ZODIAC CIPHERS
Richard Grinell, Coventry, England
  • Home
    • Search This Site With Google
    • My Interview on the Zodiac Killer Channel
    • The Mount Diablo Map and Code Solution
  • Zodiac News
    • Zodiac News Archives
    • Santa Barbara Attack
    • Cheri Jo Bates
    • The Confession
    • Riverside Desktop Poem
    • Bates Letter
    • The Forgotten Victims
    • Zodiac RSS Feed
    • 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
    • Zodiac Letters Real or Fake
    • Zodiac Documentary
    • Zodiac Killer Net Forum - Hot Topics
    • Unsolved Mysteries
    • The Colonial Parkway Murders
  • Suspects
    • Arthur Leigh Allen
    • Rick Marshall
    • Lawrence Kane
    • Theodore Kaczynski
    • Richard Gaikowski
    • Gareth Penn
    • Jack Tarrance

WHAT A DRAG

2/7/2016

 
The Zodiac Killer appeared to enjoy taunting the police and newspapers, often replying to them directly. Two such examples were the 'Debut of Zodiac' Letter, where he replied the following day to the San Francisco Examiner's article on August 3rd 1969, giving more details regarding his first two attacks to Vallejo policeman Jack E. Stiltz. Then the Zodiac mailed the Bus Bomb Letter on November 9th 1969, responding to the San Francisco article featuring comments by Chief of Police Martin Lee, entitled Zodiac Called a Clumsy Criminal. So it makes perfect sense to examine the preceding article to Zodiac's Halloween Card mailed on October 27th 1970 to possibly unearth the trigger behind this correspondence. It is easy to search for correlations between any two pieces of work, so the following has to be treated with caution - but we will travel back to the San Francisco Chronicle article authored by Paul Avery on October 12th 1970, just two weeks prior to the mailing of the Halloween Card.

It was entitled Gilbert and Sullivan Clue to Zodiac, so it would come as no surprise that the Halloween Card opened with the line "I feel it in my bones, You ache to know my name, And so i'll clue you in".  It would appear that the Zodiac Killer deliberately chose this particular card in regards to the use of the word 'clue,' to be considered as his response. But once again he disappointed, revealing very little. However, what could be garnered from this card was his use of the pumpkin to strategically mask the pelvic gender of the skeleton, unashamedly revealed on the card inner to the accompaniment of the word 'Boo' - while in reverse, masking the face of the skeleton and suggestive of a hidden identity. The question is, what identity are we looking for - a sexual identity or the killer himself?        
Picture
The San Francisco Chronicle article also stated "Homicide detectives who've been hunting Zodiac for nearly two years frankly admit he is as much an enigma now as he was on December 20th 1968, when he chalked up his first two victims". On the Halloween Card he chalked up 4-TEEN victims on the card inner in very bold stylized white writing - although whether this was as a response to the article rather than necessity based on the color of the card background, is unknown.

Very little, if anything about the Zodiac crimes can be regarded as sexual, as no apparent interference took place in any of the four crimes, but could this in its absence tell us anything about the killer himself. It has been suggested that his savage attacks on young courting couples is an attack on something unavailable to him, either from a standpoint of confidence and inadequacy, or in terms of his repressed or closet sexuality. After all, the Zodiac did state that killing people was "better than getting your rocks off with a girl". In a previous article 'From Your Secret Pal' we examined the possibility that the Zodiac Killer was a latent homosexual as alluded to in the San Francisco Chronicle, authored by Paul Avery on October 18th 1969 - so here we will slightly expand on that idea.

Jose Sarria was a high profile advocate of the LGBT scene in San Francisco, becoming synonymous with the Black Cat bar at 710 Montgomery Street from 1945 to its closure in 1974, also founding The League for Civil Education to highlight acceptance towards homosexuality and even finding the time to run for office. Jose Sarria encouraged patrons to be proud of their homosexuality, while often dressing up - and as a performer often sang in opera based shows and torch songs. However, there was fierce opposition from society, with constant police intimidation and raids, with cross dressing patrons routinely arrested on the pretext of impersonating a woman. Jose Sarria encouraged the arrested to demand jury trials in an attempt to clog up the court system, forcing a rethink by authorities. Despite this, the names and addresses of those arrested were routinely published in the newspapers as a form of deterrent and shaming. This oppression was certainly cause enough to ignite a hatred towards the police and newspapers, two things the Zodiac seemed to revel in during his barrage of communication for nearly five years - but whether this was the incendiary is pure conjecture.                


PictureMelvin Mouron Belli photographed in 1967
For one night only, that of Halloween, homosexuality was 'overlooked' by the police force, ultimately becoming a day that would prove emblematic for LGBT celebrations. However, the rest of the time it was business as usual - or for that matter, lack of business - as gay premises, including the Black Cat bar were routinely raided by police. Jose Sarria was annoyed by the constant harassment and sought the help of prominent attorney Melvin Belli, who had offices at 722 Montgomery Street, a stone's throw from the Black Cat bar - and together they formulated a plan to protect the cross dresser from the 'intent to deceive' law.

A button or label was created stating I am a boy, effectively negating deception as an intention. In response to the perceived threat on Paul Avery in the Halloween Card, colleagues would adorn buttons on their clothing similar to the I am a boy declaration, but on this occasion would read I am not Paul Avery.

