In 1975, an FBI document detailed a possible Zodiac correspondence which has become known as the 'Equinox' letter. The slip of paper was yellow in color and the message was largely handwritten in blue felt tip pen. The style of the writing has more in common with the Zodiac Red Phantom letter rather than his copious other earlier communications, nevertheless, it is interesting for a number of reasons, other than the obvious astrology connection.
A man from Fresno, California, handed it in to law enforcement and stated that "over the July 4th 1975 weekend he had visited his brother-in-law at his residence in Oakland, California. During the visit his brother-in-law had showed him a 1968 Datsun 1600 sports car bearing California license plates, which he said had been given to him a week before by a co-employee. The car had not been driven for some time and had no 1975 registration tags. In the front floorboard of the vehicle he found the enclosed note among some newspapers and other discarded papers. He said he read a good deal about the Zodiac murder case and feels this note may have been written by Zodiac. He advised he further suspects that his brother-in-law may be involved because of his hippy-type life style and because his brother-in-law once told him he was at the scene of the taxicab driver murder in San Francisco the night it occurred and made very discouraging remarks about the police investigation into the matter. He advised he reported this to the Fresno Police Department but did not feel that anything was done with the information, and he, therefore, contacted the FBI with his present information".
A man from Fresno, California, handed it in to law enforcement and stated that "over the July 4th 1975 weekend he had visited his brother-in-law at his residence in Oakland, California. During the visit his brother-in-law had showed him a 1968 Datsun 1600 sports car bearing California license plates, which he said had been given to him a week before by a co-employee. The car had not been driven for some time and had no 1975 registration tags. In the front floorboard of the vehicle he found the enclosed note among some newspapers and other discarded papers. He said he read a good deal about the Zodiac murder case and feels this note may have been written by Zodiac. He advised he further suspects that his brother-in-law may be involved because of his hippy-type life style and because his brother-in-law once told him he was at the scene of the taxicab driver murder in San Francisco the night it occurred and made very discouraging remarks about the police investigation into the matter. He advised he reported this to the Fresno Police Department but did not feel that anything was done with the information, and he, therefore, contacted the FBI with his present information".
The note began with EQUINOX 3:33 p.m.
The note appeared to be almost three years old, based on the date of September 22nd 1972, which was offered on the next line. A quick check of the September 22nd Equinox in 1972 for Oakland, gives us a Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) of 15:32 or 3:32 pm, which almost matches the exact time displayed on the Equinox letter.
At the foot of the note the author has highlighted in bold capitals FULL ARIES MOON. September 22nd 1972 was a full moon. September 22nd is the final day of Virgo in the horoscope calendar. The 14th April (4/14/41) falls under the ARIES sign, but there was no full moon in 1941 for this date. It was a full moon on April 11th 1941 in Aries. It was a new moon on October 11th 1969 when Paul Stine was murdered in San Francisco. Seemingly Phil G was an Aries and September 22nd 1972 was a full moon.
The note began with "Equinox 3:33 p.m. Can't make it Sat. Nite but the spell is broken & I hope I'll see you more than ever?"
Just under three months prior to this letter, Edward J Salmina, sports editor of the Novato Advance received a hand-printed 'death note' signed Zodiac. The newspaper article of June 30th 1972 read The hand-printed letter said: "If you leave your house past 3:13:47 on the next ten Saturdays, you will be killed". In the lower left corner under the heading "message" were a series of symbols. Salmina of 25 Crescent Lane told police he didn't know who or why anyone would send him such a letter". Crescent Lane is situated in Novato, Marin County, approximately thirty miles from Oakland (where the brother-in-law lived).
The two similarities between the Equinox note and the Death note sent to Edward J Salmina, were the time presented on each correspondence. The first note, sent just prior to June 30th 1972 stated a time of 3:13:47, the second note on September 22nd 1972, a time of 3:33 p.m. - only 19 minutes difference. The second similarity was the mention of Saturday in both notes. Incidentally, ten Saturdays from the date of the Death note would have been September 2nd 1972, twenty days before the Equinox note.
