighbour perhaps called in after hearing the news about the stabbing and seeing big strange Allen with bloody knives in his car. By the time they interview him it's a week later and he has cleaned his knives as any reasonable person would and there is nothing to see. They could have tracked down the people Allen claimed to have spoken with if a name was given but unless he said something crazy they likely had no reason to doubt him. A week later Stine is killed and a media circus ensues complete with a million called in tips. I bet Cheney and Santo had heard about the questioning though before they concocted their frame job.

One reason I was curious about this is it seems Gian Quasar may have discovered something about his suspect through a connection to Allen. I really have no idea what he finds compelling about the Kansas chap he's investigating but he clearly has a sharp mind and I hope his work will help the case somehow.

Anyway thanks man

Lemonboy
9/21/2017 06:04:46 pm

Another off topic question Richard but do you have any info on Robert Tarbox and his claim that zodiac confessed to him? It honestly sounds really beleiveable. This Is easily the best zodiac website and was wondering your thoughts since I couldn't find an article on it on here

Richard
9/21/2017 10:34:23 pm

Cheers 'Lemonboy'. You are right, I have never covered this topic before and probably should have. When I first read the story, it was just another in a long line of claims by people with little to back it up, so I just dismissed it. Therefore I don't have any extra information than is currently available online with a regular search. Sorry I can't be of more help with this one.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Another-possible-Zodiac-suspect-put-forth-3225232.php

http://zodiackillersite.com/viewtopic.php?t=1123&p=11129

Corey Hagler
10/17/2018 01:22:07 pm

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-push-to-solve-calif-womans-1977-cold-case-murder/

I think a lot of people need to consider this case, it really seems like this was the work of the Zodiac. In this article they say they don’t know the cause of death, I am a resident of Carson City Nevada and working in Southlake Tahoe. I met a gentleman yesterday who said that he remembers this case and that she was actually all cut up. If you continue on Park Avenue where the pair a dice hotel wise take if you continue on Park Avenue where the “Pair A Dice” hotel is it takes you straight to the stables where they found this young lady...Who by the way also worked at the Sahara hotel casino. I’m going to suggest that Donna Lass is not far from where they found Brynn Rainey.


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