PRESIDIO HEIGHTS REVISITED

7/20/2014

Paul Stine arrived for work on October 11th 1969 at 8.45 pm, having taken one fare from Pier 64 to the Air Terminal, before the ill fated decision to pick up his murderer close to the corner of Mason and Geary Street in the theater district of San Francisco. In a little over ten minutes he lay dead from a single gunshot to the anterior of his right ear, discovered slumped across the passenger side of the front seating. Three young witnesses across the street from a nearby residence recalled seeing a man in the front of the taxicab, the victim slumped over his lap, wiping down various sections of the interior and leaning over towards the driver side compartment. He then exited the taxicab and proceeded to the driver side door, that faced into the street, which he then wiped down, presumably to remove fingerprints. However, if this were the order of events, how did the murderer ever place himself into contact with the driver side door or panel of Paul Stine's taxicab. The only reason to have touched the driver side door of the taxicab or its adjoining panel, was that he either leaned on it after he summoned the taxicab at the Mason and Geary intersection and spoke to Paul Stine, or he actually opened the driver side door to gain access to the vehicle. The first option seems unlikely, knowing that in a matter of minutes he is about to put a gun to the head of the taxicab driver and brutally execute him, so leaving fingerprints in advance on a door, he later has to waste time removing after the murder seems unnecessary.

........................Paul Stine...........................

But lets go back to basics and examine the evidence as we actually know it, beginning with the Zodiac Killer letter mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle on October 13th 1969, in which he states ''I am the murderer of the taxi driver over by Washington St + Maple St last night'. Why does the killer mention Washington and Maple when the taxicab was found at Washington and Cherry. He clearly had knowledge of his location as he refers to both street names, and although the Zodiac Killer could not be taken at face value, there was nothing to be gained by claiming the murder at the wrong location, and for this reason alone we have to conclude that this is probably where Paul Stine was shot. There are three key pieces of reasoning that point us towards this hypothesis, namely that the three teenage eyewitnesses from the house overlooking the intersection of Washington and Cherry Street did not recall hearing any gunshot at this location, albeit, this may have resulted from the possibility that a suppressor was employed in the commission of the crime, or from the close contact wound that muffled the sound. Secondly, the blood pattern on the Paul Stine's shirt that tells its own story.

And finally the killer was seen wiping down the driver side door, one assumes to remove any incriminating fingerprints. These three key ingredients may tell us the true story of the events that unfolded on that fateful night back on October 11th 1969, and one that differs substantially from the widely believed order of events.
As the taxicab approached the corner of Washington and Maple Street, Paul Stine did not place the car into park, knowing he was on a 'run through' to his original fare at 500 9th Avenue, radioed to him by Yellow Cab dispatcher Leroy Sweet, when suddenly the killer raised the gun into Paul Stine's eye-line. It clearly states on the autopsy report there were dark marks on the dorsal side of the Paul Stine's left hand, that may suggest that as Paul Stine reacted to move away from the danger, his left hand was raised in order to deflect the gun away at the instant of firing, resulting in dark stippling marks. During this melee, Paul Stine inadvertently broke contact with the brake pedal, causing the taxicab to motion forward out of control, possibly towards the sidewalk. Wanting to avoid an imminent crash and alerting the entire neighborhood, the Zodiac Killer either lunges forward to grasp the steering wheel and clambers over to the front of the taxicab to regain control of the vehicle, or exits the left rear passenger door and enters the driver side door. He then has to push his body weight against Paul Stine (who remains in a sitting position), against the driver side door to access the vehicle controls and thereby coast the taxicab to the corner of Washington and Cherry Street where he finally parks up.

The blood pattern on Paul Stine's shirt indicates that for a measurable time period his body must have been in an upright position, to display the pattern exhibited by the photograph on the left. If Paul Stine had been shot at Washington and Cherry Street and had immediately slumped over to rest on the front passenger side seat, shown in the crime scene photographs, the blood pattern would be altogether different. The shirt displays blood from a head wound, falling with gravity, downwards and around the chest, predominating on the right side, as he was shot behind the right ear. The idea Paul Stine was pushed against the left driver side door when the Zodiac Killer commandeered the vehicle, is also exhibited, as the angle of body tilt would lead to blood flow on this side also, albeit marginally less in the pattern displayed. This concept was further analyzed in a previous

article, suggesting that the Zodiac Killer for this reason walked on the north side of Jackson Street, so that his predominantly blooded left side faced away from the roadside and any oncoming traffic and police vehicles. If his left side had not been covered in blood, walking on this side of the street, in closer proximity to oncoming headlights would have seemed the less preferred option. See http://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/the-silent-murder-at-presidio-heights.
However, we have a problem; If the Zodiac Killer had jumped from the back seats to the front and gained control of the taxicab by leaning against Paul Stine, at the end of the journey, it would not have necessitated the murderer walking from the front right passenger side door to wipe down the exterior of the driver side door and panel. The fact he did indeed perform this action suggests at the very least he must have deposited fingerprints on it at an earlier time. As explained earlier, if he had hailed the taxicab by approaching the driver side door at Mason and Geary Streets with murder on his mind, the last thing he would have done was to touch the driver side door handle, an action that necessitates the later removal of fingerprints. If the Zodiac Killer had remained in the rear of the taxicab for the entire journey, why on earth after killing Paul Stine, would he be wiping down the interior driver side compartment of the taxicab, after all, there was no reason to have ever touched these areas. If he had opened the right front passenger side door with the express intention of removing a piece of Paul Stine's shirt, the only three things he needed to touch would have been the rear right door handles, the front exterior passenger door handle and Paul Stine's shirt, nothing else. The wiping down of the interior of the cab and exterior driver side door makes little sense, unless he touched it.

