Does anyone know who purchased these items? The DNA is on these right now. As a private collector, who legally purchased the item from the auction, they have every right to do a DNA test on it. The inside of the mask near the nose hole would most likely have one cell, which is all they would need.

Is Ted allowed visitors? Maybe Darla would be allowed to interview him!!!

Another thought….is he allowed mail? I’d certainly think so and am sure one of the experts here could write him a letter and become pen pals. He must be very lonely and might enjoy communication. It would be most interesting to know his thoughts today on the topics he wrote about so many years ago.

I wonder if he has access to computers and the Internet and in general, how he spends his time.

He might even enjoy becoming a member here and perhaps could help shed some light on Z!

Maybe Morf could write to him and invite him to share his thoughts with us!

FBI prolly tested it (hood and that may be too much credit I am giving to the fbi since they seem to fumble the ball) and if they did we shall more than likely never know…did TK ever have a girlfriend??..if so I wonder what his "type" was..may be CJB was that girl that turned him "on" and TK with whatever was in his mind had to dispose of her and those feelings…I totally agree hartnell should be shown the hood..if that has not been done well shame on the fbi..another thing i would do is be talking to TK daily as it appears he may have many characteristics of the unknown Z..what could it hurt…ramblings off-god speed

Ted K never really had a girlfriend, so I don’t what his type is or if he had a type.

Does anyone know who purchased these items? The DNA is on these right now. As a private collector, who legally purchased the item from the auction, they have every right to do a DNA test on it. The inside of the mask near the nose hole would most likely have one cell, which is all they would need.

The problem is once it goes into the hands of a private collector, the evidence chain of custody is broken. So it probably could not be used in court, unless the collector followed strict protocols and they were able to say the blood or skin cells or sweat was 40 years old and we got x result.

But generally speaking if evidence leaves state custody it is no longer admissible.

I heard rumors that a publishing company bought all of Ted’s diaries, journals and letters at the auction, with intent to release a book, but I have heard nothing since.

Maybe someone should write him and ask what the purpose of that hood was….It was obviously handmade for a purpose. I lived in MT and watched his transport come through town when he was caught. It was really cold out there often, so my thought is it could have been just for keeping his face warm if he was caught out in the weather at night at some point….I know there were PLENTY of times I wore a mask out there when it was cold.

Maybe someone should write him and ask what the purpose of that hood was….It was obviously handmade for a purpose. I lived in MT and watched his transport come through town when he was caught. It was really cold out there often, so my thought is it could have been just for keeping his face warm if he was caught out in the weather at night at some point….I know there were PLENTY of times I wore a mask out there when it was cold.

No doubt it gets cold, but a ski mask would keep you warmer, which Ted had. So I do not know why he would have this thin black hand made hood. It would seem to serve no purpose for hunting or Unabomber crimes.

Looking at the pictures of Zodiac in costume, it appears the hood has a box shape, like there might be a welding mask type structure. It also appears the hood is connected to the dickey that comes over the chest. So that it is one unit. It also appears in the police drawing that the hood has RECTANGULAR EYE SLITS.

Is it POSSIBLE that he may have wanted to wear a partial face mask hood UNDERNEATH the bulky hood-dickey structure? Perhaps in case it got knocked off during a struggle, so his face would still be partially covered?

Because it does look like the rectangular eye slits on the Kaczynski hood line up quite well with the Zodiac hood.

And they are both flat on top.

This item is being sold to the public. If there is even a 1% chance this could be something Zodiac wore, I wish it could be tested for DNA. With the bloody scene at Lake Berryessa, when Zodiac removed his hood with his hands, tiny microscopic specks of blood from the victims could have got on the hood.

Is Ted allowed visitors? Maybe Darla would be allowed to interview him!!!

Another thought….is he allowed mail? I’d certainly think so and am sure one of the experts here could write him a letter and become pen pals. He must be very lonely and might enjoy communication. It would be most interesting to know his thoughts today on the topics he wrote about so many years ago.

I wonder if he has access to computers and the Internet and in general, how he spends his time.

He might even enjoy becoming a member here and perhaps could help shed some light on Z!

Maybe Morf could write to him and invite him to share his thoughts with us!

Well Ted hates computers! But he is in the Federal SuperMax high security prison with computer access anyway.

You or anyone can write him.

