THE ORIGIN OF ZODIAC

6/19/2018

As has been pointed out by many intelligent posters, the Zodiac Killer never actually claimed any crimes that would later be attributed to another criminal, because he was simply too vague when insinuating his attachment to these said crimes. Two notable examples would be the June 19th 1970 murder of Officer Richard Radetich and the October 30th 1966 stabbing of Cheri Jo Bates - the latter of which he only 'suggested' in March of 1971, stating "I do have to give them credit for stumbling across my riverside activity, but they are only finding the easy ones, there are a hell of a lot more down there".

There is without doubt some interesting connections between the Zodiac and Riverside, in particular, the trinity of consecutive communications from April of 1967, to the three July 31st 1969 letters that began the letter writing campaign by the Zodiac Killer. It is therefore understandable that many observers want to interpret the symbol at the foot of the Bates letters as an alphabetical Z, to bridge the connection between the Bay Area and Riverside, and bolster an argument for it. However, was this symbol seriously considered to be an alphabetical Z before the arrival of Zodiac just over two years later, or was it just a convenient reappraisal.

Here are the two prominent Z like characters from the foot of the Bates letters, mailed to the Riverside Press Enterprise and Riverside Police Department. It is easy to want these to be an alphabetical Z, but unless the Zodiac performed a near identical error on two occasions, or just happened to have aligned his writing paper over an uneven writing surface in both instances, then there is little reason to believe these two characters are a Z. Additionally, if these two characters were a Z (representing Zodiac), then why not just write 'Zodiac' at the foot of the Bates letters.

Two years later, on July 31st 1969, the killer we now know as Zodiac announced himself to the world, when he wrote to the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner and Vallejo Times-Herald newspapers, but yet again, despite supposedly masquerading as the Zodiac Killer, he was still apparently reticent to reveal his pseudonym to the world, only introducing himself as "the murderer of the 2 teenagers last Christmass at Lake Herman + the girl on the 4th of July". For a egotistical murderer so bold, he seemed rather reluctant to reveal his identity. Had Vallejo Police Chief Jack E. Stiltz not questioned the July 31st 1969 letter writer in the August 3rd 1969 San Francisco Examiner, stating he was "still not convinced the letters and codes were written by the actual killer, and urging the writer to send more letters, with more facts to prove his connections to the crimes," then the August 4th 1969 'Debut of Zodiac' letter would not have been written by the killer. In other words, the 'Zodiac Killer' would still not have been born. How can we reconcile this reluctance to announce the pseudonym 'Zodiac' to the world, with the fact he had supposedly concocted this pseudonym by the time of the Bates letters in April 1967?

Many people have stated that the Zodiac Killer acquired the pseudonym 'Zodiac' and the crosshairs symbol from the Swiss watchmaker, as they appear together under one banner.

"In 1882, Ariste Calame founded a workshop for the production of special watches in Le Locle, Switzerland. The original name of the company was Ariste Calame and would later become Zodiac. The name "Zodiac" was used early but was not registered until 1908. The founder's son, Louis Ariste Calame, was sent to watchmaking school, and then began to participate in the business in 1895, and took over the business that year". Wikipedia.

If the Zodiac Killer was inspired by a watchmaker, then one has to ask the question - why did he only use the crosshairs in his three July 31st 1969 letters and seemingly abandon the name Zodiac, if an advertisement such as the one on the right was the trigger? Again, he only introduced himself as the Zodiac Killer four days later when the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter arrived at the San Francisco Examiner, and even that wouldn't have arrived if the killer had not been prompted by Vallejo Police Chief Jack E. Stiltz.

The idea of gunsight crosshairs proposed by many, may be the likely inspiration for the murderer of three young people at Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs Park. The standalone crosshairs at the foot of each of the July 31st 1969 letters appear to be the logical conclusion to the threat that preceded it. The San Francisco Chronicle, for example, finished with an ominous threat: "I will go on a kill ram-Page Fry. night. I will cruse around all weekend killing lone people in the night then move on to kill again, until I end up with a dozen people over the weekend". So it isn't particularly illogical that this threat may be followed by a "target" sign or the crosshairs of a gun, without the need for the pseudonym Zodiac or a connection to a famous watchmaker. The killer is simply signing off his letters by indicating he has more people in his sights.
If there ever was the perfect opportunity to announce himself to the American people under the name Zodiac, this was the perfect time - in accompaniment with a trinity of letters and his opening coded message - in which he actually promised to reveal his identity. However, this opportunity was spurned. The reason for this, one could argue, was the pseudonym Zodiac had not been conceived by the killer at this juncture.

