At approximately 2:00 am on October 22nd 1969, somebody called the Oakland Police Department claiming to be the Zodiac Killer and wanting to appear on the KGO-TV Jim Dunbar Show that day. The caller requested that prominent attorney Francis Lee Bailey take his call on the television program, but added that if he was unavailable, he would accept the high profile San Francisco lawyer, Melvin Mouron Belli as an alternative. During the beginning of the call (6:30 am) to the Jim Dunbar Show the person identified himself as "Sam" when asked for a less ominous name. Despite the Oakland Police dispatcher believing that "Sam" was the same individual that they had spoken to, some people have still questioned whether the real Zodiac Killer called the Oakland Police Department at 2:00 am, but his place was taken by a mental patient called Eric Weill, identifying as "Sam".
It is fairly clear that the caller to the Oakland Police Department was the same man who rang in to the Jim Dunbar Show, and the Zodiac Killer was never in the loop. One reason for believing this to be the case, may lie in the choice of the name "Sam" as an alternative for the "Zodiac Killer". Why would Eric Weill choose the name "Sam"?
The caller to Oakland Police Department made a specific request for criminal defence attorney Francis Lee Bailey, who was previously hired by the brother of Sam Sheppard, found guilty in the brutal murder of his wife Marilyn in 1954. In 1966, F. Lee Bailey successfully argued before the U.S. Supreme Court that Sheppard had been denied due process, winning a re-trial. A not guilty verdict followed. Was this the inspiration behind Eric Weill's choice of attorney and the name "Sam", both inextricably linked by a high profile court case a few years earlier. However, this was getting on for three years ago.
In August 1969, just two months prior to the Oakland Police Department and Jim Dunbar Show calls, Sam Sheppard debuted as a professional wrestler against Wild Bill Scholl - entering under the stage name of "Killer" Sam Sheppard. Therefore, it is quite ironical that the caller on October 22nd 1969 had asked for an attorney who successfully defended Sam Sheppard, who then identified as "Sam" on the Jim Dunbar Show as a replacement for the ominous "Zodiac Killer", just two months after Sam appeared in the "ring" as a "killer". You couldn't write the script.
Sam Sheppard wrestled over 40 matches before his death in April 1970, including a number of tag team bouts with professional wrestler George Strickland as his partner. His notoriety made him a strong draw.
The caller to Oakland Police Department made a specific request for criminal defence attorney Francis Lee Bailey, who was previously hired by the brother of Sam Sheppard, found guilty in the brutal murder of his wife Marilyn in 1954. In 1966, F. Lee Bailey successfully argued before the U.S. Supreme Court that Sheppard had been denied due process, winning a re-trial. A not guilty verdict followed. Was this the inspiration behind Eric Weill's choice of attorney and the name "Sam", both inextricably linked by a high profile court case a few years earlier. However, this was getting on for three years ago.
In August 1969, just two months prior to the Oakland Police Department and Jim Dunbar Show calls, Sam Sheppard debuted as a professional wrestler against Wild Bill Scholl - entering under the stage name of "Killer" Sam Sheppard. Therefore, it is quite ironical that the caller on October 22nd 1969 had asked for an attorney who successfully defended Sam Sheppard, who then identified as "Sam" on the Jim Dunbar Show as a replacement for the ominous "Zodiac Killer", just two months after Sam appeared in the "ring" as a "killer". You couldn't write the script.
Sam Sheppard wrestled over 40 matches before his death in April 1970, including a number of tag team bouts with professional wrestler George Strickland as his partner. His notoriety made him a strong draw.
RSS Feed
