As the Unabomber Ted did not want to be identified as a genius level college grad and PHD.

He once said in a Unanomber letter that while a writer had said any college educated person could learn to use a computer "what about the rest of us?". He also said in another letter "you people with advanced degrees aren’t very smart." The FBI profile on the Unabomber was that he was a non college educated blue collar laid off airline mechanic.

As Zodiac Ted employed similar methods including wrongly spelled words and incorrect grammar.

Doug wrote a letter to Ted asking for alibis for Zodiac murder dates and got no response. Ted claimed Allen was the Zodiac.

I agree that we need to figure out the sources for these "official" dismissals of Kaczynski as a suspect. Graysmith makes similar blanket dismissals without referencing a source. I’m very curious what the official sources say.

The handwriting "expert" did not have much of Ted’s writing, but even so, while he could not declare a match he said Ted Kaczynski could NOT be ruled out as the author of the Zodiac letters

Who was that? Do you have a source?

We will never solve this case based on handwriting, at least handwriting alone.
I’m guessing that none of Ted’s fingerprints matched what SFDP or the CA DOJ or the FBI has for Zodiac, which is not saying much, as there are no definitive prints.
I’m also guessing the authorities absolutely have some of Ted’s DNA on file, easily collected from drinking vessels in prison. And I’m guessing that this DNA is not a
match to whatever SFPD has in terms of Zodiac DNA. Which is also sketchy and partial last time I checked.
I would personally reach out to Ted, AK, and create a repoire with him to see if he will tell you his story. What does he have to lose? A confession would be a good way to solve the Zodiac murders. Don’t bother with his brother, as his brother must protect Ted.

OWK – From Ted’s perspective he has a lot to lose. His dream was to be a revolutionary. He is treated as a hero by some in the radical environmental and primitivist anarchist movements. He has fans in academia. His crimes such as blowing up logging executives and bombing tech targets have resulted in some treating him as a political terrorist. He loves it. His articles are read and debated. He has fans and followers.

He will never admit he was Zodiac, a sexually frustrated psychopath who gunned down teens in lover lanes. If he is exposed as Zodiac he would likely lose some of his idiot followers who see him as a hero.

Doug wrote to Ted and asked for alibis and Ted did not respond. Another writer told Doug that Ted’s lawyer said that they "could not" provide alibis for Zodiac crimes. Not that they "would not" but that they "could not".

I agree that we need to figure out the sources for these "official" dismissals of Kaczynski as a suspect. Graysmith makes similar blanket dismissals without referencing a source. I’m very curious what the official sources say.

The handwriting "expert" did not have much of Ted’s writing, but even so, while he could not declare a match he said Ted Kaczynski could NOT be ruled out as the author of the Zodiac letters

Who was that? Do you have a source?

http://www.unazod.com/essay1.html

I don’t have the name of the person who worked for or was hired by SFPD. I don’t know their credentials, if any. I do know they did not have much of Ted’s writing at that point, and probably none of his pre-1968 writing i.e. pre-Zodiac.

The statement that Ted could "not be ruled in or out" is pretty equivocal. Others like Allen were ruled out period. And the statement that no "significant evidence" showed Ted wrote the Zodiac letters is also strange. Does that mean that "some" evidence showed he did or "moderate" evidence showed he did?

The statement that Ted was put of state for 5 Zodiac murders or mailings is absolutely false as I showed above.

In the past few years persons in law enforcement have tried to get Ted’s DNA, including writing to the federal prison, so Ted is not "cleared" as far as they are concerned.

In the past few years persons in law enforcement have tried to get Ted’s DNA, including writing to the federal prison, so Ted is not "cleared" as far as they are concerned.

AK, any idea what prevents law enforcement authorities from coercing Ted to provide a DNA sample? He’s in a freaking Supermax prison, accused of multiple homicides. The Supreme Court has ruled that it is legal to obtain DNA samples for serious crimes so why couldn’t they get SOMETHING from Ted? I honestly like his handwriting or at least would be uncomfortable ruling him out based on it. Get a freaking DNA sample.

I can not speak for the federal laws about gathering DNA from prisoners but I imagine they are similar to the California laws.

http://ag.ca.gov/bfs/pdf/69IB_121508.pdf

Basically what the law is in California is, if a prisoner was arrested AFTER Jan. 1, 2009 they can take a swab for DNA no questions asked. If the prisoner was incarcerated before that date then LE needs evidence that the prisoner committed a specific crime and it has to be compelling evidence. Bruce Davis, Howard Davis’s suspect has never had his DNA tested against whatever they have on Zodiac’s DNA. He can not be forced to give that DNA either, nor can it be taken off of an eating utensil. It would not be legal to do that and would not hold up in court.

Excuse my ignorance, but has Ted committed any known crimes that were more personal/psycho-sexual, like the Zodiac’s, or were they all political/corporate killings?

I can not speak for the federal laws about gathering DNA from prisoners but I imagine they are similar to the California laws.

http://ag.ca.gov/bfs/pdf/69IB_121508.pdf

Basically what the law is in California is, if a prisoner was arrested AFTER Jan. 1, 2009 they can take a swab for DNA no questions asked. If the prisoner was incarcerated before that date then LE needs evidence that the prisoner committed a specific crime and it has to be compelling evidence. Bruce Davis, Howard Davis’s suspect has never had his DNA tested against whatever they have on Zodiac’s DNA. He can not be forced to give that DNA either, nor can it be taken off of an eating utensil. It would not be legal to do that and would not hold up in court.

