The Zodiac /// Part 1 /// 470 | Forensic Files

foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] foreign enthusiasts know often serial offenders carry a moniker
or nickname who could forget such terrifying titles like The Night Stalker and the Green
River Killer there was the Hillside Strangler and the servant girl annihilator these names were bestowed upon these
killers by the press and even the law enforcement agencies that investigated their crimes
in some cases the killer simply cannot wait long enough for the press or law enforcement to come up with a clever or
even not so clever name so some Killers provide the press and law enforcement with a name to call them
until they are discovered outed and pulled into the light from the Dark Shadows where they hide
Jack the Ripper pen letters to the police authentic or otherwise giving himself what he called the trade name
when he signed the famous deer boss letter Yours Truly Jack the Ripper David Berkowitz
wrote to NYPD Captain Joseph Borelli telling him I am deeply hurt by you calling me a woman hater I am not but I
am a monster I am the Son of Sam now in the garage we examine another Infamous serial killer one that provided
the Press with his title when he told the San Francisco Examiner deer editor this is the Zodiac speaking
the Zodiac was laying claim to three unsolved homicides in the San Francisco Bay Area
he would go on to kill again we have five confirmed murders in this series some say the number of those murdered by
the Zodiac should be between 20 and 28. the Zodiac claims to have killed as many
as 37 innocent victims still to this day this series of murders remains unsolved and the one who called
himself the zodiac is yet to be identified this is true crime garage [Music] we're going to start off on a Friday in
Vallejo California Vallejo is a waterfront city located in the San Francisco Bay area of the state of
California this is where the Zodiac will find his first two victims or two of his
earliest victims because as we will later see there is much debate on when and where the Zodiac started killing
on the night of Friday December 20th 1968. sixteen-year-old Betty Lou Johnson and 17 year old David Arthur Faraday
were out together on what most have reported to be their first date some reports state that the two dated briefly
before the following incident both were very good students in fact later it was said that the two really had very little
time for Teenage romance as both were quite focused on their schooling and extracurricular activities David Faraday
was a top student and a member of The Varsity wrestling team at Vallejo high school he was an eagle scout as well and
the recipient of the god and Country award Betty Lou Jensen was a top student at Hogan High School the attack on the
two teens on this Friday December 20th would leave both shot to death the early reports state that the two
went to a high school Christmas concert at Betty Lou Jensen's High School just several blocks away from Betty Lou's
home they were going to attend a party after and at some point the two went for a drive and were met with gunfire later
reports would indicate that maybe the two teens misled their parents David Faraday borrowed his mother's 1961
Rambler station wagon and drove to Betty Lou Jensen's house where he picked her up the two left there about 8 30 PM
instead of going to the concert the two went to a friend's house where they hung
out for about a half an hour from there they went to Mr Ed's restaurant and Drive-In
where they ordered a Coke and sat and chatted for a while after the stop at Mr Ed's restaurant and
Drive-In the teens went for a drive and they ended up at Lake Herman Road which is an isolated country road known
as a Lover's Lane they parked in the lovers lane area just off of the winding dirt road for reference this is about 10
miles away from Betty Lou Jensen's house and school the slain couple were found just before 11 30 PM that night by a
passing motorist this is Mrs Manuel Borges who was in route to the nearby town of Benicia California Benicia is
considerably smaller than the City of Vallejo and Lake Herman is basically between the two Benicia is east of
Vallejo the vehicle was just outside the fence to the lake Herman pumping station
Mrs Manuel Borges lived off of Lake Herman Road and as she is driving she couldn't help but notice the vehicle
parked she saw the passenger door open David was lying on his back blood around him and his feet were toward the rear
wheels of the vehicle some reports have Betty Lou's body found as close as 10 feet from the rear of the vehicle others
say as many as 30 feet away either way it was obvious to the detectives that Betty Lou was in the
process of running away from the scene when she was gunned down there's an interview with the lead detective and in
it he says Betty Lou was 28 feet from the back of the car so that's got to be right
reports state that the girl had been shot five times in the upper right side of her back from a range of no more than
10 feet Mrs Borges was of course horrified at this discovery she jumped back in her car and sped away
when she got to Benicia she flagged down a police car she told them what she had
found and the two Benicia officers raced to the scene when they arrived they found David Faraday still breathing
they called for police backup detectives and an ambulance Betty Lou was dead at the scene Faraday was rushed to the
nearest hospital let's talk about what was found at the murder scene according to what was
released at the time police will find the Rambler car hood still warm when they get to the scene the ignition was
on and I'm guessing likely to run either the heater or the radio or both because
the two were planning on sitting there for a while this is odd though the front passenger
door was open the other three doors and the tailgate to the vehicle were all closed and locked so some have surmised
that maybe the attacker was able to force both youths out the same door the front passenger door however I found a
report that states that there were footprints that detectives say indicate that Faraday got out of the driver's
door and walked to the passenger side and I have to wonder could these be the killers Footprints and not David
faradays right did he walk up to the driver's door put the gun on Faraday and force the two out the passenger door and
walk around to greet them on the other side David was shot in the head at close range the bullet traveled forward from
behind his left ear detectives found four bullet casings near the vehicle the only thing they would say about the
