by Mark Hewitt
The investigators learned that he had never had a girlfriend. He usually walked with his head down, knew the Lake Berryessa area very well, and had made claims that the Zodiac would never be caught. When excited, he was known to put his thumbs to his nose and scream.
On October 15, 1970, Michael was finally contacted with a request for samples of his printing. He was told that his name had been supplied to the department. Michael was very surprised, and also upset that the police would come to his home. After he was read his Fifth Amendment Constitutional Rights, he said that he’d prefer to speak with his lawyer.
Four days later, he entered the police station to provide writing samples. He also brought along two 9mm handguns, for which he was issued receipts. One of these belonged to a friend, but he was told that it too would be examined. The guns were spirited away to a storage locker. The handwriting was collected and sent to the CII along with the guns.
Meanwhile, the composite picture proved particularly helpful in garnering public interest. Its palpable gaze and vague shading worked magic on the public’s imagination. It was brought to the investigator’s attention that a composite picture of a suspect on a wanted poster from another crime resembled the Lake Berryessa picture.
A copy of the Lake Berryessa composite picture was sent anonymously to the VPD bearing a Vallejo postmark with writing on it that indicated that the picture resembled a man named Mitch who “works at Mare Island.” He was described as chubby, soft-spoken, 190 pounds, and just under six feet tall. He liked to hunt. Mitch was quickly identified as Mitchell, a 33-year-old swing-shift worker from Napa.
A security officer at Sears Roebuck in Concord turned in to the police a high school acquaintance who he believed resembled the Lake Berryessa composite. Lynch traveled to Concord and retrieved from the man a photo from a George Washington High School 1959 yearbook, as well as a handwriting sample.
A biker with a heavy build from Benicia, who was six feet, six inches tall and well known to the BPD came under careful scrutiny. His forearm bore a tattoo, possibly home-made, of a crosshair symbol. He had been arrested on a marijuana violation.
A letter signed “a good citizen” claimed that its writer had extra-sensory perception (ESP). It instructed the police to go to 56 Beach Street, the writer “getting” the name Jerry, and maybe a last name, “Simpson.” But the ESP proved faulty when investigators discovered that Beach Street started its numbering at 1100. Beachwood Street began in the 700 block. Many well-meaning tips similarly evaporated in significance when officers dutifully followed up on them.
The VPD investigated a man who had been convicted of accosting couples in a lover’s lane, and doing so with a hood over his head. None of his attacks involved guns or knives, but he had to be checked out just the same.
On October 3 at 6:15 p.m., a woman contacted the VPD because she suspected that her relative, named Keith, a resident of Montana who was planning a trip to the Bay Area, may have been responsible for the attack at Lake Berryessa. He had left his home on September 21 and was due to arrive in Vallejo by bus on September 26. For no apparent reason, he arrived on October 1 with no explanation for the lost days.
Keith was an ex-mental patient who exhibited strange behavior. He talked about killing people, he carried a gun, and he complained that the Sheriff’s Department was always after him. He had mentioned the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge to his relatives as a place where he had sought employment. The woman thought Keith matched details of the composite photo that was being circulated.
At 9:40 p.m. that evening, Mary and Freddie of Benicia went to the Vallejo Police Station to report an incident that had occurred at the Redwood Inn. About 10 months previous, they explained, they met a man named Jimmy who had returned from Vietnam 4 or 5 month earlier. He bought four or five rounds of drinks for everyone in the bar—until the bartender refused any more money from the man—and rambled on without making much sense. At one point, he grabbed Mary by the throat as she was returning from the bathroom, and threatened to kill both her and Freddie. The couple had forgotten the experience until they saw the composite, which reminded them of the six feet one inch, 180 to 190 pound man who had brown hair and brown eyes. He appeared to them to be in his 20s.
On October 6, an anonymous telephone call suggested that a Gary could be responsible for the attack at Lake Berryessa. When Lynch called the telephone number of the address provided, no Gary lived at the address. The call was answered by Paul who was immediately summoned to the station. Paul was quickly cleared. He had a beard, a mustache, long sideburns, and long hair, and in no way resembled the composite photo.
