So then you don’t think that Joseph R. Scolaro III was the one that murdered the Robison family?

AK Wilks: There is a circumstantial case against the partner. But no real motive. Despite looking hard, police and prosecutors found no evidence of embezzlement, and no charges were ever brought. Also Mr. Robison was killed with the first shot fired, fired from outside the cabin. There was absolutely no reason for Scolaro or a hitman to enter the house and kill the entire family.

I have seen reports of shots heard in the Robison cabin area at 9:00 PM. That creates the serious problem of how Joseph Scolaro, who was seen in the Detroit area at 11:00 PM, covered over 300 miles in two hours. It can’t be done.

For more discussion of the Robison case and other Midwest murders go here: http://zodiackillersite.com/viewtopic.php?f=102&t=993

Santa Barbara in ’63 would seem to point away from Ted. Could he have been there? Didn’t he write in his journal that he decided to kill years later after seeing the shrink about the sex change?

Agreed that the ammo is a possible link, but Super X is pretty common. Not sure how rare the 6 lands/grooves and RH twist were back then, but that would certainly narrow down the type of gun.

CZ85: Santa Barbara in ’63 would seem to point away from Ted. Could he have been there? Didn’t he write in his journal that he decided to kill years later after seeing the shrink about the sex change?

AK Wilks: He could have been there, but no known evidence showing he was or was not. Would have been summer vacation from college. But it is true he wrote in his journal that the breakthrough moment in his life, when he decided to become a killer, was late August or early September of 1966. And there were several bombings and murders within the next two months. So if Ted is telling the truth in his journal, then he is likely not a good suspect for the possible Z crime of 6/4/63 Santa Barbara. But then he may have wished to leave this early crime out of his narrative and rationalizations tied to the 1966 failed sex change bid and turning point, for various reasons.

CZ85: Agreed that the ammo is a possible link, but Super X is pretty common. Not sure how rare the 6 lands/grooves and RH twist were back then, but that would certainly narrow down the type of gun.

AK Wilks: In regards to the link between TK and Zodiac, and Zodiac California LHR 12/20/68 and Zodius Michigan 6/25/68, there are several things to consider. You have .22 Super X ammo used on 6/4/63, LHR 12/20/68 and it is .22 Super X ammo found in the Kaczynski cabin. There are hundreds of different types of ammo available, so I find it of some interest, enough to note it, that Ted has the same type of ammo as was used at three crime scenes were a couple is killed. And that the Super X ammo itself has crossed lines inside a circle, just like the Zodiac symbol, and like the Unabomber symbol and the symbol Ted put next to his signature in a classmate’s high school yearbook.

And the connections between 6/25/68 and 12/20/68 are not limited to just the type of ammo used. Police determined that both were fired from a pistol with six right hands twists, and police in both cases determined that the weapon most likely used was a JC Higgins pistol. You also have the many other matches – both killers wrote to newspapers giving details only the killer could know, both named themselves a variation of the Latin word for animal circle Zodiacus (in CA he used Zodiac, in MI he used Zodius), both targeted couples, both stacked bodies atop one another (and posing of any kind only occurs in 1% of murders), both used a knife to cut garments to expose the female, both covered bodies with a blanket, etc.

At both the Zodiac crime of California LHR 12/20/68 and Zodius crime of Michigan 6/25/68, .22 caliber Super X ammo was used, and both were fired from a gun with six right twists and grooves, with police determining the patterns on the bullet were most compatible with having been fired from a JC Higgins .22 pistol.

Police report on Jensen – Faraday Murders, Lake Herman Road, CA, 12/20/68,in which ZODIAC wrote a letter to a newspaper with inside knowledge of the crime.

Police report on Robison Murder 6/25/68, Michigan, in which ZODIUS wrote a letter to a newspaper with inside knowledge of the crime.

Looking at the police reports above, we see that both weapons used in the murder of a Michigan couple (with kids present) on 6/25/68, and the murder of a California couple 12/20/68, were from a .22 caliber gun with six right twists and grooves, with police in both CA and MI stating that the most likely weapon used was a JC Higgins. Ammo used in both cases was .22 Super X brand.

