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RICHARD GAIKOWSKI: Defaming The Dead
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The 1986 publication of the best-selling book ZODIAC created new interest in the unsolved crimes and, at the same time, launched a new wave of theorists, crackpots and kooks who claimed they had identified the elusive killer. The book, written by former cartoonist-turned-crime writer Robert Graysmith, presented a factually inaccurate, highly speculative and largely fictional account of the case, yet the media and the public accepted the author’s version of the story as fact. Newly inspired amateur sleuths relied heavily on Graysmith’s book and therefore marched into the Zodiac spotlight armed with facts and theories based on the revisionist history. Graysmith claimed that one of the victims had known the killer; theorists therefore connected the victim and the killer in their own presentations. Graysmith claimed he had solved one of the Zodiac’s codes; theorists then based their own interpretations of the killer’s codes on the author’s previous conclusions. Graysmith speculated that the Zodiac was responsible for other crimes; theorists worked to connect their suspects to these crimes. No credible evidence existed to connect the killer to his victims, FBI cryptographers and other experts had concluded that Graysmith’s code solution was invalid, and connections between the Zodiac and other unsolved cases had been exaggerated or distorted by those eager to increase the number of possible Zodiac victims. These facts did little to deter the true believers who remained convinced that they had finally identified the notorious Zodiac killer.
Months after the publication of ZODIAC, a man in Northern California emerged with his own sensational story. In the late 1980s, “Blaine Blaine,” also known as “Purple Blaine,” was unemployed and living in a van. Decades earlier, Blaine claimed he had worked for the underground newspaper The GOOD TIMES, along with a man named RICHARD GAIKOWSKI. After reading Graysmith’s book and conducting his own “investigation,” Blaine was convinced that Gaikowski was the Zodiac.
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In September 1986, Blaine Blaine wrote a report titled “ON ZODIAC’S IDENTITY – The decoding of the Zodiac serial murderer’s cipher codes and an analysis of his modus operandi based on his computational strategy of the decoded cipher codes – by BLAINE BLAINE.” Sent to original Zodiac investigator Ken Narlow of the Napa Country Sheriff’s Office, the document consisted of more than 80 pages of single-spaced typed text and over 20 pages of illustrations, mostly taken from the book ZODIAC. An early passage read:
“On November 8, 1969 a greeting card and a 340 cipher symbol was received at the SF Chronicle. This 340 cipher symbol was not decoded until sometime in 1979 by Robert Greysmith, whose work was authenticated; Mr. Greysmith published a book on the Zodiac murder in 1985, but he was unable to establish the identity of the Zodiac. The American Cryptogram Association verified Mr. Greysmith’s work as ‘valid and good.’ Both [Donald] Hardens’ and Greysmith’s work in decoding is used in this work.”
Despite the fact that he has based many of his own conclusions on the book ZODIAC, Blaine misspelled the author’s name and also was incorrect regarding the year the book was published (1986). Further, Blaine stated that he based his own code decipher methods on Graysmith’s previous work, although the FBI experts had concluded that Graysmith’s methods and solutions were invalid. (The ACA did not respond to requests to confirm the alleged verification of Graysmith’s solution by its former members.)
Blaine’s report described his amateur efforts to solve the case:
“On February 11, 1986 I began a systematic investigation into the Zodiac as a scholar might investigate the evidence of the case. I visited every known Zodiac murder site, and numerous libraries, and researched every published newspaper account, and read all the books or published material on the case. It also was a coincidence that seventeen years before I worked for the man, although neither I nor anyone else involved knew the truth about him, where he came from, nor in fact did we know much about who he was, accept that he worked for major newspapers back East.
I learned absolutely that he was in fact the serial murder [sic] by May 1986 for by then I had amassed a volume of material on the man in question. I investigated his family in South Dekota, and his previous employments, and all of his friends, girl friends, and I was able to establish a connect to Southern California. From the mass of documents and research material, and from tape recordings taken in secret from the man in question I realized that I knew beyond a shadow of doubt that the man was in fact the Zodiac killer. From this I wrote a 500 page manuscript which at present is still in handwritten form.
I understood that because of my investigation, that the man in question became suspicious of me, and later threatened my life, and also killed two people to warn me to stop what I was doing, as he discovered I had tracked down secret elements of his past. This work, ON ZODIAC’S IDENTITY, which only concerns the mathematical and logical computations will not include the overwhelming evidence contained in my book of the man in question: I devoted 500 hours of research and study which rewarded me with the complete decoding of Zodiac’s codes, which only now have I been able to put together in a readable, comprehensive and scholarly form.”
According to this report, Blaine began his investigation immediately after the release of the book ZODIAC, and he used much of the information contained in Graysmith’s book as the foundation for his own work. In less than three months, Blaine had identified the Zodiac as Richard, his former employer at a California newspaper. Blaine claimed that Richard had threatened his life and even killed two people in an effort to silence him; one of the two victims was reportedly a lover of Blaine’s. None of these claims were ever substantiated, and, far from a scholarly work, Blaine’s report was a collection of wild assumptions, rampant speculation, convoluted decipherings, repeated factual errors and more. Blaine based much of his work on erroneous news reports, as well as the stories told by the sisters of Darlene Ferrin, Pam and Linda.
Blaine wrote, “It has been established that Zodiac was specifically involved with Darlene Ferrin, and that it has been stated that his crimes centered upon his relationship with her in some manner. Further, it has been established that Zodiac was a specific person who several times in the Spring of 1969 visited Darlene Ferrin where she worked in Vallejo, and where she lived in the same city, and that he followed her at some point before the night he followed her and killed her.”
The stories of a mysterious stalker could be traced to Pam and Linda yet neither sister had ever reported this information to police during the investigation of Darlene’s murder. Blaine, at some point, developed his own information that Richard had known Darlene, and even claimed that an argument between the two had played some part in Richard’s reported 1965 arrest and the subsequent loss of his job. Blaine also believed that the Zodiac’s “Mt. Diablo Code” was the key that revealed the identity of the killer. Blaine’s solution read:
I AM RG
RICHARD GAIKOWSKI
RH
OF WEBSTER, SOUTH DAKOTA
WHO KILLED
DF
DARLENE FERRIN
Blaine noted, “It must be deduced that he is telling us that the reason why he began killing was over Darlene Ferrin, whom he killed as well as the others.”
Like Graysmith, Blaine had written his own book around this theory, titled GOLDCATCHER AND ZODIAC, a title which had apparently confused some people who, as Blaine wrote, were “lacking in critical perception” and “thought I had written a fiction book.”
Blaine also described the obstacles he faced when asking authorities to seriously consider the “overwhelming” evidence of Richard’s guilt.
“Regardless of the misunderstanding, I tried by various methods to gain the attention of diverse intelligent people that I had BESIDES my code studies, a full manuscript Gaikowski-Zodiac, but as of this writing not one of them demonstrated interest; if I said that, ‘I knew who the Zodiac was,’ I was expected to tell the answer in ten words or less, and for the most part, I had been so rudely and badly treated by these people that I was unable to talk to them anymore; but I began telling key people who he was June 19, 1986; and the result has been, that Zodiac has discovered that I knew the code name [in the report], and so he has killed at least two people since June 19, directly related to my failure to convince anyone, probably up to Ken Narlow, that I did absolutely know who the Zodiac was.
He killed because he has threatened me to stop my investigation of his [this information is found in my manuscript GOLDCATCHER AND ZODIAC]; first because I visited with his family, second because I interviewed all newsman who once knew him, one of whom had to track down Gaikowski himself to find out what I was doing; and third, because I came into the possession of material from one [name redacted], which included letters from Gaikowski, and a notebook with suspicious handprinting in it; for this, and other reasons, he killed two people possible a third, to warn me to get out of San Francisco, and to threaten me; fourth, he fired a gun behind my van in Berkeley, and began to follow me; and once he told me that he was the Zodiac, but that I was in a “dangerously delusional” situation if I did not forget this Zodiac thing.”
Blaine also explained, “I maintain that he killed [victim] over my going to South Dekota [to interview Richard’s family], to threaten and warn me, to terrorize me; then, when he discovered that the [name redacted] material missing, he killed again, this time it was August 19, 1986. He killed a photographer ...”
The report concluded with Blaine’s plea for help and despair at his current circumstances.
