"ZODE" from Pacific High School in San Bernardino

Let's not forget that Kathleen Johns was driving up to the Bay area from San Bernardino. Is it possible she was followed up by Zode?? Her attacker came up behind her, possibly meaning that he was travelling from the same direction as her.

My gut tells me this isn't Z. First of all, Zode was too young at the time. More important, everything is just too pat here. Zode told his classmates that he was going to kill people and make them his slaves in the afterlife? And no one mentioned this to LE in 1969? Nah, I don't believe this for a second. If this were true, lots of people would have come forward at the time who knew him in High School. They didn't. And Z wouldn't have been so obvious as to put in a letter things -- very idiosyncratic things -- that he made public a few years before. I'm not buying this one at all.

rand wrote:

My gut tells me this isn't Z. First of all, Zode was too young at the time. More important, everything is just too pat here. Zode told his classmates that he was going to kill people and make them his slaves in the afterlife? And no one mentioned this to LE in 1969? Nah, I don't believe this for a second. If this were true, lots of people would have come forward at the time who knew him in High School. They didn't. And Z wouldn't have been so obvious as to put in a letter things -- very idiosyncratic things -- that he made public a few years before. I'm not buying this one at all.

My feeling all along has been that Z was in his 30's, close to 40. But to simply NOT look at this guy based on "gut feelings", and pre-concieved ideas of Zodiac's age is foolish in my opinion.

There are only two possible scenarios here:

1- The guy that came foward with the allegations about Zode, is telling the truth and is right, or 2- The guy is lying, or mistaken.

If #1 is the case, we need to determine that and set out to see what we can find.

If #2 is the case, then for some unknown reason, this man has accused ZODE for no known reason, and that merits explanation as well.

I will say this about Katana's posts and his anon email (if that was from him, I think it was), he ssems genuine and serious. Maybe he is a good liar, but he has me interested, as well as some other researchers here. Whats best is, we actually have a paper trail. Addresses, DOB, relatives, a club he belongs to, etc.

And lets not forget, the word ZODIAC is clearly written over his photo in a yearbook photo shown on Ancestry.com. Thats not speculation, its a fact.
Who wrote it and when?

The anon email was sent out regarding ZODE, years before the site Zodiackiller.com ever was started. Doesnt seem like some nut that joined Toms site, and decided to just make his own suspect.

Maybe someone could clarify this for me. In the book by Graysmith, he writes "ALA had heard about the kid that called himself Zodiac, and written on the board". My question is, how had ALA heard about this kid? And also, how did Graysmith hear about him?

Are we talking about the Pacific High School 1964 Yearbook? If not, which yearbook?

Below, you will see two cases that happened directly to the west of San Bernardino, and both have strong shades of Kathleen Johns:

I posted this previously-This was from NOV, 1967, from the Ventura area. Despite ZODE having a very rare last name, there were people (possibly relatives of his)in the Ventura/ LA area



The following articles are from the case of Ernestine Terello, who was murdered in the early 70's near Augora Hills, after police theorized that a "good samaritan" had helped her change a flat tire.. That location is right near Thousand Oaks. There were also people with ZODE's last name in Thousand Oaks:



(By the way, despite the article saying Terello was raped, I spoke to a Dtetective handling her case, and he said that she was NOT, and added that she was not robbed either)

If you draw a straight line on a map from San Bernardino to Ventura, it is a straight shot, and Augora Hills is right along the way. Seems like it is 101 south.

In addition, I have found possible relatives of his in Riverside (Bates), and one that was married near Stateline (Lass)

bayarea60s wrote:

Are we talking about the Pacific High School 1964 Yearbook? If not, which yearbook?

Yes, 1963 also i think. There are 2 separate yearbooks with him in it on Ancestry.com, and one has the word ZODIAC on his photo,in purple or blue ink.

Morf = "If #2 is the case, then for some unknown reason, this man has accused ZODE for no known reason, and that merits explanation as well."

I have often wondered, "How might rumors get started about a suspect?"

As there at least a dozen "major" "known" Zodiac suspects, dozens more that have been brought up, and 2500 on the police list, it is clear names do get dragged into this. Of those 2500 names on the suspect list, at least 2499 are innocent.

Remember this is a high profile case that has been on and off front pages from 40 years. Something about this case grabs people, and it can become obsessive. Many people have said their father, stepfather, brother, ex-husband or former classmate was the Zodiac. Each has reasons. the most famous sketch in this case is of a rather generic, plain and normal looking white male, average height and weight, with a crew cut/brush cut that was very common at the time, and wearing glasses. Millions of people fit that description.

