ZODIAC CIPHERS
RICHARD GRINELL, COVENTRY, ENGLAND
  • Home
    • Search This Site With Google
    • The Mount Diablo Map and Code Solution
  • Zodiac News
    • Zodiac News Archive
    • Santa Barbara Attack
    • Cheri Jo Bates
    • The Confession
    • Riverside Desktop Poem
    • Bates Letter
    • The Forgotten Victims
    • Welsh Chappie - Zodiac News
  • Lake Herman Murders
    • Blue Rock Springs Attack
    • Vallejo Times Letter
    • Examiner Letter
    • Chronicle Letter
    • Complete 408 Cipher
    • Vallejo and Benicia Map
    • Kathie Snoozy and Debra Furlong Murders
    • Debut of Zodiac Letter
  • Lake Berryessa Attack
    • Presidio Heights Attack
    • Call to Chat Show
  • 340 Cipher
    • Bus Bomb Letter
    • Betsy Aardsma Murder
    • The Fairfield Letter
    • Melvin Belli Letter
    • Santa Barbara Murders 1970
    • Modesto Attack
    • My Name is Cipher
    • Dragon Card and Button Letter >
      • Phillips Road Map
    • The Sleeping Bag Murders
    • The Little List Letter
  • The Halloween Card
    • Lake Tahoe Disappearance
    • Los Angeles Times Letter
    • The Monticello Card
    • The Exorcist Letter
  • SLA Letter
    • Red Phantom Letter/American Greetings Card
    • The 1978 Letter
    • Los Angeles Times Newspaper Articles
    • Zodiac Letters Real or Fake
    • Zodiac Documentary
    • Unsolved Mysteries
    • The Colonial Parkway Murders
  • Suspects
    • Arthur Leigh Allen
    • Rick Marshall
    • Lawrence Kane
    • Theodore Kaczynski
    • Richard Gaikowski
    • Gareth Penn
    • Jack Tarrance

THE WASHINGTON STREET SKETCH

6/30/2019

 
Many questions have been asked about the Presidio Heights sketch of the Zodiac Killer, in particular, why was the drawing amended in the wanted poster from October 13th 1969 to October 18th 1969 - and did Officer Donald Fouke have any involvement in the amended sketch? If he didn't, many people have asked, why then did the three teenagers change their description so radically from a 25-30 year old male in the first sketch, to a man described as 35-45 years of age in the second sketch? The short answer, is that they didn't. They had always described an older male in the descriptions they furnished. The assumption that the second sketch was a result of the teenagers unsure of their initial description, are unfounded. The description of a 25-30 year old male exiting the taxicab and walking up Cherry Street was never uttered from the lips of the three teenagers, and the proof lies in the Armond Pelissetti two page police report. 
Picture
The police report was dated 10/12/69 12:30 am on page one, and countersigned by Armond Pelissetti on page two, with a time and date stamp of Oct 12 6:29 am '69. In effect, the report was completed and ratified by the following morning. Obviously, this is before the first wanted poster was released on October 13th 1969. This report at no point mentions Officer Donald Fouke - and his signature is nowhere to be found on the report. That is because he never contributed to it whatsoever. How can we be sure?

The police report clearly states on page 2 that the "suspect was last seen walking north on Cherry Street, from Washington Street". There is no mention of the Zodiac Killer's  movements after this sighting. In other words, by 6:29 am on October 12th 1969, the sighting of a man by Officer Donald Fouke walking along Jackson Street was immaterial to this report. Otherwise, the report would have stated "suspect was last seen walking east on Jackson Street" - which it didn't. Here is the full statement on page 2:: "#2 SUSPECT: WMA, in his early forties, 5'8", heavy build, reddish-blond, crew cut hair. wearing eyeglasses, dark brown trousers, dark (navy blue or black) "Parka" jacket, dark shoes. Suspect should have many blood stains on his person and clothing, suspect may also be in possession of the keys to the Yellow Cab, possibly has wallet belonging to the victim. Last seen walking north on Cherry Street, from Washington Street". The only eyewitnesses that could possibly have viewed the suspect to our knowledge, before he exited Cherry Street were the three teenagers. Officer Donald Fouke hadn't even entered the picture yet.