“This completes my manuscript ON ZODIAC’S IDENTITY; I was compelled to write it, as my living situation and financial situation so far prevents me from preparing a finished copy of my first work, GOLDCATCHER AND ZODIAC; as I remain in mortal danger until I have someone’s perceptive attention, I can only do this, and hope that he will finally be arrested; this person who understands the basic computations and logic, of the main core of his work, will be the person whose belief will help me escape from certain death if I am not killed before this, from the Zodiac murderer; my living situation is such that I am compelled to live in an old van for the time being, which Zodiac is aware of; my prayer is that he can be arrested soon.”
Also included with Blaine’s manuscript:
* A copy of a letter mailed to Ken Narlow and SFPD Inspector Hendrix
* A lengthy account of strange occurrences written by Pam Huckaby
* A handwritten letter from Blaine to Richard
(scroll down to view Blaine's letters to law enforcement and other documents)
The letter reads:
“Dear Richard,
I am enclosing my first chapter of my new historic novel Goldcatcher and Zodiac. Please read it and I hope you enjoy it.
My wish is that when you’ve read it, to come by some night, when perhaps I can see those films. You promised.
Can you write me when to come, and the time, so I can come over? God! It would be so thrilling to see your films, also maybe we could have dinner? I’m always starved.
Please write me and tell me when it’s the best time to come by. I can’t wait to see you!”
Below his signature, Blaine added the phrase, “Goldcatcher glitters like a glitter doll!” A Zodiac symbol appears next to Richard’s name at the top of the letter.
Blaine’s decision to mail his manuscript to his suspect, and his friendly tone, strongly suggests that this letter must have been written BEFORE Richard had begun killing people to stop Blaine’s investigation.
In 1969, Blaine worked with Richard at a California newspaper, and, according to Blaine, Richard had instructed him to write a message to the Zodiac and told him exactly what words to use. The message then appeared in the newspaper – one of several owned by the same chain that owned one of the three newspapers contacted by the killer. Richard had written extensively about his encounters with local police and subsequent yet brief incarceration for drinking and driving [according to one account, Gaikowski staged the event and was never actually arrested]. Blaine viewed these articles as Richard’s effort to cast suspicion on himself.
On August 20, 1986, Blaine wrote a letter to Napa County Sheriff Ken Narlow and Inspector Napoleon Hendrix of the SFPD. (All misspellings and errors in syntax contained in original.)
“Re: Richard J. Gaikowski
Gentleman:
Captain Narlow, I have again spoken with Inspector Hendrix and other than Gaikowski he has no suspects for the cab killing. As for the cab killing I wish to compare “context” with “facts” which help in understanding this.
Context is Zodiac. So far he hads never been arrested for one single murder. He has proven extremely smart. Thus, if I say I believe Gaikowski is both Zodiac, and that he might have killed cab driver Leonard Smith, is there an error in believing he is as confident he will not get busted over Smith, any more that he was for killing Paul Stine, who also was a cab driver.
I believe that by killing Smith he was merely proving that, as Zodiac, that he can commit any crimes or murder because he knows that as Zodiac, no one will take seriously that he is still killing, and so far it has proven true.
He is still mocking law and justice:
FACTS;
1. Gaikowski’s landlord is an Arab named Samir.
2. Samir sees frequently an Arab taxi driver named Eraket.
3. Eraket was at Samiramis, Samar’s gift shop located on Mission when I called.
4. Mrs. Samir told me that Eraket was there yesterday.
5. Eraket is a driver for Allied Cab.
6. Eraket . who has a beard, works for Nick, who is the manager of Allied Cab.
7. Allied Cab is located next door to a branch of Pacific Bell.
8. Gaikowski does not work there, but nearby on the Third Street office.
9. Gaikowski did and does have cab driver friends from the days he worked at Yellow Cab.
10. One cab driver died, he told me, his name, Jim Woods, and he once told me that, when he drove Yellow Cab that he was held up by a man who put a gun behind his ear, showing me how it was, and it duplicated how Paul Stine got killed.
11. Leonard Carl Smith, 45, lived at 824 Bartlett, approximately 3 blocks from Gaikowski’ store front on 1035 Guererro.
12. The cab killing is remarkably similar to how Stine got killed. Stine got it behind the ear, but Smith in the back. Stine was picked up at Powell and Geary, Smith at California and Powell.
On Stine: Did you know Stine lived either in or near the same building where the old Haight Ashbury switchboard was located on Fell Street? The Switchboard then use to sell the GOOD TIMES underground newspaper and Gaikowski used to, with Chris Robeson, deliver them there.
Gaikowski lived in the Haight circa 1968-69.
On Smith: He lived very close to Gaikowski, the Mission PD, and he was working across from Pacific Bell, across from Allied Cab, which is only one block from Third. 13. Gaikowski used Mission and 24th to use Bart to travel downtown. He always goes by Bartless and Mission PD on 23rd street to Mission.
14. Gaikowski lives at 23rd and Guerrero. Allied Cab is at 23rd and Minnesota.
15. He has been renting vans Ricardos, called RENT A WRECK which is located at the corner of Valencia and Army, which is a block from 26th and Guerrero.
16. The best route to go to work at 23rd and Minnesota would be from 824 Bartlett to Army to Pennsyvania tp 23rd and Minnesota; that is, if you have a car. Did Smith have a car?
17. This establishes Gaikowski as either cabdriver, or otherwise, knows the area very well. Don’t forget he knew I parked at 3rd and Townsend by the RV place at the All Right Parking Lot recently and also when I was at the CLC, Computer Learning Center 1985.
18. Gaikowski presently works at Pacific Bell, on Third.
Did he call up Smith, a casual acquaintance, from cabby days, arranging to meet him that Thursday, like he did for me, I mean, when he arranged a cab to meet me in 1983? Is this the connection from Smith to Gaikowski through Samir?
Captain Narlow and Inspector Hendrix, I have just given you some surrounding facts which, if you weigh with my accusation, that Gaikowski is the serial killer known as the Zodiac, lends reasonable support that he killed Leonard Carl Smith to scare or warn me to lay off my diggings into his past.
Now, Zodiac is really a man in spite of his mythic name, and he is a man who kills people, and who has not been caught, and while disbelief convinces everyone that he cannot be caught has made it easier for him to do what he is, apparently, still killing people and not facing justice. He is an embarassment to police officials everywhere.
But since you are investigating Gaikowski as Zodiac, Captain Narlow, the truth is that he probably killed Smith either to terrorize me or to impress me that if he can malaciously confess to me about this, by guile, knowing perfectly well that his con game is so good that no one can catch him. This is why he plays games about this, like unprovable clues like having Smith drive to approximately Beale and Bryant, which is exactly next to an All Right Parking lot, and where some times campers park, including me until this. Games like discovering an old oxidized Studebaker located on the corner of 2nd, next to Delancy Foundation, where – am I correct ex-cons work, a game to signal me, because he knows only I will know his message, but no one else?
And things like the waterfront, the ship American Aquarius which is exactly down from Beale and Bryant.
But I believe context and facts accuse Gaikowski of killing cabby Smith – the same maniaac who killed Stine to lure the police away from Darlene Ferrin, has killed Smith to show that he can not be “cracked.”
It is not my choice to have discovered Gaikowski is the Zodiac: and living through all of this has been a struggle with disbelief. I too find it difficult to understand the truth of this, and since, as a friend, Gaikowski has been mostly frinedly, a regular nice guy who laughs maybe too much; it has taken and it still is taking a toll on my emotions, causing me excessive stress; but the facts on every account accuse Gaikowski of being the Zodiac.
He needs badly to be arrested or investigated in depth, as I myself have already done.
The basic database of RJG is that on every account he fits the Zodiac profile.
The codes prove he is the Zodiac.
Captain Narlow, here is something else: that I have discovered a notebook which was first used as a record book for someone who worked in a large hospital. This notebook is dated 1974. The importance of this is that, as a Medic, I know that he worked at St. Lukes Hospital in Huron, South Dekota, but did he work in both late 1966-67 and 1974, possibly for a short time, at St. Lukes in San Francisco?
Here is something else: Did he work in a hospital in Riverside or Loma Linda? Is there a St. Lukes in Riverside?
It may be possible for him to be arrested in the murder of Smith, but in any case, he should arrested for stabbing to death Cecelia Shepard at Lake Berryessa.
