Zodiac Halloween Card Possible Solution Reveals Name and More

Home , Paul Avery, Zodiac (comics), Zodiac (true crime book)

B.D. Holland1, BSc (Hons) Life Science.

1 www.zodiachalloweencard.com

Abstract The Zodiac was a moniker self-given by the writer of numerous letters sent to various newspapers and persons connected to a serial killer case, claiming responsibility for multiple homicides that occurred in and around the Vallejo area and San Francisco, Calfornia in the late 1960s and possibly the early 1970s. One of those communications was sent to journalist Paul Avery of the San Francisco Chronicle dated October 27th, 1970 and contained a Halloween card that alleged to contain a non-cipher code that could clue the reader into the Zodiac’s name. The Halloween card includes illustrations of skeletons, some of which the Zodiac added himself, writing, numbers, drawings, and symbols as well as clues on the envelope and the stamp he used. One of the symbols similar to a cattle branding symbol was found frequently in Tim Holt comics (Jul 1948- May 1951). Four issues of these comics,#8, #14, #22 and #30 can be used with Zodiac’s Halloween Card code as keys to reveal what appears to be a first name and surname. Part of that name, what appears to be the first name, can be derived from a greeting card called the ‘Dragon Card’ sent to San Fransico Chronicle dated April 28th, 1970. There are also correlations to mailing dates. We speculate reasons why the Zodiac has given his real name. Overall this is a possible solution to the Zodiac Halloween Card and the Dragon Card and possibly his real name.

Keywords: Zodiac Killer, Halloween Card, Paul Avery, Dragon Card, San Francisco Chronicle, Don Farley, Donald Farley

These attacks are as follows: 1. The Zodiac case (1966-1974) David Arthur Faraday, 17, and Betty Lou Jensen, 16: shot The Zodiac Killer was a modus operandi changing serial and killed on December 20th, 1968, on Lake Herman Road killer in the 1960s and possibly 1970s who had a serial killer’s [3][6][7]. signature of writing letters to get published in the local press to terrorize the citizens of Northern California, in particular, Michael Renault Mageau (survived), 19, and Darlene Benicia, Vallejo, Napa, and San Franciso where he struck Elizabeth Ferrin, 22: shot on July 4, 1969, in the parking lot of [1][2][3]. He shot some victims and stabbed others [3]. He Blue Rock Springs Park [3][6][7]. usually targetted couples in lover's lane type environments [7]. Canonically there are five confirmed Zodiac attacks [3][7]. Bryan Calvin Hartnell (survived), 20, and Cecelia Ann These occur in late 1968 up until late 1969. The Zodiac Shepard, 22: stabbed on September 27, 1969, at Lake continued communications after the last canonical attack Berryessa [3][6][7]. which appear to stop in 1974 [3][4]. There is a non-canonical attack that occurs before the canonical series in 1966 that is of Paul Lee Stine, 29: shot and killed on October 11, 1969, in interest to the Zodiac case as the Zodiac claimed responsibility the Presidio Heights neighborhood in San Francisco [3][6][7]. for this homicide [5][7].

1 © B.D. Holland

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Unconfirmed victim of interest: Zodiac Killer letter, October 13th 1969, sent to the San Francisco Chronicle following the killing of cab driver Paul Cheri Jo Bates, 18: stabbed to death and nearly decapitated Stine [4]. on October 30, 1966, at Riverside City College in Riverside [5][7]. Zodiac Killer letter, November 8th 1969, the "Dripping Pen" card [4]. 1.1 Zodiac communications Zodiac Killer letter, November 9th 1969, the "Death For the canonical crimes, the Zodiac communications start machine" or "Bus bomb" letter, sent to the San Francisco with phone calls to police dispatch reporting a homicide that Chronicle [4]. has just been perpetrated while claiming responsibility for it and others [7]. The Zodiac writes letters and sends them to Zodiac Killer letter, December 20th 1969, sent to celebrity newspapers with the broadest coverage in the area, which are attorney Melvin Belli [4]. the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner and Vallejo Times. He has also sent letters addressed directly to Zodiac Killer letter, April 20th 1970, sent to the San individuals working at these newspapers, such as to journalist Francisco Chronicle [4]. Paul Avery and to famous TV celebrity lawyers, such as Melvin Belli [3][6][7]. Zodiac Killer letter, April 28th 1970, greeting card, “Dragon During the Lake Berryessa crime, the Zodiac wrote on the card”, sent to the San Francisco Chronicle [4]. car door of his targets [3][6][7]. For the non-canonical 1966 crime, homicide letters were Zodiac Killer letter, June 26th 1970, sent to the San sent to a local newspaper, to the father of the victim [4][5] and Francisco Chronicle [4]. Riverside PD. A possible poem carved a college library desk Zodiac Killer letter, July 24th 1970, sent to the San Francisco may also be linked to the Zodiac [4][7], but some doubts have Chronicle [4]. been expressed over this by the FBI [3][4]. There are two Zodiac letters from April and May of 1978 that are likely Zodiac Killer letter, July 26th 1970, sent to the San Francisco forgeries [4]. Chronicle [4].

