both you guys are really strong in your poi belief and thats a good thing..both you guys also describe in detail why your guy is potentially Z..no issue there from me you chose your guy and you both stand behind that decision…I like X..just its a hurdle on age and accent (at this time)..still X and TK both hold my interest..both you guys have done tons of research and for that you get some kudos from me

I agree that Mr. X did look incredibly younger than his actual age, though I still have a problem with a suspect who was 50 years old in 1969. Yes he may have looked 40 to 45, but it is still difficult to explain the majority of Z age descriptions being in the 25 to 35 bracket.

I can confirm much of what Mike R said about the unreliability of the so called DNA evidence SFPD had, and when I spoke to CCCSD Crime Lab Chief Paul Holes he told me he thought Mike R was one of the best informed of the Z researchers he had been contacted by. And I certainly appreciate Mike’s efforts in the case, including his recent work on the latest "Daddy was the Zodiac" hoax.

Given his health and youthful appearance, I might temporarily back burner the concern about his age, but his accent is another matter. This thread is called pros and cons remember. In this bank commercial done around 40 years after the Z crimes, he has a distinct and pronounced foreign accent. Born and raised in Norway, I would have to imagine his accent in 1969 would have been even heavier. Yet Hartnell and the police operator never said anything to suggest a foreign accent of any kind. Does Mike or anyone have audio or video of him in the 1960’s or 1970’s, to confirm or disprove that his accent was heavier than in this recent video? Even if it was the same as in this recent video, none of the Z earwitnesses reported anything like it. That negative should be considered, along with the positive profiling and location info. Every suspect and POI that has positive attributes for being Z also has some negatives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8RfDK3tUpY

I don’t hear a distinct Norwegian accent in that ad. What I do hear is someone who speaks in a slow, deep, pronounced, mechanical way. What Slover and Hartnell both commented on was his odd way of speaking. That said, I’m guessing Hartnell and Nancy Slover have heard KQ’s voice, but I can’t be sure.

Hi-

It’s stereotyping to say he would have had a pronounced Norwegian accent in 1969. He came to this country at the age of 10 in 1929, so he had been an American for 40 years by 1969. This is just another way to erode and undermine the possibility he was z. I have a tape of his voice from 1975 and he has no "Norwegian accent" whatsoever.

However…an article from as far back as 1958 states that he had a "slow" manner of speaking.

Mike

In the commercial he has a n accent IMO.

You really think in the commercial he sounds like a native Californian? That he has no accent at all?

Oh well forget I made the post. It sounds like you are offended I raised the issue. Sorry. I thought we could discuss pros and cons. I thought that was the point. I thought it is helpful to discuss all sides. I won’t comment on X again.

Hi-

You believe he has an accent? I sat opposite him in 2006 and did not hear a hint of an accent that one would associate with Norway or a Scandinavian country. I didn’t walk away saying to Jim, "Man, he has a strong accent." Is there such a thing as a "Seattle accent?" That is where he is from. He sounds "American" to me. As for a "California accent," what is that?

I don’t care if people bring up legitimate "cons" or whatever they want. I’ve seen it all since 1999. But I just don’t get this one. Maybe others who have heard his voice can comment. Don’t take my word for it. I thought the "con" is that he was from Norway and had a distinctive Scandinavian accent. I don’t think he does. If he has an accent it is a regional one from the NW but I didn’t know there was such a thing. But I live on the East coast.

Mike

Fair enough. Lets get some other opinions.

I hear a moderate Scandanavian accent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8RfDK3tUpY

I don’t hear an accent.

it would be kinda hard to claim he was a foreinger by talking to him on the phone but with that he does talk slow and i can sense he is trying to speak so as to mask his natural foreign dialect..ok thats just my take..i just dont wanna see a bitch fight over X..he has some points i can see in regards to Z and he sold classic cars and Willys Jeeps and the jeeps alone make me like him..if he sold IH Scouts which I have I prolly would turn gay and date the guy with future marriage plans..all just my take…

I stand by what I said before regarding the accent. KQ does not speak with a noticeable accent (in that clip – which is all I’ve heard of his voice).

It’s important to realize how young he was when his family emigrated. A kid his age would learn the language with more ease than an adult and would shed any accent soon enough too. The typical "Scandinavian accent" (the way Scandinavians tend to speak English when they’re not very familiar with the language) is not present in KQ’s voice at all to my ears. Think of the Swedish chef from the Muppet Show – that sort of sing-song is what you’d expect from someone speaking with a Scandinavian accent. This intonation would have been long gone for KQ in the 60s. If anything I bet KQ spoke Norwegian with a heavy accent, heavily influenced by what had become his first language, that is.

Appreciate the opinions. I’ve listened several times. I still hear a moderate accent. The fact that others don’t could mean that if others don’t hear an accent it might not have been heard by the police opeeator or Hartnell.

I hear it on every thing he says in particular "when" and "cars".

Hi-

Not going to get into a huge discussion about this but I spoke to my friend Jim, who was with me for an hour speaking to KQ in 2006. He is from California and did not detect any noticeable accent. If you want to say Jim is hopelessly biased, so be it.

Mike

Yeah, I can hear that accent you are talking about. But it’s only because I’m listening very carefully for it, and it only pops up in a couple places.

If he’s "disguising" his accent, he’s doing a damn good job of it. He has a very natural sounding "American" accent and he does not sound like a non native English speaker. The guy was like ninety two in that commercial right? His speech sounds like it’s effected more by his age than anything else.

If he sounded the same way in the 60’s, I feel pretty confident he could say what the Zodiac said, a few short sentences, and not have any accent noticed. So that’s not a con for me.

PS. Is that his writing in the commercial?

I think he obviously has a European-sounding accent. I would expect a native speaker to pick up on that right away.

Lol! That all sounds very interesting but the only problem is that there is no such thing as a "European accent." There is a UK accent, an Irish brogue, a German accent, a French accent, an Italian accent, a Scandinavian accent…so which one pray tell me is it?

In the 1958 article, which was clearly written long before the Z case took place, all the author said is that KQ hd a "slow" manner of speaking. Period. No mention whatsoever of a Scandinavian accent…or a "European accent" for that matter. And the author was not "hopelessly biased" in favor of my research unless he owned a time machine.

Mike

i will admit no way that nancy slover lady would ever be able to tell anything but a merican voice..yes i do have some bias because I know X was a norway guy so that is just my bias cause I have enuff arm chair quarterback (go razorbacks) info here…if the damn cops would have created a composite of the perp with KJ it might have been helpful..I have heard all they did was show her the stine composite drawing..i would really like to know what KJ would have said the guy looked like..but alas no dice,,goin out on a limb here Mike..i like X at 30% Z at this time (damn I like x as z..TK as well)..ive said enuff..god speed

ps: i am going to say my Z POI preference for just cause sakes ..i blame marvin martian..little dude had a death ray and a space ship..could be and get anywhere quickly..plus being martian would know all the codes (again he is martian and some of those code symbols look martian to me or some kind of ancient indian/egyptian mummy stuff)..this time i am truly done-snoots out