Source: Zodiac Unmasked
On March 24, 1992, George Bawart decided to recontact victim Mike Mageau and show him a six-photo spread. Now remember this is some twenty years after the Blue Rock Springs incident. George I believe worked for the Vallejo Police Department. His wife was at the L. A. Airport so he set up a little spread with Leigh Allen, Harvey Hine's suspect and the rest were INS, NIS, and CHP officers for fillers. George didn't think Mike would recognize anybody in the black and white pictures which were old style photos. He gave Mike the lineup admonishment and gave him the pictures. He looked at them for half a minute and said "That's the man who shot me." He pointed to Arthur Leigh Allen. Bawart was surprised.
Ricardo!
I looked at the Zodiac disc and the Mike Mageau interview. He said that Darlene Ferrin turned around and saw the car behind them. She said the name Richard not Rick. Also Officer Fouke in the beeped out sentence said the stranger on Jackson Street walked up to either 1012 Jackson or 12 Jackson Street. That's the best I could make out from the movement of his lips. I ran it by on repeat on my flat screen about twenty times. I'm almost sure the last movement of his lips mouthed the number twelve.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Zodiac's Voice Tape & More
Source: Graysmith's Unmasked
After Blue Rock Springs the Zodiac called the Vallejo Police Dept. from Tuolumne and Springs Road telling that he did the shooting and how he did it letting us know, for sure, that he was the one who did it. Captain Conway said one of the examples of misinformation is that they had no way of recording voices in the police department in those days. But, former Vallejo Patrolman Steve Baldino disagreed. On "Now It Can Be Told " with Geraldo Rivera, on July 14, 1992 he had said, "I heard the tape-----the dispatcher let me hear it. I believe it was the next night. Apparently the tape is no longer here, but it did in fact exist, because I did hear it." Nancy Slover, the police operator heard it too. Nancy Slover heard an "even but consistent, soft but forceful" voice with no trace of accent. She said it sounded "mature, deepened and became taunting toward the end. " Nancy Slover has, as told to me by Ricardo Gomez, since died of cancer. I may have mentioned this tape and Nancy Slover's experience with the Zodiac in an earlier paragraph back in Jan. or Feb but we lost a good witness to the audio when she died. Brian Hartnell also talked to the Zodiac and heard his voice too.
There are several others who are obsessed with the case. One is an attorney in S. F. who claimes his dead brother was the Zodiac. Another uses mathematics to prove it. He's convinced he's solved the Zodiac case. He thinks it's a college professor who now works for the University of California at Berkeley. He says it's mathematically impossible for anybody to be the Zodiac except his subject. There are two other individuals who are in law enforcement that think they absolutely know who the Zodiac is. So everyone of these people think they are right. A major reason that the Zodiac case has not been solved is the lack of coordination with information. When they issued a warrant on Leigh Allen, they should have gone to both the trailer and the home at the same time. Sandy Panzarella made a big point of this.
After Blue Rock Springs the Zodiac called the Vallejo Police Dept. from Tuolumne and Springs Road telling that he did the shooting and how he did it letting us know, for sure, that he was the one who did it. Captain Conway said one of the examples of misinformation is that they had no way of recording voices in the police department in those days. But, former Vallejo Patrolman Steve Baldino disagreed. On "Now It Can Be Told " with Geraldo Rivera, on July 14, 1992 he had said, "I heard the tape-----the dispatcher let me hear it. I believe it was the next night. Apparently the tape is no longer here, but it did in fact exist, because I did hear it." Nancy Slover, the police operator heard it too. Nancy Slover heard an "even but consistent, soft but forceful" voice with no trace of accent. She said it sounded "mature, deepened and became taunting toward the end. " Nancy Slover has, as told to me by Ricardo Gomez, since died of cancer. I may have mentioned this tape and Nancy Slover's experience with the Zodiac in an earlier paragraph back in Jan. or Feb but we lost a good witness to the audio when she died. Brian Hartnell also talked to the Zodiac and heard his voice too.
There are several others who are obsessed with the case. One is an attorney in S. F. who claimes his dead brother was the Zodiac. Another uses mathematics to prove it. He's convinced he's solved the Zodiac case. He thinks it's a college professor who now works for the University of California at Berkeley. He says it's mathematically impossible for anybody to be the Zodiac except his subject. There are two other individuals who are in law enforcement that think they absolutely know who the Zodiac is. So everyone of these people think they are right. A major reason that the Zodiac case has not been solved is the lack of coordination with information. When they issued a warrant on Leigh Allen, they should have gone to both the trailer and the home at the same time. Sandy Panzarella made a big point of this.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Arthur Leigh Allen's Will
Source: Zodiac Unmasked
As of 1992: " Being of sound mind, if not in body, I hereby put to paper my last will and testament. I will update this documentas conditions warrant, so this computer version will always be the last and most current will and testament. In cases of printed copies, the date on the copy will determine whether it is the most recent version of the will. All pages must be signed and dated by me, as well as the end of the last page. "
" First and foremost I wish to have it known that, due to whatever circumstances, I enter a vegitative state, that all life support systems be disconnected and whatever of my body organs that can be used to help others be utilized for that purpose upon my death."
