THE JULY 5TH 1969 PAYPHONE CALL

5/15/2018

There remains a widespread misconception that the Zodiac Killer's directions in the phone call after the Blue Rock Springs Park attack were incorrect, even though the police report clearly specified that the recollection of police dispatcher Nancy Slover was in effect the 'substance of the statement', not a verbatim transcription. The Zodiac Killer likely planned the payphone call and location, yet we assume his directions to the crime scene were horribly wrong based on the version remembered by Nancy Slover. There is no evidence to support such a conclusion based on the wording of the call shown below. Nancy Slover even recalled that the Zodiac Killer was speaking in a rehearsed, monotone fashion, as if reading from a script - which is a perfectly reasonable hypothesis. If we conclude he had prepared a written script, then this would seemingly fly in the face of him getting his directions completely wrong.

The Zodiac Killer was correct when he placed Betty Lou Jensen's feet facing west, along with his apparent knowledge of the the infrequently traveled Lake Herman Road as a location for courting couples, yet somehow became completely disoriented when making one turn off Columbus Parkway to the payphone at Springs Road and Tuolumne Street. When Zodiac made the Blue Rock Springs and Lake Berryessa phone calls, he rang the police. Therefore, it follows logically, that any directions given would be to direct the police to the crime scene from their location. In these cases, the Sheriff's Office was located at the junction of Virginia and Tuolumne Streets, the Vallejo Police Department at 111 Amador Street, and Park Headquarters at Lake Berryessa.

If you were calling the police at 12:40 am on July 5th 1969, issuing them with directions to Blue Rock Springs, then your first statement would be to tell them to go east, which is exactly what the Zodiac Killer did. Then take Columbus Parkway to the crime scene. Police dispatcher Nancy Slover was certainly not prepared for the call she was about to receive, crucially interrupting the caller and asking him for his details as he began his message. In other words, she spoke over the killer while simultaneously having to register what he was saying. She may have been a trained police dispatcher, but little prepares you for a serial killer ringing in, claiming the murder of four people in total. She often recalled how unnerving the phone call was.
In the aftermath of the call, she then had to remember its totality, word for word, along with the exact sequence of the message and any pauses or sentence breaks within it, so as to fully transcribe the message delivered in its correct context.

The message shown above was composed of 46 words, delivered in approximately 20 seconds. The chances of recalling this amount of words in exactly the correct order and context, one could suggest is extremely unlikely and unrealistic. There is often the false assumption that the Zodiac Killer was incorrect in his delivery of the message, whereas, it is a far more credible proposition that Nancy Slover simply recalled the message incorrectly or in the wrong context. We have previously shown that by inserting one break into the message it reads perfectly from a directional standpoint, although possibly incorrectly regarding the distances given. Here is the message with the break or pause inserted "I want to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east...... on Columbus Parkway to the public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They were shot with a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye". This message now makes sense regarding a killer directing police from 111 Armador Street to Blue Rock Springs Park. However, there are many alternatives.

You can see from the map above, it is impossible to direct anybody to the crime scene traveling "one mile east on Columbus Parkway" You would be traveling "one mile north northeast" or "one mile southeast". Additionally, you would be traveling to the crime scene from effectively nowhere of any note - least of all a police station. It can be seen that responding officers heading away from the police station would be traveling along Solano Avenue, before joining Springs Road, then traveling 1.39 miles east to Columbus Parkway (as opposed to the one mile east given in the phone call). So it can be seen that the Zodiac simply approximated the distance east.

The widely portrayed message reads ""I want to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east on Columbus Parkway to the public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They were shot with a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye". The Zodiac Killer wasn't going to deliver fractions of distances in his payphone call, so rounded 1.39 miles east to 1 mile, now giving us a perfectly reasonable set of directions and distances in his message to Nancy Slover. Unfortunately, yet understandably, it was recalled incorrectly through memory and talking over the killer during the first part of the message. We must not make the blind assumption that the "substance of the statement" was in fact a perfect transcription of what the Zodiac Killer actually said that night. If it was a perfect transcription, then it makes little sense regarding a call directing the police to the crime scene. If it makes little sense - one can argue it wasn't spoken.

