Zodiac and the Golden State Killer

As I've said throughout, I find the similarities between these 2 killers striking at times, due to The Golden State Killer changing his M.O it can be difficult to link some of the crimes together but when we start to look at the main traits of his character sometimes small aspects begin to shine through.

The way I read the crimes is that the young Joseph James DeAngelo started killing with the gun as he didn't quite have the confidence in the beginning to get close to his victims. To me the gun is used as is the knife in piquerism, there is a sexual undertone, especially in the cases of the young couples in lovers lanes, on beaches, as if this is something he maybe wanted for himself but couldn't have.

We know that Joseph James DeAngelo grew up within a violent household, witnessing a rape at the age of 10 which would have impacted him greatly. Due to the nature of his crimes GSK was just as brutal to the men as he was women, children also didn't seem to phase him. I think we can see that no one was safe with this man, he would kill whenever needed.

The Lake Berryessa case has a lot of details which match the M.O of the GSK, Joseph J DeAngelo. We'll begin with the description though, the Hood Zodiac wore which covered his face down to his waist. The Cloth Hood was described as Paperbag in style with 2 slits for eyes, the thing that got my attention was that it appeared to be home made. There are several witness statements in the early EAR/ONS cases that describe a Hood with 2 slits for eyes, sometimes the masks he wore had no nose or mouth, some had a mouth opening, some were knitted later on, possibly all home made, one of the victims did say she thought the hood was home made. GSK would have had sewing skills being in the Navy so it's not too far a stretch to say that he made his early masks himself.

The next item that Zodiac wore was a Belt which was holding what appeared to be a 12 inch knife in sheath, if we look at Attack No 3 in Kat Winters & Keith Komos Case Files of the EAR/ONS Golden State Killer Book, the victim described a Linemans Belt, and again in Attack No 23 the victim mentioned a belt with possible holster but what is more interesting is that her young daughter actually spoke to EAR and gave a description that the man was wearing a belt with a sword. A child could mistake a large knife for a sword.

The moniker that became known as Zodiac's symbol I will leave for the time being as I believe I know what the symbol means. We will look at this more closely along with the letters and calls Zodiac and the Golden State Killer made.

There was a Boot print at the scene which was a size 10 though to be a Military Wing Walker Boot. The Golden State Killer I believe is size 9.5 and would have had access to this kind of boot. From what I gather sizes in the U.S changed in the 70's not sure what bearing it would have but a close size all the same.

The Height and weight are usually around the same size in both Zodiac & Golden State Killer cases but hair colour always changes. Taking all witness statements into account from EAR/ONS descriptions also, hair always changed, some said blonde, light brown, some said dark so it really is a difficult one to pin down exactly plus you have to take lighting into account too, was it dark etc plus we don't know if he ever used disguises.

Now the actual crime, at Lake Berryessa he had chosen a secluded spot, when the Zodiac first spoke to the couple he said "Now take it easy, all I want is your money - there is nothing to worry about - all I want is your money" a line that either was adopted by the Golden State Killer or he's one and the same. All I want is some money and food would be the line that EAR/ONS used with a few variations at times, sometimes he'd say he was looking for dope or needed things for his new apartment. The way in which they both use that initial line to placate their victims is disturbing, he is telling them he will leave if they do what he says so the victims are led into a misconception, once he has them tied they are both under his control.

Zodiac had pre cut cord with him to bind his victims, sound familiar, he also threw the cord to the woman and got her to tie the males hands. Th Golden State Killer during his East Area Rapes did this exact same thing, eventually preferring to use shoe laces. Both Zodiac & GSK retied the males bindings after tying the women's hands. Both also got their victims to lie face down.

Bryan Hartnell had tried to talk to Zodiac but he didn't say much other than he had escaped from prison and had to get to mexico similar to GSK who always had a story, like he had a camp by the river or a new apartment. The both tried to give a reason why they needed money etc.

The stabbing itself I think could be piquerism on the assailants part, again another young couple, directing more anger at the female by going into what Bryan described as a Frenzy. Bryan said that the Zodiac got up and walked away, he also found time to write his message for cops on the side of Bryan's car door. EAR/ONS was another who would leave the scene of one of his attacks and walk around with his mask still on, not caring that a couple passing by saw him, he just kept on walking. They both appear to have a calm exterior after an attack.

We will take a look next at the murder of Paul Stine in October 1969 and the letters and calls that followed. Something else that I found to be of interest in Both Zodiac & GSK cases was the dates and times of the years that coincided, especially Halloween, July 4th, Christmas & New Years. There are also a few interesting sightings of Zodiac that sound very similar to some GSK reports which I will also go into.