The Zodiac Killer's Lake Berryessa Crime Scene

SEPTEMBER 27, 1969 : LAKE BERRYESSA - Napa, California

Weeks passed and as the manhunt continued, the Zodiac moved north into the Napa Valley and California wine country. College students Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepherd had settled along the shore of Lake Berryessa for a relaxing afternoon visit. By the time a local fisherman stumbled across them at dusk, the two college students were covered in blood and fighting for their lives. Cecelia died of her wounds, and due to the miracle of chance, Bryan survived to describe his encounter with the Zodiac.

According to Bryan, he and Cecelia were lying on the ground along the shoreline when she noticed a man lingering in the shade of some trees nearby. Suddenly he appeared wearing a bizarre, hooded costume that had a white crossed-circle stitched onto the front. The assailant held the frightened coeds at gunpoint as he explained that he intended to rob them and make his escape. Bryan and Cecilia were bound with clothesline, and, just as they had hoped that the ordeal was about to end in mere inconvenience, the hooded stranger set upon them with a foot-long knife. When the savage attack was over, the stranger simply walked away and left his victims in agony.

To prove he was responsible for the stabbing, the Zodiac used a black marker to draw a large crossed-circle on the door of Bryan's car. Below his symbol, the killer listed the dates of the two shootings and added the notation, "Sept 27 69 6:30 by knife." At 7:40 pm, the Napa County Police Department received a call that had been placed from a telephone booth located a few blocks away. Officer David Slaight listened as the caller said in a low, monotone voice, "I want to report a murder - no, a double murder. They are two miles north of park headquarters. They were in a white Volkswagen Karman Ghia." Slaight asked the man to provide his location, but the voice only grew more distant as the caller replied, "I'm the one who did it."

Scene IV: San Francisco