Post by starsky on Sept 25, 2022 21:27:55 GMT
www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/zodiac-killer-suspect-paul-doerr-17465482.php
(Not sure this has been discussed out here, apologize if this is old news.)
Author makes case for most compelling Zodiac Killer suspect in decades
SFGATE
Sep. 25, 2022
Updated: Sep. 25, 2022 9:21 a.m.
Eric Risberg / Associated Press
Zodiac Killer suspects are a dime a dozen, but author Jarett Kobek may have stumbled onto one of the more substantive cases in decades.
The October cover story for LA Mag details Kobek’s investigation — or descent down a rabbit hole, depending on how you view it — into Paul Alfred Doerr. In the process, it lays out a fascinating circumstantial case.
(Link to LA Mag story here: www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/zodiac-killer-paul-alfred-doerr/ This is a fascinating read!!)
When it comes to the Zodiac Killer, there is no shortage of crackpot theories and “my dead dad did it” books. It’s a case that, despite having far fewer victims than other notorious American serial killers, refuses to leave the public consciousness. That’s exactly the way the Zodiac Killer wanted it: He thrived off the publicity he generated by sending cryptic notes and ciphers throughout his killing spree. Five people in the Bay Area were confirmed to have been murdered by the Zodiac between December 1968 and October 1969, although many Zodiac sleuths believe his body count may be higher.
It’s a case that feels remarkably solvable. The Zodiac Killer left behind two survivors who both shared extensive memories of the attacks. There’s a DNA sample (although it’s of dubious usefulness), bloody fingerprints found at a San Francisco crime scene and the many letters sent by the killer himself. It’s that paper trail that has led to feverish speculation as amateur detectives puzzle over obscure pop culture references and linguistic ticks.
Those hints led Kobek to Doerr, a Bay Area man who was a member of both Mensa and the militant conservative group the Minutemen. LA Mag details Kobek’s investigation, which found:
— Doerr was an active zine writer, and some of his work touched on themes echoed in the Zodiac letters. Most interestingly, Doerr once wrote about how to make a bomb out of ammonium nitrate and fertilizer. So did Zodiac, and both instances contained the same error.
— According to Doerr’s daughter Gloria, her father had a history of violent behavior and physically abused family members. The article claims three Zodiac Killer attacks — on Lake Herman Road, at Blue Rock Springs Park and at Lake Berryessa — took place at “teen hangouts” that “Gloria herself frequented.”
— Kobek links the crosshair-like symbol that Zodiac used to sign his letters to the target symbol sometimes used by the Minutemen.
— Doerr worked at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo and served in World War II and the Korean War. It’s long been speculated the Zodiac Killer was affiliated with the military.
The details were convincing enough that Gloria Doerr was apparently swayed; the article says she begrudgingly agreed with Kobek that signs pointed to her father being a candidate for the Zodiac Killer. Paul Doerr died in 2007 at the age of 80.
The case is, of course, only circumstantial. No hard evidence links Doerr — or any other person — to the Zodiac Killer murders. Several previous suspects have been compared to the fingerprints on file, but no matches have been made.
The San Francisco Police Department maintains an open case on the Zodiac Killer.