The San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle of August 3rd 1969 opened with the lines "A self-accused killer failed to keep a threat of mass murder here, but there was no slackening of tension or mystery caused by the warning. The police department telephone system was clogged at times by anxious callers asking if the "cipher killer" had been caught". In this short snippet of text probably lay the inspiration behind the pseudonym Zodiac - as he was not prepared to be labelled the "cipher killer" by anybody. This was the push he needed. The following day the Zodiac was etched into the minds of police and newspapers alike, and has remained so for nearly half a century.

The answer to the origin of the pseudonym Zodiac likely sits within the pages of the San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle of August 3rd 1969. Somebody with access to newspaper archives may be able to discover the inspiration behind America's most infamous serial killer. One possibility could be the Zodiac horoscope section, or an advertisement such as the one above for Zodiac watches. Had the latter been the case, it could be strongly argued that the Zodiac Killer was extremely fortunate in signing off his three July 31st 1969 letters with threatening crosshairs, only to discover they were also the symbol used by the Swiss watchmaker only three days later.

On the contrary, had the Swiss watchmaker been the original inspiration behind the Zodiac's pseudonym and logo, then why did he fail to introduce the name "Zodiac" in his July 31st 1969 letters. He delayed the introduction until his August 4th 1969 letter to the San Francisco Examiner, in direct response to the San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle article of August 3rd 1969. Therefore, this newspaper had to be the driver behind the name Zodiac, not only because of his lack of affection for the "cipher killer" pseudonym, but because the name Zodiac probably lay somewhere within its folded pages.

42 Comments

Drew

6/19/2018 06:24:15 pm

Hi Richard, I agree that there may well be an answer in one of the newspapers in early August. I emailed you a few clippings but nothing too exciting.

Another possibility is that he took inspiration from the Minutemen. There is some very interesting theories about a possible connection there. Unfortunately the best candidate from that camp Troy Houghton was killed before the Zodiac campaign began. Of course some still believe he could have been our killer because they never found his body and right before he was allegedly murdered he declared that he was going to go "underground" to continue the fighting for whatever it is that the group stood for. They were a dedicated violent anti-communist militia group with a lot of weird connections. Plenty to read over on Morf's board if you are interested. As a fictional concept this would make a great story.

1965 Terror Sign (not sure where this was spray painted):
http://i66.servimg.com/u/f66/15/06/80/84/minute17.jpg

196? Terror Flyer:
http://i64.servimg.com/u/f64/14/94/97/81/minute10.jpg
Readable version of the same flyer:
http://22570218.weebly.com/uploads/9/7/3/9/97395592/threat-letters-1_1_orig.jpg

Thread on Troy Houghton:
http://zodiackillersite.com/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=414

Drew

6/19/2018 06:44:08 pm

The only possible contention I have with the idea that he was initially content with only the circle and crosshairs and thought of it only as a gun sight target and then later adopted the concept of the Zodiac is that the symbol he chose does represent a zodiac calendar. That would make his discovery of its meaning in the newspaper or on a wristwatch ad quite serendipitous wouldn't it? On the other hand it is not as if he wrote about astrology in his letters so maybe he didn't know what else the symbol could mean (other than a gunsight) until after he had chosen it.

Yet another possibility is that he got the idea from the San Francisco Diggers. I have to mention this because Darlene's ex-husnand was a member.

Diggers symbol:
http://www.diggers.org/digpaps68/images/d68_01_l.jpg

Richard

6/19/2018 11:07:43 pm

Thanks Drew for the clippings and links. I have thoroughly read the Minutemen thread previously, and while interesting, it's another one of those long line of possibilities. It certainly could have been the trigger, and he chose to use the symbol/crosshairs, then later adopted the concept of Zodiac as you said. Here is my conundrum.
He didn't use the name Zodiac on July 31st 1969. Without doubt, the August 4th 1969 letter wouldn't have existed had the police believed the killer. So the killer, had he adopted the name Zodiac in his next letter, would have announced the name Zodiac to the world with the October 13th 1969 Paul Stine letter. Therefore the killer would be announcing Zodiac to the world after all his confirmed killings had taken place. This certainly isn't a great argument he had the name Zodiac up his sleeve as early as April 1967. I'm not even convinced that the name "Zodiac" would ever had existed but for August 3rd 1969 San Francisco Examiner article, hence his reply to this newspaper. He may not have got the inspiration directly from this newspaper, but certainly from some other magazine, reading material or from television even. Yet something inspired the introduction of the pseudonym Zodiac, likely between reading "cipher killer" and the Monday morning. I don't know obviously, but it is certainly possible the the "Zodiac" as we now know him, wouldn't have ever attributed himself that name had he not been doubted through that weekend. The October 13th 1969 Stine letter wouldn't have begun with the "This is the Zodiac speaking", just the introduction of "I am the murderer of the taxi driver over by Washington St + Maple St last night", just like he did with the three July 31st 1969 letters. It certainly pours cold water on the Z-like symbol on the Bates letters being a Z, and certainly being Zodiac.
I used to think the crosshairs were derived from the religious Celtic Cross, but as Judith alluded, it may simply be a gunsight as displayed in the Minutemen attachment or even the Bob Lord article, had the killer been an avid reader of crime fiction and fact. The use of crosshairs or a target sign certainly isn't an original concept. The question being, why the shift between just crosshairs, and then crosshairs and Zodiac in just 3 to 4 short days.

