Presumed Guilty is a terrific film — gripping, shocking and quite illuminating. The title of the documentary captures a basic difficulty with the criminal justice system in Mexico. The defendant is presumed to be guilty, and that presumption infects the way crimes are investigated and criminal charges are adjudicated. The filmmakers created a remarkable record of the second trial of José Antonio ‘Toño’ Zúñiga Rodriguez, who was charged with the murder of Juan Reyes. It is impossible to know the extent to which Toño’s case is representative of other investigations and prosecutions. The filmmakers were given extraordinary access to Toño and the courtroom, and trials are not typically recorded. But the problems that surfaced during Toño’s retrial were those that one might expect in a system that does not provide a rigorous test of the evidence gathered by the police. Mexico is poised to change its criminal justice system from one that presumes guilt at trial to one that presumes innocence, effective 2016. If this reform is implemented and the new presumption of innocence is taken seriously, it should lead to important changes in police practices and trial procedures that could prevent miscarriages of justice like the one depicted in the documentary. While one can think of other reforms that would improve the integrity of Mexico’s criminal justice system, this single change has the potential to accomplish much. Professor Charles D Weisselberg online article
Solano County, California, Friday 20 December 1968: ‘The first victim a male, he was lying outside of the passenger door of the vehicle; it appeared he had a gunshot wound above the left ear … To the rear of the vehicle a female victim approximately 29-30, face down, and had been shot multiple times.’ This is the Zodiac Speaking, Pierre Bidou, 2007
The Zodiac Killer: America’s most infamous unidentified serial killer. Seen only in glimpses. Heard only in his taunting letters. He said he hid his name in code. The Zodiac Killer: Case Closed s1e1: The New Suspect? History 2017
Between 1968 and 1970 terrorised the people of northern California. ibid.
He sent dozens of letters to the media promising constant death and destruction. ibid.
In his letters he claimed a total of 37. ibid.
The Riverside Killer and The Zodiac Killer both used the word squirm and misspelled the word twich in their writings. The Zodiac Killer: Case Closed? s1e2: The Military Connection
Their top suspect: Ross Sullivan. ibid.
The ‘Zodiac’ Linked To 1963 Slayings: Santa Barbara … If true, that would mean the elusive killer was spreading death and terror across the entire state of California and had begun his killing spree five years earlier than officially believed. ibid.
‘This is now the third Zodiac outlier case that’s giving us military connections.’ ibid. investigator
Lawrence Kane: Navy man; trained in code-writing. ibid.
The Zodiac Killer: infamous, unidentified. Between 1968 and 1970 the Zodiac terrorised America leaving 7 victims in his wake; but in his letters he claimed a total of 37. To this day his identity remains unknown. The Zodiac Killer: Case Closed? s1e3: A New Code Uncovered
‘He had a plaque of The Zodiac.’ ibid. Larry Lowe, acquaintance of Lawrence Kane
A lead from the Tahoe police department: they were sent a Donna Lass reward poster after her disappearance; on it another pictogram. The Zodiac Killer: Case Closed? s1e4: The Secret FBI Files
‘The Albany [New York] letter … is The Zodiac writing.’ ibid. graphologist
‘We can now connect Lawrence Kane and Ross Sullivan to Albany, New York.’ ibid. investigator
Nearly 50 years ago, The Zodiac Killer wrote his Z340 cipher. He claimed, if broken, it would reveal his identity. The Zodiac Killer: Case Closed? s1e5: The Code is Cracked
San Francisco’s Theater District is about three miles from the Paul Stine crime scene. Could this be where The Zodiac Killer got into Paul Stine’s cab, and could there be a link to prime suspect Ross Sullivan, an actor with a keen interest in film and theater? ibid.
Stalking innocent people and killing them for sport. His reign of terror would go on for years. And he would live in infamy. Naming himself The Zodiac. Very Scary People: Zodiac Killer I, CI 2020
‘This murderer, he is the sort of generic man that could easily disappear into a crowd.’ ibid. researcher
‘Blitz-style attacks using a handgun on victims sitting in a parking vehicle.’ ibid.
‘He is killing just for the thrill of the kill. We have reason to believe that he is a maniac.’ ibid. rozzer
‘To prove this, here is a bloodstained piece of his shirt. I was not happy to see that I did not get front page coverage.’ Very Scary People: Zodiac Killer II
He stalked and killed with knives and guns. Once he even dressed as an executioner. The man called himself The Zodiac. ibid.