I would be willing to give a copy of my MS. [manuscript] on Gaikowski but I am not as well funded as the police agencies who should be involved are - if I had use of a word processor continually I could also make a complete database on both Zodiac and Gaikowski if it would help in bringing him to justice; also, complete Zodiac codes both...”
Several points were worthy of note:
1: Blaine stated that Gaikowski should be arrested for several murders, including the stabbing death of Cecelia Shepard, but, Blaine did not mention or provide any evidence to implicate Gaikowski in these crimes. At best, Blaine’s “evidence” seemed to consist of little more than Gaikowski’s geographic location as it relates to a number of other locations unrelated to the Zodiac case. Further, this “evidence” did little to establish any link between Gaikowski and the murder of the cab driver, Leonard Carl Smith.
2. The fact that law enforcement was not receptive to Blaine’s theory was certainly understandable, given the fact that not once in this entire rambling letter did Blaine cite any credible reason to suspect Gaikowski of any crime, let alone the Zodiac murders. What Blaine did offer, in addition to his convoluted geographic analysis, was the claim that the codes “prove” that Gaikowski was the Zodiac, yet, an examination of Blaine’s deciphered solution proved that Blaine’s solution was invalid. Ken Narlow, and any other reasonably intelligent law enforcement agent, would be forced to conclude that Blaine’s solution and claims had no merit. When a man cannot correctly spell the name of an author whose book he has apparently studied in great depth, and cannot correctly spell the name of a state he claims to have visited, one would be rather foolish to believe that such a person could properly decipher a complex code, let alone do so with the certainty Blaine claimed.
3. In this letter, Blaine wrote that Gaikowski had known certain people. Despite Blaine’s claims, he cited no evidence to even suggest that Gaikowski knew the cab driver Smith, let alone killed him. Any reasonably intelligent agent of law enforcement would have undoubtedly noticed this, and would therefore be forced to conclude that Blaine’s claims had no merit.
4. The “context” to which Blaine referred was obviously nothing more than groundless assumptions. Blaine wrote that he had offered “facts” which, when considered along with his accusation, “lends reasonable support” to his theories. Blaine seemed unaware that he had not offered any facts that accomplished this feat, or, that he had failed to even cite any facts that indicated Gaikowski should even be considered a suspect.
According to one account, Ken Narlow decided to “stake-out” Gaikowski’s home for a few nights. Such action is not common, wise, or even standard procedure. The decision to stake-out a suspect’s residence usually follows other avenues of investigation and usually comes only when good reason to suspect the individual has been established. This is not how Narlow and other investigators handled the investigations of other suspects. However, given the nature of the claims made by Blaine that Gaikowski was actively engaged in attempts to intimidate him, and was killing other people in an attempt to do so, Narlow may have believed that a stake-out was warranted because he may have thought that he could catch Gaikowski engaged in some illegal act. Yet, it is difficult to believe that Narlow, an intelligent and professional lawman, would engage in such action without also taking the usual steps when investigating a suspect, i.e. gathering information, checking criminal records and attempting to obtain the suspect’s fingerprints. This was standard procedure - something Narlow usually followed - and the failure to follow this procedure can only be considered baffling at best.
According to Blaine and others, Narlow staked-out Gaikowski’s home as part of his investigation of the suspect, but stopped the investigation after Pam Huckaby, the sister of Zodiac victim Darlene Ferrin, interfered. Tom Voigt described this scenario on the message board at Zodiackiller.com:
“Blaine found Pam Huckaby (Darlene’s sister) and told her about Gaikowski. Together Blaine and Pam approached Ken Narlow at the Napa County Sheriff's Dept. Narlow listened to the info provided and decided to give it a shot. He was out of jurisdiction and spent a couple of evenings watching Gaikowski. He had no cause to do anything else. Pam interjected herself into the process and actually took her siblings to Gaikowski’s house, quizzed him about the Zodiac, asked for handwriting samples, etc. That ruined the surveillance and tipped off Gaikowski. Being that Narlow had nothing all that compelling to begin with, he turned over the initial info to SFPD and that was that. Pam is Pam and there's no point discussing why she behaved in such a way.”
By all accounts, this event occurred long after Gaikowski was already aware that Blaine was accusing him of being the Zodiac, long after Gaikowski had allegedly warned him to cease his investigation, and long after Gaikowski had allegedly murdered at least two people in an attempt to intimidate Blaine. Narlow’s decision to stop investigating Gaikowski because the suspect had been “tipped off Gaikowski” makes no sense, given the fact that Gaikowski was already aware that he was suspected. If Narlow had “nothing compelling to begin with,” the decision to stake-out the suspect’s home seems odd, at best. If the surveillance was initiated at the request of Blaine, and based on the alleged threats to Pam, the explanation that the investigation was ended because Pam interfered makes no sense whatsoever, as Pam was already involved, and Gaikowski, if he had, indeed, threatened both Blaine and Pam, had to know that both Blaine and Pam would most likely report the threats, and their suspicions, to authorities. Further, the fact that a suspect has become aware that authorities were investigating him had never deterred law enforcement agents in the past investigations of suspects.
On April 6, 1987, Blaine fired off another letter; this time, he wrote to Narlow and Fred Shirasago, an agent assigned to the Zodiac case at the California Department of Justice. Based on Blaine’s written statements, both Narlow and Shirasago had been aware of Blaine’s claims for some time.
“Dear Detectives Shirasago and Narlow:
This letter is specifically addressed to Detective Ken Narlow, Captain of detectives, Napa County Sheriff, and in general and where indicated, to Fred Shirasago, homicide detective, Department of Justice, Sacramento.
Why concern Dectective Narlow is that suddenly you are using your position to discredit my case against Richard J. Gaikowski as the Zodiac for reasons which have to do with your months of failing to take my case against him seriously until the death threat occurred against Darlene Ferrin’s sister, Pam Suennen and myself (which occurred as witnesses of the Suennen family overheard the threat).
Further, there is the question why both Mr. Shirasago and yourself, having received a detailed, scholarly examination and study, which includes a decoding of both the Mt. Diablo code and all other Zodiac codes. You both received copies of this Ms. [manuscript] hereafter referred to as ON ZODIAC’S IDENTITY in September, 1986.
Why is it unreasonable to ask why you did not take it to independent experts? Why is it that when, in the case of Narlow, I arranged, per your agreement, to have Mr. Donald Lunde of Stanford University, and Prof. Wes Ernest, Associate Director of the Department of Computer Sciences, Stanford University, that you evaded and finally prevented them from working on the Ms. because you told them that I did not know what I was doing?
Why was it unreasonable to believe that if the name RICHARD GAIKOWSKI can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt to be found in the Zodiac codes, to state that it was not important? Why is it unreasonable when his initials RG are found in all the codes, including KS in the codes, and more than this, that what you both have done as police officials, was make malacious attempts to discredit me with various professional people, so that I could not even achieve a fair unbiased reading of the Ms?
Why have you done this?
There is reason for me to believe that the cause is rooted in your original bad treatment of me when I first brought separate documents, material and information to you both, and what you both did was shout at me, treat me with contempt, and show prejudice at every level before you had even studied the information given you.
As far as Captain Narlow, what occurred what that he had information as early as June 19, 1986 on Gaikowski, before the code Ms. was presented, and the fact is that you did not even investigate the material, but rather investigated me because you found me as a person, based on my current life situation, not a kind of man you respected.
And Mr. Shirasago did not contact me, but I contacted him only after the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory send him via Bud Buda my Ms; and I had to drive to see him, and when I attempted to present information, Mr. Shirasago ridiculed me in such a way, as to degrade me, asking me how many times had I been arrested, and whether I had any status or credentials.
The truth is that Mr. Shirasago would not considered the Ms. valid for rather unscientific reasons. First, he stated that just because NASA had not decoded the Zodiac codes that it was impossible for me to do so. Second, he stated that as I stated that the Riverside desk was a codepoem, but he stated that Zodiac did not kill anyone in Riverside.
Thus, the homicide detective in charge of the Zodiac killings claimed that what Paul Avery proved, that Riverside was not a Zodiac killing; and, further, the same “expert” did not know that Maze Road was in Modesto, nor did he understand the relationship to it and Zodiac, until I told him; yet Shirasago had b prejudice rejected my attempt to get him to study all the information I had, and when he finally did so, it was in such as way that proved that he had already made up his mind that I was wrong.
