"She said: Brian and I were here on the blanket, down by the water and we're just enjoying the afternoon having a nice time talking and I saw this guy, he was coming down the hillside and he seemed to stop and watch us, looking at us, and I said what distance, how far away was he, and she pointed to an area and I said that's about 200-300 yards away, she said that's where I first saw him. And then as we continued enjoying the afternoon watching the water, reading, I glanced and noticed he would get closer and closer, and pretty soon he was within 75-100 feet away, and I told Brian that guy has come down here. And then she looked again and she said he had gone, and I said where did he go, she said he stepped behind a tree. And I asked her if she saw him clearly before he put the hood on and she said she did, and I said what did he look like, and she said well he...I said what color was his hair, she said it was brown. What race was he...he was white, and I said how about his eyes, could you see the color of his eyes and she said no he had dark glasses on underneath the hood. But she said his hair hung down across his forehead and was showing through the eye-holes"......David Collins (Retired Napa County Sheriff) speaking on 'This is the Zodiac Speaking' documentary in 2007 ..... "The information I am relaying to you now, is information I got directly from Cecelia Shepard. It is accurate for what she told me, because I kept notes and I immediately did a report the following morning."
In the police report Bryan Hartnell backed up Cecelia Shepard stating "He could see hair through the mask's eyelets and observed the hair to be dark brown." Bryan Hartnell in the 2007 documentary remarks that Cecelia Shepard "saw a man over there" and "he went behind a tree." He went on to say "I'll tell you another thing that probably made me think that it was somebody over there, it wasn't an improved park site, there wasn't regular established bathroom, so if you had to go to the restroom you'd just kinda get outta eye-shot of whoever you were with or go behind a tree like that".
During the Presidio Heights murder two weeks later, three teenagers saw the Zodiac exiting the taxicab and walking around the taxicab to apparently wipe fingerprints off the driver side door. This was the only time outside of the taxicab that a clear unobstructed view of the assailant was observed. This was a matter of seconds before the assailant turned around and departed the scene up Cherry Street. The three teenagers were viewing the suspect from approximately 60 feet away, at 9.58 pm at night, with only the aid of street lighting, albeit, described a man sporting a reddish-brown crew cut. This description was backed up by one of the responding officers Donald Fouke, who had typed in his scratch 'a crew cut, light colored hair, possibly graying in rear'.The police sketch was compiled depicting a man with short hair - a man viewed by four eyewitnesses. Many have questioned how accurate this sketch may be, but they are confident of a short-haired crew cut.
During the Lake Berryessa attack Cecelia Shepard spotted the man initially unmasked from 200-300 yards away to the point of 75 to 100 feet away. Taking the minimum distance she first observed the Zodiac of 200 yards (600 feet), he then approached to within 100 feet, meaning his approach distance was a minimum of 500 feet. This distance at a walking speed of 3 mph would take approximately 1 minute 50 seconds. Now we do not know if Cecelia Shepard was watching him the whole time, but she definitely stated she saw him before he had donned his mask, and definitely saw him approach the tree and duck behind it. Cecelia Shepard saw the man for considerably longer than the three teenagers at Presidio Heights, and sometime shortly after 6.00 pm on a clear sunny day. If you argue that the sketch from Presidio Heights is likely accurate, then clearly Cecelia Shepard's description is equally viable, if not more, because she saw the suspect in daylight for a considerably longer period of time.
During the Presidio Heights murder two weeks later, three teenagers saw the Zodiac exiting the taxicab and walking around the taxicab to apparently wipe fingerprints off the driver side door. This was the only time outside of the taxicab that a clear unobstructed view of the assailant was observed. This was a matter of seconds before the assailant turned around and departed the scene up Cherry Street. The three teenagers were viewing the suspect from approximately 60 feet away, at 9.58 pm at night, with only the aid of street lighting, albeit, described a man sporting a reddish-brown crew cut. This description was backed up by one of the responding officers Donald Fouke, who had typed in his scratch 'a crew cut, light colored hair, possibly graying in rear'.The police sketch was compiled depicting a man with short hair - a man viewed by four eyewitnesses. Many have questioned how accurate this sketch may be, but they are confident of a short-haired crew cut.
During the Lake Berryessa attack Cecelia Shepard spotted the man initially unmasked from 200-300 yards away to the point of 75 to 100 feet away. Taking the minimum distance she first observed the Zodiac of 200 yards (600 feet), he then approached to within 100 feet, meaning his approach distance was a minimum of 500 feet. This distance at a walking speed of 3 mph would take approximately 1 minute 50 seconds. Now we do not know if Cecelia Shepard was watching him the whole time, but she definitely stated she saw him before he had donned his mask, and definitely saw him approach the tree and duck behind it. Cecelia Shepard saw the man for considerably longer than the three teenagers at Presidio Heights, and sometime shortly after 6.00 pm on a clear sunny day. If you argue that the sketch from Presidio Heights is likely accurate, then clearly Cecelia Shepard's description is equally viable, if not more, because she saw the suspect in daylight for a considerably longer period of time.
The validity of the Lake Berryessa stabbings have been called into question as a Zodiac attack, but the handwriting on the car door and the composition of both phone calls at Main Street and Springs/Tuolumne seem to discredit this notion. We have been told by David Collins that he took notes at the scene, so the recollection of events by Cecelia Shepard carries great significance, describing her assailant with 'brown hair that hung down across his forehead and was showing through the eye-holes.'
