THE 9 TO 1 RATIO AT LAKE HERMAN ROAD

3/22/2020

Here we will analyze the sequence of shots at Lake Herman Road on December 20th 1968 from the perspective of two assailants and two shooters. When the Debut of Zodiac letter arrived at the San Francisco Examiner on August 4th 1969, was the author recalling the murder of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen from his perspective only. The letter stated "All I had to do was spray them as if it was a water hose; there was no need to use the gun sights". In the video below, it is shown that the assailant who fired 9 shots was the person with the pencil flash light attached to his gun. He exclusively targeted the Rambler and Betty Lou Jensen. His accomplice executed a subdued David Faraday with one shot to the head at point blank range, who was not "sprayed" with a bullet as the author had implied. So was the author of the Debut of Zodiac letter the main protagonist that night, recalling the murders from his perspective only.

17 Comments

3/22/2020 12:19:53 pm

If two victims are found murdered the implications are they stuck together.

While this seems to be the brave and valiant thing to do.

The correct course of action is always to run away in separate directions.

The assailant's plan is then quickly thwarted.

He is then confronted with the probability of being caught.

The majority of perpetrators quickly abort. As they now think that the cops will be called soon - with their description given by the fleeing party. And, since they would likely get away if they did stop everything & just flee. They invariably give up their plans and get away.

I read somewhere that shells were found next to Jensen's body.

If true, he stood over her - shooting at a downward angle.

This may suggest he had help to corral the couple.

Very difficult for one man to deal with two victims that quickly separate.

Although David was valiant and did not leave her side.

The street smart thing to do would be to disperse, never stick together.

Whenever I read of these cases of more than one killed it's so frustrating.

It is too bad that all couples killed did not know this reality.

If there was only one guy doing all of this. David was surly killed first.

Richard

3/22/2020 01:49:00 pm

No cartridge casings were found by Betty, but one bullet was. One bullet was discovered inside her panties. The other appears to have vanished from the turnout floor. That is why your finding in Great Crimes & Trials is really interesting BB. If Zodiac had approached BLJ and checked on her status, did his pencil flashlight pick up the glint of an exit wound bullet on the turnout floor, which he retrieved from near her body. The one possibly sent with the Stine letter. Chief of Police Martin Lee did state in a news conference they were effectively holding back some information. We know that police withhold information from the public, so it's perfectly conceivable they didn't release the information about the bullet in the Stine letter to hopefully verify future contact by the killer, particularly regarding the LHR murders.

Chaucer

3/23/2020 11:11:21 am

Richard,

You believe Zodiac was a team effort?

Richard

3/23/2020 03:55:24 pm

I don't believe Zodiac was a team effort full stop, and I don't necessarily subscribe to two assailants in tandem either, but I would certainly never rule out two individuals operating during the 4 canonical attacks. The Lake Herman Road murders has the most going for it in terms of more than one perpetrator. The missing casing and bullet retrieved from David Faraday could certainly be from a separate weapon. Until that casing is retrieved and tested we will never know.

Richard

3/23/2020 04:24:02 pm

The ear lobe of David Faraday was pulled back to show the entry wound. To me, this is indicative of somebody restraining him and pressing the gun in tight to his head. Why would a guy with a flashlight attached to his weapon need to position his gun in such a point blank fashion. This totally negates your sighting implement and reduces visibility. Also the Debut of Zodiac letter author states "All I had to do was spray them as if it was a water hose; there was no need to use the gun sights". David Faraday wasn't sprayed. So the author may have been the murderer of BLJ and failed to take into account his partner's close quarter execution.

3/23/2020 01:39:49 pm

We can kick around the ideas "till the cows come home". But if we are going to find the Zodiac we all have to work together. Let's really try to help Mr. Grinell reveal the killer's name. The debate has gone on for over fifty years. Let's stop the bickering. We sometimes sound like kids arguing on the playground. Let's back-up Mr. Grinell. He has no dog in this. He is not from the United States. He is exactly what we need. An impartial objective outsider. He is not bias. Let's face it we are partial to one subject or another. Based on our prejudices. If we were to think as honestly as we could - we still couldn't alienate ourselves enough not to interject those ideas. They are too ingrained through politics and religion and our individual up-brings. When we begin an investigation with a belief we are not starting in the right place. That invariably has us looking for every thing that could support that narrative. They say in law enforcement that there is only two types of evidence. Number one in importance is witness and number two is circumstantial. Even a bold face confession is circumstantial. So is DNA. And to me witness evidence is worse. The best investigator is holistic. That means someone who is alienated from the subject. The best person we could place in charge of what could possibly be the most complex case in the world is Richard Grinell. Because he has proven himself to be objective over the past decade.

Richard

3/24/2020 11:14:00 am

Thanks BB, I'm not worthy. Do you think I should return to writing articles or keep this "on the fly" format using videos.

3/24/2020 06:03:59 am

If there were two shooters, I don’t think BLJ would have been able to exit the Rambler and try to flee. The second shooter would have prevented her.

I think Zodiac crept up to David first, because he would be the more problematic of the two victims (Zodiac also creep up to the driver first at BRS). Once David was fatally shot from close range, BLJ tried to flee, but was killed by a flurry of shots “sprayed” by the Zodiac.

I read somewhere that an investigative cop and/or journalist may have helped themselves to some casings.