bullets at the time is that they came from a small caliber gun one report specifically says small caliber rifle
one report says a 22 caliber which of course is a small caliber investigators said the girl had not been molested and
that robbery was not the motive an even at close range something with such a small shot it's like a 22 it's going to
take more than one shot to kill it most individuals it will however if you do any Research into Hitmen and things of
that nature they often prefer to use a small caliber specifically a 22 because they're doing head shots right and I
won't get into that too much but the bullet tends to bounce around inside quite a bit more than a larger caliber
police even threw out some theories to the newspaper the day after and two days after the homicides and these theories
include the following a deep heel print possibly from a boot was found in what they described as the brush grown area
in the rear of a fencing this is running around the pump house right detectives say that the Brushy growth would be the
only concealment offered to a sniper so that's interesting because of several reasons one this is to suggest the
possibility that the killer was there before the couple even arrived in this theory he would be
lying in weight in the brush hidden and then when the two Park he emerges from that Brushy growth area that they
mentioned and takes control of the would-be victims well it makes a lot of sense because they would not see
headlights they want to have time to react well if the perpetrator showed up in a
vehicle they would have at least some warning that he was coming it's also interesting because I don't know exactly
where this fencing and Brushy growth area is in relationship to the victim's vehicle
and I say that this could be important because it could go against or for the next item because deputy said that there
was a bullet hole in the rear window of the vehicle leading them to theorize that Faraday stopped the car and was
fired on from behind again you'd have to think that the killer would have to know
this area somewhat to even know that this Lover's Lane existed yes and the thing here too Captain what I'm trying
to point out about this sniper hiding in the bushes scenario right from where the
shots would have been fired at the two victims the killer had to be standing beside the vehicle so a stray shot
hitting this rear window from that Vantage Point makes no sense it didn't just happen this was a shot that was
likely intentionally fired into the back of the vehicle right meaning I think that the killer probably approached the
two victims from the rear of the vehicle and then worked as way to the side where
he eventually shot and killed both you have this secluded area again I think the killer would have to know the area
it's almost like they'd have to know the area so well that maybe they fired the shot not intentionally to kill somebody
initially into the back window but to get them to like scram flee the area in the vehicle or flee the vehicle to flee
the vehicle so I lay and wait the car comes in they start talking I creep behind them I shoot the window and by
shooting the window I have it's game on and now they're in full panic mode and that's what I'm interested in as far as
the the kill the other theories are that the couple may have already been parked
and someone pulled in nearby and startled the two or they were trailed and pulled over or trailed to the spot
and then the killer returned to get them whatever ever happened Captain it happened relatively quickly and probably
not too long before Mrs Borges found them because the car hood was still warm and David Faraday was still alive we do
know that we have possible boot prints and like you said are those the male victims Footprints or those The Killers
Footprints but it doesn't seem like we have tire marks from some other vehicle that is true there's
no mention of tire marks from another vehicle a faraday died on arrival at the hospital at 1205 and this is very
unfortunate not just because he passed he's he's now a murder victim but for the investigation itself because
police at the time thought okay we have this attack these on these two young teens the female victim did not survive
were rushing the male victim to the hospital hopefully we can save his life but also we want to talk to this guy so
he can tell us and give us details about this attack so we can find the perpetrator because Faraday passed away
this would not be possible for the detectives now the detectives were on the scene investigating by midnight that
night the Solano County Sheriff's Office was the investigating agency now to fill
out the timeline a little better the teens left Betty Lou Jensen's place at 8 30. they went to a friend's house for
about 30 minutes okay so now 9 pm at the earliest they leave and go get a coke at
Ed's from there they go driving again about a 10 mile distance out to where the vehicle would later be found several
witnesses spotted the vehicle at the park location off of Hermann Lake Road this is at 10 15 10 35 and again at 11
PM this is based off of witness statements that David Faraday must have turned the vehicle around at some point
after it was initially parked at that spot which again makes you wonder and question the shot to the rear of the
vehicle another witness said that they stopped their vehicle on the side of the road that night this would be near the
murder scene right these two witnesses were young and they were on a date as well they said that they stopped the
vehicle to their vehicle to check something on the vehicle and while stopped they said that another vehicle
slowed down and the driver was just kind of looking at them and then he went past
the vehicle then stopped and then backed up toward them and this spooked the couple so they got into their vehicle
and drove off they said that the vehicle Then followed them for several minutes but eventually
they lost this car well first of all I mean I think we both we disagree on a lot of things but what we can probably
agree on is this couple that possibly saw the killer that night they didn't stop their car to check on a
part they're out at a leverage Lane they're probably out there to talk flirt a little necking and then they see
this creep come upon them and he stares them down and like you said backs the vehicle up
starts to Spook him but I think I think that was the play you know stop the car back it up stop it
again act a little creepy to get them to start moving and then you can follow them to see where they went yes this is
