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Richard Grinell, Coventry, England
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THE FINGERPRINTS OF A KILLER

10/10/2018

 
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Officer Armond Pelissetti arrived at the Washington and Cherry crime scene, spoke to the teenagers, took a description of the suspect and ushered the children across the street to their residence. He then checked on Paul Stine from the passenger side of the vehicle, who he was "99.9% certain was dead," informed "everybody else" of the updated description over the radio, asked his partner Frank Peda to secure the crime scene and then headed off in the last known direction of the suspect. After his unsuccessful search, he returned to the crime scene just before "P.E.H. ambulance #82 responded, steward Dousette, victim was examined and pronounced dead at 10:10 pm."

The main priority of responding personnel, including police officers and medical crew, was to head to the business end of the taxicab to check Paul Stine for signs of life. This would have taken place from the front right passenger door. Once the ambulance personnel had determined life extinct, the crime scene was photographed and then Paul Stine was extricated from the taxicab. There was absolutely no need for medical personnel (who one would like to think were wearing gloves), to then round the taxicab and deposit bloody prints on the dividing panel of the driver and rear left passenger door. Once Paul Stine had been pronounced dead, it is now a murder crime scene and therefore would have been managed as such. 

Question marks have arisen over the bloody fingerprints, as to whether they were deposited by the Zodiac Killer. There was no reason for medical personnel to touch the dividing panel of the driver side door, and why would any police officer trained in securing a crime scene, rummage around the taxicab or Paul Stine without gloves, then commence to daub their fingerprints around the rest of the taxicab. Even if this hypothesis was believable, then the limited personnel who were present at the taxicab could be latterly screened and eliminated as the donor.

One of the reasons (but not the only reason) why these bloody fingerprints have been challenged, is the determination of individuals aligned with a particular suspect to place doubt on their origin. If their suspect has been ruled out of the investigation using these fingerprints, it is imperative that they cast doubt on the validity of such evidence by inferring medical personnel or police officers may have deposited the fingerprints. Was it a 
fingerprint already on the surface that was developed by blood, or from a bloody finger? This has also been touted as an explanation to negate the argument it was donated directly from the killer. However, this also requires attending personnel to cover themselves in blood, then round the taxicab and splash blood over an existing fingerprint. One would like to believe these people were trained in their profession to some extent, yet people who have immersed themselves in the belief their suspect is the Zodiac Killer would like you to believe otherwise. 

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Many latent fingerprints were retrieved from the taxicab, the payphones, the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia and the Zodiac Killer communications. These have also been questioned as originating from the killer, as supposedly no fingerprint has been matched between crime scenes or letters, despite suspects having been ruled out on the basis of such fingerprints.

On October 16th 1969, the Napa Register published an article entitled 'Zodiac Killer Link Affirmed' in which Undersheriff Tom Johnson was included:"Napa, Vallejo and San Francisco law enforcement officers are certain that the person who stabbed to death a college girl at Lake Berryessa last month and shot to death three youths in Vallejo during the past 10 months is the same man who shot and killed a cab driver in San Francisco last Saturday night. By a preliminary match of fingerprints and handwriting, Undersheriff Tom Johnson said that it appears this is the same murderer. However, he pointed out that specialists have not completed, as yet, extensive examinations to verify that identity. "I'm fairly certain it's the same man," he added." 

On October 17th 1969, the Lodi Sentinel stated "Johnson said preliminary analysis of partial fingerprints obtained from crime scenes in Napa County, Vallejo and San Francisco indicated they came from the same man. But he said the prints were not complete enough for an identification of the killer." 

Fingerprints from a crime scene tend to be partial rather than a full rolled fingerprint as would be taken from an individual at the police station. They will then be entered into AFIS (Automated Fingerprint Identification System) and unlike the fiction of crime shows where one suspect pops up, there may be an array of possible matches. The number of distinguishing points on the fingerprint required to enable a match varies from country to country, and from individual to individual (12 to 20 is a good guide). The more complete the fingerprint (with identifiable features) the less corresponding matches in the database should be achieved. If the fingerprint has less markers, the suspect pool will be magnified. In 1969 the police didn't have the benefit of an automated fingerprint recognition system, so everything was done by hand in a long and arduous process.

