ZODIAC CIPHERS
RICHARD GRINELL, COVENTRY, ENGLAND
  • Home
    • Search This Site With Google
    • The Mount Diablo Map and Code Solution
  • Zodiac News
    • Zodiac News Archive
    • Santa Barbara Attack
    • Cheri Jo Bates
    • The Confession
    • Riverside Desktop Poem
    • Bates Letter
    • The Forgotten Victims
    • Welsh Chappie - Zodiac News
  • Lake Herman Murders
    • Blue Rock Springs Attack
    • Vallejo Times Letter
    • Examiner Letter
    • Chronicle Letter
    • Complete 408 Cipher
    • Vallejo and Benicia Map
    • Kathie Snoozy and Debra Furlong Murders
    • Debut of Zodiac Letter
  • Lake Berryessa Attack
    • Presidio Heights Attack
    • Call to Chat Show
  • 340 Cipher
    • Bus Bomb Letter
    • Betsy Aardsma Murder
    • The Fairfield Letter
    • Melvin Belli Letter
    • Santa Barbara Murders 1970
    • Modesto Attack
    • My Name is Cipher
    • Dragon Card and Button Letter >
      • Phillips Road Map
    • The Sleeping Bag Murders
    • The Little List Letter
  • The Halloween Card
    • Lake Tahoe Disappearance
    • Los Angeles Times Letter
    • The Monticello Card
    • The Exorcist Letter
  • SLA Letter
    • Red Phantom Letter/American Greetings Card
    • The 1978 Letter
    • Los Angeles Times Newspaper Articles
    • Zodiac Letters Real or Fake
    • Zodiac Documentary
    • Unsolved Mysteries
    • The Colonial Parkway Murders
  • Suspects
    • Arthur Leigh Allen
    • Rick Marshall
    • Lawrence Kane
    • Theodore Kaczynski
    • Richard Gaikowski
    • Gareth Penn
    • Jack Tarrance

I WANT TO TELL YOU A STORY

3/2/2018

 
Searching an ever growing and endless suspect list with limited DNA evidence for the identity of the Zodiac Killer, is akin to looking for a needle in a haystack, with that haystack getting larger every year. DNA may eventually help us in the future, but we need to narrow the suspect pool not make it larger. There have been many studies on serial killers down the years, and although these observations cannot be applied to every serial killer, there are patterns that exist which can be used to narrow down the search for the killer's base or home location. Applying what limited details we believe of the killer - the vehicle, age range and description, handwriting and occupation, coupled with possible fingerprints, palm prints and a partial DNA code (if reliable) - if we can then identify a small enough sample of the population to test, we may just strike lucky. Even if the killer has died, he may have had children from whom DNA could be acquired, and using modern forensic genetic fingerprinting it may provide a link to the murderer.

The Kathleen Johns abduction lies on the periphery of the Zodiac crimes, but if her journey around the outskirts of Tracy, California into the early morning hours of March 23rd 1970 was at the hands of the Zodiac Killer, then she may have provided us with some vital information. She described the interior of her abductor's vehicle "as messy- she had noticed men's and children's clothing scattered about, books and papers, a black rubber handled flashlight, and two colored plastic scouring pads on the console dashboard.  Kathleen estimated that the smaller patterned T-shirts were of the age range 8-12 years". If these clothes were not part of his profession, he may have had children - adding another layer to consider when searching for a likely residence and home location. In an initial whittling down process, we could consider married men with at least one child in the age range of 8-12 years in 1970, living in the geographical area we have identified. Throw in what we think we know of the killer, such as age, weight, glasses, vehicle  etc, and the suspect list would narrow to only a manageable number of people.

Kim Rossmo, the pioneer of geographical profiling, hit the nail on the head regarding one possible location, stating 
"There's a number of possibilities. But remember, Rancho Vallejo was possibly 26,000 people at that time, of which only 13,000 will be male, and only a certain proportion of those are of the correct age, and a certain portion of those are only going to be white. Then we start looking at the neighborhoods involved, we have a pretty small subset. Then we start combining that with some of the personal and behavioral descriptors, and then we work in the vehicle information. If this case was active today, it would not be too difficult to find this person" Narrow the original pool down to just a few thousand, and a much smaller radius, and the needle becomes more visible. This is a much more viable option than widening the suspect pool year-on-year, further muddying the waters. 