Footnote:
"I want to report a murder, no, a double murder. They are two miles north of Park Headquarters. They were in a white Volkswagen Karmann Ghia ...... I'm the one that did it".
"I want to report a murder, no, a double murder. There are two people one mile north of Park Headquarters. They were in a white Volkswagen Karmann Ghia ...... I'm the one that did it".

Shawn

5/15/2018 11:23:44 am

If Nancy Slover's only job was to take down information and she was experienced at her job it seems like she would be good at remembering all details told to her. In addition, she could have been a fast writer, writing everything that was said.

The "Substance of the Call" mentioned in the police report is a sticking point.

If Zodiac gave rather incorrect directions to the crime scene then it could show he was not real familiar with Vallejo (as a resident would be) but was familiar with the crime scene compass directions. (maybe information gathered from a map later on). Feet pointing west.

Richard

5/15/2018 01:36:14 pm

She would certainly have to be fast Shawn. I timed the message speaking relatively slowly to 20 seconds. Discounting a likely 5 seconds when she talked over him to get his details, she would then have to write 46 words in 15 seconds (three a second). I don't believe that is possible, but I suppose others will disagree. I suppose the question boils down to whether people believe he was a Vallejo resident.

Shawn

5/15/2018 02:11:54 pm

Many secretarial/clerical type jobs back then required the knowledge of dictating and knowing shorthand as seen in this 1960's Video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXukjx9eweo

I am not sure if Nancy knew wrote in shorthand. Many women in secretarial/clerical type jobs back then knew how.

Shawn

5/20/2018 07:33:03 am

" I suppose the question boils down to whether people believe he was a Vallejo resident."

I think Arthur Leigh Allen is the only named suspect to be a resident of Vallejo.

If you think Zodiac was a resident of Vallejo maybe more investigation would be good into ALA.

Vallejo Cold Detective Poyser (assigned to Zodiac murder at Blue Rock Springs) recently commented that he likes Arthur Leigh Allen as a suspect. Saying this after having Tom Voight (a strong gyke supporter) into the Vallejo evidence room.

Maybe Arthur Leigh Allen is a suspect of default for police because he was looked at seriously by so many police in the distant past and current police do not have time to move the case forward.

William

5/1/2019 12:30:48 pm

"I want to report a murder, no, a double murder"

I've always been suspicious about this correction. Did the Zodiac know one victim survived, realise his mistake and try to hide it? Working off that premise the Zodiac was a cop who had this knowledge.

Also when you consider the words used, writing style, to me it reads in part like a police report.

Richard

5/18/2018 02:47:51 am

I wonder if the police dispatcher at San Francisco knew shorthand?

Shawn

5/18/2018 04:43:37 am

Interesting!

Rubislaw 32 link

5/15/2018 11:46:08 am

An interesting point of debated interpretation,Richard.

Albeit just an opinion,I don't place that much importance on the difference between a quoted one mile or two.Personally,I feel that Zodiac was a resident,but that of not long standing,and merely wanted to convey an approximate distance,without becoming wrapped up in fractions.

What I find of more significance is,Zodiac's apparent decision to confess to LHR,a double murder more than six months prior,as well as BRS....which he believed at the time,was also a double murder.

Sometimes referred to as a ''Russian conscience'',there are those in denial of everything for a while....then ''tell all'' in the one go.

Zodiac's ''Russian conscience'' does seem to be a mystery....and perhaps,of more interest [?].

Carl Karas link

5/15/2018 07:09:36 pm

The Zodiac was aware of the difference between polar North and magnetic North. And there was some significance to how they related to Mt Diablo, a commanding presence nearby. Mapping was an almost obsessive compulsive focus for Zodiac. That's why I think your thinking rings true here, Richard. As far as the calls 'Russian Confession' Rubislaw proposes, I think the true purpose was to create terror. It's as if he's saying one man is stalking the Lake Herman Road and golf course areas at night - the 'darkness on the edge of town' a la Bruce Springsteen, and you won't catch him cause you'll never know just when he'll strike. I think his purpose was to scare kids away from the road because it was a drug delivery route.

Judith

5/15/2018 08:54:48 pm

So I knew immediately what this meant but I had to look at a map first. He is giving you directions from Highway 80. Go 1 mile East on Columbus Parkway. He is not a Vallejo resident. He lives in Contra Costa, by Highway 80 to Vallejo, through Vallejo, all the way to Sacramento.

