Also, let’s not forget the guy in the alley smoking a cigarette. How does he come into play? Did he ever go into the library? Did he simply wait around out of sight waiting for her to come out?

I agree with you Richard, I think that the letter writer did not have to be the killer. Brings me back to this. A)If Cheri was killed by somebody she knew, why would they write the confession letter, mentioning the ‘brushoffs in years past" indication that he knew her, and thus bringing police towards him? B)Why would a stranger that killed her need to write the letter at all? There would be no tie to her. For these reasons, it makes more sense to me that this letter writer was not involved at all in the murder, but was obviously troubled and had issues(and would later become Zodiac)

Was the small knife even mentioned in any article? If it was not, it appears to me that the killer wrote "The Confession".

Its already been posted earlier

"...a knife, at least 3" in length".

We don’t have copies of any more of the PRESS articles after the initial day she was found. Surely there are more, so who knows what may (or may not) have been written.

The article reading "at least 3" " gives the author the opportunity to say "small knife"…does it not?

I wish the reporters would lie then you’d get someone correcting them…not using their terminology. If they would have written "stabbed with a screwdriver"….that small knife comment would have it!

A date and time of the phone call to police would seal the deal. Either way, the caller didn’t mentione where she was killed (or left to die) or it wouldn’t have taken the groundsman to find her body.

Captain Cross issued the size of the knife to the media almost immediately in an attempt to recover it. Here is the evidence.

Thanks Richard. So as Richard has further proven, everything mentioned in the confession letter was also in the paper. That makes RPD statement that the "letter contained details only the killer could know" pure rubbish

Some of the points on details of the manner of murder you can argue were either proven to be in the paper, like the size of the knife, or you could argue they could have been or were the product of reasonable assumptions or guesses. Though I’m still somewhat impressed that the writer gets all the details right, even ones that were seemingly not in the paper, and we are making an assumption that he saw every paper that mentioned certain things. The outstanding thing I have yet to see answered is about the phone call. The only mention anyone can find of a phone call in the newspaper is a specific mention that the woman who heard the scream did NOT call the police. Why would a hoaxer making a fake confession letter, who got his info from the newspapers, after reading that no phone call was made, assert that he made a phone call? And how was he correct?

We don’t know the time of the phone call, but the police say a phone call was received and they regard it as significant proof that the letter writer was the killer. That leads me to believe that the phone call was probably received the night of the murder. If it was received the next day or the day after, the murder would have been on radio and in newspapers, so a call would not be as significant. Here the fact that RPD regard that the letter writer knew about the call is regarded as key evidence that the letter writer was the killer. That leads me to think it probably came that might.

The letter writer himself says the call was a "warning", which implies that it came before the murder. We don’t know if that is true, but RPD treat the letter as if it accurately states the facts about the call, as it is cited as a reason for their conclusion that letter writer is the actual killer. Obviously a call made before the murder stating there would be a murder that night is from the actual killer.I’m tempted to try a FOIA to RPD for Bates docs, but I have little doubt that they would refuse, and it would be a long fight.

Anyway so far I have only heard that maybe a phone call was mentioned in a paper that dozens of researchers over the decades have failed to find, or the letter writer made a lucky guess. I think both scenarios are extremely unlikely.

Richard you mentioned comments that seem to you as if the writer is going out of his way to prove he is male. I noticed the same comments, but think they could be a man going out of his way to prove he is heterosexual and sexually active. The touching of her breast, the brush offs over the years, etc., fit in with Zodiac’s comment about "getting your rocks off with a girl". They strike me as gratuitous, unneeded comments from a man who didn’t want people to think he had any homosexual tendencies and / or know that he is an introverted and inexperienced sexual failure with women. The other aspect of the letter is that he paints himself as a local guy, who went to school with or otherwise knew Cheri Bates. That tells me the letter writer, who I think was probably the killer, was likely not a local, but rather an outsider trying to point police in the wrong direction. To look at school records and class pictures, not at bus, airplane or motel records. Which happens to be exactly what a certain serial killer I know did – he killed strangers, but sent in letters to make it look like it was done by a local who knew the victim.

If the letter writer called on or before Cheri’s murder and foretold of the event, in any way, shape, or form, that alone would prove the person was the letter writer, but they go on to mention other aspects of the letter he got right (those that "weren’t in the paper"…but were).

I don’t think they would need anything to back it up other than that phone call. It seems they needed more to go on…one of the reasons I question when it came in.

I’m not saying there was no phone call. I think there was.

A K Wilks: The points you make about the sexuality of the individual are well founded, these are a distinct possibility. Regarding the ‘phone call’, I personally have never seen any RPD document or memo that states a call was made by an unknown male on, before or after the day of the murder. The memo provided stated "He advised (investigator) that other points in the letter, such as the details of the manner of murder and the call to the police department, made it appear that the writer of this letter is actually the murderer." This is not confirmation that a call was made to RPD, just a ‘discussion’ on how the author was making it appear like he was the murderer. It depends on how your interpreting the wording.

This is what I believe it’s saying "The author by including details of the murder and mentioning a call to the RPD is attempting to make it appear he is the murderer. That is what the author is attempting to do."

This is what you believe it’s saying (I think) "The author by including details of the murder and placing the call to the RPD, makes it appear to me, the investigator, that the writer is actually the murderer."

"made it appear that the writer of this letter is actually the murderer." This is not the investigators conclusion, this is the investigators conclusion on behalf of what the author was trying to achieve in the letter.