1.1.1 Zodiac letters and cards. Zodiac Killer letter, October 5th 1970, sent to the San The following is a list of Zodiac written communications Francisco Chronicle [4]. that have been released to the public and also includes non- canonical letters for the 1966 homicide of Cheri Jo Bates [4]. Zodiac Killer letter, October 27th 1970, Halloween card sent It is believed that investigators are holding some back for to Paul Avery of the San Francisco Chronicle [4]. investigative reasons. The Zodiac killer often used a Zodiac symbol associated the name the Zodiac in his Zodiac Killer letter, March 13th 1971, sent to the Los communications. Many of his communications contained Angeles Times [4]. ciphers and codes he claimed would reveal his name [4]. Zodiac Killer letter, March 22th 1971, the "Lake Tahoe" card Zodiac Killer letter, November 29th 1966, titled "The sent to Paul Avery at the San Francisco Chronicle [4]. Confession", Zodiac authorship disputed [4]. Zodiac Killer letter, January 29th 1974, the "Exorcist" letter, Zodiac Killer letter, December 1966, titled "Sick of sent to the San Francisco Chronicle [4]. living/unwilling to die", poem carved on a desk, Zodiac authorship disputed [4]. Zodiac Killer letter, Feb 14th 1974, the "SLA" card, sent to the San Francisco Chronicle [4]. Zodiac Killer letter, April 30th 1967, Zodiac authorship disputed [4]. Zodiac Killer letter, May 8th 1974, the "Badlands" card, sent to the San Francisco Chronicle [4]. Zodiac Killer letter, July 31st 1969, sent to the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner and Vallejo Times [4]. Zodiac Killer letter, July 8th 1974, the "Count Marco Red Phantom" letter, sent to the San Francisco Chronicle [4]. Zodiac Killer letter, August 4th 1969, sent to the San Francisco Examiner [4]. Zodiac Killer letter, April 24 1978, sent to the San Francisco Chronicle, considered a forgery by most experts [4]. Zodiac Killer letter, September 27th 1969, written on a car door at the Lake Berryessa crime scene [4].

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Zodiac Killer letter, May 4 1978, sent to Channel Nine, Zodiac Killer letter, April 28th 1970, greeting card “Dragon authorship disputed [4]. card” sent to the San Francisco Chronicle, the October 27th 1970, “Halloween” card sent to Paul Avery of the San 1.1.2 Appearance and disappearance of the name the Zodiac in the Francisco Chronicle and March 22th 1971, the "Lake Tahoe" communications. card sent to Paul Avery at the San Francisco Chronicle. The Zodiac killer did not always sign off his For the purpose of this article, the April 28th 1970, greeting communications as the Zodiac or use his symbol [4]. This card “Dragon card” sent to the San Francisco Chronicle and moniker, which the Zodiac assigned to himself, first appeared the October 27th 1970, “Halloween” card sent to Paul Avery in the August 4th 1969, letter sent to the San Francisco of the San Francisco Chronicle are the basis for the Examiner [4]. Before this, Zodiac communications claiming discovering his hidden name the Zodiac had provided in them. responsibility for the Zodiac crimes were sent to the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner and Vallejo 1.1.5 Linking the Zodiac communications to the Zodiac killer Times on July 31st 1969. The writer simply referred to There are several ways that the communications have been themselves as the murderer [4]. linked to the Zodiac killer. The first is that the Zodiac killer All the other known communications from August 4th, 1969 phoned in many of his crimes to police dispatch and talks to January 29th, 1974, either contain a reference to himself as about these in some letters. The second is that the handwriting the Zodiac and/or contain the Zodiac symbol. In most cases, at the car door in Lake Berryessa matches the Zodiac letters he includes the name the Zodiac at the start of his handwriting. The third is writing about inside information, communications with the sentence “This is the Zodiac especially noticeable in the murder of taxi driver Paul Stine speaking.” [4]. where the Zodiac letter writer gave the correct destination he He stops using the name the Zodiac in his January 29th, had given to Paul Stine, but during the taxi trip asked Stine to 1974 communication [4]. However other elements of this go one block more before shooting him. Media would have communication, known as “The Exorcist letter” reveal it is the reported this intersection as it was the scene of the crime and Zodiac who is writing. There is no symbol. One feature that not the original taxi destination found in Paul Stine’s logs. stands out was his use of a scoring system to infer that the There is a high probability that only the Zodiac killer could SFPD is unable to catch him while his own scoring increases have known this. with each new letter [4]. This makes his March The strongest piece of evidence that the letter writer is the communications in 1971 the last time he has used the moniker Zodiac himself, came in the form strips of Paul Stine’s bloody the Zodiac in a publicly released evidence [4]. shirt that the Zodiac sent with his communications to confirm The Feb 14th, 1974 communication is signed ‘a friend’. The he was both the letter writer and the killer. The Zodiac himself May 8th, 1974 communication is signed ‘a citizen’. Finally the had gone out of his way to prove he was the letter by supplying last know Zodiac communication of July 8th, 1974 is signed hard physical evidence from a crime scene. ‘The Red Phantom (red with rage)’ [4]. 1.1.6 The Zodiac Killer’s ciphers and clues 1.1.3 The Zodiac Killer’s letter envelopes In several of the Zodiac’s communications he sent ciphers As the Zodiac communications continued investigators were and also puzzles which he claimed contained clues, especially able to identify these communications and intercept some by clues to his name. recognizing postage styles used, symbols on envelopes and The 408 cipher found in his Zodiac Killer letters, July 31st handwriting analysis. 1969, sent to the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco In many cases the Zodiac used over-postage meaning the Examiner and Vallejo Times in three parts was cracked by Zodiac added an excessive number of stamps to ensure their Donald and Bettye Harden of Salina, California. The result letters would arrive at the intended destination. He would use was published on August 9th and 10th 1969 and had been abbreviations in the address, such S.F. instead of San independently verified by the FBI. Francisco, or San Fran as well as Calif for California. He No other Zodiac code that has been broken has been made would often include the phrase “Please Rush to Editor” after public to date. the address and sometimes address the letter to ‘Editor’. I expect this paper to be the first solution in over half-a- In his early communications the Zodiac demonstrated a century to break a Zodiac code. lack of knowledge concerning the news publication process as he called for publication too early between the date of mailing 2. The Zodiac’s changing modus operandi and the date when he expects his letters to appear in the papers. The Zodiac Killer was a modus operandi changing serial killer and reasons for his modus operandi change can be 1.1.4 The Zodiac Killer’s cards deduced from the series of Zodiac crimes. The changing of In several of the Zodiac’s communications he sent cards. modus operandi ends up pointing at the killer being the same These are the November 8th 1969, the "Dripping Pen" card, person and not different individuals in this context.

