Zodiac Discussion Forum

Notifications
Clear all

Reporter Dave Peterson & Ross

51 Posts
9 Users
0 Reactions
15.4 K Views
morf13
(@morf13)
Posts: 7527
Member Admin
Topic starter
 

Reporter Dave Peterson had some sort of interest in Ross, and had dug up info on him. Dave was a reporter for the Vallejo Times Herald, and was the equivalent of Paul Avery for the VTH. He supposedly had gotten his hands on Ross’s police report from his arrest. Dave passed away some time ago. Today, I decided to call Dave’s Widow to take a shot on getting more info about Ross, or to find out what else Dave may have found out about Ross. To my surprise, I just got a call back from Dave’s Wife, She is elderly, but despite her age, and being a little bit hard of hearing, she sounded pretty sharp. She said that she does not have Dave’s Zodiac stuff anymore, but thinks that a Family Member does. She’s going to check and get back to me. Let’s cross our fingers :o

There is more than one way to lose your life to a killer

http://www.zodiackillersite.com/
http://zodiackillersite.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/Morf13ZKS

 
Posted : March 28, 2015 4:35 am
Paul_Averly
(@paul_averly)
Posts: 857
Prominent Member
 

More great news!

*I wanted to re-post the following as it fits better in this thread.

The letter from the librarian seems old and mentions "the new library." The new RCC library was built in 1968.

My guess would be that Dave Peterson looked into Ross back around 1971, when the Riverside connection was made.
Howard also mentions that Toschi looked into Ross at the request of Dave Peterson.

If this is the case, it would have had to happen before 1978 (when Toschi was kicked out of homicide). If Toschi really did look into Ross, it was probably around 1971, the point in the investigation where SFPD had the most suspects to look at. It’s very possible Ross lucked out due to the high volume of suspects and they simply missed his fingerprint match.

 
Posted : March 28, 2015 4:58 am
Seagull
(@seagull)
Posts: 2309
Member Moderator
 

Here is a letter that Dave Peterson wrote to Dave Toschi about Ross Sullivan. It looks like Peterson did not tell Toschi about Ross until 1977.

www.santarosahitchhikermurders.com

 
Posted : March 28, 2015 6:14 am
Paul_Averly
(@paul_averly)
Posts: 857
Prominent Member
 

That’s great Seagull, but is there any other Ross info out there we don’t know about.

As for the prints, here is a video of what was going on back then.

21 min in:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_ZCOyngiPE

 
Posted : March 28, 2015 6:48 am
morf13
(@morf13)
Posts: 7527
Member Admin
Topic starter
 

Wow Seagull, where did you get that from? I don;t think I have ever seen it. The million dollar question, did Toschi ever get the prints? Jesus, if he did not tell him till 77, Ross may have been dead already by the time Toschi got around to checking out Ross. And if he was dead, and Ross did not have prints on file, maybe he never got them.

There is more than one way to lose your life to a killer

http://www.zodiackillersite.com/
http://zodiackillersite.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/Morf13ZKS

 
Posted : March 28, 2015 6:56 am
murray
(@murray)
Posts: 262
Reputable Member
 

I still say they HAD to have printed him at the time of the naked phone booth incident. I just can’t see, even if they decided to get him mental health care, how that much disturbing the peace would have gone without some of the usual protocol.

And unrelated, but didn’t the librarian at RCC say that Ross had been institutionalized prior to being a student at the community college? I just wonder what incident might have prompted that hospital stay.

 
Posted : March 28, 2015 7:28 am
morf13
(@morf13)
Posts: 7527
Member Admin
Topic starter
 

I still say they HAD to have printed him at the time of the naked phone booth incident. I just can’t see, even if they decided to get him mental health care, how that much disturbing the peace would have gone without some of the usual protocol.

And unrelated, but didn’t the librarian at RCC say that Ross had been institutionalized prior to being a student at the community college? I just wonder what incident might have prompted that hospital stay.

Well now adays, the prints from all arrests are supposed to hit the database,and finding a match is easy, but back then, they would need to get the print cards for the arrests, and manually check them.

There is more than one way to lose your life to a killer

http://www.zodiackillersite.com/
http://zodiackillersite.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/Morf13ZKS

 
Posted : March 28, 2015 8:45 am
murray
(@murray)
Posts: 262
Reputable Member
 

Well now adays, the prints from all arrests are supposed to hit the database,and finding a match is easy, but back then, they would need to get the print cards for the arrests, and manually check them.

Ugh – too much time has gone by. This makes a trip to Santa Cruz tempting for me — I have friends in Soquel that might let me stay, and help me do some digging. I just don’t know what would be left.

Piecing together a few things, here — it will be great if Dave Peterson’s family has any of his notes.

Ross M. Sullivan
Born in July 1941
SS issued in 1958 (Age 17 when he obtained SS)
SS# 564-56-7947
Mom died in 1959
Started at RCC in 1961 (age 20)
Sent RCC transcripts to UC Santa Cruz (age 26)
Died in 1977 (Died age 36)
Funeral Director: White’s Mort Inc, Santa Cruz.
Soquel CA Crematory
Address at death: 2177 17th Avenue Santa Cruz, CA 95062 (now Paradise Villa)
Listed as living in Santa Cruz county for 3 years – in the state of CA for 20 years
Signed by John (or Jonathan?) Sullivan, 1929-B Russell Street, Berkeley 94703

Questions: Where did he work as a dishwasher in SC? That might give some clues as to how long he was in that area.
A social security statement would give his employment history. That would show if he was in the Bay Area at any time between 1967 and 1970.

 
Posted : March 28, 2015 9:26 am
Tahoe27
(@tahoe27)
Posts: 5315
Member Moderator
 

Thanks for that Seagull! I have never seen it. There is a name or two I have never noticed before…like the other "Philip".

