Lynda Christine Kanes (20) When the Zodiac Killer mailed the Los Angeles letter on March 13th 1971 he claimed 17+ victims, with the plus sign likely added to claim "there are a hell of a lot more down there", when referring to his Riverside activity down south. The Zodiac Killer's last known victim count was 14 when he mailed the Halloween card on October 27th 1970. So was the addition of three more victims deliberately chosen with particular murders or disappearances in mind? And what triggered the Zodiac Killer to switch his mailing to the Los Angeles Times newspaper, rather than continue with the San Francisco Chronicle? His suggestion was that he wrote to the Times because "they don't bury him on the back pages like some of the others". This probably wasn't the reason at all.
The one thing we know for sure about the Zodiac Killer was his propensity to respond to newspaper articles concerning his exploits, or potential victims he may be responsible for. Bearing in mind his switch to the Los Angeles Times, let us take a look at the previous article regarding the Zodiac Killer in the Times newspaper prior to March 13th 1971. One week earlier, on March 6th 1971, the newspaper revealed that the body of Lynda Kanes (20) had been discovered alongside Howell Mountain Road in a shallow grave 15 miles west of Lake Berryessa, and noted that she was a Pacific Union College student just like murder victim Cecelia Shepard. In other words, the newspaper had tentatively connected Lynda Kanes to one of Zodiac's attack sites. Enter the Zodiac Killer, writing to the Los Angeles Times the following Saturday, claiming at least 17 victims. But this may have just been the primer.
The one thing we know for sure about the Zodiac Killer was his propensity to respond to newspaper articles concerning his exploits, or potential victims he may be responsible for. Bearing in mind his switch to the Los Angeles Times, let us take a look at the previous article regarding the Zodiac Killer in the Times newspaper prior to March 13th 1971. One week earlier, on March 6th 1971, the newspaper revealed that the body of Lynda Kanes (20) had been discovered alongside Howell Mountain Road in a shallow grave 15 miles west of Lake Berryessa, and noted that she was a Pacific Union College student just like murder victim Cecelia Shepard. In other words, the newspaper had tentatively connected Lynda Kanes to one of Zodiac's attack sites. Enter the Zodiac Killer, writing to the Los Angeles Times the following Saturday, claiming at least 17 victims. But this may have just been the primer.
Nine days later, the Zodiac Killer not only addressed the Pines card to the Los Angeles Times for a second time, but added the San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Examiner as well. The Pines card wasn't referring to the once "Missing Coed" Lynda Kanes, but the missing Donna Lass, who disappeared from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel & Casino on September 6th 1970, with her story covered extensively by the San Francisco Chronicle on September 26th 1970. The article, entitled Nurse Vanishes--A Tahoe Mystery, compared the case of Donna Lass to the murder victim, Judith Hakari, who also went missing for seven weeks until her body was discovered in a shallow grave alongside Ponderosa Way in Weimar. Both Donna Lass and Judith Hakari were nurses. However, these crimes were not currently linked to the Zodiac Killer.
The Pines card was clearly suggesting an involvement in the missing Donna Lass case because of the pasted wording "pass Lake Tahoe areas" and "sought victim 12". But the key part of the Pines card may have been the "around in the snow" phrase, pasted upside down, as if to suggest a burial site. Lynda Kanes was found buried in a shallow grave, just like Judith Hakari. So, if the Zodiac Killer could suggest he was the murderer of Donna Lass, who was linked to Judith Hakari, who was buried in a shallow grave - the timing of the Los Angeles letter, coupled with the Pines card, may force investigators to consider the possibility of Zodiac's involvement in all three murders. Hence the victim total rising by three to 17, with Donna Lass to be also found buried.
The Zodiac Killer, had he read the March 6th 1971 article about Lynda Kanes (shown left), would have realized that his name was brought up because of the proximity of the murder victim's gravesite to Lake Berryessa. He would also have known, had he read the September 26th 1970 article about Donna Lass, the close proximity of the murder of Paul Stine and his claimed escape into Presidio park, to the workplace of Donna Lass at the Letterman General Hospital in the Presidio grounds. By linking himself to Donna Lass, he is adding credence to his claim through proximity, and hoping investigators would draw this conclusion too.
The Pines card was clearly suggesting an involvement in the missing Donna Lass case because of the pasted wording "pass Lake Tahoe areas" and "sought victim 12". But the key part of the Pines card may have been the "around in the snow" phrase, pasted upside down, as if to suggest a burial site. Lynda Kanes was found buried in a shallow grave, just like Judith Hakari. So, if the Zodiac Killer could suggest he was the murderer of Donna Lass, who was linked to Judith Hakari, who was buried in a shallow grave - the timing of the Los Angeles letter, coupled with the Pines card, may force investigators to consider the possibility of Zodiac's involvement in all three murders. Hence the victim total rising by three to 17, with Donna Lass to be also found buried.
The Zodiac Killer, had he read the March 6th 1971 article about Lynda Kanes (shown left), would have realized that his name was brought up because of the proximity of the murder victim's gravesite to Lake Berryessa. He would also have known, had he read the September 26th 1970 article about Donna Lass, the close proximity of the murder of Paul Stine and his claimed escape into Presidio park, to the workplace of Donna Lass at the Letterman General Hospital in the Presidio grounds. By linking himself to Donna Lass, he is adding credence to his claim through proximity, and hoping investigators would draw this conclusion too.