under the idea that maybe the Zodiac was just out there driving around trolling looking for potential victims now they
state that the vehicle the the suspicious vehicle they described it as a blue Plymouth Valiant and they said
that this incident took place around 9 30 p.m another witness said that they saw a white four-door Chevy Impala
parked near David Faraday's car now keep in mind Faraday is driving his mother's
Rambler it's a station wagon so Faraday's car will be a little more noticeable than the other standard
two-door sedans or four-door standards of sedans out there driving around do you know if it's if it was a woody I've
I've looked up the vehicle I can't recall no woody on Lover's Lane there are pictures of Faraday's vehicle online
it was later reported that 10 shell casings were found so let's examine this number a bit I guess that number is
fairly easy to get to when you really think about it because Betty Lou is stated to have been shot five times
David is shot at least once so now we're at six casings right and there was that
shot that hit the back of the vehicle so now we're at seven later the Zodiac himself would say 10 shots were fired at
the scene John Douglas said that not only were bullet casings found near the vehicle but also on the floorboards of
the vehicle so if this is correct then this would indicate to me that the gun was fired inside the car at some point
or at least close enough to an open door or window that the casings fell inside the vehicle we did have some early
suspects in this case that were looked at one there was a teen boy that was said to have had a thing for Betty Lou
and I don't know if the two had any type of relationship or if they ever dated but it seems that this teen went so far
as to threaten David Faraday at some point this teen was looked at and cleared the other suspect would be an unknown
individual the Jensen family thought that maybe there was either a Peeping Tom or someone spying on the family or
Betty Lou in particular around the time of her murder right seven months later the timeline of the next event in our
murder series timeline again will start on a Friday and again will take place in
and around Vallejo California this time it's Friday July 4th Independence Day 1969.
22 year old Darlene Elizabeth Farren was a popular and sociable young woman she was well educated a mother of one child
a daughter named Dina Darlene was married to her second husband Dean and the three lived on
Monterey Street both Dean and Darlene had a lot of friends now Captain out of all of the zodiac victims well at least
the confirmed five murders and two attempted murders I would put Darlene at the top of the list when it comes to the
highest probability that the Killer and victim knew one another this would be because of Darlene and Dean's sociable
Lifestyles and employment they knew a lot of people they had a lot of friends right and they had a lot of people over
to their house very often so it could have been a friend of a friend hosting and attending parties both small and
large now Darlene worked at a place called Terry's restaurant and one thing that is very curious Darlene Farren told
a co-worker that she knew the two victims David and Betty Lou Jensen or at least knew of them well that makes some
sense because Darlene attended Hogan high school years earlier this is the same high school as Betty Lou Jensen
that night Dean and Darlene were going to have friends over Dean was at work he was a cook at Caesar's restaurant
Darlene had a babysitter she stopped by Dean's work to tell him that she and her younger sister were off
to watch the parade boats there Dean asked if Darlene would pick up some fireworks on her way home
he and some friends wanted to set them off that night for the holiday right Darlene and her sister then went to
Darlene's work again Terry's restaurant this is to tell some co-workers that her
and Dean were hosting a party and they should come by after their shifts the two went off to the boat parade and
after they again went to Dean's work by now it's getting late but of course work
shifts run late at restaurants on Friday nights Darlene then went back to her work very briefly and then went home
before letting the babysitter go for the night she went out again first she took
her little sister home and dropped her off right and then she went and picked up her friend this is 19 year old Mike
Maggio it sounds like Mike was expecting Darlene at some point that night but regardless Mike seemed to leave his
house in a hurry leaving without turning off the TV and the lights the two were going to go purchase fireworks for the
par party later that part is for sure yeah but whether or not they plan on parking somewhere or not is Up For
Debate Darlene was driving her Chevy Corvair some sources say early in the drive a car seemed to be following them
right the car was light in color the original idea was the two wanted to go get something to eat but at some
point it changed to the two we're going to look for a quiet place to talk neck Mike says that this is why they
were heading to the park right Mike says they turned around at Mr Ed's restaurant
and Drive-In so they could change Directions They Drove briefly and then they pulled into Blue Rock Springs Park
this was known as a good place to park now if there was in fact a car following them in this version of the night's
events the car that was following them then pulled into the lot as well and then sped off the report is either
the same vehicle or one very close to the same description later returned and pulled in behind them right the
vehicle's lights shining on Darlene's car then not knowing what was going on Mike
was shocked and the shooter just kept firing on him and Darlene Darlene was shot a total of nine times the shooter
then walked back to his vehicle and Mike says he got a good look at the guy he described the assailant as a white guy
late 20s 26 to 30 years old with short curly light brown hair stocky about five foot eight inches tall and about 195 to
200 pounds possibly more the man was wearing a blue windbreaker and pleated pants unfortunately
Mike is in a terrible amount of pain and made some noise some Reports say that he
cried out yeah and this could have tipped off to the killer that they were still alive the shooter walked back to
Darlene's vehicle and shot both Darlene and Mike two more times after the shooter left Mike opened the car's
passenger door and fell out of the car lying on the ground the couple was found shortly after midnight by three young
people who called the police police received a call about the shooting at 10 after midnight and quickly officers in a
