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THE AMERICAN CANYON 'HOT ZONE'

May 5, 2017, 1:53 am
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Yet again we shall return to the possible residence and location of the Zodiac Killer when he committed his four attacks, assuming he remained at the same address during his reign of terror. Kim Rossmo, pioneer of geographical profiling and the software Rigel, has made some excellent observations regarding the Zodiac Killer and his movements after each crime.
In his letters the Zodiac Killer made some telling remarks, that indicated he likely had a regular weekday profession. Not only were all his confirmed attacks on Friday and Saturday, but if we make the claim he was a resident in the Vallejo area, then he traveled further afield to San Francisco and Lake Berryessa on his rest day, when he had negligible time constraints. His first three letters to newspapers on July 31st 1969 held some vital clues. The Zodiac stated "I will go on a kill ram-Page Fry. night that will last the whole weekend.", "I will cruse around all weekend killing", and "I will cruse around killing people who are alone at night untill Sun Night." His span appears to cover Friday night to Sunday night, suggesting this was his window of opportunity and indicative of commitments during the week.      
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The killer mentioned the "golf course in vallejo", "good times I have had in Vallejo", "that area is surrounded by high hills + trees". In addition he targeted isolated spots frequented by courting teenagers, that suggested prior knowledge of the local area, and maybe locations that he frequently passed while traveling to work, visiting friends or engaging in pastimes. His compass or navigational markers were correct regarding both Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs Park, despite the widely held belief he was incorrect during his phone call to police dispatcher Nancy Slover. Despite his distances being off slightly, simply adding a comma or pause, changes the whole meaning of the phone call. Nancy Slover attempted to talk over Zodiac to acquire details and in addition had to recall the phone conversation word for word, in context, at a later time, so we can assume it may not have been the original message verbatim.
Let us add the breaks or pauses into the passage, and other than 'one mile east', which should be 2 miles east from the payphone or police station (see here), the rest is pretty much correct. "I wish to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east...... on Columbus Parkway to a public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They have been shot by a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye."  Or simply adding a comma and the word 'by', you end up with "I wish to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east, on Columbus Parkway by a public park you will find the kids in a brown car. They have been shot by a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye." 
To assume the Zodiac directions were wrong, would be to assume the 100% accuracy of Nancy Slover's recollection, which cannot be proved, as phone calls were not recorded during this time. 
The Zodiac Killer was also correct in his description of Lake Herman Road and Betty Lou Jensen, when he wrote "the girl was on her right side feet to the west."
Another key feature was the phone call made from Springs Road and Tuolumne Street 40 minutes after the Blue Rock Springs attack, despite this payphone being only 10 minutes journey time from the crime scene. In 40 minutes the Zodiac Killer could have traveled at least 25-30 miles from Blue Rock Springs, placing the phone call in relative safety on his journey to a distant residence, but chose to remain in the area of Vallejo. This gave credence to the idea the killer traveled home, concealed his weapon, changed his clothes and returned to the payphone, greatly reducing the risk of incrimination.        
PicturePayphone at Springs and Tuolumne
One area Kim Rossmo highlighted was American Canyon, and there are many good reasons for this. If we take the location of Eucalyptus Drive, Rio Del Mar and Cassayre Drive and calculate the journey time to these areas from Blue Rock Springs and back to the payphone, we find it takes approximately 24-34 minutes. This coupled with stashing the weapon, changing clothes and preparation for the return journey, would place us nearer to the 40 minute mark.   
Eucalyptus Drive to payphone: 7 miles (12-17 minutes). 
Blue Rock Springs to Eucalyptus Drive: 7 miles (12-17 minutes).
If the Zodiac Killer had taken time to plan his crimes carefully, then California State Route 29 would have taken him directly from home to Florida Street, only one mile from the payphone. Spending as little time as conceivably possible on the smaller roads and a speedy entry and exit, to and from the location of the payphone. Would the Zodiac Killer have assessed the risk factor in determining the buffer zone between his crimes and his residence, as well as the payphones and his residence. How did the buffer zones change on a Saturday, compared to Friday?
The Zodiac Killer clearly had more time to venture further afield on Saturday, but with only two attacks on this day, it is extremely difficult to compare Presidio Heights and Lake Berryessa from the standpoint of a pattern. However the route back by car from Spruce Street to Eucalyptus Drive is 46 miles and one hour. The journey time from Lake Berryessa to Eucalyptus Drive is very similar, 40 miles and just over an hour. Staying with the home location of Eucalyptus Drive in American Canyon, the Friday buffer zone would be 11 miles from Lake Herman Road and 7 miles from Blue Rock Springs. The buffer zone from each payphone after the second and third attack to Eucalyptus Drive is 7 miles and 9.5 miles respectively. But were these considerations in his planning.
The direction of the Zodiac Killer after Lake Berryessa to the 1231 Main Street, Napa payphone, is on a direct path to California State Route 29. The quickest route to San Francisco via State Route 29, is along state route 37 and Highway 101, straight to the Golden Gate Bridge into Presidio Park. Did the Zodiac Killer again plan a quick entry and exit plan after the murder of Paul Stine, creating an immediate separation within minutes of the crime. Once over the Golden Gate Bridge, he is a ghost in the night.     
PictureClick to enter Google maps
In the 'My Name is' letter mailed on April 20th 1970, the Zodiac Killer stated "I have killed ten people to date. It would have been a lot more except that my bus bomb was a dud.  I was swamped out by the rain we had a while back."
A cursory search on Google will show many examples of flooding in the region of American Canyon. It lies next to wetlands and an old landfill site, close to the eastern fringes of the Napa River.
City of American Canyon website:
"Our waters, wetlands and uplands are part of an interconnected watershed system that drains into San Francisco Bay, the largest estuary on the Pacific coasts of North and South America. 
From its headwaters near Calistoga to San Pablo Bay 55 miles downstream, a drop of water falling at the top of the ridge flows by gravity into the Napa River. There are 47 tributary creeks that flow into the Napa River. Fagan Creek, Sheehy Creek, Suscol Creek, American Canyon Creek and the North Slough are in our community. The Napa River Bay Trail is located on Wetlands Edge Road and Eucalyptus Drive. Parking is provided at the Wetlands Edge Viewing Area and Trailhead. There are several trail options for an enjoyable day hiking or biking."

This area of American Canyon is noteworthy for many reasons, but as Kim Rossmo alluded: "There is no guarantee an offender will be found in the peak profile area, but all else being equal, suspects located there should be prioritized. Geographic profiling is strictly an investigative decision support tool, and a geoprofile must be considered in the context of all available investigative information."
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LAKE BERRYESSA-NORTH OF THE CRIME SCENE

May 14, 2017, 8:04 am
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During the first two Zodiac crimes at Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs Park, it is entirely plausible the killer knew the area was frequented by courting couples, and systematically cruised between the two locations until the opportunity presented itself. He may very well have adopted the exact same technique at Lake Berryessa on September 27th 1969, moving between areas looking for suitable victims, either by moving his vehicle, or trawling the hillside on foot. One interesting observation may indicate his direction of travel after the attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard, and negate the premise his vehicle was parked near to Bryan's 1956 White Karmann Ghia. In fact, it may have been parked between 0.5 and 0.80 miles northwards along the Knoxville Road. Assuming he wrote on the car door after the attack, this being the case, he certainly would not want to be conspicuous traveling along the roadside edge back to his vehicle, so likely walked along the hillside to attract less attention. Despite this choice, he still may well have been spotted.    
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Three possible 'Zodiac' sightings may have occurred inside of three hours. 
Earlier on in the day three young women, students of Pacific Union College parked their vehicle at the A & W in St Helena. Within seconds of leaving their vehicle, a white male driving a silver or light blue Chevrolet, 2-door sedan with California plates pulled up to the rear of their car, bumper to bumper, yet remained inside his vehicle. This man would come into play later, once the girls had headed off to Lake Berryessa and parked up. The time was approximately 3.30 pm. They again noticed the same man approximately 50 feet away observing them sunbathing, and each time they looked at him he evaded eye contact, thus drawing suspicion. He was described as being between 28 and 40 years, 200 - 225 pounds, 6 feet tall, styled black hair, with rounded eyes and thin lips, he was good looking, with a muscular or stocky build, wearing dark blue or black pleated slacks and a dark pullover shirt. He remained observing them, by their accounts, for between 30 - 45 minutes.
Approximately two hours later Bryan Hartnell described his attacker as having dark brown hair, 225-250 lbs in weight and 5'8'' - 5'10'' in height, but admitted he was a bad judge of height because he was so tall. He wore a dark blue windbreaker and dark blue or black pleated pants. Bryan Hartnell noted the assailant's greasy hair visible by the eyelets of the hood, suggesting a longer hairstyle, not inconsistent with the drawing generated from the observations of the three women, with a swept back coiffured hairstyle.    
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After deciding the three women were not viable targets, the idea is that Zodiac traveled along the Knoxville Road in his vehicle and parked up at a location north of where Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard were ultimately attacked. He would then traverse the hillside, scouring the area for potential victims. The time is approximately 4.00-4.30 pm, so he had ample daylight remaining.
The reason for this hypothesis, are the observations of Dr Clifton Rayfield and his son David. In Zodiac Unmasked by Robert Graysmith, David Rayfield stated "I saw 'Zodiac' at a distance of about one hundred yards, so I wouldn’t be able to comment on his face. He was walking along the hillside about halfway between the road and the lake. But I remember him as being a stockier person. He wasn’t nimble when he was walking. And when he turned to walk away he wasn’t like a smooth, athletic person. To me he seemed a little overweight and on the clumsier side. Not having followed the story or ever having been re-interviewed by the police, I didn’t realize 'Zodiac' came upon us just before he stabbed the young couple. I sort of assumed I saw him making his getaway. I’ll tell you one thing, he didn’t like the fact I was carrying a gun. He turns and looks at me and my gun (which with its scope was pretty intimidating) for probably five, six seconds, and then turned and went up the hill up in a southerly direction. I said to myself, ‘That was funny. This guy wasn’t carrying a fishing pole. There’s no camping equipment. There’s no gun. What’s he doing out here?’” 
Napa County Sheriff's Department detective Ken Narlow would add "The kid had a .22 rifle, and 'Zodiac' came down within one hundred yards of them across an inlet. The kid saw the guy over there and he was wearing the blue windbreaker jacket. But evidently this wasn’t what he was looking for because it was a father-and-son deal. So the killer went a quarter mile up this road, went back up to the road, and evidently came down the road this way and saw this single car parked here, and then pulled in behind it. Rayfield and his son both stated that they had not observed a vehicle parked in the area of their car, and had only noticed the subject at a distance of approximately one hundred yards. Rayfield did report that there was a man with two young boys in the area shooting BB guns, but didn’t know whether or not they saw the subject. “I think their time was off a little bit ’cause I think Rayfield actually saw the Zodiac killer just prior to him going south four-fifths of a mile to where Shephard and Hartnell had their car parked. It sure looks like he stumbled on them and had not followed them. I’m convinced that Zodiac was just stalking any singular parked cars along the route. And that’s why he stopped when he saw Rayfield’s car there. When he saw the father and son and they saw him, he decided to go back up to his car. Then he drove down the road a little ways and saw the white Karmann Ghia. Then he came down here and saw a boy and a girl laying on this blanket under this oak tree, and this is what his game was, to kill the boy and the girl. This is why he struck here and not further up the road.” 
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Of course, this man observed by Dr Rayfield and son, is not necessarily the Zodiac Killer, but let us run with the possibility for a moment.    
​Detective Ken Narlow maybe correct, that the Rayfield's "time was off a little bit," because they estimated the time at 6.30 pm, and he thought that "Rayfield actually saw the Zodiac killer just prior to him going south four-fifths of a mile to where Shepard and Hartnell had their car parked."
But what of the possibility that Clifton and David Rayfield saw the Zodiac after the attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard, as David had initially assumed, and the time was nearer 6.50 pm (20 minutes walking time for 0.50-0.80 mile). He was traveling along the hillside, equidistant from the road and the lake, for obvious reasons. Despite having worn a three-quarter waistline bib during his attack, he would still be spattered with blood to some degree.
The reason for believing this sighting could have been after the attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard are threefold.
In Zodiac Unmasked Detective Ken Narlow revealed "Dr. Clifton Rayfield, an ophthalmologist, and his son, David, had parked their car four-fifths of a mile further up the road from Hartnell’s Karmann Ghia. Rayfield reported to me that at approximately 6:30 P.M. he and his son had parked their vehicle north of Park Headquarters . . . in the general area of the crime scene and walked down toward the beach. While en route Rayfield observed a WMA described as five feet ten inches, heavy build, wearing dark trousers and a long-sleeved dark shirt with red coloring.” 
Was this "red coloring" actually blood, and was he heading back to his car parked nearby, beyond the Rayfield vehicle . Had this been 6.50-6.55 pm, then the 45-50 minute journey time from Lake Berryessa to the 1231 Main Street, Napa payphone, places him there at exactly 7.40 pm, the time of the call to police dispatcher David Slaight. Had the Zodiac Killer left Lake Berryessa at 6.30 pm, it would leave at least 20 minutes unaccounted for. The 20 minute walk to his vehicle from Bryan Hartnell's Karmann Ghia fills in this time period. This period of walking may also account for the discrepancy in Zodiac's phone call, where he overestimated his distances by 1.3 miles: "I want to report a murder, no, a double murder. They are two miles north of Park Headquarters. They were in a white Volkswagen Karmann Ghia" and after a brief pause uttered the words  "I'm the one that did it."  
Earlier, the three women described the man wearing a "white belt around his back" or possibly "a white T-shirt hanging out." It has been considered that bearing in mind the man was a distance away, this could have been the white clothesline, described later by Bryan Hartnell. Then we had the "long-sleeved dark shirt with red coloring." But were the two sightings connected, to effectively rule out the idea Zodiac parked alongside Bryan Hartnell's vehicle before the attack, and suggest the Zodiac Killer was actually trolling the hillside on foot, looking for single vehicles and vulnerable targets, and his vehicle was actually parked four-fifths of a mile north of the crime scene.  

