ZODIAC- BORN ON AUGUST 3RD

4/14/2018

Many have toyed with the idea of a Zodiac Killer in Riverside, California, responsible for the murder of Cheri Jo Bates on October 30th 1966 or at the very least the author of the Confession and Bates letters. There are tantalizing threads in regards to the three Bates letters allying with his 'trinity' of communications mailed to the Vallejo Times-Herald, San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Examiner on July 31st 1969, just over two years later. The double postage was evident, and the threat of "more victims" was apparent in both. The April 30th 1967 Bates letters stated "Bates had to die, there will be more". The Vallejo Times-Herald communication carried a similar threat: "I will cruse around and pick of all stray people or coupples that are alone then move on to kill some more untill I have killed over a dozen people". It is also pointed out that the Zodiac Killer was responsible for the Bates letters because he signed off two of the letters with a Z-like alphabetical character - the Z representing Zodiac. The following will cast some doubt on this supposition and hopefully give us the exact date the Zodiac Killer first thought up his pseudonym Zodiac. In other words, the pseudonym Zodiac didn't exist for this individual in 1967 and therefore the alphabetical Z wasn't representative of Zodiac, or the precursor to it.

On the right is an excerpt from the San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle dated August 3rd 1969. The Vallejo Police Chief Jack E. Stiltz "urged the writer yesterday to send more letters with more facts to prove his connections with the crimes". The Bay Area murderer duly obliged with the 'Debut of Zodiac' letter, received by the San Francisco Examiner on August 4th 1969. It was called the "Debut" letter for good reason - it was the day the Bay Area murderer revealed his pseudonym to the world, opening with the now infamous line "This is the Zodiac speaking". But if Chief Jack E. Stiltz had not requested more details, it is extremely unlikely this correspondence would have been mailed at all. We would have had to wait over two months until the October 13th 1969 Paul Stine letter for Zodiac to introduce his pseudonym into the public domain, if ever at all.

The 'Debut of Zodiac' letter only existed because of Chief Jack E. Stiltz - and this communication is the only reason our knowledge of the killer as Zodiac existed at this point in time. The choice of the pseudonym being revealed in this letter was not a choice made by the killer, because he wouldn't have written it, if not pressed into action by reading this newspaper column. In fact, the Zodiac Killer may never have existed under this name, if it wasn't for this publication by the San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle on August 3rd 1969. There is further evidence that the American public played a key role in igniting the killer's choice of pseudonym.

If the Z on the Bates letters really stood for Zodiac, then the murderer of Cheri Jo Bates, David Faraday, Betty Lou Jensen and Darlene Ferrin had almost three years to create an appropriate pseudonym before the July 31st 1969 'trinity' of communications proclaiming his collection of slaves for the afterlife. He had six and a half months from the December 20th 1968 double murder until the attack at Blue Rock Springs Park. He had 27 days from the July 4th 1969 attack until the mailing of the July 31st 1969 'trinity.'. This was his arrival to the world, yet he didn't sign off any of these letters with 'Zodiac' or even a 'Z'.

If he was surreptitiously operating under the name of Zodiac at this point, he clearly didn't give this impression when he opened up two of his communications with the rather unoriginal opening line of "I am the killer of the 2 teen-agers last Christmass at Lake Herman and the Girl last 4th of July" to the Vallejo Times-Herald and San Francisco Examiner. The San Francisco Chronicle was equally devoid of any pseudonym or initial, beginning with "This is the murderer of the 2 teenagers last Christmass at Lake Herman + the girl on the 4th of July near the golf course in Vallejo". The reason behind this, being that he hadn't formulated the pseudonym Zodiac at this juncture. The prompt was to come just three days later on Sunday August 3rd 1969- the day the 'Zodiac Killer' was born in the mind of the killer.