This will be collating several previous articles under one banner, throwing in a little extra for good measure - and then the book will be closed on this matter. We need to narrow the search, not widen it. That is why geographical profiling could be our last hope, by using the mechanics of the human mind to unravel the pattern of the killer. None of the following is certain, but if we add brick by brick, we may reveal the house.

Picture
A recent survey in Germany studied the locations of serial killer victims in respect to the killer's home residence and found that 63% of the time the killer lived within a 6-mile traveling distance to the crime scene. Other studies suggest a 5-mile radius.
​The serial killer generally begins his crimes closer to home - in the case of San Francisco, this is the Zodiac Killer's final crime - it therefore should be one of the furthest from his home location. The Lake Herman Road crime scene is 5.17 miles from the Springs and Tuolumne payphone, while Blue Rock Springs Park is just 2.83 miles from the payphone. Therefore, both crimes sit within a 6-mile radius. The Zodiac Killer may have made two phone calls from this location and therefore should be our first port of call. If the killer had a normal Monday to Friday, 9-5 profession, it would be understandable that he would be less likely to venture any great distance on the Friday as compared to the Saturday (using the least effort principle). Which is exactly what he may have done in the commission of his first two crimes. 

The phone call is interesting for a number of reasons, notably for the fact it was made approximately 40 minutes after the crime, despite the payphone being only 10 minutes from the Blue Rock Springs parking lot. Many have claimed the Zodiac Killer wasn't familiar with this area of Vallejo because he failed to mention Blue Rock Springs by name - only a "public park". The directions given in the phone call are equally used as evidence he was unfamiliar with the area. Many assume the Zodiac Killer was incorrect in his directions to Blue Rock Springs, thereby by default, assume that police dispatcher Nancy Slover was perfectly accurate in remembering the exact message word for word. She wasn't expecting that a killer claiming four victims was about to call that morning, and therefore cannot be expected to recall verbatim what he said - because according to her, he had spoken over her as she tried to get more details from him.

The message was recalled as "
I wish to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east on Columbus Parkway to a public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They have been shot by a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye". It was therefore deemed incorrect. However, if you just add a comma or break into the message, it makes perfect sense if the Zodiac Killer is directing the police from the station to Columbus Parkway.
"
I wish to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east...... on Columbus Parkway to a public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They have been shot by a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye".
Changing just one word, makes the message even clearer "
I wish to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east...... on Columbus Parkway by a public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They have been shot by a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye".  We assume the Zodiac Killer got the message wrong rather than Nancy Slover hearing or recalling the message incorrectly. We have no problem coming to this conclusion concerning the dispatcher taking an incorrect message at Presidio Heights, sending out a radio dispatch "to be on the lookout for a negro male adult".
Picture
The Zodiac Killer didn't get the directions wrong, but he may have got the distance slightly wrong, as he did at Lake Berryessa: "I want to report a murder, no, a double murder. They are two miles north of Park Headquarters. They were in a white Volkswagen Karmann Ghia" - and after a brief pause uttered the words  "I'm the one that did it".  On both occasions he was slightly over a mile off. But if we consider the Zodiac Killer's position alongside Springs Road, the police exiting the Vallejo Police Department and traveling on Solano Avenue to Springs Road, would only be traveling 1.3 miles in a true easterly direction.    

