CLICK TO ENLARGE The map below shows the locations of two (possibly four) Zodiac communications postmarked December 7th 1969, December 10th 1969, December 11th 1969 and December 16th 1969 (all unpublished at the time). It is noteworthy that all four communications over a period of just 10 days were mailed in locations almost exclusively limited to Interstate 80 and the quickest route from Sacramento to San Francisco. Every single Zodiac communication from 1969 to 1970 was postmarked San Francisco, except for this burst of letters in just over a week from Fairfield and Sacramento, two cities northeast of Vallejo. On December 10th 1969, Leona Roberts was abducted from 749 Tormey Avenue in Rodeo at approximately 6:15pm, with the Day-By-Day Forecast for Cancer letter likely mailed from Sacramento before her abduction, because it had a PM postmark on the same day.
The following day, on December 11th 1969, the Day-By-Day Forecast for Leo letter was PM postmarked in San Francisco, showing that the author had possibly driven along Interstate 80 through Rodeo as he negotiated his quickest route from Sacramento to San Francisco via Vallejo. In other words, he had passed within one mile of the abduction site of Leona Roberts at 749 Tormey Avenue during this journey (which may have been driven with no break). He then mailed a horocope letter entitled Day-By-Day Forecast for Leo, which could mean Day-By-Day Forecast for Leo(na Roberts), bearing in mind she had been abducted the previous day and her body was not found until December 28th 1969, with the coroner estimating she had been alive 10 to 14 days after her abduction.
The following day, on December 11th 1969, the Day-By-Day Forecast for Leo letter was PM postmarked in San Francisco, showing that the author had possibly driven along Interstate 80 through Rodeo as he negotiated his quickest route from Sacramento to San Francisco via Vallejo. In other words, he had passed within one mile of the abduction site of Leona Roberts at 749 Tormey Avenue during this journey (which may have been driven with no break). He then mailed a horocope letter entitled Day-By-Day Forecast for Leo, which could mean Day-By-Day Forecast for Leo(na Roberts), bearing in mind she had been abducted the previous day and her body was not found until December 28th 1969, with the coroner estimating she had been alive 10 to 14 days after her abduction.
LEONA LARELL ROBERTS Three of the communications on December 7th, 10th and December 16th carried the pseudonym of Zodiac despite none being published in the newspapers. The Day-By-Day Forecast for Cancer letter had two prominent words pasted onto the horoscope page. Despite nearly 60 years of speculation on the inspiration for the pseudonym of "Zodiac" and the "crosshairs" symbol, the author of the Day-By-Day Forecast for Cancer letter appeared to anchor "Zodiac" and "Watch" together, implying that the Zodiac watch was the origin of his signatures on July 31st 1969 and August 4th 1969..
The phrase "trying times" appeared to sum up the troubles of Melvin Belli in early December 1969 and may have influenced the language adopted in the Z38 cipher mailed in Fairfield on December 7th 1969. If we add the Melvin Belli letter mailed to 1228 Montgomery Street, San Francisco on December 20th 1969 into the mix, it brings the total to 5 letters mailed in the space of 13 days, bound by one major commuter route. If these communications were multiple hoaxers, what is the likelihood they would choose the locations of Sacramento, Fairfield and San Francisco to mail them from, which are all connected by Interstate 80 through Vallejo.
The phrase "trying times" appeared to sum up the troubles of Melvin Belli in early December 1969 and may have influenced the language adopted in the Z38 cipher mailed in Fairfield on December 7th 1969. If we add the Melvin Belli letter mailed to 1228 Montgomery Street, San Francisco on December 20th 1969 into the mix, it brings the total to 5 letters mailed in the space of 13 days, bound by one major commuter route. If these communications were multiple hoaxers, what is the likelihood they would choose the locations of Sacramento, Fairfield and San Francisco to mail them from, which are all connected by Interstate 80 through Vallejo.
The residence at 749 Tormey Avenue would return to the news on January 4th 1970 and January 6th 1970, when four malicious phone calls by a person identifying himself as the "Zodiac Killer" were received by Peggy Trainer in Rodeo. It was reported in the Contra Costa Times newspaper that Peggy Trainer lived directly behind the 749 Tormey Avenue apartment from which Leona Roberts was abducted.
This means that the pseudonym "Zodiac" appeared in a communication mailed on the day Leona Roberts was abducted, and was used less than a month later over the phone on Peggy Trainer, who lived by the residence of the abduction site. This is significant because the Day-By-Day Forecast for Cancer letter had not been published in the newspapers by the time of the four phone calls. Therefore, the two "forecast" letters were very likely mailed by the same person who announced himself to Peggy Trainer and stated she would be his "next victim" - which of course - would have particular significance to a woman who experienced an abduction so close to her own doorstep.
The letters mailed on December 7th, 10th, 11th and 16th were all cryptic in nature, carrying two short codes/ciphers and an array of newspaper cuttings pasted on the backdrop of a November horoscope page. A third Fairfield letter arrived 17 months later in 1971. All the Fairfield communications contained a code or cipher, and all can be shown to have been penned by the Zodiac Killer. The only question that remains, is the authenticity of the two "forecast" letters from Sacramento and San Francisco on December 10th and December 11th 1969 respectively.
This means that the pseudonym "Zodiac" appeared in a communication mailed on the day Leona Roberts was abducted, and was used less than a month later over the phone on Peggy Trainer, who lived by the residence of the abduction site. This is significant because the Day-By-Day Forecast for Cancer letter had not been published in the newspapers by the time of the four phone calls. Therefore, the two "forecast" letters were very likely mailed by the same person who announced himself to Peggy Trainer and stated she would be his "next victim" - which of course - would have particular significance to a woman who experienced an abduction so close to her own doorstep.
The letters mailed on December 7th, 10th, 11th and 16th were all cryptic in nature, carrying two short codes/ciphers and an array of newspaper cuttings pasted on the backdrop of a November horoscope page. A third Fairfield letter arrived 17 months later in 1971. All the Fairfield communications contained a code or cipher, and all can be shown to have been penned by the Zodiac Killer. The only question that remains, is the authenticity of the two "forecast" letters from Sacramento and San Francisco on December 10th and December 11th 1969 respectively.
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