SQUEALLING TIRES AND RACEING ENGINE

4/2/2020

The following will examine the claim that the author of the August 4th 1969 Debut of Zodiac letter may have acquired his information directly from the Blue Rock Springs police report and not the Vallejo Times-Herald newspaper, as the August 4th letter stated. If this were true, it could mean that [1] The Zodiac Killer had access to the police reports, or [2] The author of the Debut of Zodiac letter was not the killer, but somebody laying claim to the two attacks thus far under the Zodiac pseudonym. Either way, this would have major ramifications regarding the Zodiac story as a whole. Below is a newspaper cutting from the Vallejo Times-Herald on July 6th 1969 (two days after the attack at Blue Rock Springs Park).

George Bryant lived just 800 feet from the parking lot at Blue Rock Springs and recalled the firecrackers and gunshots that night. As the murderer's vehicle left the scene, George Bryant described "the car take off at a high rate of speed, peeling rubber and cutting corners. He wasn't sure, but he thought it was headed to the freeway". The author of the Debut of Zodiac letter claimed this is where he read about the version of events by George Bryant, retorting "I did not leave the cene of the killing with squealling tires + raceing engine as described in the Vallejo paper. I drove away quite slowly so as not to draw attention to my car".

There is a subtle difference between the two accounts, in that the Vallejo Times-Herald newspaper article refers to peeling rubber, whereas the Debut of Zodiac letter alters this to squealling tires. When we take a look at page 15 of the Blue Rock Springs police report regarding George Bryant, it states that after the gunshots ceased "he then heard a car take off at super speed and it burned rubber and was squealing its tires as it sped along the road".

It can be seen that the "Zodiac Killer" in the August 4th 1969 Debut letter described squealling tires, while the police report on July 7th 1969 described the car as squealing its tires. Is this an unfortunate coincidence of common phraseology, or did the author of the Debut of Zodiac letter inadvertently use the language he had read in the Blue Rock Springs police report?.

Rubislaw 32 link

4/2/2020 10:23:05 am

Like it Richard...and the '' peeling rubber '' expression , reported by the Vallejo Times-Herald ,following the attack at Blue Rock Springs .

On November 9th 1969 , and a month following the attack at Presidio Heights , the Zodiac sent , what is now known as the Bus Bomb Letter :

''...this man who was running by waveing a gun & the cops peeled rubber .... ''

Suggesting that '' peeling rubber '' did influence the Zodiac , to employ in writing , but at a later date .

Richard

4/2/2020 10:50:39 am

Absolutely Rubislaw, bang on. Zodiac was a hideous plagiarist.

Roger

4/3/2020 04:00:00 am

I agree 100%.

4/2/2020 02:24:34 pm

The car that speed away was likely another driver on an adjacent parking lot. Or, perhaps they were the ones that called. Or even a party that didn't want to be a witness.

Mike thought it was a cop. Cops say that the most dangerous moment for them is in that first moment when confronting a subject. Some cops over react when making a stop. The subject turns around too abruptly with something in their hand. Then with the rest of their lives being ruined in their mind. If they did shoot in an over-reaction. They might keep on shooting to cover-up their mistake. Then with Mike yelling out. The cop quickly realizes he better make it look like a revenge killing and comes back to empties his pistol. MM said he did quickly grab for his identification. Is this a scenario that has been explored?

Richard

4/2/2020 02:49:36 pm

The car that sped away was the one described by George Bryant almost immediately after the gunfire ceased. Michael Mageau described his attacker speeding away. The two events are the same, at around midnight. We know the murder was probably one or two minutes after midnight, exactly correlating with Bryant's statement of approximately midnight. We know of only two vehicles in the BRS parking lot at midnight, and one was the murderer who was described as speeding away. The gunshots and vehicle immediately racing away after they ceased, is without doubt the killer. Even "Zodiac" attested to, despite claiming he didn't burn rubber. The bigger question, is the usage of the word "squealing".

Scott Norton

4/2/2020 03:12:06 pm

Excellent find Richard! Quite interesting.

Richard

4/2/2020 04:18:38 pm

What do you reckon Scott - coincidence or something else.

Scott Norton

4/3/2020 03:15:52 pm

I'm not sure. The find is striking considered in its own vacuum but keep in mind the subtle difference between "burning rubber" which refers to the inception of acceleration and "squealing tires" which refers to rounding a corner or swerving after the acceleration has taken place. The statement of Bryant, who always struck me as level headed, runs the gamut--note his three phrases quoted in the report (taking off at "super speed" while "burning rubber" with "squealing tires"). Zodiac's letter directly mimics only one of those and, while the Vallejo article doesn't use the same phrase it does use "cutting corners" which is a close cousin. That said, the use of the identical (albeit misspelled) phrase not in the article is striking.