Richard

6/19/2018 11:19:56 pm

What is your take Drew on the Bates symbols. Do you think they are a Z?

Drew

6/20/2018 07:39:14 am

I totally forgot about that bizarre Bud Lord story. It certainly isn't out of realm of possibility that our killer read that detective magazine.

The first impression we get with the Bates lettering is that it is intentionally crude. The symbol however was done with skill as if to smugly offer a small sample of his real handwriting, knowing analysts would still be left with little to go on. Like the rh 'initials' on the desk poem it is tempting to view it as a signature of sorts but it may not be.

If the symbols are supposed to be Zs I think Zorro is perhaps as likely an influence as any. They are clearly similar symbols but they are not as precisely duplicated as the lettering. One looks more like a lower case z the other more like a capital Z, so it is hard to determine what the intended symbol is supposed to look like or verify that it is a preexisting symbol. It could also be an 'm' with an aggressive flourish to reinforce the "there will be more" message.

A clue may also be found in that it did not appear on the letter sent to the father. I want to believe that one symbol represents a 2 and the other a 3 as you have previously suggested - I think that is a very reasonable theory. I also still see a broken heart, but I don't really believe that. The only reason it is hard to write off as a mark made simply to test a pen's ink flow is that he did it twice but that could be the explanation.

Ultimately I think it is a unique symbol drawn for the police and newspaper readers to interpret as a menacing sign off from someone who does not write crudely. Apart from writing to the newspaper to claim a senseless murder creating unique symbols may be the most strikingly commonality between the Riverside Killer and Zodiac.

7/31/2018 03:53:40 pm

The Pentagon Papers were released in 1971 by RAND employee Daniel Elsberg

6/19/2018 07:57:05 pm

Drew - Incredible! Troy Houghton TH - The Minute Men - it all makes sense.

Judith

6/19/2018 09:23:45 pm

The crosshairs symbol is a Gun Site. Think Angry.

Peter had a vast knowledge of the night sky. He spent his summers working at Lake Shasta as a teenager. They would sleep outside and study the constellations. He could identify them in the night sky.

The zodiac is an area of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The paths of the Moon and visible planets are also within the belt of the zodiac.

Rubislaw 32 link

6/20/2018 12:30:57 am

An interesting article on aspects and angles to the origins of ''Zodiac'',Richard.

Particularly for consideration,that its adoption may have started to manifest itself,with the April 1967 Bates correspondences.

A number of influences,as opposed to just one,perhaps [?].

To add to the debate,I offer part of a piece that I recently posted at zodiackillermystery.freeforums.net

''.....It is always possible,through subject matter of a more historic nature,might spark up in Zodiac,equally.

Tourists visiting San Antonio and Austin,Texas,are often offered coach excursions to visit the town of Stonewall,which lies 60 miles west of Austin,and 70 miles north of San Antonio.

This historic town holds attraction,in that it has its own national park,and is the birthplace of the 36th President of the United States,Lyndon Baines Johnson.

In addition,and on the outskirts of Stonewall,to the south-east,is a few acres of cotton fields,with a large solitary headstone,marking the original site of a town,that once was.

The town of ''Zodiac''.

In 1845,a band of about 200 European Mormons made their way to Austin,and hired themselves out as labourers.

After just a few years,the Mormon settlers moved to Stonewall,where they acquired a piece of land,and created their own town,which they named ''Zodiac''.

The settlers got to work building mills and houses.But tragically,four years later,the town was largely destroyed by floods.Those who survived,fled.All that remained in tact,was a cemetery,which was used to bury the dead and,which subsequently received internment of additional bodies,from the ''unforeseen'' Civil War.

In 1885,an attempt was made to resurrect the town.A school and houses were built.Zodiac was renamed ''Rocky Hill''.The then cemetery was simply ploughed over and turned into cotton fields.

To-day,the large headstone on view to tourists,marks the place where the old town of Zodiac used to exist.A headstone that surveys just ploughed farming land.

Tourists are attracted to the fact that,beneath that ploughed land,lies an underworld,populated by the dead,forever existing in a peaceful afterlife.

The ill-fated Ghost Town of Zodiac.

Richard

6/20/2018 01:45:10 am

Is there an exact map location for the area Rubislaw, or any articles relevant to the "ghost town" of Zodiac. It is certainly a captivating story.
I think Zodiac may very well be dead and buried long ago- so certainly has that in common with the underworld of Zodiac. Definitely a town I'd like to visit, despite my lack of belief in the supernatural.