Richard

3/24/2020 06:45:53 am

When investigators arrived on scene only the passenger side door was open (the other three doors were locked) The photograph shows both doors open, but that isn't how investigators found the crime scene. It was determined therefore that BLJ was forced to exit the passenger side first, at which point she could have been restrained by the shooter. David Faraday exits the passenger side door second, to be restrained by the other assailant.

David Faraday's driver door was locked, so there is no evidence of him being targeted first. He exited the Rambler subsequent to Betty Lou Jensen. On both occasions, LHR and BRS, the killer approached the passenger side of the vehicle.

According to Mike Rodelli, Russell Butterbach took one of the casings home. We cannot confirm this, but if true it's crazy. This undoubtedly would have been the casing on the front passenger floorboard of the Rambler. Why? Because the police report clearly stated that Sergeant Silva and coroner Dan Horan picked up 4 and 5 casings respectively (totalling 9). These were the 9 recovered from the turnout floor. That means the missing casing is the one towed away with the Rambler and likely the one taken by Russell Butterbach or other investigator, if the story is true.

3/24/2020 12:31:19 pm

Broadly speaking
We are too egotistic
You are too humble
We need your help to balance us out
Perhaps a balance also of the two formats would be best too
Thank you... oddly that little twist of phrase works

Two_Buck_Chuck

3/25/2020 10:21:22 am

A solid analysis Richard for sure but I doubt there were two shooters.

I think it more likely Zodiac used the ruse of a robbery to get the kids out of the car and with their backs to him (a la an arrest position) he may have started to frisk them or ask for the ring on Davids' finger, which I think ended up mysteriously hanging near the tip...During this ruse he may have just quickly executed David which caused Betty Lou to take off - thereby allowing him to mow her down....which is probably what he most wanted......another possibility, suggested by some, is that David resisted in some way and after a brief struggle got shot behind the ear....in all the couple crimes the guy is targeted first as the biggest threat, allowing the coward to attack the poor females unabated....just some ideas....as you say, if a cop kept a shell casing that is unthinkable.....

Richard

3/25/2020 11:21:02 am

I'll give you a question to ponder Two Buck. How long in seconds do you believe was the time taken from [1] The time the killer pulled up alongside the Rambler, to [2] the first shot into a victim (in your case David Faraday). Give me an estimate in seconds.

Two_Buck_Chuck

3/25/2020 11:28:36 am

I feel like this is a trick question. I remember there was a passerby that probably delayed things so I'd say....150 seconds.....

Richard

3/25/2020 12:28:55 pm

It is a trick question because James Owen claimed he saw nobody in or around the two vehicles. Almost everybody agrees that was Zodiac's vehicle. On his journey to Benicia from Vallejo, James Owen has a stretch of road where he can see 40 seconds into the distance. He describes no vehicles in front of him that night. This means that any killer entering the turnout from Vallejo has 40 seconds in the turnout before Owen reaches it. When James Owen approaches he has a visual on it from 20 seconds away, meaning that any killer that entered the turnout approaching from Benicia, had to be in the turnout for at least 20 seconds before Owen reaches it. That is the bare minimum that the killer entered the turnout before Owen passes the turnout. That means it is unlikely the killer initiated the attack immediately. If the killer had initiated the attack say 30 seconds before Owen arrived, why didn't he hear the shots, as he claimed he heard one shot 30 seconds after passing the turnout. If the killer had arrived in the turnout 1 or 2 minutes before Owen arrived, then why are no bodies on the ground.

If the killer had initiated the attack say 45-50 seconds before Owen arrived (out of earshot), but when he had extricated the couple from the Rambler he noticed the headlights or heard the vehicle of Owen approaching, so he hid them behind the vehicles as Owen passed. Owen didn't describe any glint of glass or any of the vehicles doors open. So we would have to assume Zodiac closed his door, then the Rambler door and then hid the couple. Once Owen had passed he then murdered the couple. So why was the front passenger door of the Rambler open when investigators arrived on scene. Why would Zodiac reopen the Rambler passenger door. The story of James Owen makes no sense in relation to other eyewitnesses and the crime scene.

Two_Buck_Chuck

3/25/2020 01:20:05 pm

I've got it....James Owen is the Zodiac...let's all pull up our tents and go home.....Ha

All kidding aside, a few things come to mind. One is - how good a witness is James Owen?, is there any particular reason to be really observant of a turnaround lover's lane for kids around Christmas time...you know how unreliable eyewitnesses are....secondly, maybe Zodiac shot up the car after the murders to stage it a bit....make it look like a drug deal gone wrong or something.....we know how theatrical he was....maybe he also wanted to spend his 10 bullet predetermined number....we know how number conscious he was...I don't know anything about guns...did his clip or magazine hold 10?
Finally, maybe he saw your missing shell in the front seat and retrieved it or perhaps some other souvenir to remind him of the deed or to send to the police for confirmation....

Obviously all speculation .....we only know we're dealing with a crazy and fertile mind here....

3/26/2020 09:54:14 am

https://www.pewpewtactical.com/rimfire-vs-centerfire-ammunition/

Two_Buck_Chuck

3/26/2020 11:26:39 am

Thanks for the educational site BB.....

THE 9 TO 1 RATIO AT LAKE HERMAN ROAD

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