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The Zodiac made mistakes at the Blue Rock Springs attack. seen by children from a window in a home nearby. The police His face was not covered and he was seen by Mike Mageau were called. They observed the Zodiac who was unmasked who survived who was able to provide a description of his entering the passenger side of the taxicab to interfere with Paul attacker and the car he drove. The Zodiac would have realized Stine’s body. The Zodiac took Paul Stine’s wallet with his his mistake from reading and watching the media and driver's license and tore off pieces of his shirt with his hands. therefore this is a good reason why he changed his M.O. for As he walked away near the Presidio there is a good chance his next attack. two officers in a patrol car spotted him but did not stop him Both the previous attacks had been done at night. The because an incorrect report of a black male had gone out over Zodiac decided his next attack would take place in daylight. the police radio. A composite of the offender was drawn up as We know this because he wore clip-on sunglasses for this well as an amended composite. It is likely this composite as attack. The Zodiac also made a hooded costume with a bib to well as his close call with patrolling officers is the reason why hide his face. On the bib he had embroidered the Zodiac the Zodiac stopped homicides and is why the Paul Stine symbol he used in his communications. murder is the last canonical Zodiac crime. The Zodiac parked his car away from his victims before walking approximately 200 meters to the scene of the attack 2.1.1 The Zodiac Killer’s psychological signature at the western shore of Lake Berryessa. Given the remote The Zodiac continued to send letters and cards after the last location the Zodiac decided to stab his victims after subduing canonical Zodiac crime for many years after. In those letters them at gunpoint and having them tied up. Both the hiding of and cards the Zodiac claimed to committed more homicides his face and the distance of his car away were his solutions to eventually claiming to have murdered thirty-seven. There was his mistake at Blue Spring Rock. no verification though that he murdered anyone else after Paul However the Zodiac made a mistake during this attack. Stine. Despite barely slicing the tissue of Bryan Hartnell’s heart with If this is the case then it strongly infers that the Zodiac a knife, Hartnell survived. We know the Zodiac intended to killer’s signature is to write letters for mass media publication kill him because he wrote a message on his targets car door to terrorize citizens. This has been the same signature stating he was the Zodiac and responsible for their deaths and throughout his crimes and after them, even though he radically the murders of the others. If he intended Bryan Hartnell to changed his M.O. survive, the symbol on his bib would have been eventually It is therefore quite possible that he was able to achieve identified by investigators as that used by the Zodiac. emotional satisfaction from his communications being Furthermore he could just have told Bryan Hartnell about the published over long periods of time without resorting to more other murders. However Bryan Hartnell revealed that the homicides and is a good reason why he may not have Zodiac had claimed to be an escaped prison convict who killed committed more. a guard and just wanted to steal his car to drive to Mexico. All 3. Cracking the Zodiac’s Halloween card. of this was a ruse to tie Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard up, so he could try to murder them by knife. The October 27th 1970, “Halloween” card sent to Paul Since Bryan Hartnell survived and told his story to the Avery of the San Francisco Chronicle was customized by the media, the Zodiac’s M.O. change was no longer a secret meant Zodiac, adding extra words and artwork to it and gluing in cut- that the Zodiac had to change his M.O. again as a hooded man out paper skeletons. It was believed this card possibly with the Zodiac symbol on a bib would likely cause his contained the Zodiac’s name because on the front of the card intended targets to realize they were about to be stabbed and was written “I feel it in my bones, you ache to know my name, not allow themselves to be tied up. and so I’ll clue you in…” The Zodiac had failed to kill the last two males in the two previous attacks up until this point. He was also being teased 3.1.1 The 2013 Tim Holt comics breakthrough by the media who noted that he failed to kill the last two males The first breakthrough came on Dec 30, 2013, when an internet user named “Tahoe27” found a copy of a Tim Holt and they also had some doubts over him being the letter writer. To compensate for this the Zodiac decided to kill again but comic #30 with a Death Wheel illustrated on the cover (Fig 1). needed to change his M.O. The Zodiac even changed location The comics had been uploaded to comicbookplus.com by the from the countryside to an urban setting in San Francisco. He user “freddyfly”. had two things to prove. That he could kill males and was the The cover of issue #30 contains two elements found in the Halloween card. The Zodiac had written the words – ‘By Fire, letter writer. Combing this with his need to change his M.O. the Zodiac decided to murder a male taxi driver and take By Gun, By Knife, By Rope’ in a cross formation. The word bloody shirt strips that we would send in with his letters. ‘Paradice’ (sic) divided them down the middle and the word During the attack on his taxi driver, Paul Stine, at the ‘Slaves’ divided across the middle. ‘By Fire, By Gun, By intersection of Washington and Cherry, San Fransico, he was Knife, By Rope’ featured on the Death Wheel. Beside the wheel was a woman in a green dress spinning the wheel, her

9th June 2019 B.D. Holland name Lady Doom. The word Doom also featured in the covered in these illustrated eyes the Zodiac had made. He has Halloween Card with “You are Doomed” written inside the 13 eyes in total and then wrote 4-TEEN. In hindsight, this was card on an illustration of what looked like a tree trunk with an referencing to see issue #14 (Fig. 13). eye looking out from a hole and decorated in more eyes (Fig. In this part of the story, Chito is watching a bad sheriff 1). arrive for a meeting in the cabin. Chito plans to sneak up on Eventually, it was discovered that a strange cattle brand an open window to peek in and see and hear what he can symbol in the Halloween card was also a symbol found in Tim during the meeting inside. On page, 14 (4 of the story) it is Holt’s/Red Ryder comics (Fig. 2). revealed that the Sheriff’s name is Kildane. He is talking to a The cattle brand symbol ends in what looks like the letter bad construction owner who owns the cabin and runs the F. There are also four dots on it. Both of these will be slaves. For the first time, we get the name Wendell FARLEY, important in solving the Zodiac letter. a good construction worker, in their conversation (Fig. 6). There was also a Zodiac letter signed The Red Phantom The name FARLEY, as well as many other names, appear (Red with Rage). Zodiac Killer letter, July 8th 1974, the in this section of the comic’s story, but we can fast forward to "Count Marco Red Phantom" letter, sent to the San Francisco page 19 (9 of the story). Here we have the words ‘by rope’ Chronicle. This is the last known Zodiac communication. Red appearing, which are also in the Halloween card. Beside the Mask is a character that appears in Tim Holt/Red Ryder words ‘by rope’ is the name Farley (Fig. 7). comics. There is also a character called the Phantom Rider that The character Farley also holds the rope in this section. So appears in them. This suggested a possible connection it seemed to me the Zodiac was indicating Farley was his between these comics and the Zodiac killer, especially the name. Also, the cattle brand symbol in the Halloween card Halloween card. ended in an F (Fig. 2).

