THE 'REAL' FACE OF THE ZODIAC KILLER

12/11/2017

Caution: Eyewitness recollection is notoriously unreliable.

It is uncertain whether the Zodiac Killer wore eyeglasses in his everyday life.
Michael Mageau, shot four times at Blue Rock Springs Park on July 4th 1969 described a killer without glasses.
Bryan Hartnell, who survived the brutal stabbing at Lake Berryessa on September 27th 1969 described only clip on sunglasses. Five other witnesses by the shores of Berryessa that day, equally described a suspicious man without eyeglasses.
The most infamous sketch of the killer was compiled from eyewitness recollections in the immediate aftermath of the Paul Stine murder on October 11th 1969. We cannot be sure the eyeglasses worn by the murderer that night were his, due to the unknown whereabouts of Paul Stine's black-rimmed spectacles, or whether the assailant wore glasses that night as a form of disguise.
On November 9th 1969 the killer mailed the 'Bus Bomb' letter stating "I look like the description passed out only when I do my thing, the rest of the time I look entirle different. I shall not tell you what my descise consists of when I kill."
On the left I have removed the murderer's glasses and inserted the brown eyes from a photograph (based on the fact, this is the most common eye color in the world). I have then used real hair and lips, and shaped them to the best of my ability to conform to the sketch, all in an attempt to portray the 'real' face of the Zodiac Killer.

The Lake Berryessa sketch (left). The Presidio Heights sketch with dark brown /black hair (right)

Eyes raised on the left image.

Eyes raised and narrower jawline

28 Comments

Rubislaw 32 link

12/11/2017 01:20:44 pm

A nice effort,on the artwork made,Richard.

One could argue that,there is not much to work on,in terms of accurate portrayal of real Mr.Z,by the sketches [?].

I believe that Zodiac was ''problem visioned'',which affected his physical ''demeanour'',and gave him a propensity to clumsiness.

A day time spectacle wearer,but contact lenses for ''special occasions''.

As you have illustrated,brown to dark,natural hair colour.And,would adopt a ''conventional'' hair parting,if his hair was not short.Probably,heavy and fast,facial hair growth...and could look quite different,within 4-5 days.

I believe the purse lips,and wide of face,is quite well represented,in the sketches.And,''intrinsic'' youth.I believe Zodiac was mid-twenties,but usually looked thirty....and,could look 35-40,if he deliberately tried.

But I do think that the sketches are some ''bland'' general representation.....''not'' exactly accurate.Probably down to Zodiac's gift for disguise,as he stated [?].

Perhaps controversially,although a ''white man'',I believe that there may have been some ''ethnicity'' going back,in his genealogy line....and that,it may have manifested itself,in him.For example,in a certain light....or,with facial hair....or possibly,his hair ''type'' was naturally ''crinkly'',which he disguised,with grooming.But if he left his hair alone,for just a day or so...then it appeared,like an ''Afro''.

Sometimes,I think that there may have been a good reason,why a ''so called'' mistake was made,with initial responses to a described ''Black male'',at Presidio vicinity.

In a certain light.....you never know [?].

Ray Jenkins

12/11/2017 02:42:57 pm

I have also pondered this possibility. He may have actually had slightly darker complexion than the sketch's suggest, perhaps African-American or Latino, perhaps even Middle Eastern or Mediterranean.

One of the great "pities" with this case is that Bryan Hartnell could never provide more details about the accent that he claims his attacker spoke with. He said it was a distinct accent, but as far as I know he has never made any distinction. One would think that today, with his years of experience and the saturating influence of world media and foreign affairs, he would by now have some inkling of the accent that he heard and be able to provide a likely geographical location. Was it Canadian, Australian, Scottish, Irish, Scandinavian, New Yorker, Southern, Latino??? I guess we will never know.

Sully link

12/11/2017 10:48:48 pm

Right on Ray! Bryan would identify that accent today for sure. If LE can get him to sit for a session, they'd have all kinds of new clues, I'll bet..

Ray Jenkins

12/11/2017 10:57:33 pm

I sent him an email once. He never replied. Probably considered me some weirdo Zodiac groupie or something? Perhaps he just doesn't like to relive what must be a very painful memory, which is entirely understandable. The Zodiac almost ended his life at a young age after all. Still I just wish he could clarify that whole "accent" thing.

I guess there is the possibility that the Zodiac was clever enough to put on a fake accent at Lake Berryessa, or was trying to alter his usual speaking voice? To young ears, unaccustomed to different accents, it may have seemed like a real accent, but impossible to place to anywhere specifically. It may have simply sounded "strange".

Rubislaw 32 link

12/12/2017 05:12:15 am

Yes,I would never be surprised that,despite the thrill and triumphant feelings,for Zodiac,over a ''city taxi project'',that it still irks him that,somewhere in the initial confusion,he was mistaken for a ''black man''.

Ironically,it might have contributed to his successful getaway [?].

Ray Jenkins

12/12/2017 01:21:17 pm

Yes Rubislaw, judging by his style of writing and some of the things he talks about in his writings, the Zodiac always strikes me as being an "Anglo-phile".