detective arrived on the scene the police report says police arrived at 12 38 a.m there they found Darlene barely
alive slumped over the steering wheel and Mike in really bad shape lying outside of the car yeah I think with the
Zodiac was was always missing and my brain is why but as you're pointing out we have a couple that does not become a
victim but possibly sees the Zodiac and the zodiacs kind of toying with them maybe testing the waters a little bit
and then here if these reports are correct he pulls up next to a car that like we said they're sitting there
talking maybe making out and this guy pulls up seeming to be a solo driver what are you some perv that's going to
watch and then he backs away and then comes back and Parks right behind them it's almost like he wants to
induce some kind of panic he wants to induce the reaction first and then it's game on
and so do you think in your humble go opinion is is this because he wants to see them in fear or or or what
well one thing we will learn about this killer is that he enjoys watching the reactions of
the masses so why wouldn't he enjoy seeing the terrified reaction of those that he is hunting or attacking yeah the
question I have about the two younger people that say that they saw a suspicious vehicle and provided a
description of such I wanted to find a description of the vehicle they were driving again that
goes back to the idea of David Faraday's vehicle the Rambler is a station wagon would look considerably different than
most of the other vehicles just out on the street that night right if they were driving a station wagon as well well
that tells me a different story that maybe the Zodiac was actually targeting Faraday's car or the the two people in
the vehicle so that was one thing that I looked for and again yes why will be a huge question when it comes to the
Zodiac because for the five murdered victims it's very very likely that he did not
know any of them of course we see that often with these serial killers but this is a unique situation unlike any of the
others that we've talked about so far now again we have at the second murder scene we have the police on scene at 12
38 a.m at that time the buses were in route that's cops speak for ambulance on the way right the cops pulled Darlene
from the vehicle remember she slumped over the steering wheel the cops all believed that she was trying to tell
them something and specifically they said that she was either saying I or me or something of that nature but
they couldn't make it out and they never really got any words from her but this is something where I go back to the idea
of because of her lifestyle and her husband's lifestyle and where they worked I put her probability of victim
and killer knowing each other significantly higher than a lot of the other victims and you have to wonder
when they're pulling her from the vehicle did she believe she knew who attacked them and was trying to tell the
officers that when they were trying to save her life foreign [Music] [Music] we're back cheers mates cheers to you
colonel cheers to you Captain cheers to all of the people out there in listener land
and all the people in the back we have victims Michael Maggio and Darlene Farren they were rushed to Kaiser
Hospital Darlene was DOA and Mike was rushed into surgery and two days later reported to be in quote satisfactory
condition Mike Maggio survived the attack despite being shot in the face neck and chest
the newspapers at the time reported that each victim was shot three times so it looks like this would be one piece of
hold back information the number of shots fired because we already said Darlene we would later
learn was shot a total of nine times do you think that the Killer is leaving them on the brink of life or do you
think they just don't know well I think that the killer was successful in his first attack killing both of the victims
at the scene and I think that he absolutely thought that he was successful again at the second attack
having killed both victims and we now know that Mike Maggio survived and we'll get into that why there's evidence that
the killer believed that both were dead back to the number of shots we know that
Darlene was shot nine times and it does look like Mike was likely shot three times the newspaper said seven nine
millimeter cartridges were found near the car the car's windows were open the ignition was on and the car was in gear
it appears that the vehicle stalled out the radio was on now because Mike survived he was able to tell the police
quite a bit about the incident right per John Douglas the gun used was thought to
be a Browning high power semi-automatic handgun police put this together because
of Mike's description of the attack and that the shooter did not seem to stop to
reload the gun at any point so this compared with the nine millimeter casings and the total number
of shots of course known to police at the time indicated what type of gun was used
this is because similar guns you would have to stop and reload to get off that number of shots yeah hold on I'm
reloading I'm not saying that they're incorrect they very likely are correct but one thing I want to point out is in
Mike's description of the events the killer shot both he and Darlene and then returned to his vehicle right and at
which time Mike cried out and Mike it's very interesting because Mike says he does not know why
he he cried out if if he was reacting to something or if he was just in a terrible amount of pain right but then
the killer returns shoots Darlene twice and then shoots Mike twice almost to make sure like okay I'm gonna make sure
both of them are dead or if I didn't finish one or both of them off I now have I question if there was an
opportunity when the killer went back to their vehicle if in fact the killer went back to the vehicle for
the purpose of reloading cockroaches want to play keep in mind Mike's been shot he's in a good deal of pain there
are some things some details of that event that he could be misremembering one's possible he's also going in and
out of Consciousness well and we also know that Mike Maggio would tell more than one version of the story to police
when they were investigating this homicide yeah but I also think some of that is that you're trying so
hard to remember uh and and the more they question you were more look you're probably not just
getting questioned by police you're being questioned by your friends also hey what do you remember man and then
how many people told him man if you could just remember something more maybe we could catch the guy that'd be very
