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Richard Grinell, Coventry, England
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THE BLOODY TAXICAB FINGERPRINTS

7/12/2017

 
Here we will take a closer look at the bloody fingerprints left on the Paul Stine taxicab in Presidio Heights on October 11th 1969, and see if they can reveal anything about the unfolding events that night.

In total, thirty latent fingerprints, three palm prints and one partial of value were retrieved from the taxicab. The latent prints that exhibited traces of blood were believed to have been deposited by the killer. The two key areas where bloody fingerprints were retrieved, were the exterior front passenger side door handle and the dividing panel between the driver side door and the left rear passenger door, just above half way. The FBI report only stated that the murderer was the likely donor of both bloody latent prints, probably because they likely contained different digit impressions, or one was lacking detail. There is very good reason to believe both impressions were from the killer, which we will explain later. In the photographs on various sites these two prints are circled with a red pen.
PictureBloody fingerprints on divider
There is a possible explanation for the bloody prints shown on the left image, regarding a Washington and Maple murder, but here we shall stick with the widely held belief that the killing took place close to the intersection of Washington and Cherry.

The placement of the bloody print discovered on the front exterior passenger door handle challenges the premise of a passenger who rode in the front seat of Paul Stine's taxicab. Had this been the case, after removing the piece of shirt and exiting the front passenger side door, there would be no need to shut the door using the exterior door handle, but there would be every reason to wipe it down, as observed by the three teenagers. This is because the natural way to open the front passenger door after exiting the right rear of the taxicab would be to use your right hand. When opening a right-sided door it is more natural to use your right hand. Standing by a right-sided door and using your left hand would bring the door into your midriff.
​
When the killer shot Paul Stine he likely received a fine mist of back spatter to his right hand. If he then exited the right rear passenger door with the gun still in his hand, or while putting it away, he would have used his left hand to open it and close it. This may explain why no bloody prints were found on the right rear inner or outer passenger door handle. The Zodiac Killer was described by the three teenagers to be wiping down the front passenger door. It is likely he didn't thoroughly remove the bloody fingerprints, evident by their discovery.  

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The Robbins teenagers gave a more detailed account of the night's events in a later interview - one partially corroborated by Officer Armond Pelissetti - who discovered the teenagers by the intersection of Washington and Cherry. They recounted their observations that night - observations that marry perfectly with evidence retrieved from the taxicab: 

"At this time, Lindsey went downstairs to get a better look at what was happening, while one of the kids upstairs called the police. Downstairs, the lights were off, so Lindsey knew he could not be seen from the outside. He got close to the window and watched his actions. He was shortly joined by Rebecca. They both watched and observed in silence as Zodiac pushed the driver to an upright position behind the steering wheel, exited the car and walked around the rear of the car and opened the driver's door. Stine had fallen over onto the seat and Zodiac pulled him back up into the seated position and had some difficulty keeping him upright. Once upright, he was seen to have a rag, or something like a handkerchief and began to wipe down the door area and leaning over the driver, part of the dashboard. When he was finished, Zodiac calmly walked to Cherry St. and walked north".

The Zodiac Killer had entered the taxicab at the theater district, shot Paul Stine at the intersection of Washington and Cherry, exited the right rear passenger door and entered the front passenger door. He then removed the shirt piece, exited the taxicab and proceeded around to the exterior driver side door to wipe it down, presumably with his dominant right hand (or not). He then left the scene via Cherry Street. Where in this sequence of events should he had ever touched the panel between the driver side door and left rear passenger door with his bloody hands? This was the version in the police report, and fails to account for the bloody fingerprints discovered on the dividing panel of the taxicab. But the more expansive version given by the Robbins kids explains this anomaly perfectly. ​ 

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The teenagers stated that the killer twice attempted to haul Paul Stine back into an upright position behind the steering wheel. The motivation for this has yet to be sufficiently explained. ​The teenagers clearly stated that after he rounded the taxicab, the subject then opened the driver side door, likely using his left hand (for reasons given above). He then attempted to pull the stricken taxicab driver back into an upright position. But to perform this action he needed stability and leverage. This would be achieved by bracing your right hand on the dividing panel between the driver side and left rear door in order to pull Paul Stine upright using your left hand. Once finished, the Zodiac Killer closed the driver side door and wiped down the door handle.

However, he made a crucial mistake. By concentrating on the door handles, he may have inadvertently overlooked the bloody fingerprints deposited by his right hand on the dividing panel. This was detailed in 'Zodiac' by Robert Graysmith : "At one point he opened up the driver's door and leaned forward to wipe off the area of the dashboard again. To steady himself, he leaned his right hand on the rail separating the front and rear windows. The fragment of cloth was still in his left hand. Then he closed the door and walked away". The Zodiac Killer then exited north along Cherry Street and into the night. Paul Stine's body at some point, aided by the camber of the road, fell back across the front passenger seat - his head coming to rest on the front passenger floorboard, where Armond Pelissetti would ultimately discover the stricken taxicab driver just a few minutes later.        

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Shady
7/14/2017 04:54:15 pm

So, if Zodiac didn't rode in the front seat and then drive the car, why ypu think that the omicide took place on Washington and Maple? And then, how did the car stop so that it seems parked to a casual pedestrian? Surely not by Stine, probably already dead or by Zodiac.

Sorry for my bad english, I hope you understand what I mean.

