WATCHING THE POLICE AT THE PAYPHONE

1/23/2025

Most of the following has been covered before, but I felt it was important to take a deeper look at the Blue Rock Springs attack.

Page 7 of the police report read "On initial arrival, RO requested by radio an ambulance and an investigator at the scene & upon returning to Off. Hoffmann RO went to assistance of subject on ground, as Off. Hoffman was with a subject that was sitting on left front seat behind wheel that was also injured. This subject later identified as Darlene E. Ferrin, WF, 19, of 864 Beechwood. On preliminary examination of Mageau, it was apparent that he had been shot a number of times, he had blood all over his face & blood coming from his mouth as well as his left leg with blood. RO said it was necessary to question subject inspite of the fact the subject was in great pain. Subject was coherent & RO asked him, "do you know who shot you?" & he replied "no". RO then asked Mageau to give some type of description & he replied that he can't. RO then asked a series of questions & was told by Mageau that the responsible was a white male, young, heavy set by himself & that he was in a brown vehicle".

Shortly after responding officers arrived at the Blue Rock Springs parking lot they had a description of the perpetrator and the vehicle he was driving, given to them by a badly injured but "coherent" Michael Mageau. The Zodiac Killer must have known that there was a significant probability these details would be broadcast to all units in the immediacy after the crime was discovered. Despite his braggadocious nature claiming a "double murder" over the phone to Nancy Slover at 12:40am, he must have known that Michael Mageau was very much alive when he left the parking lot 38 minutes earlier. He even admitted as much in his August 4th 1969 letter, stating "The window was rolled down all ready. The boy was origionaly sitting in the front seat when I began fireing. When I fired the first shot at his head, he leaped backwards at the same time, thus spoiling my aim. He ended up on the back seat then the floor in back thashing out very violently with his legs; that's how I shot him in the knee".

The Zodiac Killer knew that Michael Mageau was thrashing about very violently before he shot him in the knee - and he knew that a shot to the knee was not (in isolation) a terminal injury. So, it's with little doubt the Zodiac Killer left the parking lot that morning (12:02am) with the acute awareness that one of his victims was probably still alive and had the capability of giving details about him to police. The killer had spent upwards of two minutes in close proximity to Darlene Ferrin's Corvair and had fired off nine shots, therefore it's highly unlikely, knowing a victim may have survived, that he would casually drive around Vallejo (or park somewhere on the street) for approximately 40 minutes, before making a phone call at the Springs & Tuoloumne intersection in close proximity to the police station. Michael Mageau also reported to police that the assailant's vehicle had a California license plate. Is the Zodiac Killer really going to park himself and his vehicle only 833 feet from the police station, 40 minutes after a double shooting, with Michael Mageau likely still alive, who could have given police his license plate number? The Zodiac Killer was many things, but believe me, I sincerely doubt he was this stupid.

The August 4th 1969 letter was carefully crafted to give police the impression he was still driving his vehicle. The Zodiac Killer stated "When I hung the phone up the damn X@ thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me + my car". The addition of "my car" appears completely superfluous to this section of text, so was probably placed there to drive home the notion of him still being in his vehicle at the payphone, when in fact "drive home" is exactly what he did after leaving Blue Rock Springs.

The Zodiac Killer was all about "proof" up to November 9th 1969. He gave us extensive details about his first two crimes on July 31st 1969, wrote on the car door of Bryan Hartnell at Lake Berryessa on September 27th 1969, mailed in a piece of a taxicab driver's shirt on October 13th 1969, and made two phone calls within an hour of the second and third attack. His words were testament to this, because when Vallejo Police Chief Jack Stiltz "urged the writer to send more letters, with more facts to prove his connections to the crimes", the Zodiac Killer immediately responded by giving more details about the Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs attacks. His October 13th 1969 letter stated "I am the murderer of the taxi driver over by Washington St + Maple St last night, to prove this here is a blood stained piece of his shirt", and his "Bus Bomb" letter on November 9th 1969 stated "To prove that I am the Zodiac, Ask the Vallejo cop about my electric gun sight which I used to start my collecting of slaves." He was fully cognisant of the fact that "proof" was required by the police for his claims to be taken seriously.

