Post by Admin Horan on Mar 10, 2014 6:41:36 GMT -6
On this thread, we'll read the actual law enforcement agency files and other documents to determine what really happened on July 4, 1969, when Darlene Ferrin and Mike Mageau were shot in the parking lot of Blue Rock Springs Park, and why Robert Graysmith falsifies so much "information" about the attack and the ensuing investigation.
Graysmith starts with two critical untruths: 1. That Mike and Darlene were chased to BRS by a man in another car, who followed them all the way from Mike's house; and 2. That the shooting itself took place at 12:10 am.
From ZODIAC, by Robert Graysmith:
Darlene started the ignition and gestured impatiently for Mike to get in. As the bronze Corvair pulled off, they were trailed immediately by a light-colored car that had been parked in the shadows of the tree-lined street. "We're being followed," Mike said. Darlene sped off to Oakwood, took a right on Springs Road, and started out toward Columbus Parkway, the same direction as Lake Herman Road. It was 11:55 PM now. The car raced behind them at high-speed. Darlene kept turning to lose the stranger. She began going down sidestreets, but the car behind followed closer and faster . . . With the other car in hot pursuit they were being chased inexorably toward the outskirts of the city. . . Darlene nervously turned right into the parking lot [of Blue Rock Springs Park] . . . Hers was the only car in the lot. The couple sat in the darkness only a moment when the other auto, similar in design to the Corvair, caught up with them in the lot, turned out its lights, and then parked 8 feet to the left . . . Mike thought the car might be a '58 or '59 Falcon . . . he could tell the driver was a man . . . Almost immediately, the other car roared off at a high rate of speed, heading toward Vallejo . . . In five minutes, though, the car returned. Now it part to the left into the rear of the Corvair with his lights on . . . The lone occupant of the car threw open his door and, carrying a large flashlight extended in front of him, advanced for the couple, all the while shining the glaring light from one face to the other. The light went out. It was a "floating lantern" with the handle of the type Mike had seen on boats . . . Without warning, the blinding light exploded on again directly into my size. The stranger was invisible. Mike heard the clink of metal against the window frame, saw a muzzle flash and smoke erupt . . . The man pumped more shots at the couple . . . Mike reached for the door handle, his finger scrambling frantically, and to his horror realized that it had been removed . . . the attacker, without a word, turned and began walking away, his head down. Mike let out a loud cry of agony. The gunman . . . looked over the shoulder of his Navy type windbreaker in Mike's direction . . . The man appeared to have a large face, not wearing glasses. He seemed to be between 26 and 30 years old and had short, curly, light brown hair worn in a military style crewcut . . . "beefy, heavyset without being blubbery fat" . . . The stocky man leaned into the Corvair through the open window and fired two more shots at Mike. With nowhere else to go he leaped backward into the rear of the auto, legs thrashing spasmodically. The man fired two more shots at Darlene, turned away, got into his car, and drove off just fast enough to make the gravel fly . . . The Vallejo PD switchboard operator, Nancy Slover, and received a report from the female caller that "two persons were shot at the east side of the main parking lot at Blue Rock Springs at 12:10 AM".
The actual files of the Vallejo Police Department, which Robert Graysmith claimed were the sources he used to write his book, tell a very different story
www.flickr.com/photos/112412867@N06/collections/72157639812889536/
What actually happened was, Darlene picked up Mike at his house on Beechwood at about 11:30 pm, and they first drove to Mr Ed's, a drive-in burger joint and popular teen hangout near the interstate. They turned around at Mr Ed's and headed for the park, arriving between 11:40 and 11:50. Three cars with young people in them pulled into the parking area off Columbus Parkway right after Darlene (they may have followed Darlene's car from Mr Ed's.
Neither Mike nor Darlene had any money, but their purpose in going to Mr Ed's may have been to let people know they were headed to the park (for reasons we shall discuss in the next thread). These three cars only stayed a minute, then set off some firecrackers and left. Witness George Bryant, who lived in the park caretaker's house with his dad, also heard the firecrackers—so we KNOW Mike and Darlene were in the park at the time Mike said. After about five minutes, another car pulled in behind Mike and Darlene.
