THE CONFESSION LETTER (TWO VERSIONS)

4/24/2018

There has been much discussion about the November 29th 1966 'Confession' letter, typed and sent by the alleged murderer of Cheri Jo Bates in Riverside on October 30th 1966. The author may have sent two different versions of the Confession letter to the Press-Enterprise and the Riverside police. The Department of Justice (DOJ) produced a completely different version of the 'Confession' letter on October 3rd 1969, comprising 31 lines of text. This appears to contain many mistakes, and differs markedly from the versions shown below.

I have magnified the photographed version from the Argosy magazine (sent to the Press-Enterprise and shown at the foot of this article) and retyped it below. The photographed version definitely states minutes not minuts, brunett as opposed to brownett, and victom (or victon) as opposed to victim. There are many other differences. Is it possible the author of the Confession letter sent two different versions of the same message to the press and police, or did law enforcement personnel retype the original Confession letter incorrectly and made public this version.

Riverside Press Enterprise version

Riverside Police version

12 underscores on photographed version

Drew

4/24/2018 08:07:10 am

Thanks Richard, this is great! That bizarre DOJ version really confused me yesterday. I think it must have been dictated and not proofed. How else could the DOJ writer have actually written out the word "period".

Richard

4/24/2018 01:49:36 pm

Yes, the DOJ version doesn't sound correct, especially the "period" part, which is superfluous in the context its written. It's a pretty poor effort for a DOJ document. Unless somehow two letters were sent by the author. But realistically it has been reproduced incorrectly, missing the critical link to the Little List letter. So, it's not in the interests of anyone who believes a Zodiac connection to Riverside.

Rubislaw 32 link

4/24/2018 03:15:04 pm

Good to see all versions displayed,Richard,and thanks for your efforts.

Whichever version,it's a pretty stunning composition of single-minded bad intent.I suspect from ''he'' who became the Zodiac.

Quite a Pandora's box of extracts with links to future correspondences.

Within context [....naturally...],I am a fan of the Benicia High School Note,which is circa Autumn 1972.In this note,a presumed Zodiac says : ''About time I blow up the school.''

So,that is a ''pet'' link to the Confession Letter,with ''I said it was about time.''.

I find that one can read the Benicia High School Note,and laugh ironically,sometimes,since there is a strange ''red neck'' charm,to it.

But,this Confession Letter is cold-hearted stuff.

Simply to put across,the writer's sheer nastiness [?].

Richard

4/24/2018 04:11:44 pm

Got a link to the note Rubislaw?

Rubislaw 32 link

4/24/2018 05:18:11 pm

You have highlighted another ''conflict of sharing'',Richard.

I have Lafferty's book.But I'll have a word with Mr.Gomez,for an enlargement.

The Benicia High School Note is ''hick'' on the outside,but endlessly ''layered'',like something Shakespearean.

It really needs a larger audience.I'll see what I can do.

Howard link

8/6/2018 07:40:34 pm

The Riverside police File on the Confession and some other info mentions a “call” that was made to their station. This confirms the ‘call’ mentioned in the Confession.

Lemonboy

4/24/2018 04:50:06 pm

Richard any thoughts on the difference of how sexual this letter is,if I’m fact it is Zodiac,and the other letters aren’t?Most people tend to say the Zodiacs murders weren’t sexually motivated and I disagree.I think Zodiac did get off on killing people. When he said killing was better than”getting your rocks off with a girl”I believe he was referring to how he couldn’t get sexual gratification anymore from sex. If this was Zodiac this could’ve been the beginning of that. In the confession letter I believed he struggled with still being somewhat in tune with regular sexual feelings when he referred when he grabbed her breast. But when he killed her he got a different form of arousal he liked even more maybe?I don’t know it kinda makes sense the evolution of a sexual predator looking for revenge that turns into someone that kills for sport and finds it the ultimate sexual thrill.

