The killer’s knives maybe couldn’t go much further through, I am simply pointing out a possible connection if he viewed himself Executioner.

I certainly think so. "She had to die."

Its a possibility that the letters and poem are either fakes, not written by Z, or they are real and didn’t muck the case up.

I found the thread reference to the posting on another board about Mikado references in the Confession letter and the desktop poem. http://zodiackiller.fr.yuku.com/topic/3 … alHemDG5E4

There are also posts in that thread that said he misspelled "twich" as such in the confession letter, and the same way in some later letter (see page 3 of thread). The possibility she was nearly beheaded, as the Executioner did in the Mikado, and a post about her autopsy saying she was almost beheaded, page 10 in thread.

There is also some good info on the desktop poem handwriting analysis. I would question if some of the differences people are using to exclude it could not have been cause by slippages/distortions from the grain of the wood.

fyi – she wasn’t almost beheaded.

The cuts to her neck were very deep, and I think it’s entirely possible she may have almost been decapitated. She technically died from carotid artery lacerations and vast rapid blood loss

I have seen an occasional mention of an attempted stabbing of a woman the year before on Riverside campus and a person named Rolland Lin Taft was convicted and in jail at the time of the CJB killing. http://mk-zodiac.com/041365.html

It sounded like the woman knew her attacker, so it was an open and shut case. I would still be curious, given the similarities, if anyone has ever FOILed the police report or has a copy of a newpaper article regarding it? Did he admit it, was it her ID of him, etc? I am unable to find any information other than the link above, and have no access to old Riverside Press Enterprise newspapers, or the school newspaper from the time- Tiger Times?

My only reasons is what if it wasn’t him, and was the person to be known as Z? It could explain the confession that Cheri wasn’t the first, and the poem that the victim survived.

Also, there was a similar case of Suny Lyn Dagowitz or Sunny Lynn Dagowitz(I forget the spelling) attacked in her college parking area in southern CA, stabbed to death, no motive, there was a sketch made. I think there’s a thread here someplace.

IIRC there was never any doubt Taft was the assailant. From what I remember, he followed the victim in his car, asking her repeatedly if she wanted a ride, before the actual assault took place. She probably identified him positively – and that would be that.

IIRC there was never any doubt Taft was the assailant. From what I remember, he followed the victim in his car, asking her repeatedly if she wanted a ride, before the actual assault took place. She probably identified him positively – and that would be that.

This may very well be the case, but until I see a police report, trial transcript, or even newspaper article, I will question it. He may have been following her, harassed her, etc. She may have even ID’d him, she was stabbed in the stomach but this could have been done from behind.

And lets face it, police often go with the obvious, maybe a deal was offered- do we know how much time Taft served? They offer you a year or the chance at trial with a sympathetic eye witness, innocent people take deals.

Or confirmation the knife was his. He may very well have been guilty, but I hesitate on anything too open and shut.

And any crime similar could shed light on it. As of yet, I am still unsure of my favorite POI, I don’t know if Z has been known yet.

-m

And assuming it is the same Rolland L Taft, I find it interesting that he got married 3 months after the stabbing, and 2.5 months after being arraigned for the murder?
https://familysearch.org/search/record/ … 1940-1950~

Just a little odd, but who knows, people marry crazies all the time.

-m

has there been a discussion previously about the confession letter’s misunderstanding of how a distributor works? he makes a statement about the battery having been dead by the time she got to her car, but that’s not how a distributor works. it distributes the electrical charge to the spark plugs from the battery. removing a wire removes the current to the spark plugs, so the car won’t start. it doesn’t run down the battery. that would arguably be the alternator which also wouldn’t run down the battery if the car’s off (it would stop the battery from recharging when the car is under load which would eventually run the battery down).

Don’t know the length of Taft’s sentence, but he was still in jail when CJB was killed. They looked at the connection (because of the similar nature of the attack). IIRC one of the detectives who worked the Bates case had previously worked the Taft case.

has there been a discussion previously about the confession letter’s misunderstanding of how a distributor works? he makes a statement about the battery having been dead by the time she got to her car, but that’s not how a distributor works. it distributes the electrical charge to the spark plugs from the battery. removing a wire removes the current to the spark plugs, so the car won’t start. it doesn’t run down the battery. that would arguably be the alternator which also wouldn’t run down the battery if the car’s off (it would stop the battery from recharging when the car is under load which would eventually run the battery down).

There is, you have to poke around to find it and use the search box. Bentley, who was a big car buff had a lot to say about it, but he retired from the Z case. The articles mention "the middle wire" being pulled. I think that was enough to tell somebody how Cheri’s car was disabled, and that the confession letter writer may not have been the actual killer, just somebody that read abot the disabling in the paper. The following article ran within a couple days of her murder

Don’t know the length of Taft’s sentence, but he was still in jail when CJB was killed. They looked at the connection (because of the similar nature of the attack). IIRC one of the detectives who worked the Bates case had previously worked the Taft case.

