I am also planning to write a sequel to this book that will cover the time from when we first met until the present. I want to convey what it is like to be married to a serial killer and not know it!! I also want to express how it affected my life during the marriage and after it had ended. After I realized that my ex-husband could possibly be the Zodiac Killer, I contacted law enforcement agents several times. Each time, I received very little response. Interestingly, although they hope that a relative or friend will come forward someday, they reject anything that comes from an ex-wife because of the possibility that she may be seeking revenge. But, who would be more likely to eventually see a clue and who would be more likely to get a divorced? Anyway, my real hope is that, somehow, this book will cause law enforcement agents to take a closer look at my suspect and bring him to justice. (I self-published this 840-page book using CreateSpace and it is available on amazon.com.)

Let’s see some evidence. Handwriting samples, guns, pieces of a bloody shirt, a hood, and some pictures of him we can compare to witness accounts.

You’re writing one book and planning a second, all about your life living with someone who might have been Zodiac. My humble advice: First prove that case that he was Z because otherwise, I doubt anyone is going to want to read your story. If you can prove he was Z, everybody will want to read your books.

Marshall, my ex-husband lived 1/2 mile from Betty Lou Jensen, went to Hogan High, the same school that she went to, and was in the same grade. We met in 1972, four years later. Yet, he never mentioned knowing one of the first Zodiac victims. He drove a white Chevy, the same type of car mentioned by several witnesses. Although I can’t share a photo of him here without giving away his identity, he matches the Napa composite drawing, drawn from a description given by Cecelia Shepard, who saw him without his mask just before he went behind the tree at Lake Berryessa, and three female, college students who were sunbathing near by at the time. He also matches the physical descriptions given by many witnesses as far as height, weight, hair style, clothing style and facial features. Twice, the Zodiac gave his name in coded form. In each of these, one possible name is the same as my ex husband’s name. Lastly, I have taken letters written by the Zodiac and letters written by my ex and was able to compare several letters and numbers. By doing this, I found many letters that are nearly identical including the three-stroke K, candy cane F and cursive D. (I will post the comparison here as soon as I am able.)

There are at least 5 suspects I can name off the top of my head who have much more circumstantial evidence against them than that.

Seriously, lots of people have claimed they knew Z, and I suppose not surprisingly, many have tried to cash in by writing books about it. Now, if you are saying you won’t provide pictures here because it would identify your ex-husband, are you planning to identify him in your book(s)? If so, why not discuss your evidence here and this community can help you prove your case or debunk it. There is a section for super secret POIs (suspects) that you can use. If you do not identify him in your book(s) how do you expect anyone to take your claim seriously?

Sorry, Marshall, but wasn’t able to upload the handwriting comparison yet. Will keep on working on it. Since no two people have the same handwriting, I believe that it is considered more than circumstantial evidence.

Take a look at the Fred Manalli section.

If he was Z, let’s prove it and bingo, you’ll probably be a best-seller.

Hi MX,

Welcome back to the forum.

trav

Thank you, Traveller!! Nice to be back!!

Take a look at the Fred Manalli section.

If he was Z, let’s prove it and bingo, you’ll probably be a best-seller.

Thank you, Marshall!! Will look into the secret, PIO section!! Can use all of the help I can get!!

Marshall,

You asked me to prove that my ex is the Zodiac. I have already proven it beyond a shadow of a doubt to myself. I have also given all of this evidence to the police. I would also like to share it with you here. Unfortunately, all of my information was on a computer that eventually crashed, so I have to retype it. That is taking a little time due to other responsibilities, but will post them here as I am able. I am using a pseudonym here for my ex. I had hoped that the police would have investigated him by now and proven him guilty. But, since they have not, I have been advised to keep his true identity hidden. But, I don’t mind sharing it privately. Anyway, the first section is based on the geography of the Zodiac killings and the locations where my ex lived at those times:

Geographical Profile

“Targeting has become a valuable police tool. Geographical Profiling is based on the theory of criminals’ spatial behavior. Criminals strike close to home just as the average person chooses stores where he shops daily. They operate close to areas they are familiar with and have previously scouted. A murderer has a tendency to hunt prey in identifiable areas and the impulse to disguise his home location. Thus, the sites of his crimes tend to radiate on all sides of the offender like a spider in his web.” (Robert Graysmith, “Zodiac Unmasked,” page 424.)