The San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle opened with the lines "A self-accused killer failed to keep a threat of mass murder here, but there was no slackening of tension or mystery caused by the warning. The police department telephone system was clogged at times by anxious callers asking if the "cipher killer" had been caught". The killer likely read this publication and was probably dismayed at the pseudonym of "cipher killer" attributed to him. He sat back in his armchair and was likely sparked into action to create his own pseudonym. He thumbed through the San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle of August 3rd 1969 during the day, until he arrived at the Zodiac horoscope page, and a light went on. This was the day the 'Zodiac Killer' was born.

43 Comments

Rubislaw 32 link

4/14/2018 06:11:33 am

''The police chief urged the writer yesterday,to send more letters with more facts to prove his connections with the crimes.''.

A nice spot from you,Richard,and priceless irony.

Hence,Frisco's Frankenstein's monster was born.

Judith

4/14/2018 09:05:37 am

Wondering about the maturity level of someone who gives himself a comic book type of name. Do we have other self named serial killers, those who give themselves a Moniker in history?

Richard

4/14/2018 11:55:19 am

Dennis Rader-BTK
Possibly Jack the Ripper.

Shawn

4/14/2018 12:13:50 pm

In his first 3 letters he opens "I am the murderer" (chron) or "I am the killer" Examiner, VTH does not sound very interesting or rather lame.

So rather than letting the press name him such as "Cipher Slayer" he decided to name himself. The name Zodiac was catchy.

BTK and Jack the Ripper are catchy.

Richard

4/14/2018 12:31:06 pm

Jack the Ripper was the benchmark. I've recently wondered Shawn that Zodiac capitalized on press coverage by splitting the 408 cipher into three parts. I would have thought that he could have split the 340 cipher into two parts for maximum coverage between the Chronicle and Examiner. The 10th line has what appears to be dividing lines either side of the row. Even Dan Olson of the FBI cryptanalyst unit thought it was divided at the 10th line.
https://youtu.be/uG2M3NOyCB4?t=8m5s

Rubbery_Coleslaw

4/14/2018 04:45:25 pm

According to one poster below, "they" implanted the idea into his fillings. ROFL!

Maybe every time he heard the Beatles sing "I am the Walrus" he was sent into action, like a puppet on a string, via his amalgam!

Goo-goo-g-choo, goo-goo-g-choo... must... kill! Cannot resist the urge to... k-i-l-l-l...

Rubislaw 32 link

4/14/2018 10:48:23 am

Now that's an interesting question,Judith.

It gives everyone,something to think about.

Talk about comic book type names,I believe I have just found another one of Zodiac's.....to add to ''The Red Phantom'' and ''The Imperial Wizard''.

It is ''The Egg man''.

I was thinking about the redacted part of the San Jose message,and how it might relate to '' 0 I F B I 0 '',given its credulity to a scorecard.And that SF's Zip Code,and Houston's PO Box,both with number 96290,adding further credence.

In November 1967,The Beatles released a collection of songs for the film ''Magical Mystery Tour''.Included was the Lewis Carroll inspired,and psychedelic masterpiece,''I am the Walrus''.

Though we were to find out,through their song,''Glass Onion'',that the Walrus was Paul McCartney,the song made a number of references,including the police,as named and as also referred to as ''pigs''.

The chorus is,as follows :

I am the Egg man

They are the Egg men

I am the Walrus

Goo goo g'joob

Within the hidden part of the redacted message,I believe that it could contain the line : ''I am the Egg man,they are the Egg men''.

Hence,for '' 0 I F B I 0 '' :

The Egg man - 1 , The Egg men - 0

Zodiac - 1 , The FBI - 0

Victory to Zodiac.....Goo goo g'joob.

4/21/2018 01:46:05 pm

The FBI started on July 26, 1908 - The first Dali day.

Deep Throat (Mark Felt), was second in command - and just after the "Bulldog" Hoover died suspiciously on 5/2/1972 (Dali day) provided the Washington Post with critical information about the Watergate scandal, a scandal which ultimately led to the resignation of (Tricky Dick) President Richard M. Nixon on 8/9/1974 Dali day.

