As Tom and others have pointed out, that particular stretch of street has a slight decline. When you walk down a decline, it affects your gait. Any odd walk by Zodiac could easily be attributed to him walking downhill.

As Tom and others have pointed out, that particular stretch of street has a slight decline. When you walk down a decline, it affects your gait. Any odd walk by Zodiac could easily be attributed to him walking downhill.

And being startled by the sudden appearance of a patrol car up ahead.

This is looking west up to Cherry from approx. where Zodiac would have encountered Fouke and Zelms. It’s quite steep:

Did the witnesses who observed Z walking for the longest time and distance, Bryan and Lindsey, describe anything like a shuffling or limping?

Did the witnesses who observed Z walking for the longest time and distance, Bryan and Lindsey, describe anything like a shuffling or limping?

The only witness to mention any unusual walk was Foulke.

Did the witnesses who observed Z walking for the longest time and distance, Bryan and Lindsey, describe anything like a shuffling or limping?

The only witness to mention any unusual walk was Foulke.

Exactly. And as you and Tom say, that was as Z was turning a corner, heading downhill, and seeing a police car coming at him.

I would say that if Lindsey and Bryan never mentioned a limp or unusual walk, Z didn’t have one.

I can’t recall the exact wording, but to my best recollection Bryan describes Zodiac approaching at a fast pace, but not actually running. Obviously the gun and the costume may have diverted his attention somewhat, but I think it would be fair to say that since Bryan did not observe a discernible limp, then if Zodiac had one, it would seem it was too mild for Bryan to notice. I would say that cast some doubt on suspects with substantial walking difficulties.

This is the kind of information that just needs to be taken for what it is. It’s like any eyewitness testimony, useful in the broad sense, but open to a great deal of speculation.

to my best recollection Bryan describes Zodiac approaching at a fast pace, but not actually running.

That isn’t in his police interview: https://www.zodiackiller.com/HartnellInterview1.html

Who’s argument are you trying to support here?

It’s in the This Is the Zodiac Speaking doco.

https://youtu.be/HI0jnsbZwys?t=2605

It’s a good point that it’s not in the original interview.

Eyewitness testimonies are tricky. As time goes by people naturally replace solid memories with narratives of those memories. Assessing Bryan’s credibility is speculation, but he does come off as unusually precise, in fact I’d go as far as saying that he is an exceptionally credible witness. But that doesn’t make him immune to the effects of time, or infallible. Yet I have to say, I personally find the conviction with which he makes this statement quite compelling. Then again, maybe that’s the danger.

I think it would also be dangerous to assume that a police interview must by default contain the very best account. I don’t think police interviews are always conducive to good recall. In This Is the Zodiac Speaking Bryan revisits the scene and reenacts the events. It’s difficult to say if this reenactment occurred before, or after the studio interview that follows, but it would seem that the documentary environment may have lent itself to good recall in at least some respects.

I suppose it depends on how you compare a fresh police interview, taken while the victim was likely still in shock vs. an interview from decades later, but that was part of a larger revisiting of the case, which included a reenactment. I don’t think the omission of this statement from the police report has any bearing on the credibility of the statement he made later. There is nothing really problematic about recalling new details, provided they don’t contradict old ones.

What’s actually astounding is how closely Bryan’s police interview matches the interview in the documentary. In the police interview he gets to the same place and simply passes on to another aspect. I don’t think the rate of the Zodiac’s approach would have seemed like an overly important detail at the time. I can’t help but notice in the documentary that he goes to great pains to highlight the Zodiac’s brisk pace, he places so much emphasis on such a minor detail, that I honest wonder if it wasn’t Bryan’s way of responding to the "limp" theory.

In 1965, a year after the Walker murder (1964) and a year before the Bates murder (1966), the Boles family was killed.

On August 13, 1965, the Boles Family, a father, mother and two sons, were murdered in Crestline, California. The father was an aerospace engineer for Hughes Aircraft. Aside from making aircraft, Hughes Aircraft was involved with computers, the Defense Department, the space program and satellites.

