Yes, there is the Bates letter but I have never been convinced that Bates was a Zodiac victim or that the letters were written by Zodiac. There is also the HC addressed to Paul Averly but he was not a victim. But in the sense that the HC was a threat to Avery I suppose that the "In the woods died April" could be construed as a threat.

FWIW I doubt it is a woman named April. Probably too obvious and clear cut for our Z? The Pines card did not mention Lass by name. Here the line is from a poem called Agatha. I would keep my eyes open for a woman last name Wood or Woods. A death in or near the month of April. A body dumped in the woods in or near April. A name relating to woods, forest or spring. The other clue we have is "Near Monticello".

Review – 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"?

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

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!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCDStk_9Vpc

In case you’re interested, I posted the San Francisco Chronicle articles about Karl Werner.

In case you’re interested, I posted the San Francisco Chronicle articles about Karl Werner.

Thanks! Will give these a read

I received another ‘fail’ from the FBI on this. It’s the 2nd fail by me to get this letter. I have requested it twice now via FOIA,using different details and language, and twice failed. They are not refusing me based on it being a matter of jeopardizing the case, they are telling me that they can not locate it.

I received another ‘fail’ from the FBI on this. It’s the 2nd fail by me to get this letter. I have requested it twice now via FOIA,using different details and language, and twice failed. They are not refusing me based on it being a matter of jeopardizing the case, they are telling me that they can not locate it.

What’s SF’s take on it? …I forget. Maybe the (former?) Ratter guys would have some luck.

I received another ‘fail’ from the FBI on this. It’s the 2nd fail by me to get this letter. I have requested it twice now via FOIA,using different details and language, and twice failed. They are not refusing me based on it being a matter of jeopardizing the case, they are telling me that they can not locate it.

What’s SF’s take on it? …I forget. Maybe the (former?) Ratter guys would have some luck.

Ratter may not be in existence any longer, they went under, or are in process of it. AK tried thru SF and also failed

The people of Monticello have a get together now and then, Ricardo and I joined them a little over a year ago and plan on meeting with them again.
We will ask if there was a body found near there in the 70’s, or if anyone knew someone named April that went missing.

Like Seagull mentioned, it is unlikely that Zodiac would mention the victim by a first name.

I still believe that it was a clue to a victim dumped at or near Monticello, in the woods during the month of April. The mention of Monticello is for sure a clue.
Perhaps the victim lived in Monticello ? If the card was sent by Zodiac, he had a reason for mailing it.

I am surprised that it wasn’t sent to Napa police, Sheriffs Dept., or newspaper , to taunt them ?

Bumped for recent discussion. New member TELAWRENCE posted about a body discovered near North California / Southern Oregon on 8/19/71, but killed sometime earlier in 1970 or 1971. She had a ring with AL on it. Could her first name have been April or Agatha? She also had something marked MH.

It is interesting that the April Woods card was sent in about one month before the discovery.

Monticello means Little Mountain. Was there a little mountain nearby where the body was discovered? Or anything related to Jefferson nearby?

TELawrence

I am not familiar with the letter that says, "In the woods,dies,April." However, after studying it, I may have a possible answer.

First of all, Zodiac was fond of misdirection. For example threat to destroy a school bus never amounted to anything, and just resulted in a lot of needless precautions. In this spirit, I think that the Monticello reference is a fake clue. More likely, he knew of Monticello in relation to Lake Berryessa and threw it in to confuse the matter.

"April dies in the woods," however, sounds more like Zodiac. He was notorious for announcing murders, and as Graysmith has noted, was relatively truthful about it. And, there is an unsolved murder in southern Oregon near the California border, in a forest! It was also near a body of water (Klamath River) as all Zodiac killings were.

The body was discovered in 1971, but the death could well have taken place as much as a year earlier. It was located in a dump near mile marker 35′ off of Highway 101, which Zodiac had used before. The decedent was a red headed female, approximately 14 – 25 years of age. Again, well within the Zodiac parameters. Most intriguingly, she wore a ring with the initials "A. L." Scratched into it! April, perhaps?

For further information go to http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/404ufor.html

Or anything related to Jefferson nearby?

TELawrence

I am not familiar with the letter that says, "In the woods,dies,April." However, after studying it, I may have a possible answer.

In this spirit, I think that the Monticello reference is a fake clue. More likely, he knew of Monticello in relation to Lake Berryessa and threw it in to confuse the matter.

Well(hesitation)……yeah(on both counts above)……….but(who will care to hear it)……..

Soze

I wish we could get a peek at that letter

Or anything related to Jefferson nearby?

TELawrence

I am not familiar with the letter that says, "In the woods,dies,April." However, after studying it, I may have a possible answer.

In this spirit, I think that the Monticello reference is a fake clue. More likely, he knew of Monticello in relation to Lake Berryessa and threw it in to confuse the matter.

Well(hesitation)……yeah(on both counts above)……….but(who will care to hear it)……..

Soze

I do. In terms of this area around where the body was found, I would be interested in anything pertaining to Monticello, an actual little mountain or anything named Jefferson.

And yes Morf I would love to see this letter, but all my attempts were rebuffed. Not denied, but stated that they did not have it.

Did you see my post on females named April who died in 1971?

If we can’t even find a female named April who died or was reported missing near the pertinent time why do you think this letter holds any importance? I understand the so called "Lass Card" because Donna went missing but it really seems to me that the April card is a red herring.

Seagull, You could be correct, it just crossed my mind that a person named April may have been an" intended victim "and Zodiac had hoped the letter would make the front page of the SF Chron. as a warning to this April to scare her ? Sort of like his warning : You are next ? I think he enjoys causing fear sometimes more than the kill itself .

Ricardo and I have gone to meet with the people of Monticello and hope to go back again. Some were the children of parents who were forced out of Monticello. I will make it a point to ask them if they knew of anyone named April in that area? I seem to remember that there is a grave yard there , we could check there as well. I will give you a heads up when we are going, in case you would like to join us.
They have some very interesting stories and hopefully Mr. Moskowite is still alive, he could be there. We did get to talk to him when we were there, he remembered Sept 27th 1969 very well. He was the person who flew Ken Narlow over the crime scene for the pictures. A lot of good information was gleaned from that meeting.