"Diskettes are located in the yellow-loose-leaf binder next to the printer into the top slot of the computer," Allen had instructed. " This is known as the "A" drive. With the elephant log on the top right toward you until it clicks. Push the "push" button in so it clicks also. Push the power button in so the red light goes on. Insert the DATA disk into the lower slot (the "B" drive) until it clicks, then push the "Push" in as well. Now press the "enter" key on the keyboard. A small light will appear on the "A" drive and the computer will hum. Some printing will cycle onto the screen. When a request for the date or time appears, pressw the "entry" key a couple times until the "A Prompt" (A>) appears. "
" As for my brother, Ronald Allen. . . . I was very deeply hurt by the total lack of support by his whole family during my recent conflict with the law. I still love my brother very much, which made the hurt all the deeper. I was hurt (but not surprised at all) when my sister-in-law took pains to phone me several times to tell me they were so broke that I couldn't expect any financial help from them at all. Then they went right out and bought 3 Hondas, including a brand new Accord. Some poverty case! Still, if there is anything he wants for himself after all the above is sorted through, he is welcome to it. He'll be getting the house anyway, which should be worth a couple of bucks."
Allen was terminally ill and was expected to die soon.
As of 1992: " Being of sound mind, if not in body, I hereby put to paper my last will and testament. I will update this documentas conditions warrant, so this computer version will always be the last and most current will and testament. In cases of printed copies, the date on the copy will determine whether it is the most recent version of the will. All pages must be signed and dated by me, as well as the end of the last page. "
" First and foremost I wish to have it known that, due to whatever circumstances, I enter a vegitative state, that all life support systems be disconnected and whatever of my body organs that can be used to help others be utilized for that purpose upon my death."
"Diskettes are located in the yellow-loose-leaf binder next to the printer into the top slot of the computer," Allen had instructed. " This is known as the "A" drive. With the elephant log on the top right toward you until it clicks. Push the "push" button in so it clicks also. Push the power button in so the red light goes on. Insert the DATA disk into the lower slot (the "B" drive) until it clicks, then push the "Push" in as well. Now press the "enter" key on the keyboard. A small light will appear on the "A" drive and the computer will hum. Some printing will cycle onto the screen. When a request for the date or time appears, pressw the "entry" key a couple times until the "A Prompt" (A>) appears. "
" As for my brother, Ronald Allen. . . . I was very deeply hurt by the total lack of support by his whole family during my recent conflict with the law. I still love my brother very much, which made the hurt all the deeper. I was hurt (but not surprised at all) when my sister-in-law took pains to phone me several times to tell me they were so broke that I couldn't expect any financial help from them at all. Then they went right out and bought 3 Hondas, including a brand new Accord. Some poverty case! Still, if there is anything he wants for himself after all the above is sorted through, he is welcome to it. He'll be getting the house anyway, which should be worth a couple of bucks."
Allen was terminally ill and was expected to die soon.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Fingerprints & Handwriting
Source: Graysmith's Unmasked
In the Zodiac case the main fingerprint person was Sherwood Morrill, C I & I's handwriting expert. He studied under Charles H. Stone, California's first document expert.
You can tell approximately how old the Zodiac is because he wrote in manuscript instead of cursive. Morrill was studying some vicious mail sent to Herb Caen. A large staring eye and many deliberate misspellings. "We have suche fun on the way here. We kill manie hitchhikers so slow to danse" -- and other such vicious comments common to previous Zodiac letters.
Morrill said "You look for one or two characteristics in a peculiar style of writing that will get you started. If you find enough individual characteristics without any significant difference, you can identify that person. Any change though will make it invalid.
In fingerprints, if you have enough points, a partial print often contains twelve characteristic points and no significant difference, then you have an identification. The Zodiac was inconsistant in the way he made the letter K. He used to make it in three strokes but then changed to two --sometimes. " The looped d's meant that he was arrogant and proud and was insecure about himself. Misspelling is an effort to disguise but I also thought there might be a possible code involved in doing this. When you combine the Zodiac's very rushed writing, indistinct letters, change in the spacing, change in the letter size, it could be a sign of manic-depression. If he starts a sentence allright but then drops down at the end, that shows a sign of depression. Dotting the I's very close to the body (stem) shows he really is a very lonely person and sensitive to criticism.
I would assume that all fingerprints are different and that makes us all unique. Also if you can catch a good fingerprint that narrows it down to one person and no one else. In closing the Zodiac used airplane glue to cover up his fingerprints. Good idea but messy.
In the Zodiac case the main fingerprint person was Sherwood Morrill, C I & I's handwriting expert. He studied under Charles H. Stone, California's first document expert.
You can tell approximately how old the Zodiac is because he wrote in manuscript instead of cursive. Morrill was studying some vicious mail sent to Herb Caen. A large staring eye and many deliberate misspellings. "We have suche fun on the way here. We kill manie hitchhikers so slow to danse" -- and other such vicious comments common to previous Zodiac letters.