The Zodiac Killer mailed three letters to the newspapers on July 31st 1969, with confirmation of the attacks at Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs Park. The author stated "This is the murderer of the 2 teenagers last Christmass at Lake Herman + the girl on the 4th of July near the golf course in Vallejo". His compass directions were totally accurate in describing the position of Betty Lou Jensen in the turnout on December 20th 1968. He added "the girl was on her right side feet to the west". In the November 9th 1969 'Bus Bomb' letter after the Paul Stine murder, he again got his compass directions spot on: "The dogs never came with in 2 blocks of me + they were to the west" and "only 2 groups of parking about 10 min apart then the motor cicles went by about 150 ft away going from south to north west" (describing Presidio Boulevard in the park).
So why do we assume that he managed to completely get his bearings incorrect during the phone call to Nancy Slover?
He knew the parking lot at Blue Rock Springs was near the golf course. He also was directing the police east from the station to Columbus Parkway. He clearly had knowledge of where the police station and Columbus Parkway were in respect to one another, despite the fact he had committed the attack only 40 minutes earlier. The killer had plenty of time after the Lake Herman Road and Presidio Heights murders to look at a map and get his compass directions correct, yet here, he had only 40 minutes before the payphone call. He could have studied a map before the Blue Rock Springs Park attack, but had this been the case, why would he have got the directions wrong as many claim. Equally, had he studied a map beforehand, then he would have known the "public park" by name. The fact that he got his compass directions correct in every instance, it could be argued he was very familiar with the location of the police station, Columbus Parkway and very likely the parking lot.  
Then he sent the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter, received on August 4th 1969 - probably the most important correspondence he ever composed:
​
​This is the Zodiac speaking. 
In answer to your asking for more details about the good times I have had in Vallejo, I shall be very happy to supply even more material. By the way, are the police having a good time with the code? If not, tell them to cheer up; when they do crack it, they will have me. On the 4th of July I did not open the car door. The window was rolled down all ready. The boy was origionaly sitting in the front seat when I began fireing. When I fired the first shot at his head, he leaped backwards at the same time, thus spoiling my aim. He ended up on the back seat then the floor in back thashing out very violently with his legs; that's how I shot him in the knee. I did not leave the cene of the killing with squealling tires + raceing engine as described in the Vallejo paper. I drove away quite slowly so as not to draw attention to my car. The man who told police that my car was brown was a negro about 40-45 rather shabbly dressed. I was in this phone booth having some fun with the Vallejo cop when he was walking by. When I hung the phone up the damn thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me + my car.
Last Christmass In that epasode the police were wondering how I could shoot + hit my victims in the dark. They did not openly state this, but implied this by saying it was a well lit night + I could see silowets on the horizon. Bullshit that area is srounded by high hills + trees. What I did was tape a small pencel flash light to the barrel of my gun. If you notice, in the center of the beam of light if you aim it at a wall or ceiling you will see a black or darck spot in the center of the circle of light about 3 to 6 inches across. When taped to a gun barrel, the bullet will strike in the center of the black dot in the light. All I had to do was spray them as if it was a water hose; there was no need to use the gun sights. I was not happy to see that I did not get front page coverage.
  
Picture
This will be a deliberately exaggerated interpretation of this correspondence to highlight its misdirection.
In the latter part of the correspondence dealing with Lake Herman Road, the author doesn't mention anything regarding the shots into the David Faraday Rambler, forcing the couple from the vehicle, or his headlights illuminating the turnout to aid his visibility, however, in his story about Blue Rock Springs Park, he uses the word "car" on four occasions. He begins the 'message' by referring to the vehicle of Darlene Ferrin: "On the 4th of July I did not open the car door". He then reminds us about his vehicle as he leaves the parking lot, leading us into the payphone incident - almost selling it as one continuous sequence: "I did not leave the cene of the killing with squealling tires + raceing engine as described in the Vallejo paper. I drove away quite slowly so as not to draw attention to my car".
It is extremely strange that the killer didn't want to draw attention to his car when leaving the parking lot, when in the very next sentence he is drawing attention to his car at the payphone: "The man who told police that my car was brown was a negro". The police report and newspapers never mentioned any negro male eyewitness, so it was extremely generous of the Zodiac Killer to confirm Michael Mageau's testimony of a brown car, by offering up this valuable second eyewitness to the newspapers and police. One could believe this male negro eyewitness never existed, yet the Zodiac was to make sure he was real by adding valuable extra details. To prove he was the killer in the July 31st 1969 letters he gave "
some facts which only I + the police know". In the August 4th 1969 'Debut of Zodiac' letter he was doing exactly the same thing: "The man who told police that my car was brown was a negro about 40-45, rather shabbly dressed. I was in this phone booth having some fun with the Vallejo cop when he was walking by". The age, color and attire of this eyewitness are entirely unnecessary and superfluous details designed to convince the reader this man is real - so real - he even reported the Zodiac to police.

The author has now imprinted the word "car" in our head three times. 'Don't forget' that he is still in his vehicle, despite the fact this payphone is only 10 minutes from the parking lot, and 40 minutes has elapsed at this point. But if you were in any doubt whatsoever that the killer is still in his vehicle, remember, the eyewitness "
was walking by." The Zodiac missed a trick here.
​He should have said  
"the very observant negro man was slowing walking by clocking the color of my car". Then the Zodiac put the icing on the cake by mentioning his car for a fourth time: "When I hung the phone up the damn thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me + my car". How convenient that the phone rang and drew the attention of the eyewitness, who just happened to be walking by. The killer could have written "When I hung the phone up the damn thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me", but chose to add in his vehicle once again, as if we'd forgotten he was in his brown car. The reason behind all this misdirection - is that the Zodiac Killer had likely driven from Blue Rock Springs Park to his residence first and walked to the payphone. He wanted the police to believe he was still in his vehicle, thereby not revealing that his residence was but a walking distance from the Springs and Tuolumne payphone. 

