Fast forward to July 8th 1974, when another suspected Zodiac correspondence was mailed to Marc Henry Spinelli of the San Francisco Chronicle. He was better known as Count Marco, running an advice column in the paper for 15 years. The only time Zodiac addressed the columnist was in respect to a topic on psychiatrists and psychologists, which featured only five days prior to the July 8th 1974 'Red Phantom' letter. The column, dated July 3rd 1974, began with "When I wrote that psychiatrists and psychologists ruined more marriages than they saved, I wasn't surprised by the angry reaction. I had contended that shrinks look at ordinary marriage problems as "cases," to be dissected, rearranged and deranged, leaving the "patient" totally disoriented. What would happen if a physician examined a patient and said, "You have such and such a disease. Now do something about it," without prescribing treatment. Mother Nature is like an oyster. She heals emotional wounds through passage of time. An oyster finds a grain of sand has forced its way into the shell. As time goes on its mucous continually covers the irritant until eventually what was a sore spot becomes a magnificent pearl. However, if one instead took a sharp instrument and sliced the pearl in half, the only result would be to expose the original grain of sand, the irritant. According to a report in The Chronicle, behavioral researchers have shown unmistakably that psychiatry is a very imprecise tool in diagnosing mental illness".
This clearly prompted a response from the author of the 'Red Phantom' letter, who wrote "Editor - Put Marco back in the hell-hole from whence it came - he has a serious psychological disorder - always needs to feel superior. I suggest you refer him to a shrink. Meanwhile, cancel the Count Marco column. Since the Count can write anonymously, so can I - the Red Phantom (red with rage)". Many people have attempted to analyze the Zodiac Killer from a psychological perspective, so is it possible the Zodiac Killer used his knowledge of this subject to play a game with his 'audience', throwing them red herrings throughout his communications? Directing the audience down a path he chose for them.
"Edward C. Adams spent most of his life in the Bay Area where he attended the University of California Berkeley for his undergraduate work and Stanford University for his medical degree. His residency in psychiatry was received at the Menninger Clinic, Topeka, KS. During the Korean War he was an instructor in the Medical Field Service at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, TX. After retiring from an active practice in Psychiatry he devoted his energies to travel, fly fishing, the study of poetry and the enjoyment of his family and many friends. During the time spent at his Carmel home he volunteered as a docent at the Robinson Jeffers Foundation. He was a member of the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Society and an active supporter of many environmental groups". SFGATE.COM.
In the FBI document on the right, it is clear that Inspector David Toschi of homicide detail believed the 'You Are Next' card may have been mailed to Edward C. Adams by a former patient of his. However, if the card was mailed by the Zodiac Killer, what connections could he have to Edward C. Adams, his profession, or Orinda, California?
The crucial phrase in the card is "you taught me to mean it". You don't teach patients, you diagnose them. What if the Zodiac Killer trained as a psychologist, or went to one of Edward C. Adams' seminars or lectures? He could easily have picked up some useful 'psychological advice', used to convince his audience in the guise of the Zodiac Killer - conveying his threats with menace and meaning. In other words, Edward C. Adams "taught him to mean it" under the Zodiac umbrella.
Dr. Edward C. Adams was a member of the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute & Society. "The San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis was organized in 2007, combining the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute & Society, founded in 1941, with the San Francisco Foundation for Psychoanalysis, founded in 1991. The Center provides an extensive training program in psychoanalysis. The Center also sponsors a large, vibrant Extension Division which offers classes and seminars to mental health professionals as well as to the general public." link. Was the Zodiac Killer sitting in the audience taking a lesson from Edward C. Adams in how "to mean it"? The San Francisco Psychoanalytic Society and Institute is a facility for psychoanalytic research, training, and education located on 2420 Sutter St. in San Francisco, California. It is situated in Lower Pacific Heights, approximately one mile from the intersection of Washington and Cherry.