Richard

4/25/2018 12:18:55 am

I have always thought that this letter exhibited a sexual immaturity or sexual component to it Lemonboy. Much more than the Zodiac letters. He starts the Confession letter referencing how beautiful the women are, then cutting off female parts, feeling her breast and stalking primarily women, not couples. The author revels in her struggling and penetrating the knife into her, not dissimilar to sexual sadists who get sexual gratification from the act of penetration with a knife. The whole tone of the letter differs to Zodiac from my non-psychological credentials. The letter primarily focuses on her and her suffering, whereas the Zodiac only mentions the murders he committed from an evidentiary standpoint, trying to prove the killer and letter writer were the same. He did talk about torturing slaves in the afterlife in the Little List letter, but this was once they were dead, and were only third party quotes from The Mikado. It is the way the Confession letter is written that makes me think it is not Zodiac, but I'm still totally undecided on the Riverside/Zodiac connection. I once considered the Confession letter could have been written by a woman based on the language used (who was not the actual killer).
Dennis Rader got sexual kicks from bondage and suffering, as displayed when he masturbated while the young Otero girl was hanging from a pipe. The act of murder for some is their sexual gratification rather than the act itself. But I personally don't see this in the Zodiac crimes - he didn't stick around at LHR, BRS or Presidio- they were short attacks without even killing 6 of the 7 victims (including LB) by the time he had left the scene. The quote more fun than"getting your rocks off with a girl” likely signified somebody who simply enjoyed killing people.
The newspapers harped on about him being a latent homosexual, and stated the "penetration" of the knife was sexual at Berryessa, but his murder of Paul Stine at PH may have been a reaction to this suggestion, killing a lone male with one single shot. There are many similarities in Zodiac and Rader in the phone calls and letters, but the swiftness of his canonical attacks seems to suggest to me anyway, that the murders were a means to an end- the publicity and the beginning of his letter writing campaign. If you take away the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter which he was prompted to write, he had only mailed his July 31st letters during the time period of his 4 attacks and 5 murders. After his final confirmed murder of Paul Stine, the letter writing campaign began. The murders were required in his mind to get the attention of the police and newspapers, and to ensure they took his communications seriously. I think Zodiac got off on killing people, but not from a sexual nature. But psychologically analyzing the workings of a serial killer is extremely difficult to do from just the crimes and letters. Even experts in the field of psychology have to sit down with a subject to make a reasonable assessment and even then they get it wrong. I am no expert in this field, so I may be completely wrong in my analysis of the Zodiac Killer, but the difference in tone from the Confession letter to confirmed Zodiac material is noticeable, unless he grew up considerably in the intervening two years.

Drew

4/25/2018 09:27:37 am

Well done! A worthy query and a great analysis.

Drew

4/24/2018 05:53:17 pm

Hi there, I have a few questions which probably are not answerable. Those are my favourite kind of questions as you well know.

Is it known to the public where the information came from that Cheri was seen that evening with a lady and a bearded man? Do we know whether this bearded man was blonde or whether a hair colour for this individual was specified? Did this alleged sighting take place in or out of the library? I kind of assume these details were not given out which pretty much makes it a dead end for us but I thought I'd ask. Thanks

Richard

4/24/2018 11:35:55 pm

During the library reconstruction it was determined two individuals present in the library on the evening of the murder did not return upon request for the reconstruction. The two you mentioned - spotted inside the library. In the 1969 Inside Detective magazine it quoted that during the reenactment Captain Cross "was seeking a heavyset man with a beard". The man had been placed in the library by witnesses the night of the murder but had failed to appear for the reenactment.
http://www.zodiackiller.com/InsideDetective7.html
I have read from numerous sources he was accompanied by a woman. Cross is also referenced in Graysmith's book stating "we got two missing, a woman and a heavyset young man about 5'11" tall, with a beard." They were observed in the library that evening, but not quoted as being with Cheri- only in the library. I don't know the colour of their hair, but if all else fails, brown is a fair bet. Sorry I cannot expand much further Drew.

Drew

4/25/2018 09:45:27 am

Richard this is loads more info than I had before I asked and clearly I was mixed up on key aspects so thank you! I don't see how one can remember a beard but not what colour it was, so RPD may well know that this guy had the hair colour they were looking for. Still nothing much to follow up on but theoretically if the Riverside killer had a female accomplice that could certainly help explain how a plot to temporarily gain Cheri's trust was accomplished.

Howard link

8/4/2018 06:03:13 pm

In an article in the Riverside Enterprise in referring to the library reenactment it says the young heavy set man had “brown” hair.
The young women’s hair was “ blonde.”It took going through all Bates related articles just to find that one reference to his hair color. We need the PD report to get more elaboration.
Brian Hartnell said he could ‘see through the slits in Z’s hood’ that he had “dark brown hair.”

Judith

4/24/2018 08:43:55 pm

Hi Richard. The number of spaces in the "By" is very important.They seem to vary with the different versions. Which one is correct? How many spaces for the name implied?