This suggests the Zodiac Killer must have touched the driver side door handle other than at Mason and Geary Streets and Washington and Cherry Streets. The only remaining option being the Washington and Maple Street intersection, where he claimed to have committed the murder all along. However, this would debunk the idea, the killer clambered from the back seats to the front seats. The only possible scenario left that makes any sense, is that when the vehicle ran out of control, he quickly exited the vehicle on the roadside, opened the driver side door of the taxicab with his left hand, deposited blooded right fingerprints on the door panel as he braced himself against the moving vehicle, and stepped over the lifeless body of Paul Stine touching the driver side compartment as he did so.

The most credible course of events, is that after shooting Paul Stine the vehicle motions forward. The Zodiac Killer reacts instantly by exiting the left rear door, opens the driver side door, grabs the steering wheel, then steps over the motionless Paul Stine, closes the door and uses his left foot to access the taxicab pedals and coasts the vehicle one block further on, where he ultimately disappears north along Cherry Street. This covers all of the known facts, the blood pattern on the shirt, the necessity to wipe down the driver side door handle, the necessity to wipe down the interior driver side of the cab and his decision to walk on the north side of Jackson Street, in the full glare of police headlights heading towards the crime scene at the Washington and Cherry Street intersection
Donald Fouke, a police officer responding that night, recalled a man walking with a shuffling lope along the north sidewalk of Jackson Street, heading towards the intersection of Jackson and Maple. If, as hypothesized, the Zodiac Killer exited the moving taxicab at Washington and Maple, is it possible he injured his ankle or leg in the process, resulting in the 'shuffling lope' described by Donald Fouke from his patrol car. The direction of the Zodiac Killer also makes sense, in that, if he had killed Paul Stine at Washington and Maple without any mishaps, he would likely have been walking north along Maple Street towards the Jackson and Maple intersection, the direction he was ultimately heading when spotted by Donald Fouke, only he had traveled one extra block unnecessarily.

http://www.zodiackillerfacts.com/blog/mysteryquest-paul-holes-and-the-murder-of-paul-stine

23 Comments

Alex Lewis link

11/21/2014 06:44:23 am

Hi Rich. Just browsing your site and wanted to comment on something in the above article, specifically:

"I am the murderer of the taxi driver over by Washington St + Maple St last night'. Why does the killer mention Washington and Maple when the taxicab was found at Washington and Cherry. He clearly had knowledge of his location as he refers to both street names, and although the Zodiac Killer could not be taken at face value, there was nothing to be gained by claiming the murder at the wrong destination and for this reason alone we have to conclude that this is probably where Paul Stine was shot."

Well to me he is wording it this way deliberately. "there was nothing to be gained by claiming the murder at the wrong destination." He's hasn't given the incorrect location, he said he killed the cab driver 'Over by wash & Map st' not at wash & map st. I absolutely agree with you on the killer knew the street name where he killed Stine was Cherry st, but he doesn't want you and I to know he knows. Why? Because he want's us to believe that he only knew Maple by name because he had pre-planned it to occur there as Maple offers easy access to Presidio, he has to know this one street name becuase he needs to tell the driver where he is wanting to go. He want's you and I to believe that beyond this one street, he is absolutely clueless as to the strees and their names in that area and goes to great lengths in this letter to indirectly suggest this to us. He states that "Over by wash & maple' which is intended to offer 'I don't know any other street names but it was somewhere over by Maple anyway." He also writes "As I was walking down the hill...." Again, Zodiac is pretending that he has no idea what street he is on, but it's the one that has a bit of a hill that you go down to get to the park, and like this street with a hill, I have no idea what the name of this park is either."

He tries too hard to distance himself from that area by time & time again being vague & general and doing it too often and making it clear that he really want's you and I to take away from this that this man writing has no connections nor familiarity what-so-ever with that area of Pacific Heights so much so that it becomes quite clear that he therefore and obviously knows the area well. I mean if he wrote I am the murderer over at wash & Chy st last night. As I was walking down Jackson street to Julius Kahn Park, this cop car pulled up...." then reading that would show that the man is very familiar with that area and knows the names of streets and public parks. By pretending he doesn't and wanting to give everyone the impression that he did not have a clue of this street name, or that park name etc he is inviting us to assume that he isn't local or familiar to that area, and if he's doing that then it's because he actually is.

Richard

11/23/2014 07:43:59 pm

I agree, the Zodiac Killer often led us to believe one thing, when it was clear it was a classical case of 'Zodiac misdirection'. However I have said many a time 'I will meet you by the cinema' or 'I will meet you by Tesco's, in town', rather than using the word 'at'. I do agree he knew the area well, as the mailing of the majority of his letters were to the San Francisco Chronicle, which again was to divert us away from his real home location. Yet in all likelihood he worked there and like you said was ultimately familiar with the area.