‘There are some enticing cases to this day that might very well have been the work of The Zodiac.’ ibid. researcher
Earl van Best junior … When I fist saw the photo of my father, I was shocked … I felt the most indescribable sense of fear. Zodiac Killer: The Most Dangerous Animal of All I, Gary Stewart, Sky Crime 2021
Shortly after receiving the photo of my father from [rozzer] Butler in 2003, I was home watching TV when an old cold case file show came on. And they flashed a wanted sketch of the Zodiac killer. And my heart stopped … That was the epiphany for me: that my father may have been the Zodiac killer. ibid.
My father was subject to medical chemical treatment for his disorder [paedophilia]. I found out that my mother’s second husband was one of the inspectors on the Zodiac case. I was beginning to wonder if the San Francisco police department was trying to cover up … Zodiac Killer: The Most Dangerous Animal of All II: The Search
My father was fascinated with the occult. ibid.
My grandfather … was also an intelligence officer and had formal training in code-breaking … ‘He passed on his cold-breaking skills to his son Van.’ ibid. family historian
This guy [Zodiac] has a distinctive scar on his right index finger going in the exact same direction as my father’s. ibid.
‘My opinion was that there’s a strong probability that Earl van Best junior wrote the Zodiac letters.’ ibid. handwriting expert Michael Wakshill
‘Why did he stop committing more murders? As time went on it almost seemed like the letters were being written by a totally different person. So I suspect he suffered from multiple personality disorder … We have this picture of a divided self that is able to kind of be aware that there are two parts going on. There’s a conflict going on inside. People tend to age out of that problem. So my hypothesis is that his Zodiac personality was deteriorating.’ Zodiac Killer: The Most Dangerous Animal of All III: The Discovery, expert
‘If the numbers Mr Stewart provide are correct, there’s a 97 to 99.8% probability that these markers originated from the Zodiac.’ ibid.
We’d have to do more investigating on his father ... I wasn’t convinced but I did like the book. Zodiac Killer: The Most Dangerous Animal of All IV: The Truth, investigating rozzer Peruchi
We have an abundance of great one-liners and colourful descripters and so on but we have a lack of sources. ibid. private investigator
A spree of horrifying murders shocks northern California and the world. The maniacal killer goads killer leaving cryptic clues to his identity. History’s Greatest Mysteries s4e2: Who is the Zodiac Killer? History 2023
Arthur Leigh … Paul Stine … Army veteran Richard Gaikowski … Lawrence Kaye … Earl van Best … On October 6th 2021 the Case Breakers anounce that the Zodiac Killer is a former military man named Gary Francis Poste … Guiseppe Bevilacqua. ibid.
The Zodiac killer has been haunting the San Francisco Bay area since 1968, terrorizing locals and puzzling police with his cryptic messages; he’s one of the most infamous serial killers in history. But who is he? True Crime Recaps: Has the Zodiac Killer Been Identified? Youtube 32.26, 2022
Recently, a new theory has emerged … A group of volunteer investigators called the Case Breakers say they have compelling evidence that points towards a man named Gary Francis Post as the infamous Zodiac. ibid.
They believe his killing spree started years earlier and included the murder of 18-year-old Sherry Jo Bates in Riverside, California in 1966. ibid.
There have been several names added to potential suspect list over the years. ibid.
Bates: Bizarrely, the first link to her murder came from the killer himself. He’d been sending letters and encoded ciphers for over a year. ibid.
‘He’s the Zodiac. The 1969 police sketch was like a bell-ringer for me.’ ibid. relative
Lawrence K: A popular person of interest for Zodiac sleuths … He died in 2010. ibid.
For over fifty years there’s been a universal belief that the Zodiac Killer was responsible for five murders. And a series of cryptic chilling letters and ciphers that took credit for the crimes. What if all this time, the folklore, the legend, the single killer theory is nothing but a myth? Myth of the Zodiac Killer I, Professor Thomas Horan reporting, Sky Crime 2023
A killer who to this day remains unknown. Whose murders remain unsolved. ibid.
What if there is no Zodiac killer? ibid.
He must have had accomplices, so this is not a lone serial killer. ibid.
David was targeted by these drug-dealing biker gangs. And they had concluded he was a danger, he was a snitch, he was an informant, or about to be. And he had to go ibid.
Zodiac Attack #2: Six and a half months after Zodiac Attack #1. ibid.
‘Why the phone call? There was nothing to be gained from the phone call.’ ibid. Drew Beeson