President Truman said that Hoover transformed the FBI into his own private secret police force (Gestapo).

Hoover hated Malcolm X whom was riddled to death with thirty one bullets on the signature Dali day of February 21, 1965.

The odds of all the Zodiac kills and all of these unsolved deaths of JFK 11/22, MLK jr. 4/4, RFK 6/6, Jack Ruby 1/3/67, Elvis Presley 8/16, Hale Boggs 1/3, Lee Bower 8/9/66 Dorthy Kilgallen 11/8/65, Albert Bogard 2/14/66, Gary Hinman 7/25/69, Chuck Niccoletti 3/28, 39,000–80,000 people in Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, by Fat Man a plutonium implosion-type bomb 1945 (Dali day). The odds are off the chart to be on D-day. 1 in 7 days equals 7x7x7x7x7x7x7x7x7x7x7x7x7 ect. times all the Zodiac kills equals impossible. Count me in as a conspiracy theorist (a label started by the CIA to refer to anyone who thinks they are lying to us about the JFK assassination.) This math ain't lying.

For what it is worth

4/21/2018 03:48:24 pm

What a load of horse manure.

These kinds of conveniently all-encompassing "theories" always fail to mention the numerous prominent persons who DID NOT die on days relevant to the "theory", regardless of whether those deaths were "suspicious" or otherwise.

In fact such a "theory" is so selective in its scope that it is unwise to even call it a "theory". It is just a loony idea thought up by uneducated and paranoid people from the tin foil hat brigade to impress other gullible people.

Karen C

4/22/2018 02:21:43 am

LOL! This would be like saying everybody with the letters "C", "I", and "A" in their name who died on the dates relevant to an arbitrary calculation all had to have been victims of a conspiracy, because the letters of the alphabet and mathematics cannot lie. Very funny!!

sleepwalker

4/14/2018 12:35:33 pm

https://themanyfacesofthezodiac.com/tag/mt-diablo-mkultra/

Karen C

4/14/2018 04:36:36 pm

Got to hand it to the police back then. They wanted the Zodiac to send more letters with more facts to prove his identity. Kind of like handing matches to an arsonist!

This is very telling about their ignorance.

Well at least LE have learnt their lessons about how to properly deal with serial killers who mail threatening letters. The last thing they would do today is tell the killer to send more letters, considering that more letters tend to frequently go hand in hand with more victims!

4/22/2018 10:15:17 am

In 1968, the CIA's various domestic programs were consolidated and expanded under the name Operation CHAOS. When Richard Nixon became president the following year, his administration drafted the Huston Plan, which called for even greater operations against "subversives," including wiretapping, break-ins, mail-opening, no-knock searches and "selective assassinations." Bureaucratic infighting tabled the plan, but much of it was implemented in other forms, not only by the CIA but also by the FBI and the Secret Service.

http://thirdworldtraveler.com/CIA%20Hits/CHAOS_CIAHits.html

Karen C

4/23/2018 05:49:21 pm

Once again, you are embellishing and distorting the boundaries of reality.

If we remove the emotive terms "selective assassinations" and "bureaucratic infighting" from your statement, we have a picture closer to the real Operation Chaos.

You seem to be suggesting that the Zodiac was somehow a Government instrument of Operation Chaos, which is totally ridiculous. Nixon was of course paranoid and believed that radical students and various fringe political elements were working in with those "Red devils" in foreign countries in order to bring him down.

But let's take a closer look at Nixon's paranoia. It was in fact Nixon who believed that Charles Manson had been programmed to kill by the Stanford University's Esalen Institute. When we consider that many other people, such as John Denver, also attended this institute and never went on to become cold-blooded killers, then Nixon's rather paranoid and delusional fantasies are completely negated.

