Photo of Donna Lass in the Sacramento Bee on September 24th 1970, recognised by Mrs. Dorothy Cullison as the woman she saw on September 7th 1970 This is a continuation of the article "Did the Killer of Donna Lass Make the Phone Call to the Sahara Tahoe Hotel?". Link.
On September 19th 1970, Gordon Petrovich, security guard at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel, stated that somebody calling himself "Mr. Davis" had rang the casino on either September 7th or 8th and reported that Donna Lass had left town because of a family illness. Gordon Petrovich claimed he had left a note regarding the phone call on the security desk. According to the private investigator's report, friend of Donna Lass, Jo Anne Goettsche, was planning to meet her on the night of September 7th 1970 at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel & Casino, making contact with security guard George Victor Jonasson and asking of Donna's whereabouts through until 4:00am on September 8th 1970. According to Jo Anne Goettsche, George Victor Jonasson insisted he knew nothing about the whereabouts of Donna Lass. Had the "suspicious" call to Gordon Petrovich been delivered on September 7th 1970 stating she wouldn't be coming to work at 6:00pm that evening and Gordon Petrovich had left a note on the security desk stating this fact, then security guard George Victor Jonasson should have known that Donna Lass had been called out of town for a family illness and been able to inform Jo Anne Goettsche of these details on the night of September 7th, into the 8th. But he didn't. This would lend credence to the phone call received by Gordon Petrovich being delivered on September 8th 1970, assuming George Victor Jonasson wasn't lying about reading the note (or hadn't seen it, or wasn't informed of its contents). The fact that no Sahara Tahoe Hotel staff were able to enlighten Jo Anne Goettsche for several hours about the whereabouts of Donna Lass, appears to suggest that no note (and no phone call) was made on September 7th 1970. And if the phone call wasn't made by Nick Davis, it was probably the killer.
On September 19th 1970, Gordon Petrovich, security guard at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel, stated that somebody calling himself "Mr. Davis" had rang the casino on either September 7th or 8th and reported that Donna Lass had left town because of a family illness. Gordon Petrovich claimed he had left a note regarding the phone call on the security desk. According to the private investigator's report, friend of Donna Lass, Jo Anne Goettsche, was planning to meet her on the night of September 7th 1970 at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel & Casino, making contact with security guard George Victor Jonasson and asking of Donna's whereabouts through until 4:00am on September 8th 1970. According to Jo Anne Goettsche, George Victor Jonasson insisted he knew nothing about the whereabouts of Donna Lass. Had the "suspicious" call to Gordon Petrovich been delivered on September 7th 1970 stating she wouldn't be coming to work at 6:00pm that evening and Gordon Petrovich had left a note on the security desk stating this fact, then security guard George Victor Jonasson should have known that Donna Lass had been called out of town for a family illness and been able to inform Jo Anne Goettsche of these details on the night of September 7th, into the 8th. But he didn't. This would lend credence to the phone call received by Gordon Petrovich being delivered on September 8th 1970, assuming George Victor Jonasson wasn't lying about reading the note (or hadn't seen it, or wasn't informed of its contents). The fact that no Sahara Tahoe Hotel staff were able to enlighten Jo Anne Goettsche for several hours about the whereabouts of Donna Lass, appears to suggest that no note (and no phone call) was made on September 7th 1970. And if the phone call wasn't made by Nick Davis, it was probably the killer.
Click image for Google maps Assuming the sighting of Donna Lass near the Tahoe Bottle Shop at 3950 Lake Tahoe Blvd at 3:00pm or 4:00pm by Mrs. Dorothy Cullison was correct - and Donna Lass didn't meet Jo Anne Goettsche later that night - then something untoward likely happened to Donna Lass between approximately 4:00pm and the later hours of September 7th 1970. If Mrs. Dorothy Cullison's sighting was mistaken identity, we are left with something happening to Donna Lass between 2:00am on September 6th 1970 and September 8th 1970, when the "suspicious" phone call was made to Gordon Petrovich. This would explain why George Victor Jonasson knew nothing about the whereabouts of Donna Lass up to 4:00am on September 8th 1970.
