Lake Berryessa Letter???

[Druzer]

It is certainly a valid point Marshall that the Lake Berryessa attacker was in no hurry before, after or during the crime. If he was the man leering at sunbathers hours earlier, he seemingly trolled the area, parked out of sight, considered other victims, and once he selected his victims he carried on an extensive nonsense conversation, and then of course took the time and risk of writing on the door. Unless he had parked really far away or had to go home and change he was in no hurry to get to the payphone afterwards either.

[Druzer]

It seems to me the perpetuator(s) of the Zodiac attributed murders was never in a hurry while killing or composing his lengthy correspondences. At Lake Herman Road if the Zodiac was in the car that Owen recalled parked next to the Rambler he evidently waited some time with his engine off before his attack. At Blue Rock Springs it seems he took the time to eyeball his targets, drive off to ensure the coast was clear, and after his return he made two trips to the car before casually driving away. At Lake Berryessa he takes all the time in the world executing his plan. At Pacific Heights he took the most risk of all spending time with his activities in the front of the cab and then having to walk at least a couple of blocks to safety.

[CuriousCat]

David F and Paul S are the only victims who received head shots

Mageau was also shot in the head.

[CuriousCat]

If he was the man leering at sunbathers hours earlier, he seemingly trolled the area, parked out of sight, considered other victims.

I have some doubt that was Zodiac. For one thing, the car he was driving had too wide a tire track to be the one at the actual attack site. I think he was just some guy scoping out the girls, when he got close enough to them he figured they were too young for him. If he was Zodiac, probably figured there were too many to control, he only brought enough rope for two after all.

However, there was also a couple there. Their names are in the police report, but no mention of them otherwise other than the girls saw them at the beach. I would think the police talked to them. It might be information they are holding back. If that guy was indeed Zodiac, they might have been his intended victims.

Unless he had parked really far away or had to go home and change he was in no hurry to get to the payphone afterwards either.

That is a very long car ride back to that pay phone, about 20 minutes IIRC.

[Druzer]

David F and Paul S are the only victims who received head shots

Mageau was also shot in the head.

You're absolutely right - thanks for the correction Curious Cat. My point may be weak, but if Zodiac didn't think Mageau was dead and left the scene anyway then that suggests he wasn't local to Vallejo. Similarly, at Lake Berryessa it seems like the attacker should have known that he had left his victims alive to speak to police.

I too have doubts regarding the sunbathers report. If it was him he was a patient man. The attacker may have considered the doctor and his son as potential targets but was deterred by the rifle that the son was carrying. However it is equally possible that they viewed him after the attack. Richard Grinell has written a lot about the sightings and the geography out there and time-mapped routes to the pay phones. I get pretty much everything from the research in his articles at zodiacciphers.com. According to Richard's mad calculations there is reason to be skeptical that the tire tracks by Hartnell's car were the Zodiacs but it is certainly possible they were his.

[zodiphile]

The handwriting on the door is a dead ringer to all of the confirmed Z letters, to me. However, we do not know that he never wrote about the LB attack! Letter could've gotten lost in the mail, a postal worker could've actually taken it (noticed the hand writing, I've heard that really happened to a Z letter) and kept as a souvenir. There is always the possibility that the police have a LB letter and haven't allowed anyone to view it. However, there isn't a letter for us to see and know was sent. I think the ominous way in which he toyed with the victims and did write on door and later called the police, was sufficient for him. It was just 2 weeks later that he attacked again. Perhaps lots of planning and prep work was put into the PH attack and he didn't waste time with a letter. Especially if you believe he wasn't from SF, he probably spent a good deal of time scouting locations and planning the getaway.

[CuriousCat]

David F and Paul S are the only victims who received head shots

Mageau was also shot in the head.

You're absolutely right - thanks for the correction Curious Cat. My point may be weak, but if Zodiac didn't think Mageau was dead and left the scene anyway then that suggests he wasn't local to Vallejo.

What makes me think he wasn't a Vallejo local was his phone call where he calls Blue Rock Springs "the public park". That sounds to me like he didn't know the name of it like a local would, else he would have called it Blue Rock Springs. .

[Zresearch]

David F and Paul S are the only victims who received head shots

Mageau was also shot in the head.