In short, with both Fred Shirasago and Ken Narlow, I faced the problem of their not being fully informed as to the Zodiac codes, and their knowledge of the killings was not detailed, and in one case, Ken Narlow asked me to refresh his memory about the case, yet both did not try to make my giving them detailed information, information which matched in every detail the Zodiac, easy but as difficult as possible.
Fred Shirasago had examined some handprinting of Gaikowski, and I have proof that he said it “resembled” the Zodiacs. What happened was that Shirasago told me he had taken several vacations (as did Ken Narlow), and that they were both too busy to give it their full time, but when a critical hand printed notebook was given them, an unnamed expert decided after all it was not Zodiac, but the expert was not Dr. Sherwood Morrill because Shirasago refused to inform him of the matter, as he told me.
Fred Shirasago decided that Gaikowski was not the Zodiac exactly when a new event occurred. What I did was sent a series of photographs to the Suennen family, but I did not name names, but ask if anyone in that family recognized anyone in the photographs. I did this because neither Ken Narlow nor Fred Shirasago showed photographs to anyone.
The result was that Pam Suennen identified Gaikowski. Further, she later told me that she and her mother had one time had to go to the city of Martinez to get Darlene Ferrin back from a man’s house. She described the house as a duplex, and the man as a reporter.
Richard J. Gaikowski was a reporter 1964-65 in Martinez, working for the Martinez Morning News Gazette.
This event when I met Pam Suennen and the Suennen family the first time late January 1987 began a series of events in which both she and I were being threatened by someone and threatening notes, graffiti and the Zodiac sign was found by her house in Pittsburg.
Up to this time, neither Shirasago or Narlow had so much as glanced as the Ms., nor given more than passing glances at the information I had given them, and I had been told many times to ‘forget’ what I was doing and to ‘write some other book.’
It was only because that Pam Suennen was suddenly being threatened that Ken Narlow decided to make a superficial show of investigation – after six months of making every attempt to avoid me, never once contacting me.
And what did he do? He fingerprinted me which was a good thing, as by the new developments, I know that because Narlow and Shirasago had strong reasons to hope that Gaikowski was not the Zodiac, having made up their minds long before these events; and so I became the suspect. It was I who was threatening the Suennen family, and, apparently, myself.
This whole investigation was complicated by my strong claim that Gaikowski was killing people to keep me from further investigating the case.
Gaikowski himself told me that he was killing people, and that he was the Zodiac, and he told me it was dangerous to continue on with my investigation, and when I attempted to tell this to the two police officials, I was at once disbelieved.
The killings began July 31, and continued, until, finally, he struck the exact same night I was in the home of Frank Suennen, talking on the telephone to his sister. I told this to Ken Narlow, further, I told him he would probably strike into Napa.
What happened was Ken Narlow was worried, and suddenly he started studying the decoding, and he himself saw that the name Gaikowski was in the top line of the Mt. Diablo code, and he was unable to refute it although he tried,, and I told him Gaikowski, who is the Zodiac, was using the code from Mt. Diablo to plant clues on each killing, and so Ken Narlow decided to put a wire on me, even though I warned him that Gaikowski was in a rage, and knew I had been to Napa, as well as Vallejo as he had been following me, but Narlow insisted, and he had me go in but Gaikowski started screaming.
Three days later, on March 23, on Maria Drive, a block from Napa State Hospital where Gaikowski was a patient in a padded cell March 1971 a woman was stranged, and when I was in Narlow’s office he told me that he was no longer interested in the Zodiac or Gaikowski, his manner had changed radically, yet his partner, Detective Lacey came into the office saying to me “Are you going to solve this one too?”
Only later I read in the SF Examiner the news. Narlow asked me how Gaikowski knew I’d read the papers, if the clues were to be there, and in this case I did not tell him that because newspaper people and writers always read newspapers.
What happened next was that Ken Narlow rushed over to Gaikowski’s house, confronting him, taking fingerprints, and hand writing samples, and then cleared him!
He wrote the his first letter, but told Pam Suennen he had cleared Gaikowski, he was not the Zodiac. I called him and he was in a most angry mood at me, and he began to berate me.
He said that he had cleared Gaikowski because he had shown him a passport with a London, England date for December, 1968. He said that that proved that he was not the Zodiac.
I at once objected that it was common knowledge in the underground of which Gaikowski dropped into after dropped out of the main stream newspapers, becoming the mg. editor of the SF underground newspaper, the Good Times, to have dual passports. Further, the stamp could have been forged, as by this time Gaikowski knew I was seeing Narlow, but Narlow, wishing to prove me wrong no matter what proof I had, facing a major coverup along with Shirasaga jumped at any straw, including the hope that if I myself could be discredited, the whole bloody truth of the story could be swept under their police rugs.
Narlow suddenly said that he was too busy for me, that I had not a shred of evidence, that the Ms. proved nothing, and when I told him that the Suennen family did not believe me wrong he began to threaten me. He said I must not see them again, that I was an agitator, that I was the problem, and he further declared that I was harrassing Gaikowski!
He called me a ‘goofy’ person, and Shirasaga called me a ‘fruitcake’ and he told lies to Pam Suennen, about me, which was part of his effort to hope that I would just disappear and the story bloted out.
And so with so much prejudicial behavior, designed to keep me from telling the information I have, the injustice continues. Both Shirasaga and Narlow have attempted to use fear to control me, creating an atmosphere of oppression, which had the affect of keeping the truth from them.
The whole time that this was going on I was communicating to both Jim Finefrock and Paul Avery of different stages of this story, under the code name Goldcatcher, and I told them of each killing as it occurred.
I wish to state that Richard J. Gaikowski himself put in the Good Times the words, ZODIAC STRIKS AGAIN, over an astrology column, that he lived in the communes basement where he had a room, which often flooded out. That he was in Benicia, December 1968, and that he was in Riverside October, 1966; that he had both a Karmin Ghia and a Studebaker, that his own mother identified the Timex watch from a photograph from the Riverside newspaper; that he used the Good Times graphics; that he had a hide out from 1970-71 in Miranada, that he was a medic, that he is a self taught computer programmer, that he practices astrology, that he put the drawing of a bomb on the cover of the Good Times, that he comes from the BADLANDS state, that he is a film buff, that he makes films or has made films of young girls, that he is connected to every single killing from July, 1986; and that he is connected to in a circumstatial way all five killings of the Zodiac.
Further, the mother of Paul Stine identified his photograph, and the sister of Paul Stine stated that Paul Stine used to read the Good Times, and that Gaikowski lived a few blocks from Paul Stine 1963; and that Gaikowski was raised using guns, where, according to his sisters, he shot wild game in the forrest of Webster, South Dekota, the Badlands state. That he misspells when writing, and that he hand prints his letters, and the fact is that he wrote in the Good Times using occult names such as Geo Ati Kirk and Goat Kirk, and that ;his name and more than this is in all the Zodiac codes, this, along with the fact that he covered the 1965 Berryessa story, that he use to pick up girl hitchhikers, and there is only a whole list of details which, if examined, point to him as the true Zodiac, but that the sum of these details support the MS. ON ZODIAC’S IDENTITY, the same Ms. that these two police officials have prevented from being evaluated objectively.
Because I have reason to believe the behavior of both Shirasago and Narlow in the course of their superficial investigation of Richard J. Gaikowski contains elements of a classic police cover up I request that both disqualify themselves from prejudicial statements, and that new, professional investigation commence, and that I would be willing to provide my information , but that I strongly urge that the Ms. be examined by different unbiased parties.
It is necessary, based on the development of this situation, to give copies of this letter to the Suennen family, and to Paul Avery, so that the danger of a police cover up not take place, and that a grave injustice not take place.”
Again, several points were worthy of note:
1: Blaine stated that he had given both Narlow and Shirasago “detailed information” regarding Gaikowski which “matched in every detail the Zodiac,” yet, this is clearly not true. None of the information presented by Blaine established any connection between the Zodiac and Gaikowski, and, this information did little to support Blaine’s claim that Gaikowski was the killer. (Note: Blaine wrote: “...Gaikowski, who is the Zodiac...” – a clear indication that he had gone from a man with a theory to a man who was utterly convinced beyond all doubt.) That Narlow and Shirasago were not convinced by this information is perfectly reasonable, despite Blaine’s complaints.
