The following is nothing new, but is a further re-examination of the critical period after the Blue Rock Springs Park and Lake Herman Road attacks, focusing in on 'two phone calls' made shortly after each crime. It will place particular emphasis on the area around the Springs/Tuolumne payphone, and the possibility the killer's residence on foot, was mere minutes away. We shall also look again at the wording of the Zodiac Killer in the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter received by the San Francisco Examiner on August 4th 1969. Here is what we noted in a previous article:
'In the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter received by the San Francisco Examiner on August 4th 1969, the Zodiac Killer stated;
"The man who told police that my car was brown was a negro about 40-45 rather shabbly dressed. I was in this phone booth having some fun with the Vallejo cop when he was walking by. When I hung the phone up the damn thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me + my car." This negro male was never traced and did not feature in the police report. The details of his age range and what he was wearing, on the face of it appear unnecessary, unless of course the Zodiac Killer was deliberately creating a fictional character who just so happened to observe his brown car. Bearing in mind Zodiac had likely read newspaper reports of Michael Mageau detailing a brown car in the parking lot of Blue Rock Springs, what better way to corroborate his sighting by further implanting the seed of a brown car into the minds of investigators, by the hand of this fictional eyewitness. If Zodiac's vehicle was 'Ermine White' then clearly this is to his advantage. Voluntarily offering the color of his vehicle as brown, if in fact it was brown, must be viewed with suspicion'.
'In the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter received by the San Francisco Examiner on August 4th 1969, the Zodiac Killer stated;
"The man who told police that my car was brown was a negro about 40-45 rather shabbly dressed. I was in this phone booth having some fun with the Vallejo cop when he was walking by. When I hung the phone up the damn thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me + my car." This negro male was never traced and did not feature in the police report. The details of his age range and what he was wearing, on the face of it appear unnecessary, unless of course the Zodiac Killer was deliberately creating a fictional character who just so happened to observe his brown car. Bearing in mind Zodiac had likely read newspaper reports of Michael Mageau detailing a brown car in the parking lot of Blue Rock Springs, what better way to corroborate his sighting by further implanting the seed of a brown car into the minds of investigators, by the hand of this fictional eyewitness. If Zodiac's vehicle was 'Ermine White' then clearly this is to his advantage. Voluntarily offering the color of his vehicle as brown, if in fact it was brown, must be viewed with suspicion'.
Two other things strike you about this section of correspondence. The Zodiac's willingness to accept he made an error of judgment when he hung up the phone, unless of course he had an ulterior motive for it. In his communications to police the Zodiac would never refer to his victims by name, calling them boy, girl, people, teenagers or taxicab driver. He only expanded on their descriptions when attempting to verify he was the killer, or in this case to verify he was spotted in his "brown car", by a "40-45 year old shabbily dressed negro male". Indeed, very helpful descriptions by the murderer, yet somewhat unnecessary. What had the killer to gain by adding this superfluous information, other than to benefit himself? He made specific reference to "that drew his attention to me + my car", when he could simply have said "that drew his attention to me". The killer appeared to be emphasizing, that not only was he in his car, but it was also brown, just like Michael Mageau had previously described.
By placing himself at the payphone in his vehicle approximately 40 minutes after the attack, when it was only 10 minutes from the Blue Rock Springs parking lot, may have suggested to police that he drove to the payphone and could live almost anywhere. Or was that what he wanted them to believe, by being so utterly unselfish and extremely forthright, in adding in the detailed description of the eyewitness and his brown car parked nearby. When in fact he was on foot - and had placed the phone call after returning home, ditching his weapon, vehicle and clothing (which may have received blood transfer from the shooting).
The downside of a killer resident in downtown Vallejo, American Canyon or Benicia, is that, had he driven home to these locations to ditch his clothing and weapon, he would effectively be driving back towards or nearer to the crime scene to place the phone call. What killer would make a phone call after a murder extremely close to his residence? A killer who was implanting the seed of a brown car, when in fact it was probably white and not present at the payphone.
The content of the phone call may also be telling. The directions he gave were correct, apart from the distance. He stated "I wish to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east on Columbus Parkway to a public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They have been shot by a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye". This appears incorrect on first reading - whether from the payphone or the police station - but by inserting one break or comma, the directions make perfect sense: "I wish to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east..... on Columbus Parkway to a public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They have been shot by a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye". Or by changing one word regarding the recollection of Nancy Slover: "I wish to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east..... on Columbus Parkway by a public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They have been shot by a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye". However, is the killer playing down his familiarity with this particular payphone by placing it one mile west of Columbus Parkway, when its true distance is 2 miles.
By placing himself at the payphone in his vehicle approximately 40 minutes after the attack, when it was only 10 minutes from the Blue Rock Springs parking lot, may have suggested to police that he drove to the payphone and could live almost anywhere. Or was that what he wanted them to believe, by being so utterly unselfish and extremely forthright, in adding in the detailed description of the eyewitness and his brown car parked nearby. When in fact he was on foot - and had placed the phone call after returning home, ditching his weapon, vehicle and clothing (which may have received blood transfer from the shooting).
The downside of a killer resident in downtown Vallejo, American Canyon or Benicia, is that, had he driven home to these locations to ditch his clothing and weapon, he would effectively be driving back towards or nearer to the crime scene to place the phone call. What killer would make a phone call after a murder extremely close to his residence? A killer who was implanting the seed of a brown car, when in fact it was probably white and not present at the payphone.
