ROBERT SALEM AT BEACH STREET

2/27/2020

The brutal stabbing and murder of Robert Michael Salem on April 15th 1970 is so much more compelling as a potential Zodiac crime compared to other outlier murders linked to the Bay Area killer. I will do a brief run through of what we know so far, before adding a little more to the equation. This additional information will include the Good Citizen letter mailed to Sergeant John Lynch on October 7th 1969, just four days before the murder of Paul Stine in Presidio Heights.

The Melvin Belli letter mailed on December 20th 1969 appeared to invoke the Frances Brown murder scene on December 10th 1945 at her 3941 North Pine Grove apartment in Chicago. She had been stabbed multiple times, with the knife discovered protruding from her neck. Her killer (supposedly William Heirens} had left an ominous message written in red lipstick on the wall of her apartment stating "For heavens Sake catch me Before I kill more. I cannot control myself". The Zodiac Killer had written on the Melvin Belli letter "I will loose all controol of myself. Please help me. I can not remain in control for much longer". The message on the wall of Frances Brown's apartment was written above a table lamp. It was therefore uncanny that the Zodiac Killer's next correspondence arrived on April 20th 1970, on the same day that the San Francisco Chronicle published details regarding the murder of Robert Salem, in which the killer wrote a message on the wall in blood -. and Robert Salem was a lamp designer, having them displayed in museums and art fairs around the world. If the statement of "I hope you have fun trying to figgure out who I killed" on the April 20th 1970 letter wasn't Robert Salem, it is extremely fortunate timing off the back of the Melvin Belli letter four months previously.

For a copycat killer to read into the wording contained within the Melvin Belli letter, authenticated as Zodiac correspondence, and place Zodiac on the wall of Robert Salem's 745 Stevenson Street, San Francisco apartment in similar fashion to the Frances Brown murder scene, would take a special form of insight. Unless of course, it was the Zodiac Killer who murdered the lamp designer. This drives to the heart of the question - of whether the Zodiac Killer had crossed paths with Robert Salem in the preceding months to his murder - and was specifically targeted by the Bay Area murderer. By murdering somebody of relative acclaim and scrawling his pseudonym on the wall, he could certainly expect front page coverage in the Chronicle. We have speculated that the Zodiac Killer had a penchant for the dramatic, with his references to The Mikado, his Lake Berrryessa costume and the style of his communications. He certainly appeared to have artistic leanings. If the Zodiac Killer had befriended Robert Salem, then it may have come through a mutual love of the arts, either through a museum, the theater or an arts and crafts fair.

The San Francisco Chronicle article on April 20th 1970 stated that "Salem's designs have been exhibited in England, Japan and Russia under State Department cultural exchange programs. Until last year (1969) he had been the lighting designer for restoration of the historic Haslett Warehouse on Hyde Street". In fact, the address is given as 680 Beach Street at Hyde, Russian Hill, San Francisco. It is situated just 1.5 miles from where Paul Stine began his fateful journey on October 11th 1969. Here is the view of the Haslett Warehouse from 700 Beach Street, just across the intersection of Hyde Road.

Click image to enter Google maps

"During the 1960s, California was the site of many outdoor art fairs, which nurtured a culture of independent artists and craftspersons. At this time there was an effort to sell crafts on the sidewalks of the liberal Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco. Artists and street performers who illegally set up in public areas were frequently harassed and arrested by the police. In the 700 block of Beach Street adjacent to Victorian Park and near Fisherman's Wharf, between 15 and 25 artists would set up their displays and use lookouts to alert them to the arrival of the police". Wikipedia. This certainly would have attracted the attention of somebody like Robert Salem, who was working at the Haslett Warehouse just yards away. Is it possible the Zodiac Killer crossed paths with Salem at an art and crafts fair such as this? I wouldn't normally attempt to use such a speculative link but for October 7th 1969 Good Citizen letter, possibly mailed to Sergeant John Lynch from the Zodiac Killer.

