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

ZODIAC KILLER PEER REVIEW ON YOUTUBE-EVAN FROM TEXAS

4/27/2020

 
Evan from Texas has recently uploaded a video to Youtube exploring the claims of Thomas Henry Horan and adding some very interesting extra information. This material is extremely relevant, bearing in mind a recent article on this site entitled Squealling Tires and Raceing Engine. The column in the July 6th 1969 Vallejo Times-Herald newspaper with regard to the Blue Rock Springs attack, quoted George Bryant as saying he heard "the car take off at a high rate of speed, peeling rubber and cutting corners". The police added that "He wasn't sure, but he thought it was headed to the freeway". It was believed that the Zodiac Killer was responding to this newspaper article in the August 4th 1969 Debut letter, when he stated "I did not leave the cene of the killing with squealling tires + raceing engine as described in the Vallejo paper. I drove away quite slowly so as not to draw attention to my car". However, he used the words "squealing and tires" in identical fashion to the Blue Rock Springs police report of "he then heard a car take off at super speed and it burned rubber and was squealing its tires as it sped along the road".  This has led some to believe that the killer had access to the police reports.  
Picture
Below I will cover just a small part of Evan's excellent video, with respect to somebody who may have had access to the police reports when compiling his July 31st 1969 and August 4th 1969 letters. The entirety of the video can be viewed here. It contains a lot more information on this topic, presented over 32 absorbing minutes.

There are two snippets from the police reports below, which includes the Captain Daniel Pitta police report from Lake Herman Road and page 20 of the Lake Herman Road police report. The Zodiac Killer could be argued to be copying the police reports when writing his July 31st 1969 and August 4th 1969 letters, just switching or reversing the odd word to disguise the fact. The Captain Daniel Pitta police report in respect to David Faraday, stated "Victim #2 was lying face up". The Zodiac Killer wrote "the boy was on his back". The Captain Daniel Pitta police report in respect to David Faraday, stated he was found "with his feet to the right rear wheel". The Zodiac Killer wrote that David Faraday was left in the turnout "with his feet to the car". He had changed "face up" to "on his back". He had changed "his feet to the right rear wheel" to "his feet to the car".

In respect to Betty Lou Jensen, the Captain Daniel Pitta police report stated she was found with her "head to the east". The Zodiac Killer wrote that Betty Lou Jensen was left in the turnout with her "feet to the west". He had changed "head" to "feet". He had changed "east to west". The Blue Rock Springs police report stated "The girl was lying on her side facing the road". The Zodiac Killer wrote in the July 31st 1969 Examiner & Vallejo Times-Herald letters, that "the girl was on lyeing her right side". He had added the word "right".

This means, that through two sets of communications on July 31st 1969 and August 4th 1969, the Zodiac Killer provided an uncanny selection of facts that appeared to mimic the wording in the Lake Herman Road police report, Captain Daniel Pitta police report and Blue Rock Springs police report. When Vallejo Police Chief Jack E. Stiltz asked the claimed killer of David Faraday, Betty Lou Jensen and Darlene Ferrin for "more facts to prove it", did the Zodiac Killer go back to the police reports once again, using the word "squealling" in his reply on August 4th 1969? Or is this one big coincidence?
Picture
The Zodiac Killer chose to describe Darlene Ferrin at Blue Rock Springs as wearing "patterned pants" and "paterned slacks". The Blue Rock Springs police report on page 13 described her as a "WFA wearing a white and blue flowered slack dress" - and wearing a "slack dress" on page 2.
Picture
We also know that 10 shots were fired at Lake Herman Road on December 20th 1968, because that too is in the police report. The Zodiac Killer also described the brand of ammo as Super X, which can be found in the Department of Justice report here.
When the Zodiac Killer wrote in the October 13th 1969 letter "This is the Zodiac speaking. 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", was he aware of the Washington and Maple destination on the taxicab trip sheet? This destination was not mentioned in the October 12th 1969 San Francisco Chronicle newspaper article, or anywhere prior to the Zodiac Killer mailing the Paul Stine letter.

