The murder likely took place at Washington and Maple Street, as he said in the October 13th letter ‘I am the murderer of the taxi driver over by Washington St and Maple St last night, to prove this here is a blood stained piece of his shirt’. there was nothing to be gained by lying here, with the killer shooting Paul Stine at this location, however any control was forfeited when the taxicab, not in park, motioned forward. The killer’s plan of removing items from the victim, particularly the portion of Paul Stine’s shirt, to send to the San Francisco Chronicle, was now in jeopardy. Thinking on his feet, quite literally, the murderer quickly exited the moving vehicle by the left rear door and entered the left front driver door, stepped over the lifeless body of Paul Stine, possibly bracing himself against the front compartment for support, he then pushed against the left side of Paul Stine, to access the vehicle pedals and coasted the taxicab to the next intersection, Washington and Cherry.
When the Zodiac Killer exited the moving vehicle, he may have injured his ankle as his foot planted or jarred on the roadside or quite possibly he aggravated a previous injury. This may explain his unhurried exit away up Cherry Street and the ‘lumbering gait, sort of stumbling along, like a ‘semi-limp’, described by Donald Fouke.
Two weeks prior to this murder, on September 27th 1969 three girls spotted the unknown man. On page 396 of Robert Graysmith Unmasked, one of the girls recalled the suspicious character, stating "I wouldn’t say he had a limp, but he favored one leg when he walked".
Wing-Walkers and Jump boots are designed for ankle support, favored by the military, but why was the Zodiac Killer wearing them. Was it indicative of a military connection or nothing more than a man who chose this style of footwear, to protect and support a long standing foot or ankle complaint, that came under close examination, as he exited the moving vehicle at Washington and Maple.

Or he simply said Washington and Maple because he know that was what he told the driver and therefor that was what was recorded. Saying Washington and Maple would be more proof he was the killer and not someone that read about a murder at Washington and Cherry in the paper.

The three girls at Lake Berryessa never mentioned anything about a limp.

Interesting. Did they see him walking or just see him standing observing them? If they saw him walking without a limp, and if the man they saw is the same one who attacked Bryan and Cecelia, then I would think surely he changed shoes when he put on the disguise and was wearing shoes that were the wrong size or had something stuffed in them to either change his height or cause the unusual walk.

Imo, the latter is the case and that would make it easier for Z to blend in at his job without suspicion if he walked normally and everyone was looking for someone with a limp.

Depending on how pronounced the limp is the girls may have been too far away to notice. It could very well be because of the footwear he had on but since two people that saw him close up described it as only being on one side I think it’s very possible that he did/does have a slight limp. Maybe it’s more noticeable when he’s on uneven ground or walking quickly.

Hey Susie! Who were the 2 people that said Z had a limp? Was it from an original report taken from the victims or from Graysmith’s investigations? Very interested in this. TIA!

Ever tried walking with soaked trousers. Now go back 3 minutes.

Can you specify this aspect of your theory for me? Was it bc of his trousers being covered in PS blood? Because he ran through a muddy park or something? Sorry I’m still catching up with everyone here. My questions are sincere and not rhetorical. Wanting to learn different ideas here.

I like the theory of something being soaked giving his legs/feet more weight for him to
Have to pick up when walking. Good on you.

I tend to theorize maybe his shoes were a little big for him OR that simply it was the officers way of describing his stocky/heavy frame as he walked. Jmo

Hey Susie! Who were the 2 people that said Z had a limp? Was it from an original report taken from the victims or from Graysmith’s investigations? Very interested in this. TIA!

I don’t remember if it was Bryan or Cecilia (but I think Cecilia) that described him as having a strange or odd gait. I’m not sure that they classified it as a limp, so that probably wasn’t the best choice of words.

Hey Susie! Who were the 2 people that said Z had a limp? Was it from an original report taken from the victims or from Graysmith’s investigations? Very interested in this. TIA!

I don’t remember if it was Bryan or Cecilia (but I think Cecilia) that described him as having a strange or odd gait. I’m not sure that they classified it as a limp, so that probably wasn’t the best choice of words.

It for sure wasn’t Bryan, and again, this is not in any police report. I have no doubt you read this somewhere Susie, I just think falsehoods get mixed in with reality.

Ever tried walking with soaked trousers. Now go back 3 minutes.

Ever try walking down a dark SF street?..I’d be more interested in what the kids who saw Z walk away from the cab had to say then the girls at the lake..

Hey Susie! Who were the 2 people that said Z had a limp? Was it from an original report taken from the victims or from Graysmith’s investigations? Very interested in this. TIA!