3.1.2 The 2019 Tim Holt comics breakthrough part 1 In the days before Friday 10th May 2019, a half-century 3.1.3 I make a big mistake after the Zodiac committed his crimes, I had discovered a A quick internet search revealed a serial killer (mass strong candidate for solving the entire Halloween card code as shooter, 1988) from California who is on death row. His name well as the Dragon Card’s meaning which results in a name. was Richard Wade Farley. He had a background in On the cover of the Halloween card was a dancing skeleton cryptography and the navy. The two things possibly associated with his right hand up in the air, making an okay symbol. The with the Zodiac. The navy connection is that military-style number 14 was written by the Zodiac into his skeleton’s hand. bootprints were found at the Lake Berryessa attack. The navy I decided that the 14 could possibly be another edition of a would be part of military most associated with cryptology. Tim Holt comic, and so off I went looking at issue #14. Richard Wade Farley looks like the Lake Berryessa Napa The second story “The Bridge at San Gila Gully!” starts on Composite. This composite was made from the description of page 11 of issue #14. Each new story was numbered beginning a man seen at Lake Berryessa by three girls who were with 1. On page 12 of issue#14 (page 2 of the story) the sheriff sunbathing on the same day and near where the Lake sitting in the chair has his left hand up in an okay-gesture seen Berryessa attack occurred. from the rear. So it was closely the same as the skeleton’s Richard Wade Farley seemed like a very strong candidate right-hand okay-gesture in the Halloween card (Fig 3). for the Zodiac crimes. I decided why to put my findings on On the following page, 13 (3 of the story) we find out the Reddit to see if other sleuths interested in the case give me story is about slave labor. The Halloween card had talked there input. After all, if he is in jail, what harm could it do? I about slaves, “Paradice Slaves” (sic) (Fig. 4). So it seemed that didn’t mention Richard Wade Farley in my reddit post. I #14 was looking like a good lead. If this was the case then it predicted someone would likely find what I did. was already becoming apparent that the Zodiac wasn’t Within hours of the Reddit post going up on referencing just Tim Holt #30 but other issues of Tim Holt r/unresolvedmysteries, a few Redditors brought him up after comics. reading about this first part of my find. How could they not? Now back in the 1960s, that would have been an effort to All one had to do was type in “Serial Killer Farley” and up he go find these comics from the late 40s and early 50s, buy them would pop in search results. I felt it was fair to mention to him and have them sent to investigators, but in the 21st century, since he was a felon and a real piece of work. So Reddit got the internet scanning of these comics made things a lot easier. chatty about him. I left reading Reddit feeling the Zodiac had On the same page, 13 at the bottom was Tim Holt’s been found. Nothing more to do but send a message to Napa sidekick Chito, with his hand on a pole drinking some water Sheriffs who still had the Zodiac case opened because of beside a cabin office. A large iron ring was inserted through a Cecilia Shepard, the victim who died at Lake Berryessa. I also hole in the pole. In the Zodiac Halloween card was a drawing sent the findings to the San Francisco Chronicle. of a wooden pole, looking like a tree trunk with a hole in the It wasn’t until the next day that I felt I had made a big same top portion and an eye looking out. The whole trunk was mistake. What if it wasn’t RWF? What if I had alerted the