​http://murders.ru/zodiac%20unmasked.pdf
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THE CONFESSION LETTER-KILLER OR NOT

May 15, 2017, 8:04 am
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PictureThe Confession letter. Click to enlarge.
It has long been believed the Zodiac Killer may have taken credit for crimes he never committed. One such example was the Modesto abduction of Kathleen Johns on March 22nd 1970, to which he claimed credit, four months later, giving us details about the crime that had already been published in the newspapers. This may also have been the case in the murder of Cheri Jo Bates on October 30th 1966, when one month after the crime, somebody sent typed Confession letters to Riverside Homicide Detail and the Riverside Press Enterprise on November 29th 1966. But were these from the killer, or an elaborate hoaxer.
When a person is manufacturing a story or crime they never committed, they will obviously use material gleaned from the newspapers, but may subconsciously structure details in the letter in the same order they appeared in the newspaper. In addition they may use identical or similar words used by the author of the article. The person may have attempted to present the Confession letter as first hand information, but inadvertently leaked elements of the article into its wording and structure. Here is one such newspaper article released before the Confession letter arrived. 
'Riverside Police say their only clue in the brutal murder of a pretty, 18-year-old co-ed is a man's wristwatch found 10 feet from her slashed body. Officers speculated that while Cheri Jo Bates, a blonde cheerleader, studied Sunday night at the Riverside City College library, her killer disabled her car. Miss Bates' body, stabbed in the back, her throat slashed, was found early Monday under a tree, 100 feet from the car. The ignition key was in place in the compact car, but the distributor and coil wire had been torn loose, police said. Officers said an anonymous caller telephoned saying she had heard a terrified scream Sunday, then a muffled scream, then a car driving away The caller said she had not thought it serious enough to report until Monday.'              
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Let us compare this article to the Confession letter, to view any similarities.
#1.The first thing the article details is the 'brutal murder of a pretty, 18-year-old co-ed', in addition to being a 'blonde cheerleader.' The Confession letter opens with 'she was young and beautiful', along with 'maybe she will be the beautiful blond that babysits,' or 'the shapely blue eyed brownett that said no when I asked for a date in high school.'
#2. The article then details the car being disabled. The Confession letter similarly switches to the Volkswagen Beetle, stating 'I first pulled the middle wire from the distributor', but the author retrieves some additional material from later in the article, where it states 'the distributor and coil wire had been torn loose.'
This topic of the 'middle wire' has been hotly debated in many forums, on whether the author of the Confession letter is supplying information only known to the killer. Here is some additional information to help you decide. "The ignition coil is the unit that takes your relatively weak battery power and turns it into a spark powerful enough to ignite fuel vapor. Inside a a traditional ignition coil are two coils of wire on top of each other. These coils are called windings. One winding is called the primary winding, the other is the secondary. The primary winding gets the juice together to make a spark and the secondary sends it out the door to the distributor.
You'll see three contacts on an ignition coil, unless it has an external plug, in which case the contacts are hidden inside the case. The large contact in the middle is where the coil wire goes (the wire that links the coil to the distributor cap." 
https://www.thoughtco.com/your-ignition-system-how-does-it-work
​http://www.1966vwbeetle.com/1966%20Wiring%20Diagram.htm
http://www.carparts.com/classroom/ignition.htm​​
 
#3. The article then mentions how Cheri Jo Bates was murdered: 'Miss Bates' body, stabbed in the back, her throat slashed, was found early Monday under a tree.'  
​The author of the Confession letter again follows: 'I grabbed her around the neck with my hand over her mouth and my other hand with a small knife at her throat,' continuing on to parrot the article 'I plunged the knife into her. Then I finished the job by cutting her throat.'  The article gives the impression Cheri Jo Bates suffered only two wounds, one to the back, one to the throat. The author of the Confession letter equally describes only two strikes with the knife, despite the fact Cheri Jo Bates suffered numerous lacerations to her body, over a prolonged period, and did not 'go to the slaughter like a lamb.'  
#4. The article then details an anonymous caller who 'had heard a terrified scream.'
The Confession letter again mimics this detail: 'She let out a scream once and I kicked her head to shut her up'. Triggered by the anonymous caller, the author of the Confession letter is reminded to state, 'Yes I did make that call to you also.'   
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Finally, the author of the Confession letter stated "I first pulled the wire from the distributor. Then I waited for her in the library and followed her out after about two minuts. The battery must have been about dead by then. I then offered to help. She was then very willing to talk to me." None of which actually happened. 
Walter Siebert stated that 'he and a few friends were in the library from 7.15 pm until 9, but did not see Miss Bates, whom they all knew. They said they saw four men dressed in work clothes sitting on a fence across from the spot where Miss Bates' car was found, but they did not know them.'.
These workmen must have been spotted by Walter Siebert and his friends when they arrived at the library at 7.15 pm. The workmen said they saw Cheri Jo Bates by her Volkwagen Beetle, as they were sitting opposite her vehicle, on the fence, but Cheri Jo was not recollected by Walter Siebert & Co that evening. We know Cheri Jo Bates parked her Volkswagen Beetle on Terracina Drive no later than 6.15 pm, and it is assumed it remained there throughout, until it was discovered disabled the following day. The four young men were interrogated by police, stating "they had seen Cheri Jo near her car the previous night". They must have seen Cheri Jo Bates at 6.15 pm, when she parked up to enter the library. They do not mention to police anybody tampering with the Volkswagen Beetle, anybody assisting Cheri Jo Bates, or Cheri Jo Bates experiencing car trouble. They fail to see anything suspicious, including hearing any commotion or screams from the alleyway. This totally negates the claims issued by the author of the Confession letter, and reinforces the idea the author is simply mimicking what they have read in the newspapers.
So was the author of the Confession letter the killer. I will let you decide.  

CHERI JO BATES-MINUTE BY MINUTE
CHERI JO BATES-MINUTE BY MINUTE [PT2]
​CHERI JO BATES-THE COMPLETE EYEWITNESS TIMELINE
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ZODIAC'S 'FAKE CLEWS'

May 16, 2017, 12:14 pm
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On November 9th 1969 the Zodiac Killer mailed the 'Bus Bomb' letter to the San Francisco Chronicle detailing the murder of Paul Stine. In the correspondence he stated "If you wonder why I was wipeing the cab down. I was leaving fake clews for the police to run all over town with, as one might say, I gave the cops som bussy work to do to keep them happy. I enjoy needling the blue pigs". This has been thought by many to suggest the killer may have been planting fake fingerprints on the taxicab, which sounds a little far-fetched. On October 15th, only four days after the crime, the San Francisco Chronicle ran an article entitled 'The Boastful Slayer.' It stated "Witnesses said they saw the man wiping down the door and interior of the cab with a cloth." The Zodiac suggested he was leaving fake clues, but what sort of clues would make the police run all over town, and what purpose would it serve. He may have realized that the police would likely discover the approximate area he entered the taxicab, so may have wanted to throw them off the exact location by misdirecting them to a secondary location close by. He could achieve this by leaving something in the taxicab on purpose, to give the police "some busy work." Something that featured in later newspaper articles.
Twelve days after the crime, on October 23rd 1969 the San Francisco Examiner ran this:"The search also took police to Nob Hill, where the Fairmont Hotel became involved again in the manhunt. This was because: #1. Cabbie Paul Stine, 29, the Zodiac's latest victim is believed to have picked up his fare on a street near the famed hotel. #2. A waitress in the hotel candy shop-fountain told police she served coffee during the television show (Jim Dunbar/Melvin Belli) to a man who resembled composite drawings of Zodiac. She saved the cup and saucer for a fingerprint check."
It clearly states "the Fairmont Hotel became involved again," indicating it had previously been considered a possibility. But why? Paul Stine was returning to the theater district from the San Francisco International Airport, when he was directed by taxicab operator Leroy Sweet to a fare at 500 9th Avenue. There was no mention by anybody that Paul Stine was picking up a fare outside the Fairmont Hotel en route. The taxicab meter read $6.25 at 10.46 pm, as it rested near the intersection of Washington and Cherry, and this meter reading, along with the final contact with Paul Stine, was used to calculate his approximate position in the theater district, by Union Square. Something else must have prompted this consideration.         
PictureClick for full article
It has been considered that the article on the right, detailing an attack on another taxicab driver, only eleven days prior to the Paul Stine murder (click to read full article), may have been the catalyst to revisit the Fairmont Hotel. However this appears not to be the case.
On September 30th 1969, a Chinese Yellow Cab driver in San Francisco picked up a fare at the 950 Mason Street, Fairmont Hotel. "He was first robbed at gunpoint. Then he was forced into the trunk of his cab and locked in after his pleas that he might suffocate failed to sway the gunman. But the cabbie was found and freed by military police inside Presidio grounds before being overcome. San Francisco Captain Martin Lee explained there is an amazing similarity in MO in the two cabbie cases. Both times the drivers picked up ostensible fares in the area of the Fairmont-Mark Hopkins Hotels at night- and they climbed in alongside the drivers. Both passengers asked to be driven to Presidio Heights, in fact just three blocks from each other. Then, nearing their destinations, each one made a last minute change, in where he wanted to be taken. The descriptions of the passengers made by the surviving driver and the three children varied widely. But Captain Lee said, only partly in jest, "all Occidentals look alike to an Oriental person." The taxicab driver had been waiting in line in front of the Fairmont Hotel at 11.00 pm on September 30th when a man, who appeared to be a cook or other hotel worker came up. He hopped in the front and asked to be taken to Washington and Locust Streets. The cabbie later asked the fare if he worked in the Mark Hopkins. He replied tersely "yeah". Near the original destination the passenger told the cabbie to drive down to Arguello and into the Presidio."
The crucial part is "Both times the drivers picked up ostensible fares in the area of the Fairmont-Mark Hopkins Hotels at night-" This indicates that the September 30th case was not the catalyst for investigators to consider the Fairmont Hotel in the Paul Stine murder, but was separate and independent of it.
The Fairmont Hotel clearly generated no leads we are aware of, but what drove investigators to consider this pick-up point as a viable option in the Paul Stine murder case.
As stated above, the Zodiac Killer knew that investigators could backtrack his approximate location to the theater district, so possibly had to throw them off his scent by offering an alternative area of interest, in line, and not widely in conflict to the taxicab meter reading. The Fairmont Hotel and Union Square/Mason and Geary Street areas, are virtually the same distance to the Washington and Cherry intersection. Often the police withhold details of a crime to verify future correspondence from the killer. Captain Martin Lee would allude to this in a KPIX news report on November 12th 1969. Did the Zodiac Killer deliberately drop "fake clews" inside the taxicab on October 11th 1969, insinuating a connection between him and the Fairmont Hotel, sending police on a wild goose chase, "running all over town," and was he aware of the previous taxicab hold-up, using it to his full advantage.   
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LAKE BERRYESSA-NORTH OF THE CRIME SCENE [PT2]