The police developed several suspects during arrests.
A 29-year-old painter named George was arrested on November 6 for public intoxication and booked at the Solano County Jail. He resembled a circulating composite picture. While still drunk, he claimed to be the Zodiac. The next day the VPD investigated, taking him to room 27 and reading him his Constitutional rights, the Miranda warning. He understood his rights under the law, he said, after he was advised as to why he was being questioned. He proved to be cooperative and polite, and readily agreed to talk.
He had no memory of his claims the previous day. He was out on bail from theft charges, he admitted. He lived in Sonoma with his wife and two children, aged three and five. Regarding the Zodiac, he had read stories in the paper, but had no independent knowledge of the case. Handwriting samples were gathered, and finger and palm prints collected, Mulinax taking the collection to the CII three days later. Though he was six feet tall, weighed 180 pounds, had sandy-blond colored hair with a hairline similar to the composite picture, and wore thick horn-rimmed glasses, he was eliminated on the basis of the handwriting samples.
A security guard known to the VPD was arrested and, in a drunken state, claimed to be the Zodiac. Alcohol may have been responsible for many similar false confessions.
On November 8, at 2:20 in the morning, VPD Officer John Hoffman brought a man named Robert into the station who he had found parked on the north end of Blue Rock Springs Park. The 48-year-old janitor from San Francisco had fallen asleep exhausted after having driven from San Leandro. He had been visiting a long-time friend in Sonoma, having dinner with him following a day of work (he worked the 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. shift). His clothing was curious and provocative. He wore a new, gray, ill-fitting suit; a white shirt; a blue-and-white checked tie; a reversible vest; brown shoes; and a black fedora hat.
After leaving Sonoma around midnight, he had missed the turnoff at Blackpoint, found himself on Highway 37, and turned onto Columbus Parkway. He got sleepy so he stopped at the park for a nap—and never got out of his Dodge. He presented an Arizona driver’s license. He had in his possession an envelope with writing and printing on both sides. Hoffman noted that the printing included 14 symbols, which Robert called “keystones.” To Hoffman, they did not appear to be similar to those sent by the Zodiac. The man claimed to have no interest in horoscopes, and though he spoke five languages—French, English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian—he never worked in any but menial jobs and had never married. He was a member of the Church of Christ. He didn’t smoke, drink, or carry a gun. He had never been in the military, and had never been arrested. After a photocopy was made of the unusual envelope, Robert was released at 3:40 in the morning.
Lynch went over to Arkansas Street to check on a lead. He learned that the man had an arrangement of stars, including the little dipper, painted on the ceiling of his home. Laughing at his discovery, the detective came to learn that the man worked for the Times Herald.
In response to the attack at the lake, Napa officials issued a warning against parking in lonely spots. The city was hoping to prevent a repetition of the past. The threats applied to the whole North Bay area now, not just to Vallejo. Napa Chief Investigator Donald Townsend noted, “a boy and girl alone seems to be his fancy,” adding that the allegedly mentally ill person “must get his sex gratification from the act of killing.”
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In time, more manpower was added to the investigation. Deputy District Attorney John Cooley and Investigators Phillip “Bucky” Steward and Dave Hall were called in to assist the Sheriff’s Office in the hunt for the apparent madman.