The content of the phone call may also be telling. The directions he gave were correct, apart from the distance. He stated "I wish to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east on Columbus Parkway to a public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They have been shot by a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye". This appears incorrect on first reading - whether from the payphone or the police station - but by inserting one break or comma, the directions make perfect sense: "I wish to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east..... on Columbus Parkway to a public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They have been shot by a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye". Or by changing one word regarding the recollection of Nancy Slover: "I wish to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east..... on Columbus Parkway by a public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They have been shot by a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye". However, is the killer playing down his familiarity with this particular payphone by placing it one mile west of Columbus Parkway, when its true distance is 2 miles.
Let us consider the Zodiac Killer lived in a residence extremely close to the payphone - but how close? If he drove to a residence ten minutes from Blue Rock Springs, would he be prepared to walk 20-30 minutes to the payphone, and place the call, knowing he had the equivalent journey back home? In distance terms, one mile from the payphone. Or would he more likely venture 5 or 10 minutes? Could the 'crank call' made after the Lake Herman Road double murder help us - and did the Zodiac Killer place this phone call on foot from the exact same payphone? This much shallower timeline may place his residence yards from the Springs and Tuolumne intersection.
The timeline of Lake Herman Road is debatable, but it is fairly certain that James Owen passed the turnout at 11:08-11:10 pm and heard a shot 30 seconds later. This being the case, it puts the killer in the turnout at around 11:10 pm. Stella Medeiros spotting the bodies in the turnout, raced off to Benicia and flagged down Captain Daniel Pitta. This has been argued between 11:19-11:25 pm (Captain Daniel Pitta's police report states 11:25 pm), with his radio call to Benicia Police Department shortly thereafter. It is widely believed to be around 11:28-11:30 pm.
"Bidou and his partner had served a warrant on a Lake Herman Road cabin Dec. 20, 1968, and were on their way to deposit some marijuana in the police department’s evidence locker when they were dispatched back to Lake Herman Road. Initially, they were told a woman was lying outside a car; they thought they were being sent to a crash. Police at first speculated it might have been a crank call, but the officers headed back north. But when they arrived, Bidou realized it was no crank call and no car accident. Instead, it was a sinister crime scene". But why, in the plural, had "police at first suspected it was a crank call". What gave them this idea, after all, this incident was radioed in by an experienced officer? Was the report of a crank call, which police "first suspected," allayed when the radio message arrived moments later from Captain Daniel Pitta? Had this mystery call been issued by Zodiac? Had this been called in from the payphone at Springs and Tuolumne, just like the phone call after the Blue Rock Springs attack some six and a half months later? If police first suspected this was a crank call, then it was likely called in before Captain Daniel Pitta radioed the Benicia Police Department - whose confirmation would effectively quash the idea it was an accident, as police first suspected.
The journey time from the Gate #10 turnout to the Springs and Tuolumne intersection is approximately 12 minutes. Had the Zodiac Killer left the turnout at approximately 11:10 pm or shortly thereafter (let us say 11:11-11:12 pm), then the killer was able to place the phone call 12 minutes later at 11:23-11:24 pm, just before Captain Daniel Pitta radioed in, leading to the initial confusion experienced by police officers and the assumption it was a crank call. The Zodiac Killer may even have had a small window of extra time to travel home, ditch his vehicle and weapon, and walk to the payphone. Whatever the case, the author of the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter was seemingly eager to sell us a false narrative.
The timeline of Lake Herman Road is debatable, but it is fairly certain that James Owen passed the turnout at 11:08-11:10 pm and heard a shot 30 seconds later. This being the case, it puts the killer in the turnout at around 11:10 pm. Stella Medeiros spotting the bodies in the turnout, raced off to Benicia and flagged down Captain Daniel Pitta. This has been argued between 11:19-11:25 pm (Captain Daniel Pitta's police report states 11:25 pm), with his radio call to Benicia Police Department shortly thereafter. It is widely believed to be around 11:28-11:30 pm.
"Bidou and his partner had served a warrant on a Lake Herman Road cabin Dec. 20, 1968, and were on their way to deposit some marijuana in the police department’s evidence locker when they were dispatched back to Lake Herman Road. Initially, they were told a woman was lying outside a car; they thought they were being sent to a crash. Police at first speculated it might have been a crank call, but the officers headed back north. But when they arrived, Bidou realized it was no crank call and no car accident. Instead, it was a sinister crime scene". But why, in the plural, had "police at first suspected it was a crank call". What gave them this idea, after all, this incident was radioed in by an experienced officer? Was the report of a crank call, which police "first suspected," allayed when the radio message arrived moments later from Captain Daniel Pitta? Had this mystery call been issued by Zodiac? Had this been called in from the payphone at Springs and Tuolumne, just like the phone call after the Blue Rock Springs attack some six and a half months later? If police first suspected this was a crank call, then it was likely called in before Captain Daniel Pitta radioed the Benicia Police Department - whose confirmation would effectively quash the idea it was an accident, as police first suspected.
The journey time from the Gate #10 turnout to the Springs and Tuolumne intersection is approximately 12 minutes. Had the Zodiac Killer left the turnout at approximately 11:10 pm or shortly thereafter (let us say 11:11-11:12 pm), then the killer was able to place the phone call 12 minutes later at 11:23-11:24 pm, just before Captain Daniel Pitta radioed in, leading to the initial confusion experienced by police officers and the assumption it was a crank call. The Zodiac Killer may even have had a small window of extra time to travel home, ditch his vehicle and weapon, and walk to the payphone. Whatever the case, the author of the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter was seemingly eager to sell us a false narrative.
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