May 17, 2017, 1:39 pm
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This is a follow up to the article 'Lake Berryessa-North of the Crime Scene,' analyzing the sighting of an individual by Dr Clifton Rayfield and his son David. This is what Napa County Sheriff's Department detective Ken Narlow said "Dr. Clifton Rayfield, an ophthalmologist, and his son, David, had parked their car four-fifths of a mile further up the road from Hartnell’s Karmann Ghia. Rayfield reported to me that at approximately 6:30 P.M. he and his son had parked their vehicle north of Park Headquarters . . . in the general area of the crime scene and walked down toward the beach. While en route Rayfield observed a WMA described as five feet ten inches, heavy build, wearing dark trousers and a long-sleeved dark shirt with red coloring. Rayfield and his son both stated that they had not observed a vehicle parked in the area of their car,” He continued “I think their time was off a little bit ’cause I think Rayfield actually saw the Zodiac killer just prior to him going south four-fifths of a mile to where Shephard and Hartnell had their car parked. It sure looks like he stumbled on them and had not followed them. I’m convinced that Zodiac was just stalking any singular parked cars along the route. And that’s why he stopped when he saw Rayfield’s car there. When he saw the father and son and they saw him, he decided to go back up to his car. Then he drove down the road a little ways and saw the white Karmann Ghia. Then he came down here and saw a boy and a girl laying on this blanket under this oak tree, and this is what his game was, to kill the boy and the girl. This is why he struck here and not further up the road.” http://www.zodiackiller.com/LBReport6.html
Many observers believe this could be Zodiac, but what is the likelihood.
The 6.30 pm time stated by Dr Rayfield and his son could be argued. Had this 'mystery man' been Zodiac, he would have had to return up the hill, get in his vehicle and drive 0.8 miles south to where Bryan Hartnell's Karmann Ghia was located. The time would be now approximately 6.33 pm. The walk to the crime scene location is a quarter of a mile. The average walking speed is 3.1 mph (1 mile taking approximately 20 minutes). Therefore the journey down to the location where Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard were lying, considering the terrain, would be likely above 5 minutes, but we will go with this figure. The time is now 6.38 pm. He hides behind a tree and prepares for his attack (6.39 pm). The Zodiac then entered into a fairly long dialogue with the couple, proceeded to secure them with bindings and then stabbed them multiple times. The minimum estimation is 10 minutes, taking us to 6.49 pm. Returning up the hill and writing on the car door, a minimum of 6 minutes. This would be now be 6.55 pm. The journey time for the 27 mile trip to the 1231 Main St, Napa payphone is estimated at 45 minutes. This would place Zodiac at the payphone at 7.40 pm, the exact time of the call. This timeline however is very optimistic, and does not tally exactly with the time of the attack, written on the car door by Zodiac, as 6.30 pm, but is nevertheless within 10 minutes.   
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According to page 11 of the police report 'Miss Marilyn Denise, a student at Pacific Union College, stated that about 5.15 pm Saturday 9/27/69 she was in the Lake Berryessa area with a male companion. She stated at this time they were parked on the Knoxville Road approximately one mile south of the Lake Berryessa Marina. She stated shortly after they parked the vehicle they observed the victims who were known to them, Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard, driving south on Knoxville Road in Bryan's white Karmann Ghia. She stated as the Hartnell vehicle drove by, Bryan waved out of the window and said "Hi John", referring to her companion.'  
Let us assume then, that Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard arrived and parked up the Karmann Ghia around 5.30 pm.
Dr Clifton Rayfield had reported that he had parked up four-fifths of a mile further north at 6.30 pm, likely one hour after Bryan Hartnell had arrived. So Detective Ken Narlow's assumption that Zodiac was probably "stalking any singular parked cars along the route." would be unlikely, as Zodiac would certainly have stumbled across the Karmann Ghia first, not Dr Rayfield's vehicle. This could lend credence to the idea that Dr Rayfield and his son saw the killer after the stabbing of the couple, hence the observation of a man wearing a "long-sleeved dark shirt with red coloring," that may have been blood. This however has a massive stumbling block. If the Zodiac Killer had discovered the Karmann Ghia first and parked alongside it, why would he be wandering around a hillside 0.8 miles north. He would simply have entered his vehicle and driven south towards Napa.
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​In a previous article it was considered that the killer may have been searching for victims on foot, traveling along the hillside, scanning for single vehicles and likely prey. Simply wandering the area, rather than continually moving his vehicle. If this were the case, and the Zodiac Killer had written on the Karmann Ghia at 6.30 pm, then the journey on foot 0.8 miles north, using caution, would have taken 20-25 minutes, arriving at his vehicle at 6.50-6.55 pm, This again, considering a 45 minute journey to the Napa payphone, places him making the call to police dispatcher Dave Slaight at exactly 7.40 pm.
This would mean Dr Clifton Rayfield and his son saw Zodiac roughly 20 minutes after they parked their vehicle, as opposed to just after 6.30 pm. Or the actual time they arrived at the lake was nearer 6.50 pm. If this were Zodiac, it may explain the "red coloring."
Dr Clifton Rayfield had driven from Cypress Way, Los Gatos, California, so he would have traveled northwards along Knoxville Road. Had Zodiac's vehicle been parked further north, out of view, this would explain why Dr Rayfied and son had claimed they "had not observed a vehicle parked in the area of their car." But this would have put greater pressure on the already strained timeline of Zodiac leaving this area and committing any subsequent attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard south of this location. This coupled with the fact Zodiac wrote 6.30 pm on the Karmann Ghia, strengthens Dr Rayfield's initial assumption, when he stated, "I didn’t realize 'Zodiac' came upon us just before he stabbed the young couple. I sort of assumed I saw him making his getaway." If this was the Zodiac, then he was likely making his getaway, and therefore never parked alongside the Karmann Ghia of Bryan Hartnell. If it wasn't Zodiac, then what you have just read is inconsequential.     

LAKE BERRYESSA-NORTH OF THE CRIME SCENE [PT1]   
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THE ALBANY AND FAIRFIELD LETTERS ENHANCED

May 19, 2017, 3:50 pm
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PRESIDIO HEIGHTS-MINUTE BY MINUTE

June 5, 2017, 5:46 am
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The following timeline is my interpretation of events regarding the Presidio Heights murder of Paul Stine on October 11th 1969. It has been created using eyewitness accounts and the science of time and distance. It is however not the only possible scenario of events in the aftermath of Zodiac's perceived final attack.  
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This is not necessarily the time the taxicab of Paul Stine drew up to the intersection of Washington and Cherry. This is the time the three teenagers first noticed what they believed to be some sort of altercation within the taxicab, documented as 9.55 pm in the police report. The Zodiac Killer actually exited the taxicab at 9.56 pm to make good his escape north on Cherry Street. We know it was 9.56 pm from the testimony of Donald Fouke, one of the first responding officers that night.
His identification has been challenged, as possibly being a different subject, based on differences in weight, hair color and age compared the the description given by the teenagers. However there are also similarities in description. The timeline of a subject leaving the taxicab at a normal walking speed of 3.1 mph, traveling north on Cherry St and east on Jackson St, matches perfectly with the sighting of Donald Fouke's timeline from when he received the first police broadcast. In addition, Zodiac specifically highlighted in his 'Bus Bomb' correspondence on November 9th 1969 that he ran into two cops who "pulled a goof." The movement of the patrol car occupied by Donald Fouke and Eric Zelms was never disclosed in the newspapers, but was known to the letter writer, and the timeline fits perfectly.  
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This is the time of the initial broadcast given to Donald Fouke and Eric Zelms as they were traveling northbound on Presidio Avenue, having just passed Washington Street. At the exact time, officers Armond Pelissetti and Frank Peda traveling on Washington St would receive the same broadcast. 
Donald Fouke reported seeing a white male adult approaching the intersection of Jackson and Maple Street as he approached in his patrol car, just as Zodiac would allude to in the 'Bus Bomb' letter.
This 'meeting' fits the known timeline. The distance from the intersection of Presidio Avenue and Washington St to the intersection of Jackson and Maple is 862 meters, indicating Donald Fouke traveling between 30-40 mph, would arrive here at 9.59 pm. Zodiac stated he approached the police 'about 3 min after he left the cab.' This journey from the taxicab at 9.56 pm, walking at the average speed of 3.1 mph, takes approximately 3 minutes, indicating he would arrive at this point at 9.59 pm, matching the timeline of Donald Fouke.
Although people point to discrepancies in the eyewitness identification, what we do know is the initial sketch of the suspect was initiated by the three teenagers recollection, and at no time to my knowledge did Donald Fouke view this sketch and state that this wasn't the man he observed. The facial features in the second sketch were virtually identical to the original, only marginally older. If Donald Fouke had spotted a totally different subject, he would surely have said so.  
Donald Fouke in his original statement stated he saw the subject turn into the northern section of Maple St, however there is no direct access from here into the park without negotiating bushes and a retaining wall, and at night may have appeared a dead end to the murderer. This drives to the heart of the killer's knowledge of the area. He may well have known the area fairly well, but to anybody other than the occupants of the residence at the top of Maple St, why should they be aware of a possible route through, when to all intense and purpose, the area looks like a blind alley. The Zodiac may simply have turned into Maple as a ruse, to get out of sight, before continuing on down Jackson St.  
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The Zodiac described that after his meeting with Donald Fouke and Eric Zelms "the cops peeled rubber + went around the corner as I directed them + I disappeared into the park a block + a half away never to be seen again." This is where the Zodiac gives us a hand on his exact movements that night. It has been suggested that the Zodiac Killer was a liar, and we should disregard his claims in the 'Bus Bomb' letter, but any reference to his directional movements in and around the park that night, is of little evidentiary value to law enforcement one month after the fact, and independent to his ridicule of the police. Additionally, his explicit detail may have served the purpose to focus the police investigation within the Presidio Heights or San Francisco region, particularly if he was a non-resident of the locale.
If the Zodiac disappeared into the park one and a half blocks from his 'meeting' with Donald Fouke, he would then arrive at Spruce Street at approximately 10.01 pm. For Zodiac, the journey eastwards to Spruce Street from just past the intersection of Jackson and Maple Street is 180 meters (0.112 miles), so assuming he picked up his walking speed to 4 mph after giving Donald Fouke and Eric Zelms the runaround, he would arrive somewhere in the vicinity of the Jackson and Spruce intersection in 1 minute 45 seconds. The time would be approaching 10.01 pm. This is where the October 12th 1969 San Francisco Chronicle article makes perfect sense from the standpoint of our third set of eyewitnesses. They describe a man with traits very similar to the ones described by Donald Fouke, a man about 40 years, with a blond crew cut, wearing glasses, with dark clothing. It was 10.01 pm at night, with curtains likely drawn,  so how did it come about that 'neighbors', described by Robert Graysmith in his book, noticed the suspect man and were able to give a fairly detailed description. We probably have Donald Fouke to thank for that.
If we go on memory, then what Donald Fouke stated in the 1989 'Crime of the Century' documentary is likely more accurate than his differing claims in the 2007 Zodiac documentary. In the 1989 documentary he said after passing the subject on Jackson St "We proceeded on Jackson Street towards Arguello continuing our search, as we arrived at Arguello Street the description of the suspect was changed to a white male adult, believing this suspect was possibly the one involved in the shooting we entered the Presidio of San Francisco and conducted a search on West Pacific Avenue, the opposite side of the wall and the last direction we observed the suspect going, we did not find the suspect."
This tends to give credence to Zodiac's claims he spoke to and directed the police, considering Donald Fouke was traveling towards Arguello Boulevard and away from a crime scene he should have been approaching. When he received the update to a white male, he naturally may have realized the man he had just encountered may have been the killer. Having last seen the subject enter the top part of Maple, it is understandable that he would have believed the man may have entered the Presidio park over the retaining wall. After passing Zodiac the journey westwards for Donald Fouke to Arguello Boulevard and eastwards along West Pacific Avenue to Julius Khan playground is 810 meters (1/2 mile), taking approximately 1 minute traveling at 30 mph. However he is obviously scouring the roadway and dense undergrowth bordering West Pacific Avenue, so his journey time to Julius Khan Playground likely took nearer to 90 seconds. This places Donald Fouke's patrol car, red light and siren, reaching the area adjacent to Spruce Street at 10.00:30 pm, just slightly before Zodiac also arrives at Spruce Street.
At this point Donald Fouke finds nothing, but his patrol car has ultimately alerted the neighbors, who understandably have looked out of their windows in the area of Spruce Street. Donald Fouke begins to turn his vehicle around as Zodiac approaches, who obviously remains out of sight until Donald Fouke departs back up West Pacific Avenue. Zodiac then makes haste into the park to gain some cover from the upcoming police search. What he doesn't realize though, is that the neighbors are still looking out of their windows and notice Zodiac as he makes haste into the park. Their description is the one given in the October 12th 1969 San Francisco Chronicle article.        
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The search dogs have not yet been deployed, so the Zodiac would naturally head towards either his residence or his waiting vehicle. If he was a resident of Vallejo or Benicia his obvious escape route would be towards Cow Hollow on the eastern fringes of the park. Dave Toschi also believed this was his likely exit route from the park, as described in Robert Graysmith's book: "The detectives heard from neighbors that a stocky figure was seen dashing across Julius Khan playground and into the dense undergrowth of the Presidio. The dog patrol units, seven of the best search dogs in the country, gathered at the front entrance of the Presidio and were deployed one at a time in various directions. Armstrong and Toschi considered the possibilities. Had the killer gone quickly through the dark woods and emerged from the Presidio at Richardson Avenue, and taken Highway 101 past Fort Point onto the Golden Gate Bridge and vanished into Marin County."
Richardson Avenue is situated right by Highway 101, which provides easy access to the Golden Gate Bridge back to the Vallejo area, forming an immediate separation from San Francisco within minutes of the crime.
Zodiac however is still by Julius Khan playground, so his next move eastwards is telling. He describes this in the November 9th 1969 'Bus Bomb' letter: "I enjoy needling the blue pigs. Hey blue pig I was in the park -- you were useing fire trucks to mask the sound of your cruzeing prowl cars. The dogs never came with in 2 blocks of me, they were to the west." This suggests the Zodiac was likely just over two blocks east of Julius Khan playground. We know this because the sniffer dogs had assembled at this location, as well as Arguello Boulevard, to sweep across the park in dragnet style. The Zodiac Killer had only one option to avoid capture - head east. Fortunately for him he had already taken this option. The journey time by road to the mid section of Laurel and Walnut Street (just over 2 blocks) is approximately 5 minutes, likely nearer 6 minutes via the park. His next point of cover is shown by the map here, situated by dense undergrowth. The time is now 10.07 pm, and the motorcycles and police cars are circling the park. He may at this point have been intending to ride it out until the coast was clear, but he likely hadn't banked on the sniffer dogs being deployed at around 10.10 pm, as detailed in the police report. Faced with reducing options the Zodiac Killer continued eastwards through the undergrowth towards Presidio Boulevard, shown here on the map.   
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The journey time to Presidio Boulevard via road is approximately 4 minutes, but the killer is traveling through the park with dogs heading his way and motorcycles circling the park. He has to finely balance keeping up his pace, yet applying caution to avoid being spotted from the road to the south. This would likely take his journey time closer to 5 minutes, placing Zodiac at the edge of the park at 10.15 pm. It is extremely likely he is now hidden in the dense foliage bordering Presidio Boulevard, waiting for an opportune moment to escape the park into Cow Hollow. He alludes to this in the 'Bus Bomb' letter: "there was only 2 groups of parking about 10 min apart then the motor cicles went by about 150 ft away going from south to north west." The only possible location he could be present 150 feet from a road, which travels from south to north west, is if he is sheltering in the trees on the western edge of Presidio Boulevard. It can be seen here on Google maps that Presidio Boulevard heads south before veering northwest. Ironically the road situated close to Presidio Boulevard on the south-eastern fringe of the park is called Lover's Lane.
The Zodiac Killer made this apparent only two days after the crime, on October 13th 1969, when he mailed the first Stine letter: "The S.F. Police could have caught me last night if they had searched the park properly instead of holding road races with their motorcicles seeing who could make the most noise. The car drivers should have just parked their cars and sat there quietly waiting for me to come out of cover." That cover was probably on the south-eastern corner of the park. The Zodiac Killer waited for his opportunity until the coast was clear and made good his escape shortly after 10.15 pm. If his vehicle is parked somewhere near to Highway 101 in Cow Hollow, then he is across the Golden Gate Bridge in as little as 8 minutes. His escape is complete.     
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CRIMECON 2017-INDIANAPOLIS