The note appeared to be almost three years old, based on the date of September 22nd 1972, which was offered on the next line. A quick check of the September 22nd Equinox in 1972 for Oakland, gives us a Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) of 15:32 or 3:32 pm, which almost matches the exact time displayed on the Equinox letter.
At the foot of the note the author has highlighted in bold capitals FULL ARIES MOON. September 22nd 1972 was a full moon. September 22nd is the final day of Virgo in the horoscope calendar. The 14th April (4/14/41) falls under the ARIES sign, but there was no full moon in 1941 for this date. It was a full moon on April 11th 1941 in Aries. It was a new moon on October 11th 1969 when Paul Stine was murdered in San Francisco. Seemingly Phil G was an Aries and September 22nd 1972 was a full moon.
The note began with "Equinox 3:33 p.m. Can't make it Sat. Nite but the spell is broken & I hope I'll see you more than ever?"
Just under three months prior to this letter, Edward J Salmina, sports editor of the Novato Advance received a hand-printed 'death note' signed Zodiac. The newspaper article of June 30th 1972 read The hand-printed letter said: "If you leave your house past 3:13:47 on the next ten Saturdays, you will be killed". In the lower left corner under the heading "message" were a series of symbols. Salmina of 25 Crescent Lane told police he didn't know who or why anyone would send him such a letter". Crescent Lane is situated in Novato, Marin County, approximately thirty miles from Oakland (where the brother-in-law lived).
The two similarities between the Equinox note and the Death note sent to Edward J Salmina, were the time presented on each correspondence. The first note, sent just prior to June 30th 1972 stated a time of 3:13:47, the second note on September 22nd 1972, a time of 3:33 p.m. - only 19 minutes difference. The second similarity was the mention of Saturday in both notes. Incidentally, ten Saturdays from the date of the Death note would have been September 2nd 1972, twenty days before the Equinox note.
The third event in this 30 mile radius was the attempted murder of Isobel Watson. Isobel Watson (33) had just got off the bus on the evening of April 7th 1972, and was walking home along Pine Hill Road, Tamalpais Valley, Marin County at 9:00 pm, when a light colored vehicle veered towards her, knocking her to the ground. [view on google maps]. The driver exited his vehicle offering to take her home, but after she had refused his offer of apparent help a second time, the concerned citizen suddenly became enraged, pulling out a knife and stabbing the woman in the neck and shoulder. Her screams alerted the neighborhood, forcing the assailant into a hasty retreat from the scene.
She was treated at Marin General Hospital and fortunately survived the brutal attack. Her description of the man alerted investigators to a possible Zodiac connection, that of a man with heavy rimmed black glasses, in his early 40s, 5'9" in height and short brown hair. It was not overlooked by police that the killer had attempted to lure the woman into his vehicle, not dissimilar to the method employed in the Modesto abduction of Kathleen Johns. These are three unlikely Zodiac connections, however, all three occurred in relatively close proximity to one another within a six month period.
Subsequent to writing this article the identity of the author of the Equinox letter has been named as Phillip Gordon Gietzen. Thanks to Mike Morford.
She was treated at Marin General Hospital and fortunately survived the brutal attack. Her description of the man alerted investigators to a possible Zodiac connection, that of a man with heavy rimmed black glasses, in his early 40s, 5'9" in height and short brown hair. It was not overlooked by police that the killer had attempted to lure the woman into his vehicle, not dissimilar to the method employed in the Modesto abduction of Kathleen Johns. These are three unlikely Zodiac connections, however, all three occurred in relatively close proximity to one another within a six month period.
Subsequent to writing this article the identity of the author of the Equinox letter has been named as Phillip Gordon Gietzen. Thanks to Mike Morford.
RSS Feed
