The July 1978 letter was TYPED, thus it making it impossible to confirm as Zodiac, as there is no handwriting.
1978 was a very strange year for the Zodiac case. It started with the April 1978 letter, first confirmed as a real Zodiac letter, then revealed to have some tracing, then most experts said it was probably fake, but Morrill still said it was real, then the controversy over whether Inspector Toschi wrote it, which was never proven and I personally doubt very much. Meaning I think it is probably fake, but I doubt Toschi did it.
Real or fake, did the coverage of the April 1978 letter draw Zodiac out of hiding, and cause him to write some real letters? Or did it just encourage hoaxers to have a field day?
We then have the May 1978 Zodiac letter sent to an LA TV station, that has a death list including "Chief Piggy Darrell Gates" and the "Judas" of the Manson family, Susan Atkins. This May 1978 also mentions a movie being made about the Zodiac and what actor will play him, similar to the April 1978 letter.
Then we have this July 1978 letter, transcipt as follows:
Date: July 19, 1978
Mailed From: Los Angeles, CA
Sent To: San Francisco Chronicle
Typewritten letter:
I am the ZODIAC and I am in control of all things. I am going to tell you a secret. I like friction tape. I like to have it around in case I need to truss someone up in a hurry….I have my real name on a small metallic tape. You see, while you have it in your possession, I want you to know it belongs to me and you think I may have left it accidentally. I am athletic. It could be swim fins, or a piece of scuba gear. But maybe you play chess with me. I have several cheap sets in closets all over. I have my name on the bottom of the lid with the scotch tape….My tape is waiting for me all over California. Do you know me? I am the ZODIAC and I am in control.
Chris Yarbough of http://www.zodiackillertruth.com raises some interesting questions about this letter, with some comments from me in brackets:
Is this genuine Zodiac correspondence? What is the author trying to say, besides his boast that he is "in control."
Were any murders committed in California where someone was bound with friction tape? What about the metallic tape? Is this an I.D. tape? A measuring tape? [Possible Zodiac victim Nancy Bennallack was found dead with masking tape near her body. Her killer may have tied or blindfolded her with tape, and left a piece behind. From 1976 to 1986, the EAR/ONS tied up his male and female victims, but usually used shoe laces or rope.]
Swim fins. Scuba gear. Arthur Leigh Allen used these items. But, was he the Zodiac, as Graysmith suggests? Was it Allen just trying to get his kicks claiming to be the killer? [Or someone, police detective or reporter, trying to throw suspicion on Allen?]
"But maybe you play chess with me." Was the Zodiac named Knight, King, or Bishop? Castle or Rook?[Or Bobby Fischer, the name of the eccentric champ? Or was the writer just saying he was a chess player?]
Friction tape. Metal tape. Scotch tape. The author is trying to say something with these references. What is he trying to say? [What are the names of popular brands of tape?]
This is the one unconfirmed Z letter that has never been talked about much. I first heard about it through Dennis Kaufman and that is a bad start right there. But apparently the expert at the Cal Justice Dept confirmed it as probably authentic. That expert is said to be Terrence Pascoe, also known as Terry Pascoe. I have since talked to two different people who say Pascoe told them it was a confirmed Zodiac letter. It does look like Z writing, to my unexpert eye. And it lacks a zip code, something Zsearcher says he noticed on all the confirmed Z envelopes up to that point. Yet it never got any publicity. The 1986 date also makes it suspect to some as matching the Graysmith paperback, but he never mentioned it.
The handwriting IMO does appear to match. Doug Oswell, among others, noted the mostly unoriginal content of the text, leading him to think it a probable fake. The majority of posters at the Zodiac Killer Facts message board think it is probably fake. And perhaps they are right, but at least four things hold me back from being 100% sure it was a fake:
1. The Cal Justice expert Terry Pascoe apparently thought it was probably real and is said to have confirmed it as a real Zodiac letter. And it looks like Z writing.
2. It somewhat fits a rough pattern of letters appearing about every four years: Three confirmed Z letters in 1974, three (probably mostly or all fake) Z letters in 1978, several unconfirmed Z letters mentioning the Atlanta child murders in 1981/1982, this 1986 Z letter and the 1990 Eureka Z Xmas card and celebrity cipher card.
