The Most Dangerous Animal of All
Page 31
— November 27, 1978
San Francisco mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk are killed by Dan White in city hall.
— March 28, 1984
Earl Van Best Sr. dies and is given a military funeral at Arlington National Cemetery.
— May 20, 1984
Van dies in Mexico City.
— March 13, 1998
Rotea Gilford dies in San Francisco from complications resulting from diabetes.
— May 1, 2002
Judy Gilford contacts Leona Stewart, looking for her son.
— June 1, 2002
Gary meets his mother.
— April 6, 2004
Judy meets with former San Francisco chief of police Earl Sanders to discuss Van’s criminal file. The Zodiac case is officially closed in San Francisco that same day.
— June 16, 2012
Gary’s adoptive father, Loyd Stewart, passes away.
— December 9, 2012
Forensic document examiner Michael N. Wakshull determines that the handwriting on Van and Judy’s marriage certificate matches that in the Zodiac letters.
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND RESOURCES
BOOKS AND STUDIES
Amburn, Ellis. Pearl: The Obsessions and Passions of Janis Joplin. Grand Central Publishing, 1993.
American Bible Society. Holy Bible: King James Version. American Bible Society, 1980.
Aquino, Michael A. The Church of Satan. Church of Satan, 2013.
Best, Earl Van, Sr. “State and Religion in Japan: A Survey of the Attitude of the Japanese State Toward Religion with Emphasis upon the Missionary Movement in a Totalitarian Society.” Kennedy School of Missions, Hartford Seminary Foundation, April 1942.
Bugliosi, Vincent, and Curt Gentry. Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders. W. W. Norton, 1994.
Carlsson, Chris, and Lisa Ruth Elliot. Ten Years That Shook the City: San Francisco 1968 to 1978. City Lights Foundation Books, 2011.
Connell, Richard. The Most Dangerous Game: Richard Connell’s Original Masterpiece. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2011.
Douglas, John, and Mark Olshaker. Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit. Pocket Books, 1996.
———. The Cases That Haunt Us. Pocket Books, 2001.
Graysmith, Robert. Zodiac. Berkley, 2007. First published 1986 by St. Martin’s Press.
———. Zodiac Unmasked: The Identity of America’s Most Elusive Serial Killer Revealed. Berkley, 2007.
Guinn, Jeff. Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson. Simon & Schuster, 2013.
Hodgson, Godfrey. America in Our Time: From World War II to Nixon—What Happened and Why. Vintage Books, 1976.
Howard, Clark. Zebra: The True Account of the 179 Days of Terror in San Francisco. Richard Marek Publishers, 1979.
Kelleher, Michael D., and David Van Nuys. This Is the Zodiac Speaking: Into the Mind of a Serial Killer. Praeger, 2001.
Kurlansky, Mark. 1968: The Year That Rocked the World. Random House, 2005.
LaVey, Anton. The Satanic Bible. Avon, 1976. First published 1969 by Avon Books.
Murray, William. Serial Killers: Notorious Killers Who Lived Among Us. Canary Press, 2007.
Magee, David. Infinite Riches, The Adventures of a Rare Book Dealer. Paul S. Eriksson, Inc., 1973.
Newton, Michael. The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers: A Study of the Chilling Criminal Phenomenon, from the “Angels of Death” to the “Zodiac” Killer. Checkmark Books, 2000.
Our American Century and Editors of Time-Life Books. Turbulent Years: The 60s. Time Life Education, 1998.
Parker, RJ. Serial Killer Case Files. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013.
Perry, Charles. The Haight-Ashbury: A History. Wenner, 2005.
Roland, Paul. In the Minds of Murderers: The Inside Story of Criminal Profiling. Chartwell Books, 2009.
Sanders, Ed. The Family. Da Capo Press, 2002. First published 1971 by E. P. Dutton and Co.
Sanders, Prentiss Earl, and Bennett Cohen. The Zebra Murders: A Season of Killing, Racial Madness, and Civil Rights. Arcade Publishing, 2006.
Schechter, Harold. The Serial Killer Files: The Who, What, Where, How, and Why of the World’s Most Terrifying Murderers. Ballantine Books, 2003.
Schiller, Lawrence. The Killing of Sharon Tate. Signet, 1970.
Selvin, Joel. Summer of Love: The Inside Story of LSD, Rock & Roll, Free Love, and High Times in the Wild West. Cooper Square, 1999.
NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS
Daily World (Opelousas, La.)
