Not a terrible theory, I suppose, however I’d have to say I’m not sure why he would be worried about his car not being there. PH isn’t the type of neighbourhood you’d have much worry about your car getting stolen, though that’s possible anywhere. I don’t recall ever having seen parking meters in that area, so I wouldn’t think he’d worry about it getting towed.

I guess it’s possible he could have just wanted to make sure it was still there but it seems he would have walked back towards Maple if that’s where his car was, instead of going north on Cherry.

These are good points — many thanks for your response. If there’s anything to this interpretation of a possible initial stop at Washington and Maple, I agree that the turn onto Cherry Street, and then Jackson Street, once Zodiac was on foot is odd. Why not return to the Washington and Maple intersection along Washington? Perhaps there were people in that direction whom Zodiac had seen as Stine drove to Washington and Cherry. Or he may have felt anxious about the fact that a walk along Washington would leave him visible to anybody living on Washington who had seen the crime, as indeed the children on the corner of Washington and Cherry had. A stop at Washington and Maple I had envisaged possibly giving him a line of sight to his car much further down Maple in the direction of Jackson, and maybe even on Jackson itself, making a walk to the vehicle via Cherry plausible. But this might be an overestimate of how far down Maple he could actually see from the Washington/Maple intersection.

These are good points — many thanks for your response. If there’s anything to this interpretation of a possible initial stop at Washington and Maple, I agree that the turn onto Cherry Street, and then Jackson Street, once Zodiac was on foot is odd. Why not return to the Washington and Maple intersection along Washington? Perhaps there were people in that direction whom Zodiac had seen as Stine drove to Washington and Cherry. Or he may have felt anxious about the fact that a walk along Washington would leave him visible to anybody living on Washington who had seen the crime, as indeed the children on the corner of Washington and Cherry had. A stop at Washington and Maple I had envisaged possibly giving him a line of sight to his car much further down Maple in the direction of Jackson, and maybe even on Jackson itself, making a walk to the vehicle via Cherry plausible. But this might be an overestimate of how far down Maple he could actually see from the Washington/Maple intersection.

Well, if he was worried that someone had seen him he could have took a different route to his car than a direct one so as to throw off anyone who saw him walk away.

We know he was seen, but we don’t know if he was aware he had been seen. According to Mike Rodeli, and Mike is a good researcher who I trust, three of the kids came out of the house and watched Zodiac as he walked down Cherry. I don’t know at what point they came out, or if Zodiac knew they had. I’ve always been under the impression Zodiac was already walking down Cherry before they came out, but I don’t know that for certain. I’d have to find where Mike talks about it and see what was said.

Also, they did bring dogs in to attempt to track him. I’m not sure at what point they started, I don’t think it’s ever been made public exactly how the dogs responded, but this more recent news story about the guy who led the dog team that night seems to indicate the dogs were only used at the Presidio…

https://billingsgazette.com/news/local/ … f6a54.html

They described the man as white, 35 to 45 years old, 5 feet 10 inches, between 180 and 200 pounds, barrel-chested with light-colored, crew-cut hair and glasses. He was assumed to have taken off into the Presidio, a historic Army post open to the public with a large playground and park.

Beene and his crew arrived 40 minutes after the shooting was reported and were immediately discouraged by what they found. Police officers and an Army platoon were crisscrossing the Presidio in squad cars and motorcycles; if the killer had left a scent trail for Beene and his fellow dog-handlers, it was not a leap to assume it had long since dissipated.

Foregone conclusion

Add the stiff ocean breezes and it was virtually a foregone conclusion.

"As soon as we saw the set-up and the officers driving all over the park and all over the playground, a couple of the guys said, ‘Ah sarge, we don’t have a chance,’ " Beene recalled of that night. "I said, ‘We’re the experts, we’ll give them the best search that we can.’ "

Beene, handling his canine partner Darius, divided the park into three zones and directed the other dog handlers to search the middle third while the cops and soldiers took the opposite zones. Chances of finding the killer were "slight and none," especially if he had been on the run for the full 40 minutes, Beene said. Predictably, the trail had gone cold and the search was called off a few hours later.

Not sure why they didn’t start at the cab, maybe they did, it might have took forty minutes to get the dogs to the murder site and them to track to the Presidio. Maybe they thought they knew the route he took and started at the Presidio. It’s not really certain to me anyway. But if he did circle back to Maple, get in his car and leave, searching the Presidio was useless.

And another thing, if the guy Fouke and Zelm saw was the Zodiac, he had turned north on Maple. I think Maple basically dead ends there, but he could have had a car parked there I suppose. I don’t think there would be anyway he would have been able to see it from Washington and Maple, but I don’t know. Also possible he turned back south, if his car was parked near the intersection of Washington and Maple, after the police went past him.

So, I see your theory being plausible, especially since we don’t really know exactly where he went that night other than north on Cherry after the attack.

