Robert Graysmith has been accused of many factual inaccuracies down the years, of which many are well founded. One of these we shall revisit and explore whether it has any basis in truth.
Michael Butterfield highlighted this 'inaccuracy' under the title Robert Graysmith-Separating Fact and Fiction, where Robert Graysmith notes the sighting of the Zodiac Killer incorrectly on two occasions- firstly on the TLC show The Ultimate Ten, by 3758 Jackson Street, and secondly on Cherry Street 'lumbering along in the fog toward the Presidio'.
However, the reality is, we only have the word of Donald Fouke on where he last saw the Zodiac Killer on October 11th 1969, and he also placed the murderer of Paul Stine in two locations- firstly, walking up a flight of stairs, approaching the residence of 3712 Jackson Street, and secondly, he last saw the Zodiac Killer turning north on Maple Street as he drove past.
If you are going to question the statements of Robert Graysmith, then you have to equally challenge the conflicting statements of Donald Fouke in the November 12th 1969 interdepartmental police memorandum and the 2007 Zodiac documentary.
But there may be a possibility that Robert Graysmith and Donald Fouke are both correct, and the Zodiac Killer was spotted at both locations. The three teenagers gave a second, more comprehensive account of the events that night, recalling their meeting with Armond Pelissetti at the intersection of Washington and Cherry, and the Zodiac Killer attempting to haul Paul Stine into an upright position behind the steering wheel of the taxicab. These recollections tally with Armond Pelissetti's statements in the 2007 documentary, along with the bloodied right-handed fingerprint retrieved from the dividing panel between the driver side door and left rear passenger door. The statement of Lindsey that "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," however, would not tally with the timeline of Zodiac approaching the intersection of Jackson and Maple, and being spotted by Donald Fouke.
Michael Butterfield highlighted this 'inaccuracy' under the title Robert Graysmith-Separating Fact and Fiction, where Robert Graysmith notes the sighting of the Zodiac Killer incorrectly on two occasions- firstly on the TLC show The Ultimate Ten, by 3758 Jackson Street, and secondly on Cherry Street 'lumbering along in the fog toward the Presidio'.
However, the reality is, we only have the word of Donald Fouke on where he last saw the Zodiac Killer on October 11th 1969, and he also placed the murderer of Paul Stine in two locations- firstly, walking up a flight of stairs, approaching the residence of 3712 Jackson Street, and secondly, he last saw the Zodiac Killer turning north on Maple Street as he drove past.
If you are going to question the statements of Robert Graysmith, then you have to equally challenge the conflicting statements of Donald Fouke in the November 12th 1969 interdepartmental police memorandum and the 2007 Zodiac documentary.
But there may be a possibility that Robert Graysmith and Donald Fouke are both correct, and the Zodiac Killer was spotted at both locations. The three teenagers gave a second, more comprehensive account of the events that night, recalling their meeting with Armond Pelissetti at the intersection of Washington and Cherry, and the Zodiac Killer attempting to haul Paul Stine into an upright position behind the steering wheel of the taxicab. These recollections tally with Armond Pelissetti's statements in the 2007 documentary, along with the bloodied right-handed fingerprint retrieved from the dividing panel between the driver side door and left rear passenger door. The statement of Lindsey that "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," however, would not tally with the timeline of Zodiac approaching the intersection of Jackson and Maple, and being spotted by Donald Fouke.
View on Google maps If Armond Pelissetti and Lindsey were both watching Zodiac as he approached the corner of Jackson and Cherry, then the Zodiac Killer still had 128 meters of traveling distance to reach 3712 Jackson Street, close to the intersection of Jackson and Maple. At an average walking speed of 1.4 m/s, this would take 91 seconds.
If Armond Pelissetti only took 30 seconds to arrive en scene, and he got the initial radio broadcast at 9.58 pm, the time is now 9.58:30 pm.
Zodiac would therefore arrive at 3712 Jackson Street at approximately 10.00 pm, where he is spotted by Donald Fouke.