According to Dr. Kim Rossmo, Research Professor at the Department of Criminal Justice at Texas State University, by using Rigel, a geographical profiling system, he was able to determine that the Zodiac probably lived either in the North West area of Vallejo, somewhere near Mare Island or in Benicia. (Interestingly, the home where my suspect’s lived was right in the center of those three areas!!)

In the following, I would like to show that Nick (pseudonym for my suspect,) had opportunity to commit each of the confirmed Zodiac murders that took place in the Bay Area in 1968 and 1969. Each location was a place that he was very familiar with and that he took me to frequently during the time that we lived in the area.

Nick’s Home Address:
During the time of the Zodiac crimes, Nick and his family lived in a house in Vallejo at __. Nick’s parents had moved to Vallejo around 1954 and they had moved into that house around 1963. His step-father still lives in the house, although his mother passed away several years ago.

The following information gives some of the locations associated with the Zodiac in relation to that house.

• .7 miles from where Betty Lou Jensen lived at 123 Ridgewood.
• 5.3 miles from where Betty Lou and David Faraday were shot and killed on Lake Herman Road in Benicia.
• .9 miles from Hogan High School in Vallejo.
• 3.3 miles from where Darlene Ferrin lived at 1300 Virginia Street.
• 1.9 miles from where Darlene worked at Terry’s on Magazine Street.
• 1 mile from where Michael Mageau lived at 864 Beechwood.
• 3 miles from where Darlene and Michael were shot at Blue Rock Springs.
• 46 miles from where Cecelia Shephard and Bryan Hartnell were stabbed at Lake Berryessa.
• 35.5 miles from where Paul Stine was shot on Washington and Cherry Streets in San Francisco.
• And, 61 miles from where Kathleen Johns was picked up near Patterson.

According to Robert Graysmith’s book, Zodiac, some of the other killings that took place during the seventies took place in areas such as Santa Rosa, which is 49 miles north of Vallejo, and Lake Tahoe (Donna Lass), which is 160 miles east of Vallejo.

Theoretically it is possible that as the radiating lines got farther and farther away from his home, he was attempting to draw the police away from where he lived.

Lake Herman Road:
In 1966, Betty Lou and Nick both began attending Hogan High School (.9 miles away). In December of 1968, when Betty Lou and David Faraday were shot, Betty Lou and Nick were both juniors. They probably both went to Franklin Junior High at the same time as well.

Nicks house was .7 miles from Betty Lou Jensen’s home on 123 Ridgewood and 5.3 miles from the place where she was killed on Lake Herman Road.

Blue Rock Springs:
After we met, Nick often took me to Blue Rock Springs for family gatherings on birthdays and holidays.

According to Michael Mageau, the shooter drove into the parking lot behind them at Blue Rock Springs Park, which is three miles from Nick’s home. Then, he sped away at a fairly fast rate of speed in the direction of Vallejo and Springs Road. (Perhaps Nick went home to get his gun.) He also said that the shooter was back in five minutes, at which time he began to shoot them, killing Darlene and wounding Michael.

According to Google Maps, it is three miles from Blue Rock Springs to __, the home that Nick lived in, and would have taken eight minute to get there going the speed limit and obeying traffic signals. Then, it would have taken him an additional eight minutes to drive back to Blue Rock Springs for a total of 16 minutes.

But, Michael said that the shooter sped away at a fairly fast rate of speed, so we can assume that the Zodiac wasn’t obeying traffic laws. He was also driving a Chevy Nova, which was also used as a race car. And, lastly, it is likely that Michael was only estimating the time between the car leaving and its returning to Blue Rock Springs.

Darlene worked at Terry’s Restaurant on Magazine Street in Vallejo. Nick and his family lived on Hollywood Street, which was only a couple of blocks from Terry’s, shortly after they moved to Vallejo. It was also 1.9 miles from where Nick lived with his family.

At one point, Darlene lived in San Francisco, 35 miles away from Nick’s home, where she met her first husband. Nick also liked to go to San Francisco, knew his way around and may have lived there in a flop house for a short time.