2. Blaine referred to his manuscript, ON ZODIAC’S IDENTITY, as a “detailed, scholarly” work, yet, even a cursory examination of this report proved otherwise. In fact, Blaine’s report clearly demonstrated that, far from an objective and scholarly analysis, his deciphering of the Zodiac’s codes was little more than a convoluted and unconvincing collection of wild assumptions, leaps in logic, unfounded conclusions and subjective analysis. The results did not support Blaine’s theories and, instead, revealed his methods to be more the product of wishful thinking than scholarly examination. That Blaine could refer to this report as “scholarly,” despite its many misspellings and errors, is evidence that Blaine could not see his own work objectively and did not understand that his sloppy and un-scholarly manuscript did little to lend him credibility.
3. Blaine’s inability to be objective, and his inability to distinguish between facts and his own opinions, was clearly evident in his statement that Gaikowski’s name appeared in the deciphered results of the Mt. Diablo code “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
4. Blaine wrote with absolute certainty of his own conclusions as if they were fact and criticized Narlow and Shirasago on many grounds, including the fact that the men were unable to accurately recall information about the case. Yet, in his own letters, Blaine clearly demonstrated that he, himself, suffered from the same affliction. Blaine refered to “Dr. Sherwood Morrill,” yet Morrill had no such title. He refered to Shirasago as a “homicide” investigator and a “detective,” when, in fact, Shirasago was an agent, not a detective. The distinction may seem unimportant, yet, when these simple errors were made by a man claiming to have more knowledge than his law enforcement critics, the errors were magnified by Blaine’s hubris and unjustified righteousness. Blaine also claimed that Shirasago told him that Blaine could not have cracked the Zodiac’s codes because “NASA” was unable to do so. NASA is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and does not engage in cryptography; the NSA [National Security Agency] was engaged in attempt to decipher the Zodiac’s codes. Again, the distinction may seem small to some, yet Blaine’s attitude of superior knowledge was betrayed by his simple mistakes. Blaine’s writings clearly demonstrated that he was incapable of spelling even the simplest words correctly, further reason to question his claims to have deciphered the Zodiac’s complex coded messages.
5. Blaine claimed that Pam Huckaby (Suennen) had identified Gaikowski, yet he did not provide any context for this identification (i.e. when had Pam seen the man, where, or how). Pam reportedly stated that she and her mother had once driven to Martinez, California to pick up Darlene from the home of a “reporter,” and Blaine clearly believed this man was Gaikowski. Pam further stated that she had received threatening messages of various kinds, and that she and Blaine believed that Gaikowski was responsible. During the course of the last four decades, Pam Huckaby made many unsubstantiated, dubious and false claims regarding a mysterious stranger who had been stalking her sister, Darlene, and repeatedly claimed that she was the victim of repeated harassment from unknown sources, most likely the Zodiac himself. In fact, Blaine’s 1987 report to Narlow contained a supplement, written by Pam, which detailed some these claims.
For many years, the claims made by Pam (and her sister, Linda) served to perpetuate the theory that Darlene had known her killer. Blaine himself refers to this “connection” as if it were fact in his manuscript, ON ZODIAC’S IDENTITY. To date, no credible evidence has surfaced to support the theory that Darlene knew her killer, or, that she had been stalked by anyone prior to her death. With the exception of the claims made by Darlene and Linda, no credible evidence exists to suggest that Darlene Ferrin knew the Zodiac. Pam’s claims regarding Darlene’s connection to a reporter in Martinez, and her identification of Gaikowski cannot be considered credible.
6. Blaine’s letter stated that Shirasago told him that an “expert” had concluded that Gaikowski’s handwriting did not match that of the Zodiac, and mentioned a specific sample (a notebook). Few scenarios can be considered plausible: 1) Shirasago was telling the truth, 2) Shirasago was not telling the truth, or 3) Blaine was not telling the truth. If Shirasago was telling the truth, then Gaikowski’s writing was compared to that of the Zodiac and an expert excluded him as a suspect. If Shirasago was not telling the truth, then Gaikowski’s writing was not compared to that of the Zodiac. If Blaine was not telling the truth, then Blaine cannot be considered credible and proved that he was willing to be dishonest in order to suit his needs and cast aspersions on Shirasago.
7. Blaine’s letter also stated that Ken Narlow had, indeed, confronted Gaikowski, taken his fingerpints, obtained samples of his handwriting, and viewed a passport which demonstrated that Gaikowski was not in the United States in December 1968. During previous investigations of suspects, Narlow consistently acted to gather the pertinent information and evidence necessary to properly investigate a suspect, including handwriting and fingerprints. Few scenarios can be considered plausible: 1) Narlow was telling the truth, 2) Narlow was not telling the truth, or, 3) Blaine was not telling the truth. If Narlow was telling the truth, then Gaikowski was excluded using handwriting and fingerprint comparisons. If Narlow was not telling the truth, such evidence was never obtained and no such comparisons took place. If Blaine was not telling the truth, then Blaine cannot be considered credible and proved that he was willing to be dishonest in order to suit his needs and cast aspersions on Shirasago.
Today, Blaine’s enablers are quick to reject any version of the story in which anyone ever checked Gaikowski’s fingerprints against those believed to belong to the Zodiac. The claim is that Narlow, himself, said that no fingerprint comparison was ever conducted. Apparently, the story is that Blaine misheard Narlow; a convenient story, to say the least. Fingerprint comparisons were standard procedure when examining Zodiac suspects – except in this case, for reasons unknown.
Further denial comes in the explanation that the notebook allegedly belonging to Gaikowski and reportedly compared to the Zodiac’s handwriting may not have belonged to the suspect after all. Tom Voigt offers a story told by Blaine as proof, apparently unaware of the fact that Blaine has no credibility and has already offered several mutually exclusive and contradictory accounts.
According to Blaine, Narlow claimed to have seen a passport that indicated that Gaikowski was not in the United States in December 1968. According to Tom Voigt, Gaikowski “allegedly left for Europe in September 1968 ” and was reportedly in Ireland at that time of the murders on Lake Herman Road on December 20, 1968. This information served as a strong indication that Narlow had, in fact, confronted Gaikowski and had actually seen such a passport, as the time frames in question are exact, and it would have been virtually impossible for Narlow to accurately guess that Gaikowski had been out of the United States at that time without such evidence. Recently, Gaikowski’s accusers have dismissed the passport alibi and claim that Gaikowski could have been in the country at the time of the killings. The denial once again relies on Blaine’s account, and a misunderstanding; according to this version, Narlow did not see the passport and only told Blaine that Gaikowski had mentioned his passport as a possible alibi without providing the actual document.
During the recent broadcast of the new History Channel program MYSTERYQUEST, a friend of Gaikowski’s mentioned a letter he had received from the suspect at the time that the Zodiac murders began. According to the friend, this letter indicates that Gaikowski was in Albany, New York, and not in California at the time in question. Most objective observers have already recognized the undeniable fact that no credible evidence implicates Gaikowski in the Zodiac crimes and that the existing information and evidence clearly indicates that he is, at best, a poor suspect. However, these facts have not deterred Gaikowski’s accusers, who will continue to claim that Gaikowski could have been in California at the time of the Zodiac crimes.
Another puzzling and possibly exculpatory exhibit was included in the collection of documents pertaining to Richard Gaikowski – a handwriting sample that appeared to have been written for police, or, written in response to the accusation that Gaikowski was the Zodiac. The writing does not appear to be similar to that of the Zodiac, as Narlow and Shirasago allegedly told Blaine handwriting experts had concluded. This sample is similar to another sample linked to Gaikowski.
Gaikowski’s chief and only accuser claimed that he was told by at least two law enforcement officials that his suspect was excluded on the basis of handwriting, fingerprints, and even a possible alibi.
According to Blaine, Gaikowski confessed that he was, in fact, the Zodiac. This is hardly the behavior of a man determined to discourage Blaine. If anything, such a claim would only serve to further convince Blaine that he was right, and the threats and murders would only serve to compel him to continue in his attempts to get authorities to investigate Gaikowski. Had the suspect wished to truly deter Blaine, Gaikowski could have easily denied any involvement in the crimes and made an effort to appear innocent. Gaikowski’s behavior, as claimed by Blaine, makes no sense if he was guilty; however, his “screaming,” and other behavior, indicates that Gaikowski may have been nothing more than an innocent man who was sick and tired of Blaine’s baseless accusations and wished to put an end to the harassment.