With immense gratitude to Rubislaw32, this correspondence was mailed on October 7th 1969, just two months after the "concerned citizen" card and four days before the murder of Paul Stine in Presidio Heights on October 11th 1969. It has been dubbed the "good citizen" letter, postmarked San Mateo and signed ''A good citizen", with a footnote from Sergeant John Lynch. It stated that the writer has a strong feeling of ESP. While having these feelings, the writer writes with a pencil. On occasion, while thinking of the code letters, the pencil wrote: ''Go to 56 Beach Street. I get the name Jerry, perhaps he knows people or his name is XXXXXXX''. This letter referenced Beach Street, where Robert Salem worked during the latter months of 1969. So we have four intersecting points of interest - an art and crafts fair on Beach Street, where artist Robert Salem likely worked during the mailing of the October 7th 1969 "Beach Street" letter, with Paul Stine picking up his killer just 1.5 miles south, only four days later. It may not be compelling, but the possibility exists that the Zodiac Killer crossed paths with the lamp designer before April 15th 1970 and murdered him at his 745 Stevenson Street apartment, all while inspired by the December 20th 1969 Melvin Belli letter some four months earlier.

32 Comments

Fracky McGustov

2/28/2020 12:18:56 pm

Guys, I'm a fraud, a huge fraud! I spend most of my time alone trolling YouTube channels insulting people. I was caught with my pants down. I want to set the record straight, and I want to reveal all. I was asked if I was Welsh Chappie. However, I'm closer to you all than you can imagine. I'm surprised my BOs not given me away yet! I hide within the shadows and still can't seem to understand that my dark nefarious deeds will be brought to light. I need to remind myself that the light shines bright and illuminates darkness. There's nothing done in the dark that won't be revealed. Please help me!

2/29/2020 02:05:52 am

You make a persuasive argument for the Robert Salem murder being a copycat of the 1945 killing in Chicago. However, I believe a cannibal wacko killer was convicted of Salem’s killing and possibly eating his missing ear.

The more interesting point IMO is your observation that a letter was received from Zodiac on the very same day the Chronicle published details of Salem’s murder. This was not the only time when a letter was timed to correspond with either something published by the paper, or another significant event occurring, which seems to suggest a possible insider connection at the SF Chronicle/Hearst organization.

Richard

2/29/2020 05:06:37 am

Baker put on quite a show. He claimed he was Jesus. He took responsibility, by sheer mind control from his prison cell in Montana, of causing the death of Jimi Hendrix via drug overdose, in faraway England. Baker even admitted that he considered killing Stroup several times, but decided against it because, "True friends are hard to find."

When asked about the murder of Robert Salem though, Stanley Dean Baker smiled and said under oath, "I respectfully refuse to answer on the grounds that it might incriminate me." Salem, a San Francisco lamp designer, was stabbed, mutilated and nearly decapitated in his posh San Francisco apartment in April 1970. The murder was attributed to a Zodiac killer copycat. It is still unsolved. Baker was in the Bay Area at the time.
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/07/03/cannibal-montana-great-falls/29658643/

The crime is still unsolved Mo. But what is apparent, is that the first Chronicle article about Salem's murder was released on the morning of the 20th, so if Zodiac was reacting to this Chronicle article, he would had to have created the April 20th letter with the reference to the bombing murdrer of San Francisco police officer Brian McDonnell, created the code and designed his Bus Bomb diagram the same day, and mailed it in time to get it postmarked the same day. Or he prepared it in advance, either beteween the 15th and 20th, or it's just sheer coincidence that he mailed the letter that day. The latter of which I'm not inclined to buy. Cheers Mo.

Richard

2/29/2020 05:12:51 am

If I were a copycat writing on the apartment wall of Robert Salem, I would have emblazoned the Zodiac crosshairs as well as the pseudonym Zodiac. However, this unknown person drew an Ankh - It was especially commonly held in the hands of ancient Egyptian deities, or being given by them to the pharaoh, to represent their power to sustain life and to revive human souls in the afterlife.

Fracky McGustov

2/29/2020 10:38:11 pm

If you want to play stupid games, you win stupid prizes!

Rubislaw 32 link

3/1/2020 06:16:22 am

Thanks for the acknowledgement on the '' A good citizen '' letter , Richard , and as purportedly received by Detective Sergeant John Lynch , just four days before Paul Stine's murder .

