Anyone looked at [Zodiac Crime Scene Photographer]?

The photographer in question, Tom B[-----], has appeared in at least one television show about the Zodiac case (Cold Case Files). He has also consented to be interviewed in newspaper articles about the case. So, naming him is indeed fair legal game.

LINK: http://www.zodiackiller.com/FairfieldArticle2.html

I agree that it's probably legal, and admit I originally put his name in this thread. Since doing so, it was thankfully edited out. Although he put his own name out there, it was as a witness. In all likelihood he's probably an innocent old man with grandkids, and therefore I myself, would feel a whole lot better not using his name more than necessary.

Extrachewyy is correct. I was the one who edited out his nam, acting in my capacity as a mod. This man has gone public as a witness. But there is really nothing in terms of hard evidence to suggest he is a suspect. Morf, Zam and I had the experience of seeing a website shut down because common sense regarding libel laws and internet terms of service rules were not followed. I am an attorney and I told the site operator what he needed to do, he refused, the site was shut down by someone who felt he was being wrongly accused.

So we don't want to make the same mistake, I would rather we err on the side of caution. Morf has the final call, it is his site.

His name is not important anyway, you can still discuss whatever you like in regards to this person, though personally I see nothing at all to make me think he could be Z. But others may discuss and debate it, just not using the name.

Before he attended at LHR B***** had been on the scene of a robbery of a coach load of people heading to/from Reno this is the 'one thing' he refers to. I have also found an online newspaper where he wrote an interesting letter to the Editor re the shooting of Matt Garcia.

Article about LHR:

FAIRFIELD - When Tom B***** arrived on the scene of what was first thought to be a murder-suicide, he didn't know he'd be photographing the first killing claimed by the now infamous Zodiac. It was Friday, Dec. 20, 1968, when B*****, a contract photographer for the Daily Republic, heard the news of two bodies being discovered along Lake Herman Road on the outskirts of Benicia.

"I'd already done one thing," he recalled of that evening. A gambler's bus had been hijacked going down Interstate 80 toward Reno and pulled off at the Travis Boulevard exit. The passengers were robbed before the suspects took off in a waiting car. "That was pretty exciting," B***** recalled.

Then, he heard the dispatch of another crime scene. "I didn't know where Lake Herman Road was. I had to check my map," he recalled. When he arrived, law enforcement officers were on the scene. A young couple had been shot. Only the female's body was there, covered by a blanket. The male victim has been transported to Vallejo General Hospital via an ambulance but died enroute. Balmer was told to stay back until the sheriff's investigator arrived. When he did, B***** set about doing his job and quickly snapped off what he remembers as two frames of film.

"I got the shot I needed," he said. Then, he was informed by one of the officers on scene it was illegal to photograph a dead body and that he must turn over his film. "I was still naive," B***** said. "They told me I'd spend the night in jail. I took it out of the camera and gave it to him."

B*****, who graduated from Armijo High School in 1966, returned to Fairfield and reported what had happened to then Daily Republic editor Al Donner. Donner called the appropriate officials and B*****'s film was returned to him the next morning. One photo of three men, standing by a patrol car, looking at a body covered by a blanket, ran on page one of the Sunday, Dec. 22, 1968, newspaper. It was the only newspaper photograph of the actual crime scene.

B***** didn't give the homicides much thought after that. He had a few prints made that he would share with friends. However, the negatives were property of the newspaper since the newspaper provided the film. (The negatives have apparently been discarded since then.)

The serial killer will be profiled on Tuesday's "Cold Case Files" on A&E cable network. The program airs in Fairfield at 9 p.m. on Channel 47. B***** is among those interviewed for the show.

On Jan. 2, 1969, he left for a four-year stint in the United States Air Force. While he was in basic training, a Solano County Sheriff's deputy contacted his parents. B***** answered their questions when he returned to the area.

"I think they were looking for a clue. But there was nothing I could provide them with they didn't know," he recalled. B***** now teaches photography and videography at Hogan High School in Vallejo. "What I'm doing now is the most awesome thing," he said.