Blaine Blaine aka “Purple” Blaine continued in his efforts to prove that Richard Gaikowski was the Zodiac, and, by 1991, even the FBI was coping with the consequences of the amateur sleuth’s dedication and special style of assistance. The San Francisco office of the FBI sought the assistance of the Bureau’s Technical Evaluation Unit. A memo dated December 18, 1991, read:
“SUBJECT: ATTN. THE ZODIAC KILLER
Enclosed for the Lab are a Christmas card and a 118-page document entitled “Rules for Decoding the Mount Diablo Code” by [name redacted] ... The FBI, the TEU is requested to analyze the enclosed document to determine if it has any validity in breaking the code used by the Zodiac killer in referenced airtel ... Since 11/ 8/88. And individual who goes by the name of [name redacted] (true name [name redacted], DOB [redacted] has been contacting the San Francisco FBI claiming that [longer name redacted] DOB [redacted] of [address redacted] San Francisco, is the Zodiac killer.” The memo also stated that the suspect, name redacted, “claims that he was out of the country during the Zodiac murders but that his passport is lost and he cannot prove it.”
Six days later, on December 24, 1991, the Technical Evaluation Unit responded with the results of its analysis of Blaine’s skill as a cryptographer. The FBI memo read, “Examination of [document] proved negative for decryption of the remaining unsolved ZODIAC codes. [Document] was shown to some of the original analysts of the ZODIAC codes and they are of the same opinion.”
Blaine was not the only man who claimed he had solved the Zodiac codes; police reports, FBI files, the statements of investigators (both public and private) indicate that police checked out even the craziest of leads, and, more importantly, stated that they had to do so because they were well aware that the correct answers may someday come from someone who appeared to be a kook. Blaine remained convinced that he had proved, “beyond a reasonable doubt,” that Gaikowski’s name appeared in the Mt. Diablo code, yet FBI crptographers disagreed. Napa County Sheriff Ken Narlow had apparently lost interest in Blaine and his theories, and Agent Fred Shirasago of the Department of Justice was equally disinterested. Years passed, Gaikowski died, and as the new century began Blaine was still living the same “nightmare.”
According to Blaine, he somehow obtained a book that had been in Gaikowski’s possession. Few details are available concerning the origins and custody of this book, but the story told by Blaine was once again sensational and shocking. Titled PLATO AND PARMENIDES, a popular philosophy text used in college courses, the title page of the book featured a signature , “Paul Stine,” the name of the Zodiac’s last known victim. Blaine has stated that the book did not show any traces of blood. According to Tom Voigt, Blaine contacted SFPD sometime in 2001, and gave this book to an unidentified individual. At that time, the Zodiac case had been assigned to Inspectors Kelly Carroll and Mike Maloney – two men who, by all accounts, took great care to properly investigate the case and check out many theories and suspects. Maloney even traveled to Ireland to investigate the work of one amateur codebreaker in Ireland. A book bearing the signature of a known Zodiac victim was just the kind of evidence that any competent investigator would gladly investigate.
The book itself is a matter of contention. Is the signature actually that of Zodiac victim Paul Stine, is it a hoax, or did the book ever exist in the first place.
Blaine’s 1986 manuscript and letters served as a window into the mind of the author. Blaine, like other theorists, reached the conclusion that he had identified the killer within months of beginning his investigation and clearly based his belief on a variety of assumptions, speculation and strained decipherings of the Zodiac’s coded messages. Like other theorists, Blaine also based much of his work on the discredited work of Robert Graysmith and the discredited claims of Darlene’s sisters, Pam and Linda. Like other theorists, Blaine seemed convinced that he had not only identified the killer but faced consequences for pursuing his investigation. Like other theorists, Blaine attributed other murders to his suspect. Yet, his report clearly demonstrated that Blaine, at that time, had no credible evidence to support his conclusions. Like other theorists, Blaine had written a massive manuscript about his theory before he had ever obtained any credible evidence to support that theory. Like other theorists, Blaine approached law enforcement with his theories, claimed he had solved the case, failed to provide any substantial or credible evidence to support his claims, and was then baffled to find that police had little interest in pursuing his theory or investigating his suspect. Like other theorists, Blaine was convinced that the evidence did not implicate his suspect and he then began the familiar cry of a cover-up and conspiracy.
Dismissed by authorities as a “kook,” Blaine remained determined to convince the world that he had identified the Zodiac. In 1991, the FBI examined his claims; one bureau report states that Gaikowski claimed he was not in the United States at the time when the Zodiac crimes began but that he had lost his passport. Like Narlow and Shirasago before them, the agents of the FBI saw little reason to pursue further investigation of Blaine’s claims. As the years passed, Blaine occasionally reappeared to tell his story but few were willing to listen. Unable to find an audience for his incredible tale, Blaine faded into the shadows of the Zodiac story and was known among Zodiac researchers as one of the original and genuine crackpots. According to one source, even Inspector Mike Maloney of the SFPD referred to Blaine as one of his “top three kooks.”
By the turn of the century, Richard Gaikowski was battling lung cancer and nearing the end of his life. Determined to stay active, he continued to explore his interest in computers, art, and music, and even organized a punk-rock show. A photograph reveals the aged-Gaikowski, still optimistic, still smiling, even as death descended upon him. Yet, the illness progressed and, on April 30, 2004, Richard Gaikowski took his last breath at the San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center.
Those who mourned his death arranged to celebrate Gaikowski’s life at his San Francisco home, and friends shared memories with reporter Michael Taylor of the San Francisco Chronicle. "Richard just had a bohemian air about him," said friend Ken Tray, the executor of Gaikowski’s estate. “He was on the edge of soul.” Another friend, Jay Hanke said, “He was a hip cat... He was a beatnik." As he departed this earth, Gaikowski may have been comforted by the fact that he had lived a full life and was remembered fondly by his family and friends. The accusations of Blaine Blaine seemed long-forgotten but, when Richard Gaikowski died at the age of 68, he never suspected that his one-time-accuser would return on worldwide television to claim that Richard Gaikowski was the most notorious serial killer in American history.
In 2007, Blaine and his accusations resurfaced on the Internet, thanks to Tom Voigt, owner of the website Zodiackiller.com. Along with David Morris, a member of the site’s message board, Voigt resurrected the Gaikowski-as-Zodiac theory and promoted Blaine Blaine as a credible source. Voigt and Morris pointed to Gaikowski’s work as a newsman as well as several other strained and speculative “connections” in their efforts to convict the suspect in the court of public opinion. Voigt’s site released a constant stream of seemingly-damning information portraying Gaikowski as a logical and viable suspect, citing interviews with and “evidence” provided by Blaine, using the code-name “Goldcatcher.” Hiding behind this anonymity, Blaine was able to accuse a dead man while effectively obstructing any efforts to investigate his true identity and background.
Blaine Blaine had more disturbing claims and sensational stories to tell in his so-called “Audio Confession.” This long recorded telephone monologue raises serious doubts regarding Blaine’s credibility, his theory, his claims, and his sanity.
Blaine’s August 1986 letter to Captain Ken Narlow of the NCSO and Inspector Napoleon Hendrix of the SFPD offered several pages of strained speculation in an attempt to link Gaikowski with murdered cab driver Leonard Smith; despite its length, Blaine’s collection of “connections” did little to establish any connection between the suspect and the victim. Blaine wrote, “Did [Gaikowski] call up Smith, a casual acquaintance from cabby days, arranging to meet him that Thursday, like he did for me, I mean, when he arranged a can to meet me in 1983? Is the connection from Smith to Gaikowski through Samir?” In his September 1986 manuscript, Blaine had written, “...I maintain that Gaikowski knew both Smith [cab driver days] and Seligman...” Blaine’s words clearly indicate that, as of September 1986, he had been unable to establish any connection between Gaikowski and Smith.
Click Here to listen to GOLDCATCHER’s AUDIO “CONFESSION” In his recent “Audio Confession,” Blaine told a different story.