June 6, 2017, 10:07 am
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Crimecon 2017 is about to commence in Indianapolis, Indiana from June 9-11, described as 'A weekend of motives, murder and mystery. A celebration of all things true crime, Crimecon brings the cases you love to life through immersive experiences, incredible guests, and a ton of mystery and intrigue. It was created for those of us who binged on Making a Murderer or who spend more hours watching Dateline marathons than we'd like to admit. Crimecon transports fans from the couch to the crime scene and into courtroom. If your idea of the perfect night involves alibis, motives, and a bottle of wine, then this is the event you've been waiting for. Grab a few true crime-obsessed friends and join us in for a an unforgettable weekend'. 
​The three day event will feature many investigators, special guests and celebrities, including Nancy Grace, Josh Mankiewicz, Aphrodite Jones, Carl Marino and Jim Clemente, to name but a few. Packages for the event include Standard, VIP and Gold VIP, and can be purchased in block, covering all three days. Single day passes are also available for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, costed at $110, $175 and $95 respectively. To purchase tickets please visit here. http://www.crimecon.com/​
​Mike Morford of ZodiacKillerSite.com forum and Zodiac Killer 101 on Youtube will be attending the event to discuss the case of the Golden State Killer, and will be open to discussion on true crime, including the Zodiac Killer. 
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THE CIGARETTE BUTT

June 8, 2017, 10:15 am
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One of the smallest and most underrated pieces of evidence in the Cheri Jo Bates murder case is the cigarette butt recovered from the alleyway on October 31st 1966. At 9.30 pm on Sunday October 30th 1966 a female student was walking through the ill fated alleyway where Cheri Jo Bates' body would ultimately be discovered, when she observed a man smoking a cigarette. The two exchanged pleasantries, unfortunately however she was unable to furnish a facial description of the man, as he was standing in the shadows. Clearly the police believed this a valid and significant sighting, as not only was this woman the last eyewitness before the murder, but she was evidently able to specify the man's exact location, resulting in the police retrieving a cigarette butt from the alleyway, that years later would yield a DNA profile. The cigarette butt had a DNA concentration of 0.003 nanograms per microliter. Hair, believed to be from the killer, was found in a blood clot at the base of Cheri Jo Bates' right thumb, and also yielded DNA. If these two specimens were able to be matched, then we could say the killer of Cheri Jo Bates is the man responsible for discarding the cigarette retrieved. This may not necessarily be the man viewed by the female student, but there is a strong likelihood, as she would have led or described to police the exact location she had encountered him, and seemingly this was the only cigarette butt tested. This opens up many possibilities.
The unidentified male had a line of sight to Cheri Jo Bates' Volkswagen Beetle parked on Terracina Drive, he was standing in the alleyway 30 minutes subsequent to the library closing its doors, and was the last person seen in the alleyway prior to screams being heard, approximately 45-60 minutes later by local residents. This is the most viable suspect in relation to the murder.
We know Cheri Jo Bates was not present in the library at 9.00 pm, and did not leave at closing time. If this was her murderer, he may have been under the impression Cheri Jo Bates was in the library when he arrived to the Riverside campus. He disabled her vehicle and waited for her to exit. By 9.30 pm he would have realized she hadn't exited the library, but with her vehicle close by, knew she would be returning sooner rather than later, and the alleyway was the perfect vantage point.
If this man was a random killer not familiar with Cheri Jo Bates, simply on the lookout for lone women, he certainly rejected the opportunity that presented itself at 9.30 pm, when a young female student passed him in the alleyway. Does this, along with the disabling of Cheri Jo Bates' vehicle indicate he had a specific target in mind? It definitely points in this direction. Situated in the alleyway, between the library annex and the Volkswagen Beetle, if this man was the killer, it could be argued that he was of the belief that Cheri Jo Bates would be traveling from right to left along Terracina Drive to return to her vehicle, as opposed to the reverse.   
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Does the fact that Riverside Police have consistently dismissed any link to the Zodiac Killer, suggest a DNA comparison has been established. If the DNA retrieved from the Riverside crime scene has all but ruled out long standing suspect 'Bob Barnett,' then for anybody who believes the Cheri Jo Bates and Zodiac cases are connected, and have a 'favorite' suspect, then available DNA could effectively rule them out too.
The DNA comparison ruled out 'Bob Barnett', but how many of Cheri Jo Bates' colleagues, companions and friends of the day have latterly been screened and been eliminated or otherwise.
This crime has all the hallmarks of a killer who knew Cheri Jo Bates, knew where she was going that evening, knew her vehicle, and if the man in the alleyway was our killer, he was prepared to wait a substantial period of time to secure his objective. The answer to how close this person was to Cheri Jo Bates may lie in the discarded cigarette butt, how long he was prepared to lie in wait in the alleyway, and possibly his mistaken belief that Cheri Jo Bates was studying in the library until closing time. These, coupled with the disabling of the Volkswagen Beetle, may point to the inner circle rather than a stranger.    
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TWO ASSAILANTS AT PRESIDIO HEIGHTS?