The Zodiac Killer aligned himself with Melvin Belli for a brief period, even mentioning or inferring the attorney's name in the Dragon Card mailed on April 28th 1970, where the Zodiac declared "I would like to see some nice Zodiac buttons wandering about town. Everyone else has these buttons like, black power, melvin eats bluber, etc. Well it would cheer me up considerably if I saw a lot of people wearing my buton. Please no nasty ones like melvin's". The intention of Zodiac is rooted in the Irwin Weisfeld counterculture buttons of the 1960s, nevertheless the Sarria connection remains a viable influence. A further link exists in the maker of the Dragon Card (created by the Jolly Roger Card Company). After winning a court case, Melvin Belli would often raise a Jolly Roger flag over his Montgomery Street office building in the Barbary Coast district of San Francisco, returning full circle to the Halloween Card characteristics once more.

Mason and Geary Street, the supposed intersection where fate carried Paul Stine to his death, bisects the Nob Hill and Tenderloin districts, and combines both the LGBT and theater influences under one banner - but reference was made by Robert Graysmith, stating that Paul Stine picked up the Zodiac Killer from outside the Westin St Francis Hotel, situated at 335 Powell Street in Union Square. Jose Sarria was arrested at the Westin St Francis public restrooms for solicitation, a location often frequented by homosexuals, with police attempting to clamp down on such activities.

The Zodiac Killer liked dressing up, as we saw during his Lake Berryessa attack on September 27th 1969 and he apparently had access to disguises, that he alluded to in the Bus Bomb Letter on November 9th 1969, when in response to Chief of Police Martin Lee he stated "I look like the description passed out only when I do my thing, the rest of the time I look entirle different". The question is, how different did he look the rest of the time? The Halloween Card was taken as a perceived threat on the life of San Francisco reporter Paul Avery, but how serious a threat was it considered - after all, the Zodiac Killer apologized on the inside of the envelope addressed to Paul Avery with 'sorry no cipher' and sealed it with a kiss. 


Mo
11/18/2019 03:12:32 am

I just read a very persuasive interpretation of this card on Reddit, where the hand points to a date:

-Three fingers point to month number 3 (March).
-The number 14 represents the day.
-The circle-like shape of the thumb and the second finger look like a 6.

Therefore, 3-14-36 (March 14, 36).

Then, the skeleton is pointing towards his crotch (i.e dick). Dick being a nickname for Richard.

Lastly, the skeleton has one bad eye.

Put together, the “clue” points to a guy named Dick/Richard, born on March 14, 1936 with a bad eye, which all match with Richard Gaikowski.

This is by no means my favorite suspect, but the above interpretation from a Reddit reader is very persuasive.

Richard
11/18/2019 05:03:52 am

My guess is he was already a Gaikowski supporter Mo. I have done many of these number games in the past, which 90% I have deleted. The problem is, they are really easy to do, and there are hundreds of these solutions - only showing how easy the card can be interpreted. My article just another example of interpretation.

The OK symbol could be interpreted as a dot, therefore 3.14 and pi day, which is March 14th. Why did Zodiac choose Gilbert & Sullivan as a repeating feature. Obviously because The Mikado was released on the date of March 14th, Gaikowski's birthday. You can find Gykes Zodiac or Gykeausekeys Zodiac on the last line of the 340, by using the 408. You can get 3014, 2614, 2146, 3140 on the hand etc.

Given a few days you could find every known suspect in this card. Like the 340, where Thomas Horan just happens to decode the 340 with Hal Snook in the answer, Gary Stewart finds Earl Van Best, Mike Rodelli finds Qvale everywhere, supporters of Allen find his name all over the place. When you approach a card or cipher with a predetermined suspect or bithdate in your head, you will invariably find what you had already decided upon in your head. Ask Mike Rodelli to do geographical profiling on Zodiac - you know before he begins he will come to the conclusion it's San Francisco. Mark Hewitt will arrive at Berkeley and Arthur Leigh Allen supporters will arrive at Vallejo. They are just engineering the narrative to give the answer they have already decided upon. This is how they sell a suspect, but not particularly objective. Of course, nobody who believes strongly in a suspect or who writes a book, are going to present anything that detracts from the suspect.

Personally Mo, I don't rate any of the long touted suspects - so much so, I'll give them a generous 0% of being Zodiac. But that is just my opinion. Ross Sullivan is a popular suspect, despite nobody being able to put him within 80 miles of any Zodiac crime, police stated he had an alibi, his fingerprints matched nothing from the Bates crime scene, he would have had scratches on his face or arms from the prolonged struggle with Cher, due to skin being found under her nails, his hair doesn't match the hair in Cheri's hand, his handwriting would have been compared, he was 5 to 7 inches taller (wearing shoes) than the general 5'8" to 5'10" inches stated at Presidio Heights and 100lbs heavier. Other than that, he is a great suspect. You don't have to go far Mo to unearth these numbers games, because I've done exactly the same. But they are particularly meaningless in the Halloween Card. Some people swear blind by them, but the relative ease to which they are able to be created, goes against them as a reliable source to prove anything. It's good fun nevertheless.

Richard
11/18/2019 05:13:42 am

https://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/name-dropper

Here is an earlier article I wrote, finding the name William all over the shop. I don't subscribe to these sort of things anymore, but some place a lot of significance in it. Each to their own. But if you ask somebody in the know, like David Oranchak, he will tell you these observations are [1] not difficult to find, and [2] relatively meaningless. The only time articles such as these could be true, is if Zodiac designed something as meaningless as I created.


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
    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
    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
    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
    Picture

    Archives

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