Richard

6/20/2018 01:50:26 am

Got it.
"Zodiac was a community of 200 led by Mormon elder Lyman Wight. Frederickburg’s German leader John Meusebach granted permission to the group in the 1840s.
This group built the first gristmill / sawmill in Gillespie County and aided in the construction of nearby Ft. Martin Scott. The 1850 census reported a population of around 160.
Discouraged by a flood that tore out the mills in 1853, the townsfolk left for greener pastures, leaving behind only a small cemetery. The abandonment of the community left a void that was quickly filled by arriving German and Anglo immigrants.
A local school named Rocky Hill was constructed in the 1880s and the community that grew around it adopted the name.
Today a Texas Centennial marker and the Mormon cemetery are all that are left of Zodiac.
http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasHillCountryTowns/Zodiac-Texas.htm

Shelli

6/21/2018 06:35:26 pm

Hi all, I believe the symbol to be ancient Theben script for the letter L. Though not the same idea, it is EL, as in "bull god" of the old testament, you know, the wrathful one. Just another studied opinion..

Rubislaw 32 link

6/20/2018 02:35:41 am

Oh good Richard....I'm not so savvy at giving accurate references.But a photograph of the headstone can be quite easily accessed,though Google images.

I see that ''LBJ'' was President,up to January 20th 1969....just three days after the UCLA Black Panther assassinations.Also,that Lady Bird Johnson was from neighbouring Fredericksberg.

On the Bates correspondences,its a difficult one to call on ''Z'' [?].

Its always possible that ''Zodiac'' was considering the moniker ''Zee'' or ''Zed'' [?].

Rubislaw 32 link

6/20/2018 02:43:50 am

.....of course,''Zodiac'' uses ''Z'' in the Halloween Card.In addition,I have him down as employing ''MR.Z'' in the 1990 Celebrity Cipher solution.

Regardless of authenticity,the only solution achieved,so far,that is exclusively homophonic.

The fact that the only time,a presumed Zodiac employs a comma in ''his'' ciphers...separates the use of English and French....could be construed as a point of interest....as opposed to downgrading its credulity [?].

I can only laugh.

Michael

6/20/2018 06:45:56 am

The crosshair Zodiac used for signing was also the insignia of the 35th Infantry Division fighting during WWII in Europe.

I recently watched the war movie Kelly's Heros and was quite astonisched to see the crosshair on the uniform.

https://www.pinterest.de/pin/386676317997343079/?%24ios_deeplink_path=pinterest%3A%2F%2Fpin%2F386676317997343079&%24android_deeplink_path=pinterest%3A%2F%2Fpin%2F386676317997343079&_client_id=rijhfx5drSI_oQVsu26szNSPqPA9rmu_YjCLeiY-CFxQra05VZI6oobmqQrkKg_2&utm_source=168&utm_medium=2160¤t_page_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.de%2Famp%2Fsedonacrossing%2Fkellys-heroes%2F&install_id=bec47961475288789120f7869e69d50d&%24fallback_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.de%2Fpin%2F386676317997343079%2F&_branch_match_id=522428320229252095

Two minutes Google resulted in
http://www.lonesentry.com/gi_stories_booklets/35thinfantry/index.html

The booklet describing the divisions history was titled "Attack"...

Judith

6/20/2018 07:10:05 am

Peter was fascinated with all things World War II. On another topic, can anyone tell me, if when someone is cremated, if the mortuaries are holding back DNA samples and if so when did this practice begin? thank you

shawn

6/20/2018 07:14:30 am

"This is the Zodiac Speaking"

Sounds rather profound and not something he just came up with off the top of his head.

Kinda reminds me of the "Wizard of OZ" when Dorothy finally meets OZ.

"I am OZ, The Great and Powerful"

Only to find out he just a small guy behind a curtain.

Smoke and Mirrors.

Rubislaw 32 link

6/20/2018 08:10:38 am

That's an interesting point,Shawn....as there have been a few interesting points,in Richard's article and comments section.

Naturally,no definitive answer....but this declaration of self,has been noted by some,in the past.....not least.psychologists.

Indeed,there are some instances,where Zodiac appears to come close to an outright allusion to ''Oz'',but it never actually materialises.

My personal interpretation on an influence to ''This is the Zodiac speaking...'' is from the B.B.C World Service news bulletins,at the time of Zodiac's reign.

This radio station that broadcasts to more places in the world,than any other,used to start their hourly ''on the hour'' news introduction,with :

''This is the World Service of the B.B.C.,from London.Here is the news.''.

If one was brought up abroad,as I was [West Africa],those words would become ingrained in one,since a working radio was never far away.....and transmitting the only radio station worth listening to....the B.B.C. World Service.

Hence I would assume that Zodiac worked part of his time away,overseas,and was ''ingrained'' with the voices from London,all saying the same words....over and over again.