You seem to be turning Nixon's paranoia on its head by suggesting he programmed killers like the Zodiac to kill innocent members of the public as a part of Operation Chaos, for no reason but to cause social instability. This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever and in fact is counter to the aims of Operation Chaos, as well as being entirely unrelated to Operation Chaos. It also runs counter to Nixon's plan of social homogeneity.

The Zodiac was a serial killer who acted alone. There is absolutely no proof that he was programmed by anybody, least of all a Government obsessed with maintaining the status quo and eliminating domestic radicalism.

As I have heard many other commenters state in the past, if the Zodiac had been a CIA operative who turned rogue, we have nothing to worry about as it is "case closed", because the CIA would have dealt with him long ago, anonymously and efficiently.

Rubislaw 32 link

4/14/2018 06:13:25 pm

Yes,these comments from the investigating police,in hindsight,do seem so foolish.

It just wouldn't happen to-day.Secrecy on cases,is paramount to avoid a possible prejudiced prosecution,in the future.

From what I understand,none of the Bay Area cases are considered winnable,on their own,in a court of law.But,collectively,there is always a chance.The cases have to be included,or heaped on the back end,of a case,that is winnable.

I am aware of one such case.Hence my optimism for the case of the Zodiac Killer,as a whole.And,with it,a whole range of answers,including the San Jose letter.

Yes,I thoroughly enjoyed researching that one....and thanks,Richard,for pointing it out to me.

I like the idea of Zodiac seeing himself as ''The Egg man'',and that suited,but motley crew of law enforcers,as ''The Egg men''.

John Lennon had,apparently,originally written the song,''I am the Walrus'',with Eric Burdon of The Animals,in mind.Burdon was known as ''Eggs'' to his friends,on account of his sexual fetishes with eggs,performed in the company of groups of women,exclusively.

To each,his own.

Karen C

4/14/2018 11:12:05 pm

I doubt the Zodiac would have regarded himself as an "egg man", in any way, shape, or form, but each to their own, as you say.

Incidentally, the whole concept of "laying eggs" prompted me to re-discover an article in which John Cameron tried to hatch the following:

“Within the first two months of the investigation I knew he [Ed Edwards] was the Zodiac Killer because we solved his identity cipher [a coded message sent to San Francisco media by the killer] and he responded by letter [claiming] to know the Zodiac Killer. The Zodiac Killer wanted to be the most evil criminal mastermind. That's why he sent the puzzles, teasing us with his intelligence.”

One can only laugh at such mind boggling extrapolations, as Cameron bounds haphazardly from one massive presumption to the next, ultimately reaching the conclusion that Edwards was responsible for just about every unsolved murder in America and possibly beyond.

The gaps in his hypothesis were so huge, that even the Easter bunny would have been unable to bounce between each of his far-fetched ideas without breaking all of the eggs in his basket.

If Edwards was the "egg man", he at least was the right shape for it. Also, Ed "the Egg" Edwards has a nice ring to it too!

But one may ponder if Cameron's fragile-shelled "egg" of an idea was perhaps closer to the fairytale, Humpty Dumpty?

Cameron seemed blissfully clueless that his theory had few foundations and, as such, it only had one way to go.

It would take a spectacular nose dive as soon it was opened to public scrutiny.

Still he remains convinced that Edwards was not only the Zodiac but a string of other killers as well, all wrapped into one. But it was a fragile egg of a theory, which shattered into the pieces of its making; falling from grace after the first critical attacks.

Drew

4/15/2018 09:31:35 am

It's amazing that after all this time the greatest Zodiac sleuths still can't be certain whether Zodiac was the Riverside Killer. The strongest evidence that he was for me is simply that they both killed and wrote letters to newspapers about it in the same state. If there were more cases of this MO in public knowledge that might not be so intriguing but it seems like before all of this evil there are few examples. Jack the Ripper, Black Dahlia Avenger, Lipstick Killer kind of... Anyone else that made headlines?

