The murder of Yellow Cab driver Paul Stine in Presidio Heights on October 11th 1969 has often raised more questions than answers - in particular the men's size 7 black leather gloves - retrieved from the front section of Paul Stine's taxicab. But were they the gloves of the Zodiac Killer? With so many conflicting theories regarding much of the subject matter in this case, it is imperative that we create a timeline of events surrounding the callous execution of Paul Stine. The observations of the three teenagers from a nearby residence, overlooking the crime scene at 3898 Washington Street, is the only thing we have to go on during the crucial time period. The teenagers stated three key pieces of information; namely, they heard no gunshot, the killer used a white rag (possibly a handkerchief) to wipe down the interior of the taxicab, before exiting the vehicle and wiping down an area of the driver side door; and finally, they only saw the killer in the front of Paul Stine's taxicab, not the rear. One possibility examined explores the idea that the Zodiac Killer may not have been in the back of Paul Stine's taxicab as it approached the Washington and Cherry Street intersection, as explained here. This unfolding order of events also explains his reasons for taking the wallet and keys from the victim Paul Stine - see here. But what about the gloves?
As stated in the linked articles, if the Zodiac Killer had attempted to or wiped down the exterior of the driver side door handle and panel, we must assume he had touched it at some point in the night's proceedings. It has been suggested he may have leaned on the driver side door after he had hailed the taxicab in the theater district some 15 minutes earlier. This would assume the killer had hailed down the taxicab from the opposite side of the road, then placed his hands on the taxicab driver's door to converse with Paul Stine, with the full knowledge he was about to commit murder but a short time later, not withstanding the fact, that if he had been in possession of a pair of leather gloves he could easily have worn them during the entire journey
This suggests that the fingerprints must have been deposited at another point in the timeline, but unlikely to have been at the Washington and Cherry Street intersection. Had he shot Paul Stine at this location, he would have exited on to the street via the right rear passenger door and entered the right front passenger door, keeping deposited fingerprints to a minimum if he was not wearing gloves. He was first observed by the three teenagers in the mid to passenger side front of the taxicab, lending credence to this order of events. Had he been wearing gloves when he initially entered the taxicab, then he must have removed them at some point in the journey, possibly to facilitate the operation and control of the weapon.
If as speculated in the article Presidio Heights-The Final Chapter, he had shot Paul Stine performing a run through stop at the Washington and Maple intersection with the taxicab motioning forward out of control, then he had every reason to react quickly via the shortest route, thereby exiting the left rear door and depositing fingerprints on the exterior driver side door, before clambering over Paul Stine and regaining control of the vehicle. If this scenario is correct, he was not wearing any gloves at this point, because of his need for fingerprint removal at Washington and Cherry. His wiping down of the taxicab also appears to negate his claim in the Bus Bomb letter of wearing transparent fingertip guards, which additionally, would have been rendered useless had he been wearing gloves.
This suggests that the fingerprints must have been deposited at another point in the timeline, but unlikely to have been at the Washington and Cherry Street intersection. Had he shot Paul Stine at this location, he would have exited on to the street via the right rear passenger door and entered the right front passenger door, keeping deposited fingerprints to a minimum if he was not wearing gloves. He was first observed by the three teenagers in the mid to passenger side front of the taxicab, lending credence to this order of events. Had he been wearing gloves when he initially entered the taxicab, then he must have removed them at some point in the journey, possibly to facilitate the operation and control of the weapon.
If as speculated in the article Presidio Heights-The Final Chapter, he had shot Paul Stine performing a run through stop at the Washington and Maple intersection with the taxicab motioning forward out of control, then he had every reason to react quickly via the shortest route, thereby exiting the left rear door and depositing fingerprints on the exterior driver side door, before clambering over Paul Stine and regaining control of the vehicle. If this scenario is correct, he was not wearing any gloves at this point, because of his need for fingerprint removal at Washington and Cherry. His wiping down of the taxicab also appears to negate his claim in the Bus Bomb letter of wearing transparent fingertip guards, which additionally, would have been rendered useless had he been wearing gloves.
In the article The Keys and Wallet, it was suggested that in attempting to regain control over the wayward taxicab it may have stalled, facilitating the need for the Zodiac Killer to touch the ignition keys and restart the engine. In addition, his search for Paul Stine's wallet necessitated the removal of this item from the crime scene also. It was far safer and faster to take these items with him than to waste valuable time removing fingerprints from them within the taxicab. But there is a problem.