What a hideous letter. This writer seems more vicious than the writer of the Zodiac letters. But if we are to believe what he says, he states he went into the Library for two hours to wait on Cheri Jo. Would he not need to appear as another student then? Wouldn't he then need to be a contemporary?

This statement "It's about time..." Is that not what Kathleen John's abductor said to her?

The Envelope looks like Zodiac. He is talking about the Game, as did Zodiac. The threat to publish. The threat to authorities. Squirm and twiched.

And so for my two cents, although I tried to resist this time. Peter used some of this phraseology towards me. He once called me "My sacrificial Lamb" as I dove into some water at Clear Lake.

After I left him, my family called to tell me that I needed to go into hiding because Peter was at his house running around with a pair of wire cutters. His side kick was there with him, trying to keep him from leaving. Peter was telling him he would cut off my "female parts" only that is not the word he used, and hang it from a billboard on Interstate 80 for everyone to see. Sorry.

Richard

4/24/2018 11:02:27 pm

The number of underscores for the name varies dependent on who you ask, but the suggestions are 13 to 19.
http://www.zodiologists.com/confession_letter_interpretation_1.html
I wrote an article on William Lester Suff based on these observations, but if you notice Judith the Confession letter extract this site used is the retyped police version, where the line begins just after the word "AND" and ends one spacing past "NOT", hence 19 underscores. But if you look at the letter in the photograph above it's much shorter. If this is the original letter (or a perfect replica) then the original Confession letter contained 12 underscores, which is what I originally read when I joined the Zodiac scene 6 years ago.
My line in the photograph retyped version is obviously just an estimate based on the photograph, but the underscore length looks to me like 12. That is my best estimate.
Here is an analysis based on the 'incorrect' police version coming to the conclusion the underscores are 19, but you can see this is noticeably a longer line than the photograph
http://www.zodiackillersite.com/viewtopic.php?f=79&t=71&start=10#p7965

If the photograph is the original letter, then it's likely 12 underscores (13 at most). That is what I reckon, and confirms what I originally believed years ago.

Richard

4/25/2018 02:38:11 am

I have analyzed the underscores on the photographed version and it shows 12 underscores. I have placed a visual depiction at the bottom of the article Judith.

Richard

4/25/2018 02:48:52 am

With 12 underscores that would mean a (two word) name of 11 alphabetical characters. Fortunately for you Judith, PETER PLANTE is 11 characters long.

Richard

4/25/2018 03:53:54 am

Or the name could be 10 characters in length if there is a space after "BY".

Richard

4/25/2018 04:11:09 am

Because the "BY" is offset from the underscores, my bet is on 11 alphabetical characters.

Howard link

8/4/2018 06:24:58 pm

In interviewing Kathleen Johns she never said it’s about time or even near that phraseology. She told me after they chatted at the beginning of the trip very briefly she asking him where he worked he said he would ‘work for three or four months then drive a great deal even at night.’ Then frustrated after passing one or two stations do you always help people in this Way? He responded by saying, ‘when l help someone they don’t need help anymore.’ This scared her to some degree. She noted for the first time there were several gum wrappers on the drivers floor board area. It was a full mon so there was more light and she took in all she could.
Perhaps he had quit smoking or just had a nervous habit of chewing gum.
At first he said nothing after the terse chat but that when he decreased his speed on those winging farm roads he turned his head words her and stated saying in effect ‘You know you are going to die. ‘ or ‘You know l am going to kill you.’ At one point he said,’ I want to throw the baby out.’
He did repeat these cold statements, but just how many times she didn’t recall.She did note his eyes seemed dead just a cold staring at her. His voice was mechanistic a monotone it too was cold no life or animation. An even tone. He had suddenly changed.

Richard

4/25/2018 04:46:50 am

CORRECTION TO the Photographed version retyped. It reads "Blue eyed brunett that said XXX no when I asked her." With the addition of the three X's.

Drew

4/25/2018 09:51:33 am

So the DOJ made up "brownett", the original letter cursed, and the retyped version censored that curse?

Richard

4/25/2018 10:12:06 am

The brownett or brunett is very blurred, so cannot be totally sure what it is. But think it's the latter.

Richard

4/25/2018 10:17:23 am

I don't think the letter was censored Drew, I believe the author placed the three X's there. Just a guess, but the author could have began to write "Maybe she will be the shapely blue eyed brunett that said she", but corrected it to "Maybe she will be the shapely blue eyed brunett that said xxx no when I asked her for a date in high school."

