Zodiackiller.com Message Board: Letters: New Zodiac Letters?: New "Zodiac" Letter Received November 22, 2002

Here's a link to my latest update.

Creepy. I hope that the sender didn't include the sort of "DNA samples" that no one -- and I mean no one -- wants to receive in the mail. It would certainly be disappointing to find out that the Z was really nothing more than a wacked-out hippie named Robert Emmett killing people in a daze.

Spencer

Let's assume that the letter produces matches with some prints and/or the DNA profile. Is there more biographical information on the second page? Do you think there'd be enough info to identify the sender? Are there any suspects with connections to Singapore?

Thanks for posting this. If the letter was to prove valid, the "Priest" description might bring about some memories from some sixties survivors (assuming they're not like Rabbitt). Hmm, the Priest they called him... can't be William Burroughs, can it?

Since this is not the first person to confess I am a bit skeptical.

1. If he did confess/prophet the crimes, wouldn't one of those crackheads come forward by now?
2. If he was high as a kite I find it hard to believe he could have wrote all those letters, planned the ciphers, and was careful enough not to get caught. And on top of that, he is not sure if he is just hallucinating?

I'm not going to get too excited until they test this letter out. Until then I feel its probably either a hoax, or this guy was so high he truly does have problems separating the hallucinations with reality. I doubt this is Zodiac but I would be happy to be proven wrong.

Thanks for posting it the letter, it is certainly interesting. Based on what was shown I don't believe this but perhaps there is some damning evidence it what Tom did not show.

If the letter is legit the guy could merely be using drugs as a scapegoat.

The handwriting to me looks quite a bit like Zodiac's style in the Red Phantom letter...

Probably just another kooky confession. But,while I'm always a sceptic, the letter has just the right creepy feel to be plausible. Now, if it had two stamps I'd REALLY start to wonder!

The Red Phantom letter only had one stamp...

I hope this has nothing to do with the new movie where the original Zodiac comes back and uses this website.

I considered that, too. However, the film isn't anywhere near completion...

I must say that it certainly looks interesting, however, I'm not sure that I believe that some junkie could possibly have done what Z did, especially for so long, as Ryan explained above. While the writing does remind me of the Red Phantom letter in some instances, there are other examples that appear to be typically Z, such as the few misspellings and three-stroke "k." Also, would not this junkie's friends have remembered some "priest" who was able to "clairvoy" Z's crimes and come forward with the story? Whether anyone believed them or not is irrelevant, it is interesting FYI that surely someone would have recalled and probably told Graysmith (especially since everyone else had something to tell him). I have to wonder why he wrote Tom from (presumably) Singapore, instead of just turning himself in to SFPD? Is it that he wants to "come clean" but is afraid of the consequences of his actions? It remains to be seen what happens with this... (if he really wants to prove he's Z, why not send Tom another swatch of Stine's shirt, or Stine's driver's license? Surely he still has them after 33 years, and will certainly get a lot more attention than more DNA and more fingerprints that I'm sure SFPD gets deluged with every day).

Unless this comes up with some kind of DNA match, I would say this is a hoax. The Handwriting has too many inconsistencies. Mixing cursive with printing. The Zodiac letters did not have curisve mixed with printing. The D's are totally different and so are the U's. The letter also doesn't seem to hold to the Zodiacs way of speaking. I think he would have used I more. Zodiac loved to use the word I. The I's are also very different.

BKratzer,
Correct-and much more!

Reserving my judgement...but, of course, sitting on the edge of my seat!

Judging this letter based on the handwriting is very subjective. Why does it have to be exactly the same as the Zodiac letters from 69-71?

I do not have any handwriting analysis experience, however there are a number of things that have to be taken into account. Let's assume this letter is legit.

- Over 30 years have passed. Is your handwriting exactly the same as it was 30 years ago? Age could be a factor. Could a high weight gain or loss affect handwriting? Finger size and moving the arm across the table? I'm an amateur so I can't really say.
- Zodiac was obviously disguising his handwriting. Sure it would have been more convincing if this letter was written in Zodiac Killer font, but any nutjob could spend a bit of time and trace the handwriting and produce a convincing copy. ie. the 1978 letter.
- BKratzer pointed out numerous differences and said "The letter also doesn't seem to hold to the Zodiacs way of speaking". If this is legit, then the personality of this letter will be very different. The 69-71 author was bragging, taunting, terrorizing etc. The Nov/2002 author denounces his previous behaviour and says "No longer is this necessary, for I am not that person anymore. I have changed." BKratzer also said "I think he would have used I more. Zodiac loved to use the word I." I counted and from the portion of the letter Tom showed, the word 'I' appears 22 times out of 26 lines. How many more times would he have to use the word 'I' to be considered authentic?
- The author also acknowledges heavy drug use. This could affect the person's attitude and personality.

As I have previously stated, I am skeptical of this letter. However I don't think we should just write it off because the letter is not 100% Zodiac Font. There are plenty of reasons why the letter would not match Zodiac's 69-71 letters.

If a robbery occurs, and the suspect is described wearing white clothes, would you rule out a gothic person because they always wear black clothes?

I'd say that is excellent reasoning, Ryan.

WOW! If nothing else, this is a FASCINATING turn of events in the Zodiac saga. It appears totally plausible (if extremely bizarre, surprise, surprise) except for his telling his friends the crime details before they occured: by now you'd think at least one of them would have come forward & reported this. Unless they all wound up dead from drug overdoses, which is not likely. Who knows? Maybe now someone who sees this letter, as in the Unabomber case, will have their memory jogged & be able to identify this "psychedelic clairvoyant". Question for TOM: Why did you withhold the Entire contents of the 2nd page of his letter? I am not asking you to divulge its contents, but rather to give us a reason why you felt you had to omit the whole page? Was it because it contained specific ZODIAC crime details heretofore unmentioned? Come on, dude, can't you give us a "clue"?

Oh, by the way, Tom, did his letter really come from SINGAPORE? I kinda doubt it.

I just compared the scanned fingerprints with some fingerprints on the Z video Tom sold me. I know believe the letter is phony and the fingerprints and DNA he sent to the authorities is his way of getting in contact with Dr. Hottie.
Case closed.

The great thing about this is that the evidence presented will either pan out or not. Let Dr. Hottie and her curvaceous associates take care of it. As for me, I'll wait in impassive silence. (My life's actually more of a mild frenzy, but please, leave me my illusions.)