He removed the wallet and keys to keep his fingerprints from the evidence room, he wiped down the interior and exterior of the taxicab, yet we assume he inadvertently left a pair of black leather gloves sitting in plain sight. If he placed them there as "fake clews", then in doing so he risked placing fingerprints upon them as he did so, unless of course they were brand new and carried to the scene in a sealed container, before being dropped. However, any contact with these gloves prior to October 11th 1969 may still have proved problematic. The Zodiac Killer in all his actions, seemingly removed items from the scene for a logical reason, because they may have harbored fingerprint evidence. Leaving "fake" items for recovery by investigators seems an unlikely scenario.
The eyewitnesses at three of the crime scenes described the Zodiac Killer as heavyset, between 5'8" and 6'0" in height - yet these gloves were men's size 7 - which by most recognized standards is extra small. The correlation between hand size and height is statistically significant and fairly linear. Generally people with bigger hands are taller. In an examination of hand span to height, measuring a number of individuals, it becomes apparent that an individual of at least 5'10" or 70" in height, has a hand span in excess of 20 cm or 7.87 inches. A perpetrator with size 7 gloves or hand span of 17.8 cm would generally fall in the shorter category. If you look at the hand spans below 20 cm, in the range of 17.8 to 19.0 cm, it shows heights of 62, 65, 68, 64, 68 and 64 inches (between 5'2" and 5'8"), and all below the general consensus of around 5'10" for the Zodiac Killer. However, It must be stressed that this can only be used as a guide, and could not be used to eliminate the Zodiac Killer as the owner of the gloves - just make it less likely.
The actions of the Zodiac Killer, described by the three teenagers, seemed to suggest the Zodiac Killer was wiping away his fingerprints from the taxicab. The Zodiac Killer himself stated in the Bus Bomb letter mailed on November 9th 1969: "As of yet I have left no fingerprints behind me contrary to what the police say, in my killings I wear transparent fingertip guards. All it is is 2 coats of airplane cement coated on my fingertips -- quite unnoticible + very efective". Either way, it is unlikely he ever wore gloves. Robert Graysmith detailed the gloves in his book 'Zodiac', stating “Just under the dash, Toschi found a pair of dull-black leather gloves. They were soaked with blood but were too small for a man. Later he discovered that they belonged to a woman passenger from earlier in the day.” The previous fare had traveled from Pier 64 to San Francisco Air Terminal on a mild October night of 59 degrees. Possibly they were traveling to colder climes.
He removed the wallet and keys to keep his fingerprints from the evidence room, he wiped down the interior and exterior of the taxicab, yet we assume he inadvertently left a pair of black leather gloves sitting in plain sight. If he placed them there as "fake clews", then in doing so he risked placing fingerprints upon them as he did so, unless of course they were brand new and carried to the scene in a sealed container, before being dropped. However, any contact with these gloves prior to October 11th 1969 may still have proved problematic. The Zodiac Killer in all his actions, seemingly removed items from the scene for a logical reason, because they may have harbored fingerprint evidence. Leaving "fake" items for recovery by investigators seems an unlikely scenario.
The eyewitnesses at three of the crime scenes described the Zodiac Killer as heavyset, between 5'8" and 6'0" in height - yet these gloves were men's size 7 - which by most recognized standards is extra small. The correlation between hand size and height is statistically significant and fairly linear. Generally people with bigger hands are taller. In an examination of hand span to height, measuring a number of individuals, it becomes apparent that an individual of at least 5'10" or 70" in height, has a hand span in excess of 20 cm or 7.87 inches. A perpetrator with size 7 gloves or hand span of 17.8 cm would generally fall in the shorter category. If you look at the hand spans below 20 cm, in the range of 17.8 to 19.0 cm, it shows heights of 62, 65, 68, 64, 68 and 64 inches (between 5'2" and 5'8"), and all below the general consensus of around 5'10" for the Zodiac Killer. However, It must be stressed that this can only be used as a guide, and could not be used to eliminate the Zodiac Killer as the owner of the gloves - just make it less likely.
The actions of the Zodiac Killer, described by the three teenagers, seemed to suggest the Zodiac Killer was wiping away his fingerprints from the taxicab. The Zodiac Killer himself stated in the Bus Bomb letter mailed on November 9th 1969: "As of yet I have left no fingerprints behind me contrary to what the police say, in my killings I wear transparent fingertip guards. All it is is 2 coats of airplane cement coated on my fingertips -- quite unnoticible + very efective". Either way, it is unlikely he ever wore gloves. Robert Graysmith detailed the gloves in his book 'Zodiac', stating “Just under the dash, Toschi found a pair of dull-black leather gloves. They were soaked with blood but were too small for a man. Later he discovered that they belonged to a woman passenger from earlier in the day.” The previous fare had traveled from Pier 64 to San Francisco Air Terminal on a mild October night of 59 degrees. Possibly they were traveling to colder climes.
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