We know that the Zodiac Killer was prepared to link himself to many murders with little to no evidence that vindicated his claims, such as Donna Lass, Kathie Snoozy and Debra Furlong, Cheri Jo Bates, Richard Radetich and the Atlanta Child murders. Law enforcement claimed that they had received dozens of hoax Zodiac letters by the end of 1970, which they obviously classified as such, based on nothing more than handwriting analysis and gut feelings, resulting in the loss of many communications that could have shed greater light on the Zodiac Killer mystery. Unfortunately, this method of determining authentic and inauthentic letters in the Zodiac case still persists 54 years later, with individuals that currently have the ability to spot fake Zodiac letters by the shape of the writing and the tone of a letter. But don't expect this quackery to change.
I mention this as a cautionary warning in regards to the perceived gaps in Zodiac Killer activity, such as the widely touted 4-year hiatus in Zodiac communications between 1974 and 1978. It's one thing believing a letter hasn't met the threshold of evidence to declare its authenticity, but quite another claiming it's a hoax based on nothing more than looking at it. With that said, I will continue the following observations based upon the April 24th 1978 and May 2nd 1978 letters being genuine Zodiac material, because the evidence against is practically zero compared to the evidence for.
The Hillside Strangler murders, eventually discovered to be both Kenneth Bianci and Angelo Buono Jr., took place in Los Angeles between October 1977 and February 1978, resulting in the murder of ten women and girls who were abducted, raped and tortured. The Hillside Strangler murders took the police far afield, with their investigation spreading to New York and the United Kingdom in pursuit of the killer/s identity, unsure of whether more than one individual was involved in the horrific crimes. One person in 1978 would have had a keen interest in the unfolding newspaper coverage, which makes a multiple page letter mailed to police in respect to this case in January 1978, very interesting. On December 7th 1969, the Zodiac Killer mailed a letter from Fairfield threatening to kill a cop, which after he would turn himself in. On January 19th 1978, Los Angeles Chief Daryl Gates held a news conference on television and stated "The fact we have not had any more murders in the last five weeks suggests that the individual or individuals are not operating. Hopefully that will continue to be the situation. I'm hopeful the killer or killers will come forward and talk with us and give themselves up". Daryl Gates informed reporters that the manhunt was the biggest since the Tate-LaBianca murders which cost 500, 000 dollars.
I mention this as a cautionary warning in regards to the perceived gaps in Zodiac Killer activity, such as the widely touted 4-year hiatus in Zodiac communications between 1974 and 1978. It's one thing believing a letter hasn't met the threshold of evidence to declare its authenticity, but quite another claiming it's a hoax based on nothing more than looking at it. With that said, I will continue the following observations based upon the April 24th 1978 and May 2nd 1978 letters being genuine Zodiac material, because the evidence against is practically zero compared to the evidence for.
The Hillside Strangler murders, eventually discovered to be both Kenneth Bianci and Angelo Buono Jr., took place in Los Angeles between October 1977 and February 1978, resulting in the murder of ten women and girls who were abducted, raped and tortured. The Hillside Strangler murders took the police far afield, with their investigation spreading to New York and the United Kingdom in pursuit of the killer/s identity, unsure of whether more than one individual was involved in the horrific crimes. One person in 1978 would have had a keen interest in the unfolding newspaper coverage, which makes a multiple page letter mailed to police in respect to this case in January 1978, very interesting. On December 7th 1969, the Zodiac Killer mailed a letter from Fairfield threatening to kill a cop, which after he would turn himself in. On January 19th 1978, Los Angeles Chief Daryl Gates held a news conference on television and stated "The fact we have not had any more murders in the last five weeks suggests that the individual or individuals are not operating. Hopefully that will continue to be the situation. I'm hopeful the killer or killers will come forward and talk with us and give themselves up". Daryl Gates informed reporters that the manhunt was the biggest since the Tate-LaBianca murders which cost 500, 000 dollars.
Later that day a letter was mailed to Mayor Tom Bradley, with portions of the text released by Chief Daryl Gates. The letter, handwritten and several pages long, stated he was very sick and claimed he had killed his mother, writing "My mother told me to kill those bad and evil ladys", and offering to turn himself in, along with "a friend". The author of the letter also promised to mail an article of clothing from one of the victims to prove the authenticity of the claims.
The Zodiac Killer would apparently reappear on March 13th 1978 and April 24th 1978 stating "This is the Zodiac. Tell the press that I am back in San Francisco" and "I am back with you", before mailing another letter from Los Angeles threatening to kill five people, in which Chief Daryl Gates was number one on that list, with former Los Angeles Chief Ed Davis second. Susan Atkins, part of the Manson family responsible for the Tate-LaBianca murders, was also mentioned fifth on the list mailed to the KHJ-TV studios. As such, we have a letter postmarked January 19th 1978 promising proof to the claims of murder and offering to give himself (and "a friend") up to police, in response to a news conference hosted by Chief Daryl Gates, who asked the killer or killers to give themselves up - followed by another letter mailed from Los Angeles on May 2nd 1978 threatening Chief Daryl Gates, who spearheaded the Hillside Strangler investigation. Who knows whether this was the Zodiac Killer interjecting himself into another major investigation, but it's certainly a possibility.
The Zodiac Killer would apparently reappear on March 13th 1978 and April 24th 1978 stating "This is the Zodiac. Tell the press that I am back in San Francisco" and "I am back with you", before mailing another letter from Los Angeles threatening to kill five people, in which Chief Daryl Gates was number one on that list, with former Los Angeles Chief Ed Davis second. Susan Atkins, part of the Manson family responsible for the Tate-LaBianca murders, was also mentioned fifth on the list mailed to the KHJ-TV studios. As such, we have a letter postmarked January 19th 1978 promising proof to the claims of murder and offering to give himself (and "a friend") up to police, in response to a news conference hosted by Chief Daryl Gates, who asked the killer or killers to give themselves up - followed by another letter mailed from Los Angeles on May 2nd 1978 threatening Chief Daryl Gates, who spearheaded the Hillside Strangler investigation. Who knows whether this was the Zodiac Killer interjecting himself into another major investigation, but it's certainly a possibility.
The dominant wording on this letter is "PLEASE", just like the Channel 9 letter mailed on May 2nd 1978 (with an exclamation mark completing the phrase). View letter on ZodiacKiller.com.
SOME OF THE WORDING FROM THE LETTER