I second the wow! It certainly is intriguing looking, yes the handwriting is different but if he actually is the Zodiac, maybe this is the first time he's written without doing any tracing. I'm skeptical of course...I did notice a french 7 on the envelope. Good point Ryan, I think most people with some practice could trace the Z font, this doesn't appear to be. I'm sure there are many phony letters in the files. I'm still leery of the Red Phantom letter, I've never thought that was legit...just my opinion obviously. I agree with Ed, if this is really Zodiac, how about some more of the Stine shirt and/or his ID? I do think this is a rather elaborate way of getting in touch with Dr. Hottie-why do it this way? Interesting stuff...

Victor:
"Question for TOM: Why did you withhold the Entire contents of the 2nd page of his letter?"

I felt it would be best to save something...mainly because they always do that in the cop shows. Seriously though...no comment.

EXACTLY Tom. I wish you would have only withheld one or 2 sentences, instead of the Whole 2nd Page! Witholding vital evidence to later "prove" it was the serial killer has proven disasterous & fatal in many of these cases. For instance: 1) The "DC Sniper Case" of late: Cops kept secret the fact that the Sniper(s) had written in their note (left at the final, 10th murder scene) that they wanted the $10 million ransom to be deposited in a JAMAICAN bank account. Many who knew the killers "John Mohammed" & "John Malvo" know that they had threatened to become snipers & had a Jamaican connection. Too, the "operators" who manned the FBI's "tip hotline" after that 1st 24-hour period of 5 murders, withheld the fact that they had been contacted by a man claiming to be the sniper who was trying to extort $10 million ransom. (The autorities STILL claim they know nothing about these calls!) Apparently each phone "incident" where the receptionist hung-up on The Sniper & "forgot" about the call resulted in the killer slaughtering yet another innocent victim. This happened not once, but at least 5 times! As the Sniper himself wrote: "so your incompetence has cost you 5 lives...". Example 2) The Manson murders: Police withheld the fact that "Helter Skelter" had been written in the victim's blood on the refridgerator in the LaBianca double-murder house. At least one associate of Manson's says that at this time Charlie was absolutely obsessed with his homegrown concept of "Helter Skelter". He further stated (I think in the book "Helter Skelter", or was it "The Family"?) that if he had known this phrase was plastered at the murder scene, he would have instantly recognized this as the work of psycho-Charlie & his lackies. He also thought that "Chuck" was a violent creep & would have turned his ass in. QUESTION for TOM: Did your letter contain the famous Zodiac "cross-in-circle" logo??

I DON'T CARE WHAT ANYBODY SAYS; EVEN IF THE DNA & FINGERPRINTS DO MATCH, I STILL SAY IT WAS ARTHUR LEIGH ALLEN! SCREW LOGIC! (bad joke)

Tom, do you have enough stroke with authorities to get this looked at quickly, at least for a preliminary opinion (say fingerprints)? I'm sure with the recent program they are getting inundated with hoaxes. Damned interesting letter and if a hoax, it sure is novel. Wonder if Sandy used to date him (sorry, Sandy).

To Zodiac.

I found these articles on the net relating to forgivness:

SAN QUENTIN STATE PRISON, Calif. (Reuters) - Robert Lee Massie, who spent more than 30 years on and off death row for two separate killings, was executed by lethal injection on Tuesday, finally getting his wish to die rather than spend the rest of his life in prison.
Massie, 59, was pronounced dead at 12:33 a.m. PST, 13 minutes after receiving the fatal mix of chemicals at San Quentin State Prison north of San Francisco. It was California's first execution in more than a year.

Massie spent his final hours with his lawyer and spiritual advisers. His last meal was two vanilla milkshakes French fries and fried oysters.

He remained alert and calm during the procedure, which was witnessed by members of the media and family members of the victims.

His last words were, ``forgiveness, giving up all hope for a better past.''

Additionally I found:

"I've also heard that forgiveness means giving up all hope of having a better past. The fact that this happened cannot change, and the fact that I found out about it cannot change. All I can do at this point is to express my feelings,share my inner struggle to forgive,and then give up all hope of things having happened differently.

If this letter was written by the real Zodiac, is he finally getting a conscience? Is he writing this to ask for forgivness? Does he feel the need to finally, after 30 years get this off his shoulders? Tom's response in his latest posting is very similar to the response given by the Maryland Police Chief Moody to the sniper communications, both cryptic and bizzare. How will this cryptic message help? Who is this individual in the picture associated with the forgiveness quote?

If this letter is from the real Zodiac, maybe he could prove it's authenticity by providing the solution to the unsolved cipher.

A final comment on forgivness for the Zodiac, if this is actually you.:

The Nature of Forgiveness

Forgiveness is not a way of forgetting the past. Indeed, if we have been harmed, we should not forget it. We can learn from the past about how to avoid being harmed in the future. Nor is forgiveness a way of exonerating the one who has hurt us. We recognize that the harm did happen, that the other person is responsible for this and must come to terms with their own guilt. When we forgive, we are not sacrificing anything or giving up our sense of self-worth. Indeed, we are doing just the opposite by taking a stand that says that we are strong and finally free of playing the role of victim. Forgiveness is a way of declaring our integrity.

Forgiveness is a way of saying, It s time for healing. The pain of the past should now be put behind me. Thus, forgiving is a reflection of self-assertion and positive self-esteem. It means that we have better things to do in life than continuing to live under the influence of the one who has caused us pain. Forgiveness implies that we no longer need to hold grudges we no longer need self-pity or hatred, and we declare our independence from victim hood. Forgiveness signifies breaking the cycle of pain and abuse, giving up the belief that the other person should hurt as much as we do. It means abandoning the myth that if we hurt the other person, it will make us feel better. To forgive implies giving up the unrealistic hope that an apology will have the same meaning to the one who has hurt us as it has for us. It tells us that we are moving our energy from the negative to the positive.

Forgive: a verb meaning to give up resentment against or desire to punish - Webster's Dictionary

Tom,

Is there a specific (disclosable) reason why you've posted a picture of Dr. Landrum Bolling in your message to the Zodiac? Bolling was in Portland last month (October), at PSU for a speech on Middle East peace.

Spencer

Spencer (and everyone else): I can't add any details right now.

Hello All,

I found the Singapore postage stamp on the letter to be of great interest, and having some experience with philately it occurred to me that the stamp might be part of a commemorative set as opposed to a standard singular postage stamp.