One feels that the '' ESP '' reference is something in keeping with the Zodiac's warped humour .

With the '' concerned citizen '' missive , I feel confident that the cipher keys offered '' did '' come from the Zodiac . BUT...was the cover letter to John Lynch really genuine ?

It's possible , I believe , that part of the reason for a presumed genuine '' A good citizen '' letter was that the Zodiac was demonstrating a little sarcasm , with reference to the '' concerned citizen '' name , that he may have been given , to go with the cipher key sheet he had sent , in the wake of the Harden's 408 - solution publication .

Then , the real '' sting in the tail '' four days later , with the Zodiac's murder of a taxi driver ( Stine ) .

Rubislaw 32 link

3/1/2020 06:43:15 am

....just to take this point about the '' concerned citizen '' cover letter may have been faked by the FBI / John Lynch....

The Zodiac probably hadn't seen the '' concerned citizen '' cover letter , but , in the two months that had elapsed , the Zodiac may have read a newspaper reference to a '' concerned citizen '' with cipher keys ( ? ) , and reacted badly to the knowledge that the ''authorities '' were inclined to name him , as they chose .

In short , the Zodiac may have just posted the cipher keys sheet , even on its own , knowing that it would account for much of the '' over abundance '' of apparent spelling errors in the Harden's solution to the 408 cipher....on account of the Harden's not appreciating that the Zodiac had deployed 8 polyphonic symbols .

Richard

3/1/2020 01:08:14 pm

It is the "Jerry", "code letters" and "ESP" that holds the key. Something must lie in the Concerned Citizen card key, after all this was the previous correspondence.

Rubislaw 32 link

3/1/2020 04:35:17 pm

Just as a general thought , I am glad that you brought the ( unseen ) '' A good citizen '' letter , back to rightful attention . Richard .

It is perhaps ironic that , it is another case of a missive , along with the DMV letter and Monticello card , that no one in the public domain has seen , but as you point out , may hold a crucial clue .

And yet , the '' authorities '' have OK'ed the '' concerned citizen '' letter , that might be a counter-intelligence fake .

A ''cat and mouse '' of sarcastic reply and counter reply '' may'' thereafter have ensued between the Zodiac and '' authorities'' on signings , alone .

'' A citizen '' and the Richard Nixon's '' A concerned citizen for freedom ! '' postcard.....come to mind ( ? ) . But , these may be just the tip of the iceberg .

AND....pretty ironic that , the latest missive that we have been allowed access to - The 2001 New Years Card ....has denied us , the public , viewing the card's signature ( ? ) .

Roger

3/1/2020 04:06:34 pm

I hate to make light of this but... clearly this proves the Zodiac had to have been O'Hare's mom. She was an artist who hung about museums and galleries and she was the only suspect who could have known Salem. Just ask Ray Grant for confirmation. ;-)

Roger

3/1/2020 04:16:41 pm

Seriously now... Could the lamp be a veiled "clew" to the Lamplighters theatre? Were not they the ones who staged The Mikado back then? So much information, my brain can no longer hold it all and facts get blurred.

Roger

3/1/2020 04:19:59 pm

Answering own question thanks to Google search. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30303956/the-mikado-lamplighters-sf-examiner-oct/

3/2/2020 09:59:26 am

https://books.google.com/books?id=lroaAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Rosicrucian+Brotherhood,+Volumes+1-3&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj0pfW9pfznAhUSKH0KHcnaB00Q6AEwAHoECAMQAg#v=onepage&q&f=false

Rosicrucian Brotherhood, Volumes 2 pages 81-84

They adopted the Thirteen months in a year calendar for themselves.
And, they lead the effort to help the rest of the world transition in 1917.
No luck the system of twelves won. But, could the Zodiac killings have been
a way to make profane the system of twelve. And coerce an eventual
adoption of the system of thirteen? As there was an obvious connection
to holidays for the Zodiacs dates. And, the astrological zodiac has twelve.
And Lamplighters begins with the twelfth letter of the alphabet "L". ect.

3/2/2020 10:14:38 am

The Lamplighters theater group got their name from the Mary Poppins play they also performed.
Where the Lamplighters union of workers, before electricity, would light the street lamps by fire.