If I had to decide whether Riverside was Zodiac I would guess that it wasn't but there is a pretty well balanced argument both ways. Comparing the similarities and discrepancies between the Riverside Killer and Zodiac's methodologies and concerns could make a decent article, but it would be difficult because we would have to also look at potential points of development from one to the other. Just as Zodiac evolved and refined his methods learning from mistakes about how to handle his victims. In their letters the Riverside killer teases that he knew his victim and Zodiac didn't but is that just because he decided to change his method of what to reveal and what to leave a mystery?

Even if it was Zodiac in Riverside though I don't think the markings at the bottom of the Bates letters are Zs or some ancient symbol. Looked at close up he didn't make them identical at all. In fact one looks more like a printed capital Z and the other looks cursive lower case. I think they were made up just as many Zodiac symbols were. In this case I believe the Riverside killer wanted to tease with this tiniest of samples what his real handwriting looked like compared to the intentionally generic block print text. Just as he used bold on the envelope I think a main MO difference between the two is that the Riverside Killer was a lot more concerned with disguising his handwriting. Deciding that such measures were unnecessary doesn't sound much like an evolution to me.

I think that Zodiac may not have ever revealed the name Zodiac if he wasn't pressed to write the debut letter, but I have to believe that he was aware of the relationship between the signature symbol he chose (a blank horoscope chart) and the word Zodiac before he started his campaign. Though astrology likely had some meaning to him at least as an ominous symbol of fate I think he chose to initially let the symbol stand alone to invoke a gunsight, a meaning which may have been lost if he compounded the name Zodiac or spouted off about astrology. That said 'cipher slayer' also didn't likely have the punch he was looking for.

Richard

4/15/2018 10:18:05 am

Can't disagree with any of that Drew- an excellent analysis between Riverside and beyond. I don't believe the Bates letters are signed off with a Z either, and even if they were it is doubtful it was Zodiac, because like we probably agree, he would have used it beginning with the three communications. The Riverside connection, like you, has me swaying back and forth on a likely connection to the Bay Area murderer. There is plenty to argue for, and equally just as much against. Your summation above is excellent and intelligently thought out, and very much appreciated.

Drew

4/15/2018 12:28:35 pm

Thanks Richard! Cheers

Karen C

4/16/2018 02:48:25 am

Very well written Drew. I guess the only question I have is this:

If it is not a "Z" then what could it be?

It looks every bit like a stylized "Z" to me, done with a flourish, but I could be completely wrong.

In some ways it is written in a similar style to Rader's "L" in his initials. https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/news-photo/dennis-rader-aka-btk-wrote-this-letter-from-his-cell-at-the-news-photo/465249226

Incidentally, Rader seems to be relishing his status as another Zodiac wannabe. He appears to have a fascination with that gun sight motif.

https://i0.wp.com/www.suecoletta.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/BTK-Zodiac-symbols.png?resize=283%2C300&ssl=1
SOURCE: suecoletta.com

Richard

4/16/2018 03:32:48 am

If you were writing a Z on an old, gnarled writing desk, with many indentations like the Riverside desktop, using a single sheet of paper as opposed to a writing pad, then it's easy to see how an alphabetical letter can become variant from what was intended. However, both Z's look similarly deformed at the top edge. One looks like a 2 and one looks like a 3. So maybe it was his way of labeling each as Z, Z (2) and Z (3), signifying three communications.

Karen C

4/16/2018 03:42:20 am

Quite plausible. Thanks Richard!

Drew

4/23/2018 11:33:36 am

Hi Richard, I am trying to clarify something about the original spelling and word choices in the confession letter. I think Riverside Police retyped the letter with alterations to spelling and even added and subtracted certain words and the DOJ retyped a version as well which is significantly different. My assumption based on info on Morf site from The Foreigner is that RPD did their version (to hold back details?) and that the DOJ version is verbatim. Is this your understanding as well, that the DOJ represents the original text?