I was correct. The "Taxi" stamp used by the author of this letter was part of a "Land Transportation" set (cost $18), produced by the Singapore postal service in 1997. It is still available for purchase today, including by
overseas buyers.

There are also a couple additional variations available on this same "Land Transportation" set: Option 2, Option 3.

If the alleged Zodiac here is an avid stamp collector (typically the ones who buy collectors editions like these) his name might be listed in some philately database. Moreover, if he was so careless as to purchase this set via an overseas transaction there would be a paper trail, to include a mailing address!

I couldn't tell from the letter whether it had been posted in Singapore, but it would seem consistent with the other materials included within the letter (btw, Tom, what are these items?). The reason I bring this up is because earlier in this thread Ed Neil had asked a valid question about why this person, if he is in fact the Zodiac, did not provide definitive proof to that effect in the form of another piece of Stine's shirt or driver's license. One possible reason could be that he either destroyed these items long ago (unlikely, I agree) or perhaps does not have access to them at the moment. He may, perhaps, have buried these things somewhere in the U.S., but is now residing in Singapore, and therefore chose the only tangible physical evidence available to him, e.g., DNA and finger prints.

Of course, it's equally likely that this is all a hoax, but then why provide tangible evidence like DNA samples and finger prints, things that will quickly demonstrate a hoax should they fail to create a match?

Wouldn't a hoaxter want to try and play the field a while, lead us on, perhaps going to great lengths in trying to mimic Zodiac writing style and mannerisms? It seems odd that he would display such boldness with the presentation of HARD EVIDENCE like DNA and finger prints (the very things we always say we need in this case), and yet be so lackadaisical as to allow his hand printing to show dissimilarities to other Zodiac literature.

Also of interest is that the Singapore postal service offers a "Zodiac" collector series, although only three among the set appear to be available. You can see them here.

Cheers,

Bruce Monson

I imagine Tom's busy talking with the FBI, CIA, certain police jurisdictions, etc. He can't divulge too much about this new Zodiac letter because, well you know...
We can only hope that he brings his head above water long enough to throw us a few tidbits now & again untill something "breaks" in this "epasode", which may be never, knowing the wileyness of The Zodiac (if that's who this is).
But kudos to Tom for doing all he's done in this case. Who knows, he may have even helped to 'solve' it!

TSE KOO CHOY

Is he trying to tell us something about "Mercury" poisoning Here?

Product name: Tse Koo Choy
Manufacturer: WangHing Co., Ltd., Hong Kong
Toxic ingredients: Mercurous chloride, santonin
Adverse reactions: Mental and sensory disturbances, mental deterioration, pink to red coloring of extremities, tremor, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache.

Thankfully I have yet to experience such symptoms...

Bruce:
"mental deterioration"

On second thought...

It's understood on the details. I think we're all just so fascinated and excited (heck, even Bruce is back) that we're posting questions regardless of whether you'll answer them now or in the foreseeable future.

I'm going to guess that perhaps the portion of the letter being held back contained a code key, so that Tom (and whoever else sees future communiques) can confirm that the sender is the same, as evidenced by Tom's posting of some bizarre series of numbers in the "To Zodiac" thread.

Spencer

"I must say that it certainly looks interesting, however, I'm not sure that I believe that some junkie could possibly have done what Z did, especially for so long".

We're talking about smack and acid, right? Two years is just about right.

"Just about right" for what Nick.

The question most raised here in response to Tom's bizarre letter seems to be why didn't he send along other identifiable items (Stine's shirt, etc.) to establish him as Z. If we are to believe what the writer says, he spoke of wanting to disspell any possible delusion that he was merely hallucinating that he's Z. That leads me to think that he has no such items, and is basing his identification with Z solely on the graphic psychedelic flights of fancy he experienced at the time of Z's crimes, and the detail with which he related these images to his fellow tripsters when he got back to earth. If he possessed any information or physical items readily connecting him to the Z crimes, it's doubtful he would be expressing his confusion and asking for confirmation via DNA and fingerprints.

I could possibly understand this if we were talking about murder alone. However much time would have been required to compose the ciphers in particular.Hard to see how a guy in the condition he claims to have been in could have conducted such a campaign.

The adverse reactions sound like my Saturday night to Sunday morning linear progression.

Merchant marine connection?

Right on, LAPUMO. I totally agree with you. How the heck could this guy have done all this on some cracked-out LSD/heroin "brown-out"? His campaign included not only extremely elaborate attacks, but very lucid follow-ups. He often recounted his crimes in writing & took great pains to make sure he wouldn't be traceble. Not the mark of some flipped-out junkie- But who knows?????????

Hey TOM: This is the KODIAC speaking- oops, I mean Zodiac. Er, well no this is just me, Victor, with yet another question for you: DO YOU REALLY THINK THIS LETTER IS FROM THE ACTUAL 'ZODIAC KILLER'? On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being absolutely 'sure'), how do you rate of Mr. Singapore's probability of being "THE Zodiac"? Inquiring minds want to know.

Victor, I can't comment yet. But I will, perhaps soon...perhaps not. Just depends.

And what of the scripted phone calls to the police after some of the murders? Conversely, think of certain members of the original Saturday Night Live cast, who by their own admission were doing heroin and other drugs and would absolutely nail their performances. Perhaps if the Z has indeed written, the "brown-outs" may be his way of plausible self-rationalization to assuage his guilt.

That means that Z would have to be an actor in order to pull off his crimes... in any case, one would think that, when he came down from his high and had Stine's wallet, shirt and car keys in his possession, he'd realize that he was Z and not clairvoyant.

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = absolute hoax and 10 = absolutely authentic, I'd have to rate it a 5 (could go either way) at the moment.

Now, Ed, let's not go out on a limb.

Perhaps being Mr. Sinapore would keep him out or the mix all these years until now? Did he go there to get "cleaned up" and now needs to clean his conscience? it is a very intriguing tangent here but to really think that this is the true Z? what are the odds of that? Oh man that 2nd page must be a doozy? is it a new cipher? is it a piece of Stine's shirt stapled to the paper? or some other evidence known only to Z and his history? curiouser and curiouser......
why not write the SF paper again, even if it an explanation to his whereabouts and actions 30+ years ago....he seemed to have such a connection there in wanting things to known by the public, why not again? why write a lone private citizen, when the world could know....that had ben one of his enduring traits (the need to garner attention), so base level that one would think tht it would not diminish?
just a few thoughts...