Picture
The Zodiac Killer was extremely helpful in confirming Michael Mageau's testimony of a brown vehicle by creating the fictitious negro eyewitness. Whether the killer was in his vehicle or not while making the payphone call to Nancy Slover, he certainly wanted to sell us the fact it was "brown" in color. That is because it was likely anything but brown. The above vehicle demonstrates how an 'Ermine White Chevrolet' spotted in the Lake Herman Road turnout at 10:00 pm on December 20th 1968, would have appeared to Michael Mageau at midnight in the Blue Rock Springs parking lot. In a prominent newspaper article Michael Mageau described the vehicle as a "1958 or 1959 Falcon. The color was brown or bronze". In the police report he stated "he could not see the color or anything as it was too dark out there". Michael was clearly not confident of the vehicle that parked behind him that night, but if the vehicle was 'Ermine White', it is easy to understand how this could be mistaken for brown under the conditions experienced within the parking lot that night. The Zodiac Killer, knowing he was driving a white vehicle, was only too happy to confirm Michael Mageau's description of his vehicle in the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter. The Zodiac, in his mind, had not only successfully placed his vehicle at the payphone, but had changed its color also. A very successful letter indeed. 

There will be many that will disagree with this analysis, but it is designed as an example of narrowing the search field down to a few hundred or few thousand men, who we can then narrow further based on what we have learned about the Zodiac Killer to this point in time. Find the location and find the killer. Using the geographic profiling developed by Kim Rossmo, such as 'buffer zones', 'least effort principle' and 'circle theory of environmental range,' we can give ourselves a more realistic search field, using the psychology of the human mind - or more specifically - the mind of the Zodiac Killer to work against himself. The alternative, is to keep adding suspects year-on-year, taking the journey down many blind alleys, before you ultimately realize - it is the avenue you should be searching for.
Shawn
3/2/2018 08:43:24 am

I think going back and examing the *first* confirmed attack by a serial killer and where he lived might zero more on where he resides since his comfort zone is it at the least just as his fantasy first becomes his reality.

Rosmo Geographic profiling might leave out some key variables although I do not know all the variables.

For instance Zodiac could have lived in San Francisco for a for a short time (big city and not as comfortable there) but was born and grew up in Vallejo (much smaller, he knows all the lover lanes, all the roads from 18+ years of growing up there). Maybe he had a grudge against Vallejo because of a rough upbringing there.

I think Darlene Ferrin lived in San Francisco for awhile. I wonder how many men of the right age grew up Vallejo but lived in San Francisco during the Time of Zodiac.

Shawn
3/2/2018 08:56:42 am

"The man who told police that my car was brown was a negro about 40-45, rather shabbly dressed. I was in this phone booth having some fun with the Vallejo cop when he was walking by"

It is interesting the age range of "40-45" given in Zodiac's letter would fall into age range given by Foukes of 35 to 45 later on at Stine's murder.

Richard
3/2/2018 09:10:28 am

The knowledge that these areas were frequented by courting couples, as you said Shawn, is another good reason he knew the area well. The age range is interesting, either from the projection angle, but also, let us assume this eyewitness was real but never went to police. Does being able to narrow the age range to 40-45, tell us anything about the age of our killer- that he was of similar age.

Lemonboy
3/2/2018 01:24:06 pm

Richard I for one do believe zodiac was spotted by this”negro”. Why this person never came forward who knows. I believe zodiac is so egotistical that he wouldn’t want police to even think he may have slipped up. He brought up the negro because he thought he was going to come forward to police and he wanted to be a step ahead of police or at least make it sound like he was a step ahead. Same reason he volunteered the”fake clews”at Paul Stine’s can. If he wanted to throw police off why tell them the fingerprints wouldn’t lead anywhere? I believe he did slip up a couple of times he just wouldn’t admit it to himself or police. I also agree with your assessment of him being very lucky, if a couple of things would’ve gone the other He would’ve been caught a long time ago.

