Hi-

Penn is definitely up there but have to go with KQ. Here is a man who was worth nine figures but he is everywhere you look in the case. In 1947, he showed he liked to see his name on the front pages of newspapers by talking about flying saucers. He had a car entered in Riverside on the day Bates was killed. He lived two blocks from the Stine murder scene. He was spoken to by AP after the Stine murder. He is (as far as I can tell) the only suspect who ever wrote even one letter on Monarch sized paper. He had a slow manner of talking. He autographed cars. (Did any other suspect ever do that? And I don’t want to hear anything about "Just Married." I mean writing your actual name on a car in felt tip pen.) He loved speed boats and had a ranch near LB (although I have never been able to tie him to the lake–yet) He invited me out to SF to speak to him about the case in 2006, changed the date of the meeting from September 22nd to September 27th, and then couldn’t bring himself to tell me the truth while trying to feign a failing memory.

I could go on but you get the point. Tom Bruton once said you could open up the SF phone book, stick a pin in it and build a case against that person. I’d like to see him build a case like the one against KQ.

Mike

I choose my solicited friend Mr Gareth Sewell Penn because he started me on my crazy but interesting journey and I am still on his shirt tails. The crazy leading the crazy…..Yes I can laugh at myself.

One of the things I love about this site is that you can research a person and that leads you to another person and to another and so on. For me, it started by researching the Minutemen (kind of taking over Rand’s research), which led me to a psychopath named Bill Thoresen, which led me to the architect George Livermore. And even Livermore had some Z-like qualities. He and his family are considered one of the most fascinating families in the history of San Francisco. One of his brothers was a key player in the Sierra Club and is a member of Nevada’s mining hall of fame. I know we all want this case solved, but in the meantime I will enjoy learning about all of these people, and probably get a little bit excited when something Z-related pops up even if I know the person I am reading about had nothing to do with the case. All in all, this is a pretty nice "hobby" I have chosen to pass time at my work desk.

EDIT: Guess I mentioned Livermore guy in the original post. Duhhhhh.

Just wanted to say thanks to all who have replied. I enjoyed reading all of the responses. Seems like Penn would be the most popular vote.

Robert Graysmith bar none, his involvement at the very near inception of the case and the sheer drive and enthusiasm to investigate the case as an amateur, despite the waning interest of law enforcement, is why we are, where we are today. People criticize Graysmith unfairly, yes he did make mistakes and get carried away in the euphoria of the chase, but without him the search for justice would have spluttered along, rather than the roller-coaster it has ultimately turned into today. He got sidelined with his blinkered obsession towards Arthur Leigh Allen, however in that respect he was no different to many detectives and many Zodiac enthusiasts today, where the thrill of the chase often supersedes impartiality.

One of the things I love about this site is that you can research a person and that leads you to another person and to another and so on.

A pro & a con.

One of the things I love about this site is that you can research a person and that leads you to another person and to another and so on.

A pro & a con.

New ‘persons’ come along all the time. I’m never sure how to deal with that. I’m happy when new codes and ciphers show up. I’m ON THAT.

-glurk

One of the things I love about this site is that you can research a person and that leads you to another person and to another and so on.

A pro & a con.

Haha indeed!