Tom,
I appreciate there is detail you cannot go into at this time.Perhaps though you can answer a general question.....Is there an indication of
some encoded message or cipher contained in this letter?

Clark Kent mentioned the possibility that this guy's prints could match up with prints already on file, or with the new DNA profile. I believe that this will be the case, assuming we have the real Z here; why else would he come forward after so many years?

>why write a lone private citizen

Tom's hardly a lone, private citizen -- he does run the most visited Zodiac Killer website, has connections with law enforcement/media, regularly posts new material that he acquires, and has this message board where everything about the case is discussed ad nauseum.

Furthermore, the writer may have wanted the letter scanned and posted quickly, which the Chronicle has a history of not doing with regard to fresh Z letters; Tom did it the day he got the letter (albeit with a small portion withheld).

Spencer

Yes, good question Lapumo. What about it, TOM??

I'm stuck on the Singapore connection. I can't make anything out of that postmark, but Singapore is just across the border from parts of Indonesia, where "Bob Barnett" (or whatever we're calling Cheri Jo Bates' ex-boyfriend) lives/lived.

Now, as I recall, someone claiming to be "Barnett's" son made a post to this board a few years back, generally busting Tom's chops for dragging Dad's name through the mud. Subsequent to that, and perhaps in part due to Tom's zeal in popularizing the case, "Barnett" was ambushed at the airport and made to give a court-ordered DNA sample for comparison with the Bates evidence. IF that post was legit (which would demonstrate some familiarity and emnity with Tom), and IF this letter was sent from Singapore (which is where a Singapore stamp would be accepted as postage, right? I mean, you couldn't send a letter from Detroit with one of those, could you?), then to my mind, we have something approching means, motive, and opportunity for a "Barnett"-executed hoax.

Could mean something, could mean nothing.

On the handwriting tip, mine has changed an awful lot over a decade; 30 years and a wholesale lifestyle replacement could probably account for the difference. As for content, I'll opine with a more-than-passing familiarity with narcotics and hallucinogens that the last thing on a junkie's mind is a junk-irrelevant murder spree, and that only a lunatic of the most violent and antisocial order would pull a Lake Berryessa on acid, even during the baddest of bad trips, but, again, that's just my take.

We'll all be chewing on this one for a while, I think.

--Jake

Victor, I agree: very good questions. Unfortunately, no answers anytime soon.

Jake, I've corresponded with both of "Barnett's" kids several times, although not recently.

Jake wrote:

"[Y]ou couldn't send a letter from Detroit with one of those [a Singapore stamp], could you[?]"

Probably not (although with our postal service who really knows?). However, someone who had a friend going on a trip to Singapore could ask his friend to frank the letter and drop it in the mail there (if Gareth Penn is to be believed, that's what he did when corresponding with his suspect via mail). While it is unlikely that this is the case (given the fact that the writer knew that its existence would get out), it is possible that the writer lives right here in the good ole U.S. of A.

Spencer

Tom -- fair enough. All I'm going on is a coincidence of location. I don't know where "Barnett" was/is; Indonesia's a whole series of islands, and my saying that it's across the border from Singapore is probably akin to saying that Vancouver is across the border from the US. There are a whole lot of miles between there and, say, Oklahoma City.

Apropos of Penn, anybody know the current whereabouts of our favorite Z-prankster, Alan Cabal? He's a jet-setting journalist-type, always flying around the world on assignment for the NY Press... Think he might be covering the Bali bombing? Alan! Call home!

--Jake

Warren,

Where did you come up with "merchant marine"? The thought crossed my mind also, as I used to go to Singapore all the time when I was in the merchant marine. As a matter of fact, I do have one radio officer pal, just about the right age, ex-special forces, whacky, who is living in Singapore right now. I trained under him, and we went to Singapore, Yikes!

Someone posted that Z never mixed his printing with cursive? Ask someone at DOJ, it is a fact that he did. I was told this many years ago. The Belli letter, look at the Q in require. The Nov.9th 69 letter, the end of contrery looks like cursive to me. Some of the letters looked very much like zodiac's others not even close, that 7 is nothing like Z's.The man Darlene was afraid of was a traveler.Unless this jerk sends something from a known victim,I say it is just a very lonely person with too much time on his hands.If he is reading this post: Put up or shut up!

The last I heard about Allan is that he had left the NY Press, a hip right-wing alternative weekly,
and was habitating somewhere on the left coast.

I'm sure he'll get in touch soon.

This is the KODIAC speaking....C'mon TOM, can't U at least tell us if there was a Cipher in there? And if so, what was the nature of it?

I'm not saying that I think this guy is the Zodiac (Ed's got the probability of that spot on), but sending the letter to Tom was a very cagey and perceptive thing to do. Back in the olden days, sending letters to a newspaper was the best way to get your message out to the largest audience; here in the technical vastness of the future, Tom Voigt is the single best venue if you want to get maximum publicity from the smallest amount of effort.

Drug out the old BS detector last night, poured mature scotch over it and warmed it up with Cohiba smoke. After a few "Answer hazy, try again later" responses, and more applications of ethanol, it responded "Hoax, better luck next time." A properly lubricated detector rarely lets you down.
BTW, and at risk of souding more like a moron than IBS indicates, where did the "Mikado" take place?

It's been stated before that David Farraday was possibly killed because he knew of a big drug deal. Perhaps the author (if in fact this letter is legit) knew David and thought he was going to mess up his getting drugs and murdered him and his date. Maybe the subsequent killings were a cover up; maybe after a couple killings they became "fun" for the author....

Warren--

"The Mikado" was set in Japan. Your BS detector sounds like a fine machine, and I have to agree that, properly oiled, these machines are quite effective devices.

Len -Thanks!
Kevin - I have always thought that Z, whoever he may be, had naval or merchant marine background. Even in his age range now, he could still be in the merchant marines. I was on the Texas Clipper, which was part of Merchant Marine program at Texas A&M. Even though we did a Mediterranean tour, those MMs that had been to Singapore loved the place.

I think it's the Zodiac. I think the handwriting matches very well. He still does that same thing with words that end in "tion." He still does those odd S's and the long tailed lower case R's. The lower case Y's are still the same and he is still not sure how he wants to make a lower case G. Other letters that still look the same are k, Th, f, m, p, h, V, c, in, P, b, B, w. The lower case D's have changed a bit...now they are sometimes linked to the next letter. The upper case I's have changed but it's been 30 years... He still starts off writing large and more carefully than he can maintain throughout the letter and the slant of the writing leans more to the right as the letter goes on. He still makes spelling errors connected with double letters (corupt) and uses various ways to spell words with S sounds (sences, Christmass).

