Is it just me, or did anyone else, upon seeing that picture above, wonder "Why is Lyndon B. Johnson featured in an article regarding Zodiac?" Lol. I though "This case was even more serious than I recognized with the President himself now getting involved" Lol. Anyone else see the resemblance?

Thanks for posting that Seagull. I had read it before but good to have it posted if not for the date reference. This was May 1973 and then in Jan, Feb, May & Jul of 1974 there is a sequence of letters, starting with the Exorcist letter that all have no ‘Zodiac’ Identification on them but they were attributed to him.

After being silent from 1971 he suddenly decides at the start of ’74 to write again and each letter is about a different subject and signed off with different personae each time. Even the exorcist letter, which is by far the most ‘Z’ looking only carries the moniker ‘yours truley’ and the score tally but it still leaves a lot less doubt. Almost like a re-introduction, Hi, I’m this guy. Then he sends these other letters clearly disguised to not be from Zodiac.

Even if you only believe that the ‘Badlands’ letter out of the three disguised ones is possibly Zodiac you have to wonder about the motive and it’s always been my feeling (and from things I’ve seen in the construction methods in the letters) that he was playing a little game of "Can you really identify my handwriting?". It may even have been as a reply to this article or a reprint of it later in the year?

Those last three letters are also on different paper/card and may even be a different pen (colorwise) they are different in weight, that much we can see. So it’s like he changed up all the things mentioned in the article. The handwriting, ink, paper the things that have been tied to him. The Exorcist letter looks to have all the right ingredients but as I said, I think this was an intro, a bone if you will to reduce the chances of these subsequent letters slipping through unnoticed. He had to get people’s attention again as a heads up to these ‘game pieces’ that would soon be coming so that they would be on the lookout again.

Can’t play a game if the ‘pieces’ don’t get delivered. I wonder how many didn’t make it?

Thanks for posting that Seagull. I had read it before but good to have it posted if not for the date reference. This was May 1973 and then in Jan, Feb, May & Jul of 1974 there is a sequence of letters, starting with the Exorcist letter that all have no ‘Zodiac’ Identification on them but they were attributed to him.

After being silent from 1971 he suddenly decides at the start of ’74 to write again and each letter is about a different subject and signed off with different personae each time. Even the exorcist letter, which is by far the most ‘Z’ looking only carries the moniker ‘yours truley’ and the score tally but it still leaves a lot less doubt. Almost like a re-introduction, Hi, I’m this guy. Then he sends these other letters clearly disguised to not be from Zodiac.

Even if you only believe that the ‘Badlands’ letter out of the three disguised ones is possibly Zodiac you [b]have to wonder about the motive and it’s always been my feeling (and from things I’ve seen in the construction methods in the letters) that he was playing a little game of "Can you really identify my handwriting?". It may even have been as a reply to this article or a reprint of it later in the year?

Those last three letters are also on different paper/card and may even be a different pen (colorwise) they are different in weight, that much we can see. So it’s like he changed up all the things mentioned in the article. The handwriting, ink, paper the things that have been tied to him. The Exorcist letter looks to have all the right ingredients but as I said, I think this was an intro, a bone if you will to reduce the chances of these subsequent letters slipping through unnoticed. He had to get people’s attention again as a heads up to these ‘game pieces’ that would soon be coming so that they would be on the lookout again.

Can’t play a game if the ‘pieces’ don’t get delivered. I wonder how many didn’t make it?

The question I’ve highlighted is a good question to ask and your theory may very well be right about Zodiac just wanting to play ‘let’s see if you really can recognize me by my handwriting as you have claimed’. The badlands letter is so un-Zodiac like in both it’s moral tone and writing style. Zodiac would be expected to write and praise murder glorification as he had always done, never would he be expected to write with concern for society, showing empathy, decency, and morality. And this communication is written using fairly impressive words (compared to Zodiac’s previous) and all spelled correctly, again, not what you’d associate with having some from the hand of Zodiac, who would have us believe he was unable to spell ‘Victim’. The communication couldn’t be anymore non-Zodiac like, so I think you may have a very good point there Trav

Well I’m convinced they are all from him and I will show why I think that but it’s months of work.