But Donald Fouke's journey at just 30 mph from the intersection of Presidio Avenue and Washington Street, where he received the initial 9.58 pm broadcast, is just 60 seconds. He arrived at Jackson and Maple at 9.59 pm, so couldn't possibly have seen Zodiac here, who wouldn't have arrived until 10.00 pm. Zodiac cannot travel from the upper reaches of Cherry to the near intersection of Jackson and Maple in 30 seconds.
If Armond Pelissetti took 1 minute to arrive en scene and met with Lindsey, then they are both viewing Zodiac approach the intersection of Jackson and Cherry at 9.59 pm.
Donald Fouke is also viewing Zodiac approaching the intersection of Jackson and Maple at 9.59 pm- and Zodiac cannot be in two places at once. But the Robert Graysmith statement of Zodiac being spotted somewhere near the intersection of Jackson and Cherry is certainly plausible.
In the Zodiac book by Robert Graysmith it stated "The patrol reached Jackson and Cherry by 10.00 and saw a stocky man "lumbering" along in the fog toward the Presidio. The radio unit, Patrolmen Donald Fouke and Eric Zelms, looking for a black man, shouted to the stranger and asked if he had seen anything unusual in the last minute or so. The stocky man called out he'd seen a man waving a gun running east on Washington, and the patrol car sped off in that direction."
It would take Donald Fouke and Eric Zelms approximately 1 minute 15/20 seconds from the initial broadcast, to be somewhere between the 3758 Jackson Street residence and the Jackson/Cherry intersection, and would take Zodiac a similar time from the taxicab.
Zodiac cannot reach the Jackson/Maple intersection at normal walking speed to be spotted by Donald Fouke and Eric Zelms, but their patrol car can reach Zodiac at the beginning of his journey, east along Jackson Street. This would tally with the claims of Robert Graysmith, along with the sighting of Lindsey and Armond Pelissetti.
If Armond Pelissetti only took 30 seconds to arrive en scene, and he got the initial radio broadcast at 9.58 pm, the time is now 9.58:30 pm.
Zodiac would therefore arrive at 3712 Jackson Street at approximately 10.00 pm, where he is spotted by Donald Fouke.
But Donald Fouke's journey at just 30 mph from the intersection of Presidio Avenue and Washington Street, where he received the initial 9.58 pm broadcast, is just 60 seconds. He arrived at Jackson and Maple at 9.59 pm, so couldn't possibly have seen Zodiac here, who wouldn't have arrived until 10.00 pm. Zodiac cannot travel from the upper reaches of Cherry to the near intersection of Jackson and Maple in 30 seconds.
If Armond Pelissetti took 1 minute to arrive en scene and met with Lindsey, then they are both viewing Zodiac approach the intersection of Jackson and Cherry at 9.59 pm.
Donald Fouke is also viewing Zodiac approaching the intersection of Jackson and Maple at 9.59 pm- and Zodiac cannot be in two places at once. But the Robert Graysmith statement of Zodiac being spotted somewhere near the intersection of Jackson and Cherry is certainly plausible.
In the Zodiac book by Robert Graysmith it stated "The patrol reached Jackson and Cherry by 10.00 and saw a stocky man "lumbering" along in the fog toward the Presidio. The radio unit, Patrolmen Donald Fouke and Eric Zelms, looking for a black man, shouted to the stranger and asked if he had seen anything unusual in the last minute or so. The stocky man called out he'd seen a man waving a gun running east on Washington, and the patrol car sped off in that direction."
It would take Donald Fouke and Eric Zelms approximately 1 minute 15/20 seconds from the initial broadcast, to be somewhere between the 3758 Jackson Street residence and the Jackson/Cherry intersection, and would take Zodiac a similar time from the taxicab.
Zodiac cannot reach the Jackson/Maple intersection at normal walking speed to be spotted by Donald Fouke and Eric Zelms, but their patrol car can reach Zodiac at the beginning of his journey, east along Jackson Street. This would tally with the claims of Robert Graysmith, along with the sighting of Lindsey and Armond Pelissetti.
View on Google maps According to Graysmith "Donald Fouke and Eric Zelms, looking for a black man, shouted to the stranger and asked if he had seen anything unusual in the last minute or so."