Richard
7/14/2017 11:12:02 pm

Hiya Shady, in some of my earlier articles I presented a case based on the evidence for a Washington and Maple murder. I still don't rule that out, but I am constantly revising my thoughts on the case. Some things I am convinced upon 99%, is Zodiac entered the park, but others such as this, I am not closed to the idea of a Washington/Cherry shooting. I think it's only fair to present cases for both. I even present a case for two assailants, even though I don't necessarily subscribe to that scenario. I am sure you agree that once we claim we KNOW the answer, the time for discussion ends. I generally never close the book on any ideas and hopefully present an article that is meant to provoke a discussion on a particular subject. They are not always my currently held position. For 3 years I believed Zodiac had a car parked somewhere near Jackson and Maple, and while I never fully discount it, there is absolutely no evidence for it, but there is evidence, based on eyewitness testimony from the newspaper article on October 12th 1969 for a man resembling Zodiac entering the park. That is one of many reasons for my leaning towards a park escape. Two years ago I was 80% sure of a Washington/Maple murder, now it's 40%. As you learn more you tend to revise your opinion. It's good to keep an open mind for the most part, otherwise the door is shut for critical thinking. In short Shady, with this murder location, I am still yet to find the clincher for me. There are still many aspects up for debate, certainly the vehicle parked askew to the roadside, but the Robbins kids trying to seat Stine upright could explain the blood pattern on Paul Stine's shirt, and certainly the blooded prints on the dividing panel. This version was not detailed in the police report. If we went on the police report alone, then I can think of absolutely no reason whatsoever, and I've thought long and hard, for blooded prints on this dividing panel (excluding the arguments of innocent third party responders to the crime scene). It seems to suggest the expanded Robbins testimony was in fact true. This provides the alternative for a Washington/Maple murder, where equally these blooded prints could be explained. I don't always take Graysmith's accounts as gospel, for obvious reasons, but on this occasion even he refers to Zodiac opening the driver side door and resting his blooded right hand on the dividing panel. The blooded prints where they were located makes sense. The taxicab position, seems to me unusual. But if we rule out Zodiac driving, the other possibility is that Zodiac had a gun on Zodiac prior to them pulling up, and Paul Stine was threatened to 'pull over here', hence wasn't particularly worried about the etiquette of parking standards at that juncture. Even the Zodiac wanted flyer alluded to the driver being ordered under gunpoint, although they couldn't possibly have known, it makes sense. The movie version depicts an ordinary journey until Stine parks up nicely, then Zodiac pulls a gun. But he may have pulled the gun anywhere on the 13 minute journey. This would explain the errant parking. A silencer, or a gun pressed tightly to the head could suppress the gunshot, explaining its absence to neighbours that night. But some things are still questionable and hopefully most people keep a relatively open mind.

Richard
7/14/2017 11:17:18 pm

Correction: "Zodiac had a gun on Zodiac" was meant to say "Zodiac had a gun on Paul Stine."

Greg H.
7/19/2017 09:47:20 pm

This is the first I've learned of Zodiac trying to position Stine in an upright position upon leaving the crime scene. I'd actually think it would have been to his benefit allowing Stine to remain out of view, sprawled along the seat or the floorboard. Of course we weren't there to see what Stine looked like after being shot, but I'd imagine the blood was copious and the sight of his body rather ghastly.
I think Stine's corpse sat in the front seat would have probably drawn attention faster than a cab parked curbside with no apparent driver.
I suppose that might raise another question--was Zodiac, having gone through so much effort, and ultimately failing, to get Stine into a resting postion behind the wheel, trying to employ a type of scare tactic to embolden his reputation and further wag his finger at the police and society?...

I've considered another scenario regarding the Presidio shooting.. Zodiac, after having killed Stine, could very easily have hijacked the taxi and driven himself wherever he wanted in order to best elude capture. The fact he did not do this may lend an ounce of weight to the idea he had a getaway vehicle in waiting for which he needed to remain where he was. Suffice to say, when Zodiac shot Stine and began the acts of wiping down the cab and toying with the driver's expired body he was likely feeling no sense of impending capture. Not from being spotted by a passerby he might have overlooked on the street and certainly not from nearby teenagers lurking behind a darkened window.

Despite his messiness in leaving so many prints, which, of course, he could have easily been avoided by wearing gloves, I think Zodiac may have had a fairly well-conceived plan in mind. Positioning a bloodied Stine upright in the driver's seat could have been designed as a pre-Halloween fright gag. While foregoing to drive away with the cab and disembark in an alley or desolated spot indicates his car was nearby or, perhaps in fact, he was confident in the escape route he had by foot through the adjacent park. I suppose having the murder take place in an upscale neighborhood only upped the ante--something which would have been lost had he just driven away to a backlot and made a safer escape. Why on earth, though, would he not have just thrown on a pair of gloves?


Richard
7/20/2017 06:49:12 am

All I know Gregory is that if the kids account is true, then Zodiac had some reasoning behind his efforts to right Stine. It does seem odd. One reason he may not have wanted to take control of the taxicab, given a Washington and Cherry murder, was because of the blood. Stine's position and the blood soaked seating are probably a good deterrent. Becoming smothered in somebody's blood is not an ideal option. As you know, the 'vehicle nearby' escape seems the most likely to me, but because of the eyewitnesses at Spruce and Zodiac's directional movements thereafter, definitely for me anyway, point to a location in Cow Hollow. It's near Highway 101, and a quick exit over the Golden Gate Bridge toward Vallejo.

BatArea60s
2/11/2020 12:37:15 am

They say they found 30 latent fingerprints they believe belonged to Z, but the non bloody prints they're not sure. Why wouldn't they be sure? Wouldn't they have matched all prints recovered and know exactly which ones matched and which ones didn't match the other prints? Wouldn't the FBI with all tools at their disposal be able to run a check on all prints ever taken, whether for military, DMV in all states, jobs, SS Records, etc? You would think with all the research FBI has been involved in the past 52 years this would be a given. Of all the prints on record, that Z's prints wouldn't show up anywhere just doesn't make sense. Unless the prints they have from the cab are garbage, then why wouldn't they just state that, we have useless prints, but they've always assured the public they have readable Z prints.


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