THE PHANTOM ZODIAC LETTER ON JULY 8TH 1974

3/31/2020

According to the accepted story, the Zodiac Killer mailed the authenticated Los Angeles letter on March 13th 1971, then reappeared in the January of 1974. The Zodiac Killer was an extremely lucky serial killer, evading capture by a fortuitous series of events in the aftermath of the Paul Stine murder on October 11th 1969. But not half as lucky, when after nearly 3 years, he supposedly mailed the February 3rd 1974 SLA letter (writing about the Symbionese Liberation Army), just one day before the SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army) kidnapped Patty Hearst, granddaughter of American publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst. Can you imagine the stroke of fortune that befell the Zodiac Killer, masquerading as a soothsayer, and just happening to write about the Symbionese Liberation Army the day before they pulled of their most high profile crime.

What is even more amazing, is that the Zodiac Killer began the SLA letter with "Dear" and ended the communication with "a friend". This letter was not published in the newspapers. Despite this, the Symbionese Liberation Army typed a communication to the Hearst family just seven days later, on February 10th 1974. It too began with "Dear" and signed off with "A friend". Not only was the Zodiac extremely fortunate to time his SLA letter the day before Patty Hearst's kidnapping, but seven days in advance, he predicted the opening and ending words in the February 10th 1974 Symbionese Liberation Army letter. The sarcasm dripping from my internet keyboard should be obvious, that I don't believe the SLA letter was authored by the Zodiac Killer - and neither was the Red Phantom letter.

Having already stuck two fingers up to the father of Patty Hearst and the newspaper magnate's empire, it probably wasn't surprising that the Symbionese Liberation Army (in the Citizen card on May 8th 1974) invoked the "running of ads" in their next offering, akin to William Randolph Hearst and his protestations regarding his paper running advertisements for the Orson Welles movie Citizen Kane in 1941. However, it is the Red Phantom letter objecting to the newspaper column of Count Marco, mailed on July 8th 1974, that would become the paragon of imitation. The author of this communication managed to add "tails" to the address on the envelope, metamorphosing the SLA letter into the Red Phantom letter.

Because the SLA letter and envelope were not released to the public at the time, the author of the Red Phantom envelope had an uncanny knack of imitating the handwriting and format of the SLA letter. These are with little doubt the same author. If the Zodiac Killer was not responsible for the SLA letter, then he wasn't responsible for the Red Phantom letter either.

THE PHANTOM ZODIAC LETTER ON JULY 8TH 1974 [PART TWO]

Rubislaw 32 link

3/31/2020 07:14:39 pm

Very difficult to decide on authenticity of both '' A friend '' letters ,Richard .

The handwritten one has to be with the intervention of the FBI , if indeed any of it belongs to the Zodiac . The FBI have probably messed with the posted date and , possible pieced together sections of what might have been a much longer letter . In addition , the knowledge that '' A friend '', along with other signing names , such as variations on '' citizen '' and '' sister '' were employed by the FBI's counter-intelligence , in their fight against perceived Black Extremism .

I am quite drawn to the typed letter since their is definitely some mischievousness going on and , how it does seem that the Zodiac sought to embarrass the authorities or establishment figures , whenever possible . In mentioning Angela Davis , the writer attempts to hit a raw nerve , since it was known that Ms.Davis was fired as a lecturer at Berkeley University , through considered a disruptive influence....i.e Communist leanings .

And this firing was largely down to Patty Hearst's mother , who was on the university's board of governors .

Richard

4/1/2020 06:03:31 am

You mention dates Rubislaw. Did you know many websites have the Red Phantom letter as postmarked July 8th 1974 from San Rafael in Marin County. The FBI files clearly state "Qc77 Photocopy of envelope bearing illegible postmark". So July 8th 1974 was not ascertained by any postmark whatsoever, although the location of San Rafael was.

The San Francisco Chronicle ran an article on Wednesday July 10th 1974 saying "Yesterday's letter was dropped into a mail box in Marin County sometime on Monday. Of course Monday was July 8th 1974. If the Red Phantom letter arrived at the Chronicle on July 9th 1974, how did they know when it was posted without a date on the postmark. It could have been mailed on June 8th 1974 for all they know. Letters would normally take a day or so to arrive admittedly, but in the next sentence in the Chronicle article they state "The (Citizen) postcard, although received on June 4, was mailed in Alameda County nearly a month earlier, on May 8. If the Citizen card can take nearly a month to arrive, how can they guess that the Red Phantom letter was mailed the day before it arrived at the Chronicle. Even the SLA letter had a postmark of February 3rd 1974, yet arrived at the Chronicle on February 14th. The SLA letter apparently took 11 days to arrive at the Chronicle, and the Citizen card took 27 days to arrive at the Chronicle - so can we be sure the Red Phantom letter had a postmark of July 8th 1974.

Rubislaw 32 link

4/1/2020 07:00:53 am

Some great information , Richard , and serves at least , more food for thought on all 4 1974 claimed '' officially '' to be attributed to the Zodiac . What appears to be the case is , that counter-intelligence have '' played with '' all four and , that we know that anyway , with the Exorcist Letter and SLA Letter ( ? ) .

And , none have them contain the word '' Zodiac '' . It does seem a possible case of '' Zodiac '' , the hoaxer , attempting to muscle in back , as being a credible terror threat....with the authorities attempting to '' elbow '' him away .

I would suggest , at this point , that the '' bookies favourite '' for a signature on the 2001 New Years Card , is '' A friend '' , and will think a little bit more , along the lines of these two letters that you have presented , in this , probably now '' topical '' topic .

Kevin Fagan is '' major disappointment '' in the historical position that he occupies . He could , at least , admit that he and his editor were asked to publish the '' incomplete '' 2001 New Years Card ( ? ) .

Richard

4/1/2020 08:25:23 am

The signature on the 2001 New Year Card was "Zodiac" according to Kevin Fagan. Quote: "This envelope dated Jan. 10, 2001, contained a card signed “Zodiac,” but it is likely a hoax.

Richard

4/1/2020 08:25:46 am

https://www.sfchronicle.com/nation/article/Zodiac-Killer-case-How-the-San-Francisco-13464935.php#photo-16636563

Rubislaw 32 link

4/1/2020 09:28:44 am

I suppose all to easy to be acrimonious , Richard , but patently obvious that the SF Chronicle could have published 100% of that page , if indeed they were given 100% .

Kevin knows all too well , what was denied us , the public...or at least , that we were denied 100%.

He has ''collected '' upwards of 6 '' beefs '' I have had with him , and put this down to him '' just obeying orders ''. Well , if he happens to be reading this , it will all come out eventually .

But...does Kevin Fagan's '' cloaking '' serve a purpose , in the long run , that we would hope to be much shorter ?

I would comment that Kevin denying us evidence , makes it even more likely that the signature was '' A friend '' . At least something other than '' Zodiac ''....since the Zodiac never missed an opportunity to get back at the authorities for '' playing '' with his correspondences . Part of the reason , probably , that the Zodiac saw Paul Avery as his '' Secret Pal ''.

Both the Zodiac and Paul Avery got '' turned over '' on occasion , by the so called '' authorities '' .

Rubislaw 32 link

4/1/2020 09:50:11 am

And , if anyone is curious about an example of Paul Avery being '' stitched up ''....then look no further than the so called '' Slow boat to China letter '' . Avery was caught , in a position of '' desperate '' for a personal '' in '' on the case .

Avery was used by Captain Cross of the Riverside P. D. , with a probable assistance from Detective Sergeant John Lynch , of the Vallejo P.D.

4/1/2020 10:49:01 am

I think it's the same handwriting. Candy cane ' f '.

Rubislaw 32 link

4/1/2020 01:59:10 pm

That's an interesting point , BB .

Whoever has penned the '' Red Phantom '' letter ( Zodiac ? ) , has adopted a 16th/17th handwriting style....which is nothing like the SLA letter 's style .

And yet...when it comes to examining both Red Phantom and SLA envelopes , similarities emerge .

4/1/2020 03:15:06 pm

16th/17th century style?

Rubislaw 32 link

4/1/2020 03:22:55 pm

Sorry...16th/17th Century handwriting style , as originally taught to wealthy people . And now , still an integral part of Calligraphy study .

If you type up this , for '' images '' on Google , there is quite a choice on view .

Richard

4/1/2020 03:51:53 pm

The author appears to be getting into character while addressing the Count.

Rubislaw 32 link

4/1/2020 06:23:18 pm

Indeed - looks like it was influenced by late 16th Century Chancery Cursive . Often referred to as '' Italian Script '' .

4/3/2020 04:43:26 pm

Rubislaw 32

Don Cheney's Secret Pal was Paul Averly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7neGTHjsZmg

Richard

4/1/2020 04:12:57 pm

I think the tails on the alphabetical letters on the Red Phantom envelope have been added after the address was written. Look at "Chronicle", it looks like my manufactured version.

4/1/2020 04:36:59 pm

Are you saying you think it's the same style yet different hand
Or the same hand but different style, I'm not clear.

Richard

4/2/2020 12:11:54 am

Same hand, same author, just an afterthought to add the tails.

Rubislaw 32 link

4/2/2020 06:14:42 pm

Off topic ,perhaps , Richard , but has anyone noticed that the postage stamp on the 2001 New Year Card envelope is in pristine condition ( ? ). No sign of franking . Looks like it has been placed on the envelope to disguise something else .

Plus , the postmarking is half-way off the envelope...although '' San '' and '' 941 '' can be seen , and indicate that the card was mailed locally .

Postage Stamp :

USA 1st Class 34 cents
Statue of Liberty 2000
Issue date : December 15th 2000

Rubislaw 32 link

4/3/2020 01:59:45 am

Thinking further , I do wonder if that 2001 New Years Card , never actually arrived at the SF Chronicle , accompanied with a conventional postage stamp ( ? ) .

As you have intimated , mail could have come from further afield , and simply '' processed '' , by the Post Office , nearby .

It may be the case that a further stamping , amounting to something like '' Par Avion '' lies behind , where a pristine USA postage stamp has been placed ( ? ) .

And , just because the Zodiac would know of indications of overseas clues to his correspondence , wouldn't necessarily give away clues that he '' wasn't '' ordinarily a local resident of San Francisco ( ? ) .

The abiding hint of his motivation for that correspondence seems to be , to mark Paul Avery's death . The Zodiac having felt compelled to write , regardless of where he happened to be situated , at that given time .

And possibly , four weeks on from Avery's death , indicates that , and particularly with recent Christmas festivities having taken place , it may have been not so immediate , that the Zodiac heard the news of the passing of his '' Secret Pal '' .

Richard

4/3/2020 02:51:43 am

The 1986 Graysmith novel was the trigger and the 1986 letter was the response. The Paul Avery death was the trigger and once again probably sparked Zodiac back into life. I don't think Zodiac was ever a resident of San Francisco but have always believed he was a resident of the Bay Area. Although could have relocated. The referencing of Laguna Honda shows some degree of intricate knowledge of San Francisco or experience within the social system of San Francisco. If I travelled to Edinburgh, I would likely be incorporating famous landmarks into my references, not writing about local care homes and social institutions. The knowledge of these Muni driver deaths over a period of time, to me, shows familiarity with local knowledge - and his disdain for the deaths exhibits an interest in local affairs and not a passing interest that would be exhibited by a passer-through or vacationer. Of course, we can always claim the letter was deception at its finest to give this false impression, but the rewards gained by such a deception seem insignificant in this instance. The timing of the card one month after the Avery death is typical of an inconsistent Zodiac regarding his admissions of other events. Short delay after Radetich and Stine, long delay after LHR, Donna Lass, and Kathleen Johns. The inconsistency of Zodiac is what is consistent about him, so I don't read too much into the month delay in the writing of the New Year card. What connection, even if loose, does the author of the 2001 card have with Laguna Honda? This inclusion was not governed by the newspaper articles he read about Muni drivers, so what personal connection drove its inclusion, if any.