Darlene also liked to go to the Coronado Inn. The Coronado Inn, which was five miles from his home, was also Ken’s favorite bar. Although, he had to use a false ID at the time since he was under twenty-one. (Marie Antionette Anstey was drugged, abducted and killed at the Coronado Inn.)

Michael Mageau lived at 864 Beechwood, which was only one mile from Nick’s home.

Lake Berryessa:
Nick often took me to Lake Berryessa, which is 46 miles from the house he lived in, to spend the day or go camping at Spanish Flats, which is just south of Oak Shores, where Cecelia Shepard and Bryan Hartnell were attacked. We also went camping with his family at Oak Shores, where they like to launch their boat.

We also frequently stopped at Moscowitz Corner, the same place where the three girls first spotted the Zodiac before they went sunbathing.

San Francisco:
Nick often took me to San Francisco when he wanted to listen to Jazz bands at Basin Street West, go to the Golden Gate Park or buy records at Tower Records. And, as I mentioned before, he may have lived there for a short time. Basin Street West was on Geary Street, which is in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. It is also near the place where Paul Stine picked up the passenger that he drove to the corner of Washington and Cherry Streets, near the Presidio, where he was shot and killed.

Lake Tahoe:
Nick liked to go to Tahoe, where Donna Lass was killed, to gamble. Lake Tahoe is 160 miles east of Vallejo.

“Donnas was here in San Francisco from February to June of 1970. She moved to Lake Tahoe to work and three months later vanished. Donna was kind of naïve, and not very experienced with men. She was easily dawn away. She was hooked on gambling. That’s why she went up there. She liked to ski and liked to gamble, so she took the job in the casino hotel [the Sahara Hotel, Stateline, Nevada] as a first-aid emergency nurse.” (Zodiac Unmasked, page 223.) (Nick was also addicted to gambling.)

“What was really strange, Lynch told me, is some guy came up to Vallejo P.D. one night he was drunk. He said he had been trying to report Donna Lass’ disappearance to SFPD, but apparently the guy was a heavy drinker and when he had gone there they’d thrown him out. He knew that there had been a previous murder in Vallejo by the Zodiac so he came up here to report it. I talked to him for a long time, but I can’t think of that guy’s name…’” (Zodiac Unmasked, page 224.)

This is similar to the Blue Rock Springs and the Lake Berryessa murders where the Zodiac reported his own murders. Also, as far as I know, Donna Lass has never been found.

Santa Rosa:
The Zodiac claimed to kill 37 people during the late sixties. Some of the women who were killed at that time were young, female hitchhikers who were living or passing through Santa Rosa, which is 49 miles north of Vallejo.

NAPA COMPOSITE DRAWING

The Napa Composite Drawing:
Cecelia Shepard saw the Zodiac minutes before he walked behind the tree. From that, she was able to give a description to County Deputy Sheriff Dave Collins. From that description, Collins was able to make a composite drawing. He showed that drawing to three girls who were sunbathing. They recognized the man as someone who had been watching them and, later, gave a description to a professional artist who made the Napa Composite Drawing. The Napa Composite Drawing looks just like my ex husband.

Napa Register Article:
The following was taken from an article in the Napa Register. It was written by Marsha Dorgan and published on February 24, 2007:

On Sept. 1969, Napa County Deputy Sheriff Dave Collins was on routine patrol. All that changed quickly, changing Collin’s life forever.

He was at Vichy Avenue and Monticello Road when the call came about a double stabbing at Lake Berryessa.

With red lights flashing and sirens wailing, Collins raced to the lake. The wounded Pacific Union College students – Cecelia Shepard and Bryan Hartnell, both 20 – had been repeatedly stabbed and left to die on an isolated peninsula at the lake in an area called the Oaks, about a quarter-mile north of park headquarters on Knoxville Berryessa Road.

The couple had gone to the lake for a picnic. Shepard first spotted a man watching them. A short time later the man attacked the couple after demanding their car keys and money.

Collins and Deputy Ray Land, who had been in St. Helena, were the first to arrive after the call.

“When I got to the scene I found the kids critically injured. Deputy Land went to help Bryan, and I tried to administer first aid to Cecelia,” he said.

