Zodiackillersite.com

Tahoe27 wrote:

ace ventura wrote:....heck the composites show different eye colors...

They do? Who got close enough to describe eye color?

blow up the napa composite the eyes are drawn as a blue eye ,light and airy irises not solid like brown eyes are think the sketch artist knew this ,one of the most critical features

I think that's a bit of a stretch.

Any more opinions to share on this?

Imo the eye color is irrelevant. The eyewitnesses who are alive (Bryan Hartnell and Mike Mageau) both were under extreme duress when confronted by Zodiac. When Bryan saw him, he had some sort of sunglasses over the opening of the hood or was wearing them under the hood. IIRC, Mike is very clear that he didn't get a good look and it was very dark when he was attacked.

Further, in one of the letters purported to be written by Z, he said he looked nothing like the sketches. He was imo probably wearing some sort of disguise and part of a disguise could have been COLORED CONTACT lenses.

It would be a big mistake to rule anyone out solely because their eye color didn't match if there was enough other incriminating information that did.

I think that ultimately, eye color is a relevant thing -- it would be very damning if it came down to identifying the right person between suspects. However with Z, it doesn't seem that any witnesses have been in a position to observe that attribute, as others have said. The police are trained to observe eye color, as it can't be changed as easily as hair and clothing under normal circumstances (colored contacts aside.)

But since we don't know if the man SFPD officers encountered was actually Z -- and, that they probably weren't scrutinizing him like they might have, had they had reason to suspect him at that moment -- it becomes less likely that they honed in on the color of his eyes. No one else seems to have come anywhere near close enough to see.

As for the title of the post (if I am following the question accurately): I do think there was an "all or nothing" spirit to the actions of Z. The risks he took during all of the murders were extreme -- even if every move were planned meticulously in advance, too many things could go wrong. When risk-takers are athletes or business people, they are applauded for going big. But this is killing, and most people in their right mind would understand that the consequences are dire with just about every outcome. That, to me, does not denote a right mind.

Unforunately for his victims, luck seemed to favor him. That, or he was somehow invisible.

People have been speculating (and not unreasonably either) that perhaps Z's "project" was a limited one to begin with: That he intended to complete some kind of circle, say, possibly even something vaguely astrological in nature (hence the moniker he chose for himself).

If this is true (at least to an extent), it's certainly possible that Stine was his intended last victim - and indeed an all-or-nothing type of deal.

I think it was Ed Neil who once speculated that Z's original intention was to make Berryessa his final, murderous statement (hence the ceremonial garb and so forth) - but when he realized that he had failed to kill BH, he had to strike again - and soon - to finish whatever it was he had in mind.

Makes sense on some levels - yet it's problematic on others. Story of the Z case, I guess.

I think I would have to agree with Ed Neil that Berryessa was probably where the Zodiac would have ended his killing spree. Throw in the possible tribute to himself on the car door and seems rather likely. However, in my opinion, Paul Stine was an "all or nothing" crime. He spent way too much time at this crime scene than was necessary and he did so collecting those swatches. Somewhere between Berryessa and Stine the Zodiac realized he needed those swatches to stay in the game. Why? Who knows.

Soze

Why indeed...if they were just for confirmation (proof that he was the sender of the letters), he could have opted for something less grotesque, like Stine's driver's license (which he also took but never sent).

I think - but my thinking on this changes all the time - that the shirt was either:

a) necessary: Z messed up in one way or the other and left prints in the cab. He needed something to wipe off those prints. He also realized, naturally, that pieces of a bloody shirt would serve as great, sinister and symbolic confirmations of his identity to go along with the letters he undoubtedly planned to send.

b) an idea which struck him there and then. He didn't leave any prints (as far as he knew) but decided to take a piece of Stine's shirt for the symbolism and whatnot.

c) something he had planned on beforehand, again because of the symbolism and whatnot. The problem I have with this option is that it seems to necessitate him bringing along the right tools for the job - and seemingly he did not: Stine's shirt was torn, not cut. What if he had been wearing a thicker shirt? You can't easily tear off a piece of any kind of shirt - with Paul's this was easy, because the fabric was thin and the seams were just right (so to speak). But Z couldn't possibly know this in advance.

Norse wrote:c) something he had planned on beforehand, again because of the symbolism and whatnot. The problem I have with this option is that it seems to necessitate him bringing along the right tools for the job - and seemingly he did not: Stine's shirt was torn, not cut. What if he had been wearing a thicker shirt? You can't easily tear off a piece of any kind of shirt - with Paul's this was easy, because the fabric was thin and the seams were just right (so to speak). But Z couldn't possibly know this in advance.

Just throwing this out there....don't hate:

Paul's sister said his brother Joe gave him that shirt. Sure would like to know when.

There were possibly scratches on Joe's face and he was quite bold and not threatened when he challenged Zodiac on camera. He had reddish hair with (what some say a "rare") widows peak.

And before people get upset for accusing family, the MAJORITY of the time...it is.

Tahoe27 wrote:
And before people get upset for accusing family, the MAJORITY of the time...it is.

Certainly is. But that stat pretty much goes out the window when dealing with a serial killer - which Z was, after all, albeit a somewhat untypical one.