I wish I could see a lower case Q. Is there one in the new letter that I've missed?

Tom, I hope you aren't suffering any adverse side effects from exposure to the Tse Koo Choy? How were you able to determine that the packets no longer had any traces of the stuff? Way to be "heads-up" my friend! I seriously hope that your are well at the moment?!

As to the letter, any updates? My initial reaction is that much of the lettering looks relatively close, even with a layman's eye. It lacks the characteristic downward slope of Z's known missives but this can be explained in a variety of ways. Namely, it's 30+ years down the road [and handwriting can/will change in that amount of time], and also because the author appears to have been using lined paper beneath a sheet of blank paper. I'm no questioned documents examiner, but my initial layman's observation tells me to be cautiously optimistic and pursue this missive tooth-and-nail if for no other reason than this: Even if it turns out not to have been originated by the real Zodiac -- which, at the moment, would be a pretty large undertaking unto itself to prove that it wasn't -- somebody obviously went out of their way to make it look as though it came from the "real" Zodiac. [I note once again, this is all from a laymen's perspective and, therefore, purely speculative.]

Anyway, looking forward to future updates. Barring actual bodily injury to you, this is fantastic news!

Jake, if all of this turns out to be a hoax, you get my vote for your theory as to the most likely culprit. Thanks for contributing to the discussion as of late. I, for one, wish you were a more frequent poster because I admire your no- nonsense style and well-informed position when it comes to discussing this case.

Excellent discussion folks!

Author is french or german, most likely german, knows english well, just not well enough.

If the letter is sent to Tom then perhaps the writer does frequent this site. Based on previous patterns of Z I am still surprised that one has not been sent to the paper, or has it been checked out yet if another copy has been, or an additional letter?
I wonder if the second page contains some sort of key to the cipher code and work is being done to confirm the final translation of the original codes?
again why to a set individual for the letter and not just an open letter flooding the internet, tied to a virus maybe.....? just random thoughts being thrown out here.
you know if the prints match up with those on file and it isn't Z then who the hell would it be? of course the letter writer would have to have intimate knowledge of the crimes and therefore make them an accesory, right? and with more than one person involved make that then a conspiracy? so this letter could be from the letter writer not necessarily the perpetrator of the actual murders?
man so many questions, can we make it until Tom reveals more about the contents of the letter? guess we will have to!

Warren: Would you mind elucidating?

A most interesting development. Right now, though, I'll join most posters here and based on the publicized contents, refrain from any "yes or no" judgements and consider it to be a 4 to 6 on the 10 scale. On the other hand, if someone (Zodiac put a gun to my head and yelled "FAKE OR REAL, DECIDE OR DIE!", I'd say "fake" . There are probably too many differences in the handwriting even if you consider the time and his claims (unless Graysmith is right with his "handwriting faked with a projector" idea... boy, would I feel weird then, considering that the projector is the part that I laugh at most often right after G's HERB CAEN "translation" of the second cipher... oh well, even then I'd still have trouble to accept the Zodiac bringing his projector to write on the car door! , not enough details, the unlikely MO, and more... of course this is only based on the partial scan, perhaps there's something in the other part that would make me change my views radically - I'm just saying what I feel now.

BTW, Mr Voigt, can you divulge if the self-proclaimed Zodiac writes anything regarding any possible motivation he had (or felt he had) and/or the ciphers? (Not *what* he writes but _if_ he writes anything on those topics at all - I'd simply expect them to be mentioned if it's the real Zodiac)


If it's a fake, why did he enclose the fingerprints and DNA samples? Why not spend time to imitate Z's handwriting and language patterns instead? Well, I'd say - IF it is a hoax - that the reason would be simply prolonguing the hoax's life. He'd know that a good handwriting expert can probably be found in any bigger city in any country over the world, and hired by anyone; a handwriting- based hoax could be debunked very soon, then, and his fun would be over quickly. On the other hand, you wouldn't just go and have fingerprints analyzed, and as for DNA - fuhgetaboutit! Heck, there's even a question if the powers that be are going to be interested in checking them at all. Therefore, by providing fake evidence that could only be analyzed in proper labs, the hoaxer would make his fun last longer. Even if the analysis of his handwriting were negative, the DNA and prints would still leave doubts - and, of course, hope. And they would leave it for probably a long time, until (or even if) they were analyzed. The hoaxer would provide fake evidence so he could sit and laugh for a longer time, while everyone would be licking their lips, waiting impatiently for lab test results (Again, IF it's a hoax

Reasons? Hey, hoax for the sake of a hoax. Or maybe someone's dangerous idea of a practical joke. ("Hey, Lee, remember how last semester you glued my pants to the ceiling the night before we had the exam? Well, I took my time but I did something better last week! You'll laugh your ass off - I convinced a whole bunch of people that you're a mysterious serial killer who's never been caught! Nah, don't worry, it was in America and I sent it there, nobody will be coming here, looking for you... great joke, innit!") Or, if it's not real and not a joke, then it could be a genuine (albeit rather pitiful) attempt at framing someone to whom the DNA sample and the fingerprints belong.


Interestingly, though, the location - Singapore - made me return in my mind to some (older) speculations that Zodiac might not have been a born American, and/or that English wasn't necessarily his first language? (Well, at least I know *I* toyed with this idea, but I seem to remember others speculating so, too)

(BTW, there seems to be no point of posting any more information about it to alt.true-crime. Right now, I'm sad to point out, almost everyone there is obsessed with the subject of one "Joe1Orbit", who used to be a controversial poster there, claimed he'd become a mass murderer soon, blahblahblah, and now is in jail - the Joemania on atc is somewhat annoying ATM, and personally, I think I'm going to stop reading the group for a while until it calms down)

Argh, auto-conversion of points'n'parentheses into smiley images... !%^%^%!

Vassago, we hate ALL types of smileys at this board...

Pre-scripted letter, a collection of syntax and spelling errors, formal style of grammer, and he blows it on the first page, penultimate line.

Warren: As Arte Johnson used to say, "Verrrry interesting."

with all of the information on Z at this site, anyone could probably cook up a pretty decent hoax? or cleverly craft the current conundrum?

