Hi-

Don’t forget chickens and eggs. The Confession was published in the papers long before Z wrote his letters, so if Z was so influenced by the case he could have simply paid homage to that case by copying the writing style. "Squirm and twich" were already in the public record. In general, anything that was in the Confession letter was known by the public by 1969.

Mike

Hi-

Don’t forget chickens and eggs. The Confession was published in the papers long before Z wrote his letters, so if Z was so influenced by the case he could have simply paid homage to that case by copying the writing style. "Squirm and twich" were already in the public record. In general, anything that was in the Confession letter was known by the public by 1969.

Mike

Doesn’t that seem a little unlikely though? I mean if we assume that the purpose of the use of the same language was just a homage it’s a pretty vague one, isn’t it? To bury it in a rambling letter largely about the Mikado nearly 5 years later and then to admit to a connection in 1971. If this was the case would Zodiac let that slide, wouldn’t he have jumped on the opportunity to berate the authorities over the missed clue? Maybe, maybe not but it still seems a little too involved and complicated if it was a homage, for him to never mention it. Point is if it was a homage then it would have carried meaning and a purpose so if we believe that the purpose was to attach himself to a crime that he didn’t commit then were looking at one complicated and sneaky cookie.

Insert yourself at the time of the crime by writing letters that on the surface look nothing like your later letters, laugh as they find a poem on a desk that you may or may not have written, use the confession letter in the crime as a template to the language you use in your confirmed letters nearly 5 years later then when the authorities finally make a connection, you claim it in writing over 5 years later.

It’s not impossible but was Zodiac that guy, was he that complicated, playing a very long game through letters? As I just said, not impossible but could any of us have dreamed that up and relied on blind luck as to the Riverside connection ever being mentioned. Just seems like too big an ask.

Hi-

Even if it is not an overt homage to the Confession author, I think that whatever was in the public record before the Z case took place that suddenly shows up in his letters has to be looked at with a jaded eye. Maybe he saw the word "twiched" in the Confession, so it was in his subconscious and came out when he wrote out his own letter.

Certainly, the content of the Z letters seem to indicate a much different author from that of the Confession author.

Just IMHO.

Mike

Yup good point. It may have been in his thinking. I just think it worked out a little too well. I mean it’s not like the "I shot a man sitting in a parked car with a 38" comment, that didn’t go anywhere beyond the speculation about Officer Radeditch (did I spell that right? sorry if I didn’t).

I’m just trying to work out or at least imagine purpose in this instance. Of course he doesn’t make that easy, there’s probably enough BS weaved in there just to confuse things but this whole Riverside thing is quite recurring. I mean it’s not like he could go back in time and plant evidence.

Good spot with the "twich", never noticed that before.

The misspelling of brunette as "brownett" is very Z in his poetic/dyslexic way of spelling things. A true misspell should be phonetic, but to sound it out doesn’t even sound like the real word.

A brunette has brown hair, so she’s a "brownett." That feels like his little word games to me.

Hi-

Don’t forget chickens and eggs. The Confession was published in the papers long before Z wrote his letters, so if Z was so influenced by the case he could have simply paid homage to that case by copying the writing style. "Squirm and twich" were already in the public record. In general, anything that was in the Confession letter was known by the public by 1969.

Mike

Don’t forget Sherwood saying that the Bates letters & desk were "unquestionably" the work of Zodiac, and Trav’s side by side of the Zodiac’s writing compared to the desktop. I think that would be more than just paying homage, I think he actually authored the letters. Let’s also not forget the double postage too,just like Zodiac’s. Add it all together, and it’s pretty strong.

Hi-

Even if it is not an overt homage to the Confession author, I think that whatever was in the public record before the Z case took place that suddenly shows up in his letters has to be looked at with a jaded eye. Maybe he saw the word "twiched" in the Confession, so it was in his subconscious and came out when he wrote out his own letter.

Certainly, the content of the Z letters seem to indicate a much different author from that of the Confession author.

Just IMHO.

Mike

I agree. I also think Zodiac did this with the word "crackproof" in his 1971 letter to the LA Times. I think others (unknowingly) aided Zodiac in his ability to contect him to other crimes, letters, etc.

Some think it must be Zodiac who wrote the FK I’m crackproof card because he wrote about it later in 1971. I think we have "chicken and eggs" here again. The Crackproof card was published in the paper for all (including Zodiac) to read. So did he just take past tidbits and throw them in his letters?

