IF D&E was his maybe he was done ‘fessing up. He did say he wouldn’t announce anymore but then, as you guys have already said he ‘fessed up to KJ and CJB after that statement so why not D&E?

Zodiac mentions "there are a hell of a lot more down there". Sure leaves it open to many possibilities.

He mentioned shooting a man sitting in a parked car (and KJ) after he said he would no longer announce his murders. Saying he would no longer announce his murders was smart really. It led many to think Zodiac could be responsible for many, many murders he probably had nothing to do with.

He either couldn’t resist the notoriety (he has to tell us about a man he shot and killed after telling us he would no longer do so), and if that is the case, why no mention of D&E–they obviously had no clue who did it….or he wasn’t involved and makes his comments vague–"there are a hell of a lot more down there".

I guess it could be a pride thing/ownership/context thing. I’ve said before, recently actually, that to myself at least, it feels like everything came as a package to Zodiac. Maybe an oversimplified way of putting it but the killings go with the letters that go with the killings that go with the attention that comes with being Zodiac.

We touch on, maybe an aspect of that, from time to time. Maybe without realizing.

First there’s the "…..to begin my collecting of slaves". Also there is the unspoken aspect suggested by his letters at the end where he could be appearing to be shedding the personae, or at least, winding it down. So, there’s a vague beginning and an end, or maybe another way to put it would be bracketing.

A way to maybe illustrate what I’m thinking here is using being in a band as an analogy of sorts. Say you are a songwriter & performer in a band. You write songs and play those songs, at that time and with that band. You then leave that band, or go solo, and you write new songs and play them. You don’t play the old songs because even though you wrote them and performed them, they belong to those other endeavors, they were for that time and that place. It doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong or illegitimate about them. They just aren’t relevant any more.

Zodiac wanted attention, he wanted to be held in awe, he wanted to be a celebrity. He wanted to make sure people viewed him in a certain way so he wanted ‘artistic control’. I think he wasn’t sure how his ‘earlier’ work would impact on this new ‘endeavor’ ,and what he hoped to achieve, should any of it be uncovered so he doesn’t mention it. Just like there are TV shows like ‘before they were famous’ with embarrassing clips of celebrities when they were younger. Celebrities don’t start out touting those or mentioning them but I’m sure even those become acceptable material as their careers begin to flag.

As you mention above Tahoe. "…there are a hell of a lot more down there". This comes on the back of the riverside connection being made. Why no mention of it from Zodiac until 1971? Well, like I suggest, that’s his ‘older material’ and possibly not relevant. But like someone discovering a forgotten recording and making it public, even the artist can be surprised by the interest in it and jump on board to eek out publicity from it. "Hmmmm, you like my old stuff do you? well there’s more if you can find them. Maybe you will find those interesting too."

In that regard he doesn’t need to ‘fess up to D&E and probably wouldn’t have because although it MIGHT have been his work it’s not as ‘interesting’ as the Riverside stuff because there’s no letters. If they find it they find it, if they don’t find other ‘works’ of his, no big deal. He will always be remembered for being Zodiac not for being _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . At least for now, here’s hoping that changes someday.

Bit long and rambling as usual but that’s one hypothesis, based on the feeling I get from his overall behavior, as to why he may not have just admitted to earlier crimes right away.

A little bit precious our boy was I think. Had a right old diva fit over the police apparently telling lies about him, just like a star having their work questioned or criticized.

IF D&E was his maybe he was done ‘fessing up. He did say he wouldn’t announce anymore but then, as you guys have already said he ‘fessed up to KJ and CJB after that statement so why not D&E?

Zodiac mentions "there are a hell of a lot more down there". Sure leaves it open to many possibilities.

He mentioned shooting a man sitting in a parked car (and KJ) after he said he would no longer announce his murders. Saying he would no longer announce his murders was smart really. It led many to think Zodiac could be responsible for many, many murders he probably had nothing to do with.

He either couldn’t resist the notoriety (he has to tell us about a man he shot and killed after telling us he would no longer do so), and if that is the case, why no mention of D&E–they obviously had no clue who did it….or he wasn’t involved and makes his comments vague–"there are a hell of a lot more down there".

All of this serving an ultimate motivation of scaring the bejesus out of citizens as much as possible, gaining or maintaining notoriety and pressuring law enforcement, IMO. Zodiac no longer had to kill after Stine (whether he chose to or not). He seemed to learn that vague claims upping the body count and expanding his territory ("I’m targeting school children and cops", "I’m killing in southern California") served his purpose just as well or perhaps even better than actual murders without the pesky risk of getting caught, as he was well aware nearly happened on Jackson St. I’ve long been of the opinion that Stine was Zodiac’s last victim.

I’ve long been of the opinion that Stine was Zodiac’s last victim.

I feel that too. I imagine most of us do for varying reasons. Got scared, bored, jailed, died, rehabilitated, although I think the latter less likely but that’s just my feeling.

It’s also interesting that (as far as I can recall) Zodiac never claimed this case in the way he did CJB…

True. Or Berryessa. Interesting.

All of this serving an ultimate motivation of scaring the bejesus out of citizens as much as possible, gaining or maintaining notoriety and pressuring law enforcement, IMO. Zodiac no longer had to kill after Stine (whether he chose to or not). He seemed to learn that vague claims upping the body count and expanding his territory ("I’m targeting school children and cops", "I’m killing in southern California") served his purpose just as well or perhaps even better than actual murders without the pesky risk of getting caught, as he was well aware nearly happened on Jackson St. I’ve long been of the opinion that Stine was Zodiac’s last victim.

Which makes me wonder if Zodiac was not your typical serial killer with a sicko "need" to kill people.

"…….. an ultimate motivation of scaring the bejesus out of citizens as much as possible, gaining or maintaining notoriety and pressuring law enforcement"

Ah, perfect.

If the really did have some evidence that connected to Z they might not share it with us, but you’d think they would have shared it with the other Z investigations and the DOJ, yet they don’t consider D&E to be related to Zodiac.

If the really did have some evidence that connected to Z they might not share it with us, but you’d think they would have shared it with the other Z investigations and the DOJ, yet they don’t consider D&E to be related to Zodiac.

Maybe I’m missing something, but have the DOJ and other jurisdictions actually made any statements, official or unofficial, that indicate they don’t think Gaviota Beach was a Zodiac crime?

That depends on what your definition of "is" is.

Nicolai’s report states "…law enforcement agencies can only account for five )Zodiac victims)"

Sure that report is from ’70, but another report from Mike B says the same. It’s not dated, but it mentions the Zodiac’s last letter from ’71, so after that.

So yeah, they never exactly said it wasn’t, but they never said it was, as far as I can tell, either.

Maybe someone in Santa Barbara thinks that Z did D&E, the same way that someone in Santa Rosa thought that Z was in for the SRHM, but I would take more seriously the opinions from the people who actually investigated the Zodiac case, which those guys didn’t.