ZODIAC CIPHERS
RICHARD GRINELL, COVENTRY, ENGLAND
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A VENTURE INTO DARKNESS

2/7/2025

 
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There is good argument to be had that the Zodiac Killer began the design of his July 31st 1969 letters and 408 cipher shortly after July 20th 1969, when the movie "Rampage" (1963), based loosely on "The Most Dangerous Game" (1932), was screened on television throughout the Bay Area. This was a film originally championed by movie posters, newspaper advertisements and the original Warner Brothers press book, carrying the slogans "The woman who was the most dangerous game of all", "The screen's mightiest excitements go on the rampage", "Big, Bold, Bob Mitchum is on a Rampage", "They lived, loved and fought by the code of the jungle" and "His code was to snare everything". It isn't difficult to see how the Zodiac Killer would then create a trinity of letters carrying the message that "man is the most dangerous animal of all" and that he would "go on a kill rampage". part enciphered within a code. This film, screened on American television just eleven days earlier, even had crosshairs featured in the opening credits of the movie. 

However, this movie was likely the inspiration for the Zodiac Killer to delve into the newspaper archives and conduct some research into the original film "The Most Dangerous Game" (1932), using tools such as library microfiche. I recreated this possible research and looked for the phrase "man is the most dangerous animal of all" from 1690 to 1969 and found only one result in 1932.

PicturePress-Enterprise newspaper, November 24th 1966
​Merian C. Cooper, the associate producer of "The Most Dangerous Game" was interviewed upon its release, and he was quoted as saying "man is the most dangerous animal of all". The Zodiac Killer had effectively plagiarized this quote and embedded it into his code. It turned out that Merian C. Cooper, an avid game hunter and explorer, had done something similar, taking the phrase from a quote by Frederick "Fritz" Joubert Duquesne, another game hunter. 

​Frederick "Fritz" Joubert Duquesne had previously stated that "The most dangerous animal of all to capture is the gorilla", that was likely picked up by Merian C. Cooper because he was working on the movie "King Kong" at the same time he was involved in the making of "The Most Dangerous Game". "King Kong" was directed and produced by Merian C. Cooper.

​Frederick "Fritz" Joubert Duquesne and Merian C. Cooper had both worked for RKO Pictures inside of one year from one another. The movie company behind both "The Most Dangerous Game" (1932) and "King Kong" (1933) was RKO Pictures.

It appears as though DNA and fingerprint analysis has failed to bridge the gap between Riverside and the Bay Area murders, as has analyzing the text of the Riverside communications to forge a conclusive link in language between southern and northern California. This left one final option: discovering a commonality in design between the lengthy Riverside Confession letter and the July 31st 1969 letters mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner and 
Vallejo Times-Herald. In other words, was there a recent trigger that caused the Confession letter author to delve into the library microfiche for suitable quotes from yesteryear? Long suspected to be based upon "The Most Dangerous Game" (1932), the 408 cipher author just happened to harvest the exact quote from its associate producer, spoken in 1932. What are the chances that the Confession letter author would find a equal length quote for his November 29th 1966 typed letter, harvested from the year of "Jack the Ripper" in 1888, after mimicking the wording from a recent newspaper article mentioning Cheri Jo Bates and "Jack the Ripper"? (see article clipping above).  

PictureMANY NEWSPAPERS, DEC 11TH 1888
The author of the Confession letter seemed to borrow phrases from The Press-Enterprise newspaper on November 24th 1966. The newspaper article generated in the above link stated that the man "grabbed her around the neck". The confession letter author typed "I grabbed her around the neck with my hand over her mouth". The newspaper article stated "I could just hit you in the head with this piece of wood". The confession letter author typed "She let out a scream once and I kicked her in the head to shut her up". Both the Confession letter author and the man featured in the above newspaper offered the woman a lift home. 
​

​After reading the newspaper article on November 24th 1966 quoting "Jack the Ripper", its easy to reconcile a Confession letter author typing "Ripper" like phrases such as "cut off her female parts and deposit them for the whole city to see", "finished the job out cutting her throat" and "I am stalking your girls now". Especially when the additional phrase of "it was about time for her to die", present in the Confession letter, could only be found in one newspaper article on December 11th 1888 (the year of "Jack the Ripper"), from newspaper archive searches spanning 1690 to 1966. December 11th 1888 being the same day it was reported that "Jack the Ripper" had possibly "cut the throat" of a woman on Bermondsey Street in London, causing great excitement in the neighborhood. 

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  1. Here is the newspaper article entitled "The Sturdy Beggar" featured in the Evening Bulletin newspaper from Providence, Rhode Island on December 11th 1888. The attacker in this instance motioned towards a possible knife in his pocket and threatened that "it was about time for her to die", just like the Confession letter author who typed "I said it was about time for her to die. I grabbed her around the neck with my hand over her mouth and my other hand with a small knife at her throat". 
It was believed that "Jack the Ripper" would grab his victims around the neck before drawing the knife across their throat to prevent any screaming. A gruesome scenario exemplified by a Confession letter which undoubtedly rejoiced in the cruelty of murder. Who then promised to remove body parts and display them for the whole city to see. 

On July 31st 1969, we effectively have the Zodiac Killer using a quote from Merian C. Cooper, the associate producer of "The Most Dangerous Game" in 1932, only eleven days after the "Rampage" movie appeared on US television screens, that used a phrase based upon the Merian C. Cooper quote in its advertising. On November 29th 1966 we have an author commenting on the murder of Cheri Jo Bates, five days after a newspaper article featuring Cheri Jo Bates and "Jack the Ripper", using a quote from the "Jack the Ripper" era of 1888 in the form of 
"it was about time for her to die", and promising to "cut off her female parts and deposit them for the whole city to see". The Zodiac Killer and an unknown author using "man is the most dangerous animal of all" and "it was about time for her to die" from 1932 and 1888 respectively, less than two weeks after the "Rampage" (1963) movie and a "Jack the Ripper" quote in a newspaper article concerning Cheri Jo Bates. I find it difficult to believe in this many coincidences being accidental. This may be the product of one individual using the same technique in 1966 and 1969.  

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As far as can be ascertained, it appears as though the white Chevrolet Impala described by Robert Connelly, Frank Gasser and Bingo Wesner in the Lake Herman Road police report never made it into the newspapers. This may have been held back to not encourage the driver of this vehicle to distance themself from it, as they attempted to track it down. However, subsequent to the second attack at Blue Rock Springs, the description of this vehicle, allied with the description of the man given by Michael Mageau, may have been useful in the public domain to gain assistance that was badly needed by police. Somebody may have known of an individual who had recently sold (or no longer drove) such a vehicle, had this person attempted to part company with the Chevrolet. A revised search could also have been done after Presidio Heights, when new descriptions of the killer were submitted by three sets of eyewitnesses within minutes of one another. 

This individual parked the Chevrolet Impala in the Lake Herman Road turnout sometime prior to 9pm and 10pm on December 20th 1968 and wandered off into the night, before returning. Had this been the Zodiac Killer hunting for victims in the adjoining fields, the description of a pencil flashlight mounted on a gun now doesn't seem so fanciful. Apart from the eyewitnesses in the police report, only the Zodiac Killer would have known of this vacant Chevrolet Impala (had it been his). In other words, the Zodiac Killer may have brought up the notion of gun-mounted illumination, because he knew the hunt for victims initially extended beyond the turnout perimeter. An additional source of illumination that wouldn't have been required had the Zodiac Killer arrived at the turnout shortly after 11pm and remained within the confines of the turnout throughout. His murder of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen could easily have been achieved in a similar manner to that used at Blue Rock Springs, employing the headlights from his vehicle and/or a handheld flashlight to illuminate his victims from close range. The use of a pencil flashlight buys into the notion of a hunter stalking the surrounding fields of Lake Herman, along with his use of the phrase "man is the most dangerous animal of all" in the 408 cipher, plagiarized from the words of two big game hunters in Merian C. Cooper and ​Frederick "Fritz" Joubert Duquesne, who both worked for RKO Pictures in the 1930s.

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The vacant white Chevrolet Impala close to 9pm, and sometime after 10pm coincides with Robert Connelly and Frank Gasser hunting raccoons in the adjoining field, so this may explain why the owner of the Chevrolet Impala decided to abandon his plans for murder during this time period (to possibly target Bingo Wesner or another). The thought of encountering two hunters was probably something he hadn't bargained for, resulting in him leaving twice and arriving for a final time shortly after 11pm.

​This time he saw David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen parked up in their Rambler, making any venture into the surrounding fields unnecessary. No wonder he wrote on August 4th 1969 "there was no need to use the gun sights.  All I had to do was spray them as if it was a water hose". There was never any need to use gun sights in the turnout - but for a hunter stalking his prey in the fields of Lake Herman at distance, having left his vehicle for a protracted length of time - the marksmanship provided by gun sights would have come in much more useful. A Zodiac Killer driving a 1959/1960 white Chevrolet Impala, that he was only too glad to concede was brown in the very same letter.  

ARE THE 1990 AND 2001 CARDS ONE AUTHOR?

1/31/2025

 
Picture1990 EUREKA CARD
It is practically impossible to look at the envelope of the December 1990 Eureka card from the standpoint of handwriting and determine whether this communication was mailed by the Zodiac Killer. The only way to significantly shift the needle on its authenticity or otherwise, is to compare it to other Zodiac communications, irrespective of whether these other communications have been authenticated or not. It is possible to compare two "questionable" Zodiac communications and make a case that both are genuine. It must be remembered that the January 10th 2001 Happy New Year card mailed by somebody claiming to be the Zodiac Killer was created without the knowledge of the 1990 Eureka card, because the Eureka card wasn't made public until 2007 (if different authors). .