Alex Lewis link

11/24/2014 12:23:50 am

Another thing the author want's to make sure we believe is his being in the park that night. He mentions the 'park' and his being there or making his way there no less than three times in 10 or so lines of writing. "Hey blue pig I was in the park..." then "As I was walking down the hill to the park..." and finally " I disappeared into the
park a block + a half away.."
I am absolutely with Chief Martin Lee when he went public via the chronicle to declare Z a liar and that he was't in the park at all and pointed out that they had 5 dogs and a small army of police offiers who, quote "Searched that area tree by tree and bush by bush. A mouse couldn't have escaped out attention."
I agree with Lee and believe Z wasn't in the park, but want's police and the public to accept he was. Wherever he actually was on the night, he was within a distance that allowed him to see and/or hear the search effort because he recounted specifics in this letter. He would have to be somewhere which allowed him to see the searchers without them being able to easily see him. Have you seen the view from Suspect X's back window? I have, it overlooks the entire JK Park area.

lone wolfe

12/7/2015 12:09:02 pm

ZODIAC leave at Vallejo in the basement, not Arthur, next ZODIAC moved from Vallejo to San Francisco but he never say his identity say the name of others like victims or people zodiac KNOWS.........THE MAIN SUSPECT LIKE YOU SAY: WAS IN FRONT OF EVERYONE AND PASS UNNOTICED......

Alex Lewis link

11/24/2014 02:03:05 am

If you give me your email address Rich I'll send you a pic/screenshot taken from the upstairs back window of Suspect X K.Q's back window

Alex link

4/21/2015 04:17:06 pm

Hey Rich, just indulging a spot of hypothetical surfing and before I comment on the above article....Did you get my email reply regarding the latest on Ed and the files etc?

So, the topic at hand. The lack of hearing a shot fired has always been a mystery for me. I mean, you quite rightly point out that the three teens or anyone else at W & C streets heard the sound of a shot fired. But if we agree the fatal shot was not fired at W & C, then all we do is move the same problem up the street an extra block to Maple because the same will apply there too,. Why, if the shot was fired at or near Washington & Maple, why does nobody report hearing such an identifiable report at or around that area? Wherever he shoots Paul, it's along some stretch of road with homes surrounding him on both sides of a residential street, and unless everyone for half a mile was not at home and the ones that were were all sleeping at 9:55PM (Which I would argue is next to impossible) then someone should have heard a 9MM being fired outside or close to their home.

As for his whole ritual at the cab and the what he was doing, why he was doing it etc etc, and this may seem like a silly question but, has anyone ever compared the bloody print found on the cab exterior to the prints of one.......Paul Lee Stine? Why would I ask that? Well I can't imagine for a minute that Zodiac would touch the cab without goves that were available to him and if he were idiotic enough to make that mistake, he would almost certainly have realized and seen it when he was wiping the can exterior down.

Why would it make complete sense for that bloody print to come from the cabs own driver? Who else could it have come from if we exclude Z as the contributor? I mean after all, Paul was fould pulled across and led out across the passenger side seat. Isn't that what you would need to do if your pulling Paul's dead weight across so you can take his hand, rub his finger in his own blood, then press his finger against the outside of his own cab before shutting the door again?

I think Zodiac is probably being completely truthful when he says He has left no prints behind contrary to what police say. The way he words that it seems to me to be a dismissal of the claim to have his, the offenders, fingerprint. He doesn't seem bothered at all or in the slightest concerned in his laid back dismissal. To add to that then, He tells us he was leaving fake clues because he enjoys watching police run all over town with believing they are onto something or have a valuable lead to chase up....He knows different. I think there very likely were times he just left us what He knew we would think is a clue or have a meaning or relevance and gets great amusement at watching everyone try and work out why he left the gloves there, what it could mean, is it a clue to A B or C etc and while we are busy doing this he's drowning in his own amusement knowing they mean absolutely nothing and he just threw them in because he knew we'd all be coming up with theories to explain it when there isn't an explanation needed and it just gloves by chance, could have just as easily been a useless hat or scarf.

I mean Zodiac probably has a good idea that if he plants that print there using Paul's finger, the cops are never going to work it out because Paul is inside the cab and by the time he does have blood on his face, shirt, trousers, hands and everywhere else, He isn't stepping outside the Can to due to his being dead inside. The only other possibility is that Zodiac is walking around with severed fingers placed about his person which, while you could rule nothing out with this character who conforms to no known pattern, belongs to no specific group of a serial killer type etc, I would probably be inclined to believe he isn't walking around with a pocket full of fingers. :-)

I want to have a rant about another thing I have noticed in the 'Up to the end of Oct I have killer 7' letter but I shall stop for a break now because while we are speaking of fingers, mine are requesting a break lol. Chat to you soon Rich, take it easy.