This was fully evident in the first part of his August 4th 1969 letter, when he was in the infancy of trying to prove he wasn't a liar. The letter described the car door closed and the window of the Corvair down at Blue Rock Springs when he first approached the vehicle, described the area his first shot was delivered to the body of Michael Mageau, and described (albeit slightly wrong) where he shot Mageau in the back seat. It would have made little sense to provide all these details on July 31st 1969 and August 4tth 1969, attempting to prove to police he was the responsible, to then blatantly lie about seeing a black man talking to police on July 5th 1969.

He stated "The man who told police that my car was brown was a negro about 40-45 rather shabbly dressed. I was in this phone booth having some fun with the Vallejo cop when he was walking by". If the police had not spoken to a "negro male" on July 5th 1969, then this would have been fairly obvious to them, and would have hurt Zodiac's previous claims. It is now clear that this "negro male" was not an invention by the Zodiac Killer to alibi his car being present at the payphone, it was a detailed description of a "negro male" offered by the writer of the letter, so that when police cross-checked with the officer who responded to the payphone that morning, the description given by the Zodiac Killer matched with that of the officer. He gave a detailed description of the black man's age and clothing to "prove" he was near the payphone when the officer responded from Blue Rock Springs.

The section of police report below describes a responding officer (RO) traveling from the crime scene to the payphone after being informed that the perpetrator had called police (12:40am). If the responding officer took 9 minutes to arrive at the payphone, a traced call at approximately 12:41am, would mean that the Zodiac Killer observed the interaction between the "negro male" and officer at about 12:50am. Long after he had finished talking to police dispatcher, Nancy Slover. The location of the payphone was the only logical place the Zodiac Killer could have seen police talking to anyone. Had the responding officer's superiors confirmed his interaction with "a negro about 40-45, rather shabbly dressed" at the payphone, it would have added credence to Zosiac's claims that the black man also saw his "brown car". A vehicle that was likely never at the payphone, because the Zodiac Killer had gone home after the attack, separated himself from his vehicle, changed his clothes, ditched his weapon, and walked back to the payphone to deliver his sinister message to Nancy Slover. If he was unlikely to be at the payphone at 12:40am with his vehicle, then he most certainly wouldn't have been at the payphone in his vehicle at 12:50am or beyond. Fifty minutes after a shooting that he couldn't have been certain both victims were dead.

Nancy Slover

It appears that when the Zodiac Killer left the payphone at around 12:41am, he became aware that its location was going to be traced (how much the black man played in this is unknown), so he could easily have remained close by in the shadows (or viewed proceedings from a residence) to later recount in his letter the policeman by the payphone. This is probably the meaning behind his August 4th 1969 letter when he wrote "The man who told police that my car was brown was a negro about 40-45 rather shabbly dressed".

If the "negro male" had passed him by at approximately 12:40am when he made the phone call to Nancy Slover, then it makes sense that this was the same man who spoke with police a short time later. Had police verified this by talking to the responding officer who arrived at the payphone, it would explain why the Zodiac Killer added his car into the equation. Because without a car - calling police from a payphone 38 minutes after the double shooting, from a location only 9 minutes from the crime scene, would have focused investigators attention to residences in close proximity to that payphone. Watching the police at the payphone at least 9 minutes after he finished the call with Nancy Slover, would have raised even more eyebrows. That is why the Zodiac Killer may have made special emphasis of his car and its color on August 4th 1969.

