THE JANUARY 10TH 2001 CARD [PT2]

12/16/2019

Either the Zodiac Killer or somebody purporting to be the Zodiac Killer mailed a Happy New Year card to the San Francisco Chronicle on January 10th 2001, disgusted that San Francisco citizens were "getting murdered" by Muni drivers. The day before, on January 9th 2001, the Examiner ran an article describing how a Muni streetcar struck and killed pedestrian Guang Zhan Ouyang on Sunday, January 7th 2001. Another fatality occurred the following day on Van Ness Avenue. This newspaper article is courtesy of Cragle from Zodiac Killer Site forum - and is undoubtedly the trigger for the January 10th 2001 Happy New Year card. After all, the author opened up with the line [corrected] "Dear Sir. Wherever you are. This is disgusting to read, what seems to be a news that nobody really cares, but the relatives of innocent citizens murdered in our beloved S.F. It's always the pedestrians fault and never those bastard Muni drivers".

The Zodiac Killer was extremely fond of reacting to newspaper articles in his heyday, but what was it about this particular article that triggered such a response, just over eleven years after the December 1990 Eureka card (assuming the Zodiac Killer was responsible for both communications). Cragle pondered the question; Could the line "Noboby really cares but the relatives of innocent citizens MURDER in our beloved SF" allude to a relationship of some sorts to the person quoted in the article?

Here is another Examiner newspaper article, dated January 3rd 2001, describing the death of Brian Edward Cotter (18) as he played the game of "chicken" with a Muni streetcar. Thanks again to Cragle for supplying this cutting.

THE JANUARY 10TH 2001 CARD [PT1]

Richard

12/16/2019 08:42:53 am

A great find by Cragle and opens up so many more doors as to why the Zodiac Killer (or possibly hoaxer) decided to select this newspaper story above the countless others. As Cragle pointed out, was one of the victims loosely known to our killer, or is the answer a little closer than that.

Richard

12/16/2019 08:48:01 am

If Zodiac was around 40 in 1969 (lets say 36-44), he may have been as old as 76 in 2001 - just 8 years younger than the victim on Sunday, January 7th.

Rubislaw 32 link

12/16/2019 09:57:40 am

It's a great find,and ties in nicely,Richard.

In gratitude to Cragle.

This,I believe,is to do with ''up to the minute'' content of the 2001 New Years Card.To give the impression that the (suspected) Zodiac is a resident of the vicinity,from where he is writing the card.

A ''false'' reasoning,I venture....the Zodiac,I believe,is a visitor re-visiting San Francisco,and is writing the card from his hotel room.With an overall intention of writing a card,in the wake of Paul Avery's recent death (..'' And you thought I was dead.....''...).

But,gratefully received addition to the conundrum,from Cragle.

12/21/2019 06:05:07 pm

The letter has this mistake in it -
The F in Fault, From, and in San Francisco looks like the T in Thing on the - so lonely I could do my Thing. (a combined letter T and F)

Could the T be hidden in the F
And/or the F be hiding a T as in - so lonely I could do my Thing

Could TF or FT be his initials - Perhaps San Francisco Chronicle reporter Tim Findley

Tim Findley + 888 = 13 characters

12/21/2019 06:22:11 pm

"Nothing so completely verifies our perception of a thing as our killing of it."

Timothy Findley (1986). “The wars”,

12/21/2019 06:45:16 pm

Timothy Irving Frederick Findley was born October 30, 1930

He wrote many books though did not go beyond the ten grade.

He was with his love partner William Whitehead for forty years before his death in France in 2002.

12/23/2019 07:02:11 pm

Timothy Irving Frederick Findley was a Canadian novelist and playwright. He was informally known by the nickname Tiff or Tiffy, an acronym of his initials T I F F. He was 39 in 1969. DOB 10/30/30.
CJB Murdered 10/30/66. An illness had him staying in many Hospitals.
Tiff was puggy.
He was a drinker and a heavy smoker.
He often shaved his beard.
He worked for the Chronicle with Avery.
He was a tenth grade dropout.
Tim Holt is consequential to The Zodiac.
He spoke another language(French).
He was a gay man.
He was very intelligent.
All of these things together lend themselves to a Zodiac Profile.

Richard

12/16/2019 10:13:54 am

The Market Street Subway is a double-decker subway tunnel that carries Muni Metro and BART train traffic in San Francisco, California. It runs under the length of Market Street between Embarcadero Station and Castro Street Station. The upper level is used by Muni Metro lines and the lower level is used by BART lines. BART does not run through the whole subway; it turns south and runs under Mission Street southwest of Civic Center Station. The northeastern end of the BART level is connected to the Transbay Tube. On the Muni Metro level, the southwestern end of the Market Street Subway connects to the much-older Twin Peaks Tunnel, and the northeastern end connects to surface tracks along the Embarcadero.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_Street_Subway

Richard

12/16/2019 10:43:05 am

Cragle posted this: Guang Zhan Ouyang. Last Residence: 94122, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA (Inner/Outer Sunset Districts).
This is very close to Golden Gate Park and the Laguna Honda Hospital, mentioned in the correspondence.

Richard

12/16/2019 10:47:05 am

Yes, I get the impression he is selling us a notion of living in San Francisco. Obviously he would be retired by now, so isn't necessarily living at the same location as he was in 1968/69/70/71.

Richard

12/16/2019 10:49:07 am

Or close to retirement if you are of the opinion he was about 30 in 1969 (which I don't).

12/16/2019 12:43:07 pm

It appears the Laguna Honda Hospital had a serious problem for many years - when patients with dementia would walk out, and get lost or worse, accidentally commit suicide by walking into traffic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMOJZgRuH4g

Richard

12/16/2019 01:23:45 pm

Cheers for the additional link BB.

Rubislaw 32 link

12/16/2019 01:15:05 pm

Is it possible that the SF Examiner was not the only reportage,of this accident ?

Just in case there might have been the tiniest extra detail,that might have found its way into the card.

The writing of the card takes me back to the second Fairfield letter,where the Zodiac ''probably'' used a plain writing pads ''lined template sheet '' for the main message...and a single remaining plain sheet,for his '' Bleeding knife '' depiction.The Zodiac was short on stationery,on account probably,for that is all he had in his briefcase.