Many years back Doug Oswell wrote the following letter to Ted Kaczynski asking for proof of an alibi for Zodiac murder and mailing dates. He never got an answer. Also, an attorney for Ted told a writer that they could not provide an alibi for any of these dates – not that they would not, but that they could not.

The first Unabomber crime was in 1978, yet in the early seventies Ted recorded that he had already engaged in "violent rebellion" against society. In September 1966 Ted recorded the "breakthrough" moment in his life, when he decided to "REALLY kill everyone I hated".(Emphasis in original). The people he hated included "bigshots", scientists, big businessmen, police – but also "rowdy college students" promiscuous women who are "pigs, animals" and "noisy" love making couples.

Had Ted supplied an alibi for any of the key Z dates, that would end speculation about him being Z.

This is the letter:

Mr. Kaczynski:

My name is Douglas Oswell. For the past five years I have been researching the similarities between the Unabomber and a world-renowned criminal styled “Zodiac,” who became a pop-culture icon in the late 1960s through a series of sensational murders and correspondences with the press.

At this juncture I have uncovered no evidence that would forge a definite link between the activities of the Unabomber and those of Zodiac. Authorities at both the state and federal level have written off the likelihood of any such connection. Nevertheless it is undeniable (even by the detractors of a connection) that many similarities exist.

I have been advised that it would be unfair to suggest such a connection without offering you the opportunity to defend the reputation of the Unabomber and the philosophy for which he stood. To that end I would like to present you with a list of dates and ask that you provide accounts of your whereabouts for as many of those dates as possible. A valid alibi for even a single date, backed by documentary evidence, would be sufficient to prove conclusively that there is no linkage whatsoever between the sordid crimes of Zodiac and the more principled (albeit terrible) activities of the Unabomber.

Here is the list of dates in question:

Month
Day
Year

December
20
1968

July
4—5
1969

July
31
1969

August
1—8
1969

September
27
1969

October
11—13
1969

November
8—9
1969

December
20
1969

April
20
1970

April
28
1970

June
26
1970

July
24
1970

July
26
1970

October
5
1970

October
27
1970

March
13
1971

March
22
1971

Alibis for the following dates, while helpful, would not be conclusive in discounting a connection:

Month
Day
Year

June
3—6
1963

February
3—6
1964

October
30
1966

November
1
1966

April
30
1967

October
22
1969

March
22
1970

Please bear in mind that any alibi should be backed either by documentary evidence or the word of a reliable individual. In the latter case I would appreciate receiving from you a letter or letters of introduction that will establish my credibility to any such person.

It is only fair to state that I do not consider your brother, David Kaczynski, to be a reliable individual for the purpose of establishing an alibi. In 1990, based on conversations with your brother, a friend of his wrote a heretofore unpublished novel about “a Berkeley professor’s war with technology.” Within that novel the fictional "Berkeley professor" committed murder to promote his worldview, thus anticipating the actual truth long before the Unabomber entered the public imagination.

Whatever the case, I will publish your response in such a way that it may be freely accessed by any interested person.

There is an advantage to you in this. The entire world is aware that you have risked your life to disprove the notion that the Unabomber’s actions were not philosophically motivated, but simply the result of a deviant or warped psychology. I must frankly tell you that the postulated linkage between Zodiac and the Unabomber has grown and persisted in the past five years. Indeed, it shows signs of strengthening in the years to come. I fear that if this theory is not thoroughly refuted, posterity will know the Unabomber not for his principled stand against technology, but for his similarity to a sick and sordid criminal who murdered minor children to assuage his sexual frustrations and shore up a foundering ego. The Zodiac Killer is widely known as “America’s Jack the Ripper.” The Unabomber is fast becoming the “favorite suspect" in a mystery that, because it remains unsolved, will endure for many years to come. You alone can divest him of that distinction.

I thank you for your attention to this matter and encourage you to respond. Enclosed is a small amount of money ($5.00) to defray the cost of postage and stationery.

Sincerely,
Douglas E. Oswell
————————————-
Doug told me he never got a reply to this letter.

If TK was NOT the Zodiac, it would be so easy for him to blow this whole idea out of the water, by producing a timecard, a paycheck, class attendance sheet, a letter, postmarked envelope, a photograph, a witness.