If you are one of the people who doesn't believe the Zodiac Killer lived by the payphone (or in Vallejo), then you have to accept that the Zodiac Killer, who last described Michael Mageau thrashing around on the back seat and clearly not dead, just decided to hover around Vallejo for 38 minutes at the grave risk of capture. The police report on page 7 stated that police got the description of the shooter and his vehicle from Mageau just after they arrived (circa 12:20am) and broadcasted these details to all units. A Zodiac Killer driving around aimlessly in Vallejo (or parked up) was obviously never detected by police between 12:20am and 12:40am.. So had he concealed his vehicle at his residence to mitigate this risk? The idea that he drove out of Vallejo, only to return to the danger zone to make the phone call, also makes little sense. We have to accept, that in Zodiac's own words, Michael Mageau was last described as thrashing about on the back seat of the Corvair, just before he drove away from the crime scene. Knowing this was the case, why on earth would he choose to remain in his vehicle for the next 38 minutes and travel such a limited distance?

JIbberjabber

1/23/2025 12:10:31 pm

It is interesting that in both instances Zodiac made a call to police to report his crimes, the police or at least some law officials were already at the scenes.

By the time he phoned Nancy Slover - police were already at BRS.
By the time he phoned Napa Dave Slaight, park rangers had already found Bryan Hartnell & Cecilia Shepard.

Why did Zodiac make the calls, was it just to taunt & confess or did he really believe he was directing police to the scene of the crimes because the victims had not been found yet?

if he thought he was directing police to the crime scenes then maybe he did think in both cases he had killed both couples and that they were unable to call for help themselves.

I am certain he thought he had killed both victims at the lake, maybe he thought Michael Mageau would eventually die from blood loss? But I am less sure about that and as you say he left knowing Mageau was alive, maybe he figured he would die by the time police found them at the car park either independently or from his call.

We know he fired an extra 2 shots into both victims at BRS, that is a lot of bullets for him to not think he had infact killed both victims.

But it does bring up this issue about who had seen his licence plate. If Zodiac did not want to be seen in Vallejo after he shot the couple in the car park, why did he leave his car unattended for so long at Lake Herman Rd when so many people observed the white Chevy (if that was the killers car), how would he know that no one had recorded the licence plate while it was parked at gate 10?

also if the voyeur at Lake Berryessa was Zodiac, he allowed the sunbathers to see his car too.

I do think the voyeur was Zodiac personally, but it is less sure than him being the killer at both BRS & LHR.

I have never been able to reconcile really why was he not concerned about people seeing his car at LHR and him in the taxi at Presidio Heights with the interior light on. Was he blase or did he just figure people would not be so observant. I am always surprised none of the witnesses remembered any numbers or letters from the registration plate. I have seen a couple of people recognise alleged Zodiac licence plates as California plates - but why did no one recall the actual registration in full or part?

I wonder if he was playing the odds somehow and he just knew that people were not that observant about such things. Either that or he really was reckless, but if he was reckless I feel he would have been caught.

Richard

1/23/2025 01:09:14 pm

July 4th 1969 would have seen a bit more activity that night. BRS saw the kids letting off firecrackers just before the murder. Debbie, Jerry and Roger literally arrived one minute (or less) after Zodiac left the parking lot. He may even had seen their headlights approaching in the distance. He had also fired off shots near the caretaker's residece. Zodiac may have thought Mageau would die, but is thinking and hoping worth the risk of life in jail. Especially when his actions of using that payphone at 12:40am were totally unnecessary. I think both calls were done to taunt, but the BRS call was probably more important to declare he was also the murderer of Betty & David at LHR. At BRS he could have used fake plates, however, if he didn't change them in the intervening 38 minutes that would have been pointless if Mageau had given the license number. But if Zodiac simply parks his vehicle behind his house or in the garage, the risk is greatly minimized.

At LHR somebody could have noted down the plates of the Chevy, but no crime had been committed at 9 & 10 pm, and the vehicle wasn't parked illegally. After all, if we are to believe Frank Gasser shined a flashlight into the vehicle, he still found no reason to note down the license plate. Neither did Bingo Wesner.