The author of the 2001 card decided not to mimic any previous confirmed Zodiac communications (envelopes) that were publicly available to them, and opted to use the full newspaper address of "San Francisco Chronicle", never done previously in any Zodiac Killer communication widely accepted as genuine by the Zodiac community. However, it was done by the 1990 Eureka card author eleven years previously. The author of the 2001 card chose to use "901 Mission Street" on the envelope, never done previously by the Zodiac Killer. However, it was done by the 1990 Eureka card author. The author of the 2001 card chose to use the zip code of "94103" on the envelope, never done previously by the Zodiac Killer. However, it was done by the 1990 Eureka card author.

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Picture2001 card. Click to enlarge
The only two times a real or questioned Zodiac communication began by using the word "Editor" at the beginning of the envelope, followed by "San Francisco Chronicle" were in 1990 and 2007. Both of these communications used only one punctuation, in the form of a comma after "San Francisco" on the fourth line. These were the only two communications addressed to the San Francisco Chronicle and suggested as Zodiac Killer mailings, that were festive greeting cards. So we have two festive greeting cards, beginning by addressing the "Editor" of the newspaper, with the full newspaper title of "San Francisco Chronicle", "901 Mission Street", the zip code "94103" and only one punctuation in the form of a comma after "San Francisco", who were apparently two different authors that decided to use no mimicry of earlier Zodiac communications, yet managed to copy each other in all these instances. Yet they did opt to mimic the "y" style number "4" used by the Zodiac Killer in his confirmed communications. A very strange affair indeed.    

​However, the letter mailed on May 6th 1986, four years before the 1990 Eureka card (and not publicly released), also began by using "Editor" on the first line of the envelope, followed by the full address of "San Francisco Chronicle". In fact, the 1986 envelope began with "To the Editor", similar in fashion to the 2001 Happy New Year card that began with "Letters To The Editor". The 1986 letter can be connected to the 1987 letter, which can be connected to the July 31st 1969 letter to the Vallejo Times-Herald. The 1986, 1990 and 2007 mailings are the only communications publicly available now, all consecutive to one another, that all begin by using "Editor" on the first line of the address, followed by the full newspaper title of "San Francisco Chronicle".     

The question we have to ask is this: Did two independent and separate hoaxers just happen to mimic each other in 1990 and 2007, but neither made any reasonable effort to imitate the previous communications of the Zodiac Killer? Was the author of the 1990 and 2007 communications the same hoaxer, who never made any reasonable effort to imitate the previous communications of the Zodiac Killer? Or was it the Zodiac Killer who authored both festive greetings cards, who placed no emphasis on attempting to imitate himself? A hoaxer of the Zodiac Killer, by his very nature, should want to imitate previous communications to convince the reader he is the real deal, but the actual Zodiac Killer has no such obligation because he is genuine article. In other words, a hoaxer of the Zodiac Killer communications, who fails to hoax properly, may not be a hoaxer.  

SEARCHING FOR STRAYS IN THE NIGHT

1/28/2025

 
The one thing I noticed in the Zodiac Killer's trinity of letters to the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner and Vallejo Times-Herald on July 31st 1969, was when he mentioned the Vallejo Times-Herald first he used the present tense, but when he referred to the San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Examiner newspapers he used the past tense, possibly revealing subconsciously that Vallejo was in his "here and now", while San Francisco was somewhere he had mailed his letters but had now returned home. Indicating he was a resident of Vallejo. 

Vallejo Times-Herald: "Here is a cyipher or that is part of one. the other 2 parts have been mailed to the S.F. Examiner + the S.F. Chronicle."
San Francisco Examiner: "Here is a cipher or that is part of one. The other 2 parts are being mailed to the Vallejo Times + S.F. Chronicle." 
San Francisco Chronicle: "Here is part of a cipher the other 2 parts of this cipher are being mailed to the editors of the Vallejo Times and SF Examiner." 
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I also noticed that in his San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Examiner letters he wrote "I will cruse around killing people who are alone at night untill Sun Night or un till I kill a dozen people" and "I will cruse around all weekend killing lone people in the night then move on to kill again, until I end up with a dozen people over the weekend". In both instances the Zodiac Killer described his potential victims in the singular of "lone" and "alone" (which Paul Stine was}.

​When he wrote to the Vallejo Times-Herald he stated "
I will cruse around and pick of all stray people or coupples that are alone then move on to kill some more untill I have killed over a dozen people". In this instance he added the words "stray" and "couples" to his communication. Did this specific deviation of language show a greater familiarity with the area of Vallejo and where he might find his victims? In his first two attacks that he attributed to Vallejo, he shot two couples. However, he also chose to add the word "stray" into his language, to give the impression of a victim who is lost or distant. The word "stray" is often used as a verb to describe someone who wanders away from a path or area. 

If the Zodiac Killer was the owner of the driverless white Chevrolet Impala spotted by Robert Connelly & Frank Gasser at 9pm in the Lake Herman Road turnout. and later at 10pm by sheepherder Bingo Wesner, then it is not illogical to consider that its driver had vacated the vehicle and entered the surrounding fields on more than one occasion. 
Anybody reading the numerous Lake Herman Road newspaper articles would have been aware that one eyewitness reported seeing a second vehicle in the turnout with the Faraday Rambler, but nobody would have been aware of the empty Chevrolet Impala parked in the turnout at 9pm and 10pm on December 20th 1968, except each of the eyewitnesses that night, and probably the killer. If the occupant of this vehicle had traveled into the adjoining fields on two occasions, looking for victims, they would have required additional illumination such as a carry flashlight or gun-mounted flaslight.

PictureBingo George Wesner, in later years
​If this was the murderer's vehicle he would have known this. Therefore, the claims of the August 4th 1969 letter writer stating he used a pencil flashlight for extra illumination, is extremely noteworthy. Extra illumination would not have been required in the turnout when you have the use of headlights from your vehicle, along with the illumination from within each vehicle. Also, extra illumination would certainly not have been required if the murderer had kept the couple penned inside their vehicle. The only person that would have required additional illumination (either carried or gun-mounted) would have been somebody venturing into the fields surrounding the turnout. Such as the driver of the white Chevrolet Impala, who apparently never came forward. ​

There is a distinct possibility that this Chevrolet owner wrote the "Debut of Zodiac" letter, because this person had a viable reason to carry additional illumination as he distanced himself from his vehicle that night. Not once, but twice, on a freezing dark night in Benicia. Possibly an individual, who on July 31st 1969, would promote the idea of hunting humans in the wilderness because it was more fun than killing wild game in the forest.   

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Was the Zodiac Killer familiar with the area of Lake Herman Road, as his indignant rebuttal of police on August 4th 1969 may have suggested, when he wrote "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 surrounded by high hills + trees".  

​Any previous experience of traveling this route could have presented him with a possible target in a rural setting, such as a "stray" person like sheepherder Bingo Wesner, whose routine would have been fairly regular. Having second thoughts of attacking Bingo Wesner in the field because of the presence of Robert Connelly & Frank Gasser armed with weapons, did the Zodiac Killer abandon his plans and later return for a third time, finding David Faraday & Betty Lou Jensen in the turnout? The Zodiac wrote on July 31st 1969 to the Vallejo Times-Herald that "I will cruse around and pick of all stray people or coupples that are alone". Having failed with the "stray" person on December 20th 1968, did he choose the couple?​

​​The reason I bring this up, is because of the possibility that the Zodiac Killer allowed details of his life and experiences to subconsciously leak into his letters. Why did he insert the word "stray" into his language when "couples" and "alone" (or even "lone") would have sufficed in his Vallejo Times-Herald letter? The word "stray" gives the impression of a person who is off the beaten track. Sheepherding is one of the oldest occupations in the world. Shepherds are often required to work long hours, live independently in isolated areas, and be able to perform tasks without close supervision. ​The very nature of their job is locating and herding "stray" sheep into the flock. If the Zodiac Killer had initially targeted sheepherder Bingo Wesner that night, did his knowledge of this cause the word "stray" to subconsciously drop into his letter when referring to victims he identified as targets? "Stray people" such as Bingo Wesner, who tended to "stray sheep" away from the beaten track.

SHIFTING THE TIMELINE AT LAKE HERMAN ROAD

1/28/2025

 
​Stella Medeiros, after discovering the Lake Herman Road crime scene on December 20th 1968, "raced" off toward Benicia Police Station to seek help. Before she reached the police staton she noticed Captain Daniel Pitta by the Enco Gas Station at 1925 East 2nd Street and flagged him down. Captain Daniel Pitta in his police report recorded the time as 11:25pm, so with a simple calculation, law enforcement deducted her 5 minute journey time over the 3.4 miles to calculate that she passed the Lake Herman Road crime scene at approximately 11:20pm. I believe this time is way off, as does Ray Grant.
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PictureInvestigators at the crime scene
After discovering the crime scene Stella Medeiros claimed she drove to Benicia at 60 to 70mph (which at the lower end speed would have taken approximately 3 1/2 minutes). She stated that she left her home (1.5 miles west of the turnout) after noticing the kitchen clock read 11:10pm. This clock was determined to be one minute fast, so the time was actually 11:09pm. However, she was still in the kitchen at the time and traveled to Benicia with her mother-in-law and daughter, so we can add that minute back on in order to get the family into her vehicle and onto Lake Herman Road (now 11:10pm).

