To trace a call they needed a central office technician from Pacific Bell to go into the office almost immediately and go to the switch and trace the connection back to the frame. I don’t think Zodiac made a call from the phone they claim he did.

I just thought about it. The operator would ring the payphone to ask for the money owed.

There has never been a charge associated with ringing an operator and/or calling an emergency line.

If you watch, The Boston Strangler 1968, You will see the rated New England Telephone technician, wearing g a white shirt and a tie. They would need a to trace the call using equipment and tools.

I just thought about it. The operator would ring the payphone to ask for the money owed.

There has never been a charge associated with ringing an operator and/or calling an emergency line.

Yes correct there is not. The thing is the Zodiac claimed the phone started ringing after he hung up. That is the operator who is on the line for long distance, in and out of state, and person to person calls or a collect call. The operator would have to be on the line trying to collect the money for the call. You are young and perhaps do not remember the way phones worked in the 1960s. Take my word, they did. My whole family worked for the telephone company since the 1920s.

I just thought about it. The operator would ring the payphone to ask for the money owed.

There has never been a charge associated with ringing an operator and/or calling an emergency line.

Yes correct there is not. The thing is the Zodiac claimed the phone started ringing after he hung up. That is the operator who is on the line for long distance, in and out of state, and person to person calls or a collect call. The operator would have to be on the line trying to collect the money for the call. You are young and perhaps do not remember the way phones worked in the 1960s. Take my word, they did. My whole family worked for the telephone company since the 1920s.

It wasn’t a long distance call or any sort of call that would require more than the initial dime.

The operator for reasons unknown found the caller suspicious and was working on tracing it even before she switched him to Vallejo PD. That’s why the phone rang back so quick, she wasn’t ringing it back wanting more money, you had to deposit the required money before they would complete your call anyway.

Yes correct there is not. The thing is the Zodiac claimed the phone started ringing after he hung up. That is the operator who is on the line for long distance, in and out of state, and person to person calls or a collect call. The operator would have to be on the line trying to collect the money for the call. You are young and perhaps do not remember the way phones worked in the 1960s. Take my word, they did. My whole family worked for the telephone company since the 1920s.

It wasn’t a long distance call or any sort of call that would require more than the initial dime.

The operator for reasons unknown found the caller suspicious and was working on tracing it even before she switched him to Vallejo PD. That’s why the phone rang back so quick, she wasn’t ringing it back wanting more money, you had to deposit the required money before they would complete your call anyway.

Yes but years ago they let the calls go longer and asked for the overage fee.I had it happen many times. I put in another nickel or dime. But if the operator kept the call up the technician would go to the old analog step switch, made by Bell Labs/Western Electric. They would find the energized relay and trace the call from the incoming line from the distribution frame. They go to the cards to look up the line record. Then they find the physical address the call was placed. What made the telephone operator suspicious? I never heard what was said that made her seize up the trunk line. Why has nothing been released as to what Zodiac said to the girl in the telephone office.

What made the telephone operator suspicious? I never heard what was said that made her seize up the trunk line. Why has nothing been released as to what Zodiac said to the girl in the telephone office.

The telephone company had a strict policy of not revealing phone calls, even in an instance like this. They assured the police he said nothing helpful to the investigation. So, the phone company knew what he said, but would not reveal it to the police or let them talk to the woman who took the call. We don’t know what she found suspicious, we just know she did.

There’s another, overlooked possibility.

The standard procedure for PT&T operators prior to the 911 system when they received emergency calls was to ask for the nature of the emergency and the number they were calling from. We know that the operator knew why Zodiac was calling. You can go to 2:40 of this video on Tom Voigt’s YouTube page you can hear Slover recount how she answered the phone and the operator told her "I have a caller on the line who wants to report a double murder."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kDPcR9VYN8&t=11s

So we know that the operator asked for and received the "nature of the call" from the Zodiac.

But the operator also would have asked Zodiac for the number he was calling from. So, what if Zodiac told her? If he did, then when the request for the trace came in, it would have been mere minutes to cross-reference the phone number with the location.

Also, recall that after the Napa phone call the operator told Slaight that Zodiac was repeatedly refused to give her the number he was calling from. He had learned his lesson from the Vallejo call.

So, my belief is that Zodiac called the operator and asked to be connected to the police. She asked him what was the nature of his emergency and the number he was calling from. He supplied both to her. With the number he gave her, she would be able to easily ascertain the location of the pay phone.

It may not be any more complicated than that.

she answered the phone and the operator told her "I have a caller on the line who wants to report a double murder."

No, she doesn’t say the operator told her. She’s just saying she, meaning herself, has a caller on the line who wants to report a double murder.

That’s not how Slover states it.

But if, for argument’s sake, that is what she meant, how would she know ahead of time, that he is on the line wanting to report a double murder?

Also, it fits exactly with how an operator would have handed the emergency call off.

Chaucer, your answer for the operator is the best I’ve seen.

Soze

That’s not how Slover states it.

That’s exactly how she states it. She says "I answered the phone standardly ‘Vallejo Police Department’, I have a caller on the line that says I want to report a double murder"

She’s just saying there someone wanting to report a double murder, not that the operator told her anything.

But if, for argument’s sake, that is what she meant, how would she know ahead of time, that he is on the line wanting to report a double murder?
.

She didn’t know ahead of time, she knows now.

Tom has spoke to her many times and knows about the operator. I’ll get him to post here and clear this up.

That answers the question I had. He dialed the operator for a operator assisted person to person call. That is how and why the telephone operator was able to ring back the phone. She was on the line too. The reason she rang the payphone back was to try to collect the money for the operated assisted call. There are very standardized procedures the phone company follows. So everything adds up here.

Nancy never spoke to an operator or anyone besides the caller, Zodiac.

Nancy never spoke to an operator or anyone besides the caller, Zodiac.

Thanks Tom.