Richard

4/21/2015 06:57:12 pm

Firstly, yes Alex, Cheers, hope you get some results.
Secondly, I was going to say, pull your finger out, but I shall refrain, there's a paradox. I had this vision of Zodiac running around with a pocket full of fingers and trying to allay the finger of suspicion, when he was eventually fingered by police. Anyway, as you said this is highly improbable unless he truly was running in the legacy of Jack the Ripper, plus the coroner at autopsy may have noticed this small discrepancy. The blooded prints I would have thought would have been cross checked with Paul Stine for elimination purposes, but also if I understand what your saying, is the Zodiac used Paul Stine's arm to press fingerprints onto the outside door. This of course is not impossible, but if either arm was pulled out, the fingerprints would be directional leading away the body. ie the tip of the fingerprints would be facing the rear of the cab. Getting the fingerprints to face the other way would require him extricating Paul Stine completely from the taxicab or as you say removing the fingers or hand and neither of us buy that. The fingerprint positions and their direction from the photographs I have seen is difficult to ascertain as they are not great quality, but seem to suggest to me the killer rested his right hand between the front driver side door and rear passenger door, in a position difficult to attain by pulling out Stine's arm and hand to supplant fake clues. But anything is possible, certainly that the Zodiac, although no master criminal, he was certainly no fool and is highly possible he dropped not only some clangers, but some false trails also. However I am still not fully convinced these were blooded prints of anybody, rather normal prints covered with blood. There was so much crime scene contamination it almost beggars belief by today's standards, with people milling around the scene. Crime scene preservation back then was close to non existent. This is from a previous article: "When the killer hailed the taxicab at Mason and Geary Street, wanting to travel to Washington and Maple, presumably he did this from the sidewalk and entered the vehicle by the rear right passenger door. It has been speculated he may have leaned on the driver side door, talking to Paul Stine, before entering the taxicab. But why. He could have made conversation with the driver from the safety of the sidewalk, also if this crime was premeditated why would he feel the need to splash his fingerprints all over the door panel and handle, knowing that in a little over 10 minutes he was to murder the driver in cold blood, thereby having to waste valuable time removing the fingerprints he had just planted there, it makes little sense. On Crimelibrary.com it states 'SFPD crime lab technicians developed dozens of prints in and on the cab. Among these were several that, according to an SFPD memo show traces of blood and are believed to be prints of the suspect. Most of these came from the post between the driver side front and rear doors'. So why had the killer touched either of these doors, whether with blooded hands or not. There was no reason whatsoever, that is, unless the Zodiac Killer's meticulous planning had encountered a problem somewhere along the way.
The taxicab pulled away from the intersection of Mason and Geary on it's short journey to Washington and Maple. As they approached the corner, the driver, Paul Stine knowing he was en route to a scheduled fare, possibly failed to place the taxicab into park to facilitate a quick exit and started to turn to the right to request payment. At the same time the killer had raised his 9mm semi-automatic towards the right side of Paul Stine's face. In a split second realizing the uncomfortable truth and with his right arm wedged between his body and the seat rear, instinctively raised his left hand in a desperate bid to block, deflect or grab the assailants gun, however he was unfortunately a fraction too late, as the muzzle ejected it's deadly contents. This may explain the dark mark found on the dorsal side of Paul Stine's left hand at autopsy. The killer believed his task was complete. but Paul Stine's foot had broken contact with the vehicle's brake pedal and the taxicab was now motioning forward out of control. In an instant the killer had to react to prevent an imminent crash, alerting the neighborhood and drawing unwanted attention to himself. We may never know if his intention at this point was to preserve his master plan of securing a section of Paul Stine's shirt and was not to be denied or having possibly used a silencer, was determined not to place in jeopardy his quiet exit away up Mason Street to his waiting vehicle somewhere close by. Whatever the case he had to make his decision now.
Picture
The Zodiac Killer hastily exited the left rear door, possibly injuring himself in the process (Donald Fouke described a man later spotted on Jackson Street as having a shuffling lope, like a semi-limp) and ente

Alex link

4/27/2015 03:29:50 am

"Secondly, I was going to say, pull your finger out, but I shall refrain, there's a paradox. I had this vision of Zodiac running around with a pocket full of fingers and trying to allay the finger of suspicion, when he was eventually fingered by police."

Yes, Imagine the Great Mel Belli having to defend a captured Zodiac! "Ladies and Gentleman of the Jury.... My client at the time he was arrested on Jackson St, had about his person a number of severed fingers because he had found them earlier that evening and was at that very moment on his way to the Police Station in Pacific Heights to 'Hand in', if you'll excuse the pun, the evidence. Also Ladies and Gentleman My client had walked past the cab and noticed a slumped driver and took the wallet so that he could give the 911 dispatcher the drivers details and took the keys to the vehicle so it would not be stolen and lose vital evidence. The gun on his person, which was missing only one round, he came into possessio of after the real offender tried to shoot him and he wrestled the weapon away. I ask you to find my client not guilty, and if you do, I will fall to the floor with shock" Lol.

But serious, in regards to the idea that zodiac would have had to take Paul's entire body out of the cab to imprint a bloody fingerprint at that angle, fair point. But here's the thing....
Why was Paul's body laying in that position with the door open? You know, head out over the door rail, arms up and extended out and dangling. Why is he in that position? Some have said Zodiac deliberately place him like that to resemble a crucified Christ, and other theories. One I haven't seem put forward, which I thought about today, was the most obvious I think.

Firstly, when I saw that photo first years ago I assumed that the paramedics had tried giving paul CPR or tried to resuscitate him. But that is not the case aparently. So, would it not be fairly reasonable to assume that Zodiac had, at some point, grabbed both arms of Paul's and for whatever reason, tried to pull him over toward the passenger door and that's why his arms remain in that overhead position?

