Pro: "Size 10 1/2 Wing Walker shoe prints were recovered from the scene, indicating a suspect weighing more than 210 pounds." At the Lake Baryessa attack. Ross is more than 210 pounds.

Way more, possibly. Too much more, some would say. We don’t know his weight in ’69. We know he was 300 lbs several years before ’69 and that he died as a morbidly obese man.

Pro: The Zodiac mentions at Lake Baryessa attack that he escaped prison. Ross is said to have often bragged about escaping from San Bernardino Mental Institution.

Not the same thing. A mental patient isn’t a criminal, and many mental patients are very particular about that distinction – rightly so.

The yarn Z spun at LB involved him killing a guard. It was cartoonish and unlikely, much like his appearance on the day.

I can go to RCC and poke around for you. What all would you want? I’ve also had another user ask me to go look for something at RCC. Maybe I can take advice/requests before I go. Just LMK.

I’m coming into this discussion a little late, so I’m sorry if this is a dumb question… has anyone seen school yearbooks from the time Ross was there? Maybe the school has a set in their collection… or, maybe tracking down a couple people who attended at the same time might produce one.

I don’t know if RCC published school yearbooks or not, but my high school did, from at least 1960 through today. So maybe there’s a chance. And if there was a school newspaper, maybe he’s referenced somewhere in that, in addition to the poem.

Pro: "Size 10 1/2 Wing Walker shoe prints were recovered from the scene, indicating a suspect weighing more than 210 pounds." At the Lake Baryessa attack. Ross is more than 210 pounds.

Way more, possibly. Too much more, some would say. We don’t know his weight in ’69. We know he was 300 lbs several years before ’69 and that he died as a morbidly obese man.

Pro: The Zodiac mentions at Lake Baryessa attack that he escaped prison. Ross is said to have often bragged about escaping from San Bernardino Mental Institution.

Not the same thing. A mental patient isn’t a criminal, and many mental patients are very particular about that distinction – rightly so.

The yarn Z spun at LB involved him killing a guard. It was cartoonish and unlikely, much like his appearance on the day.

Actually, not necessarily. Narlow had one of the heaviest Cops who was 210, stand in the same spots, and he did not sink down "NEARLY AS MUCH AS ZODIAC". That means to me, he was much heavier than 210. He was only 300 lbs the year before in 68 when he was arrested.

While a mental patient is not a criminal, in his warped reality, if Ross was Z, he could have twisted his own story to match something he read about Deer Lodge.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1965-Riverside- … 3aaa72a44e

I’m seeing yearbooks that span the entire 1960s and 1970s, so they do exist.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1965-Riverside-City-College-Yearbook-California-/251967743054?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3aaa72a44e

I’m seeing yearbooks that span the entire 1960s and 1970s, so they do exist.

I’ve looked thru all of them. RCC last put out a yearbook in 66. Ross is not in any of them that I could see. Cheri Jo, had she not been murdered, would have 1st appeared in a 67 RCC yearbook, but again, they did not make yearbooks after 66

While a mental patient is not a criminal, in his warped reality, if Ross was Z, he could have twisted his own story to match something he read about Deer Lodge.

Yes, that’s possible. I think it’s an unnecessary element, though – put it like that. The Deer Lodge business could be anything. If Ross was Z he could have spun that yarn regardless – with no reference to his own history of being institutionalized. It’s just too vague for me.

A: Brags about escaping from a mental institution.
B: Claims to have killed a guard and escaped from a prison.

It’s not enough there to include this as a valid "pro", in my opinion.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1965-Riverside-City-College-Yearbook-California-/251967743054?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3aaa72a44e

I’m seeing yearbooks that span the entire 1960s and 1970s, so they do exist.

I’ve looked thru all of them. RCC last put out a yearbook in 66. Ross is not in any of them that I could see. Cheri Jo, had she not been murdered, would have 1st appeared in a 67 RCC yearbook, but again, they did not make yearbooks after 66

Was Ross faculty only or was he also attending classes there as a student? Just want to make sure.

Looking up RCC to make sure library is still open today. I was informed by a local last night that it may be closed on the weekends in the summer – if so I’ll have to wait until sometime this mon-fri to roll over there and check out their archives and try and establish some connections with potential people who may have known Ross IF they are still there/alive (which I doubt but its worth a shot!)

Edited: the library just reopened after 3 months of being closed so we lucked out. Will be heading there soonish.

pinkphantom, could you ask the librarian if they have any photos of the campus taken after cheri’s murder ?

Just made my initial visit to the RCC Library.

First thing I noticed that kind of unnerved me (not related to Ross) is that there seemed to be men doing community service around the campus. I know there is a prison out in San Bernardino area that houses a lot of different types, violent and non violent. I was reminded that there also is a jail on the other side of the 60 from Riverside (had to pick up a friend from there once for a DUI… It’s creepy – in the middle of NOWHERE. It’s a pretty seedy area where I am between the three C’s: coyotes, cartels, and career criminals.

