The Zodiac Killer sourced his pasted text from the newspapers when creating the 13-Hole postcard and Pines card, keeping some phrases intact. When he created the March 22nd 1971 Pines card he seemingly took the complete phrase of "Peek through the pines" from the March 19th 1971 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle, using an advert from the Boise Cascade Company project at Incline Village, where construction had just begun on the development. It was considered that missing nurse, Donna Lass, may have been buried at this location.
The Boise Cascade Company is an American manufacturer of wood products and wholesale distributor of building materials, headquartered in Boise, Idaho, that in the mid-1960s developed an even more diverse portfolio including ownership of a motor home manufacturer, a cruise line, involvement in real estate and recreation projects, and an acquisition in the engineering and construction business for major utilities. It makes total sense that, where possible, the Zodiac Killer would source his newspaper cuttings from the publications that he bought regularly, from within stories that caught his eye, or had some relevance to him. What interested me, was that Boise Cascade dealt in real estate, bearing in mind the sister communication to the Pines card.
Mailed on July 13th 1971, the Zodiac Killer designed the Monticello card, which virtually mimicked the Pines card in every way. It was created with directions to pinpoint the burial site of Kathie Snoozy in the Monticello neighborhood of San Jose, where her and Debra Furlong were murdered on August 3rd 1969. Spelled Kathy Snoozy in the newspapers, she was the namesake of Kathy Bilek, who was the focus of the Monticello card that read "Near Monticello Shought Victims 21 ...... In The Woods Dies April". Kathy Bilek was murdered near Monticello, in Saratoga, in the woods on April 11th 1971. The Zodiac Killer was now claiming all three victims in light of the recent arrest of Karl Francis Werner, who he was calling a "phony" because of having Snoozy & Furlong taken away from his claimed "Aug" victim count in the Dripping Pen card. But where would the Zodiac Killer have sourced the pasted text for the Monticello card that was relevant to his reading material and location - and considering the possibility he may have used phrases rather than single words to design the card?
The Boise Cascade Company is an American manufacturer of wood products and wholesale distributor of building materials, headquartered in Boise, Idaho, that in the mid-1960s developed an even more diverse portfolio including ownership of a motor home manufacturer, a cruise line, involvement in real estate and recreation projects, and an acquisition in the engineering and construction business for major utilities. It makes total sense that, where possible, the Zodiac Killer would source his newspaper cuttings from the publications that he bought regularly, from within stories that caught his eye, or had some relevance to him. What interested me, was that Boise Cascade dealt in real estate, bearing in mind the sister communication to the Pines card.
Mailed on July 13th 1971, the Zodiac Killer designed the Monticello card, which virtually mimicked the Pines card in every way. It was created with directions to pinpoint the burial site of Kathie Snoozy in the Monticello neighborhood of San Jose, where her and Debra Furlong were murdered on August 3rd 1969. Spelled Kathy Snoozy in the newspapers, she was the namesake of Kathy Bilek, who was the focus of the Monticello card that read "Near Monticello Shought Victims 21 ...... In The Woods Dies April". Kathy Bilek was murdered near Monticello, in Saratoga, in the woods on April 11th 1971. The Zodiac Killer was now claiming all three victims in light of the recent arrest of Karl Francis Werner, who he was calling a "phony" because of having Snoozy & Furlong taken away from his claimed "Aug" victim count in the Dripping Pen card. But where would the Zodiac Killer have sourced the pasted text for the Monticello card that was relevant to his reading material and location - and considering the possibility he may have used phrases rather than single words to design the card?
I first looked at the phrase "Near Monticello" with some interesting results. The date range between April 11th 1971 and July 13th 1971 took priority, because these were the dates of Kathy Bilek's murder and the mailing date of the Monticello card. There were extremely limited results from newspapers.com, but one from the Napa Register caught my eye. Just like the "real estate" advertisement for the Forest Pines condominiums at Incline Village featured on the Pines card, a real estate advertisement appeared approximately seven weeks later in the Napa Register, on May 6th 1971 (and subsequent editions), beginning less than one month after the murder of Kathy Bilek. It was a real estate advertisement from Lee Chesnutt of Napa Valley Properties (1400 Second Street) for a guest cottage and grounds NEAR MONTICELLO PARK, a neighborhood in Napa, California. A second result from the Napa Register on May 14th 1971 was placed by Don R. Stufft Realty of 1517 Jefferson Street for two homes near Monticello Park. The real estate offices of 1400 Second Street and 1517 Jefferson Street are only 438 meters and 564 meters from the 1231 Main Street, Napa payphone, where the Zodiac Killer placed his call after the Lake Berryessa attack. Monticello Park is a neighborhood in Napa, California. and mostly features large homes that are very high value. I am sure that the Zodiac Killer would have known that Monticello Park was likely a good source for the material he required to design the Monticello card.
However, there is another news story of relevance from the Sacramento Bee on March 8th 1971. Although one month before the murder of Kathy Bilek, this is the sort of news that may have stuck with the Zodiac Killer. Entitled "Vacaville Woman's Body Found", it stated "LAKE BERRYESSA - A Woman who drowned in a boating accident has been identified as Mrs. Deaun Brown, 41, of Vacaville. Her husband, Kenneth, 65, also is presumed drowned, but his body has not been found. The couple's 10-foot boat capsized Thursday near Monticello dam". Knowing that Kathy Snoozy was buried in the Oak Hill Memorial Park at 300 Curtner Avenue in the neighborhood of Monticello, the Zodiac Killer could easily have remembered this story about two Lake Berryessa drownings just 4 months earlier. The Bay Area murderer had previously exhibited great ability in sourcing dated newspaper articles to use as cuttings in his previous postcards. Whether he just stockpiled newspapers, took cuttings, worked at a newspaper office, or sold newspapers, is something to consider.
The only "dies April" combination I could find, was again, relevant to another crime associated with the Zodiac Killer. Kathleen Johns claimed she was abducted by the Zodiac Killer on March 22nd 1970, near Modesto. She stated that the man took her on a 1 1/2 to 2 hour journey around the outskirts of Tracy, California. The only newspaper article I could find of any relevance was from the Tracy Press on March 31st 1971, nearly two weeks prior to the murder of Kathy Bilek. It told of negotiations between Southern Pacific Railroad and the Railpax corporation, and the discontinuation of valley Daylight trains. Although not ideal, it is close enough to the timeframe to be considered a possibility. I suppose, when the Monticello card surfaces (if ever), we will see whether any of the above examples have promise. But what is important: is that all the cuttings sourced have some significance to areas of Zodiac activity.
The only "dies April" combination I could find, was again, relevant to another crime associated with the Zodiac Killer. Kathleen Johns claimed she was abducted by the Zodiac Killer on March 22nd 1970, near Modesto. She stated that the man took her on a 1 1/2 to 2 hour journey around the outskirts of Tracy, California. The only newspaper article I could find of any relevance was from the Tracy Press on March 31st 1971, nearly two weeks prior to the murder of Kathy Bilek. It told of negotiations between Southern Pacific Railroad and the Railpax corporation, and the discontinuation of valley Daylight trains. Although not ideal, it is close enough to the timeframe to be considered a possibility. I suppose, when the Monticello card surfaces (if ever), we will see whether any of the above examples have promise. But what is important: is that all the cuttings sourced have some significance to areas of Zodiac activity.
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