Posted on 10/16/2008 4:53:05 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The FBI's investigation to unmask the Zodiac Killer has expanded into another state and authorities are now working to determine a connection to a murder victim that was never linked to the infamous Bay Area serial killer.
Dennis Kaufman, an El Dorado County resident, got federal investigators' attention when he found evidence that could link his stepfather, Jack Tarrance, to the Zodiac murders.
Relatives knew he could be violent, but could Tarrance be the Zodiac Killer?
"He said, 'I've been drunk and in fights, I've stabbed so many people I lost count,'" a relative said.
Relatives of Jack Tarrance -- who live in the small town of Seguine, Texas and did not want to be identified -- confirmed by phone that FBI agents recently collected a DNA sample from Jack Tarrance's elderly uncle.
"I signed the paperwork and gave them permission to swab my husband's mouth," a relative said.
Tarrance's death and cremation complicates the FBI's efforts to link him to a series of murders, including the brutal 1966 attack of a college student in Riverside, California. Cheri Joe Bates, 18, was found stabbed to death and nearly decapitated by a small three-and-a-half inch blade.
The killer left behind DNA evidence that has never been linked to a suspect.
One month after Bates' murder, a typewritten and unsigned letter, titled "The Confession," was sent to a newspaper detailing the murder.
"I plunged the knife into her and it broke," it said.
But there is an important note: Bates is not officially listed as a Zodiac victim. The Zodiac did not become known to the public until two years later, when the killer began sending letters taking credit for Bay Area murders.
Almost five years after Bates' death, the Zodiac claimed responsibility, writing, "I do have to give them credit for stumbling across my Riverside activity, but they are only finding the easy ones. There are a hell of a lot more down there."
"He was smart, but he was evil," said Dennis Kaufman.
Kaufman built the circumstantial case against his stepfather that sparked the FBI's interest, and says there is even more evidence. In 2001, in a storage shed filled with his stepfather's belongings, Dennis says he found a knife covered in stains -- a three-and-a-half inch blade with a broken tip.
"The dimensions of the blade, according to the stabbing of Cheri Jo bates, match the knife," he said.
That knife was in evidence in the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department from 2002 to 2007, but the department could not tell us if any tests were ever run on it.
The FBI has not said when they will release the results of any test results.
Ping
Id like to hear more
Yes, fascinating case.
When the last Zodiac movie came out, I read some articles on the case. The (former) Court TV website has a lengthy case history. I think it’s called Tru or something like that now.
The Zodiac movie was actually pretty good, even though it got lousy reviews. It is ( and will like remain forever) the only film to make Donovan’s music sound sinister and creepy...I know I’ll never hear “Hurdy Gurdy Man” without feeling the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. :-D
The 15 minutes I saw was well made but why would anybody want to subject themselves to that subject matter.
I walked out.
Remember they solved that 1955 triple sex/murder of 3 boys in Chicago about 40 years after the fact.
I watched it on DVD in my living room...Watching it in the theater, when you can’t get up and walk away for a second, probably would be a lot harder to tolerate...and the sheer length of that film would make it as much torture as was Jackson’s King Kong (which would be torture even if it was shorter.)
“but why would anybody want to subject themselves to that subject matter.”
A fascination for the macabre is not necessarily to want more, but to catch and bottle the demon that poisons human life.
It only came to light because of a ring of criminals were killing race horses that were heavily insured. Was that killer of race horses also those children’s killer?
It only came to light because of a ring of criminals were killing race horses that were heavily insured. Was that killer of race horses also those children’s killer?
1) Believe guy in prison reported that he confessed.
2) The murderer worked at a stable owned by Silas Jane, who was running a horsing scam, and the murders took place in the stables and the bodies were dumped elsewhere.
How does watching the movie accomplish this?
Yes. I see your point. I tend to go on the internet and snoop the clues to get an idea of the evil behind the action. I don’t find it “entertaining”, but I do enjoy the hunt. Then again, one of my favorite movies is “The Exorcist.”
I was watching it on cable, sitting on my bed. While the song was playing the phone rang and I almost fell off the bed.
The film was painfully long but seemed generally well done.
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