​At a slow speed of 30mph, the journey time from her residence to the turnout is about 3 minutes. If we now add this 3 minutes to the time she took from the turnout to the Enco Gas Station of 3 1/2 minutes, we get a total journey time of 6 1/2 minutes. The time should have been 11:16:30pm when she flagged down police at the Enco Gas Station, not 11:25pm as recorded in the Daniel Pitta police report. There is a massive discrepancy of 8 1/2 minutes. If we left these timings alone (and kept the time of 11:14pm that James Owen was thought to have passed the turnout), Stella Medeiros would actually have passed the turnout before James Owen. Now that would shake up the whole story. 

PictureBetty Lou Jensen
It is highly unlikely Stella Medeiros was driving at speeds of 60 to 70mph on an unlit road, with the temperature in the police report recorded at 22°F (-5°C) that night, with her mother-in-law and daughter in the car. She had spotted the body of Betty Lou Jensen on the turnout floor, but belting around at the speeds she claimed would have been putting her own family at risk, so I suspect these speeds were slightly exaggerated. Allowing for a slightly slower speed and a little more than one minute to leave the kitchen, seat her family members in the car and enter Lake Herman Road, I have added 1 1/2 minutes to the overall journey time. She would now be flagging down Captain Daniel Pitta at 11:18pm, but this is still 7 minutes shy of 11:25pm recorded in his police report. 

According to Captain Daniel Pitta's police report, it was claimed that they arrived at the turnout at 11:28pm. A journey time of 3 minutes for him to travel 3.4 miles from the Enco Gas Station to the turnout, would have required him traveling at 68mph. However, 11:25pm was the time he recorded that Stella Medeiros flagged him down, not the time he headed to the crime scene. She had to approach the police car and relay to Captain Daniel Pitta what she had observed and where. He had to register her information and take down her details at the Enco Gas Station (name & address), before relaying this information to the Benicia Police Department. Even if this had somehow taken a meagre one minute, he would now only have 2 minutes to reach the crime scene at 11:28pm, traveling at 102mph. The timings are wrong at this end   

PictureSite of the Enco Station. Click for Google maps.
If we stretch the timeline a little further, allowing Stella Medeiros another 2 minutes leeway, she would now arrive at the Enco Gas Station at 11:20pm. We shall now give 3 minutes to the interaction between Stella Medeiros and Captain Daniel Pitta at the Enco Gas Station, and 5 minutes for Captain Daniel Pitta to reach the crime scene (the same time they calculated it took Stella Medeiros to travel from the crime scene to the Enco Gas Station). This means that 8 minutes would have elapsed between Stella Medeiros flagging down the police and Captain Daniel Pitta arriving at the crime scene at 11:28pm. Wringing everything from this timeline, it pours huge doubt on Stella Medeiros being anywhere near the turnout at 11:20pm, as claimed in the police reports and most Zodiac circles. If any error has been made, it probably lies in the interaction time at the Enco Gas Station. If the police took as correct the time given to them from the kitchen clock of Stella Medeiros, then it could have never taken her 11 minutes to leave the kitchen of her home at 11:09pm and pass the Lake Herman Road turnout at 11:20pm.

Factoring everything into the equation, I have estimated that Stella Medeiros left her kitchen at 11:09pm, entered Lake Herman Road at about 11:11pm, and passed the turnout no later than 11:14pm, to arrive at the Enco Gas Station at 11:19pm. Her interaction with Captain Daniel Pitta lasted upwards of 4 minutes until 11:23pm, before he headed off to the crime scene, arriving and parking up at approximately 11:27 or 11:28pm. Stella Medeiros would have left her home and passed the turnout at the higher estimate of 5 minutes she originally claimed in the police report. The police report stated that "she left her home and arrived at the area (turnout) four or five minutes later. She estimated between 11:14 and 11:15pm".

PictureRay Grant, Zodiac researcher
James Owen (see map below) stated that he had left him home at 1735 Mini Drive in Vallejo at 11:00pm and passed the Lake Herman Road turnout at 11:20pm, but after it was discovered that his clock was six minutes fast, his turnout passing was amended to 11:14pm. But like Ray Grant, I believe it was several minutes earlier. Ray Grant balanced the speed of James Owen to 35mph, equidistant between 30 and 40mph. With his clock time adjusted to 10:54pm, the 9.1 mile journey from his home to the turnout is calculated as 14 minutes on Google maps. This would have James Owen passing the turnout at 11:08pm.

​However, he too had to leave his home and enter his vehicle. Allowing one minute for this task, he would have begun his journey at approximately 10:55pm, to arrive at the turnout at 11:09pm. To accomplish this, I calculated this to an average speed of 39mph. Ray Grant calculated a 15 minute 36 second journey from 10:54pm, traveling at 35mph, to arrive at the turnout at about 11:09:30pm. If James Owen began his journey at 10:55pm, traveling at a modest 35mph, he passes the turnout at 11:10:30pm. At a slightly higher speed of 40mph, he passes the turnout at 11:08:30pm. I estimate the time was somewhere around 11:09pm, in near agreement with Ray Grant. The window of the Zodiac Killer to now commit the murders would narrow to 5 minutes. 

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SPOONERISMS AND KNIFERISMS

1/26/2025

 
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When the Zodiac Killer composed his "Exorcist" letter on January 29th 1974, he was likely comparing the "satirical comedy" of "The Mikado" stage play with "The Exorcist" movie by writing "I saw + think "The Exorcist" was the best saterical comidy that I have ever seen". But did he create a "spoonerism" by switching the "i" and "e" from "satirical comedy" to play a practical joke on the audience? More accurately described as a "kniferism", he wrote "saterical comidy". A kniferism is a type of spoonerism that involves switching the vowels between words or syllables to change the meaning. By writing "signed, yours truley" and then choosing the Tit-Willow verse from "The Mikado" which contained "My name is", was the Zodiac Killer suggesting that his name could be found within the verse?

The Zodiac Killer may have noticed that "The Exorcist" movie was directed by William Friedkin, based on a novel by William Peter Blatty, and that William Shwenck Gilbert was responsible for the libretto of "The Mikado" (text of the musical work). Was this why he chose "Tit-Willow" because it contained "Will" within its text, effectively giving us "William" four times within one communication? The Zodiac Killer chose the introduction of "best saterical comidy" based upon "The Exorcist" movie winning four awards at the Golden Globe ceremony at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California on January 26th 1974,  for "Best Film", "Best Director", "Best Supporting Actress" and "Best Screenplay". Therefore, it was just coincidental that the novelist William Peter Blatty and director William Friedkin had the same forename as William Shwenck Gilbert, because he featured "The Mikado" on July 26th 1970, when he gave us more verses from the stage play. This wasn't something he could have manufactured, but it was something he could have noticed, thereby inspiring him to apply a type of "spoonerism" and altering "best satirical comedy" to "best saterical comidy" in his introduction. This may have been deliberate, because this "spoonerism" gave us our fifth William. 

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William Archibald Spooner (July 22nd 1844 to August 29th 1930) was a British clergyman and long-serving Oxford don. He was most notable for his absent-mindedness, and for supposedly mixing up the syllables in a spoken phrase, with unintentionally comic effect. Such phrases became known as spoonerisms, and are often used humorously. Many spoonerisms have been invented and attributed to Spooner. William Spooner was well liked and respected, described as "an albino, small, with a pink face, poor eyesight, and a head too large for his body". It was said that "his reputation was that of a genial, kindly, hospitable man". In the opinion of Roy Harrod, Spooner exceeded all the heads of Oxford and Cambridge colleges he had known "having regard to his scholarship, devotion to duty, and wisdom".  Wikipedia.

​It would have been apt for the Zodiac Killer to use a "comedic spoonerism" when writing the 
"best saterical comidy". It may have been one big game for the Zodiac Killer, who seemingly liked taunting his pursuers with a plethora of cryptic puzzles. 

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"SATIRICAL OPERETTA WILL OPEN FRIDAY"

1/25/2025

 
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Over the weekend of March 13th 1971 numerous calls poured into the Dublin Police Department saying they had seen the infamous Zodiac Killer, days before the Zodiac Killer's Los Angeles letter, mailed in Pleasanton, was released into the newspapers. Pleasanton borders the city of Dublin, situated 40 miles (about 50 minutes journey time by car) from San Francisco. Not only were these sightings a considerable distance from San Francisco, from where the Zodiac Killer usually mailed his letters, but these sightings and letter were 4 1/2 months removed from the last Zodiac communication. Therefore, an uptick in sightings of the Zodiac Killer, at a time and location corresponding to the mailing of a Zodiac letter, has to carry some significance. 

Just under three years later, on January 29th 1974, the Zodiac Killer yet again deviated from San Francisco by mailing a letter from either San Mateo or Santa Clara County. There is good reason why I would like to focus on the possibility that his "Exorcist" letter was mailed in Santa Clara County, in which San Jose is the county seat and largest city. 

The Exorcist letter began in mocking fashion with the writing "I saw + think "The Exorcist" was the best saterical comidy that I have ever seen". The Zodiac Killer's letter was almost certainly a reaction to "The Exorcist" film winning four awards at the Golden Globe ceremony at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California on January 26th 1974,  for "Best Film", "Best Director", "Best Supporting Actress" and "Best Screenplay". However, the Zodiac Killer didn't describe the movie as "the best comidy", he described it as "the best saterical comidy", by adding the word "satirical" into the phrase. This doesn't come as much of a surprise, because the Zodiac Killer was equating "The Exorcist" movie with the satirical comedy "The Mikado", which followed on from this introduction (by citing a Tit-Willow verse). Despite the Zodiac Killer likening these two productions through humor, they didn't comfortably sit alongside each other in one communication. 

