ZODIAC CIPHERS
Richard Grinell, Coventry, England
  • Home
    • Search This Site With Google
    • My Interview on the Zodiac Killer Channel
    • The Mount Diablo Map and Code Solution
  • Zodiac News
    • Zodiac News Archives
    • Santa Barbara Attack
    • Cheri Jo Bates
    • The Confession
    • Riverside Desktop Poem
    • Bates Letter
    • The Forgotten Victims
    • Zodiac RSS Feed
    • Welsh Chappie - Zodiac News
  • Lake Herman Murders
    • Blue Rock Springs Attack
    • Vallejo Times Letter
    • Examiner Letter
    • Chronicle Letter
    • Complete 408 Cipher
    • Vallejo and Benicia Map
    • Kathie Snoozy and Debra Furlong Murders
    • Debut of Zodiac Letter
  • Lake Berryessa Attack
    • Presidio Heights Attack
    • Call to Chat Show
  • 340 Cipher
    • Bus Bomb Letter
    • Betsy Aardsma Murder
    • The Fairfield Letter
    • Melvin Belli Letter
    • Santa Barbara Murders 1970
    • Modesto Attack
    • My Name is Cipher
    • Dragon Card and Button Letter >
      • Phillips Road Map
    • The Sleeping Bag Murders
    • The Little List Letter
  • The Halloween Card
    • Lake Tahoe Disappearance
    • Los Angeles Times Letter
    • The Monticello Card
    • The Exorcist Letter
  • SLA Letter
    • Red Phantom Letter/American Greetings Card
    • The 1978 Letter
    • Zodiac Letters Real or Fake
    • Zodiac Documentary
    • Zodiac Killer Net Forum - Hot Topics
    • Unsolved Mysteries
    • The Colonial Parkway Murders
  • Suspects
    • Arthur Leigh Allen
    • Rick Marshall
    • Lawrence Kane
    • Theodore Kaczynski
    • Richard Gaikowski
    • Gareth Penn
    • Jack Tarrance

THE HUNTER AND THE PREY

9/6/2014

 
The Modesto abduction of Kathleen Johns on March 22nd 1970 is a crime that sits on the edge of the Zodiac Killer story, with many enthusiasts feeling it has received unwarranted attention on such flimsy evidence, that basically relies on two key focal points. Firstly, the identification of her abductor from a composite drawing at the Patterson police station, in connection to the Paul Stine murder at Presidio Heights on October 11th 1969. And secondly, the Zodiac Killer himself claiming to be responsible for the abduction four months later, in a mailed letter to the San Francisco Chronicle on July 24th 1970.
Kathleen Johns was lured into the abductor's car on the ruse that her car wheel was actually coming loose, so he could subsequently offer her a lift to the nearest service station, but on the contrary took her on a two hour mystery tour through the outskirts of Tracy, California, before she managed to escape across a field with her young daughter, Jennifer.    
Picture..................Kathleen Johns.....................
Kathleen Johns was heading along Highway 132, near Modesto, from San Bernadino County, en route to her mothers in Petaluma, California approaching  midnight, when her attention was drawn by a lone driver flashing his headlights, ultimately causing her to pull over on the freeway. It is from here on in that her observations about the man and his car, are the only things we have to go on. The few questions that remain, is how much prior knowledge of the Zodiac case did Kathleen Johns have and can her testimony be relied upon?

In the Lake Herman Road, Blue Rock Springs Park, Lake Berryessa and Presidio Heights attacks, the Zodiac Killer seemed to have chosen his locations specifically, but here, if it was the Zodiac Killer, he appeared to have just happened upon his victim, and extremely unlikely that he trailed her for the best part of six hours from San Bernadino. So what was he doing in Modesto between 11 pm and midnight? Was he just cruising around in search of another victim or was he on his way home and the abduction of Kathleen Johns was just an opportunistic encounter?
​
This is where her observations, if correct, may be crucial in giving us the most likely scenario of how Kathleen Johns and the Zodiac Killer's paths inevitably crossed that night. 
Previously, it has been suggested that the Zodiac Killer may have been a former or present member of the military service and as a pastime may have been a hiker, hunter or fisherman, due to the ten and one half Wing Walker boot impressions found approaching and leaving the crime scene at Lake Berryessa, his part inference to 'Man is the most dangerous game' in the 408 cipher, the ever changing firearms in his attacks, the murder locations and his apparent knowledge of radians, not a common term used in everyday life. So what were the observations of Kathleen Johns?   