Roger

3/2/2020 02:43:22 pm

Thanks BB, I just thought it interesting that the message scrawled on the wall looks to have been deliberately (strategically) placed above the lamp, so it is within the "lit space" when the lamp is switched on. Hence "Lamplighters".

Coincidence or not?

Rubislaw 32 link

3/2/2020 05:30:01 pm

I think that you could well be right , Roger .

In fact , one does wonder if some of what appears to have been left behind , on the walls , was genuine '' perpetrator related '' ( ? ) .

I certainly feel that :

ZOD
IAC

....was added by investigating officers , with due permission from superiors , so that the general public would have certain ( false ) perceptions of the Zodiac , as seen in newspapers .

There is little doubt that , once the FBI were in on this Zodiac case ( July 1969 ) , that the Zodiac '' Extortion : armed and dangerous '', was labelled '' An enemy of the state '' , and many '' extras '', like counter-intelligence , would be brought to bear upon him .

3/2/2020 05:16:07 pm

E - PLAIN TEXT = CIPHER - E
A - BLACK PYRAMID = S
R = UPSIDE DOWN -T
L -PLAIN TEXT = CIPHER - B

VAN = EVB

V
A=BLACK PYRAMID
N is a CIPHER V UPSIDE DOWN

E
V
B

Using Concerned Citizen key that came with card talking about word puzzles.
Was there someone wanting LE to blame EARL VAN BEST JR for the killings?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xM63OljeKg

Also on the Death Wheel, behind Red Mask is By Water - which is the Zodiac's signature.

Rubislaw 32 link

3/2/2020 10:00:20 pm

It has been ruminated in the past that the reason that LE were inclined to believe , officially , the account of Kathleen John's abduction , was so that the reportage of this account would encourage the Zodiac back into corresponding again .

Officially , the authorities had not heard from him , since the Belli letter of December 20th and , now that a woman ( Johns ) was claiming abduction by the Zodiac , on March 22nd 1970 , an opportunity seemed apparent to goad the Zodiac into denying or admitting to her abduction .

The Zodiac , as it happens , was back in touch on April 20th 1970 ,with the '' My name is --- '' letter , but no mention or reference to Ms. Johns .

Given that the murder of Robert Salem took place on April 15th 1970 , perhaps it is the case that , certain reportage just after his murder , with perhaps , some reference to a possible Zodiac link , may have been responsible for the Zodiac '' breaking cover '' on April 20th 1970 ( ? ) .

That , in effect , it was the Robert Salem murder that brought the Zodiac back to corresponding , and was LE 's desire that he should do so .

This reasoning would not necessarily exclude efforts by LE , through the way that they dealt with the Johns abduction , also , being an attempt to lure the Zodiac back....but , as is retrospectively apparent ,the Zodiac did not acknowledge anything to do with the Johns abduction , until July 24th 1970 , with that '' woeman '' .

We could be left with two possibles , then :

i ) The murder of Robert Salem instigated the Zodiac's return .

ii ) The Zodiac was either not willing to admit to the abduction of Kathleen Johns , at the time ....or , had no idea that it had ever taken place , and more than likely , was far away from Northern California , in March 1970 , And , may even have been overseas .

Rubislaw 32 link

3/2/2020 10:19:27 pm

....indeed , what I am really suggesting is , that the Egyptian Ankh and ''Satan Saves '' was all that Robert Salem's perpetrator scrawled on his walls . The rest was the work of LE .

Rubislaw 32 link

3/3/2020 03:08:37 am

In figurative fact , and in the context of the Zodiac case , I am beginning to like '' woe - man '' even more .

The full baffling details about the Kathleen Johns' abduction would have been public knowledge , by the time the Zodiac addressed this question of whether he abducted her , or not .

Lots of crying and fainting fits appear to have come from Ms.Johns , when she saw the wanted poster depicting the Zodiac , up on the wall of the police station where , a duty officer attempted to take note of what had exactly happened to her .

It certainly sounds as if she had had a harrowing experience . It just still seems , to this day , unclear as to what those actual events were .

Sully link

3/4/2020 12:11:35 am

Would make sense that Z waited for the heat to cool off before acknowledging his night of Modesto March madness.