Richard

4/25/2018 10:18:46 am

I meant I didn't censor it either.

Lemonboy

4/25/2018 05:39:24 am

Hey Richard not sure if you’re up to speed on news here in California but there are reports saying the east area rapist has been caught. Kinda gives me hope Zodiac will one day be caught as well

Richard

4/25/2018 06:10:56 am

Yes, great news. Michael Morford and Michael Ferguson were doing a podcast on the whole story. Wonder what they'll do now.

Drew

4/25/2018 09:53:39 am

I bet the Q man is full of mixed emotions today as well!

Drew

4/25/2018 09:56:48 am

Apparently Michelle McNamara had this guy in her notes. What a tragic loss her death was to cold case studies and the world of course.

Judith

4/26/2018 07:04:29 am

So just a few words about the capture of the East area rapist. It turns out he's been living in the same town that I live in about 4 miles away from me, for the last 30 years. This would be very close to the geographic profiling I noted on some of the sites. They actually had him in Carmichael, during the actual crimes, which is a nearby City. I have people that I know who apparently worked with him for 28 years and had no idea. All kinds of local people whose lives were affected by the rapes coming out and speaking out now.
So grateful for this DNA technology. Apparently they watched him for a few days and retrieved the DNA from a garbage can. He has owned a home since at least 1992 with no wife on title. It looks like a daughter and husband and granddaughter have been living with him. Perfectly groomed green lawns. It appears as though someone provided a tip to the Sacramento Sheriffs, but they are not speaking on it yet. Organized killer...

Judith

4/25/2018 07:02:13 am

Wonderful news about the East Area Rapist. He operated in my hometown community. It looks like he was a cop. Thank God for DNA.

Shawn

4/25/2018 09:47:21 am

Yes, looks like he was a cop for 6 years. I wonder if any other cops knew what he was up to and kept quiet? Cops protecting cops.

He was in the Navy which could explain the special knots.

It appears he was married with children during part of his stint as the GSK. Breaks the mold of the loner SK profile portrayed by experts in the 60's and 70's.

Maybe the success of GSK being caught by DNA will get Zodiac Cold Case detectives on the ball to find Z DNA.

If you think about it really. Until recently, GSK case was a rather obscure case with DNA all over Calif. (compared to Zodiac case). The recent national attention and push by LE probably helped solved a case that should have been solved years ago.

I still have doubts about the Zodiac Case being solved cause it has been such a high profile for so long.

Karen C

4/26/2018 05:01:53 am

One hypothetical scenario is that the Zodiac could have been another cop, perhaps a bit older and a friend of DeAngelo?

I have long speculated that the Zodiac may have been two people. One a bit younger, the other a bit older. One did the killing, the other wrote the letters. Perhaps there was some cross over, especially as time went by, which could account for the many discrepancies in the case.

Anything is possible. Sadly we amateurs can merely speculate and ponder on what we do not know, because our knowledge of the case and the totality of evidence is very limited. I only hope that the GSK investigation will be so so thorough that it may shed light on the Zodiac case and other unsolved murders as a consequence. It is a sad fact that serial killers are often responsible for killing more people than can ever be attributed to them, and I am sure GSK will be no exception.

Howard_Miller

4/26/2018 05:13:48 am

Shawn, I am wondering about those people who have, for many years, been pushing various suspects, each claiming their suspect is the only Golden State Killer. Will they desist and be satisfied with the findings, or will they remain in denial and not relinquish their grip on their theories? I guess this will be inevitable. I am sure, for instance, if DNA and prints can show by at least 65% that one individual suspect was the Zodiac, and this is enough to satisfy the courts, I can guarantee that many people will not be satisfied. The conspiracy theorists will remain in force with alternative explanations and there will still be those with online pages claiming LE got it wrong and it was actually Donald Harden, for instance. DNA is pretty persuasive, but often some people will continue to argue against it. This will especially be the case if the suspect is deceased. Generally when living suspects are convicted and thrown in jail, there is a consensus that they were the guilty person. Of course there will always be those who firmly believe the person is innocent, despite the overwhelming evidence, e.g. Manson's followers.

Shawn

4/25/2018 09:55:50 am

Morf will have a booth at CrimeCon May 4 - May 6. He will probably be mobbed by people.