​The above description of a white male in his early forties was given by the three teenagers before 6:29 am on the 12th October 1969, dispelling the notion they initially described him as aged between 25 and 30 years. Their description of a man in his early forties actually tallies with Officer Donald Fouke's memorandum submitted one month later, on November 12th 1969. In the memorandum he describes the suspect as a "
WMA, 35-45 yrs, about 5'10", 180-200 lbs, medium heavy build, barrel chested, medium complexion, light colored hair possibly graying in rear, crew cut, wearing glasses. Dressed in dark blue waist length zipper type jacket (Navy or royal blue). Elastic cuffs and waist band zipped part way up. Brown wool pants pleated type baggy in rear (Rust brown)". The two descriptions near corroborate one another, totally debunking the conspiracy theories that depend on these two sightings being two different people.​

Picture
So why does the sketch, compiled from the recollections of the three teenagers say the suspect was 25-30 years? One could ask why does the description now say reddish-brown hair, when the police report states reddish-blond? Why does the wanted poster say the suspect sat in the front seat and directed Paul Stine to Washington and Laurel, when the trip sheet supposedly gave a destination of Washington and Maple? Why does the wanted poster invent the notion of a passenger who pulls a gun out and orders Paul Stine several blocks further? If we accept the credibility of 25-30 years, then why don't we accept the rest of this garbage on the wanted poster? The three teenagers certainly helped in the creation of the suspect composite, but that doesn't mean they played any part in the fantasy accompanying it - and that includes the age range. They had clearly contributed to the police report a day earlier, describing the suspect as somebody in his early forties, which not only is corroborated by Officer Donald Fouke, but a third party sighting by Spruce Street, near the Julius Khan playground. This was detailed in the Sunday San Francisco Chronicle below. This sighting described the suspect as "about 40". 

In summary, we have three independent sightings describing the features of the suspect as somebody in his "early forties, with a reddish-blond crewcut", followed by "35-45 years, with light colored hair in a crewcut" and finally "about 40, with a blond crewcut". There is a distinct possibility that the Zodiac Killer had light hair and was aged around 40.
Picture
The teenagers certainly helped compile the sketch, but because of its rather youthful appearance appearing to contradict their police report of a suspect in his early forties, law enforcement likely used some artistic license to reduce the age of the suspect in the wanted poster, more in line with the sketch created. A sketch that the teenagers asked to be modified a few days later in line with their earlier estimation. It is also important to consider that Michael Mageau estimated his attacker as 26-30 years on page 10 of the Blue Rock Springs police report, Michael stated "Subject was not blubbery fat, but real beefy, possibly 195-200, or maybe even larger. Stated he had short curly hair, light brown, almost blond. States he just saw subject's face from the profile, side view, and does not recall seeing a front view. Michael reemphasized that he really did not get a good look at subject other than his profile. Stated subject was a white male, approximately 26-30 years". Bryan Hartnell's recollections were stated on page 23 of the Lake Berryessa police report "Victim thought suspect was possibly 20 to 30 years of age by voice concept". These estimations of the suspect's age were based upon a fleeting side view glimpse by Michael Mageau, who was blinded by a flashlight, and the voice concept age range by Bryan Hartnell, which is not a reliable indicator of age.
PictureOfficer Donald Fouke
Officer Donald Fouke had no input into either of the two wanted posters, which is absolutely astonishing, if you believe his superiors were aware that he had crossed paths with a man on Jackson Street, who he described almost identically to the suspect described in the police report. The fact that his description in the memorandum was extremely detailed, yet he wasn't asked to independently sit down with a sketch artist sometime between October 11th 1969 and November 12th 1969, beggars belief. How do we know he had no input?

In the 2007 Zodiac documentary he stated "One month later, when the composite drawing came out at Richmond Station and was posted on the wall, he looked similar to the man I had seen on October 11th. I then wrote a scratch, interdepartmental memorandum, to my lieutenant to forward to homicide division, so that they would have the additional information about the appearance of the suspect. I never spoke to Toschi that I personally know of or remember. He may have been the inspector that came out and asked me about the composite drawing and I told them the suspect was older and heavier".  Not the words of a man who played any part in the composite drawings released on October 13th and October 18th of 1969. For the life of me, I cannot understand why.

art
7/1/2019 11:22:22 am

The 'head only' sketch does not effectively convey the 'bulky, barrel chested' look which is a consistently described feature. Has anyone ever attempted to sketch the full body, and taking into account an aggregate of the various eye witness descriptions, age, hair color, relative face size etc?