Richard
3/3/2018 12:14:23 am

We certainly cannot say for sure this man existed or not Lemonboy, he may very well have- but what a great eyewitness to use to your benefit. I don't know if police ever considered the location around the payphone as a viable home residence, but a visit to the local barbers, garages or small convenience stores in the area showing your PH sketch may have prompted a lead. It was obviously big news in the area back then, but how many people probably saw the sketch (if accurate) and thought it looked like somebody but dismissed it. The sketch may likely have looked vaguely like the killer-nothing more. Did the negro male come forward but asked to remain anonymous, or his sighting was held back from the police report. Did the police suspect one of their own based on the Michael Mageau account ? The cop station wasn't far from the payphone- did Zodiac follow the negro male as he walked away? Speculation, but you never know.

Drew
3/2/2018 09:24:23 am

Hi Richard, it's helpful to see this construction of previous observations unified in a coherent plan to investigate a plausible residence of the Zodiac. Simultaneously I have long admired the geographical profiling method and thought it did not apply to Zodiac. Because he had made the decision to make a publicity campaign out of the affair rather than disappear inconspicuously the Zodiac has seemed to me unlike the killers for whom this brilliant method would be appropriate. A number of other issues raised in previous articles though have brought me closer to accepting that Zodiac may have come from this area.

After long entertaining the idea that Zodiac was some kind of master criminal who had strategized every move, and giving serious consideration to Zodiac's claims of disguises and evidence of his tactical know-how, I have become increasingly convicted that he was too impulsive and sloppy for the comic book style narrative to be true. While we still can't be certain of even the fundamentals of what happened I am starting to let go of the mythical supervillan caricature he portrayed.

Chipping away at the idea of a fearless evil genius duping authorities by disguising his hand writing page after page pretending to not know how to spell and mass murdering for no discernible political sexual or monetary gain for as many years as the letters imply, I now feel the most persuasive narrative is that he was making it up as he went along, that he wouldn't have given himself a name at all if not pressed for further info, and he was as fearful as he was arrogant. He likely killed at LHR for the first time and lived nearby so waited over a half year to safely make his next move. I think he may have relocated before the BRS attack but the area still makes the most sense for a former residence.

I don't remember the exact recent comments section discussion about claims of the Zodiac but I was persuaded by a truism that emerged. The author of the Zodiac letters left himself an out in all of his non-confirmed kill claims even though such claims could never convict him. We can call it cryptic cruelty but I'm starting to see the lack of confidence behind it. I don't know if he had a scrapbook of all the articles chronicling and theorizing about him that allowed him to address old stories like Modesto, Riverside, Lake Tahoe but I take to heart the philosophy within this article that we should work towards simplifying rather than expanding.

I may feel differently tomorrow and come at you with a reprisal of the Robert Salem ritual murder theory where the killer may have used a small sword and worn a Mikado-inspired kimono... but today I have to agree that if one had to point at a map and guess one would be wise to point at the area you have indicated. Thanks for your work!

Richard
3/2/2018 10:53:27 am

Yes Drew, I have never believe the master criminal tag. He was just plain lucky at times. It is not one thing that locks me into Vallejo, but many little things. As you stated, assuming LHR was his first crime, it's understandable he had a cooling off period to let things blow over, particularly if he lived nearby. He may very well have been interviewed. It's also very noticeable that if he lived say, by the payphone, or Vallejo in general, then his crimes follow a pattern. Assuming LHR and BRS were closest to his residence, his written contact after these crimes were 6.5 months and 1 month approximately. Presidio Heights being 30+ miles away he wrote only 2 days after the crime. Lake Berryessa was 40+ miles away and he wrote immediately on the car door. It appears his inhibitions were reduced the further the distance between home and murder scene. This may have presented itself in the style of the latter two attacks, which undoubtedly took more planning. In these latter two crimes he left the immediate scene of the attack on foot, so the greater the risk. Being seen walking the neighborhood on foot in an area where you live holds much greater risk of identification, so it helps being midnight and 11.15 pm during these two attacks. Also, if you live in Vallejo, murdering at these late hours is no problem, as you are home very quickly. His attacks at LB and PH were 6.20 pm and 9.55 pm, allowing him to return home by a comfortable hour. You are also more likely to travel if Saturday is your rest day. Had he continued murdering in Vallejo on Friday, then that may brought the investigation too close for comfort. It may be the reason he mailed his letters predominantly from San Francisco, where he could have worked somewhere near the location of the Stine murder. It's such a small sample size, it will always be difficult to read too much into the crimes using geographical profiling as you alluded, but there is little else of substance in this case. I don't mind people aligning with suspects, I just don't think that is the best approach-although some will disagree.

