ZODIAC CIPHERS
RICHARD GRINELL, COVENTRY, ENGLAND
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THE CAR DOOR AT LAKE BERRYESSA

8/12/2014

 
The Zodiac crimes have been analyzed extensively, almost to the point of now being questioned whether any or each of the attacks are related to one another - and this is not difficult to do. To play devil's advocate in dismantling each crime is as simple as looking for an alternative theory - which isn't necessarily a bad thing - but when the alternative theory is less likely or more outlandish than the original based on just speculation, it just provides another dark avenue to get lost within. All the Zodiac crimes are different from one another, and it is with little doubt that the murder of Paul Stine at Presidio Heights on October 11th 1969 would have been routinely dismissed as a Zodiac murder had the killer not sent a swatch of Paul Stine's shirt to the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper just two days later.

Doubts have plagued the validity of Zodiac involvement in the murder of Cecelia Shepard and attempted murder of Bryan Hartnell at Lake Berryessa on September 27th 1969, despite the fact the killer wrote on the car door of Bryan Hartnell and placed a payphone call to police dispatcher Dave Slaight just 70 minutes after leaving the crime scene. One reason touted is the failure of the murderer to identity himself as the Zodiac Killer throughout his interaction with the couple. But why should he? In all of his crimes, no doubt his intention was to leave no living eyewitnesses, so any mention to himself as being Zodiac is superfluous. Additionally, he never mentioned his pseudonym in either of his phone calls at 1231 Main Street, Napa, or the intersection of Springs Road and Tuolumne Street in Vallejo. The attack at Lake Berryessa has been further questioned regarding the handwriting on the car door of Bryan Hartnell's white 1956 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. Was it really the Zodiac's handwriting or a copycat?      
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The perpetrator at Lake Berryessa brutally stabbed Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard a total of 16 times, in what has been described a calculated and merciless attack with a long-bladed knife. The attacker had knelt over his victims while thrusting the knife down into the back of Bryan Hartnell at least six times, before turning his attention to Cecelia Shepard and stabbing her at least ten times in the back and abdomen as she was rolling around, vainly attempting to escape the onslaught. After the attack the perpetrator walked back up the hill and departed the scene.

Writing on the car door was found (see inset), believed to have been penned by the Zodiac Killer after the attack. There was no mention of any blood being detected and analyzed from the car door in any subsequent forensic examinations, however, some fingerprints were retrieved. Bryan Hartnell clearly stated in later interviews that he could not remember whether the attacker wore gloves or not. So let us examine this conundrum.
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If the killer had not wore gloves, then any fingerprints on the car door one may argue, would not have been the killer's.
He had forcefully struck both victims using a long-bladed knife at least 16 times, possibly securing them with his free hand while thrusting the knife back and forward, in what can only described as a prolonged and vicious attack. Therefore, it is practically impossible that no blood whatsoever would have transferred onto either hand. So, if the fingerprints on the car door were his, are we to believe that all the blood transferred at the scene of the horrific attack simply bypassed both his striking and accompanying hand? Or had he wiped his hands down so thoroughly after the attack that he had removed every last trace?

If he had worn gloves during the attack and leaned on the car door, blood smears would have been apparent on the vehicle but they were not. Had he worn gloves during the attack, which seemed the obvious choice from a standpoint of gripping the knife, as well as covering his fingertips, then subsequently removing them to now lean on the car door while writing the message, on the face of it seems rather illogical. He had covered his upper body with a costume to conceal his identity, so to then expose his hands to plaster the car door with blood free fingerprints and palm prints does not sound a reasonable premise. If he wore gloves, he clearly didn't want his writing hand to smear blood onto the car door where he was trying to write, so unless he was ambidextrous, he was no doubt writing with the same hand he ferociously attacked Cecelia Shepard and Bryan Hartnell with. The same hand that was closest to any blood spatter and impact area. However, if he was ambidextrous and chose to write on the car door with his least preferred hand, then his writing may justifiably vary from the usual pattern displayed in his correspondence with the newspapers. 

PictureThe bindings at Berryessa
There have also been question marks over the style of the handwriting itself, with certain alphabetical characters appearing incompatible with known handwriting samples from his letters. But it is evident that the handwriting on the car door is incompatible with itself.