“I was there in [Gaikowski’s] house ... and then there was a fellow cab driver Leonard Smith, he was there. And what happened was, uh, Gaikowski and I were, uh, I was, uh, I was trying to free myself from the kind of spell he was putting over me – all this talk about murder. I was in denial, I, I, I, I, I, I didn’t want to believe, uh, that anything like this would happen. And, uh, even now as I talk about this, uh, I don’t, I find myself wanting to censor myself because the truth is so evil about it. Well, what it came down to was, uh, this guy Leonard Smith, he was the first one, now, Gaikowski has decided that he got, he, he, he’s got a new way to start a bunch of killings ... Well, what I’m trying to say here is that, was, uh, that Gaikowski was saying, ‘Uh, look, Blaine, we’ve been in these murders since the beginning.’ I didn’t like how he was saying that, like, like, somehow he’s getting me involved in these murders, he did that from the beginning. Then he was saying, uh, ‘You know what, I could kill this guy, I don’t like this guy anyway, Leonard Smith, the guy, you had sex with him, right? And, uh, uh, we kill this guy, and, I go over there, I’m gonna kill him, and, in his cab, and take a ride. Call him up and he’ll meet me someplace in his cab, right? And, uh, when I kill him, I’ll leave a, uh, you know, I’ll spray paint a golden calf on the sidewalk, yeah.’ I said, ‘What are you talking about? Are you nuts? Don’t do anything crazy like that.’ Well, he did that, he killed that guy, and, uh, the reason was that, he wanted, he wanted, he wanted to do a little test, and the test was, just as he was invincible as the Zodiac, he was going to do a series of killings called ‘The Golden Calf Killings,’ and, uh, here’s how he got me involved in this. He said, ‘Okay, you know I killed Leonard Smith. Christ, you were in the van over there, at the south market. I drove by, you heard the gun shot, you got out, you saw me there, you know, I, I, I killed the guy, I killed Leonard Smith, but, what I want you do, though, is, you call up the San Francisco homicide – Mayor Feinstein, she’s got a reward out for that guy, ten thousand bucks! Go ahead and call and say, you know this guy, a friend of yours, you say my name Gaikowski, and you say you saw me kill him.’ Okay, I’m thinking, ‘Are you crazy or what?’ And, then he said, ‘But don’t worry, because you’re gonna be rewarded for this.’ And I said, ‘What, have you gone out of your, off your rocker?’ and then he said, ‘No. Then you say that, uh, Gaikowski is the Zodiac. Yeah, tell them that. And, I’ll be here when you get back. You can make the call from somewhere else, right? And tell me what happens.’ I’m thinking about that, because, he killed this cab driver that we both knew. Lots of details of this first murder. Well, when I called the police about it, uh, I think the cops, uh, the Inspector was Napoleon Hendrix. But when I said that Gaikowski was the Zodiac serial killer, they said, uh, ‘We don’t want to hear anymore of this stuff, okay. We get people calling here everyday claiming they know who the Zodiac is, so, you know, why don’t you, you know, just forget this, okay, buddy.’ And, uh, this was actually what happened. I was astounded. I told Gaikwoski and he laughed and said, ‘Yeah.’ No. And I thought, ‘Well, okay, I did that. What’s the big deal?’...”
In 1986, Blaine claimed that he had stumbled upon the conclusion that Gaikowski was the Zodiac and that the suspect had threatened Blaine’s life and even murdered other human beings in an attempt to silence Blaine. Decades later, Blaine now claimed that he was approached by Gaikowski and asked to report the suspect to police because Gaikowski knew no one would ever listen to a kook like Blaine. Even more baffling was Blaine’s new claim that he had always known that Gaikowski was the Zodiac killer and had even accompanied the suspect during another string of bizarre murders known as the “Golden Calf Killings.” At one point in the audio confession, Blaine is uncertain as to whether or not he actually participated in the killings. Blaine later mentions a meeting with German extremists who were plotting to assassinate then-President Ronald Reagan.
More than 20 years after he first “solved” the case, Blaine still believes that Richard Gaikowski is the Zodiac. Once again, a man stands accused of murder by another man armed with alleged evidence, and, once again, the accuser lacks credibility. Those who endorse Blaine and his theory choose to ignore the accuser’s lack of credibility while pursuing the accuser’s agenda – the continued accusations against the now-deceased Richard Gaikowski. Rendered defenseless by death, the accused cannot respond to the increasingly incredulous yet serious accusations and his name remains on the list of named suspects despite the fact that no credible evidence has been presented to justify his inclusion on that list.
In a recent posting on a message board, a member noted that the public accusations against Gaikowski could accurately be described as irresponsible, and harmful to his reputation and family. The site owner, Blaine-promoter Tom Voigt, responded by saying, in essence, “Who cares,” and wrote, “He’s dead,” as if the fact that Gaikwoski had died was good reason to accuse the man without concern or responsible restraint. Such statements sum up the problems of naming and vetting suspects in public; such behavior is irresponsible, does damage to the public perception of the case, and only further clouds the case with more unnecessary nonsense. Destroying the lives of innocent men and their families is becoming a cottage industry, and “who cares” seems to be the prevailing mantra (evidenced by Voigt’s history of propping up strawmen suspects and knocking them down when the theory becomes unpopular or discredited).
When one message board poster wrote that he “felt bad” for Gaikowski’s family and loved ones, Voigt responded, “Feel bad for him? Come on. If Gyke had any issue whatever with being suspected of being the Zodiac he wouldn’t have spent 100s of hours on the phone messing Goldcatcher.” In one of his rambling letters to law enforcement, Blaine claimed that Gaikowski was killing people because he was upset about the accusations; in another passage, Blaine claims that he was wired to record a conversation with Gaikowski but that the suspect began “screaming,” an indication that the ongoing accusations may have bothered Gaikowski. Undoubtedly, Gaikowski would have been upset if he knew that, after his death, he would be accused of being one of the most notorious murderers in history, let alone that the accusations would be based on the delusional ravings of Blaine Blaine and the flimsiest of “evidence.”
Former Vallejo police dispatcher Nancy Slover answered the call from the Zodiac shortly after the shooting at Blue Rock Springs Park. Tom Voigt of Zodiackiller.com provided an audio recording of Gaikowski’s voice for Nancy Slover and she concluded that the suspect’s voice was the same voice she had heard almost four decades earlier. For those who believed that Gaikowski was a good suspect, Slover’s “identification” was strong evidence; others had great difficulty believing that anyone could accurately identify a voice they had heard for only a matter of seconds almost forty years ago.
Nancy Slover appeared on the History Channel program MYSTERYQUEST broadcast, and was asked to listen to tapes of Gaikowski’s voice again. The program gave viewers the impression that Nancy Slover listened to the tape of Gaikowski’s voice for the first time during her filmed segment with accusers Tom Voigt and Davis Morris; in fact, Slover had heard the tape some time ago and had already stated that Gaikowski’s voice was similar to that of the Zodiac (she allegedly “identified” Gaikwoski as the man she spoke with more than forty years ago). “That came very close to his ‘Good-bye,’ to me,” Nancy said of one portion of the tape. “It’s the same guy.” When asked if she was certain, she replied, “I – well – I am. Nobody I have listened to before even came close to him.” Slover added, “In my opinion, that is the man that called VPD in the early morning hours of July 5, 1969. I just know what my gut feeling is, and my reaction is.”
In the past, Slover had stated that the voice of Manson follower and Zodiac suspect Bruce Davis was similar to the Zodiac’s voice; later, after she had participated in the production of the feature film ZODIAC, Slover stated that the voice of the actor who portrayed Arthur Leigh Allen was most like that of the Zodiac. Critics noted that the voices of these two men were not similar and questioned Slover’s ability to accurately identify any voice after so many years had passed.
In April 2009, this author spoke with Nancy Slover regarding her so-called “identification” of Richard Gaikowski and asked the former police dispatcher about her previous statements concerning the caller’s voice. After noting the fact that she had once considered the voices of Davis and the actor to be similar, Slover said that she now found Gaikowski’s to be the most compatible candidate. When asked whether or not it was possible that someone could come forward with a tape recording of a fourth voice that could ultimately be more compatible than the previous three, Slover replied, “I don’t know – I’d have to hear the voice.”