Drew
3/2/2018 12:19:25 pm

That's a great note about his walking from crimes 3&4 as indication that he likely did not live near those attack sites. A couple flippant remarks I have read that have stuck with me: No one from San Francisco goes to Vallejo but everyone from Vallejo goes to San Fran; and no one from San Fran refers to San Francisco as San Fran. Yeah the Vallejo suggestion is getting quite persuasive for me. Cheers

Mike
3/2/2018 07:28:21 pm

I love your site and check it daily. It's hands down the best one out there. I've read the "Debut" letter a hundred times and never made the Good Times connection.

Richard
3/3/2018 12:21:37 am

Cheers Mike, nice to get good feedback. I used to believe Benicia was a viable option, as he seemed never to mention it, and it's about the correct travelling time to drive, change clothes etc and return back to the payphone-using up your 35-40 mins. If he did live in the area of Benicia, Vallejo or slightly further (and went home to ditch the weapon before the call), then the time disparity is all important.

Mike
3/3/2018 12:54:14 pm

Richard, I like your approach to this case better than anyone else's. I've read them all. If you had to give a definitive answer right now, will this case ever be solved?

Richard
3/3/2018 01:10:14 pm

Nobody could say for certain Mike, but if this case was still fully active, there is a slim chance. But as it stands I don't see any hope whatsoever. Even if it could be solved, I think the identification of the killer is the best we can do. I don't think the killer is alive. What do you reckon?

Mike
3/3/2018 04:38:12 pm

Thanks for getting back to me Richard. I greatly respect your opinion on this matter. I believe the killer is deceased as well. I'm still holding out hope his identity will be revealed in my lifetime though. How, I have absolutely no idea, but I'm holding out hope that new and tangible evidence will reveal itself somehow. I never thought we'd learn the identity of BTK much less discover that he's alive and well and living with his family. So you never know. Thanks again for the compelling ongoing posts on this case!

Ray Jenkins
3/2/2018 06:14:17 pm

"The good times I have had in Vallejo..." - Zodiac.

The quote always reminds me of a very unfortunately titled book that was written by well-respected food buff "Russ" Riera in 1972. If only Russ had known abut the connotations of the phrase "Good Times in Vallejo", he may have chosen a different title.

The book was called "The Good Time Manual : 257 places in the Bay area where people under 30 are going (or should be going)".

I did some research into Russ Riera a while ago, mainly to RULE HIM OUT COMPLETELY as a potential suspect.

Russell S. Riera (aka "Russ Riera") was something of a party boy in his youth. He flunked out of his first school (Chico State), then attended Vallejo Junior College circa 1965-66. There he got his act together and graduated. In 1967 he attended Sacramento State and graduated from there with a degree in Business.

His father Russell D. Riera Snr. was a successful businessman who initially owned a drugstore, then opened restaurants, one being "Riera's on Berkeley" on Solano Ave in the early 80s; then he sold it and opened Rosario's in Larkspur in the early 90s. He had served in the Army during WWII, acting as a chauffeur for Gen. Douglas MacArthur (the "Star-Spangled Mikado" himself!).

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Russell-D-Riera-3155106.php

It seems Russell S. Riera Jnr worked with his father after attending university and many years later they co-wrote a book called "Two Hundred Good Restaurants, A Guide to Eating in San Francisco and the Bay Area."

The younger "Russ Riera" was a regular voice on KGO-AM radio: he hosted a Saturday or Sunday radio program featuring restaurant reviews and dining in the Bay area. In his retirement he and his wife moved to Oregon.

Mike
3/3/2018 11:04:07 am

Interesting stuff Ray! I find the repeated wording of "good times" and "good time" in the first two sentences of the debut letter pretty odd. Maybe Zodiac read that S.F. newspaper or was somehow related to it.

Ray Jenkins
3/3/2018 05:10:54 pm

I'm not sure Mike. All I do know for sure is Russ didn't write his "good time manual" until 1972. I just found it mildly coincidental that he went to junior college in Vallejo, and his father worked for General MacArthur. Coincidences tend to make one sit up and take notice, especially when 3 or more converge.