June 16, 2017, 3:18 am
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The following has been covered many times before on this site, but on this occasion we will examine the premise of two assailants present in the rear of Paul Stine's taxicab at the intersection of Washington and Cherry Streets on October 11th 1969. It is not necessarily a position I subscribe to, however in the interest of neutrality it must be examined. This will not be based on speculation, it will be reasoned using the three teenage eyewitnesses and the timelines of Donald Fouke and Armond Pelissetti, two of the initial police responders that night.
Many eyewitnesses involved in the Zodiac crimes have changed, if not embellished their testimony down the years, and rightly must treated with skepticism. An ever changing and elaborate story is to be considered suspect. But what we notice in the police report of the Paul Stine murder is very little detail. A report only one and a half pages long, drafted by the following morning of October 12th 1969. The three teenagers have been noticeably quiet during the last 48 years, in which publicity seeking opportunism could certainly not be leveled at them. They gave a second account of the night's events on October 11th 1969, and although one usually sneers at second, third and fourth generation accounts of the same event, their full account of the murder of Paul Stine was never originally heard and documented in a rather limited police report. Their recounting of events at a later date carries much weight, because not only does it explain why a blooded fingerprint was found on the dividing panel, between Paul Stine's driver side door and the left rear passenger door, but their testimony is fully corroborated by the statement of Armond Pelissetti on the 2007 Zodiac documentary.   
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This is the statement of the Robbins teenagers "As both Robbins kids were the oldest, their statements were the given the most weight. Also they were the least traumatized by the event. One of the kids (not sure which) noticed a cab parked outside (in that now famous spot) with the interior lights on. So when Lindsey told me that the light inside the car was like a spotlight, it was so bright.
The first kid at the window said the driver looked "sick, or something". Lindsey and Rebecca went to the window and saw the driver laying across the front seat, head toward the passenger door. His head was in the lap of another man (passenger). Rebecca saw blood and said out loud, "he's stabbing that man." She was seeing blood on the victim and saw the glint of a knife, so she assumed a stabbing was taking place. (No shots were heard by anyone).
We know now that Zodiac was cutting off a large piece of Stine's shirt with the knife.
At this time, Lindsey went downstairs to get a better look at what was happening, while one of the kids upstairs called the police. Downstairs, the lights were off, so Lindsey knew he could not be seen from the outside. He got close to the window and watched his actions. He was shortly joined by Rebecca. They both watched and observed in silence as Zodiac pushed the driver to an upright position behind the steering wheel, exited the car and walked around the rear of the car and opened the driver's door. Stine had fallen over onto the seat and Zodiac pulled him back up into the seated position and had some difficulty keeping him upright. Once upright, he was seen to have a rag, or something like a handkerchief and began to wipe down the door area and leaning over the driver, part of the dashboard. When he was finished, Zodiac calmly walked to Cherry St. and walked north.
Not many know this, but Lindsey (being 16. feeling immortal, and believing the suspect to be armed with only a knife) ran out of his door to see where Zodiac was going. He ran to the corner of Cherry and watched as Zodiac continued his casual pace right up to the corner of Jackson & Cherry.
At this exact point, the first SFPD car arrives with two officers. One, Pelissetti, approached Lindsey and tried to extract what was happening. The other officer went to the cab and found the bloody victim. While Pelissetti was asking questions, Lindsey was trying to explain that the suspect was in sight on Cherry St. By the time Pelissetti got the point, they both looked and the Zodiac was gone."
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There are two key points to remember in this account:
​#1. "They both watched and observed in silence as Zodiac pushed the driver to an upright position behind the steering wheel, exited the car and walked around the rear of the car and opened the driver's door. Stine had fallen over onto the seat and Zodiac pulled him back up into the seated position and had some difficulty keeping him upright."
If Zodiac was right-handed, then his blooded right hand caused by the back spatter from killing Paul Stine may easily have been deposited on the taxicab door divider as Zodiac braced his right hand to lever Paul Stine back to a seated position, albeit he didn't remain in this position.
​#2. "Not many know this, but Lindsey (being 16. feeling immortal, and believing the suspect to be armed with only a knife) ran out of his door to see where Zodiac was going. He ran to the corner of Cherry and watched as Zodiac continued his casual pace right up to the corner of Jackson & Cherry."
This was backed up by Armond Pelissetti in the 2007 documentary "We responded to a radio call that told us a cab driver was being robbed and possibly assaulted at the corner of Cherry and Washington Street in Pacific Heights. We fortunately were very close and responded to that corner, and able to do so red light and siren, and got there very quickly. I parked the car in the middle of the intersection, facing the Yellow Cab. There were three children that were heading over to that car, they were about 15 or 16 feet away. I made the assumption they were coming from the home on the corner and herded them immediately back to that alcove. I didn't know if the suspect was still there.....  It was then I was told it was a white male, I couldn't get to the radio fast enough at that point to let everybody else know. The kids had told me whoever had done this crime had left the cab, went out the door and seemed to be wiping the cab down and reaching into the cab and ambling or walking down Cherry Street in a northerly direction, kind of towards the Presidio. I walked that way myself, I did not run because there are innumerable alcoves and parked cars, so I went down following every technique I knew so I didn't get my head blown off."
It is clear from Armond Pelissetti's statement and that of the three teenagers, that indeed they were milling around near the intersection of Washington and Cherry, not confined in their residence throughout, as one could easily interpret from the police report alone. The testimony of the three teenagers however provides a massive headache regarding the perceived order of events that night.  
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The attack was logged at 9.55 pm, with the police dispatcher sending out the radio message to responding officers at 9.58 pm. This meant that Donald Fouke and Armond Pelissetti both received the initial broadcast at 9.58 pm.
Donald Fouke stated he was traveling northbound on Presidio Avenue, having just passed Washington Street. Armond Pelissetti we shall come to shortly.
Donald Fouke stated he saw a male subject as he was approaching the Jackson and Maple intersection. The white male adult was close to the intersection. The traveling distance to this point for Donald Fouke is exactly 862 meters (0.5 mile). He stated after receiving the initial broadcast he was traveling at 35-40 mph, but taking into account slowing for crossing the intersections, it has been calculated that his journey time to the Jackson and Maple intersection from his original position, would have been approximately 1 minute. This places him at the Jackson and Maple intersection at 9.59 pm.
This also places the mystery man here at 9.59 pm.
The author of the 'Bus Bomb' letter one month later stated that "p.s. 2 cops pulled a goof abot 3 min after I left the cab. I was walking down the hill to the park when this cop car pulled up + one of them called me over + asked if I saw anyone acting suspicious or strange in the last 5 to 10 min + I said yes there was this man who was runnig by waveing a gun & the cops peeled rubber + went around the corner as I directed them + I disappeared into the park a block + a half away never to be seen again".
The movements of Donald Fouke and Eric Zelms was never publicized in the newspapers before November 9th 1969, indicating that the author of the 'Bus Bomb' letter knew the exact location of where Donald Fouke's patrol car was at exactly the right time. This means the man spotted by Donald Fouke was the author of the 'Bus Bomb' letter. But was he the killer.
The journey time up Cherry Street is 1 minute. The journey time from the top of Cherry to the intersection of Jackson and Maple is 2 minutes, corroborating the letter writer when he stated "p.s. 2 cops pulled a goof abot 3 min after I left the cab". Working backwards, this places the mystery man at the top of Cherry at 9.57 pm, and leaving the taxicab at 9.56 pm. (shown on the map below).
Now remember what the three teenagers stated "Not many know this, but Lindsey (being 16. feeling immortal, and believing the suspect to be armed with only a knife) ran out of his door to see where Zodiac was going. He ran to the corner of Cherry and watched as Zodiac continued his casual pace right up to the corner of Jackson & Cherry.
At this exact point, the first SFPD car arrives with two officers. One, Pelissetti, approached Lindsey and tried to extract what was happening. The other officer went to the cab and found the bloody victim. While Pelissetti was asking questions, Lindsey was trying to explain that the suspect was in sight on Cherry St. By the time Pelissetti got the point, they both looked and the Zodiac was gone."
When Armond Pelissetti arrived the suspect was in sight approaching the corner of Jackson and Cherry. We know from the diagram above, this was 9.57 pm. Therefore Armond Pelissetti must have arrived at 9.57 pm. This however is very odd, as Armond Pelissetti didn't even get the initial broadcast until 9.58 pm, and still had to travel to the scene "red light and siren."
We know that Armond Pelissetti didn't arrive at the crime scene at 9.56 pm or earlier, because we know Zodiac left the taxicab at 9.56 pm and reached the top of Cherry at 9.57 pm. He couldn't have arrived at 9.56:30 pm, because the mystery man would have only journeyed half way up Cherry (30 seconds traveling time on a 1 minute street). So it is clear that Armond Pelissetti did arrive at 9.57 pm. Therefore Armond Pelissetti received the initial broadcast prior to 9.57 pm. He stated in the Zodiac 2007 documentary "We fortunately were very close and responded to that corner, and able to do so red light and siren at 9.55 pm at night, and got there very quickly."
This time of 9.55 pm makes perfect sense. They "were very close" and would have been exactly two minutes traveling time from the intersection of Washington and Cherry when they received the initial broadcast, arriving at the intersection at 9.57 pm, just as Zodiac was approaching the top of Cherry. This means the logged attack and initial broadcast would have been 9.55 pm, not 9.58 pm, as detailed in the police report. But here is the major problem.     
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Donald Fouke received the initial broadcast at the same time as Armond Pelissetti. So if Armond Pelissetti received the initial broadcast at 9.55 pm, Donald Fouke received it at 9.55 pm. His journey time traveling northbound on Presidio Avenue, having just passed Washington Street (his initial position that night) to the intersection of Jackson and Maple is again 1 minute. He would now arrive at Jackson and Maple at 9.56 pm, where he viewed the suspect. The problem is, we know from all the above facts, along with the map, that 'Zodiac' had left the taxicab crime scene at 9.56 pm. He cannot be in both places at the same time, separated by 3 minutes walking time. This is a major discrepancy, if we use the corroborated timeline of Armond Pelissetti and the three teenagers.
This would place 'Zodiac' leaving the crime scene at 9.56 pm, and approaching the Jackson and Maple intersection at 9.56 pm.     
We surely cannot have Donald Fouke spotting 'Zodiac' at 9.56 pm, because this would have him leaving the taxicab at 9.53 pm, two minutes before the actual attack occurred. Additionally, Armond Pelissetti would not have been at the Washington and Cherry intersection, when Zodiac was apparently approaching the northern edge of Cherry at 9.57 pm (it doesn't take 'Zodiac' 4 minutes to walk up Cherry). So could Donald Fouke have been mistaken and never saw the Zodiac Killer at all. This doesn't seem likely, as we know the author of the 'Bus Bomb' letter knew that "2 cops" were present at the intersection of Jackson and Maple that night, something not disclosed in the newspapers. So is it possible Donald Fouke saw the "letter writer" traveling along Jackson Street,  but not his accomplice, who was just leaving the taxicab. We know that Donald Fouke in the 1989 'Crimes of the Century' documentary, stated that after receiving the initial broadcast "We proceeded on Jackson Street towards Arguello continuing our search, as we arrived at Arguello Street the description of the suspect was changed to a white male adult, believing this suspect was possibly the one involved in the shooting we entered the Presidio of San Francisco and conducted a search on West Pacific Avenue, the opposite side of the wall and the last direction we observed the suspect going, we did not find the suspect." The question arose, as to why Donald Fouke was heading towards Arguello Boulevard, away from the crime scene of an "assault and robbery," when he should have been heading towards it. The logical assumption was that he did indeed stop 'Zodiac,' and Zodiac directed him that way. If there were two assailants, and one was still present near or at the crime scene, it would make perfect sense for the accomplice on Jackson Street to direct Donald Fouke away towards Arguello Boulevard to protect his accomplice.          
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The teenagers never saw the taxicab pull up to the corner of Washington and Cherry Streets. They only began observing the crime when the man was already in the front of the taxicab. They never observed or heard the shooting, so it could never be claimed as fact or certainty, that the man observed tearing a swatch of Paul Stine's shirt was the actual killer of the taxicab driver. His accomplice may have already shot Paul Stine and cleared the intersection of Washington and Cherry Streets before the three teenagers even looked out of the window.
If this man (the actual killer) was the man spotted by Donald Fouke at 9.56 pm by Jackson and Maple, he would have left the taxicab at 9.53 pm, before the teenagers looked out of the window at approximately 9.55 pm, and would now back up the timeline of Donald Fouke receiving the initial broadcast at 9.55 pm. This man may very well have been the trigger man, while his accomplice stayed behind to secure the swatch of Paul Stine's shirt. This would have been the man observed by the three teenagers, not the killer. This would have reduced the risk of capture for the man holding the 'smoking gun.' Had the police arrived as his accomplice was tearing a piece of shirt, he could simply have claimed to be a passer by, who was aiding the stricken taxicab driver. After all, Paul Stine was shot, and this man possessed no gun.  
This places the killer at Jackson and Maple at 9.56 pm, and his accomplice leaving the scene of crime at 9.56 pm. Donald Fouke is directed to Arguello Boulevard by the killer, leaving a clear path for his accomplice traveling up Cherry to a predetermined destination and meeting place.       
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This lends credence to arguments given by such people as Thomas Horan, who claim that the individual seen by the three teenagers and Donald Fouke are actually two separate people. Here are the two descriptions given:
#1. The three teenagers stated the killer was "A white male, 25-30 years old, 5'8" to 5'9", stocky build, reddish-brown hair worn in a crew cut, heavy rimmed glasses and dark clothing."
#2. Donald Fouke in his typed memorandum of 12th November 1969 stated he was a "WMA, 35-45 yrs, about 5'10", 180-200 lbs, medium heavy build, barrel chested, medium complexion, light colored hair possibly graying in rear, crew cut, wearing glasses."   
There is a discrepancy in hair color and a marked deviation in age. Donald Fouke would later remark on the sketch of the suspect given by the three teenagers, stating he believed the suspect to be "older and heavier." However he never apparently challenged the facial description of the suspect. So was he mistaken and just went along with the facial description, or was it the same person all along. The timeline seems to challenge this notion. Were the two accomplices related, wearing the same disguise or just visually similar, with a crew cut and glasses?
As stated at the beginning, I am not closed to the idea of two assailants at Presidio Heights on October 11th 1969, but neither am I totally convinced either. The timeline is the key.
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PROFILED-THE ZODIAC EXAMINED BY MARK HEWITT

June 21, 2017, 2:46 pm
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PROFILED: The Zodiac Examined, book 2 of the Zodiac serial killer series, is now available for pre-order in both paperback and limited edition hard cover versions.
Pre-order yours now, and we'll ship it so you have it 2 weeks before the release date (approximately September 14, 2017).
​The Zodiac serial killer claimed the lives of at least five young victims between 1966 and 1974, and mocked the police with telephone calls, taunting letters, and encrypted messages. Thousands of men have been accused; nearly 2,500 have been investigated. Yet the Zodiac has never been identified. 
This painstakingly researched and meticulously detailed compendium to the Zodiac serial killer case by true crime author Mark Hewitt presents the crimes and their effect on a community, including the various sides of the many disputed issues within the case.
PROFILED: The Zodiac Examined discusses the case files of the Zodiac serial killer case. Included is an extensive profile of the killer that just may lead to his identification.
This indispensable series is accessible to anyone interested in joining the pursuit, exploring a mystery, or witnessing the police response to an appalling crime spree.
Order your copy here: https://geniusbookpublishing.com/profiled.html
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NEAR THE LIBRARY ANNEX

