Spitballing a 12-26-75 "Playbook" theory re motive
Jul 29, 2022 18:39:29 GMT
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Post by zebra on Jul 29, 2022 18:39:29 GMT
This is just a thought I had after reading the 12-26-75 book. Since this is a "speculation" subforum, I thought I'd just toss it out there.
When the podcasts began, Tony Reid was obviously working on a theory that the VR deliberately framed Oscar Clifton - presumably as a way of deflecting law enforcement after the VR's near capture on 12-10-75 and publication of the composite sketch of the suspect on the front page of the Visalia Times-Delta on 12-18-75. The "framing" effort included the acquisition and deposit of Clifton's ledger at the scene of the "abduction" (which itself might have been staged) and the breadcrumb trail of clothing that led to the area of Clifton's residence in Visalia.
There are a number of facts that lend support to this theory, including, but not limited to:
1. JJD, in his later role as the EAR had a history of attempting to deflect suspicion to other parties (eg. the "planting" of jewelry and other EAR loot at the home of a victim's neighbor.)
2. The placement of a pistol stolen in a VR incident and a separate "package" containing bullets and burglary tools on the bank of canals in very close proximity to the home of Clifton's parents after the Snelling homicide.
3. DeAngelo's high "success rate" in solving the sudden upsurge in burglaries after he gained employment with the Exeter PD - a success rate that now seems likely to have been, at least in part, the result of planting evidence from his own burglaries.
4. The weird incident with Gary Bardone and his wife just a few hours after the publication of the composite on 12-18-75, where there is some speculation that JJD may have been looking for someone who resembled him to take the fall in a staged murder/suicide plot.
More recently, for reasons detailed in the book, Reid and his team believe that the "breadcrumb trail" was planted by the TCSO, specifically at the direction of Sgt Byrd. Oscar Clifton apparently believed that the ledger was also obtained and planted by Byrd. I gather that Reid regards this as a possibility, but still leans towards DeAngelo as the ledger thief.
Critics of the JJD "frame" theory often point out how difficult it would have been for JJD to stage the Brumley and Mascorro incidents. In addition, although JJD may have learned about Clifton's previous conviction, Clifton was hardly an ideal patsy to take the rap for the VR series since (a) he was far taller and slimmer than the VR, (b) he was physically limited by a knee brace and couldn't have been the same guy who was hopping over fences, and (c) wasn't even living in California when the VR series began. For all of these reasons, Clifton was never seriously considered to be a VR suspect, despite the apparent planting of a striped ski-mask near the primary Richmond crime scene.
So ... here's the spitball. What if JJD did kill Richmond, but the frameup was almost entirely the doing of TCSO? What if JJD's primary motive for the homicide was something else entirely? What if he was trying to get access to law enforcement's "playbook" on the status of the VR investigation and their "gameplan" going forward?
For over two years, JJD, as the VR, had been running circles around law enforcement. Whenever they'd devote resources to staking out one zone, he'd strike in another. While I can't recall the exact dates, there was a period in late November or early December of 1975 when the VPD cancelled vacations and had everyone working overtime for 7 or 8 straight days in an attempt to carpet the entire area of VR activity. Nothing happened. But then, the very day after they went back to a normal schedule, the VR struck again. We know, in retrospect, that at some point, some of the lead investigators in Visalia became convinced that the VR was getting "inside information" on their efforts - either because he was in law enforcement or was related to someone who was.
We now know that the VPD "went dark" in order to set the trap on 12-10-75. The stakeouts were kept a secret and radio communications were extremely limited. And it almost worked. That was the closest anyone ever came to catching JJD.
I wonder how much that rattled him? It must have grated on him that for the first time in the entire series, VPD had somehow gotten a step ahead of him. And he could probably assume that they'd continue to play it close to the vest from there on out - eliminating one of his biggest advantages. That's all in addition, of course, to any concerns he might have had about McGowan's observation of his unmasked face.
We do know that JJD would have been very familiar with jurisdictional boundaries. From the start, the Richmond case was going to be a TCSO case, both in terms of the "abduction site" (whether real or staged) and the grove where the body was found. The extent of JJD's familiarity with Byrd and other TCSO deputies can be debated, but they apparently used the Exeter PD office as a staging ground and there's no question that JJD would have had far more potential access to reports and leaks from TCSO than from the VPD.
Could it be that this is why he may have tried to link the homicide to the VR with the ski mask? And to Jennifer Armour, who disappeared in the VR zone in 1974? We know, in retrospect, how poor the communications and cooperation were between TCSO and the VPD, but if TCSO had an obvious VR case, maybe the VPD would have shared more information with them on all the things that JJD would have loved to know - in short, their playbook and maybe even their gameplan going forward.
If that's the case (and again, I'm just spit-balling) JJD may have underestimated Byrd's determination to hang Oscar Clifton. Clifton might never have been intended by JJD to serve as a patsy at all. Because of TCSO's "tunnel vision," they completely disregarded the ski mask, the similarities to the Armour homicide, and any connection to the VR at all.
If so, then, ironically, neither JJD or Clifton necessarily had anything to do with the Brumley or Mascorro incidents. Maybe the flasher was a local perv who just happened to drive a white pickup (though not a Ford - or at least not a Ford with the name emblazoned on the tailgate).
As it would turn out - under this hypothesis - JJD failed to get TCSO to make the VR connection, so he could only stand back in a combination of amusement and frustration while he watched TCSO systematically frame Clifton, but failed in his main objective to learn anything about the VPD investigation - - perhaps one of the reasons he ended his efforts there.