I think Morf will finish the series and cover the murders in Southern California. The murders started after GSK was fired from the police force after being caught shoplifting a hammer and dog repellent in 1979.

Richard

4/25/2018 12:13:11 pm

Because Brownett and Brunett are different length words Shawn, I was able to compare it to the first line, which I counted the letters, breaks and two double breaks. If the 1st line had letters all the way across it would be be 75 letters long. The 5th line being the same length, I could therefore calculate whether it was brownett or brunett. If it was brunett, the 5th line should equal 75, as opposed to 76 if brownett. It was 75, therefore the word is brunett.
Now I'll try and settle the victim, victom or victon debate, although this will be a lot harder.

Richard

4/25/2018 12:57:52 pm

90% sure it's VICTON Drew.

Drew

4/25/2018 06:12:01 pm

Looking really close at this slightly higher resolution photo from the Enterprise Press https://www.pe.com/wp-content/uploads/migration/og5/og5e5v-b88825961z.120161104193926000gmjjre76.10.jpg?w=810
which looks like the one photoed with the scissors (notice the middle crease, the page corners, the impressions where it was clamped in the other photo, etc) that definitely looks like "victon". The "o" instead of an "i" at least is a sure thing. But now I am surprised that the DOJ got that part right!

I think one explanation for the DOJ getting some fine points correct and other parts wrong may be that this letter was dictated to the typist. If the person who typed it had the original in front of them they simply have no excuse for making such errors. I can imagine though that a dictator could have stated the author's spelling of victon (or brownett), but failed to specify the ellipsis on the last line, and when the typist heard a dictation like "It was just a warning, period" the typist interpreted the reference to punctuation as a word. Clearly cross-referencing with the original was a step they must have skipped.

At any rate if we now know that the Riverside Killer used an "o" in victim, as common a mistake as that may be, combined with twich and whatever the spelling link to Zodiac just got more compelling for me. Painstaking work Richard I am sure, but I think this valuable info. Thanks for keeping up the good fight!

Rubislaw 32 link

4/25/2018 03:28:32 pm

Interesting how a numerical count might determine whether,for example,''Brownett'' or ''Brunett'',may have been entered.

The first being ''light to medium brown'',and the second being ''dark brown to black'',is quite a difference in description....therefore quite important to make that distinction,one would think [?].

Also,that both are misspelled,anyway....should be ''brownette'' or ''brunette'' ,I believe.

Interested to hear Lemonboy's comments on potential sexual motivation.These elements can be difficult to call,definitively.The main point,to make,perhaps,is ''criminal evolution'' of the serial offender.Humans do not,figuratively,tend to stand still.

I offer this same philosophy,with the Confession Letter,on that a ''younger Zodiac'' may have thought he was being clever,humorous,self mocking etc.......when he was just being downright ''cold''.

i suspect that if there is one person,that for the most part,Zodiac aspired to come across as,in persona....it was Vincent Price.

With the Confession Letter,and as a beginner,he was well wide of the mark.

But,''improved'' a bit,later on [?].

Rubislaw 32 link

4/25/2018 03:56:52 pm

I note that one of Vincent Price's most famous films was ''Masque of the Red Death'' [1964].

OK,I'm just pulling at straws,perhaps,and ''great works'' such as the Benicia High School Note,were a change of tack,and lead us into ''Bayou Country''.....but I do see Mr.Price,as a great influence on the Zodiac.

Howard_Miller

4/26/2018 05:22:52 am

For some reason I also hear echoes of William Dozier's forceful and overly dramatic narration style from the Batman TV series.

Rubislaw 32 link

4/26/2018 05:42:47 am

Yes,Howard....and with the coincidence of regular appearances of the villain,''Egghead'',as played by none other than Vincent Price.

Forever the sinister,snide,sniffy and superior one....as well as articulate and theatrically camp.

Right up Zodiac's alley.....one would think [?].

Rubislaw 32 link

4/25/2018 04:59:12 pm

Just to add further,I am entirely respectful of anyone not convinced by the Zodiac authenticity of the Confession Letter.

None of us can know for sure,either way.

But it should be pointed out that Sherwood's Morrill's opinions are well documented in the FBI files.As interviewed,he was in no doubt,and gave his reasons for believing that all correspondences,related to the Bates murder,including the Desk Top poem,were the work of the Zodiac.