Undersheriff Tom Johnson stated "the prints were not complete enough for an identification of the killer."
This indicates that there were not enough distinguishing points on the fingerprints to definitively identify an individual. But this is not the same as the ability to rule out suspects based on the partial fingerprints they had collected. A full DNA profile can be matched definitively to a single individual, but a partial DNA profile cannot. However, it can be used to eliminate suspects.
A partial fingerprint can be approached in a similar manner - it may "not be complete enough for an identification of the killer", but it can be used to rule out suspects, particularly if fingerprints from different crime scenes "came from the same man."  

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In the diagram above, I have sectioned off the right edge of a fingerprint with five distinguishing points. This is just an example, designed to illustrate a point. ​This portion of fingerprint would unlikely be "complete enough for an identification of the killer", but if the matching points on this section of fingerprint was discovered through several crime scenes and/or letters, then it would greatly bolster the case that one individual was responsible for the Zodiac crimes.

​If a suspect such as Arthur Leigh Allen or Ted Kaczynski (who have fingerprints on file) were then compared to this section of fingerprint, and there was no correlation between the two, then the chances of their involvement in the crimes rapidly fades away. A clear partial fingerprint (which still contains extensive detail) can be examined locally and compared to named suspects in the case. 

The bloody fingerprints from the dividing panel of the taxicab are almost certainly those of our killer. The only person that can be definitively placed there, is the Zodiac Killer. The three teenagers described a killer attempting to haul the taxicab driver into an upright position behind the steering wheel from this location. The Zodiac Killer may have applied some caution when wiping down the door handles of the vehicle, but he may have overlooked the fingerprints from his right hand, when bracing himself against the taxicab door panel while lifting Paul Stine with his left. Robbins kids statement: "They both watched and observed in silence as Zodiac pushed the driver to an upright position behind the steering wheel, exited the car and walked around the rear of the car and opened the driver's door. Stine had fallen over onto the seat and Zodiac pulled him back up into the seated position and had some difficulty keeping him upright. Once upright, he was seen to have a rag, or something like a handkerchief and began to wipe down the door area and leaning over the driver, part of the dashboard. When he was finished, Zodiac calmly walked to Cherry St. and walked north."

PictureInspector David Toschi
Tim Reiterman published an article entitled 'Zodiac: 4 years later. What happened to the killer who kept the city in terror?' 
In the article Dave Toschi laid out his thoughts on the Zodiac case, with one notable section: "Although he took care to wipe his fingerprints and boasted that he took other precautions, Zodiac made mistakes. Toschi said "police have enough fingerprints from the Stine murder scene and from a Napa County telephone booth, where Zodiac once called police- to make a positive identification if he is captured or surrenders."'

Captain Martin Lee at the San Francisco Hall of Justice, during a  KPIX News report from November 12th 1969 stated "We assume one day we are going to catch this man, and we are, and certain evidence must be kept from the public, as he cannot be tried in the press. The precise evidence I am speaking of, I cannot even describe to you, but I can say this much - that there is considerable evidence of many different kinds."

Fingerprints being one.


Gaspar R.
10/10/2018 10:58:30 am

I have read also on the zodiackillerfacts site that the actual recovered prints from the Stine cab exterior had blood residue within the actual whorl patterns. This means the person who left the print had fresh blood on the hand(s). It could not have been a rando.

RTF
10/10/2018 12:47:20 pm

It appears reasonable that the FBI wouldn't be processing fingerprint checks for suspects submitted by police, as they did numerous times in the case, unless there was considerable faith in the partial prints belonging to Zodiac.

So yes, it follows that ALA's prints were checked out, plus Ed Edwards and Ted K's via IAFIS, no doubt. Probably Frank Dryman too, given his recent re-capture. I don't know if Bujok's old prints would have been uploaded onto IAFIS, so he's probably still viable. As is Gaik, I presume.

Which other POI's we know of have been print checked? Or not.

Richard link
10/10/2018 02:07:14 pm

"The murders did not fall under federal jurisdiction, so the FBI never opened an investigation. But a glance through the FBI’s public records on the case shows how local law enforcement agencies called on the FBI’s expertise in handwriting analysis, cryptanalysis, and fingerprints to aid their investigations.