Richard
7/1/2019 11:35:04 am

Yes Art, here is a version by Randall Scott Clemons that I stuck a head on. If you wanted a darker jacket and slightly heavier appearance it can easily be edited. http://www.zodiacciphers.com/uploads/4/9/7/1/4971630/8754661_orig.jpg

art
7/1/2019 12:14:01 pm

Hmmm, thanks - that is definitely not a 'stocky' look. I wonder if the lack of a solid sketch over the years has done a lot to inhibit the case, i.e. not jogging any helpful memories...Makes me wonder if there are professionals today that could review vetted features/descriptions and come up with a much more useful and modern/graphic version of a full body image. That sore of useful image along with the geo profiling/location might just knock loose some new connections in the case (??).


Comments are closed.
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    All
    13 Hole Postcard
    148 Character Cipher
    1978 Letter
    1986 Letter
    1987 Letter
    2001 Happy New Year Card
    Albany Letter
    Allan/Peyton Murders
    Arthur Leigh Allen
    Atlanta Letter
    Betsy Aardsma
    Blue Rock Springs Attack
    Bus Bomb Letter
    Button Letter
    Call To Chat Show
    Carol Beth Hilburn
    Channel 9 Letter
    Cheri Jo Bates
    Cipher Theories
    Citizen Card
    Concerned Citizen Card
    Confession Letter
    Daniel Williams Poisoning
    Debut Of Zodiac Letter
    Deep Real Estate Ad
    DMV Letter
    Domingos/Edwards Murders
    Donald Lee Bujok
    Donna Lass
    Dragon Card
    Earl Van Best Jr
    Eureka Card
    Exorcist Letter
    Fairfield Letter
    Fingerprint Evidence
    Forecast For Cancer
    Forecast For Leo
    Gareth Penn
    General News Articles
    Gilbert And Sullivan
    Good Citizen Letter
    Halloween Card
    Hood/Garcia Murders
    Internet Articles
    Joan Webster
    Johnny & Joyce Swindle
    Judith Hakari
    Kevin Robert Brooks
    Lake Berryessa Attack
    Lake Herman Road Murders
    Lake Tahoe Disappearance
    Larry Kane
    Leona Roberts Murder
    Los Angeles Letter
    Melvin Belli Letter
    Mike Morford (Morf13)
    Modesto Attack
    Molina/Rodriguez Murders
    Monticello Card
    My Name Is Letter
    Nancy Bennallack
    New Canaan Letters
    Novato Letter
    Oakland A's Letter
    Pines Card
    Possible Zodiac Attacks
    Possible Zodiac Letters
    Presidio Heights Murder
    Radians
    Red Phantom Letter
    Richard Gaikowski
    Riverside Desktop Poem
    Robert Salem Murder
    Ross Sullivan
    Saechao/Saelee Murders
    San Jose Code Letter
    Santa Claus Card
    Scorpion Ciphers
    Scotch Tape Letter
    Sla Letter
    Tamalpais Valley Attack
    Ted Kaczynski
    Telegraph Avenue Incident
    The 340 Cipher
    The 408 Cipher
    The Celebrity Cypher
    The Little List
    The Mikado
    Thomas Horan
    You Are Next Letter
    Zodiac Letters Poll
    Zodiac Postage
    Zodiac Theories

    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    The Zodiac Killer may have given us the answer almost word-for-word when he wrote PS. The Mt. Diablo Code concerns Radians & # inches along the radians. The code solution identified was Estimate: Four Radians and Five Inches To read more, click the image.
    Picture
    Picture
    The Zodiac Atlas: The Zodiac Killer Enigma by Randall Scott Clemons. Click image for details.
    Picture
    The Zodiac Killer Map: Part of the Zodiac Killer Enigma by Randall Scott Clemons. Click image for color version
    For black and white issue..
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    January 2012

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Photos from Marcin Wichary, zAppledot, vyusseem, Alex Barth, Alan Cleaver, jocelynsart, Richard Perry, taberandrew, eschipul, MrJamesAckerley