Richard

4/28/2015 04:49:45 pm

Zodiac was seen by the three teenagers mid to passenger side of the front seat, with Paul Stine resting on his lap. You can clearly see in the crime scene photographs Paul Stine's head is almost hanging out the door, not quite, but level. There is no way the Zodiac could have rested Paul Stine over his lap and removed a rear section of shirt from this position unless he was sitting, almost hanging out the door. From the three teenagers description to the crime scene photographs, Paul Stine has shifted horizontally. However it was reported his head was discovered on the floorboard and believed he was pulled into this position by paramedics to check for vitals. For this to happen they would have pulled Stine upwards and towards them, slightly altering his position.
Take a look at this image http://www.zodiacciphers.com/uploads/4/9/7/1/4971630/2129548.jpg?317
Excerpt from previous article "In image 1 it can be clearly seen there is no substantial blood loss on the road surface next to his left hand. However in image 2 this is not the case, so we know image 1 was taken first. But this presents two problems. After the Zodiac Killer exited the front passenger door he went around the car and wiped down the driver side door area. He then left unhurried, north along Cherry Street. It took at least two minutes for the first responding officers to reach the crime scene and even longer before these photographs were taken. However photograph 1 shows virtually none, if no blood immediately to the right of Paul Stine's left hand, whereas photograph 2 shows plenty to the right and towards the roadside edge, indicating he was still bleeding or it was somehow running from the cab interior.
If this is how Paul Stine was found by responding officers, with the door open, then are we to assume he never bled from the moment the killer left the interior of the cab until photograph 1 was taken, but then resumed bleeding from photograph 1 to photograph 2. This is obviously not possible. This may suggest the door was closed when officers first arrived on the scene, with Paul Stine's head and arm propped against the door. Once it was opened his head and arm fell out to the position shown, possibly flicking out the small areas of blood seen in photograph 1, from the body or inner door panel to the roadside below. After a period of time photograph 2 was taken, to show much greater blood transference.

Of course it has been stated that when responding personnel arrived Paul Stine's head was resting on the passenger side floorboard, and he was moved into the position shown, to deliver medical assistance, which would also explain the lack of blood on the roadside in image 1.".
If the Zodiac had dragged Paul Stine to this position, firstly why and secondly shutting the door would have been awkward.
Also if this is the position Zodiac left Paul Stine or as you said "Some have said Zodiac deliberately place him like that to resemble a crucified Christ", this is absolutely impossible. Like I said above, Photograph 1 shows there is no blood loss beneath his head and left hand, but by Photograph 2 blood everywhere. Means the door was shut when responders arrived and then opened. Notice in photograph 1 the three blood spots in a line at approximately 30 degrees from an imaginary north. It is entirely plausible that if the door was closed on arrival, then opened, these blood spots had dripped off the edge of the door to the positions shown from the inner edge of the door in which Paul Stine's head had been resting against prior to the door being opened. Then by photograph 2 the blood increased. The absence of blood in photograph 1 is telling. It suggests to me he was found with his head resting in the floorboard on the passenger side, blood from the seat had ran with the camber of the road to form near the door edge. Responders opened the door, causing the blood spotting effect in photograph 1, lifted and pulled Stine to that position, hence the greater blood appearance in photograph 2. Had Stine already been in this position when officers and ambulance crew arrived, where is the copious blood that is clearly depicted in photograph 2. Blood doesn't stop, then restart.

Alex link

4/28/2015 02:51:21 am

Rich, you asked the very plausible and logical question: "If this crime was premeditated why would he feel the need to splash his fingerprints all over the door panel and handle, knowing that in a little over 10 minutes he was to murder the driver in cold blood?"

It seems Rich that You and I see an event from the same perspective and as such ask the same questions because that is one of the things I have wondered along with other obvious questions such as:
If he intended to Kill Paul or any taxi driver unlucky enough to stop and agree to take him to the Richmond District prior to even getting into the cab then why would he settle on 'Washington and Maole' as the destination? Why would you position yourself a full street distance from you planned escape route into the Presidio when you can just say to Paul "Jackson and Maple streets please' and get him to stop right next to the entrance to the Presidio? Why give yourself a much bigger headache than you need to? The only purpose it would serve to choose Washington opposed to Jackson is to make the risk of being seen and/or caught go from almost Zero to very likely.

And I was thinking yesterday Rich, we've asked previously as have many others, why Paul would stop to pick this man up having already had a dispatch order to proceed to a waiting customer? Well, I can't recall off hand when exactly the job was given to Paul to go to his next pick-up but, if the timing allows, what if Paul didn't pick the sinister last fare up after he received dispatch to a client but rather, had already picked up Zodiac shortly prior to receiving the order to go to his next job? I mean this assumption would probably be that Paul would have informed his dispatcher that He had a passenger with him that was going to be dropped off on route but, would He really inform base of that? I could argue that if He would likely radio to make his recent pick-up known, then why didn't he radio to tell his base that He is proceeding to the directed job but had just picked up a customer to drop off in P.H area?

