The following presentation is attempting to uncover the intentions of the Zodiac Killer regarding his bomb threat on a school bus, but with a refreshing new twist. Currently, the Zodiac Killer docudrama on the History Channel is tackling this conundrum, searching for the remnants of a bomb placed on Mount Diablo in 1970 by the killer.
It is extremely unlikely the Zodiac actually buried or intended to bury any bomb in the Mount Diablo region, or anywhere else for that matter. The threat of such a plan was enough to scare the authorities into action and create widespread apprehension, and for the killer, this was undoubtedly his primary goal. However, if this proposal had crossed his mind and he had earmarked an area to plant such a bomb, where would his possible location be. The History Channel team will likely come up empty handed in their search on Mount Diablo, because a more credible area of interest can be gleaned from the killer's own words.
It is extremely unlikely the Zodiac actually buried or intended to bury any bomb in the Mount Diablo region, or anywhere else for that matter. The threat of such a plan was enough to scare the authorities into action and create widespread apprehension, and for the killer, this was undoubtedly his primary goal. However, if this proposal had crossed his mind and he had earmarked an area to plant such a bomb, where would his possible location be. The History Channel team will likely come up empty handed in their search on Mount Diablo, because a more credible area of interest can be gleaned from the killer's own words.
In the November 9th 1969 'Bus Bomb' letter, the killer was probably directing his threats towards the people of San Francisco, having mailed his communication to the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper. He stated "I think you do not have the manpower to stop this one by continually searching the road sides looking for this thing. + it wont do to re roat + re schedule the busses because the bomb can be adapted to new conditions."
Therefore the logical choice of any planted bomb, would be in the heart of San Francisco. His following communications in 1970 would narrow down a potential location for his threat.
On April 20th 1970 the Zodiac Killer mailed another diagram including the use of photoelectric switches, which would be triggered on the passing of a school bus. This idea was inherently flawed, as the device could easily have been triggered by any number of taller obstructions, such as heavy goods vehicles or coaches, to name but two. This communication was again mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle and referenced the murder of San Francisco Sgt Brian McDonnell two months earlier, on February 16th 1970, when a bomb packed with fence staples exploded on an outside ledge of 1899 Waller Street Park Police Station in the Upper Haight neighborhood. The killer proclaimed "I hope you do not think that I was the one who wiped out that blue meannie with a bomb at the cop station." Park Police Station is situated on the edge of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.
The following communication was mailed on April 28th 1970 and depicted a prospector riding on the back of a dragon, believed to be Don Quixote and his squire Sancho Panza. Their statues can be found in the Golden Gate Park, on Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive. The Zodiac Killer stated in the 'Dragon' card "If you dont want me to have this blast you must do two things. Tell everyone about the bus bomb with all the details." Two communications with connections to the Golden Gate Park.
Therefore the logical choice of any planted bomb, would be in the heart of San Francisco. His following communications in 1970 would narrow down a potential location for his threat.
On April 20th 1970 the Zodiac Killer mailed another diagram including the use of photoelectric switches, which would be triggered on the passing of a school bus. This idea was inherently flawed, as the device could easily have been triggered by any number of taller obstructions, such as heavy goods vehicles or coaches, to name but two. This communication was again mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle and referenced the murder of San Francisco Sgt Brian McDonnell two months earlier, on February 16th 1970, when a bomb packed with fence staples exploded on an outside ledge of 1899 Waller Street Park Police Station in the Upper Haight neighborhood. The killer proclaimed "I hope you do not think that I was the one who wiped out that blue meannie with a bomb at the cop station." Park Police Station is situated on the edge of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.
The following communication was mailed on April 28th 1970 and depicted a prospector riding on the back of a dragon, believed to be Don Quixote and his squire Sancho Panza. Their statues can be found in the Golden Gate Park, on Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive. The Zodiac Killer stated in the 'Dragon' card "If you dont want me to have this blast you must do two things. Tell everyone about the bus bomb with all the details." Two communications with connections to the Golden Gate Park.
Two months later on June 26th 1970 came the 'Button' letter, arming us with a code and a map of San Francisco and Vicinity.
The Zodiac Killer had placed his signature crosshairs over the peak of Mount Diablo. It warned the natives of San Francisco "I have become very upset with the people of San Fran Bay Area. They have not complied with my wishes for them to wear some nice Zodiac buttons. I promised to punish them if they did not comply, by anilating a full School Buss. But now school is out for the summer, so I punished them in an another way. I shot a man sitting in a parked car with a .38."
