Well. Let’s say one of these men is definitely the Z. And we have a time machine. And we can go back to before the murders. And all of these guys are in the same bar. So, we have to go in there, and we can only arrest one of them and bring them in our time machine, to hopefully avert the murders.

One is Zodiac… Who do you take away, and hopefully save the lives of Betty Lou, David, Cecilia and Paul?

I’m going for Hoffman. The only one right at a Z murder scene, before and after. The one whose job it was to cruise the lovers lanes. A cop, just like EARONS. Likes publicity? Does interview in Fincher doc. Has the right build. Knows to walk away from a crime scene, don’t draw attention. Maybe had access to LHR crime details, so could have claimed it without even doing it. Knows some terminology, "feet to the west". Has a police radio/scanner for listening in.

To me, he’s the least worst suspect of all the above for those reasons.

Given your conditions, I am going for TK. Whether he was Z or not, you’ll save a bunch of people. But yes, I also think he is the most likely Z suspect on that list.

Like most everyone else I go back and forth. I couldn’t imagine it being anyone other than TK. But it has to be someone that had access to the scenes and information like Hoffman. And Cheri Jo has to be Ross.

In other words I have always been so torn between several. I guess that if I just HAD to pick one …. I would go with TK.

TK for me, too.

If I’m being honest with myself, I still have ALA on my list, though not at the top. I marked him off when his fingerprints and DNA didn’t match, but now that we know they may not be Z’s he is back in the running. There are a lot of strikes against him – he’s doesn’t look like the eyewitness descriptions, his handwriting didn’t match – but he’s a fit in so many ways that I still think it’s possible his DNA will match.

Rick Marshall.

I don’t think it’s anyone we know about.

I’m going for Hoffman.

So you don’t think Nancy Slover would have recognized the voice of someone she had not only worked closely with, but spoken over the phone to hundreds of times?

TK 100%

There are just too many "coincidences"

First he is a proven serial killer that used complex ciphers and designed bombs (I don’t think you can match that to any other serial killer other than Zodiac) that alone blows away the competition.

but not just that:

He lived right in the middle of all the attacks and Mt Diablo.
He resigned on a Monday from Berkeley and Friday night of that same week Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau are shot just a little over 30 min drive from his house.
He used tons of the same phrases and terms as zodiac.
He was a professional at manipulating evidence and planting false clues (something Zodiac stated he did himself).
His handwriting is very similar.
He mailed letters to the exact same newspapers Z did.
Zodiac called the police from a payphone in Napa after the Lake Berryessa attack – the timing and route coincide exactly with the most direct route back to Ted’s cottage in Berkeley.
He had a hood in his cabin just like the one Z used.
He looks like the sketch if you add glasses.
He used disguises (also something Zodiac stated he did himself).
He bought land in MT and then the Z letters suddenly taper off…
He shares the same psychological motivation that Zodiac did (REVENGE).
He used FC as initials as Zodiac used FK in some ciphers and letters (read The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad to understand why – BTW Ted stated he read this book over 12 times and it was found in his cabin when he was caught).
Not to mention Theodore is Fyodor in Russian (another link to Conrad’s book and Ted had books on Russian in his cabin).
The secret agent basically outlines how to get the most attention from society when committing crimes (something Z and TK did). (see the 408 cipher)
He knows how to use a compass and account for magnetic declination (Z did as well).
Had maps of SF in his cabin (Zodiac used a map of SF).
He used double postage on letters just like Zodiac.
Zodiac used stamps with Franklin D Roosevelt (same number of letters as Theodore J Kaczynski) Theodore Roosevelt btw…
Used similar style of writing and word play.
Left an 18 character strikeout signature in the penthouse letter under the line "these letters as our signature" (408 ends with 18 un-deciphered characters where you would sign a name).
There are far to many similarities to list, which I am sure others can add to.

Or you could go with suspects like the giant Ross that was "Creepy" and might have written a paper on cryptography, or Kane who might have known about codes from the Navy…..

If TK hadn’t been "cleared" (which warrants a whole separate discussion) as a suspect most people would be jumping at somebody that shared so many similarities.

I’d love to see the Penthouse letter Jelberg … do you happen to know where I can find a copy? Thanks ! Great post IMO!

I’m going for Hoffman.

So you don’t think Nancy Slover would have recognized the voice of someone she had not only worked closely with, but spoken over the phone to hundreds of times?

That’s a good point. I don’t really suspect Hoffman. Guess it illustrates how unconvinced I am of others in this line-up of being Z (and ones who i feel are definitely not Z – Penn, Davis, Harden etc.).

TK 100%

There are just too many "coincidences"

First he is a proven serial killer that used complex ciphers and designed bombs (I don’t think you can match that to any other serial killer other than Zodiac) that alone blows away the competition.

but not just that:

He lived right in the middle of all the attacks and Mt Diablo.
He resigned on a Monday from Berkeley and Friday night of that same week Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau are shot just a little over 30 min drive from his house.
He used tons of the same phrases and terms as zodiac.
He was a professional at manipulating evidence and planting false clues (something Zodiac stated he did himself).
His handwriting is very similar.
He mailed letters to the exact same newspapers Z did.
Zodiac called the police from a payphone in Napa after the Lake Berryessa attack – the timing and route coincide exactly with the most direct route back to Ted’s cottage in Berkeley.
He had a hood in his cabin just like the one Z used.
He looks like the sketch if you add glasses.
He used disguises (also something Zodiac stated he did himself).
He bought land in MT and then the Z letters suddenly taper off…
He shares the same psychological motivation that Zodiac did (REVENGE).
He used FC as initials as Zodiac used FK in some ciphers and letters (read The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad to understand why – BTW Ted stated he read this book over 12 times and it was found in his cabin when he was caught).
Not to mention Theodore is Fyodor in Russian (another link to Conrad’s book and Ted had books on Russian in his cabin).
The secret agent basically outlines how to get the most attention from society when committing crimes (something Z and TK did). (see the 408 cipher)
He knows how to use a compass and account for magnetic declination (Z did as well).
Had maps of SF in his cabin (Zodiac used a map of SF).
He used double postage on letters just like Zodiac.
Zodiac used stamps with Franklin D Roosevelt (same number of letters as Theodore J Kaczynski) Theodore Roosevelt btw…
Used similar style of writing and word play.
Left an 18 character strikeout signature in the penthouse letter under the line "these letters as our signature" (408 ends with 18 un-deciphered characters where you would sign a name).
There are far to many similarities to list, which I am sure others can add to.

Or you could go with suspects like the giant Ross that was "Creepy" and might have written a paper on cryptography, or Kane who might have known about codes from the Navy…..

If TK hadn’t been "cleared" (which warrants a whole separate discussion) as a suspect most people would be jumping at somebody that shared so many similarities.

Why was TK cleared as a suspect?

Penn and Harden are idiotic suspects, I agree. Davis has some merit for obvious reasons, but I don’t think he was the Zodiac.

It’s really hard to choose one of these because I’m quite strongly of the opinion that if we ever find out his name, it’ll be something majority of us has never even heard of. But I guess I’ll go with Bujok.

I’d love to see the Penthouse letter Jelberg … do you happen to know where I can find a copy? Thanks ! Great post IMO!

AK Wilks: You can see it here:

http://www.zodiackillersite.com/viewtopic.php?f=102&t=3978

Thank you !

I think it’s someone we’ve never heard of. None of the popular suspects hold up under scrutiny imo.

By the way, who is the cop at the far right of the collage? I can’t make out the name.