THE PAUL STINE SHIRT

12/26/2014

The Presidio Heights murder of Paul Stine on October 11th 1969 has been covered numerous times on this site, but on this occasion we will be examining in greater detail the blood pattern on Paul Stine's shirt, using two undeniable constants, that blood follows the laws of time and gravity. We know the factual errors in the movie Zodiac (2007), but in the Paul Stine scene, this is the widely perceived view, of a killer who leans forward at the Washington and Cherry Street intersection, raises his gun to Paul Stine's head and fires one deadly shot. You will notice that Paul Stine, in the scene, starts to slump or fall over to the right within 1-2 seconds, which is how he was ultimately found, lying partially across the seat of the taxicab. However, this is one perception that needs challenging.

How could a wound to the anterior of the taxicab driver's right ear, if Paul Stine was lying on his right side or back, flow upwards, against gravity and the camber of the road, to produce this pattern of blood on the shirt. In particular the left side of the shirt, the opposite side to the gunshot wound. The pattern is suggestive of Paul Stine remaining upright for an notable period of time after he was shot - the alternative being, that this blood pattern was created in only 1-2 seconds, then he slumped over. Another possibility, is that the Zodiac Killer shot Paul Stine and he remained upright, and by the time the Zodiac had exited the rear of the taxicab and accessed the front passenger side door, this time period was enough to generate the blood pattern exhibited before he pulled Paul Stine over to access the rear of his shirt. But several things cast doubt on this order of events, namely his requirement to wipe down the driver side compartment area and the outside of the driver side door, both of which there was never any reason to touch. See Presidio Heights:The Final Chapter. The Zodiac Killer also took the ignition keys to the taxicab, which again may be suggestive of a significant occurrence one block east, at the Washington and Maple Street intersection.

Firstly, you will notice that the blood flow on the right shoulder, is indicative of a head wound to his right side. This is not disputed. There is also a noticeable absence of blood on the upper right and left portion of the shirt, next to each armpit, as well as two distinct and separate blotches of blood on each shirt sleeve. You would expect more blood on the right side of the shirt, yet the left side still has considerable blood staining. But strikingly, the blood on the left side stops flowing just after the mid-point of the shirt - and there must be a reason for this. The following will examine the disparity between the left and right side of the blooded shirt.

The shirt exhibits a undetermined period of time in which the blood flowed downwards and outwards, around the shirt. The curvature of the stomach region would naturally steer the blood to either side of the torso, which is what ultimately happened.
It has speculated that the murder of Paul Stine actually
occurred one block earlier, at the Washington and Maple Street intersection - the area that the Zodiac Killer claimed all along in his October 13th 1969 correspondence: "I am the murderer of the taxi driver over by Washington St + Maple St last night, to prove this here is a blood stained piece of his shirt." It was considered that after he had shot the taxicab driver, the vehicle not in park, motioned forward out of control - so reacting immediately - the Zodiac Killer exited the left rear door and entered the driver side door, depositing blooded fingerprints on the driver side panel with his right hand as he steadied himself. He then clambered over Paul Stine and pushed his lifeless body against the driver side door, to access the pedals, quite possibly stalling the vehicle at some point. He restarted the taxicab, depositing fingerprints on the keys, before coasting the taxicab to its final resting position, alongside 3898 Washington Street..

Looking at the blood pattern on the shirt, it is possible that if the Zodiac Killer had Paul Stine pressed up against the driver side door. Paul Stine's arms would have been forced into his body, explaining the lack of blood in the upper left and right region of the shirt. Despite his arms squeezed into his body, the inner lining of the armpit section of the jacket forms a well, or collection point for the blood rounding the chest area, hence the two blotches on either shirt arm. The blood pattern suggests Paul Stine was pressed against the driver side door, but was to some degree tilted to his left side. If he was perfectly straight or tilted to the right side, how could the blood flow on the left side of the shirt (by the red arrow), be not only the same, but even wider than on the right, bearing in mind the wound was anterior to his right ear. All in all, the blood present on the shirt is fairly equal on both sides, until it abruptly stops just past the mid-point on the left side, as though it was prevented from running any further.
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There could be a number of reasons for this, one being, that Paul Stine's lower left arm was wedged across his body, preventing the blood flowing any further in this direction. The other possibility, is that the left side of Paul Stine's torso was pressed into and against the arm rest of the door, which sits at approximately this point down the shirt line. This may explain why the blood traveled no further down this portion of the shirt and gives more credence for the murder to have occurred prior to the Washington and Cherry Street intersection.