Morrill said "You look for one or two characteristics in a peculiar style of writing that will get you started. If you find enough individual characteristics without any significant difference, you can identify that person. Any change though will make it invalid.
In fingerprints, if you have enough points, a partial print often contains twelve characteristic points and no significant difference, then you have an identification. The Zodiac was inconsistant in the way he made the letter K. He used to make it in three strokes but then changed to two --sometimes. " The looped d's meant that he was arrogant and proud and was insecure about himself. Misspelling is an effort to disguise but I also thought there might be a possible code involved in doing this. When you combine the Zodiac's very rushed writing, indistinct letters, change in the spacing, change in the letter size, it could be a sign of manic-depression. If he starts a sentence allright but then drops down at the end, that shows a sign of depression. Dotting the I's very close to the body (stem) shows he really is a very lonely person and sensitive to criticism.
I would assume that all fingerprints are different and that makes us all unique. Also if you can catch a good fingerprint that narrows it down to one person and no one else. In closing the Zodiac used airplane glue to cover up his fingerprints. Good idea but messy.
Monday, May 20, 2013
What is it about San Francisco?
What is it about San Francisco? Why does it attract deviants, dreamers, and crazies. Charles Manson got his following from the Haight-Ashbury section of flower children. Juan Corona killed twenty-five teansient laborers. John Frazier killed five to halt pollution. Herb Mullin slew thirteen people in four months to prevent an earthquake. Patricia Hearst killed with cyanide bullets and there was the Jim Jones's People's Temple, and Dan White.
In history there always was murder and slayings but they didn't occur in a regimented order until the 1950's. True there are more people but it seems there was a lull during the depression. Maybe people were too busy surviving to think of anything else but after 1950 psychological killings made a big jump. Example-the Zodiac killer. These killers seemed to be incapable of fitting into society as it existed. Now don't think they all, or most all, came from single parent famlies. That isn't always true. I think the sheer population explosion may be the biggest cause. When I was born in 12/27/38 there was 150,000,000 people in the United States. Now there are over 300,000,000. You can throw in the advent of television and the instant reporting of news. Even in the early 50's your news came on TV at 7:45 PM, only lasting 15 minutes. Now the news and weather are an event lasting anywhere from half an hour to two hours. There was usually only one channel to watch and there were four networks which were active. ABC,NBC, CBS, and the Dumont network. Well I guess that dates me. By the way the Dumont Network lasted only a short while.
Well, maybe San Francisco may not be all that bad. It's just the idea that the Zodiac gave people some cryptograms to work with which gave the public something to solve. As I mentioned some days ago these "puzzles" are very addictive and attract many different personality types. Especially those who are trying to make a "name" for themselves. This all falls in line with the normal run of human nature. Throw me into that group.
NOW: Is the Zodiac still alive? Quite possibly, but he would be around 70 years old and his problem of being rejected by good looking women would no longer be a problem. Would his mental state have changed. Very little.
In history there always was murder and slayings but they didn't occur in a regimented order until the 1950's. True there are more people but it seems there was a lull during the depression. Maybe people were too busy surviving to think of anything else but after 1950 psychological killings made a big jump. Example-the Zodiac killer. These killers seemed to be incapable of fitting into society as it existed. Now don't think they all, or most all, came from single parent famlies. That isn't always true. I think the sheer population explosion may be the biggest cause. When I was born in 12/27/38 there was 150,000,000 people in the United States. Now there are over 300,000,000. You can throw in the advent of television and the instant reporting of news. Even in the early 50's your news came on TV at 7:45 PM, only lasting 15 minutes. Now the news and weather are an event lasting anywhere from half an hour to two hours. There was usually only one channel to watch and there were four networks which were active. ABC,NBC, CBS, and the Dumont network. Well I guess that dates me. By the way the Dumont Network lasted only a short while.
Well, maybe San Francisco may not be all that bad. It's just the idea that the Zodiac gave people some cryptograms to work with which gave the public something to solve. As I mentioned some days ago these "puzzles" are very addictive and attract many different personality types. Especially those who are trying to make a "name" for themselves. This all falls in line with the normal run of human nature. Throw me into that group.
NOW: Is the Zodiac still alive? Quite possibly, but he would be around 70 years old and his problem of being rejected by good looking women would no longer be a problem. Would his mental state have changed. Very little.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Zodiac's Heartless 1970 Letter
Source: Zodiac Unmasked
As some day it may happen that a victim nust be found. I've got a little list. I've got a little list, of society offenders who might well be underground who would never be missed-who would never be missed. There is the pestulentual nucences who whrite for autographs, all people who have flabby hands and irritating laughs. All children who are up in dates and implore you with implatt. All people who are shaking hands shake hands like that, and all third persons who with unspoiling take thoes who insist. They'd none of them be missed. They'd none of them be missed. There's the banjo seranader and the others of his race and the piano orginast. I got him on the list. All people who eat pepermint and phomphit in your face, they would never be missed. They would never be missed. Ande the idiout who phraises with inthusatic tone of centuries but this and every country but his own. And the lady from the provences who dress like a guy who doesen't cry and the singurly abnorillthe girl who never kissed. I don't think she would be missed. I'm sure she wouldn't ne missed. And that nice impriest that is rather rife the judicial hummerest. I've got him on the list. All funny fellows, all commic men and clowns of private life. They'd none of them be missed. They'd none of them be missed. And uncompromising kind such as wachamacallit, thing in a bob, and like wise, well nevermind, and tut tut tut tut, and whatshisname, and you know who, but task of filling up the blanks I rather leave up to you. But it really doesn't matter whom you place upon the list, for none of them be missed, none of them be missed.