A ''man on the move'' when the Zodiac wrote that second Fairfield letter.And,in examining the possibilities of his specific movements,surmised that he may have driven to Sacramento for a one-night stay,where he wrote the second Fairfield letter....then posted it in Fairfield,on his return to Vallejo.

Some correspondences might have been written in hotel rooms,of an evening,when he didn't have the full range of his stationery and ''stamp collector's'' kit.

Richard

12/16/2019 01:26:22 pm

There is a fair chance it may have been covered in other newspapers. I'm guessing Cragle may have a newspapers.com account, so he may be the person to ask Rubislaw.

Rubislaw 32 link

12/16/2019 01:21:24 pm

...yes,I don't think that the Zodiac would have attempted ''cut 'n paste ''
cards,in hotel rooms.Those were made when he was in his home.....or,in the Zodiac's case,his tied work-related residency,in Vallejo,during his Bay area days of terror.

Carl Karas link

12/16/2019 01:27:08 pm

Guang Zhang Ouyang has an ‘a’ repeated 3 times. The 13 character cryptogram springs to mind.

Also, the cop’s name, just below Ouyang’s: Jim Deignan- is similar to the Lipstick Killer victim’s name: Suzanne Degnan. Cheers

Richard

12/16/2019 01:55:44 pm

I had to re-read the Deignan name Carl. The Lipstick Killer sprung to mind when I first read it too. That's zynchronisity for you - patterns everywhere.

12/16/2019 01:49:57 pm

Richard, this work by yourself and Cragle is fantastic and is affirmation of what the web sleuth community is capable of.

The one issue with this card is that the author neither claimed nor indicated in anyway that he is Zodiac. He didn’t even include the crosshairs symbol. The only thing we have is “you thought I was dead? No way!” But that can be a reference to any of a multitude of other things.

It would be interesting to know the name of the victim of the second accident and try to find a a clue from there. However, that collision doesn’t seem to have involved a muni vehicle.

Richard

12/16/2019 02:20:54 pm

That's nice of you to say so. The two relatively new posters of Cragle and Chaucer have done some excellent work lately, and it's a refreshing change to much of the back-biting on these forums. You are correct that Zodiac is never mentioned, but the inference is there. Whether this and the Eureka card are Zodiac is pivotal in determining whether the Zodiac was still alive in the 2000s, although my main interest was proving they were written by the same author.
The tone of the 2001 card is of a grumpy old Zodiac, using racial epithets and invoking the word citizens again. This doesn't mean it was Zodiac, but when we consider the two secret pal cards of 1970 and 1990, coupled with the similarities of handwriting, plus the uniqueness of the address in 1990 and 2001, a form of bridge can be made. For me Mo, what is important is the idea that if somebody claims that the 1990 card is Zodiac, then they realistically have to consider the 2001 card as Zodiac also. Otherwise we have two independent "sinister" communications of two separate authors, accidentally mimicking each other using "901 Mission St" and "94103", pretending to be Zodiac, who used greetings cards and were unaware of the other mailing.

The second incident does appear "Muni free", but yes it would have been interesting to have a second name. I am not a staunch advocate for either the 1990 or 2001 card, but my overriding aim is to tie them together using the reasoning above. This would almost certainly rule out suspects such as Kaczynski for the Eureka card. Though ardent followers of Kaczynski I doubt will be swayed, which wouldn't be surprising.

Richard

12/16/2019 02:48:00 pm

Here you go Mo, Kevin Fagan, the Chronicle reporter on his internet article gives this attribution to the communication "This card dated Jan. 9, 2001 was sent to The Chronicle and was signed “Zodiac” but is likely a hoax".

https://www.sfchronicle.com/nation/article/Zodiac-Killer-case-How-the-San-Francisco-13464935.php#photo-16636561

Rubislaw 32 link

12/16/2019 02:30:26 pm

The card has been trimmed,at the bottom,Mo,on its photographic depiction.

I have been annoyed about this ,with Mr.Fagan,from ''day one'',but can't be bothered to accuse him,since I know that I would only end up insulting him.

But,at least that we can be sure,that this was entirely deliberate by both the FBI and SF Chronicle....and ''know'' that they wished to keep this information from us.

I'm slowly building a ''shopping list'' of complaints against Mr.Fagan,as an employee of The Hearst Corporation.

'' All things '' will come to pass....eventually....Mr.Fagan can be sure of this.

Richard

12/16/2019 02:37:45 pm

I noticed that Rubislaw. This, one would think, would be a signature of sorts. Is there another copy lurking around.

Richard

12/16/2019 02:49:38 pm

https://www.sfchronicle.com/nation/article/Zodiac-Killer-case-How-the-San-Francisco-13464935.php#photo-16636561

Quote: "This card dated Jan. 9, 2001 was sent to The Chronicle and was signed “Zodiac” but is likely a hoax".

Rubislaw 32 link

12/16/2019 02:49:04 pm

That's definitely,the ''one and only'' available to us ,Richard.

That's the third time '' Kevin '' has annoyed me,in the last year...and I have a further three complaints ,before this.

We have not been ''on terms '' really,since just after Lyndon Lafferty's death.Though the last time represented ''great generosity'' on my part....so it is not me that should feel remiss.

Ho - Hum.

Richard

12/16/2019 02:51:13 pm

See above - the card was apparently signed "Zodiac".

Richard

12/16/2019 03:02:45 pm

I have sent Kevin Fagan an email asking for the complete card with the signature at the bottom. One can only hope.

Rubislaw 32 link

12/16/2019 03:09:14 pm

That is only what Kevin claims ,Richard.

Sadly,his ''claims'' are not stacking up well,in recent years.

He is a newspaper man,who is grateful for his employer's support and contributions to his pet homeless charity.

It's difficult for for me to talk about ,at present,particularly as a politician is part of the problem,also.

He's a decent guy,really....it's just that he does what he is told,and won't let on,at a given time,when it seems most acute and pertinent.