Also, if Zodiac planned this crime in advance vs impulsive act then why does he seem to be obvlious and unaware of the entrance at Cherry St through onto West Pacific Avenue and the cover of foliage and darkness to conceal him in his b-line for Julius Kahn Park? And if his 'Final Destination' was JK park then you have to question why? What was he going to do? Sit and swing on the swings watching the cops searching all around the grounds?

Many things don't seem to add up or make sense but its important to remember that we look at it as rationally as we can. I would direct Paul to Jackson and Maple for the instant and easy escape it has to offer because, for me, the No. 1 priority is not to get caught and by default, every decision I made, every possible preparation I could take would all be done so with the best chance of escape in mind. Did he decide he wanted a challenge? Did he hope he would be spotted by 1 or more witnesses because he really did have a disguise that looked nothing like his every day self?

Richard

4/28/2015 03:48:01 pm

In my opinion he chose Washington and Maple for one simple reason, his car was parked somewhere by the intersection of Jackson and Maple. He left this one block gap as a safeguard, the equivalent would be shooting Paul Stine at Washington and Cherry and having your car parked by the location of the shooting, sure you would make a hasty exit, but your seen entering your car, unfortunately now your license plate has been noted and you have made one giant booboo. Hence the one block gap, not too far, not too close, thereby separating you from the car, and the car from the crime scene. I think we both agree on the Zodiac issue of where he entered the taxicab. The journey to 500 9th Avenue was not far and someone flagging down a cab randomly in the theatre district effectively could have wanted to go anywhere, Paul Stine was not to know. Stopping a cab in the hope that the customer just happened to want to go roughly in your direction seems weak, especially since you already have been given a scheduled fare not far away. I couldn't imagine a taxicab driver stopping upon being hailed down by a punter and when the customer says an inconvenient destination, you say sorry mate not going that way, it sounds a bit unprofessional. When a cab stops it usually means he's prepared to take the fare. I think the Zodiac was already in the cab when Leroy Sweet, the dispatcher sent him the scheduled 500 9th fare. The Zodiac probably entered the taxicab just shy of the Mason and Geary intersection, thereby not contradicting the meter reading later.

Alex link

4/28/2015 06:26:40 pm

"If the Zodiac had dragged Paul Stine to this position, firstly why?"

Well if your going to decide, as the offender, that you need to lay Paul's body out over the two seats in the front of the cab with his feet toward drivers side, head and upper torso laid over passenger seat and you do this because you are about to relieve Paul of his wallet and help yourself to a chunk of his shirt, then how would you likely decide to go about this? You can either pull Paul over and across so He's laying under you as you lean and over the body to gain access to wallet and shirt, or alternatively, you can simply pull Paul's upper torso over toward you to have his head resting in your lap as you go about collecting that of which you want to take and in the process get absolutely saturated in blood that would be flowing like a stream from Paul's nose and some from the entrance wound.

I mean, the teen witnesses did not see the cab pull up and observe the entire incident as it happened. We've asked before ourselves 'Why on Earth is Zodiac wiping down the driver door exterior? Well, maybe He had opened it after executing Paul to get the wallet, keys? Pelissetti quote: "Fouke was also very clear on what the person was wearing. Well, it just so happens that that area is extremely well let and I cannot imagine him not seeing the shine of blood on the clothing if it had been The Zodiac."

There is no question in my mind that that man Fouke encountered was the Zodiac and my basis for this is that what Fouke described him as wearing that night, was identical to what Hartnell said his attacker wore two weeks previously at Berryessa.
I just think that the teens may have either been mistaken in saying his head was resting on Z's groin area or they simply assumed it was because, from their vantage point across the street and high up looking down on the cab, the driver side is the facing them and their home and the passenger side and anyone sat in it is obscured by the roof of the cab. That is likely one reason that two of them went downstairs to observe the action from the ground floor window (aswel as calling the cops.)

I did think of another possibility for how and why Zodiac would need to wipe the drivers door exterior and that is Paul got held up in traffic and Zodiac simply walked up and opened his door to ask is he's available and Paul told him He was on his way to a job and where that pick up was and Z replied something like "Great, my place is just on that very route, could you drop me off on your way At W'ton and Mple streets?" Paul then unwittingly sealed his own fate by replying "Sure, hop in."

Alex link

4/28/2015 08:53:56 pm

"In my opinion he chose Washington and Maple for one simple reason, his car was parked somewhere by the intersection of Jackson and Maple. He left this one block gap as a safeguard."

This is where I'd have to disagree. I don't think, and it's just my opinion, that he had left his vehicle parked up for an extended period of time on Jackson, Maple, West Pacific or generally anywhere within half a mile of Cherry/Maple. A cop is going to likely pull anyone over within a mile or 2 radius of the scene once they become aware A Homicide has taken place so him driving off from in a vehicle on Jackson has a risk of absolutely anyone living there seeing him and his vehicle leave.

'He left this one block gap as a safeguard.' David Berkowitz left several streets distance between himself and vehicle and ran back to it and discovered that he'd been given a ticket. That's what ultimately led to capture of The Son of Sam, that parking ticket.

