Question: Was it one of the other jurisdictions that got Shimoda involved in the first place?

The matter has now become controversial, the SFPD say (in the letter to the FBI). Becasue Shimoda (USPS) has reached a different conclusion. But on whose request does he examine the material?

Another question: Did Morrill’s state successor examine the Riverside stuff? Or is he mentioned just as a formality: He has no objection to the material being reviewed by the FBI, etc.

Again, I don’t think this is important in terms of what really matters – but it’s interesting nonetheless, knowing precisely what the people who were involved in the active investigation did and thought, is not without value (for obvious reasons).

Yah…there is something more to it that we don’t know about. Saying the SFPD agreed Cheri was a Zodiac victim is probably saying we all agree.

The one thing I found interesting as I was exploring all the confirmed letters on another site, the typed confession was not present. At first read, I found it to be odd- he claims she did not struggle (yet we know DNA was found under her fingernails," and overtly sexual in his descriptions. I started to wonder if CJB was not the first victim, as I currently believe, but was responsible for the desk poem and the terrible letters 6 months later. I thought the typos were not consistent with Z’s errors in the future, and the syntax seemed a bit off…

Then someone in the feed pointed out Mikado references within the writing. It was typed, so handwriting of the letter was of no use, but the envelope was handwritten and apparently matches?

And now I truly do apologize, as I am going to fall into cliche serial killer paradigms and even cite a movie …- "Silence of the Lambs," though not because the letter mentions she followed him like a lamb to the slaughter, but perhaps there was some good research and possible inspiration by Thomas Harris (the author). Instead, I like the other remembered lines- "What do you covet?" "That which is close to you." And where you are most comfortable is often where the first kill happens.

If we want to think Z was the killer, there is definitely something different and personal about this killing. From the sexual overtones in the typed confession letter, to the method of killing….

Wish I could prove it, but I think it was Z’s first, and may hold some clues.

-m

Since "Silence of the Lambs" was first published in 1988, I’m going to go with it not being an influence on Zodiac.

Edit: Unless you were surmising that Harris got his inspiration from the Bates murder?

Honestly, I do not know what inspired Tom Harris to write his novels, but 15+ years after reading the book and seeing the movie, that quote stands out to me, and is why I use it. Also, the first kill is usually the most personal, or close to home (I know there are exceptions). I have read Douglas’s first books on profiling and Bonn most recently. This pattern of "close to home", or perhaps paradigm, seems to hold.

There seems to be little known about the personal life of Harris, but he was, according to my most unfavorite but easy to cite source, Wikipedia, at Baylor U and was working for the Waco Tribune-Herald police beat until he moved to NYC in 1968. Something inspired him, so yes, perhaps it was the CJB murder that crossed his desk, and then he drew later connections. All supposition.

Could still hold even without Bates.

LHR and BRS both occur within a relatively small area, one Z was evidently familiar with (displays local knowledge by opting for non-obvious lovers’ lane type locations).

I think he either lived in the Vallejo-Benicia area – or had done so at some point – and that this area was, as you say, close to home for him.

If he killed Bates – and the pattern holds – he must have killed close to home in Riverside…and then close to home again (but a different home) at LHR.

Having said that, there are good reasons not to focus too strongly on traditional patterns when it comes to Z. He clearly does not fit the serial killer bill perfectly no matter how one looks at it.

I find it interesting that the communications of Cheri’s killer (other than addresses on envelopes) were either typed or apparently printed with his off-hand. To me, this indicates concern that his normal printing was identifiable, and identifiable in a way that could link it to Cheri’s murder. This strongly suggests that he was afraid of linkage to the RCC desktop poem, which had not been discovered, and was known only to him. To suggest that one individual was the author of the morbidly psychotic desktop poem, and another was responsible for Cheri’s murder, is a reach too far.

To suggest that one individual was the author of the morbidly psychotic desktop poem, and another was responsible for Cheri’s murder, is a reach too far.

Well, I sort of agree with that.

But the whole thing rests on whether the poem actually is morbidly psychotic, as you put it.

What’s your take on the chronology, Dag: Did he write it before or after the murder?

Norse:
IMO, Z wrote the poem before he murdered Cheri; however, Cheri (or any other particular girl) was not necessarily the poem’s subject. I believe the poem was a last-ditch effort to exorcise his demons; in fact, his demons compelled him to write the poem. He was at a tipping point: the poem was written on the underside of a desktop, so it wouldn’t be immediately found; however, it was signed with his initials. Had the poem been written after Cheri’s murder, it would not have had the poet’s initials. But, suppose the poem and its initials were written to cast suspicion on another? In that case, they would have been written on top of the desk, so as to be readily visible.
The RCC desktop poem is, to me, part and parcel of Z’s ambivalence. He concocted a rather shrewd scheme to lure Cheri to her death; however, the weapon used would have been rejected by an experienced, or determined, killer. Again, I think Z was on a cusp. I believe he concocted his scheme to guarantee an audience with Cheri, probably to persuade her he’d be a suitable suitor. However, he also harbored deep resentment toward her, "making her pay for the brush offs that she had given me during the years prior." So he carried a pocket knife just in case she rejected him again. Evidently, she did.