3. There is compelling evidence Zodiac suspect Ted Kaczynski was in Northern California the year of the 1990 cards, and it is documented he was in Sacramento around the time of this letter, as he killed a man with a bomb there in December 1985. In this 1986 letter Zodiac mentions having just killed people in Sacramento by a freeway, and Ted Kaczynski had just killed a man via a bomb in Sacramento by a freeway on December 11, 1985. Ted used the same Christmas tree stamp as used on the 1990 envelope, and he also used the same flag stamp as used on this 1986 envelope in two letters in 1985. I go into this in depth in the Kaczynski POI section, so I will not mention this possible angle again here.
4. I can’t make out if the postmark is "6 March" or "6 May".
MODERATOR
This October 1987 letter is also seldom discussed. The handwriting seems less "Zodiac like" than the 1986 letter, to my unexpert eye. But it has a basic Zodiac look to it. The content seems uninspired, mostly old bits, and the stuff about the horror movie "The Car" may be a nod to past Z references to movies like "Most Dangerous Game", "Exorcist" and "Badlands". It feels fake to me…but some of the writing does seem to match.
Has anybody seen the film "The Car"? Anything Z like or interesting in that film?
What do people think? Anything stand out real or fake about this letter?
Zsearcher noted something interesting (a rare event, but I give credit where credit is due). At:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA87veEkvfM
About 6:13 in, this letter is shown with the envelope it came in, and it appears to have houses (?) drawn on it.
Can anyone do a screen capture and post that here?
TAHOE27:
[Zsearcher noted something interesting (a rare event, but I give credit where credit is due). At:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA87veEkvfM
About 6:13 in, this letter is shown with the envelope it came in, and it appears to have houses (?) drawn on it.
Can anyone do a screen capture and post that here?
Here you go…it’s as clear as I could get it.
AKWILKS: With color and tint adjustments I think I got it slightly clearer.
Last try by me:
[img] 
[/img
RUFUSTFIREFLY: Looks to me like 2 x 1985 22cent stamps (and the left one being cancelled).
stamp ref: http://www.usapostagestamps.com/1985/Fl … apitol.htm
I’ve roughly super-imposed them here…
AKWILKS: WOW!
Good work. I think you may be right.
THAT IS PART OF THE SAME 1985 ISSUE AS THE SMALLER US FLAG OVER CAPITOL STAMP ON THE 1986 ZODIAC LETTER AND USED TWICE BY TK IN 1985.
http://arago.si.edu/index.asp?con=1&cmd … id=2038769
http://arago.si.edu/index.asp?con=1&cmd … id=2038768
These were part of a larger ongoing series of stamps of US flag over monuments, which includes the flag over Capitol (regular and wide, both issued March 1985, regular used by Zodiac in 1986 and TK in 1985, wide used by Zodiac in 1987) and flag over Yosemite stamp issued May 1988 (used by Judge Vance bomber December 1989 and Judi Bari bomber April 1990).
So the official story is four people known to make bomb threats – Zodiac, Unabomber, Judge Vance bomber and Judi Bari bomber – all just happened to buy the same stamp or set of stamps, out of the 50 or so stamps that you can use at any time? Did they have a convention and all decide to be patriotic together? Or is this one person, who is a cheap bastard?
ZAMANTHA: Looks like Rufus is right again. Good eye! I couldn’t see if until you pointed it out and sure enough the stamp is there.
THEFOREIGNER: Great job Rufus 
Isn’t 44 cent on a letter, in 1987, more than necessary? And if it was, it was a Zodiac trait.
AKWILKS: Yes, double postage, a classic Z trait.
Since the 1986 Zodiac letter was never released to the public, absent a remarkable coincidence, it seems likely both the 1986 and 1987 Zodiac letters were written by the same person.
It could be both were done by the same hoaxer.
But since the 1986 letter was deemed authentic by Cal DOJ expert Terry Pascoe, it prompts me to take another look at this 1987 letter.
Has anybody seen the movie "The Car"?
Somebody has to watch that movie this weekend and give us a report about any Z clues in the movie!
Maybe Sandy or Ricardo or Zam can check with the Vallejo Times Herald (?) and see if they can get a copy of this letter and envelope.
THEFOREIGNER: Concerning the movie "THE CAR":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Car
Quote:
"The evil car in the film was a customized 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III "
I found this Lincoln Continental Mark III symbol interesting:
AKWILKS: AHA!!!