Doug told me another writer got a response from Ted’s attorney that NO ALIBI for the above dates could be produced.

linda
Sergeant

Sounds like the letter must have gotten through if someone got a response from Ted’s attorney regarding no alibi being available. I’ve always found it interesting that in the Unabomber case itself, the period of time from Ted’s college years until 1978 seem to be brushed over. If there had been a trial, maybe some more about these years would have come out, but since he plead guilty, these years are presented almost as a blur…

AK WILKS:

onewhoknows asked: "Dear AK have you ever sent a letter to TK and asked him if he is the Zodiac? Just wondering"

AK: I have not yet, but in the first post you can see what happened when Doug Oswell did.

Ted did not respond.

This still cracks me up!

Apparently Ted Kaczynski is the only person left in the world besides Robert Graysmith who thinks Allen was the Zodiac.

Ted relies on the fact that according to him "law enforcement authorities concluded I had no connection with the Zodiac case."

Yep thats Ted, always a big believer in how right the law enforcement authorities are! This from the man who said the "FBI isn’t going to catch [me] anytime soon. The FBI is a joke."

Wow! Thanks so much for this very interesting information. I do hope someone writes Ted again soon. I hesitate to do it at this time as I really haven’t researched him enough. I’d be interested to ask him if he has followed the Zodiac case and what his thoughts are re. any poi’s…just general questions about Z without pointing the finger at him. What does he read now? Does he watch tv? Participate in sports? What are his thoughts on how the news reporting has changed? He is of the same era as many of us so he surely would have an opinion?
How does he spend his day? Get all the details. What are his wishes, desires, goals at this time? Does he have any friends in prison, ie. some of the guards? What size shoes does he wear now and what style are they? Has he gained weight with age and incarceration? How does he like the food? I wonder what the other inmates are like in the area where he is but can understand that he might not feel too comfortable commenting about them.

The lack of an alibi for the dates listed does not surprise me in view of the fact that Ted was a "loner". I don’t know that much about him but just put yourself in his shoes re. being a Zodiac suspect. Could you provide an alibi as to where you were on those dates had you been asked the same question? I doubt if very many people could given the time that elapsed between the actual events and the time they were being asked where they were.

How could Ted or millions of others prove they were home, perhaps alone or perhaps not, simply reading, watching tv or whatever? If someone is home alone and not on the telephone or the Internet or some other gadget that didn’t exist back then, then how would they ever be able to prove it?

It really would be interesting to hear from Ted now that he’s been in prison awhile. I wonder what his thoughts are re. the auction of his belongings?

Just type in "letters from ted kaczynski" in google images. Many people have written Ted and posted his reply on the internet. From what I read, some of the letters get through and others do not. What are the rules governing communication with prisoners? Can they open and read their mail? If so, can the guards decide what mail gets in and out or is Ted just being paranoid.

Notice how all the letters have a square box at the top for a " to and from". He also did this box at the top of the page in the journal entries that were posted for auction. I’m not sure it’s such a great idea to communicate directly with someone one who shows a serious inability to know the difference between right and wrong. He seems to me a little on the "Rain man" side of sanity. He may not be paranoid schizod., but sociopath, which is a better diagnosis, is a mental disorder, too.

Thanks, Darla. Did you notice the "Z" under his signature? I must say he has very neat printing and if I didn’t know better, would guess his occupation to be along the lines of an accountant or engineer.

From the handwriting alone, I don’t think it looks anything like Z’s unless of course he was faking it. Ted is obviously a good speller and seems so serious, I cannot imagine him going to a card shop and selecting those cards…LOL!

I’m going to Google those letters. I’m very curious re. whether he’s had women writing him with proposals of marriage like Scott Peterson et al.

It would be great if the right person could write him and ask him what that hood was for? It was found with his things and we know where he is and what he was convicted of so at least his ideas would be most interesting because Zodiac could have many of the same personality traits as Ted. I’d really like to know what he made it out of and what he says he used it for.

Thanks, Darla. Did you notice the "Z" under his signature? I must say he has very neat printing and if I didn’t know better, would guess his occupation to be along the lines of an accountant or engineer.

From the handwriting alone, I don’t think it looks anything like Z’s unless of course he was faking it. Ted is obviously a good speller and seems so serious, I cannot imagine him going to a card shop and selecting those cards…LOL!

I’m going to Google those letters. I’m very curious re. whether he’s had women writing him with proposals of marriage like Scott Peterson et al.

It would be great if the right person could write him and ask him what that hood was for? It was found with his things and we know where he is and what he was convicted of so at least his ideas would be most interesting because Zodiac could have many of the same personality traits as Ted. I’d really like to know what he made it out of and what he says he used it for.