Many thanks, Seagull. I’m quite honestly not crazy about newer DNA laws from a civil liberties standpoint as much as I’d like to get a definitive call on Ted K. and Bruce Davis. I’m naively hopefully that DNA evidence will eventually solve this case.

Excuse my ignorance, but has Ted committed any known crimes that were more personal/psycho-sexual, like the Zodiac’s, or were they all political/corporate killings?

Read the first page of this thread in particular about halfway down the first page starting with the section I call Birth of Zodiac. Ted reports going crazy from "acute sexual starvation", wanting a sex change, chickening out and then deciding he would now kill everyone he hates, including "rowdy college students", love making couples, sexually promiscuous women who are "animals, pigs", police, psychiatrists and others.

Seagull the federal laws appear similar and Ted was convicted prior to the changes. The FBI had to ask him for a DNA sample in the Tylenol case and he refused. They said they would seek a court order and I am sure Ted is fighting it every step of the way.

I can not speak for the federal laws about gathering DNA from prisoners but I imagine they are similar to the California laws.

http://ag.ca.gov/bfs/pdf/69IB_121508.pdf

Basically what the law is in California is, if a prisoner was arrested AFTER Jan. 1, 2009 they can take a swab for DNA no questions asked. If the prisoner was incarcerated before that date then LE needs evidence that the prisoner committed a specific crime and it has to be compelling evidence. Bruce Davis, Howard Davis’s suspect has never had his DNA tested against whatever they have on Zodiac’s DNA. He can not be forced to give that DNA either, nor can it be taken off of an eating utensil. It would not be legal to do that and would not hold up in court.

Many thanks, Seagull. I’m quite honestly not crazy about newer DNA laws from a civil liberties standpoint as much as I’d like to get a definitive call on Ted K. and Bruce Davis. I’m naively hopefully that DNA evidence will eventually solve this case.

Which is frustrating as all hell because they can do it to people on the streets who haven’t (necessarily) committed a crime.

Who knows whether the authorities have Ted’s DNA or not?

But if they did take it and then compared it with what they have on file, they are hardly about to admit to being wrong if, say, it pointed to Ted’s involvement in the Tylenol killings. It would go beyond professional embarrasment. The same goes for other murders as well as Z.

Is Ted a schizophrenic?

D9 – I can only hope you are wrong…but you may be right.

OWK – Ted denies he is a "sicko" just as the Bates killer said he was not "sick". But Ted certainly was mentally ill.

This thread is for the most important evidence regarding Ted K and Zodiac. And questions or comments. Dan G your posts had nothing to do with Ted K so please don’t post off topic here.

Some different facts, evidence and ideas…

I think it was TRAV who did a screen capture of this image from the German documentary on the net, computers, lsd and Ted.

This shows that Ted was burying ammo as early as 1973. Which fits with his writings that he was expecting shootout with the police this early, which is odd, because the first unabomber crime was in 1978.

So in 1971 when Ted says he has "violently rebeled" against society, what is he talking about?

—————————

The Zodiac = This is the murderer of the 2 teenagers last Christmass at Lake Herman & the girl on the 4th of July near the golf course in Vallejo. To prove I killed them I shall state some facts which only I & the police know. Three-Part Cipher, 1969.

FC aka Unabomber = To prove that we are the ones who planted the bomb at U. Of Cal. last May we will mention a few details that could be known only to us and the FBI who investigated the incident. S.F. Examiner Letter, 1985.

The Lords Avenger = "I built with these hands the bomb I placed in the car of Judi Bari. Doubt me not for I will tell you the design and materials such as only I would know."

——————————

Did Zodiac have an unusual or distinctive walk?

If he did that may be an interesting factor to consider when looking at potential suspects.

In the first report of Officer Fouke, he wrote that the man he saw walking away from the Stine crime scene – who was probably the Zodiac – had a "shuffling lope". The key line in full is:

"Subject at no time appeared to be in a hurry walked with a shuffling lope, slightly bent forward head down."

It is not quite clear exactly what Fouke means, but apparently the walk of Zodiac was distinctive enough that he remembered it and felt it worthy to note. Fouke later amplified on this somewhat ambigous description in the documentary on the Zodiac 2 Disc DVD. From a transcript provided by Doug Oswell and on the Howard Davis site, Fouke states it was a:

"lumbering gait, sort of stumbling along, like a semi-limp."

See documentary video at 1:27:17.

On 9/27/69 three college girls at Lake Berryessa felt they were being watched by a man who behaved oddly, hiding in his car and then behind trees. Some think this man could be the Zodiac. One of the girls, called "Lorna" by Robert Graysmith in Zodiac Unmasked, gives an interesting description on pp. 395-396, parts of which I relate here, with the key part emphasized:

He was not distinctive, just an average, normal plain person, other than he gave us the creeps…I remember his face as square, all sides symmetrical. I don’t remember him being pudgy, just compact…stocky, solid. The minute you mentioned the suspect was a swimmer, that felt so right about his body type. I wouldn’t say he had a limp, but he favored one leg when he walked. He was clean-cut, nice-looking, and wearing dark blue pants, pleated like suit pants, and a black sweatshirt with short sleeves, knitted at the ends."

So with these descriptions of an unsusual or distinctive walk by Zodiac we should consider if this matches any of the known suspects.

Credit to Doug Oswell for the following discovery.

In terms of Ted Kaczynski, David Kaczynski told the FBI in his Declaration of February 18, 1997:

"The FBI asked me if there was anything unusual about my brother’s gait. I replied that his left foot is noticeably pigeon-toed and affects the way he walks."