For example, he wrote the letter 'E' three times and each one is different. He wrote the number '6' four times and each one is different. He has just stabbed a couple 16 times in a prolonged attack with his adrenaline possibly high, he was squatting or kneeling down in front of the car door parallel to his writing surface - far removed from the position he would adopt writing from the comfort of his home - he was writing above and below his natural midpoint on a cambered door, possibly faster than normal, and his lettering was larger than usual. So any comparison to his regular correspondence cannot be applied without factoring these differences into the equation.

His palm was extremely likely to have been free of contact from the car door. If it wasn't, then one would have expected blood transfer to have occurred regardless of whether the assailant was wearing gloves or not. Yes, he could have took the gloves off - but which is worse - smearing blood on the car door or placing your hands on the car door. The Zodiac Killer was undoubtedly a merciless killer, but he was certainly no fool as some would lead us to believe. He could have stabbed the couple without gloves and then donned a pair to write on the car door, but this seems rather unnecessary when he simply needed not to touch the door with either his fingers or palm. And again, if he possessed gloves that day, why logically would any fingerprints found on the car door be his?
 
In terms of the handwriting, our next task is to sit at a table with pen and paper at hand, and write the wording from the car door. We then need to follow this up, by squatting in front of a wall with some paper pinned to it and write the same wording without resting your palm on the wall and note the results. One would expect a discrepancy, let alone all the contributing factors that faced the Zodiac Killer at Lake Berryessa on September 27th 1969. The final option, suggested by some, is that the killer wrote on the car door before attacking the couple. This would circumvent the blood issue, but would have relied heavily upon his method of operation going exactly as planned, otherwise the only smear on the car door may have been in black ink.
 
To view a comprehensive discussion on this topic and pursue other lines of reasoning, please visit the following thread at the ZodiacKillerSite Forum. Or click the banner below, to join or access the main index page.      
http://www.zodiackillersite.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=806

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Judy
12/12/2014 03:08:01 pm

The Zodiak had to get rid of the weapon. Has the near shore of the lake been searched for the big knife? Z could have seen the couple turning onto the lake road and followed them. After parking, he could have taken a look at them lying on the blanket with no one else around, and THEN written the message BEFORE the stabbing.

Richard
12/13/2014 03:58:17 pm

That is a good question, common sense says yes, but I have yet to find a definitive answer. When he drove away from the scene there were ample areas he could of disposed of the weapon along various stretches of the lake, but it is just speculation. But disposing of the weapon seems rather pointless, if in fact you retain the costume, with blood all over it. You either discard everything or nothing. The killer must also have been aware of shoe impressions being left, so it is likely he just got the hell out of there and disposed of them later. The writing on the car door could indeed have been written before the stabbings, but my guess is it was written subsequently. Had he been apprehended or spotted by a passerby prior to stabbing Bryan Hartnell and Cecilia Shepard then the writing on the door would take some explaining, standing there in a costume, holding a gun and knife! However once he had believed he was in the clear the dynamics change. But who knows. If I were the killer, heaven forbid, I would put the 'icing on the cake' after the crime, not before, for want of a better phrase.

Pomy
10/16/2015 09:49:14 am

Hiya,

I think Zodiac is playing head games all along. The mysteries with the car door & the questions about time or the taxi man are all part of the scheme. If I're in his shoes, probably I'd do things that throws ya off the scent. You think I'm clever because of the ciphers, so I stick a few spelling errors in it. Then, I might send a nonsense, random bunch of codes one day while the rest is proper. He coulda driven around with the gear all in his trunk, risking a traf'stop bit it'd be part of the buzz. The door of the VW: do any of the fopingerprints match with the ones that were to be found in the cab? Would be good to be certain. Yet again, in Paul Stine's sad case he coulda waited idle in the backseat - maybe supporting the body from behind - for a minute or so, tho' risky, better than being caught climbing out all bloody. I like the idea of the outta control yellow car to be rollin' but I think the situation is more simple. Unfortunately cabbies are usta ( 'specially back in the years ) being attacked, so with the driver's ready to defend himself thing musta gotten out of hand momentarily and that explains fingerprints all over the place of a tight space. Wipe where he remembered / could given the state of his mind, adrenaline pumpin', and off he went. The cops shoulda halted anybody nearby, so that's a fuck up there, he had a close call, but remained calm. Means that he's quite cold blooded and cunning. His kill-kit could easily have been on him too, few layers of clothes ( Paul can't be interviewed no more and there weren't CCTVs in taxis ) the fare might have had a bag with a change o'clothes in it and just putting it over his top, pants keeps him reasonably clean looking. Bag goes in a pocket, knife, gun stays hidden under layers of garment. He didn't intend to run into anybody afterall. Off the hook, he walks away relieved gets to his wheels and thinks of disposal later...
Just an idea, of course!