PictureSunday Mercury News, January 13th 1974
What reminded the Zodiac Killer of "The Mikado" theater play 3 1/2 years after he had previously referenced it on July 26th 1970? Especially in a communication that capitalized on the recent release of "The Exorcist" movie on December 26th 1973. Had the Zodiac Killer attended a performance of "The Mikado" or read about one in recent weeks? Enabling him to marry the two productions together.    

​If he had, I would expect this performance to have taken place in Santa Clara County in January, to have featured prominently in the newspaper to catch the Zodiac's eye, and to have the word "satirical" front and center of the article. The following newspaper cutting is from the "Sunday Mercury News" in San Jose, Santa Clara County, advertising an upcoming production of "The Mikado" in four performances at the San Jose State University Workshop, from January 11th 1974 to January 13th 1974. Did the Zodiac Killer attend this production and mail his "Exorcist" letter from Santa Clara County, with the inserted word "satirical", to unveil his recent movements? Or at the very least, to suggest that he had recently watched the operetta at the San Jose State University? The Zodiac Killer usually composed his letters by utilizing recent newspaper articles, but was this one of them?

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SUNDAY MERCURY NEWS

THE ROBERT GRAYSMITH "i AM IN CONTROL OF ALL THINGS" CARTOON IN 1978

1/24/2025

 
PictureRobert Graysmith, author of "Zodiac" (1986}
On April 24th 1978, the San Francisco Chronicle received a letter from the Zodiac Killer stating "Dear Editor:​ This is the Zodiac speaking I am back with you. Tell herb caen I am here, I have always been here. That city pig toschi is good - but I am smarter and better he will get tired then leave me alone. I am waiting for a good movie about me. who will play me. I am now in control of all things".

Seventeen days later, on May 11th 1978, Robert Graysmith had a cartoon featured in the San Francisco Chronicle "Letters to the Editor" page. It depicted Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (leader of the Soviet Union) swinging from a tiger's tail, with the phrase "I am in control of all things" (with only the word "now" dropped from the April 24th 1978 letter).  

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In Robert Graysmith's book "Zodiac Unmasked" in 2002, he wrote of a typewritten letter mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle on July 19th 1978 (two months after his cartoon). It read "I am the ZODIAC and I am in control of all things. I am going to tell you a secret. I like friction tape. I like to have it around in case I need to truss someone up in a hurry....I have my real name on a small metallic tape. You see, while you have it in your possession, I want you to know it belongs to me and you think I may have left it accidentally. I am athletic. It could be swim fins, or a piece of scuba gear. But maybe you play chess with me. I have several cheap sets in closets all over. I have my name on the bottom of the lid with the scotch tape....My tape is waiting for me all over California. Do you know me? I am the ZODIAC and I am in control". 
PictureLeonid Ilyich Brezhnev
​The wording in this letter exactly mimicked the wording from the Robert Graysmith cartoon, also dispensing with the word "now". The day before this letter arrived, on July 18th 1978, the opening game in the World Chess Championship between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi took place in the Philippines. Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi were two Soviet Union chess grandmasters. The story of their drawn match featured in the Santa Cruz Sentinel newspaper on July 18th 1978, alongside a Zodiac Killer story entitled "SF Chief Says Inspector Didn't Write Zodiac Letter". The following day, the July 19th 1978 letter was mailed according to Robert Graysmith. It carried the phrase "But maybe you play chess with me. I have several cheap sets in closets all over". This means we have a possible connection between the beginning of the World Chess Championship featuring two Soviet Union grandmasters and the phrase "I am in control of all things" from a cartoon featuring the Soviet Union leader, ​Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev.

So did Robert Graysmith copy most of the phrase from the April 24th 1978 "Zodiac" letter to use in his cartoon on May 11th 1978, subconsciously leaking the "I am in control of all things" phrase and the "Soviet Union" theme of the cartoon into a forged letter on July 19th 1978, the day after two "Soviet Union" grandmasters opened the World Chess Championship? Writing "But maybe you play chess with me". Did Robert Graysmith forge both letters on April 24th 1978 and July 19th 1978? Or did the Zodiac Killer author both letters - and Robert Graysmith plagiarized the Bay Area murderer? In later years Robert Graysmith spoke of the Zodiac Killer's "game of chess" with the police and newspapers. 

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"I HAVE MY NAME ON THE BOTTOM OF THE LID WITH THE SCOTCH TAPE"
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SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL, JULY 18TH 1978

WATCHING THE POLICE AT THE PAYPHONE

1/23/2025

 
Most of the following has been covered before, but I felt it was important to take a deeper look at the Blue Rock Springs attack.
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Page 7 of the police report read "On initial arrival, RO requested by radio an ambulance and an investigator at the scene & upon returning to Off. Hoffmann RO went to assistance of subject on ground, as Off. Hoffman was with a subject that was sitting on left front seat behind wheel that was also injured. This subject later identified as Darlene E. Ferrin, WF, 19, of 864 Beechwood. On preliminary examination of Mageau, it was apparent that he had been shot a number of times, he had blood all over his face & blood coming from his mouth as well as his left leg with blood. RO said it was necessary to question subject inspite of the fact the subject was in great pain. Subject was coherent & RO asked him, "do you know who shot you?" & he replied "no". RO then asked Mageau to give some type of description & he replied that he can't. RO then asked a series of questions & was told by Mageau that the responsible was a white male, young, heavy set by himself & that he was in a brown vehicle".  

Shortly after responding officers arrived at the Blue Rock Springs parking lot they had a description of the perpetrator and the vehicle he was driving, given to them by a badly injured but "coherent" Michael Mageau. The Zodiac Killer must have known that there was a significant probability these details would be broadcast to all units in the immediacy after the crime was discovered. Despite his braggadocious nature claiming a "double murder" over the phone to Nancy Slover at 12:40am, he must have known that Michael Mageau was very much alive when he left the parking lot 38 minutes earlier. He even admitted as much in his August 4th 1969 letter, stating "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".   

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The Zodiac Killer knew that Michael Mageau was thrashing about very violently before he shot him in the knee - and he knew that a shot to the knee was not (in isolation) a terminal injury. So, it's with little doubt the Zodiac Killer left the parking lot that morning (12:02am) with the acute awareness that one of his victims was probably still alive and had the capability of giving details about him to police. The killer had spent upwards of two minutes in close proximity to Darlene Ferrin's Corvair and had fired off nine shots, therefore it's highly unlikely, knowing a victim may have survived, that he would casually drive around Vallejo (or park somewhere on the street) for approximately 40 minutes, before making a phone call at the Springs & Tuoloumne intersection in close proximity to the police station. Michael Mageau also reported to police that the assailant's vehicle had a California license plate. Is the Zodiac Killer really going to park himself and his vehicle only 833 feet from the police station, 40 minutes after a double shooting, with Michael Mageau likely still alive, who could have given police his license plate number? The Zodiac Killer was many things, but believe me, I sincerely doubt he was this stupid.  

The August 4th 1969 letter was carefully crafted to give police the impression he was still driving his vehicle. The Zodiac Killer stated "
When I hung the phone up the damn X@ thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me + my car". The addition of "my car" appears completely superfluous to this section of text, so was probably placed there to drive home the notion of him still being in his vehicle at the payphone, when in fact "drive home" is exactly what he did after leaving Blue Rock Springs.  ​

The Zodiac Killer was all about "proof" up to November 9th 1969. He gave us extensive details about his first two crimes on July 31st 1969, wrote on the car door of Bryan Hartnell at Lake Berryessa on September 27th 1969, mailed in a piece of a taxicab driver's shirt on October 13th 1969, and made two phone calls within an hour of the second and third attack. His words were testament to this, because when Vallejo Police Chief Jack Stiltz "urged the writer to send more letters, with more facts to prove his connections to the crimes", the Zodiac Killer immediately responded by giving more details about the Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs attacks. His October 13th 1969 letter stated "I am the murderer of the taxi driver over by Washington St + Maple St last night, to prove this here is a blood stained piece of his shirt", and his "Bus Bomb" letter on November 9th 1969 stated "To prove that I am the Zodiac, Ask the Vallejo cop about my electric gun sight which I used to start my collecting of slaves." He was fully cognisant of the fact that "proof" was required by the police for his claims to be taken seriously.
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​This was fully evident in the first part of his August 4th 1969 letter, when he was in the infancy of trying to prove he wasn't a liar. The letter described the car door closed and the window of the Corvair down at Blue Rock Springs when he first approached the vehicle, described the area his first shot was delivered to the body of Michael Mageau, and described (albeit slightly wrong) where he shot Mageau in the back seat. It would have made little sense to provide all these details on July 31st 1969 and August 4tth 1969, attempting to prove to police he was the responsible, to then blatantly lie about seeing a black man talking to police on July 5th 1969.