Rubislaw 32 link

12/16/2019 03:11:01 pm

Thanks for sending the e-mail,Richard....hopefully Kevin is charmed by you.

Richard

12/16/2019 04:19:55 pm

He has replied swiftly, but unfortunately he said all the evidence got handed over to police decades ago.

Rubislaw 32 link

12/16/2019 05:03:44 pm

How many decades is Kevin talking about ? It hasn't even been two decades ''since'' the bless-ed card.

See what I mean ( ? ).

Rubislaw 32 link

12/16/2019 04:32:03 pm

I suspect that it wouldn't be a positive outcome,but at least he was courteous about.

Gosh...my little Yorkshire Terrier died peacefully,this evening,aged 17.

''Dear Prudence'' R.I.P.

The calm before the storm.

Roger

12/16/2019 04:55:25 pm

The Muni / Herb Caen connection. Cue the sinister music!

http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist9/cablecar.html

Roger

12/16/2019 05:03:33 pm

Intriguingly, the most consistent "solution" to the Z32 using decryption software is this.

"Cumber of the workings ending at the Cally P.U."

The Cally PU was (perhaps) referring to the California Public Utilities building in SF at the time. Were any major works taking place in the vicinity of public utilities at that time, sufficient to result in a "cumber"?

The plot thickens into custard.

Roger

12/16/2019 05:43:29 pm

Apologies, the actual result is CUMBER OF THE WORKINGS AND THE CALLY PU

Average score: 29594.83 Average Index of Coincidence (IOC): 0.02977

Compared to Z408: Average score: 23056.30 Average IOC: 0.06542

12/16/2019 08:16:32 pm

Ok, thanks Rubislaw! I just viewed another version of this letter online and yes it clearly shows that some writing was cutoff at the bottom.

http://www.zodiackillersite.com/viewtopic.php?f=78&t=4150

I also just read that the sender of the Eureka card was tracked down using the identification number on the xeroxed image of the keys that was included with the card. That was done by Tom Voigt, who then forwarded the information to LE. However, that person, whose name was Sam, was cleared.

http://www.zodiackillerfacts.com/zodiac-christmas-card.htm

12/16/2019 10:04:31 pm

The suspected sender of the Eureka card was dubbed Sam. His real name was not revealed.

Rubislaw 32 link

12/16/2019 10:41:03 pm

Yes,I was aware of the story behind the Xerox,Mo...but thanks for reminding everyone.It does beg the question of how a suspected Zodiac got hold of the Xerox photo,in the first place ( ? ).

Last time the Eureka card was discussed here ,we ventured that a suspected Zodiac,would have wished to drive up to Eureka ,just so the word '' Eureka '' appeared on the envelope.

I have tended to believe that the two keys was a symbolic dig at the FBI's Cryptanalysis Unit,for ''not'' having solved the ''340'' cipher,after 21 years...which was known in 1990,that they had so far failed to do so.The ''Two Keys'' is an algorithmic encryption method.The ''Public'' and ''Private'' keys.

It was just '' B.S. '' from the Zodiac,as usual.

A persuading (...or,otherwise ( ? )..) link,between the Eureka card,and 2001 New Years Card....could well be '' Secret Pal ''.

The Zodiac's ''thing'' with Paul Avery.

Roger

12/20/2019 03:18:43 pm

You guys never fail to crack me up!

So the "real Zodiac" as an elderly man, drives all the way to Eureka from wherever he lives to steal or borrow the post office box keys from an elderly Eureka resident, just so he can photocopy them in order to put the photocopy inside a Christmas card. While there he makes sure to post the card so it shows a Eureka postmark on it. Meanwhile, the hapless Chester - the actual owner of the keys - is inexplicably oblivious to the entire incident, or *cue the sinister music* has been threatened into complete submission and silence by the "real Zodiac".

Try telling that one to the FBI or any member of LE and see how long it takes for them to show you the door.

I can think of a much more obvious, less elaborate, and less convoluted scenario, and it does not involve the Zodiac.

Some people have been reading too many dime store detective novels... or watching too many re-runs of Miss Marple and Rosemary and Thyme on their BBC.

Roger

12/20/2019 03:04:26 pm

Mo, his real name was revealed long ago - easily found with any Google search. He passed away in 2017.

Cragle

12/17/2019 08:57:47 am

Thanks for the kind words Rubislaw 32 and Richard. One thing in letter does not sit right with me. Their seems to be racist undertones with comment "The mayority (Sic) Black and asians, what happned with the white people drivers we once had", but the unfortunate victim of the accident was Chinese. This leads me to ponder whether the vitriol contained in the letter was actually directed at either the driver involved or the Streetcar system itself

12/17/2019 09:48:29 am

Cragle - It is true, and what the author is making reference to is disjointed. Like so much the Zodiac writes. It is like he hands in a rough draft without going through the hard work of the editing process. This is common today in a quick text to a pal. But, to go into a big time News Paper is odd. Maybe he was acting out of lonely feelings. "so lonely I could do my Thing." And just writing to socialize or "hangout" like a teen on the street corner.

Richard

12/17/2019 09:59:52 am

You're right, the message is a strange contradiction. If he wasn't sympathetic to the victim (because he was racist), the outporing of anger toward the Muni driver seems misplaced. Could he have had run-ins with the company previously, had he worked there and been fired, or was he just a miserable old git. It seems rather an unusual story to get worked up about, when you consider all the events that must have happened between 1990 and 2001. You would like to think something in the story was more personal to him.

Richard

12/17/2019 10:05:14 am

That is another great find you've placed on the forum. Can we add it to the article above to compliment the story Cragle.

Richard

12/17/2019 10:13:09 am

I think the January 9th article is more likely the trigger because of the headline using the word "pedestrians", which the 2001 card author used. However, both newspaper articles are probably relevant and it was the last one that may have tipped him over the edge. But always handy having the whole picture. Again, fantastic work.

Richard

12/17/2019 10:15:41 am

Could Zodiac or the hoaxer been one of the eyewitness to any of the fatal collisions?