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Zodiac to the fact we were onto him? I sort of thought about The greeting card inside contains an image of a man riding this a bit more and then realized that the Tim Holt connection on a dragon as if on horseback. Beside him is a man riding on had already been made in 2013. If there were a time the Zodiac a small mule. The illustration is satirical using the character of would have gotten really worried (as if his encounter with the Don Quixote sitting on a Dragon (Fig. 12). officers on patrol at Presidio Heights and his composite going It is likely the Zodiac selected this card as a clue to his out all over the media wasn’t enough) then that would have name, Don. been it. I sort of justified posting the solution that way… but Furthermore, it is likely that Don is short for Donald. This it wasn’t the only solution. There was more. would mean his name is DONALD FARLEY. The reason why I mentioned I made a mistake in section 3.1.3 The 2019 Tim Holt comics breakthrough part 2 3.1.3 is because I want to apologize for potentially causing I realized that the Halloween card still had stuff in it that what could have been catastrophic consequences should the needed to be explained. The cattle brand symbol for example. Zodiac be alive and learn his Halloween card cipher had I turned it upside down, and there was what looked like a W revealed his last name. It is a lesson learned the hard way and for Wade. However what about the R for Richard? Where I hope others reading this will learn from my mistake. There could that be? Was there a Richard somewhere else? are hundreds if not thousands of pages out there on the Internet Paradice was spelled wrong. This was always known as a with ‘solutions’ to the Zodiac name, freely available for possible reason for pointing at playing dice (paraDICE). The anyone to read. This gave me a false sense of security into cattle brand symbol had four dots on it. Could it be something doing the same thing and it was the wrong thing to do. to do with four? I noticed the angle of the dots made it look Even if the Zodiac turns out to be Richard Wade Farley, like two dice, side by side. The skeleton had a red marker this is still a big mistake to put it into the public domain. drawn over his eyes which looked like two (Fig. 13). I deleted all my posts after I realized my mistake. It was all Two dice side by side with the numbers 2+2 makes four I could do. dots. 22… could this be Issue #22. (Fig. 8) Could it be his first I emailed the full solution to Napa, Vallijo, the FBI and the name? The cover of issue #22 had skeletons on it (Fig. 9). I SFPD. really hoped it would be Richard, because if not, then I had made a big mistake putting this online. 3.1.5 The Zodiac corroborated the solution. The story “Cave of the Three Skeletons” starts on page, 3 It is possible that some of the Zodiac's letters and card and is, therefore, page 1 of the story. So we turn to page 10 (8 mailing dates correspond to the Tim Holt issues featured in the in the story), and we find two dancing skeletons. One of the solution to the Zodiac Halloween Card (Fig. 13). Note that characters even says “The Skeletons are Dancing”. Sure there is no Zodiac letter (made public) sent on the 30th (see enough, the Halloween card has two dancing skeletons. One letter list below), but there is for the Riverside homicide of on the front cover and one inside (Fig. 10). Cheri Jo Bates. Issue #30 with the death wheel is part of the The hero Redmask unmasks the villain on the bottom of Halloween Card sent to Paul Avery. Cheri Jo Bates was this page. When unmasked he says his name – “Don Esteban”. murdered on Halloween Eve. I am thinking Lady Doom I figured the name DON is what the Zodiac was referencing. dressed in green is what reminded the Zodiac of Cheri Jo If we look at the Zodiac envelope, there is a stamp of Apollo Bates, driving her lime green Volkswagen Beetle car. 8. This unmasking is on page 8. The number 8, as page 8, even The number 8 also appears on the stamp of the envelope appears in this unmasking panel of the comic (Fig. 11). containing the Halloween card as well as the unmasking page number of issue #14 which reveals the name, Don. However, 3.1.4 The Dragon card breakthrough it may be that issue #8 could also reveal something the Zodiac So by this stage it was apparent that the name was not was referencing when creating his puzzles (Fig. 14). Richard Wade Farley. So it seemed the Zodiac was Here again, we find the name FARLEY on the very first referencing the name - DON FARLEY. page of the very first story (Fig. 15). The Apollo 8 stamp reads Given this name Don was along with another name “In the beginning…” This appears to corroborate at least the ‘Esteban’, it could be that this Spanish version of ‘Farley’ part of the Halloween card solution (more later in this Steven/Stephen was what he was referencing. However, document as to why it may be his real name). another Zodiac communication appears to reinforce that the If we look at the Zodiac mailing dates we notice that name Don is what he was referencing, which in turn reinforces frequently cards are used instead of letters which may indicate that this is the correct solution to the Halloween card. a special significance concerning the Zodiac’s key – Tim Holt Before the Zodiac sent Paul Avery the Halloween card in issues #8, #14, #22, #30. Also, note the majority of these (4 October of 1970, the Zodiac had sent another card. The April out of 6) occur after the October 27th, 1970 Halloween Card 28th 1970, greeting card, “Dragon card”, sent to the San to Paul Avery (Fig. 16). Francisco Chronicle. Some of the dates also appear to correspond to the days the Zodiac committed some of his canonical-crimes (Fig. 17).

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Faraday and Jensen, Dec 20th. Mageau and Ferrin, July 4th. Hartnell and Shepard, Sep 27th. Stine Oct 11th is not So I had the names, Don, Farley and the possibility of appearing in the communications as the 11th. If a possible William along with the possibility Don was short for Donald. communication held back is on an 11th, then it seems this That is what draws me to conclude the full name the Zodiac hypothesis may have some predictive power. has hidden in his communications is Donald William Farley. The Confession Letter to Bates was an anniversary letter one month after her murder of October 29th, 1966 (Fig. 18). The Zodiac also appears to use anniversary dates in his 4. Is it really his name? communications as per the previous figure. The date of the This would be confirmed if the Zodiac is identified, so all Exorcist letter may be correlated to the Bates Confession letter we can do for now is to give reasons for our speculation. (more on the possible Bates connections later in this Serial Killers mostly do not reveal their names on purpose document). although there have been cases where serial killers have handed themselves in. Edmund Emil Kemper is one such case. 3.1.6 The William Connection. Serial Killers who have given their names have also done It is possible that the Zodiac has given us a middle name. so mistakenly. This would make sense if the Zodiac were experimenting with Ted Bundy gave his name Ted to various witnesses. providing some part of his name he would give his middle The Kansas serial killer B.T.K., identified as Dennis Rader, name first. Some time ago, I had also identified the possibility made mistakes. He sent Wichita investigators and media that he had the name William. For example, the Zodiac had letters and packages and eventually a 3.5” computer disk with referenced the film The Exorcist in his Exorcist letter. He had his real name inadvertently embedded in the disk’s metadata. also used the phrase Good Times in several instances in his A significant error on his part, especially the part of his ego letters. I had figured out before my Halloween card code- that thought he could communicate with law enforcement cracking that Good times (1967), and The Exorcist (1973) was without getting caught. It is possible the Zodiac has given a directed by William Friedkin. The Exorcist book was also by clue to his real name, never expecting anyone to break the William Peter Blatty. The Exorcist movie poster contains the Halloween code because of its obscurity. I doubt very many name William no less than four times. cryptology cases have depended on kid’s comics. However we William shortened to Will, is also a verb. I had wondered if need to keep in mind that serial killers mostly don’t reveal the Zodiac played with this in his letters? their real names. So the probability of it being the Zodiac’s The Zodiac uses the phrase "I will" as a verb constantly in real name is slim, but there may be good reasons why it is his his letters. Even appears in the Bates letters. real name. Here are some... "Will be more." 4.1.1 Causes for revealing his real name. "I will cruse." (misspelled) In section 1.1.6 we discussed a Zodiac communication "When they do crack it they will have me." (in reference to containing the 408 cipher found in his July 31st 1969 letters, cracking his name). sent to the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner will positivily ventalate any thing (more misspelling near and Vallejo Times. In these letters he claimed that “In this will) cipher is my identity.” 1 bat. pow clock—will run for aprox 1 year The three-part solution cracked by Donald and Bettye I will loose complet (near crossed out word) Harden of Salina, California revealed that the Zodiac had not Others will hang by their thumbs & burn in the sun then I given his real name. Part of the solution reads “I will not give will rub you my name because you will try to slow down or stop my I will collect for my after life. collecting of slaves for my afterlife.” In response to this a challenge coming from Dr. D.C.B. The Exorcist Letter contains the most obvious references to Marsh, president of the American Cryptogram Association, this use of will. laid down a challenge to the Zodiac which appeared in the article “Cipher Expert Dares Zodiac To ‘Tell’ Name.” by Will I saw and think "The Exorcist" was the best saterical Stevens and published by the San Francisco Examiner in comidy that I have ever seen. October 22nd 1969. Signed, yours truley: "Dr Marsh told the Examiner today: "The killer wouldn't He plunged himself into the billowy wave dare, as he claimed in letters to the newspapers, to reveal his and an echo arose from the suicide's grave name in the cipher to established cryptogram experts. He titwillo titwillo titwillo knows, to quote Edgar Allen Poe, that any cipher created by PS. ⁠If I do not see this note in your paper, I will do man can be solved by man. Zodiac has not told the truth in his something nasty, which you know I'm capable of doing. cipher messages to the Examiner, the Chronicle and the