And what I would give to know the last name of Claudia! THAT I have seen before. ;)


…they may be dealing with one or more ersatz Zodiacs–other psychotics eager to get into the act, or perhaps even other murderers eager to lay their crimes at the real Zodiac’s doorstep. L.A. Times, 1969

 
Posted : March 28, 2015 9:30 am
murray
(@murray)
Posts: 262
Reputable Member
 

Great letter, Seagull — interesting that Dave and Dave were looking into this as far back as ’77.

 
Posted : March 28, 2015 9:53 am
morf13
(@morf13)
Posts: 7527
Member Admin
Topic starter
 

Well now adays, the prints from all arrests are supposed to hit the database,and finding a match is easy, but back then, they would need to get the print cards for the arrests, and manually check them.

Ugh – too much time has gone by. This makes a trip to Santa Cruz tempting for me — I have friends in Soquel that might let me stay, and help me do some digging. I just don’t know what would be left.

Piecing together a few things, here — it will be great if Dave Peterson’s family has any of his notes.

Ross M. Sullivan
Born in July 1941
SS issued in 1958 (Age 17 when he obtained SS)
SS# 564-56-7947
Mom died in 1959
Started at RCC in 1961 (age 20)
Sent RCC transcripts to UC Santa Cruz (age 26)
Died in 1977 (Died age 36)
Funeral Director: White’s Mort Inc, Santa Cruz.
Soquel CA Crematory
Address at death: 2177 17th Avenue Santa Cruz, CA 95062 (now Paradise Villa)
Listed as living in Santa Cruz county for 3 years – in the state of CA for 20 years
Signed by John (or Jonathan?) Sullivan, 1929-B Russell Street, Berkeley 94703

Questions: Where did he work as a dishwasher in SC? That might give some clues as to how long he was in that area.
A social security statement would give his employment history. That would show if he was in the Bay Area at any time between 1967 and 1970.

Only next of Kin can pull Ross’s SS Abstract. It would show a list of every place Ross ever worked and paid taxes. I do not know where he washed dishes at.

Hey by the way, just a quick thought a bit off topic, but I dont want to forget, it was mentioned in the Graysmith book, that a mystery Guy that knew Darlene, was between 28 & 30 yrs old. That is exactly Ross’s age at the time! I cant remember if it was the Guy that dropped off material at Darlene’s door that she made the outfit from, the Guy that came to the painting party, or the guy that hung out at Darlene’s work eating pie. The reason I remember is, when Graysmith recounts the incident of a Girl (Dee’s Sister or Dee’s Babysitter, dont remember which)describing the Guy, she said it oddly that he was "30 to 28 yrs old", which stood out to me because it is backwards. Anybody remember this from the yellow book?

There is more than one way to lose your life to a killer

http://www.zodiackillersite.com/
http://zodiackillersite.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/Morf13ZKS

 
Posted : March 28, 2015 10:02 am
murray
(@murray)
Posts: 262
Reputable Member
 

Hey by the way, just a quick thought a bit off topic, but I dont want to forget, it was mentioned in the Graysmith book, that a mystery Guy that knew Darlene, was between 28 & 30 yrs old. That is exactly Ross’s age at the time! I cant remember if it was the Guy that dropped off material at Darlene’s door that she made the outfit from, the Guy that came to the painting party, or the guy that hung out at Darlene’s work eating pie. The reason I remember is, when Graysmith recounts the incident of a Girl (Dee’s Sister or Dee’s Babysitter, dont remember which)describing the Guy, she said it oddly that he was "30 to 28 yrs old", which stood out to me because it is backwards. Anybody remember this from the yellow book?

In the yellow book he stated that "Bob" was "thirty to twenty-eight, not heavy, and wore glasses. I don’t know if "Bob" is a name Graysmith made up for the book (like "Starr"), or if he got that from Dee’s sister.

 
Posted : March 28, 2015 12:34 pm
Paul_Averly
(@paul_averly)
Posts: 857
Prominent Member
 

Here is a letter that Dave Peterson wrote to Dave Toschi about Ross Sullivan. It looks like Peterson did not tell Toschi about Ross until 1977.

Last year I knocked on Toschi’s door with a file of Ross related stuff, but was turned away by his wife. I eventually mailed it all to him.
With 2000 suspects, it’s in the realm of possibility that Zodiac was one of those.

*Jim Phillips lived in Santa Cruz around 1977.
The DF stuff is most likely a dead end. Even in this letter about Ross, they seem more interested in finding Z connection to one of her friends.

 
Posted : March 28, 2015 8:50 pm
Paul_Averly
(@paul_averly)
Posts: 857
Prominent Member
 

Interesting that Peterson wrote that letter March 1977. Ross then dies Sept. 1977.

Then we have this here say about Z being killed in Santa Cruz.

download/file.php?id=2115
viewtopic.php?f=106&t=1441&start=710

Is this somehow all connected?

 
Posted : March 29, 2015 1:01 am
morf13
(@morf13)
Posts: 7527
Member Admin
Topic starter
 

Interesting that Peterson wrote that letter March 1977. Ross then dies Sept. 1977.

Then we have this here say about Z being killed in Santa Cruz.

http://www.zodiackillersite.com/downloa … hp?id=2115
http://www.zodiackillersite.com/viewtop … &start=710

Is this somehow all connected?

Ross was not ‘killed’, he died of natural causes. Unless the person used the word, ‘killed’ instead of ‘died’, it would seem there was no way it would be Ross

There is more than one way to lose your life to a killer

http://www.zodiackillersite.com/
http://zodiackillersite.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/Morf13ZKS

 
Posted : March 29, 2015 1:04 am
Page 1 / 4
Share: