Do we know his name?

QT

to me that personal ad (if i am correct) could be for X.X’s brother (newt) was also very successful..i have some thoughts newt may have some involvement but that is going off on a team Z tangent and well my gut says Z acted alone…i dunno what to make of this..could be or mean anything..

What are you getting at here? Are you insinuating a connection between KQ and Fred Manalli? Because that is exactly who this ad was written about.

What are you getting at here? Are you insinuating a connection between KQ and Fred Manalli? Because that is exactly who this ad was written about.

not much…when i think real estate i think X..prolly all wet here..time to shut and move along

What are you getting at here? Are you insinuating a connection between KQ and Fred Manalli? Because that is exactly who this ad was written about.

Do you know that definitely? And how do you know? I have wondered about this damn ad for a while and it bugs the bejesus out of me. PM me if you want, this is one of those niggling things I would like to nail down.

What are you getting at here? Are you insinuating a connection between KQ and Fred Manalli? Because that is exactly who this ad was written about.

Well, in fairness we don’t know that. The date is obviously intriguing and if the ad is indeed linked to a known Z suspect, then it would be well-nigh impossible to look past Manalli. But we can’t tell for sure if it has anything to do with Z at all. There’s a zodiac reference there – which is very compelling to us (but strictly speaking pretty general) and what looks like a KKK reference to me, which is less compelling (I don’t see how it fits either Z or Manalli).

Do we know his name?

QT

He had two brothers, I think. One of them was also in the car import business – the other was supposedly less successful. I don’t know whether they’re still alive so I won’t mention names. Well, I don’t remember the latter’s anyway, but the former’s is easy to find – he’s mentioned in several of the articles about KQ which are available online.

In a proper Hollywood version of events the killer would turn out to be the less successful brother, of course – the crazy black sheep whose murders were covered up by his rich and mighty brother…

I like that scenario, Norse.

I find it really hard to believe that this ad would have nothing to do with Z. EVERYONE and their mother knew about the Zodiac at that time, probably when passersby heard the word Zodiac in those days they would instantly flash to the murders, and not to astrology. So it was either a total put on or had some connection. I think.

I’m convinced that "your PARTNER is in deep real estate" is referring to Manalli. How could it not be? I know there is no way to prove it 100%, but it just has to be. Besides, I never thought Manalli had the marbles to kill, but he was probably fascinated with it and somehow he met Z and became the partner who wrote the letters, intentionally misspelling words because who’s going to look at a writing teacher as the writer of the Z letters?

I don’t think the personal ad is bogus. I think it is legit, and the "Imperial Wizard" was a powerful man (a lawyer maybe) who was pulling the strings.

imperial wizard could have just as easily been X (X had the coin to get anything done he wanted)..as I have indicated above I am not sure what to make of this but "deep in real estate" to me points to X..X had holdings everywhere…bottom line is we shall never know and it is interesting topic

imperial wizard could have just as easily been X (X had the coin to get anything done he wanted)..as I have indicated above I am not sure what to make of this but "deep in real estate" to me points to X..X had holdings everywhere…bottom line is we shall never know and it is interesting topic

I was thinking the same thing!

You know, it kinda sounds like the much-maligned Toschi. I am just grasping at straws here, since any sort of real evidence is sorta thin on the ground. Coulda been Paul Avery for that matter, might have had a weird lead he wanted to scare up or something.

Do we know his name?

QT

He had two brothers, I think. One of them was also in the car import business – the other was supposedly less successful. I don’t know whether they’re still alive so I won’t mention names. Well, I don’t remember the latter’s anyway, but the former’s is easy to find – he’s mentioned in several of the articles about KQ which are available online.

In a proper Hollywood version of events the killer would turn out to be the less successful brother, of course – the crazy black sheep whose murders were covered up by his rich and mighty brother…

Of the two brothers, I think Bjarne Qvale has more connections to the case. I guess he would be the second most successful Qvale. Due to a childhood illness, he wasn’t eligible for the regular military so he became a merchant marine during the war. This might link him with Tarbox’s POI, though Bjarne didn’t look Mediterranean in any way. Bjarne also had ties to southern California, and coincidentally, died in Riverside.