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Vallejo Times-Herald. Zodiac has not done this, because to the key is wrong or right except for probabilities. However tell the complete truth in relation to his name -in cipher code even DNA profiling is based on probabilities. - would lead to his capture. I invite Zodiac to send The Breaking the Zodiac Halloween Code involves a American Cryptogram Association a cipher code - however constrained and restricted solution. There are only a few pages complicated - which will truly and honestly include his name". needed to break the code, and all the pages are associated with the exact same subject matter. The complexity that the Zodiac It is likely the Zodiac Halloween card was not created on added that would make it unlikely to be cracked in his opinion the spot but took a long time to make with deep consideration. is that he used obscurity, three media from a media collection, If the Zodiac Halloween Card was motivated by Marsh, then but they are all about the same subject matter and belong to this is the case for it containing his real name. However, it was the same authorship. not a cipher code like any other. The key would have been so It is highly likely the Zodiac collected this media in his obscure that it was likely something that had personal meaning earlier years, and they inspired him as the Zodiac, which is to the Zodiac and violent comics read at a younger age would why he used them in Halloween card’s code. This context is fit such a personality. also a compelling reason why it is the correct key. This key Now would be a good time to consider the context of the and its context have huge explanatory power. solution. What the Zodiac did was to select a comic book series that appeared between July 1948 and finished in May of 1954. There were 41 issues in total, and the Zodiac used three of 4.1.2 Reasons why the Zodiac used Tim Holt comics as a code these issues. He likely collected them all, but we know he had The Zodic Halloween Card solution is not a cipher. In fact, these three issues and we know he identified with them. He the Zodiac wrote on the envelope “sorry no cipher” (Fig. had simply seen a way to derive his name from them because 11) Instead, the Zodiac had gone for a different kind of puzzle he remembered reading them and probably read the series which involved finding a key and then some ingenuity, lateral many times over. His first name had appeared in them at some thinking and especially searching. stage, and his last name also at some stage. So he put a puzzle Without the key, the Halloween card is unsolvable. There together than he had already some inkling how to do already. is simply no way to solve the hidden message without it. There Imagine you have some comics. In one comic a character is no way to brute force a solution. You can’t work backward maybe shares the same first name as you. In another comic of from a name either. If you are not familiar with the key in the the same series, a character shares the same surname as you. first place, then you stand little to no chance of solving the So by creating a puzzle, you can link parts of these two Halloween card. Even with the key found and made public in comics, which when put together, result in your name. This 2013, it took six more years before you are reading this was likely the exact thinking process the Zodiac used when solution. So it is a complex puzzle in that respect. designing the Halloween Card puzzle. In some cases, such a key usually involves either a book, The comic book series the Zodiac referenced is the Western some reading material, a film, music or a painting or some comic book series, Tim Holt, published by Magazine media like that. By finding the right medium with the right Enterprises in the late forties and early fifties. It was quite a content, you can then explore the media to discover how it violent comic for its time featuring lots of ferocity usually connects with the puzzle and explains it. involving guns and people getting shot. The material which is the key must explain everything Tim Holt was an actor who played a cowboy in many films about the puzzle and not just some of it. The solution must be and TV shows during the 1940s. Tim Holt endorsed these logical, follow a specific pattern or flow and fit with the comics, and the writers and artists would basically illustrate context of the problem. For example, a book written in the 21st stories about cowboys with similar themes to Tim Holt’s live- century can’t be the solution to a puzzle made in the 20th action work. They usually featured Tim Holt and his sidekick century. You can’t jump between several different types of Chito. They also featured a character called Red Ryder who media such as a painting from the 6th century and an unrelated was really a masked Tim Holt. Basically, Tim Holt/Red Ryder math equation from the 21st century. Well, you can do this, rides through the Wild West and does battle with outlaws with but if a solution more parsimonious appears than your his sidekick. It is not, unlike Zorro. He has enemies like Lady solution, then we go for the more straightforward and less Doom and Iron Mask. The comics were quite successful for complicated answer. The more restricted the parameters used their time and featured artists well known as industry to get a solution, the better the chances it is the right solution. established artists and writers such as Ray Krank and Frank One way of showing that the key is wrong is to set out to Bolle. show that it is wrong which this article invites. There are For the Lake Berryessa attack the Zodiac wore a costume sometimes ways to do this, such as showing the key can’t not unlike that which a comic book villain would wear. explain everything. Another way is showing the impossibility of using the key at all. Other times there are no ways to show