But of course, such "Zynchronicities" are everywhere if we look for them, particularly in California!

I guess it is vaguely possible that the Zodiac read about Riera's upcoming book or he was acquainted to Russ Riera (or his father) in some capacity, or worked for the publisher of his book. Russ may have thought about his book and worked on it for some years before actually publishing it (?). Perhaps the Zodiac made a habit of trying to incriminate others for his crimes in his writings?

But the dates are way off, and that tends to rule out such extravagant theories.

If the Zodiac was somehow referencing a manuscript and trying to implicate someone who he knew came from Vallejo by way of a book title, that could suggest he had something to do with Sacramento State.

But really, I think this is all just an interesting "Zynchronicity". I don't think we can make very much of it.

https://archives.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/time-warp-exploring-the-hipster-city-in-1972/Content?oid=2186867

Mike
3/3/2018 08:23:10 pm

Hey Ray,
Yeah, it's probably just one more coincidence in this case but I was thinking the two "good times" references might be somehow related to the popular underground Good Times newspaper published out of San Francisco from early 1969 to the end of '72. I know Richard Gaikowski worked there and of course is a relatively new suspect to some but I don't believe he was Zodiac. But I do think Zodiac might be hinting at Good Times newspaper by using that phrase awkwardly not once but twice in the first two sentences of his debut letter. He probably didn't work there but was a reader and may have been inspired by the ironic title as he was with other pop culture artifacts like comics, B-rate movies, and corny greeting cards. Just a thought.

Rubislaw 32 link
3/2/2018 09:40:06 am

Lots to ruminate over,Richard....and thanks.

Just on the inference of Zodiac not being wholly familiar with Blue Rock Springs parking lot :

I believe that he was familiar with it,but didn't know it,by ''a'' name.

It really depends where one is ''figuratively'' coming from.

In my case,for instance,that BSR is the only attack that was largely unplanned.That,it was,in essence,an act motivated by rage at Darlene Ferrin.

Further to this,that Zodiac did live close by,but had ''only'' been a local resident,for about a year,on account of his work location,at the time.

All down to perspective,really [?].

Rubislaw 32 link
3/2/2018 10:54:53 am

An interesting comparison [?] :

August 4th 1969,in reference to Z408 :

''...when they do crack it,they WILL HAVE ME.''

New Canaan Letter,1988,in reference to Z263 :

''....if she remembers who draws the symbol,you WILL HAVE ME.''

Max Bygraves R.I.P. .......''You need hands....''

Ray Jenkins
3/2/2018 05:48:40 pm

No wonder his Mt. Diablo radians idea made no sense. Clearly the Zodiac had no sense of distance! :-/

Judith N Chapman
3/2/2018 10:16:26 pm

Another excellent article Richard. First of all, if you cannot place somebody in that location physically while the murders were being committed, then they are not the Killer. Logic leads that the killer lived at least in the Bay Area. Now pay close attention to his letters he refers to Southern California as "down there" he refers to Sacramento as "up there". With regards to Vehicles can anyone tell me if a VW was a suspected car or was that for the East area rapist? and if so what color VW.?

Richard
3/2/2018 11:58:45 pm

This was the account of Vallejo native Lorraine Osuna DeGroat last year in the Vallejo Times-Herald. But other than this, I would have to look further.
As they sped by, they saw a small car, possibly a Volkswagon, empty, on the side of the road about a half mile from where they’d encountered the man, DeGrout said. The group didn’t stop until they reached the Benicia Police Department, she said.
“We were scared to death,” she said. “We all thought of the Zodiac immediately. The doors of the Benicia Police Department were locked, but we banged on it, and they came right away and we told them the story. I asked them if they could please call me and let me know if they find the guy and/or his girlfriend.”

http://www.timesheraldonline.com/general-news/20170710/vallejo-native-convinced-she-encountered-the-zodiac-lived-to-tell-the-tale

Richard
3/3/2018 12:58:29 am

East Area Rapist
"As of 1977, the suspect possibly drove an older VW Bug of a nondescript color, slighted under varying lighting conditions and reported variously as dark green, gray or silver blue. It may have expanded rear fenders and wide wheels. Suspect also possibly drove a green Chevy Vega."
http://www.ear-ons.com/investigate7.html

Rubislaw 32 link
3/5/2018 04:45:14 am

The geographical references of Zodiac,Judith,are almost a topic,in themselves [?].