Didn't John Walsh claim to have received letters from Zodiac? I wonder if the handwriting from the new Z letter matches that of the Walsh letters....

Kendra, I believe Walsh claimed his were written in blood. The letter I received was not, however I'm not sure what red substance was used for the fingerprints.

The most striking similarity in this new Zodiac letter is the way the writer makes the lower case i's The are almost identical to the zodiacs letters. If the other, real Zodiac letters, are examined, it will be seen that not even the Zodiac was consistent in how he put the dots on the i's. (Sometimes right over the tope of the i's and at other times up and to the right over the followng letter. It almost seems to me that the writer has meticulously put the dots on the i's in almost the same place as those in the real Zodiac letters. While I keep an open mind, this seems to me to be an attempt copy what the zodiac did.

Someone has mentioned the merchant marines as a possibility, but I doubt this, because anyone who served in the merchant marines would have most likely been fingerprinted for identification purposes.

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos247.htm
Many jobs in water transportation occupations require a merchant mariner's document or a license from the U.S. Coast Guard.
Merchant mariners on ocean-going ships are hired for periods ranging from a single voyage to several continuous voyages and may be away from home continuously for months.
Jobs aboard ocean-going vessels have high pay but competition for them remains keen, and merchant mariners might have to wait months between work opportunities.

It's a high probability that these finger prints won't belong to anybody that the feds have on record.

Tom, since you had the original letter, can you comment on the size of the persons's fingers? Did this person seem to have big hands? (based on the size of the prints?) The photos make it appear so. Mabye someone who is overweight?

Final comment, goes to the gramatical correctness of this letter. Seems to me to be too gramatically correct. The Zodiac wasn't that great of a speller. (ie. my self myself). The writing almost seems feminine.

Two people involved in this? hmmmmmmmmm

Another idle observation: The writing looks to me like a blend of printing and cursive (not cursive as used above by Sandy, which seems to more accurately describe serifs, but as defined by Webster: "flowing often with the strokes of successive characters joined and the angles rounded"). Most of the letters are connected, linked to one another within each word, as would be found in handwriting, rather than in printing. I don't see any evidence of this in any of the Z letters I sampled. His words contain letters that are separate and distinct, with little or no linking.

I wouldn't be surprised if the writer of the Singapore letter is writing in his own natural cursive style, which suggests printing, but is more flowing as would be found in cursive but not characteristic of printing. This is not an unusual manner of writing, as many people have adopted from early on a flowing variation on the basic printing they learned in the first years of school, and this is how they now normally write as adults. If he was to deliberately print the same message, I wonder how different it would appear, and if it would compare more favorably or less so to Z's writings.

Hmm. I am wondering if (and if not, why the H-E-double toothpicks not) this letter is in the posession of SFPD? Since they have an active investigation, and the expertise to perform forensic examinations on it, would it not be logical to give it to them?

If Tom sees fit to pursue this privately, at least for the moment, perhaps a fund can be set up to have a private DNA analysis run. SFPD would only have to have Dr. Holt compare the results. I personally see little similarity in the handwriting, but an expert opinion is of course required.

All of this assumes that Tom is not dismissing the letter as a hoax. Don't really know what to make of his withholding part of the letter. What with the numeric sequences he replied with, I find it hard to imagine some sort of cipher was not included. Nevertheless, the sender claims to be Zodiac, and all such letters must be given to the authorities. The sooner the better.

One can easily imagine the consequences for the investigation should the DNA match. And yes, I favor this tack even though it might potentially dash the illogical theories about ALA to which I desperately cling!

Death to all hoaxsters,

Ray

I would hope that SFPD sent a courier straight to Tom's house to pick the letter up tout de suite upon hearing about it. I wouldn't assume that they'd begin DNA testing on it immediately, but I would assume they'd give the prints and the handwriting at least a cursory examination. Tom, can you comment?

--Jake

One element I would always look for in trying to judge the authenticity of such an admission is specificity. If the confession is couched only in general terms, as this one appears to be, I'm inclined to be dismissive.

I'm having doubts like BKratzer about the prints matching any on file in any criminal database as well as the DNA. If this is an elaborate hoax, this person isn't going to want his little game ended early with a match. He wants to appear as if he wants to come clean by including the samples. Now if they DO match, I was wondering if anybody knows what kind of extradition policy they have over there with the US regarding murder?

Jake-thanks for enlightening us on your take of the Z crimes being committed during "altered states". I would think it would be incredibly difficult to keep the train of thought on the tracks (or from flying into the cosmos!) while trying to stick to detailed plans. I can hardly see how someone could keep the letter writing together while tripping out, much less commit the murders.

I thought Det. Baker made an excellent point about why the letter writer hadn't included any evidence-he wrote that he wasn't sure if he was hallucinating if he was the Zodiac or not. Possession of the Stine shirt etc. would certainly remove any doubt on his part. Of course there's the possibility that he might've hidden it here in the States as someone suggested earlier, and is so wacked out that he isn't sure about THAT either...certainly intriguing...
-Mark_C

Whatever the deal is, this letter's the best conversation piece since the DNA results came back, and I think the last major item before that was the release of Zodiac Unmasked. Speaking of which, is Graysmith totally jealous or what? You heard from him, Tom?

Anyway, it's good to see things hopping again.

--Jake

Although I doubt the author of the letter is the Zodiac (unless there is strong evidence we have yet to see) I have to say, this website would be the IDEAL place for the Z to send a letter. The newspaper editors would probably dismiss his letter as a hoax. Even if it were to be published, the headline, "Possible Zodiac Letter After Decades of Silence" on page 6 wouldn't attract that much attention. Z would want to be the center of attention...as he is here.

Just for kicks, I've been keyword searching the new letter here. It appears to me, in my opinion, that the new letter and a particular poster have a lot in common. But I won't mention any names.

Doug, you're right about the letter being a bit too vague, at least the portion of it we've seen. Assuming that our mystery man is perpetrating a hoax, is he counting on a not-too-speedy examination of the prints and the DNA evidence he's offered? I don't want to get my hopes up, but if he's NOT the real deal, I think this guy has made a very strange move.

I think he's trying to pull some chains. If I were obliged to hazard a guess, I'd say this whole thing originated with a disgruntled person who has an axe to grind with Tom.