Also, I go back to the possible blood transfer to Zodiac's shirt at BRS. How far do you have to lean into the Corvair to discharge 2 casings on the back floorboard, when the other 7 didn't seemingly eject forward.

Richard

1/23/2025 01:32:30 pm

Let us consider this: The Zodiac lives in Oakland, San Francisco or Napa. After the attack on Mageau and Ferrin he can't be certain Michael will die before being discovered, yet rather than drive away from the area, say, towards San Francisco (like Kjell Qvale), who is apparently very intelligent, the killer just gambles on his freedom and doesn't even get any further than Springs & Tuolumne. It's not like he can't make a phone call between Vallejo & San Francisco and just call the operator. Make this make sense to me. Even if the killer thought that Mageau had a 90% chance of dying, why hang around anyway. Why risk your life when you don't have to.

Robert

1/23/2025 02:02:48 pm

I've wondered if he was a real thrill seeker by placing the calls close to police departments both times; it might have been a taunt, though at least after BRS he would not have thought when he placed the call that the police would know where the phone booth was located (unless he assumed it would be traced). The thrill might have had enough benefit for him to outweigh the potential cost.

Richard

1/23/2025 03:12:54 pm

The Zodiac was certainly a thrill seeker in his crimes and communications, it's a matter of how far you take a risk before it extends into stupidity. We know the Zodiac Killer was no fool, who appeared to derive his pleasure primarily from his letter writing, with his murders the conduit. I'm sure he got enjoyment from his appalling actions, but if you take that risk too far, you don't get to enjoy further crimes because you're banged up.

Richard

1/23/2025 03:26:58 pm

I suppose Robert, had he stayed near the payphone to watch the responding officer arrive at the payphone absent of his vehicle (or making the call without his car) would have been a thrill. But maybe with his car in tow, it would have been a risk too far.

Robert

1/23/2025 03:28:48 pm

Agreed, although I wonder what sort of intertemporal discount factor he possessed! Maybe that changed over time with the reduced gaps (from what we can tell) between his murders. Gary Becker, Nobel Prize winner, was an early mover in the economic theory of criminal decision making and outlined some of the calculations that one could make to guide one's actions (though some have objected to his approach, of course).

Richard

1/23/2025 03:52:37 pm

Many people say that Zodiac's primary driver was his letter writing, yet he had to commit the murders to get his communications published. In other words, delayed gratification over instant rewards. But that is a good question about why his crimes got more frequent. One reason could be an increase in confidence. However, it's a limited pool. The second attack came after 6 1/2 months, followed by nearly 3 months for the third. The fourth crime after two weeks was the only one that seemed to gather pace, but then nothing. Is it possible he believed that four attacks, in multiple jurisdictions and culminating in the big city, was all that was required for maximum exposure. Then he could ride the wave for a couple of years.

Richard

1/23/2025 03:55:19 pm

Maximum exposure evident in his July 31st 1969 letters, split into three newspapers.

Richard

1/23/2025 04:14:01 pm

The biggest problem with analysing serial killers Robert, is trying to think like one, when our mind is functioning on a non-psychopathic level. We see people routinely murder innocent victims in such things as store robberies and these people don't lose a wink of sleep. I liken their brains to lions and tigers. They kill because it's beneficial to them, and neither dwells on the ending the life of their "prey". Trying to understand these people through a rational mind is impossible, but we all say "how can somebody do something like this". Rationalizing these sub-humans is fraught with danger. That is why everything I have written in the above article comes from a perspective wildly incompatible with the mind of the Zodiac Killer. I have attempted to rationalize the irrational. But even these psychopaths who want to keep on killing have an instinct of survival, and a determination not to get caught.

