Ross Sullivan in Drama class at Glendale High School circa 1959. It appears he’s getting a fake mustache applied to his face. My Girlfriend would be *livid* if I didn’t give her credit for this find. lol. So, many thanks to Raeanne Bartlett for this find!!

Is she related to Bonnie Bartlett? The wife of Tim and sister in-law of Ross…
That would be something.

Thanks CuriousCat.

Paul: I dont believe she is of any relation. Although, maybe worth looking into! lol

99% sure that’s Ross. I notice he’s holding his glasses in his hand. That hair doesn’t look "blonde".

This is one thing that really makes me suspect Ross in the Zodiac crimes, he had experience in makeup and costume design. That would help someone who wanted to look different when he "did his thing".

Great find Ham.

I’m not sure that is Ross. I see some similarities, but some differences in face features, height, weight and hair color. The other photos show Ross with light blonde or blonde hair. Nothing at all like this black hair. If this is Ross, and the height and weight looks way off, the hair color may have been dyed for the part in the play. Again, the other pictures show Ross with blonde hair, and while you can debate light blonde, regular blonde or sandy blonde, in no way is it the "brown" described in the FBI lab report, let alone the black hair here.

It’s not clear if Z ever used make up or disguises, though I don’t totally discount the idea. As mentioned, you have the discrepancy between the 6’2", 300 pound Ross Sullivan, and the suspected Zodiac seen at the Stine murder scene by two police officers, described on the police wanted poster as 5’8". That is a difference of 6 inches. 5’8′ – 5’10" was the height of Z as described by Mageau and Johns, matching Officer Fouke, with weight described as between 150 – 180 pounds.

IT’s him. I have zero doubts. He was in drama class that year. He’s photographed all throughout that book. I couldnt imagine there being many other boys with widow peaks, same hair cut, same glasses, etc that also took drama that same year. It also seems Ross was somewhat "pear-shaped" and held a lot of his weight in his legs. E.g. the group photo of him crouching from that same yearbook. I will do some digging but I’m pretty damn positive this is Ross. IMO, the pic that looks LEAST like Ross is the "Ralph" Sullivan Bad Billy play photo from his Junior yearbook and Im pretty sure that was verified.

The guy in the photo most definitely has blonde or some form of light hair colour. The photo was taken with a flash – look at the reflection on the wood floor and the washed out tablecloths. Anyway, when camera flash hits light hair in a certain angle and the hairs create shadows on top of eachother, it creates a much darker area. To see what the person’s actual hair colour is, look for the colour nearest to the hairline or temples.

Wasn’t Ross around 6’2" or 6’3"???

How would he make himself between 3-7" shorter as the witness accounts state?

Ross’s height (6′ 2") and weight, is problematic when considering him a suspect, however people are generally terrible at guessing height and weight. We don’t know enough about Ross’s weight to rule him out on that aspect as weight can fluctuate but height is another matter. 6′ 2" isn’t out of the average height range for adult males, so I have doubts someone from a distance could really discern a few inches. I think the best witness for height was Shepard, she estimated around 5’11". Hartnell said he himself was a terrible judge of someone else’s height as everyone generally is shorter than him, he’s like 6’7"or so.

Anyway, I agree it’s a problem when considering Ross as a suspect but it isn’t enough to rule him out for me.

I’m not sure that is Ross. I see some similarities, but some differences in face features, height, weight and hair color. The other photos show Ross with light blonde or blonde hair.

I think it’s Ross, the hair could be a trick of light although I see others in the photo with light colored hair. It could be dyed for the play but I find that doubtful since it was just a high school play, but it’s possible.

I mean, Ross, the photos here, doesn’t look really blonde.

viewtopic.php?p=15619#p15619

I’d say he had light brown hair that appeared lighter or darker depending on the lighting conditions.

Wasn’t Ross around 6’2" or 6’3"???

How would he make himself between 3-7" shorter as the witness accounts state?

Ross’s height (6′ 2") and weight, is problematic when considering him a suspect, however people are generally terrible at guessing height and weight. We don’t know enough about Ross’s weight to rule him out on that aspect as weight can fluctuate but height is another matter. 6′ 2" isn’t out of the average height range for adult males, so I have doubts someone from a distance could really discern a few inches. I think the best witness for height was Shepard, she estimated around 5’11". Hartnell said he himself was a terrible judge of someone else’s height as everyone generally is shorter than him, he’s like 6’7"or so.

Anyway, I agree it’s a problem when considering Ross as a suspect but it isn’t enough to rule him out for me.

Average height of the American male is 5′ 9". So 6’2" is tall, quite taller than average, 5 inches taller than average.

People can be off by a few inches in estimating height and weight. But Mageau said "short, 5’8"-5’9" , 160 pounds. Johns said about the same for height and weight, and she was in a car with him. Most importantly, two police officers said Zodiac was 5’8", 160 – 180 pounds, and they are trained in and have experience with estimating height and weight.

The man in the photo getting makeup applied does not appear to be at height and weight of Ross Sullivan. That jet black hair color does not match any of the photos of Ross Sullivan. It very well could be hair dye , wig or some type of coloration, to match the fake jet black mustache they applied.

