The following is a preliminary look at the Paul Stine shirt piece, either removed from the crime scene with the aid of a knife or pair of scissors on October 11th 1969. When Paul Stine was found in the taxicab by Armond Pelissetti he "immediately checked the interior of the cab and found the victim to be slumped over the front seat with his upper torso in the passenger side, head resting on the floorboard, facing north". This meant that the left side and left portion of Paul Stine's back was facing upwards. Paul Stine was in this position when the Zodiac Killer started cutting his shirt (I believe with a pair of scissors). If this was the case, it would show premeditation on behalf of the killer, who knew in advance of the murder he wanted to remove a piece of clothing to mail to the newspapers, to ultimately prove that the letter postmarked October 13th 1969 was mailed by the killer.
If you take a close look at the shirt below (the red rectangle), you will see the likely point that the Zodiac Killer began his cut that night - on the left side of Paul Stine's body and shirt (which was his nearest accessible point). The killer likely pinched the shirt upwards with his fingers on the left side and began his cut through the front and back of the shirt at the same time. In other words, he cut through two layers of fabric simultaneously. Why else would there be a cut on the front right side? Once he had made this initial cut, he probably repositioned his left hand (pulling the back side of the shirt upwards to create tension) and then cut out a rectangular piece of the shirt from the back left side to just beyond the middle (towards the right), In the image below the man's left hand is not positioned next to the back of the shirt, because this part of the shirt was removed by the Zodiac Killer. His hand is positioned by the left inner front portion of the shirt. In the black and white image below, it would be the backside of the right front as we view (the section with the label on). I have placed arrows showing two matching areas of blood staining from the inner and outer lining of the shirt front. Their size slightly altered because of how the shirt is layed out
If you take a close look at the shirt below (the red rectangle), you will see the likely point that the Zodiac Killer began his cut that night - on the left side of Paul Stine's body and shirt (which was his nearest accessible point). The killer likely pinched the shirt upwards with his fingers on the left side and began his cut through the front and back of the shirt at the same time. In other words, he cut through two layers of fabric simultaneously. Why else would there be a cut on the front right side? Once he had made this initial cut, he probably repositioned his left hand (pulling the back side of the shirt upwards to create tension) and then cut out a rectangular piece of the shirt from the back left side to just beyond the middle (towards the right), In the image below the man's left hand is not positioned next to the back of the shirt, because this part of the shirt was removed by the Zodiac Killer. His hand is positioned by the left inner front portion of the shirt. In the black and white image below, it would be the backside of the right front as we view (the section with the label on). I have placed arrows showing two matching areas of blood staining from the inner and outer lining of the shirt front. Their size slightly altered because of how the shirt is layed out
Some individuals have claimed that Paul Stine's shirt was intact at the time the Zodiac Killer left the crime scene, and a portion of his shirt was removed at a later time in either the ambulance or morgue. If this was the case, there would have been no need to cut through two layers of fabric at the same time on the left side of the shirt. A body positioned on its front or back would make the shirt perfectly accessible from its front or back side. If the shirt was off the body, there would again be no need to cut through two layers of fabric to retrieve one rectangular puece of shirt. The "delayed shirt piece removal", one of the central arguments of the Zodiac Killer hoax theory, has gained little traction over the years because it's a theory conjured from the mind and not of evidence. Hopefully the analysis presented above finally relegates this claim to the cobwebs of history.