Excerpt from a Fairfield paper online edition from a Tom B*****, Fairfield:

Citizens need to take back the streets


Thomas B*****| Daily Republic - Letter to the Editor | September 05, 2008
I'm sad and angry at the shooting death of Matt Garcia. The Daily Republic reported that Councilman John Mraz wants an immediate crackdown on street crime. What? We weren't doing that already?
During the November 2005 council race, I said in a letter to the editor, 'hardly a day goes by without reading about a shooting, beating or robbery in Fairfield', and that 'someone has to start to take back this community from the thugs who own it now.'
I also said this to Mraz at a candidates' forum at that time. He ran on a platform of doing just that. Where have I gone wrong in assuming that our city and our police department were already doing everything that could be done to rein in street crime?
There have been many shootings in Fairfield since those elections. Will it take the killing Councilman Matt Garcia to finally get the police and the people of Fairfield to say, 'Enough is enough?'
Thomas B***** Fairfield

Obviously likes letters to the Editor.Could of course be a different T.B***** but interesting nonetheless.

Nice find Solar Pons!......of all the possible subjects and words people use in letters to the editor. T.B's talking crime (murder), and using the words (citizens,killing,shooting,robbery and death). Not at all unusual, unless ovcorse written by a possible zodiac suspect. Is this a red flag?

I'm wondering if this Ramona HS yearbook picture might be of relevance here. Check out the May 15, 2001 entry and click on the "cross-circle symbol" image from the yearbook:
http://www.zodiackiller.com/Newscenter3.html

Good find so who is responsible for that drawing getting in the year book ? Artist, Editor ?

I guess that the editor hired an artist for the yearbook; so the artist is responsible for the content of the image.

Interesting Rand and wonder if the editor got a artist that was going to the school at the time ? Also Tom mention it was from one of the 60's year books and does anyone know the exact year it was from ?

rand wrote:

I'm wondering if this Ramona HS yearbook picture might be of relevance here. Check out the May 15, 2001 entry and click on the "cross-circle symbol" image from the yearbook:
http://www.zodiackiller.com/Newscenter3.html

Thanks Rand, had not seen that picture in a long while. I was trying to remember when and where I had seen it before. For some reason, I thought that it was a drawing of what people claim to have seen ZODE draw, since they said he drew symbols on a chalkboard.

More old discussion of the subject here:
http://zodiackiller.21.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=2611

Maybe someone should figure out who drew that pic for the yearbook, or who selected it for placement in the yearbook.

morf13 wrote:

rand wrote:

I'm wondering if this Ramona HS yearbook picture might be of relevance here. Check out the May 15, 2001 entry and click on the "cross-circle symbol" image from the yearbook:
http://www.zodiackiller.com/Newscenter3.html

Thanks Rand, had not seen that picture in a long while. I was trying to remember when and where I had seen it before. For some reason, I thought that it was a drawing of what people claim to have seen ZODE draw, since they said he drew symbols on a chalkboard.

More old discussion of the subject here:
http://zodiackiller.21.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=2611

Made me think of Zode right away. Wrong school though but very interesting too.

Hi Chewy, I try and have a good look at everyone connected to the case and whilst looking for B***** stuff came across it. Given that he is from Fairfield I'll presume it is the same TB. I found it on a site that appeared to be a place to post comments in memory of Matt Garcia who had been gunned down. I found it interesting that he keeps track of his letters to quote from a 2005 letter on more or less the same subject. The site may no longer be up as I tried to find it again but I did trawl through heaps of stuff before I found it, I took a snapshot of the screen at the time and the Citizens title part does appear to be his own heading, it was after all a memorial page I doubt it was edited to provide headings. Thought it would interest you if you want to look at TB.

Here's a photo of T.B from class of 66 Armijo High School yearbook. DOB 5-30-1947 so he would have been 19.

I have some more photos of this guy, this is the only one in which he's wearing glasses. What do you guys think? His hair seems quite dark.

I want to make it clear, I'm not saying this is Zodiac. I'm simply trying to get a better idea of what this guy may have looked like in 1968-1969. The more people we can rule out with certainty, the fewer there are to look at. I think everyone involved with the zodiac crime scenes, need to be eliminated as possible suspects before moving on to other persons of interest. Here are some more photos of a very young looking T.B from 1966.


These photos had no names, but i feel quite confident that it is T.B in these pictures.



Three wise monkeys and a parody of American Gothic?