Picture
Within the car she noticed men's and children's clothing scattered about, as well as a black rubber handled flashlight. She described her abductor at around 30 years, clean-cut, having the traits of a serviceman. During her ordeal in the car she recalled his highly polished shoes, reflecting the yellow lights from the car interior, likening them to Navy shoes - he wore a windbreaker, commonly called a windcheater in the UK, black bell-bottom pants and most apparent were his black glasses affixed to his head by a band of elastic, typical of a lanyard worn on the neck, shoulder or wrist to secure a particular object, for ease of access or loss prevention.

A windbreaker is a thin outer garment usually worn in outdoor pursuits to cheat the wind and keep the wearer dry, often elasticated at the waist and arms - and a garment that may have come in handy in the month of March in Northern California, when the night temperatures would be hovering around the five degrees mark. A lanyard, such as elasticated glasses are often used in outdoor pursuits such as hiking, fishing and hunting for obvious reasons, especially if the wearer is interchanging between objects, such as binoculars or using other sighting instruments like a rifle scope, where the removal of glasses can become a necessity, depending on the eye relief afforded by the rifle or indeed binoculars.

'The eye relief of an optical instrument (such as a telescope, a microscope, or binoculars) is the distance from the last surface of an eyepiece at which the user's eye can obtain the full viewing angle. If a viewer's eye is outside this distance, a reduced field of view will be obtained. The calculation of eye relief is complex, though generally, the higher the magnification and the larger the intended field-of-view, the shorter the eye relief.
Eye relief distance can be particularly important for eyeglass wearers and shooters. The eye of an eyeglass wearer is typically further from the eyepiece so needs a longer eye relief in order to still see the entire field of view. For a shooter, eye relief is also a safety consideration. If the eye relief of a telescopic sight is too short, leaving the eye close to the sight, the firearm's recoil can force the optic to strike the skin around the shooter's eye, leaving a cut'.Taken from Wikipedia.
​
Hence, the wearing of appropriate glasses will become a consideration, if the user is constantly interchanging them with other 
objects - in this case - a hunting rifle and binoculars. Did the abductor of Kathleen Johns wear elasticated glasses for such a reason, as routine driving would not ordinarily necessitate their use. Or were his future plans for Kathleen Johns, similar to the Lake Berryessa attack, where secured glasses may have been a priority. But this takes us back to the question;, if this was a chance encounter, where had the Zodiac come from and where was he traveling to at this late hour? 

Picture............Click map to zoom in on Highway 99 and Modesto................
One possibility, bearing in mind what we think we know of the Zodiac Killer, is he was returning home after a day out hiking, hunting or fishing.
​
The Great Valley Grasslands State Park and San Luis National Wildlife Refuge would have satisfied any one of these needs and if we assume he was a resident of Vallejo or Benicia, then the route through Modesto back to the Bay Area was his equal quickest route. He could have taken the California State Route 140, but the distance is virtually the same. Great Valley Grasslands State Park is only 18 minutes drive along State Route 165 to Highway 99, which leads to Highway 132.Modesto. San Luis National Wildlife Refuge is approximately 21 minutes drive to Highway 99. If the Zodiac Killer had left either of these recreation areas, then his path would have crossed that of Kathleen Johns in roughly 20 minutes time. He was presumably armed and quite possibly his days hunting had not completely satisfied his needs.
​
Kathleen Johns had traveled from San Bernadino via Highway 99 for safety reasons, before turning west onto Highway 132 - and it is here her abductor was to strike.
If he was a regular visitor to both Great Valley Grasslands State Park and San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, then it would follow that on his route back to the Bay Area, he would pass through or near to the city of Tracy, California, which is ultimately where he drove Kathleen Johns after abducting her. 

Robin Smith
1/2/2015 11:13:16 pm

Well it looks like the Z did N0t want to kill the baby...explains his driving around for 2 hours trying to decide what to do....

His picking people at random from coffee shops and hang outs along a freeway makes one think that the victim's credibility would be a major part of the cover-up.

Somehow this screwed the 'body' count per Z missives. I have N0t studied the Z case closely enough to do this, however it does seem important in these letters, cards and N0tes.