As I mentioned, I'm just tossing this out there for consideration. Any thoughts?
When the podcasts began, Tony Reid was obviously working on a theory that the VR deliberately framed Oscar Clifton - presumably as a way of deflecting law enforcement after the VR's near capture on 12-10-75 and publication of the composite sketch of the suspect on the front page of the Visalia Times-Delta on 12-18-75. The "framing" effort included the acquisition and deposit of Clifton's ledger at the scene of the "abduction" (which itself might have been staged) and the breadcrumb trail of clothing that led to the area of Clifton's residence in Visalia.
There are a number of facts that lend support to this theory, including, but not limited to:
1. JJD, in his later role as the EAR had a history of attempting to deflect suspicion to other parties (eg. the "planting" of jewelry and other EAR loot at the home of a victim's neighbor.)
2. The placement of a pistol stolen in a VR incident and a separate "package" containing bullets and burglary tools on the bank of canals in very close proximity to the home of Clifton's parents after the Snelling homicide.
3. DeAngelo's high "success rate" in solving the sudden upsurge in burglaries after he gained employment with the Exeter PD - a success rate that now seems likely to have been, at least in part, the result of planting evidence from his own burglaries.
4. The weird incident with Gary Bardone and his wife just a few hours after the publication of the composite on 12-18-75, where there is some speculation that JJD may have been looking for someone who resembled him to take the fall in a staged murder/suicide plot.
More recently, for reasons detailed in the book, Reid and his team believe that the "breadcrumb trail" was planted by the TCSO, specifically at the direction of Sgt Byrd. Oscar Clifton apparently believed that the ledger was also obtained and planted by Byrd. I gather that Reid regards this as a possibility, but still leans towards DeAngelo as the ledger thief.
Critics of the JJD "frame" theory often point out how difficult it would have been for JJD to stage the Brumley and Mascorro incidents. In addition, although JJD may have learned about Clifton's previous conviction, Clifton was hardly an ideal patsy to take the rap for the VR series since (a) he was far taller and slimmer than the VR, (b) he was physically limited by a knee brace and couldn't have been the same guy who was hopping over fences, and (c) wasn't even living in California when the VR series began. For all of these reasons, Clifton was never seriously considered to be a VR suspect, despite the apparent planting of a striped ski-mask near the primary Richmond crime scene.
So ... here's the spitball. What if JJD did kill Richmond, but the frameup was almost entirely the doing of TCSO? What if JJD's primary motive for the homicide was something else entirely? What if he was trying to get access to law enforcement's "playbook" on the status of the VR investigation and their "gameplan" going forward?
For over two years, JJD, as the VR, had been running circles around law enforcement. Whenever they'd devote resources to staking out one zone, he'd strike in another. While I can't recall the exact dates, there was a period in late November or early December of 1975 when the VPD cancelled vacations and had everyone working overtime for 7 or 8 straight days in an attempt to carpet the entire area of VR activity. Nothing happened. But then, the very day after they went back to a normal schedule, the VR struck again. We know, in retrospect, that at some point, some of the lead investigators in Visalia became convinced that the VR was getting "inside information" on their efforts - either because he was in law enforcement or was related to someone who was.
We now know that the VPD "went dark" in order to set the trap on 12-10-75. The stakeouts were kept a secret and radio communications were extremely limited. And it almost worked. That was the closest anyone ever came to catching JJD.
I wonder how much that rattled him? It must have grated on him that for the first time in the entire series, VPD had somehow gotten a step ahead of him. And he could probably assume that they'd continue to play it close to the vest from there on out - eliminating one of his biggest advantages. That's all in addition, of course, to any concerns he might have had about McGowan's observation of his unmasked face.
We do know that JJD would have been very familiar with jurisdictional boundaries. From the start, the Richmond case was going to be a TCSO case, both in terms of the "abduction site" (whether real or staged) and the grove where the body was found. The extent of JJD's familiarity with Byrd and other TCSO deputies can be debated, but they apparently used the Exeter PD office as a staging ground and there's no question that JJD would have had far more potential access to reports and leaks from TCSO than from the VPD.
Could it be that this is why he may have tried to link the homicide to the VR with the ski mask? And to Jennifer Armour, who disappeared in the VR zone in 1974? We know, in retrospect, how poor the communications and cooperation were between TCSO and the VPD, but if TCSO had an obvious VR case, maybe the VPD would have shared more information with them on all the things that JJD would have loved to know - in short, their playbook and maybe even their gameplan going forward.
If that's the case (and again, I'm just spit-balling) JJD may have underestimated Byrd's determination to hang Oscar Clifton. Clifton might never have been intended by JJD to serve as a patsy at all. Because of TCSO's "tunnel vision," they completely disregarded the ski mask, the similarities to the Armour homicide, and any connection to the VR at all.
If so, then, ironically, neither JJD or Clifton necessarily had anything to do with the Brumley or Mascorro incidents. Maybe the flasher was a local perv who just happened to drive a white pickup (though not a Ford - or at least not a Ford with the name emblazoned on the tailgate).
As it would turn out - under this hypothesis - JJD failed to get TCSO to make the VR connection, so he could only stand back in a combination of amusement and frustration while he watched TCSO systematically frame Clifton, but failed in his main objective to learn anything about the VPD investigation - - perhaps one of the reasons he ended his efforts there.
As I mentioned, I'm just tossing this out there for consideration. Any thoughts?