CuriousCat said;
"I think Maple basically dead ends there"…

Yes, and back in ’69 Maple had more & taller screening foilage in the center divider.
There’s a walkway gap in the stone wall at the end, even if that wasn’t there in ’69
the stone wall itself is easy enough to pull yourself up, onto and over.
Remember that a man was seen running into the Presidio grounds by witnesses in
the children’s playground, I don’t doubt he kept moving and probably went out the
east side of the Presidio to his parked car, say, in Broadway or Vallejo St. Then
where? Somewhere more eastwards where he possibly may have parked. I figure
he had modified a car radio to receive the police wavelengths. I don’t doubt he was
seen by Fouke and Zelms, but his assertion that he stayed under cover (in the
Presidio) while the police searched it, is IMHO him just taunting police. If he
listened to the police on their frequencies, the sound of police motorcycles would
have been very obvious over the police transmissions as they coordinated the search –
knowing the loud sound of the Harley Davidson motorcycles that police forces
used back then. (I assume the SFPD motorcycles likely had radios also, like the
CHP motorcycles of the time;)
http://www.policemotorunits.com/califor … stems.html

CuriousCat said;
"I think Maple basically dead ends there"…

Yes, and back in ’69 Maple had more & taller screening foilage in the center divider.
There’s a walkway gap in the stone wall at the end, even if that wasn’t there in ’69
the stone wall itself is easy enough to pull yourself up, onto and over.

Thanks, I thought that was how it was.

Remember that a man was seen running into the Presidio grounds by witnesses in
the children’s playground,

The way I remember it, and I’m not saying you’re wrong, I probably am, but it wasn’t anyone in the playground who saw him. I believe there is a gate on the side near the playground that leads out to a public street and more private houses. There were witnesses from the homes there who said they saw someone come out of that gate from the Presidio grounds. I’m not sure if I am remembering it just right, but I do believe that all came from Graysmith’s Yellow book and is somewhat doubtful.

I don’t doubt he kept moving and probably went out the
east side of the Presidio to his parked car, say, in Broadway or Vallejo St. Then
where? Somewhere more eastwards where he possibly may have parked.

Yeah, I think whichever way he went, he walked to his car and drove away.

I figure he had modified a car radio to receive the police wavelengths. I don’t doubt he was
seen by Fouke and Zelms, but his assertion that he stayed under cover (in the
Presidio) while the police searched it, is IMHO him just taunting police. If he
listened to the police on their frequencies, the sound of police motorcycles would
have been very obvious over the police transmissions as they coordinated the search –
knowing the loud sound of the Harley Davidson motorcycles that police forces
used back then. (I assume the SFPD motorcycles likely had radios also, like the
CHP motorcycles of the time;)

I think you could even then buy police scanners that allow you to listen to police radio, so he could have had one. And I agree, I don’t think he stayed in the park, else the dogs would have likely found him. Some think he went into a home in the area where he watched what all occurred, but he could have just drove around the area and seen what all was happening. The police were there rather quickly so he wouldn’t have had to stay around very long to see all of that.

Simplest explanation IMHO:

Z ask Stine to drive him to Washington and Maple

When they reach Washington and Maple, Z sees a person somewhere at Washington and Maple

Thus Z ask the cabdriver to go further to the next corner Washington and Cherry to avoid a possible witness.

Simplest explanation IMHO:

Z ask Stine to drive him to Washington and Maple

When they reach Washington and Maple, Z sees a person somewhere at Washington and Maple

Thus Z ask the cabdriver to go further to the next corner Washington and Cherry to avoid a possible witness.

Couldn’t agree more Foreigner. It’s a boring answer, but unfortunately boring is often true.

I think you’re probably right. Occam’s Razor and all that… But I find the question of the pre-parked car an intriguing one. Assuming that he didn’t live in the Presidio Heights area, and that a getaway vehicle was a part of his plan, would some sort of check on its whereabouts not have seemed necessary to Zodiac? If he lived elsewhere the car would be vital to avoiding detection.

I would go for the Lyon Steps area on the east side of the park. Zodiac stated in the Bus Bomb letter "The dogs never came with in 2 blocks of me + they were to the west + there was only 2 groups of parking about 10 min apart then the motor cicles went by about 150 ft away going from south to north west". Where would motorcycles be, circling the park and travelling "from south to north west". Presidio Boulevard on the eastern edge of the park, travels from the south side of the park and then heads northwest". If the motorcycles were 150 ft away, Zodiac would be 150 feet from the edge of the park on the eastern fringe. Dense woodland secures that region, offering the perfect cover for a Zodiac waiting to exit towards the Lyon Steps. That road on the eastern edge of the park is an ideal place to position a vehicle, with the park acting as your contingency measure had things not gone to plan. Which is what happened.

That’s a fantastic suggestion — thanks. It’s the need to check that the car was still wherever he put it that I’m hung up on. But perhaps Zodiac didn’t feel the need for such a check. Or perhaps he pre-parked the car and went immediately to the theatre district to hail the cab, so that there wouldn’t be time enough for much to happen to the car. If Zodiac didn’t live in the Presidio Heights area, and anything were to have happened to his car, he would likely have been in real trouble. I guess that’s why I’m turning the question of a pre-crime check upon the vehicle over and over in my mind.

Thanks for your responses; I very much enjoy reading them.