THE PHONE CALL "TRACE"

10/17/2019

The Zodiac Killer placed a phone call to police dispatcher Nancy Slover at 12:40 am on July 5th 1969, reporting his attack on Michael Mageau and Darlene Ferrin at Blue Rock Springs Park, while also stating he was responsible for the Lake Herman Road double murder on December 20th 1968. Although universally regarded as a payphone call with incorrect directions from Zodiac, this was never the case. The directions he gave were totally accurate and make perfect sense by the addition of one full stop in the message, described as the "substance of the statement" and not a verbatim transcription in the police report. The full explanation can be found here - but here is a depiction of what should have been transcribed by police.

Recently, the phone call "trace" has been discussed again on the Zodiac forums, which I believe is probably the most important topic regarding the home address of the Zodiac Killer. The original transcription of the payphone message is below, containing two crucial times. 12:40 am: The time the payphone call from Zodiac was received, and 12:47 am: The time Mrs Johnson notified police that the call had been traced to a payphone at the intersection of Springs Road and Tuolumne Street in Vallejo.

How they achieved the trace in 1969 will not be discussed here, suffice to say, they located the correct payphone. The Zodiac Killer stated in his August 4th 1969 letter, that "when I hung the phone up the damn thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me + my car". It is therefore very likely that this trace resulted in the payphone being rung back by PT&T opersators, much to the annoyance of Zodiac. If it wasn't rung back, then it's clear that the Zodiac Killer used this story to invent an eyewitness who saw his "brown car" as a ruse. Assuming the payphone was contacted by a PT&T operator, we have to consider the time that this occurred. Let us evaluate two scenarios, bearing in mind the Zodiac phone call would have lasted no longer than 30 seconds.

[1] The phone call by Zodiac was completed at 12:40:30. Let us assume that Betty Main traced the call very quickly, at about 12:41 am. She would have done this in full knowledge of the seriousness of the call, possibly regarding four murders. So if she understood the gravity of the call and the need for police to respond quickly to the payphone at the intersection of Springs Road and Tuolumne Street, why did the police get the call from PT&T operator, Mrs Johnson, six minutes later? Are we to assume that they just sat on their hands for six full minutes. This makes no sense.

[2] Let us assume that Betty Main traced the call at 12:46 am and then Mrs Johnson immediately rang the police at 12:47 am to inform them of the trace. This appears much more credible than somebody sitting on the report of a quadruple killer for approximately six minutes, when time was of the essence. But if the trace had only been achieved shortly before Mrs Johnson's call to police, then the payphone must surely have been rung by operators fairly close to 12:46 am. So how was the Zodiac Killer able to hear the payphone ring 5 1/2 minutes after he hung up? If he was in a vehicle, being spotted by a negro male eyewitness, he would have hung up the phone and left almost immediately. Even without an eyewitness, you don't admit to four murders and then sit by the payphone for several minutes. This drives to the heart of the question, on whether the Zodiac Killer heard the payphone ring because his residence was extremely close to the payphone, or whether he was walking away on foot. If the payphone was rung back almost immediately, this notion would be dispelled, but wouldn't answer the question of Mrs Johnson's call to police taking a further six minutes.

If the PT&T operators didn't ring the Springs Road and Tuolumne Street payphone, it is highly likely that the Zodiac Killer just made the story up for purpose. The Zodiac stated in his August 4th 1969 'Debut of Zodiac' Letter that "the man who told police that my car was brown was a negro about 40-45 rather shabbly dressed. I was in this phone booth having some fun with the Vallejo cop when he was walking by. When I hung the phone up the damn thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me + my car". It was the payphone ringing that drew the attention of the negro male, who conveniently noticed that Zodiac was in his "brown car" - without him, the Zodiac Killer could never have realistically informed us of these details without it appearing forced. The statement of "the damn thing began to ring" with the simultaneous expression of consternation that "he and his vehicle" had been spotted, used to make the narrative more plausible, when he had likely walked to the payphone that morning. No eyewitness to this call was ever recorded.

Finding the answer to the question of when the phone call trace was finalized and whether the payphone was rung back, is crucial to determining the movements of the Zodiac Killer on the morning of July 5th 1969. If he was in absence of his vehicle, then this would explain the forty minute delay from attack to payphone call, and narrow the search for our killer down to an extremely manageable number of residences around the intersection of Springs Road and Tuolumne Street.