The only murder that seemed to tally with his claims, was the callous execution of Officer Richard Radetich on June 19th 1970. He was murdered while in the process of serving a parking ticket by 643 Waller Street, San Francisco, in the Lower Haight District. Officer Radetich had been employed with the San Francisco Police Department for 4 years.
643 Waller Street is only one mile east of the Golden Gate Park.
The 'Button' letter continued "The Map coupled with the code will tell you where the bomb is set. You have untill next fall to dig it up."
So where was the bomb set, or likely to be set, had the Zodiac had even the fleeting of intentions.
The killer's focus seemed squarely over San Francisco, in particular the area in and around the Golden Gate Park. The information the author of the 'Button' letter provided was inadequate in the search for the bomb, so one month later, on July 26th 1970 he supplied us with another clue in the form of additional crosshairs and a bold black circle, and the phrase "P.S. The Mt. Diablo code concerns Radians + # inches along the radians." This was enough to get a foothold.
The crosshairs over Mount Dablo were tilted clockwise approximately three degrees. The bold black circle was positioned exactly 246 degrees on the circle of the tilted crosshairs. The Zodiac Killer mentioned "inches and radians along the radians," suggesting we were possibly looking for round numbers.
The Zodiac Killer had placed his signature crosshairs over the peak of Mount Diablo. It warned the natives of San Francisco "I have become very upset with the people of San Fran Bay Area. They have not complied with my wishes for them to wear some nice Zodiac buttons. I promised to punish them if they did not comply, by anilating a full School Buss. But now school is out for the summer, so I punished them in an another way. I shot a man sitting in a parked car with a .38."
The only murder that seemed to tally with his claims, was the callous execution of Officer Richard Radetich on June 19th 1970. He was murdered while in the process of serving a parking ticket by 643 Waller Street, San Francisco, in the Lower Haight District. Officer Radetich had been employed with the San Francisco Police Department for 4 years.
643 Waller Street is only one mile east of the Golden Gate Park.
The 'Button' letter continued "The Map coupled with the code will tell you where the bomb is set. You have untill next fall to dig it up."
So where was the bomb set, or likely to be set, had the Zodiac had even the fleeting of intentions.
The killer's focus seemed squarely over San Francisco, in particular the area in and around the Golden Gate Park. The information the author of the 'Button' letter provided was inadequate in the search for the bomb, so one month later, on July 26th 1970 he supplied us with another clue in the form of additional crosshairs and a bold black circle, and the phrase "P.S. The Mt. Diablo code concerns Radians + # inches along the radians." This was enough to get a foothold.
The crosshairs over Mount Dablo were tilted clockwise approximately three degrees. The bold black circle was positioned exactly 246 degrees on the circle of the tilted crosshairs. The Zodiac Killer mentioned "inches and radians along the radians," suggesting we were possibly looking for round numbers.
On the left is the diagram the Zodiac Killer supplied us with in the 'Little List' letter, superimposed on a compass rose to find the angle of the bold circle. The Zodiac mentioned radians, not part of a radian, so we are dealing in whole amounts of 57.296 degrees.
The Zodiac also wrote next to the crosshairs on the Phillips 66 Map; "is to be set to Mag N." This meant Magnetic North, calculated at approximately 17 degrees in 1970.
4 radians = 4 X 57.296 = 229.184 + 17 degrees = 246 degrees. The bold circle the Zodiac gave us, shown in the diagram, is positioned at exactly 246 degrees. We now have the angle, so let us move to the second part of the equation, 'concerning inches along the radians.'
Golden Gate Park is approximately 30.5 miles to its eastern edge from Mount Diablo as the crow flies. The map scale Zodiac provided us with is 6.4 miles to the inch. So we would require at least 5 inches to reach the park. Four inches wouldn't reach the park, six inches would pass its western edge. Therefore, if we are looking for a location in the park (in round numbers) for "where the bomb is set," it has to be five inches. With a map scale of 6.4 miles to the inch approximately, we would then be looking for a bomb planted 6.4 X 5 = 32 miles approximately (as the crow flies) from Mount Diablo, at an angle of 246 degrees.
In 1970 the Zodiac Killer didn't have access to the measuring tools supplied by Google maps, so a tenth of a mile or so out could be forgiven. When these coordinates are placed into our model, the location revealed is extremely interesting on a number of fronts.
