Tahoe27 wrote:You know, considering the date of the scratch/memo and who it is addressed to, I tend to lean towards Fouke not contributing to the revised sketch.
Surely Armstrong & Toschi were involved and around at the time the composite was drawn up shortly after Paul's murder. So, why would Fouke describe this man in an inter-office memo to Armstrong and Toschi in mid-November?
He is letting them know it was HIM who saw the man walk into the park via Maple and HIM letting officers know to look there once the corrected call of a WMA came in.
The dilemma in believing this for me is the alteration of Z's age estimate. One week after the event and weeks BEFORE Fouke's memo, the age estimate was changed by 10-15 years to precisely match Fouke's later estimate. This would have occurred just days after Zodiac claimed responsibility and indicated that he had been escaping on foot in the general direction of where Fouke encountered someone. Before this time, it's very possible that Fouke did not consider his encounter significant. Fouke's memo is then not written until 11/12/69, immediately after Zodiac writes again and specifically alludes to having an encounter with Fouke by saying "two cops pulled a goof...".
Given the timeline, I think it's very likely that Fouke had discussed his encounter and observations after Zodiac's initial letter and that his information was included in the revised composite sketch (or perhaps was the main reason for issuing a revised sketch and description?). It's conceivable that his information was used without his knowledge but it strains credulity to believe that the teens just unanimously decided days after their initial encounter that the guy they saw was really 10-15 years older than they first thought.
10/11/69- Paul Stine is killed and Fouke has an encounter with a white male a few blocks away.
10/13/69- The initial sketch of the perpetarator (based on eyewitness info. from the teens) is created and released.
10/13/69- Zodiac mails a letter indicating that he had escaped on foot and had been hiding "in the park" watching some of the activities after the murder (whether that's true or not...)
10/17/69- A revised sketch is created (issued 10/18) with an almost identical physical description other than increasing the suspect's age by 10-15 years to 35-45.
11/9/69- Zodiac writes again and describing his escape and encounter with two cops who "pulled a goof" by not stopping him. He wants the portion about his masterful dupe of the two cops printed in the SF Chronicle (who had received the letter) for all to see.
11/12/69- Fouke submits his memo with a very detailed description of his encounter (far more detailed than what was offered by the teens or than was included in the wanted posters).
The timeline leads me to believe that Fouke likely became aware of the possible significance of his encounter after the initial Zodiac letter and offered
someone his observations. Once Zodiac wrote again, apparently confirming that encounter and looking to use it in order to publicly embarrass Fouke and Zelms for not capturing him, an official memo was created. Whether or not Zodiac's account of the contact was accurate, Fouke would have had no choice but to give an official report of the encounter.
