THE ZODIAC KILLER- A VALLEJO RESIDENT?

4/9/2018

The following will be explaining in more detail the subconscious wording of the Zodiac Killer in his first three communications with the Bay Area newspapers, putting forward a compelling argument that the confirmed murderer of five was a resident of the Vallejo area. The Zodiac Killer would never willingly have given us his name or the locality of his residence, however, one could argue that had he revealed his home location without realizing it, then it is likely true. To do this, we have to examine closely the wording he chose on his July 31st 1969 letters using the present and past tense. Here is what the Zodiac stated on each communication:
Vallejo Times-Herald: "Here is a cyipher or that is part of one. the other 2 parts have been mailed to the S.F. Examiner + the S.F. Chronicle."
San Francisco Examiner: "Here is a cipher or that is part of one. The other 2 parts are being mailed to the Vallejo Times + S.F. Chronicle."
San Francisco Chronicle: "Here is part of a cipher the other 2 parts of this cipher are being mailed to the editors of the Vallejo Times and SF Examiner."

You will notice the two San Francisco newspapers are being addressed in the present tense regarding the other two mailings, using the word ARE. While the Vallejo Times-Herald newspaper is being addressed in the past tense regarding the other two mailings, using the word HAVE. There is every indication that this has been written subconsciously by the Zodiac Killer and therefore he has inadvertently given us his home location of Vallejo. The word "are" immediately precedes Vallejo Times on both occasions.

If the Zodiac Killer lived in Vallejo when he composed these three communications, he would associate Vallejo with the present (everything that is happening in or around him). If the Zodiac Killer had traveled to San Francisco for a day out and then had returned to Vallejo, he would be referring to San Francisco in the past tense: "I have been to San Francisco and have mailed three letters." In the Vallejo Times-Herald communication text above, he is doing just that, when referring to his mailing of letters to the Chronicle and Examiner, which are approximately 40 miles away: "the other 2 parts have been mailed to the S.F. Examiner + the S.F. Chronicle." Because now he is back home.

San Francisco Chronicle 901 Mission Street

When he is at home in Vallejo writing these communications, his mind is actually projecting forward to their future postings in San Francisco, which is where they were ultimately mailed.
In two of the communications to the Chronicle and Examiner in San Francisco, he is referring back to his hometown Vallejo in conjunction with another mailing. Therefore he uses the plural form of the present tense, in the word "are". That is because at this moment in time (the time of writing), he is present here in Vallejo, so is effectively forced to abandon the past tense of "have". The Zodiac Killer cannot refer to Vallejo in the past tense in this instance, because the Vallejo Times-Herald office is in his locality, and therefore he is referring to it in the present of "are".

Anything in the Zodiac Killer's locality is the 'here and now.' Anyplace one has to travel and return, whether in the mind or reality, will be referred to in the past tense. Traveling to San Francisco physically and returning to Vallejo will now be referred to as "I have mailed", because of the distance you associate with the offices of the San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Examiner from Vallejo. Even if you do it in your mind. But the Vallejo Times-Herald office is effectively on your doorstep and will therefore be seen as in the "here and now" to somebody living in Vallejo, without any real distance associated with it. Therefore, it doesn't need to be referred to in the past tense, which is exactly what Zodiac does in two of his communications regarding the mailing to Vallejo- he uses the word "are".

The Zodiac Killer is associating the Vallejo Times-Herald as his home location, so let us use this analogy with a fictitious friend.

Zodiac is in his house opposite the Vallejo Times-Herald office, and he has just finished preparing his three July 31st 1969 letters for delivery. He bids farewell to his housemate and travels to San Francisco to post his letters. Upon his return two hours later he says to his friend "I have posted two letters to the San Francisco newspapers". Looking out of his window and pointing, he states "One letter is being posted to the Vallejo Times-Herald." He would be using the present tense regarding something in the "here and now". But because he is referring to the Vallejo Times-Herald mailing in two communications he uses the present tense "are". It clearly indicates that on a subconscious level the Zodiac Killer is referring to Vallejo in the present tense, because that is where he was when he penned the three July 31st 1969 letters.

The old Vallejo Times-Herald office was at 440 Curtola Parkway, just 0.96 miles (as the crow flies) from the Springs and Tuolumne payphone.