Pomy Collingwood

David McDonald
7/27/2019 04:58:00 pm

The zodiac did all of the murders...the zodiac took time to make the kill costume he wore at the lake...that took time...he did his killings and stopped..he is probably dead or in a home of some sorts...but one thing is for sure...Allen was not the Zodiac..

Robin Smith
12/14/2014 02:23:23 am

Too many could have's involved with this Lake Berryessa attack and too short a time frame.....

Two had to be involved and I say Wayne Messier and his father Wilford are the likely suspects. From the descriptions I've read they were military type nuts that did the bayonets, Doberman's(that dog is a profilers dream come true:) knives, guns....real Nutz

Information provided in the most awful book "End of Zodiac" by Gino ValentiN0 aka Raymond Ottoboni..ex City Council, Mayor, PD in Colma , Ca...last rites for Anton LaVey were held in Colma, Ca

Wayne and Wilford lived in and out of Lake Tahoe in the 'day'.

Richard
12/14/2014 03:08:17 am

It is another claim in a list as long as my arm. Not convinced two people were involved, and there is no evidence to support it. But hey nothing is impossible.
http://www.zodiackillerfacts.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=92&t=320&sid=30b296be9edadea8b732604b2dfdb835

Robin Smith
12/14/2014 03:33:23 am

I am way too old to try and reform a list as long as your arm Rich, especially since there is a contingency on every line.

However, at every turn, with the Lawrence Kane/Donna Lass/Bruce Davis snafu....it just keeps getting deeper and deeper...the dark brown stuff I mean

Robin Smith
12/17/2014 01:31:19 am

Richard...All the Zodiac crimes are different from one another.....

I totally agree and this is one of the reasons I formed the Z as an 'operation' vs a single person theory.

N0w the question remains, as pointed out by one of these posters, WHEN did the Zodiac start using that name and which symbol(the circle/cross or the Z) came first?

Robin

Robin Smith
1/3/2015 01:43:17 am

DEBUT OF Z LETTER Aug 4, 1969

Alex Lewis link
1/17/2015 03:55:26 pm

Rich, you stated: "but I have yet to find a definitive answer. When he drove away from the scene there were ample areas he could of disposed of the weapon along various stretches of the lake, but it is just speculation."
Speaking of Speculation... What makes you so sure He drove away from anywhere, let alone the scene itself? Police say they discovered tyre tracks behind Bryan's vehicle parked out in the open on a road. Those impressions could be tyre tracks the sunbathing girls vehicle left, or anyone elses from that day or day before. I don't think he parked there behind Bryan & fled immediately after the stabbing anywhere, I think he was somewhere in or near Lake B as the authorities respond. Why? Painful obvious....
1: How likely is it that Zodiac would park his vehicle right behind the intended victims on a road for all passing vehicles to see?
2: There is one road in & out of Berryessa & it's a stretch off winding mountainous road thatyou can't get off for miles as you flee the down the winding valley roads. So to successfully escape & evade capture the fleeing Zodiac would have no choice but to drive straight towards & then pass all Emergency responders. As Napa Acting Sheriff Dave Collins alluded to "It took us a half-hour to arrive at the scene.... The road we travel over to get to the Lake is a very long & mountainous road. We figure, with the timing we discovered, that at some point the Zodiac came down the road & passed me going into the City of Napa to make his Boastful Phone Call."
No chance for me at all that this is what happened. He never left the Lake IMO & the man phoning from Napa? Could be an accomplice that had pre-arranged a time & location to call from so that this alone would lead police to believe he'd escaped the Lake & was now in Napa. The caller knew the make of var Bryan had but he could have left the Lake, an accomplice, a full 20/30 minutes before The Z stabs both. He got a lot of what he said wrong on the phone: "I wan't to report a murder, no....a double murder" Can't he remember if he stabbed 1 or two victims? "They are two miles North of Park Head-Quarters..." No they weren't.
Finally, the average time it take's from Lake B to The Phone Booth at the then Napa Car Wash is 35 to 45 mins. The call was placed over 70 Mins after Z stabs both at the Lake so where was he for the missing 20/25 mins?

