Recent articles, including "Thrashing About Very Violently", have strongly indicated that the Zodiac Killer had a home address or anchor point within a one mile radius of the payphone at Springs Road & Tuolumne Street in Vallejo in early July 1969 (probably much closer). Michael Mageau reported that the attacker had California license plates, so came within a whisker of identifying the vehicle driven by the Zodiac Killer. The idea that this killer, having parked his car in close proximity to Darlene Ferrin's brown Corvair (maybe twice) and exposed his vehicle's key features to any surviving witness, and then hovered around Vallejo (or the surrounding area) for upwards of 40 minutes before making the phone call to Nancy Slover, is counterintuitive to common sense.
The two locations most commonly put forward for the home address of the Zodiac Killer during the crimes (and beyond) are Vallejo and San Francisco, with some researchers suggesting a killer who lived outside of San Francisco but commuted into the big city for work. So let us look at the postmark dates of every communication mailed in San Francisco by the Zodiac Killer from July 31st 1969 to October 27th 1987. We will assume that the majority of mailing dates coincide with their postmarks. In other words, the Zodiac Killer dropped off his communications and they were collected and franked on the same day (next day at the latest). I have included the Pines postcard in the below list of nineteen communications despite no postmark location being available.
The two locations most commonly put forward for the home address of the Zodiac Killer during the crimes (and beyond) are Vallejo and San Francisco, with some researchers suggesting a killer who lived outside of San Francisco but commuted into the big city for work. So let us look at the postmark dates of every communication mailed in San Francisco by the Zodiac Killer from July 31st 1969 to October 27th 1987. We will assume that the majority of mailing dates coincide with their postmarks. In other words, the Zodiac Killer dropped off his communications and they were collected and franked on the same day (next day at the latest). I have included the Pines postcard in the below list of nineteen communications despite no postmark location being available.
July 31st 1969, the 408 cipher - Thursday
August 4th 1969, the Debut letter - Monday
(mailed by hand on Monday in San Francisco)
October 13th 1969, the Stine letter - Monday
November 8th 1969, the 340 cipher - Saturday
November 9th 1969, the Bus Bomb letter - Sunday
December 20th 1969, the Belli letter - Saturday
April 20th 1970, the 13 character code - Monday
April 28th 1970, the Dragon card - Tuesday
June 26th 1970, the Button letter - Friday
July 24th 1970, the Kathleen Johns letter - Friday
July 26th 1970, the Little List letter - Sunday
October 6th 1970, the Punch card - Tuesday
October 27th 1970, the Halloween card - Tuesday
March 22nd 1971, the Pines postcard - Monday
July 13th 1971, the Monticello card - Tuesday
January 29th 1974, the Exorcist letter - Tuesday
April 24th 1978, the "I am back" letter - Monday
May 6th 1986, the Freeway letter - Tuesday
October 27th 1987, The Car letter - Tuesday
August 4th 1969, the Debut letter - Monday
(mailed by hand on Monday in San Francisco)
October 13th 1969, the Stine letter - Monday
November 8th 1969, the 340 cipher - Saturday
November 9th 1969, the Bus Bomb letter - Sunday
December 20th 1969, the Belli letter - Saturday
April 20th 1970, the 13 character code - Monday
April 28th 1970, the Dragon card - Tuesday
June 26th 1970, the Button letter - Friday
July 24th 1970, the Kathleen Johns letter - Friday
July 26th 1970, the Little List letter - Sunday
October 6th 1970, the Punch card - Tuesday
October 27th 1970, the Halloween card - Tuesday
March 22nd 1971, the Pines postcard - Monday
July 13th 1971, the Monticello card - Tuesday
January 29th 1974, the Exorcist letter - Tuesday
April 24th 1978, the "I am back" letter - Monday
May 6th 1986, the Freeway letter - Tuesday
October 27th 1987, The Car letter - Tuesday
You will notice that 12 of the 19 communication were postmarked on a Monday or Tuesday (immediately after the weekend). Which is 63% of all communications from San Francisco. This switches to 100% of the time from October 6th 1970 to October 27th 1987 (over 17 years). So it's probably quite remarkable that a bunch of hoaxers (suggested by some) managed to mail 8 consecutive communications on either a Monday or Tuesday from San Francisco during this period. In fact, 6 of these 8 communications were postmarked on a Tuesday. Excluding the Pines card, this rises to 6 out of 7 (86% of the time). Every single card (other than the Dripping Pen card) was postmarked on either a Monday and Tuesday. Every single card we know for certain that was mailed from San Francisco after November 8th 1969 (excluding the Pines card), was postmarked exclusively on a Tuesday, which included the Dragon card, Punch card, Halloween card and Monticello card. Only 3 of the 19 communications were postmarked on either the weekday of Thursday or Friday (none on Wednesday). That is just 16% of the time.
Bearing in mind that the vast majority of Zodiac communications were mailed on the first two days of the standard working week, one could argue that the Zodiac Killer dedicated the weekend to preparing his offerings, which he mailed as he made his way back to work on Monday (or late Monday in cases of a Tuesday postmark). If the Zodiac Killer worked a 9 to 5 profession from Monday to Friday (and lived and worked in San Francisco), then he had more of his time to prepare and design his communications on Saturday and Sunday, which he could have finished and mailed on either of these rest days from a San Francisco residence.
