A connection has been long proposed between the Riverside murder of Cheri Jo Bates on October 30th 1966 and the Zodiac murders in the Bay Area, along with a military theme, in part, due to Wing Walker footwear impressions being discovered to and from the Lake Berryessa crime scene.
In a previous article CORONA-THE CROSSHAIRS OVER RIVERSIDE, it was noted that the father of Cheri Jo Bates worked as a machinist at the Corona Naval Ordnance Laboratory. The north of Corona (Norco), underwent massive redevelopment, to become a resort area: In September–October 1941, the United States Navy purchased the resort, and on December 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor, the resort was commissioned the United States Naval Hospital in Corona. The hospital was located in the city of Corona at that time, but when the City of Norco was established in 1964, the hospital was officially located in Norco as well as the post office which is now called the Norco Post Office.
From Wikipedia.
The naval hospital was eventually closed, and five years later in 1962 the area was commissioned by the State of California to be used as a narcotics addicts rehabilitation center, and later as a prison. The naval facilities have continued to the present day. It was speculated that bearing in mind Joseph Bates' profession, and the fact he was addressed personally by the killer, that the murderer of Cheri Jo Bates may have been a friend or work colleague in the Naval Ordnance Laboratory of Joseph Bates, who was either familiar with Cheri Jo Bates or had crossed paths with her. The military boot print gives us a link, along with the fact the killer may have been on the fringes of Miss Bates' circle - in that he knew her - but they weren't necessarily friends. If the author of the 'Confession' letter was telling any semblance of truth, then the wording "I then offered to help. She was then very willing to talk to me," suggests she only talked to him after the offer of help, implying something less than a close friend. The area of Corona where Joseph Bates worked was in close proximity to many naval facilities, as well as the California Rehabilitation Center Prison, both situated only 15 minutes from the location of the murder.
As stated in the previous Riverside article; if this was the birthplace or origin of the Zodiac Killer, then he had the perfect symbol to adopt, bearing in mind the Zodiac crosshairs centered directly over the heart of Corona, as seen by clicking Google Maps on the right. The original aerial view can be seen on Hemmings Daily exhibiting the perfect crosshairs of the 'Circled City'.
The Zodiac would later admit to his Riverside activity in the 'Los Angeles' letter mailed on March 13th 1971, stating "I do have to give them credit for stumbling across my riverside activity". If indeed he was the murderer of Cheri Jo Bates, then Mount Diablo was not the first time he would use a crossed circle over California.
http://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/the-crosshairs-over-riverside Part 1
FOOTNOTE: If you superimpose and center the Zodiac crosshair from the 'Little List' letter over Mount Diablo and over the center of Corona, on both occasions the 'black circle' lands over or near Merrill Street.
Image 1 Image 2