​He stated "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". If the police had not spoken to a "negro male" on July 5th 1969, then this would have been fairly obvious to them, and would have hurt Zodiac's previous claims. It is now clear that this "negro male" was not an invention by the Zodiac Killer to alibi his car being present at the payphone, it was a detailed description of a "negro male" offered by the writer of the letter, so that when police cross-checked with the officer who responded to the payphone that morning, the description given by the Zodiac Killer matched with that of the officer. He gave a detailed description of the black man's age and clothing to "prove" he was near the payphone when the officer responded from Blue Rock Springs.
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​The section of police report below describes a responding officer (RO) traveling from the crime scene to the payphone after being informed that the perpetrator had called police (12:40am). If the responding officer took 9 minutes to arrive at the payphone, a traced call at approximately 12:41am, would mean that the Zodiac Killer observed the interaction between the "negro male" and officer at about 12:50am. Long after he had finished talking to police dispatcher, Nancy Slover. The location of the payphone was the only logical place the Zodiac Killer could have seen police talking to anyone. Had the responding officer's superiors confirmed his interaction with "a negro about 40-45, rather shabbly dressed" at the payphone, it would have added credence to Zosiac's claims that the black man also saw his "brown car". A vehicle that was likely never at the payphone, because the Zodiac Killer had gone home after the attack, separated himself from his vehicle, changed his clothes, ditched his weapon, and walked back to the payphone to deliver his sinister message to Nancy Slover. If he was unlikely to be at the payphone at 12:40am with his vehicle, then he most certainly wouldn't have been at the payphone in his vehicle at 12:50am or beyond. Fifty minutes after a shooting that he couldn't have been certain both victims were dead.

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PictureNancy Slover
It appears that when the Zodiac Killer left the payphone at around 12:41am, he became aware that its location was going to be traced (how much the black man played in this is unknown), so he could easily have remained close by in the shadows (or viewed proceedings from a residence) to later recount in his letter the policeman by the payphone. This is probably the meaning behind his August 4th 1969 letter when he wrote "The man who told police that my car was brown was a negro about 40-45 rather shabbly dressed".

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If the "negro male" had passed him by at approximately 12:40am when he made the phone call to Nancy Slover, then it makes sense that this was the same man who spoke with police a short time later. Had police verified this by talking to the responding officer who arrived at the payphone, it would explain why the Zodiac Killer added his car into the equation. Because without a car - calling police from a payphone 38 minutes after the double shooting, from a location only 9 minutes from the crime scene, would have focused investigators attention to residences in close proximity to that payphone. Watching the police at the payphone at least 9 minutes after he finished the call with Nancy Slover, would have raised even more eyebrows. That is why the Zodiac Killer may have made special emphasis of his car and its color on August 4th 1969. 

If you are one of the people who doesn't believe the Zodiac Killer lived by the payphone (or in Vallejo), then you have to accept that the Zodiac Killer, who last described Michael Mageau thrashing around on the back seat and clearly not dead, just decided to hover around Vallejo for 38 minutes at the grave risk of capture. The police report on page 7 stated that police got the description of the shooter and his vehicle from Mageau just after they arrived (circa 12:20am) and broadcasted these details to all units. A Zodiac Killer driving around aimlessly in Vallejo (or parked up) was obviously never detected by police between 12:20am and 12:40am.. So had he concealed his vehicle at his residence to mitigate this risk? The idea that he drove out of Vallejo, only to return to the danger zone to make the phone call, also makes little sense. We have to accept, that in Zodiac's own words, Michael Mageau was last described as thrashing about on the back seat of the Corvair, just before he drove away from the crime scene. Knowing this was the case, why on earth would he choose to remain in his vehicle for the next 38 minutes and travel such a limited distance?     

1,000 FT CROSSHAIRS IN THE NEVADA DESERT

1/21/2025

 
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Many people have wondered what inspired the Zodiac Killer to choose his crosshairs symbol on July 31st 1969, with varied interpretations such as the Zodiac watch, gunsights or the Celtic Cross. What we can confidently state is that the Zodiac Killer used his crosshairs to pinpoint locations on maps. In his "Bus Bomb" letter on November 9th 1969 he placed five X's on the circumference of his crosshairs, which when tilted clockwise towards magnetic north and placed over Mount Diablo, near aligned with the atack sites he was currently claiming. On June 26th 1970 the Zodiac Killer placed his crosshairs on a map of San Francisco & Vicinity, making Mount Diablo the target of his bomb location puzzle. On March 22nd 1971 the Zodiac Killer placed his crosshairs around a punch-hole, which has been considered by investigators to be the burial location of Donna Lass, who went missing from Stateline, Nevada on September 6th 1970.

​In all three examples, the Zodiac Killer was using his crosshairs as a target on land mass. So, is it possible that the Zodiac Killer derived his symbol from a target on land mass, such as the mysterious crosshairs symbol found in the Nevada desert, measuring 1,000 feet by 1,000 feet? The crosshairs symbol just south of the Triangle Eye is believed to have been constructed from slabs of concrete and asphalt, and made as early as the 1950s by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.   

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CROSSHAIRS SYMBOL IN THE NEVADA DESERT. CLICK IMAGE TO ENTER GOOGLE MAPS.
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It is situated 20 miles south of the Tonopah Test Range, part of the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR), which is one of two military training areas at the Nellis Air Force Base Complex in Nevada and used by the United States Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis Air Force Base. The NTTR land area includes a "simulated Integrated Air Defense System", several individual ranges with 1200 targets, and 4 remote communication sites. The current NTTR area and the range's former areas have been used for aerial gunnery and bombing, for nuclear tests, as a proving ground and flight test area, for aircraft control and warning, and for Blue Flag, Green Flag, and Red Flag exercises. Wikipedia. 

Triangle Eye is within the Nevada Test and Training Range. The area is closed off to the general public so probably only see it from the air. These are artillery firing targets meant for "Circular Error Probable" and Time on Target related calibrations and training. During WW1 and WW2, it was found that most artillery kills happen within seconds of the attack starting, because once the artillery has started to impact, the soldiers are quickly rushing for cover. Because of this, artillery soldiers found that the best way to get optimal impact from artillery was to ensure that all shells landed roughly in the same area and at the same time, like a high-powered shotgun blast. These circles are used to determine how closely grouped the shells are, and because the ground is completely flat, it also allows for easy monitoring of the impacts to verify how close they are in time. If you look over the hills to the west, there is a similar circle that has more obvious impact markings. The circles are roughly 100 meters apart so it's easy to gauge how many shells land within 100 meters of the target. Link.

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These targets in the desert were used in training exercises to determine accuracy, which included the dropping of bombs onto crosshairs such as the one above. The Zodiac Killer would place a similar target upon Mount Diablo to help locate his bomb on June 26th 1970. The only reason I have brought all of this up, is because of the wording he chose in his following communication on August 4th 1969, when he was describing his methodology of targeting his victims using a pencil flashlight (described as an electric gun sight in his "Bus Bomb" letter on November 9th 1969).

​On August 4th 1969 he wrote "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". When the phrase in red (corrected for spelling) was typed into the newspaper archive, this sequence of ten words was only found in one newspaper previous to August 4th 1969, spanning 279 years. This exact same phrase was used in the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper on June 17th 1942 about wartime precautions in the event of a bombing raid from enemy planes (see below).​

On its own this means very little, but In three lengthy consecutive communications on November 29th 1966, July 31st 1969 and August 4th 1969, I found the quote ​"it was about time for her to die" from 1888, "man is the most dangerous animal of all" from 1932, and "darck spot in the center of the circle of light" from 1942. A newspaper article on November 24th 1966 mentioned Jack the Ripper and Cheri Jo Bates, and five days later in the Confession letter we had a Ripper style communication with "it was about time for her to die" from 1888 (found only once prior to 1966). The July 31st 1969 letters appeared to reference the movie "The Most Dangerous Game" from 1932, with the quote "man is the most dangerous animal of all" being uttered by Merian C. Cooper, the associate producer of the film, discovered in only three 1932 newspapers. Now we had the "darck spot in the center of the circle of light" from 1942. One could argue that the methodology of sourcing archival newspapers phrases on November 29th 1966, July 31st 1969 and August 4th 1969 for the purpose of fashioning a sinister letter (if this is what happened), was indicative of a single designer responsible for all three.

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THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER, JUNE 17TH 1942

FOUR TRAPPED PIECES OF GRAVEL

1/21/2025

 
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After the brutal murder of Cheri Jo Bates on October 30th 1966 the newspapers ran several articles giving limited details of the autopsy findings. Deputy Coroner Mike Reilly said it appeared as though the girl was punched several times in the face, yet the author of the Confession letter refused to take the easy option of regurgitating this information. Not once did the Confession letter author state that he punched Cheri Jo Bates in the face, instead choosing to type that he "kicked her in the head to shut her up". He didn't even capitalize on the multiple blows suggested by the Deputy Coroner. After looking again at the autopsy report in detail, the story told by the Confession letter author appears to be closer to the truth. Here are the key findings recorded at autopsy. Both of these entries came with criss-crossed abrasions to the chin and cheek, with associated blue-grey discoloration  The abrasions likely caused by the gravel against the face of Cheri Jo Bates as she was resisting being pushed into the driveway floor.

[1] A 2 cm oblique ragged edge fresh non gaping laceration of the upper lip on the left side, that angles laterally from above and extends completely through the thickness of the lip. The teeth behind are not loose or broken.

[2] An in line series of three fresh lacerations of the skin of the left cheek, angling from above in front slightly downward and posteriorly. The anterior is 2 cm long, the intermediate 0.5 cm long and the posterior one 2 cm long. The overall length is about 3 cm and all extend into the superficial subcutaneous tissue, but do not gape.
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When we look at the injuries to the face of Cheri Jo Bates below, we have four prominent wounds across the left side of her face: Three described as laceratuions across her left cheek (measuring 2cm, 0.5cm and 2cm), and one measuring 2cm across her left lip. While these may easily be interpreted as several punches to the face, all four of the "lacerations" are pretty much in line with each other, with three of the wounds all measuring 2cm in length. The wounds appear much more consistent with a single glancing kick across her face. Thereby not loosening or breaking any teeth.