You're absolutely right - thanks for the correction Curious Cat. My point may be weak, but if Zodiac didn't think Mageau was dead and left the scene anyway then that suggests he wasn't local to Vallejo.

What makes me think he wasn't a Vallejo local was his phone call where he calls Blue Rock Springs "the public park". That sounds to me like he didn't know the name of it like a local would, else he would have called it Blue Rock Springs. .

I have heard locals casually refer To blue rock springs as "the park", but you are right, "the public park" does sound odd.

In response to the post you were responding to:

With Mike, Zodiac began shooting, and initially walked away, but Mike was screaming in the back seat which prompted zodiac to return to the car and begin firing again. ...so it seems he did all he could to ensure Mike was dead before leaving the scene.

As far as location:

I have always speculated Vallejo as a good place to start looking for zodiac's location.

I have also suspected that zodiac May have been located in Fremont or Pleasanton, or Richmond or Dublin simply because criminals tend to avoid committing crimes near their homes, but they generally won't stray too far.

however, the issue with the bay area is that even before the BART was built many people from these outlying cities were familiar with the other cities of the bay area, and frequently traveled between them, I mean every city between Napa and vallejo down south To San Jose and Santa Cruz is an option...

the mention of "peace sign", "black power", and "Melvin eats blubber" pins made me suspect Berkeley, because of the college.

Honestly who knows.

I still suspect Vallejo, zodiac had to at least have been spending a good deal of time in vallejo, if not living there.

[Marshall]

I still suspect Vallejo, zodiac had to at least have been spending a good deal of time in vallejo, if not living there.

The Stine letter has Z taking credit for the murders in the North Bay Area. The writing on the door at LB mentions Vallejo specifically.

IF the guy who shot the 5 victims was from Vallejo as you suspect, wouldn't that be even more reason for him to distance himself from the LB stabbing?

Suppose you're "real" Zodiac and you are, in fact, living in Vallejo. You've killed at LHR and BRS, sent letters and codes, and so on. All is going fine. Until, suddenly, some imposter creates some bizarre costume, kills some people using your alias, which in a sense is framing you for it. But what really disturbs you is that he has written the name of your home town right on that car door.

If I'm Z, I need to do a few things right away. First, re-establish myself with an unmistakeable attack somewhere other than my home town, and clarify in a letter that I am the killer in the North Bay Area (Not Napa, not Vallejo.) Back to my same MO - use a gun, no time for much conversation with the victim, confirm with letters and evidence that proves it was me beyond doubt. I would distance myself from LB quickly because if LE thinks that was me up there in the hood and bib, they are seeing my location in big bold letters right in front of them.

Of course, I couldn't outright deny LB because bright people in LE would wonder why, and they would assume there was something about that crime that was dangerous to me.

[CuriousCat]

I have heard locals casually refer To blue rock springs as "the park", but you are right, "the public park" does sound odd.

And in the letter he calls it the golf course. I think the golf course in just across the street. So it seems while familiar with the area, he didn't know it innately as a local would.

I have always speculated Vallejo as a good place to start looking for zodiac's location.

I have also suspected that zodiac May have been located in Fremont or Pleasanton, or Richmond or Dublin simply because criminals tend to avoid committing crimes near their homes, but they generally won't stray too far.

however, the issue with the bay area is that even before the BART was built many people from these outlying cities were familiar with the other cities of the bay area, and frequently traveled between them, I mean every city between Napa and vallejo down south To San Jose and Santa Cruz is an option...

the mention of "peace sign", "black power", and "Melvin eats blubber" pins made me suspect Berkeley, because of the college.

Honestly who knows.

I still suspect Vallejo, zodiac had to at least have been spending a good deal of time in vallejo, if not living there.

The "Melvin eats blubber" one is particularly interesting to me. That one seems like something he would have to see, I'm not sure how popular they were outside the Berkley area. The peace sign and black power thing would be in all the news.

I only discount Vallejo because he didn't seem to know the name of BRS, but it's certainly a possibility I wouldn't discount. He certainly was familiar with that area. I mean, BRS or Lake Berryesa you could find on a map or learn from word of mouth, but that parking spot on LHR would take a local to know. It's possible he drove by it often as that road takes you to or from Benicia or across the straight, might have been a work route.