6/20/2018 06:15:01 pm

"This Is the Rat Speaking"
Black Power and the Promise of Racial Consciousness at Franklin and Marshall College in the Age of the Takeover, 1967–69
By Todd M. Mealy
Author of Aliened American: A Biography of William Howard Day, 1825–1900; Legendary Locals of Harrisburg; and Biography of an Antislavery City: Antislavery Advocates, Abolitionists, and Underground Railroad Activists.
The demise of the so-called Jim Crow laws in 1964 and 1965 and the victory of the civil rights movement rang hollow in the ears of most African Americans. While segregation was practiced in many places of the South, systemic forms of racism permeated northern society. As distrust pervaded African American communities after 1966, the maligned Black Panther Party filled the void, especially among baby boomer's who moved the African American liberation movement further to the left. During this difficult time, when the country was torn apart by issues of race and poverty, as well as the escalation of the Vietnam War, unrest seemed to prevail at a myriad of colleges and universities across the United States where newly formed Afro-American societies and black student unions pressed for pedagogical change suited to the liberation doctrine coming from the black left. Spring 1969 was a particularly explosive semester as African American students occupied administrative buildings and common areas at both historically black and predominantly white colleges on the East Coast. In This Is the Rat Speaking, author Todd M. Mealy reconstructs the May 22, 1969, black student uprising at Franklin and Marshall College. Using Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and Franklin and Marshall College as his setting, Mealy revisits the role and influence of the Black Panthers and delves into how activism for black studies curriculum emerged within the black power movement of the 1960s. Based on oral history testimony, investigation reports, and judicial records, Mealy provokes discussion from different perspectives.

I don't know for sure, but it is my contention that this may have been the origin.

[This is the Rat Speaking - verses - This is the Zodiac Speaking]

[The Black Panthers - verses - The Minute men]

These are the set ups for the radio listener. And, they insert a link for the MM to the Zodiac.

The fight for racial justice - verses - The fight for the racist status quo.

Rubislaw 32 link

6/20/2018 07:14:52 pm

This is a fascinating find,BB,and may well have influenced Zodiac.

Because Zodiac only appears to mention Black Power once....that being his reference to buttons in the Dragon Card,then we assume that the subject was of little interest to him.

But,I believe this is far from the truth....and believe that ''This state is in trouble..'' alludes largely to the civil rights issue,and the unofficial industrial and public sector strikes [...mostly in the L.A. region..] at that time.

It seems to me that a substantive part of Zodiac's ''340'' solution refers to the UCLA assassinations on January 17th 1969....which crystallised both ''black'' and ''educated youth'' problems for the establishment.

I will have another look at the ''minutemen'' phenomenon....but I see them as mostly ''amateur hour'' white supremists,who had ideas above their station.

It was really Organisation US,an alternative to the BBP,that the success of Black Power,had most to fear from,since as was feared at the time,and as has history proved,that Organisation US was infiltrated by COINTELPRO...which sought to undermine the movement,as a whole.

Whether Zodiac took a real interest,or was just showing off that he was abreast of current affairs,and had his ear to the ground....we can't be certain.But I think he was in favour of young people having their opinions heard and understood,anyway.

Nice find.

Shawn

6/21/2018 05:33:27 am

On a different subject..

Mike Morford posted at ZKS

Joseph Newton Chandler, considered Zodiac POI by some ID'd
by morf13 » Wed Jun 20, 2018 3:13 pm

Joseph Newton Chandler, considered Zodiac POI by some ID'd

Press conference tomorrow

http://www.cleveland19.com/story/38469937/us-marshals-will-release-identity-of-joseph-newton-chandler-iii-on-thursday

More DNA & Genealogy work go hand in hand to solve another mystery!

Drew

6/21/2018 11:50:08 am

Robert Ivan Nichols. Apparently he moved to North California in 65 and lived in Napa at least briefly. A very weird story.

Rubislaw 32 link

6/21/2018 07:59:47 am

Hey BB....this book,''This is the Rat speaking'',only came out last year.

I think it's a case of ''This is the Zodiac speaking'' influencing the new book [?].

Zodiac speaking ''hood rat'' patois sounds most interesting [!].

6/21/2018 10:12:11 am

Thanks for that edit 32 --- regarding book By Todd M. Mealy

Like they say this is a process of discovery.

"This is the Zodiac Speaking"

Though - sounds like radio lingo.

And perhaps "Zodiac" was his handle

The Minutemen are a bigger deal though than one would think.

Right now they are playing a major role in the immigration debate.

They portray themselves as savior patriots but they are just bullies.

But, relating to Radio like you alluded to earlier when you told us of -

''This is the World Service of the B.B.C.,from London.Here is the news.''.