If Donna Lass was murdered shortly after leaving the casino at 2:00am on September 6th 1970, this would make the phone call to Gordon Petrovich on September 8th 1970 over two days later. If the killer knew Donna Lass was still alive at the closure of September 6th 1970 (because no crime had been committed yet) and he knew she wasn't working on Labor Day, September 7th 1970, no phone call would have been necessary until September 8th 1970.
If Donna Lass was murdered shortly after leaving the casino at 2:00am on September 6th 1970, this would make the phone call to Gordon Petrovich on September 8th 1970 over two days later. If the killer knew Donna Lass was still alive at the closure of September 6th 1970 (because no crime had been committed yet) and he knew she wasn't working on Labor Day, September 7th 1970, no phone call would have been necessary until September 8th 1970.
Had she had been working on September 6th 1970, a murderer who killed Donna Lass in the early hours of September 6th 1970 (and known to her), should have made the phone call before her shift started on September 6th 1970 as a delaying tactic, but apparently didn't. Bearing in mind that the phone call was seemingly made on September 8th 1970 - and Jo Anne Goettsche had arranged to meet Donna Lass on the night of Labor Day, September 7th 1970 - suggests that this was her day off from work. But this would also suggest she was murdered on September 7th 1970 because no phone call arrived on September 6th 1970. Unless her vacation days off from the Sahara Tahoe Hotel were September 6th and September 7th 1970 (and these details were known by her killer).
I noticed that the statement by Gordon Petrovich referred to a phone caller who said that Donna Lass wouldn't be coming to work that day. So a phone call made by somebody on September 8th 1970 during his shift hours, was not only making that call before 6:00pm (when Donna would have started her shifts), but the caller knew she was scheduled to work that day. Nick Davis, the landlord of Donna Lass (who shouldn't have been privy to her work schedule), was fairly adamant that he wasn't the "Mr. Davis" who rang Gordon Petrovich on either September 7th or the 8th. Everything points to a "suspicious" phone call being made during the shift of Gordon Petrovich on September 8th 1970, who knew Donna was due to work that day, and knew that her family lived out of town. These are details that would be unknown to a random serial killer or murderer, even if they abducted her in the vicinity of the casino. A killer unknown to the victim had little reason to delay an investigation by claiming a "family illness".
I noticed that the statement by Gordon Petrovich referred to a phone caller who said that Donna Lass wouldn't be coming to work that day. So a phone call made by somebody on September 8th 1970 during his shift hours, was not only making that call before 6:00pm (when Donna would have started her shifts), but the caller knew she was scheduled to work that day. Nick Davis, the landlord of Donna Lass (who shouldn't have been privy to her work schedule), was fairly adamant that he wasn't the "Mr. Davis" who rang Gordon Petrovich on either September 7th or the 8th. Everything points to a "suspicious" phone call being made during the shift of Gordon Petrovich on September 8th 1970, who knew Donna was due to work that day, and knew that her family lived out of town. These are details that would be unknown to a random serial killer or murderer, even if they abducted her in the vicinity of the casino. A killer unknown to the victim had little reason to delay an investigation by claiming a "family illness".
Trawling through newspapers.com, Zodiac researcher, Jibberjabber, noticed that the earliest reports into the disappearance of Donna Lass only emerged on September 22nd 1970, approximately two weeks after her absence was first noticed. Her disappearance featured in the Sacramento Bee newspaper on this date. This coincided with a date in the private investigator's report that stated "Douglas County Sheriff's office, Deputy Joe Delorey, stated that he had received a phone call from a man in Sacramento who did not identify himself, and wished to speak to the investigator in charge of the case of the subject. This party stated he would call back at noon after learning that the investigator was not in. This call was received at 10:00pm on September 22nd 1970". In light of no mentioned follow up to this call, some have thought this may have been suspicious. However, when you read the Sacramento Bee article mentioning the mysterious disappearance of a nurse at South Lake Tahoe, it becomes a strong possibility that the male caller was genuinely trying to aid the investigation and wanted the lead investigator so his call was taken seriously, by informing him of the similarity to the disappearance and eventual murder of "nurse" Judith Hakari several months earlier. She was abducted shortly after leaving the Sutter Memorial Hospital in Sacramento on March 7th 1970, to be found in a shallow grave on April 25th 1970 near Weimar, Placer County. This potential connection was posited in the Sacramento Bee two days later, on September 24th 1970
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