We know that the CA DOJ,and Morrill's employers incidentally,would not officially authenticate them.Much to the FBI's annoyance,of course.

So,this is the information that ''we are coming from'',when ''we'',as amateurs,venture an opinion.

Howard_Miller

4/26/2018 04:32:34 am

On this matter Rubislaw, I agree with you entirely.

Karen C

4/26/2018 04:48:22 am

Well, with Golden State Killer and his many pseudos now in custody, I guess we can rule out about 175 crimes as being the possible work of the Zodiac. DeAngelo was prolific and despite his humble beginnings in the mid-70s as a voyeur and petty thief, he quickly progressed to rape and killing. He was a Zodiac copycat to some extent. He wrote obscure letters and intelligent-sounding yet eccentric poems. He also had a penchant for wearing a mask. At 72, he was around about the right age to be the Zodiac. If we presume 1946 as his birth year, he would have been 20 in 1966. Matches the sketches well for Lake Berryessa. Feels right up until the Presidio sketches where he suddenly seems a bit too young. Prints and DNA? Probably not a match unfortunately.

DeAngelo was an ex-cop! Why am I not surprised? Like many people, I have always felt the Zodiac might have been a cop. The way he parked behind those cars, leaving some distance, approaching on foot along the side with flashlight blinding the eyes of the intended victims. Very "cop-like".

Judith

4/26/2018 07:18:25 am

That Remains our main question for today. Was the East area rapist also the Zodiac Killer? This is something I have pondered and researched in the past. I was told some years back that our son's DNA did not match the East Area Rapist. However the California DOJ thought it was important enough to come visit me where I live in Sacramento regarding the Zodiac Killer. At that point they should have had our older son's DNA in CODIS, as he is a felon. Thinking that maybe it matched whatever partial DNA they did have for Zodiac. The big difference here is that the Zodiac was not a rapist. The Zodiac was not a thief. The Zodiac attacked people out in public, not in their homes. Yes, I think they still need to figure out who the Zodiac Killer was.

Judith

4/26/2018 09:27:21 pm

Not sure if you read my earlier post about the East area rapist living in my own town. I have heard through the grapevine that the way they found him was because someone in his family had taken an ancestry.com DNA test. It came up as a hit. Then the sheriff's backtracked and staked him out and collected evidence from discarded materials to confirm. Wow.

Rubislaw 32 link

4/26/2018 11:26:14 pm

Yes Judith,I think the reality of the arrest is still sinking in,with many Zodiac enthusiasts.

A fillip for real hope,in the Zodiac case.

Modern methods and DNA technological advancements really can work,and here is the proof.

I was most impressed that they arrested the EAR/GSK for two murders....then charged him with a further two murders,within two hours of original arrest.

That's pretty fast going,by any L.E.'s standards,and they seem resolute to charge him for a further 8,as well as precisely 51 rapes.

Zodiac's ''official'' charge sheet looks a bit messy and unclear,in comparison [?].5 murders to start with....then what else,apart from attempted murders [?].Bomb hoaxes,arson,countless extortion charges.....and ''the rest''.

What a pickle [?].

Judith

4/27/2018 06:22:49 am

Now I'm reading that law enforcement simply entered this DNA as though he were a member of ancestry.com himself. And that is how they got the hit. For a minute, I thought that ancestry.com was somehow connected up to CODIS. I'm not sure, but the first way makes more sense. Personally I believe everybody's DNA should be entered into a system, it would solve many crimes, it would solve many paternity issues. It would clear out the courts.

mistersmilee

4/28/2018 10:06:01 am

Use 23andMe, Ancestry or gofundme!!! Find this Zodiac!!! If he’s dead, unearth his body and let the wild eat him and turn him into the piece of shit he was.

Rubislaw 32 link

4/28/2018 12:52:13 pm

I admire your style, mistersmilee,and I'm sure that your sentiments are shared.....if not,perhaps,in precisely the same words.

Are you,by any chance,related to the writer of the Benicia High School note ?

Excerpt : ''.....find him up by Lake Herman Road.If you get up their in time you will find him before the dog eat him up I hope they do....''

Judith

4/29/2018 04:30:20 pm

I would be interested to see this Benicia High School letter. This phrasing is similar to Peter's response to me the last days of our marriage. I complained about the oder of death coming from underneath his parents mobile home, upon our arrival at Shasta. He said, "Shut up! The ants should have eaten them by now". The next night he would go out into the dark and wait quietly. I then heard him go under the home and drag something out through the woods.