Robin Smith
3/13/2015 10:37:58 am

Alex:)

I did read the first two books by GiN0...aka Raymond Ottoboni and I do remember that Excalibur of his. Wayne was at one time a security guard at Harvey's. He was a NUT complete with guns, bayonets, and Doberman's.

A couple of years ago when I mentioned this to a Z searcher they just totally blew the idea off.

There is definitely something there, exactly what?

The F.B.I should/probably does kN0w.

Richard
1/17/2015 04:59:42 pm

There is as you say at least 20 minutes of unaccounted time from the 6:30 writing to the placement of the phone call. Firstly once he exited the entrapment of the Knoxville Road he deviated off route to dispose of the evidence before making the risky phone call, similar to the missing time at Blue Rock Springs. He wanted to minimize the risk of holding the 'smoking gun' before he placed both phone calls. But another scenario is that, when he wrote on the car door he checked his watch, it said approximately 6.45 pm, the time that had elapsed after traversing from the crime scene to his car, his removal of the executioners outfit, probably concealing it in a pre-prepared compartment in his vehicle. So he estimated his attack time and wrote 6:30 pm. But a journey time of roughly 50 minutes from 6.45 pm, now places him at the payphone in Napa at 6.35 pm, nearer to the time the call was logged. Two cars parked together wouldn't spark interest, unless somebody knew of the attack at the time or connect it with the Zodiac, it may well have been stolen. Like Presidio Heights, he was brazen and unaware of eyewitnesses or plain didn't care, he had a gun for a reason. I do not subscribe to the accomplice angle in any of the crimes, but that is a whole new story Alex. Despite this your angle is entirely plausible, it definitely holds water (forgive the pun), but I tend towards a single attacker with no accomplices in all four crimes. If he waited in the area after the crime, I guess you are suggesting the voyeurism angle, reveling in the aftermath of the crime. Had the crime not happened due to unforseen circumstances, the accomplice caller would look very stupid. But hey there are multiple possibilities and probably the answer has died with the murderer years ago.

Robin Smith
3/14/2015 03:34:15 am

This Raymond Ottoboni aka GiN0 ValentiN0 is N0t a writer that's for sure...however, he OBVIOUSLY has kN0wledge of this crime..DONNA LASS

Ray Jr is, as Lawrence Kane was, aN0ther MOTHER nut. This is evidenced by his scribbling hysterically on and on about her.

There is truth in all that..what truth?

Bruce Davis is definitely involved.

Wayne Messier and his father Wilfred were here at Lake Tahoe.

I first saw them was in 1966 when they lived or hung out at KELMONT EAST Apartments on Kahle Dr, Stateline, Douglas County, Nevada.

Mike
8/31/2015 11:21:41 am

He probably had two different pairs of gloves.

Richard
8/31/2015 04:56:02 pm

You never know Mike, he may have had three.

Robin Smith
8/31/2015 01:15:40 pm

I read somewhere and I cannot find my ntes at this time:( that one of the male victims had 3 layers of clothes on. There was a question as to why...anyone know anything about this?

Richard
8/31/2015 04:58:36 pm

Mike Mageau had several layers of clothes on, it is referenced in the Zodiac 2007 movie and I believe the reason for it was because he was self conscious about himself being skinny.

Robin Smith
9/1/2015 12:30:02 am

TYRichard!!

My computer doesn't do anything...vidieos etc...and I appreciate the input. This needs more looing into because

THAT SOUNDS TOTALLY FISHY TO ME!

Robin Smith
9/1/2015 01:05:55 am

I do remember also...Still looking for those notes!!...that one of the SFPD involved with Paul Stine murder changed his description of Z to MATCH Ed Rust's exactly. I did thin at the time that considering the time of night...dark...how strange...down to the elastic and color of shoes...not right.

Robin Smith
9/1/2015 01:21:56 am

Once again I need to get back to TAHOE/DONNA LASS and LARRYKANE...