Roger

12/19/2019 05:10:51 pm

The vitriol may have been rekindled from an earlier incident involving a Muni driver. Semen Frenklakh was knocked down and dragged by a Muni bus. https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Woman-struck-by-truck-man-dragged-by-bus-3238868.php

Cragle

12/17/2019 10:41:06 am

Please feel free to post anything I put the forum Richard, glad to help.

The reason I posted this article is due to the locale of the accident, Vicente St and West Portal which is in the West Portal district, this is close to the previously mentioned Sunset District. Also this is less than a mile from the Taraval, 23rd St address where TomV has previosly stated that an intercepted Zodiac letter was mailed from.

Richard

12/17/2019 11:03:05 am

Placed the newspaper cutting in the article. Might add a map tomorrow showing these relevant positions Cragle. It's easier to digest visually.

Cragle

12/17/2019 11:10:43 am

It is also worth noting that the driver in the 9th of January incident was a Black female. So it would stand to reason that the letter was in response to that article. Now the question would be how would the letter writer know that information so quickly unless they were either witness to the accident or close to the quoted individual ?

Richard

12/17/2019 11:57:16 am

It is certainly possible that the author/Zodiac witnessed the incident and hence the reason he felt strongly about what he saw. A bit late to start growing a conscience, but there certainly appears a racial element to his message. How did you find that Quin Eutsey was a black woman?

Cragle

12/17/2019 12:06:00 pm

Through Ancestry, her real name is Quintella Eutsey. She is still alive in her 60’s and living in Rodeo.

Rubislaw 32 link

12/17/2019 02:01:18 pm

Yes,excellent work to dig out that article,Cragle.

I think the word ''pedestrian'' is used in a sort of '' them and us '' way,laying inferred emphasis that the Zodiac is more normally,a motorist,but is sticking up for the ''pedestrian'',since he cares to take note of them...unlike Muni drivers .

I looked around for Honda sponsorship,and found that the company does own semi-industrial estates in the Far East ...so,maybe the Zodiac is a bit observant of a Japanese car company,''on the march'',in western cultures ( ? ).

I suspect that the Zodiac found that newspaper article,quite funny,in a warped ironic sense....an 84 year old woman simply wandering down a track....simply beggars belief,and surely couldn't have had all her faculties,together,at the time ( ? ).

Rubislaw 32 link

12/17/2019 02:17:21 pm

From a personal perspective,it may have been my ''assumption'' that the Zodiac is writing,as a visitor ...seeing things as ''novel'',that he once ''saw'',slightly differently.

At the time,I suspect that the Zodiac was work-based,in the Far East.

12/17/2019 03:48:44 pm

Rubislaw 32

English speakers often forget that names for many things in California are Spanish in origin. I think that this "Honda" is a Spanish word that means sling.

The sling is an inexpensive and easy to make weapon used for hunting and combat. Spanish Civil War combatants used slings to throw grenades over buildings into enemy positions over to the opposite street. Today the sling is used as a wilderness survival tool and you can improvise the weapon in a heartbeat for a hand to hand emergency. The science of war is a necessary evil for which few devote their lives to study. I have many nagging injuries that I have to endure for my time in the Corps. But, even though I have thoroughly healed from a given injury - everyone of them is a pain just to remember. I mean the memory of the injury itself literally hurts. I wonder if the Zodiac was haunted by his past escapades.The crimes he committed. He went on trips in order to stalk his prey. They had to replay in his mind over and over in his dreams at night when sleeping. Perhaps he was convalescing at Laguna Honda in his final days. Perhaps he was warned on several occasions not to wander. And perhaps he wrote about these things in a wandering way.

Richard

12/17/2019 04:51:11 pm

The author of the 2001 card does stress "nobody really cares about the relatives of innocent civilians", going on to refer to Muni drivers as "bastards", particularly when we consider no fault was laid on the drivers of these vehicles. This could be suggestive of the author previously having somebody in his family struck and killed by such a driver in the past. I wonder if any other cases have occurred in the previous few years relative to our author. I cannot believe these are the only cases in the history of Muni drivers. Maybe these latest cases stirred up a memory in the author pertaining to a relative killed in such fashion, possibly in San Francisco. He doesn't really express great concern for the victims, moreover the relatives of the victims, as though its personal to him. The Zodiac, after all, did only consider himself rather than others. The mention of "relatives" actually meaning himself - "nobody really cares about me (the relative) of the victim". To get so worked up after a hiatus of 11 years at the least (if Zodiac), bearing in mind this story isn't really controversial, may indicate this struck a chord with the author. Everything about Zodiac was usually about him, and a compassion about ordinary citizens is hardly something he ever really card about - having murdered at least 5 of them. If this card was Zodiac, I suggest the story resonated with him because of a personal experience he lived through.

Richard

12/17/2019 04:54:17 pm

Correction :"something he ever really cared about".

art

12/18/2019 01:20:38 pm

regarding this part: "nobody really cares about the relatives of innocent civilians"...that term 'civilian' (rather than e.g. citizen) is more likely to come from someone with a substantial military background. Not a big point, but caught my eye...

Richard

12/18/2019 01:37:05 pm

I believe it says citizens Art, as opposed to civilians.

Rubislaw 32 link

12/18/2019 07:17:18 pm

Again on a more speculative note ,Richard ,but certainly of interest that you bring focus to the Zodiac's employment of the word '' Bastard ''.

But here ,he uses it as a ''self-elected '' adjective ,when the word is actually an exclusive noun...as follows :

'' ...never Those bastard Muni Drive....''

It seems to me that the deliberately incorrect use of '' Bastard '',as an adjective,in this manner ,is more normally seen in spoken British English ( ? )...as opposed to say ,American English.

Not that I believe that the Zodiac was British (...Texan,in fact...).

But it does seem to me that the use of '' Bastard '' in this way,may point to the Zodiac having been in the company of British people for long periods..such as a largely British ex-Patriot community ( ? ).

Any comments ,to the contrary or otherwise ,would be appreciated.

Rubislaw 32 link

12/18/2019 07:38:09 pm

....interesting,perhaps ( ? ),that the word '' Bastard '' only became a term of derision around the 18th century ,in English parishes ,where the parish records,were held usually at the local church,in the form of a register ,freely available to the general public...and therefore vulnerable to vandalism.It was quite usual to see the words '' Ye Bastard ''scrawled '' over a name,with the intention of someone wishing to cause scandal in the local community.

