you guys have talked a lot about related cases, unconfirmed letters or mailings that might have been zodiac, etc. i’d love to get a run-down from each of you of which crimes and communications you think should be canonical zodiac. it can be hard to tell from the podcast episodes as a lot of the information is rapid-fire (necessarily as you’re covering a lot).

i also think a few minutes spent on the biggest myths or misconceptions could be useful – stuff like "deer lodge", rumors that which mailboxes he used are known, the darlene ferrin creepy party guest, etc.

Just wanted to post as a reminder, if you have questions about the case or anything we have covered so far, feel free to post them here, we are getting ready to do a Q&A episode

I would appreciate a discussion on whether the killer was likely to have known any of the victims in the four canonical attacks. Is there evidence to support the idea that Zodiac followed any of the three young couples to their final destinations, even though none were attacked upon arrival? Were any of the victims reported to have shared their plans to go where they were ultimately discovered? Apart from knowing a location in advance where a certain cabbie was likely to frequent while on duty is there a reasonable way that a killer in 1969 could have targeted a specific cab driver in a city like San Francisco?

Great podcast series, Morf and Richard!

My question for the Q&A; if and when this individual is finally identified, would you consider it a failure on the part of law enforcement if it turns out he had more or less “hidden in plain sight” for many years after committing these crimes? By that I mean, if this individual ultimately fits most of the characteristics that online amateur sleuths have speculated and theorized about, to such an extent that he should have probably come under suspicion much earlier.

For example, if he turns out to have worked in a job that required Wingwalker shoes, like the aerospace industry. Or used codes as a regular part of his job. Or had Opera acting experience in the Bay Area. Or had family or school connections to Riverside and Modesto, or the isolated area where the Domingos/Edwards murders occurred. Or if he had ever been arrested for a violent crime. Or even Welsh ancestry, as SFPD Officer Fouke described his appearance. 

Thanks!

Q: Veering into the speculative: Do the podcasters have ideas as to why Paul Stine’s coach parked a block West of its logged destination?

Q: What do you think of the Z13 solution posted here?  

https://forum.zodiackillerciphers.com/community/zodiac-cipher-mailings-discussion/constrained-z13-solution-slaves-slayer/

Thanks for the questions, if anyone has any more please post them we will be recording this episode soon

I am not caught up on the podcast so apologise if any of these have been covered:

1) Why did Zodiac choose those particular payphones, particularly the Napa one after LB, as it is a bit out of the way if you think he was from Vallejo.

2) (a) According to Zodiac there was a black guy witness of the BRS call.  Was he ever identified and did he provide a description of Zodiac and his car.  Further, if you think Zodiac went home and lived near the phone box in Vallejo, why did he drive there? (b) According to Slaight, he thought he could hear “feminine voices” in the background, but was unsure if they were coming through the phone.  Were any witnesses found near the phone box at Napa?

3) Irregardless of whether verified or not, do you have any personal preferences as to which correspondences are actually from Zodiac?

4) Do you know which finger and palm prints match to one another (phone, cab, letters etc).

5) What is your view of the theory that one person wrote the letters and one did the crimes, and the team Zodiac theory.  Do you have any thoughts about who the duo/team would be?

6) I don’t think Zodiac knew any of his victims, but if you had to pick one to be the one he knew, who would you chose and why?

Maybe talk about where to go from here? If it’s possible to get more information released. Where should efforts be placed in your opinion. I was told SFPD had the DNA profile, is that true? 

or

Who really was “Sam” ? and how did he become the prime suspect for the Dunbar Show caller?  Any background on if he ever confessed? any knowledge about which LE group did the detective work on this? 

Hi guys, a lot of this will probably be covered in your upcoming Riverside podcast and some of these are just opinion oriented but here goes.

Is there a way to determine whether the Riverside confession letter author A) typed on regular paper and then used a photocopier (possibly from the Riverside college – would there be more photocopiers in town?) or B) put a bunch of sheets of carbon paper in his typewriter and produced all copies simultaneously. C) Does the trimming of the paper suggest that it was done with a teletype machine? I don’t know anything about those machines or where they would be available but I have read that this is a possibility.

Considering the lack of postage is it believed that both versions of the letter were delivered to the newspaper and police station by hand?

Was Cheri Jo attacked while the library was open or is there missing time to account for? If the attack occurred while the library was open would those inside have heard her scream? Would neighbours likely have heard her? 

What was demonstrably false or misleading in the Confession author’s narrative?

Newspapers did not report that a broken knife was found so a hoaxer should have no reason to believe that an inspector of the scene or coroner would discover part of a blade. The autopsy makes no mention of a broken blade yet the author and presumed killer left those who would judge his authenticity with the impression that the blade broke off in the victim. Perhaps he meant the locking mechanism. If the blood drops leading from the attack site to the street do not recede then they are likely from a wound on the killer rather than blood from Cheri Jo dripping from a knife or clothes (learned that from Richard, brilliant!) If the killer was wounded during the attack it could have been from Cheri Jo scratching him or the latch on the knife breaking causing the blade to slip. Does this support the broken knife story given by the Confession author?

Do you guys believe that the killer took the risk of returning to the scene of the crime later that night with an accomplice to recover a broken watch and just failed to see it or they were looking for a broken knife and found it or was the allegedly witnessed event likely false?

Thanks for considering my questions!

Considering that the Fouke/Zelms encounter was not printed in newspapers or (seemingly) acknowledged by police until the Nov12 memo, does the allusion to it in the Nov9 letter definitively prove that the writer was indeed the killer? If someone isn’t convinced by the sent pieces of Paul Stine’s shirt, what evidence (beyond common sense) do you guys think does the best job of disproving the hoax theory?

Which of the non-canonical crimes linked to the Zodiac Killer do you think is most likely to have been committed by Zodiac? And are there any do you think deserve more attention or would be most likely to solve the case?

Point was made that writer of the “Confession” letter(s) was imitating verbiage within the detective magazine article about the murder of Cheri Jo Bates. Further point was made that the ‘plot’ of the letter did not track with the known facts of the murderous assault. Therefore the writer was not the actual perpetrator of the crime.

I do not think that above conclusion is tenable. The writer of “Confession” was portraying his fantasy of the murder, and that is how he wanted it depicted in the newspapers. This does not mean he did not do it. Getting beat up by a girl and having the fight of his life with her was not part of his criminal fantasy, but he was the victor of the fight so he left that out. Instead he bragged and sexualized the victim and made public threats, (much in the same way Zodiac would later.) The killer does not want anyone to think he bungled the assault and maybe cut himself in the process. The killer tells you what he wants you to believe about him.

How would you respond to the above arguments?

Posted by: @russ-thompson

Getting beat up by a girl and having the fight of his life with her was not part of his criminal fantasy

It’s apparently your fantasy though, as there’s literally zero evidence to support it.