Mike said he and Darlene thought it was a plainclothes cop in an unmarked car (very interesting, as we shall see.) Carrying a flashlight which he kept on their faces, the driver walked over to MIKE'S side of the car and, according to Mike's FIRST statement, which Vallejo Times-Herald reporter Dave Peterson claimed he overheard in the parking lot before the ambulance arrived, the man "tore open" the passenger door of Darlene's Corvair and started shooting Mike, then Darlene. Mike tried to escape by leaping over the seat into the back of the car. The man started to walk back to his car, heard Mike scream, then he (or, somewhat possibly, another man) came back. Reaching into the car, he fired two more shots at Mike and two more shots at Darlene.
The shooter returned to his car, and according to BOTH Mageau and Bryant, drove off back toward town revving his engine and "burning rubber" on Columbus. Mike had crawled far enough out of the car to get a glimpse of the shooter's car, which he said was a sporty compact similar to Darlene's—and also a similar color, a light brown. His only description of the shooter, whom Mike only got a partial glimpse of, was of a younger, heavyset man with short, reddish hair.
A minute or two before midnight, a van with three young "hippy types" named Debra, Roger, and Jerry, looking for a "girl they knew" (possibly Darlene—of all the cars we know that drove through that lot between 11:40 and 12:10, only ONE was looking for a '"lovers lane") saw Darlene's car and heard a scream. They discovered Mike lying on the ground covered in blood. Mike asked them to call for help, and they debated among themselves what to do (interesting. . . ) then drove to Jerry's house on Castlewood, at least six or seven minutes away. One of them apparently picked up one of the empty shell casings lying on the ground near Mike.
Hoffman, followed closely by Captain Roy Conway, arrived at the scene, and seeing that Mike and Darlene had really been shot, asked Conway to return to the stop and ask Meyring and Lindemann to arrest Andy on suspicion of the shooting. They did.
Conway and other officers at the scene called for an ambulance (Hoffman had no radio in his unit—interesting, as we shall see . . .) and fire truck. The victims were taken by ambulance to Kaiser hospital, accompanied by Hoffman. Darlene was declared DOA at 12:38, and the coroner was summoned to the hospital to take charge of her body.
At about 12:40, Nancy Slover received TWO phone calls about the shooting at BRS. Monday morning, when Captain Bird asked her to type up a report, she only remembered one. As we shall see . . .
This video also illustrates what actually happened between 11:30 pm and 12:40 am the night Mike and Darlene were shot:
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/
Graysmith starts with two critical untruths: 1. That Mike and Darlene were chased to BRS by a man in another car, who followed them all the way from Mike's house; and 2. That the shooting itself took place at 12:10 am.
From ZODIAC, by Robert Graysmith:
Darlene started the ignition and gestured impatiently for Mike to get in. As the bronze Corvair pulled off, they were trailed immediately by a light-colored car that had been parked in the shadows of the tree-lined street. "We're being followed," Mike said. Darlene sped off to Oakwood, took a right on Springs Road, and started out toward Columbus Parkway, the same direction as Lake Herman Road. It was 11:55 PM now. The car raced behind them at high-speed. Darlene kept turning to lose the stranger. She began going down sidestreets, but the car behind followed closer and faster . . . With the other car in hot pursuit they were being chased inexorably toward the outskirts of the city. . . Darlene nervously turned right into the parking lot [of Blue Rock Springs Park] . . . Hers was the only car in the lot. The couple sat in the darkness only a moment when the other auto, similar in design to the Corvair, caught up with them in the lot, turned out its lights, and then parked 8 feet to the left . . . Mike thought the car might be a '58 or '59 Falcon . . . he could tell the driver was a man . . . Almost immediately, the other car roared off at a high rate of speed, heading toward Vallejo . . . In five minutes, though, the car returned. Now it part to the left into the rear of the Corvair with his lights on . . . The lone occupant of the car threw open his door and, carrying a large flashlight extended in front of him, advanced for the couple, all the while shining the glaring light from one face to the other. The light went out. It was a "floating lantern" with the handle of the type Mike had seen on boats . . . Without warning, the blinding light exploded on again directly into my size. The stranger was invisible. Mike heard the clink of metal against the window frame, saw a muzzle flash and smoke erupt . . . The man pumped more shots at the couple . . . Mike reached for the door handle, his finger scrambling frantically, and to his horror realized that it had been removed . . . the attacker, without a word, turned and began walking away, his head down. Mike let out a loud cry of agony. The gunman . . . looked over the shoulder of his Navy type windbreaker in Mike's direction . . . The man appeared to have a large face, not wearing glasses. He seemed to be between 26 and 30 years old and had short, curly, light brown hair worn in a military style crewcut . . . "beefy, heavyset without being blubbery fat" . . . The stocky man leaned into the Corvair through the open window and fired two more shots at Mike. With nowhere else to go he leaped backward into the rear of the auto, legs thrashing spasmodically. The man fired two more shots at Darlene, turned away, got into his car, and drove off just fast enough to make the gravel fly . . . The Vallejo PD switchboard operator, Nancy Slover, and received a report from the female caller that "two persons were shot at the east side of the main parking lot at Blue Rock Springs at 12:10 AM".