frustrating the location of the murder scene is only about two miles away from the lake Herman Road murders so given
the short time frame of just seven months and two miles apart and the similarities to the crimes it would not
have taken long for the police to suspect that the two were connected but they would not have to figure this out
for themselves because at 12 40 A.M a man phoned the Vallejo Police Department to report and claim
responsibility for the attack the killer also took credit for the murders of Jensen and Faraday six and a half months
earlier here are the details of that call ejo police dispatcher 26 year old Nancy
Slover took the call Nancy Slover described the mail caller's voice and tone as though he was mocking and
taunting her for shock value and if in fact he was she said it worked the caller spoke the following words in a
monotone rehearsed fashion I want to report a double murder if you will go one mile East on Columbus
Parkway to the public park you will find the kids in a brown car right they were
shot with a nine millimeter Luger I also killed those kids last year goodbye yeah a couple things I mean
first of all he calls them kids so I'm not saying that we should assume but you can start off by going well he's
probably older than the victims he's definitely older in my opinion and by this time of course
he's read all of the details about his first crimes about the first two murders and he knows whether he knew Faraday
and Jensen before shooting them he definitely knew who they were after he killed them
because their names in ages where they went to school their parents names and addresses were all found in the local
papers for those of you who have seen the David Fincher film zodiac that is the creepy phone call at the six minute
Mark of the movie yeah where the killer reports a double murder that's again why
I think he thought he finished them both off his words before anything gets on the news or anything gets in the paper
for him to learn that someone survived he's calling and not reporting a murder he's re or an attack he's reporting
specifically a double murder right but back to the movie The Zodiac if anybody has not seen the movie Zodiac it's one
of the best True Crime dramas it's incredibly good and it was considered to be a box office failure which does not
make a whole lot of sense to me I love the movie I've seen it half a dozen times
anyway this phone call from the Zodiac we need to point out this was not this call was not recorded repeat not a
recorded call it's been widely reported that the call was recorded but listen to
the goat it was not and we know this simply because the police dispatcher says they did not have the equipment at
their disposal to record incoming calls at that time so it's not that they didn't record they failed to record just
this call they just didn't record any of them because they didn't have the capability so that is very important for
several reasons the first being that Nancy the dispatcher would have to recall the caller's message after the
caller hung up so it's not verbatim which I believe to be important as some have pointed out
the directions provided by the Zodiac were actually incorrect this would likely mean that the Zodiac did not know
the area well right however you have to keep in mind that the killer caller would not want to give directions from
the pay phone where he's calling from duh he's going to give them directions from the police department to get the
police to where the kids are located do you understand what I'm saying yeah I've I've spoke English my whole life
okay two things that I believe are fully correct with Nancy's report of what the
caller said are double murder meaning zodiac intended to and had every reason to believe that he successfully
carried out his mission of killing both victims and I say that I believe that she's recalling this correctly because
she says that she was shocked by his tone number one but she's going to be shocked by his words as well double
murder double murder is something that you do not forget when you receive a very short quick phone call want a
burger get a burger wanna free fry get a free fry well he seems very uh smug yes
the other part the second part which I believe to be 100 correct and I find this to be super interesting at least to
me the fact that the Zodiac says to her if you go one mile East on Columbus Parkway to the public park you will find
the kids in a brown car regardless if people believe that the directions are correct or incorrect
again I made an argument that you wouldn't give directions from your location that you're calling from you
would give directions from the police department to where the kids are but let's scrap that entirely right why the
hell is the Zodiac giving directions to what he calls the public park why wouldn't he just name the park
right you would find the kids at so and so park in a brown car yeah if you knew the area he'd know the name of the park
if he doesn't know the name of the area it's just awesome park right he says public parking offers directions to the
public park while we have already said it once Blue Rock Springs Park the park has a name Blue Rock Springs Park he
wants them to find the kids we know that he why else call the police unless you want them to find them so he wants them
to find the kids and he wants it to be known that he did both of these shootings the double
homicide the year before at Christmas and this one uh on this night right so if he knew the name of the park why
wouldn't he just say the name of the park to make sure that the police got to the right place
and again if you say the name of the park you don't need to give any directions at all the call should have
been I want to report a double murder you will find the kids in a brown car at Blue Rock Springs Park they were shot
with a nine millimeter Luger I also killed those kids last year goodbye goodbye also the location of the phone
call is strange police trace the call to a phone booth at a gas station at Springs Road in tulaloom this is located
about three tenths of a mile from Darlene farren's home and only a few blocks from the Vallejo Police
Department I don't think this location is weird because of the distance to the victim's
home or the police station right it's weird because of the distance from Blue Rock Springs Park the public park where
he shot them and it seems he may not have known the name of the park So based off of eyewitnesses and ear
Witnesses for that fact the latest that Darlene and Mike could have been shot would have been maybe 12
