Good luck with that.

The cops have been hoping to have a word with the guy who has that costume – for the last 49 years!

You’re referring to Sandy Betts and Sandy will most likely be along soon to answer your questions. Meanwhile, you can learn a lot about her story here, where someone helped lay it all out in a more easy to read format.

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/zodiack … t8160.html

I have been told that there’s a user on this sight as well as zodiackiller.com who has the Lake Berryessa costume. May that person reply I would like to talk to them.

Yes the killing costume was put in my car in Napa on either the 28 or 29th Of Sept 1969. I had no idea what it was when my neighbor and I found it in the backseat of mt car.
We both thought it was a costume that was made for a early Halloween Party and that some drunk mistook my car for his and put it there , or that my husband gave someone a ride in the car and it was left there by mistake. It wasn’t until 1987 when I was given Graysmiths Zodiac book and saw his drawing that I realized what I had. I knew I didn’t throw away the bottom half which had the white logo on it. I did toss the hooded part because it had a odd smell, it went into the garbage can as soon as I got home. I kept the bottom which I call a poncho. It was about a yard and a half long and 36 inches wide , black cotton. I was going to make something out of it , because I sew a lot of things for my home and for my small children. ( The hood matched it, but was made from a paper sack , painted flat black so it looked like it could be from the same material as the bottom )
My guess is the smell was from what was used to make the paper sack black, perhaps shoe polish or old ink?

As soon as I realized what I had I started looking in my attic for it . I knew it was stored with other scraps of material. I had to get someone to grab the boxes as I was on a tall ladder and couldn’t do it by myself. I wasn’t able to find it and thought that when my daughter in law was here she cleaned out the garage and must have thrown it out?

Then just this past year my ex husband phoned to tell me he was moving and found some of my boxes that I had stored at his mothers home in San Leandro from 1975. He knew they were mine, because he knew I saved material and these boxes had material in them ! I was so excited because I knew that had to be where the costume was. And the fact that it was kept in San Leandro which was a plus, because it never gets hot there, which would ruin the DNA! Had it been above my garage the DNA would be useless. I made a copy of what the costume actually looked like and Zamantha posted it it on a thread that was started for me. So I could tell my story and to show some of the evidence that I had that I believe is crucial to solving the Zodiac case!

My ex still has my boxes that he moved to his new home along with about a 100 other boxes. He just phoned me again the other day, to tell me he has started to looking through about the first third of them and will call me when he finds mine. So fingers crossed he finds it soon.

I have other evidence that has DNA on it that could break the case wide open, if only I could get a good detective to have what I have tested. I will refinance my home to pay to have it done! Paul Holes was interested, but was too busy at that time with catching GSK. Then he retired, now Terry Poyser is retiring this month so, not sure who is left that will help me get this done?

Sandy, your offer to re-finance your home in order to test dna is very generous BUT you MUST think of yourself first! If it would behoove you to do that, all is well and good but I don’t think you or anyone else should take on a financial burden that would not be in your best interest!!!

All these LE agencies are the ones designated to solve crimes and have the resources to do so. Too bad they seemingly have not used these resources to their best advantage!

Perhaps a "Go Fund Me" would be helpful to raise needed monies for dna testing? I don’t know much about them but seem to see them being used quite a bit on Facebook.

Here’s a link to Sandy’s Thread on this forum:

viewtopic.php?f=47&t=355

Photo is a copy of the Hood, Logo Shirt found by Sandy in her car years back.

Yes the killing costume was put in my car in Napa on either the 28 or 29th Of Sept 1969. I had no idea what it was when my neighbor and I found it in the backseat of mt car.

Was that an open car? Who else had access to it? Forgive me for asking, but you must have suspected your (ex) husband at some point?

What are thos "other evidence that has DNA on it that could break the case wide open"?

As far as I can remember, Sandy’s statements implied to what she had said approximately 3-4 years ago.

Such as the hood stinking, which is why she did throw it away (not knowing at that time it was important). Other items she said were found in her car were an ammunition box with pencils, felt pens, as well as some (letters, numbers, symbols) writing help for kids. Also a necklace with a heart (initials CS?), a watch? The window of her car had been left open on that day, the things were found later on the backseat (because the hood stank).

Sandy please excuse me answering that in advance and please correct all of what I remembered wrongfully. Wanted to show up with this to also show that Sandy’s statements are credible to the degree that she didn’t change specific (detailled) circumstances over a few years now (e.g. the hood stinking, being painted not sewed etc.).

BTW, is your ex husband aware of the importance so if he finds the poncho one day? The sooner the better?

DNA analysis costs less than a few hundred bucks so no need (and possibility) to finance those from someone else than police itself. If they GET such evidence and accept them as being evidence, they will and have to do such analysis. Otherwise this would be tempering with evidence, which actually is a felony (same with evidence still in the ownership of some PI who most likely simply wants to ‘keep’ such stuff). Sometimes, if people don’t give back stuff, some letter including request to return the items help quite well.