In the 12/20/68 murder, police and press later received letters from killer, demanding they be printed in the newspaper, with details from the crime only the killer would know, killer dubbing himself ZODIAC.

In the 6/25/68 murder, police and press later received letters from killer, demanding they be printed in the newspaper, with details from the crime only the killer would know, killer dubbing himself ZODIUS.

In 6/4/63 California, 9/18/66 Illinois and 6/25/68 Michigan, the female victim was left exposed, and in 6/4/63 and 6/25/68, bodies were stacked atop one another. In the Robison case, a son was placed on top of the father, and the daughter placed on top of both of them. This is very rare. Former FBI Special Agent and serial killer profiler John Douglas referenced a study that found that after death posing of bodies occurs in less than 1% of homicides.

The Robison family murders of 6/25/68 were one of a series of Midwest murders were entire families were killed or the attack took place in a home where the family was present.

The other possible crimes in this possible series include the attack on the Percy family home on 9/18/66 in which Valerie Percy was killed and the murder of the Bricca family in Ohio on 9/27/66, in which father, mother and daughter were killed. In the Bricca case, bodies were also posed, and like Santa Barbara 6/4/63 and Michigan 6/25/68, the female was placed on top of the male. Based on evidence I gave them, the detectives in the Bricca case issued a press release stating that the Zodiac Killer was being investigated as a suspect.

AK Wilks: "…both stacked bodies atop one another (and posing of any kind only occurs in 1% of murders), both used a knife to cut garments to expose the female, both covered bodies with a blanket, etc."

These things happened in confirmed Zodiac attacks? I don’t recall reading those details.

AKWilks you are amazing! Thank you for your work here. I think it is a fascinating case.

CZ85, stacked bodies occurred at the Domingos/Edwards scene, which is not a "confirmed" Zodiac case. There is a tremendous amount of clues that it was Zodiac though.

AKWilks you are amazing! Thank you for your work here. I think it is a fascinating case.

CZ85, stacked bodies occurred at the Domingos/Edwards scene, which is not a "confirmed" Zodiac case. There is a tremendous amount of clues that it was Zodiac though.

Thanks. Glad you find my work interesting.

Yes I agree with you there are many clues, MO matches and other elements shared by 6/4/63 and confirmed Z cases like LHR 12/20/68.

AK Wilks: "…both stacked bodies atop one another (and posing of any kind only occurs in 1% of murders), both used a knife to cut garments to expose the female, both covered bodies with a blanket, etc."

CZ85: hese things happened in confirmed Zodiac attacks? I don’t recall reading those details.

AK Wilks: Yes, that’s true that the stacking of bodies, with the female on top of the male, occurred only in the possible Zodiac case of Domingos – Edwards on 6/4/63.

But as Druzer points out, there are a number of Clues, MO matches and other circumstances that make the Domingos -Edwards murders on 6/4/63 not just a possible Zodiac crime but a probable one. I believe Detective Armstrong of SFPD stated that he felt Domingos – Edwards was a definite Zodiac crime. I think other people in law enforcement feel the same way, that it is a definite or at least probable Zodiac crime, and I would guess that the majority of researchers on this site feel it is a probable Zodiac crime.

The Michigan crime of 6/25/68 shares with California 6/4/63 the elements of stacking bodies, with the female atop the male, exposing the female by cutting a piece of clothing with a knife and covering a body with a blanket.

But look at the many elements Michigan 6/25/68 shares with the confirmed Zodiac crime of CA LHR 12/20/68. Both involve not only the use of .22 Super X ammo, the police determined in both cases that the bullet was fired from a gun with six right hand twists and grooves, with police also determining the most likely weapon used was a JC Higgins pistol. In both MI 6/25/68 & CA LHR 12/20/68 you have shots fired through glass.

In both MI & CA you have a man writing to a newspaper with inside knowledge of the crime, asking for his name to appear in the paper, and that name being a derivative of the Latin word Zodiacus – he used Zodius for MI 6/25/68, and Zodiac for CA 12/20/68.

In both MI 6/25/68 & CA 12/20/68 you have the letters in ROEBERT & EMMET appear. In MI Roebert was the name of a mysterious suspect from California and the murders took place in Emmett County. In CA, the letters in ROEBERT & EMMET appear in the last 18 letters of the Zodiac 408 Code.