10 am most believe that it was more likely between 1202 and 1204 am why is this important well we know that the
call from the killer came in at 12 40 AM so depending on how you shake it out there is approximately 30 to 38 minutes
after the attack before the phone call the fastest routes from the murder scene to the phone booth is seven and a half
minutes nine minutes and 11 minutes three different routes the three fastest routes so what took him so long to get
from murder scene to the phone booth where he called it in so you're saying there's about 20 to 30 minutes of
missing time but that doesn't mean he necessarily was traveling he could have already got to
the phone booth and decided why I don't know what to say yet what am I going to say
I'm gonna I I have to prepare this even though his conversation was pretty simple
it was pretty direct it's pretty kind of demeaning uh smug like I said before but maybe he just sat there well my
first thought was maybe he just hung out around the murder scene to watch what was going on we already speculated that
maybe this killer enjoys seeing the reaction of his actions so maybe he hung out there until he started hearing the
police sirens and then took off and then made the call but the problem with that
is this drive the fastest route would be seven to maybe 11 minutes distance the cops were on the scene at 12 38 the call
came in at 12 40. so the sirens aren't what scared him from the scene he very likely left shortly after shooting the
victims and we have this based off of eyewitness and ear witness statements so if he left immediately
afterward why do we have that that difference in time and it could be something as silly as he just drove
around for a while or didn't know what Payphone he wanted to use there's also the chance that he's not from the area
and that's why he doesn't know the name of the park and he also doesn't know where a phone booth is right to make
this call he went and had to go looking for a phone booth one piece of speculation that I thought was very
interesting was somebody pointed out the high probability that the killer would have got victim's blood on their
clothing or person and that this phone booth is in a highly residential area meaning
if the killer didn't want anybody living witnesses to see his vehicle right maybe
it's as simple as he drove home parked his car changed his clothes so he wouldn't be covered in blood and walked
to a pay phone or then drove across town to another Payphone that makes up for the lapse in time
I actually think it's something a little more sadistic I think it's something a little more sick driving around flicking
it the whole time I think and we know how these killers operate they love to return to the scene of the crime they
love to pull the purple-headed yogurt Slinger the lake Herman Road murders that took place six and a half months
earlier is only two miles distance from the most recent attack right I think there's a good
chance that maybe he shot these two victims and then drove to the old murder scene
maybe even to reenact it or live it out or or just kind of look at the area right admiring his work because if you
map out a route from murder scene to murder scene and then to the pay phone well you're left with a whole lot less
of uh unaccounted for time right but I also wonder you said this uh Payphone was pretty close to the police
department correct I wonder if there's again like we know that he wants to kind of induce Panic he wants to see this
fear in their eyes I wonder he likes to see the reaction I wonder if he wanted to see if anybody called
the the police and to see if the police were already reacting to it that's a possibility like I'm going to drive by
the police department and see if people are in in route yet so let's go through Mike majo's statements of what he says
happened that night because we now have a surviving victim a a living Witness he says now remember he said at some
point that they might have been followed early but and that's what led them to parking at the Blue Rock Springs Park in
that version of the story he says that it was a light colored car that was following them and this is very
interesting and remember we had mention of a white American car in the first attack on Lake Herman Road so a white
American car again making an appearance in this version of the story right there
was also a situation where Darlene's Sister Christina said that Darlene our newest victim had a heated conversation
with a man in a white car in the parking lot of Terry's restaurant on one of their trips to the restaurant that night
remember they went to the restaurant a couple times she says on one of those occasions she
witnessed her sister arguing with a man she did not know his name and this man was in a white vehicle
but then when you dive in and take a look at the statement Mike gave to Police from his hospital bed and this
version of the story he says nothing about being followed in fact he says they pulled into the lot to talk and
shortly after a few other cars pulled in these were all believed to be other teens
Mike says A car pulled in and just kind of sat running and watching them for maybe a minute or two then the car sped
off the car then came back and pulled up behind them the way that a cop car would
Mike says that though through a very brief conversation the two of them both he and Darlene believed
that the person now parked behind them was in fact a police officer he says that the man got out with a high-powered
flashlight yeah like one used by police he says he couldn't see the man because he was shining the light directly at
them this is the old light blind technique that police will use then the man just started firing Mike's Hospital
account also includes Mike saying the gunfire was not loud that maybe the gunman use some type of
Silence so are you suggesting that Mike is saying that it's possible it was a cop and possibly some altered weapon
so it would like I said like a maybe like a man-made silencer on the gun he's saying the the manner that the vehicle
pulled up behind them would would be the way that a cop would typically stop someone the way that he felt that the
the person approached the vehicle the energy yeah that he he and Darlene didn't think that they were in any
danger because they thought that it was a cop walking up to inquire as to why they were just sitting there but then
you think as far as the Killer goes background security guard maybe was a patrol officer at some point maybe had
some military background correct and we we should be perfectly clear here he's not saying that it was a police car