Douglas Currens, eclectified
Answered Jan 30 2015 · Author has 1.9k answers and 3.3m answer views
from: ORIGINS OF HAMSPEAK, CQ, 73, DX, etc.
ORIGIN OF HANDLE
The term handle is an old slang term for name that goes back to the cowboys of the Old West. Telegraphers picked it up and the ham radio operators got it from them. CB operators copied the hams. For Hams it can be either the operators first name or a nickname such as Sparks or Rusty. CB'ers often use an alias such as "Dirty Dawg" or "The Blue Modulator"

I can vouch for the use of "handle" long before the CB craze by amateur radio operators ("hams") after WWII. The cowboy/telegrapher connection seems reasonable but might need further validation.
---
The HAM world is a place for underground operators like the Panthers and the Minutemen. Perhaps too for the Zodiac...
http://www.arrl.org/about-arrl

Rubislaw 32 link

6/21/2018 12:08:30 pm

Yes,that's always possible,BB,with regard to Zodiac having an interest with HAM radio.

I think the idea of using it to communicate,from his motorcar,would have appealed to him [?].

Yes,the Minutemen do seem like self important bullies.Perhaps trying to fill a void,that they thought that L.E. weren't dealing with [?].

As Disreali famously said : ''Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel''.Oliver North was to lay testament to this,much later [?].

Most of that 1969 represented Nixon's first year of office.Perhaps being preoccupied with extricating his country's further involvement in Vietnam,meant that he took his eye off the ball,at home [?].

By March 1970,all these unofficial strikes were gathering momentum,and Nixon was facing the prospect of a general strike.That's when he really had to deal with the national discontent.

Perhaps I would say this..but Rubislaw 32's solution to Zodiac's 340 cipher,makes a lot of sense,in terms of composition context.

Zodiac,I think,really longed to be Herb Caen.The consumate liberal,allowed to speak his mind,and still respected by the establishment.

Zodiac was a wannabe columnist.

6/21/2018 05:53:30 pm

From the dripping pen card of the Zodiac
Sorry I haven't written, but I just washed my pen
---Linked
From the traitors beware article of the Minutemen
That extra fountain pen in the pocket of the insurance salesman
who calls on you might be a cyanide gas gun.
----http://zodiackillersite.com/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=414
When used the pen must be thoughly washed so as not to get any of the element on the user. This is the bragadosous Zodiac's connecting himself to the Minutemen or vice versa.
Former CIA employee Mary Embree[YouTube] discusses the infamous heart attack gun. The weapon was first made public during the Church Committee hearings in 1975. Very lethal and untraceable, using this weapon a murder is made to look natural.
Although the heart attack was first revealed to large parts of the public through the Church Committee in 1975, the research behind this gun is much older.
The CIA had a relationship with the Special Operations Division at Fort Detrick since May 1952 and from there obtained poison dart guns and similar items. Such guns, as the heart-attack gun could look like a pistol, but there were also versions which were disguised as a cane, fountain pen, or umbrella.
The Mary Ferrell Fondation web site - https://www.maryferrell.org/pages/Main_Page.html
Ferrell has amassed info on the CIA and others regarding a number of right-wing conspiracies.

This rabbit hole is opened thanks to Richard, and to Drew at the top of this comment section.

Drew

6/22/2018 08:02:05 am

Thanks for the acknowledgement BB. I should mention that the man who brought the Minutemen to the attention of Zodiac communities around a decade ago is a poster who goes by Rand who doesn't seem to post anymore. He is a published author and after years of passionate semiotic analysis on the Tom and Morf boards I assume he kind of just moved on to other subjects. He started to build his case off of a 1968 book by a Kansas reporter named J. Harry Jones, Jr. https://www.amazon.com/Minutemen-J-Harry-Jones/dp/B0006BUTRC

Another proponent or at least entertainer of the Minutemen/Zodiac theory uses the handle Ophion1031 and he has a message board site of his own with a Troy Houghton section. http://zodiackiller.forumotion.com

It really is fascinating stuff even if we can't get the Zodiac connection to stick. For quite a while I had confidence that Zodiac was former CIA and these guys provided a link to that world. Cheers

Rubislaw 32 link

6/22/2018 04:24:44 am

Thanks for the further references,BB

Just on the matter of those two ''Z like'' characters,Richard :

I believe that this needs to be said.If you view them upside down,they do look like a thumbnail sketch of a male's genitalia.Both penis and scrotum.

Perhaps,harping back to a possible persecution of William Grant,Lyndon Lafferty shows a number of photographs and sketches,that he was to find,in the vicinity of Grant's property on Cordelia Road.Homophobic depictions painted on the road,and much ''artist's'' mayhem in local public facilities.

OK...this could happen anywhere...but a unofficial highlighted feature of Grant,as a suspect,was his involvement in illicit [...for its time..] bisexual activity.Clearly,one of the damning accusations,against the police,at the time,was their unwarranted and unjustified surveillance of Grant.