However!! once again as mentioned in the above article....someone/s wanted Paul Stine and Darlene Ferrin connected to Z specifically! As with Donna Lass...neither of them would've been connected to Z if proof had not been provided

Alex Lewis
9/1/2015 06:47:44 am

Well the Zodiac fleeing Berryessa is not a certainty and to play Devils Advocate, how do we know that a second co-conspirator and not the attacker, was the person who made the call to Dave Slaight? I mean it's strikes me as very very odd and something more than just coincidental luck that fishing boats in the area passing by the little Island up to, and straight after, the Zodiac shows up but none at all while He's actually there on the Island. Now I know the idea of Zodiac having a co-conspirator on the lake itself will be scoffed at but it's not so easily dismissed when you take into account that this sort of thing happened repeatedly in Z's crimes from Lake H, where there was a 6 minute window where no traffic passed and it is in that 6 minutes He turns up, kills, and vanishes. Similarly at Berryessa here fishing boats and other boats pass by regularly, until the hooded man steps from behind the tree up to his leaving the Island.

If anyone watches the documentary 'David Berkowitz - The Son of Sam Speaks' and listens to what He says about co-conspirators in the area for every attack and the evidence to support it which has mane NYPD detectives convinced He's telling the truth, then the idea isn't so outragous. Link to SOS Documentary: https://youtu.be/4JepFcuZVuo

Mark
4/4/2016 10:09:35 am

Did you say that his removing his gloves when he wrote the message on the door was not "logical"? Are you serious? What was logical about any of this? Stabbing two strangers while wearing this outfit, how was that logical?

Richard
4/4/2016 10:51:02 am

This was without doubt a horrendous crime, with no motive whatsoever, as are all serial killings, other than a desire or compunction to kill, but that doesn't mean these people do not commit these crimes using means to avoid detection, after all they want to carry on killing and more often than not, do not want to get caught. The Zodiac was believed to be wiping prints from the exterior and interior of Paul Stine's taxicab, so he certainly knew the evidentiary value of fingerprints. Wearing a hood and executioners costume and attacking two innocent people is beyond my comprehension, and most certainly is not logical, however his desire not to get caught for the crime is.

Mark
4/4/2016 12:03:50 pm

Yeah, but I think we presuppose too much sometimes. We really don't know much about what transpired. He often talked about how easy it was to cover your finger prints using airplane models glue. He could have been wearing surgical gloves under his other gloves. Maybe he used a rag to write the message. Remember in the case of Paul Stine, there was a fingerprint left in blood, even though he did wear gloves during the transmission of the crime. And if Arthur Leigh Allen was the actual Zodiac, he was certainly not bashful about getting attention.

Richard
4/4/2016 12:36:10 pm

Yes we do presuppose a lot about all the crimes, especially considering the numerous conflicting statements in the police reports and from eyewitnesses. I suppose that's why the Zodiac community is a large one, trying to fill in the blanks or unearth the missing clue. Most of the articles I write hopefully illicit discussion about the crimes, and although I am convinced by certain aspects of each crime, I certainly don't claim to know all the answers or claim 100% certainty within each crime, but it is the challenge Mark that likely drives us both on. I suppose the best way of putting it, is that it is a form of amateur sleuthing, when for the most part law enforcement has ceased investigating, simply because of newer cases and workload. It is highly unlikely any of the amateur detectives out there will crack the case, it will likely require DNA, or finding the hood, Stine's wallet, keys etc, but with each year that passes, the outlook becomes bleaker. I personally don't buy into any of the most commonly named suspects, including Arthur Leigh Allen. He most likely, initially at least, enjoyed the notoriety, who knows, but that would soon wear off very quickly.
The case is an interesting one because of the letters, cryptograms and strange postcards the killer mailed, without these I doubt we would be having this discussion and the Zodiac crimes would have been long forgotten by most people. There have been many unsolved serial killings, with a much higher confirmed victim count than the Zodiac ever did, but it's simply his letter writing and penchant for goading the police that has set him apart, and unfortunately I doubt he will ever be caught or identified.

Mark
4/4/2016 01:02:29 pm

I have been listening to Horan"s "Zodiac hoax" podcasts where he states there was no actual Zodiac at all, but a number of unrelated crimes tied together by media hysteria and hoax letters. You seem very informed on this sibject, what do you think of that hypothesis?