Corey Hagler

1/15/2018 08:39:46 pm

Ray,
Possibly from the east coast. Pennsylvania?? That’s very distinctive but uncommon to a westerner??

Ray Jenkins

1/16/2018 06:13:14 pm

Yes Pennsylvania Dutch does seem a likely contender, or some kind of Creole-influenced dialect perhaps. It is a shame that Bryan has never extrapolated on the likely origins of the accent that he heard. His life experience may have been fairly localized back then, but one would think with the passing of time and the reach of the media networks these days, he would have recognized the accent by now and been able to provide some likely contenders. I guess I have overheard people with very distinctive, exotic accents myself in shopping centres, and wondered where they may have originated. So it is not impossible that Bryan still has trouble placing the accent. We must also take into account the huge amount of time that has passed.

Ray Jenkins

12/11/2017 02:33:06 pm

Human perception and interpretation are a huge problem, which is one of the reasons why culprits, when caught, often look nothing like their earlier sketches.

A case in point. I was with some friends one day and another friend drives by with a brand new car. Everybody recorded in their mind a totally different make and model and colour for the car. Some said definitely blue, others blue green, others dark grey, others deep green, and one said black. The make and model ranged from Ford to Holden to Hyundai to Toyota to Mitsubishi. One person even claimed the car had a bull bar and roof rack. The car was actually a light metallic green Ford and did not have a roof rack or bull bar.

We do have to consider that the real Zodiac may have looked nothing like any of the drawings above, although he could have shared some of the facial attributes in a general sense, e.g. thin lips, rather long face, small nose and somewhat narrow eyes.

Rubislaw 32 link

12/12/2017 02:04:29 pm

Absolutely Ray,with the Anglophile reference.

In the 60's,70's and 80's,there used to be derisory remarks,about Brits and Canadians,in particular....pretending to be American.

The term was ''Plastic Yank''.

Perhaps Zodiac was a ''Plastic Limey'' ?

Ray Jenkins

12/11/2017 03:05:25 pm

Richard, How much you wanna bet, your colourized and slightly edited drawings will be appearing on an episode of Discovery Channel in future? Or someone out there in "Zodiacland" will base a whole new suspect entirely around the appearance of one of them? :-))

Lemonboy

12/11/2017 03:27:57 pm

These pictures look really realistic Richard..I agree that he didn’t use glasses in everyday life..he was too confident that he would never be caught..Let’s say the Foulke sees him again if he’s a resident of San Francisco..why admit that it was him that killed stine?He would have no defense, so the only explanation would he looked entirely different in every day life. The glasses were a part of the disguise I’m thinking as well as maybe either makeup and different hair color/style.

Richard

12/11/2017 03:47:03 pm

I certainly believe Zodiac may have used some form of disguise. At Berryessa it was daylight, so he covered his face, adding the extra effects for good measure. At Presidio Heights there was limited streetlighting, so certainly may have used a subtle disguise and glasses, as pointed out, are a very effective and easy way to transform a person's appearance. And again, as mentioned, with a quick hair change, you have a look indistinguishable from your previous outing.
We'll have to wait for series 2 Ray, which looks a certainty, then my new Zodiac can have a run out. But it does prove with a subtle change to a sketch, it can look a totally different person. I don't put much faith in these crude sketches to be honest, they are likely loose comparisons at best. Basing a suspect on them is not the strongest argument. If you look at the original Berryessa sketch- it not only looks rather amateurish, but the distance between the eyes and eyebrows looks disproportionate, giving the face a squashed look. Trying to rule the two known sketches in or out as the same person is impossible, especially with the glasses masking the contour of the eyes.

Rubislaw 32 link

12/11/2017 04:03:59 pm

Hey Lemonboy...did you know that you're a marked man,now ?

Yes,a certain Ms.Betts thinks you are really Mr. ''Bitterfield'',her archenemy on website ''waves''.

Best watch your back....''fake news'' has a habit of reawakening paranoia in some people,with a ''past''.

Ironically,Ray's reference to the disadvantages of Brian Hartnell,may actually become a key to unlocking this case.

It's all in the voice,which Hartnell claims that he will never forget,if he heard it again...though has difficulty in describing it,with its accent.

I wonder if he has an agreement with LE,to listen to ''offered'' tapes,from time to time [?].

Lemonboy

12/11/2017 05:33:42 pm

Rubislaw really?im just a little ol 24 year old from Los Angeles lol although I guess it’s a compliment she thinks I know as much as an expert..

Ray Jenkins

12/11/2017 05:56:44 pm

Lemonboy, do you drive a boxy red Volkswagen (or similar), with k0k0 for the plates, (or backwards, or similar)?

Rubislaw 32 link

12/11/2017 06:01:57 pm

Agreed,in that sense,Lemonboy.

I hold little truck with these old rivalries.

Perhaps,it brings up the question of using pseudonyms ?

It matters not to me,what others want to call themselves.