Shepard had been stabbed five times in the back and five times in the front of her body.

“She was conscious, but going in and out of shock. She was in terrific pain. She kept asking me for something for the pain, but I didn’t have anything to give her,” Collins said. “She was cold and shivering. I got my uniform jacket from my car, wrapped it around her and then wrapped her in a blanket. I held her. She was very frightened and kept pleading with me not to leave her.”

Collins said he tried to be comforting but realized he needed to gather as much information about the crime as possible.

“I asked her, ‘Who did this. Did you know the person?’” Collins said. “She said, ‘no.’”

Although in shock and excruciating pain, Shepard did her best to tell Collins what happened.

She said she saw a man on the roadway watching them about 15 minutes before the attack.

“She said pretty soon he was within 50 to 75 feet of them. There were trees separating them. She said she looked up and he was gone. The next thing she sees is him stepping out from behind a tree pulling an executioner-style hood over his head. He started walking very fast toward them with a gun in his hand,” Collins said.

Shepard told Collins the man approached, ordered them to stay on the ground and said, “I’m an escaped convict from Montana. I have a stolen car. I want your car and money. I’m going to Mexico.”

“’The kids said, ‘sure’ and put their money and car keys out there for him,” Collins said.

At that point, the killer pulled two pieces of clothes line about two and a half feet long out of his coat and told Shepard to tie up Hartnell.

When Hartnell was hog-tied, the killer used the other rope to hog-tie Shepard.

“He then put the gun in his holster and pulled a knife from the holster on his other hip,” Collins said. “Cecelia said it looked like a homemade knife, about 11 or 12 inches long. He started stabbing Bryan in the back until he pretended to be dead,” Collins said. “When Cecelia realized he did not want to rob them, but kill them, she started screaming. He turned on her and began stabbing her until she also pretended to be dead. Then, he stopped and walked away. Cecelia said he was clam and collected.”

The Zodiac Killer had parked his car next to the victim’s vehicle. On their car door he wrote the sign of the Zodiac – a circle with a cross through it – as well as the dates of the Vallejo murders, the current date and time and the words “by knife.”

When he left, the kids managed to maneuver until they could untie each other. “Bryan used his teeth to untie Cecelia. Although they were in terrific pain and bleeding they were able to get free of the ropes,” Collins said.

“They started yelling for help. There was a fisherman and his son fishing in a nearby cover. The fisherman heard their cries for help but was leery, thinking they were trying to lure him to shore to rob him. When the screams for help continued, he looked with his binoculars and could see they were injured. But instead of going to them, he went to park headquarters and notified park rangers.”

Thinking they were abandoned, Hartnell tried to crawl to the road for help. But he was too weak and only made it halfway. That is where the ranger found him.

Collins said Shepard was the only victim able to give deputies a description of the Zodiac without his hood.

“She was incredible how she answered my questions while lying on this blanket in terrible pain and going in and out of shock. We used her description of the man to make a composite drawing,” Collins said. “Investigators canvassed the area with the drawing and found three young women in the same general area who were sunbathing. They said they saw the same man looking at them and acting suspicious about an hour before he attacked Shepard and Hartnell. They said for some reason he just up and left. They were three lucky girls.” (A second composite drawing was made from a description given by the three girls.)

The ambulance arrived and took the wounded couple to the Queen. By this time, Shepard was unconscious. Hartnell survived. Shepard, who never regained consciousness, died two days later.

(Sorry, but unable to post a copy of the Napa Composite Drawing here. But, would appreciate it if someone with more technical skills could do it for me!! You can also find them on line or in one of Robert Graysmith’s books. Thanks!!)

If your ex husband went to high school with Betty Lou Jensen, that would make him a teenager when all the Z murders were committed. The witnesses all described Z as being considerably older than that.

It sounds like much of your case is built on the fact your ex lived near some of the crime scenes. But… a lot of people lived in Vallejo and the same could be said for all of them as well.

Collins never mentioned the description (he says) Cecelia gave him in his report. He admits to this on video. "It wasn’t important".

The composite came from the three girls.

Collins never mentioned the description (he says) Cecelia gave him in his report. He admits to this on video. "It wasn’t important".

The composite came from the three girls.

