I tried to get this from the FBI, as did AK, and neither of us ever had success.

I tried to get this from the FBI, as did AK, and neither of us ever had success.

Unfortunately, Morf is correct. I never could get this one! I tried SFPD, Cal DOJ and FBI.

Nothing.

I will post what info I have on it.

I mentioned to Zam if she ever got access to the SF Chron Zodiac file, it would be great if she could find it there!

This is on my radar screen to get through a FOIA request.

Unlike Fairfield, this WAS listed by SFPD as a suspected Zodiac letter. See http://www.zodiackiller.com/SFPDDNA.html

It is described as words pasted over pictures – it sounds very similar in concept to the March 22, 1971 "peek through the pines" – "tahoe" card. It came 4 months after that card, it also makes a mention of trees (Pines; Woods).

The Pines card is thought by most to be a reference to the abduction and presumed murder of Tahoe resident Donna Lass, which took place 6 months and 16 days before the Pines card was sent.

If this "Woods" card is real, what victim might it be refering to? Who died 6 months to 12 months earlier?

This what we know:

July 13, 1971

Letters pasted on picture

"NEAR MONTICELLO SHOUGHT VICTIMS 21…IN THE WOODS DIES APRIL"

What does "Monticello" mean? Sandy Betts notes there is a "Monticello" near Lake Berryessa. Could a body have been dumped there?

Doug Oswell notes "Monticello" in Italian means "little mountain".

The real Monticello was the home of Thomas Jefferson in Virgina.

What is meant, if anything, by "In the woods dies April"?

Oswell notes a poem named by English writer Alfred Austin called "Agatha", with lines:

"She wanders in the April woods…And still she haunts those woodland ways".

Possible Victims? "Woods" Card was sent July 13, 1971.

Robin Graham, November 15, 1970 – Morf and others have noted she was a victim of a "car trouble" ruse attack, like Bates and Kathleen Johns. Could be a LA Zodiac victim.

Carol Hilburn, November 13, 1970 – Listed by Graysmith as a possible Zodiac victim, like Betty Cloer she was last seen at a bar and probably killed by the same man who killed Cloer – the recently convicted Phillip Arthur Thompson.

March 7 or 8, 1970, Nurse Judith Hakari – Possible Zodiac crime

March 13, 1970, Marie Anstey – debate over whether she was murdered, murder made to look like accident or real accidental death.

Nachtsider: I think we’re best off looking for missing people from that time period who were named ‘April’.

AK Wilks: Yes that is one possibility…a dead or missing woman named "April". Though that might be a little more direct clue than Zodiac would give? Perhaps a person who was killed or went missing in April? Or a person named "Woods" maybe. What does the "Monticello" mean?

Looking at the Graysmith list of possible Zodiac victims, and other California victims from that era, none I know of are named "April". But perhaps others can access different databanks or do different searches, for a California, Nevada or West Coast victim with a name or tie in to "April", "Woods", "Monticello", Little Mountain, Jefferson or Virginia. Or "Agatha".

Of course we don’t know the rest of the letter. The most vital clue could be in the words or pictures we don’t know.

A "Robin" might be found in the woods…

TheForeigner:
Info on the california "Monticello"´s, located at Lake Berryessa:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monticello,_California

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monticello_Dam

AK Wilks: From wiki on Monticello, CA:

A four- and six-horse stagecoach ran from the 300 men[6] working at the remote quicksilver mining town of Knoxville south through rocky hills to Monticello, where the horses were changed, then west through Devil’s Gate to Napa.

AK – From Monticello to Devil’s Gate to Napa. Interesting. "Mt. Diablo" is "Devil’s Mountain".

From wiki on Monticello, CA:

As early as 1906, proposals were put forward to dam Putah Creek to form a reservoir. In 1907, the Mulholland-Goethals-Davis plan proposed a dam at Devil’s Gate, the western limit of the valley. Other plans were formulated, but no proposal was acted upon until 1947 when Solano County and the United States Bureau of Reclamation together formed the Solano Project, a combination of water plans including Monticello Dam, the Putah Diversion Dam, the Putah South Canal, the Terminal Dam and Reservoir, the Green Valley Conduit and various related water distribution systems.[2] Residents of Monticello protested, but California Governor Earl Warren and Solano County promoted the dam as necessary for the economic and agricultural growth of the surrounding area. Residents started leaving the valley to find homes elsewhere.[7]