Jibberjabber

1/24/2025 12:29:51 am

You are right about how trying to think like a killer can send round in circles. Why did he wear the hood at the lake if he planned to kill both victims. So then we might think he was insuring himself against identification if one of them did survive,ok. But in that case why did he not wear the hood at BRS where was his insurance against him and or his vehicle being identified by a surviving victim there? The car licence plate leaves a killer in a car so vulnerable to being identified arriving at, committing or leaving a crime scene. Even if Zodiac did park up in a local residence that would have made no difference if Mageu or anyone else got the licence plate. A quick DMV check he is caught. So was Zodiac sometimes treading more carefully with his car trying to minimise who could see make model and registration or was he just constantly cruising around in his car not really taking much precaution at least prior to and during the actual attacks? Gate 10 at LHR was maybe just as busy between 9pm and 11pm December 20th 1968 as BRS carpark was just before midnight 4th July 1969. Is Zodiac's behaviour consistent or non consistent in the 2 attacks he used his car to get to and from the Vallejo area crime scenes. Personally I always thought the decreasing intervals between attacks was him becoming less mentally stable BUT 3 minutes after killing Paul Stine he has a calm but brief chat with Don Fouke and sends him off on a wild goose chase, then admits to that knowing he basically has now confirmed to 2 SFPD officers what he looks and sounds like. Is that confidence or is it a person whose brain is not operating "normally" for want of a better term. We can't ever know how Zodiac was thinking but I do think it maybe needs allowed for in some way even if we say it is an unknown quantity. From the info we have he just seems to have done some very weird and abnormal things. Anyway to get back on track I have always wondered why he allowed so many people see his vehicle - 1 person getting the licence plate maybe even partially and it is game over.

Richard

1/24/2025 01:35:13 am

If he truly intended to kill both victims at Berryessa why wear the hood. I think I agree with most people on this, that the costume was about ego and self-agrandizement. It had to be, because a stocking or balaclava would have done the job equally as well. But covering his face at Berryessa didn't just conceal his identity from Bryan & Cecelia, it concealed his identity from any extraneous eyewitnesses.

If you or I Jibber were committing the crime at LHR and BRS, we would probably steal or acquire number plates to use during these crimes, so that if somebody had jotted down the license number, it wouldn't lead to our identification. We can never know if Zodiac did this or not. However, fake plates are useless after BRS if you are going to roam around town in that vehicle for approximately 40 minutes having left somebody alive at the crime scene.

If he didn't use fake plates and used his own vehicle, was this because he thought he was going to find victims fairly quickly on December 20th and July 4th/5th, and had plenty of ammo to ensure no surviving victims, and hence no risk of his car plates being relayed to the police. But unbeknownst to him, while 10 shots proved adequate at LHR, 9 shots at BRS failed to complete the job.

If he was the driver of the white Chevrolet at LHR, did he expect his vehicle to be spotted by somebody as he ventured into the field for a quick kill, maybe not. If he did calculate that somebody may have seen his car, did he think it unlikely they would have noted the vehicle plates on a car not breaking any laws? I'm sure that when he left the house on those nights, his intention was probably a quick in and out. When this didn't happen at LHR (if he's the Chevy driver), he has two options - go home or risk satisfying his desire to kill. Maybe he gambled on the second option because his hunger to kill overrode his better judgment. He certainly wouldn't have been the first person to abandon better judgment in pursuit of their desires. Many criminals get caught because they are stupid and let emotion drive their need. I have never quite understood why murderers take their mobile phones with them to kill, but they do because they are idiots. Just like people who search the internet on how to poison somebody, then go out and poison somebody. If you were driving down LHR at 9 or 10pm that night and saw a driverless Chevy in the turnout, would you have jotted down the license plate? I know I wouldn't have. Of course, a fake plate avoids most of these problems, unless you murder and remain in situ for 40 minutes. Then, the benefit of a fake number plate is negated.