Scott

10/17/2019 02:26:53 pm

Richard one thing to keep in mind is that call tracing was not as fast in the 1960s as it is now in the digital age. This article is informative in describing the mechanical process required. It could be that the trace took several minutes?

https://daysgoneby.me/trace-call-1950s-style-took-little-longer/

Richard

10/17/2019 03:22:05 pm

I think that is the most likely scenario Scott, but then the question is why did the Zodiac hear the phone ring? I have detailed this before, but as stated by many people, the Zodiac may have given the payphone number to the operator and so the payphone could have been rung back immediately. But if the opersators had the payphone number (and/or location) why did they wait six minutes to inform the Vallejo Police Department. As with every scenario, including this one, people have contradictory theories on how long the trace took, and how the payphone location was determined. But [1] and [2] above, factors in both scenarios and still leaves us the question why Zodiac heard the ringback after several minutes, or if it happened immediately, why Vallejo police were notified by Mrs Johnson at 12:47 am. The answer is crucial to the Zodiac movements that morning.

Richard

10/17/2019 03:29:23 pm

The Traffic Service Position System (TSPS) was developed by Bell Labs in Columbus, Ohio to replace traditional cord switchboards. The first TSPS was deployed in 1969 and used the Stored Program Control-1A CPU, "Piggyback" twistor memory (a proprietary technology developed by Bell Labs similar to core memory) and Insulated Gate Field Effect Transistor solid state memory devices similar to dynamic random access memory. Whether Vallejo had this system (I doubt), but the time taken in tracing the call is extremely important, if indeed "trace" is the correct word used by police.

10/17/2019 03:43:23 pm

A couple of thoughts Richard:

First, pay phones do sometimes ring if the caller didn't properly hang-up and ended the call. Actually, this happened occasionally with most analog phones. So, it could be that Z hung up the phone, but the line was not yet disconnected, prompting the phone to ring.

Second, I now wonder if Zodiac's allegation about a "negro male" is related to the misinformation about a "negro male" perpetrator at Presidio Heights? I'm not an expert on radio taxi dispatch systems in the 1960's, but is it possible that Zodiac grabbed a hold of the cab's radio and purposely phoned in a misleading statement about a "negro male" robber/shooter?

Richard

10/17/2019 04:07:45 pm

Nor me Mo, so I couldn't answer that with any confidence, but I do remember Ray Grant, author of Zodiac Killer Solved, suggesting something similar involving a second passenger in the taxicab, who exited the cab prior to Zodiac at Washington and Maple. Then rang in to police and reported a black male attacking a taxicab driver, giving their partner a free escape from the crime scene and leading to confusion with the police dispatcher. However, this would take some believing, if I remember it correctly.

I certainly don't doubt the possibility of the Zodiac incorrectly hanging up the payphone Mo, but if he did hang up properly (and I assume this was noted), if the operstor rang back the phone, let us say after 4 minutes, why would Zodiac still be in the vicinity of the payphone.

If only we had more information on whether operators rang the phone back. Had they, then Zodiac must have hung up the phone properly. I wish somebody had asked Nancy Slover these pertinent questions while they still had the opportunity. I cannot believe the police didn't delve further into this possibility of Zodiac being on foot. Once he hung up (assuming he hung the phone correctly) he would have been in his car and out of earshot of the phone in 20 seconds or less. The only way he could have heard operators ring back the phone, is if they had done it almost immediately - and I find that hard to believe (unless Zodiac gave operators the payphone number).

10/17/2019 04:55:50 pm

My point is that these analog phones sometimes would ring even if you hang up properly. Often a caller would have to hold down the "switch hook" for several seconds to make sure the line was truly disconnected. So, I'm not sure the ring would have necessarily been prompted by anyone. Maybe Nancy Slover just didn't immediately hang up on her end when Zodiac was done with the call. That would usually keep the line open.

I guess what caught my attention about the "negro male" is that the same term was used twice and, maybe erroneously both times. The SFPD police dispatch didn't say "black male" or "negro man". Both in Vallejo and San Francisco the term used was "negro male" and in both cases no one fitting that description was found. I know the term was used more often in those times, but it does seem somewhat suspicious.

Richard

10/18/2019 01:27:42 am

Yes, effectively two "negro males" in two crimes that may not have existed is unusual. But certainly, if the phone just automatically rang when Zodiac hung up the phone then everything would be explained to my satisfaction. The likelihood of ever finding a definitive answer is seemingly zero, so I will probably hang up on this subject as a line of investigation and move on. What was required was the comprehensive retelling of the procedure surrounding the phone call by all involved and should have been thoroughly explored and detailed in 1969. Trying to piece together scraps of information from 50 years ago will inevitably leave more questions, so for now, I may have to admit defeat on this one. Thanks for the input.