Dorothea Lange and Pirkle Jones were commissioned to shoot a photographic documentary of the death of the town, and of the displacement of its residents, for Life, but the magazine did not run the piece. Lange’s Aperture magazine, however, devoted one whole issue to the photojournalists’ work.[7]

Construction of the dam began in 1953. Vegetation in the valley was chopped down, fences torn down and buildings demolished down to their foundations. The town cemetery was moved to Spanish Flat, a bluff overlooking the valley. The Putah Creek Bridge, too well made to easily demolish, was left in place to be covered by the rising waters.[7] Monticello Dam was completed in 1957, and Lake Berryessa was formed.[2]

AK – Interesting. Like a scene out of the movie Chinatown. The developers wanted a dam, so a lot of the town got destroyed!

It is described as words pasted over pictures – it sounds very similar in concept to the March 22, 1971 "peek through the pines" – "tahoe" card. It came 4 months after that card, it also makes a mention of trees (Pines; Woods).

The Pines card is thought by most to be a reference to the abduction and presumed murder of Tahoe resident Donna Lass, which took place 6 months and 16 days before the Pines card was sent.

If this "Woods" card is real, what victim might it be refering to? Who died 6 months to 12 months earlier?

This what we know:

July 13, 1971

Letters pasted on picture

"NEAR MONTICELLO SHOUGHT VICTIMS 21…IN THE WOODS DIES APRIL"

"VICTIMS" More than one victim? A couple perhaps? Were any couples murdered in this time fram? What about Hood and Garcia?

Possible Victims? "Woods" Card was sent July 13, 1971.

Robin Graham, November 15, 1970 – Morf and others have noted she was a victim of a "car trouble" ruse attack, like Bates and Kathleen Johns. Could be a LA Zodiac victim.

Carol Hilburn, November 13, 1970 – Listed by Graysmith as a possible Zodiac victim, like Betty Cloer she was last seen at a bar and probably killed by the same man who killed Cloer – the recently convicted Phillip Arthur Thompson.

March 7 or 8, 1970, Nurse Judith Hakari – Possible Zodiac crime

March 13, 1970, Marie Anstey – debate over whether she was murdered, murder made to look like accident or real accidental death.

March 7 or 8, 1970, Nurse Judith Hakari – Possible Zodiac crime.

NEW INFO: The body of Hakari was found in the WOODS in Placer County, CA in APRIL. Consider this in light of the line "IN THE WOODS DIES APRIL…"

THEORIES AND SPECULATION:

It seems Zodiac sent the Pines card as a clue to the murder of Lass, and perhaps an indication of where her body was buried, or where a clue was buried.

Could the Woods card ALSO be a reference to Lass? The card sent to the sister of Lass had pictures of WOODS on it, a Pine Tree forest, and called her "ST. Donna, Guardian of the Pines". But the rest of the Woods card (what little we know) refers to Monticello. Unlikely Lass would be buried there, as the Pines card suggests (to me anyway) that Lass is buried at the Forest Hills condo project in Incline Village. But "Monticello" means "little mountain" – could that be a reference to FOREST HILLS or the little mountains around the Incline Village condo?

If the Woods card is hinting at another victim, who could it be? Anyone missing named April, or Woods?

Based on the very little we know, I have some interest in Robin Graham. She has been mentioned as a possible Zodiac victim by Howard Davis, Morf and others. Her abduction date of November 15, 1970 is almost 8 months to the day before the July 13, 1971 Woods card is sent. In fact, given the postmark of July 13, 1971 (don’t know what city sent from) it might very well have arrived at the SF Chronicle on July 15, 1971.

"IN THE WOODS DIES APRIL" – A "Robin" lives (and dies) in the WOODS, and April is the start of Spring, and many mention the "songs of birds" as the sign the Spring is here. The cry of the robin signaling Spring, or April.

I don’t know, just brainstorming possible ideas, a bit of a strectch at this point, but I do see some possible association between a victim named "ROBIN" and WOODS and APRIL.

"NEAR MONTICELLO SHOUGHT VICTIMS 21…IN THE WOODS DIES APRIL"

"VICTIMS" More than one victim? A couple perhaps? Were any couples murdered in this time frame?

What about Hood and Garcia? They were attacked and killed June 21, 1970, one year and 21 days before this Woods card is sent, while they were on a blanket at a beach, much like Domingos and Edwards in Santa Barbara 1963 and Hartnell and Shepherd 1969. Like Domingos and Ewards, and many ONS victims, they were found UNDER the blanket.