The other photos of Ross Sullivan show hair color of light blonde, and some seem to show more regular blonde or even a sandy blonde. But none of the photographs of him show him with brown hair, as the FBI described the hair in Cheri Jo Bates hand.

But I agree with Morf, ultimately a DNA test is needed and would be dispositive.

Wasn’t Ross around 6’2" or 6’3"???

How would he make himself between 3-7" shorter as the witness accounts state?

Ross’s height (6′ 2") and weight, is problematic when considering him a suspect, however people are generally terrible at guessing height and weight. We don’t know enough about Ross’s weight to rule him out on that aspect as weight can fluctuate but height is another matter. 6′ 2" isn’t out of the average height range for adult males, so I have doubts someone from a distance could really discern a few inches. I think the best witness for height was Shepard, she estimated around 5’11". Hartnell said he himself was a terrible judge of someone else’s height as everyone generally is shorter than him, he’s like 6’7"or so.

Anyway, I agree it’s a problem when considering Ross as a suspect but it isn’t enough to rule him out for me.

Average height of the American male is 5′ 9". So 6’2" is tall, quite taller than average, 5 inches taller than average.

People can be off by a few inches in estimating height and weight. But Mageau said "short, 5’8"-5’9" , 160 pounds. Johns said about the same for height and weight, and she was in a car with him. Most importantly, two police officers said Zodiac was 5’8", 160 – 180 pounds, and they are trained in and have experience with estimating height and weight.

Mageau and Fouke both said the guy was walking with his head down, so it seems that could make someone appear shorter than they actually are when estimating their height. With Shepard estimating him as taller than they do it’s a reason why I don’t discount Ross on height. I just think it’s too subjective, even to a trained professional like Fouke who only gave that person a quick look, and we don’t really know that was Zodiac. For the record, I never believed a word of Kathleen John’s story.

The man in the photo getting makeup applied does not appear to be at height and weight of Ross Sullivan.

Hard to tell weight as he’s covered with a sheet and we don’t know his weight at that age I don’t believe. I doubt he was 300 lbs his entire life. Hard to judge height since he’s sitting.

That jet black hair color does not match any of the photos of Ross Sullivan.

I don’t think it’s jet black, I think it just appears darker due to lighting and angle. I also don’t think, judging by the other photos, that it’s what I would consider blonde. A bit hard just using old b/w photos though and it’s also a matter of personal opinion on color. Computer monitors differ in color as well.

But I agree with Morf, ultimately a DNA test is needed and would be dispositive.

Agreed but I don’t think there is any real DNA to compare to except for the Bates murder. But I believe whoever killed CJB is the Zodiac so if Ross was ruled out in her death I’d seriously doubt he was Zodiac.

Doesn’t look like him to me, but my thoughts certainly don’t matter. Doesn’t make any difference to me….1969, would.

OK. Just poured through every single Junior and Senior that would have been there that year. I went through the ’59 for the seniors and ’60 for what would have been the juniors in ’59 since they arent pictured in the ’59. Picture says "advanced drama" so that easily excludes freshman and sophomores. I dont even think Glendale had freshman anyway. Ross was Thespian/Drama 3 which is as high as it gets; ADVANCED. Out of ALL PICTURED Juniors and Seniors there are only 5 seniors(’59) and 13 would be juniors that wore all black glasses. Obviously, there are other students with different style glasses that I didnt check based on my opinion they look *nothing* like Ross…der.. the person in the picture. If thats what I have to do to convince you then I will. Anyhow, the ONLY student of the aforementioned 18 students with all black glasses that was ALSO in Drama was Mr. Charles Buck. Here is a photo of Buck. PLEASE. I encourage you; check it out for yourself!! PROVE ME WRONG! I think once you have a look through the books for yourself, you will see that it *is* indeed Ross Sullivan,who WAS in advanced drama that year, pictured in the advanced drama class. Widows peak, thick black glasses, drama class. Occam’s razor…

you can look through 59 here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bx2ZxP … BzOWc/view

1960 for the would be juniors that year here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bx2ZxP … 1IZ0U/view

List of students with matching glasses:
John Morgan
Byron Melendy
Richard Netherlin
Larry Hall
Donald Wintz
Michael Bosch
Sidney Briggs
Charles Buck
Ralph Cass
Pat Gorey
Robert Henkell
Thomas Hendricks
David Jacques
Gerald Klein
Raymond McConnell
Stuart McDougal
Stephen Simon
Terry Wallick

Doesn’t make any difference to me….1969, would.

Agreed, We know what he looked like back then anyway. We need to know what he looked like in 68-69, where he lived, what he drove, etc.

.

Well I think you and your partner have done a great job Ham. Thank you for this contribution. It is true that we need to see him closer to 1969 to really learn more about him as a suspect, but for what it is worth I was sure you two found Ross the moment I saw the drama class pic. For what it is worth your clever idea to cross-check with other drama students wearing similar glasses certainly confirms it. Regarding hair colour I don’t think we can be at all conclusive from these black and white photos, but I would vote blonde.