Personally,I think the RH may really be the initials of the Author. I think they likely wrote/etched the poem before they evergot involved in the Bates case letters,and it just happened to be found after her murder. I don’t think that they left that poem as a red herring. There was no guarantee it would be found,and even if it was, no guarantee it would be linked to the Bates case. Plus, it was written UNDERNEATH the desk,which would make it harder to find. No,I think it’s a valuable clue. I peronally went thru every student with RH initials that I could find from RCC and Ramona HS during the few years before Cheri’s murder,and couldnt find any I could link to Vallejo. Perhaps it was written by a janitor or teacher? They did not list Janitor’s names in the yearbooks. It was a janitor that found the desktop. I wish they released the name of the guy who found it. You would think the Riverside PD would have moved heaven & earth to look at all people with those initials,but as we all know, they seemed to drop the ball in Cheri’s case

Why did the janitor report it,is it because of the resemblance to the Zodiacs handwriting or because he thought it pertained to the Bates murder? As other researchers have pointed out and here I tend to agree with them it may have nothing to do with the case, you could be looking at the ramblings of a suicidal/depressed girl.It may just be another case of Zynchronicity.Having said that Travellers handwriting comparisons do give me cause for doubt.

Why did the janitor report it,is it because of the resemblance to the Zodiacs handwriting or because he thought it pertained to the Bates murder? As other researchers have pointed out and here I tend to agree with them it may have nothing to do with the case, you could be looking at the ramblings of a suicidal/depressed girl.It may just be another case of Zynchronicity.Having said that Travellers handwriting comparisons do give me cause for doubt.

As should Sherwood Morrill’s opinion(if you respect him as the head Zodiac document examiner). I dont know for sure what made the Janitor turn it in, maybe because it was so morbid

Why did the janitor report it,is it because of the resemblance to the Zodiacs handwriting or because he thought it pertained to the Bates murder? As other researchers have pointed out and here I tend to agree with them it may have nothing to do with the case, you could be looking at the ramblings of a suicidal/depressed girl.It may just be another case of Zynchronicity.Having said that Travellers handwriting comparisons do give me cause for doubt.

As should Sherwood Morrill’s opinion(if you respect him as the head Zodiac document examiner). I dont know for sure what made the Janitor turn it in, maybe because it was so morbid

I think after SO many possible Zodiac communiques Morrill maybe chalked one too many up as Zodiac.

Morrill also said the 1978 "I’m now in control…" was Zodiac. He said something like "if Toschi wrote this, he wrote them all."—not a direct quote. Turned out that was not a Zodiac letter. And that looked more like Z than the desktop, so I’m truly left not feeling as confident in his conclusion.

I think more along the lines of a kid sitting in detention or bored in class while no adult was paying attention.

Will have much more to say on this subject later, but just a small observation for now…..notice the way the author writes:-

SPURTING, DRIPPING, SPILLING; He/she has deliberately used spacing and enlarged letters in order to have the "ING" stick out on each proceeding line.
Not sure what it means if anything, but it does appear to suggest that the author was thinking about the way the poem was written as well as the subject.

Will have much more to say on this subject later, but just a small observation for now…..notice the way the author writes:-

SPURTING, DRIPPING, SPILLING; He/she has deliberately used spacing and enlarged letters in order to have the "ING" stick out on each proceeding line.
Not sure what it means if anything, but it does appear to suggest that the author was thinking about the way the poem was written as well as the subject.

Great observation. The Author seemed to have some design in mind, or maybe was leaving a clue?

I’m inclined to believe there was a specific purpose for it, or at least, I have a suggestion to make. Can’t get to it at the moment as I’m waiting to retrieve files from another computer and want to be able to outline all properly.
For the moment, I just wondered how people thought it reflects (if it does at all) on the "Suicidal person versus "other" discussion. For example, is it consistent for some depressed individual to be concentrating on such things as this and semi-colon’s, when writing such material. Maybe so, I don’t know.

I don’t get a suicidal tone at all from the poem. I think it’s simply some person’s ‘dark’ poetry.

A couple things I see after looking closely at the desk again, the word TIME is emphasized- very bold.

Also, they wrote "someone ll find her" instead of WILL FIND HER. I wonder if the author frequently wrote or said ‘LL’ instead of WILL?

For the moment, I just wondered how people thought it reflects (if it does at all) on the "Suicidal person versus "other" discussion. For example, is it consistent for some depressed individual to be concentrating on such things as this and semi-colon’s, when writing such material. Maybe so, I don’t know.

Good point, I would lean towards probably not. It’s an odd poem. When most people read it at first they get the whole depressed girl feel of it but when you go back to it after a while it’s also very clearly written in third person and by a male. I say also because it can be both depended on how you perceive it.

Why does the beginning of the poem sound so clinical?

cut. clean. if red, clean.

Sounds like a procedure to follow while performing surgery? Or instructions for preparing meat, in a Boy Scout manual or something. That’s how the poem impresses me.

Jem – interesting observation.
Have we considered?…..:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-harm

Why does the beginning of the poem sound so clinical?

cut. clean. if red, clean.

Sounds like a procedure to follow while performing surgery? Or instructions for preparing meat, in a Boy Scout manual or something. That’s how the poem impresses me.

"Keep the border dry, and when the crop of Grapes is cut, clean the … Shorten all lateral growths to one bud, maintain the chief foliage clean by sponging the leaves if red-spider or other pests are observed, and damp down the paths and other …"
from the The Gardeners’ chronicle: a weekly illustrated journal of … – Page 16 published in 1902

"make nearly sugar is used to sweeten it. make a dark colored vinegar. lugs and cores well. free them from white vinegar if Red apples v-vii Wash the par White or light colored apples …. ENTERPRISE MEATCHOPPERS cut clean. siav sharp"
from the The Practical Farmer – Volume 93 – Page 302 from 1906

Jem – interesting observation.
Have we considered?…..:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-harm

Smithy – yes, we’ve considered that! If a girl wrote the poem, then no doubt that’s exactly what it was about, imo. Hmm.. yeah, maybe a good idea to consider that line of reasoning further.

" If red I clean" ? Artistic licence ?

Jem – interesting observation.
Have we considered?…..:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-harm

Thats what I thought of the first time I read it in the "yellow book",I still lean that way now.Self harmers aren’t necessarily suicidal,its a stress release and that would explain the "sick of living/unwilling to die" Its only the handwriting that gives me doubt it could be Zodiac related.Its all in the eye of the beholder but I don’t get a murder vibe from the poem at all.