This sounds perfectly feasible, because Donald Fouke had received the initial broadcast just over a minute previous.
Graysmith also stated "The stocky man called out he'd seen a man waving a gun running east on Washington, and the patrol car sped off in that direction."
This would have resulted in Donald Fouke turning southbound on Cherry, and turning left (east) on Washington Street, past Armond Pelissetti and the crime scene- likely while Pelissetti was ushering the teenagers back to their residence. Noticing another officer was dealing with the crime scene, he proceeded east along Washington looking for the assailant. But does this make sense?
Zodiac stated in the November 9th 1969 'Bus Bomb' letter:
"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." If the Zodiac saw them go around the corner, then that corner may have been the Jackson/Cherry intersection. But why would he state the man waving the gun was heading east on Washington Street? Was there purpose behind this?
The Zodiac had murdered Paul Stine at the intersection of Washington and Cherry, but the trip sheet had recorded Washington and Maple, so had the Zodiac Killer subconsciously or deliberately directed the patrol car east to the area of Washington and Maple, in order to throw the police a false lead, so they would focus their search near that intersection.
Donald Fouke stated in the 2007 documentary "He was putting his head down when he spotted the police car and turned into the entrance way of a house. By entrance way, I mean stairs, leading up that are concrete, to a path, that leads to a front door. Never saw him get to the top of the stairs. You want the address of that residence- 3712 Jackson Street." But was Donald Fouke mistaken. The residence at 3758 Jackson Street conforms to his description of a flight of concrete stairs, leading to a path, that leads to a front door, and is closer to Cherry Street than 3712 Jackson Street. It is also exactly a "block and half away" from the thoroughfare of Spruce Street into the park- the last place eyewitnesses saw Zodiac that night.
There is a reasonable argument to be had, that Donald Fouke passed Zodiac twice that night, leading to his two separate and distinct recollections, in the police memorandum and the 2007 documentary. Both of which have become muddled in time.
This sounds perfectly feasible, because Donald Fouke had received the initial broadcast just over a minute previous.
Graysmith also stated "The stocky man called out he'd seen a man waving a gun running east on Washington, and the patrol car sped off in that direction."
This would have resulted in Donald Fouke turning southbound on Cherry, and turning left (east) on Washington Street, past Armond Pelissetti and the crime scene- likely while Pelissetti was ushering the teenagers back to their residence. Noticing another officer was dealing with the crime scene, he proceeded east along Washington looking for the assailant. But does this make sense?
Zodiac stated in the November 9th 1969 'Bus Bomb' letter:
"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." If the Zodiac saw them go around the corner, then that corner may have been the Jackson/Cherry intersection. But why would he state the man waving the gun was heading east on Washington Street? Was there purpose behind this?
The Zodiac had murdered Paul Stine at the intersection of Washington and Cherry, but the trip sheet had recorded Washington and Maple, so had the Zodiac Killer subconsciously or deliberately directed the patrol car east to the area of Washington and Maple, in order to throw the police a false lead, so they would focus their search near that intersection.
Donald Fouke stated in the 2007 documentary "He was putting his head down when he spotted the police car and turned into the entrance way of a house. By entrance way, I mean stairs, leading up that are concrete, to a path, that leads to a front door. Never saw him get to the top of the stairs. You want the address of that residence- 3712 Jackson Street." But was Donald Fouke mistaken. The residence at 3758 Jackson Street conforms to his description of a flight of concrete stairs, leading to a path, that leads to a front door, and is closer to Cherry Street than 3712 Jackson Street. It is also exactly a "block and half away" from the thoroughfare of Spruce Street into the park- the last place eyewitnesses saw Zodiac that night.
There is a reasonable argument to be had, that Donald Fouke passed Zodiac twice that night, leading to his two separate and distinct recollections, in the police memorandum and the 2007 documentary. Both of which have become muddled in time.
The Zodiac Killer turns out of view from Lindsey Robbins and Armond Pelissetti, and heads down the hill towards 3758 Jackson Street, where he observes the patrol car of Donald Fouke approaching. He makes a snap decision to turn into the stairs of a residence and is spotted by the patrol car. Because he is white (and police are searching for a NMA), they ask him has he seen anything suspicious. He gratefully directs them south on Cherry and east on Washington Street, before continuing his journey down the hill.