Rubislaw 32 link

4/29/2018 05:14:12 pm

Hi Judith.

The ''bones'' of the text can be viewed in the ''unconfirmed letters'' section of Zodiackillersite.

However,I was later to discover that Lyndon Lafferty had interpreted the postscript,incorrectly.

Instead of '' I'm gona do my thing at air school ''....it should read :

'' I'm gona do my thing at qir school ''.

'' QIR'' instead of ''AIR''

''QIR'',as ''QUEER''....as in ''gay'' or homosexual.

It's really an artistic piece,also,and debating its content does not do it justice,without the original [copy] note,in front of us.

The alternative is to become a member of zodiackillermystery.freeforums.net

...where incidentally,you can receive a fairly comprehensive interpretation of it,from the resident expert............me [!].

Richard

4/30/2018 12:36:46 am

Here is the original copy
http://zodiackillersite.com/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=3146

Rubislaw 32 link

4/30/2018 04:33:30 am

So I take it that you might be able to show the note,at some point,Richard ?

I don't understand the politics of sharing [?].There seem to be grievances between individuals,going back years [?].

I would have thought that if anyone is ''fed'' information,related to the Zodiac case,by any branch of L.E.,then that branch if L.E recognise,and indeed expect that,that information will be available,within a short space if time.

Speaking on behalf of the late Lyndon Lafferty,he was a generous soul,and couldn't wait to make any gleaned information generally available.

It appears to be a problem with ''some'' though [?].

I know you do your best,Richard...and I am sure that all your readers are most grateful.

This business of sharing...in terms of ethics,with respect to the whole notion of a ''Zodiac website community''.....one might think,it would be the No.1 priority [?].

The perceived ''pettiness'' is simply pitiful.

[....my whine for the day is over....]

Richard

4/30/2018 05:14:29 am

This is the actual note Rubislaw
http://zodiackillersite.com/download/file.php?id=5604

and here it is on the forum
http://zodiackillersite.com/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=3146

Rubislaw 32 link

4/30/2018 05:55:39 am

Thanks for the information,Richard.

Of course,I don't actually need it.

There are too many ''I 'm alright Jacks'',that don't really care about the ''newbies'' and less well informed.

You can tell,because they sit on their laurels,not willing to work the case,over and over again,in order to find something extra.

The strengths of your site,is that you bother to do so,and,may I say,understand that research is forever ongoing.....until a successful resolve materialises.

Too many ''windbags'',and not enough workers [?].

Judith

5/1/2018 12:38:14 pm

I must not be seeing the full "poem" for Benicia High. Just looks like he claimed another murder...

Rubislaw 32 link

5/1/2018 05:34:38 pm

The fundamentals of the note is the inference that Zodiac was in cohorts with someone else.

But there is so much in there.

Perhaps best wait till Richard has an opportunity to display it,on this site.

Judith

5/1/2018 08:08:27 pm

Ughhh. I will dig to find the whole thing. Just read some stuff on the Santa Rosa hitchhiker murders. They described a white man with an afro and two guys shoving a victim into a van. This fits the description of Peter's best friend, also my brother-in-law, Mike. He is the one that was arrested for molesting our daughter. I have photos of the Van and Mike with the afro hairdo during those years . Mike is still alive. He was at the camp site in Vancouver with Peter when the young couple were shot to death in their sleeping bags. They were very very close and I believe they had a homosexual relationship.

Rubislaw 32 link

5/1/2018 11:37:55 pm

Just become a member of zodiackillermystery.freeforums.net

It is as easy as pie,and you have no obligations,apart from behaving well [!].

By my estimation,''we'' at the site,on a ratio of members to visits from the public,punch above our weight....on a factor of 6 times more successfully than Mr.Morford's site......and 20 times more successfully than Mr.Voigt's site.

The site manager,Mr.Gomez is a very accommodating,supportive and liberal minded Zodiac enthusiast.

[.....thanks for the plug,Richard....]

Frosty

5/21/2018 01:59:10 pm

It's way more JTR than Zodiac, the descriptive detail doesn't marry up either and there's an obvious motive to this one.

The killer savoured every minute where as Z left 2 targets alive because he didn't really enjoy the killing part as much as the boasting part.

Michael Scott

5/29/2020 07:34:34 am

Richard can you explain how you magnified it and were able to read it properly? I am very skeptical you could do that.

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