The Murder Room by Michael Capuzzo

[Zamantha]

The Murder Room by Michael Capuzzo
Posted on the former site: Sun Jun 19, 2011
Mike R. got a ringing endorsement by N.Y. Times best selling author, Michael Capuzzo. He has written a book about the Vidocq Society. (you should Google that name for more info.) In the chapter, “Knights of the Round Table,” Capuzzo states on page 407-408, that Richard Walter, one of the founders of the Vidocq Society, and a famous profiler, says that Mike has solved the Zodiac murders by naming his elderly San Francisco business man as the killer. (Hardcover edition, published last year by Gotham books.)

The book The Murder Room is about The Vidocq Society, of which Walter is one of the founders. http://www.vidocq.org

[Zamantha]

Post by morf13
Admin

Subject: Re: The Murder Room by Michael Capuzzo
Mon Jun 20, 2011 10:01 am
Interesting book, thanks for the info. Would love to hear from Mike R about it.

[Zamantha]

Post by AK Wilks

Subject: Re: The Murder Room by Michael Capuzzo
Mon Jun 20, 2011 10:27 am
Yes good for him.

I can also say that when I talked to Contra Costa Forensics Chief Paul Holes, he mentioned Mike R as one of the handful of Zodiac researchers he respected, and he said he would not rule out "Mr. X or any good suspect" just on the basis of a non-match to the stamp DNA, as he is not sure that is really from Zodiac.

[Zamantha]

Post by Mike R.
(moved over from former forum)
Hi-

Thanks for the kind comments AK. I know you support another suspect...

As for the book, there isn't a lot to say. I first met Mr. Walter in Philly in late 2004. He assessed Zodiac's crime scenes and determined that he was a "power assertive" killer, which is the diametric opposite of the type of perp that most people have been chasing after for the most part for 40 years. One of the traits of such a killer is that the "crime doesn't count unless someone knows about it." Such a killer is also very aloof, as was Z and the person who interests me.

He then examined my evidence and felt that I had "more than I thought" at the time. What my evidence lacked was context--the context of the profile. Once I put the evidence I had amassed in the context of the traits of a power-assertive killer, Walter concluded that I had pointed out the right person. That was especially true after my 2006 interview with the man in SF, in which he was very deceptive on several key issues. Capuzzo agreed and they decided to mention me in the book.

Mike

[Zamantha]

Post by Mike R.
(moved over from former forum)
Hi-

The one thing I want to point out is that an endorsement is only as good as the individual providing it. Richard Walter is one of the three founders of the Vidocq Society, a highly respected, invitation only group of cold case experts that meets once a month in Philadelphia. I approached them after the 2002 ABC show.

I know (from trying to reach him at home!) that Mr. Walter probably travels two-thirds of the year consulting with police departments across the country on their toughest cold cases. Also, about ten times a year, the Society invites police departments to come to Philladelphia and present their most intractable of cold cases to them. The role of the Society is not to usurp the investigation and make it their own. Rather, they stay in the background and try to point the investigators towards the most promising leads and/or suspects in order that the police department in question solve the case.

Mr. Walter also trains FBI agents in profiling, which says something about the level of respect law enforcement has for his abilities. His opinion is widely sought after. Does he have detractors? Sure. But such a thing is inevitable in a profession like profiling. People on other boards have tried to denigrate his work but if you read The Murder Room you will see that he is essentially the "go-to" guy in the Vidocq Society. He is close friends with Robert Ressler, who was the driving force at Quantico for many years.

The bottom line is that he has assisted in solving scores of cases over the years, which is something his detractors probably can't boast. Unlike "academic profilers," who carp and criticize in textbooks they write in their ivy-covered towers, Walter gets the job done and helps catch bad guys. So to have him endorsing my work is a great honor.

Mike

[themysterymachine]

I am reading this book right now and it is absolutely riveting. My only complaint is that it is not ten thousand pages long. I could read this stuff all day. I wasn't even a hundred pages into it before I decided, "Richard Walter is the COOLEST PERSON ON EARTH". Seriously. I knew that whatever that guy said, I was gonna listen. I am DYING to get to the part of this where he mentions the Zodiac. I cannot believe you actually discussed this with him! AMAZING!

[duckking2001]

For those who haven't read the book, it's not a straight forward narrative of criminal investigation like most true crime books. It's more like a biography of the Vidocq members. You'll hear about a case and then it will get dropped when a new case comes up and other things happen, and then it gets brought up again later when new information comes up, or sometimes not at all. That's not a criticism, that's the best part of the book. That's how real life is. But it's not what I expected when I started reading.

[Norse]

I need to read this one, clearly - and I will.

In the meantime - for those of you who have read it, what's your take on the Z/Mr X part? Seemingly Richard Walter endorses Mike Rodelli's theory pretty much 100% - thoughts on that? What does he actually say about it?

[mike_r]

Hi-

He wasn't able to say much because KQ was still alive in 2010 but the man called the "living Sherlock Homes" thinks I've solved the case.

Mike

[Norse]

Hi, Mike,

Yes, it's an impressive endorsement! I've just ordered the book, by the way - looking forward to reading the whole thing.