right now because we have the description of the vehicle that he says that the gunman was driving that night
Mike Maggio's description of that vehicle he says that it looked a lot like Darlene's car maybe even the same
model so this would mean it would be a Chevy Corvair and then some have pointed out that back then the Ford Mustang
looked a lot like a Chevy Corvair so the police have always kind of said we believe that it was either a Chevy
Corvair or a Ford Mustang Mike Mojo says that the vehicle's color was about the same color
as Darlene's car so brown but he also says maybe a little lighter so I guess a light brown one interesting thing though
tan ban the tan sedan Mike said that he saw California license plates on the vehicle
he couldn't make out any of the numbers after he had been shot but he said he specifically remembers that it was in
fact California license plates right this second version of his story is probably more correct
and I say that for several reasons but one mainly because this version of the story is backed up by Darlene's sister
but hold on a second you're not saying because we have multiple people giving we very likely just have Mike majo
giving different versions of what I'm saying this is not the only person to give the police information so
far correct but but we're not saying that any of these victims in any way do we think they're lying to the police
we're just saying because of the chaotic situation that they were in and just heck just surviving is something there
has been some belief over the years that maybe Mike Maggio has purposely left out
some details really out of fear okay is one General thought the other thought is that he may have altered
some of the versions of that story and told different stories because he was in fact in love with Darlene and
didn't want to shame her after right she'd Fallen victim so that's why the story goes from
we were being followed and the car followed us into that parking spot to then later we went and parked so we
could have somewhere to talk the general thought is that Mike has never confirmed
this so we don't know the thought has been well maybe Mike made up a reason why the two would be parked there other
than they just wanted to go and park there if you know what I mean well yeah the other thing though too is keep in
mind this is a 19 year old boy who's been shot three times and was probably traumatized in all kinds of I
mean you couldn't even imagine yeah most definitely but again it's just like that
that one of the first couples that think they saw the Killer and then the killer
possibly followed them for a while and they're like well we were just stopped on the side of the road because
something broke in the car it's like no you you probably were making out you just didn't want to tell your parents I
mean we have to remember this is 1968 right 69 and Darlene was married 69. well and keep in mind this version
that we just went through he says that when they pulled into the parking area of the park that there were
already some other vehicles there they had reasons to believe that they were you know younger people just kind of
hanging out and that those Vehicles left and then the suspect's vehicle pulled up just
kind of sat there looking at him for a little bit drove off and then came back and the reason why I think that this
second version is the more likely is a statement based from Darlene's sister's account of the night's events she says
this is Pam Huckabee Darlene's younger sister says she hold on we have Betty Lou Jensen Huckabee these
are like the most 1960s names of all time names that you'd think you would hear on like a 60s sitcom or something
so Pam Huckabee says that she always believed that she missed witnessing the attack just by seconds she says quote I
was there in the parking lot just leaving when the car drove up behind her I relive it every fourth of July weekend
I wonder what I might have done differently the quote police car passed me going in as we were going out we
heard the pop pop but thought it was fireworks again so that we're clear she's not saying she saw a police car
right she's calling it that because Mike Maggio said that it behaved in the way that he believed a cop would pull them
over or approach their vehicle in the July 5th 1969 Vallejo Times Herald it read officers at the scene broadcast an
alert for a young heavyset white male adult riding in a brown automobile in the July 6 1969 Vallejo Times Herald it
read under the subheading brown car so it's obvious that police are looking for the man described to them by Mike Maggio
as well as this brown automobile I I'm pointing this out because we have this question mark of a white American car
but to be perfectly clear in the story that makes the most sense from Mike Maggio there is no white American car
it's a brown or light brown vehicle if it's brown or light brown flush it down but let's not look past the obvious
right we have a married woman hanging out with I guess you could almost assume they're they're at least flirtatious I
mean I don't know if you'd call it call him her boyfriend but she's married so number one suspect is always the husband
did it yes this is a unique situation so Mike Maggio and Darlene Farren were described by everyone including
Darlene's husband as good good friends right and so these were not people that were just hanging out for the first time
together in fact Darlene's husband said that Darlene had a lot of male friends and this did not bother him a lot of
that was based off of where they worked they both worked at restaurants and anybody that's worked at restaurants
will know that often people after their shifts they they tend to go out together
whether it be in a large group or a small group and so of course her husband Dean was looked at regardless of how he
felt about her hanging out with Mike or other men right he was looked at quite well the issue being that he was at work
he was still on his work shift at the time of the murder so he has not only just a good Alibi it's a it's a solid
Alibi so Dean farron has been cleared as well as two other individuals that were
male friends of Darlene Farren they were cleared as well so when we look back on
this case in the case before Captain we do have suspects that were looked at that were not the quote-unquote Zodiac
right what knew the victims and were in fact cleared by the local authorities in
those investigations and but you have to think for law enforcement once you roll
out those stereotypical suspects or suspects that you think are connected directly to the victims now you have to