Zodiac also referred to ''San Fran Bay Area'',which might be considered ''ambiguous'',coming from someone,whose origins were from that area.

In the Channel 9 letter,albeit ''unconfirmed'',he talks about ''the rest of the world'',in referring to singer,Pat Boone.A sense,almost that he had ''lived out there'',and could testify on behalf of their reaction to Mr.Boone.

Zodiac.....forever on the move [?]....forever re-assessing his bearings [?].

blue
3/4/2018 05:55:54 pm

Samhain is the Grim Reaper - associated in common Christianity with the devil of course but in common college keltic/gelic/heltic/welic/celtic/gaulic ancient world time of JC (Julius Cesar) Britain with their end of the year and our Halloween. In modern time reference is to this holiday where we are to honor the ancestors but everybody just gets dressed up, and kids are sent out to beg for candy. Fundamentalists use the shortened derivation Sam and the rest of us are left in the dark. https://www.thoughtco.com/all-about-samhain-2562691 This is where the name Sam got its association with Satan. Was Anton Levey the Zodiac's lord telling him about the awaiting slaves if he carried out his bidding? Anton said something about that he will kill Sam. His love was Jane Mansfield who was killed with a guy named Sam in 1967. Has anyone looked at the FBI's dossier on Anton? To look at his crimes and the relation they could have to the Zodiac. Fun musings.


Comments are closed.
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    All
    13 Hole Postcard
    148 Character Cipher
    1978 Letter
    1986 Letter
    1987 Letter
    2001 Happy New Year Card
    Albany Letter
    Allan/Peyton Murders
    Arthur Leigh Allen
    Atlanta Letter
    Betsy Aardsma
    Blue Rock Springs Attack
    Bus Bomb Letter
    Button Letter
    Call To Chat Show
    Carol Beth Hilburn
    Channel 9 Letter
    Cheri Jo Bates
    Cipher Theories
    Citizen Card
    Concerned Citizen Card
    Confession Letter
    Daniel Williams Poisoning
    Debut Of Zodiac Letter
    Deep Real Estate Ad
    DMV Letter
    Domingos/Edwards Murders
    Donald Lee Bujok
    Donna Lass
    Dragon Card
    Earl Van Best Jr
    Eureka Card
    Exorcist Letter
    Fairfield Letter
    Fingerprint Evidence
    Forecast For Cancer
    Forecast For Leo
    Gareth Penn
    General News Articles
    Gilbert And Sullivan
    Good Citizen Letter
    Halloween Card
    Hood/Garcia Murders
    Internet Articles
    Joan Webster
    Johnny & Joyce Swindle
    Judith Hakari
    Kevin Robert Brooks
    Lake Berryessa Attack
    Lake Herman Road Murders
    Lake Tahoe Disappearance
    Larry Kane
    Leona Roberts Murder
    Los Angeles Letter
    Melvin Belli Letter
    Mike Morford (Morf13)
    Modesto Attack
    Molina/Rodriguez Murders
    Monticello Card
    My Name Is Letter
    Nancy Bennallack
    New Canaan Letters
    Novato Letter
    Oakland A's Letter
    Pines Card
    Possible Zodiac Attacks
    Possible Zodiac Letters
    Presidio Heights Murder
    Radians
    Red Phantom Letter
    Richard Gaikowski
    Riverside Desktop Poem
    Robert Salem Murder
    Ross Sullivan
    Saechao/Saelee Murders
    San Jose Code Letter
    Santa Claus Card
    Scorpion Ciphers
    Scotch Tape Letter
    Sla Letter
    Tamalpais Valley Attack
    Ted Kaczynski
    Telegraph Avenue Incident
    The 340 Cipher
    The 408 Cipher
    The Celebrity Cypher
    The Little List
    The Mikado
    Thomas Horan
    You Are Next Letter
    Zodiac Letters Poll
    Zodiac Postage
    Zodiac Theories

    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    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.
    Picture
    Picture
    The Zodiac Atlas: The Zodiac Killer Enigma by Randall Scott Clemons. Click image for details.
    Picture
    The Zodiac Killer Map: Part of the Zodiac Killer Enigma by Randall Scott Clemons. Click image for color version
    For black and white issue..
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    January 2012

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Photos from Marcin Wichary, zAppledot, vyusseem, Alex Barth, Alan Cleaver, jocelynsart, Richard Perry, taberandrew, eschipul, MrJamesAckerley