SGT JOHN LYNCH The "Good Citizen" letter mailed on October 7th 1969 was addressed to Sergeant John Lynch of the Vallejo Police Department, just like the "Concerned Citizen" card was on August 10th 1969, which provided a key to the solution of the 408 cipher and the three "code letters" mailed on July 31st 1969 to the Vallejo Times-Herald, San Francisco Examiner and San Francisco Chronicle. The "Good Citizen" and "Concerned Citizen" authors both mailed the letters to Sergeant John Lynch and used the word "citizen" in their signature. The two communications also referred to the July 31st 1969 "code letters"---one provided a key to the 408 cipher, while the other stated "On this occasion, while thinking of the code letters, the pencil wrote: "Go to 56 Beach Street. I get the name Jerry, perhaps he knows people or his name is SIMPSON".
Thanks to some excellent research by "Desmitty11" from the Discord forum, who has done extensive work on the "Good Citizen" letter, the below redacted police file was provided to me. The communications on August 10th 1969 and October 7th 1969, despite being very short in nature, both used the word "name" twice in their message. The "Concerned Citizen" author typed "Please forgive the absence of my signature or name as I do not wish to have my name in the papers", with the "Good Citizen" letter author appearing to reply with "I get the name Jerry, perhaps he knows somebody or his name is SIMPSON".
Neither of these letters were released into the public domain at the time, so it is fairly obvious to conclude they were mailed by the same author. If the "concerned citizen" was attempting to disguise the fact he was the Zodiac Killer on August 10th 1969 when providing supportive material to the solving the 408 cipher, then the "good citizen" on October 7th 1969 by offering a cryptic array of nonsense, probably did nothing but give this deception away. The unhelpful and confused nature of the "Good Citizen" letter---in direct contrast to the "Concerned Citizen" letter---managed to throw shade upon the author in both instances.
Thanks to some excellent research by "Desmitty11" from the Discord forum, who has done extensive work on the "Good Citizen" letter, the below redacted police file was provided to me. The communications on August 10th 1969 and October 7th 1969, despite being very short in nature, both used the word "name" twice in their message. The "Concerned Citizen" author typed "Please forgive the absence of my signature or name as I do not wish to have my name in the papers", with the "Good Citizen" letter author appearing to reply with "I get the name Jerry, perhaps he knows somebody or his name is SIMPSON".
Neither of these letters were released into the public domain at the time, so it is fairly obvious to conclude they were mailed by the same author. If the "concerned citizen" was attempting to disguise the fact he was the Zodiac Killer on August 10th 1969 when providing supportive material to the solving the 408 cipher, then the "good citizen" on October 7th 1969 by offering a cryptic array of nonsense, probably did nothing but give this deception away. The unhelpful and confused nature of the "Good Citizen" letter---in direct contrast to the "Concerned Citizen" letter---managed to throw shade upon the author in both instances.
THERE IS NO 56 BEACH STREET IN VALLEJO OR SAN FRANCISCO (OR CALIFORNIA)
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, AUGUST 12TH 1969
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, AUGUST 10TH 1869 In the above San Francisco Chronicle newspaper article on August 12th 1969 entitled "A Name in Murder Cipher", Sergeant John Lynch ponders the name "Robert Emmett" suggested by code breakers about the "code letters". He concludes the search for a "name" by stating "We aren't sure Robert Emmett is who we are looking for. Maybe he'll send another letter and let us know". Another letter did arrive on October 7th 1969--- addressed to John Lynch personally---giving the sergeant the name of "Jerry" and suggesting that "perhaps he knows people" (in respect to the code letters).
Was the October 7th 1969 author giving Sergeant John Lynch a pointer towards somebody named "Jerry" to aid in his quest for answers? It is almost certain that the Zodiac Killer accidentally missed out a line in the 408 cipher while transcribing his plaintext draft message into ciphertext, with seven consecutive characters pulled from the columns above (four from the same row). This strongly suggests (if Zodiac) that the October 7th 1969 cryptic message pertaining to "Jerry" as a name in the unsolved eighteen characters of the 408 cipher, was not the intended message meant by the so-called "good citizen". A helpful message, attempting to aid Sergeant John Lynch in his investigation, would be coherent and understandable, in complete contrast to the October 7th 1969 offering which lacked clarity and direction. It seems that "Jerry" was able to provide answers, rather than being the answer.
It is easy to believe that the "Good Citizen" letter author was confused and uncertain, but that doesn't mean "Jerry" was just plucked out of thin air---and was irrelevant to the sender and/or Sergeant John Lynch. If these two communications were mailed by the Zodiac Killer, then their conception would usually be found in the newspapers he recently read. The name of "Jerry" may be found in the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner or Vallejo Times-Herald sometime between August 10th 1969 and October 7th 1969, with obvious relevance to the content of the letter. Maybe the pencil holds the name.
Was the October 7th 1969 author giving Sergeant John Lynch a pointer towards somebody named "Jerry" to aid in his quest for answers? It is almost certain that the Zodiac Killer accidentally missed out a line in the 408 cipher while transcribing his plaintext draft message into ciphertext, with seven consecutive characters pulled from the columns above (four from the same row). This strongly suggests (if Zodiac) that the October 7th 1969 cryptic message pertaining to "Jerry" as a name in the unsolved eighteen characters of the 408 cipher, was not the intended message meant by the so-called "good citizen". A helpful message, attempting to aid Sergeant John Lynch in his investigation, would be coherent and understandable, in complete contrast to the October 7th 1969 offering which lacked clarity and direction. It seems that "Jerry" was able to provide answers, rather than being the answer.
It is easy to believe that the "Good Citizen" letter author was confused and uncertain, but that doesn't mean "Jerry" was just plucked out of thin air---and was irrelevant to the sender and/or Sergeant John Lynch. If these two communications were mailed by the Zodiac Killer, then their conception would usually be found in the newspapers he recently read. The name of "Jerry" may be found in the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner or Vallejo Times-Herald sometime between August 10th 1969 and October 7th 1969, with obvious relevance to the content of the letter. Maybe the pencil holds the name.
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