The one thing that keeps me from believing wholeheartedly that the Confession Letter was written by Zodiac is the spacing between the individual letters and words on the envelope which is much closer than what is on the known envelopes. Yes, the known Zodiac letters and the Confession Letter envelope were both written with a felt tipped pen and a few of the individual letters look the same but some traits like spacing are automatic and not even considered by the person doing the writing.

Not trying to sell my ideas to anyone, it’s just a personal observation.

One could counter with the fact the writer abbreviated California as CALIF, and also didn’t include a zip code, 2 specific Z traits

But even if we accept he copied LK, there is a big difference between the LK case and the Bates case. The LK case, like the Mikado and The Most Dangerous Game, was a very famous. It was well known and covered nationwide in newspapers, magazines and TV.
In 68 & 69, before the Avery articles, the Bates case was a years old murder in Riverside, basically never widely covered and mostly forgotten about. Except for article in one magazine. Was the desktop in that one article in that one magazine. Why would Z pick a relatively obscure murder to copy themes, words, misspellings and handwriting (If the desktop photograph was even published in that magazine). Very good points by paul_averly too.

It may not have been as widely covered as the Lipstick Killer, but it certainly would have been well known to Riverside residents, one of whom may have been Zodiac. That doesn’t necessarily imply he was the author of the Confession or the killer of CJB. Only that he may have had a strong connection to the area and familiarity with the case. But I certainly don’t rule out Zodiac as being responsible for the communications or the murder.

See this argument never makes sense to me(I’ve seen people use it before). What people are saying when using this argument was that Zodiac happened to be in RIverside and was aware of this case,and by some miracle, Morrill mistakenly links his writing to the Bates case writing. The same argument has been used as far as the desktop poem. Some say that the letters in the Bates case are Zodiac’s but not the desktop writing. For me, the simplest and most likely answer is the right one. A man, who may or may not have killed Cheri, was in Riverside in 66-67, and was inspired to write letters in her case, before a few years later starting his SF Bay area writing campaign, and becoming Zodiac. All the writing habits are the same, the use of words is the same, the misspellings are the same, the M.O. of taunting police and wanting to be published is the same, and the writing is linked by an expert. It all adds up to Zodiac in Riverside in 1966-67

We can all debate the validity of Cheri’s case being connected to Zodiac, or at the least, the writing in her case, but one thing is obviously clear, the Bates piece of the puzzle is one of the most interesting and puzzling pieces of this entire mystery. So many people post here in this thread with one opinion or another. I am hoping soon that we will hear about a break in the Bates case, and whether it answers all of our questions or not, it would be great if Cheri’s case is solved.

But even if we accept he copied LK, there is a big difference between the LK case and the Bates case. The LK case, like the Mikado and The Most Dangerous Game, was a very famous. It was well known and covered nationwide in newspapers, magazines and TV.
In 68 & 69, before the Avery articles, the Bates case was a years old murder in Riverside, basically never widely covered and mostly forgotten about. Except for article in one magazine. Was the desktop in that one article in that one magazine. Why would Z pick a relatively obscure murder to copy themes, words, misspellings and handwriting (If the desktop photograph was even published in that magazine). Very good points by paul_averly too.

It may not have been as widely covered as the Lipstick Killer, but it certainly would have been well known to Riverside residents, one of whom may have been Zodiac. That doesn’t necessarily imply he was the author of the Confession or the killer of CJB. Only that he may have had a strong connection to the area and familiarity with the case. But I certainly don’t rule out Zodiac as being responsible for the communications or the murder.

Cheri’s case actually received a lot of attention–certainly not to the extent of the Lipstick Killer, but what happened to Cheri was made known nationally. I have seen newspaper clips from all over the country about her. Her case, and the lack of it being solved, was so intriguing that in January of 1969, Inside Detective chose to write about it.

As with Richard, I don’t rule it out, but I do think it’s valid to look a things from a different perspective.

Some valid counter points. Still Bates was an unsolved case from 3 years ago, CA has hundreds of them
Can we confirm no desktop photograph was in the magazine? Trav made good points above and his comp of desktop to Zodiac is a slam dunk. Startling.

No the desk poem was not pictured in the January 1969 Inside Detective article. The magazine is here-

http://www.zodiackiller.com/InsideDetective1.html

The images in the scans are terrible but no poem.

The desk poem did appear in a March 1971 Argosy article.

viewtopic.php?f=33&t=97

doranchak shared a clear version of Inside Detective (January 1969) here: viewtopic.php?f=94&t=3154

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I will never be sold on that desktop/bottom. I think there is more dissimilarity than there are similarities…in more ways than one, but we have another 100 page thread for that.

Im with you Tahoe. Im skeptical of the desktop poem as well. But it doesnt rule anything or anyone out. Im still not sure how you can say that poem is def about Cheri Jo Bates

Too bad the desktop poem wasn’t signed: "rh, the guy who killed Cheri Bates." However, I find it difficult to believe that RCC’s student body in 1966 harbored two homicidal lunatics at the same time. Far more reasonable to suppose the psychotic who penned such a gruesome poem was the psychotic who performed such a gruesome murder. The difference between the two is that, unlike the poem’s victim, Cheri didn’t wear a red dress. However, maybe she did when the "poet" saw her in the library, and penned his opus.

That’s a very interesting question. Did Cheri Jo Bates own a red dress??? did she wear it to school?

I’ve never seen much info like that. I’ve read she had a diary, but it hasn’t been made public. Did she have a address book like Darleen Ferrin?

That desktop poem doesn’t have to be about Cheri Jo Bates, or anybody in particularly. It could be about a different girl in a red dress, or one that the writer was imagining. The key thing here is whether the writing is linked to the Bates case writing, and to Zodiac as experts established. That’s what’s important

Too bad the desktop poem wasn’t signed: "rh, the guy who killed Cheri Bates." However, I find it difficult to believe that RCC’s student body in 1966 harbored two homicidal lunatics at the same time. Far more reasonable to suppose the psychotic who penned such a gruesome poem was the psychotic who performed such a gruesome murder. The difference between the two is that, unlike the poem’s victim, Cheri didn’t wear a red dress. However, maybe she did when the "poet" saw her in the library, and penned his opus.

Would it be just as hard to believe someone did such a thing in 1965, in almost the same spot, but a different person?

You’re right, Morf. The handwriting is what matters. Unfortunately, we’ve had to contend with dueling graphologists. Is there a graphologist today with impeccable credentials who could compare the original desktop poem to original Zodiac letters? The my expert vs. your expert bickering gets us nowhere.

That is also true Morf.

The police appealed for help from the public in the days after the autopsy of CJB, via the news media, asking people to be on the lookout for the murder weapon described as a small knife. The crime scene in the vicinity of Cheri Jo Bates’ body must have been scoured with a fine tooth comb by police. Then came the library reconstruction on November 13th 1966, and miraculously the following day a caretaker near the murder scene using only a rake, unearthed a hunting knife. I am assuming the police must have rigorously searched that area in the days subsequent to the murder, yet they found nothing. What are the chances the murderer of Cheri Jo Bates planted this larger and unrelated knife to taunt police. He then rang the police and caretaker to hint a knife was in a specific area. This was reported as nothing more than a casual find to the press, and the suspicious caller was kept under wraps. There should have been no way this knife was present when the police conducted the original search, thereby indicating it was planted by the killer or mischievous other. It seems more than coincidence it being found the day after the highly publicized library reconstruction. Maybe this was the warning he was to continue killing, by planting a longer bladed hunting knife. "Yes, I did make that call to you also, it was just a warning…I am stalking your girls now."