We can't discount the motives of fame, publicity, money and the credit for being the "one that solved the Zodiac case".

Also - grudges. Arthur Leigh Allen admits he talked about the film "Most Dangerous Game', lived in some of the relevant areas and apparently was involved in a "touching" incident with the daughter of Don Cheney. Was that enough to motivate Don Cheney to get revenge on Allen, perhaps thinking he may be the Zodiac, but if not, "srew him"? Who knows? Many of the people who have accused fathers, step fathers and ex-husbands admit they hated those people.

If "MZ" is not Zodiac, indeed, if he never even said things like "This is the Zodiac speaking", how might his name have come up?

Consider that we have the Patricia Hautz letter and a Pat hautz who went to PHS. Perhaps someone looked through the PHS yearbooks looking for "the boy" who Hautz knew (or thought) was the killer. MZ might stand out for severeal reasons:

1. His firstname starts with "M" and his last name starts with a "Z". Arguably, the Bates letters were signed "Z" or perhaps even "MZ", and Zodiac starts with Z.

2. Graysmith said Zodiac killed in places with water names, and Penn thought Zodiac would have a water association in his name. Not only does this person have an odd sounding name starting with "Z", there is (arguably) a water association in his name.

3. In a yearbook of mostly white, and WASP white, students, here is a student with a 'foreign" look and weird hair and a weird name. Remember the rumors that Jack the ripper was a foreigner, a swarthy fellow, maybe a Jew? People often associate negative aspects to foreigners or anyone who looks or acts different.

4. If this person was picked on as a youngster, perhaps he acted like a loner, odd, isolated. Perhaps he made comments about getting revenge.

The biggest question would be this - WAS KATANA - OR WHOEVER THE ANONYMOUS POSTER WAS - REALLY A STUDENT AT PHS DURING THE TIME PERIOD AND DID HE PERSONALLY WITNESS MZ SAY "THIS IS THE ZODIAC SPEAKING" AND THE OTHER BEHAVIOR OR IS HE MERELY REPEATING RUMORS AND STORIES HE HEARD?

I agree, AK....also....seriously, don't you think one ADULT from the school would have come forward, a teacher or a counselor or a principal, or SOMEONE??

I encourage every suspect to be checked out. There are some interesting issues about this suspect, and some of the best minds among Zodiac researchers are trying to get to the bottom of it. In my role as a "mod" here, I have posted things like the comparisons to the "aged" Zodiac sketch, which show some similarity to this person.

But yes, as I and others have pointed, out, it does seem as if some fellow students or teachers would have come forward. This boy is described as saying he is the "Zodiac", running around the schoolyard flapping his wings, masturbating in the bathroom, talking about killing people and drawing pictures that disturbed teachers. Yet we don't have one known identified student or teacher coming forward. Doubtful IMO.

Also, none of the witness descriptions of Zodiac mentioned him being tan or olive skinned, or looking foreign.

But who knows? I think the persons who feel there could be merit to this claim will get to the bottom of it one way or the other. And we do have the interesting fact MZ attended that same school as a Pat Hautz.

Zabagliona wrote:

I agree, AK....also....seriously, don't you think one ADULT from the school would have come forward, a teacher or a counselor or a principal, or SOMEONE??

I dont know. Then again, why didnt teachers and fellow students come forward in the Columbine case???? Those kids were bulding bombs in their homes. They were making threats over the internet. There were plenty of warning signs. Maybe it was the BYSTANDER complex...not wanting to get involved.

If ZODE really was teased and abused, etc, he may have tried to keep to himself, and out of the limelight, maybe the teachers didnt even know how bad it was. I dont really know, but I do know it should be looked into. If it is true, lets try to prove it, if not, lets try and disprove it. Its easy to say that "its not believable", "he is too young", etc. Its harder to see if its actually true.

A couple things I dont understand regarding people's doubts for ZODE being Zodiac- some people that think ZODE cant be Z, are the same people that dont want to drop the PATRICIA HAUTZ letter as a possible clue, yet somehow, they want to quickly dismiss this guy, DESPITE the fact he went to school with her, and that surprises me.


And lastly, some of the people questioning ZODE as a Z suspect, would be all over this if their personal suspect was rumored to have called himself Zodiac years before the Z murders- am I wrong?