The question of which interpretation is right is answered by how they treat the letter. Do they treat it as if it is from a hoaxer or as if it is from the actual killer? They say they will resubmit the letter to the US Attorney. They would only do that if they felt the letter was from the actual killer. They are also going to search the letter file to see if any have matches to this letter, to find clues to the identity of the writer of this letter. Again, they would only do that if they felt the letter was from the actual killer.

They wouldn’t do either action if they felt the letter writer was just a hoaxer. Also the context of this memo is the FBI relaying info from the RPD, some of which was later proven wrong or questionable, that the information in the letter about middle wire distributor had not made the papers, and the information about details of the manner of murder and the phone call were also correct, leading RPD to co conclude the letter was the "actual murderer", which FBI then takes two actions consistent with that conclusion. They resend the letter to the US Attorney and they search the letter file.

Riverside’s letter reaching out to Napa after the Berryessa murder. No mentions of a call. The whole reason they reached out to them was because of the similarity in Zodiac’s MO to their letter writer. If a phone call happened that would be another similarity to Zodiac, and they would mention that here. RPD was confident that the letter writer was their killer, a stance they have since reversed 100%- with good reason. They specifically state that the letter writer was their suspect, and that’s simply not true. Everything mentioned by the letter writer could have been found in all the local papers.

Let’s look at one thing the confession letter writer added that was not mentioned in the papers…"I kicked her in the head to shut her up". That did NOT happen according to autopsy

Morf13: "Riverside’s letter reaching out to Napa after the Berryessa murder. No mentions of a call. The whole reason they reached out to them was because of the similarity in Zodiac’s MO to their letter writer. If a phone call happened that would be another similarity to Zodiac, and they would mention that here. RPD was confident that the letter writer was their killer, a stance they have since reversed 100%- with good reason. They specifically state that the letter writer was their suspect, and that’s simply not true. Everything mentioned by the letter writer could have been found in all the local papers".

Completely agree. Earlier I touted the idea the Confession letter author was a female. (only a suggestion mind).
Here is an extract from a newspaper days after the murder "Officers said an anonymous caller telephoned saying she had heard a terrified scream Sunday." The author of the Confession letter stated "Yes I did make that call to you also. It was just a warning."

Morf13: "Riverside’s letter reaching out to Napa after the Berryessa murder. No mentions of a call. The whole reason they reached out to them was because of the similarity in Zodiac’s MO to their letter writer. If a phone call happened that would be another similarity to Zodiac, and they would mention that here. RPD was confident that the letter writer was their killer, a stance they have since reversed 100%- with good reason. They specifically state that the letter writer was their suspect, and that’s simply not true. Everything mentioned by the letter writer could have been found in all the local papers".

Completely agree. Earlier I touted the idea the Confession letter author was a female. (only a suggestion mind).
Here is an extract from a newspaper days after the murder "Officers said an anonymous caller telephoned saying she had heard a terrified scream Sunday." The author of the Confession letter stated "Yes I did make that call to you also. It was just a warning."
TRANSLATED:
"Yes I did make that call to you. It was just a warning of what I am capable of. Beware…I am stalking your girls now."
Just a suggestion.

Well, herein lies the problem…if you believe without a doubt like myself, that the confession letter was authored by the person that authored the Zodiac letters, then a female is not a possibility,save a scenario in which Zodiac made a female partner author the letters.I know that others have felt that the desktop poem also was feminine in quality, I personally don’t,but either way, in my mind, there’s no doubt that all of the Bates letters & desk poem were from Zodiac

Morf13 "If Cheri was killed by somebody she knew, why would they write the confession letter, mentioning the ‘brushoffs in years past" indication that he knew her, and thus bringing police towards him?"

Assuming that the author of the Confession letter was not the killer, read the Confession letter again unbiased, and consider the fact it rambles on about "dates", "brush offs", "her warm breast," "beautiful blond", "shapely blue eyed brunette". "babysitting near the little store." This may be not be the language of our killer, but it may be the language of a female hoaxer. who chose this rhetoric to convince you the author was male and throw off investigators. We have just automatically assumed it was a male author, so in the true spirit of sexually equality, I ask you read it again as though it’s a woman author. Then compare it to the JonBenet Ramsey ransom letter.

By the way, the Ramsey letter is not proven to have been authored by a woman, but I understand the point you are trying to make

Morf13: "Riverside’s letter reaching out to Napa after the Berryessa murder. No mentions of a call. The whole reason they reached out to them was because of the similarity in Zodiac’s MO to their letter writer. If a phone call happened that would be another similarity to Zodiac, and they would mention that here. RPD was confident that the letter writer was their killer, a stance they have since reversed 100%- with good reason. They specifically state that the letter writer was their suspect, and that’s simply not true. Everything mentioned by the letter writer could have been found in all the local papers".

Completely agree. Earlier I touted the idea the Confession letter author was a female. (only a suggestion mind).
Here is an extract from a newspaper days after the murder "Officers said an anonymous caller telephoned saying she had heard a terrified scream Sunday." The author of the Confession letter stated "Yes I did make that call to you also. It was just a warning."
TRANSLATED:
"Yes I did make that call to you. It was just a warning of what I am capable of. Beware…I am stalking your girls now."
Just a suggestion.

Well, herein lies the problem…if you believe without a doubt like myself, that the confession letter was authored by the person that authored the Zodiac letters, then a female is not a possibility,save a scenario in which Zodiac made a female partner author the letters.I know that others have felt that the desktop poem also was feminine in quality, I personally don’t,but either way, in my mind, there’s no doubt that all of the Bates letters & desk poem were from Zodiac

My main reasons for thinking that Zodiac clearly authored the confession letter(and other Bates letters & desktop)