Apparently, contrary to what RPD believed, there was one local paper that printed that the car was disabled by pulling the coil wire from the distributor. But in another thread here called "Bates FBI Reports" I just bumped it and an FBI document reveals RPD told the FBI that the writer was correct about the middle wire, the injuries and most importantly the phone call to the RPD.

So yes the facts indicate the letter writer was very likely to almost certainly the Bates killer.

This article is from the 10/31/66 Redlands Daily facts.

‘Wire from the coil to the distributor"…..I am not mechanically inclined, but that’s plenty of detail

This pic has been posted in the past. Since the article stated, ‘wire from the coil to the distributor had been pulled’, I think it’s obvious, this info was readily available to anybody, and thus, the confession letter writer did NOT have to be Cheri’s killer! But it may show that he had a general knowledge of Mechanics or autos

Here’s a 1965 VW Distributor, and again, although I am not mechanically inclined, it seems as if the ONLY wire that runs to the coil is the center one

Yes there was one article in a local paper within a day of the murder that said the car was disabled by pulling the coil wire to the distributor. So yes it is possible the letter writer got the middle wire info from that info.

But here in the Bates section check out the thread called "FBI Reports". In one of those reports you uncovered a document indicates that the RPD told the FBI that the Riverside writer was correct about the middle wire, the injuries – manner of death and most importantly the phone call to RPD.

A hoax letter writer would probably not have known the correct details about the injuries and manner of death and almost certainly would not know the killer actually made a phone call to RPD.

Well that article was printed a month after the 11/29/66 letter. But there was one article in a local paper within days of the murder that said the car was disabled by pulling the coil wire to the distributor. So yes it is possible the letter writer got the middle wire info from that info.

But here in the Bates section check out the thread called "FBI Reports". In one of those reports you uncovered a document indicates that the RPD told the FBI that the Riverside writer was correct about the middle wire, the injuries – manner of death and most importantly the phone call to RPD.

A hoax letter writer would probably not have known the correct details about the injuries and manner of death and almost certainly would not know the killer actually made a phone call to RPD.

Sorry, it was printed the day AFTER Cheri was killed, I corrected the date on my earlier post above

Cheri told a friend in a telephone call she was going to the library. She left a note telling her dad she was going to the library. Did anyone else know she was going to the library? Who/where is this friend? Did the friend tell anyone of Cheri’s plans to visit the library? Imo, a very important clue might be this phone call to the friend. Many feel Cheri was stalked by her killer so if true, the killer had to know of her plans to go to the library.

I have also wondered just what Cheri may have discussed with her girlfriends re. anyone who was annoying her. Did she ever even mention Ross Sullivan to anyone? Imo, she did not otherwise that person would have come forth with some statement by now. The librarian who wrote the letter seems to be the main one pointing a finger at Ross.

The only suspect mentioned other than Ross is "Bob Barnett" who sounds like a former boyfriend and one who also knew of her plans to go to the library. If there were greasy prints on the car, they must not match Barnett who was cleared by LE as was Ross Sullivan. Yet, it is said LE has proof of who the killer was IIRC. So imo the killer is very likely someone who has not been named as yet which leads me back to the bearded man who was missing from the re-enactment at the library and question re. who knew of her plans that evening.

I used to think Ross Sullivan was very possibly the guilty party but no more. If he was that well-known around the library, I doubt he’d risk writing on a desk and committing any crimes right there where he worked and could easily have been identified.

Did Cheri ever speak of anyone from her former home out-of-state moving or visiting her in CA? Did she ever talk about anyone at the bank where she worked?

I’d like to know more details about the ‘anonymous phonecall’ that Police got the night of Cheri’s murder describing a horrible scream

Yet, it is said LE has proof of who the killer was IIRC.

Given the importance RPD have attached to solving the case over the years, I highly doubt this. If they had proof, they’d nail someone for it, and get that ghost off their backs once and for all.

Someone at RPD may have been convinced "Bob" was the killer to the point of being completely blinkered, but they never managed to prove it – quite to the contrary, one could say, in his case.

As mentioned in the other thread, I consider the phone call compelling to the point of being conclusive.

The other details aren’t unique and may be doubted. But the call is very hard to look past. If the writer was not the killer, he must have a) picked up a detail known only to the police or b) simply lucked out in a fashion it is difficult to accept.

Another detail in the confession letter was the use of a "SMALL KNIFE" as the murder weapon.

It was reported that she was murdered with "A KNIFE" but not specifically "A SMALL KNIFE".

That’s a detail only the police and the killer would know.