Donald Fouke travels two blocks on Washington Street, to Spruce Street, searching for a black male, but finds nobody. Believing the assailant may have headed for the Presidio, he turns north on Spruce Street towards the thoroughfare entering Julius Khan playground, but fails to spot his charge. He turns west on Jackson Street and heads toward the Jackson and Maple intersection, where he spots the white male again- this time turning north on Maple. This would explain the timeline and the two different stories given by Donald Fouke in the police memorandum and 2007 Zodiac documentary.
The journey time for Donald Fouke traveling at 30 mph, following the yellow directional markers above is approximately 1 minute, as is the time for Zodiac to walk from 3758 Jackson Street to the intersection of Jackson and Maple. Both journey times are comparable.
Donald Fouke travels two blocks on Washington Street, to Spruce Street, searching for a black male, but finds nobody. Believing the assailant may have headed for the Presidio, he turns north on Spruce Street towards the thoroughfare entering Julius Khan playground, but fails to spot his charge. He turns west on Jackson Street and heads toward the Jackson and Maple intersection, where he spots the white male again- this time turning north on Maple. This would explain the timeline and the two different stories given by Donald Fouke in the police memorandum and 2007 Zodiac documentary.
The journey time for Donald Fouke traveling at 30 mph, following the yellow directional markers above is approximately 1 minute, as is the time for Zodiac to walk from 3758 Jackson Street to the intersection of Jackson and Maple. Both journey times are comparable.
Police memorandum. Click to view. The police memorandum on the right states "Sir: I respectfully wish to report the following, that while responding to the area of Cherry and Washington Streets a suspect fitting the description of the Zodiac Killer was observed by officer Donald Fouke walking in an easterly direction on Jackson Street and then turn north on Maple Street. The subject was not stopped as the description received from communication was that of a negro male." The detail is particularly cautious and guarded.
The question arises- did Donald Fouke pass the Zodiac twice? Firstly, walking up stairs to a residence, and then later, heading north on Maple. From his accounts in 1969 and 2007, we would have to believe he just plucked the second story out of thin air, or that both events did occur, but have been viewed as contradictory to one another, when this doesn't necessarily need to be the case, had he viewed the WMA on two distinct and separate occasions.
Donald Fouke passed the Zodiac on the second occasion, but still hadn't received the amended update after approximately two minutes 15 seconds. He doesn't need to attend the crime scene, because he has already seen this being taken care of, so heads towards Arguello Boulevard to search the park area. He now receives the second broadcast updating the description to a WMA. Realizing he may have just passed the suspect, last seen heading north on Maple, he turns east on West Pacific Avenue. He fails to find the suspect, so returns to Cherry Street, where he meets up with Armond Pelissetti.
The above is just a suggestion, hopefully incorporating both the accounts of Donald Fouke and Robert Graysmith, without pitting one against the other, and more importantly, blending all the recollections together in a plausible, if unlikely, course of events
The question arises- did Donald Fouke pass the Zodiac twice? Firstly, walking up stairs to a residence, and then later, heading north on Maple. From his accounts in 1969 and 2007, we would have to believe he just plucked the second story out of thin air, or that both events did occur, but have been viewed as contradictory to one another, when this doesn't necessarily need to be the case, had he viewed the WMA on two distinct and separate occasions.
Donald Fouke passed the Zodiac on the second occasion, but still hadn't received the amended update after approximately two minutes 15 seconds. He doesn't need to attend the crime scene, because he has already seen this being taken care of, so heads towards Arguello Boulevard to search the park area. He now receives the second broadcast updating the description to a WMA. Realizing he may have just passed the suspect, last seen heading north on Maple, he turns east on West Pacific Avenue. He fails to find the suspect, so returns to Cherry Street, where he meets up with Armond Pelissetti.
The above is just a suggestion, hopefully incorporating both the accounts of Donald Fouke and Robert Graysmith, without pitting one against the other, and more importantly, blending all the recollections together in a plausible, if unlikely, course of events