Note: This letter has so many, many mistakes that it's almost impossible to read, much less type. Because of the writing, it seems like a true Zodiac letter and I have to think that he is writing like this on purpose. I wonder about drugs. Every sentence has either misspelling or very poor English. If he's as bright as they say he is then he is very, very clever. When he repeats, as he does, it seems as though he's using that time to think of something else to say. I can't tell if he reverses letters in words by mistake or on purpose.
As some day it may happen that a victim nust be found. I've got a little list. I've got a little list, of society offenders who might well be underground who would never be missed-who would never be missed. There is the pestulentual nucences who whrite for autographs, all people who have flabby hands and irritating laughs. All children who are up in dates and implore you with implatt. All people who are shaking hands shake hands like that, and all third persons who with unspoiling take thoes who insist. They'd none of them be missed. They'd none of them be missed. There's the banjo seranader and the others of his race and the piano orginast. I got him on the list. All people who eat pepermint and phomphit in your face, they would never be missed. They would never be missed. Ande the idiout who phraises with inthusatic tone of centuries but this and every country but his own. And the lady from the provences who dress like a guy who doesen't cry and the singurly abnorillthe girl who never kissed. I don't think she would be missed. I'm sure she wouldn't ne missed. And that nice impriest that is rather rife the judicial hummerest. I've got him on the list. All funny fellows, all commic men and clowns of private life. They'd none of them be missed. They'd none of them be missed. And uncompromising kind such as wachamacallit, thing in a bob, and like wise, well nevermind, and tut tut tut tut, and whatshisname, and you know who, but task of filling up the blanks I rather leave up to you. But it really doesn't matter whom you place upon the list, for none of them be missed, none of them be missed.
Note: This letter has so many, many mistakes that it's almost impossible to read, much less type. Because of the writing, it seems like a true Zodiac letter and I have to think that he is writing like this on purpose. I wonder about drugs. Every sentence has either misspelling or very poor English. If he's as bright as they say he is then he is very, very clever. When he repeats, as he does, it seems as though he's using that time to think of something else to say. I can't tell if he reverses letters in words by mistake or on purpose.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
School Bus Threat
In October of 1969 the Zodiac wrote a very chilling and twisted threat to the San Francisco Chronicle. He admited the Paul Stein killing and at the bottom of the letter he wrote, "School children make nice targets, I think I shall wipe out a school bus some morning. Just shoot out the front tire & then pick off the kiddies as they come bouncing out."
In doing this he more or less admitted that he did not have any sympathy for the kids and therefor had none of his own. This also solidified the fact that he was a loner and probably was not married. This letter was given to the police and therefor tested with Ninhydrin, a chemical used for fingerprints. Finally the letter was given to publication and the people reacted with fear and panic. An emergency bulletin was issued to police, county, and city school superintendents. It read as follows:
1. Continue driving the bus on a flat tire. Do not stop.
2. Tell the children to get below the level of the windows and lie on the floor.
3. The driver will continue driving and turn on all lights and sound the horn.
4. The school bus shall not be stopped until arriving in a well-populated area.
5. Upon arrival at this location a local law enforcement agency should be notified immediately.
Ten thousand school children in twenty-eight schools rod3e Napa County's sixty-five yellow-striped buses. The buses traveled four thousand miles, round trip, in a day, much of it around dangerous curves and through blind intersections. In some places the country roads are completely deserted, with as much as two miles separating houses.
Nothing ever happened.
In doing this he more or less admitted that he did not have any sympathy for the kids and therefor had none of his own. This also solidified the fact that he was a loner and probably was not married. This letter was given to the police and therefor tested with Ninhydrin, a chemical used for fingerprints. Finally the letter was given to publication and the people reacted with fear and panic. An emergency bulletin was issued to police, county, and city school superintendents. It read as follows:
1. Continue driving the bus on a flat tire. Do not stop.
2. Tell the children to get below the level of the windows and lie on the floor.
3. The driver will continue driving and turn on all lights and sound the horn.
4. The school bus shall not be stopped until arriving in a well-populated area.
5. Upon arrival at this location a local law enforcement agency should be notified immediately.
Ten thousand school children in twenty-eight schools rod3e Napa County's sixty-five yellow-striped buses. The buses traveled four thousand miles, round trip, in a day, much of it around dangerous curves and through blind intersections. In some places the country roads are completely deserted, with as much as two miles separating houses.