26 Comments

Drew

4/9/2018 09:46:51 am

I was able to get there on the last article but this is a much clearer articulation of the grammar argument and it is much appreciated. I think the case against this interpretation is that Zodiac was conscious that his phrasing would imply a Vallejo area residence and that he included this because lived elsewhere... but the fact that he sent letters to SF and Vallejo suggests to me that although he was careful enough to keep it ambiguous he was greedy enough that he needed the attention from both areas. If he lived in San Francisco he would be a needle in the haystack and I don't think he would feel he had to send to the Vallejo Times (unless like the evil Riverside Killer he wanted to target the small community specifically). As intentionally poor as the Zodiac's grammar was he may have not made it poor enough! This is an interesting theory for sure.

Richard

4/9/2018 10:37:59 am

I wasn't sure if I'd explained it well enough in the last article Drew, so I thought I would elaborate a little. Because the wording is so subtle with regards to past and present, if he had created this deliberately, he would definitely have been extremely cunning. But we often write things subconsciously that ultimately give us away. There are probably other little details in his many letters that are similarly telling-they just look innocuous when first read. The Debut of Zodiac letter was an example when he stated "All I had to do was spray them as if it was a water hose," when clearly he hadn't sprayed David Faraday at all, only Betty Lou Jensen. If we find things that on the face of it were not created deliberately to mislead, but appear like he has given something away unintentionally, then this may point us in the right direction Drew. If he lived in San Francisco, and hadn't regularly frequented Vallejo or Benicia, or had previously lived there, then his knowledge of finding couples in well known courting spots was admirable. He must have travelled this route enough times to have extensive knowledge of it, or alternatively been close enough to young kids to have gained this knowledge. You never know Drew, he could have been a caretaker or handyman at Riverside City College and Hogan High, etc, bringing him into contact with the required knowledge and his preferred victim range. But that is another story.

Richard

4/9/2018 10:45:57 am

There is something really odd about the statements in the police report by Dean Ferrin that night/morning, particularly regarding the fact Darlene supposedly went off in search of fireworks that night, but never returned.

Drew

4/9/2018 12:30:02 pm

I know how tentative all of our conclusions about fingerprint analysis and DNA results must remain until the magical day when official word comes down from authorities (not holding my breath on that), but currently it seems like Zodiac was cunning enough to not lick his stamps or leave concrete fingerprint evidence (unless of course a PH/LB match has been made and not disclosed). The no-lick theory demands that we see the Exorcist letter as inauthentic, which I think is tough for you and I to accept, but if true he certainly had some serious smarts (as did whoever may have hoaxed Exorcist).

I wonder if any occupations in 1969 would inherently be aware of these things. Probably not I guess. The other areas of knowledge he exhibited draw us in all kinds of directions, including golf course worker, maintenance, newspaper man, but it is of course impossible to distinguish how he became so resourceful.

Wherever he worked it seems a good suggestion that he was either a traveller by trade or commuter. I am less tempted by the postal service or school connections as I think the arrogant so-and-so probably would have exhibited more interest in his victims and/or community and perhaps would have taunted personal red-herrings in his letters. Ultimately no matter how clever he was his evident arrogance would leave him very susceptible to making subconscious mistakes of the variety you have discovered.

Richard

4/9/2018 12:59:34 pm

http://www.zodiackiller.com/SFPDDNA.html
This list was compiled before the Cydne Holt testing. The three July 31st 1969 letters were unable to be tested at the time this list was compiled because they couldn't be found- an investigator had taken them home. They were found subsequently and tested by Holt. Most of these envelopes were tested and a few cells were discovered after being processed for DNA. It has been suggested the Holt testing was effectively one big con, the outside of the envelopes were tested and the show misled us to get ratings. This was before the Cydne Holt show. Surely these cells, one would suggest, were taken from the inner flap of the envelope and therefore the cells must have been retrieved from the deposition of salivary amylase. In this instance they didn't have a show to create, and must have known that testing the outside of the envelope would have been futile.

Drew

4/9/2018 01:17:02 pm

Regarding Darlene's alleged task of going for fireworks for the party that would be underway at her house after Dean got off of work, a closed park at midnight does seem an odd choice. The quest to procure fireworks was never confirmed by Mageau either. I think if they were there to buy drugs for the party the family or Mageau would have come forward with the truth, but I have never felt that they were going for fireworks. I am closer to accepting that they were there to talk or make out more than any other reasoning that has been presented, though the idea of some criminality still seems possible. To pursue speculation along these lines though we are left with little fodder other than Mageau's minor criminal history and his three pairs of pants in July.

