Lynn Derrick Sally Stanford was the madam of the famous San Francisco brothel at 1144 Pine Street from 1940 to 1949, before the police finally closed her down - whereupon she decided to branch out in a new direction - moving from the San Francisco Bay area to the small picturesque town of Sausalito to open the Valhalla Restaurant, before eventually becoming the mayor of Sausalito in 1976, aged 72. San Francisco columnist Herb Caen once wrote "the United Nations was founded at Sally Stanford's whorehouse" and eulogized on her death in 1982. The Valhalla attracted the rich and famous, including Marlon Brando and Bing Crosby, with the Sally Stanford autobiography itself hitting the screens, when Lady of the House was released in 1976.
This introduction is designed to give you a flavor of the area we are dealing with - a flavor that would turn sour one block away from the 201 Bridgeway, Valhalla Restaurant on July 26th 1972. At 4:15 am, on this date, the body of Lynn Derrick (24) was discovered on Valley Street. She had been strangled and a sock had been forced into her mouth, but despite being scantily clad, it was later determined no sexual molestation had taken place. The Zodiac Killer has been linked with too many crimes to mention and the murder of Lynn Derrick is no exception. The young San Francisco medical stenographer had been abducted or removed from her home approximately 2 hours earlier, around 2:00am, when police were called to 900 Powell Street, where a woman reported hearing a disturbance, a dragging sound and a car speeding away. This, along with the discovery of fresh blood in the hallway only served to increase the concerns of the police.
This introduction is designed to give you a flavor of the area we are dealing with - a flavor that would turn sour one block away from the 201 Bridgeway, Valhalla Restaurant on July 26th 1972. At 4:15 am, on this date, the body of Lynn Derrick (24) was discovered on Valley Street. She had been strangled and a sock had been forced into her mouth, but despite being scantily clad, it was later determined no sexual molestation had taken place. The Zodiac Killer has been linked with too many crimes to mention and the murder of Lynn Derrick is no exception. The young San Francisco medical stenographer had been abducted or removed from her home approximately 2 hours earlier, around 2:00am, when police were called to 900 Powell Street, where a woman reported hearing a disturbance, a dragging sound and a car speeding away. This, along with the discovery of fresh blood in the hallway only served to increase the concerns of the police.
After the murder of Paul Stine on October 11th 1969 and the Zodiac Killer's declaration he was to change his way of collecting slaves, were we to see a deviation to his attack on couples, that had become his template in three of the four crimes thus far - and indeed his modus operandi from here on in, was simply murder?
The abduction of Kathleen Johns on March 22nd 1970, the disappearance of Donna Lass on September 6th 1970 and the Tamalpais Valley Attack of Isobel Watson on April 7th 1972, to name just three, were all strongly linked to the Zodiac Killer, and may have been indicative of this change of direction, all with abduction in mind and all utilizing a vehicle to facilitate the crimes. The nature of the crimes would also necessitate a longer contact period between the victim and perpetrator, thereby increasing the risk factor often sought by murderers, as their crimes escalate over time. There is no concrete evidence to suggest this crime is in anyway connected to Zodiac Killer, other than the locale of San Francisco and the date of the murder, July 26th 1972 - exactly two years after the mailing of the Little List Letter to the San Francisco Chronicle. The Little List Letter followed the Kathleen Johns letter only two days earlier, when the Zodiac Killer suggested he was now orchestrating his list of victims.
The abduction of Kathleen Johns on March 22nd 1970, the disappearance of Donna Lass on September 6th 1970 and the Tamalpais Valley Attack of Isobel Watson on April 7th 1972, to name just three, were all strongly linked to the Zodiac Killer, and may have been indicative of this change of direction, all with abduction in mind and all utilizing a vehicle to facilitate the crimes. The nature of the crimes would also necessitate a longer contact period between the victim and perpetrator, thereby increasing the risk factor often sought by murderers, as their crimes escalate over time. There is no concrete evidence to suggest this crime is in anyway connected to Zodiac Killer, other than the locale of San Francisco and the date of the murder, July 26th 1972 - exactly two years after the mailing of the Little List Letter to the San Francisco Chronicle. The Little List Letter followed the Kathleen Johns letter only two days earlier, when the Zodiac Killer suggested he was now orchestrating his list of victims.
The murders and disappearances of Betty Lou Jensen, David Faraday, Darlene Ferrin, Cecelia Shepard, Paul Stine, John Franklin Hood, Sandra Garcia, Judith Hakari, Thomas Dolan, Homer Shadwick, Donna Lass, Nancy Bennallack and Robin Graham on 15th November 1970, took the total of possible murders to 13 in just under two years. All 13 possible murders had one thing in common, in that they were all committed on the first day of the 13 Moon Calendar week. However, this may not have been the end; as Jeanette Kamahele disappeared in Santa Rosa while hitchhiking on 25th April 1972, just three months prior to the murder of Lynn Derrick..
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