Nothing ever happened.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Kathleen Johns and more
The inside of the car was messy but he was so neatly dressed.
Suddenly the car came to a halt because he had driven up a freeway offramp. At tyhis time she grabbed her baby and jumped out of the car, ran across the road, and hid in an irrigation ditch in a cluster of tall grass in a field.
The man came looking for her with a flashlight but couldn't find her. She was very lucky. Very, very lucky.
A tractor trailer came by and stopped--stopped on a dime. The driver jumped out and the kidnapper jumped in his car and roared off. The driver of the truck came over to Kathleen and she panicked.
A lady came by and she rode with her. They came to a small town and she let Kathleen out by a police station. There was a sergeant on duty and she told him of her escapade and he turned white. As she was talking her eyes saw a composite drawing of the murderer of Paul Stein. She let out a scream.
When she went back to her '57 Chevy she found it was all burned out. If she had actually been with the Zodiac, then she was one who escaped and lived to tell about it.
Note: Associate Ricardo G. and I were talking a while ago and we both agreed that this type of sleuthing appeals to a certain psychological type of person. Perhaps one who might have an addictive-compulsive type of personality. We agreed that many people, from all walks of life, have this tendency. Many of these are in law enforcement and, at the risk of sounding like I'm bragging, have a high I.Q. Ricardo does along with John Linn and Dave Oranchak. As for myself, I just like to talk a lot. Those three fellows are very bright and have worked very hard on the Zodiac case. As a reminder, this has a side effect of increasing a person's motivation. Motivation towards almost everything in our daily lives. There are many more sleuths out there but we just don't hear about them.
Suddenly the car came to a halt because he had driven up a freeway offramp. At tyhis time she grabbed her baby and jumped out of the car, ran across the road, and hid in an irrigation ditch in a cluster of tall grass in a field.
The man came looking for her with a flashlight but couldn't find her. She was very lucky. Very, very lucky.
A tractor trailer came by and stopped--stopped on a dime. The driver jumped out and the kidnapper jumped in his car and roared off. The driver of the truck came over to Kathleen and she panicked.
A lady came by and she rode with her. They came to a small town and she let Kathleen out by a police station. There was a sergeant on duty and she told him of her escapade and he turned white. As she was talking her eyes saw a composite drawing of the murderer of Paul Stein. She let out a scream.
When she went back to her '57 Chevy she found it was all burned out. If she had actually been with the Zodiac, then she was one who escaped and lived to tell about it.
Note: Associate Ricardo G. and I were talking a while ago and we both agreed that this type of sleuthing appeals to a certain psychological type of person. Perhaps one who might have an addictive-compulsive type of personality. We agreed that many people, from all walks of life, have this tendency. Many of these are in law enforcement and, at the risk of sounding like I'm bragging, have a high I.Q. Ricardo does along with John Linn and Dave Oranchak. As for myself, I just like to talk a lot. Those three fellows are very bright and have worked very hard on the Zodiac case. As a reminder, this has a side effect of increasing a person's motivation. Motivation towards almost everything in our daily lives. There are many more sleuths out there but we just don't hear about them.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Kathleen Johns continued
The man said when I get through with them they don't need any help and his tone changed as he looked at the dark woods in the distance. Kathleen watched the menacing dark shapes of trees and occasional farmhouses in the distance flash by the window of the speeding car. After thirty minutes, the stranger looked at her and said you know you're going to die. He said he was going to kill her. He said he was going to throw the baby out of the car. Kathleen said she was getting past the point of being scared enough to pee her pants. She was thinking about what she was going to do. She was real calm and cool. She needed an action for a reaction-type thing. She should do whatever it was he wanted her to do. She said that sometimes you have to cry or beg or wharever. He drove down those roads in the back country for two or three hours. The stranger drove Kathleen through a maze of winding lanes, rarely speaking but occasionally looking over at her and repeating either that he was going to kill her or that she should know that she was going to die. She knew he meant it because of his deadpan eyes. Her head wasswimming, but she tried to remember everything she could about this man during this slow drive. She noticed that his shoes had a very bright shine on them. In the military they called this a spit shine. There was a reflection from the interior lights of the car. They were Navy shoes and his general appearance was Navy. The "kidnapper" had on a dark blue-black nylon windbreaker over black woolen bell-bottom pants. The black rimmed glasses were held in place by a thin band of elastic around his head. His chin had acne scars on it. He had a normal nose and a normal jaw. He was of normal strength and had a normal forehead. He had brown hair and a crew cut. He weighed about 160-170 pounds. Kathleen was five foot nine inches tall. Kathleen thought that he might not be aware of what he was doing. He could be the man next door and might not know it was himself. He was surely sick. That night there was a full moon out and it cast a glow on Kathleen's blond hair and grey eyes. He had an American made car, lightly colored, late model, two door with old California license plates. ( to be continued)
Thursday, May 9, 2013
KathleenJohns continued
After a while he stood up and came around to her window and assured her that it was O K and that what he did should do it. He waved and returned to his car. He then pulled back on the freeway. Her old car, 1957 Chevrolet, drove five or six car lengths and then her whole left rear wheel fell off , crashing and banging, into the weeds along the side of the road. Kathleen turned the engine off, left the keys in the ignition, and got out to see what had happened. The stranger backed up to the front of the Chevrolet, got out, and ran up to her. She got a good look at him as he crossed in front of her headlights. He thought the trouble was worse than he thought and he offered to give her a ride to the nearest service station. The stranger stood between her and her car. Kathleen looked over his shoulder at a light down the road. About a quarter of a mile away was an Atlantic Richfield, ARCO, station with lots of lighting. She thought that it was good because she had an ARCO credit card on her but had no money. He said he'd give her a ride to the station and that it was O. K. She didn't seem to have any bad vibes about getting in his car so she told him where she was going and she thought he was going there too.