Rubislaw 32 link

5/16/2018 02:19:18 am

On the point of ''Russian conscience'',Carl,and I do ask the question,rhetorically,as much as anything else :

If Zodiac's intention was underpinned by delivering terror,why did he wait six months to start verbally messaging his terror ?

After Lake Herman Road,nothing for six months....then he drops the ''double whammy''.

As if LHR was a ''one off'',for whatever reason....then he suddenly decides that he will be perceived as an urban terrorist,in the wake of Blue Springs Rock.

A bit of a mystery [?].

Richard

5/16/2018 03:27:39 am

Or quite possibly the investigation got too close to his own doorstep, so decided to wait until things cooled. He may have been interviewed or questioned by police for all we know. As his crimes got further away from the Benicia/Vallejo area, his willingness to communicate also increased in intensity. But we have to remember that this 6 month 'rest' period was nothing unusual. The following year he was dormant from Dec 20 to Apr 20 (4 months), at the end of 1970 he rested from Oct to March (5 months). He never wrote in January or February until 1974. These rest phases could indicate seasonal work or movement out of California or the USA. Or indeed, could be an anomaly due to the small sample size. Nevertheless, if LHR was his first foray into murder, then it is certainly possible he used caution until his second attack, before the gradual increase in activity- which is exactly what happened. 6 months to 3 months to 2 weeks.

Rubislaw 32 link

5/16/2018 04:06:11 am

Yes Richard,I think that is close to the mark,about LHR being ''close to his own doorstep'',and feeling a further development in terror activities,should be reigned back,and due ''stock'' be taken.

This is where the murder of Darlene,as a possible ''personal'' decision,at least comes ''under the spotlight''.

A potential ''knee jerk'' reaction of rage,from Zodiac....and a murder,because of personal circumstances,happens to come about,again,on Zodiac's doorstep.

If,as you infer,the original plan of a terror campaign was to continue.....then Zodiac would have to have to start thinking further afield,for prey.

If this philosophy is correct,what it tells us,if anything ...is that Zodiac was,indeed,a resident of Vallejo....or very close to the town.

Rubislaw 32 link

5/16/2018 01:05:36 pm

As the arguments rage,on the larger Zodiac websites,over the validity of ''historical'' suspects,thank goodness,Richard,that you try to steer your readers clear of this....and focus on ''unidentified Zodiac''.

So much more to be understood about him,if we at least,attempt to do this [?].

Currently,Mr.Void is getting it in the neck from Mr.AKWilks,over Mr.Gaikowski's limited chances of existing on American soil,at the time of the Lake Herman Road murders.

Strangely though,it has become apparent that Mr.Gaikowski was a purveyor of plagiarism and fabrication,in his newspaper articles.

Plagiarism and fabrication is an often levelled accusation against....The Zodiac Killer [!].

Surely by now,''Historical suspects'' equate to suspects that no longer interest Law Enforcement,as anything other than a possible sidelining P.O.I. [?].

As Zodiac,himself [?].L.E. have been there,done that....and got the T-shirt,a long time ago.

Those new to the Zodiac case,should not be encouraged to ''adopt'' a historical suspect,as if part if an exclusive group of ''runners and riders'',for a horse race.

Zodiac's identity will be found,in identifying genuine motive of Zodiac.The ''why'' before the ''who''.

For,what does it really matter,if his name is ''John Smith'',or any other name.

What matters is how ''he'' ties in with what we already believe that we understand about the case.

Judith

5/17/2018 07:16:00 am

Hopefully we will know soon enough. I am doing everything I can to make sure familial DNA is going to be loaded into any database out there. I'm getting a feeling that the people who know about Zodiac are watching everything very closely now, that the Golden State killer was caught. No man is an island. Zodiac did not act in complete independence from others. The chickens are finally coming home to roost. On my end here, people have begun to act very evasive.