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But how would a single glancing kick cause the injuries to her face observed at autopsy? Law enforcement stated that "the driveway adjacent to 3680 Terracina Street was so churned up it looked like a tractor had been over the ground. The girl, who was very athletic, put up a terrific struggle." Therefore, it isn't difficult to see how an attacker with shoes or boots could easily have got pieces of the gravel driveway transferred into the grooved treads of his footwear. These small pieces of gravel trapped in the grooves of the tread have the capacity to cause several serious in-line lacerations across a person's face when kicked at an angle. For example, if Cheri Jo Bates was lying on the driveway floor with her face upwards, a right-footed kick across her face could have easily caused these four injuries in close proximity to one another. Take a look at the following example, showing gravel wedged in the tread of a boot (represented by the white and red circles).    
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Obviously many factors are at play here. Three pieces of trapped gravel could be sitting slightly higher in the tread than a fourth piece, thereby staying in contact with the skin longer and producing 2cm lacerations, rather than the 0.5cm wound. A lot depends on the size of the pieces of gravel and angle the footwear makes contact with the face. All four pieces could conceivably be in the same tread line. But a glancing blow from footwear traveling in one direction, containing pieces of gravel, could easily produce four lacerations to the face in line with one another. The 2cm long wound to the upper left lip went completely through the thickness of the lip, yet didn't loosen or dislodge any teeth. This would be consistent with a glancing blow from footwear. As stated previously, the Confession letter author had every opportunity to use the autopsy findings of Mike Reilly (or should I say, his thoughts on the matter), to create a story of him brutally punching Cheri Jo Bates in the face many times. However, he rejected this opportunity in favor of one kick to the head, which is more consistent with the near parallel lacerations to the left cheek and upper lip of Cheri Jo Bates. Bearing in mind the braggadocious manner of his letter throughout, it seemed that the downplaying of the attack to her face when presented with a "several punches" scenario, could be argued as a typist telling the truth.  

THE "DARK SPOT IN THE CENTER" OF CLEVELAND

1/18/2025

 
PictureWayne Williams, convicted of two murders
On March 2nd 1981, a business reply envelope postmarked Cleveland, OH, bearing the press printed address "The Danbury Mint, Richards Avenue, P.O. Box 5260, Norwalk, Conn" was mailed with the message: "Please stop forced bussing or I will kill 3 more black boys in Atlanta in March". This business envelope came with an advertisement for miniature pewter models of classic automobiles, placed inside eighteen major Sunday newspapers on March 1st 1981 (see below). One of the newspapers this advertisement and business reply envelope was placed inside, was the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper. Bearing in mind that the sinister message threatening murder was written on an advertisement and postmarked Cleveland, it is extremely likely that the author of this message sourced their pre-printed envelope from the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper. 

Six days later, on 
March 8th 1981, a letter was mailed to the WXIA-TV station in Atlanta. It was signed "Zodiac" and carried the message "Hello its me. Haven't you people figured out who is killing these little people yet. I'll give you a hint, I used to be in San Francisco. I used to stalk women, but I like to kill children now. At all my victims bodies I have left certain clues, but I guess it's too much for you Rebels to handle. So I guess I'll have to tell you. I'll (to) kill children because they are so easy to "pick off: Buy the way, if you still have letters from the other murders, I am not writing in the same hand writing". View letter. 

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The author of this letter made references associated with the Paul Stine murder in Presidio Heights on October 11th 1969, by mentioning "I used to be in San Francisco", wrote that he would "pick off children" just like the October 13th 1969 letter from the Zodiac Killer, and had "left certain clues with his victims bodies", as he did when he wrote "If you wonder why I was wipeing the cab down I was leaving fake clews for the police to run all over town with". So it is particularly noteworthy that the Atlanta envelope contained small crosshairs in the upper left corner just like the October 13th 1969 envelope, which was not publicly available in 1981. These are the only two envelopes mailed in California carrying the "Zodiac" pseudonym, with these small crosshairs on the envelope. I doubt this was a fluke by the Atlanta author. Investigators believe that the March 2nd 1981 letter (from Cleveland) and March 8th 1981 letter (from Atlanta) are from the same author. I believe they are both from the Zodiac Killer.   

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If the Zodiac Killer had accessed the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper in 1981 and used material within it to mail one of his threatening letters, had he ever previously sourced from this newspaper in any his letters from July 31st 1969 to March 22nd 1971, which covered the bulk of his letter writing? Were there any key Zodiac phrases borrowed from the ​Cleveland Plain Dealer during the height of his terror? I managed to find the longest phrase yet (10 consecutive words) in a Zodiac letter that matched some wording from this same newspaper. I typed a phrase from the August 4th 1969 "Debut of Zodiac" letter into the newspaper archive and found it in only one newspaper in 334 years. Whether it has any relevance, or was a matter of chance, I really don't know.  
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​In three lengthy consecutive communications on November 29th 1966, July 31st 1969 and August 4th 1969, I found the quote ​"it was about time for her to die" from 1888, "man is the most dangerous animal of all" from 1932, and "darck spot in the center of the circle of light" from 1942. A newspaper article on November 24th 1966 mentioned Jack the Ripper and Cheri Jo Bates, and five days later in the Confession letter we had a Ripper style communication with "it was about time for her to die" from 1888 (found only once prior to 1966). The July 31st 1969 letters appeared to reference the movie "The Most Dangerous Game" from 1932, with the quote "man is the most dangerous animal of all" being uttered by Merian C. Cooper, the associate producer of the film, discovered in only three 1932 newspapers. The quote "darck spot in the center of the circle of light" was only found in one newspaper previous to August 4th 1969, spanning 279 years (see below).

​The "Debut of Zodiac" letter was referencing the targeting of kids with a pencil flashlight attached to a gun, whereas the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper from 1942 was referring to the targeting of cities with bombs. Both the Zodiac letter and Cleveland Plain Dealer also mentioned "the code". I fail to see why the Zodiac Killer would ever plagiarize such a newspaper article from June 17th 1942 about wartime precautions for an air raid, but I thought it was worthy of mention because of the seeming mimicry previously exhibited on November 29th 1966 and July 31st 1969. A trait, one could argue, that was specific to one individual and one mind. 

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THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER, JUNE 17TH 1942

THE TRIGGER THAT BEGAN THE BELLI CODE?

1/17/2025

 
PictureMelvin Mouron Belli
After the failed attempt of the Zodiac Killer to make contact with Melvin Belli on the Jim Dunbar Show on October 22nd 1969, his next attempt to arrange an appointment with the flamboyant attorney likely took place on December 7th 1969, when the Zodiac Killer mailed a letter to the San Francisco Chronicle from Fairfield, stating "I just need help". This plea for help predated the Melvin Belli letter by thirteen days, and coincided with a phone call to the commercial radio station KTOK, in which the caller identified himself as the Zodiac Killer and did an "awfully good impression" of the man who rang the Jim Dunbar Show, according to KTOK news director Larry Lamotte. The Jim Dunbar Show had taken place 46 days earlier, so what triggered the Zodiac Killer to refocus on this missed opportunity in early December. Let us have a look at Melvin Belli's itinerary in the days previous.

On December 5th 1969 at noon, Melvin Belli was due to speak in the Speakers Podium in the West Tower Mall at the University of California in Riverside. If the Zodiac Killer had kept abreast of Melvin Belli newspaper articles (or the Riverside papers), he may have come across this story from the Riverside Daily Enterprise on December 3rd 1969. On the day Melvin Belli was scheduled to visit Riverside, on December 5th 1969, his residence at 1228 Montgomery Street in Telegraph Hill caught fire, causing S20,000 worth of damage. Firemen believed the blaze was caused by defective wiring. The font design of the "1228" numbers by his front door were used by the Zodiac Killer on his Melvin Belli envelope fifteen days later. However, it turned out that he cancelled his speaking engagement at the Riverside University campus citing an ear infection - and with advice given to him by his physician - decided not to fly..

PictureMick Jagger, 1969
Remembered as rock's darkest hour, the Altamont Speedway debacle headlined by the Rolling Stones on December 6th 1969 attracted between 200,000 and 500,000 music fans, who occupied a stretch of land 50 miles east of San Francisco. The concert, badly organized, was literally thrown together overnight by attorney Melvin Belli, who obtained permission from Altamont. Policed by the Hells Angels and awash with drugs, the concert oversaw the deaths of four people. Two men, Richard Salov (22) and Mark Feiger (22), died in a hit and run car accident, one man drowned in a canal running from police, and Meredith Hunter (18) was stabbed twice by Hells Angel Alan Passaro after he brandished a gun and attempted to climb onstage. Organizers such as Melvin Belli received heavy criticism from certain quarters in the following days. 

Therefore, it wasn't much of a surprise that Melvin Belli was possibly in the forefront of Zodiac's mind when he hurriedly fashioned a short letter and 38 character code on December 7th 1969. The letter began "I just need help", pre-empting the Melvin Belli letter on December 20th 1969, which stated "
please help me" three times. Both of these letters were clearly mocking the phone call received by the Jim Dunbar Show on October 22nd 1969, with a phone call to the KTOK Oklahoma radio station later that day continuing this theme of derision. The letter on December 7th 1969 mimicked the wording used by the impostor on the Jim Dunbar Show, while the Oklahoma caller mimicked the voice.    