June 22, 2017, 6:21 am
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Cheri Jo Bates, by all accounts, was a gregarious and sociable young woman who easily made friends. The day of her murder she had called her friend Stephanie Guttman at approximately 3.45 pm to see if she wanted to accompany her to the Riverside library that evening to study, but Stephanie declined the offer. It would be another 45-75 minutes later that Cheri Jo Bates left her 4195 Via San Jose residence in her lime green Volkswagen Beetle (between 4.30-5.00 pm).. The journey time from her residence to the Riverside City College library is little more than 10 minutes journey time, which evidently would place her outside the library at around 5.10 pm at the latest, rather early for a library that doesn't open until 6.00 pm. We have Cheri placing a phone call to her co-worker Donna at the Riverside National Bank at 5.30 pm, explaining that she had misplaced her term paper bibliography. So we know she had to have made this call somewhere other than her home residence, likely from somewhere near to the library. Strangely though, the next two sightings of Cheri Jo Bates by eyewitnesses have her driving towards Terracina Drive and the library annex at 6.10-6.15 pm. This would be 40-45 minutes after the call to Donna. Where did she go for this extended period of time. 
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Had she called on a friend to seek companionship, in light of Stephanie Guttman being unable to accompany her to the library that night. Clearly she had left her residence that night at least one hour prior to the library opening that evening. She certainly wasn't going to sit in her Volkswagen Beetle outside the library for 50 minutes, in temperatures that exceeded 80 degrees Fahrenheit in October. It is also clear she wasn't sitting outside the library, well in advance, waiting for it to open.
A Mexican-American student: stated 'he knew Cheri Jo Bates and had noticed her in the library the night in question. He said he saw the girl "writing something with a ball point pen" in her blue spiral school notebook." The boy told us he was outside about 5.30 pm, waiting for the library to open at 6, and it was then he saw the girl'.
This statement is open to interpretation, but the Mexican-American student does indicate he saw Cheri Jo Bates IN the library, not outside. He was waiting outside the library at 5.30 pm, but it was only once the library opened at 6.00 pm, that he saw the girl "writing something with a ball point pen" in her blue spiral school notebook. We know two eyewitness saw her approaching Terracina Drive at approximately 6.10 pm. So it is likely the Mexican-American student saw Cheri Jo Bates shortly after it opened. He was likely able to recollect such precise details regarding her ball point pen and blue spiral school notebook, because the library was probably quite empty at this point. The details he gave lends credence to the fact Cheri Jo Bates did enter the library that evening, albeit for a very brief period of time. Detectives could easily have authenticated the accuracy of his statement, from the victim's belongings retrieved from her vehicle or the crime scene   
We know that no further eyewitnesses saw Cheri Jo Bates in the library that evening from 6.30-9.00 pm, indicating she spent likely 15 minutes or less in the library. She had earlier misplaced her bibliography, so unless she had already returned home to retrieve it, she may have felt she was unable to do the studying she had planned and went elsewhere. It is also equally possible, that because Stephanie Guttman was unable to accompany her to the library, she may have made alternative arrangements before leaving her residence. Whatever the case, from approximately 6.30 pm to 10.30-10.45 pm, when screams were heard coming from the alleyway, her movements are unaccounted for. It could be argued however, that spending 4 hours elsewhere, was somewhere she likely felt comfortable.           
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Shortly after 6.10 pm, four young men, under police interrogation stated "they had seen Cheri Jo near her car the previous night." They didn't recall any suspicious activity around the Volkswagen Beetle that evening, so the claim she was abducted as she arrived on Terracina Drive, or had returned to a disabled Volkswagen Beetle could not have happened during the time they were sitting on the fence opposite her vehicle.
They were later spotted by other eyewitnesses in exactly the same location. Walter Siebert stated that 'he and a few friends were in the library from 7.15 pm until 9, but did not see Miss Bates, whom they all knew. They said they saw four men dressed in work clothes sitting on a fence across from the spot where Miss Bates' car was found, but they did not know them.' 
The remaining options appear to be that Cheri Jo Bates left the library that evening with person or persons unknown, or had arranged earlier that day to visit another friend, after Stephanie declined her offer.
Two crucial factors come into play here:
#1. The Riverside light was fading badly shortly after six and 'Detectives learned from the slain girl's friends that Cheri Jo had been "terribly afraid of the darkness." 
#2. Cheri Jo Bates vehicle would have been parked on Terracina Drive for upwards of 4 hours.
If Cheri Jo Bates had prearranged to visit somebody that evening, it would suggest the secondary location was within reasonable walking distance. The question to ask would be, how far was Cheri Jo Bates prepared to walk that evening in the dark. Or how far would you be prepared to walk, when you have a vehicle parked right outside the library. There is a reasoned argument to be had, to suggest the secondary location, possibly a friend's apartment or house, was extremely close to the Riverside campus grounds. Quite possibly situated in the adjoining streets.  
If Cheri Jo Bates did visit a nearby friend's residence for several hours, they clearly failed to reveal this information to investigators. One could argue they feared being implicated in the crime, being the last person to see Cheri Jo Bates before her death, or they were the actual killer of Cheri Jo Bates, while escorting her back to her vehicle. But if she visited them, when did they disable her vehicle? In a heated argument when they both returned to her vehicle. If the latter were the case, then the 'smoking man', observed by a female student in the alleyway at 9.30 pm may have a reprieve, but it's not the likeliest of scenarios.  
Cheri Jo Bates was certainly 'missing' for approximately 4 hours, with her Volkswagen Beetle sitting idle in Terracina Drive, and if she hadn't been abducted, then she was seemingly comfortable in her surroundings, likely with a friend, and possibly very close by. 
​
​http://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/the-cigarette-butt     
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THE 340 CIPHER 9X9 GRID BY JOHN ROSE

June 23, 2017, 7:17 am
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John Rose from Australia has uncovered some interesting features within the Zodiac Killer's unsolved 340 Cipher, mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle on November 8th 1969. This does not tackle the entirety of the cipher, as the extremities of the code still remains unbroken. What it does do however is show an extremely promising correlation between the 340 Cipher and Halloween Card, using predominantly 81 characters in a 9 X 9 grid formation at the center of the cipher. It has been achieved using nothing more than Dave Oranchak's Web Toy, implementing zkdecrypto cipher-cracking software. The tool can be found on the Zodiac Killer Ciphers website here. If you place the following letters into the Web Toy, you can recreate the results shown in the grid below.  For further correspondence on this matter email: jjrcipher340@gmail.com 
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The Youtube video presentation can be found here.​
To comment on this article visit the Zodiac Ciphers Facebook page.
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A STICKLER FOR TIMEKEEPING

June 25, 2017, 12:00 am
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The following is supplementary to the article 'American Canyon-Hot Zone,' exploring the possible home location of the Zodiac Killer. Using the premise of the Zodiac Killer working a regular 9-5 job, and the 'buffer zone' and 'least effort principle' of geographical profiling, we shall examine the idea that our killer strategically planned out every crime in advance, using precise distance and time as the overriding factors. This attention to detail, his use of maps in his correspondence, including the term 'radians,' his mailing of ciphers, diagrams and access to multiple firearms, could suggest a historically disciplined and attentive individual, although not necessarily of military roots.
Taking American Canyon as our point of interest, the crimes at Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs would obviously employ a 'buffer zone' to his residence, and both occurring on a Friday (9-5 job), would also bring into play the 'least effort principle', where he is likely to travel less distance from his residence on a day in which he has worked. This would be the case in both of these crimes. But time and distance may have been paramount to the Zodiac Killer, plotting precisely how far he was prepared to travel, in conjunction with how long it would take.      
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American Canyon to Lake Herman Road is approximately 11 miles or 19 minutes traveling time by vehicle. 
American Canyon to Blue Rock Springs is approximately 8 miles or 15 minutes traveling time by vehicle. 
The Zodiac Killer's buffer zones would be within 4 minutes of each other during the first two crimes.
His next crimes would be on Saturday, at Lake Berryessa and Presidio Heights. Assuming this was a non-working day, the least effort principle would apply less constraint to his movements. Not limited by time he can now travel further afield, which is exactly what he did. But would time and distance yet again come into play in his plans. 

American Canyon to Presidio Heights is approximately 48 miles or 1 hr 12 minutes traveling time by vehicle.
American Canyon to Lake Berryessa is approximately 38 miles or 1 hr 09 minutes traveling time by vehicle.  
The buffer zone difference in these two crimes is a mere 3 minutes. It was only 4 minutes in Vallejo and Benicia.  
From American Canyon to the Springs and Tuolumne payphone is a 16 minute journey. From American Canyon to the 1231 Main Street payphone is a 26 minute journey.
The buffer zones from American Canyon to Lake Herman Road, Blue Rock Springs and the Springs and Tuolumne payphone are 19 minutes, 15 minutes and 16 minutes respectively.   
PictureBryan Hartnell's Karmann Ghia
​In the article 'Lake Berryessa-North of the Crime Scene Pt 2' it was considered that the Zodiac Killer after stabbing Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard likely returned to his vehicle, parked not by the Karmann Ghia, but 0.8 miles further north along the Knoxville Road, where he may have been observed by Dr Clifton Rayfield and his son David, who described seeing an individual wearing a "long-sleeved dark shirt with red coloring." It was considered this may have been blood. The journey time on foot 0.8 miles north, using caution, would have taken 20-25 minutes, arriving at his vehicle at 6.50-6.55 pm, The 45 minute journey time to the 1231 Main Street, Napa payphone from this location would have him making the call to police dispatcher Dave Slaight at exactly 7.40 pm, the exact time the call was logged.
The buffer zone in terms of minutes from the Knoxville Road to the Napa payphone would be 45 minutes, if the above scenario was correct. In other words, the Zodiac Killer allowed 45 minutes to elapse before calling the police. After the Blue Rock Springs attack on Michael Mageau and Darlene Ferrin he waited 40 minutes, only a 5 minute difference. It seemed like everything he did was based on the clock. The 4 minute difference to his Friday murder sites. The 3 minute difference to his Saturday murder sites. The 5 minute difference between the second and third crime scene to each phone call. A total of only 12 minutes.
If we include the time difference to each payphone from American Canyon, which is 10 minutes, that gives us a grand total of 22 minutes over four crime scenes, based on a Monday to Friday, 9-5 job, using the criteria of the 'least effort principle'.
But only if the Zodiac Killer lived in American Canyon. 

​http://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/the-american-canyon-hot-zone
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WAS THE BERRYESSA CRIME A COPYCAT ?

June 25, 2017, 1:06 pm
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PictureDave Slaight and Bryan Hartnell
The double stabbing at Lake Berryessa on September 27th 1969 has been constantly questioned as a Zodiac crime, often backed up by the argument that the Zodiac Killer never bragged to newspapers in the following weeks. On the face of it he didn't really have to, as Bryan Hartnell was able to recall virtually every chilling detail in the aftermath of the attack. To claim that the lack of correspondence by the Zodiac Killer after this crime, is evidence of a copycat killer, is a false dichotomy. They are not the only two options. There are many features of this crime that suggest a Zodiac connection, but there is actually no evidence whatsoever to the contrary.
The first claim is that the modus operandi (MO) of the crime was totally different from the other three attacks. This is clearly not true. It was an attack on a young couple, seemingly random, just like the first two crimes preceding it, despite the sample size being relatively small and statistically weak. Had the killer not mailed pieces of Paul Stine's shirt with three subsequent letters or written to the newspapers, neither the police or anybody else would have likely connected this to the Zodiac Killer. The modus operandi would have been called into question. So claiming the Lake Berryessa crime, as not that of the Zodiac Killer, because it didn't marry up perfectly with the first two crimes, is again not evidence of anything. Absence of perfect continuity is not evidence to the absence of Zodiac.
The message on the car door detailing his crimes to date shows distinct Zodiac traits in the handwriting, but expecting it to match up perfectly with his mailed correspondence is not a reasonable premise. He had just stabbed a couple sixteen times, his adrenaline was likely raised, he had then traversed back up the hill and proceeded to write on the car door of Bryan Hartnell's car, on a different surface, in larger handwriting, in a totally different position he would adopt if he were writing calmly on a desktop. The comparison between the two must take this into account, so the fact it looks somewhat similar to his mailed correspondence, is actually quite an achievement. Had this been written by a copycat it would actually have been a lot harder, who not only had all of the above to contend with, but had to replicate the handwriting from an awkward stance or seated position, side on to the vehicle.  
PictureNancy Slover
The tone and phraseology of the killer in both phone calls to the police is virtually identical. After the Blue Rock Springs Park attack he stated "I wish to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east on Columbus Parkway to a public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They have been shot by a 9 mm Luger. I also killed those kids last year.... Good-bye". After Lake Berryessa he stated "I want to report a murder, no, a double murder. They are two miles north of Park Headquarters. They were in a white Volkswagen Karmann Ghia" and after a brief pause uttered the words  "I'm the one that did it". It is possible a copycat read the transcript of the Zodiac Killer's first call to police in the newspapers, and reproduced its phraseology during the Napa payphone call. But why is it easier to believe that, rather than believing it was the Zodiac Killer. What evidence exists to promote a copycat making the call above the Zodiac Killer. There is none. The same can be said of the handwriting on Bryan Hartnell's Karmann Ghia.  
In terms of the content of the handwriting, it is often said it was not the Zodiac Killer because his November 8th 1969 'Dripping Pen' card made reference to a murder or possible double murder in August, which the killer at Lake Berryessa did not refer to on the car door. But the reverse could be argued, that the reference to September in the 'Dripping Pen' card is equal proof that he was claiming the Lake Berryessa crime as his, particularly in light of no other valid murders in September, where a killer wore a crossed circle costume and made a phone call with all the hallmarks of Blue Rock Springs Park. This again is a false argument. Even if the Zodiac Killer had murdered in August, the police were apparently unaware of this fact prior to the Lake Berryessa attack, so he simply wrote the dates of the crimes he knew the police would recognize.
​At the top of the Karmann Ghia door the Zodiac wrote 'Vallejo,' so any murder outside of this area would have been unnecessary to include in the message. This indicated that the Zodiac believed that both the Lake Herman Road murders and the attack at Blue Rock Springs Park were both committed in the jurisdiction of Vallejo. This is understandable because the jurisdictional line that separates Benicia and Vallejo is a matter of yards from the Lake Herman Road turnout. The Zodiac remember, never mentioned Benicia in any of his correspondence, but mentioned Vallejo several times. Curious then, that a copycat would make the same mistake and lump the 12-20-68 on the car door under the banner of Vallejo also. If this alleged copycat had read the newspaper transcripts of the Blue Rock Springs Park phone call, he certainly didn't take the time to read the multiple references in the newspapers to Benicia, when referring to the first crime on the car door. It could be argued that he studied the Zodiac letters intently and knew the tendencies of the Zodiac Killer, or we could opt for the more likely reasoning, that he was the Zodiac Killer.
Much debate has occurred on whether the man spotted by the three girls at Lake Berryessa was the assailant of Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard, with comparisons made of this man to the Presidio Heights sketch. Many have stated the two artist impressions are dissimilar in appearance, yet with a quick hair change and slight alteration to the eyebrows, the difference is much less significant between the two. Eyewitness recollections are also proven to be notoriously unreliable. These hair changes have been made to the Lake Berryessa sketch below, without altering any of the facial features.             
The executioners costume at Lake Berryessa is often used to discredit this as a Zodiac crime. It is claimed it wasn't his modus operandi. In this instance what MO?  We only have two confirmed attacks by the Zodiac Killer as of September 27th 1969, one of which we have no idea what he was wearing, and both committed in virtual darkness. So, in terms of clothing we would actually be deducing that Lake Berryessa wasn't the Zodiac Killer, because he didn't wear the costume at Blue Rock Springs Park. Not a really convincing argument. When the scientific community needs to draw any conclusions from trials, or politicians from polls, the larger the sample the better. Drawing conclusions from a pool of one or two crimes is utterly meaningless, and falls into the category of subjective opinion.
In an ABC Primetime documentary the narration was as follows "However if Doctor Cydne Holt can find enough genetic material from Zodiac's stamps and letters, she can compare it to a wafer thin slice of brain tissue from Arthur Leigh Allen's autopsy." Dr Cydne Holt "This brain tissue from Arthur Leigh Allen is the reference sample that I would use for the comparison."  Narrator "Dr Holt has already detected the possible presence of Zodiac's DNA in the seal of the envelope that contained the greeting card (Dripping Pen Card and 340 cipher), and just in case that test fails to provide a full DNA profile, she also prepares to look for DNA beneath the stamps on two of these three letters (July 31st letters)." Dr Cydne Holt "Depending on whether those DNA's match each other, might allow me to include or exclude Arthur Leigh Allen as potentially contributing the DNA on the Zodiac letters." 
She was able to exclude Arthur Leigh Allen as the contributor, indicating a positive match was found between the letters. So if we maintain that the 'Dripping Pen' card and August 31st letters were mailed by Zodiac, and he claimed September as his crime, it lends credence to the Lake Berryessa crime being committed by Zodiac.
The Zodiac Killer probably believed that by writing on the car door and making the telephone call would be enough for people to conclude he was the killer. This however has not proved to be the case. He probably believed that mailing a section of Paul Stine's blooded shirt would be proof enough. This however has also failed in certain quarters. The details only known to him and the police at Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs Park he thought would be enough, but it wasn't. The reality, is that for some people, there is nothing he could have done to prove he was the killer.
If it is claimed that this crime was totally different in MO to the first two crimes and therefore not the Zodiac Killer, then the copycat was not doing a particularly good job. A copycat attempts to replicate the crimes of a known killer. Therefore we could conclude that by failing to stick to the known MO, it was likely the Zodiac Killer after all. But the fact remains, that not one piece of tangible evidence points to a copycat killer, only the idea that such a man exists. ​ 