Judith

5/17/2018 07:30:14 am

For years my life was threatened. I was terrorized, stalked, there were attempts on my life and then it all died down. I guess it's too late to kill me now, isn't it? With regards to Tom Voigt, it was probably 10 years ago when he first sent me an email telling me, "why don't you go play in traffic", which I found amusing at the time, as Peter was dead already. Had he been alive and still married to me and someone said something like that to me, he really wouldn't have liked it, if you know what I mean. Tom put all of his eggs into Arthur L Allen's basket and then took them out and put them all in Richard Gaikowski's basket. AK is on it. Godspeed us to the truth.

Christen Allen Iman

10/15/2018 08:48:53 pm

I certainly agree with your statement concerning Tom's 180-degree about face on Leigh Allen. To be honest, and not to belittle him, he doesn't know as much as he believes he does.

Rubislaw 32 link

5/17/2018 08:15:32 am

Yes Judith,we all have our crosses to bear,and I do sympathise with your,clearly,unsympathetic treatment from Mr.Voigt....for whom there are grounds to believe that his success as a ''propagandist'' far outweighs any ''claimed'' abilities,as a sleuth.

More recently,and on camera,he displayed his inability to distinguish between ''A citizen'' and ''concerned citizen''...quite stunning,for someone with his documented experience.

Regardless of general cynicism to the ''soon to be retired'' Detective Poyser.....who I am sure is a nice person,just obeying orders.....there are grounds for believing that the recent highlighting of DNA,as in the case of the EAR/GSK....might be a generally good portent for possible success,in the Zodiac case.

And,you are obviously doing your bit,to help this come about.

Shelli

5/17/2018 11:52:47 am

Hi all. I grew up on Magazine st, and still live in the area. The photos of Voight and Poyser were a horror to me. I'm sure you know a non official digging into possible evidence without gloves has to go against the rules. I for one am again embarrassed by our force. Now we suddenly have two new envelopes to test? Gosh..

Rubislaw 32 link

5/17/2018 12:47:48 pm

Indeed Shelli....it's all a ruse,designed to discourage the public from troubling the police.

The real disgrace is that L.E. are prepared to treat people like dummies.

''Servants of the public ''.....it's the other way round,as far as the judiciary are concerned....as they count out time on failed cases...and,their ''maturing'' private pensions.

Strike me down,if I have sinned.

Rubislaw 32 link

5/18/2018 03:46:23 am

Here's an interesting one for rumination,perhaps [?] :

Zodiac's car door message,at Lake Berryessa :

Vallejo
12-20-68
7-4-69
Sept 27-69-6:30
by knife

Zodiac has just committed the knife attacks on Cecilia and Bryan.

We assume he desires to convey this,and his previous serious crimes....but as succinctly as he is able.

But,nevertheless,he attributes LHR and BRS to ''Vallejo''.

BRS is Vallejo.

But LHR ?

BRS was investigated by the Vallejo police,who were answerable to the Vallejo Police Department.

LHR was investigated by the Benicia police,who were answerable to the Solano County Sheriff's Office,in Fairfield.

The question is,was Zodiac actually unaware of the geographic distinction between Lake Herman Road and Blue Springs Rock [?].

If he was a local resident,had he been merely keeping his head down,after LHR ?

Or,had Zodiac been largely absent from his local residency,between the attacks,which could have amounted to six months [?].

Or indeed,was Zodiac not a local resident of the Vallejo vicinity.

Succinct or not,Zodiac has stated '' 12-20-68 '',as a reference to LHR,on Bryan's car door,incorrectly as coming under the heading :

'' Vallejo ''.

Richard

5/18/2018 05:08:56 am

The jurisdictional line separating Benicia and Vallejo along Lake Herman Road is just 1.19 miles west of the murder site. So, even residents of these areas may not be actually familiar with the exact cut off point. I live in Coventry, but don't exactly know the point it ends and begins- probably because it's not that important to most people. Possibly, Zodiac didn't know either and subconsciously attributed it to where he lived. This is not pushing the Vallejo angle again, because equally this error on the car door could be used to argue his unfamiliarity with the area. The jurisdictional line of Benicia begins on the western edge of Lake Heman.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Benicia,+CA,+USA/@38.0889292,-122.1483972,13.46z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x80856db5fb326033:0x9c2e0b0755afa15d!8m2!3d38.049365!4d-122.1585777

Richard

5/18/2018 05:23:01 am

Here is what Zodiac wrote to the Chronicle on July 31st 1969 "This is the murderer of the 2 teenagers last Christmass at Lake Herman + the girl on the 4th of July near the golf course in Vallejo." It depends on how you read this when interpreting it. Is he lumping these together in one continuous sentence under Vallejo, or is the Vallejo part only relevant to the golf course in the sentence. Notice, he only uses Vallejo in his opening line to the Chronicle, but not the Times-Herald or Examiner.

