ZODIAC CIPHERS
RICHARD GRINELL, COVENTRY, ENGLAND
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LOOK FOR FOURTEEN

7/11/2019

 
There are innumerable theories on the October 27th 1970 Halloween card, including here on this site, but none have adequately explained the strange symbol on the upper left corner of the envelope or the foot of the card inner. The cattle branding was a good idea, yet it conveniently ignored the four dots present in the design. In both instances, on the envelope and card, the symbol was followed by the letter Z. This lends credence to the notion, it represents a statement followed by his signature. The Zodiac, from November 8th 1969 to March 13th 1971, was fairly consistent in giving us a running victim total, with the only two notable exceptions being the April 28th 1970 Dragon card and the July 24th 1970 Kathleen Johns letter. With respect to the Dragon card, he had given us 10 victims only eight days earlier, so clearly there was no update on the total, and with respect to Kathleen Johns, she survived the encounter so no update was necessary. The Zodiac Killer repeated the victim count of 13 on the October 5th 1970 '13 Hole' postcard because his previous letter proclaiming 13 victims had not been published in the newspapers at this juncture, The July 26th 1970 Little List letter proclaimed 13 victims, while the October 27th 1970 Halloween card issued us with the number 14, indicating that victim 14 possibly lay between these two dates.      
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We know the Zodiac Killer was responsible for 5 victims - the rest he inferred by increasing his total periodically. The only victim we know of between July 26th 1970 and October 27th 1970 that was subsequently claimed by Zodiac, was Donna Ann Lass, who disappeared from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel & Casino in the early morning hours of September 6th 1970. We know he was insinuating his involvement in her disappearance because of the March 22nd 1971 Pines card mailed to Paul Avery at the San Francisco Chronicle, just like this communication. 

However, although believed murdered, the body of Donna Lass has never been found - and on October 27th 1970 she was still classified as missing. Therefore, any running victim total on this card may reflect the current status regarding Donna Lass within its design. The March 22nd 1971 Pines card teased us with the possible location of where her burial site may be found, by placing a punched hole in the top right corner. Why should this communication be any different, when we consider the design in the top left corner of the envelope and the same design placed within the card, not withstanding, that victim 14 should have fell between July 26th 1970 and October 27th 1970, which the disappearance of Donna Lass did. 

The numerous eyes spattered over the entire card should have told us we need to be looking for something - or more specifically - looking for victim number 14. I have considered the possibility of the symbols being interpreted as "Zodiac Victims Fourteen" or "Zodiac Fourteen", but this doesn't adequately explain the four dots present in the design. It also doesn't make any sense with respect to the letter Z accompanying it on either the envelope or card inner. The phrase created would read "Zodiac Victims Fourteen, Zodiac" or "Zodiac Fourteen, Zodiac". There has to be another answer, incorporating the design of the card and the 13 eyes splashed all over its face. The 13 eyes suggestive of only 13 deceased victims, looking for the 14th victim. The Zodiac Killer would eventually claim his involvement in the disappearance of Donna Lass, so the Halloween card "looking for the fourteenth victim" makes perfect sense with respect to the dates. Take a look at the card below.   

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If we follow the green, yellow and blue rectangles in that order, it can be seen how this spells out "look for fourteen". If we follow the green, yellow and blue circles in that order, it can also be interpreted as "look for fourteen". The first part of the strange symbol isn't structured like the letter Z or the number 7, because the top angle is ninety degrees. However, it can be interpreted as the letter L. The four dots representing "four" or "for", with the F representing 14, as displayed on the hand of the skeleton and by the 4-TEEN above it. The phrase now reads coherently: "look for fourteen, Zodiac". In view of the fact that Donna Lass went missing on September 6th 1970, and his later Pines card communication insinuating his involvement in her disappearance, the running victim total (placed into this design) reading "look for fourteen, Zodiac" isn't so far-fetched.  

With both of these communications (Pines and Halloween) being addressed to Paul Avery, it is easy to consider a correlation between the two, even if the Zodiac Killer was behind the disappearance of Donna Lass or not. The "sought victim 12" attribution on the Pines card a whole different story.
art
7/11/2019 10:12:50 am

beautiful example of Occam's razor principle...nice job!

Richard
7/11/2019 04:22:53 pm

Only the 34,000th solution to the symbols - take your pick Art.

J D
7/11/2019 09:17:56 pm

Interesting take, Richard. I obviously could be very wrong, but I'm thinking that the symbol probably has no meaning as far as a clue is concerned. If, as mentioned by yourself and others, he possibly had a tendency to use cattle brand symbols, he probably incorporated the Fred Harman styled brand, combining it with perhaps George Wilson's Two Dot cattle brand, of which Two Dot, Montana's named after, and added two extra dots to create his own personal brand.

I do find the configuration interesting, as it is the same dot placement used in "The Trick Box," with two dots close together and two dots farther apart, as can be seen in the Oakland Tribune, p17, 13 Mar 1961. I thought maybe if you drew the lines forming the box, combined with what he already has with the Harman cattle brand, it might form a new image with some meaning. I don't think that's it.

Richard
7/12/2019 08:43:37 am

I do like the western link of the comics and Fred Harman/Pagosa Springs JD. The problem with Zodiac creating a design like this, inevitably means scores of possible interpretations. People will have their favourites, but after 50 years it hasn't been definitively proven, so there is a high chance it likely never will be. The best find regarding the Halloween card, bar none, is Tahoe27's find regarding the comic.

Rubislaw 32 link
7/12/2019 02:17:07 am

Merely,to make a general point,about the Zodiac's ''special signature''....though of course,it will contain elements,of bias to it.

What is its basis ?

Firstly,and at least 8 out of 10,are agreed....a cattle brand.

There is overwhelming evidence,that Fred Harman's ''Flying V'' symbol was the overiding influence....the basis.And,with the ''unique'' 8-ball '' symbol,employed in the Zodiac's Z13,can be found,in the 1962 Colorado Cattle Brands book.

The ''Flying V'' symbol,and similar symbols,are categorized,under ''V symbols''.

The ''V symbols'' are symbolic of,and have all been inspired by.....

'' The Texas Longhorn ''

tahoe27
7/20/2019 09:06:58 am

If you look at the image of the Death Wheel, there are 4 symbols around the diamond, heart, club, and I assume (of course) a spade.

I tend to agree with the above posts. He (whoever he was) was just incorporating much of what was in that comic into his own "signature". Like with Frank (the author's) signature on the cover, mixed in with a little of his own--much of that card was a mish-mash of that comic.

http://www.zodiackillersite.com/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=1275

--And thanks for the shout out above. ;)

Richard
7/20/2019 11:59:06 am

Tahoe, do you believe that the paradice and slaves mirrors (along with by in all 4 quadrants) the design of the 340 cipher. If so (and you believe the Halloween card wasn't Zodiac), then at the very least you would have to conclude that it was very fortuitous that the designer of the Halloween card just happened to find a comic that mirrored the 340 cipher that was not designed by him/her on November 8th 1969.


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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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    The Zodiac Atlas: The Zodiac Killer Enigma by Randall Scott Clemons. Click image for details.
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    The Zodiac Killer Map: Part of the Zodiac Killer Enigma by Randall Scott Clemons. Click image for color version
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