I am no expert in this field, far from it, but all the known facts in this case point away from Washington and Cherry Street as the actual place Paul Stine was murdered - only the place he was found.
It would be great to hear other views on the blood distribution present on the shirt, giving an alternative pattern of events.. Any input would be greatly valued. See also:
1. PRESIDIO HEIGHTS-THE FINAL CHAPTER
2. THE KEYS AND WALLET
3. THE TAXICAB GLOVES
4 PRESIDIO HEIGHTS REVISITED
5. THE SILENT MURDER AT PRESIDIO HEIGHTS

Greg H.

12/26/2014 03:21:58 pm

I've corroborated a few sources claiming that Stine was found sprawled across the front seat, slightly more toward the passenger side, perhaps, but that his head was resting on the car's floorboard.. To digress a tad from the essay's main topic, if the above statement is factual, I was left to wonder how and why Stine was later photographed splayed out along the frontseat, his hand hanging downward toward the street, and his head no longer positioned against the floor.. My only conclusion has to be that the police situated him in this pose, thus altering the original resting position in which he was found.. I suppose they may have done this for a better, more clarified view of the crime scene?.. Perhaps there are other explanations...

Back to your essay, I don't necessarily have any objections to your proposals.. The wound was to his right side, seems perfectly sensible there'd be more blood on this side, and likewise (due to the severity of the shot) a generous amount of distribution of his left side, as well.. As you stated, there is probably no way of definitively knowing *exactly* what happened.. I've heard several hypotheses put forth, each sounds about as credible as the next.. Bermuda-triangle.org conjectures that Zodiac shot Stine while he sat directly next to him in the frontseat of the vehicle.. This shot, the site alleges, occurred at Washington/Maple, hence the reason for the witnesses at Washington/Cherry not hearing the explosion.. As for the point about the car jostling out of control, I'm not completely sold this had to have happened.. I'm not an expert on the established "facts" as they've been agreed to, but I think the idea of the car careening recklessly out of hand might be unnecessary guesswork in an attempt to explain the trail of fingerprints, etc..

I'm somewhat more interested in the Stine attack due to its value in providing witness descriptions of the perpetrator.. Are we sure the man the patrolmen saw was indeed the murderer?.. I was at first skeptical of this, but due to Zodiac's reportage in a letter, I'd surmise it's safe to say the officers did, in fact, drive past him.. I wonder now, however, about Officer Fouke's description: I believe he stated the P.O.I. to be about 170lbs and older, possibly in his 40s, than the accounts given by the teen witnesses in the window...
If this is true, we find ourselves very rapidly mired in a difficult contradiction.. It was already determined a couple weeks prior during the Lake Berryessa attack that the killer weighed at least 220 lbs due to the boot imprint he left.. Not only that, but the killer's voice was described as being that of a young man--probably no older than 30....
The Stine attack and Berryessa are *the* two best accounts of possibly identifying Zodiac and yet, quite unfortunately, we are left only with a clear case of cognitive dissonance.. The Stine killer is a smaller, older man, the Berryessa assailant much heavier and his voice sounds young...

How do we overcome this obstacle?.. Two separate killers?.. The activity of a group?.. I don't dismiss these possibilities...

The case very much reminds me Maury Terry's research on New York's Son of Sam, which he documented in the excellent book "The Ulimate Evil".. In the Son of Sam case, just like Zodiac, there were conflicting reports from witnesses about the perpetrator.. Terry investigation was able to show, beyond virtually any shadow of doubt, that the man who was charged with the crime had accomplices...

Based on the conflicts we see in terms of witnesses, and in the case of Berryessa, tangible physical evidence, I see no reason why the scope of our search should be focused on the work of one man acting alone...

Richard

12/26/2014 04:17:12 pm

I just posted a long reply, but it's just deleted it along with your first posting.