Drew

5/18/2018 10:21:40 am

I think the Zodiac employed obfuscation tactics to manipulate his readers. I don't think the killer knowing where the V/B line was goes very far in establishing his likely residency so much as his decision to never mention Benicia and to group the first two attacks under the heading of Vallejo. I have to assume he read the newspaper coverage after the LHR attack and by the time he started writing messages must have known who was conducting the investigation and therefore the town he committed the crime in.

I think he lived or worked very near Vallejo for all the valid reasons discussed but his completely voluntary and premeditated letters implied so strongly that he was from Vallejo and he conducted his entire campaign with such confidence that I find it hard to believe he actually lived in Vallejo. Something about his circumstance must have let him feel safe from consideration.

Richard

5/18/2018 11:40:59 am

I used to think Drew that his complete willingness to mention Vallejo in his correspondences, but never Benicia, despite reading that his first crime was in Benicia as you stated, may have been done with the intention of making us believe he was a Vallejo resident. Unless we buy the double bluff. But there certainly plenty of reasons to believe he may have lived close to Vallejo, but not in it. I'd like to believe that if we could say with certainty which way he exited the Lake Herman Road turnout, then that may give us the direction he lived in, as opposed to the place he lived in, but nevertheless rule out certain locations. However, this relies heavily on the premise the killer headed home at 11.15 pm. I suspect this was the case, but what I think isn't necessarily what happened. Obfuscation, no doubt was employed by the Zodiac Killer, which is why I think it's important to separate what could be perceived as intentional and what was written accidentally by the killer in the subtle language he use- like I tried to show using the present and past tense in his July 31st letters. It may not necessarily have been a correct observation, but it was his hidden language written subconsciously that I was trying to unearth, as opposed to language we know he logically could have manipulated to force us into a false belief.
It's a difficult one, because if I lived in Vallejo- then by pushing Vallejo in all my communications I may believe the police would realize this and focus elsewhere, whereas they may just take my word for it. The old double bluff game. I may be wrong in focusing within a 6 mile radius of his crimes, but on the basis of studies into the actions of serial killers, there is a reasoned belief that this may be the best wager, rather than not. This doesn't make it true in this particular case, but I'm playing the percentages.

Drew

5/18/2018 12:29:11 pm

At the very least Richard a near Vallejo residence is the best lead we have. My only problem with the geo-profile method as applied to Zodiac is that a criminal who writes to the press seems like a different kind of animal than those we have statistics on - his provocations seem like a big wild card when assessing his intentions. However the fact that he was silent after LHR (but for the possible 'crank call') could also signify that he was a local showing caution or gaining confidence. Another explanation for this period of silence could be that without the pattern that the second attack created he may not have felt he had made a big enough impact to start his campaign. More likely perhaps is that he hadn't yet conceived of his campaign. If it occurred today a six mile radius would seem too close for comfort for a smart criminal writing to the press about his exploits, but in 1969 police would still have a heck of a lot of work to do even with this information and I assume he would know that. I certainly don't discount the geo-profile logic and if pressed I would give it my vote. I think this is the issue you have been the most persuasive about since I started obsessing over your site.

Tom

5/18/2018 05:59:21 am

If you lived in that area of California then, you would know exactly where the border between Benicia and Vallejo was.

Rubislaw 32 link

5/18/2018 06:21:35 am

Yes,I go along with you on the Vallejo residency for Zodiac....but believed prior,that residency could have been Benicia...before I really understood Benicia's history and circumstances.

That being that Benicia was a small village,surrounded by largely ''wasted land''....which became ripe for industrial development.

I suspect that their are clues to be gleaned from both Bryan's car door and the letter of July 31st 1969....that Zodiac was not a ''long time'' resident of that area.

Someone born and brought up in that area might have messaged more specifically and accurately [?].It is almost as if Zodiac wasn't completely sure where Vallejo ended,and Benicia began.