Back to the Bates era....if ''Zodiac'' had it in for Grant,even then,there are other possibilities....for example,''Just wait till next time,Red Barron'',with ''rh'' not a sign off,but an extension,as in RichtHoffen.

The man who claimed to be a WW2 fighter ace..but was actually a radio op. instructor,who sidestepped the real action [?].

Anyway,Grant aside,those ''Z like'' characters could be male genitalia....or to be dubiously or not,interpreted as such [?].

Richard

6/22/2018 07:32:19 am

I was tempted to write "what a load of old bollocks", but I won't. Too late. I must admit Rubislaw I never saw this one coming, it almost had me blushing. In truth, these two symbols could be anything, but I put a lot of tack in what Drew stated, in that the two symbols were found on the letters other than the one sent to Joseph Bates. There is a squiggly mark mixed in with the letter E of MORE of the Joseph Bates letter (like a sort of combined E and Z, but these two distinct and separate symbols were only added to the letters sent to the Riverside Police and Riverside Enterprise. That is why I considered them as page markers, as the Joseph Bates letter may have been the first and primary letter constructed. The m with an accentuated tail is certainly a reasonable proposition, or a joined m and L. He certainly (if Zodiac) wasn't averse to joining symbols, if the Halloween card was anything to go by. But it's funny Rubislaw, you can follow this case for many years, pouring over the crimes, cards, letters and ciphers over and over again until something smacks you between the eyes. Once you have found something you then question how on earth did I not see that after 300 times of looking. Whatever these two symbols are- I believe they will eventually become obvious to everybody. But that doesn't include a Z.
Anyway, can you stop talking about male genitalia on my site, as it brings down the tone of the discussion and attracts salacious links from pornographic sites lol.

7/12/2018 03:55:57 pm

cryptorchidism is - [according to the dictionary] The
failure of one or both of the testes to descend into the scrotum. As the unborn male child develops, the testes first appear in the abdomen at about the level of the kidneys. They develop at this site, and in approximately the seventh month of fetal life start to descend to the upper part of the groin. From there they move into the inguinal canal and then, normally, into the scrotum. In its descent, a testis may sometimes be halted in the abdomen or within the canal, becoming an undescended testis. An improperly developed testis may never leave the abdomen, and it may not produce the hormones that induce secondary sex characters. A testis lodged in the canal may well produce these secondary sex characters, but cannot produce spermatozoa. Cases in which both testes fail to descend are uncommon; usually only one is involved and the other produces sufficient numbers of spermatozoa.
Treatment. Often the undescended testis can be brought down into the scrotum by medical treatment with the gonadotropic hormone.

7/17/2018 11:23:12 am

Richard
I hope you meant that - lol.
Because this is mortifying.
Arthur L. Allen had cryptorchidism.
And, that is what put him in jail.
That is why he became a child molester.
This must have stigmatized him to do the things he did.
I am sure you realize that that in no way justifies his behavior.
But, it is a very real reason for it indeed.
Perhaps the embarrassing nature of this subject has kept a complete investigation of ALA including the sexual shame of cryptorchidism to close his case once and for all yea or nay.

Rubislaw 32 link

6/22/2018 06:56:15 am

.....as an alternative observation on the ''Z like'' characters.

They do appear to be deliberately written,as intended [?].

If we accept that there was deliberate intention....then,we might surmise that there was deliberate intention ''not'' to include one for Joseph Bates [?].

The symbol,itself :

It is possible that ''Zodiac'' was leaving an ''m'',with an extended and accentuated ''tail''.

The closest traditional likeness to this symbol,appears to be the Zodiac astrological sign for ''Scorpio''....and sometimes,''Tuesday''.

Rubislaw 32 link

6/22/2018 07:52:10 am

Yes,I certainly get your drift,Richard,on the ''tone'' aspect.

Murder,like beauty and truth....is a deadly serious business [?].

Just wanted to add that ''Scorpio'' holds ''concordance'' with Mars and Ares...the Roman and Greek gods of war,respectively.

Perhaps ''Zodiac'' had no need to telegraph intention to Joseph Bates.Zodiac had already destroyed him.

But,the cops and the press,were a different matter [?].

7/12/2018 04:24:37 pm

at the 5 minute mark on YouTube
His Name Was Arthur Leigh Allen
If ALA had cryptorchidism that could explain the 'ok' sign the skeleton makes on the card - signifying for the book The Singular Anomaly: Women Novelists of the Nineteenth Century – September 1, 1970
by Vineta Colby
Was this a sign used in a circle at the time?

6/22/2018 11:40:34 am

"This is the blue belly speaking"
If it is an "m" then that would correlate nicely with the Minutemen
And, that would mean that perhaps the watch left behind could represent the minute reference to time in the word Minutemen.
Just speculating. Has anyone blown-up that photo of Houghton to compare the wristwatch? In background of the photo is a HAM radio.
That reminds me Jack Tarrance has with one as well in a photo of him. Also, I think Rick Marshall and Gareth Penn were HAM operators.
Were any of the other major suspects? "Over"

Rubislaw 32 link

6/22/2018 01:31:41 pm

Just done some research on ''JFK'',BB,on account of Richard's new article on ''FK''.....wondering if there is a link.