Drew

4/9/2018 01:27:32 pm

That is a very good point that even a few cells simply must be indicative that saliva was applied. Could mishandling the materials result in the minor cell count they obtained? If storage is an immaterial issue then how does one only partially lick a stamp and achieve a seal? Could another explanation be possible? I've been reading the contributions of Rodelli and a few other knowledgable chaps about some of these issues on this thread at Tom's site that you may be interested in.
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/zodiackillerfr/new-zodiac-dna-story-t8003.html

Richard

4/9/2018 01:43:29 pm

I have read it, but I'm not sure I agree with it. But I'm open to persuasion. Mike Rodelli's suspect was ruled out with the DNA tests from Holt, so it is in his interests that the DNA conclusions by Holt are discredited. Mike is a great researcher and knowledgeable Zodiac contributor, and he may be right to dispute the results, it's just that I'm wary of anybody who has a preferred suspect in the case who would prefer the DNA results to be discredited. Before the Holt affair Graysmith went out of his way to discredit the DNA to keep Allen in the fold. After all he had two books to defend. Mike may be correct regarding the flawed tests, it is still speculative at this point, but I have always contended that if you have a pet suspect it will inevitably bias your approach to each and every facet of the Zodiac case. Proponents of Ross Sullivan are case in point- they love the sketch, it's Sullivan to a tee, but all of a sudden the eyewitnesses are wrong when it comes to observing height. They stated 5'8", but Sullivan proponents make excuses to circumvent this massive discrepancies. I like to stay neutral, otherwise it clouds everything you see in the Zodiac case.

Drew

4/9/2018 01:53:57 pm

Very true. Unfortunately, once the 'Zodiac Effect' as my brother and I call it takes hold we are all vulnerable to self-deception.

Richard

4/9/2018 01:59:56 pm

We certainly are, cannot argue with you or your brother Drew. Say hi from me.

Drew

4/9/2018 07:20:08 pm

I will send your howdy along Richard! I put a comment on that thread to see if anyone has any thoughts on how they could find DNA traces if Zodiac didn't lick the envelopes. I'll let you know if any good discussion comes of it. Cheers

Richard

4/9/2018 11:26:19 am

Hey Drew, Peggy and Homer Your passed the LHR turnout that night, but apparently Peggy Your also came forward regarding the BRS attack. The BRS report stated "Mrs Peggy Your has information regarding a Bob that matches the description of the responsible in the Blue Rock Park case. She knows the subject. Mrs Your lives in a pink house on the frontage road. One mile north of Lake Herman Road between Benicia and Cordelia." http://www.zodiackiller.com/DFR23.html
She was also employed at Mr Ed's drive-in restaurant, Benicia.
Michael Mageau's description was vague at best,.stating he was a heavyset man standing at about 5'8'' tall, beefy build, but not blubbery fat, possibly 195-200 pounds, short curly hair, light brown almost blond. He added that the man was not wearing glasses, but stressed that his assailant did possess a particularly large face.
How on earth do you put forward a suspect without a police sketch, based on this vague description. You have basically a curly brown haired, 5'8", slightly overweight guy. Either Michael Mageau created a sketch we are unaware of, which I doubt, because he never saw enough of the man's face, or Peggy Your had a taste of the limelight at LHR and has interjected herself into the BRS attack for a little more. I don't understand how Peggy Your can say Michael Mageau's description matches Bob on such a flimsy description. Does this apparent willingness to 'feature' once again shed doubt on the detail she was able to give about David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen inside the Rambler on an extremely dark night, when no other person that night saw anybody inside the Rambler that night. Her statement was taken at 5.15 pm the following day-she must already have been aware of the victims before her statement was given. Did she embellish her story as Ray Grant always claimed.

Drew

4/9/2018 12:52:36 pm

Do you know whether Graysmith was able to interview Peggy Your? I wonder if it was more than speculation on RG's part that David and Betty Lou went to Ed's before LHR that night. Though it wouldn't make it true, especially considering the implication that Peggy either embellished her testimony or that her claim of seeing Rambler occupants was presumptuous, it would be very interesting if we learned Your was Graysmith's source. I spent some time looking but was unable to find which LHR witness that Gareth Penn married a relation of. It seems it was not a relation of Peggy Your as I first thought when I read your comment. At any rate it would be interesting to learn more about Bob and Peggy's reasons for suspecting him. Hopefully it was more than his presumably round face that prompted her to bother the police about him.