QT

Crowdfund this?
*edit*

Sandy, was your Pontiac Bonneville by any chance automatic?
A repugnant cloth smelling like shoe polish found in a car sounds like transmission fluid.
Transmission fluid is a black greasy sticky acrid smelling substance that you dont want to smell twice. (As if shoe polish went rancid and got burnt a little)

Transmission fluid is a smell you will forever remember.

The only transmission fluid I have seen was tinted red, never black or thick enough to paint on paper.

Back in the 60’s shoe polish did have a smell, I would think spray paint would also? It wasn’t so strong smelling when I first picked it up and looked at it. It was after I rolled up the windows, which were all down when it was parked at the Soscol House restaurant / bar next to the Napa/ Vallejo highway. It was a very warm day that day is why the windows were all down.
The red heart had the name Cecelia on the front of it, I believe it was spelled Cecilia on that heart. The wristwatch that was also in the ammo can that was put in the car could have been Cecelia’s? I did not see one listed in the evidence collected. Students back then would have worn a wristwatch I would think?

Not sure if I mentioned that also in the car that same day , was a plastic name tag with the name Daniel Perez. I later thought he could perhaps be another victim? I looked for anyone that would be young with that name and found one who died about 20 yrs old, in Los Angeles early 60’s.

The envelopes from letters that were sent to me by my suspect before we knew about DNA, would be very good evidence. I did not get them tested when told to by my friend Jerry Johnson, who once worked with the FBI. I felt that it could cause a problem if it was not done by the proper authorities. I would like to meet Pam Hoffsass again and have her do the testing, she is now working in Contra Costa County in the same department as Paul Holes did at one time. It is my understanding that I will need to have that requested by a detective or DA.

As far as suspecting my husband ,he was with me on July 4th consoling my mother a hour away from Vallejo, because my father had died unexpectedly on July 1st 1969 and we buried him July 4th. My husband was tall and thin ,never stocky.

Something else that I think is extremely important to this case , is the fact that I had the exact type of clothesline stolen the summer of 1969 and then some 20 yrs later and many moves. The person who took it ,replaced it with a new package of white plastic hallow cored close line and put it on my front porch. I had totally forgotten about the missing clothes line ,until I was reminded of it when I saw the new one on my porch. The only person that would know about that ,would be the person who stole it and my husband who noticed it was missing. I am 100 percent sure that my stalker is that person who took it and used it! That he wanted to remind me of the missing clothes line to assure me he was the Zodiac. I wasn’t showing the fear he wanted so he did his best to give me clues he was / is Zodiac. Most of you will say to yourselves , If he was the Zodiac he would have killed her long ago. He had made a few attempts , but once I took his picture and gave it to the police, he had to make it look like an accident. That was when he tried to blow up my home and tried forcing me off the roads late at night. He enjoys the idea that I know who he is and that no one believes it could be him. He didn’t count on me keeping evidence he left from 1969 in a safety deposit box, in case anything happens to me, LE will have it to test.

My ex tells me that he does know the importance of the costume, but I don’t think he thinks it is as important as I do. He is not fond of doing a lot of hard work to go through over 100 boxes to look for it. Thank goodness he is starting that process now, or so he claims. The other evidence are the envelopes, handwriting , blood on the dictionary that was put in the car with the costume,the wristwatch and a glass he drank a "Bloody Mary"out of that has his DNA and hand print. That glass is being kept in the evidence room at SFPD sense Jan-Feb 1990.

Thank you Zamantha for all of your help showing what the costume looked like and the link to my story. The story is also on Zodiackiller.com under The Sandy Betts Story, with pictures.

In answer to the car being automatic or not, it was automatic.

Hi Sandy, thanks for sharing your experiences in such detail.

Frankly I find it troubling that law enforcement has been so apparently lax in dealing with your situation.

Hi Sandy, thanks for sharing your experiences in such detail.

Frankly I find it troubling that law enforcement has been so apparently lax in dealing with your situation.

Thanks, But I can’t blame them, because I know that my story is over the top hard to believe, it sounds way too good to be true, especially after so many people like Debra Perez and Dennis Kaufman said about their suspect. (Shame on all of them for ruining the chance for someone with real evidence to be ignored! )

I keep telling my story over and over ,with the hope that one day a detective who is working the case will see it and give me a polygraph, to see I am not making any of this up! Then check my evidence and test what I have for a DNA match to what we have of the Zodiac’s. Even check the DNA on that watch or the blood on the dictionary.Cecelia was O neg. Bryan is AB positive, both are rare types.

I have had two handwriting experts say that the letter with the line about Graysmith at the top is for sure written by Zodiac. One handwriting expert from Oakland PD ( I think his name was John Even’s?) he said that letter was too much like the Zodiac’s to be from him???? Where did he get he get his license ,out of a Cracker Jack box?

Sandy, I’m reading your story right now and this is amazingly disturbing. So the Zodiac may not have been one single person, that would make so much sense.