Newspaper clipping from November 1969 A psychologically disturbed individual rang the Jim Dunbar Show on October 22nd 1969 pretending to be the Zodiac Killer, to which the Bay Area murderer responded on December 20th 1969 by seemingly mocking the whole affair and claiming he was about to lose control and find more victims. It has been speculated by some that the Zodiac Killer appeared to somewhat mimic the murder scene of Frances Brown, who had been stabbed numerous times on December 10th 1945 at her 3941 North Pine Grove, Chicago apartment. The killer had left a sinister message on her apartment wall in red lipstick, reading "For Heaven's sake, stop me before I kill more. I cannot control myself".
This claim of a lack of control formed the basis of the Melvin Belli letter on December 20th 1969 in which Zodiac thrice feared he was about to lose control and needed help from Melvin Belli. I wasn't sure whether a strong connection could be forged between 1945 and the letter in 1969 until the discovery of a comprehensive analysis of the Zodiac Killer by Dr. Lawrence Z. Freedman, a psychiatric consultant to the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence. Chairman of the Institute of Social and Behavioral Pathology at Chicago University, his in-depth psychological analysis of the Zodiac Killer in November 1969 was part of the World Book Science Service and was published statewide in the newspapers, including The Napa Valley Register on November 21st 1969. Dr. Lawrence Z. Freedman (85), who was a pioneering forensic psychiatrist whose research and writings delved into the causes of violence, particularly assassinations, terrorism and mass murder, died on October 6th 2004 at his home in Chicago.
His detailed analysis in November 1969 of the Zodiac Killer's psyche, not only included the red lipstick writing from 1945, but heavily centered his findings around the perceived lack of control exhibited by Zodiac (see left for one example)..He also wrote "Afraid of others, envious, he has sought a fulfilment through violence. But his fear and self-loathing are now compounded by his realization that he lacks the power to control himself. Therefore he seeks that control from the outside himself, from capture and punishment.
Below are two newspaper headlines stating "Zodiac Killer Wants To Be Caught, Pleads For Control" and "Boasts by Zodiac really plea for his own control". It is extremely unlikely that a voracious newspaper reader such as the Zodiac Killer failed to see these numerous articles claiming his control was lacking. So did this detailed analysis by forensic psychiatrist, Dr. Lawrence Z. Freedman, one month earlier, shape the design of the Melvin Belli letter on December 20th 1969, with the Zodiac pleading for help and a wish for control
This claim of a lack of control formed the basis of the Melvin Belli letter on December 20th 1969 in which Zodiac thrice feared he was about to lose control and needed help from Melvin Belli. I wasn't sure whether a strong connection could be forged between 1945 and the letter in 1969 until the discovery of a comprehensive analysis of the Zodiac Killer by Dr. Lawrence Z. Freedman, a psychiatric consultant to the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence. Chairman of the Institute of Social and Behavioral Pathology at Chicago University, his in-depth psychological analysis of the Zodiac Killer in November 1969 was part of the World Book Science Service and was published statewide in the newspapers, including The Napa Valley Register on November 21st 1969. Dr. Lawrence Z. Freedman (85), who was a pioneering forensic psychiatrist whose research and writings delved into the causes of violence, particularly assassinations, terrorism and mass murder, died on October 6th 2004 at his home in Chicago.
His detailed analysis in November 1969 of the Zodiac Killer's psyche, not only included the red lipstick writing from 1945, but heavily centered his findings around the perceived lack of control exhibited by Zodiac (see left for one example)..He also wrote "Afraid of others, envious, he has sought a fulfilment through violence. But his fear and self-loathing are now compounded by his realization that he lacks the power to control himself. Therefore he seeks that control from the outside himself, from capture and punishment.
Below are two newspaper headlines stating "Zodiac Killer Wants To Be Caught, Pleads For Control" and "Boasts by Zodiac really plea for his own control". It is extremely unlikely that a voracious newspaper reader such as the Zodiac Killer failed to see these numerous articles claiming his control was lacking. So did this detailed analysis by forensic psychiatrist, Dr. Lawrence Z. Freedman, one month earlier, shape the design of the Melvin Belli letter on December 20th 1969, with the Zodiac pleading for help and a wish for control
