It is without much doubt that the Zodiac Killer had an ability to garnish his letters using references from newspapers, days, weeks, months, and sometimes years previous. Absent of stocking up on piles of newspapers in his home, one of the easiest options for the Zodiac Killer was to work in, or regularly frequent the library and harvest the current publications, or access microfiche to unearth historic material. This was exemplified by his encoded phrase in the 408 cipher, in which he used the quote of Merian C. Cooper upon release of The Most Dangerous Game (1932). Cooper was quoted as saying "man is the most dangerous animal of all" in only a handful of newspaper publications. Currently I have only found this quote from the movie's assocate producer three times - and all were in 1932 - thirty-seven years prior to the trinity of letters on July 31st 1969. This sort of effort from a killer demonstrates a conscientiousness unrivalled in the savage and stark reality of cold-blooded murder. It appears that the Zodiac Killer went to great lengths when composing his letters to the press. Could this effort be found in the Riverside confession letter mailed on November 29th 1966?
MANY NEWSPAPERS, DEC 11TH 1888 The author of this letter seemed to borrow phrases from The Press newspaper on November 24th 1966. The newspaper article stated that the man "grabbed her around the neck". The confession letter author typed "I grabbed her around the neck with my hand over her mouth". The newspaper article stated "I could just hit you in the head with this piece of wood". The confession letter author typed "She let out a scream once and I kicked her in the head to shut her up". But it's the use of the wording "I shall cut off her female parts and deposit them for the whole city to see" in the confession letter that I would like to focus upon. This reminded me of Jack the Ripper.
The newspaper article on November 24th 1966, which compared an attack on a 19-year-old woman to that of Cheri Jo Bates, five days before the confession letter arrived, remarked on the attacker stating "I'm not Jack the Ripper". In fact, the entire confession letter had overtones of Jack the Ripper in its sadistic nature. But one phrase seemed unusual - as though it was borrowed from a movie or book for dramatic effect. The author of the confession letter typed "When we were away from the library walking, I said it was about time. She asked me "about time for what". I said it was about time for her to die". This wording appeared like a set-up introduction for the punch line "I said it was about time for her to die". It appeared contrived. With this in mind, I dug a little further.
I searched newspaper archives for this phrase and found an attack on a woman where the criminal stated "it was about time for her to die", using the same eight consecutive words as the confession letter This story appeared in The Evening Bulletin newspaper from Providence, Rhode Island on December 11th 1888 (the year of Jack the Ripper), on the day it was reported that "Jack the Ripper" had possibly "cut the throat" of a woman on Bermondsey Street in London, causing great excitement in the neighborhood (see above and below). The confession letter, with overtones of Jack the Ripper, used three phrases: [1] "I shall cut off her female parts and deposit them for the whole city to see" [2] "I said it was about time for her to die" and [3] "I then finished the job out cutting her throat". The first phrase is self-explanatory, with the second two reminiscent of December 11th 1888, a day that Jack the Ripper hit the headlines in America once again Had the confession letter author trawled through the microfiche of Riverside City College library (or another) looking for quotes to use from the times of Jack the Ripper and stumbled across "The Sturdy Beggar" story, which caught his eye? The story of Arthur Craven (below), sentenced to five years in state prison on October 6th 1888, ran alongside several Jack the Ripper newspaper articles. I have not found the phrase "it was about time for her to die" in any newspaper from 1690 to November 29th 1966, other than 1888, the year of Jack the Ripper.
The newspaper article on November 24th 1966, which compared an attack on a 19-year-old woman to that of Cheri Jo Bates, five days before the confession letter arrived, remarked on the attacker stating "I'm not Jack the Ripper". In fact, the entire confession letter had overtones of Jack the Ripper in its sadistic nature. But one phrase seemed unusual - as though it was borrowed from a movie or book for dramatic effect. The author of the confession letter typed "When we were away from the library walking, I said it was about time. She asked me "about time for what". I said it was about time for her to die". This wording appeared like a set-up introduction for the punch line "I said it was about time for her to die". It appeared contrived. With this in mind, I dug a little further.
I searched newspaper archives for this phrase and found an attack on a woman where the criminal stated "it was about time for her to die", using the same eight consecutive words as the confession letter This story appeared in The Evening Bulletin newspaper from Providence, Rhode Island on December 11th 1888 (the year of Jack the Ripper), on the day it was reported that "Jack the Ripper" had possibly "cut the throat" of a woman on Bermondsey Street in London, causing great excitement in the neighborhood (see above and below). The confession letter, with overtones of Jack the Ripper, used three phrases: [1] "I shall cut off her female parts and deposit them for the whole city to see" [2] "I said it was about time for her to die" and [3] "I then finished the job out cutting her throat". The first phrase is self-explanatory, with the second two reminiscent of December 11th 1888, a day that Jack the Ripper hit the headlines in America once again Had the confession letter author trawled through the microfiche of Riverside City College library (or another) looking for quotes to use from the times of Jack the Ripper and stumbled across "The Sturdy Beggar" story, which caught his eye? The story of Arthur Craven (below), sentenced to five years in state prison on October 6th 1888, ran alongside several Jack the Ripper newspaper articles. I have not found the phrase "it was about time for her to die" in any newspaper from 1690 to November 29th 1966, other than 1888, the year of Jack the Ripper.
THE EVENING BULLETIN, DECEMBER 11TH 1888