Hurray for Denmark?!?!
Denmark to the rescue!
A phantom…??? :suspect:
A RED PHANTOM?
OR A FREEWAY PHANTOM???
MORF13: The Car is a great 70’s horror flick starring James Brolin…one of my faves (I am a big horror movie fan). I can pretty much tell you, just from memory, no obvious Z references.
SPOILER ALERT……………………………..
In short, a demon/phantom car appears out of nowhere, and terrorizes a small town. It takes place in the desert, New Mexico, Nevada, some place like that [UTAH]. It randomly kills towns people, as the town sheriff and deputies try to find answers and stop the car. In the end, the car turns out to have no driver…its driven by an unseen force, and is pur evil.
There are no anonymous letters or calls, no people stalked, no mysterious killings…none of that. Just a mix of scares and thrills, and a really cool car by the way(forget the make/model).
RICARDO: There were actually two messages sent by someone claiming to be the Zodiac in October of 1987.
The Vallejo Times-Herald received one on Wednesday, October 28, 1987, which referred to the 1977 movie "The Car".
The San Francisco Chronicle received the other one on Thursday, October 29, 1987.
The police said that both messages were forgeries.
AKWILKS: I didn’t know that. There is very little out there on the 1987 letter(s).
Did the one to the SF Chronicle have the same message as the one to Vallejo?
Do you know anything about it?
I understand SFPD may have dismissed these as hoaxes, but the information I have is that Terry Pascoe the Cal DOJ handwriting expert confirmed the May 6, 1986 Zodiac letter as authentic, and to my eye the same hand that wrote the 86 letter wrote the 87 letter.
Set aside just for the moment the question if these were written by the real Zodiac or a hoaxer. Does it seem as if the 1986 and 1987 letters were written by the same person? Isn’t the style similar? Even the same type of writing instrument and paper? And same odd way of doing a "T"? Or could these be different hands?
Thanks to ZAMANTHA for finding and DORANCHAK for posting this newspaper archive. An article on the unconfirmed Zodiac letter of October 1987:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bx2ZxPL … edit?pli=1
A state expert declares the 1987 letter a fake, article also mentions Darlene’s sister Pam Huckaby and items left at her house:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bx2ZxPL … edit?pli=1
————————————
This is from the new FBI docs from Morf, posted by Trav. Don’t know if this is never before seen but I don’t think I ever saw it. It is the envelope for the probably FAKE Zodiac letter of 1978. Where have I seen that bell stamp before? I don’t know the answer, I am asking!
————————————-
TRAVELLER1ST: IMO NNNNNNNNNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH or NO
Also IMO this is a construct created using mostly the LA Times letter as reference. Not very well at that.
This is littered with patterns that aren’t Zodiac’s writing.
The looped y’s and g’s
The lack of distinct alternating e’s
The two uppercase M’s (their shape)
Not a comma in sight (even in his shortest comms Z used commas)
It’s scratchy and laborious and not freely written
No insertion arrow for the word weeks
Non joining T and h in the starting word This (only time we see that is in the LA time letter)
Curving in the double l’s in killed the N in Na, the n’s, the h’s
Even the crosshair is closest to the LA Times one than any of the others and the language, that isn’t lifts from the LA Times letter doesn’t sound like Zodiac’s narrative.
MORF13: I have to agree with Trav,I dont see alot of Zodiac here.
in all of Zodiac’s 1969 letters, ALL of them read… ‘please rush to editor’
April,1970 envelopes simply reads, ‘editor’
All of the remaining 1970 envelopes do not even mention ‘editor’ on them
The 1971 LA TIMES envelope mentions ‘please rush to editor’ (a throwback to his 1969 style, maybe he was excited to be writing to the LA Times for the 1st time)
as does, the 1974 Exorcist letter (maybe he is excited to get ot to the editor since he hasnt written in a long time)
The rest of the 1974 Z envelopes only mention ‘editor’
My point being, that while Z varied back and forth between "please rush to editor" & "editor", and in a couple, didnt even mention the editor, he NEVER used the term, ‘to the editor’ like we see here in this 86 envelope. One more reason I dont think it’s z.
AKWILKS: Well in 1986 it had been 12 years since the last real Z letter so there are bound to be some differences. Or, it could be fake.
