Post by Admin Horan on Mar 2, 2014 14:12:03 GMT -6
What Really Happened On LHR—And Why Graysmith Lies About It
Robert Graysmith claims that his description of the shooting of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen on Lake Herman Road the night of December 20, 1968, is based on information from Solano County law enforcement case files. As we shall see, he definitely read those files—and then deliberately misrepresented that information in his 1986 book, ZODIAC:
". . . When another car came around the bend in the road and caught them in its headlights, like glowing eyes peeking over a hill, Betty Lou and David may have been holding each other. Instead of passing the station wagon, this car pulled up next to them, to the right, about 10 feet away (1) . . . The man was wearing a windbreaker. At 11:10, a worker [James] from Humble Oil in Benicia was on his way home (1). When he passed the Rambler at the gate he noticed it, but the make and color of the other car failed to register with him . . . The stocky man opened his car door. And as he got out, he pulled a gun from under his dark jacket . . . The stranger began stalking around the car. He paused, aimed at the right rear window just off-center, above the chrome stripping at its lower part, and fired a bullet. It shattered the glass. He moved to the left side of the car and fired a bullet into the left rear wheel housing . . . As both of the teenagers scrambled out of the passenger side, the stranger raced around to the right side of the car. Betty Lou had gotten out. As David slid across the seat and turned his head getting out, the man reached through the open left window with the gun and pressed the barrel behind the upper part of the boy's left ear and pulled the trigger . . . Betty Lou screamed and ran northward, parallel with the road and toward Vallejo. Racing after the girl, gun extended, less than 10 feet behind her, the stocky man shot Betty Lou five times. He hit her in a tight pattern in the upper right portion of her back. This was incredible marksmanship: a moving target, a moving gunman running over gravel, on an almost totally dark country road. Betty Lou fell dead exactly 28 feet and 6 inches from the Rambler's rear bumper (2)." pages 5-6
When we read the files ourselves:
1. James www.flickr.com/photos/112412867@N06/sets/72157638989729873/
2. Sketches www.flickr.com/photos/112412867@N06/sets/72157638994188455/
3. Stella www.flickr.com/photos/112412867@N06/sets/72157638988420364/
we can't help but notice that not only does Graysmith falsify what happened, he does so for a reason: the actual evidence points directly at a very real suspect and his very real accomplices.
So, what did actually happen that night on LHR? Solano County Sheriff's Deputy detective Les Lundblad, who had little experience and less sleep, posited several premature and wildly erroneous theories in the Vallejo newspapers that week:
Newspapers www.flickr.com/photos/112412867@N06/sets/72157639881908444/
One theory, illustrated here, became the "standard" theory of the shooting. Even though this theory clearly debunks Graysmith's account, it is also incorrect:
By tracing the path of the bullet which entered the right rear window of the Rambler and lodged in the left rear wheel well (as illustrated so helpfully by Solano County Coroner Dan Horan [no relation!]):
we find a shell casing about 20 feet to the right of the Rambler. Logically, this must have been the first shot fired. The second casing is found about 14 from the right front bumper of the rambler. This bullet was not found; however, it appears to be the shot that grazed the roof of the Rambler and disappeared across the road. A third shell casing is found on the right front floorboard of the Rambler. This seems to correspond to a shot which was fired straight down through the roof of the Rambler:
Six casings are found just outside the open front right door of the Rambler. Five shots hit Betty Lou in the back; a trial of blood runs from about the rear bumper of the Rambler to where she fell, about 28 feet away. One more bullet is missing; it apparently missed Betty Lou, probably after she fell. That's nine shots. The tenth shot struck David at contact range, entering his skull from the LEFT hand side, just behind the left ear. In order for this to happen, the shooter pretty much had to be standing to David's left as he stood facing the Rambler near the rear wheel. In order for David to have been shot first, as assumed by Lundblad, several things would have to happen: The shooter would have to stand between David and Betty Lou, after both of them got out of the car (note how Graysmith claims that David was shot AS HE GOT OUT OF THE PASSENGER DOOR) while he shot David, then, he'd have to step over or around David's body, THEN turn and fire at Betty Lou.
A much simpler explanation is that he got Betty Lou out of the car (Lundblad originally thought her young "stalker," Ricky Burton, had shot her in a jealous rage, but he turned out to have a good alibi and not nearly enough experience with the tricky target pistol used) and then fired a third warning shot into the roof of the car to keep David, who was something of the hero type, INSIDE the car. This warning shot may have panicked Betty Lou, whom the shooter gunned down as she ran toward the road. Then, the shooter moved closer to the rear of the car as David got out, or was ordered out, and then the shooter, standing to David's left, cold-bloodedly executed him, as well.
So, what? There are three main points to remember about what really happened:
1. Graysmith, even though he undoubtedly saw all of these same documents, FALSIFIED his version of events to fit the "theory" that a lone, deranged individual shot two kids on a "lovers lane" to get his bizarre kicks; 2. The shooter was undoubtedly highly practiced not only at handling a Hi-Standard Model 80 target pistol (notoriously easy to jam if not fired properly) but also at killing people in cold blood; and 3. He was RIDING IN THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE SECOND CAR. In other words, he was NOT alone. As we shall see, there is a very, very good suspect who fits this description and modus operandi to a "T"—and he had a motive.
You can see ALL of the "Zodiac Killer" law enforcement agency files, newspaper clippings, and "Zodiac" letters for FREE here:
www.flickr.com/photos/112412867@N06/collections/
You can also PM me your email address, and I will send you a zipped copy of the complete set of documents.