“TWO PERSONS WERE KILLED in the headon collision Saturday Morning.” January 8, 1961.
Edwardsville (Ill.) Intelligencer
“Murderer Terrorizes Bay Area.” October 16, 1969.
Indiana Combat Veteran (Indianapolis)
“State Chaplain Best Succumbs to Death.” Vol. XXXVII, no. 3. May/June 1984.
Los Angeles Times
“Zodiac Kills Fifth Victim.” October 16, 1969.
“Zodiac’s Trail, a Confusing Crime Pattern.” May 8, 1970.
“Zodiac Threatens to Kill Reporter for S.F. Newspaper.” October 31, 1970.
“Evidence Links Zodiac Killer to ’66 Death of Riverside Coed.” November 16, 1970.
Morning Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.)
“Tot Abandoned Here Is Put in Hospital for Observation.” March 18, 1963.
Napa Register (Napa County, Calif.)
“School Bus Is Target.” October 17, 1969.
“ ‘Zodiac’ Jangles Nerves of Napa County People.” October 18, 1969.
Oakland (Calif.) Tribune
“TROUBLE, Jail Parts Child Bride, Husband, 28.” August 1, 1962.
“Ailing Child Bride, Spouse Disappear.” August 31, 1962.
“Car Gives Clue in Child Bride Hunt, Bulletin Out for Arrest of Pair in 2nd Elopement.” September 1, 1962.
Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, Calif.)
“Masked Man Stabs Couple; Links to Vallejo Killings?” September 29, 1969.
“Coed Stabbing Victim Dies.” September 30, 1969.
Press-Enterprise (Riverside, Calif.)
“RCC Coed, 18, Slain on Campus.” October 31, 1966.
“ ‘Zodiac’ may have killed Riverside Co-Ed, paper says.” November 16, 1970.
“Detectives hope to find Zodiac’s handwriting in City College records.” November 24, 1970.
Register-Guard (Eugene, Ore.)
“Murder Suspect Free Because Gays Silent.” July 8, 1977.
Reno (Nev.) Evening Gazette
“Pretty Coed Slain, Watch Single Clue.” November 1, 1966.
San Francisco Chronicle
“He Found Love in Ice Cream Parlor.” August 1, 1962.
“Ice Cream Romance: Child Bride Gone Again.” September 1, 1962.
“Statewide Hunt for S.F. Child Bride.” September 2, 1962.
“Love on the Run: Ice Cream Romance’s Bitter End.” April 20, 1963.
“S.F. Couple Held: Ice Cream Romance Ends on Bourbon Street.” April 20, 1963.
“Ice Cream Parlor Lover: Senator’s Letter to Judge Doesn’t Help.” August 14, 1963.
“Friends Quizzed in Slaying of Teen Pair Near Vallejo.” December 22, 1968.
“Police Seeking Teens’ Slayer.” December 23, 1968.
“Woman Slain, Friend Shot.” July 6, 1969.
“Coded Clue in Murders.” August 2, 1969.
“A ‘Murder Code’ Broken.” August 9. 1969.
“Cabbie Slain in Presidio Heights.” October 12, 1969.
“The Boastful ‘Slayer’: Letter Claims Writer Killed Cabbie, 4 Others.” October 15, 1969.
“Zodiac: Portrait of a Killer.” October 18, 1969.
“Fear Rides the Yellow Bus.” October 21, 1969.
“Dare by Brother of Slain Man.” October 23, 1969.
“Zodiac Halloween Threat, Reporter Warned, Zodiac Threat on Halloween Card.” October 31, 1969.
“ ‘I’ve Killed Seven,’ the Zo
diac Claims.” November 12, 1969.
“Zodiac ‘Legally Sane,’ Cops Sure Clues Will Snag Him.” November 13, 1969.
“Urgent Appeal by Belli to Zodiac.” December 29, 1969.
“Zodiac Sends New Letter: Claims Ten.” April 22, 1970.
“Gilbert and Sullivan Clue to Zodiac.” October 12, 1970.
“Police Confer on Zodiac Killings.” November 19, 1970.
“Zodiac Writes Again, 17 Dead.” March 16, 1971.
“Zodiac Mystery Letter, the First Since 1971.” January 31, 1974.
“Zodiac Ends Silence: ‘I Am Back With You.’ ” April 26, 1978.
“Feinstein Says Toschi’s Being ‘Crucified.’ ” July 14, 1978.
