Vicki Miner, age 16, November 14, 1970 Buena Park, California
Vicki Miner’s badly decomposed body was found in a vacant field near Malvern Avenue and Dale Street. Police determined that she had been bludgeoned to death. A student at Buena Park High School, Miner was last seen alive as she left for school at about 9:30 on the morning of Oct. 30. Her parents reported her missing later that day when she didn’t show up at school. The coroner estimated she had been dead about 14 days before she was found. The girl’s body was fully clothed, but she was missing a Size 28 to 30 brown leather belt, Size 7 dark brown leather sandals and a dark brown suede purse. None of these items has ever been recovered.
She got killed on the same date as CJB, was a bit younger and the place she was killed is 40 miles away from Riverside. No sexual motive, the victim was fully clothed when they found her. Her killer took items with him but they don’t think it was a robbery.
Bludgeoning doesn’t fit Zodiac’s MO and this was way down in southern California.
Tying up his victims and stabbing them wasn’t a MO of Zodiac to do after his first attacks but he did.
4,5 months after someone killed Vicky, Zodiac wrote in the L. A. Times letter from March 14, 1971:"I do have to give them credit for stumbling across my riverside activity, but they are only finding the easy ones, there are a hell of a lot more down there."
I found out about this case and just wanted to inform people of this one. Did Zodiac kill her? Chance is big he didn’t but this thread is about possible victims so added it here for others to investigate if they want to.
Thanks Eduard,
Always good to look at & post the “possible” victims.
Good find!
Zamantha
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If Zodiac ever joined a Z forum, I’m sure he would have been banned for not following forum rules. Zam’s/Quote
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MODERATOR
Thanks, Zam!
Tying up his victims and stabbing them wasn’t a MO of Zodiac to do after his first attacks but he did.
4,5 months after someone killed Vicky, Zodiac wrote in the L. A. Times letter from March 14, 1971:"I do have to give them credit for stumbling across my riverside activity, but they are only finding the easy ones, there are a hell of a lot more down there."
I found out about this case and just wanted to inform people of this one. Did Zodiac kill her? Chance is big he didn’t but this thread is about possible victims so added it here for others to investigate if they want to.
Absolutely a good find, thanks Eduard! I wonder if the suede purse had long fringe at the bottom of it? My suspect would drop off female clothes,jeans, tee shirts, shoes and one brown suede purse with long fringe at my home. I don’t remember any belts? The shoes he dropped off in the 1980’s were 60’s/70’s style clogs with orange and red flowers on them. I have a gold button with a eagle on it, that could be a match to one of the buttons off of Elaine Davis’s coat, I just don’t know for sure?
As far as any Zodiac victims not being bludgeoned, the man who phoned the police in Pittsburg claiming to be Zodiac in the 1990’s, did bludgeon many of his victims as well as stab, strangle and torture them to death! We just don’t know the many ways that Zodiac may have killed his victims? He has claimed over 69 of them yrs ago yet we do not know who most were ,so we can not say that is not his MO! He changed his MO like the wind, as well as his weapons.
I took the "way more down there" comment as referencing pre-1968 murders like Bates, though there is a possibility he moved around the state for work or military reasons.
This is an interesting case. She was apparently running late to school because she and her mom had gone to the juvenile court earlier when she, “appeared before a judge in a hitchhiking case”. When she returned home her mother wrote her a note to give to school answering why shy was running late. She then set off to go to school. Very sad.
I took the "way more down there" comment as referencing pre-1968 murders like Bates, though there is a possibility he moved around the state for work or military reasons.
I understand your logic, but remember that from Oct 27 1970 until March 13 1971 he didn’t write. He had to be doing something someplace for about 5 months?
Then on March 13, 19 71 he wrote a letter to the LA Times from Pleasanton , which is a place you would drive through on your way to or from LA, if you lived in the bay area.
(It is only a 5 and a half to 6 hr drive to LA.) I think he wrote the LA letter and drove back down there to read about himself in their paper. He could have had family still living down south? Zodiac stopped writing for three yrs and again stopped after July 8th 1974 for another four yrs. He could have been anywhere killing during those times as far as we know? If he worked in construction like I believe, he could go anywhere there was work. Most killers kill where they feel comfortable, he was probably raised down south and was comfortable there. When he moved up north, it may have taken him a while to feel comfortable and then did his thing, close to where he was living or working.
Vicky Miner was young and pretty , someone Zodiac would have been attracted to. She liked to hitchhike ,a perfect victim for someone like Zodiac.