Here’s his obituary and a photo:

Bjarne and his wife in 1952

Bjarne Fredrik Qvale passed away October 23, 2011. He was born in Trondheim, Norway, May 22, 1924 to Signe and Capt. Bjarne Qvale. He was the youngest of five children, having three older brothers and one sister. Bjarne arrived in the Unites States with his mother and brothers and sister in 1929. His father was a sea captain who traveled the world with his ships and spent many years in South America sailing from Argentina along the coast of Chile and Peru to the Pacific Northwest. When they arrived in the United States by ship and then by train across Canada, they finally met their father in Blaine, Wash., after having been separated for many years. At the age of five, Bjarne saw his father for the first time. Their father, who had traveled to the Pacific Northwest for many years, found that area to be the perfect place to reunite with his family. They settled in Seattle, Wash. Bjarne was preceded in death by two older brothers, Ragnar and Knute; and his sister, Eva Strum. His brother Kjell Qvale lives in San Francisco, Calif. Bjarne graduated from West Seattle High School and attended Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash. and the University of Washington in Seattle. Because of a childhood illness, (osteomylitis) he could not join the armed services, but instead served as a sailor in the Maritime Service during World War II traveling throughout the Pacific theater. Bjarne was first married in 1944 while in college. They had a son, Jon, born in 1946. Bjarne was divorced in 1947 and moved to San Francisco in 1948. He became active in the foreign car industry, working for his brother, Kjell Qvale. His leisure time was spent building his long wanted sailboat, a 36 foot ketch. This took him five years of weekend work. When finished, he sailed and raced his boat in San Francisco bay and took many trips to the Channel Islands of Southern California and to Catalina Island. He also spent time racing British cars in many local bay area races. One was quite prominent in 1949 and was featured in automotive magazines. In December 1949 he married for the second time to Hope Brocchini of Oakland, Calif. They had three children, Kristina, Mark and Kari, and lived for many years in San Francisco, Marin County and in 1968 moved to Newport Beach, Calif. Bjarne founded a company known as British Auto Parts in 1952 dealing with the availability of car parts for British cars and later for all foreign cars in the U.S. In 1962 he founded his second company, European Parts Exchange, supplying rebuilt parts for all foreign cars in the United States. His suppliers and partners were from around the world, predominantly from Europe, Asia and Australia. He moved both companies to southern California in 1971 expanding in 1979 to plants in Irvine, Calif. and Fredricksburg, Va. He was active in the Newport Beach community; was one of the founders of the Pacific Club and was President of Big Canyon Country Club 1980-1981 and a member of Newport Harbor Yacht Club. Bjarne was very active in the auto parts industry serving in 1985 as President of the Automotive Parts Rebuilding Association. Bjarne retired in 1996 to his hobbies of sailing and golf and later moved to Rancho Mirage, Calif. where he was a member of Thunderbird Country Club. Bjarne is survived by his wife of 62 years, Hope; and four children, Jon French of Boston, Mass., Kristina Heller of Puyallup, Wash., Mark Qvale of Kent, Wash. and Kari Koeff of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.; and nine grandchildren, Sarah French, Nathaniel French, Nicole Heller Freuden, Paul Heller, Kaitlin Qvale, Signe R. Qvale, Kiersi Koeff, Madison Koeff and Mason Koeff; as well as two great-grandchildren, Caleb Heller and Eden Heller. The family asks that any donations be sent to Pathfinders/ Boys & Girls Club, Palm Springs, Calif. or to Odyssey Hospice, Rancho Mirage, Calif.

Personally, I think Bjarne Qvale Sr. looks very Z-like, but he passed away in 1970 (and would’ve been way too old).

What are you getting at here? Are you insinuating a connection between KQ and Fred Manalli? Because that is exactly who this ad was written about.

Well, in fairness we don’t know that. The date is obviously intriguing and if the ad is indeed linked to a known Z suspect, then it would be well-nigh impossible to look past Manalli. But we can’t tell for sure if it has anything to do with Z at all. There’s a zodiac reference there – which is very compelling to us (but strictly speaking pretty general) and what looks like a KKK reference to me, which is less compelling (I don’t see how it fits either Z or Manalli).

If this ad has anything to do with the case, then I think the most likely POI is Houghton. The Minutemen had many ties to the KKK. The problem I have with this angle is that the killings don’t seem to have any racial overtones.