11/29/66 The "Confession" letter

[morf13]

Not many people questioned an expert back in the day.. Not a good career move. Wonder what modern forensic handwriting experts would make of it all. Not sure what credentials or training got you into the top job. I'll go along with your reasoning Norse, the reasoning that it is such a small sample to use for comparisons. But for to say..on the balance of probabilities one must leave this crime in Z's hands in case that's where the link lies.. Because if Bates is the first victim then usually that's where the most mistakes/evidence will have been made. That's where the links will come from. So for now Cheri Jo has to be included.
Cheers.


Edit.. And if Cheri Jo bates murder is not Z then at least the case is still being researched. Which brings back the theories of two killers and who took the kudos for them.

Not sure, I think that almost Anybody can become a Doc examiner, just like Barto(Jack T) and Wakshull(Van Best), and you see how good they are I think to get to the rank as high as Sherwood Morrill, it takes more than a quick class and a piece of paper. Sorry, but he was the State's lead examiner, and that holds more weight for me.

[glurk]

Personally, I think that "No-Shite Sherwood" never saw a Zodiac letter that he wouldn't confirm authentic.
His professional opinion holds very little weight, to me. But hey, opinions, we all have them.

-glurk

[morf13]

Personally, I think that "No-Shite Sherwood" never saw a Zodiac letter that he wouldn't confirm authentic.
His professional opinion holds very little weight, to me. But hey, opinions, we all have them.

-glurk

In the end, a writing examiner is just one tool in the Police arsenal. They would rather have DNA, prints, Ballistics matches etc. But still, I would rather have a much experienced and respected Docs examiner that was head of QD for the DOJ as oppsoed to a Barto or Wakshull

[Tahoe27]

Personally, I think that "No-Shite Sherwood" never saw a Zodiac letter that he wouldn't confirm authentic.
His professional opinion holds very little weight, to me. But hey, opinions, we all have them.

-glurk

In the end, a writing examiner is just one tool in the Police arsenal. They would rather have DNA, prints, Ballistics matches etc. But still, I would rather have a much experienced and respected Docs examiner that was head of QD for the DOJ as oppsoed to a Barto or Wakshull

As was Shimoda and other FBI examiners--tops of their game. And ultimately, that is part of the reason why Cheri Jo is NOT (mr lowe) considered a Zodiac victim in the eyes of LE. They simply need more to go on, but in Cheri's case they do have a print, and DNA.

Another matter is that printing in the actual Bates letters looks nothing like Zodiac's. Nothing. Morrill saying that? Could have hurt his career! To me, the only thing going for the Confession envelope is circled i's.

[Norse]

I was bored earlier, so I made this (not intended as anything but a summary of sorts for my own benefit, but I post it nonetheless, as it includes at least some points which others might want to debate further):

PS Includes the "had to die" notes as well, so not strictly on topic in that sense:

Confession letter:

Similarities:

Use of “shall” = interesting but clearly inconclusive. I have a feeling we, as Z buffs, tend to exaggerate the significance of “shall” (which isn't THAT uncommon, after all).

Misspelling, “twich” = interesting but, from what I can gather, a pretty common misspelling. I did a Google search just now: The term “eye twich” is very common.

Handwriting similarities = impossible to ignore. The big BUT here is, of course, that the experts differ on the subject. Morrill's conclusions are not undisputed. Sample size is tiny – just the address on the envelopes, written in capitals.

Writer claims to have called the police.

Differences:

Letter is typewritten. The tone is different from the detached, often sarcastic one Z used in his known letters. The explicit use of the victim's name stands out, as does the intimate language used to describe the killer's interaction with the victim. This does not resemble Z's known letters at all.

Bates notes:

Similarities:

Copy of note sent to press. Possible “z” like letter/mark which could be construed as a signature. Not conclusive by any means, however. Morrill identified writer as Z. See above. Excess postage.

Differences:

Note sent to victim's family. Z never did this. Handwriting appears to be different to the naked eye. Note very brief and content wise nothing like the known Z missives.

[Tahoe27]

Twich: I had to laugh...the first half seems fitting. (and please don't think I take this seriously )

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=twich

[Norse]

That's brilliant, thanks T!

I don't think Z was too big on "regection" either.

[morf13]

Confession letter possibly written on a Royal typewriter like this one photographed in RCC

[ZodiacRevisited]

These are the main reasons why I believe CJB's murder was committed by the man who would later go on to become the Zodiac.

• twich misspelled (personally, I believe this is one of the only true spelling mistakes made by the Zodiac)
• "scream + twich and squirm" (letter) vs. "SHE SQUIRMED AND SHOOK AS I CHOAKED HER, AND HER LIPS TWICHED. SHE LET OUT A SCREAM..." (letter)
• Capital letters used in conjunction with large lower-case 'i's. Zodiac. Confession Envelope
• Circles instead of dots
• Felt-tip pen
• The word shall
• Claims to have called police in the Confession. Police acknowledged "crank" calls.
• I refer to the manipulation used on CJB as "Intentional Sabotage Followed by a Good Samaritan Ruse." This is precisely the same manipulation used on Kathleen Johns.
• The Confession was sent approximately 1 month after murder of CJB. Zodiac's first letters were sent approximately one month after BRS.
• CJB: Similar letters were sent to three recipients at the six month anniversary. Zodiac: Similar letters were sent to three newspapers.

[Norse]

Re: the last point above.

Those notes were sent, unless I'm mistaken, the day after the Enterprise ran a piece on the Bates murder (six months after her death).

Now, if I didn't know any better I'd say someone read that piece – and then sat down to write the notes. It looks beyond coincidence to me.