Coinciding with the Jim Dunbar Show on October 22nd 1969 was the challenge issued to the Zodiac Killer by Joe Stine (brother of Zodiac's last victim Paul Stine), who encouraged the Bay Area murder to visit his workplace in Modesto. Five months later, Kathleen Johns claimed she had been abducted from Highway 132, having been trailed by a vehicle from Modesto, and taken on a 1 1/2 to 2 hour journey on the outskirts of downtown Tracy. Her burnt out vehicle was found just east of South Bird Road  The area of Tracy, California was the location of the Altamont Speedway, chosen by Melvin Belli 3 1/2 months earlier. Altamont Speedway was situated 13 miles northwest of South Bird Road on the outskirts of Tracy. 
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Bearing in mind the S20,000 fire damage at Melvin Belli's 1228 Montgomery Street residence, his ear infection and the debacle witnessed at Altamont Speedway in the space of two days, it may have been the trigger for the Zodiac Killer to mail his Fairfield letter to the San Francisco Chronicle on December 7th 1969, finding common ground with the attorney by stating "TRYING TIMES. SO I NEED APPOINTMENT TO GET HELP" in his 38 character code (if the solution is correct). There is a distinct possibility he was also reaching out to Melvin Belli using previous newspaper articles about the Jim Dunbar Show to compose his letter and 38 character code. If this was the case, the Zodiac Killer changed "I don't want to give myself up" into "I will turn myself in". Then changed "I want help" into "I just need help", before requesting an "appointment" with Melvin Belli which the Jim Dunbar caller didn't keep.

FURTHER READING: A VIABLE SOLUTION TO THE 38 CHARACTER CODE 
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THE "GAMES" OF THE ZODIAC KILLER

1/15/2025

 
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The canonical murders of Jack the Ripper began on August 31st 1888 with the brutal murder of Mary Ann Nichols in Buck's Row, her throat severed, her vagina stabbed and her lower abdomen partly ripped open to expose her bowels. This grisly affair was followed on September 8th 1888, when the body of Annie Chapman was discovered in the back yard of 29 Hanbury Street, Spitalfields. She had also suffered deep cuts to her throat and abdomen, but this time the killer had removed her small intestine and placed it on her right shoulder, and excised part of her stomach and deposited it on her left shoulder. Annie Chapman's uterus was missing, along with parts of her bladder and vagina. 

Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes both met their fate on September 30th 1888, with Elizabeth Stride being found in Dutfield's Yard, having received one knife wound to her neck. The severity of her injuries were believed to be considerably less because of the arrival of Louis Diemschutz, the steward of the International Working Men's Educational Club, who arrived at the location in his horse and two-wheeled cart. The killer, now unable to perform the mutilation of the corpse as in previous attacks, sought out Catherine Eddowes less than an hour later, cutting her throat and once again ripping her intestines from her body. Her left kidney and the majority of her uterus had been taken from the site of the murder. The final attack, that of Mary Jane Kelly inside her single room at 13 Miller's Court on November 9th 1888 is almost impossible to describe, other than to say that her body was destroyed beyond recognition.          

PictureA depiction of Mary Jane Kelly
Jack the Ripper was fond of removing various body parts, some of which he carried away from the crime scene and some he left on public display for the whole world to see. This sickening display of the grotesque was the seeming ambition of the Confession letter author in Riverside on November 29th 1966, who confessed that he wanted to mutilate furher victims, stating that he would "cut off her female parts and deposit them for the whole city to see" and had recently "finished the job out cutting her throat", referring to the October 30th 1966 murder of Cheri Jo Bates. The Confession letter author issued the Riverside Police Department a stark warning, that he was "stalking your girls now", just like the Ripper had done in the dimly lit streets of Whitechapel, 78 years earlier.

Five days before the Confession letter was postmarked, a newspaper article from the Press-Enterprise told of the recent murder of Cheri Jo Bates and postulated a connection to the abduction of a 19-year-old girl on November 22nd 1966. The perpetrator in this case invoked the name of "Jack the Ripper", by stating "Well, after all, I'm not Jack the Ripper" after she refused to enter his vehicle. This led me to explore the idea that the author of the Confession letter, who plagiarized key phrases from this newspaper article, had also been inspired to create a typed letter using the sadistic reportings of Jack the Ripper. The promise to cut off female parts, the stalking of girls, and the casual and brutal way he described cutting the throat of Cheri Jo Bates - synonymous with the Whitechapel murderer - required further exploration to see whether this was coincidental or a deliberate choice by the Confession letter typist. And indeed, if the author of the letter was the killer of Cheri Jo Bates.         

PictureMicrofiche reel
To discover material on Jack the Ripper, the easiest route for the killer in 1966 was to use the Riverside library (possibly) on his doorstep, writing a poem on the desktop in between his searches of the microfiche reels. The Riverside City College library may have been convenient for him, but any library would have sufficed. Today, I approached the task at hand by typing in key phrases from the Confession letter, and/or the year 1888, to see if the newspaper archives churned up any interesting results, whereas in 1966 the task would have been a bit more arduous and labor intensive. However, it would have been easily  accomplished by somebody who was determined enough, who was prepared put considerable thought into his compositions. Somebody like the Zodiac Killer.

The following section of the Confession letter looked contrived, stating "When we were away from the library walking, I said it was about time. She asked me "about time for what". I said it was about time for her to die". The last phrase reading "I said it was about time for her to die" appeared over-dramatic and had a punchline effect, as though it had been borrowed for purpose from elsewhere. I typed the shortened phrase of "it was about time for her to die" into the newspaper archive and it produced only one result in 336 years. That year was 1888, the year of Jack the Ripper. Alongside the stories of Jack the Ripper in 1888 was the accompanying story of "The Sturdy Beggar", who attempted to scrounge food from a woman inside her home and placed his hand into his hip pocket (probably reaching for a presumed knife) and stated that "it was about time for her to die".​ Had the Confession letter author added this phrase into his communication to bolster the Jack the Ripper theme of "body parts" and "cutting her throat"?

PictureDecember 11th 1888 (the year of Jack the Ripper)
​In 1927, multiple American newspapers reported the Ripper like murders from New York, spanning the previous 15 years. The first in 1912, detailed the savage knife murder of Julia Connors by Nathan Swartz, who wrote a confession letter after the killing and an additional message on a soiled linen collar with a lead pencil, reading "I am guilty. I am insane", using five of the same words from the Riverside Confession letter, which read "I am not sick. I am insane". Two stories, loosely connected to Jack the Ripper, with two perinent phrases. But there had to be more.

On October 27th 1970, the Zodiac Killer mailed the Halloween card with the skeleton of an unknown victim. One observer of this communication by the name of Phil Sins contacted San Francisco Chronicle newspaper reporter, Paul Avery, believing that the greeting card was insinuating the murder of Cheri Jo Bates, whose lifeless body was discovered by a Riverside groundskeeper on Halloween morning in 1966.

It turned out that the prominent word "by" was shared 6 times by the Halloween card and the two typed Confession letters. The Halloween card author also used the signature "Z" for the first time, that was suggested by Paul Avery as the signature present on two of the three Bates' letters on April 30th 1967. The presumed connection was laid bare by Paul Avery in a comprehensive newspaper article in the San Francisco Chronicle on November 16th 1970. By claiming a connection between the Zodiac Killer and the Riverside communications, Paul Avery was suggesting that the murder of Cheri Jo Bates may have been the early work of the Zodiac Killer. To see if this has any validity, I decided to explore the Jack the Ripper connection a little further. Did the Zodiac Killer select the Halloween card with wording similar to the Confession letter?

PictureGeorge Akin Lusk
​The wording on the selected Halloween card inner read "But, then why spoil our game. Happy Halloween". The typed Confession letter read "I then finished the job by cutting her throat. I am not sick. I am insane. But that will not stop the game". One communication didn't want the game spoiled, while the other pledged to not to stop the game.

On October 16th 1888 the "From Hell" letter, addressed to George Lusk, the president of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee, arrived inside a cardboard box from somebody claiming to be Jack the Ripper. It contained a "body part" in the form of half a kidney, with the message "Mr Lusk, Sor I send you half the Kidne I took from one woman and prasarved it for you tother piece I fried and ate it was very nise. I may send you the bloody knif that took it out if you only wate a whil longer". signed "Catch me when you can Mishter Lusk". 

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Just before Halloween, on October 29th 1888 (one day before the date Cheri was murdered), a letter was sent to Dr. Openshaw, who performed the medical examination on the portion of kidney received by George Lusk. The letter stated "Old boss you was rite it was the left kidny i was goin to hoperate agin close to you ospitle just as i was going to dror mi nife along of er bloomin throte them cusses of coppers spoilt the game but i guess i wil be on the jobn soon and will send you another bit of innerds. Jack the Ripper. O have you seen the devle with his mikerscope and scalpul a-lookin at a kidney with a slide cocked up". 