Richard

12/26/2014 04:18:10 pm

Hi again Greg. What you say is true and the idea of two different killers cannot be discounted. I lean towards this not being the case and believe the discrepancies of the key witnesses in the Zodiac investigation are simply a case of eyewitness recollection being a wholly unscientific and unreliable investigate tool. Of course it is necessary and only proper, but identification of individuals varies wildly in age, weight, hair, clothes etc, even in broad daylight. October 11th 1969 was a new moon, so it couldn't have been any darker, with only streetlights to aid the three teenagers, who observed the man from 60 feet away. Their description was different from that of Donald Fouke, who in theory should have been more trained in observation, however like you said, we do not know for sure that the man he observed for a fleeting moment was our killer. Estimating a persons age from their voice is something I would find incredibly difficult to achieve with any degree of accuracy. Bryan Hartnell was also pretty unsure on the assailant's height, as he stated, because he was so tall, despite spending a prolonged period of time with the killer. He also stated he was unsure whether the killer wore gloves in one interview. Eyewitness recollection, should never convict, only aid, as peoples recollection of an incident is as individual, as their life experiences. I have watched several Youtube videos on this subject, but this one hits it home. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buhMdC7MO0U.
I broached this topic here: http://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/false-memories
From a personal standpoint I would rather question the accuracy of the eyewitness testimony than the likelihood of more than one killer.
As for the car careering out of control, let's say motioned forward, but it not only explains the fingerprints on the driver's door, but the possible touching and later removal of the keys, the wiping down of the driver compartment, possibly steering wheel and the obvious lack of gunshot. If someone could explain this blood pattern on Paul Stine's shirt not being consistent with him being held upright for a measurable period of time, possibly between the two intersections, I would shut up and get back in my padded cell. If Paul Stine was lying with his head in the footwell when they arrived, the only possible reason for a change in position, is he was lifted onto the seat to check for vitals. I can see no other reason than this to disturb a crime scene. But hey Greg who knows for sure.

Richard

12/26/2014 04:25:21 pm

Another thing, was the front passenger door open or closed when responding personnel arrived. I believe it was shut, based on the evidence and blood distribution on the roadside.

Greg H.

12/29/2014 12:14:44 am

Good points, Richard.. I recall Bryan Hartnell described Zodiac as being overweight or fat.. Other descriptions, from Mike Mageau, for one, have also applied the "stocky" moniker to him.. Do you recall how the teenagers in SF described his body type?.. I was recently watching the short documentary "His Name Was Arthur Leigh Allen" on YouTube (which, incidentally, was included as an extra in the DVD of the 2007 "Zodiac" film I bought years ago).. In it, Officer Fouke is interviewed.. He makes the statement that the person he observed was not Allen, quite simply because Allen was at least 100 pounds heavier than the suspect he saw.. Thus possibly confounding the notion of Zodiac of being a heavy-set individual.. As you said, there are discrepencies galore.. Another worth mentioning involves hair.. You'll recall Bryan Hartnell said Zodiac had longish hair which hung down around his eyes.. This, of course, flies in the face of the classic depiction of the killer as that of a "Navy man" who wore a closely cropped crew-cut hairstyle...

I waver back and forth in who I guess the killler might be.. Perhaps you are entirely correct in saying it's a person who has completely eluded the spotlight; someone who has never been brought in for questioning or received a modicum of public attention.. But how can this be?.. How is it possible that in a case of this magnitude, the person responsible slipped through the cracks so seamlessly?.. Even if he were arrested for another murder, I'd venture to say it's more likely than not that the connection would have been made.. Recall the copycat Zodiac in New York.. I was actually a kid at the time he was on the prowl, and living not far from his target zone.. This was my first exposure to anything "Zodiac" related and I remember at the time it scared me terribly.. But, to my point, when the NY Zodiac was arrested for something unrelated, they quickly caught on to his handwriting as matching the letters he had sent.. And just like that the connection was made and the case solved..
It's remarkable to consider that the actual Zodiac may have been someone who flew under the radar to such an extent.. From a psychological standpoint, based on things stated in his letters, he often appeared to becoming unhinged.. How could he have kept his identity a secret?.. Surely he must have had at least one friend or confidant to whom he spilled the beans.. Moreover, considering his training in cryptography and probable background in the military, it's surprising that his family members haven't turned him in.. Though granted, there's been enough false accusations related to this case for anyone's taste.. Still, it's really a wonder this case continues unsolved...
As a related topic here, I've often thought about the damage accusations levelled against Zodiac suspects have caused.. When you think about the number of who people have come under suspicion, how people's reputations and legacies have been ruined due to this, you realize there are more victims than just those who were met by Zodiac's violence.. Surely not all these people are Zodiac...
Perhaps that's a idea for a future article--the collateral damage this case has brought to (innocent) suspects...

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THE PAUL STINE SHIRT

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