Two weeks later at Presidio Heights, not only had his hair color changed, it was markedly shorter. The Zodiac Killer wrote in the 'Bus Bomb' letter on November 9th 1969. "I look like the description passed out only when I do my thing, the rest of the time I look entirle different. I shall not tell you what my descise consists of when I kill." So the question is, if these two assailants are one and the same, what disguise did he employ. The Presidio Heights sketch exhibited a slight widows peak, not something you would associate with a wig - so is the only conclusion to be had, one of a killer who disguised his looks by cutting his hair and then dying it. However, on the face of it, this appears to be a change as opposed to a disguise. Furthermore, this would negate the Zodiac declaration "I look like the description passed out only when I do my thing, the rest of the time I look entirle different. I shall not tell you what my descise consists of when I kill." He most certainly didn't look the description at Presidio Heights during the Lake Berryessa attack as recalled by Cecelia Shepard.
Two weeks later at Presidio Heights, not only had his hair color changed, it was markedly shorter. The Zodiac Killer wrote in the 'Bus Bomb' letter on November 9th 1969. "I look like the description passed out only when I do my thing, the rest of the time I look entirle different. I shall not tell you what my descise consists of when I kill." So the question is, if these two assailants are one and the same, what disguise did he employ. The Presidio Heights sketch exhibited a slight widows peak, not something you would associate with a wig - so is the only conclusion to be had, one of a killer who disguised his looks by cutting his hair and then dying it. However, on the face of it, this appears to be a change as opposed to a disguise. Furthermore, this would negate the Zodiac declaration "I look like the description passed out only when I do my thing, the rest of the time I look entirle different. I shall not tell you what my descise consists of when I kill." He most certainly didn't look the description at Presidio Heights during the Lake Berryessa attack as recalled by Cecelia Shepard.
Michael Mageau, in the aftermath of the Blue Rock Springs Park attack described the assailant as "short, possibly 5'8", heavy set, beefy build, 195-200 lbs or maybe larger, short curly hair, light brown, almost blond." Although Michael Mageau's view was fleeting, his observation corroborates the short light-colored hair description at Presidio Heights by Donald Fouke. However, nearly 3 months later, the man who appeared at Lake Berryessa had not only considerably darker hair, but hair that was now long enough to fall over his forehead - so much so, it had been noticeable in the eyelets of the mask. This could be a wig - although the donning of an executioner's hood would appear to make this choice unnecessary. This discrepancy has to be addressed from the standpoint of tying together these three crimes together and certainly something that needs clarifying.
The attacker at Lake Berryessa seemingly failed to mail any correspondence regarding the events of September 27th 1969, but with Bryan Hartnell surviving the attack and outlining the events in great detail, maybe the Zodiac felt Bryan Hartnell had done a good enough job on his behalf. Nevertheless, it did seem strange to not capitalize on his grand theatrical appearance.
If we take the final three attacks in sequence - his hair was short, almost blond, then changed to dark hair, long enough to reach the eyelets of the mask and then reverted back to a short reddish-brown/blond crew cut at Presidio Heights, thereby challenging us to examine the claim "I look like the description passed out only when I do my thing, the rest of the time I look entirle different. I shall not tell you what my descise consists of when I kill".
Cecelia Shepard and Bryan Hartnell both described brown hair, long enough to reach the eyelets of the mask, Regarding the four canonical attacks, no other living eyewitness got as close as them for such an extended period, described by Bryan Hartnell as an interaction that lasted approximately 15 minutes. It was a clear sunny day in September with perfect visibility, and Cecelia Shepard had the man in direct line of sight, unmasked, for at least one and a half minutes. If the same killer emerged from the taxicab of Paul Stine and drove away from the Blue Rock Springs parking lot, we should consider that this short brown/blond appearance was his disguise as he claimed, and the 'real' Zodiac is the one who appeared on the shores of Lake Berryessa, when a wig on this occasion was rendered unnecessary by the donning of an executioner's hood. It could therefore be reasoned, that the long brown hair by the eyelets may be all we require to confirm the true face of the Zodiac Killer.
The attacker at Lake Berryessa seemingly failed to mail any correspondence regarding the events of September 27th 1969, but with Bryan Hartnell surviving the attack and outlining the events in great detail, maybe the Zodiac felt Bryan Hartnell had done a good enough job on his behalf. Nevertheless, it did seem strange to not capitalize on his grand theatrical appearance.
If we take the final three attacks in sequence - his hair was short, almost blond, then changed to dark hair, long enough to reach the eyelets of the mask and then reverted back to a short reddish-brown/blond crew cut at Presidio Heights, thereby challenging us to examine the claim "I look like the description passed out only when I do my thing, the rest of the time I look entirle different. I shall not tell you what my descise consists of when I kill".
Cecelia Shepard and Bryan Hartnell both described brown hair, long enough to reach the eyelets of the mask, Regarding the four canonical attacks, no other living eyewitness got as close as them for such an extended period, described by Bryan Hartnell as an interaction that lasted approximately 15 minutes. It was a clear sunny day in September with perfect visibility, and Cecelia Shepard had the man in direct line of sight, unmasked, for at least one and a half minutes. If the same killer emerged from the taxicab of Paul Stine and drove away from the Blue Rock Springs parking lot, we should consider that this short brown/blond appearance was his disguise as he claimed, and the 'real' Zodiac is the one who appeared on the shores of Lake Berryessa, when a wig on this occasion was rendered unnecessary by the donning of an executioner's hood. It could therefore be reasoned, that the long brown hair by the eyelets may be all we require to confirm the true face of the Zodiac Killer.
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