I guess we all see things different. Many people with little interest in Ted as Z will admit to me the handwriting is very similar. And Ted did buy cheesy greeting cards and he had a sarcastic cutting sense of humor – he was not always in dry academic mode. He was a mathematician, which is why I think his handwriting is similar to an engineers.

He will not answer why he had a hood. He will not admit to being Zodiac. As he states above he is only interested in writing to fans of his, those people who want to fight against the techno-industrial system.

Ted decided he would rather face the death penalty than have his lawyers say he was insane. As the letter writer said "I am not sick", Ted said "I am not a sickie. They were going to portray me as a sickie."

Ted is a hero to some people in the anarchist primitivist movement and the radical environmental groups. He is interviewed by college professors and cited in journals. They view him as a political terrorist, a leader in a cause, someone who fought against big corporations and technology.

The Zodiac is a serial killer, viewed in the category of Jack the Ripper and Ted Bundy, a sick psychopath who shot teenagers in the back, a lovers lane stalker who took out his sexual frustrations on innocent men and women. Zodiac does get some "praise" for being a genius, going uncaught and making unsolvable codes. Yet these are overshadowed by killing teens and the label as a psycho.

I think Ted is happy with how he is viewed now. Other than teasing references, like signing his name with a huge Z, he will not admit to being Zodiac.

Gary Greenberg noted that Ted Kaczynski would often sign his letters with a large "Z" underneath the signature. He wondered if this was like a "Mark of Zorro". I have never seen anything to indicate Kaczynski would have been a fan of those old adventure films. Ted also told a psychiatrist he had an "obssession" with a "Ms. Z" during his gradute school years, though no evidence suggests he had a relationship with any woman, let alone one woth a last name starting with a "Z". Was "Ms. Z" his codeword for Zodiac? Ted also spraypainted a Yggdrasil symbol, also known as the Algiz Rune, at the campus of a target. The Algiz Rune translates to English as the letter "Z". In a yearbook Ted indicated his "mark" was two crossed lines inside a circle, suggesting a rough early prototype of the Zodiac symbol. Is the large "Z" under his name meant to conjure up Zodiac?

Zodiac often but not always did a 3 stroke "k", Kaczynski often but not always did a 3 stroke "k". Zodiac often did a 5 stroke "m", same as Ted. Other matches include the checkmark "r", short caps and bottom on the capital "I" and frequent cursive looped back on the "d". Look at Ted’s "k" in "Park" – a clear 3 stroke. Morrill said few people in the general population do 3 stroke "k" or 5 stroke "m" so those would be things he would look for. I also blew up the Ted letter to the boy.

GRAPHICS AND RESEARCH BY AK WILKS AND AWESHUCKS – A HANDWRITING COMPARISON – ZODIAC AND KACZYNSKI

From Doug Oswell, the Application Bio by Kaczynski to the U Cal Berkeley, December 1966.

The writing looks particularly Zodiac like to me, compare it to the Belli letter.

Capricorn – " Ted is obviously a good speller and seems so serious, I cannot imagine him going to a card shop and selecting those cards…LOL!"

Ted intentionally misspelled words and did other things to disguise his education. Just as I think the Z did.

You said you did not think Ted would buy greeting cards. He did.

What about the possible Zodiac letters in 1990?

A "celebrity cipher" card possibly sent by the Zodiac is mailed in September 1990 from Oakland, CA at a time when evidence places Ted Kaczynski in that same area and even that city.

Ted Kaczynski purchased and used the "Christmas Tree – Greetings" stamp on a letter to a neighbor.

If authentic, the Zodiac used a "Christmas Tree – Greetings" stamp on a 1990 Xmas card to the SF Chronicle.

If authentic, the Zodiac was in Northern California, specifically Eureka, in 1990 to mail the SF Chronicle letter.

Compelling evidence, including witnesses, pictures and physical items, places Ted Kaczynski in Northern California, specifically area around Eureka, in 1990.

