The murder of Paul Stine occurred on October 11th 1969, providing us with the only real face of Zodiac, drawn up in the form of a sketch from the recollection of three teenagers who viewed Zodiac across the street. This sketch was then circulated around the Bay Area. Several days later an amended sketch was drawn up when the eyewitnesses requested it be slightly altered, because they believed it depicted a man younger than the one they initially described. The police department would later authorize a memorandum by Donald Fouke detailing his observations that night. This was released one month after the crime, and the similarities between his description of the Zodiac tally with that of the teenagers, other than Donald Fouke stating the man was a "little older and heavier." But how accurate is this sketch?
Color sketch of the Zodiac Killer Had Donald Fouke been asked to provide a sketch independently of the three teenagers, any similarities between them may have carried more weight, as opposed to Donald Fouke simply looking at the sketch drawn up from the three teenagers recollections and then adding his own input as an afterthought. So let us look for answers on how good this likeness may be, starting with the three teenagers.
The first time the teenagers saw the Zodiac Killer, he was in the front of the taxicab, having at no point spotted the subject in the rear of the vehicle. This is what they stated in the police report:
"Saw the suspect in the front seat of the Yellow Cab, mid to passenger side, with the victim slumped partially over his lap. The suspect appeared to be searching the victim's pockets. The suspect then appeared to be wiping on the interior of the cab, leaning over the victim to the driver's compartment. The suspect then exited the cab by the passenger side front door, also wiping with a white rag, possibly a handkerchief. The suspect then walked around the cab to the driver's side and proceeded to wipe the exterior of the left door area. The suspect then fled north on Cherry Street".
The first time the teenagers saw the Zodiac Killer, he was in the front of the taxicab, having at no point spotted the subject in the rear of the vehicle. This is what they stated in the police report:
"Saw the suspect in the front seat of the Yellow Cab, mid to passenger side, with the victim slumped partially over his lap. The suspect appeared to be searching the victim's pockets. The suspect then appeared to be wiping on the interior of the cab, leaning over the victim to the driver's compartment. The suspect then exited the cab by the passenger side front door, also wiping with a white rag, possibly a handkerchief. The suspect then walked around the cab to the driver's side and proceeded to wipe the exterior of the left door area. The suspect then fled north on Cherry Street".
Enhanced sketch While the Zodiac was tearing the section of Paul Stine's shirt, he was supposedly looking at the prostrate taxicab driver, his head facing downwards. The Zodiac Killer is presumably unaware of the three teenagers and is not looking directly at them, which suggests that at no point while the Zodiac Killer is inside the taxicab can the three teenagers get a direct line of sight on the assailant's face. He then exits the passenger side door. This is the first time the teenagers will get an unobstructed look at the killer's face, when he is wiping down this door. He then walks to the driver side door with his face visible, front on, for approximately two to three seconds as he rounds the taxicab, before he turns his back and then faces away to wipe the driver side area. He then exits up Cherry Street. We are probably looking at five seconds in total where the teenagers have a direct view of Zodiac's face, but we have to factor in the distance of 50-60 feet and the visibility at 9:58 pm at night, with only street lighting for illumination.
Donald Fouke likely passed the Zodiac on Jackson Street. Whether or not he stopped the suspect is down to what you believe, however, on this occasion we will take his version of events that he alluded to in the 2007 Zodiac documentary: "We slowed down as we passed him, still rolling, saw that it was a white male, step on the gas, 5,10,15 seconds tops from first spotting him until passing him." He went on to say "I would like to say he made eye contact with us, but I can't picture it, I remember seeing his eyes, I couldn't tell you what color they were, it was dark enough that his eyes were concealed, but you could sort of say he looked down.....because he was putting his head down when he spotted the police car."
Again, in relative darkness, with only streetlights for aid and viewing from the driver side of the patrol car, what sort of clear recollection can be harnessed from such a brief encounter. In the memorandum of Donald Fouke on November 12th 1969 it stated "My partner that night was officer E. Zelms of Richmond Station. I do not know if he observed this subject or not." Officer Eric Zelms was on the passenger side, closest to the sidewalk, but little is known regarding his contribution to the final drafting of the sketch, if any at all.
Eyewitness recollection is notoriously unreliable and any conviction made primarily from such testimony will inevitably be unsafe. It doesn't take much searching on the internet to find plenty of cases where this is the case, often where the suspect is far closer and viewed in broad daylight. Memory simply doesn't function like a video recorder. The problem we have in this case, is not having two sketches drawn up independently of one another - one from the teenagers and one from Donald Fouke. Once Donald Fouke has seen the sketch, he is open to suggestion and will inevitably be influenced by its viewing.
Again, in relative darkness, with only streetlights for aid and viewing from the driver side of the patrol car, what sort of clear recollection can be harnessed from such a brief encounter. In the memorandum of Donald Fouke on November 12th 1969 it stated "My partner that night was officer E. Zelms of Richmond Station. I do not know if he observed this subject or not." Officer Eric Zelms was on the passenger side, closest to the sidewalk, but little is known regarding his contribution to the final drafting of the sketch, if any at all.
Eyewitness recollection is notoriously unreliable and any conviction made primarily from such testimony will inevitably be unsafe. It doesn't take much searching on the internet to find plenty of cases where this is the case, often where the suspect is far closer and viewed in broad daylight. Memory simply doesn't function like a video recorder. The problem we have in this case, is not having two sketches drawn up independently of one another - one from the teenagers and one from Donald Fouke. Once Donald Fouke has seen the sketch, he is open to suggestion and will inevitably be influenced by its viewing.
Dave Toschi Dave Toschi chased the Zodiac for years, but even he was quoted as saying the 1969 sketch was unhelpful in many ways. In the San Francisco Chronicle of 1978 he stated "The sketch is killing me" noting that most of the calls to police were from persons who saw the drawing in Wednesday's Chronicle and think they know somebody who resembles it", adding that the 1969 composite sketch of Zodiac is no longer reliable and should not be the basis for telephone tips to police. He further remarked "It is of no value to me at this point, even in 1969, we didn't know how good it was".
What we are looking at here, are brief eyewitness recollections late at night, one from 50-60 feet away for possibly 5 seconds and one from a moving vehicle for around 10 seconds, if you maintain the Zodiac was not stopped by the two responding officers on Jackson Street. The Zodiac declared "I look like the description passed out only when I do my thing, the rest of the time I look entirle different." The question is, do you believe him or not?
What we are looking at here, are brief eyewitness recollections late at night, one from 50-60 feet away for possibly 5 seconds and one from a moving vehicle for around 10 seconds, if you maintain the Zodiac was not stopped by the two responding officers on Jackson Street. The Zodiac declared "I look like the description passed out only when I do my thing, the rest of the time I look entirle different." The question is, do you believe him or not?
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