Santa Cruz Sentinel The one extremely compelling argument to back up the notion of the Zodiac Killer designing the Pines card is his addition of the phrase "sought victim 12". The claim that the victim total of twelve being out of sequence with other known Zodiac communications is proof of a hoaxer being responsible for the Pines card, is inherently flawed logic. It relies on the premise of a hoaxer, who meticulously and deliberately chose certain newspaper cuttings and pasted five selected phrases onto a postcard, along with taking the time to punch a hole in one corner and scalloping its edges, being so stupid as to not have read any of the previous and numerous newspaper articles about the Zodiac Killer and his widely available running victim totals. The logical conclusion regarding the Pines card, is that it was deliberately engineered using the word "sought", which is the past participle of seek. The suggestion being, that he had once "sought" Donna Lass as his twelfth victim.
This makes perfect sense when we consider that the April 20th 1970 Zodiac letter claimed 10 victims, and his June 26th 1970 Zodiac letter claimed 12 victims. Any victim "sought" between these two dates could conceivably have become Zodiac's twelfth victim. Donna Lass was resident at 4122 Balboa Street, San Francisco between the dates of April 20th 1970 and the early part of June 1970, before she moved to begin her job at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel & Casino on June 6th 1970. A Zodiac Killer trailing or having "sought" Donna Lass before her move to South Lake Tahoe, could have unquestionably targeted her as victim number twelve between these dates. By using the phrase "sought victim 12" in the Pines card, the Zodiac Killer is effectively connecting himself to Donna Lass through San Francisco and South Lake Tahoe, hopefully cementing the belief in investigators minds that he knew Donna Lass over an extended period of time. Of course, he may not have been trailing her at all and may not have been her killer, but by using the "sought victim 12" phrase, he is effectively suggesting this as a possibility to law enforcement in order to boost his credibility.
The information about Donna Lass having worked at the Letterman General Hospital in the Presidio park, close to the Zodiac's final victim of Paul Stine on October 11th 1969 was widely covered in the September 26th 1970 San Francisco Chronicle article, along with the date she moved. Therefore, by incorporating the phrase "sought victim 12" into the Pines card, the Zodiac Killer is bridging the gap between the murder of the taxicab driver and the disappearance of Donna Lass, both indelibly connected to the Presidio Heights district of San Francisco. This phrase wasn't a mistake, it was deliberately fashioned to plant a seed. The Los Angeles Times would form a similar connection to the murder and burial site of Lynda Kanes to the Zodiac Killer's attack at Lake Berryessa. Therefore, the Zodiac Killer mailing two communications immediately after the discovery of her body may have been designed to engineer a conclusion that the Zodiac had not only killed Donna Lass and Judith Hakari, but Lynda Kanes also. The Los Angeles Times letter came nearly five months after his previous communication, but only one week after the discovery of Lynda Kanes' shallow grave, with the passage "I'm writing to the Times (because) they don't bury me on the back pages like some of the others".
The murder of Lynda Kanes would eventually be attributed to Walter Williams (aka Willie the Woodcutter), who was ultimately convicted of the crime.
This makes perfect sense when we consider that the April 20th 1970 Zodiac letter claimed 10 victims, and his June 26th 1970 Zodiac letter claimed 12 victims. Any victim "sought" between these two dates could conceivably have become Zodiac's twelfth victim. Donna Lass was resident at 4122 Balboa Street, San Francisco between the dates of April 20th 1970 and the early part of June 1970, before she moved to begin her job at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel & Casino on June 6th 1970. A Zodiac Killer trailing or having "sought" Donna Lass before her move to South Lake Tahoe, could have unquestionably targeted her as victim number twelve between these dates. By using the phrase "sought victim 12" in the Pines card, the Zodiac Killer is effectively connecting himself to Donna Lass through San Francisco and South Lake Tahoe, hopefully cementing the belief in investigators minds that he knew Donna Lass over an extended period of time. Of course, he may not have been trailing her at all and may not have been her killer, but by using the "sought victim 12" phrase, he is effectively suggesting this as a possibility to law enforcement in order to boost his credibility.
The information about Donna Lass having worked at the Letterman General Hospital in the Presidio park, close to the Zodiac's final victim of Paul Stine on October 11th 1969 was widely covered in the September 26th 1970 San Francisco Chronicle article, along with the date she moved. Therefore, by incorporating the phrase "sought victim 12" into the Pines card, the Zodiac Killer is bridging the gap between the murder of the taxicab driver and the disappearance of Donna Lass, both indelibly connected to the Presidio Heights district of San Francisco. This phrase wasn't a mistake, it was deliberately fashioned to plant a seed. The Los Angeles Times would form a similar connection to the murder and burial site of Lynda Kanes to the Zodiac Killer's attack at Lake Berryessa. Therefore, the Zodiac Killer mailing two communications immediately after the discovery of her body may have been designed to engineer a conclusion that the Zodiac had not only killed Donna Lass and Judith Hakari, but Lynda Kanes also. The Los Angeles Times letter came nearly five months after his previous communication, but only one week after the discovery of Lynda Kanes' shallow grave, with the passage "I'm writing to the Times (because) they don't bury me on the back pages like some of the others".
The murder of Lynda Kanes would eventually be attributed to Walter Williams (aka Willie the Woodcutter), who was ultimately convicted of the crime.
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