). No no, I'm sure Lonergran is a real person, just another funny name. And I'll also say that my inclination is to believe Tom. But I've been doing some soil compaction test of my own and after jumping up and down on this claim something just don't add up. Here it is:
I first learned of Ross back in 1998. Retired Zodiac detective Ken Narlow got me into the Napa County Sheriff's Department for a meeting with Dick Lonergan, the acting undersheriff who was also Narlow's partner for the original Lake Berryessa investigation. I had an extensive discussion with Lonergan, who told me Ross had been quickly ruled out as the Berryessa killer of Cecelia Sheperd. If memory serves, it turned out Ross was in a mental facility on Sept. 27, 1969.
And of course, the Riverside police apparently ruled him out as the Bates killer, or at least that's what the police told the suspicious librarians.
I just see one obvious problem here, I thought Avery didn't find the Riverside connection until circa '71? So it would seem odd that anyone associated with Riverside would be "quickly" ruled out of the Berryessa attack. Certainly once the connection had been made it's entirely possible the first thing all the departments did was go through the Riverside suspects, but I didn't know that Ross was a very serious Riverside suspect.
Anyway the claims are plausible, and Tom can only report what he recalls being told. The timing though, I mean this recollection seems to have taken a while to surface, I don't like those kinds of sudden revelations.
Thoughts anyone?