The producers of MYSTERYQUEST did their best to gain access to the original case evidence as well as the partial genetic profile created by the SFPD crime lab, but the San Francisco Police Department declined to participate in the program and refused to provide access to the DNA evidence. Some people viewed the lack of cooperation as proof that the SFPD was engaged in some sinister attempt to thwart the investigation of Richard Gaikowski or conceal the fact that their evidence was not as sound as they had led us to believe. To these armchair critics, the behavior of the SFPD was baffling, and the refusal to participate in the production was characterized as “arrogant” and even “irresponsible.” To others, the actions of the SFPD made perfect sense.
Richard Gaikowski first became a “suspect” back in 1986, thanks to the claims of “Blaine Blaine” (aka Goldcatcher). Despite the fact that members of law enforcement (including Ken Narlow) did not believe that he was a credible source, Blaine found new support for his incredulous claims decades later in the likes of Tom Voigt and David Morris of the website Zodiackiller.com. Ignoring Blaine’s credibility issues and his habit of telling mutually exclusive versions of the same story, Voigt and Morris resurrected Blaine’s bogus claims and introduced him to a world ignorant of his history. Armed with audio recordings of telephone conversations between Blaine and the suspect, as well as a long list of seemingly damning evidence, Voigt and Morris launched their campaign to promote Gaikowski as a new and compelling suspect. The message board at Zodiackiller.com became a 24-hour source for propaganda designed to convince the world that Voigt and Morris were hot on the trail of the killer’s true identity. Not unlike college pranksters leading gullible freshmen on a snipe hunt, Voigt and Morris led their newly-converted believers down a path carefully constructed to create the conclusion that Gaikowski was a viable suspect in need of serious investigation.
More than 20 years ago, Ken Narlow looked into Blaine’s accusations; he concluded that Blaine had no credibility and that his suspect was unworthy of further examination. Blaine’s letters and his statements today demonstrate that Narlow’s assessment of Blaine was correct. During his many written communications to investigators, Blaine desperately tried to establish a link between Gaikowski and slain cab driver Leonard Smith, and he provided a long list of circumstances and coincidences to create a rather strained connection. Decades ago, Blaine claimed that he had stumbled upon Gaikowski’s identity as the Zodiac; today, he claims that he was asked by Gaikowski to report the suspect to police. Decades ago, Blaine had been unable to establish a connection between Gaikowski and Smith; today, he claims he was in the same room with the two men. Decades ago, Blaine had nothing more than speculation to connect Gaikowski to Smith’s murder; today, he claims that Gaikowski not only told of him of his intention to kill Smith, but that he was at the scene when the murder occurred. Decades ago, Blaine claimed that Gaikowski was killing people in order to stop his investigation; today, he claims that Gaikowski invited him to participate in the murder spree.
Richard Gaikowski was arrested in the 1960s; the version of the story offered today has Gaikowski writing a story about conditions in the local jail and he attempted to get arrested in order to investigate from within. However, Blaine offered a different story when he spoke with David Morris.
In an email dated March 9, 2008, Morris wrote: “I spoke with Blaine today and asked why Richard was arrested in 1965. He'd told me the story before, but it didn't make a ton of sense. He retold it exactly as before. Richard got into a fight with Darlene, and, this is what's fuzzy, for some reason held out a beer bottle from the driver side window of his car as a police cruiser went by. The cops saw it, stopped him, and arrested him for it. He lost his job over the incident.” Of course, the story has now changed to remove the outlandish claims regarding Zodiac victim Darlene Ferrin. Voigt and Morris have chosen to ignore these serious credibility problems, just as Voigt ignored the same problems when it came to his associations with and promotion of Robert Graysmith, Allen-accuser Don Cheney, Manson conspiracy theorist Howard Davis, and others over the years. In a recent post on his own message board, Voigt wrote, “I can't count how many times a sensational claim about Gaikowski from Goldcatcher turned out to be true. He's more than earned the benefit of the doubt.” Apparently Voigt does not count the times when Blaine’s story proved to be false.
The MYSTERYQUEST investigation failed to uncover any new information to implicate Gaikowski. In fact, the program did much to support the conclusion that Gaikowski was not in the state of California during the time of the Zodiac events which began in late 1968 and continued until March 1971. Gaikowski’s friend Bob Loomis provided producers with letters and envelopes which the suspect had sent to Loomis; one of these letters was dated May 1969 and postmarked in New York. Gaikowski himself claimed that he was not even in the country at the time of the murders on Lake Herman Road in December 1968.
The producers of MYSTERYQUEST did their best to have Gaikowski’s DNA compared to the partial profile created by the San Francisco Police Department crime lab. Despite the fact that no credible evidence exists to implicate Gaikowski, the producers acted responsibly in requesting such a comparison as he had already been accused in public for more than a year. However, the SFPD refused to cooperate with the production; a sample believed to belong to Gaikowski was forwarded to the SFPD, yet the department has not released any information or confirmed that any comparison was conducted. Supporters of the Gaikowski theory characterized this refusal as evidence that the SFPD was not interested in pursuing legitimate suspects or solving this case. David Morris offered his own thoughts on the reasons behind the refusal to cooperate, and wrote on Voigt’s message board, “Concern over looking stupid for letting a bunch of net geeks solve the most famous case in SF history? Ding ding ding.”
While this may have seemed like a perfectly reasonable explanation to David Morris, residents of planet earth viewed the actions of the SFPD in a very different light. Initially, some members of the SFPD believed that DNA testing might be an effective tool when it came to discrediting crackpots, however, as Graysmith, Rodelli and others have made clear, theorists simply march on, undeterred by such evidence.
The SFPD most likely has more than a passing familiarity with the career and claims of Tom Voigt; years ago, Voigt leaked a worksheet from the San Francisco Police Department concerning previous attempts to obtain DNA from the Zodiac’s envelopes. Members of the department may also remember that Tom Voigt is the same individual who promoted the already-discredited Robert Graysmith, assisted Graysmith in accusing Allen and spreading nonsense about that suspect, and generated the hype surrounding the non-suspect known as “Sam.” Voigt also sold Arthur Leigh Allen underwear, a beer mug featuring the face of victim Paul Stine, tee-shirts and more. In short, Voigt’s reputation among those in law enforcement and most especially the SFPD is less than stellar. If the SFPD knew that Tom Voigt was behind the accusations against Richard Gaikowski they may have seen no value in pursuing DNA testing when they knew Voigt’s history of propping up strawmen suspects only to knock them down after they lost their value as a marketable commodity.
There are many legitimate reasons to explain the SFPD’s refusal to participate in a DNA comparison concerning Gaikowski. Recent events surrounding the ridiculous claims made by Dennis Kaufman and Deborah Perez have created unnecessary work for law enforcement. The men and women who are constantly forced to investigate the tall tales told by individuals in search of fame and profit may be tired of devoting valuable time, resources, manpower and money to such nonsense. Blaine Blaine is the only reason that Gaikowski ever became a Zodiac suspect in the first place, and the SFPD may be well aware of the fact that he has no credibility, that he had already taken his information to every law enforcement agency, including the FBI, only to be dismissed as a kook, and that Blaine has been coddled and promoted by Tom Voigt. Rather than encourage others to engage in the same shameless opportunism, the SFPD may have decided that the best way to deter future crackpots was to simply ignore claims made by those who clearly have no credibility. The SFPD may have believed that they would be wasting time and effort on a new investigation of a suspect already examined and abandoned by investigators such as Ken Narlow and others more than twenty years earlier. In short, the SFPD’s refusal could be a statement saying, in effect, “We are not the crackpot clearinghouse, and we don’t come running every time some nutcase claims he has solved the Zodiac case.”
Regardless of the reasons behind the SFPD’s decision not to participate in the MYSTERYQUEST testing, the department is under no obligation to share any information with the public, curious crime buffs, or men who are accusing suspects based on the flimsiest of evidence. The fact that SFPD does not do what some people want the department to do does not mean that the department is somehow irresponsible or apathetic, or that members of law enforcement are somehow afraid of or embarrassed by the so-called “net geeks” like Tom Voigt and David Morris. If one can read anything from the behavior of the SFPD, one might conclude that they have been paying attention and offered the most appropriate response to the Gaikowski/Blaine/Voigt/Morris machine.
To date, no credible evidence exists to implicate Gaikowski in the Zodiac crimes, and until further evidence surfaces to support Blaine’s claims, the theory that Richard was the Zodiac remains little more than a familiar refrain told by yet another one of the many funny fellows, comic men and clowns of private life drawn to the unsolved mystery.
