Most Evil

by Steve Hodel

  15.12

  7. “A friend”

  Though their taunts to the press were separated by more than twenty-five years, both the Black Dahlia Avenger and Zodiac mailed letters to their respective city editors offering information and signing it “a friend.” Both suspects also used a lowercase “a.” In my opinion, the killer’s use

  15.13

  15.14

  of this unique signature is neither casual nor accidental. He could be referencing the works of Edgar Allan Poe, who repeatedly used the term “a friend” throughout his short stories. See especially “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “The Gold Bug,” and “The Purloined Letter.”

  8. “Squirm, Twich [sic] & Scream”

  It wasn’t enough for Zodiac/BDA/Lipstick to perpetrate his sadistic crimes upon his victims. He also delighted in extending his perversity by providing detailed verbal descriptions of his crimes to the public. In the cases of Suzanne Degnan and Cheri Jo Bates he even mailed letters directly to the victim’s family.

  The killer’s message in the Cheri Jo Bates case shows a pattern of word usage and misspelling that was used again four years later by Zodiac.

  15.15

  Figure 15.15 shows a section of the typed Bates letter compared to Zodiac’s subsequent (Mikado) “little list” letter written by hand.

  Bates:

  “She squirmed and shook as I choaked her, and her lips twiched.

  She let out a scream. . . .

  Mikado:

  “Some I shall tie over ant hills and watch them scream & twich and squirm.”

  Not only does the killer use the same exact words in a single sentence in these separate writings, but he also misspells the same word “twich,” omitting the letter “t” in both.

  9. Bates confession paper and signature

  The original crime summary of the Cheri Jo Bates investigation states that the suspect typed his “confession letter” on teletype paper cut from a roll of a “UP model 15 Teletype machine.” He also typed “THE CONFESSION” at the top using all capital letters and, according to some investigators, included a signature line comprised of spaces for 12 letters, as shown below.

  THE CONFESSION BY _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

  Not having access to the original documents, I’m unable to confirm the accuracy of these statements.

  Figure 15.16 shows three of my father’s legal signatures. They read: (1) G. Hill Hodel M.D.; (2) Dr. G. Hill Hodel; and (3) George H. Hodel. All three contain 12 letters. It is not a stretch to imagine Zodiac, due to his megalomaniacal ego, would not be able to resist using the actual number of letters in his name.

  15.16

  15.17

  Figure 15.17 is a reproduction of a Telex teletype sent to me by my father in January 1978. I know for a fact that he had Telex machines (unknown models) installed in all of his fifteen branch market research offices throughout Asia, and received and sent dozens of teletypes a week.

  Telex teletype paper would have been foreign and inaccessible to most people who were considered suspects (including past boyfriends and students) in the Bates murder. Yet it was a commonly used item, handled many times a day by business executive George Hill Hodel.

  10. Use of “Z” signature Bates/Zodiac

  The following is a comparison of the “Z” signature in the “Bates Had To Die . . .” message to the “Z” signature used by Zodiac as his return address for the “Paul Averly [sic], San Francisco Chronicle” letter.

  15.18

  11. The Bates Poem

  Compare the top line of George Hodel’s 1998 “June Hodel Conference Notes” (which was really a poem of sorts, a collection of his thoughts justifying his intended suicide by pills) to the first line of Cheri Jo Bates’s killer’s poem, which he wrote just minutes before following her outside the library and cutting her throat. Both are divided by a slash “/”.

  George Hodel—“JH CONF. NOTES/Qs

  Zodiac—“Sick of living/unwilling to die.”

  15.19

  12. Underscores and exclamations

  Figure 15.20 shows the Black Dahlia Avenger’s use of exclamation marks and underscoring (top row) and compares it to Zodiac’s (bottom row).

  15.20

  Taken on their own, any individual piece of the foregoing evidence may be explained away as a coincidence. But at what point does a preponderance of coincidence equal proof? That is typically up to a jury to decide. I, for one, based on twenty-four years as a homicide detective and experience on more three hundred murders, believe coincidences as numerous as these are not accidental and should be examined further.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Please help me I can not remain in control for much longer.

  Zodiac

  Back in 1969, SFPD and other Bay Area investigators, despite an abundance of physical evidence from five crime scenes, still had no leads.

  Their lack of progress in putting the pieces together only added to their frustration. The heat was on from the press, the public, and the mayor’s office. The entire Bay Area demanded an immediate arrest.

  The Zodiac notes, while presenting good handwriting evidence, nevertheless yielded few specific clues pointing to Zodiac’s identity. SFPD believed their best hope lay in the eyewitness composite sketches. Law enforcement remained confident that the drawings bore a strong likeness to Zodiac.

  Zodiac’s physical description as shown on page 189 was obtained by a police sketch artist from the three teenagers who watched from the second-floor window of their residence during the San Francisco shooting of taxicab driver Paul Stine. A second follow-up “amended” sketch was obtained from SFPD patrolman Donald Fouke and his partner, Eric Zelms, who, while enroute to the shooting, had seen Zodiac walking away.

