You have to think some of the reasons most city L E agency’s have given up chasing Z or Z’s is the cost to take to trial . Also it would be likely to be taken over by the FBI anyway . The OK. bombing trial of Tim McVeigh cost us $82,500,000 reportedly and it was a slam dunk in mosts eyes .
…. bit of a bargain compared to the health care .gov sites $400,000,000 though I guess.
so i would gestimate it at $200 million for Z… hope there aren’t 2 guys .
There could be many reasons why it seems like LE has given up on the case but I doubt that all the involved departments have given up. Napa, within the last year tried to develop DNA from evidence at the crime scene. But the longer time goes on the less likely it is Zodiac is still alive. Protocol is that the most recent crimes are investigated first because there is a greater likelihood of those cases being solved.
The case would never be tried by the FBI or federal agencies. Their role mainly was to do forensic work for the various agencies involved. The FBI documents do say "Extortion" on them as the crime involved but the extortion statute of limitations ran out a long time ago. Extortion was cited because the newspapers were threatened to print portions of Zodiac’s letters or more people would die.
I doubt it would ever go to trial. They may find the actual killer and find that he died, maybe they find undeniable proof that a certain person was the killer and the case would be solved but I guarantee no trial will ever happen. I think too much time has passed. The facts of the case are buried under so much half truths and fiction that no prosecutor would want to deal with it.
my point here was it would be a very expensive trial ,tens of millions . yes it would take concrete evidence DNA match …lets not start that argument . items from victims , hand writing . most countys are already in debt. so why persue this case knowing you are going to spend this $$$ to try it .
The federal judicial could very well take it over . there may have been a silencer used in the murders which falls under fed law . We have murders here that go federal just because it is a deterent to crime – no parole . and it is a case they investigated throughly .
I highly doubt our government would let Zodiac walk free because of cost of a trial.
“…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
I highly doubt our government would let Zodiac walk free because of cost of a trial.
Plus one.
Prosecutors would be jumping at the opportunity to try the infamous Zodiac.
In all honesty, I think Z would have to turn himself in and, incidentally, supply proof of his crimes, before LE would take an interest. Personally, I think it would be useful to compartmentalize the info this, and other boards, have accumulated. Say, Bates theorists in one box; Bay Area theorists in another; a third, perhaps, for cryptologists, and cross-reference these groups’ findings. Incidentally, these groups need not be anagonistic toward each other; I can envision a Bates theorist also following leads in Z’s ciphers. I rrelize this is asking a lot, and it would require a lot of people to accomplish. But, the info we’ve accumulated is, so far, a sprawling mass of conjecturer. Perhaps the issue resolves to: are we hobbyists, so to speak, or amateur investigators intent on solving these very puzzling murders?
tahoe and nach I assume you mean they would like to take someone to trial for the Zodiac crimes .
As they would not be zodiac until convicted right .
tahoe and nach I assume you mean they would like to take someone to trial for the Zodiac crimes .
As they would not be zodiac until convicted right .
As far as I’m concerned, if the prints and DNA match, the person is Zodiac.
tahoe and nach I assume you mean they would like to take someone to trial for the Zodiac crimes .
As they would not be zodiac until convicted right .As far as I’m concerned, if the prints and DNA match, the person is Zodiac.
Yes, and that better be what they have if they take someone to trial. And maybe Stine’s I.D. for good measure. 
“…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
I doubt it would ever go to trial. They may find the actual killer and find that he died, maybe they find undeniable proof that a certain person was the killer and the case would be solved but I guarantee no trial will ever happen. I think too much time has passed. The facts of the case are buried under so much half truths and fiction that no prosecutor would want to deal with it.
The witnesses are dying off. Also, many may have moved out of CA. An SF court can’t compel someone from outside the state to appear. A trial would be virtually impossible. And can you imagine if someone like Kjell Qvale was actually charged? His lawyers would get that case dismissed in the blink of an eye. The only way Zodiac would ever get convicted is if he pled out. Based upon the state of the evidence, why would he do that?
I highly doubt our government would let Zodiac walk free because of cost of a trial.
No, prosecutors would opt not to try the case for inability to convict. No prosecutor likes to lose. Any Zodiac case would be an almost guaranteed loser given the state of the evidence, the lack of physical evidence, the lack of witnesses, the inability to subpoena witnesses, fading memories, etc. Maybe the Zodiac is identified someday based upon a deathbed confession or a family member finding a box of trophies, but I don’t see a conviction being had.
tahoe and nach I assume you mean they would like to take someone to trial for the Zodiac crimes .
As they would not be zodiac until convicted right .As far as I’m concerned, if the prints and DNA match, the person is Zodiac.
Yes, and that better be what they have if they take someone to trial. And maybe Stine’s I.D. for good measure.
I am not sure DNA secures a conviction in this case. Where would the DNA come from? EARONS left semen at his crime scenes. So did BTK. So, we knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the genetic material in question was the killer’s in those cases. With Zodiac, if you find DNA and/or fingerprints on the letters, how would you really ever know that it was the killer’s? You could not. All you would know if that the suspect handled the letters, which is not a crime and is not necessarily indicative of that person committing the murders. The state would still have to tie a defendant to the actual murders. I don’t see how any DNA was left at any of the murder scenes (maybe LB if the killer cut himself while trying to stab Hartnell and Shepherd, but his blood would have commingled with the victims’ blood). Ballistics might be stronger evidence. If you found someone in possession of a gun that matches the shell casings recovered from one of the crime scenes, then you have something. But that only proves that the persons was in possession of that firearm. He could say that he bought it at a garage sale in the 80s. You would still need to tie him to the murders. It’s a really tough case.
