I suppose the fact that the bullets were grouped on the right side of her back meant that the force of the shots could have possibly spun her around ?

In the thousands of videos online of people getting shot there is no specific model that dictates how a person should fall. A bullet is travelling fast, but because of its mass has an extremely low momentum, so in the case of .22 calibre ammunition at Lake Herman Road the ability of the speeding bullet on the victim would actually be less than the recoil experienced by the shooter. It is a fallacy to believe the bullets striking Betty Lou Jensen would necessarily propel her forward (or any direction) in any meaningful way. The bullets likely caused her legs to buckle from under her and as she collapsed to her knees she fell backwards at an angle onto her front. But there are no hard and fast rules dictating how a person should fall – it depends on whether they have one foot (or two) or no feet on the ground at the time, the speed and angle in relation to the shooter, what part of the body part is struck, etc. A bullet is a streamlined projectile vastly less in mass than a human being, designed to penetrate the body – and as such – carries little momentum to have any significant effect on moving a body, other than a reaction or shock to being struck.

I think it’s important to point out that as Stella Borges passed by in her car, she saw Betty Lou laying on her side. By the time the police arrived, she had rolled on to her stomach. Perhaps she was barely alive and weakly trying to move or it was simply a natural slump of the body in death.

Another thing is that the .22 caliber bullets used by Zodiac would not have enough for to "push" her forward on to her back. These are small bullets shot from a relatively low powered handgun. That’s probably why it took five bullets to finally bring her down.

This is why I asked, when it comes to firearms I am a complete novice. From your comments I assume then that a .22 is more of a pop than a bang when fired.

Below is one of the crime scene sketches in case anybody is confused as that what I am referring to.

I’m certainly no expert on guns Cragle, having never seen one in real life, but it’s more of a Newton’s third law and knowledge of physics than a firearms issue.

In his first letter, Zodiac said that BLJ was "laying on her right side, feet to the west". That is also what Stella Borges reported as she drove by. Cops found her on her stomach. So, she rolled over from her side to her stomach from the time immediately after the shooting to the time police arrived.

I would suspect (and this is only speculation) that as she ran away from the scene toward the west, she was struck by bullets and rather than falling forward, she " stumbled and crumbled" to the ground and fell over on her side.

Another great article by Richard that puts this into perspective:

https://www.zodiacciphers.com/zodiac-ne … e-of-shots

Also, here is a video featuring the Hi Standard Duramatic LR .22 that was likely the gun used in the attack. The relevant part of the video begins at about 9:08. You can see that when the gun is fired, the hand hardly moves. It’s not an overly powerful gun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kByE8rINoSU

Yes, it’s that narrow window of time that BLJ was on her right side from Zodiac leaving the turnout and Stella Medeiros passing, that places the July 31st letter writer at the scene at the time of the murder. What was always interesting to me Chaucer was the missing bullet from the crime scene to the DOJ report – especially with the odd statement in one particular documentary.

To be fair if you look at the initial photograph of BLJ you can see that this could easily be interpreted as lying on her side when compared to how Cheri Jo Bates was found. When you look at the pooling of blood around her body it does lend weight to the argument that she died pretty much where she fell. I do recall a morgue photograph that shows what looks like an abrasion on her right knee.

I have often wondered if the reason the rambler was seen in various different positions in the turn off was caused by them having to move to allow somebody to open the gate that was there.

Yes, it’s that narrow window of time that BLJ was on her right side from Zodiac leaving the turnout and Stella Medeiros passing, that places the July 31st letter writer at the scene at the time of the murder. What was always interesting to me Chaucer was the missing bullet from the crime scene to the DOJ report – especially with the odd statement in one particular documentary.

"missing bullet from the crime scene to the DOJ report – especially with the odd statement in one particular documentary." Sorry Richard can you refresh my memory.

Also something else that seems to change between reports is how many bullets exited her body from the front.

Not only did a shell casing go missing from the crime scene to the submitted items at the Department of Justice, but a bullet was also missing from both the police report and the Department of Justice records. Ten shots were fired that night – 5 shots to the back of Betty Lou Jensen, 1 shot into David Faraday, 2 shots into the Rambler and 2 were unaccounted for, believed to have missed their intended target. Betty Lou Jensen had five entry wounds and three exit wounds, however, only two bullets were ever recovered from outside the body of Betty Lou Jensen. These were noted in the police report and Department of Justice files below. In total, only seven bullets were ever retrieved. One bullet is missing from the record.

There were three exit wounds and only two of these bullets described in the police report on page 9 – and only two detailed in the Department of Justice report? On page 9 of the police report it clearly states under #2, #3 and #8, the following findings;
#2 Two pellets removed from victim, Betty Lou Jensen, during autopsy.
#3 Pellet found in pants of victim Betty Lou Jensen, at mortuary, during examination of the deceased. The pellet had entered the lower back, coursed through her body, emerging under the waist band elastic of her panties, where it was found.
#8 Pellet recovered near victim Betty Lou Jensen in blood spattered path on her attempted escape route. Pellet entered her body in the back and emerged from the center of her stomach and dropped to the ground without penetrating the front of her dress. http://www.zodiackiller.com/LHRPR9.html

https://youtu.be/RLkwDKuriuc?t=650

I cannot speak for the bullets, but I believe that Morf indicated somewhere that an officer at the scene furtively took one of the shell casings home with him as a "souvenir".

Cragle – I don’t mean to suggest that Betty Lou was alive and conscious and struggling to move. I believe that she died where she fell, on her side, and through whatever natural process (muscle spasm, gust of wind, etc.) she fell over on to her stomach.

Cragle – I don’t mean to suggest that Betty Lou was alive and conscious and struggling to move. I believe that she died where she fell, on her side, and through whatever natural process (muscle spasm, gust of wind, etc.) she fell over on to her stomach.

Don’t worry that’s not how I interpreted it. Like I said in the photo which shows BLJ before she was rolled over and a blanket put over her body, the position she was lying could be interpreted/mistaken as on her side.

Was it ever established if the security guard who was seen talking to a driver of car shortly before the attack ever interviewed ?

Was it ever established if the security guard who was seen talking to a driver of car shortly before the attack ever interviewed ?

I have never heard that he was. I’ve often wondered if it was James Owens.

I cannot speak for the bullets, but I believe that Morf indicated somewhere that an officer at the scene furtively took one of the shell casings home with him as a "souvenir".

I find this suspicious.