Chaucer

10/28/2019 02:23:09 pm

It has been suggested by Tom Voigt that Zodiac had a conversation with the PT&T operator prior to speaking with Slover. Apparently that conversation was suspicious enough for a request to trace was made before the call was patched through to Slover. What the content of that conversation was is unknown because PT&T had a very strict policy of protecting call privacy.

To complicate matters, it has been suggested that the operator was so intrigued by the Zodiac that she listened in on his call with Slover. It's possible that that is why the phone rang back - the line was still open because the operator was surreptitiously listening in.

Richard

10/28/2019 02:37:35 pm

Yes, I thoroughly believe that the operator was listening in on the call, despite the fact she is obliged to disconnect. The gravity of the call seemingly drove her to keep on listening. If the phone rang immediately because the line was still open that could explain the ringback on the payphone Chaucer. What I would like to know is, how long the so-called "trace" took in view of the 12:47 notification to police. Some suggest the operator asked Zodiac for the payphone number so he could be patched through to the relevant police department depending on location. Anyway I've delved into the DMV letter a little more after your insightful post.
https://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/the-sacramento-dmv-letter-pt2

Chaucer

11/14/2019 07:51:42 pm

Standard procedure PT&T for emergency calls was to ask for the number the caller was dialing from in case there was a disconnection. Zodiac may have simply told her - either not thinking, stupidity, or bravado. She would have known it was a payphone because it would have lit up differently on her switchboard (known as a "cord board"). Armed with the number supplied by Zodiac, all the operator or her supervisor would have to do is use the "reverse directory" which was literally a "flipbook" filled with numbers and addresses. It would have taken just a few minutes to find the location of the pay phone. Remember that during the Napa phone call, Zodiac refused to provide the number he was calling from - likely because he had learned his lesson from the night of July 4th.

Richard

11/15/2019 01:22:39 am

So where do you stand on how long it took for the phone to ring back at the corner of Springs and Tuolumne? If the "trace" took a few minutes, then I can understand the 12:47 contact with police, but an early identification of the location I cannot, because then there is an excessive delay from "trace" to informing police, which given the gravity of the situation, appears negligent.

Toots

10/17/2019 07:46:35 pm

My belief is that Z was going back to the Mare Island Naval base. Tennessee St, 4 blocks away from the phone booth, would have been a straight route back to the base.

10/17/2019 09:34:23 pm

So the following scenario is highly possible: Zodiac made his phone call; when he hung up, the phone rang back due to a common glitch. Zodiac left long before the trace was ever completed. There may have been a witness who never came forward for personal reasons, especially if he found out it involved a murder case and didn't want to be caught up in it. Or, Zodiac made up the witness in order to provide his red herring.

Roger

10/18/2019 03:29:28 pm

This is just his use of grammar to describe directions and locations. "On" means "traveling along", and "to" means "the destination", as in "the place where you will find I did it". There is no need to clarify this with "by" (as in "beside"). He stated it exactly as it was IMO.

Sully link

10/18/2019 09:08:39 pm

Difficult to profile Z as someone who could follow ANY Military Orders, with his very obvious authority problems.
Plus Z had 2 emotions: 1) CALM 2) RAGE

A MISFIT... who lived with someone

Roger

1/8/2020 03:56:57 am

How could Mageau have known that he was repeating things in the Dave Peterson article from a Zodiac letter that had not at that time been made public?

Was Peterson in possession of a copy of the Zodiac letter sent to the San Francisco Examiner and he was responsible for "prompting" Mageau to use the same words like "thrashing". And why did Mageau feel the need to clarify how fast the Zodiac had left the scene? It is almost as if... Mageau and Zodiac were playing the story off one another in order to be consistent, in which case Mageau was reinforcing things from a letter that had been sent to a DIFFERENT newspaper and had NOT been published. How could the Zodiac have put his words in Mageau's mouth? The only logical explanation is that Peterson was responsible for doing this because only he could have known about the contents of the Zodiac letter, and it seems very doubtful that Mageau knew the Zodiac.

Can anybody please explain this?