MODERATOR
On the April 1978 possible Zodiac letter "I am now in control of all things" is the stamp a Liberty Bell?
Is it in fact this Liberty Bell stamp from the Americana Series?
Two other stamps in this series were used on "possible" Zodiac letters, the May 1978 LA TV letter and the 1981 Atlanta Child Killer letter.
MODERATOR
A little informational nugget about "The Car"
http://www.barris.com/carsgallery/tvmovie/thecar.php
The movie was running daily last summer on TV and I watched it several times – freaky!!! 
It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key.
~Sir Winston Churchill in reference to Russia
A little informational nugget about "The Car"
http://www.barris.com/carsgallery/tvmovie/thecar.php
The movie was running daily last summer on TV and I watched it several times – freaky!!!
If you’re a horror buff like myself, you gotta love that movie. That was one bad ass looking(and sounding)car
There is more than one way to lose your life to a killer
http://www.zodiackillersite.com/
http://zodiackillersite.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/Morf13ZKS
Totally Morph!! Classic horror is my fave 
A little informational nugget about "The Car"
http://www.barris.com/carsgallery/tvmovie/thecar.php
The movie was running daily last summer on TV and I watched it several times – freaky!!!
If you’re a horror buff like myself, you gotta love that movie. That was one bad ass looking(and sounding)car
It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key.
~Sir Winston Churchill in reference to Russia
I know most people think this April 78 letter is probably fake. I do as well. But just to assure me I am not crazy, can someone confirm or disprove that the stamp is the Liberty Bell from the Americana series?
Opinions welcome!
On the April 1978 possible Zodiac letter "I am now in control of all things" is the stamp a Liberty Bell?
Is it in fact this Liberty Bell stamp from the Americana Series?
Two other stamps in this series were used on "possible" Zodiac letters, the May 1978 LA TV letter and the 1981 Atlanta Child Killer letter. This is weird.
MODERATOR
If the 1986 possible Zodiac letter postmark was May 6th or 8th then the murder of Koy Ien Saechao (48) and Choy Fow Salee (40) on April 22nd 1986 is exactly 2 weeks prior as mentioned in his letter and the nature of the crime fits Zodiac and his supposed letter perfectly. He also states the ‘Blue Meannies almost caught me’.
A mysterious ‘hitchhiker’ had directed police to the crime scene, could this have been Zodiac taking risks and goading police as the hitchhiker was never located again. Cannot find a description for the hitchhiker, does anyone know.
Full details http://www.zodiacciphers.com/1/post/2013/04/zodiac-1986-letter.html
If the 1986 possible Zodiac letter postmark was May 6th or 8th then the murder of Koy Ien Saechao (48) and Choy Fow Salee (40) on April 22nd 1986 is exactly 2 weeks prior as mentioned in his letter and the nature of the crime fits Zodiac and his supposed letter perfectly. He also states the ‘Blue Meannies almost caught me’.
A mysterious ‘hitchhiker’ had directed police to the crime scene, could this have been Zodiac taking risks and goading police as the hitchhiker was never located again. Cannot find a description for the hitchhiker, does anyone know.
Full details http://www.zodiacciphers.com/1/post/2013/04/zodiac-1986-letter.html
That is interesting. I had not heard of that case, and I agree, the location and timeline match the 86 possible Zodiac letter. It appears the police concluded that Devon Stuart Olson gave a false confession, as it seems he was never charged and you indicate he was released without being charged. He must not have been able to give details that matched the crime.
I can find no description of the hitchhiker. The killer apparently shot through the drivers side window, which also happened in the murder of SFPD Officer Richard Radetich. And the attack on two people in a car certainly recalls Zodiac attacks at LHR and BRS.
The postmark apparently says "6 MA " . So it could be MAY or MARCH. But with the help of Aquiman/thebigZ, I now feel fairly certain it says "6 MAY". The Unabomber killed a man with a bomb in Sacramento in December 1985 and on May 4, 1986, the EAR/ONS killed Janelle Cruz in Orange County not too far from Sacramento Street.