And in both MI 6/25/68 & CA 12/20/68 the letter sequence EBE appears prominently. In MI the letters "ebe" in the name Roebert are marked by "*" . In CA, the letters "EBE" start the unsolved 18 letters that appear at the end of the Zodiac 408 code.


.E..B..E..O…R..-…-…T..E..M..E..T

Memo from "Mr. Roebert", the suspect in the Robison family murders. Every time the name "Roebert" appears, the letters "ebe" are marked by asterisks, "* * *".

I have always been interested in Zodiac using the .22 caliber Super X ammo for several reasons.

One, it matches what was used at the possible Zodiac crime of Santa Barbara 6/4/63.

Two, the police conclusion that ZODIAC at LHR on 12/20/68 used (a) Super X ammo, (b) fired from a gun with six right twists and (c) was most compatible with being fired from a JC Higgins pistol matches exactly, a, b, and c, with what police determined the ZODIUS used on 6/25/68 at the Robison murders in Michigan.

Third, when police searched the Kaczynski cabin, not only did they find a black hood and a .22 rifle with a flashlight attached, matching what Zodiac used at Lake Berryessa and bragged about using to shoot people in the dark. They also found, out of the hundreds of different brands and types of ammo that could have been found, boxes of .22 Super X ammo.

This is an interesting find by Richard Grinell.

If you look at the Super X ammo itself, it has crossed lines inside a circle, very similar to the Zodiac symbol.

Just like the Zodiac, Kaczynski used crossed lines inside circles as a signature and drew crossed lines inside a circle at a crime scene.

Kaczynski had a life long interest in, almost obsession with, crossed lines inside circles.

1. He signed a yearbook with his "mark" – crossed lines inside a circle.

2. He spent several years of graduate study and his PHD dissertation on the boundary functions of circles, in particular dealing with the unit circle, which looks like the Zodiac symbol.

3. At the campus of a Unabomber target, he spray painted the Yggdrasil symbol, also known as the Algiz Rune, along with the letters "FC" and "Anarchy". The Anglo-Saxon translation of the Algiz Rune is "Z"! It consists of, once again, crossed lines inside a circle. The Yggdrasil is the World Tree, but it also stands for "tree of terror; gallows", and the Algiz Rune also means to "wound severely; to mark with blood."

And a close up on his signature with the crossed lines inside a circle.

Close up on Unit Circle, Zodiac Symbol, Unabomber Symbol and Super X ammo.

At both the Zodiac crime of California LHR 12/20/68 and Zodius crime of Michigan 6/25/68, .22 caliber Super X ammo was used, and both were fired from a gun with six right twists and grooves, with police determining the patterns on the bullet were most compatible with having been fired from a JC Higgins .22 pistol.

Police report on Jensen – Faraday Murders, Lake Herman Road, CA, 12/20/68,in which ZODIAC wrote a letter to a newspaper with inside knowledge of the crime.

Police report on Robison Murder 6/25/68, Michigan, in which ZODIUS wrote a letter to a newspaper with inside knowledge of the crime.

Looking at the police reports above, we see that both weapons used in the murder of a Michigan couple (with kids present) on 6/25/68, and the murder of a California couple 12/20/68, were from a .22 caliber gun with six right twists and grooves, with police in both CA and MI stating that the most likely weapon used was a JC Higgins. Ammo used in both cases was .22 Super X brand.

In the 12/20/68 murder, police and press later received letters from killer, demanding they be printed in the newspaper, with details from the crime only the killer would know, killer dubbing himself ZODIAC.

In the 6/25/68 murder, police and press later received letters from killer, demanding they be printed in the newspaper, with details from the crime only the killer would know, killer dubbing himself ZODIUS.

In 6/4/63 California, 9/18/66 Illinois and 6/25/68 Michigan, the female victim was left exposed, and in 6/4/63 and 6/25/68, bodies were stacked atop one another. In the Robison case, a son was placed on top of the father, and the daughter placed on top of both of them. This is very rare. Former FBI Special Agent and serial killer profiler John Douglas referenced a study that found that after death posing of bodies occurs in less than 1% of homicides.

