Right, his four confirmed attacks are all woven together by phone calls, letters, graffiti, to prove it was one guy. There’s no proof he killed ANYBODY else. Just speculation. He was fairly inefficient in his confirmed attacks, leaving two survivors, which indicates he didn’t have much killing experience. Yes, he left false about other attacks but no proof.

That’s about it. People have speculated that he hadn’t yet crafted his Zodiac persona, so in that sense he didn’t consider her a "zodiac" victim.

Other scenario is that he knew he had some personal connection to her and/or to Riverside and he didn’t want that to be known. People view his statement about "a whole lot more down there" as a way to try to deflect attention away from that one.

If he killed her, he knew her.

That’s my take on it.

And IF this is the case, the explanation for why he didn’t take credit until after Avery had made the Riverside connection public is right there: He knew her, and considered the crime too close to home.

There are multiple problems with this, but if the premise is that he did kill her, that’s the only plausible explanation in my opinion.

Speculating that he somehow didn’t consider her an "actual" Zodiac victim strikes me as far fetched. What we know about him is that he craved publicity, not to say public notoriety. I doubt he would keep silent about a "successful" murder just because it wasn’t "legitimate" according to some (unknown to us) standard or other. It’s pure speculation at best.

The "too close to home" theory, on the other hand, makes some sense.

Norse: My "POI" attended Ramona High when Bates was a freshman; dated–and eventually married–a girl who literally lived around the corner from Bates. Further, his bride-to-be was a librarian assistant at Riverside City College before she married in September, 1966. Close enough for you?

Norse: My "POI" attended Ramona High when Bates was a freshman; dated–and eventually married–a girl who literally lived around the corner from Bates. Further, his bride-to-be was a librarian assistant at Riverside City College before she married in September, 1966. Close enough for you?

What makes you think him capable of her murder?

Norse: My "POI" attended Ramona High when Bates was a freshman; dated–and eventually married–a girl who literally lived around the corner from Bates. Further, his bride-to-be was a librarian assistant at Riverside City College before she married in September, 1966. Close enough for you?

Well, let me put it like this: My current view on Bates is that her killer either knew her very well, or was someone who had developed some kind of obsession with her – someone she, on her part, would recognize as a peripheral acquaintance at best, but who, on his part, had so strong feelings for her that he completely lost it when she rejected him.

It sounds like your guy could fit the second part in terms of having the right sort of proximity to the victim, if you will.

But to be perfectly honest, I think it’s more likely that your guy – if he was a killer at all – was responsible for Bates’ death, and not for the Zodiac crimes. That’s a different debate, though.

Tahoe and Norse: My interest in my "POI" stems from his always seeming to be in the right place at the right time. Ca. ’68-’69, he moved from Riverside to San Jose, CA, which would have given him ample opportunity to circulate around the Bay Area, "looking for a new home." Physically, he had blondish hair and appeared to be of average height and weight. His mother was born in South Africa, which coincides with the British phrases and words noted in Zodiac’s correspondence. Oh, yes–shortly before his marriage he was on active duty in the Naval Reserve (military-type footprints found at the Bates murder site).

Interesting thread, I think we’ve discussed this before. For me, I have little doubt that Z wrote the Bates case writing(letters & desktop poem),however, not really sure he killed Cheri, and therefore if true, he likely wouldn’t include her in his body count if he actually started killing in Vallejo.

Morf: I feel that Cheri’s murder was Zodiac’s first. He disabled her car, which shows premeditation; however, the knife he used was probably only a pocket knife. Which leads me to conclude that he wavered on the cusp of talking with her vs. killing her. Cheri was noted for having a "sharp tongue" so she, in a sense, may have argued her way into her grave. (Please don’t think I’m excusing her murderer).
Zodiac didn’t take credit for killing Bates until Avery/Morrill linked him to the crime–and for good reason: the Desktop Poem, with its incriminating "rh" initials. Otherwise, publicity hound that he was, he would have taken credit for her murder long before.
I’m no fan of coincidence. And, there are WAY too many "coincidences" between Bates’ murder and Zodiac’s canonical ones. To argue otherwise reveals logic that is breathtakingly perverse.

If it WAS the Z, it was his only attack on a lone female. Unless you figure in Kathleen Johns, Donna Lass, etc. He never PROVED that any of these attacks were by him.

I dont know…but i refuse to box myself in regards to z’s MO of only targeting couples…ross is the only poi that can be proven to be at that college and in that library..of course other poi’s have ties to riverside which include X and ALA..Tk is a wildcard here in regards to the tie in with education..it still bothers me she went into that alley with the perp..she almost had to have known the perp or had a knife to her throat

Ps..i still think there was a female with the perp in addition too cjb..well one of my sorta coulda woulda theories on cjb

Both her father and brother were in the navy. And that’s all I’ll say on the subject at this time. LOL!!