The FBI’s role in 1969, much as it is today, was to support local law enforcement in their investigations. In the Zodiac Killer case, correspondence between law enforcement agencies in Northern California and forensic experts at the FBI’s Laboratory—in what was then called the Technical Evaluation Unit—shows our efforts to analyze handwriting samples and lift latent fingerprints from the letters and envelopes sent by the purported killer. FBI cryptanalysts, or code-breakers, were also enlisted to unravel a complex cipher that used more than 50 shapes and symbols to represent the 26 letters of the alphabet. Ultimately the code was made public and broken by two university professors."

https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/stories/2007/march/zodiac_030207

Richard
10/10/2018 02:10:20 pm

Lawrence Kane and Rick Marshall have apparently been cleared.

Judith
10/10/2018 06:36:45 pm

Well they have Peter Plante's fingerprints and he has not been eliminated. CA DOJ came to interview me in 2012 regarding Peter as a Zodiac suspect.
I personally don't think they have definitive Zodiac prints, but there you have it.
Peter was arrested several times prior to his death in 2001. Plenty of prints on file.

Richard
10/11/2018 03:30:01 am

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=EHskDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA118&lpg=PA118&dq=airplane+cement+to+disguise+fingerprints&source=bl&ots=LCVjX-MPGD&sig=7SvLfJv8K4rcw5CCkuD-8SoRiN8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiz-sHMgf7dAhUxNOwKHck1CvQQ6AEwDXoECAEQAQ#v=onepage&q=airplane%20cement%20to%20disguise%20fingerprints&f=false

Nobody
10/12/2018 06:06:36 pm

That is a very interesting read, particularly the profiling of the killer, which I consider a fairly accurate description of his personality and motives.

I have never really bought the whole airplane cement thing. Nevertheless I tried some on one finger yesterday and have to report that it is not very successful on its own. It tends to stay sticky for quite a long time. It is also very uncomfortable. However I did get very good coverage by mixing the cement with household baking soda. The powder makes the cement dry REALLY quickly, and in so doing it generates a lot of heat, so there is a slight risk of burning to the skin. It is possible to layer the cement by coating the fingertip with cement and then dipping in baking soda, allow it to dry, then re-coat. To test it, I tried inking my fingers on a stamp pad and pressing them on to paper. It really does conceal nearly all of the prints. My guess is you would only get latent prints from such a process, if any at all. The cement sure does stick. I am still trying to peel it off today. I think it will take a week or more to gradually wear off. But really, wouldn't it be easier to wear gloves? Or was the zodiac just trying to be different by suggesting some idea he once read in a comic book?

Rubislaw 32 link
10/11/2018 04:50:09 am

It's a tough call to make,on the full set of Zodiac's finger prints,based on available information,accumulated.

I believe that Toschi was an inherently honest man,despite the fan mail scandal,and go with what he states.

Zodiac,I believe,knew it would not be a prudent idea,to wear gloves,for a taxi driver's execution,and would have appeared ''strange'',if first engaging with Stine,wearing driver's or golf gloves.

Effectively,Zodiac knew that he would have to do some cleaning,after killing the taxi driver......and predictably,given the circumstances,just didn't do a good enough job.

Judith
10/11/2018 06:53:43 am

Correct me if I'm wrong. I thought I read that the bloody Prints on the cab we're not latent. That they were made after the blood had appeared on the cab? I know it sounds creepy but what is the possibility of zodiac using the hand of a victim to push on to the blood, to create false prints? What was he doing wiping all over the cab but leaving prints? And what about the gloves found left behind in the cab did not someone test them for DNA? If they had definitive zodiac prints this would have gone a long way to solving the case. Having said that I also know that print matching is subjective. It has been proven if the lab is aware of who the suspected perp is ahead of time the likelihood that they will find a match to that perp is increased dramatically. Once again the only way we can solve this case is through a DNA.
Partial fingerprints like partial DNA profiles Can Only Rule someone out.