Richard

4/21/2015 07:14:04 pm

continued......entered the front driver side door and in doing so deposited either normal or blooded fingerprints on both. Then bracing himself on the front driver side compartment area, stepped over the lifeless body of Paul Stine to gain some limited control over the runaway vehicle. He now had to support Paul Stine's body in an upright position, pressing it against the driver side door with his left side, so as to access the taxicab pedals with his left foot and coast the taxicab away from the Washington and Maple Street intersection to the corner of Washington and Cherry. I also believe the Zodiac wore gloves when he entered the cab, but removed them just prior to the shooting, probably, although not certainly, to gain greater feel with the weapon. His intention was to shoot Paul Stine and then put the gloves back on to exit the rear and enter the front of the taxicab, but because things went tits up, in his haste to regain control of the wayward taxicab, he didn't have time to put his gloves back on, thereby depositing the fingerprints on the outside of the taxicab. The gloves ultimately found on the front seat were never his. I believe they were in all likelihood left by a previous passenger or as you say a plant. If you were going to bring gloves to a crime scene and refuse to use them makes little sense, however bringing them and being sidetracked by unforseen events does. This as I have mentioned before makes the limp seen by Fouke's possible and his removal of the car keys and wallet understandable . Nobody in their right mind, yes I know he wasn't, would spend valuable time carefully tearing a piece of shirt, they would take the taxicab drivers ID as proof later, but he did, why, that is because I don't believe he found Stine's driving license, had he, the shirt piece scenario would have been unnecessary. The reason he took the keys and wallet was that possibly when he exited and re-entered the taxicab he not only injured his knee or ankle, he, in his haste possibly stalled the taxicab and had to touch the keys to restart the vehicle, otherwise there was never any good reason to take the keys or the wallet for that matter. Only if it was quicker to take them rather than to wipe away prints. Here ends War and Peace. Sorry Alex.

Richard

4/21/2015 07:22:54 pm

By the way my original post cut off, here was the bit I wrote from another article on the silencer "However no witnesses stated hearing gunshots at this location either. No gunshots heard in a built up area, at close to
10.00 pm at night, why was this. This crime had all the hallmarks of pre-planning, even removing a section of Paul Stine's shirt, which he mailed along with the letter. But despite being a far more populated area, in which he was seemed determined to secure a trophy, he would take a risk anyway and loiter around the scene. Again, imagine you were the perpetrator. Would you fire a loaded unsilenced weapon within feet of a house, then proceed to start rummaging through the victims pockets, wipe down the inside of the cab, then exit the vehicle and proceed to the exterior doors and start wiping them down, before moving off casually, or get the hell out of there. The answer is, loiter around, if you had used a silencer and believed no witnesses had observed you and called the police. Which is exactly what the Zodiac Killer did.

Alex link

4/21/2015 08:16:40 pm

Right, so...The 'Up to the end of Oct' Letter that Zodiac penned I think a couple of things stand out but could also, I admit freely, be nothing other than simply reading too much into the statements, words and phrases the writes uses. So anyway....

It no new or exclusive theory or idea that, accoring to some, Zodiac may have been involved at some level within the Law Enforcement Agencies, A Cop for example and this is suggested because of certain things he said, phrases he would use, the way he pulled in behnid Dee's vehicle etc all speaks to someone trained in, and having knowledge of, the jargon and policies taught and used with serving Cops.

So, in this letter in question the most obvious comment He makes which is clearly how you would expect a cop to refer to this is his claim of "They shall look like routine burglaries." Cops use this terminology constantly and almost exclusively. 'A routine domestic disturbance' or 'Routine neighbour dispute' etc. Why not just say that he'll make his killing appear as accidental deaths?

Also, I don't know whether this could be his subconscious mind that propels him to offer the specific wording he does without being aware of what may be read into such a statement but, He says "I look like the description passed out only when I do my thing..."

Now again, I may just be over analyzing the wording but, to specifically say the description that has been passed out could be his subconscious mind betraying his conscious mind by offering that He himself has participated in the distribution of the wanted posters.
Again, I could if I wanted to be cynical ask 'Why not just say I look like the composite on TV....or the composite poster's around town etc? There is nothing to suggest that anyone has passed these composite wanted posters out to anyone else to put up unless maybe your someone that is in a position to know or you yourself have been asked to take a dozen to local shops and businesses to put up.

In another instance he declares that He felt obligated to leave false and misleading clues at his crime scene because, he said, "To watch the police run all over town with to keep them happy." He then spoke fondly of this most favourite of past-time's declaring "I enjoy needling the Blue Pigs."
The specific wording of "To watch them run all over town with" can be taken literally to mean he is either spending all day of every day following police cars around the town hoping they are working a lead on the Zodiac case or, the other possible person who would be in a position to watch police chase fruitless leads, false clues and planted evidence is....... A cop himself. He will not only be in the position to watch huis fellow Blue Meanies follow up on evidence and leads that he already knows will get them nowhere fast, but he himself can actively participate in the hunt for Zodiac which, in effect, he's the Hunter that is on a team of hunters while covertly observing the progress of the hunting pack so that he, as the alter ego hunted target, can take the necessary steps to remain out of reach.

"The police shall never catch me because I have been too clever for them." Is this in part his brag that he is playing this game for both teams at the same time so knows just what the hunters team are doing all the time so his role of the hunted can adapt and respond accordingly?

