The Zodiac Case: Tidbits

San Francisco Police Officer Dave Toschi, who was on the Zodiac case, was accused of forging Zodiac letters. It is known that not all of the Zodiac letters were real, but at least 21 were, and this is a very possible theory. It tainted Dave Toschi's name forever.

Robert Graysmith, an author, wrote several books on the Zodiac Killer, including one written in 1996 called "Zodiac." Not all of his books are highly prized, even though most people look up to his work. One book, "Unabomber: A Desire to Kill," upset the surviving victims and the families of the victims, because in the inside pocket it said Graysmith solved the Zodiac case.

Wednesday, October 22, 1969. At two in the morning, the Oakland Police Department rang. The called said: "This is the Zodiac speaking. I want you to get in touch with F. Lee Bailey... If you can't come up with Bailey, I'll settle for Mel Belli... I want one or the other to appear on the Channel Seven talk show. I'll make contact by phone." At 7:20 am, the man called the KGO studios to talk to Melvin Belli. When asked for a name to go by, the caller said, "Sam." 35 calls to the studio were made by "Sam," 12 of which made it on air. Bryan Hartnell, a Zodiac victim, and the man who received the original call at 2 am were asked if the voice belonging to "Sam" matched that of the voices they heard, in Bryan's attack and the call in the morning. They both agreed that the voice was not the same. The mystery was solved when a call to Mel Belli was traced to the Napa State Hospital and was found to have been a mental patient there.

After the Mel Belli call mess, the Zodiac seemed to take real interest in Mel Belli and even wrote him a letter. Mel Belli, in return, posted a letter in the Chronicle, asking the Zodiac to meet with him, but the Zodiac never responded.



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