Here's some zynchronicity to the new letter in a past post: ((There is some belief that Z wanted to confess. Maybe some priest had key info. *** More puzzle: like elliptical billiard balls)). Of course this is only pointing out a zynchro, not a suspicious parallel.

I got to thinking, there's really no such thing as "an LSD and heroin addict". Once you board the smack train you lose all desire for other pleasures. It just consumes you. I'll take it that this letter writer means he progressed to heroin.

I see a lot of similarities in the new letter compared to several others (where you see the i sometimes dotted directly above sometimes forward) also such as the July 31 1969 letter look at the k, f, and s: there are similarities keeping in mind there is some printing and some handwriting..still you can see a basic uniqueness.

A family member was a graphologist and whether you believe in that or not it got me to look carefully at handwriting. There are unconscious things people do when they write.

The similarities I see are subtle but unique. If one wanted to copy Z's writing you would expect more obvious similarities. But still it could be just a very intelligent hoax. Logic seems to say hoax, right? But at this time I have strong feelings that this is not a hoax.

Also, if I were Z and wanted action Id write to Tom instead of a newspaper or police.

"And that nice IM PRIEST that is rather rife the judicial hummerest I've got him on the list"

Ergo....IM PLATT !

OK, then. Can anyone account for the author writing "ant" instead of "and" towards the end of the first page? Most of us make errors in typing on the boards, but I don't think I've ever seen "ant" in script.

There are, of course, various misspellings, such as "bizzare," "sences," "corupt," and "ant" (instead of "and," as Warren pointed out above).

He also writes "blown away" as "blown-away," which is not correct so far as I know (I've never seen it written that way, has anyone?).

The author uses some unusual syntax, such as "No longer is this necessary..." and "Still the interest as to the events I perpetrated..."

"... and I am enclosing evidence in this correspondence to match DNA and prints on file and in Quantico."

Of course, he would know that the best evidence would be Stine's ID or another swatch of shirt; Z took them for a reason, and I hardly think he would have thrown them away. In fact, once he came down from his high and saw he had the wallet, shirt and car keys, why would he think he was suffering from a "delusion that [he] may have only been hallucinating [he] was the Zodiac?" Doesn't make a lot of sense, especially when we consider that the author makes the claim that "[he] would share his recollections with those around [him] who were pretty much in the same state as [he]. They as well as [he] would be blown-away to then see on the news the very events [he] described hours earlier." Since Z mailed the next letter with the swatch of Stine's shirt two days after the murder, how then can he account for the discrepancy in time, hours versus days? In other words, he came off his high, rushed back to tell his friends about his latest "vision" immediately after the murder while still blood-soaked, then mails Stine's shirt two days later, and yet still thinks he was delusional? Doesn't make a lot of sense.

In fact, it sounds to me like the author is claiming he got high, rushed out to whack a couple of people, then rushed back to tell his buddies all about it. Didn't they notice he was gone for a period of time? Wouldn't that have struck anyone as the least bit suspicious? What did he do with the guns? Didn't he notice after he came down that he had a gun that had recently been fired or at least was missing several rounds? Didn't he realize he had a bloody knife in a sheath at his waist?

What about the hood? Did he get high, suddenly decide to sew a hood, somehow manage to survive the drive to and from LB along twisting, treacherous Monticello Road (it's bad enough while lucid; I can only imagine how bad it would be while flying high!!!), stab two people, write a semi-coherent message on the car door with a felt-tipped pen he just happened to have handy, drive back into Napa along the same treacherous road, and decide to call the cops and yet somehow evade them? Then he rushed back to his buddies and told them about his latest vision??? Sorry, but I simply do not believe this in the least. The author is clearly lying if he is Z, or it's a pretty lame hoax perpetrated by someone who has not thought out the logistics of the situation.

These are just a few observations, for whatever they're worth. The more I look at it, the lower it goes on the scale of 1 to 10. It's at about a 2 or 3 now for me, meaning that it looks more like a hoax than authentic. But then again, anything's possible, and maybe it truly is from Z who's trying to piece together what fragments of the past his brain damaged mind can recall.

ED, I have to totally agree with you. Excellent reasoning. Zodiac's attacks & follow-ups were far too elaborate (ciphers, etc) to be conducted by some "dazed & confused" junkie who thought he was hallucinating. But then again, Truth is stranger than Fiction sometimes. We'll just have to see the DNA & print results, I guess.

Another thing that struck me is that the odd syntax suggests to me that perhaps English is not the author's native language. Also, BKratzer's observation that the writing appears feminine is suggestive too. Perhaps the author is female and wrote on behalf of a male friend or something, or the whole thing is a hoax perpetrated by a woman from Singapore just for sh*ts and grins, using a male friend's DNA and prints (since the prints appear larger than what a woman's might).

The odds syntax might also be an indication that
there is an encoded message.Of course if there was I would not see this as being consistent with what the author claims he is trying to accomplish.
I think the misspelling are out of place here too.

The "ant" might be the work of someone whose native language is German. In that language, "and" is rendered "und," with the final "d" sounding like English "t."

Further, he puts a line through his numeral "7," which is an ingrained European trait.

Good point, Douglas. I counted "and" nine times before it's spelled "ant," so that suggests the author may have had a momentary lapse and spelled the word semi-phonetically. If it's an attempt to duplicate Z's misspellings, it's very obviously contrived after having been spelled correctly nine times before.

German?Let's see who do we -or Tom,Knows that's German?Hmmm

While each of the 4's resemble Z's (ie, open at top), a quick perusal of the letters reproduced in Zodiac has not turned up a single example of Z writing a 7 in the European style; I'll bet that a perusal of all the other examples on this site won't turn up any either. I submit that that's a very hard thing to either learn if you've not been taught to write it that way, or unlearn if you have. It looks like the author slipped up there. Oops.

Another thing: why were the two pinkies not printed, but the other four fingers were?

I have just discovered another item that points to this individual being not of
American origin. Examine the document at:

http://unipen.nici.kun.nl/7th.iwfhr.2000/proceedings/pdf/poster-001-GarethLoudon.pdf

This is from research conducted in Singapore. You will notice the letter f in the newest (claimed) Zodiac letter is definitely of European origin.

Ed N makes note of the 7 being a slip of the writer’s concentration, thus reverting back to an ingrained habit of writing the 7.

Examine the word interest in the third paragraph. The writer slips up here and puts the hook at the bottom of the t. This is a definite European trait. It is also seen again in the word clairvoyant.

