Zodiackiller.com Message Board: Other Suspects: The Writings of Michael O'Hare

Carry-Over From Thread on "Why Kaczynski Can't be Zodiac"

Jake wrote:

"Mike O'Hare's writing is just as good -- if not better -- than Ted's; he knew what a radian was; he wrote bizarre letters to the editor of the Chronicle; looks like the composite; and he was travelling to the Bay Area at just the right times. His social security number matches the meridian of longitude that passes through Riverside. You might have me on the car, since I don't know what he was driving, but I've got you on encoded messages."

Jake... Do you have copies of some of Michael O'Hare's writings and encoded messages? I'm very interested... I'm especially interested in the context (not necessarily the printing style used).

I have said many times that one of the keys to unlocking the Zodiac mystery is in the writings. I'd love to be able to take a look at the context of any letters, stories, written papers, etc. written by Michael O'Hare. Writing style, spacing, wording, punctuation, etc. mean a great deal. Especially from those who like to write. I believe Zodiac was a writer in his own right (outside of the Zodiac facade). To be able to have good copy of any of the suspect's writing habits would be valuable.

Thanks for expanding on the writings of Michael O'Hare...

Linda: the following is a letter to the editor, written by Mike O'Hare and published in the San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday, January 22nd, 1995.

HOWLS UNDER EVERY BED

Editor -- The release of Canadian wolves in Idaho and Wyoming has been treated as an environmental issue in the press, coverage which reeks of liberal coverup. Real Californians can recognize what's important about this project: The wolves are foreigners, and we can expect all the evils of immigration to result from their arrival.

Their family structure is an insult to decent values. Polygamous communist bosses share everything with their harems, and single males wander alone, up to no good you can be sure. They get free meals of hardworking American ungulates, elk and deer snatched right out of the sights of taxpaying hunters.

The federal officials responsible for this outrage admit they will have pups galore, who will expect the same free ride while spending their time lying around the den, fighting and talking tough. Will we have to put our rangers into red suits to get any respect from these animals?

Worst of all, they don't even talk American. Our own native wolves howl "ooowuUUUuuWW," but the Canadians say "ooooOOOO-eh?" and corrupt the pure speech of the domestic wilderness. Some of them even speak French.

How about some real investigation of the agenda behind this scheme? You can be sure you'll find the Trilateral Commission meddling here somewhere.


MICHAEL O'HARE
Berkeley.

Bizarre, but interesting.

Not bizarre at all, Ed. The writer was using irony to convey a point, and my only criticism of his style is that he probably wasted his time on it because Americans have a tin ear for irony.

The thing I especially note about this missive, however, is that its author isn't using the editorial stage for the purpose of drawing attention to himself personally. He's got a broader issue to deal with, ostensibly that of immigration, and he's sticking to the topic without introducing himself or his own particular discontents.

Based on just this letter he sounds like a pretty well-adjusted fellow to me.

You're correct about the irony, Douglas, I didn't miss that at all, but the unwashed masses almost certainly did. However, it still struck me as pretty bizarre.

Nice analyzation of this piece of writing, Doug. Thanks, Ed for finding this.

Are there many more pieces of O'Hare's writing styles - maybe more personal ones? How about his use of code? Was he known to write coded messages to others - even in fun to friends, etc?

Thanks...

Linda!

Better still, Linda, did he even have any friends? Acquaintances? Girlfriends? A wife? A "husband"? A drag queen, perhaps? Or any reason to feel vindictive toward young couples out parking in dark places? Keeping a box of radians under his bed isn't sufficient justification, in my opinion, to maintain him as a suspect.

Linda wrote:
"Jake... Do you have copies of some of Michael O'Hare's writings and encoded messages? I'm very interested... I'm especially interested in the context (not necessarily the printing style used)."

I have sheaves of them.

"I have said many times that one of the keys to unlocking the Zodiac mystery is in the writings. I'd love to be able to take a look at the context of any letters, stories, written papers, etc. written by Michael O'Hare."

A few are online. One particularly interesting piece refers to "a wild eyed character with a knife ... demanding your car keys." This overt reference to the Berryessa attack comes from an article on trust and confidence in government. Other items include word placement and order that directly recall the accusations made against him by Gareth Penn. Of course, almost all of them come after Penn launched his campaign.


Ed wrote:
"Linda: the following is a letter to the editor, written by Mike O'Hare and published in the San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday, January 22nd, 1995."