Richard
10/11/2018 07:52:28 am

Latent fingerprints by definition are hidden or invisible. The bloody fingerprints are altogether different, as you stated.
I have heard the severed hand or finger suggestion before, and while possible, it is about likelihood, and therefore should be regarded as extremely unlikely. Why was he wiping the cab at all if he supposedly had fingertip guard, and could've bought gloves.
I have recently searched for murders just prior to October 11th with missing hands, but nothing - unless we assume he worked in a hospital, morgue or undertakers.
The gloves featured in the History Channel. I don't believe DNA was found. They were also deemed to have been from a previous passenger.
"The only way we can solve this case is through a DNA" or geographical profiling and elimination techniques.

Rubislaw 32 link
10/11/2018 07:50:37 am

Undoubtedly pertinent points made,Judith.

We ''sort of'' know that if fingerprints,were gleaned,then the lion's share of them,would have been reaped,from the Stine murder.

It was about an hour,before Toschi and Armstrong arrived....but Toschi was in constant touch,with officers at the crime scene,via radio,and it does appear to be the case,that the crime scene was well protected,before forensic analysis,could take place.

But,so many other considerations [?].At the Stine murder,items,such as the SF A-Z,found under Stine's body.

Given the Zodiac's extraordinary quantity of correspondences,albeit some ''unconfirmed'',it would seem ''extraordinary'',if the authorities didn't have a full set of prints....and a number of times,over.

As you intimate,it will be ''DNA'' that ''technically'' decides....but really,and standing back for a moment,we should really be debating this,from the point of,the possibility that they ''don't'' have his prints.

Most unlikely [?].

Richard
10/11/2018 03:20:29 pm

If you read the forums, some would like you to believe it was the wild west back in 1969 around the taxicab. There were people jumping on the roof of the taxicab, playing musical chairs by randomly opening and shutting the taxicab doors, Zombie policemen and ambulance personnel running around smothered in blood smearing fingerprints all over the exterior of the taxicab, Onlookers, newspaper reporters, rubberneckers, Robin Hood and his band of merry men, baying mobs hooting and circling the cab and a swarm of locust of biblical proportions laying siege to the encircled throng, They were all just allowed to do what the hell they wanted, like a free-for-all.
Nobody can be certain the bloody fingerprints were Zodiac, because we weren't there, but ambulance crew and police officers follow rules, especially where a crime scene is concerned. Of course they can make errors, but they are trained professionals who have to follow a governed procedure. I am not a policeman or forensic expert, but I know enough that a crime scene is usually managed and secured- taped or roped off- even in those primitive days of 1969. Rules and regulations still existed in 1969, and policemen and medical crew were not blubbering halfwits.

Nobody
10/12/2018 05:48:24 pm

Yes Richard, the myth of an out of control free-for-all surrounding the Stine murder scene is alive and well on many forums. It is always interesting the way history slowly but surely gets re-written when left to the public's devices. Before we know it, the police are being depicted as incompetent fools who never once followed procedure and showed no ability to care for the victims or the evidence, nor did they bother to stop the gawking onlookers putting their grubby hands all over the taxi and tampering with things inside. We are made to believe the crime scene quickly became about as contaminated and cluttered with stray evidence as Steptoe's shop, (an analogy that may be lost on our American friends but one that I am sure you will appreciate). The truth was of course very different.

But with this in mind, I do sometimes wonder what went wrong at Lake Berryessa, or is the story surrounding the "discarded evidence"from that scene also greatly exaggerated? I suspect so. But we do read many stories on the forums that suggest everything from the Lake Berryessa crime scene, except for the hand ties and a few other items, were bundled up by an incompetent police officer and thrown in the bin. This seems unlikely to me. Surely everything would have been retained as evidence, including the clothes that Bryan and Cecelia were wearing at the time. I have never been entirely clear whether they were lying on the bare ground or on some kind of picnic blanket? If there had been a blanket of some kind, surely that would have been retained for evidence too? I really do not buy the long held belief that most of the evidence from Lake Berryessa was bundled up and discarded. Only an idiot would do such a thing and I am certain the police were not idiots.

Mo
1/21/2020 04:34:55 am

“Johnson said preliminary analysis of partial fingerprints obtained from crime scenes in Napa County, Vallejo and San Francisco indicated they came from the same man. But he said the prints were not complete enough for an identification of the killer."

Why did he include Vallejo is his list of places where Z left finger prints? Did Z touch anything at the first two crime scenes?


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