Post from thebigZ:
AK,
This is the best I could come up with playing with contrast, etc. The two dark spots that show up where the missing letter would be coincide more with a "Y" than an "R". So if I had to make an educated guess, the postmark is "6 MAY"
-tbz
Also from tbz:
Also, if it is a "Y", the day and month are centered directly over the year; not so if it is an "R"
MODERATOR
Yes it looks more like may than march. The bit that interested me was the ‘Blue Meannies almost caught me’ phrase. We know that the Zodiac got more brazen in his attacks with each crime , with some serial killers almost baying to be caught and cannot help feeling he would have been toying with the police , if indeed he was the man that flagged down the patrol officer or the Zodiac could have been just laying claim to this crime after reading about it, if his murderous exploits were now behind him.
On the April 1978 possible Zodiac letter "I am now in control of all things" is the stamp a Liberty Bell?
Here is a still shot of some of the stamps tested. The 1978 letter you refer to AK was in the SFPD DNA results and they wrote: "DNA SAMPLE OBTAINED/NOT AUTHENTIC ZODIAC LETTER"
Makes me wonder where/who the DNA was obtained from to be so certain it was NOT Zodiac. ??
I took this still off youtube; here around 3:20: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYjb5vXaW5k
***This FBI image is of the same envelope as in the above left and top photo.
“…they may be dealing with one or more ersatz Zodiacs–other psychotics eager to get into the act, or perhaps even other murderers eager to lay their crimes at the real Zodiac’s doorstep.“ L.A. Times, 1969
On the April 1978 possible Zodiac letter "I am now in control of all things" is the stamp a Liberty Bell?
Here is a still shot of some of the stamps tested. The 1978 letter you refer to AK was in the SFPD DNA results and they wrote: "DNA SAMPLE OBTAINED/NOT AUTHENTIC ZODIAC LETTER"
Makes me wonder where/who the DNA was obtained from to be so certain it was NOT Zodiac. ??
I’m assuming that the partials they got from the other letters matched each other but not the 78 letter? and that’s how they are determining it’s not Z. Just a guess.
“I don’t know Chief, he’s very smart or very dumb.“
Thanks Tahoe, that clearly is the Liberty Bell stamp from the Americana series, as I suspected. Both the May 78 and 81 possible Zodiac letters also used stamps from the Americana series.
Tahoe: "The 1978 letter you refer to AK was in the SFPD DNA results and they wrote: "DNA SAMPLE OBTAINED/NOT AUTHENTIC ZODIAC LETTER"
Makes me wonder where/who the DNA was obtained from to be so certain it was NOT Zodiac. ?? "
AK Wilks: As I understand it, the statement that it is not an authentic Zodiac letter is based on the handwriting analysis from Shimoda.
The current position of the SFPD is that they have no confidence that any partial DNA sequences recovered from authentic Zodiac letters are in fact actually from the Zodiac.
MODERATOR
A K Wilks: How do you know that the current position of the SFPD is that they have no confidence that any partial DNA sequences recovered from authentic Zodiac letters are in fact actually from Zodiac?
If this is their belief, why did they withdraw their request for handwriting analysis from the FBI (according to the online FBI files), giving as a reason: that the news media blamed Toschi for forging the April 1978 letter?
A K Wilks: How do you know that the current position of the SFPD is that they have no confidence that any partial DNA sequences recovered from authentic Zodiac letters are in fact actually from Zodiac?
If this is their belief, why did they withdraw their request for handwriting analysis from the FBI (according to the online FBI files), giving as a reason: that the news media blamed Toschi for forging the April 1978 letter?
The "truth" is a bit muddy because no public announcements have been made. We as the public do not know all the facts and we cannot see the evidence. This is what I can factually relate.
From 2011:
Many of you know that for a long time I have been trying to get a comparison between the DNA of the California Couples Killer known as the East Area Rapist/Original Night Stalker (EAR/ONS) and the California Couples Killer known as The Zodiac.
It has long been known that the SFPD got 4 markers of DNA off a stamp from a confirmed Zodiac letter. See:
http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=132040&page=1
At the time, SFPD and Dr. Holt seemed very confident that this DNA was likely from the Zodiac. They used it to exclude suspects such as Allen.
Last year a very well respected law enforcement forensics officer told me it was doubtful if this was real Zodiac DNA, because of very serious issues with how the letters were stored and possible contamination. Back in the 1970’s, police and reporters handled these letters without gloves, and some were found in a detectives home garage. Still, he thought it COULD be real DNA from the Zodiac.
