The Zodiac phone calls

[UKSpycatcher]

The Zodiac left two messages via payphone at Springs and Tuolumne, and Main Street.
In the Zodiac (2007) movie during the Melvin Belli clip it stated "Pacific telephone says you must keep him on the line for 15 minutes." That is 15 minutes to trace the call, which was about right with the technology available in 1969.
If Zodiac was a resident of Vallejo or Benicia in July 1969, it is often conjectured that Zodiac maybe traveled back home, stashed the gun and returned back to the payphone to place the call, hence the 40 minute delay from the attack to the placement of the call. This phone call had risks attached to it, only 3.7 miles from the crime scene, especially with police milling around the area. Why didn't the Zodiac make the phone call from the privacy and absolute safety of his own home, a short 20/30 second call carried no risk whatsoever. Was he married and needed privacy, did he own a telephone or did he even live in near proximity. Thoughts................

[Susie]

My guess would be, why risk it? "Sam" kept hanging up so they couldn't trace it, yet the still manages to find out where the calls come from. Even if someone told me that there was no way it could be traced back to me I still wouldn't have made the risk. Not when it was so easy to make the call from another location AND after I just committed such a horrible crime. We also don't know for a fact that he did live close. He may have gotten rid of the evidence on him, either wherever he was staying or somewhere far enough away from the crime scene that it was unlikely that it would be discovered, then couldn't resist the temptation of return close to the scene, knowing there was no evidence on him and couldn't resist making the call.

[UKSpycatcher]

Yes I believe he may have disposed of the weapon at some location, one possibility could be the Lake at Lake Herman Road or any other body of water, before returning to make the call. Eric Weil eventually got caught because they set up a trace on the line, however the Zodiac calls were random, they didn't know when he would call or from where, making a trace virtually impossible. He may not have lived in Vallejo or Benicia, that is true, so why not make the call from a distant payphone somewhere en route to his distant residence. For example, if he lived in San Francisco why not make the call somewhere en route, equidistant from the crime scene and his home, minimizing any risk. Why travel a distance from the crime scene to dispose of any evidence, then backtrack and put yourself back in the firing line, if you were in no way connected to the area.

[masootz]

even if you think you know how a call trace works, why take the risk? they managed to figure out what payphone he used.

[UKSpycatcher]

That is very true Masootz, but not via a trace.

[EndOfTheWorld]

Could be he just wanted to be close to the police station there, to give him a bigger thrill. Although he never got caught, he was not always risk averse. His whole operation was illogical so to try to figure out his movements using logic may not work.

[morf13]

I agree, why risk your phone being traced. The 40 minutes to me gives him enough time to go home, stash the gun, and possibly the car, then head to the phonebooth with nothing tying him to the crime. Who knows, maybe he would even taking a shower thinking it would get rid of gun powder residue

[Tahoe27]

Just for reference, here is the link to info about the call being traced to the Vallejo phone booth via the operator:

http://www.zodiackiller.com/DFR13.html

There is another slight mention of the station again on page 15.

[murray]

Putting myself in Z's place (and trying to remember back to what it was like to use a pay phone), it seems a person would either use one that was very familiar, or they would use one conveniently located en route. Both scenarios here would lean toward Z living in the Vallejo area.

There is this weird thing about Z in that he didn't seem particularly rushed or paranoid after killing, as evidenced by his so-described limpy gait away from the Stine scene, as well as his departure from Berryessa where he takes the time to write on the car door. The message, post-killing, seems very much a part of his ritual. And he seems particularly calm and lucid while doing it.

If there was any way to see regular users of that phone booth at the time, that might have held clues (and who knows, maybe they did look.)

[EndOfTheWorld]

Even more important than the "shuffling lope" at the Presidio Heights scene is the fact that he stopped after the murder to cut a piece of Paul Stine's bloody shirt to send to the SF Chronicle. And actually we don't know with one hundred percent certainty that the guy Foukes saw was the Z. But we do know the Z stopped and cut a piece of shirt. Beginning with the post BRS phone call, the self-publicizing began to take on more importance than the crime itself. There's no telling why he waited 45 minutes to make the phone call or why he chose that particular phone booth. Maybe he was wrestling within his own demented mind whether or not he wanted to make the call. Doesn't prove he lived in Vallejo.