​http://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/was-the-lake-berryessa-sketch-the-zodiac-killer
​http://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/lake-berryessa-killer-and-caller-the-same 
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Search

THE CREATION OF A ZODIAC SUSPECT

July 2, 2017, 3:05 am
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PictureBetsy Aardsma
#1. Cheri Jo Bates (18) murdered in Riverside, California on October 30th 1966 is thought by many to be a Zodiac victim. The 'Confession' letter was discovered on November 29th 1966, but may likely have been delivered the previous day. Betsy Aardsma (22) was murdered three years later on November 28th 1969 between the stacks in the library of Pennsylvania State University. Both attractive, intelligent college students attacked with a knife, one inside a library and one adjacent to a library. 
#2. Found by a janitor in December 1966, written inside a foldable desk at the Riverside City College Library was a foreboding poem, part of which read "blood spurting, dripping, spilling all over her new red dress. Just wait till next time. rh". Was next time three years later. Betsy Aardsma was wearing a red dress on the day she was killed, that temporarily disguised the severity of her injury. Was this poem a dormant fantasy by the killer that he later enacted. 
PictureCheri Jo Bates
#3. Richard Haefner, an assistant professor, was a major suspect in the murder of Betsy Aardsmaa, who allegedly briefly dated her. His initials match the desktop poem. 
#4. Reviled by many, Richard Haefner had anger issues. Excerpt from the Lancaster online: 'Haefner told investigators he'd found out about her death the evening of Nov. 29, a day after she was stabbed. But in fact, Skucek asserted, Haefner knew of the crime shortly after it was committed. He'd shown up at the home of a professor just hours after Aardsma was killed, asking, "Have you seen the papers?" The stabbing had not yet been reported in the local newspapers. But Haefner knew about it and "expressed concern about what had happened to this young lady," the professor told Skucek.' 
#5. Richard Haefner traveled the country in pursuit of his chosen profession geology, writing many articles, such as 'Geology of the Shoshone Volcanics, Death Valley Region, Eastern California'.  Sections of the article: 'The sequence of zones between tuff deposits is interpreted as a single rhyolite lava flow.' (Fig. 2; Haefner, 1969). ''Emplacement and cooling history of a rhyolite lava flow and related tuff at Deudman Pass, near Death Valley, California [M.S. thesis]: University Park, Pennsylvania State Univ'. (Haefner, Richard, 1969)
Death Valley is situated just over 200 miles north of Riverside. Richard Haefner was born in 1943 and would have been 23 years of age in 1966.
​#6. Wikipedia: The Sonoma Volcanics are a geologic formation of volcanic origin that is widespread in Napa and Sonoma counties, California, with the presence of rhyolite tuffs, described in Death Valley. Had Richard Haefner visited Sanoma County too.
PictureThis topic on Zodiac Killer Site forum
#7. The sketch of the suspect in the Betsy Aarsma murder had a distinct resemblance to Richard Haefner, particularly the wavy hair.
#8. A highly controversial letter was mailed in 1978, alleging it was from the Zodiac. It began with the words ' This is the Zodiac speaking.  I am back with you'. On November 28th 1994, exactly 25 years after Betsy Aardsma's murder an employee of the library found a candle had been lit and placed in the location of the murder. A message written on the floor using a marker pen said 'RIP Betsy Aardsma, born July 11th 1947, died November 28th 1969. I'm back'. Also a postcard had been mailed to police sometime in the 1970's with the wording 'You never did catch the guy who killed that **** in the library '. 
#9. The Lake Berryessa, Napa region we know is volcanic rich. But did Richard Haefner ever travel to this region. After the attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard on September 27th 1969, a sketch of a suspicious character was generated from the testimony of three women in the preceding hours to the crime. The possible suspect drawing in the Betsy Aarsma case has closed eyes, so in the following comparison I have added the eyes from the Berryessa sketch to compare the likeness. 
#10. Betsy Aardsma had been attacked in the campus library between 4.30 pm and 4.45 pm, with one single, but fatal knife wound to the heart, believed to be from a hunting knife 3-4 inches in length. Cheri Jo Bates was killed with a knife that measured approximately ½ inch wide and 3 ½ inches long.
#11. The Zodiac referred to radians in his correspondence and included a map of San Francisco and Vicinity. Richard Haefner used mapping in geology and was familiar with detailed measurement.  Wikipedia: "The gradian is a unit of measurement of an angle, equivalent to 1/400 of a turn, 9/10 of a degree... only adopted in some countries and for specialized areas such as surveying, mining and geology. ... In the 1970's and 1980's most scientific calculators offered the grad as well as radians and degrees for their trigonometric functions."
#12. The November 8th and November 9th 1969 Zodiac communications claimed 7 victims. The Melvin Belli letter on December 20th 1969 sought a ninth and possibly tenth victim. Therefore by deduction his eighth victim must have been killed somewhere between the two dates. Betsy Aardsma was murdered exactly bisecting these two dates, on November 28th 1969. The Fairfield letter mailed on December 16th 1969 depicted the 'Bleeding Knife of Zodiac'.  Eight drops of blood are visible dripping from the knife.  
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​It is fairly easy to compile and manufacture links to an individual, and present only loose circumstantial 'evidence'. This took a few minutes, but with more time could be easily be expanded to #20+. Richard Haefner was almost certainly not the Zodiac Killer.
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UP TO THE END OF OCTOBER

July 9, 2017, 10:30 am
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On the 'Dripping Pen Card' mailed on November 8th 1969 the Zodiac left us his running victim count, but this time he provided us several pointers by displaying the months. He wrote "Des, July, Aug, Sept, Oct = 7."  We know of Lake Herman Road (2) in December, Blue Rock Springs Park (1) in July, Lake Berryessa (1) in September and Presidio Heights (1) in October. That is five murders out of the seven he was claiming. That meant he was indicating either two murders in August, or just one in August and another in either of the other months. One consideration was the murder of Cheri Jo Bates on October 30th 1966, that he would belatedly claim in a future correspondence. However his statement in the November 9th 'Bus Bomb' letter is telling: "This is the Zodiac speaking up to the end of Oct I have killed 7 people." This likely meant "This is the Zodiac speaking up to the end of Oct 31st 1969 I have killed 7 people. This doesn't necessarily rule out the Cheri Jo Bates murder, however without proof this is a Zodiac murder, or a murder under the umbrella of Zodiac, it is a curious statement.
Why did the Zodiac Killer specify the end of October, when his most recent murder by all accounts was the brutal slaying of Paul Stine on October 11th 1969. This could be interpreted as a sixth murder in August, and a seventh murder between October 11th 1969 and October 31st 1969. He would expand in his correspondence "I thought you would need a good laugh before you hear the bad news, you won't get the news for a while yet."  In view of his 'Bus Bomb' letter declaration that he would "change the way the collecting of slaves. I shall no longer announce to anyone. When I committ my murders, they shall look like routine robberies, killings of anger, + a few fake accidents, etc," this seventh murder may have been committed in the latter two thirds of October, detailed in the total, but not elaborated upon, and the suggestion that we wouldn't get the bad news for a while was somehow related to how or where the person was killed.     
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There is however a completely different alternative, bringing into play the Melvin Belli letter on December 20th 1969. This correspondence stated Zodiac was in danger of looking for a ninth and tenth victim. The assumption therefore, was that victim number eight was probably killed sometime between the 'Dripping Pen' card on November 8th 1969 (or possibly November 9th), claiming seven victims and the Melvin Belli letter mailed on December 20th 1969. But again, taking the latter 'Bus Bomb' communication, Zodiac had claimed seven victims to end of October, not up to November 9th 1969. He did state seven victims on the 'Dripping Pen' card, but he added the extra hint that "you won't get the bad news for a while yet."
This may suggest that indeed, he had already killed again, prior to November 8th, but he simply wasn't announcing it to anybody, as the following communication would testify. We know that by the end of October (31st) the total was seven, therefore this unannounced eighth murder would had to have been committed from November 1st 1969 up to November 9th 1969. 
A contested piece of correspondence was the 'Fairfield' letter on December 16th 1969, claiming "I will go for government life." The accompanying drawing depicted the 'Bleeding Knife of Zodiac,' with eight drops of blood dripping from the weapon, suggestive of an eighth victim. Was this indicative of another Zodiac murder by knife, having been bolstered by his 'successful' attack, in theatric style, on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard on September 27th 1969 at Lake Berryessa. Or was the knife just a reminder to his last crime we know he committed. If this correspondence was genuine, the term 'government life', may indicate any person in any state run organization, and a distinct hatred towards officialdom, which is unsurprising bearing in mind previous communications.
The question being, can anybody find the eighth murder spanning November 1st 1969 to November 9th 1969, in a relevant geographical location, that doesn't have the hallmarks of Zodiac. After all, he did state he would "change the way of collecting the slaves".  If this were the case, we simply wouldn't recognize it anyway.  