Tahoe,

I found four Napa Composite Drawings on the internet. Three were on this site and one was on ZodiacKiller.com. I don’t know which one was done by Collins, but the one on ZodiacKiller.com looks more professional and I would guess that it was done by Robert McKenzie, a sketch artist, from the description given to him by the three girls. I would also guess that the one that comes after page 108 in Robert Graysmith’s book, Zodiac, was the one done by Collins from a description given to him by Cecelia Shepard, although he gives the credit to McKenzie. (Sorry, but I am unable to cut and paste the pictures here.) I have seen the interview on the video connected with the Zodiac movie that you mentioned. In it, Collins says that he didn’t think that it was important to mention that the drawing was done by a description given to him by Cecelia and that she had actually seen her killer before he had gone behind a tree. (Sorry, I do not have access to the video at this moment for his exact words.) But, apparently, according to the article I quoted before, he actually had!!

Here are two excerpts concerning the Napa Composite Drawings from my book:

8:30 p.m., Sergeant Dave Collins and Deputy Ray Land:
By the time that Sergeant Collins and Deputy Land arrived at the lake, it was nearly eight thirty and twilight was giving way to dusk. When they saw the white and black Karmann Ghia on the west side of the road, they both slowed down and pulled into the Oak Shores parking area.

There, they were met by Sergeant White who had heard their patrol cars. He quickly began leading the men down the peninsula, stepping over the chain that he had left on the ground, to the point where the kids were waiting for the ambulance to arrive.

As the three men walked, White filled them in on what had taken place. Then, he said, “This is just about unbelievable. I’ve seen a lot of people who were cut up by boat propellers, fish hooks, fillet knives and this and that. But, nothing anything like this! That’s about the worst I’ve ever seen! Kids just chopped up! They were such nice looking kids, college students, well-mannered people. You could tell they were fine young people. Just cut up for no reason … no reason what so ever. I just can’t believe anyone in their right mind would do such a thing.”

When Collins and Land finally found Bryan and Cecelia, they realized that their wounds were possibly critical. Land immediately went to help Bryan and Collins went to help Cecelia. Once officers had arrived, Archie, Elizabeth and Mr. Fong, who had stayed in the boat, returned to Rancho Monticello in Archie’s speed boat not wanting to be out on the water after dark. But, Sergeant White and Ranger Land remained behind to assist in any way that they could.

When Collins first saw Cecelia, she was lying on the blanket with another blanket wrapped around her at the base of one of the oak trees. She was laying in the fetal position, going in and out of consciousness and in excruciating pain.

Collins went immediately to Cecelia to see if there was anything that he could do to administer first aid or do something to help her. She was crying and she told him that she was so cold that she was having trouble talking. So, Collins asked White to walk back to his patrol car, get his uniform jacket and bring it down.

As Collins put the jacket on Cecelia, he could see multiple areas on the front and back of her dress where she had been stabbed. She asked him to give her something for the pain, but he didn’t have anything to give her. She was very frightened and kept pleading with him not to leave her.

As they waited for an ambulance to arrive from Napa, Collins began to question Cecelia about the attack, trying to gather as much information about the crime as possible.

The first thing that he asked her was, “Do you know who did this to you? Do you know who it was?”

Cecelia, although her teeth were still chattering, answered, “No.”

Collins could tell that Cecelia was in horrific pain and shock. He could also tell that telling her story was helping her to keep her mind off of it.

“Bryan and I were lying on the blanket,” she began through her sobs. “Then, I saw this guy and he stopped and watched us. He was on the roadway watching us about fifteen minutes before the attack. Pretty soon he was within fifty to seventy-five feet of us. There were trees separating us from the man. I looked up and he was gone. The next thing I saw was him stepping out from behind the tree pulling on an executioner-style hood over his head. He started walking very fast toward us with a gun in his hand.”

Cecelia stopped to catch her breath, then she continued, “The man approached us, ordered us to stay on the ground and said, ‘I’m an escaped convict from Colorado. I have a stolen car. I want your car and money. I’m going to Mexico.”

“We said, ‘Sure’ and Bryan put his money, just some change, and the car keys out on the blanket for him.