Looking at the pert report, located here http://www.zodiackiller.com/Newscenter.html
I noticed a couple of things consistent with T.B. Firstly it reports the perpetrator of both BRS and Berryessa as being "soft spoken", which (in my opinion) T.B demonstrates at 1:36 of this clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St-u8Tr655k&feature=youtube_gdata_player . Secondly it reports the perpetrator may have a profession which might involve numbering pages 1/6, 2/6, 3/6...etc. Sounds to me like something a photographer (before the digital age) might have done? Would love to hear opinions on this. Lastly it describes the Riverside perp as being aged 19-20 (pretty specific, and also T.B's exact age), which doesn't seem consistent with the descriptions of age attributed to zodiac. On the other hand, the pert report for Berryessa describes the attacker being as young as 20. At first I assumed T.B would still have been in school at the time of Riverside and therefore not involved. However I don't know how the school year works in the U.S, so I was hoping someone could tell me if a person that graduates in a class of 1966, would still have been in school at the time of Riverside? October 30 1966.

Extrachewyy wrote:

Looking at the pert report, located here http://www.zodiackiller.com/Newscenter.html
I noticed a couple of things consistent with T.B. Firstly it reports the perpetrator of both BRS and Berryessa as being "soft spoken", which (in my opinion) T.B demonstrates at 1:36 of this clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St-u8Tr655k&feature=youtube_gdata_player . Secondly it reports the perpetrator may have a profession which might involve numbering pages 1/6, 2/6, 3/6...etc. Sounds to me like something a photographer (before the digital age) might have done? Would love to hear opinions on this. Lastly it describes the Riverside perp as being aged 19-20 (pretty specific, and also T.B's exact age), which doesn't seem consistent with the descriptions of age attributed to zodiac. On the other hand, the pert report for Berryessa describes the attacker being as young as 20. At first I assumed T.B would still have been in school at the time of Riverside and therefore not involved. However I don't know how the school year works in the U.S, so I was hoping someone could tell me if a person that graduates in a class of 1966, would still have been in school at the time of Riverside? October 30 1966.

Most Graduate in May Or June so October would have been after the graduation date.

Over the past 6 months my theory on T.B has developed, so I thought I might share the way I see it now. Firstly it occured to me that getting and watching a copy of "Peeping Tom" might not be so easy, so I'd better give you guys a summery.

"Peeping Tom” released 1960 is a movie about a professional photographer, and a serial killer of women. When he kills his victims, he films it. Recording it with a hand held movie camera of some kind. When this happens, the viewer sees it POV through the lens of his camera. You know this because there's a cross-hair covering the entire screen. This character may kill women, but his perversion is to “peep” on young couples making out in public places, hence the title of the movie.

Just looking at the first crime scene when taking the above into consideration. There's a professional photographer named T--, taking illegal photographs of the victims of a serial killer that targets young couples making out in public places, that also uses a cross-hair symbol in ‘Letters to the Editor’.

Now if you look at the Blue Rock Springs and Lake Berryessa, with the thought that maybe he's filming his attacks. First he leaves BRS and then comes back minutes later before he starts shooting, why? Setting up his camera on the passenger seat perhaps. Why leave your headlights on when it increases your chance of getting caught? It contributed to the victims thinking he was a cop, but filming at night takes all the light you can get. The metallic noise Mike Mageau heard, was that Zodiac reloading or was it T.B putting his camera away, thinking the job was already done? Even with the headlights, I doubt the resulting film would have been watchable. Explaining why at Berryessa he changed from a night attack, to a well lit day. Not only that but why go to the trouble of sewing an elaborate costume when he plans on killing the only people that will ever see it? Unless of course he's filming himself, from his car or even from a tripod stationed behind the tree which he went to shortly before the attack. Did he intend on giving this film to the media or police? And therefore need a disguise, that was also a costume designed to make him look “awesome”? In my opinion the car door at Berryessa looks a lot like an improvised clap-slate or clapper-board!


Another thing I noticed about T.B is when he joined the Air Force. He claims he left for a 4year stint on January 2nd 1969, thats only 13 days after LHR. He stated he was still naive when explaining why he'd taken the illegal photo's of the victims. This makes me think perhaps he's new to the job? So he's got himself an expensive camera, a police scanner etc... LHR happens, than 13 days later he's gone, and when his tour is up, he goes back to photography.