Perhaps more than that however one should ask: why deny the witness' statement at all? If we put to rest the notion that Bryant heard someone else besides Zodiac we have behavior that is contrary for, at best a very trivial reason (perhaps it makes him look weak and panicked to speed away?) and truth be damned. For me that is the folly of trying to analyze any of the letters in microcosmic way--he tells the truth sometimes he doesn't other times and it's quite hard to know which is which. For my money it's more important to look globally behind the communications as a whole than parse specific language.

I don't think this find, as good as it is, conclusively demonstrates an insider's knowledge of VPD but it is definitely to be considered and if replicated somewhere else in the case, looked at further.

4/2/2020 03:35:56 pm

Richard!!

Drew Beeson just discovered the link you have been searching for - to the Mikado and the secret pal - everything!!
Sighting In on The Zodiac Killer - New Startling Information !!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7neGTHjsZmg

Richard

4/2/2020 04:17:06 pm

That is a good find by Drew - it's a small world. Don't believe Cheney is Zodiac, but regardless of my opinion, I certainly respect good investigative work such as this.

4/4/2020 04:19:08 pm

The grand conspiracy theorist is Thomas Horan. His theory is too convoluted and too big to have actually happened.

On YouTube - the great zodiac hoax Black box pod cast #13

I agree with this guy talking that Thomas Horan's Theory is dead. But,he really did some great detective work and
found a lot of valuable things. I really think though that Horan is going to come out with a Mia-Culpa soon though.
He is starting to walk things back, he is a very gutsy guy. I have said many things that I wish I could take back.
But, That's for another day. Horan put it on too big of a conspiracy with too many unsubstantiated murderers.
Most importantly though - he got too complicated. He should perhaps write a new book with just the stuff he got right. Plus co-write with you and Drew Beeson - Because Paul Avery is now the man at the center of everything.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPCXjMJ5hyY

4/3/2020 09:15:53 am

Fascinating stuff Richard! Also, great observation by Rubislaw.

I wonder if the term “squealing” was featured by another paper after BRS (i.e. Chronicle, Examiner, Oakland Tribune, etc) and Z picked it up from there?

Also, it would be interesting to know who wrote the above referenced article for the Vallejo newspaper. Could it be that the someone intentionally used “peele” in article to deflect from his knowledge of the word “squeal” in the police report, but then felt comfortable using “peeled rubber” a year later for a crime committed outside of Vallejo?

Either way, these are great finds by you guys. Thank you!

Richard

4/3/2020 10:10:40 am

https://www.flickr.com/photos/112412867@N06/sets/72157639880253085/

Here are all the newspaper articles throughout that period. I read through every single article twice and never saw the word "squealing" used at all. Only the BRS police report used the word "squealing", just like Zodiac repeated a month later in the Debut letter. This could obviously be coincidental, but if Zodiac worked in law enforcement and had access to the police report, when he wrote his August 4th letter he may have subconsciously used the wording he read ie: squealing (assuming Bryant wasn't Zodiac). How common is "squealing tires" over "screeching tires". The Zodiac did specifically referenced the Vallejo paper when he objected to leaving the scene at a high rate of speed. But if anybody can find any paper between July 4th and August 4th that references "squealing" I will gladly delete this article - because it would effectively be rendered incorrect. But I'm sure Zodiac was referencing the Vallejo July 6th paper, because no other publication (and certainly from Vallejo) went into any detail about George Bryant and the peeling of rubber and cutting corners. This had to be the paper Zodiac was referring to. But like I said, if you can find a second newspaper cutting with respect to this type of descriptive language of the assailant's car leaving the parking lot, I shall immediately delete it.

I don't know who wrote it, but here is the full article.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/112412867@N06/12004627625/in/album-72157639880253085/

Richard

4/3/2020 10:25:41 am

Thomas Horan wrote this. I don't agree with his interpretation in this instance.
"I did not leave the cene of the killing with squealling tires + raceing engine as described in the Vallejo paper—Oh, yes, he did. Both Mageau and George Bryant confirmed that. But, in his August 19 interview with Dave Peterson, Mike changed his story, in direct response to this letter. So, what? So, Andy Nickolatos, Jr was arrested (at least briefly) leaving the scene quietly and slowly. This fact was never reported in the newspapers. So, how could the killer POSSIBLY know it? He couldn't have. So, why would Zodiac call attention to a "fact" that, if investigated by Dear Editor, would prove the letters were a hoax? For one thing, it would also prove that police had withheld a pretty big fact from Dear Editor. For whatever reason. But it also tends to cast suspicion on Andy—and away from several other people. But, IF Dear Editor, or anyone else, does look into this fact, it only ends up proving that the letters were a hoax. But, in any case, just what DID Andy tell Odiorne and Hoffman? That Zodiac seems to be calling attention to?"