She gathered up her baby and gotinto the man's car. As they were pulling out, she noticed the lights to her car were still on and remembered that the keys were still in the ignition. He smiled, went back to her car, turned off the lights, and put the keys in his pocket. Then he drove her away from her car ~~~~but not to the ARCO station. When he went by it she didn't seem too concerned but when he passed the next exit it dawned on her that something was not right. As long as he wasn't talking, neither was she. They went several more exits before he got off, and she just didn't say anything. It was he who was doing the driving. He started down a rocky road. Probably a deserted farm road. No one said anything for a long, long time. His windbreaker was open and she could see the white cloth of his shirt glowing in the moonlight. The driver started to pull over to the roadside but then he speeded up. He did this several times. She thought he was going to make a pass at her. She started talking and asked him if he always went around helping people on the road.
(From 2007 Zodiac paperback)
She gathered up her baby and gotinto the man's car. As they were pulling out, she noticed the lights to her car were still on and remembered that the keys were still in the ignition. He smiled, went back to her car, turned off the lights, and put the keys in his pocket. Then he drove her away from her car ~~~~but not to the ARCO station. When he went by it she didn't seem too concerned but when he passed the next exit it dawned on her that something was not right. As long as he wasn't talking, neither was she. They went several more exits before he got off, and she just didn't say anything. It was he who was doing the driving. He started down a rocky road. Probably a deserted farm road. No one said anything for a long, long time. His windbreaker was open and she could see the white cloth of his shirt glowing in the moonlight. The driver started to pull over to the roadside but then he speeded up. He did this several times. She thought he was going to make a pass at her. She started talking and asked him if he always went around helping people on the road.
(From 2007 Zodiac paperback)
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Kathleen Johns
From Zodiac paperback
Kathleen Johns, from Vallejo, was going to Travis Air Force Base when she noticed an older white Chevrolet was trailing her closely. The driver of the Chevrolet watched her and started blinking his lights and blowing his horn, trying to get her to stop.
She sped ahead and got away from the Chevrolet. In her car she had her ten-month old daughter. She made her way up Interstate 5 and onto Highway 99 just before Bakersfield, through Fresno, Merced, and Modesto, where she swung left onto Highway 132, a rarely used road. Again she noticed a car in her rear view mirror picking up her tail in Modesto. It was junky and probably older than 1967 or 1968. Close to midnight she slowed down to let the car pass. Suddenly the driver started blinking his lights and honking his horn. When she ignored this the older car accelerated and pulled into the lane next to her 1957 maroon and white station wagon. The man yelled through the right hand window that her left rear wheel was wobbling. Seven months pregnant Kathleen was very shy about stopping on a lightly traveled road with a stranger. The road was only two lanes wide and the stranger started flashing his lights off and on. She thought her car was old and she figured something was wrong with it. She didn't stop because it was too dangerous out there. She waited till she got to the freeway and then stopped by 5. Kathleen pulled to the edge of Maze Road near Interstate 5, and the light colored car parked on the shoulder in back of her. A very neat man got out with a lug wrench in his hand and approached her, gesturing toward the rear of the station wagon. He was about thirty years old she thought. He seemed like a reliable person and he almost looked like a service man or something. He was clean cut. He carried the tire iron when he got out. He said that her left wheel was wobbling while he was leaning on her door and looking down into her car. He said he would tighten her lugs if she didn't mind. Kathleen reached over and pulled the blanket over her sleeping baby and then tried to see out the window in the dark where the man pointed. He said he'd be glad to fix it for her. He was out of view but she could hear him working on the wheel.
Kathleen Johns, from Vallejo, was going to Travis Air Force Base when she noticed an older white Chevrolet was trailing her closely. The driver of the Chevrolet watched her and started blinking his lights and blowing his horn, trying to get her to stop.