Thus the Boles Family Murders would fit the possible pattern of "High Tech Murders", which could include Joyce Walker (November 26,1963, Manhattan Beach, Ca, employee at Space Technologies Laboratory, involved in missiles and spy satellites) Valerie Percy (Suburban Chicago, Sept. 16, 1966, father worked for Bell & Howell, maker of computer like business machines and cameras for military aircraft & space program), the Bricca Family (Suburban Cincinnati, Sept. 27, 1966, father Jerry Bricca was chemical engineer at Monsanto & Linda Bricca’s father owned company with Defense Dept. contracts), Sims Family (October 22, 1966, Florida, father was as press noted a "nationally recognized computer expert") and Robison Family (Michigan, June 25, 1966, father’s company was working on announced plan to clear forests near airports to build computerized warehouses for air cargo business). Cheri Bates father worked at the Naval Ordinance Laboratory.

Also of interest, the Boles Family Murders cabin in Crestline, Ca, is just 27 miles to the Bates murder scene in Riverside, ca, and 92 miles to the Joyce Walker murder site in Manhattan Beach, Ca. At the old ZKS board, Morf noted the Boles Family Murders in Crestline is also just 15 miles from San Bernardino, site of the school of Patricia Hautz and Zodiac POI or more likely possible classmate of Zodiac nicknamed "Zode" aka MLZ.

The Boles family were killed by .22 LR bullets, same types as used at possible Zodiac murder of Domingos & Edwards Santa Barbara 6/4/63, Zodius murder of Robison Family 6/25/68 and Zodiac murder of Faraday & Jensen 12/20/68. Police in the Boles case determined that the gun used had six right twists and grooves and the pistol used was most likely a High Standard, sold at Sears as a JC Higgins. Police in Zodius Robison Family Michigan murders on 6/25/68 and Zodiac Faraday & Jensen California murders on 12/20/68 also determined weapon used had six right twists and grooves, with most likely pistol being used was also a JC Higgins.

Darlene Boles was found on top of one of her sons, and she either did this on purpose to shield her son or was placed on top of him. The female was also placed on top of the male in Domingos & Edwards, California 6/4/63, Bricca Family Murders, Ohio September 27, 1966 and Robison Family murders, Michigan 6/25/68.

Boles Family:

Boles Murder cabin in Crestline is 92 miles to Walker murder site in Manhattan Beach, and 27 miles to Bates murder site in Riverside:

Boles murder site in Crestline is 15 miles to San Bernardino, site of school of Patricia Hautz, probable writer of letter to press in Bates case, and "Zode", possible POI or more likely possible classmate of Zodiac. Info noted by Morf and graphic by Rand:

I note that It is interesting how many victims in some prominent unsolved murders have ties to computers, high tech, aerospace and/or defense industries.

The Boles father was an aerospace engineer for Hughes Aircraft, involved in high tech, aircraft, missiles, the space program and satellites.

When killed in 1964, Joyce Walker worked for Space Technologies Laboratory, involved in missiles and spy satellites. The father of Valerie Percy was CEO of of a high tech business machine and camera company that made equipment for spy planes. Percy was killed September 18, 1966. A week later the Bricca family was murdered, Jerry Bricca worked as a chemical engineer for Monsanto Chemical, and the father of Linda Bricca owned a company that did contract work for the Defense Department. The bodies of the Bricca family were found on September 27, 1966.

October 30, 1966 Cheri Jo Bates was murdered. Her father worked at a Naval Weapons facility.

I mean, perhaps 2% or less of the population would have worked in these industries? It seems odd that all of these victims would have such ties.

Placing the Boles Family Murders in perspective with other family and coed murders, most with high tech links, concentrated in the 1965 to 1968 time period specifically, and in the overall 1963 – 1969 time period generally.

June 4, 1963……………………….December 20, 1968
Domingos & Edwards………………Faraday & Jensen
Santa Barbara, California…………Vallejo, California
Gun 6 Right Twists……………….Gun 6 Right Twists
JC Higgins Pistol…………………JC Higgins Pistol
.22 LR……………………………22 LR
Super X Ammo…………………..Super X Ammo

August 13, 1965…………………..June 25, 1968
Boles Family……………………….Robison Family
Crestline, California………………Michigan
Gun 6 Right Twists……………….Gun 6 Right Twists
JC Higgins Pistol…………………JC Higgins Pistol
.22 LR…………………………..22 LR
Ammo Brand Unknown…………..Super X Ammo