The Robison family murders of 6/25/68 were one of a series of Midwest murders were entire families were killed or the attack took place in a home where the family was present.

The other possible crimes in this possible series include the attack on the Percy family home on 9/18/66 in which Valerie Percy was killed and the murder of the Bricca family in Ohio on 9/27/66, in which father, mother and daughter were killed. In the Bricca case, bodies were also posed, and like Santa Barbara 6/4/63 and Michigan 6/25/68, the female was placed on top of the male. Based on evidence I gave them, the detectives in the Bricca case issued a press release stating that the Zodiac Killer was being investigated as a suspect.

In 1972, police made an announcement to the press that the 6/4/63 murders were linked to the Zodiac murders. The ‘other evidence that can’t be discussed’ was the fact that Super X ammo was used at both 6/4/63 and 12/20/68, and that both were fired from a gun with six right twists and grooves. This is expanded upon elsewhere, maybe in Graysmith’s book Zodiac and perhaps elsewhere on this site.

I though Zodius was the name the tipster requested be published in the personal ads. Do we have the Zodius letter? Also what is the source for the claim that the "Zodius" made calls from San Fransico and spoke in a monotone?

This story seems to have gained some embellishments over the years. I’m not saying that to be incredulous, it just seems you’ve introduced them with little fan fare considering the distinction. Threads on Zodius from a few years ago were clear that it was only part of a request made by a tipster. Is this due to more information coming to light? Or do I need to dig deeper into the old threads?

I thought Zodius was the name the tipster requested be published in the personal ads. Do we have the Zodius letter? Also what is the source for the claim that the "Zodius" made calls from San Fransico and spoke in a monotone?

AK Wilks: Yes, Zodius was the name given by the tipster who wrote the Detroit newspaper with inside information that only the killer would know, requesting that an ad be placed in the classified section if the police wanted more information. That ad I’ve shown in the Midwest Murders section, and that ad said it was from the "Zodius".

replaceablehead: This story seems to have gained some embellishments over the years. I’m not saying that to be incredulous, it just seems you’ve introduced them with little fan fare considering the distinction. Threads on Zodius from a few years ago were clear that it was only part of a request made by a tipster. Is this due to more information coming to light? Or do I need to dig deeper into the old threads?

Absolutely no embellishments here. Dig deeper on the Midwest Murders thread. Also read the book "Corroborating Evidence III" by William T Rasmussen.

The person who identified himself as "Mr Roebert" spoke to several individuals in Michigan and he called from a San Francisco area telephone number. Mr Robison heard Mr. Roebert on the phone as did several airport officials. His voice was described as "robotic", "monotone" and "with pauses".

No unfortunately we do not have a copy of the letter. We have the description of the letter given by the newspaper, a copy of the actual ad and that appeared in the classified section and we know that the police indicated that there was compelling information in the letter that the killer would likely be the only person to know. We know this as the police requested that the ad be placed signaling that they wanted more information from the tipster who identified himself as the "Zodius".

Note: Based on the known facts and evidence, I am making the assumptions, as did the detectives on the case and author Mr Rasmussen, that the tipster who called himself Zodius was in fact the actual murderer, and that man who posed as a business investor from California named Mr Roebert was also actually the murderer.

In other words, the known evidence suggests that there was one man who was the killer, and that prior to the murder this killer pretended to be a business investor from California named Mr Roebert, and that after the murder, the killer wrote to the newspaper under the alias Zodius, demanding his words appear in the newspaper.

Hmmm it’s tempting to suppose the tipster was the murderer. Put it this way, if the letter from the tipster really did appear to be from the killer, then I would think this is a very compelling argument for this being a Zodiac crime. Having a killer with a similar moniker is far more compelling than quibbling over differences in the MO.

I’m open to there being a lot more victims out there. All arguments aside the odds of the only victims being the known victims is inherently unlikely. There’s always a high probability of the true number being at least slightly higher.

I’ve read much of the police reports on the case https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-plREV … puKiP/view

I couldn’t find any mention of Zodius.

I keep reading two distinct versions of the tipster narrative:

1) A tipster contacts police saying they have information, but will only reveal it if a personal ad is put in the paper.

2) A tipster contacts police, gives information only the killer (or someone close to them) would know and goes on to say they will provide more information if the personal ad is placed.