Wow...I leave the board for a couple o' weeks and all hell breaks loose...
A very interesting, exciting and compelling development.
Wow Tom, If this really is the guy congratulations! If not, then i am sure sooner or later we'll know who Z really is... I feel we are getting closer. I know a lot of Navy veterans retire abroad, so who knows? This could be Z. I am sure Tom's notified the authorities..and we'll get an answer soon.

Greygusjay states: I know a lot of Navy veterans retire abroad

Interesting fact to note here. The Zodiac’s communications ceased in the year 1974. What events could have happened that would have facilitated this cessation in communications?

The Zodiac was suspected to have a military background.
The Zodiac was well versed in the use of cryptography and ciphers.
The Zodiac had enough electronics knowledge to design a bomb (Electronics Background)
The Zodiac’s footprints were made of Wing Walker (military style boots)
The Zodiac was above average intelligence
The Zodiac, in one letter refers to the bomb’s “Trigger Mech:” (Military Terminology)
The Zodiac had excellent sewing skills (Skills also taught by the military)
The Zodiac used military terms “to hold it in check”

In 1974 the Hunter’s Point Naval Shipyard was finally closed.

http://www.fas.org/man/company/shipyard/hunters_point.htm

Naval operations at HPA began in 1941 near the start of WWII. The Navy increased ship building operations to quicken production of liberty ships during WWII. From 1941 to 1974, the principal facility activities were ship building; naval ships and submarines were also modified, maintained, and repaired. In addition to repair activities, the facility was used for base housing, naval ordnance training exercises, radiological defense research, and research on exposure to radioactive fallout.

Also, the sender of this most recent letter bothers to send fingerprints and states they are on file and in Quantico (FBI) It looks to me like the writer of this letter had plenty of time to read the article at: http://www.crimelibrary.com/zodiac/zodiac/11.htm

A 1969 FBI report categorized SFPD's prints into "thirty latent fingerprints, three latent palm-prints, and one latent impression (fingerprint from lower joint area of a finger or palm print)". Only two, belonging to Paul Stine and an unidentified police officer or newspaperman, were ever identified. The number of fingerprints submitted to the FBI Lab by San Francisco and Vallejo Police was later raised to 38, a figure that does not include the lifts made by the Napa County Sheriff's Department. While the great majority of these prints are probably unrelated to the case, there is a high degree of probability that some of them do belong to the killer, and that he could be identified through a match with one or more of them.

COINCIDENCE?????????

This is a longshot, but along the navy line of thought, I believe some U.S. Navy ships were classed "LSD" (landing docks). I wonder which of this type, if any, were stationed in the Bay area from 1969-74? Of course, I doubt there were many ships classed as "heroin." ;-)

Bruce Monson

Ed: I give to you my highest rating, which is that of "well reasoned." Thanks for the posts.

Whether the author is truly Z or not, and assuming he is following this discussion, probably from a Singapore Starbucks, I would expect a follow-up letter, shorter, and containing info that he thinks only he and the police know.

Hello from San Francisco!
I believe some of you are underestimating the tenacity of a good junkie.
Growing up in Oakland Ca in the 1970's, I was surrounded by them. I have seen heroin addicts perform incredible feats of endurance for prolonged periods of time, as long as there was a fix waiting for them at the end of the day.
I agree that once you're addicted to heroin, no other drugs matter, unless there around you all the time! I have seen junkies smoke weed ,drink booze, pop pills, ect.. just because they were available to them. I know that in the 1960's and 70's "acid" was available like candy.

I have always thought the Zodiac letters reeked of LSD.
Speaking of the Z letters...
I don't think they are still around. We know Z didn't want to be caught. Those letters (And the other "stuff") must have made him nervous. Can you imagine having to relocate somewhere? Ok, My clothes are packed, dishes boxed up, Oh where is my Zodiac evidence? After 30+ years? I don't think so.
Finally, since I've made my case that this letter could be from a serial killer, acid head junkie, I am of the opinion it's a hoax perpetrated by the people making the upcoming Zodiac movie. If the letter is not from them, then somebody in their marketing department should be fired for not thinking this up!
Thanks for the time!
Tom Stout

Warren,
I'd say from a darkened Singapore bar drinking Singapore Slings!I think Starbucks is a little too much like Sunday school for our new "Zodiac!"

Tom S: while I don't doubt that junkies can do amazing things under the assumption that they're going to get another fix, what doesn't add up for me is that the author claims that he got high, then went out to kill some people, taunted the police, constructed an elaborate hood, wrote coherent letters and even devised a cipher that has defied all attempts at decryption (not counting Graysmith's dubious "solution"); after all that, he came down from his high and didn't notice he had blood-soaked clothing after the Stine murder, was in possession of Stine's shirt-tail, wallet, and car keys, had a bloody knife, had three different guns that had been used and several rounds were missing, etc, etc, etc, and he thought he was hallucinating? I simply do not believe the author, but, that's IMHO, for whatever it's worth.

The drug angle is also not a new idea, despite what the author of the letter seems to claim; Graysmith mentioned in Zodiac, p. 243, that as early as August 1979 when he "solved" the 340-cipher, the cops had thought Z wrote the letters while high. In fact, they probably thought so since 1969, so why the author thinks this was a missing piece of the puzzle is beyond me.

From overseas sources, rumor has it that the Z movie will be kinda like a Blair Witch Project clone and that is the reason for this letter hoax to prelude the film and stir up attention. If the letter were even close to being legit does anyone really think Tom would keep it? SFPD claims that they still have a cabinet filled with fake Z letters and they still receive them almost monthly. Hopefully the new movie will be more entertaining then the Blair Witch "mockumentory".

There's no reason to dismiss the possibility that the letter came from Zodiac just because there are things in it that don't add up. Our boy from the '60's and 70's wrote lots of stuff that he never really did: That he would make a bomb and blow up busses. That he would get a gun and kill the kids as they came bounding off the bus. That he had killed 17 !!. That he gave the cops credit that they discovered his Riverside activity. We don't even know if he did the Kathleen Johns episode, even though he wrote that he did. So, it stands to reason that he would still write LONG letters that include fantasy stuff. In fact, we should expect that he would do the fantasy thing. Therefore, writing that he did the killings while on heroin and LSD, going back and telling his friends, yadda yadda yadda, are actually SIMILARITIES in the new letter that make me think it's the same wacko, only 30 years later.

I don't buy the idea that Z was hopped up on