12/19/2019 03:32:54 pm

Yes Richard there is a strong possibility that he was in a traffic accident. Everything about the Zodiac had to do with automobiles.
If he is always driving then odds are he would sooner or later get in a car wreck. There was a car involved in every crime scene. Even the 1963 murders of Linda and Bobby their car was said to be parked in the highway meridian signifying someone to be present at the beach - to anyone happening upon it. And the same could be said about the Lake Berryessa Attack.

12/20/2019 12:18:17 pm

51 years ago today the official 5 kicked off.
Each attack was different - the M.O. - the description
Programmed to kill - zodiac part 39 and 132 on YouTube
Devil worship provides cover for the CIA, the same way that
UFO's provide cover for the CIA's other top secret program at
Area 51. Also a war oriented program. Their experimental weapons of flight. Missals, stealth Jets, Rockets, etc..

Oddly, a guy named Peter Pan was shot dead in his home near Lake Merced in August 1985, police found a pentagram and other satanic symbols at the scene. This is just one of the murders that Richard Ramirez took part in in the bay area.

Programmed to kill - Ramirez part 44 and 45 on YouTube.
The cover story gets people to be confused. That is to say - get them to believe in something like Satan over the MK-Ultra programmed killer. Or in the case of experimental secret aircraft - instead - sell them of the belief in flying saucers. At least people have something to preoccupy themselves. At every one of the Ramirez murders their is forensic proof of at least one other perp. Do I believe in any of this? Hell no! I just think it is interesting, and needs to be considered. I have no beliefs. I think or I don't think. I know or I don't know. Will the government ever acknowledge this?
Hell no! What would that get them? Nothing but problems. So, any inquiry along these lines is met with marginalization.

Rubislaw 32 link

12/17/2019 04:54:23 pm

What a fascinating observation,BB....and what a good spot of '' Honda'' 's equivalence to '' sling '' or '' slingshot ''.

From Hamlet :

'' Is it nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,or to take arms against a sea of troubles...''

Perhaps,like you,the Zodiac in later life,had become more philosophical about his past circumstances....as opposed to rage against it ( ? ).

And,I believe there are signs of this,in his correspondences,from 1990 onwards (...to even 2010 ( ? ) ,now....).

Now,and in 2001 specifically,the Zodiac was just a bystander of his own legacy.He didn't really belief that he had the capacity to hurt anyone,any longer.But,failed to see that,as soon as he put pen to paper,regardless of what he actually said...that he was still a ''perpetuating'' extortionist.

Richard

12/18/2019 09:07:46 am

Thanks Mo for your comment in the latest (now deleted) article. I misread and misinterpreted the damn newspaper cutting. My fault.

Richard

12/18/2019 09:15:53 am

I interpreted the bearded man talking with a different woman, rather than the woman he may have been with.

Toots

12/18/2019 07:28:39 pm

Zodiac is giving us clues with
writer of article = Johnny

Roger

12/19/2019 05:07:22 pm

There was also this incident the previous year. Semen Frenklakh was knocked down and dragged by a Muni bus.

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Woman-struck-by-truck-man-dragged-by-bus-3238868.php

12/28/2019 03:18:34 pm

Maybe the Zodiac was a San Francisco bus driver.

https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/11/how-to-be-bus-driver-san-francisco-muni-transit-safety/577042/

His calling them - bastards - points away from his being one.
But isn't that what he would want to do?

Bus bombs and kiddies bouncing off buses may say he had buses on the brain. Maybe his familiarity with the city came through this daily job as a bus driver. And, perhaps he had a competitive "ax to grind" with Taxi drivers.

Rubislaw 32 link

12/19/2019 07:35:49 pm

I note that the Zodiac contributor '' Chaucer '' has made a failed attempt to secure the DMV letter.

Nice try,though.

Although the reasoning for refusal ,seemed a little technical ,to understand ,the word '' investigatory '' was used ,and this must be some consolation ,of a sort.

Eve Carson,sister-in-law to the late Joan Webster who,represents an outlier Zodiac victim ,has been facing similar problems ,securing extra information from Jonathan Blodgett ,D.A. for Essex County ,M.A.....and,for the last five years .

Blodgett claims that Joan's case file has been farmed out to another Department of Justice ,in the perceived interests of solving Joan's murder.

There is overwhelming evidence ,though not absolute proof,that this Department of Justice is The Crown Office,in Edinburgh,Scotland.

Rubislaw 32 link

12/20/2019 12:47:10 am

In the case of Joan Webster,it perhaps should be pointed out that ,Eve Carson is estranged from Joan's sister and brother (...Eve's ex-husband..) ,Anne and Steve Webster . Joan's father ,George, died in March 2018.

All three Webster family members ought to have been aware of the case file's new destination ,which appears to have arrived at The Crown Office , by March 2nd 2015 .

Toots

12/20/2019 08:44:05 am

This Joan Webster coincidence is probably nothing, but I thought it was interesting. Another "Joan Webster" was an actress who made an uncredited appearance as a nurse in the Star Trek: The Original Series first season episode "Space Seed". She filmed her scene on Friday 16 December 1966 at Desilu Stage 9. She also appeared in a 1975 episode of Marcus Welby, M.D.

Rubislaw 32 link

12/20/2019 08:54:55 pm

It's always possible,of a ''loose'' connection,Toots ,in that Joan and her ''new boyfriend'' shared an affection for certain ''populist'' TV programs.And,that both were aware of the actress,Joan Webster.

It is my contention that the solution to the Z263 riddle,involved the ''I dream of Jeanie '',TV series...which might be considered ''similar genre''.

An open hold bag that Joan is known to have been carrying with her,on her flight to Logan Airport ,from Newark Airport , was never found.However,its contents were found dumped.Among those contents was a theatre program of the then current Broadway show,'' The Pirates of Penzance '' by Gilbert and Sullivan.