Evan from Texas plans to do some follow up work on the Zodiac Killer in upcoming videos. Please stay tuned. 
Zodiac Killer Peer Review on Youtube
art
5/5/2020 11:20:54 pm

Interesting topic Richard. To be clear, is it the (Zodiac) killer that might have been utilizing content from the police reports, or is it possibly a Pretender, i.e. not the killer but rather someone pretending to be the killer…? In other words, are the Zodiac and the killer(s) necessarily one in the same?

Richard
5/5/2020 11:21:31 pm

There are many options Art, but the murderer could be one individual and the letter writer could be a separate individual. They could in theory be the same person, but then there is little reason to imitate the police reports. The big stumbling block with this theory, is you may have somebody connected to law enforcement getting their hands on the LHR and BRS police reports and effectively turning the killer in the first two attacks into the bogeyman called the Zodiac Killer, but thereafter we would have to believe that this person then just randomly chose a taxicab murder to continue the series and subsequently secured a shirt piece from the victim to appear more convincing. This is where it breaks down for me.

The newspapers carried a lot of coverage of the LHR murders, but they weren't particularly specific. They did describe David Faraday being found by the Rambler and Betty Lou 28 feet from the vehicle - and even pinpointed the victims positions by way of arrows pointing at the blood in the turnout. Therefore Zodiac had limited ways to prove he was the killer, other than describe the exact positions of the bodies in the turnout in relation to their alignment - and we know from the Mount Diablo map and his directions given in the Bus Bomb letter regarding the Presidio park, he was fairly specific. Therefore his options were limited at LHR. So he detailed the victims exact positions in which they lay in the turnout, one of the only things not covered in the newspapers. To do that, he either has to describe which way their heads or feet were facing, or whether they were on their side, back or front. It therefore it isn't that surprising his proof of his involvement by detailing the body positions, closely aligned with a police report designed for accuracy, such as Pitta's.

On the face of it, the story of somebody connected with the police copying the police reports, sounds fairly compelling. That is, until you scratch the surface. How else was the Zodiac Killer able to prove he was in the turnout that night, other than describing the exact body positions of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen, along with the ammo he used. His options are limited. So, what looks initially like somebody with access to police reports, is probably nothing more than a killer having to be specific about the body positions that night - in other words, something not covered in the newspapers. The Youtube video is an interesting watch, but approaches the subject predominantly from the perspective of Thomas Horan and his claims, rather than what other detail could the killer possibly have given when trying to prove he had first hand knowledge of the crime scene. Clothing may have been another, which he did at BRS. It's an intriguing video and gives you pause for thought, but describing the body positions in relation to their head or feet, is not evidence that the killer had any knowledge of the police reports.

Richard
5/5/2020 11:22:05 pm

Imagine it another way Art. You have read about two "couple attacks" by a killer and you are a restless police official or detective who wants to play a game, and invent a Zodiac Killer character to pass the time. You begin by manufacturing letters from the killer. How do you then get to the position of selecting the last crime to imitate, which looks nothing like the first two or three attacks, before sneaking into another jurisdictions morgue and tearing off a piece of the victim's shirt. Why pick this crime, so alien to the first three, and why bother with the shirt, when you could have just read the PH police report or related documents and do what you supposedly did at LHR and BRS to prove your involvement. The shirt piece then becomes unnecessary. Did this criminal forger have no access to the LB police report? Also, why carry this charade through the 70s and into the late 80s or beyond, without any inside information in any police report. Had this law enforcement officer been sacked or had left his job? Nothing known to Zodiac and the police only, was evident subsequent to 1969. He never revealed anything about any of the subsequent crimes he claimed that wasn't already in the newspapers. The hoax theory fails to convince on many fronts.

art
5/5/2020 11:22:33 pm

Thanks for the explanation Richard. Based on what you are saying, it makes me wonder if a feasible scenario is that the first two murders (LHR and BRS) were a Pretender, i.e. someone not the killer but who created the entire Zodiac persona – but then the subsequent murders were copycats, i.e. real killers but adopting the persona of the Zodiac created by the Pretender…??

Richard
5/5/2020 11:23:05 pm

It's certainly feasible Art, if we were going down this route. However, I believe it far more likely Zodiac was just being specific with his body positions, and somebody found words from a report that closely aligned. In terms of "squealing tires", just probably an unfortunate match to the BRS police report. One match doesn't make the case for inside information. We'll see what the follow up video reveals. Regardless of my scepticism, I did find it intriguing, and well researched and presented.


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

    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