Robert Graysmith claims that his description of the shooting of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen on Lake Herman Road the night of December 20, 1968, is based on information from Solano County law enforcement case files. As we shall see, he definitely read those files—and then deliberately misrepresented that information in his 1986 book, ZODIAC:
". . . When another car came around the bend in the road and caught them in its headlights, like glowing eyes peeking over a hill, Betty Lou and David may have been holding each other. Instead of passing the station wagon, this car pulled up next to them, to the right, about 10 feet away (1) . . . The man was wearing a windbreaker. At 11:10, a worker [James] from Humble Oil in Benicia was on his way home (1). When he passed the Rambler at the gate he noticed it, but the make and color of the other car failed to register with him . . . The stocky man opened his car door. And as he got out, he pulled a gun from under his dark jacket . . . The stranger began stalking around the car. He paused, aimed at the right rear window just off-center, above the chrome stripping at its lower part, and fired a bullet. It shattered the glass. He moved to the left side of the car and fired a bullet into the left rear wheel housing . . . As both of the teenagers scrambled out of the passenger side, the stranger raced around to the right side of the car. Betty Lou had gotten out. As David slid across the seat and turned his head getting out, the man reached through the open left window with the gun and pressed the barrel behind the upper part of the boy's left ear and pulled the trigger . . . Betty Lou screamed and ran northward, parallel with the road and toward Vallejo. Racing after the girl, gun extended, less than 10 feet behind her, the stocky man shot Betty Lou five times. He hit her in a tight pattern in the upper right portion of her back. This was incredible marksmanship: a moving target, a moving gunman running over gravel, on an almost totally dark country road. Betty Lou fell dead exactly 28 feet and 6 inches from the Rambler's rear bumper (2)." pages 5-6
When we read the files ourselves:
1. James www.flickr.com/photos/112412867@N06/sets/72157638989729873/
2. Sketches www.flickr.com/photos/112412867@N06/sets/72157638994188455/
3. Stella www.flickr.com/photos/112412867@N06/sets/72157638988420364/
we can't help but notice that not only does Graysmith falsify what happened, he does so for a reason: the actual evidence points directly at a very real suspect and his very real accomplices.
So, what did actually happen that night on LHR? Solano County Sheriff's Deputy detective Les Lundblad, who had little experience and less sleep, posited several premature and wildly erroneous theories in the Vallejo newspapers that week:
Newspapers www.flickr.com/photos/112412867@N06/sets/72157639881908444/
One theory, illustrated here, became the "standard" theory of the shooting. Even though this theory clearly debunks Graysmith's account, it is also incorrect:
By tracing the path of the bullet which entered the right rear window of the Rambler and lodged in the left rear wheel well (as illustrated so helpfully by Solano County Coroner Dan Horan [no relation!]):
we find a shell casing about 20 feet to the right of the Rambler. Logically, this must have been the first shot fired. The second casing is found about 14 from the right front bumper of the rambler. This bullet was not found; however, it appears to be the shot that grazed the roof of the Rambler and disappeared across the road. A third shell casing is found on the right front floorboard of the Rambler. This seems to correspond to a shot which was fired straight down through the roof of the Rambler:
Six casings are found just outside the open front right door of the Rambler. Five shots hit Betty Lou in the back; a trial of blood runs from about the rear bumper of the Rambler to where she fell, about 28 feet away. One more bullet is missing; it apparently missed Betty Lou, probably after she fell. That's nine shots. The tenth shot struck David at contact range, entering his skull from the LEFT hand side, just behind the left ear. In order for this to happen, the shooter pretty much had to be standing to David's left as he stood facing the Rambler near the rear wheel. In order for David to have been shot first, as assumed by Lundblad, several things would have to happen: The shooter would have to stand between David and Betty Lou, after both of them got out of the car (note how Graysmith claims that David was shot AS HE GOT OUT OF THE PASSENGER DOOR) while he shot David, then, he'd have to step over or around David's body, THEN turn and fire at Betty Lou.
A much simpler explanation is that he got Betty Lou out of the car (Lundblad originally thought her young "stalker," Ricky Burton, had shot her in a jealous rage, but he turned out to have a good alibi and not nearly enough experience with the tricky target pistol used) and then fired a third warning shot into the roof of the car to keep David, who was something of the hero type, INSIDE the car. This warning shot may have panicked Betty Lou, whom the shooter gunned down as she ran toward the road. Then, the shooter moved closer to the rear of the car as David got out, or was ordered out, and then the shooter, standing to David's left, cold-bloodedly executed him, as well.
So, what? There are three main points to remember about what really happened:
1. Graysmith, even though he undoubtedly saw all of these same documents, FALSIFIED his version of events to fit the "theory" that a lone, deranged individual shot two kids on a "lovers lane" to get his bizarre kicks; 2. The shooter was undoubtedly highly practiced not only at handling a Hi-Standard Model 80 target pistol (notoriously easy to jam if not fired properly) but also at killing people in cold blood; and 3. He was RIDING IN THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE SECOND CAR. In other words, he was NOT alone. As we shall see, there is a very, very good suspect who fits this description and modus operandi to a "T"—and he had a motive.
You can see ALL of the "Zodiac Killer" law enforcement agency files, newspaper clippings, and "Zodiac" letters for FREE here:
www.flickr.com/photos/112412867@N06/collections/
You can also PM me your email address, and I will send you a zipped copy of the complete set of documents.