AK Wilks wrote:

I encourage every suspect to be checked out. There are some interesting issues about this suspect, and some of the best minds among Zodiac researchers are trying to get to the bottom of it. In my role as a "mod" here, I have posted things like the comparisons to the "aged" Zodiac sketch, which show some similarity to this person.

But yes, as I and others have pointed, out, it does seem as if some fellow students or teachers would have come forward. This boy is described as saying he is the "Zodiac", running around the schoolyard flapping his wings, masturbating in the bathroom, talking about killing people and drawing pictures that disturbed teachers. Yet we don't have one known identified student or teacher coming forward. Doubtful IMO.

Also, none of the witness descriptions of Zodiac mentioned him being tan or olive skinned, or looking foreign.

But who knows? I think the persons who feel there could be merit to this claim will get to the bottom of it one way or the other. And we do have the interesting fact MZ attended that same school as a Pat Hautz.

Remember, the guy that made this claims in the anon email, made these claims years ago, BEFORE ZODIACKILLER.com, before all the other Z forums, the movies, and most books. He wasnt caught up in some hype from the Z case.

One way to get to the bottom of it, and that would be to ask Katana to come here. Anyone from ZK.com that knows KATANA, please send them a messages, and see what we can find. He is welcome to come here, and shed more light.

Morf I have learned that if people don't think your POI was Zodiac, they don't care what evidence you show. TK signed his name with a cross inside a circle and drew one at a crime scene, and nobody cares.

The point is AFTER Columbine, dozens of students came forward to say how these killers acted weird and so forth. Here the report is MZ called himself Zodiac, flapped his arms and ran around, talked about killing people...then AFTER the Zodiac becomes the most famous case in California history, not one student or teacher comes forward? Not after the Bates Riverside connection is a front page story on the LA Times? Not after the Zodiac book by Graysmith in 1986, or the movie a few years ago?

For the past year people have been telling me that my POI, who was 27 in 1969, was too young to be Zodiac, because Fouke said Z was 35 to 45. Now they say Zodiac could have been 23 in 1969!

Who knows?

I am trying to behelpful...I thought the "aged" Zodiac sketch I posted does have some interesting similarities to this man.

Certainly this man should be checked out, and the Hautz connection still intrigues.

The best helpful suggestions I can give are:

1. Find out if Katana was the original poster and did he witness these events personally or is he repeating runors and stories he heard?

2. Do what Ricardo and others have suggested, and contact some of his fellow classmates and ask "What, if anything, do you remember about MZ?"

AK Wilks wrote:

Morf I have learned that if people don't think your POI was Zodiac, they don't care what evidence you show. TK signed his name with a cross inside a circle and drew one at a crime scene, and nobody cares.

The point is AFTER Columbine, dozens of students came forward to say how these killers acted weird and so forth. Here the report is MZ called himself Zodiac, flapped his arms and ran around, talked about killing people...then AFTER the Zodiac becomes the most famous case in California history, not one student or teacher comes forward? Not after the Bates Riverside connection is a front page story on the LA Times? Not after the Zodiac book by Graysmith in 1986, or the movie a few years ago?

For the past year people have been telling me that my POI, who was 27 in 1969, was too young to be Zodiac, because Fouke said Z was 35 to 45. Now they say Zodiac could have been 23 in 1969!

Who knows?

I am trying to behelpful...I thought the "aged" Zodiac sketch I posted does have some interesting similarities to this man.

Certainly this man should be checked out, and the Hautz connection still intrigues.

The best helpful suggestions I can give are:

1. Find out if Katana was the original poster and did he witness these events personally or is he repeating runors and stories he heard?

2. Do what Ricardo and others have suggested, and contact some of his fellow classmates and ask "What, if anything, do you remember about MZ?"

We are working on getting some addl info on this guy, and possibly getting in contact with some of his classmates. I think there are definitely a couple people here that can contact KATANA regarding Zode. I hope they can at least, and that they will try. He would definitely be welcome to join here and add to the conversation. I personally think this guy is too young to be Z, and believe that Z was 35-45 (Just like my POI Jimmy..LOL)and much more evidence is needed, but I am willing to look with an open mind, and encourage anyone else that wants to help to do so as well.

Here is a closeup of the word ZODIAC as written on the yearbook photo of ZODE. Question is, who wrote it and when?


Here is a photo of a yearbook page allegedly written by ZODE, with the signature removed.


For what its worth, it doesnt look to me like it matches cursive writing from the Hautz/ Riverside envelope or the Lass xmas card

morf13 wrote:

I am almost sure, based on the wording, phrasing, description,etc, that the person that originally sent the anon. email regarding ZODE was KATANA from zk.com. His posts about ZODE on ZK.com sound identical to the anon. email Foreigner previously posted about ZODE. If someone knows otherwise, please feel free to correct me. I dont know the name of KATANA.