But Andy Nickolatos did say "Is this about that guy laying down back there".
https://www.zodiacciphers.com/uploads/4/9/7/1/4971630/andy_orig.png

4/3/2020 10:47:54 am

Thank you again Richard.

Yes, it could be a coincidence that Z used ‘squealing’ instead of ‘peele rubber’ after BRS. However, for him to later use the term ‘peel rubber’ after PH is very suspicious. Why wouldn’t he have used either ‘squeal’ or ‘peele rubber’ in both instances, since they essentially mean the same thing? Instead, he effectively quoted different sources, one of which was an undisclosed police report.

Yes, coincidence is possible, but in a case where nearly all avenues have been covered ad nauseam, this definitely a welcome new angle.

Scott Norton

4/6/2020 03:00:03 pm

Richard I've done a check for the phrase "squealing tires" used in all California newspapers during 1969 on a special database I have. There is no use of that phrase at all except when quoting Zodiac's own letter.

Richard

4/6/2020 03:31:56 pm

Fantastic news Scott, I can leave the article in place then. Cheers for double checking.

4/4/2020 07:31:25 pm

Magnolia Ave, is the gut strip/street the young drove in the fifties and sixties it ran from Riverside to the Corona track, CA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKLs37jPmp4

This was The Never-Ending Road - that no one who drove on and was ever seen again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoIpRCnWYAw

4/5/2020 07:52:53 am

Just a follow-up on this cop/insider possibility in which the writer of the Zodiac letter may have had access to an un-released police report.

A fairly recent suspect, Kenneth Lester German was a cop with the Suisun Police Department. Suisun, CA is about 20 minutes to Vallejo and Napa. He also resembles the SF Composite.

Not jumping into any conclusions, but keeping an open mind about all possibilities.

4/5/2020 08:32:52 am

Not to forget VPD officer Richard Hoffman, who escorted Darlene Ferrin in the ambulance. He almost certainly had access to the police report (assuming he didn’t write it).

Richard

4/5/2020 08:43:33 am

Here is a snippet from a previous article regarding Suisun Mo.

"The Zodiac mailed correspondence to the San Francisco Chronicle on April 20th 1970, in which he stated "I have killed ten people to date. It would have been a lot more except that my bus bomb was a dud. I was swamped out by the rain we had a while back." Suisun City, Solano County, California can be seen via the link to border the city of Fairfield. But why is this relevant?
It has been suggested in previous articles that the Zodiac Killer may have resided near the payphone at Springs Road and Tuolumne Street, but we know that two letters were mailed from Fairfield to the San Francisco Chronicle on December 7th 1969, and to the San Francisco Examiner on December 16th 1969. If these were genuine Zodiac letters, then there is a possibility that he may have been a resident of Suisun City or Fairfield for the duration of the 7th to 16th of December and mailed his letters from this location. Was he a resident of this area beyond December 16th 1969, or did he reside here permanently? The Bay Area murderer may have had two residences, a vacation home, lockup or a business in this region of Solano County.
Just a matter of weeks after the final Fairfield letter, floods in Suisun City/Fairfield, "from Laurel Creek and Union Avenue Creek caused flooding in January 1970" resulting in the evacuation of many "residences and businesses" in the area. The Zodiac Killer then wrote to the San Francisco Chronicle in April, stating "that my bus bomb was a dud. I was swamped out by the rain we had a while back." But was he telling the truth?"

Might not be any use, but thought I'd mention it.

https://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/after-the-flood

Richard

4/5/2020 11:58:38 am

The one piece of evidence in the July 31st letters that ties the Zodiac Killer not only to Lake Herman Road, but at the exact time of the murders, is his statement of "the girl was on her right side feet to the west". Only Zodiac and Stella Medeiros confirmed this fact. Zodiac left the turnout and Medeiros arrived minutes later. Five minutes later when Captain Daniel Pitta arrived first on the scene, Betty Lou Jensen was face down. This, one argues, is proof the July 31st letters author was certainly the killer and present in that small window of time on December 20th 1968. But the same argument is used in this instance by people wishing to debunk this fact. They say that the letter-writer could have had access to the police report.

Zodiac stated "the girl was on her right side feet to the west".
Medeiros stated "the girl was on her side facing the road".

From the position she was found, had she been on her right side, she would have been facing the road.

4/5/2020 12:44:02 pm

Excellent! Richard - it's history I'm witnessing - and I got a front row seat - to your nailing this thing down.

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