  For the sake of comparison, I’ve included two photographs of my father from 1962 and 1974. In the ’74 photo he’s seen wearing his own glasses, which appear identical to those worn by Zodiac in the composite drawing. In Figure 16.2, on the far right, I’ve added glasses for easier comparison.

  In my research, I came across a second composite of Zodiac on the now-defunct Web site “This Is the Zodiac Speaking” run by Jake M. Wark. Jake Wark, like Tom Voigt and others, has done extensive research and assembled a thorough and objective summary of the crimes.

  16.1 SFPD Zodiac composite compared to George Hodel

  16.2

  The following composite (Figure 16.3) appeared on Wark’s Web site with the comment: “It is unknown why Sonoma County would issue a Zodiac sketch, as no Zodiac crimes are acknowledged in that area.” Follow-up research indicated that this composite could have been made of a suspect in an attempted kidnapping of a woman in her vehicle, a crime that some investigators believe was committed by Zodiac.

  16.3 Sonoma composite; George Hodel, 1962

  Jake Wark’s site features yet another police composite (Figure 16.4) that’s remarkable because of its detail and resemblance to my father. As referenced in an earlier chapter, this third composite was also used on the cover for a book entitled Great Crimes of San Francisco, an anthology of San Francisco area true-crime essays edited by Dean W. Dickensheet.

  16.4 George Hodel, 1974; Zodiac as represented on paperback cover of 1974 Great Crimes of San Francisco (Ballantine Books, New York)

  Because of the sketch’s striking similarity to my father (including his black horn-rimmed glasses) I was determined to find its source. Was I looking at an artist’s imaginary rendition or a reproduction of an actual police drawing from official files? If the Zodiac composite was simply the publisher’s decision to take “creative license,” then why place it on an official SFPD Police Bulletin connected to an otherwise completely factual true-crime story? On the other hand, if the composite was an official police drawing, why had it not surfaced earlier?

  I found the answer with the help of a confidential source who contacted the author of the essay on Zodiac in Great Crimes of San Francisco , Duffy Jennings. Jennings, a former San Francisco Chronicle crime reporte
r, confirmed that “the composite originated with law enforcement,” but couldn’t recall the specific agency. Since the sketch includes the correct date (October 18) and number [90-69] of a known San Francisco Police Department bulletin, it would appear that this composite originated from the files of the SFPD.16

  Zodiac Shoe Size

  At both the Riverside (Cheri Jo Bates) and the Napa County (Shepard/ Hartnell) crime scenes, investigators were able to find, measure, and preserve footprints that they believed were left by Zodiac. Analysis based on photographs and plaster castings showed the suspect wore a man’s size 10. Napa detectives after a follow-up investigation concluded that “The shoe print was possibly made by a military style wing-walker boot or a shoe or boot of foreign import.” Their findings indicated either a size 10½ R (military) or a 10½ D (civilian).

  Figure 16.5 shows an actual shoe, owned and worn by my father, Dr. George Hodel. It was manufactured in Switzerland by Bally’s, size 10E.

  16.5 Left dress shoe of Dr. George Hodel

  Figure 16.7 shows an enlargement of George Hodel’s right shoe. Visible inside is a typed label inserted by my father, identifying the model as Bally Long. Written on the label in green ink, in my father’s handwriting, are the words “injured toe in Tokyo.” How many people do you know who would have thought to write this? I point this out as an interesting aside and another peek into Dr. George Hodel’s strange and unique mind.

  16.6 Size 10E

  16.7 Label reads: “Bally Long (injured toe in Tokyo)”

  Bryan Hartnell—the young college student who was severely wounded at Lake Berryessa and managed to survive—provided a detailed description of his attacker’s strange attire. Based on Hartnell’s recollections, law enforcement developed a sketch (Figure 16.8) that shows Zodiac in a military-type getup.

  16.8

  Hartnell told police that the suspect carried a semiautomatic handgun and wore a bayonet knife in a twelve-inch wooden sheath. Figure 16.8 shows the man who called himself Zodiac with his pants tucked into ankle-high boots, infantryman-style. Legible in the enlarged figure is the artist’s description, “tucked.”

  My father was obsessed with all things military. He maintained a military bearing throughout his long life and had a powerful emotional need to always be in control. His 1946 nine-month tour in China as an honorary lieutenant general assigned to UNRRA briefly fed that need.

  In Hankow, UNRRA had provided “Lieutenant General” Hodel with a small staff and a military jeep complete with a three-star UNRRA flag. Figure 16.9 is a photo and two close-ups of Lt. Gen. George Hodel (sitting, second from right) taken in China in 1946. In it, he wears ankle-high boots with the pants tucked into them infantry-style. Could these be the same style (or even the very same) size-10 military-style boots worn by Zodiac?

  16.9

  The Chronicle Connection

  Bay Area investigators have often speculated that Zodiac seemed to have a special relationship with the San Francisco Chronicle. According to the book Great Crimes of San Francisco, “Zodiac began his publicity campaign with several Bay Area papers, but he soon began to concentrate on one: the San Francisco Chronicle.”