I might also mention an address I came upon. It was one of the addresses I got in a report but was subsequently removed, I presume because it wasn't a residence of T.B's? Problem is I dont know when or what his connection to this address is. The address is currently a church or somthing, the problem being there's another church related address in the report. making me think in all likelihood the connection is more recent, and also church related. However thats not to say there couldn't have been a connection in 1968-1969, if in fact theres any connection at all?
Anyhoo the address is 151 Link Road Fairfield, when I first looked at it on GoogleEarth I found it extremely provocative, in relation to LHR & BRS. I thought perhaps it might account for the missing minutes in Zodiacs crimes, if he'd been going to an address and changing cars and perhaps clothes before making his phone calls?So I checked the math with Link rd and found this.
(I got different results from different souces, but theyré all pretty similar, these are from GoogleEarth.)

LHR to Link rd is 12.2 miles(about 19min), Link rd to LHR is 13.1 miles(about 19min), making a round trip of approximatlely 38 minutes.
LHR took place approximately 11:14, I think T.B arrived shortly before Butterbach & Waterman at 11:52(That's if I understand the Sheriff report correctly?), so the time between the crime and T.B's approxamate arrival is also 38 minutes.

BRS to Link rd is 10.2 miles(about 14min), Link rd to the telephone booth at or near the corner of Tuolumne st & Solano ave/Spring rd is 12.1 miles(about 17 min),that's a round trip of approximately 31 minutes.
I'm not sure I have these times right? BRS occured 12:10 and then the phone call was recieved at 12:40? (these times are from the Nancy Slover report), so that's approximately 30 minutes.

Lake Berryessa to Link rd is 32.2 miles(about 1hour 8min), Link rd to the phone booth at 1245 Main rd Napa is 14.9 miles(about 26min), a round trip of approximately 1Hour,34minutes.
Berryessa took place 6:30? (again I'm not sure of these times), and then the call to police was at 7:40?(from dispatcher David Slaight's report), thats a time of 1Hour,10minutes. Ovcorse these times are if you stick to the current speed limit. I'm sure the roads have changed a great deal since then. I'm sorry I dont have the skills for a graphic, but I'm sure you get the picture.

Before I go, I might also metion theres a marriage certificate for "a" T.B, I'm not sure if it's this T.B but it's in Solano county, and it was on 11/24/1974. Thought this might have a connection to when Zodiac stopped writing Letters?

PS; Sorry about the spelling, and please be gentle if I've made any factual mistakes, and included too much wild speculation(I'm still a Newbe )

First, there is helpful info about your POI here:
http://zodiackiller.21.forumer.com/a/posts.php?topic=4900&start=35
and here:
http://www.zodiackiller.com/FairfieldArticle2.html

second, the 1974 marriage record for your POI is likely thecorrect person.

Third, thirdly, or third of all There is no record of your POI in the Riverside area 66-67. Do you think your POI, if he was Z, was not involved in the bates case?

Lastly, you asked me a long while back to obtain your POI's military records. Its been a long while, and I did not get any reply, and I am pretty certain I did request his records. Usually in the past, they always give me a response even to tell me that they have no records of the person.

Overall, your theory borders on what Thomas Horan has been claiming, (not lumping you in with that guy he is whacked). His theory involves somebody being able to use a scanner to get to the various crime scenes and put evidence down,somebody like a reporter or cop, and that there was NO REAL ZODIAC killer. On it's premise, it is not a bad idea, especially with the LHR crime, but it has holes.

For example>
Lake Herman Rd- Your boy gets to the scene and looks around. Takes photos etc. Later decided to write ficticious' zodiac' letters. He is able to send police alot of info as he was at the scene.

BRS- Perhaps your POI, if he had an 'in' with LE was able to get alot of info on that case and mail a letter about it and also take credit for the earlier LHR crimes

NAPA- A 'roving reporter' hears a call for people to be looking for a phone hanging off the hook at local phone booths, and just hapens to be the person that finds it(what's that guy's name by the way??) If you want to go a bit further, you could even say that a reporter could have heard the calls at Berryessa and raced there and wrote on the car door, but was not involved in the murder(although dont buy it). Now the problems arise. The attacker at berryessa had a crosshair design on his clothes. There is no doubt that he was associating himself with the Zodiac, or wanted to make the victims think he was the Zodiac.