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The Zodiac also references pop culture in his letters. For 1966, titled "Sick of living/unwilling to die", poem carved on example, the 408 cipher contains a reference to the story “The a desk and, April 30th 1967, Zodiac authorship disputed. Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell. In the 1932 RKO While handwriting analyst, Sherward Morell thought the movie of the story, Count Zaroff (notice the Z) uses a Luger desktop poem the work of the Zodiac, the FBI analysts gun, which was also his weapon of choice for the Blue Rock disagreed. We do not need to consider the poem anyway for Springs attack. this analysis. When the Zodiac used the phrase “Good Times” in his The Confession letter contained inside knowledge of the communications he was likely referencing the 1967 movie murder of Cheri Jo Bates. While it is popular among the directed by Willian Friedkin. Another film directed by sleuthing community that the inside information was the William Friedkin, “The Exorcist” was referenced by the writer describing disconnecting Cheri Jo Bates car’s Zodiac in his January 29th 1974, letter, sent to the San distributor, this was made public in the papers prior to the Francisco Chronicle. In May 8th 1974, the Zodiac using the sending of The Confession letter. Therefore by a matter of name ‘a citizen’ referenced the 1973 movie "Badlands" in his deduction, it is much more likely that the inside knowledge communication sent to the San Francisco Chronicle. was that Cheri Jo Bates head had been kicked several times, The Zodiac was also known to reference The Mikado, a which the letter writer made reference to. To date no media comedy opera by Gilbert & Sullivan, featuring a Lord High article has been found which revealed this fact. Executioner. It is likely however that the Zodiac in referencing The Mikado was going by the Groucho Marx version from 5.1.2 A sleuther contacts Riverside PD about a possible Zodiac Season 2, Episode 13 of the “Bell Telephone Hour” that aired connection. 29th April 1960 and was further released on vinyl. It is likely Somewhere around October of 1969, Phil Sins, a civilian the reference to the Mikado is some sort of hidden reference with an interest in true crime, contacted Paul Avery about the to his name – Titwillo, titwillo, titwillo. The Zodiac is possibility the Zodiac was connected to the Bates case. He felt practically telling us what the cryptic reference is. there was a striking similarity between the Zodiac’s letters and Therefore using Tim Holt comics fits the type of the Bates letters. Phil Sins, then contacted Riverside PD about personality that was also referencing entertainment elsewhere his suspicions. In the meantime Paul Avery decided to in their communications. investigate this possible Riverside connection to the Bates’s To summarize this section, the Zodiac has likely given his crimes. real name in response to Dr. Marsh’s challenge after having Riverside PD, despite having a prime suspect, decided to been exposed by the Hardens as lying about revealing his real check out a possible connection to the Zodiac crimes and sent name. The Zodiac took up the challenge by using an obscure a memo to Napa in October 1969 asking if there was a key in the form of a series of comics which he then used to connection with Bates to the Zodiac and providing them with create the Halloween card puzzle. access to evidence they had. It would eventually turn out that the physical evidence was compared but no match was found so Riverside PD appeared to disregard a connection to the 5. Did the Zodiac think he had made a mistake? Zodiac, a position it still maintains today.

There is some evidence that suggests the Zodiac may have believed he had made a mistake with the Halloween card and 5.1.3 Paul Avery, the Halloween card and the Riverside connection. this is connected with the non-canonical murder of Cheri Jo The Zodiac sent on October 27th 1970 a Halloween Card Bates. If this is the case, then it points at Cheri Jo Bates being to Paul Avery with his name. He possibly spent nearly a full a canonical Zodiac victim and quite possibly his first. First year working on it since Dr. D.C.B. Marsh challenged him in crimes are always of interest to investigators because here is the article “Cipher Expert Dares Zodiac To ‘Tell’ Name.” by where the offender is approaching learning to murder and Will Stevens and published by the San Francisco Examiner in therefore stands the greatest chance of making mistakes that October 22nd 1969. can lead to his capture, especially at a later date if he remains If the Zodiac is the murderer of Cheri Jo Bates then the unapprehended and continues to offend. Zodiac sent the card close to an anniversary of Cheri Jo Bates It should be noted that Riverside PD do not believe this is murder which took place on Halloween Eve, 1966. This was a Zodiac crime, however their prime suspect claims to have noted by Phil Sins and likely Paul Avery who probably been cleared by mtDNA analysis. No one has been charged researching a Riverside connection at this time. with the crime. Concluding his research, the San Francisco Chronicle article 'New Evidence in Zodiac Killings' by Paul Avery was 5.1.1 The Riverside Cheri Jo Bates communications. published on November 16th 1970, after Paul Avery received The Cheri Jo Bates case contains communications some the Halloween card. believed to be from the offender. These were sent on November 29th 1966, titled "The Confession", December

