I just ordered the trio in paperback because I prefer analogue format. I will read it all!
A question: what is the most significant thing you learned about this case when writing your books?
That was too much!
Micheal I heard you on a podcast. While I think it only fair I read your books. I will say I disagree with you and many others that Zodiac had an issue towards women. Or that Zodiac was a lovers lane killer. What we know of Zodiac is that this person didn’t really care about his victims at all. Hardly brought up. That’s why the Bates murder doesn’t add up. That was a rage killing. Hardly the Zodiac way.
Yeah, you and I apparently see things very differently with respect to the Zodiac. That’s okay, we can agree to disagree…
I just ordered the trio in paperback because I prefer analogue format. I will read it all!
A question: what is the most significant thing you learned about this case when writing your books?
Thanks for ordering the books, Russ.
Good question. There are some things I learned during the research phase and some things I figured out during the actual writing phase. It’s hard to say what’s most significant. Let me touch on a couple things related to the two short ciphers.
First off, as documented in the Prologue of Volume 1 and this post on my website, I feel that identifying the My Name Is cipher as a six-month anniversary response to Dr. Marsh’s challenge in the Examiner is significant in that it makes it much more likely that the cipher does indeed contain some version of the killer’s actual name. In addition to being significant, it’s also just plain interesting, which is why I used the topic as the basis for the prologue. Since Volume 1 had to be basically chronological, I was concerned that the beginning might be a little dry. To address the problem, I added the Prologue. I’m hoping it’s an intriguing little tidbit that grabs the readers attention and lets him or her know that eventually we’ll end up at a place where we’ll be able to do interesting analysis.
In terms of the writing itself, the other short cipher — the 32 — is at the center of a significant experience. As described in Volume 2, I suggest that the final three symbols, PWΔ, stand for the word OUT, as used in radio communication. I was familiar with this usage of OUT probably about as much as most people are, which is to say I had heard it, but I didn’t really know much more. When it came time to write up that section of the chapter, I researched such words and came to understand that they are known as “Procedure Words” or “ProWords” for short. As you can imagine, I was rather shocked to realize that the first two cipher symbols of the word I was claiming is a “Procedure Word” were, in fact, “PW”. I really find it hard to believe that this is a coincidence…
Thanks for the question.
@zodiacrevisited Thank you for the comments! Now I want to skip to the ciphers! ?
That was too much!
@zodiacrevisited Another question, regarding vol. III:
It is speculated that the paint-flecked watch stolen from the Swindles in San Diego was/could be the same watch later left behind at the scene of the Bates murder in Riverside.
Is there any forensic evidence that the watches matched? Or that the paint on the watch was similar to that used by the victim Swindle?
That would certainly be very compelling evidence of the same person’s involvement, if so.
That was too much!
@zodiacrevisited And yet another question, do you know if the DNA recovered from the Bates crime scene has been checked for match against the partial “Zodiac” DNA that police possess?
That was too much!
@zodiacrevisited Another question, regarding vol. III:
It is speculated that the paint-flecked watch stolen from the Swindles in San Diego was/could be the same watch later left behind at the scene of the Bates murder in Riverside.
Is there any forensic evidence that the watches matched? Or that the paint on the watch was similar to that used by the victim Swindle?
That would certainly be very compelling evidence of the same person’s involvement, if so.
I sincerely doubt any effort has been made to link the watch found at the CJB crime scene to the Swindle murders. The fact that Johnny Ray Swindle had a watch and it was missing was not well known. I found a newspaper article that reported the information, but I was only able to do so once full-text search of the San Diego Union newspaper became available since it was reported after the initial set of stories on the crime. Here’s a post from 2015 where I documented finding it: A San Diego/Riverside Connection.
RPD will bend over backwards to distance CJB’s murder from the Zodiac, so I wouldn’t expect them to be cooperative, even if others were motivated to investigate the linkage.
Unfortunately, we’re left to make sense of the watch based on the imperfect evidence that we have… Nevertheless, the facts of the matter are this. (1) Johnny Ray spent the last day of his life painting for his landlord. (2) Unbeknownst to most people, he owned a watch that was apparently taken from the crime scene by his murderer. (3) At the very next murder in the suggested sequence, a paint-spattered watch is discovered at the crime scene. I suggest that paint-spattered watches are not a common thing, so these facts feel especially significant to me.
@zodiacrevisited And yet another question, do you know if the DNA recovered from the Bates crime scene has been checked for match against the partial “Zodiac” DNA that police possess?
The DNA profile developed from the CJB evidence is a mitochondrial DNA profile. The partial DNA profile developed by SFPD is a standard “nuclear” DNA profile. Because they are different types of DNA profiles, they cannot be compared.
Unfortunately, we’re left to make sense of the watch based on the imperfect evidence that we have…
I think you have done an excellent analysis! Thoroughly enjoyed each volume!
The watch in particular is tantalizing… seems like it should be such hot lead but just as confounding as every other.
That was too much!
An interesting aside, my six-year-old niece also dots all her “i” characters with a circled dot.
That was too much!
And just cuz I find that 6-year-old printing strangely spooky now, see attached. Zodiac consciously imitating child-like writing?
That was too much!
Wish I could be there!!
“…they may be dealing with one or more ersatz Zodiacs–other psychotics eager to get into the act, or perhaps even other murderers eager to lay their crimes at the real Zodiac’s doorstep.“ L.A. Times, 1969
@zodiacrevisited Alas I cannot attend. Perhaps have someone record the proceedings and make them available later?
That was too much!