Second thing (unrelated to Ross) is that Kane Ave runs Next to the school providing what looks to be a random quick hwy access. This may have been an original exit Rd onto the highway (as opposed to all of the many new ones constructed). It made me think about Lawrence Kane who I know many also suspect to be Z and rumored to have ties to Cheri Jo – I know he went by many names, Kane being one. Just a random silly thought. It caught my attention

Upon entering the library I notice that yes, this must be a new building indeed. The entrance is on the second floor of the building and the library is directly above the auditorium. There were many transient people hanging around the building – older men who are clearly mentally unstable and homeless. I don’t know if there was some sort of program to help them today bc there were at least 5 hanging in the corridor by the auditorium. A cop even had to throw one off campus and as he walked past me he was talking to himself and telling his invisible friend to "go away". Poor guy. It seems RCC attracts that element in some strange way. Might just be bc the campus is in the middle of the city and its just a matter of proximity.

I approached the main desk and inquired about a student ID for the library which I can obtain as a riverside resident. I will acquire this ID next Saturday (I have to go back with a bill to prove residency then). With this ID I will have open access to their archives.

There was luck when I found a general computer to look up their books.

I looked up The Mikado and searched their 3rd floor stacks. Was successful and took photos of the cover, new check in/out card with only one date in 1998, and pages containing the lyrics for the Little List and Tit Willow (among other things). The original pocket that held whatever card was in it before is present with the RCC stamp. The book was very old, falling apart, and had been held together with blue tape. It is quite an attractive cover with beautiful (albeit somewhat morbid) illustrations inside. I believe it may have been in the Library for some time. I don’t know if anything significant was there, but there seemed to be no apparent markings or anything written in the book.

Also of interest was The Most Dangerous Game. I couldn’t find it, but I was able to find a book called The Most Dangerous Game: Advanced Mantrapping Texhniques by Benson. It is a different book from The Most Dangerous Game that Z was referring to. However, the similarities in name interested me. I checked the stacks and the book was nowhere to be found.

(I removed info as it had to do with RCC employee and wasn’t nevessary)

The picture below of The Most Dangerous Game: Advanced Mantrapping Techs is from the net since I couldn’t find it at the library (although the system said "check the stack" implying it wasn’t checked out)

pinkphantom, could you ask the librarian if they have any photos of the campus taken after cheri’s murder ?

Will do – might take a while to get that info as again I don’t want to overwhelm the staff. I promise to try my best to pose the question to the appropriate faculty member once they are more comfortable/fimiliar with me. Thank you!

Also wanted to note that I checked any books marked for 1960-1967 in the area where I found the Mikado – specifically looking for anything on the check out logs or inside the books filed during those years that might clue us into Z or Ross. No luck yet. I also did the same thing in the area where The Most Dangerous Game: Advanced Mantrapping Techniques was supposed to be – no clues in those books.

Next time focusing on getting student info from school archives with my student ID/log in. I’m wanting to do all this legitimately

Edit: can’t believe I forgot about the funny coincidence with the book catalogued next to the Mikado that interested me. I have discussed this in the post following this.

I think people take the wrong perspective on Z and Riverside.

Obviously if CJB was a Zodiac victim then it changes the dynamics of the case. And the case for it being a Z crime is entirely circumstantial and arguably tangential.

HOWEVER, the circumstantial evidence for Zodiac being CONNECTED to Riverside is very strong. If there was no actual Riverside/Z connection it would mean that:

-Morrill’s handwriting analysis is wrong
-The misspelling in the typewritten letter is coincidental
-The use of the Z-shaped symbol in the letters sent to the police and media was entirely coincidental to the later use of the Zodiac name
-The sending of 3 letters was coincidental
-The presence of a student at Riverside known as Zodiac was entirely coincidental

Of all the possibilities, Z having no connection to Riverside seems the least likely. He either killed CJB and/or took credit for it at the time, was present in Riverside and was inspired by some or all of what occurred, or somehow was not in Riverside but had access to news/information about the case and was similarly inspired.

So in light of all that, a guy matching the sketch like Ross does and being extremely proximal to the CJB killing and all of its resultant activities is a damn good suspect and we need to rule him out.

One more thing I thought was funny…

There was a book next to the Mikado called The Pajama Game.

The Authors last name is Ross. A label on the inside page reads Ross, Jerry.

the book catalogued next to it is our Mikado

The Authors last name is Sullivan. A label on the inside page reads Sullivan, Arthur.

Funny coincidence. It was a very limited section of books and The Pajama Game book was old and had been there as long as the Mikado. I also got a picture of it’s label placed on the intro page.

Whoever catalogued these books did them next to each other and it was most likely someone a very long time ago. Many of the check in dates were still from the 50’s-60’s (still need to get a pic of the check out card for The Pajama Game), except for Mikado which has its old card missing and only a new one with a due date of 1998.

Pink Phantom you are doing a great job! It is best to take it slow, your instincts are good.

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Thanks Seagull. I will get them up on the posts as soon as I can.

I definitely am going to need help from a librarian there to research the catalogue and determine how long the Mikado and The Pajama Game have been catalogued next to eachother. I’m assuming they always have been. These books, sadly, haven’t been checked out as much as they should have which is why many have sat for years with their original library check out cards from the 50’s-60’s. Internet killing books. It’s a funny coincidence all things considered and I just want to look further.