I also wonder if Mageau ever realized at a later time that he had spoken words that were virtually identical to words in the Zodiac's letter? It is possible he was never aware of the connection and for all we know he may have never spoken those words. Peterson may have been using "artistic license" by inserting words from the Zodiac letter into Mageau's testimony. It is interesting that Mageau refused any further interviews and went into hiding immediately after the Peterson article was published in the newspaper.

I smell a rat! and in case anyone is wondering,no I do not prescribe to Horan's theory about conspiracies and hoaxes. I just find this contradiction or discrepancy to be a major stumbling block in the case.

Richard

1/8/2020 04:39:46 am

The whole text of the letter was made public on the day it was received, August 4th 1969. https://www.flickr.com/photos/112412867@N06/12004982144/in/album-72157639880253085/

"August 19, 1969 Vallejo Times-Herald Dave Peterson: Mageau described how he half-leaped, was half-knocked onto the back floor of the car. His legs thrashed out, partly from the shock of the wounds and partly from his efforts to evade or to ward off the slugs with his own limbs". Michael Mageau didn't use the word "thrashing", he was quoted as saying that "his legs thrashed out", which isn't the same thing.

Roger

1/8/2020 02:25:20 pm

H Richard,

Unfortunately there is no date provided on that article, nor does it state which newspaper it came from. It would seem very unusual that it would make the press the same day it was received.

Wow you are pedantic. "Thrashing" not the same as "thrashed out"? Hahaha! I will have to check my dictionary for that one. The linguistic similarity cannot be denied! If he had said kicked out or threw his legs about, but no, he used the same word less common linguistic "thrash".

My feeling is Peterson put those words in Mageau's mouth, as well as the details about the manner in which the car sped off. I find this extremely suspicious and if other people do not then they should give up this whole sleuthing stint right now.

Horan may not be correct about his bizarre hoax theory, but he is right when he says he finds those newspaper articles and their content odd. They are odd... and that makes them and their author ultimately odd too... and potentially suspicious.

Richard

1/8/2020 03:51:26 pm

The article I linked was page 2, from page 1. Here is the first part of the article dated August 4th.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/112412867@N06/12004925103/in/album-72157639880253085/

I wasn't being pedantic about anything, I was simply pointing out that the statement attributed to Michael Mageau isn't necessarily what he said. So yes, Peterson could have attributed those words to Mageau.

Thomas Horan is totally incorrect in his claims, that goes for the hoax theory and his bizarre claims about the vehicle exiting BRS parking lot. His claims are odd, nothing else.

Roger

1/8/2020 06:53:05 pm

Thanks yes I found it.

"More On Killer: Text Of Letter May Offer Clues" (Vallejo News-Chronicle, 8-4-1969, p. 2)

I doubt if they could have received a communication on the morning of 4th August and published it in that days paper, unless they had an early and late edition. I suspect the reality is they did not receive it until 3rd August or before that day.

Peterson was VERY odd if you ask me, and so was the Halloween card, now that I know it was a fake. There has to be a reason why Mageau was willing to speak to Peterson but after that story was published he got scared and went into hiding. By the time he did come out of hiding he was a nervous wreck and a shell of a man who claimed to have little or no recollection of the people or events. What got to him? Did he have a sudden epiphany that he was being played as a fool and left to wonder if the Zodiac was so ubiquitous he could even penetrate the press itself? Why Peterson preferred to create a sense of intrigue is anyone's guess, but for my money it reeks. It is almost like a cat... playing with a terrified mouse.

The hoaxed Halloween card only serves to reinforce suspicions about the case and the motives of certain reporters.

1/12/2020 10:48:00 am

Michael Mageau had/has a twin brother.
Didn't someone say/illude that they competed for everything in their lives. Including girls. Has his twin brother every been questioned? Killing out of jealousy is the same reason for the first fabled murder in history - that by Cane of Able. Is it possible Mike never would identify the suspect because his attacker was his brother?

Barbara

9/11/2020 02:40:09 pm

Has there ever been any serious consideration as to whether the Zodiac calls could have been "phreaked", as I believe this would account for some delay (Although please don't ask me how this antique form of phone hacking worked...) If so, is it possible he was able to use any extra time to reach his home / base / safe house, whatever, and make the call, the witness etc. being a blind?

Richard

9/11/2020 03:11:53 pm

I don't think there was a need to hack into the public network in respect to this case Barbara. The Zodiac only needed to make the call and disappear to wherever he lived (or was going). As such, no subterfuge was necessary for what was essentially a simple phone call to police, not withstanding the miscroscopically small number of people who would have had this ability.

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THE PHONE CALL "TRACE"

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