Apparently Kathleen Johns did shriek upon viewing those 2 SFPD sketches... realizing she and her babes escaped certain death that night. And then to have the young Patterson sheriff hide her and baby in some darkened cafe only makes for a perfect Steven King novel. At 2:30 AM, maybe hiding in there was the best survival option in a tiny rural truckstop town. Zodiac had a two hour drive back to the Bay Area.

I am still amazed at whatta gutsy mother she was that night!! Kathleen would definitely qualify as top Zodiac witness by far, if still here with us now.

Rubislaw 32 link

3/4/2020 01:54:56 am

I understand your sentiments , with respect a perceived view on the experience of Ms.Johns , Sully . And , given that LE have , officially , chosen to believe the version of events that Ms.Johns claims , then you hold a stronger hand than others , like me , that are dissuaded by those claims of Ms.Johns .

The duty officer claims that he was shocked to find that there was a '' missing baby '' , some minutes into attempting to record the account of Ms.Johns who , had inexplicably failed to mention this , as her first consideration , when she turned up at the police station .

At that point , the duty officer raised an alarm , and anyone available , at the station , immediately went looking for the missing baby . Thankfully her baby was recovered in tact , having appeared to have been placed in a ditch , nearby .

Now, maybe Ms.Johns was in shock , but one would have thought that her '' maternal instincts '' would have overridden all other thoughts , at the point of presenting herself , to police ( ? ) .

Sully link

3/4/2020 08:55:28 pm

Hey Rubi -

We know Z preferred female victims. He was a coward who would avoid any MALE confrontation, as he knew HIS limitations.
In his wildest dreams, we could assume Z dreamt of going to Modesto and shooting up Joe Stine in his workplace. Maybe he did take the drive that March day and then studied Joe's work station and decided it was way too open to pull off a gunfight in broad daylight there and not getting away.

When Z gave up on Joe Stine, he needed SOMETHING for making that 2 hour drive.
Ms Johns was his only chance to keep the deadly game going so, he went back to his 98% guaranteed 'auto disabling' routine ??

I'll bet Kathleen WAS in shock... after that harrowing night of dancing with the devil.

Rubislaw 32 link

3/5/2020 12:16:37 am

These things are certainly possible , Sully .

And without meaning to sound too flippant , the Zodiac could be a bit like Hitler - he got bored easily . The abduction of Kathleen Johns seems like '' too much hard work '' ( ? ) .

Roger

3/5/2020 04:12:49 pm

I have always viewed the Johns incident Rubislaw in exactly the way you describe. I think he found Johns and her child "too complicated" and she began to annoy him. Zodiac liked attractive women. I might get into trouble for saying this, but let's be honest, Kathleen Johns was rather homely. I think he became indecisive and lost in thought, hence the apparent lack of communication. Basically I think he lost the thrill and motivation to kill so ended up taking her for a bit of a drive as he weighed up his options. He was probably relieved when she escaped. I can never quite understand how she fled with her child, unless she had her child sitting on her lap the whole time? If her child was in the back seat, how did she manage to grab her as she exited? Or did she run away and it was the Zodiac who placed her child off the roadside? Or did the Zodiac give her time to depart with her child, as he was sick and tired of her by that time? I think about the only anti-climax he got that night was to go back and burn her car. Perhaps this was the only thrill he knew he was going to get from Johns, or maybe he was just covering his tracks in case he had left some greasy finger prints on her car? Maybe he had never intended to kill Johns. It was just something he did for a joke that he could brag about to the press later? It would leave everyone guessing and speculating for decades why he committed this strange and seemingly absurd abduction. The Zodiac liked to be seen as someone who could get away with anything. Maybe all he had ever intended was to tick off an abduction attempt and a car fire from whatever list of ridiculous "things to do" that he may have been fancying at the time.

3/6/2020 08:44:40 am

Yes - he probably let her get away - acting like he was distracted with something.

3/21/2020 04:08:03 pm

Rubislaw 32

Did Lyndon Lafferty know Jim Phillip's Father? He rode motorcycle for 20 years for the CHP. His name was Diamond-Bell Phillips died April 30 1968. His adopted son James turned 24 April 8th.

