In an article by Paul Avery in the San Francisco Chronicle on October 22nd 1969 entitled 'The Search for Zodiac's Four Murder Weapons', Chief of Inspectors Martin Lee confirmed that ballistics had proved Zodiac used a different gun in three of the attacks, where he discharged his weapon. One of the murder investigators stated "It's part of the pattern, that there's no pattern at all". Another remarked "It may be that Zodiac has an arsenal of weapons at his disposal." Investigators checked gun registration from stores, including handwriting to identity the Zodiac, but failed to unearth any viable leads. Many people believe the Zodiac thrived on risk, the question though, is how much risk was he prepared to take.
When Vallejo Police Chief Jack K Stiltz questioned whether the author of the codes and letter writer on July 31st 1969 was the same person as the killer, Zodiac's response was immediate in the 'Debut of Letter' the following day, supplying more details of the first two crimes at Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs to the police chief.
When Vallejo Police Chief Jack K Stiltz questioned whether the author of the codes and letter writer on July 31st 1969 was the same person as the killer, Zodiac's response was immediate in the 'Debut of Letter' the following day, supplying more details of the first two crimes at Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs to the police chief.
Chief of Police Martin Lee stated in the San Francisco Chronicle article on October 18th 1969 entitled 'Zodiac Called a Clumsy Criminal,' that Zodiac possibly left his fingerprints on the taxicab, allowed himself to be spotted by three teenagers, and failed to kill all his victims. He went on say "His boast of being in the area we were searching is a lie. We had the whole area flooded with lights. We had seven police dogs and a large number of patrolmen searching the area tree by tree and bush by bush. The dogs are the best in the country. A mouse couldn't have escaped our attention." Zodiac again responded in the Bus Bomb three weeks later, annoyed they were lying about him and again reiterated he was in the park. He challenged Chief of Police Martin Lee not to doubt him, referring back to his 'Debut of Zodiac' Letter on August 4th 1969; "To prove that I am the Zodiac, Ask the Vallejo cop about my electric gun sight which I used to start my collecting of slaves." To also prove he was the Zodiac, and indeed the letter writer and murderer, he combined the two together, mailing a section of Paul Stine's blooded shirt to the San Francisco Chronicle on October 13th 1969. The Zodiac did the reverse at Lake Berryessa two weeks earlier, taking his letter writing to the crime scene, by detailing his crimes in marker pen on the car door of Bryan Hartnell's 1956 white Karmann Ghia. The Zodiac Killer clearly took risks in every crime he committed, in particular placing two phone calls after the Blue Rock Springs and Lake Berryessa attacks, wandering around Lake Berryessa in an executioners outfit and tearing a section of shirt from the dead taxicab driver in the heart of San Francisco, to name but a few. Many people questioned his validity after every crime, his motivation, and even if the crimes themselves were connected and the Zodiac duly responded giving extra details. But he didn't have to claim any of the crimes after the Lake Herman Road murders to prove he was the killer. The answer lies in the words of Chief of Police Martin Lee who said "ballistics had confirmed a different weapon was used in three of the attacks."
All Zodiac had to do was use the same weapon at Lake Herman Road, Blue Rock Springs and Presidio Heights, and ballistics and shell casing analysis would have confirmed that the three attacks were inextricably linked or at the very least left little doubt. This would have saved Zodiac the effort of proving he was the killer in all four attacks, even employing his gun at Lake Berryessa. But Zodiac changed his weapon every time, casting doubt on all the crimes being linked, however everything Zodiac did and said the rest of the time was ultimately designed to prove he was the killer in all four attacks.
All Zodiac had to do was use the same weapon at Lake Herman Road, Blue Rock Springs and Presidio Heights, and ballistics and shell casing analysis would have confirmed that the three attacks were inextricably linked or at the very least left little doubt. This would have saved Zodiac the effort of proving he was the killer in all four attacks, even employing his gun at Lake Berryessa. But Zodiac changed his weapon every time, casting doubt on all the crimes being linked, however everything Zodiac did and said the rest of the time was ultimately designed to prove he was the killer in all four attacks.
The Zodiac was prepared to take risks, but evidently was not prepared to use the same gun to ultimately associate himself with each crime. How risky is hiding the same weapon under the floorboards in your residence, burying it inside a container in the woods, to be retrieved before each new crime. Not a great risk when you compare his Lake Berryessa antics or the tearing of the shirt in the taxicab on Washington Street, yet he never used the same weapon twice.
So what can you take from this. Zodiac was prepared to take risks, but was not prepared to extend this risk for weeks or months between his crimes, albeit hiding the weapon away from his home residence would seem to be foolproof if the gun is not registered or possesses identifying features.
The overarching belief is that Zodiac disposed of each weapon immediately after each crime. The quicker you can separate yourself from the 'smoking gun' the better. But we still have the conflict of a killer quite prepared to take innumerable risks in the commission of his crimes, but wastes not a second in the disposing a weapon he could easily conceal. This is the dichotomy of the Zodiac Killer, somebody of whom logic simply doesn't apply.
So what can you take from this. Zodiac was prepared to take risks, but was not prepared to extend this risk for weeks or months between his crimes, albeit hiding the weapon away from his home residence would seem to be foolproof if the gun is not registered or possesses identifying features.
The overarching belief is that Zodiac disposed of each weapon immediately after each crime. The quicker you can separate yourself from the 'smoking gun' the better. But we still have the conflict of a killer quite prepared to take innumerable risks in the commission of his crimes, but wastes not a second in the disposing a weapon he could easily conceal. This is the dichotomy of the Zodiac Killer, somebody of whom logic simply doesn't apply.