The most plausible explanation for Ruby killing Oswald is,that the Dallas authorities didn't want ''Jackie'' to have to go through the ordeal of being called as a witness to the trial of her husband's suspected killer [Oswald].

At the time of Zodiac's reign of terror,the most famous HAM radio enthusiast was the King of Jordan.

I will post if I find a more likely suspect.

6/22/2018 04:36:22 pm

The St Valentine’s Day Massacre And The Fall Of Bugs Moran
February 14, 1929. A day that would live in infamy as one of the bloodiest in mob history.
7 Men. Gunned down in Chicago
The day America witnessed the fall of Chicago’s most notorious Irish American gang. The hit was on Dooms-day and was ordered by Jack Ruby's boss Al Capone. Ruby was just 18 years old at the time but the killing was so famous at the time that it had to impact JR's way of looking at the world. He went on to work for the likes of Carlos Marcello and Santos Trafficante when Richard Nixon got Ruby out of trouble with the law he was sent to Run the Dallas area. He was later rubbed out by the CIA's fast acting cancer injection. And, died on you guessed it Dooms-day Jan/3/67.

I don't know if the Radio he was said to always be playing with was a HAM or just a police scanner. But, just like Troy Houghton - Ruby was into the gay underground along with David Ferrie, Clay Shaw, and a dozen other suspects in the JFK assassination.

Rubislaw 32 link

6/22/2018 05:45:45 pm

Interesting to hear about Ruby's background.

Officially,all Ruby admitted about killing Oswald was :

''I got the call,and that was it - I knew what I had to do.''

One can't help thinking,what on earth did Melvin Belli think that he could do for Ruby [?].

It was a ''done deal'' from start to finish...there is no way that anyone of influence,was going to allow an Oswald trial to take place....it would have just been a ''circus'',in front of the world.

Ruby obeyed orders,and then the Texas authorities wanted to wrap the episode up,as quickly as possible.

6/22/2018 07:27:24 pm

Rubislaw 32's solution to Zodiac's 340 cipher

Can you put the URL for it here so I can see what you did?

Rubislaw 32 link

6/23/2018 03:43:38 am

If you are interested,BB,it can be accessed at zodiackillermystery.freeforums.net

Then access the cipher section,at the site.

My posts run to three pages.You will be able to view it,in its simplest form,on page three.Then read the first two pages,if you wish.

The primary solution leaves 44% of the final solution,in tact....with 56 % of the primary solution requiring the solving of a number of anagrams.

The subjects that Zodiac covers is,the treasure at Oak Island,the UCLA assassinations,the murder of Darlene Ferrin,and the unofficial L.A. strikes.

The FBI and Crown Office in Edinburgh,have been in possession of the final solution,for almost one year.

It appears that it contributed to the resignation of a Chief Constable.

The authorities know that I will approach a newspaper soon,regarding it,and a number of other related ''matters''.....hopefully,without compromising ongoing investigations.

For Zodiac's ''lengthy'' ciphers,there was always a recurring word or phrase,that assists the potential solver.

For the ''408'',it was the word ''killing''.

For the ''148'',it was the word ''because''.

For the ''340'',it was the expression '' TT Code'',which stands for ''Teletype code''.

Without finding ''Teletype code'',I couldn't have solved the cipher.

I claim to have solved all of Zodiac's ciphers,now...both authenticated and authenticated.

The FBI should have all the solutions.

It matters not a jot to me,what others think.

It only matters that ''Zodiac'' is brought to justice,to answer for his crimes.

6/23/2018 02:24:07 pm

Amazing! It is an amazing site, and amazing solution too!

CURSE OF OAK ISLAND

What is up with that?

Rubislaw 32 link

6/23/2018 03:57:49 pm

Thanks BB.

Oak Island is off the coast of Nova Scotia,where it is believed that Marie Antoinette's jewels and Captain Kidd's treasure is believed to be buried.In addition,a cipher stone denotes that 2 million pounds sterling is also buried.

Hence they called it the ''Money Pit''.

In the sixties,drilling companies were making further efforts to unearth treasure in the pit.But without success.

The ''curse'' was on account that the ''Pit'' continually became mysteriously flooded,thereby holding up potential progress.

The subject was Zodiac's ''pipe opener'' to his ''340'' solution.

To show the solver,that he had a sense of humour.

Then Zodiac got down to the ''nitty gritty'' with the UCLA assassinations,Darlene's murder and the unofficial strikes.

[....so I claim...].

THE ORIGIN OF ZODIAC

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