Those are two distinct and profoundly different narratives. They’re not remotely the same. Totally and utterly different in every respect. The two are not alike. Not the same thing. Not equivalent. One occurred, one did not.

I have been unable to find information that establishes to my satisfaction which of the two events occurred. It is beyond crucial to establish which it is. Every thread I read has it both ways, like the change ain’t no thing. Am I just missing one part of one thread where it changed? I must be… The bottom line is, it’s the absolute pillar, rock, keystone, crux of everything. Not a shred else matters if this one piece is not established. Did the tipster, or did he not, provide information only the killer would know? And if so, where is the source alleging that this occurred?

I think the comment on Roeberts having a robotic voice is quite outstanding. It’s a very peculiar coincidence.

I’ve read much of the police reports on the case https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-plREV … puKiP/view

I couldn’t find any mention of Zodius.

I keep reading two distinct versions of the tipster narrative:

1) A tipster contacts police saying they have information, but will only reveal it if a personal ad is put in the paper.

2) A tipster contacts police, gives information only the killer (or someone close to them) would know and goes on to say they will provide more information if the personal ad is placed.

Those are two distinct and profoundly different narratives. They’re not remotely the same. Totally and utterly different in every respect. The two are not alike. Not the same thing. Not equivalent. One occurred, one did not.

I have been unable to find information that establishes to my satisfaction which of the two events occurred. It is beyond crucial to establish which it is. Every thread I read has it both ways, like the change ain’t no thing. Am I just missing one part of one thread where it changed? I must be… The bottom line is, it’s the absolute pillar, rock, keystone, crux of everything. Not a shred else matters if this one piece is not established. Did the tipster, or did he not, provide information only the killer would know? And if so, where is the source alleging that this occurred?

I think the comment on Roeberts having a robotic voice is quite outstanding. It’s a very peculiar coincidence.

Sandy Panzarella has one heck of a robotic-sounding voice. https://youtu.be/uY_tqjdnDVk?t=197

I’ve read much of the police reports on the case https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-plREV … puKiP/view

I couldn’t find any mention of Zodius.

I keep reading two distinct versions of the tipster narrative:

1) A tipster contacts police saying they have information, but will only reveal it if a personal ad is put in the paper.

2) A tipster contacts police, gives information only the killer (or someone close to them) would know and goes on to say they will provide more information if the personal ad is placed.

Those are two distinct and profoundly different narratives. They’re not remotely the same. Totally and utterly different in every respect. The two are not alike. Not the same thing. Not equivalent. One occurred, one did not.

I have been unable to find information that establishes to my satisfaction which of the two events occurred. It is beyond crucial to establish which it is. Every thread I read has it both ways, like the change ain’t no thing. Am I just missing one part of one thread where it changed? I must be… The bottom line is, it’s the absolute pillar, rock, keystone, crux of everything. Not a shred else matters if this one piece is not established. Did the tipster, or did he not, provide information only the killer would know? And if so, where is the source alleging that this occurred?

I think the comment on Roeberts having a robotic voice is quite outstanding. It’s a very peculiar coincidence.

AK Wilks:

This excerpt of the text from the Detroit News article confirms what has been written in other sources. The tipster "Zodius" gave details about the
crime in his letter to the Detroit News, stated he had more information, and if they wanted it they were to run the following classified ad in
the personals: "Dr. Guidini: Your prescription good. However, need additional. – Zodius"

The fact that the Michigan State Police contacted the Detroit News and asked them to run the ad and then asked them to run it again, is very important.
Because they would not have done this unless the details about the crime by the Zodius tipster were accurate
and contained information only the killer or an associate of the killer would know.

In his book Corroborating Evidence III, author William T Rasmussen confirms this and elaborates that police considered the information given by Zodius was non-public onside information that only the killer or a close associate would know.

replaceablehead: "I think the comment on Roeberts having a robotic voice is quite outstanding. It’s a very peculiar coincidence.

AK Wilks: I agree. Particularly as the description of Roebert’s voice having a robotic quality, a monotone with pauses, matches the description of Zodiac’s voice.

Memo concerning Mr Roebert and the "Superior Table", found in Mr Robison’s papers in his office.