Thanks Tom.

I totally think it was him. The kids said he took off North on Cherry. Not sure if the kids said what direction he turned, or if he even did turn, but Stine’s log said his stop was for Maple, so he may have turned east on Jackson toward Maple, which is where the police "stopped" and talked to someone. I think it’s highly improbable it was someone else. I think he may have lived there, at Jackson and Maple or had his car parked there, ready to go. A narcissist would not miss out the chance to rub that in a cops face. His grandiosity may have also got in the way and he only lied about it. He could have been sitting in his car about to leave when he seen the cops talk to another guy. Then Zodiac claims to be that guy the cops talk to, completely messing up the descriptions. Where did the curly hair go?

I think he may have lived there, at Jackson and Maple or had his car parked there, ready to goo?

A lot of people like to think that Zodiac hid nearby, when it’s far more likely he headed off into the Presidio as quickly as possible. The base wasn’t a sealed site at the time. In 1968, there was a mutiny at the Presidio and two of the mutineers jumped out the window of the building they were held in and simply "jogged off" base. I grew up on military bases, and you’d be surprised what you can get away with–they aren’t policed like normal spaces. It’s a space in which you can pull social rank pretty easily. There’s a small baseball field just north of Julius Kahn with a car park. Aerial photos show it hasn’t changed. Zodiac may have known you could easily park there at late at night (perhaps he even had a permit). Even today, you can pay to park there, I believe. The fastest route out of the area, if you want to avoid oncoming police patrols is through the Presidio.

Twelve days before the Stine murder, there was a taxi robbery, which left the cabbie stranded in the trunk of his taxi on Arguello Blvd, inside the Presidio–only to be found later by MPs. The similarity between the pick up and the drop off (Washington and Locust) is remarkable–so much so that SFPD originally thought it was Zodiac doing reconnaissance. My estimation is that Zodiac copied the robbery and its success for his own attack.

I think he may have lived there, at Jackson and Maple or had his car parked there, ready to goo?

A lot of people like to think that Zodiac hid nearby, when it’s far more likely he headed off into the Presidio as quickly as possible. The base wasn’t a sealed site at the time. In 1968, there was a mutiny at the Presidio and two of the mutineers jumped out the window of the building they were held in and simply "jogged off" base. I grew up on military bases, and you’d be surprised what you can get away with–they aren’t policed like normal spaces. It’s a space in which you can pull social rank pretty easily. There’s a small baseball field just north of Julius Kahn with a car park. Aerial photos show it hasn’t changed. Zodiac may have known you could easily park there at late at night (perhaps he even had a permit). Even today, you can pay to park there, I believe. The fastest route out of the area, if you want to avoid oncoming police patrols is through the Presidio.

Twelve days before the Stine murder, there was a taxi robbery, which left the cabbie stranded in the trunk of his taxi on Arguello Blvd, inside the Presidio–only to be found later by MPs. The similarity between the pick up and the drop off (Washington and Locust) is remarkable–so much so that SFPD originally thought it was Zodiac doing reconnaissance. My estimation is that Zodiac copied the robbery and its success for his own attack.

The Presidio is a huge park to cover on foot, but there are lots of good hiding spots. Parking on the side of the road on Pacific behind (North) Maple would have been the absolutely best parking spot. No one in Presidio Heights could see you get in your car, and no one on the Presidio grounds would have known what you just did. Some people in the neighborhood park there too, so it’s not suspicious. It’s unlikely the nearby residents would have even noticed him parked, or drive away. There is a rock retaining wall that’s just high enough to obscure view of a vehicle with, if your standing, well, pretty much anywhere on Jackson looking North to the Presidio grounds. Best not to leave your get away car too far away.

It’s so hard to believe this was his last murder. Then again, looking at Cheri Jo Bates, it screams "this is not my first rodeo"

I’ve always wondered whether Zelms was killed in one of those "accidental/on purpose" shootouts to keep him silent. Fouke goes out of his way in the documentary to say that if Zelms were alive he’d corroborate Fouke’s story. It strikes me funny the way he says it. Anybody have any info in that?

"SAN FRANCISCO (UPI)- The first moments of the new decade marked the last moments for a rookie policeman senselessly slain with his own revolver after he surprised two men breaking into a pawnshop. Officer Eric A. Zelms, 22, was shot three times shortly before 1 a.m. New Year’s Day as he wrestled with the suspects, who were apprehended four blocks away by police after a brief shootout. Zelms was the third San Francisco policeman shot in the line of duty in the past 18 months and the city’s first homicide of 1970."

"Zelms, a Richmond District officer on special New Year’s Eve duty in the Tenderloin, was taking a coffee break with his partner, Richard Bodisco. Bodisco was in the rest room when Zelms was told that two men were trying to break into a next door pawn shop. Several witnesses saw Zelms talk to the two men when one suddenly struck him. As the trio struggled, Zelms’ 41 magnum fell to the pavement. “Get my partner,” he shouted. Suddenly, two shots rang out. Zelms was struck in the heart and the arm. As the suspects fled, witnesses said the man with a gun paused over Zelms’ crumpled body and fired again. Bodisco rushed outside and tripped over Zelms’ body. He fired two shots at the two men, who leaped aboard a streetcar. Officer Bodisco then phoned for an ambulance and called in descriptions of the suspects. Officers Michael Gallagher and Thomas Sullivan saw the men alight from a streetcar. They ordered the men to put their hands against a wall for a search but one of them wheeled and fired twice. Gallagher and Sullivan fired seven times and Vincent Fuller, 30, a hair stylist, fell seriously wounded. The other suspect, Michael A. Webster, 20, ran but quickly surrendered. They were charged with murder and attempted murder. Zelms’ revolver was found at the scene of the capture, police said."

Officer Eric A. Zelms, 22, was shot three times shortly before 1 a.m. New Year’s Day

It had not hit me that Zelm was only 22 when he was killed in the line of duty. He was baby!
Imagine a rookie cop barely out of his varsity jacket having to deal with a botched Zodiac encounter. And then to be killed in a petty robbery. May Officer Zelm not be forgotten.