SANFRAN- The same letter writer in the Stine case, as the other letters is the same person. This writer sends shirt pieces to the paper and to Belli. Therefore, he MUST be the killer, or he must have been given the shirt pieces by somebody, or he must have a friend in law enforcement that gave him the shirt, or I cant believe I am going to type this as it sounds so unbelievable, or he must have heard about the cabbie shooting, raced to the scene and cut off a piece of the shirt and escaped before the cops got there. Do you see how rediculous that sounds? At leats you are not accusing guys like Narlow & Toschi of being the Z.

Thanks for your reply morf, and thanks for the links.
I'm not sure about Riverside, T.B is the right age and only recently finished HighSchool(perhaps the right time to be visiting a college? for orienteering or something?), In one of his photos he also appears to be wearing a similar watch to the one found at Riverside. However I think It's just too far away. So I guess I see nothing to say it couldn't have been him. I just dont think it was.
To put my theory(in relation to Link rd & "Peeping Tom") in a more concise way. I think if T.B were Zodiac, he may have done it like this.
First he commits the attack at LHR, then he drives to Link rd where he changes to a different car and perhaps clothes. Waits for the report to go out over the police radio, then rocks up and photographs the scene as the friendly freelance photographer.(just like in the movie "Peeping Tom"). Then for BRS (I'm not sure about if he was in the Air Force, and if he was, where he was stationed or even whether or not you can live off-base, he may even have gone AWOL?), he commits the attack only this time he films it with a camera he has set up in his car. Then drives to Link rd where once again he changes out of his incriminating garb, changes car, then travels to the phone booth and makes the call to the police. I'm suggesting the same thing for Berryessa, he films it, then drives to Link rd before driving to Napa and making the phone call.

It's just a theory, just a thought that came to me when I noticed the proximity of Link rd to the first 2 crime scenes. This theory is not the be all and end all, It was just a thought.These are not the reasons T.B caught my attention. What caught my attention is the same thing metioned in the thread you just linked me. I was reading the Sheriff report for LHR, and thought T.B got to the crime scene pretty fast. I think he looks and sounds as Zodiac was described, he was apparently in the Air Force, he writes "letters to the editor" and in an interview(where he said some Zodiac-like things) he claims not to have been investigated as a suspect. There seems to be alot of people who's handwriting and fingerprints were taken, I'm simply suggesting that perhaps there's enough reason that this guy should have been investigated also?

Peace

Don't know if this is our boy Chewy but I just want to commend you on your presentation: No national news announcement, no book in progress, no copyrights, no secret evidence and no belittling of anyone who disagrees. Noe of which will ever help catch the Z.

Cheers bentley! I can't wait to see a news flash reporting the capture of Z!.... even better if it's at the hands of an enthusiast!

bentley wrote:

Don't know if this is our boy Chewy but I just want to commend you on your presentation: No national news announcement, no book in progress, no copyrights, no secret evidence and no belittling of anyone who disagrees. Noe of which will ever help catch the Z.

I agree with bentley, kudos ExtraChewyy for a great report & presentation. I honestly think this is how the Z is going to be found, by thinking out of the box.

ExtraChewyy, the idea of the Zodiac symbol used in a camera and tying it to a POI is very interesting.

I found out something that might interest you as well...

A Diana camera is a plastic-bodied box camera utilizing 120 rollfilm. Most versions take 16 photographs per roll in a non-standard format of 4.2cm square using a simple plastic meniscus lens, although some are capable of 12 6 x 6cm exposures. Originally marketed as an inexpensive novelty gift item, the Diana was later used by professional photographers to take soft focus, impressionistic photographs.

Would you believe that in 1965 there was a Diana camera on the market called Zodiac? Below you see it's package:


Did you see the big "Z" on the package?

Here a close-up of the camera:



Another inspiration source for the Zodiac to use his name ???

I greatly appreciate your post Eduard! I was aware of this camera but knew almost nothing about it. What you've found is extensive! Z had to get his name from somewhere, and this camera seems to work well with this POI. Any chance someone knows if a camera like this, might have had a cross-hair in it's view finder?

Chuck Lindsay, the guy that lived right behind BRS, was also a photographer for Solano SO I think. Maybe they were in cahoots.