MORF: Her case (Hakari) does sound very similar to Lass AK. Her car being found at her apartment, etc., interesting.

AK Wilks: Yes thats true.

In both cases, we have a nurse who is last seen alive at work, her car is found at her apartment, perhaps indicating that in both cases the victim nurse was trailed from work and abducted in the parking lot of her apartment.

Lake Tahoe, Nevada is across the state line and basically parallel to Sacramento, California.

The problem is we only have a few of the words from this letter, and we don’t have the picture.

With all the words and the picture, we might be able to quickly identify who the victim was, just as with the Pines card and Lass.

Morf, remember the Pines card was sent 6 months and 16 days AFTER the abduction of Donna Lass.

So with this card of July 13, 1971, that points to perhaps an abduction/murder around January of 1971 to March of 1971? And nothing says Zodiac would wait exactly 6 months again. My thought is he waited awhile to insure nothing came out to connect him to the crime – no witnesses, no sketches, no reports of fingerprints found or license plates spotted. He waited 6 months after he took Lass, and feeling he was in the clear, sent the Pines card.

So I personally have considered crimes from January 1970 to June 1971.

We don’t know if the "April" he refers to is the victims name, or the month of her abduction or discovery. Hakari was abducted in March 1970, but her body was found in APRIL, IN THE WOODS. That seems a pretty strong tie-in…except the near year and a half time period, and what then is the meaning of "MONTICELLO"? The word "APRIL" also makes me think of spring, and the ROBINS return and songs are associated with spring. A clue to victim ROBIN Graham? Perhaps, but it is a bit of a stretch, a little bit of a leap in logic and word association.

What does MONTICELLO mean? Does it mean a victim was dumped at the Monticello near Lake Berryessa, as Sandy Betts noted?

Is there another Monticello in California, or on the west coast?

Could it be a clue to its Italian translation, "Little Mountain"? If so, where is the "Little Mountain"?

Or is it a clue to Thomas Jefferson, a city or county named Jefferson?

UPDATE [November 2011]

No major news to report.

The "good news" is that the SFPD is NOT objecting to the release of the letter. The "bad news" is they can’t find it.

Bottom line is they say they are looking for it but cannot find it. At least they have not found it yet.

FRUSTRATING!

Can this case ever be solved? I don’t know.

SANDY, ZAMANTHA AND OTHERS:

You may wish to ask Kevin Fagan of the SF Chronicle if they have a copy of this 7/13/71 "April … Woods" letter. It was sent to them. And Inspector Jones himself has never even seen this letter. So if Kevin at the SF Chronicle can find a copy, he would be helping the police and the public to see this letter. And this letter is an authentic real Zodiac letter, and may have clues to the identity of the Zodiac and a victim not mentioned or investigated before.

These are some of my requests and the responses:

MAY 2011

The Legal Division of the San Francisco Police Department is in receipt of your request for the letter from the "Zodiac" (and envelope if it exists). I contacted the Homicide Detail and was informed that Inspector Kevin Jones is managing the information on the Zodiac investigation and that you should contact Inspector Jones directly. His email address is posted above. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Maureen Conefrey

Legal Division – SFPD

JULY 2011

I have not yet received the requested record, the Zodiac letter of approximately July 13, 1971, mentioning "In the woods dies April" and "Monticello", from either you or Inspector Jones.

Can you advise me if the SFPD will comply with the Public Records Act and send this document or if there is an objection? I do know Inpsector Jones is very busy, and I can be patient, and I also think it is the responsibility of the legal department to fufill my request, not him.

Any information you can provide is helpful.

Releasing this document will be one more clue to the identity of the Zodiac, and may help to identify a suspect.

Thank you both.

AK Wilks

Dear Mr. Wilks:

I am attaching the response I received from Lt. Sainez of the Homicide Detail regarding your request:

"Hello Maureen,

I spoke with Inspector Jones regarding this request. He is processing it, however, he has to look through many boxes of documents related to this case to determine:

1) If we have the document (some documents were given to other agencies).

2) Determine why it has not been released yet (there may be a specific reason it has been withheld).

He will research this and forward his findings to you. He does not have a timeline to when this will be completed.

Lieutenant Hector Sainez
San Francisco Police Dept.
Homicide Detail

OCTOBER 2011

I realize we have just passed the 42nd anniversary of the murder of Paul Stine.

I was hoping for news on the release of the "In the woods dies April…" letter sent by the Zodiac.