The Zodiac did many things that you and I wouldn't have done, beginning with murder. It's therefore extremely difficult to reconcile his actions thereafter. If he was becoming more mentally unstable as his attacks progressed, he certainly, as you said, showed calmness along Jackson Street - and subsequent to this - never committed any more crimes, if we are to believe in the canonical four were his only attacks. Or was he severely mentally unstable for just 10 months during his murders, subsequently getting some control in his life? How long is a piece of string? He was a psychopath undoubtedly - that is probably the best I can offer Jibber.

Rubislaw32 link

1/24/2025 03:38:14 am

A reference check on Psychopathy :

Boldness, superficial charm, disinhibition, lack of empathy or remorse, inclination to violence and psychological manipulation, impulsivity, narcissism.

Looks like the Zodiac scored high.

Jibberjabber

1/24/2025 04:19:19 am

At the risk of asking a stupid question, did 1960s cars have lights that illuminated their registration plates at night? It would go some way to explaining why Zodiac was happy to cruise around. If he was the person who chased William Crow down LHR that is another potential witness who could have saw the licence plate. About LHR I don't think I would necessarily write the licence plate of a car parked up innocently,but Gasser & Connelly seem to have been very curious about the car if we believe they really did shine a torch inside. How many people shine torches in other people's cars? That vehicle piqued their curiosity for some reason, I would think they shone the torch over the whole thing to check it out if they had bothered to approach it at all in the dark. If it was Zodiac's car it may have had a memorial licence plate or something quirky which was memorable even without intentionally trying to memorise it. Obviously no one ever got Zodiac's licence plate or we would not be having this conversation. But it seems to me he wasn't nearly as careful in a car as he was back at home writing the letters and ciphers. Maybe licence plates were harder to read in the dark back in 1968/1969 and Zodiac used that to his advantage. But he certainly left himself exposed at LHR if he was the driver of the white Chevrolet 🤔

Richard

1/24/2025 04:51:59 am

No, cars did not have illuminated license plates, so at night would have required direct lighting to read..If Gasser did exhibit curiosity and shine a flashlight into the vehicle, then the proof is in the pudding, that despite doing this, he still didn't take down the license plate. Most people wouldn't unless a crime was suspected as being underway. The biggest risk was probably the police passing by, who may have checked out a car sitting in darkness, without a driver.

The bigger question is why was a vehicle sitting empty twice, one hour apart, in a remote, dark turnout in freezing temperatures. The person had to be roaming the fields had all residences/businesses been questioned on any visitors they had that night, and this questioning proved negative.

Jibberjabber

1/24/2025 04:27:45 am

Our boy Zodiac certainly sounds like a psychopath Rubi, but I wonder where the forensics awareness comes into it and to the point he was using that to taunt the police. I believe that by changing weapons, maybe changing cars, changing MO, trying to avoid leaving fingerprints at scenes etc he was forensically aware and he knew the police knew this. What would we call that, is that wrapped up in narcissism or is egotism, but is it a special kind because it is being used in the Commission of crime and specifically in detection avoidance? Is all this still psychopathy , a specific kind of psychopath or psychopath with some other issues? Killers that communicate with the press & police must have been rarer in 1969

Rubislaw32 link

1/24/2025 10:12:20 am

On a personal take, Jibberjabber :

Manuel, the Spanish waiter in the comedy series Fawlty Towers, once said : ''I speak English very good - I learned it from a book.''.

I believe that most of the perceived skills we see in the Zodiac were similarly picked-up from reading. More particularly his DIY crypto ones. Although not perfect to start (Z408) - he was a fast learner.

A probable exception being motorhead/garage skills, for which I believe he had acquired hands-on skills, and with it acute enthusiasm.

From LHR police reports which are in the public domain, there are reports of a motorist driving fast and erratically in the vicinity of the makeshift car park. Overtaking manoeuvres and such-like.