4/2/2020 06:51:53 pm

Richard

Feel free to scrap this if it steps too deep in the muck. But, you're touching on things that require someone to speak up.
Could the writer's info - have been tampered with through interceding sources, and in the newspapers too. When the z13 is translated through the Harden's key the first word is WEED. Was that guy Steve Weed the blonde haired teacher and Patty Hearst's much older boyfriend. Was he the night watchman and/or the concerned citizen? Was he Sandy the laughing killer back in 1963? Or, was he starting to be set-up as the Zodiac? People who study the Patty Hearst kidnapping come to see Weed as very suspicious. Just like the letter warned - plausibly in-on the kidnapping. He is just punched and knocked-out. While she is forcibly taken. Then he goes-on to live with her parents. All very suspicious. Stockholm Syndrome is BS. It's a parlor game. Keep-em guessing. The public will buy anything. The bigger the lie the more people will believe it. It is difficult to accept Zodiac/whoever being so extraordinarily lucky without some connection in LE giving him tip-offs. Someone in the SLA could have been a mole working for one of the alphabet agencies. Setting them up as the foils - the foes. They (Hoover's Henchmen) want being a lefty-hippie - to be a very bad option for teenage boys preparing for enlistment. The SLA were dooms-day-prepping gun-nuts. And, money grubbing, bank robbing killers. They weren't lefties. This is the bigger lie. And, plausibly was the ultimate smear job of the peaceful protesting free loving - flower power children. Nixon brought violence to them – on their college campuses. Hoover's hoods hated hippies. And, they did everything they could to change the public's perception of them. Making them all - seem to be in the Manson family - in the public eyes. They are in the business of selling war to the public. Because - Hoover saw a commie behind every “Bush”. And, because of the so called domino-effect. If we let Vietnam fall to "the red-phantoms" then we're next. But, that was a lie too. We still lost the war. And, we're now more capitalistic than ever. Manson was no hippie. He wanted war. He hid away in the hills. Stock piled girls, grub, gas and guns. And, prepared for end times. Everything about the SLA is a lie too. They were fascist criminals. Their lefty claims were a facade. Probably to make the idea of flower power seem evil to Joe average. It worked - we're now full time war oriented. The so called evil hippies may have been bleeding heart liberals. But...at-least they had hearts.

Richard

4/3/2020 03:22:51 am

The SLA were a left wing militant organization driven by an anti-capitalist agenda, who unfortunately negated their message by murder, and thereby lost any moral high ground they promoted. The attack on innocents in an attempt to strike the powerful is a lost message. I don't believe any connection to Zodiac with the SLA through the 2nd, 3rd and 4th letters and cards of 1974, moreover a mistake by investigators to attribute them to Zodiac, when none mentioned Zodiac, contained his crosshairs, running victim count, and none contained spelling errors. Anybody claiming Zodiac was dyslexic while believing these three 74 letters were Zodiac, has to explain how his dyslexia was miraculously cured overnight. Or why Zodiac should suddenly decide not to make himself illiterate, when he kept up this charade from 1969 to 1971. The Exorcist letter is still the fly in the ointment - spelling mistakes, arguably Zodiac style handwriting and an ominous threat. But I can't shake off the "to kill" that Kevin Robert Brooks found in the Exorcist letter symbols, marrying with the "kill" from the SLA letter.

4/3/2020 09:50:41 am

Yes we are told they were lefties - but the only thing
they ever did along those lines was to
get Hearst to hand out 100,000 bags of groceries.
That was just a public display to prove they were lefties.
The left is not about guns and killing and end times ideas.
The SLA were bank robbers that justified their crimes with lies.
They were convicts that used young idealistic college students.
Conning them into helping them in those lies of symbiosis.
Hearst's media sold this big lie of a false moral equivalence.

Rubislaw 32 link

4/3/2020 07:43:05 am

Thanks for your take on the 2001 New Years Card , and am in agreement with all of what you comment generally .

Indeed , the Zodiac seems to have had a good general awareness of the city of San Francisco , but '' almost certainly '' resided further out on the Bay area , with Vallejo or close by favoured . I notice that a poll running at the main Reddit site , favours Vallejo with about 70% .This augers well , I feel , since internet interest in the case has multiplied about ten-fold , in the last year , and important that newcomers don't get steered of reasonable target , from the word go ( ? ) .

Just a feeling , admittedly , but I think there is an element of sarcasm , in the 2001 New Years Card , to corporate sponsorship , to the extent of '' naming '' . Like the '' Emirates '' football stadium , for example (...used to be called '' Highbury ''..) . Is money to ruin everything for traditionalists ( ? ) , maybe what the Zodiac is getting at , as an underling message .

4/4/2020 04:44:52 pm

Rubislaw 32

I think you are referring to gentrification.

Yes it seems that money trumps everything.

Even the future of humankind. Over-population is a taboo subject.

How can we every address the number one problem if we are not allowed to talk about it?

The little town I was born in 55 years ago no longer exists.

I google earthed it. It is now a never-end field of what looks like corn.

Corn makes Ethanol. It is now a requirement in petrol. Older vehicles don't run long on it.

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THE PHANTOM ZODIAC LETTER ON JULY 8TH 1974

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