Richard
4/4/2016 02:04:16 pm

I have listened to two podcasts, one where he is interviewed on his own and one where he debates with Mike Morford (Morf13). I don't buy any of his arguments regarding the so called hoax. He has suggested Hal Snook, Dennis Land, Robert Graysmith etc at one point or another and it seems has the ability to look for the most implausible of answers to each crime, when the truth is likely far simpler. I have not seen one valid argument to suggest these crimes could not have been committed firstly by one person acting alone, who also wrote the letters. There is also no evidence to suggest it was some form of elaborate hoax. Thomas Horan uses handwriting analysis to dispel some letters as originating from Zodiac, or the killer himself, one such example is the Zodiac's claim in the October 13th 1969 letter claiming the murder "over by Washington and Maple" as an example the letter writer was unfamiliar with where the crime was actually committed and was therefore not the murderer. This to me is an example of selection, choosing something that fits your theory. There may be several reasons for the "over by Washington and Maple" statement.
1. This is where the initial journey was logged, so the killer just repeated his initial destination, and for that matter the Washington and Cherry intersection is "over by" Washington and Maple.
2. The Zodiac was inaccurate in both his phone calls, describing the location at BRS and Lake Berryessa, so we may as well dismiss these as well.
3. And most important, there is not one shred of evidence to prove a Washington and Cherry murder, over a Washington and Maple murder. The Zodiac was seen wiping down the driver side compartment, something that was totally unnecessary regarding a Washington and Cherry shooting, he never needed to touch this area. Simply Zodiac may have claimed a Washington/Maple murder because that's where he shot Paul Stine.
There are multiple answers to each question in this case, as you have alluded to Mark, I don't know for certain, but I certainly wouldn't say the killer and letter writer were different people based on something as flimsy as "it appears the letter writer didn't know the area".
Most people would regard the Paul Stine shirt piece sent in the October 13th letter as proof the killer and letter writer were one and the same. This is the likely conclusion by most, but even this has been twisted to have somebody at the morgue taking the swatch of shirt. There has to be so many conspirators in the case, over several jurisdictions to pull off this grand conspiracy, the mind boggles. I have yet seen nothing to disprove the one Zodiac murderer scenario, only hypothetical guesswork. Thomas Horan is undoubtedly an intelligent guy, who is more than welcome to his opinion, that is what the case is about, but personally I just think he uses that intelligence to contrive ever fanciful stories, when the answer is likely far simpler. However he gets noticed off the back of his ideas, so it works in his favour. The more controversial you are, the more attention you get, even Zodiac worked that out. He is though well versed in the Zodiac case and knows the case inside out, it's just I don't buy the hoax theory. I would just like one example that would prove it couldn't have been committed by one person, rather than proving to the contrary.

Mark
4/4/2016 03:41:25 pm

I think his theory is the inevitable result of fifty years without a definitive guilty culprit. We want answers, we want to know definitively that it was Allen, Sullivan, Marshall, etc. When we don't get that open and shut case we open ourselves to alternative theories. I think that is what he is doing, stepping into that void and saying "maybe it is just this simple." I agree with you, on the surface you can see some of it. However, holes start to pop up very quickly with his theories and his answers seem to go far beyond the wildest theories of who the Zodiac actually is. He starts to play the conspiracy card, which to me, is the blanket answer for "I don't know." I think the car door at lake berryessa really does put his theory in jeopardy. There seems to be a strong tie-in to crimes being related. As someone that likes to seek definitive proof, I am not sure I am cut out for the Zodiac investigation club, as it seems highly unlikely that this case will ever be broken.


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    The Zodiac Killer may have given us the answer almost word-for-word when he wrote PS. The Mt. Diablo Code concerns Radians & # inches along the radians. The code solution identified was Estimate: Four Radians and Five Inches To read more, click the image.
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    The Zodiac Atlas: The Zodiac Killer Enigma by Randall Scott Clemons. Click image for details.
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    The Zodiac Killer Map: Part of the Zodiac Killer Enigma by Randall Scott Clemons. Click image for color version
    For black and white issue..
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Photos from Marcin Wichary, zAppledot, vyusseem, Alex Barth, Alan Cleaver, jocelynsart, Richard Perry, taberandrew, eschipul, MrJamesAckerley