Richard

4/9/2018 01:07:06 pm

Do you know whether Graysmith was able to interview Peggy Your?
Couldn't tell you offhand Drew, but I'll have a scour. If the eyewitnesses at Hogan High are correct and the couple left at 10.00 pm, and Helen Axe is equally correct in spotting the Rambler at 10.15 pm, then the couple didn't go to Mr Ed's. But if Helen Axe was either mistaken or getting in on the act, and didn't see the Rambler at both 10.15 and 10.30 pm, then Mr Ed's is on again.

Clare

4/23/2018 08:28:42 pm

Gareth Penn claimed to have had an affair with Madeleine "Maddy" Borges, the niece of Stella Borges. He claimed to have met her while they both worked at the Vallejo library. The affair went on for over a year; he had known Maddy for some years prior. He did not marry her.

Penn and his family lived in Vallejo for several years. His wife worked at People's Continuation High School on Hobbs Ave, starting in Fall 1968. She stayed with the Vallejo Public School District for over 20 years. He worked in the Vallejo public library system for 7 years.

Richard

4/9/2018 01:49:17 pm

Just found this for the first time Drew.
Carmela Piccolo-Coakley, Vallejo (2007)
I remember the 4th of July night that Darlene Ferrin & Mageau were found shot at Blue Rock Springs. There was never a reason in all the years growing up in Vallejo, that any of us needed to be afraid.

We walked at night and kids played outside until bedtime. Halloween was the best, at least, until 1969.

I owned Caesar's Italian Restaurant with my husband at the time. And Darlene's husband Dean worked for us. She had come down that evening to get some money to buy fireworks for a gathering we were having at their home after work that night. We brought pizzas and drinks for a party.

We were surprised when we all arrived at the house to find a babysitter. Darlene hadn't gotten home yet. It was midnight and we were a little worried.

An hour or so later the phone rang but there was only breathing on the other end. Later we heard a knock on the door. It was two police officers informing us that Darlene had been shot, and someone calling himself the Zodiac had called the Vallejo Police Department informing them of the killings. We told the officers it was that same time that we had received the call at Darlene's house.

Whoever it was would not respond to our questions. They just breathed into the phone. The officer warned us not to open the door for anyone while my husband and Dean went down to the station. They warned that the person calling himself the Zodiac may be watching the house. It was a warm night and all the windows were open. We locked the door and windows and pulled the blinds closed.

Later there was another knock at the door and we all scattered. I was nine months pregnant and hid in the closet. The rest dove under beds and behind couches. We didn't answer the door until we heard a familiar voice.

The next day Vallejo was a changed town. We immediately installed a "peep hole" in our front door. The fear that followed in the months ahead changed the way parents raised their children forever.

Now a new mom, I knew childhood would be different for my daughter, Gina Leigh, who would never go "Trick or Treating" without me. She would never ride a school bus to school. And, hopefully she would never park at any Lover's Lane.
continued below

Richard

4/9/2018 01:49:43 pm

Mr. Graysmith had called numerous times over the years hoping any of us might recall something about the events before and after the killings that might bring a new clue to the murders. All that I remembered is in the book. There was so much that we recalled, and some of it began to make sense. But we could only speculate. I remembered Darlene saying she thought a man was stalking her. He would sit at Terry's Waffle Shop, where she worked, and watch her. He gave her the creeps.

A very eerie thing happened several years later when the first book on Zodiac came out by Mr. Graysmith. I had since divorced, and owned a little coffee shop downtown called Carmela's Eclectic Cafe. At night I would go down to the shop, alone, to prepare for the next day. On the morning the book came out at the book stores, an elderly lady whom I'd never seen before came into the coffee shop. She didn't sit down. She just said, "I bought this book for you. I know you'll want to read it".

At first I declined the offer and later offered to pay her for it. She wouldn't take any money, and left quickly. It wasn't until I read the book and saw our actual names in it that I wondered how she knew it was me. I often wondered, "could it have been Arthur Leigh Allen's mother?" Needless to say, I never went down to the shop at night again, especially since my name was on the front of the building!

