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After careful review of the contents of the Zodiac Killer's July 31, 1969 Letters and the 408-Character Cipher text solution, we see full consistency with all previous Riverside Communications of 1966 and 1967. Together, they form a homogenous picture.
Same as the Riverside communications, also the July 31, 1969 Letters an Cipher have been sent to newspapers, the author identified himself as "killer" or "murderer". They include a confession to crimes, proof of authenticity through specific details of the crimes, communication of motives, and the threat and announcement that further crimes will be committed. Furthermore, there is consistent use of the words "boy", "girl" and "shall" in various letters.
While the Riverside Bates Letters had been signed with the letter "Z", all July 31, 1969 Letters were signed with a cross-hair or crossed-circle symbol. Also, elements of poetry and literature seem to be absent in the Zodiac's July 1969 Letters, while slips and erratic writing seem to be mostly absent in the Riverside communications. However, these are not really points of our concern since these elements unite in other Zodiac Killer communications that followed. In view of these, we would see the before mentioned preliminary differences even as further confirmation of consistency and authenticity.
Again, we would like to emphasize the potentially great significance of the Patricia Hautz Letter as logical and psychological link between Riverside, Lake Herman Road, Blue Rock Springs and the July 31, 1969 communications. In the Patricia Hautz Letter, the author wanted to see the killer's story in the media. With the cipher attached to the July 31, 1969 Letters, the killer resolutely brought his story into the media. Clearly, the contents of the 408-Character Cipher were about the killer, not about the victims.
That the Zodiac divided the cipher in three parts was possibly part of his media strategy to enhance reach. We find it remarkable that the Zodiac picked two newspapers in San Francisico. If he targeted maximun reach, why did he not send one part of the cipher to the Los Angeles Times? Assumingly, the Zodiac Killer selected news resources that he could conveniently buy, read and follow in the area of his own home or work location. If this would be so, it would suggest that the Zodiac possibly relocated from Riverside to the Vallejo/San Francisco area between in the period of December 1967 and December 1968, either directly or from another place where he stayed in the meantime.
His confirmed weekend and holiday evening crime activity could indicate that he was unavailable or unable to commit his crimes during weekdays and weekend day time. Possibly, the Zodiac worked or studied during the week. His apparent unavailability to commit his crimes during weekend daytime may even indicate that he either had a family or lived with family or a family member. Another possibility would be that he commuted from far distance to commit his crimes, but we consider this as less likely due to his obvious need and desire to read local news. We consider it as a possibility that Zodiac was what one could define as a "recreational serial killer" who only killed in his leisure time.
At no time, the Zodiac Killer showed any regrets or compassion for his victims which indicates that he had only a limited capability of having normal human emotions and a normal heterosexual partnership. Probably, he was emotionally dead or stunted. As bizarre as it may sound, we believe that Killing and the related thrill of the hunt and kill made the Zodiac Killer feel alive and gave him an orgasmic experience, figuratively or literally - a feeling that he desired to experience again.
The text of the 408-Character Cipher suggests that the Zodiac Killer had a background in game hunting. Either he was a hunter himself or joined others on their hunt. The thrill of the hunt and the killing of living beings apparently excited him. This could be a possible indication for a career from early animal cruelty via wild game hunting to serial killer. Obviously, he got some of his inspiration from the sort story "The Hounds of Zaroff" or the following movie "The Most Dangerous Game", where basically Safari hunts that were popular in the 1920's were inverted, and where the hunter became the hunted. It is reasonable to assume that the Zodiac rather identified himself with the insane and megalomaniac Count Zaroff instead of the hunted Rainsford. Remarkably, the name of Count Zaroff also starts with the letter "Z".
The Zodiac Killer's identity from the 408-Character Cipher includes an obvious religious element. Similar to religious terrorists, the Zodiac Killer apparently had a concept of reward in afterlife as consequence of religious purifying redemption through blood, murder and massacre. Here we see strong consistency with the Riverside Desktop Poem that points into direction of ritual human sacrifice.
The consistency of the Riverside Desktop Poem and letters with the July 31, 1969 communications further strengthens our theory that all Riverside communications where authentic Zodiac Killer messages, including the Patricia Hautz Letter that we consider an important warning and herald for the crimes that followed.
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