So,perhaps Joan and her new found ''boyfriend '' had had a further shared interest ( ? ).Joan cut short her Thanksgiving weekend ,to be with this man....a man who,as it turned out,had been invited,through Joan,to ''meet the family'' for the first time,that Thanksgiving weekend.But...had obviously made his excuses...with Joan,possibly reconsidering his ''suitability'' over that weekend.

A decision that may well have cost her,her life.

1/27/2020 03:17:17 pm

“Do you remember me calling you last week and telling you that I was going to pull a real baffling crime? I killed the cab driver and I am going to get me a bus driver next.”

I wonder if he followed up with the threat?
This Oceanside murder is the Zodiac.
He called-in and taunted the cops.
No apparent robbery.
Going after drivers - were there any bus drivers
ever shot nearby? With 22LR rounds?

1/27/2020 05:13:49 pm

On September 17, 1963, a freight train collided with a bus carrying 58 migrant farmworkers on a railroad crossing outside Chualar in the Salinas Valley, California, killing 32 people and injuring 25. It is the deadliest automobile accident in United States history, according to the National Safety Council.

From April 11, 1962
17 months, 7 days including the end date.
of Sept. 17, 1963
525 days in total
The brothers were renting a house at 525 South Tremont Street.

Toots

2/8/2020 02:08:13 pm

BB, I think you are right on target with this. I believe this psychopath either had a book like, "worst accidents in the U.S." or he liked to read about them in the library. Historical fires, plane crashes, car accidents, he loved all of this.

1/31/2020 12:43:09 pm

Some possible other confusion that needs to be cleared up.
9 mm Luger ammo does not equate to there having been a Luger hand gun used by the killer. The brand does not matter there are many other pistols that fire the 9mm Luger cartridge.

1/29/2020 01:25:06 pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fcsbbz3d414

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09rqKWfnjSkruce

two videos showing the actual Bruce Davis Corvair

1/29/2020 02:23:07 pm

"From now on there will be a muni driver executed for every citizen murdered in the streets of San Francisco"

That was 39 years after saying -

" I am going to get me a bus driver next.”

He never got over his hatred for bus drivers

1/31/2020 03:49:28 pm

Dr. Gold's YouTube video
Red Ryder Ranch Zodiac Connection by Frank Lee Morris
Talks at 3:33 about the FLM symbol with the 4 dots

The Red Ryder comic book also has the Paul Averly symbol/Brand

The four dots could represent the Four Corners Area.

If someone was working out of the ranch as a hideout/home they would of had to have access to
an airplane to regularly get to and from the San Francisco area at the time.

Roger

1/31/2020 04:21:02 pm

I have no almost 99% convinced myself that the symbol in the return address space was a stylized rendition of a lesser used the San Francisco Examiner logo. It was at the time the logo they used on their envelopes in that same position. Avery would have immediately recognized the ironic re-working of the Examiner logo. The dots the Zodiac added were the two eyes on the face in the logo, looking down to two positions on the open newspaper pages. Avery would have been pretty thick if he had not realized this! The Zodiac was taunting him, by implying he may even be in the same building, watching him. The whole idea was to frighten Avery.

Roger

1/31/2020 04:22:08 pm

Oh bother, that should read "now" not "no".

2/1/2020 01:49:22 pm

Cracking The Zodiac - The Hunt for the Zodiac Killer -Part 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCSjocWe6ig&list=PLKDl4Oc8PDYyed3meFDvpXxVQrbdau0oF&index=4

Starting with this video:
Drew Beeson puts everything together here very well on what a suspicious man Don Cheney was.
Don along with Graysmith both desperately tried to make ALA out to be the Zodiac.

2/3/2020 10:05:37 am

The murder of Ray Davis was most probably The Zodiac.
For him to have learned about this in 1962 and then copy
it would only make the Zodiac a mere copycat of an even
more diabolical villain. What then happened to that killer?
Did he miraculously and conveniently just disappear? Not!
This Oceanside killer was the Zodiac. Same tone. Same lingo.
Same everything.

Roger

2/5/2020 07:08:10 pm

I agree BB. Two peas fitting the same pod = same pea.

2/5/2020 02:51:05 pm

Richard

BREAKING NEWS: Did the Zodiac killer begin his murders in Oceanside, Cal?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vscb4IBR5uA

Richard

2/5/2020 03:14:17 pm

Certainly a great find by Kristi Hawthorne BB. The crime has all the hallmarks of Zodiac, but it's equally possible Zodiac drew inspiration from this crime. Therefore, if Zodiac wasn't involved, could he have been a resident of Oceanside. How far reaching was this crime in the news? Certainly a murder worth exploring in a case of dwindling opportunities. Larry Hargis, a taxicab driver, was also killed on June 25th 1970 (day before the Button letter). He too was killed and separated from his taxicab in San Diego.

I have tried looking for other taxicab murders with a sinister element, but have been unable to find something that may be connected to Zodiac. However, this is an interesting case.

A Cresco man was found shot inside his taxi cab, and as his murder hits its 46th year unsolved, there's a new push for leads.

It was at the now-former Buck Hill Inn where state police say a crime that quickly went cold occurred more than 40 years ago. Investigators say John Leonard, 52, of Cresco was found shot multiple times in the head inside his taxi cab in Barrett Township in 1970.

On Tuesday, September 8, 1970, at approximately 3:45 p.m., John William Leonard, Sr., was located deceased in his taxi cab on the grounds of the Buck Hill Falls Lodge, Buck Hill Falls, Barrett Township, Monroe County, PA. John Leonard’s black 1966 Plymouth sedan was discovered approximately 150 feet south of the main entrance to the lodge in a slightly secluded area. John Leonard was pronounced dead at the scene with cause of death being multiple gunshot wounds.

At approximately 2:40 p.m., Mick’s Taxi Service received a call from a white male requesting service from Buck Hill Falls to Mountainhome, PA., a distance of approximately five miles. William Leonard left Mick’s Taxi Garage in Cresco, PA., for the two mile ride to Buck Hill Falls Lodge. The last radio contact with John Leonard was at 2:44 p.m.

