My answer, Tahoe, would be that different people with different MOs prepared the Confession Letter and the Bates Letters.

My thoughts would be caution then a move towards what motivated him. By that I mean his underlying skill. You see since I believe that he wrote most, if not all, of the letters that we see and there is contained within them varying graphic styles that suggests to me he had some skill or, or at the very least, an affinity in this area. Even in the ciphers there is evidence of layout skills.

If we are to assume that Zodiac sent the typed confession then to me that suggests him beginning his game with the media. It may or may not be his absolute beginning, he may have killed prior to that but if we look at his writing career as a whole I have no problem accepting that he couldn’t wait to write. He couldn’t wait to show off and be personal.

He has precedence in this behaviour and it’s progressive. At the Stine killing he suddenly decides to take and mail additional proof despite his writing campaign being already well established. In that regard I don’t see the typed confession as being out of character, it was just a junction, a moment of change to what would become the written letters. And we can’t ignore the similar spellings used in later letters as oft pointed out by MB.

So there you are, my thoughts as requested.

Good summary Trav. I think you nailed it with cautious optimism. To me it’s just like the wait time between LHR and BRS. He was cautious at first, but more bold after time passed and he figured that he had gotten away with it.

That is why the purported DMV letter is so interesting. How brazen did Z feel and what might he have revealed about himself by the 1990s?

Mike

Maybe he had no access to the typewriter when he wanted to send the letter?? Maybe a typing class, or at the school newspaper or something, or at work,and he didnt have one at home? He still tried to hide his true handwriting

We should point that the "Confession" isn’t strictly a solely typed construct. We have the envelope of the one sent to the Press Enterprise and the envelope wasn’t typed it was written. I hesitate to say handwritten or even printed because it’s more of a graphic hand rendering of type.

I wonder what that tells us in considering Tahoe’s query? Also regarding morf’s previous post about work or school or typing class. Does this maybe suggest to anyone that he wasn’t all that comfortable with using a typewriter? Otherwise why not type the envelope as well. Maybe it just re-iterates my own post and he wasn’t ready yet to commit to that much writing in his own hand, disguised or not.

Smithy? was it this letter you were referring to when you made the comment about how official things look in ‘courier’? Is that the reason for typing it ? did he want to ensure it would be taken seriously? If it was and that was the point you were making I apologise. I remember the statement but not the full context.

So …. is there a transition there? I can kinda see one and one that ‘might’ hint at an origin to his communication campaign.

The confession letter. He ‘writes’ the envelope but types the letter, maybe to ensure it was taken seriously be wasn’t sure. Because this was the first time he’d communicated? He heavily styles the only written part, the envelope.

Next comes the Bates letter. This time both the envelopes and their contents are written. The letters are brief and again heavily styled like the first envelope but the envelopes in this case are not as heavily styled. They contain some attempt at disguise but compared to the first envelope they are much closer to what we could call handwriting. So he’s being cautious about the contents but at least he’s put pen to paper but he’s eased up on the envelopes.

Jump forward to 1969 and now the envelopes and their content are handwritten. He’s in full swing now and has settled on an approach … for now. Good thread T to get us thinking. I can see an interesting little microcosm of progression in those initial communications to suggest they might have been just that, his first ones.

It’s also worth considering that the fact the typed letter was an nth generation copy and the others originals could be two sides of the same coin born of the same necessity. He may have had no intention of using copies of the confession letter, but on reading it back may have realized there was a tell-tale behaviour of the typewriter – rather than retype what could be quite a job for an unpracticed typist, he might have experimented and found that using degrading copies would eliminate the individuality of the typewriter, a far quicker solution. Conversely, he may have simply swiped the lines paper from anywhere and knew it was untraceable to him, therefore no track-covering required on that front.
I find the psychology of the hand written notes interesting, despite thinking of scenarios as above which could account for the behavioural differences there is something about them that doesn’t ring true. It’s almost as if the notes should have been the first, rushed attempt at communication whist still ‘high’ on the event followed by a calm,deliberate confession letter a few months later.

In a way the two are very different. The BATES HAD TO DIE was written by someone who looks like he scrawled it from a prison cell, in a crazed state.
The Confession letter is an orderly, intelligent, calm person. And there we may have it, one man with different personalities, one of whom kills people.

In a way the two are very different. The BATES HAD TO DIE was written by someone who looks like he scrawled it from a prison cell, in a crazed state.
The Confession letter is an orderly, intelligent, calm person. And there we may have it, one man with different personalities, one of whom kills people.

Or somebody trying to change their normal every day habit. Maybe in reality, the person was calm,cool,and collected,and tried to make the handwritten letters look like the work of an unstable crazy excited person(or vice versa)

Another FBI memo leaning towards the Riversid materials being the work of Z.

Smithy? was it this letter you were referring to when you made the comment about how official things look in ‘courier’? Is that the reason for typing it ? did he want to ensure it would be taken seriously? If it was and that was the point you were making I apologise. I remember the statement but not the full context…

Wotcher mate.
I think I was rudely and quite basely suggesting that someone was attempting to make "their" version of events look like an official one, by showing a type-written account of it, generated on a 70’s golf-ball (or a Royal maybe?) typewriter. Naughty me.

I’m not sure that the Confession letter wasn’t actually produced on a side-by printer of the type used in newspapers in the 60’s. And in military installations (in Logistics and elsewhere). Or maybe it was produced on a tele-type machine.
I’m certainly not sure it was produced on a typewriter – let alone using carbons, and a Nth-generation version.
Has anyone tried to load up more than, say, four pieces of paper and three carbons? It’s a very silly thing to try to do.

And what are you disguising anyway – the type of typewritter? Or which one, if Ye Police ever Come to Youre Home and Arreste you?
If they do – I suspect they too could load up some carbons themselves. (That whole things BS I think. Ho hum.)

Something I thought I’d toss into the hopper. That squiggly "z" or "2" that bumfuzzles folks. How about the writer ALMOST giving himself away by signing with a letter or symbol that could identify him? Most people would simply write another note, but suppose the writer had a perseverant streak, and modified his error rather than admit he could make a mistake? Kinda sounds like our boy, who claimed he was "in control of all things."

…That squiggly "z" or "2" that bumfuzzles folks…

HAHAHA!!!!

Dag, you certainly do have a way with words, but that word tickles me in places that I don’t dare mention.

LMFAO…quite literally.

G

…That squiggly "z" or "2" that bumfuzzles folks…

HAHAHA!!!!

Dag, you certainly do have a way with words, but that word tickles me in places that I don’t dare mention.

LMFAO…quite literally.

G

Not squiggly, the b* word. Although squiggly is also kinda funny in this context.