Well, I’m glad WC’s efforts finally paid off – and well done everybody for digging up relevant information.
He lived on Jackson St at the time, so the assumption that he must have been someone the kid knew from the area was accurate.
The main question now – as I see it – is on what grounds Anthony was checked out of the case (we have to assume that he was), and that brings us to the good old question of the unreleased SFPD material.
Another question is this: If the kid was well placed to ID the killer (assumption: the kid saw the actual killer and thought that he was Anthony), must we not necessarily conclude that Z bore a resemblance (possibly a strong one) to this person?
The premise above may not be true, of course: We don’t know for a fact that this kid actually witnessed Z leaving the crime scene – the exact circumstances of the identification remain unknown. As I’ve said before, this could be some sort of misunderstanding: On the face of it, it seems almost too good to be true that there is another (possibly excellent) witness out there in addition to the teens across the street – one that has only played a very minor part in the Z case as we know it.
Lus BY 
https://zodiacode1933.blogspot.com/
Can anyone access the occupants names in the Washington Street area by the murder scene, from the 1969 directory, telephone or otherwise. The 8 year old was likely residing close by. As Welsh reminded me the document stated "Witness IN MURDER OF TAXI DRIVER…" NOT that the witness just saw the man walking on Jackson. If we got the occupants names, cross checked on ancestry records for 8 year olds close to the taxicab area, we may get an address, which may confirm the validity of the sighting.
You could look through the directories – some of them are available in full, such as these:
1966: http://www.sfgenealogy.com/san_francisc … tory/1966/
1967: http://www.sfgenealogy.com/san_francisc … tory/1967/
1968: http://www.sfgenealogy.com/san_francisc … tory/1968/
1969: http://www.sfgenealogy.com/san_francisc … tory/1969/
1971: http://www.sfgenealogy.com/san_francisc … tory/1971/
1972: http://www.sfgenealogy.com/san_francisc … tory/1972/
You can download and search the PDFs for specific names and addresses. But that’s very tedious. Another thing you can try is targeted Google searches. For example, to search the entire 1967 directory for Xenophon, put this in google:
xenophon site:www.sfgenealogy.com/san_francisco_directory/1967/
His entry will be the first hit.
You could put together a list of target addresses and search for them specifically using similar google searches:
3218 jackson site:www.sfgenealogy.com/san_francisco_directory/1971/
Or, you can look at the sections that are organized by street, find Jackson St, and scan for the address range you want. For example, this page has a bunch of addresses on Jackson St near Xenophon’s house: http://www.sfgenealogy.com/san_francisc … 7_1492.pdf
Here’s how you can find Paul Stine in those PDFs:
"stine paul" site:www.sfgenealogy.com/san_francisco_directory/1968
Another example: 3898 Washington St. overlooks the crime scene, so this search reveals at least one person (Alex H. Von Hafften) who lived there circa 1969:
3898 washington site:www.sfgenealogy.com/san_francisco_directory/1969/
Yes, if we assume that there was no mistake and that the kid saw the killer, I’d say we may also assume that the kid could see the cab (and fairly well) from his or her house. It couldn’t have been very far from the crime scene, in other words.
Cheers Dave, brilliant.
Alexander Henry von Hafften is listed at the house overlooking the Stine crime scene. His daughter Sebelle is also listed at the same address.
http://www.sfgenealogy.com/san_francisc … 8_1711.pdf
Alexander von Hafften’s obituary lists his four children (including Sebelle):
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Alex … 005670.php
Were any of them eight years old in October, 1969?
More family info (sorry, I followed this rabbit hole) from https://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/ma … e_id=42775
Sebelle Harden von Hafften, ’44, of San Francisco, March 12, at 74, of cancer. A great-grandniece of Leland Stanford, she served on boards and committees for several organizations, including the Stanford Alumni Association and the Fine Arts Auxiliary. She was an avid supporter of the San Francisco Opera. During World War II, she volunteered for the Red Cross Motor Corps in Palo Alto. Survivors: her husband, Alexander, ’34, MBA ’39; two daughters, Katharine "Kitsi" Loveland, ’71, and Sebelle "Cindy" Poole, ’77; two sons, Alexander Jr., ’79, MS ’83, and Robert; and seven grandchildren.
Sebelle Harden von Haffton, 74, great-grandniece of Leland Stanford, who founded of Stanford University, died Mar. 12 of cancer. Born in San Francisco, she received her early education from the Dominicans at Mt. St. Mary’s Academy in Newburgh, N.Y. She graduated from Stanford University in 1944 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. During World War II, she began volunteering for the Red Cross Motor Corps in Palo Alto. She served on various organizations’ boards and committees, including the Stanford Alumni Association and the Fine Arts Auxillary. She loved the opera and was an avid supporter of the San Francisco Opera. She is survived by her husband, Alexander H. von Hafften of San Francisco; two daughters, Katharine "Kitsi" Loveland of Walnut Creek and Sebelle "Cindy" Pool of Riverside,
Sebelle’s obituary mentions a surviving son Robert, the youngest of their four children. I found a Robert von Hafften, class of 1980: http://www.classmates.com/people/Robert … 8742408581
If he graduated at age 18, that puts year of birth at around 1980 minus 18 = 1962, which makes him 7 or 8 when Stine was killed.
Excellent stuff.
Of course, what is interesting here (and very interesting too, I think) is the location of this witness. If it can be determined with some degree of certainty that an 8 year old actually lived in a house overlooking the scene at the time, then this is compelling in the sense that it should mean the witness we’re talking about out very likely got a good look at Z – and recognized him (or thought so at the time).
The latter isn’t the main thing – because we have to presume that Anthony was checked out of the case. But the former is of obvious interest: Z must have (if the premise is true – which must be stressed again) reminded the witness of Anthony, which is a pretty strong indication that Z actually looked like said person to some extent, at least on the night in question.
He is found here Robert Lathrop von Hafften aged 54. Assuming his birthday is later in year, he was still 54 in 2015.
2015-54 = 1961. Therefore 8 in 1969 is very likely.
Robert Vonhafften, age ~54 [address redacted upon request]
Technical question: What’s the potential status of this guy? If he is the witness in question, is there anything – legally – the matter with reaching out to him and ask if he’s willing to share anything he may remember?