Thats my question, what if Taft didn’t do it. Proof please. Then I can move on. No confessions, no eye witness, proof.

has there been a discussion previously about the confession letter’s misunderstanding of how a distributor works? he makes a statement about the battery having been dead by the time she got to her car, but that’s not how a distributor works. it distributes the electrical charge to the spark plugs from the battery. removing a wire removes the current to the spark plugs, so the car won’t start. it doesn’t run down the battery. that would arguably be the alternator which also wouldn’t run down the battery if the car’s off (it would stop the battery from recharging when the car is under load which would eventually run the battery down).

The battery is used to send power to a coil. This coil converts that low voltage to high voltage and then sends it on to a distributor which sends that power via high tension leads to a set of spark plug which ignites the fuel on top of each piston which in turn forces the piston down.
Same battery is used to turn the engine over via a starter motor which uses low voltage (6v or 12v) and very large current as a motor is quite hard to turn over. It is the stater motor that will flatten a battery very quick. So if the wire from the coil to the middle of the distributor is pulled , you get no high voltage to any spark plugs. The engine will not fire and the starter motor would keep cranking the engine for a minute or two and then die.. If you disconnect only one spark plug lead it may start and run rough (I am unsure about the ability of a VW for that.) In the 60s a car backfiring was common with a cracked spark plug or out of timed motor, it was caused by that cylinders fuel not burning off above the piston but being forced into the exhaust system where it built up and then explodes from the heat. So Z pulled the middle wire or enough spark plug leads to stop it firing. Fairly common knowledge for young men who dabbled with cars in that era..but my thoughts go to his bus bomb drawings and they to me reflect a fairly good basic knowledge of electrics, electronics, or maybe auto electrics. Maybe a part time job

Thats my question, what if Taft didn’t do it. Proof please. Then I can move on. No confessions, no eye witness, proof.

What is known about the Taft case (as far as I can gather) is this:

Taft followed the victim in his car and repeatedly asked her to get in. He then stopped, got out and followed her on foot, before he finally attacked her and stabbed her in the stomach with a (hunting) knife. He fled the scene.

Later he was arrested, arraigned and convicted for the assault.

Is there anything in this which suggests that a miscarriage of justice took place? There’s no mention anywhere, as far as I can tell, of Taft insisting on his innocence – or for that matter any mention of the victim being unable to identify the attacker. The account above looks to me as though it was based on the victim’s description of what took place: he followed her, talked to her, attacked her, and fled.

If you have any reason to doubt that this is actually what happened, then I suppose you need to get hold of a police report. Or a transcript of the trial. There may be newspaper articles floating around which provide more details too.

@Norse, I don’t mean to be overzealous, but I just want to know exactly what went down. Taft may have admitted it, it may be his knife that was found covered in his prints, him covered in blood, but a website saying that isn’t the be all end all in my version. When a case hasn’t been solved in so many years, I am leaving nothing to chance. I plan to FOIL the police reports if I can, I hear Riverside isn’t easy, and I guess I will email/write/call the newspaper to get their reports. On other boards, I have seen too many people seem to follow what they are told. I question everything. This probably will lead nowhere, but something, somewhere, at some time has been missed.

But just imagine- all crazy supposition here- Taft didn’t do it. He did follow and harass her. She starts running away, and wherever she goes, someone comes up and attacks her, and maybe its our future Z. Maybe Z happened to be around and even grabbed Taft’s hunting knife that was in his car when Taft got our to chase her. She’s stabbed, lives, and just assumes, but she really doesn’t know who stabbed her, but assumes its Taft. Like I said, innocent people confess or are convicted all the time.

Equally possible, clear as day- she saw Taft stab her, and he immediately confesses. Its his knife, prints and all, stained clothes, etc.

But what if it was Z…. do you really want to take something off the table on double hearsay? If Taft was in jail, it means nothing if he didn’t do it, and future Z did.

I just want every lead followed and confirmed. Zodiac is not solved, so someone, somewhere, missed something. I can’t go back in time, but I can ensure facts are facts, not internet gossip. JMHO.

-m

I just want every lead followed and confirmed. Zodiac is not solved, so someone, somewhere, missed something. I can’t go back in time, but I can ensure facts are facts, not internet gossip. JMHO.

Oh, I fully agree with that – and the principle is an excellent one.

It’s extremely time consuming – and in some cases very difficult – to leave no stone unturned in this fashion, though. But that’s a matter of practicalities, not principles.