But obvious to all,perhaps,that Vallejo was the great benefactor of industry in both Benicia,and on Mare Island...being the only town/city in that area that had the housing resources to accommodate substantial quantities of transient workers.

With regard to Bryan's door ''scorecard'' specifically.....we could be looking at the statement of a terrorist,who was beginning to feel that he was into his stride.

Perhaps,after LHR,Zodiac might have felt that ''the murder business'' was just too fraught with chances of getting caught....that he might decide to go down the route of bomb hoaxes and arson,for instance.

But,by September,it would have started to become apparent that,L.E. were no nearer to catching him for BRS,or indeed LHR.Almost as if Lake Berryessa was the affirmation that he had become the urban/provincial terrorist...and that using murder as a tool of terror,still had some ''mileage''.

Rubislaw 32 link

5/18/2018 09:49:15 am

A positive ''first reaction'' from you,Tom....O.K. it doesn't necessarily makes us right about Zodiac not having been born and brought up,in that area...but,instincts are not unfounded [?].

If I extend the philosophy,clearly ''Presidio'' further affirms Zodiac's possible thinking on ''Berryessa''.,about ''murder mileage''.

But also,perhaps....and accepted as debatable.....that when Zodiac did start throwing ''Bomb hoaxing'' into the ring,it would have been at the point when he had actually withdrawn from ''murder''.....now using the threat of a bomb [.....into 1970....],as his ''front line'' tool of terror.....until the authorities no longer believed him.

By October 1970,Zodiac felt forced to attempt to pull an ''old rabbit'' out of the hat,in the shape of the murder of Ms.Bates.

Rubislaw 32 link

5/18/2018 11:09:31 am

I read your comments with interest Drew....and acknowledge that ''we'' can't just make assumptions based on a couple of words,or a couple of lines.Albeit,often is the case that we,as amateurs,are left with little more to go,on.

I do like your last line,for consideration :

''Something about his circumstance must have let him feel safe from consideration.''

Bearing in mind that we both believe that he was,in all probability,a Vallejo resident,at the time if the Bay Area murders :

Firstly,I think that,in moving to the ''pleasant'' residential town of Vallejo,he would have made a conscious decision,to come across,to his neighbours as ''pleasant'' and social minded,himself.For instance,stopping to enquire after their health,on occasion....and mowing his lawn on a Sunday.

Secondly,as I inferred in the past,I believe that Vallejo was a temporary second home,through his work placement....and actually did a fair amount of ''coming and going'' to his already established home,elsewhere [....which I believe was Greater Los Angeles...].

Even inferred in his correspondences,''L.A'' can't really be left out of the possible overall equation [?].

So,even if another home,was somewhere else.....it gives Zodiac,an extra dimension.....as if almost an ability to be ''two people''.To be,for example,at Lake Berryessa on a Saturday afternoon....and then Los Angeles,before the sun rises,the very next day.

When it came to police ''making their enquiries'' after a murder,a few hours,here or there,and with a ''no see'' from neighbours,could quite easily satisfy the cops,for alibis.Particularly with the quantity of potential suspects,that police might have to question.

It was still the age of manual filing.''Cross checks'' would only be made,on particularly ''dodgy'' alibis.

Drew

5/18/2018 12:00:03 pm

That he lived or worked near the Vallejo area at some point in time is probably the only thing we can state with confidence. If we had more concrete evidence that he made the calls to Dean's family an hour and a half after the BRS attack we could be more certain he had a place to stay near by that night. What we can't assume is whether he just knew the area from past experience or whether he moved during the campaign. If we assume he was a driver and an outdoorsman it's not impossible that he knew of these parks and rest stops. He may well have made the effort to drive in from another city knowing that authorities would be focused on locals, then continued inferring that he was local. His confidence could easily just have come from wearing gloves disposing of the luger and knowing that Mageau could not identify him by name.

Why do you believe October 1970 is significant to the Bates investigation?

Shelli

5/19/2018 04:48:35 pm

Can you clarify wasted lands? Thanks.

Rubislaw 32 link

5/19/2018 05:01:33 pm

In existence and available,but barren and uncultivated.