One intriguing aspect of this letter is the date, which was O'Hare's 52nd birthday. Now we all know about Zodiac's penchant for commemorating anniversaries. We also know that all of Z's cryptograms were arranged in rows of 17 columns, except for the one that wasn't long enough. If we arrange this letter into 17 columns, the format in which Z apparently secreted his information, certain other aspects become apparent, including the arrangement of words whose morse spelling matches their chronological placement. Note to ZK: if you like coincidences, you'll love TIMES 17.

It's all very complicated, and kind of silly, and I don't want to dig out those books on a nice Saturday morning. If you're really interested, check Deja.com for an embarrassing illustration of how closely I used to adhere to it all.

Doug wrote:
"The thing I especially note about this missive, however, is that its author isn't using the editorial stage for the purpose of drawing attention to himself personally. He's got a broader issue to deal with, ostensibly that of immigration, and he's sticking to the topic without introducing himself or his own particular discontents.

Based on just this letter he sounds like a pretty well-adjusted fellow to me."

I suppose the same could be said of "Boundary Functions for Bounded Harmonic Functions."

--Jake
http://members.aol.com/Jakewark
"This is the Zodiac Speaking..."

Jake:

Thanks for sharing the sample of Kane's letter-to-the Editor. You say you have numerous items/samples, though. Do you have any that may indicate a particular "tone" being portrayed from him... say sarcasm, hate, love, disappointment, envy, etc?

Thanks for digging up some more.

Linda!

Linda, this is O'Hare we're talking about, not Kane, and it was Ed who posted the letter. All of the writings I have are professional.

I can't believe I forgot to mention this, though -- O'Hare was implicated in the 1981 murder of a Harvard grad student in which no molestation could be determined. ZK, please take note!

--Jake
http://members.aol.com/Jakewark
"This is the Zodiac Speaking..."

Thanks for putting my mistake in order. I had realized what I had done right after I sent the E-Mail, but was sidetracked by my grandchildren (they had spent the night) and hadn't gotten back to correct the mistake.

Also, I'd be interested in knowing exactly when and under what circumstances O'Hare become a suspect as Zodiac? I've never been able to find a copy of Times 17 but have read excerpts from a magazine article. I don't recall if he was suspected by the authorities prior to Gareth Penn's book or as a result of it...what was it that brought O'Hare to someone's attention as a Zodiac suspect.

Thanks again for the correction and your response.

Linda!

Linda:

It seemed more appropriate to continue this line of discussion under Other Suspects: O'hare e-mail address, where we've talked about aspects of this before. See my reply there...

O'Hare (and Penn) remain my favorite suspect(s), but unfortunately the circumstantial evidence points to ALA. O'Hare very DEFINITELY has the sense of humor.

There's something very Leopold/Loeb about them that resonates.

I'd like to add that Penn is a tall skinny dude who in no way resembles the composites. If I were inclined to speculate, I'd say O'Hare ran the action and Penn wrote the letters, to what end I have no idea.

Alan Cabal (love that last name, it is one of my favorite Clive Barker novellas) wrote, "Penn is a tall skinny dude who in no way resembles the composites."

Alan, have a look at the recent discussions about composites in the General Discussions area (No, the humor is not lost on me) and offer your opinion about the value of the SFPD composite. Also, they do make good suspects but you are right about the amount of info available on Allen.

Scott

O'Hare is practically a dead ringer for the SF composite.

I didn't mention his name in the review because I really think Penn should have been more guarded about his suspect's identity. There's no reason for anyone but the law enforcement authorities to know something like that. One of the things that intrigues me about this whole Penn/O'Hare dynamic is why O'Hare hasn't sued Penn. He may be judgement-proof in terms of assets, but I'd want the judgement on the record anyway if I was in O'Hare's shoes.

There's something really off about the whole thing, and not just run-of-the-mill off. Lots of things just don't fit. I'd love to know what law enforcement knows about these two.

Alan: more than one suspect is a dead ringer for the composite, but as we're discussing in another thread, I don't think that's necessarily relevant. You are correct about the Penn-O'Hare thing, it doesn't make sense at all, and I've opined in previous posts that the two knew each other long before Penn claimed to have "discovered" him in a non-existent book in the Napa Library in 1981 (I know it doesn't exist, I looked for it myself). What the nature of the relationship might have been, I can't say for certain, but, if there was one, it obviously soured for some reason and Penn is therefore exacting revenge for some slight, real or (more probably) imagined.

BTW, welcome back!