# A Salesian High School teacher, Daniel Williams had his house broken into, but nothing was taken. A man claiming to be the Zodiac Killer made several threatening phone calls beginning on October 23rd 1969, culminating with the caller saying "You're the dead duck" on November 2nd 1969. Later that day Williams took a drink from the refrigerator, but fortunately spat it out after noticing a metallic taste. The drink contained enough arsenic to kill. Would a teacher be considered 'government life'. The date fits the criteria and the death could have appeared like natural causes, or a killing of anger.
Daniel Williams residence was situated at 1234 Bush Street, Martinez, only 9 miles from the location of Zodiac's first crime at Lake Herman Road.
http://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-news/youre-the-dead-duck
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STAIRWAY TO HELL

July 10, 2017, 10:24 am
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It is not exceptional for hatred and murder to be driven by religion, but could the Zodiac Killer have been driven by such a force, bearing in mind his yearning for paradise and the promise of an afterlife. Many things point in this direction, however on this occasion we will concentrate primarily on the '13 symbol' cipher to hopefully garner the evidence we require. Below is the 13 symbol cipher, highlighting the features to be examined.  
#1. 'The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland and Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A type of ringed cross, it became widespread through its use in the stone high crosses erected across the islands, especially in regions evangelized by Irish missionaries, from the 9th through the 12th centuries.' Taken from Wikipedia.
​#2. The number 8 in Christianity represents rebirth, a new beginning, when man is ultimately resurrected from death into eternal life. A fascination Zodiac appeared to harbor with his desire for the afterlife.
#3. The number 8, by design, represents infinity, the everlasting.
​#4. It has been speculated that the three eights may possibly be three Taurus symbols, in view of what vaguely looks like an upside down Aries symbol to their right, but this may be misleading, in view of the general consensus they are in fact three eights.
#5. The crude looking symbol may actually be an anchor. 'Christians adopted the anchor as a symbol of hope in future existence because the anchor was regarded in ancient times as a symbol of safety. For Christians, Christ is the unfailing hope of all who believe in him.' Taken from Wikipedia.  Again, referencing a future existence or afterlife.  
PictureA version of the Anglican coat of arms
#6. In Zodiac's following '32 symbol' cipher he uses the 'anchor' sign again, and introduces the omega sign.
'Alpha (Α) and omega (Ω) are the first and last letters, respectively, of the classical (Ionic) Greek alphabet. Thus, twice when the phrase "I am the alpha and the omega" appears it is further clarified with the additional phrase, "the beginning and the end" (Revelation 21:6, 22:13). The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet were used because the book of Revelation is in the New Testament, which was originally written in Greek. This phrase is interpreted by many Christians to mean that Jesus has existed for all eternity or that God is eternal'. Taken from Wikipedia.
#7. The number 888 represents Jesus or Christ the Redeemer in Christian numerology. See here. 
#8 And finally number eight, which has been covered before.
The Zodiac was the ultimate egotist, but did he sign off the '340' cipher by introducing Jesus Christ once more, generated directly from his own pseudonym, before transferring it from the '340' cipher to  '13 symbol' cipher. 
It is quite remarkable that the '340' cipher has withstood almost 50 years of the best modern technology we can throw at it, unless it is simply undecipherable. Here we shall focus on just eight characters ironically. All on the last line, as a form of signature. These eight characters at the foot of the '340' cipher are in essence all transferred to his next cipher, as though he was linking the two ciphers together. 
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The Zodiac Killer was driven by self publicity and a huge ego, so what better way to drop us a hint by placing his pseudonym, and signing off on the final line of the '340' cipher. You will notice he places the Zodiac crosshair symbol, followed by what could be interpreted as Zodiac and then the 'anchor' symbol, with a line on the top and a dot to the left. What we shall do is place the correct spelling of Zodiac alongside this version he placed on the 20th line of the '340' cipher and calculate the alphabetical difference numerically between the columns.
ZOD produces three zero's, the IAC produces 888. These two incorporated together gives us the three circled 8's found on his next cipher, as though he was carrying them forward. It is also apparent on the 13 Symbol Cipher, that either side of the three circled 8's are the Zodiac crosshair and 'anchor' symbol, both of which can be seen on the final line of the 340 Cipher effectively in the same position. So the author, in essence, carried eight characters from one cipher to another. Finally, the '408' cipher was separated into three communications of eight lines, with the letters K and M featuring exclusively at the end of each communication. The exact letters encircled by the eights on the '13 symbol' cipher.  
All of the above is subjective and does not necessarily indicate the Zodiac Killer was inspired by a warped religious calling. It is simply a matter of faith.
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THE MYSTERIOUS ENCOUNTER ON LAKE HERMAN RD

July 11, 2017, 2:17 am
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PictureBetty Lou Jensen (16)
In a recent article from the Vallejo Times-Herald, a native Vallejoan, Lorraine Osuna DeGroat, who knew Betty Lou Jensen from school, described her encounter with a man on Lake Herman Road, she believed could have been the infamous Zodiac Killer. Sometime in March or April of 1969 according to DeGroat, a few months shy of the Blue Rock Springs Park attack (but more likely subsequent to 09/27/69), approximately two miles into Lake Herman Road, she recalled this "a man wearing a big, bulky trench coat or army jacket that reached to his knees, and he’s in the middle of the road, waving his arms, trying to get us to stop. She describes the man as in his middle 30's to early 40's, with blondish, short-cropped hair and horn-rimmed glasses. His pants were dark, and his shoes may also have been dark army boots." http://www.timesheraldonline.com/general-news/20170710/vallejo.
​He apparently claimed he was out looking for his girlfriend, but they drove off in haste. 
The description of the man is reminiscent of the details given by Donald Fouke as he patrolled in Jackson Street, Presidio Heights on October 11th 1969, although how much significance can be attributed to this latest news article and recollection is debatable.
It is not unreasonable to consider the possibility Zodiac cruised the lonely stretch of Lake Herman Road and the Blue Rock Springs Park area, before and after December 20th 1968, and subsequent to July 4th 1969. One widely held belief, is he was likely native to the area of Vallejo, Benicia or American Canyon, and had intimate knowledge of the area, specifically regarding areas frequented by courting couples. This tactic of trying to flag down a vehicle, bringing it to a halt on Lake Herman Road, is similar to a story in the Benicia Herald, where the nephew of Stella Medeiros, Albert Losado, stated that in the fall of 1969 he and his brother were prevented from traveling along Lake Herman Road near gate 10 by a log stretched across the road. The brothers minutes earlier had traveled the opposite way unhindered, from which they suspected a sinister motive. In his words "That’s why we didn’t get out of the car.” They backed up and got out of the area. It is possible this was an intentional act by a third party, and if the Zodiac Killer, a deviation in tactics. However both of the above stories may have perfectly innocent explanations.    
PictureOfficer Pierre Bidou
One curious statement in the Vallejo Times-Herald article reminded me of Pierre Bidou. It stated "She was found in a runaway position, as if she’d been running, and was shot in the back multiple times,” said DeGroat, a retired forensic psych nurse at the Napa State Hospital. “He was found still in the car.”
It is fairly unanimous in Zodiac circles that David Faraday was discovered by responding police lying perpendicular to the right rear wheel of the Rambler. That is, until you watch two Zodiac Killer videos and read an excerpt from the above Benicia Herald. It reports "On a dark turnout along the side of the road, the officers, wearing heavy winter coats, followed the path of their flashlights and their unmarked police car’s headlight. They found the body of a girl face-down on the ground between a bank slope and a parked Rambler station wagon pointing east toward Vallejo. “It was obvious she was trying to run,” Bidou said of the girl, who had five entry wounds in a tight grouping to her right upper back. Inside the car, the officers found a boy in the passenger’s seat who appeared as if “he was trying to get out” of the car. Bidou remembers seeing the shattered glass of the car window, pierced by a bullet. More poignantly, he also remembers that the boy was still breathing."
The article clearly suggests that David Faraday was in the passenger seat, as though he was half way out when he was shot.
This is backed up on three other occasions, starting twice in a 2010 interview with Aphrodite Jones, an American author, reporter, and television producer. At 11:17 and 11:45 into the video Bidou states "The young man was still in the car" and "you see the male in the car still breathing." Then in the 'Richard Gaikowski-The Case of the Zodiac Killer' video at 13.25 he states "The male was still halfway in the vehicle and he was showing signs of breathing." 

The two statements "found a boy in the passenger’s seat who appeared as if he was trying to get out of the car," and "the male was still halfway in the vehicle and he was showing signs of breathing," are definitely comparable.
This is the actual statement taken from Stella Medeiros in the police report of the day: "When she arrived at the scene, headlights picked up the car (Rambler) and she observed a boy and he looked like he had fallen out of the open door. The girl was lying on her side facing the road." 
The question is, how do you interpret "he looked like he had fallen out of the open door." Had he fallen 'halfway out', and was still 'halfway in' as Pierre Bidou stated several times. In responding officer Daniel Pitta's police statement it recalled "A white male (Victim #2) was lying to the southside of a 1960 Rambler 4-door station wagon. Victim #2 was lying face up with a large amount of blood at the base of his skull." If  we take all the above statements and recollections as true, then the only logical conclusion to draw would be David Faraday was discovered slumped in the passenger side of the Rambler and subsequently laid out on the turnout floor for medical intervention by the initial responders to the scene, before Daniel Pitta arrived. But this would throw doubt on the perceived timeline of several officers that night. It would certainly negate the chalk outline of having any consequence in the murder of David Faraday on December 20th 1968. On the other hand, it may be the case that Pierre Bidou was just mistaken four times. 
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THE BLOODED TAXICAB FINGERPRINTS

July 12, 2017, 1:07 pm
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Here we will take a closer look at the blooded fingerprints left on the Paul Stine taxicab in Presidio Heights on October 11th 1969, and see if they can reveal anything about the unfolding events that night. In total thirty latent fingerprints, three palm prints and one partial of value were retrieved from the taxicab. The latent prints that exhibited traces of blood were believed to have been deposited by the killer. The two key areas where blooded fingerprints were retrieved, were the exterior front passenger side door handle, and the dividing panel between the driver side door and the left rear passenger door, just above half way. The FBI report only stated that the murderer was the likely donor of both blooded latent prints, probably because they likely contained different digit impressions, or one was lacking detail. There is very good reason to believe both impressions were from the killer, which we will explain later. In the photographs on various sites these two prints are circled with a red pen.
PictureBlooded fingerprints on divider
There is a possible explanation for the blooded prints shown on the left image, regarding a Washington and Maple murder, but here we shall stick with the widely held belief that the killing took place close to the intersection of Washington and Cherry.
The placement of the blooded print discovered on the front exterior passenger door handle effectively negates the premise of a passenger who rode in the front seat of Paul Stine's taxicab. Had this been the case, after removing the piece of shirt and exiting the front passenger side door, there would be no need to shut the door using the exterior door handle, but there would be every reason to wipe it down, as observed by the three teenagers. This is because the natural way to open the front passenger door after exiting the right rear of the taxicab would be to use your right hand. When opening a right-sided door it is more natural to use your right hand. Standing by a right-sided door and using your left hand would bring the door into your midriff. When the killer shot Paul Stine he likely received a fine mist of back spatter to his right hand. If he then exits the right rear passenger door with the gun still in his hand, or while putting it away, he would use his left hand to open it and close it, which is why no blooded prints were found on the right rear inner passenger door handle, or the exterior of the right rear passenger door. The Zodiac Killer was described by the three teenagers wiping down the front passenger door. It is likely he didn't thoroughly remove the blooded fingerprints, evident by their discovery.  
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The Robbins teenagers gave a more detailed account of the night's events in a later interview, one partially corroborated by Armond Pelissetti, who discovered the teenagers out in the street. They stated a crucial fact, that fits the evidence and it makes perfect sense: "At this time, Lindsey went downstairs to get a better look at what was happening, while one of the kids upstairs called the police. Downstairs, the lights were off, so Lindsey knew he could not be seen from the outside. He got close to the window and watched his actions. He was shortly joined by Rebecca. They both watched and observed in silence as Zodiac pushed the driver to an upright position behind the steering wheel, exited the car and walked around the rear of the car and opened the driver's door. Stine had fallen over onto the seat and Zodiac pulled him back up into the seated position and had some difficulty keeping him upright. Once upright, he was seen to have a rag, or something like a handkerchief and began to wipe down the door area and leaning over the driver, part of the dashboard. When he was finished, Zodiac calmly walked to Cherry St. and walked north."
If the Zodiac Killer had entered the taxicab at the theater district, shot Paul Stine at the intersection of Washington and Cherry, exited the right rear passenger door and entered the front passenger door. Had he then took the shirt piece, exited the taxicab and proceeded around to the exterior driver side door to wipe it down, presumably with his dominant right hand (or not), then left the scene, why should he have ever touched the panel between the driver side door and left rear passenger door with his blooded hands. This was the version in the police report, and simply doesn't explain why blooded prints were discovered on this dividing panel.
But the more expansive version given by the Robbins kids explains this anomaly perfectly. ​ 
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The teenagers stated that the killer twice attempted to reposition Paul Stine upright behind the steering wheel. The most logical reason for this, could be argued, that the killer unaware he had been observed by the teenagers, was buying time for his escape on foot. A taxicab driver sitting behind the steering wheel of his vehicle in fairly dim conditions at 10.00 pm at night, was unlikely to attract the attention of the casual pedestrian or passing motorist, with a fleeting glance, but a prostrate driver sprawled across the taxicab seat may have drawn attention to the crime, and resultant contacting of police. In the absence of many alternatives for this action, it may seem the most logical.
​The teenagers clearly stated, that after he rounded the taxicab, he opened the driver side door, likely using his left hand (for reasons given above). But to pull Paul Stine back into an upright position he needs stability and leverage. This would be attained by bracing your right hand on the dividing panel between the driver side and rear door, to pull Paul Stine upright using your left hand. Once finished, the Zodiac Killer closed the driver side door and wiped the door handle. This handle may very well have received blood transfer from the killer's left hand when he initially opened it, after all he likely used it when tearing the shirt. Nevertheless, he either wiped it down thoroughly before he left the scene, or enough so that blooded fingerprints, if deposited, were not present. However he made a crucial mistake. By concentrating on the door handles, he overlooked the blooded fingerprints deposited by his right hand on the dividing panel. This was detailed in the Robert Graysmith book Zodiac: "At one point he opened up the driver's door and leaned forward to wipe off the area of the dashboard again. To steady himself, he leaned his right hand on the rail separating the front and rear windows. The fragment of cloth was still in his left hand. Then he closed the door and walked away". He exited up Cherry Street and into the night. Paul Stine's body at some point, aided by the camber of the road, fell back across the front passenger seat with his head coming to rest in the front passenger floorboard, where Armond Pelissetti would ultimately discover the stricken taxicab driver.  
      
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