Mr. X passes away

[Welsh Chappie]

I don't think Kjell was the man seen by Fouke 'stumbling along' with a shuffling gait down Jackson Street because Fouke described the White Male as "medium heavy build, barrel chested.' Well Kjell was quite lean and of slim to medium build. I mean I used to think that maybe Kjell, if he was out walking a dog or just standing on his driveway, may have been doing so waiting for the Zodiac. But even if Kjell was just standing on his drive, which seems suspicious at first and could be seen as him waiting for someone he's been expecting but it could aslo just as easily be that he's come out onto the front drive because, as we know, Pacific Heights is an upper-middle class neighbourhood with many wealthy and well off residents residing there and he's come out in response to hearing the police sirens and lights. Armond Pelissetti said himself

"We responded to a radio call that told us that a cab driver was being robbed and/or possibly assaulted at the corner of Cherry & Washington Street in Pacific Heights. We, fortunately, were very close and responded to that corner and were able to do so with red lights and siren at 09:55 at night and got there very quickly."

So Kjell may have been reacting to the commotion. Zodiac would certainly have heard Armond approaching I'm sure.

[Norse]

So Kjell may have been reacting to the commotion. Zodiac would certainly have heard Armond approaching I'm sure.

It's certainly possible that he simply reacted to the commotion. But how much commotion was there actually at the time? The whole onslaught of dogs and fire trucks hadn't begun when Pelissetti spoke to Kjell. Then there's the fact that Kjell apparently has no recollection of what happened that night. He was an old man when questioned about it, of course - memories fade, etc. Still, it's a bit odd that he can't recall anything IF he was reacting to the commotion on the night - it seems likely that he would then have realized a few days later that it was the Zodiac who had caused the commotion, which should have made the whole thing even more memorable.

[Welsh Chappie]

Well Hartnell did say in the immediate aftermath of his attack that he found Zodiac's voice familiar, as if he'd heard it somewhere before but said he couldn't think from where. He said he quickly gave up on trying to remember.

Wasn't Kjell in several well known and distributed adverts on TV back then in which he spoke?

Again, I don't think Kjell was Zodiac, but I cant and don't know that so would be foolish to dismiss him as a suspect. As the character in the Film 'Scream' states.... "Everyone's a suspect!!"

[joedetective]

I'm with Welsh Chappie. There is enough there that I can't fully dismiss him. Hartnell did say his attacker had an unfamiliar accent, or lilt. Would like to know how Qvale sounded when he spoke. There are a lot of coincidences when you think about it. Not only the Ford Zodiac thing, but the fact that a major theme ---- for lack of a better word ---- for Zodiac was cars. There's the fact that Zodiac mentions "the Norse word, sla." Qvale being Norwegian and all. The fact that the diction in the letters doesn't sound at all like your typical American. And the fact that he wrote letters to the editor before the Zodiac letters started. Add to that, pictures of him in his younger days do resemble the Stine murderer composite. Then there are these strange little tidbits, his horse's name being Skystalker, for instance. Put it all together with him living so near the crime scene, and being out that night, with his dog, so nearby. . . I don't know why most are so quick to drop him. I'm not that concerned about him being "too skinny" because it's easy to make yourself appear larger than you actually are.

Can anyone tell me where exactly the police hounds led officers that night. They must have led them somewhere before the trail went cold.

[joedetective]

One more point, being a filthy rich businessmen is not an argument againt him being a Zodiac. In fact it's the exact opposite. I think you almost have to be sociopathic to get to that level of success on your own.

[joedetective]

All that said, there's a lot working against him being a good suspect. But I don't think the fact his DNA didn't match is one of them. I think the F.B.I. really fumbled badly on that one, and the partial DNA they have is a mishmash of different people.

I would really love to know the name of the person the eight year old identified. Any news on that? Even if it wasn't the Zodiac, a picture of his face would be a very good indication of what Zodiac looked like.

[ophion1031]

One more point, being a filthy rich businessmen is not an argument againt him being a Zodiac. In fact it's the exact opposite. I think you almost have to be sociopathic to get to that level of success on your own.

And being that wealthy surely comes with having connections/friends in high places.

[joedetective]

Yeah, Ophion, I wonder about that too. I have no doubt that the extremely wealthy are exempt from the same judicial system the rest of us are subjected to.

After reading Qvale's letter to the editor, I can't help but notice how eerily similar it is to some of Z's letters, especially the citizen card. Not only are a lot of the same words used, but so is the subject matter, the scapegoating of the media, specifically The Chronicle.

[eyesoftexas]

Where can I find Qvale's letter to the editor? I'd like to read it. Thanks.

[snooter]

i dont think I will ever be able to not consider X in some way as plausible Z..the VW connection is intriguing...If i remember there dealership (or stealership) started the riviera campermobile due to problems with VW not supplying the westfalia buses unless a bunch of slow sellers were also purchase..i do think X had the smarts, the connection to riverside and mt diablo to at least be considered as Z.stine connection even exists...too bad no death bed confession...