The Foreigner's info is quoted in the latest post:
http://www.zodiackillersite.com/viewtopic.php?f=79&t=71&start=180

If this is the case then there are some weird things to discuss. The DOJ version spells "victon" rather than "victim" but it also writes "brunette" instead of "brownette" (which seems like an odd creative addition for the police to implement) and near the end the DOJ version "It was just a warning period" rather than "It was just a warning." Some of the spelling mistakes (like minuts) and the ellipsis after "Beware", according to this DOJ version were added for the police version. I went into this just trying to confirm how the Riverside Killer spelled victim but now I'm not sure what to conclude about these versions. If this photograph on the Riverside Enterprise site is the original then neither version is correct.
https://www.pe.com/2016/11/06/after-50-years-zodiac-hunters-police-still-seeking-cheri-jo-bates-killer/

Richard

4/23/2018 01:58:10 pm

That is an extremely good question Drew. It would certainly make a mockery of the Zodiac connection to the Little List letter of "SHOOK AS I CHOAKED HER, AND HER LIPS TWICHED. SHE LET OUT A SCREAM ONCE"
The October 3rd 1969 DOJ version marries with the Inside Detective magazine of January 1969, that claims it is a reproduction of the Confession letter. http://www.zodiackiller.com/InsideDetective3.html
I have always believed the 1969 DOJ version incorrect, because we would have to believe the original was "SHE SQUIRMED AND I KICKED HER IN THE HEAD TO SHUT HER UP," and the second added artistic license and just added words for the sake of it, to "SHE SQUIRMED AND SHOOK AS I CHOAKED HER, AND HER LIPS TWICHED. SHE LET OUT A SCREAM ONCE AND I KICKED HER IN THE HEAD TO SHUT HER UP."
It is easier to believe the DOJ report simply missed parts out and typed certain words incorrectly. I couldn't say with certainty but this seems the more logical conclusion. I will take another look tomorrow If you take a look at this photograph of the original Confession letter (sometimes shown with metal scissors I believe, it is 27 lines long.
Click photograph displayed below.

http://i64.servimg.com/u/f64/14/94/58/13/batess10.jpg

The October 3rd 1969 DOJ report in the link on the forum is 31 lines in length, in contrast to the original photograph, suggesting it is incorrect. The Confession letter we have all come to believe to be the original with she "SHOOK AS I CHOAKED HER, AND HER LIPS TWICHED. SHE LET OUT A SCREAM ONCE" is 27 lines like the photograph, so I assume this is the correct version and the DOJ report is incorrectly reproduced. I will have a further gander tomorrow Drew.

Richard

4/23/2018 01:59:39 pm

Here's the forum link with the two versions together.

http://www.zodiackillersite.com/viewtopic.php?f=79&t=71&start=180#p62305

Drew

4/23/2018 02:26:20 pm

Thanks Richard! I can understand why the police would do their retype with alterations for the Enterprise to publish and I can imagine the Enterprise photographing that police-altered version (rather than the original) and even that Enterprise made perhaps unintentional typos of that sanctioned version, but I am surprised that the DOJ would not have spotted errors in their transcript. I also of course have problems believing that the original confession letter author actually wrote the "period" instead of just writing a period. That's just bizarre. Accidents do happen though I suppose. Anyways thank you for your attention. I will stay tuned!

Richard

4/23/2018 02:36:20 pm

The photograph, however, doesn't match up with the yellow version on the forum or the DOJ version, indicating as you suggested there is actually 3 versions. I'll take another look in the morning. It's a stange state of affairs- no wonder the case has never been solved. You never know Drew, maybe the killer or author sent more than one version.

Karen C

4/23/2018 02:42:15 pm

Umm, is it possible that the Zodiac mailed two different letters on the same day? He often double-stamped. Maybe he double posted? Just a thought.