I only use one,to stay ''low profile'',in some respects...and because of ''some'' circumstances.

But,good that you have explained yourself,a little [?].

Maybe,Ms.Betts can have a good night's sleep,now.

Ray Jenkins

12/11/2017 05:53:15 pm

Interesting you should say that Rubislaw. Several years ago when I was a member of a "certain" forum, Ms. Betts started claiming in reply to my posts that I was using expressions and words just like her stalker! Umm, there was the little problem of me being born years after the Zodiac had done his "thing". Plus I live on the other side of the planet. But I wonder which stalker I did "sound" like, as evidently there are more than one. [?]

Rubislaw 32 link

12/11/2017 06:16:10 pm

Oh....you have almost got me going,with ''Cheri Jo Betts'',Ray.

But,perhaps we should spare her blushes.It must be a difficult time for her,with ''many things'' happening around her ears,with the Zodiac case.

I believe Mr.Butterfied wrote her the longest public e-mail,that I have ever seen.After the first paragraph,I gave up reading it.

Perhaps,she should have taken it as a compliment,that her ''adversary'',should take so much time and trouble,to express his inclination,of what he thought of her.

Ray Jenkins

12/11/2017 06:28:23 pm

Yes indeed, I found it very ironic that he wrote so much about her in order to tell us that we should not be taking any notice of her.

Ray Jenkins

12/11/2017 06:31:55 pm

Richard, there were two more sketches from Lake Berryessa, which look rather different again to the one you chose.

Richard

12/11/2017 11:33:15 pm

Cheers Ray.

Richard

12/11/2017 11:37:13 pm

Rubislaw, just saw an old forum post I wrote concerning the "rh" on the Riverside desktop poem. Look at when the Zodiac wrote "morning" on the bus bomb diagram. The "rn" looks like "rh".
http://www.zodiacciphers.com/uploads/4/9/7/1/4971630/item-4_orig.png

Rubislaw 32 link

12/12/2017 03:10:54 am

I'll check that out,Richard....thank you.

Ray Jenkins

12/12/2017 04:26:53 am

That bomb diagram is really dumb. As I've said before, it is like it came from the mind of Wile E Coyote. For this reason I have always felt there must be more to the bomb diagram. It possibly ties into the other Zodiac letters and ciphers somehow. Interesting observation about the "rh".

Rubislaw 32 link

12/12/2017 07:16:14 am

I didn't manage to access your reference,Richard....but coupled with Ray's comment,I take it that it is a focus on ''morning'',with an ''aitch'' [?].

I hadn't noticed that before....naturally of interest.

With the Desktop Poem,I have seen the ''r h'',debated as possibly, '' r n ''.

I suspect the Desktop Poem is intended as '' r h '',on account of its scribe employing a biro to ''scrawl'' his letters.Requiring more physical ''purchase''....and therefore,entirely deliberate [?].

As a possible matter of interest,to anyone,I looked at the ''other'' bus bomb diagram [Nov.9th 1969 SF.Ch ].

Zodiac employs two 6volt bars,and 6 bomb bags.The total ''numerical'' explanations.

666 [?].

Rubislaw 32 link

12/12/2017 11:51:29 pm

When one sees specific words as ''morning'' [....that looks like ''morhing''...],it certainly makes one consider,such things,as whether ''presumed Zodiac'' signed his Desktop Poem,with ''r n''.

I just noticed the ''Joseph Bates'' envelope and,for all intents and purposes,the ''Joseph'',looks like ''Josepn''.

I think that,with the seasoned Zodiac enthusiasts,''we'' often do ourselves down,with the handwriting [?].We may not be ''experts'',in the accepted sense,but most of us have been through Zodiac's writing countless times,for reference purposes,alone.

There is a familiarity there,that should not be discounted.

The first observation of Zodiac's writing is,that he appears to have varied his style,as much as he was able.Including ''neatness'' and ''sloppyness''.

Sherwood Morrill alluded to this,as much as anything else,and,from a professional point of view,''admired'' Zodiac's gift for variety of style.He was not of the opinion that Zodiac employed devices,such as mirrors and overhead projectors.

We all have are particular observations,be it ''flying 't's' '',''candy cane 'f's' '' or numerous versions of '' g's '' [?].

One particular ''curiosity'' for me is the way Zodiac,sometimes left a ''strange'' ''tick'',at the bottom of his '' f's ''.

We hear about sportsman seeking psychiatrists,for psychological problems,that affect their performance.One,among Darts players,is known as ''Dart-itis'',whereby a thrower finds themselves unable to let go of a dart.

Zodiac seems to have had something similar,with his writing pen,sometimes...when he appears to leave behind ''curious'' ticks or tails,on written letters....and the bottom of the letter '' f '',in particular.

Alex Lewis

12/14/2017 10:47:00 pm

Composite drawing Rich, I would think Fouke may have been suspect of a white male wearing Red Lipstick. I cant see it catching on. . . Alias: 'RedPhantom. . .Lips?'

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THE 'REAL' FACE OF THE ZODIAC KILLER

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