Do you have any insight into why Kelly took the investigation in that direction?
In 1966 Kelly lived in a house across the street from Ramona High. Bob Barnett was a senior at the time and getting into routine trouble with the law. He and Kelly despised each other. My belief is Kelly abused his authority as he did later in life that landed him in prison until he dies.
So Barnett was a "usual suspect" who simply got "rounded up?"
Mike Rodelli
Author, The Hunt for Zodiac; 3.9 stars on Amazon and
In The Shadow of Mt. Diablo: The Shocking True Identity of the Zodiac Killer, a second edition in print format. 4.3 Amazon stars and great Editorial reviews. Twitter:@mikerodelli
A case against Barnett has been rejected at least three times by prosecutors.
A case against Barnett has been rejected at least three times by prosecutors.
Regarding fingerprints, though, it would seem there are three possibilities: 1) Riverside’s prints match the Bay Area prints (that doesn’t explain why Riverside pivoted to Barnett); 2) Riverside’s prints do not match the Bay Area prints (that does explain why Riverside moves on to Barnett); 3) the departments can’t compare prints (they don’t have prints of the same fingers or the same areas of the fingers if partials or the prints are not clear enough for comparison). Option 3 would also partially explain a pivot to Barnett, absent other evidence to like to Zodiac. However, Riverside’s prints must not match Barnett, or why would prosecutors deny the case? If I had Barnett’s prints on the VW, I would bring that case all day long.
How much of this "information from an anonymous source" can be true if Barnett isn’t the killer?
https://www.zodiackiller.com/BatesDNA2.html
And Barnett denied having a relationship with her.
How much of this "information from an anonymous source" can be true if Barnett isn’t the killer?
https://www.zodiackiller.com/BatesDNA2.htmlAnd Barnett denied having a relationship with her.
This explains why prosecutors denied charges but police continue to think Barnett is the perp. Police LOVE polygraphs. Unfortunately, a prosecutor can’t do anything with, "But the witness passed a polygraph!" Barnett looks like a good suspect, but the witness could not ID him to put him at the crime scene. The rest is really speculative. I probably wouldn’t try him given that evidence. I would imagine that RPD compared Barnett’s prints to the prints left on the VW. Without a match, they really don’t have much to work with.