Every time he left his residence by car (or on foot) at the weekend to buy groceries, grab a takeaway, fuel his vehicle, visit the theater or friends, or any of the innumerable tasks a person has to undertake on a daily basis, he could have dropped these communications in a San Francisco mailbox for collection. Yet this only occurred 3 times between November 8th 1969 and December 20th 1969, and once on July 26th 1970 (four times in total). This means that in 17 years from April 20th 1970 to October 27th 1987, when the Zodiac Killer definitely mailed 12 communications from San Francisco, he would only have ventured outside his residence on one single Sunday to mail a communication in the locality, had he lived in San Francisco. That is just over 8% of the time. During this same time period, 9 of his 12 communications from San Francisco were postmarked on either Monday or Tuesday (75% of the time). This would indicate, that despite living in San Francisco for 17 years, he almost always waited until the start of a working week to deliver his communications. This may suggest a strong probability of a killer who commuted into San Francisco for work from an anchor point beyond the big city. He designed his communications primarily over the weekend and drove into San Francisco to mail them.
Bearing in mind that the vast majority of Zodiac communications were mailed on the first two days of the standard working week, one could argue that the Zodiac Killer dedicated the weekend to preparing his offerings, which he mailed as he made his way back to work on Monday (or late Monday in cases of a Tuesday postmark). If the Zodiac Killer worked a 9 to 5 profession from Monday to Friday (and lived and worked in San Francisco), then he had more of his time to prepare and design his communications on Saturday and Sunday, which he could have finished and mailed on either of these rest days from a San Francisco residence.
Every time he left his residence by car (or on foot) at the weekend to buy groceries, grab a takeaway, fuel his vehicle, visit the theater or friends, or any of the innumerable tasks a person has to undertake on a daily basis, he could have dropped these communications in a San Francisco mailbox for collection. Yet this only occurred 3 times between November 8th 1969 and December 20th 1969, and once on July 26th 1970 (four times in total). This means that in 17 years from April 20th 1970 to October 27th 1987, when the Zodiac Killer definitely mailed 12 communications from San Francisco, he would only have ventured outside his residence on one single Sunday to mail a communication in the locality, had he lived in San Francisco. That is just over 8% of the time. During this same time period, 9 of his 12 communications from San Francisco were postmarked on either Monday or Tuesday (75% of the time). This would indicate, that despite living in San Francisco for 17 years, he almost always waited until the start of a working week to deliver his communications. This may suggest a strong probability of a killer who commuted into San Francisco for work from an anchor point beyond the big city. He designed his communications primarily over the weekend and drove into San Francisco to mail them.
Every single card after the November 8th 1969 "Dripping Pen" card was mailed in San Francisco on a Tuesday. Is there a reason why none were postmarked on a Monday, or is it just coincidence? When the Zodiac Killer needed to write his letters he only needed to purchase his writing material such as paper and envelopes in block form, necessitating limited visits to a stationers or department store such as Woolworth's on Fifth Avenue in San Francisco, but it is almost certain his cards were individually chosen for purpose, requiring separate visits to buy a relevant card, suited to the message he wanted to convey.
Although this is purely conjecture on my part, is it less risky to purchase a particular card at a large department store with massive foot traffic, than a local store in a city such as Vallejo or Benicia? If the Zodiac Killer formulated an idea over the weekend that he felt required a particular card, then it may have necessitated him waiting until Monday to purchase said card from a retailer he was familiar with, that had heavy foot traffic and a wide variety of cards, such as Woolworth's in San Francisco. A card he would buy on Monday traveling to or from work (or in his lunch break), to prepare on Monday evening or night, and deliver on Tuesday. Hence why all four cards between April 28th 1970 and July 13th 1971 have a Tuesday postmark (the Punch card may be the exception, but for the requirement of a punch from a stationers). Alternatively, he could have mailed them too late on Monday to receive a Monday postmark. .
Although this is purely conjecture on my part, is it less risky to purchase a particular card at a large department store with massive foot traffic, than a local store in a city such as Vallejo or Benicia? If the Zodiac Killer formulated an idea over the weekend that he felt required a particular card, then it may have necessitated him waiting until Monday to purchase said card from a retailer he was familiar with, that had heavy foot traffic and a wide variety of cards, such as Woolworth's in San Francisco. A card he would buy on Monday traveling to or from work (or in his lunch break), to prepare on Monday evening or night, and deliver on Tuesday. Hence why all four cards between April 28th 1970 and July 13th 1971 have a Tuesday postmark (the Punch card may be the exception, but for the requirement of a punch from a stationers). Alternatively, he could have mailed them too late on Monday to receive a Monday postmark. .
Only 4 of the 19 communications were postmarked on a Saturday or Sunday (21% of the time), despite the fact that the Zodiac Killer had more available time on these days if he was a San Francisco resident who worked a 9 to 5 job. Only one communiication was subsequent to December 20th 1969. The proclivity of the Zodiac Killer to mail his offerings on either a Monday or Tuesday, rather than any other day, points to a killer who has created his communications over the weekend and mailed them when traveling back into San Francisco to begin the working week. When we combine the reasoning outlined in this article with the analysis given in the upper linked article below, we have more than enough reason to suggest that the Zodiac Killer lived in Vallejo by the payphone. If the Zodiac Killer had lived in San Francisco during his four attacks, why was he still present in Vallejo on July 5th 1969, close to 40 minutes after the double shooting of Michael Mageau and Darlene Ferrin? The shooting of a 19-year-old man, who was very much alive when the Zodiac Killer exited the Blue Rock Springs parking lot in a vehicle very much recognizable.
ADDITIONAL READING: "THRASHING ABOUT VERY VIOLENTLY"
THE MAILING DAY OF THE OUTLIER "ZODIAC" COMMUNICATIONS
ADDITIONAL READING: "THRASHING ABOUT VERY VIOLENTLY"
THE MAILING DAY OF THE OUTLIER "ZODIAC" COMMUNICATIONS
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