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The Zodiac, who sent letters with regularity stopped & fart around, the more slaves I will collect for my after life. sending communications for approximate four and a half I do have to give them credit for stumbling across my riverside months. His last communication was the Halloween letter. activity, but they are only finding the easy ones, there are a The Zodiac had paused like this before during the canonical hell of a lot more down there. The reason I'm writing to the Zodiac letters when he sent a letter to the celebrity lawyer Times is this, They don't bury me on the back pages like some Melvin Belli on December 20th, 1969. In that letter the Zodiac of the others. appeared to refrain from using his classical scrawling messages, using a more uniform message, to convey that he We now know the Zodiac is not crack proof because we was seeking help and wanted to stop murdering. A possible may have solved a challenge from Dr. D.C.B. Marsh to the reason for his worry was that a composite had been issued by Zodiac which he took up in the form of a Halloween card with the SFPD on October 13th, 1969 and then an amended clues that would lead to his real name – Donald William composite on October 18th, 1969, that associated the murder Farley. of Paul Stine with the Zodiac killer. The Zodiac would resume writing letters exactly four Acknowledgements months later on April 20th 1970. “Tahoe27” who found a copy of Tim Holt comic #30 with These breaks in communications suggest the Zodiac was a Death Wheel illustrated on the cover and associated with the worried he would get caught, biding his time and feel that Zodiac Halloween Card in 2013. enough months have passed for him to resume his Zodiac Tim Holt comics uploaded to comicbookplus.com by the signature. user “freddyfly”. If the Zodiac was not responsible for the Bates homicide, Donald and Bettye Harden of Salina, California who then he had missed a perfect opportunity to mislead demonstrated first that the Zodiac codes could be broken and investigators. It would be more likely that the Zodiac would solved. admit to the crime following November 16th 1970 Paul Avery Dr. D.C.B. Marsh, president of the American Cryptogram Riverside connection article if he was not responsible. Association, who laid down a challenge to the Zodiac to reveal Given the Zodiac liked to take credit for his crimes his full name. somewhat quickly, this indicates, if he is the murderer of Cheri Jo Bates, that he feared this connection. Could it be that a References Riverside connection plus the Zodiac composite combined is [1] Douglas, John. Olshaker, Mark. The Cases That Haunt Us: what he feared? The deduction here would be that the Zodiac From Jack the Ripper to Jon Benet Ramsey, The FBI's killer lived in Riverside. This would mean in combination with Legendary Mindhunter Sheds New Light on the Mysteries That the Zodiac Halloween solution that Don Farley lived in Won't Go Away (2000) Chapter 4, (p. 302). Scribner. Kindle Riverside. Edition. The Zodiac eventually decided to resume communications [2] https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/stories/2007/march/zodia in a Letter to the Los Angeles Times on March 13th 1971. c_030207 It seems in his letter the Zodiac decided that he was in the [3] https://vault.fbi.gov/The%20Zodiac%20Killer [4] https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Author:Zodiac_Killer#Letters clear and was admiring his own codes that had not been [5] Avery, Paul. Evidence Links Zodiac Killer to '66 Death of broken. He also appeared to admit to the murder of Cheri Jo Riverside Co-ed, Los Angeles Times, November 16, 1970. Bates. He wrote: [6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zodiac_Killer [7] Graysmith, Robert (1976). Zodiac. Berkley. This is the Zodiac speaking [8] https://comicbookplus.com/?cid=1076 Like I have allways said, I am crack proof. If the Blue Meannies are evere going to catch me, they had best get off their fat asses & do something. Because the longer they fiddle

FIGURES

Figure 1

Tim Holt comics issue #30

First discovered by user Tahoe27 on Dec 30th, 2013 http://www.zodiackillersite.com/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=1275

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Figure 2

Red Ryder branding symbol connection

The symbol used by the Zodiac is very similar to the one found in Red Ryder comics.

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Figure 3

Tim Holt comics issue #14

#14 was written on the skeleton's hand. The Zodiac was referencing issue #14. Notice the same okay hand signal in the story. This and all of the following images are my discovery.

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Figure 4

Tim Holt comics issue #14 story about slaves. SLAVES appears in the second story as do all the other images from #14.

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Figure 5

Tim Holt comics issue #14. Hole in wood.

Same location of the hole at the top of the wooden pole.

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Figure 6

Tim Holt comics issue #14. We are asked to peek in… on the next page the peeking happens and we get a name.

The Zodiac clue here is FARLEY.

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Figure 7

Tim Holt comics issue #14. The rope.

Here the Zodiac references BY ROPE next to the name FARLEY. FARLEY is the character laying down next to the rope also.

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Figure 8

Tim Holt comics issue #22 is referenced also in the Halloween card.

This one was a bit harder to crack. Dice is the key to issue #22. We already have F for FARLEY in the 'cattle brand symbol'.

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Figure 9

Tim Holt comics issue #22. The skeletons.

Skeletons on the cover. We are getting closer to more about the name the Zodiac has given.

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Figure 10

Tim Holt comics issue #22. All is revealed.

The skeletons are dancing! Two of them. The other part of the name is on the same page in the unmasking. Look at the mask on the skeleton's eyes in the Halloween card.

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Figure 11

He has revealed the name DON FARLEY. We can be fairly certain because the Zodiac has used a postage stamp with the number 8 on it. Page 8 is where the final unmasking scene appears. THE END. (As a note PAUL AVERY enveloped the L and AV are underlined. The V looks like a Y. LAY. LAY by the rope.)

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Figure 12

We can be sure it is DON he wanted us to know.

The Zodiac's Don Quixote card was mailed on April 28th 1970. Six months before the Halloween card, the Zodiac had already given us a clue to his first name.

American film and TV actor Donald Barry de Acosta (January 11, 1912 – July 17, 1980), known as Red Barry, nicknamed "Red" because he played Red Ryder the film Adventures of Red Ryder (1940).

It seems Donald Farley was red with rage.

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Figure 13

It is possible that some of the Zodiac's letters and card mailing dates correspond to the Tim Holt issues featured in the solution to the Zodiac Halloween Card.

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Figure 14

The number 8 also appears on the stamp of the envelope containing the Halloween card as well as the unmasking page number of issue #14 which reveals the name, Don. However, it may be that issue #8 could also reveal something the Zodiac was referencing when creating his puzzles.

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Figure 15

Here again, we find the name FARLEY on the very first page of the very first story. This appears to corroborate at least the ‘Farley’ part of the Halloween card solution (more later in this document as to why it may be his real name).

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Figure 16

Dates are underlined in red. Notice that frequently cards are used instead of letters which may indicate a special significance concerning the Zodiac’s key – Tim Holt issues #8, #14, #22, #30.

Also, note the majority of these (4 out of 6) occur after the October 27th, 1970 Halloween Card to Paul Avery.

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Figure 17

Dates are underlined in green. Some of the dates also appear to correspond to the days the Zodiac committed some of his canonical-crimes. Dates are underlined in green.

Faraday and Jensen, Dec 20th. Mageau and Ferrin, July 4th. Hartnell and Shepard, Sep 27th.

Stine Oct 11th is not appearing in the communications as the 11th. If a possible communication held back is on an 11th, then it seems this hypothesis may have some predictive power.

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Figure 18

Dates underlined in purple. The Confession Letter to Bates was an anniversary letter one month after her murder of October 29th, 1966. The Zodiac also appears to use anniversary dates in his communications as per the previous image. The date of the Exorcist letter may be correlated to the Bates Confession letter (more on the possible Bates connections later in this document).

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Figure 19

The Zodiac Halloween Card. Outside back and front cover (top). Inside left and right (bottom).

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Figure 20 – Zodiac Halloween Card envelope.