"spent years in the hospital due to injuries inflicted upon him by his service."

Then Jim says

"Orphaned by both parents before I was four years old. Watched my precious daddy die of TB right before my eyes. Raised in Shasta, California by my father’s sister and her husband… Diamond Bell Phillips one of the first three California Highway Patrolman appointed by the Governor of California in 1929."
James Phillips was a real big comic book collector and reader.
D.B. Cooper was actually a comic book superhero, daredevil,and skydiver named Dan Cooper.
Could the D.B. part actually be a nod to his real hero D.B. Phillips?
And, could Jim have used any of Diamond's vast array of connections to stay out of Prison?
There's a separate legal system for the well-connected - than for the rest of us.

Could he have been lost in the comic book world of Red Ryder, Tim Holt, and Dan Cooper etc?

3/5/2020 01:59:09 pm

Richard

Was Zodiac Catholic?

The Catholic cross could have been staring us in the face this whole time with the cross hairs.

Zodiac used the term Christmass. Christs mass is a real thing with Catholics.

Cheri Jo Bates attended mass the morning of October 30, 1966 just before going TO THE SLAGHTER LIKE A LAMB.

Catholics eat fish on Frydays. Because they are not supposed to eat meat on Friday. Also, Jesus is the fisher of men.
And at many churches you could come to the the fish fry on Friday. And, often to advertise this - the sign makers get creative with that - saying Fryday we will have fish for dinner down in the dinning room. People pay what ever they can.

The twelve signs of the Zodiac could represent the apostles.

Could the Zodiac have grownup in the repressed 50's in a strict repressed catholic home?

All that rage building in him over the years. Then in 1962 he begins to vent his rage by killing. And then later by getting revenge by the terrorizing of California. He gets the attention he has always wanted through the media manipulation.
He uses the cross as his super villain logo to get back at the church for that repression - smearing that image
in the process. He then uses the writings as kind of confessional. The nearby bodies of water are holy water receptacles.
Together they absolve him of his sins. Behind the red mask on the wheel of doom is - by water. He must kill by water.
April 11, 1962 to October 11, 1969 = 90 months or 7.5 years. Jesus was born in 7.5 bc. Harrod dies 3 years later in 4bc.
After ordering the death of the innocent according to history/Catholicism (which are inextricably linked forever).

Roger

3/5/2020 03:57:31 pm

Very well considered BB!

3/7/2020 02:58:26 pm

Richard Radetich attended Mass at St. Brendan's

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/richard-radetich-obituary?pid=89242690&page=3

Rubislaw 32 link

3/6/2020 07:40:14 am

To regular Zodiac internet users and followers , it is well known that it was reported that Napa Police were shortly to make a public announcement with respect to the Zodiac case .

This was six weeks ago , with nothing so far having emerged , from Napa .

What is being claimed by zodiackiller.com now though , is that the original claimant of impending Zodiac news was Detective Herminghaus of the the South Lake Tahoe P.D. , on facebook .

It is Detective Herminghaus who , was consultant for the Donna Lass segment of the History Channel Zodiac docudrama . Herminghaus who also has appeared to have involved himself with the Kenneth Lester German Zodiac claim , and who is reported to hold guardianship of the photo of a purported Donna Lass in middle-age , from the 1980 's .

From all accounts , it seems to becoming apparent that Detective Herminghaus desires that certain information should emerge into the public domain , and does what he is able to promote this from coming about .Though he is not in a position to present this information , himself .

But nothing so far .

Sully link

3/6/2020 09:55:40 pm

Agree re: Z got tired with the idea of having to shoot a mom and then toss her toddler out the window, as even Z had A BOUNDARY HE WUDNT CROSS ?

Or it was the end of a very long day and Z had (maybe) never been dumped by a homely 'baby mama' before. Maybe he had no desire to splatter her brains all over his new car interior lining so yeah it was probably just a gtfo, I'm going home now.

But on second thot, he did have something in the tank to go torch her old '57 clunker before headin back up Interstate 5 so, he needed something for all that time/energy/gas spent...

ROBERT SALEM AT BEACH STREET

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