Gee,how old was your Suspect in 1969?

I believe her husband was like 25 and the Officer she was dating for a while was even older. Not sure why, IF she knew the person he couldn’t been just about any age.

How old was your suspect in 1969 Morf? We need to go back to Mike’s physical description of the killer as well. He said 26 to 30 years of age. I am aware that there is conjecture that Dee did hang out with older men, and I ask these questions to shake out comments, in order to get to the truth. Who was this dude Dee thought she might know? Mike went on to tease her for awhile about all the guys she had hanging around her. Could it be that the Zodiac stalked Dee for awhile, maybe even talked with her at Terry’s where she worked, easily accessible off of Highway 80. Maybe he even asked her out for a date. Maybe they even got together.

Interesting questions, but IMO Darlene might have well had stalkers, or men who were infatuated with her, but none of those people were the Zodiac. In other words, a young attractive married woman who was known to date outside of her marriage, got interest wanted and unwanted from men, younger and older. But probably none were Zodiac.

All the evidence I have seen tends to show that Zodiac did not know any of his victims. Though the idea is certainly worth exploring, as police and researchers have done. But so far, nothing solid.

Yes, she could have recognized him as merely a patron of the restaurant where she worked. I would think the car Zodiac was in, must have been vaguely familiar to her,
as it was dark outside and probably hard to see the driver really well. Another brownish Corvair like car. We are all dealing under the assumption now, that this is the same man that killed the kids at Lake Herman Road. He has arrived again, prepared with loaded weapons and flashlights. Ready to kill. In the same geographical area.
I’m so sorry for Dee, I’m feeling like he punished her.

With this case there are many unknowns and very few certainties. Z may have known every single victim, he may have never seen any of them before the attacks. There is NO concrete evidence to support Z knowing any of the victims prior to attacking them. If Z was from the Vallejo area (which i think he was) then its possible he had seen the victims before but i doubt he actually knew any of them and there isn’t any evidence to suggest otherwise. This angle should’ve been and i believe was investigated thoroughly (and still is every day). It’s always amazed me that so many people try to link Z to knowing Darlene! It seems that her family, at least early on, pushed this theory. I don’t suggest the ‘Z knowing his victims’ theory be completely abandoned. I just think too many people latch on to this idea and get tunnel vision.

With this case there are many unknowns and very few certainties. Z may have known every single victim, he may have never seen any of them before the attacks. There is NO concrete evidence to support Z knowing any of the victims prior to attacking them. If Z was from the Vallejo area (which i think he was) then its possible he had seen the victims before but i doubt he actually knew any of them and there isn’t any evidence to suggest otherwise. This angle should’ve been and i believe was investigated thoroughly (and still is every day). It’s always amazed me that so many people try to link Z to knowing Darlene! It seems that her family, at least early on, pushed this theory. I don’t suggest the ‘Z knowing his victims’ theory be completely abandoned. I just think to many people latch on to this idea and get tunnel vision.

Excellent post, my friend. +1. I likey. All that jazz.

Let us reference the conversation Dee and Mike had in the Police Reports about the man that parked next to them that evening.
Yes, it is probably too late to do an in depth investigation into the guys hanging around Dee in 1969.
But would it not give us more insight into the actual killer? And might she have recognized the car Zodiac was in that night?
That could mean it was Zodiac’s car and he drove it before. And now we have a definitive vehicle.

I recently read a newspaper article where in Mike Mageau is interviewed while still in the hospital recovering from the Zodiac attack.
He states the killer originally pulled in beside he and Dee. That the killer backed his car in, with his window then being directly next to
Dee’s window. When Mike asked Dee if she knew him, in the newspaper article he quotes Dee’s response as "Don’t worry about it."
It is dark and late at night and no other cars are in the parking lot and the killer backs in and parks next to the kids…

dunno..but if your doing a crime of this magnitude I would go to the driver first…why…male usually is the driver and thats the greater threat.i dont know what to make of dees comment other that I hear it from my own daughters and wife unit..i dont think there is any thing to it..but possibility always exists she did have some passing knowledge of the guy (Z) or more…i am just not totally ready to completly disolve some belief I have that DF may have known more than what we generally believe as fact today

Hard call. My wild guess again.
I have always had a very strange sense that Dee had seen them before or known who was there. Why I don’t know..
My guess % wise Dee would rate higher on, "If they known or seen Z before more than any of the other victims had."

Might be a good reader poll test results if we ever get bored.

As I understand, DF worked at a restaurant in Vallejo. If so, is/was this restaurant near Mare Island?

In the scheme of things, many would probably say everything was close to Mare Island. Just a few minutes drive.

I’ve never thought that any of the known victims knew Zodiac. I can’t see any evidence that suggest that Dee knew who Zodiac was. Seems to me that her family had a lot to do with this idea. I’ve always thought that Zodiac pulled in on the drivers side of the car to scope out how many people were in the vehicle. When he noticed that the male was in the passenger side then he left so he could park behind them or on the passenger side. My guess is that leaving to only came back were for 2 reasons. First, he could get his car in a different position (straighter path to the male victim) without the victims getting too suspicious. Secondly, he could make sure that no cars where in close proximity to the park.

If and when this case if ever solved, the only thing that could actually shock me is if evidence was uncovered that the killer ever knew the victims.