Acutely aware of the N0 cell phone type technologies of today one would realize that these letters and cards were the only way for the disparate parties to confirm their activities and get credit for them to the proper person/s.

I doubt that they(Z's) actually had personal contact as these missives appear to be cover-up/alibis. This would be an integral part of the scheme and a well kN0wn scheme to convicts and such.

The LETTERS TO THE EDITOR penchant includes Bruce Davis and Don Bujok as well as this Gaikowski and Paul Stine as these persons knew how to write for the 'Editor" Editors do N0t publish without editing, something that Z was N0t likely to tolerate, hence the writer Z had editing experience.

Robin

Robin Smith
7/25/2015 12:18:12 am

Yes, the writer not only had writing experience, he purposely excluded writing to the Napa Valley Register.
Does anyone else find that eyebrow raising?

Robin Smith
7/25/2015 02:45:26 am

Hi Robin Smith N0t me:)

Fits right into my theory that there was more than one person involved in 0Z (0peraton Zodiac)! Z writer was N0t necessarily a man and the paper needed to have a wider readership than a small local paper.


Comments are closed.
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    All
    13 Hole Postcard
    148 Character Cipher
    1978 Letter
    1986 Letter
    1987 Letter
    2001 Happy New Year Card
    Albany Letter
    Allan/Peyton Murders
    Arthur Leigh Allen
    Atlanta Letter
    Betsy Aardsma
    Blue Rock Springs Attack
    Bus Bomb Letter
    Button Letter
    Call To Chat Show
    Carol Beth Hilburn
    Channel 9 Letter
    Cheri Jo Bates
    Cipher Theories
    Citizen Card
    Concerned Citizen Card
    Confession Letter
    Daniel Williams Poisoning
    Debut Of Zodiac Letter
    Deep Real Estate Ad
    DMV Letter
    Domingos/Edwards Murders
    Donald Lee Bujok
    Donna Lass
    Dragon Card
    Earl Van Best Jr
    Eureka Card
    Exorcist Letter
    Fairfield Letter
    Fingerprint Evidence
    Forecast For Cancer
    Forecast For Leo
    Gareth Penn
    General News Articles
    Gilbert And Sullivan
    Good Citizen Letter
    Halloween Card
    Hood/Garcia Murders
    Internet Articles
    Joan Webster
    Judith Hakari
    Kevin Robert Brooks
    Lake Berryessa Attack
    Lake Herman Road Murders
    Lake Tahoe Disappearance
    Larry Kane
    Leona Roberts Murder
    Los Angeles Letter
    Melvin Belli Letter
    Mike Morford (Morf13)
    Modesto Attack
    Molina/Rodriguez Murders
    Monticello Card
    My Name Is Letter
    Nancy Bennallack
    New Canaan Letters
    Novato Letter
    Oakland A's Letter
    Pines Card
    Possible Zodiac Attacks
    Possible Zodiac Letters
    Presidio Heights Murder
    Radians
    Red Phantom Letter
    Richard Gaikowski
    Riverside Desktop Poem
    Robert Salem Murder
    Ross Sullivan
    Saechao/Saelee Murders
    San Jose Code Letter
    Santa Claus Card
    Scotch Tape Letter
    Sla Letter
    Tamalpais Valley Attack
    Ted Kaczynski
    Telegraph Avenue Incident
    The 340 Cipher
    The 408 Cipher
    The Celebrity Cypher
    The Little List
    The Mikado
    Thomas Horan
    You Are Next Letter
    Zodiac Letters Poll
    Zodiac Postage
    Zodiac Theories

    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    The Zodiac Killer may have given us the answer almost word-for-word when he wrote PS. The Mt. Diablo Code concerns Radians & # inches along the radians. The code solution identified was Estimate: Four Radians and Five Inches To read more, click the image.
    Picture
    Picture
    The Zodiac Atlas: The Zodiac Killer Enigma by Randall Scott Clemons. Click image for details.
    Picture
    The Zodiac Killer Map: Part of the Zodiac Killer Enigma by Randall Scott Clemons. Click image for color version
    For black and white issue..
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    January 2012

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Photos used under Creative Commons from Marcin Wichary, zAppledot, vyusseem, Alex Barth, Alan Cleaver, jocelynsart, Richard Perry, taberandrew, eschipul, MrJamesAckerley