Using everything we have from The Bates Case writer…

1)Possibly made a call to police as per confession letter, Z also called police

2)Used the word, ‘SHALL’ just like Z did

3)Used Twitch/Twich & misspelled it like Z did

4)Signed off with a symbol that looks like a stylized Z

5)Sent letters with multiple stamps like Z did

6)Has a very stylish & unique candy cane f on the desktop poem that exactly matched the candy cane F written by Zodiac on Hartnell’s Door

7)Handwriting expert with years of experience handling the Z case matched the writing saying that the Bates case writing was "unquestionably" the work of Zodiac.

1 or 2 things can be argued or debated, but take all of it as a package, and it screams that Zodiac, whomever he was, was in Riverside in 1966-67.

I agree. One or two could be coincidence, but not this many. I can’t say it is 100% certain the Riverside writer became the Zodiac Killer, but the totality of the evidence suggests to me it is very likely to almost certain that the Riverside writer became the Zodiac Killer.

There is also use of "The Game" to refer to finding and killing people.

In Cheri Bates and Kathleen Johns the killer disabled the car then pretended to be a Good Samaritan.

I bumped a thread where Soze made some more good points. They include:

3 letters sent out
Double postage
Calif
Riverside writer said his letter "should be published", Zodiac also requested or demanded being published
Both gave details of their crimes, weapons used, type of wounds, etc., to prove they were the killer.

1)Possibly made a call to police as per confession letter, Z also called police

Has this call ever been substantiated prior to this case being linked to Zodiac by LE?

2)Used the word, ‘SHALL’ just like Z did

Can it be ruled out that ONLY Zodiac and the Riverside UNSUB used the word "shall?"

3)Used Twitch/Twich & misspelled it like Z did

Isn’t "twich" a common misspelling for the word "twitch" and not entirely reserved for murderers?

4)Signed off with a symbol that looks like a stylized Z

Wasn’t the symbol in question only on two of the three penciled letters as if to represent sequential numbering?
Using a VSC, doesn’t it appear that the tails of the two symbols were added post-evidentiary to perhaps make them look like "Z’s?"

5)Sent letters with multiple stamps like Z did

Doesn’t this show a lack of knowledge with postal rates rather than homicidal similarities? Is there evidence that no one else has ever used excessive postage to ensure delivery?
Does the excess postage eliminate other persons that would have knowledge of postal rates, such as business employees, postal workers, out of state students, media personnel, etc…?

6)Has a very stylish & unique candy cane f on the desktop poem that exactly matched the candy cane F written by Zodiac on Hartnell’s Door

Can handwriting from different mediums be compared conclusively, or only theoretically?

7)Handwriting expert with years of experience handling the Z case matched the writing saying that the Bates case writing was "unquestionably" the work of Zodiac.

Considering the exemplars are a desktop, a type-written letter, and penciled letters written with what appears to be a recessive hand, isn’t it possible Mr. Morrill succumbed to the same flaws other QDE’s have done when comparing exemplars to Zodiacs felt-tip marker apparently-dominant-hand submissions?

1 or 2 things can be argued or debated, but take all of it as a package, and it screams that Zodiac, whomever he was, was in Riverside in 1966-67.

Do you believe Bates was a definite victim of the Zodiac?

Thanks

There is also use of "The Game" to refer to finding and killing people.

Is it true that only the Confession author correlated killing people with "the game?" Didn’t Zodiac use the word "game" to literally refer to forest wildlife?

In Cheri Bates and Kathleen Johns the killer disabled the car then pretended to be a Good Samaritan.

Is it true that the only information available that Bates was assisted by the killer is a non-conclusive Confession letter and LE conjecture?

I bumped a thread where Soze made some more good points. They include:

3 letters sent out
Double postage
Calif

Is it true that double postage was not unheard of and that "Calif" was the accepted postal abbreviation for that period?
Is it true that only two Confession letters were sent, one to the press and the other to the police? Could it be possible the letters were pranks and the writer of the penciled-letters attempted to raise the ante by writing a third letter, one to Bates’ father? Could this alternate scenario also explain why the alleged signatures at the bottom of the letters to the Press and RPD letters appear to be "write-overs?" Could they simply be check marks over numbers as the author ensures he has met the Press and Police criteria of the Confession letters? Is it true that the Confession and the penciled-letters personalized the victim by referring to her as Bates and Miss Bates, whereas Zodiac never personalized his victims?

Riverside writer said his letter "should be published", Zodiac also requested or demanded being published

Can it be ascertained that no other publicity-seeking killer ask to be published, making this point unique or substantially more significant?

Both gave details of their crimes, weapons used, type of wounds, etc., to prove they were the killer.

Can everything in the Confession be located in newspaper articles mooting this point?

Thanks