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The Zodiac Killer — Part 5
Page 42
42 / 249
stabbing death of a 22-year-old
woman and the wounding of her
male companion at Lake Berryessa
. Park — he wore a hood.
; Police believe that Zodiac has
an eye problem because he wore
" Slasses even under his hood. There
are also indications that’ he had
Some connection to the military.
_ He wore a militarytype crew
-. Cut or short hair. His pants had
. Pleats at a.time when that cut was
not fashionable: He committed sev-
eral of his murders in the Vallejo
- area near Mare Island and one near
~ *€8e."Presidio. And his messages
, 5bowed some knowledge of cryp-
- tography. ;
Toschi said he leans toward the
‘theory that -Zodiac-may ‘have been
‘ connected with the Navy at one
time. In addition to the fact that he
wore. a Navy-type windbreaker,
jacket for the Stine killing, the
detective notes: “Three codes were
., used in his messages, and some had
-hautical signs. One sign is used by
- weathermen and Navy people.”
In consultation with psycholo-
gists, Toschi also has come to the
conclusion that Zodiac is a high
school graduate with a giant ego
locked in an inconspicuous identity.
“T feel he probably has a menial job
and is very lonely, not around
‘Many loved ones.”»
_ Although a handwriting expert
once concluded Zodiac was impo-
' tent and afraid of women, the
investigator says the facts only
show that he apparently enjoyed
killing defenseless people. “There
was no sexual activity,” he said. “No
‘molestation, no mutilation.”
The key to solving the case,
Paenemeney
Toschi said, lies in Zodiac’s ego and
his somewhat distinctive lettering
Style, not in his coded messages,
one of which remains unbroken.
. _ Zodiac seemed obsessed with
publicizing his exploits: At first he
communicated -with smaller news-
papers such as the Vallejo Times. ~~.
Herald. Then he sent letters to the:
two large daily newspapers in San
Francisco, and later sent one letter
to the Los Angeles Times, the
largest West Coast daily, complain-
ing that the San Francisco papers
relegate his messages to back pages.
As a result, however, his letter-
ing has been seen by people all over
California. “I hope he'll communi-
cate with a friend or family mem-
———e
of murder glorification can only be
deplorable at best.” In a postcard
signed “The Red Phantom (red with
rage),” Zodiac criticized columnist
-Count Marco. for his “superior
attitude” and demanded
tion of the column. ~ ~~
““He got his pleasure by telling _
cancella-
_ us about the murders,” Toschi said.
“My guess is that he hasn’t been
Killing. Ego is what forced him to
kill and write letters, knowing the — -
media would broadcast and print =
If that’s so, then why hasn't
Zodiac killed in recent years and
why has he been silent so long?
One theory is that he has been
ber and slip,” .Toschi-said. “T-hope. ~in.and.out of-prisons, jails or mental
something rings a-bell in someone's
head and they'll pass on a letter to
police, -
“I’m counting on a slip of mind
where he feels after nine or 10
years that he’s safe and he'll write a
boastful letter to a friend. Medical
people and psychologists say it will
come out.” .
Toschi believes that Zodiac has
not killed since 1969, although the
mystery man increased his total to
37 on Jan. 30, 1974, after nearly a
three-year silence. At that time,
Zodiac’s ego was apparent as he
. panned “The Exorcist” as “bad .
comedy,” although it
people to vomit. ;
Later in 1974, he ‘sent two
messages to the Chronicle, without
disclosing his identity. One urged
the newspaper to “show some.
concern for public sensibilities” by
dropping an ad for a movie called
caused many
“Badlands.” The letter, signed “A
Citizen,” went on to say: “This kind
college parking lot.
institutions. |
“I think he is in a period of
remission and that some symptoms
abated,” Toschi said. “Perhaps dur-
. ng this period, he had no desire to
There was a previous, though
shorter, period of inactivity discov-
ered during investigation of five
Zodiac slayings from Dec. 20, 1968, 7
to Oct. 11, 1969. Police determined
that Zodiac was behind the Oct. 30,
1966, slaying of Riverside City
College cheerleader Cheri Jo Bates, _
whose throat was slashed by aman” .
who first sabotaged her car in the
A janitor inadvertently found a“...
/ poem scratched in a library study _
. tn es Abe ot
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