Sort of on topic:

I came across a transcribed article from the Contra Costa Times (dated 12-03-2000) earlier today at an old board, which included quotes from the Riverside and Vallejo police departments. Unsurprisingly, the RPD investigator stated they did not believe Z was responsible for Bates. More interesting is Vallejos’ position (Lt West):

But authorities in Vallejo, where three of the Zodiac victims were killed, remain skeptical that the cases are linked.
"There has not been anything confirmed that can attribute the Bates case to the Zodiac," Vallejo police Lt. JoAnn West said. "It’s never been as closely associated with the other cases, like in San Francisco, Napa and Vallejo. On its face, it doesn’t appear to be attributed to him. But we don’t rule out that possibility."

I’ve been wondering who prompted Shimoda to look at the Riverside material back in the late 70s. Could it be that while SFPD were comfortable with Morrill’s conclusion, Vallejo were not? And what about Napa? Does anyone know if Narlow ever commented explicitly on the Riverside connection?

Dag: Thanks for your answer, sir.

I’m off to do something very boring, so I’ll read it properly and comment on it later on!

Norse:
"Sir"? Oh, please!

Norse:
"Sir"? Oh, please!

Hey, I’m a polite guy! Well, sometimes.

As for the comment, here it is – short and sweet:

What you propose is logical – I agree 100% with your reasoning. What I don’t agree with is that the poem is morbid and thus necessarily composed by a disturbed individual. So, I agree with the logic – but not with the premise.

I am going to pipe in here with a few thoughts that have been going around my mind.

First, if we are to assume it is Z’s first kill, it will be different from the others as he is learning. We don’t know when the poem was written, but to me it does look a lot like Z’s and I agree he was fighting demons at this point. Signing it rh may mean nothing, maybe he was going to write more, maybe its from a nickname, etc. Maybe it was the girl he was pining after, but Cheri became more convenient, who knows? My guess, due to mention of the red dress is he wrote it before the murder, or has something to do with a disturbed fantasy. I know old crime searches get harder with time, but maybe whoever did this tried something similar before– and she survived or was barely wounded- so it never really made much news.

A couple things I find interesting is in the initial confession typed letter that came about a month afterward, he wrote By__________, as though right up to mailing he may have been debating on turning himself in. The crime itself is definitely more personal then walking up to couples on lover’s lanes and just shooting them.

Then, more personal yet, are the 3-4 letters that seem to have been mailed in April 1967 and arrived in July ??? that were handwritten, the Bates must die letters. Again, while possible a hoax, I find it interesting whoever wrote them used her name, and even mailed a copy to her father. I don’t believe Z ever referred to people by name after these, assuming he wrote them. Not saying it rules him in or out, just means it may be more personal.

And lastly, I have seen a lot of things made about switching from typing- which seems less traceable, than handwriting. I remember seeing crimes that were solved on that basis- the specific typewriter or printer that was used. Sometimes there is a letter that sticks and needs to be double struck, sometimes there is a slight defect in a letter. Typewriters also would have had slightly variable letter spacings, fonts, angles of letters, ribbon composition, etc. This was known as far back as 1959, probably before, see for an example: http://scholarlycommons.law.northwester … ntext=jclc

And I have heard of crimes being solved this way. For handwriting, there is also ink composition, paper type and of course the handwriting itself, so that may not be perfect, but harder to trace as many more paper and pens are sold then typewriters. (Kind of unrelated, but I recently saw a true crime case solved on the basis of an engraved bracelet found at the scene containing a very popular name. The detective called the manufacturer, then visited every jewelry store in town, and finally found the one where it was purchased. They were able to find the receipt, and thus the suspect.) I think the same could have been done with the typewriter. At the very least figured out what brand it was, and checked campus typewriters. Then find out where they were sold, who bought them, etc. Yes, I know this is intensive, but we are talking about someone’s life.

-m

Marie:
Thanks for "piping in." Your mentioning the personal letter to Cheri’s dad piqued me. It’s part and parcel of my contention that Cheri’s was his first killing. Something else that was hidden in plain sight poked me in the eye yesterday. The RCC desktop poem is titled: "Sick of living/unwilling to die." Everyone assumes, and rightly so, that this refers to the female mentioned in the poem proper. But, suppose it also includes the poet’s opinion of himself? I mean, no poem is composed that does not include the poet him/herself. If I make sense so far, consider this, from THE CONFESSION: "I am not sick. I am insane." IMO, I see a progression from an exceedingly troubled individual who harbored homicidal thoughts to one who, after resolving his conflicts by acting out his homicidal fantasies, has advanced from a wimpy sicko to a full-fledged scary psychotic people should fear and obey.