AP PSYCHOLOGY The Zodiac Case FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE

Zodiac Killer Riverside California – 1966 Cheri Jo Bates was an 18-year-old college freshman from Riverside Community College who lived with her father. On October 30, she went to the school library to study. During this time, a man tampered with her car. After disabling it by pulling out the distributor coil and the condenser, then disconnecting the middle wire of the distributor, the Zodiac killer had apparently waited for Bates to return to her car and try to start it. Killer makes a pretense of unsuccessfully tinkering with the engine. Then, he engaged her in conversation for an hour and a half. What they did is unknown before stabbing her to death. Cheri Jo had been choked, beaten and her throat was cut in one quick motion, which sliced through her jugular and voice box. From three additional slashes, she had been nearly decapitated and was also stabbed twice in the chest and kicked in the head.

Days after this slaying, the Riverside police received a typed anonymous confession, all in caps, from someone claiming he had done this in revenge for her rejection.

THE CONFESSION BY _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ SHE WAS YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL BUT NOW SHE IS BATTERED AND DEAD. SHE IS NOT THE FIRST AND SHE WILL NOT BE THE LAST I LAY AWAKE NIGHTS THINKING ABOUT MY NEXT VICTIM. MAYBE SHE WILL BE THE BEAUTIFUL BLOND THAT BABYSITS NEAR THE LITTLE STORE AND WALKS DOWN THE DARK ALLEY EACH EVENING ABOUT SEVEN. OR MAYBE SHE WILL BE THE SHAPELY BRUNETT THAT SAID XXX NO WHEN I ASKED HER FOR A DATE IN HIGH SCHOOL. BUT MAYBE IT WILL NOT BE EITHER. BUT I SHALL CUT OFF HER FEMALENESS AND DEPOSIT THEM FOR THE WHOLE CITY TO SEE. SO DON'T MAKE IT TO EASY FOR ME. KEEP YOUR SISTERS, DAUGHTERS, AND WIVES OFF THE STREETS AND ALLEYS. MISS BATES WAS STUPID. SHE WENT TO THE SLAUGHTER LIKE A LAMB. SHE DID NOT PUT UP A STRUGGLE. BUT I DID. IT WAS A BALL. I FIRST CUT THE MIDDLE WIRE FROM THE DISTRIBUTOR. THEN I WAITED FOR HER IN THE LIBRARY AND FOLLOWED HER OUT AFTER ABOUT TWO MINUTES. THE BATTERY MUST HAVE BEEN ABOUT DEAD BY THEN. I THEN OFFERED TO HELP. SHE WAS THEN VERY WILLING TO TALK TO ME. I TOLD HER THAT MY CAR WAS DOWN THE STREET AND THAT I WOULD GIVE HER A LIFT HOME. WHEN WE WERE AWAY FROM THE LIBRARY WALKING, I SAID IT WAS ABOUT TIME. SHE ASKED ME, "ABOUT TIME FOR WHAT?" I SAID IT WAS ABOUT TIME FOR HER TO DIE. I GRABBED HER AROUND THE NECK WITH MY HAND OVER HER MOUTH AND MY OTHER HAND WITH A SMALL KNIFE AT HER THROAT. SHE WENT VERY WILLINGLY. HER BODY FELT WARM AND VERY FIRM UNDER MY HANDS, BUT ONLY ONE THING WAS ON MY MIND. MAKING HER PAY FOR ALL THE BRUSH OFFS THAT SHE HAD GIVEN ME DURING THE YEARS PRIOR. SHE DIED HARD. SHE SQUIRMED AND SHOOK AS I CHOCKED HER, AND HER LIPS TWICHED. SHE LET OUT A SCREAM ONCE AND I KICKED HER IN THE HEAD TO SHUT HER UP. I PLUNGED THE KNIFE INTO HER AND IT BROKE. I THEN FINISHED THE JOB BY CUTTING HER THROAT. I AM NOT SICK. I AM INSANE. BUT THAT WILL NOT STOP THE GAME. THIS LETTER SHOULD BE PUBLISHED FOR ALL TO READ IT. IT JUST MIGHT SAVE THAT GIRL IN THE ALLEY. BUT THAT'S UP TO YOU. IT WILL BE ON YOUR CONSCIENCE. NOT MINE. YES, I DID MAKE THAT CALL TO YOU ALSO. IT WAS JUST A WARNING. BEWARE...I AM STALKING YOUR GIRLS NOW. CC. CHIEF OF POLICE ENTERPRISE Neither envelope bore a complete address; they were handwritten with a felt-tip pen in the following manner. Daily Enterprise Riverside Calif Attn: Crime Homicide Detail Riverside

The second incident came on December 20, 1968, in California, was the shooting of two high school kids out on a first date, David Faraday, 17, and Betty Lou Jensen, 16. When found, Faraday lay dying inside the car, while Betty Lou had gotten out and run away. She was shot five times from behind and killed. A spent.22 shell casing lay on the right front floorboard, and nine expended.22 casings were found on the ground near Faraday's head. There were impressions of shoe prints in front of the car, going toward the passenger side. The Super X copper-coated bullets were from a.22-caliber J.C. Higgins 80 model or Hi Standard model 101.