I don’t remember if it was Bryan or Cecilia (but I think Cecilia) that described him as having a strange or odd gait. I’m not sure that they classified it as a limp, so that probably wasn’t the best choice of words.

It for sure wasn’t Bryan, and again, this is not in any police report. I have no doubt you read this somewhere Susie, I just think falsehoods get mixed in with reality.

That’s very possible. I try to only keep in mind what I have read in the police reports, but with all the other info I have read over the years it’s hard to remember where all of it came from.

I wish someone like the Detective from Vallejo who is now on the case will interview the officer and Bryan and the girls if they are available and have each of these persons demonstrate the limp/gait they are describing. It would be interesting to compare and see if they all do it the same way. But even then, we wouldn’t know if Zodiac was faking a limp or not.

IMO he was faking it. I just don’t see anyone such as a polio victim doing these murders and being able to get away. Anyone with a handicap would be afraid of falling or being identified one would think but then who knows?

Ever try walking down a dark SF street?..I’d be more interested in what the kids who saw Z walk away from the cab had to say then the girls at the lake..

If they mentioned a limp or any sort of abnormal gait, it didn’t make it into Pelissetti’s report. I can’t remember them saying anything about it in the later interviews either.

They observed Z walking around the cab, wiping it down, and one of them, the oldest, followed him out and observed him walking down Cherry St. If he had been limping along very conspicuously, you’d think the teens would have noticed. They were pretty sharp, by all accounts.

There is no mention in either the BRS or LB reports of anything of the sort either.

Ever try walking down a dark SF street?..I’d be more interested in what the kids who saw Z walk away from the cab had to say then the girls at the lake..

If they mentioned a limp or any sort of abnormal gait, it didn’t make it into Pelissetti’s report. I can’t remember them saying anything about it in the later interviews either.

They observed Z walking around the cab, wiping it down, and one of them, the oldest, followed him out and observed him walking down Cherry St. If he had been limping along very conspicuously, you’d think the teens would have noticed. They were pretty sharp, by all accounts.

There is no mention in either the BRS or LB reports of anything of the sort either.

It was stated in the Fouke interoffice memo of 11/12/69 after the Stein murder. Fouke states that the man he saw had a "shuffling lope, slightly bent foward, head down".

Hey Susie! Who were the 2 people that said Z had a limp? Was it from an original report taken from the victims or from Graysmith’s investigations? Very interested in this. TIA!

I don’t remember if it was Bryan or Cecilia (but I think Cecilia) that described him as having a strange or odd gait. I’m not sure that they classified it as a limp, so that probably wasn’t the best choice of words.

It for sure wasn’t Bryan, and again, this is not in any police report. I have no doubt you read this somewhere Susie, I just think falsehoods get mixed in with reality.

It was one of the sunbathers who supposedly spoke to Graymsith. From UNMASKED:

https://books.google.com/books?id=8Wm6f … ed&f=false

I wish someone like the Detective from Vallejo who is now on the case will interview the officer and Bryan and the girls if they are available and have each of these persons demonstrate the limp/gait they are describing. It would be interesting to compare and see if they all do it the same way. But even then, we wouldn’t know if Zodiac was faking a limp or not.

IMO he was faking it. I just don’t see anyone such as a polio victim doing these murders and being able to get away. Anyone with a handicap would be afraid of falling or being identified one would think but then who knows?

Except in SF, Fouke didn’t describe his walk as a limp, it was more like just the way he walked—his stride, so-to-speak…a "shuffling loap". The girls mention nothing about it unless you take Graysmith’s word for it in ZU.

I think interviewing Bryan and/or the girls to find out a way in which someone (may have) walked is futile at this point.

Ever try walking down a dark SF street?..I’d be more interested in what the kids who saw Z walk away from the cab had to say then the girls at the lake..

If they mentioned a limp or any sort of abnormal gait, it didn’t make it into Pelissetti’s report. I can’t remember them saying anything about it in the later interviews either.

They observed Z walking around the cab, wiping it down, and one of them, the oldest, followed him out and observed him walking down Cherry St. If he had been limping along very conspicuously, you’d think the teens would have noticed. They were pretty sharp, by all accounts.

There is no mention in either the BRS or LB reports of anything of the sort either.

It was stated in the Fouke interoffice memo of 11/12/69 after the Stein murder. Fouke states that the man he saw had a "shuffling lope, slightly bent foward, head down".

He’s talking about the teens…not Fouke.

Donald Fouke mentioned a semi limp. That is fact. You either choose to believe his account or choose to dismiss it.