Richard

4/23/2018 03:07:46 pm

Very possible, I just looked at the two versions on the forum link above and the photograph with scissors. All versions are completely different.
The 6th line on the well known version here is the shortest line thus far. https://www.zodiacciphers.com/the-confession.html

The 6th line on the DOJ version is the longest line thus far.
The 6th line on the photograph is the 2nd longest line thus far.
In fact, the length of the lines and wording structure in the photograph and the well known version (both of 27 lines) are totally different. Did they hold back a letter, stating two were sent to Riverside Homicide Detail and Riverside Press Enterprise, wheras a third was mailed to Sent to her father Joseph Bates at
4195 Via San Jose, Riverside, California, just like the Bates letters. This could be the blurred version with the scissors.

Richard

4/23/2018 03:10:08 pm

I feel there is something telling here. Must have a look again 2moz.

Richard

4/23/2018 03:19:57 pm

This one was FBI stamped, so you'd think this was one of the genuine ones, but maybe not all.
http://www.zodiackillersite.com/viewtopic.php?f=79&t=71&start=170#p38214

http://www.zodiackillersite.com/download/file.php?id=3945

Richard

4/23/2018 03:23:54 pm

http://zodiackillersite.com/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=97#p123

Richard

4/23/2018 03:57:44 pm

I THINK I'VE GOT IT NOW DREW. IF THE PHOTOGRAPH WITH THE SCISSORS IS THE ORIGINAL, THEN THE VERSION ON MY SITE IS EXACTLY THE SAME WORDING AS THE PHOTOGRAPH. HOWEVER, THE SENTENCES AND SPACING HAVE JUST BEEN TYPED OUT DIFFERENTLY BY SOMEBODY REGARDING THE VERSION ON MY SITE (THE YELLOW VERSION ON THE FORUM). I HAVE BLOWN UP THE PHOTOGRAPH IMAGE AND I'M CONVINCED IT SAYS VICTIM.

Richard

4/23/2018 04:00:43 pm

I will reproduce the photograph in a typed version soon.

Drew

4/23/2018 04:38:13 pm

Multiple typewriters producing differently set versions of the same text could certainly yield an explanation. The photo with the metal clips certainly appears like it is being handled like evidence so I think we can trust that it is. I like the FBI stamped version, which reflects the same text as what you presented on your Confession page. It would seem of little value for the FBI file to have an inaccurate version that didn't even reflect what was printed in the paper. It certainly makes no sense for them to introduce a word like brownett or correct a misspelling of the word victim. However the same logic should apply to the DOJ file, but who knows how that presumably careless retyping came to be.

The consensus view I assume has been that he typed a single page and made two photocopies of it to send to the newspaper and the police. If they were indeed photocopies received it would seem a confounding choice for the culprit to send one copy off and then retype and photocopy a nearly identical message (though not unlike the Zodiac's choice in July 69). If he sent a third copy to Cheri's dad that would only deepen the mystery of why the author would have retyped and copied the letter for each receiver.

One yarn of conjecture that occurs to me... He handwrites a draft then types it up and makes a copy and sends it to a single target, either the police or newspaper, then promptly destroys the typed page. Then he decides he wants to send another copy (or a third copy to the father), so he has to refer to the original handwritten draft to retype it. If it wasn't an impromptu decision made after losing access to the original it is hard to see the value in retyping. It could have been an elaborate clever way to disguise elements of his writing style, but ultimately I guess I still think there was only ever one culprit typed letter and that the text is as we have always believed. Thanks again for all your work on this Richard.

Karen C

4/23/2018 05:06:54 pm

So we have multiple copies. Two questions:

1) Were photocopy (i.e. Xerox) machines readily available to the public back in 1966? I suspect not, at least until about 1969, but I am sure many universities, schools, companies, and libraries had them. One would suspect that the killer would be wanting to maintain his anonymity, so a very public photocopying facility would seem out of the question.
Still widely available in the 1960s were the earlier spirit duplicators, or ditto machines. Man, I can still smell that overpowering ink!!! A great many school students got high on smelling that freshly inked paper, I am sure! Could the killer have used one of these to make copies?