Rubislaw 32 link

5/18/2018 12:30:03 pm

As is documented,Drew,the Bates introduction to the press,and then naturally the public,came about,directly after the Halloween Card,sent to Paul Avery.

The SF Chronicle,in publishing the Halloween Card,were bracing themselves for a positive response of sympathy for Avery....and had,correctly,employed extra staff,so as to deal with the extra quantity of letters and phone calls,envisaged.

Nothing therefore would be missed,and put aside for another day.

Lo and behold,a letter arrives,addressed to Paul Avery.

Now referred to as the ''slow boat to China'' letter,it alluded to the possibility of a Zodiac involvement in the Bates murder.

Avery must have been ''salivating'' before he had taken it all in [?].

From November 1970,the Zodiac case would take a ''new turn''.....as far as the public were concerned,anyway.

Drew

5/18/2018 12:57:38 pm

Thanks Rubislaw. I forgot when it was that Avery wrote about the Riverside connection he believed that the police were unaware of. I was also confused by what you wrote because Zodiac didn't fire off a response that we are aware of for several months after Avery's article. So Zodiac resurfaces with the pace card then two weeks pass and Avery receives the Halloween card and then a letter tipping him about Riverside and then he writes his article, not knowing that the police explored this a year earlier. Do we know anything about the tip letter Avery received?

Rubislaw 32 link

5/18/2018 02:12:37 pm

Well yes Drew,the tip letter put Avery in touch with Captain Cross of the Riverside Police.

Captain Cross,more or less,welcomed Avery to ''come on down''.Cross informed Avery that it appeared that this same ''letter writer'' had been in touch with the Vallejo Police.In addition,that the writer had written a number of letters to Cross....but,up to that point,the Riverside Police had been unable to ascertain his identity.

Looking back,we know now that Napa Police and Riverside Police had conferred,a year earlier,over similarities between Lake Berryessa and the Bates case.

So,at that point [...early November 1970..],Riverside,Napa,Vallejo...all knew ''something''.Possibly the SFPD also,since Vallejo and SF forces traditionally got on well.

And who was ''out of the loop'',at that stage ?

Well,it seems that the CA DOJ and the FBI.

Ironically,the agency that held legal ownership of the Zodiac case [CA DOJ]...and the agency that had been awarded jurisdiction in the field [ FBI ].

When Avery returned from Riverside,with quality Bates correspondence copies,for Sherwood Morrill....one can imagine that ''all hell broke loose'',on L.E. political recriminations [?] [!].

So,I don't think we should be taken in,when all these L.E.agencies claim that they got on,like a house on fire [?].

They clearly didn't.

Cianci link

5/18/2018 10:26:46 pm

I know who is Zodiac.

Rubislaw 32 link

5/20/2018 03:09:03 am

Just offhand,Richard,do you happen to know,how many times Zodiac names ''Benicia'',in his correspondences ?

Is it no times ?

Conspicuous,by its absence,perhaps [?].

Richard

5/20/2018 04:24:21 am

None Rubislaw

Rubislaw 32 link

5/20/2018 04:59:42 am

Thanks Richard....I suspected this.

I am going to go through his letters,seeing if he appears to ''deliberately'' avoid mentioning the name.

''The two teenagers last year.....'',for example [?].

Of course,I am thinking that he doesn't want investigating police to start homing in on the refinery construction project.

If Zodiac was working there,and they did start homing in...they would have had him,in no time.

But,there were so many options on the table,one presumes [?].

''Mare Island'',alone.

Rubislaw 32 link

5/20/2018 07:21:19 am

Looking back to Paul Avery,and his Bates correspondence copies,his first port of call,was Sacramento,and Sherwood Morrill,in the employment of the CA DOJ.

As soon as Morrill gave Avery some positive feedback on the Bates correspondence,Avery wasted no time,in putting out a piece,in the SF Chronicle,that a Zodiac link was ''definite''.

As history records,however,it wasn't quite as simple as that,and there would be further disputes over authenticity.

Morrill would have understood the decision,by his employers [CA DOJ]....but history also records that a dispute over the letter of April 1978,stretched ''a then retired'' Morrill's philosophical patience to breaking point.