31.80 miles at an angle of 246 degrees takes us into Golden Gate Park on Park Presidio Boulevard, shown in the diagram below. This may be an area visited by schoolchildren on scientific and historical field trips during term time, that is unlikely to entertain heavy goods vehicles- but coaches would still present a problem based on the photoelectric switch design.
The Zodiac also wrote next to the crosshairs on the Phillips 66 Map; "is to be set to Mag N." This meant Magnetic North, calculated at approximately 17 degrees in 1970.
4 radians = 4 X 57.296 = 229.184 + 17 degrees = 246 degrees. The bold circle the Zodiac gave us, shown in the diagram, is positioned at exactly 246 degrees. We now have the angle, so let us move to the second part of the equation, 'concerning inches along the radians.'
Golden Gate Park is approximately 30.5 miles to its eastern edge from Mount Diablo as the crow flies. The map scale Zodiac provided us with is 6.4 miles to the inch. So we would require at least 5 inches to reach the park. Four inches wouldn't reach the park, six inches would pass its western edge. Therefore, if we are looking for a location in the park (in round numbers) for "where the bomb is set," it has to be five inches. With a map scale of 6.4 miles to the inch approximately, we would then be looking for a bomb planted 6.4 X 5 = 32 miles approximately (as the crow flies) from Mount Diablo, at an angle of 246 degrees.
In 1970 the Zodiac Killer didn't have access to the measuring tools supplied by Google maps, so a tenth of a mile or so out could be forgiven. When these coordinates are placed into our model, the location revealed is extremely interesting on a number of fronts.
31.80 miles at an angle of 246 degrees takes us into Golden Gate Park on Park Presidio Boulevard, shown in the diagram below. This may be an area visited by schoolchildren on scientific and historical field trips during term time, that is unlikely to entertain heavy goods vehicles- but coaches would still present a problem based on the photoelectric switch design.
Park Presidio Boulevard reminds one of Presidio Boulevard, the road skirting the Presidio Park, into which the Zodiac Killer escaped after the murder of taxicab driver Paul Stine on October 11th 1969. Below is a particular section of Park Presidio Boulevard (31.80 miles from Mount Diablo) that mirrors the school bus diagram drawn by Zodiac on the April 20th 1970 communication, in which the killer stated "The new bomb is set up like this. Sun light in early morning.
A + B are photoelectric swiches. When sun beam is broken, A closes circuit, B opens circuit, which makes B the cloudy day disconnect, so the bomb won't go off by accident. PS I hope you have fun trying to figure out who I killed."I have superimposed this Zodiac diagram over the section of road in question and can be viewed below.
A + B are photoelectric swiches. When sun beam is broken, A closes circuit, B opens circuit, which makes B the cloudy day disconnect, so the bomb won't go off by accident. PS I hope you have fun trying to figure out who I killed."I have superimposed this Zodiac diagram over the section of road in question and can be viewed below.
Click the photograph above to enter location on Google maps
But how do we know if this is the area the Zodiac Killer had earmarked, or possibly dreamed of as the intended location. The short answer is we don't, but there may be a sense of humor exhibited by the Zodiac Killer by choosing this exact location. He would place his crosshairs over the summit of Mount Diablo, so what are the chances he would again show us his crosshairs, 32 miles and 246 degrees, at the location of "where the bomb is set." Then we would surely know that this location had his stamp all over it. Click the photograph above and scroll back to get an aerial shot, and pan to the right. This is now the view.
Click the photograph above to enter Google maps
This is The Prayerbook Cross, a Celtic Cross erected in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park in 1894 as a gift from the Church of England. Created by Ernest Coxhead, it stands on one of the higher points in Golden Gate Park. It is located between John F. Kennedy Drive and Park Presidio Drive, near Cross Over Drive. This 57 ft (17 m) sandstone cross commemorates the first use of the Book of Common Prayer in California by Sir Francis Drake's chaplain on June 24, 1579. Wikipedia.
The symbol of the Zodiac Killer resides at the beginning and end of our quest.
Now we shall tackle the code: "The Map coupled with the code will tell you where the bomb is set. You have untill next fall to dig it up." Let us place The Prayerbook Cross, Golden Gate Park into the '32 Symbol' code shown in the 'Button' letter.
The symbol of the Zodiac Killer resides at the beginning and end of our quest.
Now we shall tackle the code: "The Map coupled with the code will tell you where the bomb is set. You have untill next fall to dig it up." Let us place The Prayerbook Cross, Golden Gate Park into the '32 Symbol' code shown in the 'Button' letter.