  Many experts suspect that Zodiac had a direct, personal connection to the newspaper. Perhaps he was related to someone who worked at the Chronicle or had once been an employee himself.

  Zodiac’s Halloween card of October 20, 1970 (Letter #17), was addressed directly to “Paul Averly, [sic] San Francisco Chronicle.” In his final letter (#25, dated April 24, 1978), Zodiac took the time to acknowledge Herb Caen, one of San Francisco’s most beloved columnists, as though they were old friends.17 He wrote:

  This is the Zodiac speaking, I am back with you. Tell herb caen, I am here. I have always been here. That city pig toschi is good but I amsmarter and better he will get tired then leave me alone. I am waiting for a good movie about me. who will play me. I am now in control of all things. yours truly :

  On the surface, Zodiac’s message can be taken as just another taunt to San Franciscans, reminding them that he’s a local boy and still on the prowl. But the person who carefully composed these letters and risked being discovered isn’t someone who says things casually. Everything that issues from his complex, enigmatic, psychotic mind alludes to a deeper meaning as he plays his dangerous double game—relying on his superior intellect to outsmart the police while at the same time feeding his massive ego that demands he leave subtle clues to his identity.

  In the earlier biographical summary of my father’s life, I mentioned his experiences as a young journalist, first in Los Angeles as a crime reporter for the Los Angeles Record, then later, while he was living in and attending medical school in San Francisco. It was during this time that he was employed as a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle.

  Beginning on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 1932, George and his (first) wife, Emilia Hodel, wrote a weekly Sunday column in the San Francisco Chronicle entitled “Abroad in San Francisco.” The following insert, printed next to their first cobylined article, “Little Italy, Like Naples, Leans Over Azure Bay; Breath of Mediterranean,” shows how George and Emilia Hodel were introduced to San Franciscans back in 1932:

  16.10 San Francisco Chronicle columnists George and Emilia Hodel with son Duncan, circa 1932.

  Editor’s note—This series of articles, by George and Emilia Hodel, deals with the foreign colonies of San Francisco. The various foreign quarters—Chinatown, the Latin Quarter, Little Greece, and the rest are veritable cities within a city. There are more than twenty of them, with a combined population of over 190,000. Each Sunday you will explore, with the Hodels, one or another of these colonies. The foreign populations of San Francisco have merged their interests inseparably with those of all San Francisco. In many respects life in the “colonies” is indistinguishable from that of the entire American scene. Nevertheless, each group has brought over with it its old-world heritage—customs, festivals, philosophies, foods. The old ways have in many cases been carefully preserved, and each now lends its special color to the life of San Francisco.

  Each subsequent Sunday, George and Emilia described the sights, sounds, customs, and tastes of another ethnic enclave within the city. These included Italy, Yugoslavia, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Russia, Japan, Germany, China, and France. Accompanying the articles were photographs showing traditional dress and interviews by George Hodel featuring a prominent citizen.

  After reading the “Abroad in San Francisco” series of articles, one comes away with two distinct impressions of George Hodel. One, he was a man who loved things that were different and exotic. Two, he was an astute observer who saw everything and remembered every detail.

  16.11

  George Hodel left the Chronicle in 1932, after writing fourteen articles over a five-month period. Herb Caen, nine years younger than George, didn’t begin writing for the newspaper until 1938.

  Herb Caen went on to become the Chronicle’s greatest journalist and wrote about the city he loved for almost sixty years. While my father encouraged San Franciscans to explore the cultural diversity of their own city, Caen spoke to them much more directly. His message: let’s laugh at ourselves and the vagaries of our time and in the process learn to accept one another in our splendid diversity.

  While Herb Caen was likely completely unaware of George Hodel, I suspect George followed Caen’s career with interest. Given the enormity of his ego, he probably considered himself to be Caen’s predecessor. As he read Caen’s column, he probably thought to himself, “I’ve been there and done that, said that before you.”

  In his cryptic message to Caen, the author adopts a familiar tone. It no longer sounds like the Zodiac pontificating, but former San Francisco Chronicle columnist George Hodel talking to a colleague, as he says:

  I am back with you. Tell herb caen, I am here. I have always been here.

  16.12

  Location 1: Paul Stine murder crime scene, Washington and Cherry Streets (1969)<
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  Location 2: George and Emilia Hodel residence, 2275 Jackson Street (1934)

  Location 3: George Hodel residence, 715 Bush Street (1931 pre-med)18

  Location 4: George Hodel residence, 1567 Willard Street (1929 and 1933- 1936)

  Location 5: UCSF Medical School, George Hodel attended (1933-1936)

  Location 6: Point Bonita, George Hodel’s gravesite (1999)

  George Hodel: A resident of the Presidio

  The Presidio area of San Francisco was George Hodel’s neighborhood for most of his school years (1929-1936). The map on the previous page identifies his three separate San Francisco residences as well as the Stine murder scene.

  I know from several car trips I took with my father through his old neighborhoods that he and Emilia also lived together in a small home on the winding road to Coit Tower. On one of my visits in 1997, I recall we drove by this house and he spoke of it with particular affection.