Nearly 38 years later, we still hope that the Zodiac is either alive and will finally be apprehended. Or, conclusive evidence will prove who he was. I don't have a clue, and go back and forth about Leigh Allen. But one thing for sure, my grandchildren and their friends don't Trick or Treat alone.

Richard

4/9/2018 01:50:24 pm

http://www.timesheraldonline.com/article/zz/20070307/NEWS/703079838

Drew

4/9/2018 02:19:02 pm

It is not overly difficult to allow that the intention to procure fireworks slipped Mageau's mind or that Darlene hadn't mentioned it, and this interview does somewhat confirm that 'going for fireworks' was at least tasked to Darlene that night... although if they expected fruitful results she must have been given the task much earlier than when she set out with Mike. If the park was open fireworks may have been sold there or if they were desperate because of the hour they could have intended to buy pre-purchased fireworks from parked fourth of July celebrators. Do we know when Blue Rock Springs park closed or what Darlene's fireworks purchase options were? I think near midnight her options would have been quite slim.

Kimberly

8/7/2019 09:55:16 pm

Have you ever noticed that Darlene's baby is not mentioned really ..? That baby is Darlene's 2nd baby. This is where the case could be solved. However, ALL dates, times, and attendance, HAVE TO BE EXACT! Not approximates. THIS IS KEY to solving this case, Period.- Esp Darlene's high school Senior year attendance records. Wonder if the school would even have these records still..? Worth a shot right ..?

Richard

4/9/2018 02:41:48 pm

"We were surprised when we all arrived at the house to find a babysitter. Darlene hadn't gotten home yet. It was midnight and we were a little worried."
I was very surprised by Dean Ferrin's reaction in the police report towards Darlene Ferrin, who he presumably thought had nipped out for fireworks at 11.30 pm. The police report stated "About 1.30 am Darlene's husband and a few friends came home (about 1.5 hrs later then Carmela Piccolo-Coakley's recollection), and they (the girls at the house) told her husband what she (Darlene) had said, and he didn't seem worried, said she's always late. Husband then took the girls home, this shortly before 2.00 am."
http://www.zodiackiller.com/DFR21.html
She went out for fireworks at 11.30-11.40 pm (likely latter) and hadn't arrived back by nearing 2.00 am, and he wasn't worried according to the girls. I certainly would have been worried. Strange.

Drew

4/9/2018 04:23:59 pm

I would be concerned about my wife's lateness at this hour too Richard, perhaps especially if she was known to be as 'outgoing' as Darlene purportedly was. Dean's reaction to the Leighs may have masked his suspicion that Darlene was with another man, and embarrassment may also have been a reason why he wouldn't talk to Graysmith or the media. Other reasons of course could factor in as well. I am sure authorities gave Dean serious consideration initially, considering that they wrote something about revenge as a motive in the first report, but the strangest part for me is that Dean had scheduled a party and showed up an hour and half late. Had he called home and learned that his wife wasn't home yet so he went out for a beer? Obviously this reaction tells us that Dean wasn't informed of the murder until after he drove the girls home, and that his boss must have backed him on his alibi, and that the police must have felt that alibi checked out. If Dean's unaccounted for post-work hour and a half was addressed in the reports I have missed it. Strange indeed.

Judith

4/9/2018 07:04:37 pm

Hi ho wondering if you deleted my post from earlier today because it sounded nonsensical or did I fail to post? I referenced the Mount Diablo code.

Richard

4/9/2018 10:14:52 pm

No Judith, I haven't deleted anything.

Judith

4/10/2018 07:08:57 am

Well thank you Richard I guess I'm getting old. So my point had to do with Geographic profiling as we are all aware has already been done for the Zodiac. My idea was the circling outward from a central point where zodiac lived, and the circles begin to include Santa Rosa and Sacramento. When I look at the Mount Diablo code, at the cross hairs placed over Mount Diablo Meridian itself, the radians that are drawn out by Zodiac, some people have noticed that they align with certain murders by the Zodiac. If you fill in the circle and draw all the radians out, one bisects where my suspect lived in El Sobrante California. Every letter, every Cipher, the Zodiac is trying to tell us who he is and where he lives.

Edward

9/16/2018 11:27:29 am

I thought for many years maybe there was more in the 408 to discover. Maybe The QEHM that repeats is home and the u in uik that repeats is an upside down n, giving you kin ,which could also be the reason for the pumpkin on the Halloween card.

THE ZODIAC KILLER- A VALLEJO RESIDENT?

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