“Latest Zodiac Letter a Fake, 3 Experts Say.” August 3, 1978.
“Files Shut on Zodiac’s Deadly Trail.” April 7, 2004.
San Francisco Examiner
“Man with ‘Child Bride’ Arrested.” July 30, 1962.
“Their Idyll at End—Jailed Mate Sobs for Bride, 14.” August 1, 1962.
“Indictment in Child Bride Case: Girl, 14, Tells Story to Jury.” August 7, 1962.
“Cops Halt Elopers’ 3rd Flight.” April 20, 1963.
“Jail for Man Who Married Girl, 14.” August 14, 1963.
“Vallejo Mass Murder Threat Fails.” August 3, 1969.
“Salinas Teacher Breaks Code on Vallejo Murders.” August 10, 1969.
“Zodiac Manhunt Centered in S.F.” October 23, 1969.
“Rotea Gilford, Former Deputy Mayor, Dies at 70.” March 16, 1998.
San Francisco News–Call Bulletin
“Bride of 14—With a Sundae Kind of Love.” August 1, 1962.
“Sundae Bride Hunted.” September 1, 1962.
State Times (Baton Rouge, La.)
“Seek Identity of Abandoned Child’s Parents.” March 16, 1963.
“Teen-ager May Be Mother of Abandoned Tot.” April 19, 1963.
Tiger Times (Riverside Community College, Riverside, Calif.)
“Police Still Lack Clues in Murder.” November 4, 1966.
Times-Herald (Vallejo, Calif.)
“Investigators Lacking Clues in 2 Slayings.” December 22, 1968.
“Teenagers Slayer Still at Large.” March 30, 1969.
“Police Still Hunt for Shooting Clues.” July 8, 1969.
Times-Picayune (New Orleans, La.)
“Man Admits Abandoning Young Infant, Police Say.” April 20, 1963.
Tucson (Ariz.) Daily Citizen
“Ice Cream Romance Ends in Jail.” August 14, 1962.
Vallejo (Calif.) News-Chronicle
“Jealousy Motive Checked.” December 23, 1968.
“Appeal Is Made for Help.” December 26, 1968.
ZODIAC LETTERS
April 30, 1967: “Bates Had to Die.” Joseph Bates, Riverside Police Department, Riverside Press-Enterprise.
July 31, 1969: 408 cipher. Vallejo Times-Herald, San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Chronicle.
August 4, 1969: “This is the Zodiac speaking.” San Francisco Examiner.
October 13, 1969: Paul Stine letter. San Francisco Chronicle.
November 8, 1969: 340 cipher. San Francisco Chronicle.
November 9, 1969: Zodiac threatens to bomb a bus. San Francisco Chronicle.
December 20, 1969: Letter sent to Melvin Belli.
April 20, 1970: “My Name Is” cipher. San Francisco Chronicle.
April 28, 1970: Dragon Card. San Francisco Chronicle.
June 26, 1970: 32-character cipher. San Francisco Chronicle.
July 24, 1970: Kathleen Johns. San Francisco Chronicle.
July 26, 1970: Zodiac’s version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “I’ve Got a Little List,” from The Mikado. San Francisco Chronicle.
October 27, 1970: Halloween card sent to Paul Avery. San Francisco Chronicle.
March 13, 1971: Blue Meanies. Los Angeles Times.
January 29, 1974: “The Exorcist.” San Francisco Chronicle.
February 14, 1974: Symbionese Liberation Army. San Francisco Chronicle.
July 8, 1974: Red Phantom. San Francisco Chronicle.
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
Baton Rouge Police Department Criminal Records Division
City and County Assessor-Recorder’s Office, San Francisco
County Clerk’s Office, Wilmore, Ky.
East Baton Rouge Parish Clerk of Court
East Baton Rouge Welfare Department, Department of Public Works, Baton Rouge, La.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Indiana Department of Health, Hamilton County, Noblesville
New Orleans Police Department Records Office
Office of the Clerk-Recorder, San Jose, Calif.
Recorder-Clerk Division, San Bernardino, Calif.
San Francisco Police Department Criminal Court Records Office
U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C.
U.S. Embassy, Mexico City
Washoe County Clerk’s Office, Reno, Nev.
POLICE REPORTS
Baton Rouge Police Department
California Department of Justice, Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Napa County Sheriff’s Office
New Orleans Police Department
Riverside Police Department, Riverside, Calif.
San Francisco Police Department
Solano County Sheriff’s Office, Fairfield, Calif.
Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office, Modesto, Calif.
Vallejo Police Department, Vallejo, Calif.
LIBRARIES
East Baton Rouge Parish Library
Long Beach Public Library, Long Beach, Calif.
New Orleans Public Library
Norman F. Feldheym Central Library, San Bernardino, Calif.
San Francisco Public Library
WEBSITES
https://diva.sfsu.edu
www.ancestry.com
www.dogpile.com
www.familysearch.org
www.horrycounty.org
www.latimes.com
www.newspaperarchive.com
www.pbs.org
www.rootsweb.com
www.sfchronicle.com
www.sfexaminer.com
www.sfgate.com
www.theadvocate.com
www.ussearch.com
www.youtube.com
www.zodiackiller.com
www.zodiackillerfacts.com
INDEX
Page numbers in italics refer to illustrations.
The pagination of this electronic edition does not match the edition from which it was created. To locate a specific entry, please use your e-book reader’s search tools.
Agnos, Art, 224
Alioto, Joseph, 207
Allen, Arthur Leigh, 245–46, 257, 295
Anderson, Ward, 207
Anger, Kenneth, 129, 142
Armstrong, Bill, 178, 184, 197, 202, 253
Armstrong, Robert, 298–300
Atascadero State Hospital, 121–22, 257, 260, 264
Atkins, Susan
LaVey and, 142
Manson Family cult and, 163–68
Auble, Eleanor “Ellie” Bycraft. See Best, Eleanor “Ellie” Bycraft Auble
Auble, George Coleman, 39
Austria
Edith Best and her children in, 186–87, 298–305
Van Best in, 200–201, 209–10
Avenue Theater, San Francisco, 127, 152, 153, 157, 184, 288
Avery, Paul
Van Best and Judy Chandler’s elopement and, 77–78, 107–8
Zodiac case and, 186, 191, 197–200, 198
Bambic, John, 206
Bannerman, Dr. Moss, 115–16
Barrett, Charles, 104–5
Bates, Cheri Jo, 134–41, 194, 199, 327–29
Bates, Joseph, 135, 141
Beausoleil, Robert Kenneth (Bobby)
Gary Stewart contacts, 289–90
Hinman murder and, 16
3–64, 167, 289
Van Best and, 142–43
Belford, A. S., 69
Belli, Melvin, 181–82, 193–94
Bellingshausen, William Vsevolod Lohmus von. See Lohmus, William
Bertuccio, Ilario, 205
Best, Aileen, 27, 33, 34, 40–41, 42
Best, Alison, 276
Best, Anna Jordan, 26
Best, Austin Haygood, 27
Best, Betty Wilmoth, 27
Best, Earl Van Dorn, 25–26, 275, 277
Best, Earl Van Dorne. See Stewart, Gary Loyd entries
Best, Earl Van Jr. (called Van)
abandons baby in Baton Rouge, 94–98
aliases of, 83, 87, 136, 157
arrested in New Orleans after Judy leaves, 104–7
in Austria, 200–201, 209–10
Best family memories of, 278
birth of, 28–29
birth of son and treatment of baby in New Orleans, 88–95
as cabdriver, 143
contacts police about possible Ford assassination, 212–14
death in Mexico and Gary Stewart’s visit to grave, 298, 299, 303–4, 306–13
drunk driving arrests of, 219–20
Edith and her children and, 133–34, 143, 145, 152, 174, 186–87
education of, 21, 23, 44, 52
elopement with Judy Chandler, and charges filed against, 66–69, 327
extradited from Louisiana to California, 109
intelligence of, 30
interest in ancient cultures and weaponry, 44–52
interest in occult, 45, 50, 52
in Japan, 30–32, 278–79
with Judy Chandler in Mexico, 73–75
Judy Chandler’s pregnancy and their flight from authorities, 75–88
learns codes and ciphers, 36, 38
marriage to Edith Kos, 133–34, 186–87, 210, 288, 327
marriage to Mary Annette Player, 58–61, 63, 284, 288, 327
meets Judy Chandler, 19–24
in Mexico searching for old books, 19, 57, 60, 62–63, 70, 211–12, 220–21
mother’s neglect of, 38, 43
music and, 30–31, 43, 44–45, 53–54, 283–84, 289
remembered by Lohmus, 284–87
in San Francisco after parole, 125–29
as seller of old books and forger of documents, 57–58, 60, 62–66, 200–201, 209–10, 284, 286