“At that point,” continued Cecelia, “The killer pulled two pieces of clothesline about three feet long each out of his back pocket and told me to tie up Bryan. Then, he went over to Bryan and tightened up his ropes. Then, he came over to me and hogtied me. Then, he did the same to Bryan.

“Then, he put the gun in his holster on his right hip and pulled a knife … from the scabbard on his left hip. It looked like a homemade knife, about eleven or twelve inches long. He started stabbing Bryan in the back until he pretended to be dead. When I realized that he didn’t want to rob us, but kill us, I started screaming. He turned on me and began stabbing me until I also pretended to be dead. Then, he stopped and walked away. He was calm and collected. I could tell that he had no remorse. He had no compassion for anyone but himself.

“As soon as the killer left, we managed to maneuver until we could untie each other. Bryan used his teeth to untie me. Although we were in terrific pain and bleeding, we were able to get free of the ropes.

“Next, we started yelling for help. There was a fisherman and his son fishing in a nearby cove. The fisherman heard our cries for help, but was leery, thinking we were trying to lure him to shore to rob him. We kept on screaming and finally he looked at us through his binoculars and could see that we were truly injured. But, instead of coming over to help us, he said he was going to go over to Park Headquarters and notify park rangers.

“Thinking that we were abandoned, Bryan tried to crawl to the road for help. But, he was too weak and only made it halfway. That’s where the ranger found him.”

Collins was amazed at how well Cecelia kept answering his questions while lying on the blanket in terrible pain and going in and out of shock.

Cecelia Gives a Description of Their Attacker
Finally, Sergeant Collins asked Cecelia what their attacker looked like. “Did you see your attacker clearly before he put the hood on?”

Cecelia thought for a moment. Why hadn’t she thought of that before? Of course she had!! She had seen him as clear as day just before he went behind the tree. “Yes, I did!” she said, her eyes as wide as saucers.

So, Collins asked her, “What did he look like?”

“Well, he had … ”

To help her along, Collins began to ask her more specific questions, “Can you tell me what color his hair was?”

Cecelia responded, “Well, it was brown, dark brown … and he combed it back.”

What race was he?

“He was white.”

Collins asked, “What about his eyes? Could you see the color of his eyes?”

She answered, “No, he had dark glasses on underneath the hood. But his hair hung down across his forehead and was showing through the eye holes. It was dark brown, maybe black.”

“Well, how tall? Let me stand where he was when he came up to you, and look at me. I’m 5’ 10”. Tell me, how does he match my height?”

When Cecelia had first seen the man on the top of the hill, he had looked much taller than he was. Also, the hood added a couple of inches to his height. “Well he was just a little bit taller than you, probably an inch or two taller than you.”

Collins said, “Okay how much did he weigh?”

"He was overweight. He was bulky looking. His clothing were all dark, dark pants, dark shirt, dark jacket and the jacket was bulky.”

Collins said, “Well, I weigh 170 pounds, look at me and judge by my weight and see if you can tell.”

“Well,” she said, “He had to have been at least twenty to thirty pounds heavier.”

Cecelia continued, “He had the hood on, he put the hood on, and there weren’t eye holes. Instead, it was like a welder’s mask, an opening in the front of the mask itself.”

As Cecelia gave Collins a detailed description of the man’s face, he pulled out a note pad and began making a sketch. Then, he held it up and said, “Is this the man?”

9:00 a.m., Monday, September 29, Three Girls at the Napa Register:
The three women from Pacific Union College arrived at the Napa Register at nine o’clock a.m. on Monday morning. There, they met with Deputy Land, who had set up the meeting, and Robert McKenzie, the sketch artist. Using the sketch that Sergeant Collins had made from the description given to him by Cecelia Shepard and an Identi-Kit, McKenzie asked the girls what changes they would make.

From that, they were able to come up with a slightly more detailed composite sketch, although, it was very similar to the sketch that Collins had made from Cecelia Shepard’s description. Later, investigators began showing the new composite drawing to people who had possibly seen the killer at the lake or at the phone booth at the Napa Car Wash.

Sergeant Narlow and Sergeant Lonergan spent the majority of the morning interviewing various citizens and officers from other departments regarding the crime and other, similar cases. They also began a list of general suspects including origin of information and descriptions.