But,in late 1970,behind the scenes,the FBI would have been ''spitting blood'' over the CA DOJ's utimate decision,not to officially authenticate the Bates correspondences,as being that of the Zodiac.

The FBI would have felt shafted,from both ends,and questioned their real purpose,in the investigations.

If there is ever a public enquiry into the ''debacle'' of the case of the Zodiac Killer,I would suggest that few would be in doubt that the finger points to the CA DOJ,for weak leadership [?].

What should they have done better ?

I believe that,in ''entertaining'' all these L.E.agencies,involved,the CA DOJ should have assigned a DOJ agent,to every police department,or even police station,in the vicinity.That,in effect,every new piece of information would pass through the hands of a CA DOJ representative,first.

Any further thoughts on this,from anyone ?

Rubislaw 32 link

5/20/2018 04:58:02 pm

On November 17th 1970,an article referring to the Bates case,and written by Paul Avery,entitled ''Zodiac link is definite'',is published in the SF Chronicle.

On February 13th 1970,and just 4 months later,the L.A.Times publish a letter,written by the Zodiac.

Extract :

''....Like I have always said I am crack proof,If the Blue Meanies are evere going to catch me,they had best get off their fat asses and do something.Because the longer they fiddle and fart around,the more slaves I will collect for my after life.I do have to give them credit for stumbling across my riverside activity,but they are only finding the easy ones.....''.

If the ''Blue Meanies'' didn't know it already,they knew it now.

Zodiac had tanned their hides....and,''Right Royally''.

Drew

5/20/2018 06:11:28 pm

I have a quick correction for you Rubislaw. The LA Letter was mailed or received March 13th 1971. https://www.zodiacciphers.com/los-angeles-times-letter.html
I'm not positive when the LA Times actually published, but the SF Chronicle made reference to it March 16, 1971. There is a very helpful reference thread you may want to check out that places all Zodiac-related Chronicle articles in chronological order. The Chronicle promptly and thoroughly covered (I would wager) every event of the saga so it presents a decent timeline of the press coverage - anything you can't find covered there likely wasn't released anywhere until Graysmith.
http://zodiackillersite.com/viewtopic.php?f=94&t=1193

Rubislaw 32 link

5/20/2018 06:56:30 pm

Thanks for the correction on the date of the L.A.Times letter,Drew.

Yes,I see it is ''March 13th 1971'',now.Which accounts for the 4 months after Avery's ''Zodiac link is definite'' article.

Into 1971,it all kicks off,with suspicions over William Grant,culminating in Grant's successful harassment injunction.

L.E. getting desperate,and clutching at straws [?].

It may interest readers of the,so far unauthenticated ''Benicia High School Note'',where a presumed Zodiac,again,doesn't mention ''Benicia''.

The closest he comes,is when he writes :

''....So I kill Byson and you will find him up by Lake Herman Road.If you get up their in time you will find him before the dog eat him up I hope they do.....''.

The assumption is that the Benicia Police will find ''Bay's Son'' up by LHR,and can catch him before the ''DOJ'' take the spoils.

One has to wonder,sometimes,if part of the problems that arose between L.E. agencies is,that every one of them believed that they could become the heroes,in all of this [?].

Rubislaw 32 link

5/22/2018 12:47:12 pm

There are two overriding points about Stine's murder....and both come down to ''location''.

Firstly,that the murder was committed,in a ''moneyed'' and relatively quiet part of the city.

Secondly,that the murder was committed,within relatively easy access,to the most facilitating exit road,out of the city.

Given that the city of San Francisco was the nominated ''general'' location of this crime,there would have been innocent bystanders,wherever it took place.These bystanders,and indeed one or two well known residents,in close proximity,to a murder,would inevitably,be of at least,initial interest to the investigating police.

But,the stark reality remains,that chosen ''location'' presents the primary clue,in the crime's conception.

Still a good offering from you,Carl.The murder has yet to be solved.

Who is to deny you the punt ?

Rubislaw 32 link

5/22/2018 12:58:30 pm

Sorry Richard...I mean't to enter the comment above,in your new ''Southside Encounter'' comments section.

Perhaps a few of us are getting weary ?

I probably need a break,from the business of murder.But.your articles still demand answers and replies.

A compliment to your excellent site.

Thanks.

Comments are closed.

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