An employee of the lodge saw John Leonard going up the drive toward the main building on the hotel property. The employee saw John Leonard’s taxi stop and a white male with dark hair, between the ages of 30-40 approached the vehicle. The unknown male who approached the taxi was wearing a blue-green wind breaker, dark pants, and dark framed glasses. The male was carrying a Globe Store bag.

2/5/2020 03:53:03 pm

I have looked for taxi drivers and
bus drivers too that the Zodiac may have gone after.
No luck. I think Kristi Hawthorne - Oceanside Historical Society President may have read about this lead and looked online as well.
Perhaps that prompted her to look into the microfilm where she found Ray Davis - I've looked in vain for anything of Ray online.
I'd bet the farm that - this is the Zodiac.

Roger

2/5/2020 06:50:59 pm

Richard and BB, I am trying to trace the origins of this "breaking news" online. I must admit I first came across the story here on this blog first, then read a bit of viral spread relating to it on Reddit later. Now it seems Kristi Hawthorne has known about it for the past 2 years or so. "What came first, the chicken or the egg?" :-)

Roger

2/5/2020 06:57:33 pm

Let me rephrase that. I have no doubt Kristi was the first to make the connection, but I find it interesting the way the story seemingly got "leaked" on to a few forums and blogs before it actually hit the newspapers and TV. No biggy, just wondering if it was a case of "Oops somebody just spilled the beans!"

Toots

2/5/2020 07:09:50 pm

What haunts me about the Ray Davis, Oceanside killing is that the suspect being investigated in the Nancy Bennallack murder has his 18th birthday on the same day as the Ray Davis killing, April 10.

I also see a coincidence with John William Leonard. The caller asked for a ride from Buck Hill Falls to Mountainhome, PA. This same POI grew up in PA, then during the Zodiac years lived in a mountain home in Marin County, PA, plus later owned the Mountain Home Inn on Mt. Tamalpias, CA.

2/6/2020 12:34:17 pm

Toots
I am not clear - John William Leonard - is he the April 10th b-day?

Toots

2/6/2020 06:39:30 pm

No, Sacramento is investigating a suspect that I gave them for the Bennallack & other zodiac crimes. His birthday is 4/10. He also owned Mtn Home Inn. About 40 other coincidences with Z including Holiday issues with his family. Hung out at beaches, boardwalks, surfing, etc.

I think he also killed Ray Davis on 4/10, plus potentially John William Leonard.

Roger

2/6/2020 07:07:26 pm

I don't really understand the chain of logic sorry.

1) The caller asked for a ride from Buck Hill Falls to Mountainhome, PA.

2) The POI grew up in PA. (Did he grow up in a mountain home there?).

3) Then during the Zodiac years he lived in a mountain home in Marin County, PA.

4) the POI later owned the Mountain Home Inn on Mt. Tamalpias. CA.

So your POI has a "thing" for mountain homes and places named "Mountain Home"?

I realize psychopaths sometimes get mentally "stuck" on things like names and mental constructs, but this does seem to be stretch and could easily be just a coincidence.

I mean this would be a bit like saying Bruce Davis makes a good POI for the Domingos/Edwards murder because he lived nearby at the time and lived near the beach and probably went to the beach a fair bit, and that makes him a good suspect for the Oceanside murder of the taxi cab driver too, because it was close to the beach at a place called Oceanside, and he chose a cab driver who had the same surname as himself. See the problem?

Toots

2/6/2020 08:03:34 pm

We know zodiac like ciphers, newspapers, and messing with people. You dont kill 5, 10, 15 or who knows how many, plus rub it in the police's nose, and get away with it for 50 yrs without being a seriously organized and cunning person. With Z, he was playing a game of puzzles and wanted to see if someone could put it all together. You are right, a bunch of coincidences doesnt mean a thing. But when you put them together with a family that banished him, a childhood with animal cruelty, arson issues, military, looks like Z, wrote a memoir before his death that he desperately wanted published in which he wrote about a fight with a cab driver, alleged to have killed his wife...you have a serious suspect.

Roger

2/6/2020 08:15:06 pm

He will be one among many and for that reason I must apologize for any apparent skepticism. But of course all those POIs, unsubs, and suspects have to be put to the ultimate test of forensics, DNA, fingerprints. It is good that you have resolved to query this individual through law enforcement and they are helping. So often when people do approach some police departments with information on this case, they are totally ignored. It is always good to find a detective who is still interested in cold cases like this one. Well done!

Toots

2/6/2020 08:44:01 pm

Sacramento began dna testing on this suspect, after they saw my research, and after they had FBI provide a timeline of his life. Last Dec I also sought out an ex FBI profiler from the Unabomber case. He reviewed my material then agreed to meet with me. I fear this case is alot more serious than 5 or so murders. As Z mentioned, he changed his MO to make it look like accidents.

2/7/2020 05:55:42 pm

1962 Oceanside he pulled the body of Taxi Driver out of the cab and drove off - leaving the body in a place where it would get headlines. In the alley between the two mayors homes. He was surly out for fame. And, he was obsessed with comics. I think he lived inside the world of comic books. And, I think he wanted to be a super villain. He spoke like a comic villain. Perhaps he was one of the boys disillusioned by the 1959 death of Superman George Reeves.

Roger

2/7/2020 06:45:39 pm

Yes indeed BB, the "over the top" comic book angle is difficult to ignore. I think if he was not simply a comic book fan, then perhaps he may have been been a budding cartoonist himself. Perhaps he even became a cartoonist, or had tried this and failed, especially considering the way he so often courted the press, e.g. sending Avery a Halloween card into which he added his own cartoonish elements. This is a man who wanted to be noticed and seen as being clever. He was constantly dropping crumbs, either to serve as obscure clues or to send a message to the authorities. He was pretending to be smarter and better than any of them. I still have a strong feeling that he left those gloves in Stine's taxi to send a message pointing back to an earlier crime of his. This was something he wanted the police to connect, but its obscurity may have meant the meaning was entirely lost by 1969.

Toots

2/8/2020 01:55:32 pm

Roger, I agree with your comic book angle. Because of this I wonder if Z was a bit younger than what police believed. Kind of like that real life case which was made into the movie, "Catch me if you can". Law enforcement in that case had no clue he might be a minor until a busboy oversaw the FBIs notes looking for a Barry Allen, which was The Flash in comic books.