My hope is that since this is the only known confirmed Zodiac letter never released to the public, it may contain clues to the identity of the Zodiac. By releasing the public, the Zodiac research community and/or a family member or friend of the Zodiac or a victim may recognize words, phrases or other information.

I can think of no reason why this letter should not be released. I am in touch with Kevin Fagan of the SF Chronicle, and other print, web and TV media, to get the letter maximum exposure whe released.

Any news is appreciated. Thanks to all for your continuing work on this and other cases. Thank you.

AK Wilks

Mr. Wilks,

I have been informed by Inspector Jones, that he is still in the process of trying to locate the letter described below. Once Inspector Jones has completed his search, the Department will notify you as to whether or not the "letter" has been located.

Thank you.

Maureen Conefrey

Legal Division

UPDATE 2014 – They never did find it. It may be that they sent it to Cal DOJ and/or FBI for analysis.

I can only suggest that Morf, Onewhoknows and anyone else with connections to Cal DOJ ask about this.

And Zamantha, Sandy and anyone with connections to SF Chronicle ask about it.

I am going to review my legal options and may initiate a new request and/or appeal, but the problem is they are not denying it, they say they can’t find it.

Too bad the SFPD won’t step up. They must have made copies of it…at the very least.

As mentioned, it does sound like another "Pines card"….letters pasted on picture…"shought" victims 21. The Pines card used "sought" of course…and this seems like a play on "shot". They use "victims", but only mention #21.

They did not test this letter for DNA. It states "SFPD PROP CLERK/LAB 7" (or a question mark??)

http://zodiackiller.fr.yuku.com/topic/6 … uHMd9LTn6o

I looked over every missing persons database I could find, and found no female named April missing from this time period. I tend to think that April is NOT a missing person. Perhaps there is an unsolved murder out there of a girl named April?

Well, the bad news is The Chronicle turned all that stuff over to the SF cops many years ago, and our contact has no access to them.
The good news is, there may be "some" information on it, which I hope to obtain tomorrow or next week.
All fingers & toes crossed that it’s good info. Once I know, I’ll share.

Zam*

I found a shooting,6 months prior in Monticello, UT.
http://publicsafety.utah.gov/highwaypat … cello.html

Probably not related of course…out of state. Just thinking about any victims, possibly a shooting near anything Monticello, in the 6 month prior range.

This one is just as vague as the Pines card too.

Hey…there is a Monticello Ave. in Modesto. Just thinking…

The road you would take to go up to Berryessa from Napa is Monticello Road.

Well, the bad news is The Chronicle turned all that stuff over to the SF cops many years ago, and our contact has no access to them.
The good news is, there may be "some" information on it, which I hope to obtain tomorrow or next week.
All fingers & toes crossed that it’s good info. Once I know, I’ll share.

Zam*

Crossed. Bon Chance.

Well, the bad news is The Chronicle turned all that stuff over to the SF cops many years ago, and our contact has no access to them.
The good news is, there may be "some" information on it, which I hope to obtain tomorrow or next week.
All fingers & toes crossed that it’s good info. Once I know, I’ll share.

Zam*

Well "some information" is better than nothing, which is what we have now!

ANY info would be great. Of course a copy is probably too much to hope for. But dare I dream that a reporter wrote down the contents of the card? And maybe a description of the images?

Good work Zam, looking forward to seeing what you uncover!

There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell you can convince me the Chronicle didn’t make copies of that stuff for themselves.

Not to say they STILL have it or that K.F. isn’t being truthful. I think they would cop up to having it if they did…today.

There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell you can convince me the Chronicle didn’t make copies of that stuff for themselves.

Not to say they STILL have it or that K.F. isn’t being truthful. I think they would cop up to having it if they did…today.

They may have been asked by police not to show or release the letter,but Kevin also told me that they no longer have that stuff,and that it was turned over to police.

There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell you can convince me the Chronicle didn’t make copies of that stuff for themselves.

Not to say they STILL have it or that K.F. isn’t being truthful. I think they would cop up to having it if they did…today.

They may have been asked by police not to show or release the letter,but Kevin also told me that they no longer have that stuff,and that it was turned over to police.

And SFPD told me they don’t object to its release but they can’t find it!

Hopefully Zam can uncover some new info.

Curious if they might be looking for the wrong thing.

As mentioned, it states "letters pasted on picture". Maybe people have been searching for a letter rather than a photograph? It should all be in the same place regardless, but maybe it was simply overlooked.

http://zodiackiller.fr.yuku.com/topic/6 … uMJBNLTn6o