I believe the Zodiac was on ''scouting missions'' that night, between stationary ''rests'' - out looking for potential victims in cars - that might subsequently choose to use the car park. If he spotted potential victims (e.g. a young couple), he would then overtake them in his own race to get back to the car park's vicinity. Then see if the couple decided to use it, before making a predator's move.

In addition, the Zodiac wasn't that bothered, or even invited potential victims to spot his number plates in their headlights. Number plates which were either bogus or counter-fitted to copy someone else's. Effectively, impersonating someone else, as a motorist.

In addition, it is certainly possible that the Zodiac had decided to strap in a mannequin or blow-up doll, into his passenger seat. Thereby giving the impression to other motorists, that he was a ''couple'' out motoring.

JIbberjabber

1/24/2025 10:50:42 am

I think this was discussed a bit back when Richard was writing the articles about how a car could look different colour in low lighting levels, but I was wondering again why was the white Chevy Impala never prominent in any public reporting about the LHR crime or the larger Zodiac case. Very strange that IMO. If Robert Graysmith never wrote his book and some of them LHR reports were never made public via FOIA , we may never know there was such a car spotted.

It is surely one of the biggest clues in the whole case, I sometimes think maybe it was identified and the driver eliminated from enquiries but we have never been officially told that, the only reason I doubt that is because it is not in any of the Graysmith books but he was right about everything else we have seen in the LHR reports,- he does seem to have had a pipeline into the investigation, I would tend to think if the car was ever explained away he would have known about it.

unless he was not privvy to that information either? I had previously defended him but I can see now how much liberty he has taken with his writing. I do think his first book is the definitive word on the case and I dont even think the case has moved forward since 1986 to be honest, and was likely cold by 1970. But his first book has a lot of good information in it, I am struggling to read Zodiac unmasked again though, it is far lighter on facts and has a lot more of his interpretation of events and he is dead wrong about Allen being the Zodiac, infact his books make it clear Allen cannot be the Zodiac.

But it is also clear to me he has never seen anything more on the LHR attack than the reports on Tom Voigt's site. I can only assume Toschi never mentioned the white Chevy to him, Avery never knew about it etc which means either it was intentionally held back from the public including Graysmith who as I say seems to have had a pipeline of some sort into the investigation, or the police eventually stopped considering the white Chevy important.

Its absence from any newspaper account is really strange

Rubislaw32 link

1/24/2025 11:32:22 am

You've articulated your observations well, Jibberjabber. I can only add the perhaps obvious: The public have only been allowed to view what case custodians CA DOJ have permitted. And some of that contains redactions.

I think the Lake Herman Road police reports, in general, are of a superior quality to other ones - probably down to the meticulous nature of lead investigator Les Lundblad. An old-school detective who wasn't going to be rushed. But, we still don't have all the answers.

Zodiac, by Robert Graysmith, will probably always remain a literary classic. In ''diary form'' it takes the reader back to the time. A sense of immediacy and some actual witnessing from Mission Street. His follow-up Zodiac Unmasked - almost as good, but I think the publishers were pushing for him to pin his colours to Allen, more.

If Lundblad had been given more time, I believe he may have been able to solve the crime. But the case just ''mushroomed'', and he was overwhelmed by VPD enthusiasm, with a much larger budget - let alone, what seems like the rest of the Bay area. It's an interesting thought to contemplate, what if the Zodiac hadn't attacked Presidio Heights ? Now, he was a ''big city'' murderer.

jay

1/31/2025 10:22:11 am

I think the change in the Zodiac's behavior in regards to providing proof for his actions in late 1969 mirrors the larger change in the type of crimes being committed and what he was trying to get out of them. The earlier crimes seem to be more internal, with the focus on young couples probably illustrating the resentment he felt towards those more socially and romantically capable. When he began to focus more on the gratification he received from press attention and widespread fear, his main "victims" became not those he was directly killing, but the society he seems to have felt rejected by at large. The unsubstantiated murder tally serves this purpose.

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