The actual files of the Vallejo Police Department, which Robert Graysmith claimed were the sources he used to write his book, tell a very different story
www.flickr.com/photos/112412867@N06/collections/72157639812889536/
What actually happened was, Darlene picked up Mike at his house on Beechwood at about 11:30 pm, and they first drove to Mr Ed's, a drive-in burger joint and popular teen hangout near the interstate. They turned around at Mr Ed's and headed for the park, arriving between 11:40 and 11:50. Three cars with young people in them pulled into the parking area off Columbus Parkway right after Darlene (they may have followed Darlene's car from Mr Ed's.
Neither Mike nor Darlene had any money, but their purpose in going to Mr Ed's may have been to let people know they were headed to the park (for reasons we shall discuss in the next thread). These three cars only stayed a minute, then set off some firecrackers and left. Witness George Bryant, who lived in the park caretaker's house with his dad, also heard the firecrackers—so we KNOW Mike and Darlene were in the park at the time Mike said. After about five minutes, another car pulled in behind Mike and Darlene.
Mike said he and Darlene thought it was a plainclothes cop in an unmarked car (very interesting, as we shall see.) Carrying a flashlight which he kept on their faces, the driver walked over to MIKE'S side of the car and, according to Mike's FIRST statement, which Vallejo Times-Herald reporter Dave Peterson claimed he overheard in the parking lot before the ambulance arrived, the man "tore open" the passenger door of Darlene's Corvair and started shooting Mike, then Darlene. Mike tried to escape by leaping over the seat into the back of the car. The man started to walk back to his car, heard Mike scream, then he (or, somewhat possibly, another man) came back. Reaching into the car, he fired two more shots at Mike and two more shots at Darlene.
The shooter returned to his car, and according to BOTH Mageau and Bryant, drove off back toward town revving his engine and "burning rubber" on Columbus. Mike had crawled far enough out of the car to get a glimpse of the shooter's car, which he said was a sporty compact similar to Darlene's—and also a similar color, a light brown. His only description of the shooter, whom Mike only got a partial glimpse of, was of a younger, heavyset man with short, reddish hair.
A minute or two before midnight, a van with three young "hippy types" named Debra, Roger, and Jerry, looking for a "girl they knew" (possibly Darlene—of all the cars we know that drove through that lot between 11:40 and 12:10, only ONE was looking for a '"lovers lane") saw Darlene's car and heard a scream. They discovered Mike lying on the ground covered in blood. Mike asked them to call for help, and they debated among themselves what to do (interesting. . . ) then drove to Jerry's house on Castlewood, at least six or seven minutes away. One of them apparently picked up one of the empty shell casings lying on the ground near Mike.
Hoffman, followed closely by Captain Roy Conway, arrived at the scene, and seeing that Mike and Darlene had really been shot, asked Conway to return to the stop and ask Meyring and Lindemann to arrest Andy on suspicion of the shooting. They did.
Conway and other officers at the scene called for an ambulance (Hoffman had no radio in his unit—interesting, as we shall see . . .) and fire truck. The victims were taken by ambulance to Kaiser hospital, accompanied by Hoffman. Darlene was declared DOA at 12:38, and the coroner was summoned to the hospital to take charge of her body.
At about 12:40, Nancy Slover received TWO phone calls about the shooting at BRS. Monday morning, when Captain Bird asked her to type up a report, she only remembered one. As we shall see . . .
This video also illustrates what actually happened between 11:30 pm and 12:40 am the night Mike and Darlene were shot:
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/