July 4, 1969 Darlene Ferrin, 22, and Michael Mageau, 19, were both shot in their car. Mageau survived, although it seems likely he wasn't supposed to have lived. At 12:40 A.M. the Vallejo Police Department received a call from a man speaking in a calm voice. As he reported the shooting, he provided the location and a description of the car. "They were shot with a 9-millimeter Luger," he stated, adding. "I also killed those kids last year." An investigation indicated that this call had originated from a public phone booth just outside the Vallejo Sheriff's office and within sight of Darlene's new residence. The weapon used appeared to be a Browning 1935 High Power. In addition, Darlene's husband, parents and brother all received a phone call around 1:30 that morning from someone who said nothing but breathed heavily. Under questioning, Mageau changed his story several times, but indicated that he and Ferrin had been followed from the time she had picked him up. He recalled that the shooter had used a bright light to blind them, but Mageau had seen that he had short brown hair and appeared to be in his late twenties, was five-foot-eight, and weighed a hefty 200 pounds.

Drawing Attention In August 1969, the editors of three San Francisco-area newspapers each received letters and a strangely coded cipher, meant to be published by all three so the code could be put together. The writer signed each part with a crossed-circle symbol and claimed to be the Vallejo killer. He had used more postage than necessary to send the three parts.

Zodiac Cryptogram Each section consisted of eight lines of seventeen symbols, which included a variety of items, from Greek symbols to Morse code to navy semaphore, and even a few astrological symbols, notably Taurus. When translated, it read:

A letter arriving a week later indicated that this man called himself "the Zodiac" and he described his MO: He'd used a small penlight taped onto his weapon that assisted him to see his targets in the dark. His expressed enjoyment of killing suggested another attack was coming. Dear Editor I am the killer of the 2 teenagers last Christmass at Lake Herman and the Girl last 4th of July. To Prove this I shall state some facts which only I+ the police know. Christmass 1 Brand name of ammo Super X 2 10 shots fired 3 Boy was on back feet to car 4 Girl was lyeing on right side feet to west 4th of July 1 Girl was wearing patterned pants 2 Boy was also shot in knee 3 Brand name of ammo was Western Here is a cyipher or that is part of one. The other 2 parts of this cipher have been mailed to the S.F. Examiner + the S.F. Chronicle. I want you to print this cipher on your frunt page by Fry Afternoon Aug 1-69, If you do not do this I will go on a kill rampage Fry night that will last the whole week end. I will cruse around and pick off all stray people or coupples that are alone then move on to kill some more untill I have killed over a dozen people.

The Murders Continue…. The San Francisco Chronicle received a letter in mid-October 1969, in an envelope with excess postage, that contained a piece torn from Stine's shirt and that issued a threat against school children. It was an arrogant missive, criticizing the police. This is the Zodiac speaking. I am the murderer of the taxi driver over by Washington St + Maple St last night, to prove this here is a blood stained piece of his shirt. I am the same man who did in the people in the north bay area. The S.F. Police could have caught me last night if they had searched the park properly instead of holding road races with their motorcicles seeing who could make the most noise. The car drivers should have just parked their cars and sat there quietly waiting for me to come out of cover. School children make nice targets, I think I shall wipe out a school bus some morning. Just shoot out the frunt tire + then pick off the kiddies as they come bouncing out.

This is the Zodiac speaking up to the end of Oct I have killed 7 people. I have grown rather angry with the police for their telling lies about me. So I shall change the way the collecting of slaves. I shall no longer announce to anyone. When I committ my murders, they shall look like routine robberies, killings of anger, + a few fake accidents, etc. The police shall never catch me, because I have been too clever for them. October brought another card from the Zodiac. The postcard had a collage on its face and 13 holes punched through it, was postmarked on October 5, In words and letters cut from magazines and newspapers it was addressed simply to "San Francisco Chronicle, S.F." and read:

In addition, after the other murders, there was also a kidnapping. On the evening of Sunday, March 22, 1970, a pregnant Kathleen Johns left for a trip with her infant daughter. A driver blinked his lights and honked his horn. As the 1957 maroon and white Chevrolet station wagon pulled alongside, the driver yelled through his window, telling her that her rear tire was wobbling. She stopped and the thirtyish man offered to help by tightening the tire. Instead, he disabled her vehicle, then kidnapped Johns and her child and threatened to kill them. She managed to escape and gave police a description. The man wore thick- rimmed glasses, black bell-bottom trousers and shined shoes, like Navy shoes. Yet as neat as he was, she said, the white Chevy's interior was a mess. His hair was brown, cut in a crew cut. He had a medium build, possibly weighing 155 to 165 pounds. His voice was monotone, without emotion or accent. When Mrs. Johns spotted a composite drawing of the suspect who allegedly had killed Paul Stine she screamed, "That's him!" When the police returned her to her car, they found it moved to another road and completely burned from the inside. The man had put the wheel back on to move it.

The Zodiac Killer?