Richard

4/21/2015 09:10:10 pm

Yes, I believe it is totally plausible regarding the phrases he used. It sounds like the classic case of someone who may have wanted to join the police, but was rejected or possibly fired, harbouring resentment toward authority. At Blue Rock Mageau even thought it was a copper, based on the vehicle parking to the rear, the flashlight etc. The fact he enjoyed 'needling the blue pigs' suggests a resentment, either having been nabbed by them before or being rejected by them. It would certainly lend weight to the fact that Lake Herman Road was not his first crime, serial killers rarely begin at the deep end. "The police shall never catch me because I have been too clever for them.", seems rhetorical, suggestive that they once believed he once wasn't clever enough, maybe his literacy was the stumbling block, if not deliberate. He appeared to have some knowledge of forensics, however small. Some criminals always commit their crimes outside where leaving evidence behind is less likely, for example where less surfaces exist for fingerprint analysis, etc although he made a pigs ear at Presidio Heights. Maybe. Unless the fake clues were genuine. Going to start an unsolved serial murders section soon, starting with the Colonial Parkway Murders, where it was believed the perpetrator used the guise of law enforcement or a park ranger as a ruse to get the couples from the car. This was partly Zodiac like, not Zodiac mind, couples at night, lovers lane, approaching the car, mostly rural. But yes it may be over analyzing but it's a valid train of thought.

Alex link

4/22/2015 05:10:38 am

Rich It will likely appear to you that I completely ignored your replies to my initial message today and just posted another after your comments but it isn't that Rich at all. I had written the entire post earlier not too long after the first and had gone for dinner and came back and just wrote the last few lines and hit send. Because I hadn't refreshed the page for hours I could not see any replies after my comment I had made untill I hit submit, then it posted my second message relating to the Z's police like jargon and my comment went up and then, with the page refreshed, I saw your several replies and I knew straight away that now it will simply appear that I've ignored your responses and ranted on about 'Up to the end of Oct I have killed..' letter.

Just wanted to post this Rich to explain the seemingly outright ignoring of your replies lol. I read them straight after and I will, at the completion of this post, re-read your responses and respond.

Just wanted to explain that Rich because some already declare myself to be obnoxious, and if I had just ignored your posts mate, they'd be justified in declaring me as such.

PS. I am going to file another FOIA this evening for the release of redacted suspect ID'd by Eight year old witness in Stines murder. I've asked twice, first they gave me a response in which they had released a previously redacted name, but not the specific one I asked for and the second and most recent one, they seem to simply be ignoring and not responded at all in the 18 months to two years since I filed it. That in itself is A first, all other occasions where they have not found any results on the info I supplied or even when they do find it but are able to release it, they have always wrote me a letter each time to let me know. This one, nothing.

I think this name and/or Identification of someone is, if not probably likely to be, then at the very least it's possibly likely to be the missing piece to this Puzzle.
Now this will be taken by some to be somewhat controversial, even wildly speculative in the absence of knowing any of the surrounding detail, but I'll say it none the less. I am of the opinion now, based on a couple of observations, that the name concealed from our eyes in that one sentence that starts 'FOR ATTN. OF IDENT DIVISION...' is the name and identity of the Zodiac, or at the very least, the one Zodiac that took Pauls Life. I am undecided on the Zodiac's rather than A Zodiac Theory.

Richard

4/22/2015 05:54:44 am

I never thought anything of it Alex. I sent you an email and the 8 year old witness story is the sort of thing I am less familiar with. I know about it, just not a lot and you will understand this is what I'm looking for, something new, you'll understand when you receive it.

Alex link

4/27/2015 03:39:34 am

I am having issues with my email Rich, for the moment I am only able to access the inbox via my mobile phone. I didn't notice an email from you but i'll now go back and look specifically for an email from you.

Alex link

4/27/2015 03:44:05 am

I found it Rich. I'll reply to it now. Thanks for letting me know you emailed cause I would have missed that email using mobile version to read them. Answer the question you asked me via email now mate.

lone wolfe

12/2/2015 12:58:29 pm

ZODIAC KILLER well he is clever, He was at the park....no really but don't you see people, the way ZODIAAC speak is to make us believe lies and disguise the thinker, I hear many suspects but tell me....where are the weapons? the hand-writter is unique don't get confuse the number one suspect is: LAREWNCE KANE..please be smart..why took so long to kill DONNA LASS? now stop and think... ARTHUR LEIGHT ALLEN..... where are the weapons? or sure I say: where are the "SOUVERNIRS"????!!!! some one can answer my question???? aja!

Alex Lewis

12/5/2015 02:48:37 pm

"ZODIAC KILLER well he is clever,,," Genius! A Genius in a pair or wing-walkers He was!

" He was at the park,,," Sad isn't it, He is A Fugitive that nobody will play on the sea-saw with. I mean did He not declare "I have grown rather angry with the SFPD for their refusing to play on the sea-saw with me, so I shall no longer sit on one end in parks and have a serious fall-off accident.'

"where are the weapons?" Same place as my own sanity, lost and unlikely to return any time soon.

": LAREWNCE KANE..please be smart..why took so long to kill DONNA LASS?" I know, I am disappointed He didn't stick to your timeline and logic, too.

" now stop and think... " NO! That can be deadly!

"some one can answer my question????" Yes but it won't be me. I shall refer you to my secuterary Mr Oz, Wizard Of.

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PRESIDIO HEIGHTS REVISITED

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