Well a detective on the EAR/ONS case finally followed through, and asked SFPD for the report on the possible Zodiac DNA, so that he could compare it to the EAR/ONS DNA.
He was told the SFPD has "NO ZODIAC DNA PROFILE." That there is nothing they can send to compare to.
He was told "one time in the past one of their criminalists did incorrectly give that impression to the media during a TV show. "
But they currently have no confidence that the DNA they recovered is actually from the Zodiac.
Damn! Disappointing!
That is both a surprise and a disappointment!
So that is where it stands as of right now. I will let you know if I hear anything else. I am open to questions, comments or ideas.
Maybe this is a lie from the SFPD? Maybe they want the comparisons to be secret? Maybe something else is going on here? Maybe they just don’t want to share the DNA?
Any of those could possibly be true, but given that SFPD told law enforcement they have no valid Zodiac DNA, that is what I am inclined to believe is the truth.
Q: "Your source has been misinformed by someone who is misinformed.
SFPD sent all such material to the DOJ back in early 2007.
A partial DNA profile does exist and SFPD used it to compare to several suspects. That is a fact."
AK WILKS: I agree, the four markers, the partial profile does exist, and in the past SFPD had confidence in it, and compared it to Allen, Mr. X and other suspects.
What I am saying is that a detective told me in 2011 that the SFPD told him in 2011 they no longer consider that 4 marker partial profile to be valid. They don’t think it is likely from the real Zodiac.
I asked the detective to ask them to send it anyway, so he can do the comparison.
I am not sure what is going on here, maybe SFPD is telling a lie, or maybe they don’t want the comparison done, or maybe this a smokescreen for an unknown higher purpose.
But this detective is telling me that current SFPD has no confidence in the 4 marker partial profile.
The issue is confusing, I tried to be clear as I could in my post.
The SFPD would still have a paper with the 4 marker DNA results on it, even though they sent the actual stamps and DNA back to the Cal DOJ.
I have asked the detective to ask SFPD to send the results on paper to him.
I will also let him know that Cal DOJ has the actual evidence.
I would also would very much like the EAR/ONS DNA to be compared to the Bates mtDNA.
For whatever reason, SFPD is now telling a law enforcement officer they have no confidence in the 4 marker profile. This is disappointing. Mike Rodelli told me he had heard this from SFPD before, and told me this last year [2010]. I disagreed with him then because a detective told me he had doubts about the DNA but thought it could still be real. Now the truth seems closer to what Mike Rodelli was saying, not what I was saying, because a source in law enforcement that I trust tells me SFPD told him they had no confidence in the DNA.
I have spent hundreds of hours on this, so it is a major disappointment. I spent YEARS working on this case with the expectation that the Holy Grail of Zodiac DNA would be compared to my POI and to DNA from EAR/ONS.
I still asked him to try to do the comparison, as SFPD may be wrong.
And perhaps someone is playing a game here or laying a smokescreen for unknown reasons.
And I think the Bates mtDNA is the most likely to be from the Zodiac, and I now asking some in law enforcement to compare to that mtDNA.
That is what I personally know.
Q: "So Dr. Holt, Inspectors Maloney and Carroll, "Primetime Thursday," "Cold Case Files" and the Chronicle reporter covering Mr. X all lied?"
AK WILKS: No.
It appears that at that time, Dr. Holt and the SFPD honestly believed that the 4 markers were likely from the Zodiac.
As of 2011, it appears the SFPD is saying they do not have confidence that the 4 marker DNA profile really is from the Zodiac.
I don’t know why they have changed. It could be further tests showed more contamination. It could be they found a lab tech, detective or reporter who has those 4 markers, thus meaning it is likely they were the cause of the DNA not Zodiac.
It could be any number of things. It could just be new personnel, a new evaluation, new and better technology and/or just a new opinion.
There is a small chance that this is a smoke screen, that something is going on they don’t want publicity about. Police do put out false info at times.
But everything I know indicates to me that my source is honest, and I do not think SFPD would lie to a homicide detective. Given the horrible violations of protocol we know existed with the handling and storage of the letters and envelopes, I accept that SFPD correctly has no confidence that they have real Zodiac DNA.
AK 2013: I don’t understand your question about the April 1978 letter. This was determined to be a hoax on the basis of handwriting, as far as I know, not anything to do with DNA.
MODERATOR