2) One would assume that the killer would have been very afraid of leaving fingerprints behind, and any form of copying would be very risky in this regard. So would it be more plausible to suggest that he re-typed everything using fresh sheets of paper and possibly wore protective gloves? I personally think this is the most likely scenario.

Drew

4/23/2018 05:45:18 pm

Richard may need to correct some of this info, but I think the RCC library near where the crime was committed had a photocopier. Such a public machine would likely have far too many fingerprints on it to be of use for the investigation but the author did use paper from that machine they could detect that... if he didn't trim the edges, which he did.

Richard

4/24/2018 02:04:36 am

That's correct Drew.
A photocopying machine, where students can secure 8 1/2 X 11 inch black and white copy of printed or typed material was available at the library for ten cents. Hours of service were: Monday through Thursday 7:45 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.; Friday 7:45 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.; Sunday 1:00 - 5:00; 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.
The Riverside City College would purchase vast quantities of lined and unlined paper for the students and staff alike. It is therefore not unreasonable that the photocopier in the library would be also purchased to accommodate this paper size, for ease of use. The three Bates letters sent by the killer on April 30th 1967, as seen in this FBI document, were written using 8 1/2 X 11 inch lined paper, the same dimensions as the paper used in the photocopying machine and likely paper used by the college.
Earlier the killer had sent the 'Confession' letter, which he typed and photocopied. Sheriff Earl Randol described this letter, "The original of this letter was evidently destroyed or kept by the suspect, as the Press and our department received a carbon copy of the original. These carbon copies were a fourth and fifth copy and difficult to read. A photograph of this letter and the envelope is attached. A reproduction of the confession letter is also attached. It should be noticed that the copies received by the Press and our department were on plain white paper of poor quality. Width of paper is 8 inches. The length of the paper is unknown as the paper was tore off the top and bottom."

Richard

4/24/2018 02:06:41 am

https://www.zodiacciphers.com/uploads/4/9/7/1/4971630/editor/6et.gif?1487350678

Karen C

4/24/2018 02:41:48 am

The term "carbon copy" seems more like copies made on either a Mimeograph or a spirit duplicator. Randol says that the copies were probably fourth of fifth copy and therefore very difficult to read. So they do not sound like photocopies to me. These copies sound much more like stencil prints, or, failing that, prints from a spirit duplicator.

Howard_Miller

4/24/2018 02:58:31 am

One of the reasons Leigh became such a good suspect for LE was because he was a school teacher, so he could have had easy access to one of the common school duplicators. Teachers often used these for reproducing materials to classes, particularly in primary schools, well into the 1970s. They were cheap and reliable. As photocopiers became more ubiquitous and reliable and cheap, they outdated the duplicators by the mid to late 1970s. It is possible that the killer had reasonably private access to one of these machines, perhaps even after hours, but feared leaving too great an impression on the rollers. So he used very little ink, perhaps relying on just the old ink residues in the machine. He may have then re-inked the machine and ran off a large number of duplicates to cover up the impressions left behind on the rollers. He then cut or tore off the top and bottom of the pages to remove fingerprints, because he had handled these parts of the copies. It is also possible that he only used the later impressions, because he may have inadvertently touched the earlier ones while setting up. Also, Randol mentions the style of boot worn by the killer as determined by the impressions, being Government issue, either military or prison issue.

Howard_Miller

4/24/2018 03:02:07 am

Of course, when I said he may have run off a large number of duplicates after printing the confession letter, I meant duplicates of something else e.g. teaching materials. Just thought I should clarify that.

Ray Jenkins

4/24/2018 02:25:15 am

Richard, I have just emailed you some info re the Confession letter from a friend of mine.

ZODIAC- BORN ON AUGUST 3RD

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