Roger

2/8/2020 06:11:17 pm

Toots, The Lake Berryessa sketches are a case in point. I have tried to make those sketches a man of 30-40, but they always look much younger to me. The sketches seems to show a young man of between about 18-30 in my assessment.

Roger

2/7/2020 06:49:24 pm

http://www.policemotorunits.com/oceanside--ca-police-department.html

Toots

2/8/2020 07:55:57 pm

Roger, you are right on the money...my suspect during the LB crime was 25.

Roger

2/7/2020 07:30:48 pm

The surname Davis turns up a lot. John A. Davis was the county probation officer in Martinez for many years, at least the 50s through to the 70s. Harold B. Davis was prominent for many years as a traffic cop and then became the Chief of Police and an active member of the Oceanside Fire Department too. They were well respected citizens of Oceanside. I found another Officer Davis was also on the force in Oceanside at the time of HB Davis. Although HB Davis retired in the 1950s, I wonder if the name was a kind of "legacy" of the town, enough to make the hapless Ray Davis appear like fair game to a psychopath bent on a crusade of revenge against the city and all it represents. And that could be the case regardless of whether or not any of these people were related. For a psychopath bent on sending obscure messages to those in positions of power and authority, a name may have been "enough".

Roger

2/7/2020 08:11:10 pm

I meant to say "Harold and his wife were well respected citizens of Oceanside."

Toots

2/8/2020 01:38:49 pm

Another Jack Davis, lived in SF and was a director of Theater at Lone Mountain College, which coincidentally was the location of the Lamplighters theater that put on Mikado in the late 60s.

2/8/2020 12:27:42 pm

The major criteria for elimination of suspects using simple logical deduction are:

1- He must be at least 17 by the time of the act of

1- a. - First words from the killer on April 9, 1962

1- b. - First act - the killing of Ray Davis in Oceanside.

2- And, he must be alive for the last known act of

2- a. The delivery of the January 10th 2001 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle
For which was proven by Richard Grinell using simple deductive reasoning that this is the work of the Zodiac.
Also, we can logically reason that these dates forever linking the Zodiac with them. Both ending with the threat
of going after bus drivers. And, a number of other factors such as the language, words used and the handwriting.
And, since Oceanside is a major military town being between two of the largest military bases in the World. The
Navy's in San Diego to the south and Camp Pendelton to the North. We can assume the Zodiac was there as a
member of the military or at least a civilian worker both of which require the age of 17 at the very least. Conclusive
to the elimination of any and all possible suspects before the January 2001 deadline would be a remote possibility
of someone mailing the letter for him after his death. But, that would be for the thesis of there being at least a duo.

Toots

2/8/2020 01:44:16 pm

My guy also went into the Marine Corp. and was attached to a Navy fleet. Hanging out in Oceanside surfing next to Camp Pendelton, one can imagine he was inspired to enlist because of this.

2/9/2020 04:03:39 pm

Toots
May I ask why you won't say his name?

Toots

2/8/2020 07:43:19 pm

This is just a brainstorm, but has anyone ever suggested that the reason Pacific Union College was targeted was bec/ Z came from money and was either a member or family was a member of the elite,

Pacific Union Club
1000 California St, SF, CA

Roger

3/9/2020 07:19:27 pm

Did someone have a sick vendetta against the Davis name, or just a "thing", perhaps because of the long-held association of the surname with Oceanside PD? Could that same killer have extended the time and range of his vendetta to 5 Aug 1971, Huntington Park, Los Angeles County - the seemingly pointless and random murder of 64 year old Theone Lindgren Davis? This was about 1 hour 25 minutes drive away and a gap of about 9 years (cab driver Ray Davis was murdered on the evening of April 9, 1962). As much as I detest numerology associations, I will make this one: 5+8=13, 9+4=13, 6+2=8, 7+1=8. Both surnames Davis. Both murders seemingly random and pointless, except for their clear desire for attention from the public and the authorities. Also it hardly needs mentioning the obvious. The name Huntington includes the word "Hunting".

https://www.ocregister.com/2016/08/09/can-45-year-old-dna-help-solve-the-cold-case-killing-of-theone-davis/

Toots

3/10/2020 03:45:11 am

Nice find Roger.
Also his name Theone Davis, can be interpreted as The one Davis.

3/10/2020 10:13:18 am

Too many circumstantial things to ignore

Ansar

4/18/2020 10:14:55 am

I went through some archives today and from the mid 90s through to 2000/2001 there seems to have been a ton of incidents involving Muni drivers and pedestrians and motorists in SF (and in several of them the driver was found to be at fault) For instance in late 1999, an elderly gentleman was paralyzed from the waist down after a Muni driver who had been drinking alcohol smashed into the back of him. The victim there was 76 at the time and passed away in 2011.

In another incident in 1998 a woman called Emily Jean Landsverk was run down by a Muni bus and very badly injured. The driver in this case was a black male. Another woman Janice Racek in 1998 had to have both feet amputated after being struck by a Muni driven by a black female. Both drivers were allowed to carry on operating the Munis for up to a year which caused some anger from the victims end.

Is it possible that the author of the 2001 card met one of the retirees involved in these slightly further back incidents or was related in some way to one of the younger victims and then a couple of years later when he reads an article about it in the paper it triggers him to get his frustration off his chest and write about it?

Richard

4/18/2020 11:00:37 am

Thanks for taking the time to add this vital extra information Ansar. And yes, it is absolutely possible he was related to, or was friendly with a previous victim, that as you suggested finally hit a nerve after several years. Whatever people say about the Zodiac Killer (if he was responsible for this letter) he likely had a circle of friends and the usual disgruntlements with life. It was eleven years since his last supposed letter, so this or these stories must have hit a raw nerve for him to put pen to paper - after all - there must have been nany injustices down the last decade or so, but for some reason these stories triggered him. He certainly could have been affected personally by one of these stories.

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THE JANUARY 10TH 2001 CARD [PT2]

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