Reporter Dave Peterson & Ross

[morf13]

Well now adays, the prints from all arrests are supposed to hit the database,and finding a match is easy, but back then, they would need to get the print cards for the arrests, and manually check them.

Ugh - too much time has gone by. This makes a trip to Santa Cruz tempting for me -- I have friends in Soquel that might let me stay, and help me do some digging. I just don't know what would be left.

Piecing together a few things, here -- it will be great if Dave Peterson's family has any of his notes.

Ross M. Sullivan
Born in July 1941
SS issued in 1958 (Age 17 when he obtained SS)
SS# 564-56-7947
Mom died in 1959
Started at RCC in 1961 (age 20)
Sent RCC transcripts to UC Santa Cruz (age 26)
Died in 1977 (Died age 36)
Funeral Director: White’s Mort Inc, Santa Cruz.
Soquel CA Crematory
Address at death: 2177 17th Avenue Santa Cruz, CA 95062 (now Paradise Villa)
Listed as living in Santa Cruz county for 3 years - in the state of CA for 20 years
Signed by John (or Jonathan?) Sullivan, 1929-B Russell Street, Berkeley 94703

Questions: Where did he work as a dishwasher in SC? That might give some clues as to how long he was in that area.
A social security statement would give his employment history. That would show if he was in the Bay Area at any time between 1967 and 1970.

Only next of Kin can pull Ross's SS Abstract. It would show a list of every place Ross ever worked and paid taxes. I do not know where he washed dishes at.

Hey by the way, just a quick thought a bit off topic, but I dont want to forget, it was mentioned in the Graysmith book, that a mystery Guy that knew Darlene, was between 28 & 30 yrs old. That is exactly Ross's age at the time! I cant remember if it was the Guy that dropped off material at Darlene's door that she made the outfit from, the Guy that came to the painting party, or the guy that hung out at Darlene's work eating pie. The reason I remember is, when Graysmith recounts the incident of a Girl (Dee's Sister or Dee's Babysitter, dont remember which)describing the Guy, she said it oddly that he was "30 to 28 yrs old", which stood out to me because it is backwards. Anybody remember this from the yellow book?

[murray]

Hey by the way, just a quick thought a bit off topic, but I dont want to forget, it was mentioned in the Graysmith book, that a mystery Guy that knew Darlene, was between 28 & 30 yrs old. That is exactly Ross's age at the time! I cant remember if it was the Guy that dropped off material at Darlene's door that she made the outfit from, the Guy that came to the painting party, or the guy that hung out at Darlene's work eating pie. The reason I remember is, when Graysmith recounts the incident of a Girl (Dee's Sister or Dee's Babysitter, dont remember which)describing the Guy, she said it oddly that he was "30 to 28 yrs old", which stood out to me because it is backwards. Anybody remember this from the yellow book?

In the yellow book he stated that "Bob" was "thirty to twenty-eight, not heavy, and wore glasses. I don't know if "Bob" is a name Graysmith made up for the book (like "Starr"), or if he got that from Dee's sister.

[Paul_Averly]

Here is a letter that Dave Peterson wrote to Dave Toschi about Ross Sullivan. It looks like Peterson did not tell Toschi about Ross until 1977.

Dave Peterson Letter to Toschi 1.PNG

Dave Peterson letter to Toschi 2.PNG

Last year I knocked on Toschi's door with a file of Ross related stuff, but was turned away by his wife. I eventually mailed it all to him.
With 2000 suspects, it's in the realm of possibility that Zodiac was one of those.

*Jim Phillips lived in Santa Cruz around 1977.
The DF stuff is most likely a dead end. Even in this letter about Ross, they seem more interested in finding Z connection to one of her friends.

[Paul_Averly]

Interesting that Peterson wrote that letter March 1977. Ross then dies Sept. 1977.

Then we have this here say about Z being killed in Santa Cruz.

download/file.php?id=2115
viewtopic.php?f=106&t=1441&start=710

Is this somehow all connected?

[morf13]

Interesting that Peterson wrote that letter March 1977. Ross then dies Sept. 1977.

Then we have this here say about Z being killed in Santa Cruz.

http://www.zodiackillersite.com/downloa ... hp?id=2115
http://www.zodiackillersite.com/viewtop ... &start=710

Is this somehow all connected?

Ross was not 'killed', he died of natural causes. Unless the person used the word, 'killed' instead of 'died', it would seem there was no way it would be Ross

[Paul_Averly]

I need to digress, but this does involve Ross and Dishwashing.

I'm willing to bet that Ross had no connection to Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau. The letter from Peterson doesn't imply this, we know Ross was a dishwasher. I bet the one place he was not washing dishes at was Terry's in Vallejo.

Think of it from the perspective that Ross was Z. He kills Cheri Jo, the mo involves a ruse. He gets away with it, but he realizes there are things connecting him to the murder.

Fall 1968, he again tries to use a ruse and disable a car in Berkeley, but he has to cancel the plan because of a witness.

Dec 1968, for whatever reason, Ross is able to slide into a tight window of time at LHR. He gets away and there is nothing connecting him to the victims. (Why would he know high school kids)

THIS BECOMES HIS NEW MO.

July 1969, Same idea. The Z letters refer to Darlene as "the girl" He probably didn't know she was a mother or even out of high school. His plan backfires because Mageau survives and gives his description.

If Ross was connected to Darlene or the restaurant, they would have found him. Especially after the Riverside connection was made. I doubt Ross was one of the strange men Darlene knew, from the Yellow book.

[Holmes201]

The letter indicates Ferrin had friends or some connection to Frank's Coffee Shop, at 10 Geary st. That address is only 4 blocks from Geary and Mason.

[Seagull]

Frank's Coffee Shop was Darlene's uncle's coffee shop.

[Holmes201]

Ah ha, so she must have been a regular there. As I've mentioned before, what was Zodiac doing down there at 22:00, on a Saturday night? Maybe having a cup of coffee.

[morf13]

What does this have to do with Ross? Are we thinking he was a dishwasher there?