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This letter arrived on October 29th 1888, Cheri Jo Bates was murdered on October 30th 1966, her body was found the next day on Halloween morning, and the Confession letter about Cheri Jo Bates contained many plausible links to Jack the Ripper (shown above). The Halloween card contained the phrase "spoil our game", that somewhat mirrored "spoilt the game" from the Openshaw letter, and "stop the game" from the Confession letter. Throw in "The Most Dangerous Game" and we have a cocktail of "games". You may also notice that the Openshaw letter described murder as a "job", just like the Confession letter author, who typed "I then finished the job out cutting her throat".  Many Ripper letters use the word "job" in respect to the killing of women.
​

​Four months after reading the San Francisco Chronicle article by Paul Avery (on November 16th 1970), the Zodiac killer replied to the claim he was involved in Riverside, by stating on March 13th 1971 "I do have to give them credit for stumbling across my riverside activity, but they are only finding the easy ones, there are a hell of a lot more down there". Not only was the Zodiac Killer invoking the word "hell" and using similar phraseology from the Bates' letters that "there will be more", he was apparently accepting his involvement to some capacity in the murder of Cheri Jo Bates. If that "activity" was suggestive of the communications, involving the Confession letter with Jack the Ripper overtones, then it's really curious that his next two widely published letters (mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle) on January 29th 1974 and April 24th 1978, began using the Jack the Ripper valediction of "yours truley" and "yours truly", that the Whitechapel murderer used in the majority of his letters from 1888. If the Zodiac Killer was responsible for the "riverside activity" down south, was his use of "yours truley" and "yours truly" in these following communications a case of playing more "games" with law enforcement? The continuation of the Jack the Ripper theme in these letters laying bare his character - and belatedly pointing a finger to the secrets of the Confession letter, now that his Riverside connection had finally come to light?

In his July 31st 1969 letters and 408 cipher, the Zodiac Killer would delve into the distant newspaper archive of 1932 to create the significant phrase of
"man is the most dangerous animal of all", which he plagiarised from the utterances of Merian C. Cooper, the associate producer of "The Most Dangerous Game". Was the same archival  technique used to fashion the typed Confession letter in 1966, borrowing the wording of "it was about time for her to die" from "The Sturdy Beggar" in 1888, with both the Riverside and Bay Area communications created by the cunning disposition of one author and one mind?   ​
​THE HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF MURDER.

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THE 1912 CONFESSION LETTER TO THE MURDER OF JULIA CONNORS

AN ESCAPE EASTWARDS TO LYON STREET

1/7/2025

 
PictureRobert Graysmith
Although Chief Martin Lee ridiculed the idea that the Zodiac entered the Presidio Park, it appeared that Inspectors David Toschi and Bill Armstrong weren't so dismissive according to Robert Graysmith, who wrote "The detectives heard from neighbors that a stocky figure was seen dashing across Julius Kahn playground and into the dense undergrowth of the Presidio. The dog patrol units, seven of the best search dogs in the country, gathered at the front entrance of the Presidio and were deployed one at a time in various directions. Armstrong and Toschi considered the possibilities. Had the killer gone quickly through the dark woods and emerged from the Presidio at Richardson Avenue, and taken Highway 101 past Fort Point onto the Golden Gate Bridge and vanished into Marin County". The thoughts of Toschi and Armstrong were well founded, especially when you consider that the man seen running into the Julius Kahn Playground carried an extremely similar description to the one given by Officer Donald Fouke and the three Robbins kids. 

If the Zodiac Killer had entered the park here, it is highly unlikely he would have backtracked in a westerly direction towards the crime scene. An escape route north on foot to escape the park would have been extremely time consuming. The detail given by the Zodiac Killer in his November 9th 1969 letter (if true), suggests that once he entered the park at Julius Kahn Playground he headed east, where in the wooded section opposite Laurel Street, he observed dogs that never came within 2 blocks of him, because they were to the west. Two blocks west was Julius Kahn Playground, where "seven of the best search dogs in the country, gathered at the front entrance of the Presidio". The Zodiac Killer's claim in his letter was correct that dogs were assembled by​ Julius Kahn Playground, but this detail had been released in the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper as early as October 15th 1969, which stated "A large contingent of police with dogs and searchlights secured the area around Cherry Street, which included the wooded south boundary of the Presidio and Julius Kahn Playground. So any escape through the park in a westerly direction, two blocks towards Cherry would have been highly unlikely. 

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The Zodiac Killer, after stating "The dogs never came with in 2 blocks of me + they were to the west", mentioned that "there was only 2 groups of parking (or barking)". Did he lift this information from the newspapers which reported a "large contingent of police and dogs with searclights" by Cherry Street and Julius Kahn Playground, which was "two groups"? Or was he able to see the searchlights at these approximate locations as he hid in the park? Motorcycles and police cars were mobilized to circle Presidio Park to restrict the movements of the killer, but according to the Zodiac in his October 13th 1969 letter they were "holding road races" instead of "quietly waiting for him to come out of cover". He further elaborated on this on November 9th 1969, stating "the motor cicles went by about 150 ft away going from south to north west".

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If the Zodiac Killer had continued eastwards through the park from the wooded area opposite Laurel Street, he would have reached Presidio Boulevard, where  police motorcycles would have been traveling from the "south to north west" (see map below). The two yellow circles on the map show two positions exactly 150 feet from Presidio Boulevard, so if the Zodiac Killer was at either of these locations he would have been in prime position, nestled in the woods, with the ability to observe motorcycles traveling along the roadway, and ready to escape from the park to the nearby Lyon Street, which was 370 feet from Presidio Boulevard. 

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If Robert Graysmith was correct, this thought process must have been considered by Toschi and Armstrong, who conceived the notion of a killer heading towards Richardson Avenue, traveling west on Highway 101, and over the Golden Gate Bridge. The only difference to my analysis, is that they thought the killer may have emerged from the Presidio at Richardson Avenue. However, this would have required the Zodiac Killer to have spent an excessive amount of time in the park, rather than exiting from the south-eastern corner and entering a vehicle parked on Lyon Street. From here, in a vehicle, he would have reached Richardson Avenue in a much quicker time.       
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The Zodiac could have combined his experience from that night with maps and the coverage in the newspapers in the intervening four weeks, to concoct a reasonable story of his excursion into the park. However, the description of the man running into Julius Kahn Playground near-matched the description given by the teenagers at the crime scene and Officer Donald Fouke. So if the Zodiac Killer had entered the park at this location, he had to go somewhere. That safest somewhere, based on the police search, would most likely have been east in the direction of Lyon Street and Broadway.  

A FABRICATED BROADCAST AT PRESIDIO HEIGHTS?

1/6/2025

 
There has yet to be a satisfactory explanation for why Officer Donald Fouke chose to head away from the crime scene on October 11th 1969 after the initial radio broadcast, rather than turn south on Cherry Street to come to the aid of Paul Stine, other than he was directed there by Zodiac. I am not going to rehash this analysis again, so if you are interested read the article "Two Cops Pulled a Goof" or watch the following Youtube video.   
The argument being put forward here, is that if Officers Donald Fouke and Eric Zelms stopped and spoke to the Zodiac Killer, then the initial radio broadcast informing responding officers to be on the lookout for a black male adult was a fabrication. In other words, there was no such instruction. The story of the mix up between the Robbins kids and the dispatcher would have been created to explain away the fact that Officers Donald Fouke and Eric Zelms didn't apprehend the white male subject on Jackson Street, who was later realised to be the Zodiac Killer.
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​In 1969, the percentage of African American males in San Francisco was 13.4%, but in the wealthy district of Presidio Heights their population density was much lower. The Zodiac Killer was all about providing "proof" during his canonical attacks. He provided numerous details of his Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs attacks on July 31st 1969 and August 4th 1969, including the reference to police talking to a black male (probably by the payphone on July 5th 1969). He wrote on the car door of Bryan Hartnell's vehicle at Lake Berryessa, and mailed a piece of Paul Stine's shirt two days after the murder, to indelibly link himself to these crimes. He also made two phone calls after his second and third attacks. The Zodiac Killer's primary goal at this juncture was tying himself to the crimes.

This can be seen on November 9th 1969, when the Zodiac Killer highlighted one particular section of his letter, stating "p.s. 2 cops pulled a goof abot 3 min after I left the cab. I was walking down the hill to the park when this cop car pulled up + one of them called me over + asked if I saw anyone acting suspicious or strange in the last 5 to 10 min + I said yes there was this man who was runnig by waveing a gun & the cops peeled rubber + went around the corner as I directed them + I disappeared into the park a block + a half away never to be seen again". The Zodiac Killer did this by placing arrows across this section of text with the accompanying phrase "Must print in paper". His knowledge of the police at this particular location was his proof of being there. However, there is one crucial thing missing from the red section of text above. It should have read "I said yes there was this black man who was runnig by waveing a gun".  

PictureOfficer Donald Fouke
Officer Donald Fouke, from all the police accounts we have read, was looking for a black male adult as he approached the intersection of Jackson and Maple, so if he had stopped the Zodiac Killer at this location, the obvious question to have asked a white male adult walking on the sidewalk, in a low density African American area, would not have been "have you seen anyone acting suspicious or strange in the last 5 to 10 min". It would have been "have you seen a black man acting suspicious or strange in the last 5 to 10 min". He was looking for a black male adult in the area, so it flies in the face of any common sense that you would not include this distinguishing characteristic in your question, when asking a white male for assistance.

​But how do we know that Officer Donald Fouke didn't include the "black male" description when talking to Zodiac? Because the Zodiac Killer would have written "have you seen a black man acting suspicious or strange in the last 5 to 10 min" in his November 9th 1969 letter as further proof he spoke to officers, had Donald Fouke said such a thing. Why on earth would the Zodiac Killer omit such a crucial detail like this from a section of text he made a point of highlighting? Probably because Officer Donald Fouke wasn't looking for a black male on October 11th 1969, having never been given this instruction by the dispatcher. It was likely a fabrication issued to him by his superiors, to be documented in a memorandum on November 12th 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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