The Zodiac Killer claimed that when he was making the phone call from the Springs & Tuolumne payphone in Vallejo to Nancy Slover at 12:40am, he was spotted by a "negro male" walking along the street. In his August 4th 1969 letter he stated "The man who told police that my car was brown was a negro about 40-45 rather shabbly dressed". Therefore, the only possible place the Zodiac Killer could have reasonably seen this black male talking to the police, was by the payphone after he had finished his call to Nancy Slover.
One officer was sent from the Blue Rock Springs crime scene to secure the payphone after it was traced. If it was traced almost immediately (at 12:41am), this would mean that the Zodiac Killer was watching the interaction between the black man and the police officer at 12:50am, because the journey time from the crime scene to the payphone is approximately 9 minutes. The Zodiac Killer would have been at the payphone nearly 10 minutes after he finished his call to the Vallejo Police Department. If the phone call took 5 mintes to trace, then Zodiac would have been watching the payphone from 12:41am to 12:55am subsequent to finishing his call to the police dispatcher. But how do we know he saw a "negro male"? What is the first thing law enforcement should have done after receiving the August 4th 1969 letter, stating "The man who told police that my car was brown was a negro about 40-45 rather shabbly dressed"?
They should have worked out that if Zodiac was claiming he saw "police" talking to a "negro male", then it had to be their officer who was instructed to head to the payphone to secure it for fingerprints, who must have bumped into the same "negro male" that Zodiac claimed he saw earlier. All law enforcement had to do was interview the officer initially sent to the payphone and ask him whether he spoke to a "negro about 40-45 rather shabbly dressed". If he had said yes, then they would have known Zodiac was telling the truth - and much more importantly - was at the payphone a bare minimum of 10 minutes after he finished the call to Nancy Slover. If they had interviewed this officer and he had confirmed Zodiac's claim in the letter, then the obvious thing to have done was to make an appeal in the newspaper asking for the negro male to come forward. Just like they did in the attached cutting. This goes a long way in showing that Zodiac was telling the truth all along.
One officer was sent from the Blue Rock Springs crime scene to secure the payphone after it was traced. If it was traced almost immediately (at 12:41am), this would mean that the Zodiac Killer was watching the interaction between the black man and the police officer at 12:50am, because the journey time from the crime scene to the payphone is approximately 9 minutes. The Zodiac Killer would have been at the payphone nearly 10 minutes after he finished his call to the Vallejo Police Department. If the phone call took 5 mintes to trace, then Zodiac would have been watching the payphone from 12:41am to 12:55am subsequent to finishing his call to the police dispatcher. But how do we know he saw a "negro male"? What is the first thing law enforcement should have done after receiving the August 4th 1969 letter, stating "The man who told police that my car was brown was a negro about 40-45 rather shabbly dressed"?
They should have worked out that if Zodiac was claiming he saw "police" talking to a "negro male", then it had to be their officer who was instructed to head to the payphone to secure it for fingerprints, who must have bumped into the same "negro male" that Zodiac claimed he saw earlier. All law enforcement had to do was interview the officer initially sent to the payphone and ask him whether he spoke to a "negro about 40-45 rather shabbly dressed". If he had said yes, then they would have known Zodiac was telling the truth - and much more importantly - was at the payphone a bare minimum of 10 minutes after he finished the call to Nancy Slover. If they had interviewed this officer and he had confirmed Zodiac's claim in the letter, then the obvious thing to have done was to make an appeal in the newspaper asking for the negro male to come forward. Just like they did in the attached cutting. This goes a long way in showing that Zodiac was telling the truth all along.
The Zodiac Killer wrote "To prove I killed them I shall state some facts which only I + the police know" in his July 31st 1969 letters to convince law enforcement of his involvement in the crimes. Vallejo Police Chief Jack Stiltz asked for more proof in a follow up letter, so the Zodiac Killer gave additional information about his escapades in his August 4th 1969 letter, stating "In answer to your asking for more details about the good times I have had in Vallejo, I shall be very happy to supply even more material". So why would the Zodiac Killer ruin all his good work attempting to convince police he was the killer of three people, by completely inventing an interaction between a "negro about 40-45 rather shabbly dressed" and a police officer by the payphone, which could have been easily checked by simply interviewing that member of law enforcement? If that officer had denied speaking to a "negro male", then why bother making a newspaper appeal.
The fact that this "negro male" was described as a "local" in the newspapers, may suggest there was a previous interaction between him and the police officer sent from Blue Rock Springs on July 5th 1969, but he had possibly been let on his way because he claimed he saw little to nothing at the time. After the statement by Zodiac in August, the police probably wanted to double-check his recollections that morning by instigating the appeal for him to come forward. If law enforcement didn't interview the officer sent to the payphone, then that would beggar belief. I can now confidently state that this "negro male" wasn't as fictitious as I once believed If the Zodiac Killer saw an officer talking to a "negro male" by the payphone, ten or more minutes longer than absolutely necessary to deliver his message, then the odds his residence was close by would increase exponentially. Waiting around with your vehicle and weapon still in your possession (near to the payphone) for that length of time would be extremely risky. However, if the Zodiac Killer had immediately returned home after committing the crime, changed his clothes and ditched the car and gun, that risk would vastly reduce.
EXTRA READING:
WHEN THE BLACK MAN WAS WALKING BY [PT1]
WHEN THE BLACK MAN WAS WALKING BY [PT2]
WHEN THE BLACK MAN WAS WALKING BY [PT3]
WATCHING THE POLICE AT THE PAYPHONE
"THRASHING ABOUT VERY VIOLENTLY"
SEARCHING FOR THE PAYPHONE WITNESS
THE ZODIAC KILLER-A VALLEJO RESIDENT
OUR KILLER LIVES HERE
The fact that this "negro male" was described as a "local" in the newspapers, may suggest there was a previous interaction between him and the police officer sent from Blue Rock Springs on July 5th 1969, but he had possibly been let on his way because he claimed he saw little to nothing at the time. After the statement by Zodiac in August, the police probably wanted to double-check his recollections that morning by instigating the appeal for him to come forward. If law enforcement didn't interview the officer sent to the payphone, then that would beggar belief. I can now confidently state that this "negro male" wasn't as fictitious as I once believed If the Zodiac Killer saw an officer talking to a "negro male" by the payphone, ten or more minutes longer than absolutely necessary to deliver his message, then the odds his residence was close by would increase exponentially. Waiting around with your vehicle and weapon still in your possession (near to the payphone) for that length of time would be extremely risky. However, if the Zodiac Killer had immediately returned home after committing the crime, changed his clothes and ditched the car and gun, that risk would vastly reduce.
EXTRA READING:
WHEN THE BLACK MAN WAS WALKING BY [PT1]
WHEN THE BLACK MAN WAS WALKING BY [PT2]
WHEN THE BLACK MAN WAS WALKING BY [PT3]
WATCHING THE POLICE AT THE PAYPHONE
"THRASHING ABOUT VERY VIOLENTLY"
SEARCHING FOR THE PAYPHONE WITNESS
THE ZODIAC KILLER-A VALLEJO RESIDENT
OUR KILLER LIVES HERE
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