***
Narlow and Lonergan received a sobering telephone call from the Napa hospital at 7:45 on the evening of September 29. They had already heard the news at 4:00 p.m. from Captain Joe Page, Chief Napa County Coroner. Cecelia Ann Shepard had been pronounced dead. Page asked Dr. De Petris to perform the autopsy the following day. Shepard’s remains were transported to Morrison Funeral Home in St. Helena. The felonious case had just become a homicide, NCSO case #105907. The detectives sought an assailant who was now responsible for Shepard’s death. Even as the investigation into the lacustrine attack changed in nature and severity, a significant piece of forensic evidence provided investigators with a direction:
Also at 7:45, Monday evening, Officer H. B. Schotte contacted Narlow and Lonergan with information on the shoe pattern they were seeking. Earlier in the day, Sergeant Robertson had canvassed a dozen Napa shoe stores, including JC Penney, Montgomery Ward, and a Government Surplus store—all on First Street, Main Street, or in the Bel Aire Mall—in an effort to find a shoe that could make the same impression as those preserved in the plaster casts. No matching shoe was found, though Robertson concluded that the shoe they were seeking may be foreign, may contain a neoprene sole and heel, and could be 101/2 EE in size. Where Robertson failed, Schotte succeeded.
He brought to the investigators a retired Air Force Master Sergeant currently employed at Travis Air Force Base as a flight line mechanic. The guest proceeded to show the officers a pair of Air Force boots called Wing Walkers. This Government Issue footwear was dispensed to Air Force mechanics, but was also available to their families. Additionally, any civilians who worked at an Air Force base could secure a pair. They were supplied to every employee at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.
Narlow and Lonergan inspected the soles. Bingo! It was the shoe for which they were searching. It matched the casts in every way, including the circular design pattern, one and one quarter inches in width, on the outside of the instep. Printed inside the design were the following matched words,
“Avon
Oil Resistant
Super wear
AUYNA”
Narlow and Lonergan decided to keep the new information about the shoes under wraps. They retained the pair provided to them by the flight mechanic for comparison purposes and swore him to secrecy.
***
Tuesday, September 30 would prove to be yet another frenzied day of investigative activity. At 8:10 in the morning, Narlow received a call that provided one more piece of information about Bryan and Cecelia’s trip to Lake Berryessa. An 18-year-old PUC student named Marilyn, living in room B3 of Andre Hall, informed him that on the Saturday of the stabbing she was with a 22-year-old fellow PUC student named John. They were parked on Knoxville Road about one mile south of the Lake Berryessa Marina. While stopped, the couple had seen Hartnell drive past in his white Karmann Ghia. Bryan had waved and had shouted out his window, “Hi, John.” The time was 5:15 p.m. Marilyn reported that they had not seen the vehicle prior to this sighting, and they did not see it again.
The police report filed by Narlow noted that Hartnell had been seen driving south. Either the direction had been recorded incorrectly or Hartnell at some point had turned his vehicle around. Hartnell would state that he had approached Lake Berryessa with Shepard from the south, but he later also described looking for a particular location on Lake Berryessa which may have entailed driving back and forth, north and south.
Both Lonergan and Narlow observed the autopsy of Shepard’s body, conducted from nine to noon at Morrison Funeral home in St. Helena. Dr. Wilmer A. De Petris conducted the grim procedure, assisted by Dr. Dwight G. Straub. Also present were Sergeant Butler, Captain Joseph Page, and the funeral home’s owner. Butler photographed the body before, during, and after the autopsy. Lonergan took notes assiduously. Shepard’s corpse was recorded as 100 pounds and five feet five inches. The cause of death surprised no one: shock and loss of blood caused by two main stab wounds. De Petris concluded that the multiple stab wounds led to severe internal and external hemorrhage, which in turn caused brain anoxia and ultimately severe brain damage.
According to De Petris, the weapon used against Shepard was a 9 to 11 inch, bayonet-style, heavy, sturdy blade, measuring perhaps an inch across. It may have been sharpened on both sides. Her liver had been sliced by the knife. A secondary wound to her liver was present, possibly inflicted during surgical efforts to save her. Several suture defects were also noted by the pathologist. The emergency room personnel had done all they could to repair the damage done by her attacker—but in the end it was not enough.
The lead detectives spent most of the rest of the day and evening answering phone calls from citizens who had possible knowledge of the crime.