She sped ahead and got away from the Chevrolet. In her car she had her ten-month old daughter. She made her way up Interstate 5 and onto Highway 99 just before Bakersfield, through Fresno, Merced, and Modesto, where she swung left onto Highway 132, a rarely used road. Again she noticed a car in her rear view mirror picking up her tail in Modesto. It was junky and probably older than 1967 or 1968. Close to midnight she slowed down to let the car pass. Suddenly the driver started blinking his lights and honking his horn. When she ignored this the older car accelerated and pulled into the lane next to her 1957 maroon and white station wagon. The man yelled through the right hand window that her left rear wheel was wobbling. Seven months pregnant Kathleen was very shy about stopping on a lightly traveled road with a stranger. The road was only two lanes wide and the stranger started flashing his lights off and on. She thought her car was old and she figured something was wrong with it. She didn't stop because it was too dangerous out there. She waited till she got to the freeway and then stopped by 5. Kathleen pulled to the edge of Maze Road near Interstate 5, and the light colored car parked on the shoulder in back of her. A very neat man got out with a lug wrench in his hand and approached her, gesturing toward the rear of the station wagon. He was about thirty years old she thought. He seemed like a reliable person and he almost looked like a service man or something. He was clean cut. He carried the tire iron when he got out. He said that her left wheel was wobbling while he was leaning on her door and looking down into her car. He said he would tighten her lugs if she didn't mind. Kathleen reached over and pulled the blanket over her sleeping baby and then tried to see out the window in the dark where the man pointed. He said he'd be glad to fix it for her. He was out of view but she could hear him working on the wheel.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Numerology
From Zodiac Unmasked
I was studying the Zodiac's letters and noticing the misspelling and the extra letters in his text and was wondering if there could be a code in any of that. I also mentioned this to sleuth Ricardo and got his input. Cappies are usually good spellers, and his errors might be a trick to throw all off the track. Zodiac seems to be strongly affected by the dice naturals 7 and 11, the latter especially. The word Zodiac is derived from the ancient Greek Zodiakos. The Hellenes had no seperate numbering system, each letter having a numerical value. Computing the numerical value for Zodiakos was found to be 1111. Graysmith wondered if he was aware of this. He said he may be crazy or a junkie or both, but he is neither stupid nor illiterate. All of this is related to John L who has done exhaustive research on the Zodiac. Using these added letters or switched letters almost had to have some secret meaning. It might be possible you could go the anagram route or use some formula that misses each letter by one or two. If the number eleven was important to the Zodiac, what did twelve mean to him? There were twelve signs to the Zodiac.
I was studying the Zodiac's letters and noticing the misspelling and the extra letters in his text and was wondering if there could be a code in any of that. I also mentioned this to sleuth Ricardo and got his input. Cappies are usually good spellers, and his errors might be a trick to throw all off the track. Zodiac seems to be strongly affected by the dice naturals 7 and 11, the latter especially. The word Zodiac is derived from the ancient Greek Zodiakos. The Hellenes had no seperate numbering system, each letter having a numerical value. Computing the numerical value for Zodiakos was found to be 1111. Graysmith wondered if he was aware of this. He said he may be crazy or a junkie or both, but he is neither stupid nor illiterate. All of this is related to John L who has done exhaustive research on the Zodiac. Using these added letters or switched letters almost had to have some secret meaning. It might be possible you could go the anagram route or use some formula that misses each letter by one or two. If the number eleven was important to the Zodiac, what did twelve mean to him? There were twelve signs to the Zodiac.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Extrapulating on Fouke and Zelms
Source: Unmasked
After the Zodiac disappeared into the Presidio Fouke and Zelms suffered from embarrassment and despair. The big problem was NMA instead of what should be WMA. Toschi talked to the fellow who took the call. He said " I got two or three kids who sound like teenagers and they're screaming in the background. First I thought they were being hurt. I was trying to takk quietly. They kept saying, "Our parents are coming home....the driver looks like he's dead in the cab and there's a light on in the cab and they were fighting. Oh, please come,, please come!" I kept telling them, "Stay in the house." Which they did. You know how fast those people need the radio information. We do our best, but when you're dealing with children.....they're scared to death and they know something's wrong and they can see the body of the cabbie laying over on the side with the door open."
"I'm convinced they actually saw the Zodiac. Fouke was a senior officer and he got a better view of the stranger. Things happened so quickly. Three days later you realize you were dealing with the most dangerous serial killer in the country.
The officers' modified second sketch made Zodiac fuller-faced, older. But an amended written description, including details in an important interdepartmental memorandum submitted by Fouke a month after the shooting was never added to the wanted circular.
After the Zodiac disappeared into the Presidio Fouke and Zelms suffered from embarrassment and despair. The big problem was NMA instead of what should be WMA. Toschi talked to the fellow who took the call. He said " I got two or three kids who sound like teenagers and they're screaming in the background. First I thought they were being hurt. I was trying to takk quietly. They kept saying, "Our parents are coming home....the driver looks like he's dead in the cab and there's a light on in the cab and they were fighting. Oh, please come,, please come!" I kept telling them, "Stay in the house." Which they did. You know how fast those people need the radio information. We do our best, but when you're dealing with children.....they're scared to death and they know something's wrong and they can see the body of the cabbie laying over on the side with the door open."
"I'm convinced they actually saw the Zodiac. Fouke was a senior officer and he got a better view of the stranger. Things happened so quickly. Three days later you realize you were dealing with the most dangerous serial killer in the country.
