In fairness Smithy, it’s a little more than a "problem", it’s one of the things that make this theory untenable.

Wier – it’s THE basic problem which makes the theory difficult to countenance, in my humble opinion. Untenable’s a nice word, but not the one I’d choose.
I thought you were going to post a proposed solution. Damn!

Someone wrote on that door between the time the car was parked and the time Ray Land discovered it (or perhaps "discovered" it, if you prefer) at about 9:30pm. That guy knew enough detail to complete the message – ie, what day it was (doh!), the approximate time of the crime, and the fact that a knife was used. That’s it. Knowing the previous attack dates wasn’t all that clever. Or the symbol.

And Snook got lucky too,it just so happened that the attacker at Berryessa was wearing a hood with zodiac’s crossed circle on it. Pretty convenient for him and his hoax project.

Hi-

Doesn’t he say that Dennis Land was the murderer? In that case, Land would have presumably worn the cross circle. Is that right?

Mike

Morf – well OK, leaving aside Snook for now, yes, that’s the Dooozy, ain’t it. This guy turned up with a hood on, and the symbol.
Would we be talking about this stuff years later if he hadn’t? No, I don’t think so.
Where did he come from? I suppose he was local, since he knew the area, identified well with the profile of the attacker, but it would up the percentage probability if he wasn’t, I guess. Anyway, it’s not a big area, Napa, Vallejo, Benicia – it’s around 50 square miles, so here’s what I think we need to imagine, for the copycat idea to work:
1) There was a nutcase already out there, waiting for something to do….. or having already done a few things in the past, perhaps.
2) The saturation coverage in the newspapers of a "slayer" – a "psychopathic killer" – in his backyard (guessing) gave him inspiration.
3) He had to particularly identify with the MO – "a guy who attacks courting couples" – and feel that was also his remit. "God sent me." Not a new MO.
4) He had to figure a disguise would be the best way NOT to be ruled out as the Cipher Slayer if seen, since he didn’t resemble the known description too well.
The fact that the guy with excellent access to the materials and the good handwriting profited from this event? Yes, that’s staggering. He WAS waiting for another crime to hang his hat on, so to speak, but to get one where the guy so identified with the "profile"? It beggars belief.

Mike: Re: Dennis Land, yes, I guess so, although I don’t think it’s an out-and-out accusation, more a demonstration of the fact that there were suspects at each crime scene above and beyond the one and only "Zodiac Killer".

Morf – well OK, leaving aside Snook for now, yes, that’s the Dooozy, ain’t it. This guy turned up with a hood on, and the symbol.
Would we be talking about this stuff years later if he hadn’t? No, I don’t think so.
Where did he come from? I suppose he was local, since he knew the area, identified well with the profile of the attacker, but it would up the percentage probability if he wasn’t, I guess. Anyway, it’s not a big area, Napa, Vallejo, Benicia – it’s around 50 square miles, so here’s what I think we need to imagine, for the copycat idea to work:
1) There was a nutcase already out there, waiting for something to do….. or having already done a few things in the past, perhaps.
2) The saturation coverage in the newspapers of a "slayer" – a "psychopathic killer" – in his backyard (guessing) gave him inspiration.
3) He had to particularly identify with the MO – "a guy who attacks courting couples" – and feel that was also his remit. "God sent me." Not a new MO.
4) He had to figure a disguise would be the best way NOT to be ruled out as the Cipher Slayer if seen, since he didn’t resemble the known description too well.
The fact that the guy with excellent access to the materials and the good handwriting profited from this event? Yes, that’s staggering. He WAS waiting for another crime to hang his hat on, so to speak, but to get one where the guy so identified with the "profile"? It beggars belief.

Mike: Re: Dennis Land, yes, I guess so, although I don’t think it’s an out-and-out accusation, more a demonstration of the fact that there were suspects at each crime scene above and beyond the one and only "Zodiac Killer".

Yeah, I guess all the above, or the more logical and likely scenario, ZODIAC ATTACKED AT BERRYESSA, WROTE ON THE DOOR, AND MAILED ALL THE LETTERS,THE END!

Morf – that’s one of the scenarios that has to be seriously considered! Berryessa is, after all, too good to be true, if you’re just a hoaxer.
But it’s got to be considered along with …but he didn’t kill any of the rest of them….