The next morning, on Wednesday, October 1, Narlow and Lonergan traveled to Travis Air Force base in Fairfield to investigate the origin of the shoes that made the footprints at Lake Berryessa. They were able to make significant headway in this part of the case. Armed with a sketch made from a plaster cast of a footprint, the detectives met with Colonel Bender, the officer in charge of base security. Lieutenant Colonel Laverick from the Office of Special Investigation was also present. To receive more information on the newly discovered Wing Walker shoes, they were directed, with the help of OSI Special Agent Donald Santini who had been assigned to assist them, to Base Supply. Base Supply did not have any Wing Walkers in stock, but steered them to the sales store. Once they arrived at the sales store in their circuitous journey, the detectives learned that for a purchase to occur, a buyer had to fill out a requisition form which was then provided to the sales store. Each purchase would require a signature of the buyer. Unfortunately, the store did not keep a record of shoe sizes.
The supply personnel were able to locate a pair that matched the crime scene impressions, a 101/2 R Wing Walker boot. For the civilian equivalent, the identical shoe measured a 101/2 D. Made by the International Shoe Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the boots were shipped to Ogden Utah, from where they were dispensed to various installations. The uppers were manufactured by the Weinbrenner Shoe Company in Morrill, Wisconsin; the soles by Avon in Avon, Massachusetts. Over 100 pairs of that size of Wing Walker had passed through Travis in the previous 13 months; however, no specific record of purchasers was available. The requisition forms were either not preserved or they lacked the needed information.
Later that day, Lonergan received a disheartening telephone call. He learned from Santini that 500 to 1,000 additional pairs of Wing Walkers had been sold as surplus. The haystack in which the detectives hoped to find a needle had just increased in size by a magnitude of 10. The special agent who had called added that there was a list of individuals who had purchased these shoes, albeit a lengthy one. In fact, Narlow soon learned that 103,700 pairs had shipped to West Coast Air Force and Navy installations since 1966, out of more than one million pairs manufactured under a government contract.
***
On the afternoon of October 1, Narlow and Lonergan met with Sergeant Jack Mulinax and Sergeant Duane Nilsson of the VPD to exchange information on the attacks that each of their two departments were investigating. The Napa detectives learned that the cipher mailed by the Zodiac had been broken by two independent efforts. The Harden’s, a school teacher and his wife, in Salinas, and the FBI in Washington, D.C. had each decrypted the message from the Zodiac’s 3-Part cipher, the detectives were told.
Also on October 1, in a letter marked urgent, the FBI field office in Sacramento notified the FBI’s D.C. headquarters of the stabbing. Noting the similarities to previous attacks, the airtel stated in part, “MO and message left by assailant is identical to individual responsible for previous murders committed in nearby Vallejo.” It added that the VPD had develope
d an excellent suspect from San Antonio, Texas. In asking that the suspect’s fingerprints be examined and compared to latent impressions in the Zodiac file, the letter requested an expedited response due to the wide range of publicity, concluding with a phrase that would be used often in communications in the case, “ARMED AND DANGEROUS.”
The reply came on October 6. In a letter, the FBI confirmed receipt of the radiogram—a message routed by amateur radio operators through a radio network—from Vallejo Chief of Police Jack E. Stiltz, sent October 1, and the teletype from the Sacramento Office, also dated October 1. This letter was itself a confirmation that supplemented an October 2 radiogram reply. The latent fingerprints gathered in the Zodiac case did not match the Texas suspect, but with the caveat that the fingerprints compared may not have belonged to the named suspect. It was possible that dactylograms from a person with the same name had been compared, rather than those of the intended suspect. Without computers to file, store, and retrieve information, mistakes could occur, especially when dealing with a person possessing a common name.
Later that month, in a letter to Stiltz dated October 24, the FBI concluded that the suspect’s handwriting was not a match to handwriting in the Zodiac case. Though there was an insufficient amount of comparable known standards, there were characteristics noted that suggested that the suspect from Texas probably did not create the Zodiac writing. The material that had been supplied for comparison was photographed and returned.
On Thursday, October 2, Lonergan and Narlow searched fingerprint cards, a tedious process at a time before computerized records and computer searches were available technologies. They also fielded calls from citizens attempting to assist in the investigation.