The officers' modified second sketch made Zodiac fuller-faced, older. But an amended written description, including details in an important interdepartmental memorandum submitted by Fouke a month after the shooting was never added to the wanted circular.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Zodiac~What was he?
Sources from 2007 Paperback.
He could have been a man in the military who was stationed in San Francisco. The spacing for the murders were almost perfect for this type of activity. The Wing Walker shoes, the cipher training, the shoe shine, Navy clothes and crew-cut hair seemed to fit the military. There's only one thing. How could he keep returning to San Francisco for each murder--that seems to rule the military out.
The Zodiac was not a paranoid schizophrenic. He was a sexual sadist. Therefor he couldn't have a double identity unknown even to himself and therefor he was probably not a mental patient who was released or escaped periodically. During those times he couldn't become active as a killer. (This might conflict with one of the earlier paragraphs). The Zodiac would know what he was doing and would remember the same.
There was a theory that there were two Zodiacs. One would do the killing and one would do the writing. Sargeant Lundblad suggested this long ago. However it's doubtful that both people could keep such a big secret so this theory can be ruled out.
There was also a theory that he was a traveling salesman who killed people from county to county and state to state. He might have been a hunter who had become bored with animals and started with people for a change. However I think this theory is weak.
Maybe there was no Zodiac as a person. The whole thing might have been one big lie. It might have been a man who took credit for any murder as it came along. The bloody shirt of Paul Stein's and the3 printing on the Carman Ghia almost rules this theory out but not entirely.
The best, and most creepy, theory is that he was a member of law enforcement. The things he knew and the way he thought pointed this way. He could have actually searched for himself. The techniques he used were those of a law officer.
He could have been a man in the military who was stationed in San Francisco. The spacing for the murders were almost perfect for this type of activity. The Wing Walker shoes, the cipher training, the shoe shine, Navy clothes and crew-cut hair seemed to fit the military. There's only one thing. How could he keep returning to San Francisco for each murder--that seems to rule the military out.
The Zodiac was not a paranoid schizophrenic. He was a sexual sadist. Therefor he couldn't have a double identity unknown even to himself and therefor he was probably not a mental patient who was released or escaped periodically. During those times he couldn't become active as a killer. (This might conflict with one of the earlier paragraphs). The Zodiac would know what he was doing and would remember the same.
There was a theory that there were two Zodiacs. One would do the killing and one would do the writing. Sargeant Lundblad suggested this long ago. However it's doubtful that both people could keep such a big secret so this theory can be ruled out.
There was also a theory that he was a traveling salesman who killed people from county to county and state to state. He might have been a hunter who had become bored with animals and started with people for a change. However I think this theory is weak.
Maybe there was no Zodiac as a person. The whole thing might have been one big lie. It might have been a man who took credit for any murder as it came along. The bloody shirt of Paul Stein's and the3 printing on the Carman Ghia almost rules this theory out but not entirely.
The best, and most creepy, theory is that he was a member of law enforcement. The things he knew and the way he thought pointed this way. He could have actually searched for himself. The techniques he used were those of a law officer.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Donald Fouke & Eric Zelms
Paul Stein, in Yellow Cab # 912, picked up the Zodiac on Geary street and proceeded to go to Washington where the cab slowed at Maple. A man appeared walking his dog so the Zodiac said to go another block. The cab then stopped on the corner of Washington and Cherry. The Zodiac then put his pistol over Stein's right ear and fired. The Zodiac then took Stein's wallet and a swatch of his striped shirt. Young girls across the street saw the scene and called the police. Meanwhile the Zodiac started wiping down the cab leaving prints on the rail seperating the front and rear windows. Donald Fouke and Eric Zelms responded to a call for a N M A (negroe male adult) on an APB. They saw a man lumbering along on Cherry street and asked if he had seen anything in the last minute or so. The stocky white man said he saw a man waving a gun running east on Washington so the patrol car sped off in that direction. Had they actually stopped the stocky man they would have noticed blood all over his dark clothes. Officers Pelissetti and Peda quickly changed the N M A to W M A (white).
Zodiac's letter 10-13-69.
This is the Zodiac speaking. I am the murderer of the taxi driver over by Washington and Maple last night. To prove this have a blood stained piece of his shirt. I am the same man who did in the people in the North Bay area. The S. F. Police could have caught me last night if they had searched the park properly instead of holding road races with their motorcycles seeing who could make the most noise. The car drivers should have just parked their cars & sat there quietly, waiting for me to come out of cover.
Note: Maple should be Cherry.
Zodiac's letter 10-13-69.
This is the Zodiac speaking. I am the murderer of the taxi driver over by Washington and Maple last night. To prove this have a blood stained piece of his shirt. I am the same man who did in the people in the North Bay area. The S. F. Police could have caught me last night if they had searched the park properly instead of holding road races with their motorcycles seeing who could make the most noise. The car drivers should have just parked their cars & sat there quietly, waiting for me to come out of cover.
Note: Maple should be Cherry.
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