Suspected Zodiac Xmas Card With Tree Stamp And Kaczynski Xmas Card With Tree Stamp:

Excellent analysis by Doug Oswell:

A careful scrutiny of the composite offers some interesting revelations. Both productions were mailed in early December of 1990. The handwriting on both missives is eerily similar, even to the point of the particular character formations, the relative x-heights of the lower-case characters, the numerals, and the qualities of base alignment and extra spacing between the lines of the addresses. A test comparison of the character formation and relative x-heights can be made by culling individual letters from the Kaczynski card and comparing them with a particular word or words from the suspected correspondence:

The stamps are identical, and in the inset Kaczynski is quoted as lamenting the increased price of a Christmas card: "A buck fifteen for a Christmas card!" he complains, "This is getting ridiculous." The price of the Eureka card, as indicated on the back near the UPC code, is exactly $1.15.

Looking at the pictures of Zodiac in costume, it appears the hood has a box shape, like there might be a welding mask type structure. It also appears the hood is connected to the dickey that comes over the chest. So that it is one unit. It also appears in the police drawing that the hood has RECTANGULAR EYE SLITS.

With all due respect on this issue, I think you’re over-thinking the hood, as have many, many people….

Imo…it was something one could make at home using thread, a needle, some scissors, a hard-cloth four-cornered bag, and a black piece of cloth. Yeah, it appeared to be stitched, which meant The Zodiac may have had a sewing machine. A guy like that, no wife, no mother, not much money…probably would have had to stitch things up on his own. I’ve done the same on occasion with old jeans. It’s not rocket surgery.

You can make The Zodiac’s LB garb with about thirty bucks and a trip to Ebay. Not sure why people are still laboring their imagination over a bag sewn to a piece of cloth…

ITA these samples look almost identical and also remind me of the Ramsey ransom note….and Mr. Ramsey was a bigwig in the computer industry.

I must say I agree with Ted re. the price of greeting cards. If he thought they were too much when he wrote that note to his friend, imagine what he’d think of today’s prices. I bought three cards recently and was shocked to see they were $ 4.95 and up for just ordinary American Greeing birthday cards.

Maybe he would respond favorably if someone or a group of people wrote him re. the price of greeting cards and letting him know they thought he had a valid point! In view of Halloween coming soon, anyone with artistic ability such as Sandy Betts might be able to draw a card to send to Ted, reminiscent of Z’s Halloween card along of course with a clever riddle or saying….something that he’d appreciate and get a chuckle from and hopefully one that would get a response from him.

I really wouldn’t think twice about the "Z" under his signature, given his last name were it not for thee Zodiac. If he used it before Z came out as Z, then I think it was his shorthand for his last name. It also reminds me of how many doctors sign their name and some celebrities. I’ve seen some doctors who just write their first initial and then what is almost a straight line for the rest of the letters.

If someone decides to write him, this might be something he’d be willing to explain. I do think it is rather admirable that he refused to go for the insanity defense.

Looking at the pictures of Zodiac in costume, it appears the hood has a box shape, like there might be a welding mask type structure. It also appears the hood is connected to the dickey that comes over the chest. So that it is one unit. It also appears in the police drawing that the hood has RECTANGULAR EYE SLITS.

With all due respect on this issue, I think you’re over-thinking the hood, as have many, many people….

Imo…it was something one could make at home using thread, a needle, some scissors, a hard-cloth four-cornered bag, and a black piece of cloth. Yeah, it appeared to be stitched, which meant The Zodiac may have had a sewing machine. A guy like that, no wife, no mother, not much money…probably would have had to stitch things up on his own. I’ve done the same on occasion with old jeans. It’s not rocket surgery.

You can make The Zodiac’s LB garb with about thirty bucks and a trip to Ebay. Not sure why people are still laboring their imagination over a bag sewn to a piece of cloth…

Maybe. At this point probably most of the evidence was been over thought. But the Z and TK both made hand made hoods. With horizontal eye slits. And as far as I know, the only major named suspect with a hand made hood found in his home was Ted. Like most of the other evidence in this case, you can take it or leave it. I and some others find it potentially significant, others may not.

Capricorn – intereting analysis, but Ted’s last name is Kaczynski. Starts with a K. It does have a ‘Z" in the middle, but normally I would think a person would write the first letter of their last name. That he picked a "Z" is odd and maybe telling in and of itself. In sessions with a government psychiatrist, he claimed that in college he had a relationship with a "Ms. Z". All of Ted’s family and friends and classmates have no memory of him even dating a girl, let alone a relationship, let alone a relationship with someone with a name starting with "Z". And at the campus of a Unabomber target, ted spraypainted the yggdrasil symbol, a Norse rune letter meaning "Z" in their alphabet.