The tone of the Confession Letter is a bit too poetic to be Zodiac. It has a very different tone from the confirmed Zodiac letters. On the other hand, the writing on the envelope looks a hell of a lot like the stuff in Zodiac’s Halloween card, and there are a number of linguistic similarities that you guys have pointed out.

At the end of the day, though, if you put a gun to my head and asked me what I thought of Zodiac’s involvement in the Riverside case, I would answer that he wrote only the desktop poem and the three ‘Bates Had to Die’ letters, and that he did not kill Cheri.

Double postage – check.
Writing on the envelopes has that "d" – check.
Facts from newspapers as well as elsewhere – check.
Use of comparable language – check.
Messing in a murder case, taunting police, writing to a newspaper – check, check, check.

I believe it was him alright, up to his little tricks.
Nope, he didn’t kill Cheri.

Tahoe – you’re absolutely right, he picked up the word "crackproof" and used it deliberately. How very unfair.

My belief is that the use of double excessive postage in the Riverside letters is strong evidence that the Zodiac wrote the letters. The double postage became the Zodiac’s MO in future mailings.
There is no doubt that the author of the Riverside "Confession" letter was the actual murderer. He revealed things in the letter about the murder that only the police knew. Therefore Zodiac did the murder and was not just taking credit for it.
Besides I have my own personal belief that the Zodiac had some sort of connection to RCC.

If you read the "Confession" letter that was sent to the Riverside police department you are struck with the idea that this guy had killed before. He strikes me like an experienced killer who showed no remorse for the pain and suffering he inflicted on people. This was not the letter of a kid just out of high school who killed in a fit of rage because he felt rejected. If it had happened that way I am convinced that once he came to his senses he would have been so scared of being caught that the last thing he would do would be to send letters taunting the police with the additive evidence that he actually knew Bates. It’s actually classic misdirection. When you look at the Confession letter you are looking at the early evolution of a serial killer that would later become the Zodiac.

In the Confession letter I think Zodiac is trying to throw off the police investigation by suggesting that he knew Bates and was getting revenge for being brushed off by her. In actuality I don’t think he personally knew her at all. Like most serial killings the victim was randomly chosen. The Zodiac was no genius but he was street smart. He knew that with this misdirection the police would have to investigate everyone who knew Bates all the way back through high school. Everyone who knew Bates would automatically become a possible suspect that would have to be checked out and eliminated. Zodiac knew instinctively that if he committed his murders in different areas under the jurisdictions of many different police departments the lack of cooperation between them would keep them off his trail. And that is the one thing the Zodiac did very well.

My belief is that the use of double excessive postage in the Riverside letters is strong evidence that the Zodiac wrote the letters. The double postage became the Zodiac’s MO in future mailings.

The double postage is interesting, but with the 4 cent stamps used at the time, two stamps would have been required.

I do believe most everything written in the letter was in the newspaper…within a couple of days. And wasn’t the knife breaking incorrect? I can’t remember.

The thing (for me) about Cheri’s murder is the violence of it. It seems more personal. It could be because she fought, but there seems to be a rage there.

The misdirection wouldn’t surprise me. While he might not have given her the brush-off in high school, I think he knew her…and I think she knew him.

The Confession Letter didn’t have double postage, though; only the ‘Bates Had to Die’ letters did. As for the knife breaking, the blade didn’t break, yes, but he could have been referring to the handle or the locking mech, if the knife was a switchblade.

I still believe that two different people prepared these two sets of letters.

My belief is that the use of double excessive postage in the Riverside letters is strong evidence that the Zodiac wrote the letters. The double postage became the Zodiac’s MO in future mailings.

I tend to agree.

There is no doubt that the author of the Riverside "Confession" letter was the actual murderer. He revealed things in the letter about the murder that only the police knew.

Well, there’s p-lenty of doubt. I think there’s a nice long thread on this somewhere, with newspaper references and so on. I’ll try and find it.

RE: The broken Kinfe….Let’s not forget that sometimes,police hold back info from the public on purpose,things that only the killer would know. For all we know, the knife did break off,maybe it was omitted from what we’ve seen. Also, maybe the killer did make that call to police as was written in the confession letter,and police chose not to reveal that