Personally, I doubt Katana and the anonymous poster are the same person. Katana's a military man, very self-assured and unhesitant about discussing Zode. This person sounds scared that Zode might come after them.

Also, the anonymous poster's knowledge of the Zodiac case seems fairly sketchy, even trying to link Zodiac with some other crimes that occured elsewhere (Los Angeles). Katana's posts on Zkiller.com don't express any belief that Zodiac committed any additional crimes in L.A., nor does he try to peddle links between Zode and L.A.

Nach, you may be right. If you are, then there is more than one person claiming that ZODE really did call himself Z, and that would bolster the case for looking at him further.

morf13 wrote:

Nach, you may be right. If you are, then there is more than one person claiming that ZODE really did call himself Z, and that would bolster the case for looking at him further.

Or is Katana just repeating what he heard this first anonymous poster said?

Did Katana go to PHS and is he saying he personally witnessed MZ say and do these things?

We have yet to have a single known and identified student or teacher say they personally heard or witnessed MZ say or do these odd things.

Hopefully someone will be able to contact some of MZ's fellow classmates and see what they have to say.

AK Wilks wrote:

morf13 wrote:

Nach, you may be right. If you are, then there is more than one person claiming that ZODE really did call himself Z, and that would bolster the case for looking at him further.

Or is Katana just repeating what he heard this first anonymous poster said?

Did Katana go to PHS and is he saying he personally witnessed MZ say and do these things?

We have yet to have a single known and identified student or teacher say they personally heard or witnessed MZ say or do these odd things.

Hopefully someone will be able to contact some of MZ's fellow classmates and see what they have to say.

From what I understand, KATANA is a real person, and did go to school with Zode. Tom V has apparently met him as well. I think NACH would be able to give you more info on this. As for me, KATANA'S posts on ZK.com sounded honest and truthful to me. He claimed they were first hand accounts, as witnessed by him and others as well. I have extended an invite for him to join this forum and answer questions if he cares to. Maybe one of the people from ZK.com can reach him? I do know that one member here has exchanged emails with him, and they are going to try to see if he can shed anymore light on ZODE

I'm looking at the thread on Zkiller.com where Katana first talks about Zode. Here's what he says, word for word: "I personally know the PHS student that called himself ZODIC, as do many former students who attended PHS in the early ‘60s."

Nachtsider wrote:

I'm looking at the thread on Zkiller.com where Katana first talks about Zode. Here's what he says, word for word: "I personally know the PHS student that called himself ZODIC, as do many former students who attended PHS in the early ‘60s."

Precisely...he is eitehr lying, or telling the truth....only two possibilities. If ZODE wasnt Zodiac then maybe there was another classmate who remembered ZODE, and used his persona later on as Z

So yeah, I just sent Katana an invitation to join us and enlighten our crowd about Zode. Hopefully, he'll agree.

Nachtsider wrote:

So yeah, I just sent Katana an invitation to join us and enlighten our crowd about Zode. Hopefully, he'll agree.

Great to hear, I hope he accepts. From what I hear, he has not posted on ZK.com in a while.

morf13 wrote:

Below, you will see two cases that happened directly to the west of San Bernardino, and both have strong shades of Kathleen Johns:

I posted this previously-This was from NOV, 1967, from the Ventura area. Despite ZODE having a very rare last name, there were people (possibly relatives of his)in the Ventura/ LA area



The following articles are from the case of Ernestine Terello, who was murdered in the early 70's near Augora Hills, after police theorized that a "good samaritan" had helped her change a flat tire.. That location is right near Thousand Oaks. There were also people with ZODE's last name in Thousand Oaks:



(By the way, despite the article saying Terello was raped, I spoke to a Dtetective handling her case, and he said that she was NOT, and added that she was not robbed either)

If you draw a straight line on a map from San Bernardino to Ventura, it is a straight shot, and Augora Hills is right along the way. Seems like it is 101 south.

In addition, I have found possible relatives of his in Riverside (Bates), and one that was married near Stateline (Lass)

This is very interesting stuff. Why assume it's the work of Zode, though? I read it through my TH lens and see: TH was arrested for tampering with cars, grew up in LA and had strong ties there, disappeared in May 1967, and these attacks occur in November 1967. So I'm impressed with this research but I think it may have other implications.