TK had the lean athletic body type of EAR / ONS. He also could hike, camp and hunt for days or even weeks in the woods. But new facts have come to the surface, however, that lead me to believe that TK is NOT EAR / ONS.

A member here started researching the case and discovered a very strong POI. The member asked me to also look into this POI and I did. We developed even more evidence. With the help and skills of another member here we put together a very compelling visual presentation of the evidence. These members can identify themselves if they wish.

While always keeping that small reserve of doubt, I now believe it is very likely this person is EAR / ONS. To the extent that I have put on the back burner every other suspect in the case, including TK.

It’s in the hands of a very interested law enforcement and we should have an answer fairly soon. I still very much believe the facts and evidence show that TK was very likely the Zodiac Killer.

I would ask anyone who thinks TK is the Zodiac or EAR/ONS to look at signature. TK was an anarchist, angry at society. his motivation was political and technological and he killed from a distance (mail bombs). He was very hands off. It wasn’t the act of murder itself that he was interested in but the statement he made by choice of victims. TK was in Montana by 1970 if reports are to be believed and my guess is with his incredibly awkward social skills he would have stuck out like a sore thumb any place he went to. Likewise, the last call a victim received from EAR/ONS had a child making noise in the background. Again doesn’t match TK.

Likewise, Z’s behavior doesn’t match up with EAR/ONS. An experienced killer of five people suddenly regresses in violence to house breaking and ransacking places, then escalates to rape and ultimately again to murder? It’s much like the people who claim Jack the Ripper was George Chapman. A guy goes from completely dehumanizing Mary Jane Kelly and rendering her unrecognizable to poisoning people? I don’t think so. EAR/ONS probably started as a peeper or fetishist and gradually built up his confidence as his violence escalated. The choice of victims is telling. First single women or women with children. No real physical threats. Then as his confidence grows, he moves to couples. The age discrepancy between Z and ONS probably points to them being mutually exclusive too.

There are some obvious similarities between Z and EAR/ONS and I definitely think EAR/ONS was influenced by Zodiac, as any aspiring psychopath would be who lived in California in the 1960s and early 1970s. He would envy the fear Zodiac inspired and seek to emulate it. Much like, in my opinion, Zodiac was influenced by the Black Dahlia murder in LA. He would be at an impressionable age when it was committed and, although the MOs are quite different, it was the killer’s letter to the press and the publicity it generated that likely captured Z’s attention. I’m guessing he probably read about Jack the Ripper too. He would recognize that it was the name "Jack the Ripper" that captured the public’s imagination and horror and how powerful the press was in spreading this fear. Thus, he feels compelled to give himself a name too, just like JTR.

There is an interesting passage in Graysmith’s Zodiac about a woman in Contra Costa waking up to a hot prowl burglar in the house. I seem to recall (don’t quote me though) that he shined a flashlight in her eyes too. She had a child in the house. The woman fought him off and the child saw him flee. He was wearing a ski mask. Reminds me very much of EAR/ONS’s MO though Graysmith suggests it is Z. I do know there were some EAR crimes in Contra Costa.

Finally, I truly believe there is one person who can identify the EAR/ONS and that is his wife or girlfriend. She would sense the hint of a dark side, recognize the similarities between his opinions and those expressed in the ONS’s writing (especially some hard feelings about his experiences at school), and perhaps notice his penchant for unusual knots during their sadistic bondage sessions. Oh yes, and she was also be aware that he wasn’t well endowed!

There is compelling evidence out there that TK is definitely not EAR/ONS. The kind of evidence that you would expect to need to clear him.

And I will add the sexual element is missing from TK’s crimes. Though I do believe there is an underlying sexual element to Zodiac’s crimes, he never raped. Another big distinction between Z and EAR/ONS, the latter being a prolific sex offender. My best guess is EAR/ONS was able to have a long term relationship that produced a child. This explains why he went dormant. Then maybe he was killed in an accident or died from a terminal health issue, like cancer. California’s DNA database is second only to Virginia’s, so his last conviction (if he ever incurred one), would have to had occurred before DNA collection started. Don’t know if CA collects DNA on misdemeanants. VA does not. So he could have presumably been convicted of a misd. Or been charged with a felony that was amended to a misd. Then he would have a criminal record but no DNA on file.

His child however (if one exists), could hold the key to the mystery. Familial DNA could solve this one.