That said, the question or one of the questions in relations to your post WC is, which one was the real him if any? Did he pretend to appear sloppy for the Zodiac letters. I think in the context of the other letters the answer is yes but I don’t think they portray him either. I think those are his way of making fun of the police for their comments about his assumed intelligence from the letters, and he does it in slightly tongue in cheek, mock intelligence type of way.

Think about BBC’s point of view. Despite the letters being read by the same person there is an unspoken format and use of wording that has crept in to those letters over the years. In the same way each of those ‘off topic’ letters probably copied the style of similar letters sent in of that nature over the years. Everything is mock and nothing real. I’m starting to think that he gave very little, if anything at all, away about himself.

So I see the content of those letters as being as relevant or real to him as the bus bomb was or the hinting at being responsible for other crimes – ie not at all so I have no problem with the subject matter or phrasing because I think it was just more smoke and mirrors. Logically, if he was playing a little game of ‘Where’s Zodiac’ with the document examiners it would be pretty pointless to disguise your writing then write a letter as Zodiac. They (LE) already played that one out with their doubts over some of his letters and notably the Exorcist letter because he hadn’t written in over two years. No, I think this was all about the handwriting. Now I keep calling it a game, that’s just how I’m choosing to refer to it. For Zodiac it may have served a very real purpose for seeing just how well they did know his writing and that’s why I think he doesn’t write again. He may have been planning another campaign involving letters but decided after LE scored quite well on finding his little easter eggs that that aspect would be off the table.

So if you can’t use letters what do you do? That thought might well come in useful down the line but for now who knows.

The notion that the 1974 letters were some kind of game is interesting, but I think things went far deeper than that. I think they signified an actual change in Zodiac’s state of mind. But eh.

The notion that the 1974 letters were some kind of game is interesting, but I think things went far deeper than that. I think they signified an actual change in Zodiac’s state of mind. But eh.

Yes, that interpretation has been around for quite a while and I didn’t really have much feeling about it either way. If it’s based on taking the content of the letters at face value then I would take a guess at the reasoning behind writing different letters in different styles would have been to NOT get recognised as Zodiac.

There could well have been a change of mind. It could even be reflected in those letters but I don’t see it as so black and white anymore. I could’ve bought the idea if he hadn’t written the letters in different styles from each other, subterfuge, and one purporting to be a concerned ‘citizen’ and then the next one he’s ‘Red with Rage’. I mean he kicks them all off with a threat in the Exorcist letter. If there’s a changing of mind here then it’s from psychopath to slightly more writey and less (AFAWK) stabby and shooty psychopath.

I know it ties back to the Belli letter as well where he ‘appears’ to open up but again some people opine that he was just taking the p***. If these things are even a tiny reflection of humanity then at best they should have had their own newspaper headline that read "ZODIAC. Tries to write normal letters but fails".

The game thing is just an idea but I no longer view these as being a simple reflection of a changed mind.

It’s interesting to read different points of view.

Could be Zodiac was just that type of guy who liked to voice his opinion…aside of being "Zodiac". I don’t think for one second there was sincerity in that Belli letter.

I agree Tahoe…Very interesting conversations here. And Welsh you’re right the likeness to LBJ is uncanny…..

Interesting. I think The Z. wrote the messages differently to better play off his supposed going underground, get a little kick out of seeing himself in the paper, but it was business as usual like pre-LHR and BRS.

I indeed like your thinking traveller1st!!!

I indeed like your thinking traveller1st!!!

Thanks TF.

A couple more Morrill articles, the second of which was published around the time Zodiac started writing letters again in 1974.

Wow…10,000 samples. Crazy!

And what’s up with the last paragraph? (not pertaining to Zodiac)

"The most obscene letters are written by women and to themselves"…..huh?

Yes, that last paragraph made me do a double take. Not sure how to read that, is it really true or was Morrill a bit archaic in his thoughts about women? I guess you could take it that women are more self-sufficient that we thought!!!