step back and look at the whole picture and go or maybe we have a serial killer on our hands do you think there's any
possible way that this killer is using like a rental system or maybe even borrowing the cars from
different individuals I think the borrowing of vehicles is quite possible especially given the profile put forward
by some people over the years one profile states that the they would believe that the Zodiac may have lived
with a parent or parents for a considerable amount of their adult life and we know from other serial cases that
we have covered and I'm referencing the one I that comes immediately to mind is the Atlanta child killer case
where they were getting different descriptions of vehicles from connected victims
because sometimes he was driving his car other times he was driving his parents vehicle
and we've seen that in other cases as well where they will borrow someone's vehicle because they know they're going
to go out and commit the murders with it or flee the scene with it and if they're
seen they don't want to be seen in the vehicle that could be traced back to them right
so what do we know about this killer we both said that we think he likes to see the reaction
of the victims before he shoots them we know that he possibly has means to have or access to multiple Vehicles
we know he likes to toy with other individuals and we for him to follow around multiple eyewitnesses there's
probably other eyewitnesses that just never came forward because they didn't think much
of it he's trying to put himself in the right place at the right time so he can have an opportunity the things that I
would add to my thoughts about our killer is even though these two attacks took place relatively close to one
another a two-mile distance from each other I don't necessarily think that the killer has to be local again I question
why wouldn't he just say the name of the park rather than provide directions the
other thing that I suspect is going on here too is that the need to have a female victim yeah because in both
situations we see a similar Mo now of course we have to piece some of this together ourselves because nobody
survived the first attack to tell us what went down but we can base off of the evidence and off of the the
statements from the second attack it appears that what he was looking to do is to stop the immediately stop the
threat of the male fighting back right and then we see overkill on the female where the female
is shot more times than the male and so I think there is a need for him to have a female present
to kill a female sexual gratification well and I think that that's the purpose of him pulling
up stopping and looking at the people and then deciding if he's going to attack or not but maybe he needs the
male victim just as much as he needs the female Victim Because it's almost like he's like I think deep down in my soul
or whatever I'm not good enough for you but I'm going to be better than this individual at this moment by killing
them and then and then but you're going to pay because you didn't choose me I've
had some people I've heard some people say well he was probably making sure that the victims were young that he was
looking for a certain age group and I I think that is the silliest statement I've ever heard because one would not
think to find a bunch of old people parked in these lovers Lanes right right he's not he yes he is looking for young
victims that's why he's choosing to attack in this manner he expects to find younger people parked there together I
think it's the sometimes you just have a couple guys hanging out drinking or you
have just teenagers that have nowhere to go that park a car somewhere I think it's important to him that there be a
female victim and as you pointed out likely a male victim as well what we do know for sure Captain is that this
killer wants everyone to know he is responsible for both of these attacks he wants them to know that these attacks
are connected and he is in fact a Sear serial killer he's a killer that's brutal methodical and he's thinking out
these crimes he's also thinking out the communications that he chooses to pass on to police and we will also learn that
this guy will not stop and therefore we will have more crime scenes and victims to analyze
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The Zodiac /// Part 1 /// 470

Part 1 of 5 www.TrueCrimeGarage.com

In the late 60’s and early 70’s a hooded serial killer terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area. The killer told the press and police to call him the Zodiac. Few cases in modern True Crime have been discussed and speculated about more, especially on the west coast. In 2018 Law Enforcement in California finally apprehended Joseph Deangelo better known as the Golden State Killer. The Golden State Killer was dormant for 32 years and they still were able to arrest and convict him. The Zodiac, a much different type of killer has been silent for over 45 years. Is there still time to pull off the hood and final identify the one who calls himself the Zodiac? Join us in the Garage as we go through the Zodiac’s confirmed kill timeline and of course we will offer up some speculation and insights along the way.

Our show - True Crime Garage “Off the Record” is available only on Stitcher Premium. For a FREE month of listening go to http://stitcherpremium.com/truecrimegarage and use promo code GARAGE

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Brief Summary

The episode discusses the Zodiac Killer's first murders, focusing on the victims and investigation details.

Key points

The Zodiac's Infamous Claim. The Zodiac killer boldly claimed his identity in a letter to the press.
Tragic Fate of Two Teens. Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday were shot on their first date.
Mysterious Circumstances. The car hood was still warm when police arrived, indicating a recent attack.
The Killer's Methodology. The killer's actions suggest a sadistic desire to induce fear in his victims before attacking.
Mike Maggio's Survival. Despite being shot multiple times, Mike Maggio survives and provides crucial details about the attack.
The Zodiac's Call. A chilling phone call reveals the Zodiac's taunting nature and his claim of responsibility for the murders.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Betty Lou was in the process of running away when she was gunned down.

The tragic fate of the victims.

6:41WatchNov 8, 2022

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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