Episodes
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In the last part of Chapter 18, weâll explore some of the Zodiacâs most intriguing communications, and learn about the amazing amateur cryptographers who finally decoded the enigmatic 340 cipher over 50 years after the Zodiac sent it to the media.
In Chapter 19, weâll examine the main suspects. Was the Zodiac a bizarre man living in a trailer full of dead animals swimming in jars of formaldehyde? Was he a brain-damaged psychiatric patient with a lengthy criminal record? Or was he an ordinary looking man who was questioned on the street by police minutes after the last murder, only to walk away and disappear forever?
Chapter 20 includes my comments, some tips for staying safe on the road, a quiz, some snarky humor, and a list of references and cool sites.
You can get the ebook version of all of Part 4 â Who Was the Zodiac Killer?< for free by clicking on the button at the bottom of this post. You can also buy the entire anthology of Anthrax to Zodiac at Amazon.com.
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In the final part of Chapter 17, weâll examine the murder of the Zodiacâs final victim, taxi driver Paul Stine. Stine was a doctoral candidate at San Francisco State driving a hack to make ends meet until his graduation, scheduled for the following January. And learn about how police came within a hair's breadth of catching the Zodiac just minutes after the Stine murder.
In Chapter 18, learn about how the Zodiac sent multiple letters and mysterious ciphers to media outlets taunting police and terrorizing the public. See the documents and learn about the Salinas, California, couple who decoded his earliest coded messages.
While the entire book will be presented free of charge in these blog posts, for an easier reading experience, you can obtain the ebook version of all of Part 4 â Who Was the Zodiac Killer? for free by clicking on the button at the bottom of this post. You can also buy the entire anthology of Anthrax to Zodiac at Amazon.com.
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Episodes manquant?
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This post contains more of Chapter 17 of Anthrax to Zodiac where we explore the Zodiac's second and third attacks and take a closer look at the lives of his victims.
We learn about the shooting of Darlene Ferrin and Mike Mageau at Blue Rock Springs and the knife attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard at Lake Berryessa.
Weâll consider the possibility that the Zodiac was known to Darlene Ferrin and that she recognized his car moments before she was killed. Then, weâll examine the evidence left behind at the Lake Berryessa crime scene, including the Zodiacâs boot print and the note he left police written on the door of Hartnellâs white Karmann Ghia.
Get the ebook of all of Part 4 â Who Was the Zodiac Killer? for free by clicking on the button at the bottom of this post or buy the entire anthology of Anthrax to Zodiac in ebook, paperback, or audiobook at Amazon.com.
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Between December 20, 1968, and October 11, 1969, the killer known as the Zodiac attacked at least seven victims, killing five of them. The Zodiac attacked three couples in remote areas of the northern California county of Napa before killing a taxi driver in the heart of San Francisco just outside the grounds of the Presidio.
Despite at least two surviving victims, numerous eyewitnesses, and one of the longest-running investigations in California history, the killer has never been identified, leaving us to wonder fifty-five years later, âWho was the Zodiac?â
In Chapter 16, we explore the chaotic social revolution that formed the backdrop of the attacks. In Chapter 17, weâll look at the killings that launched the Zodiacâs reign of terror.
Get the ebook of all of Part 4 â Who Was the Zodiac Killer? for free by clicking on the button at the bottom of this post or buy the entire anthology of Anthrax to Zodiac at Amazon.com.
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This post contains Chapter 14 and 15 of Anthrax to Zodiac. In Chapter 14, we'll do a deep dive into the notes Cooper allegedly sent to the media and explore the possibility that some of them contained coded information about his identity. Do the mysterious letters and numbers point to the felonious war hero, Robert Rackstraw? Are they a code that just hasnât been broken yet? Or are they just gibberish left behind by the hijacker to confuse and torment his pursuers?
Finally, in Chapter 15, we'll wind up with my comments about the case, some tips for flying safe, a Cooper quiz, a dose of snark, and some cool references and sites regarding Cooper and the only unsolved hijacking in US history.
Read the entire book free of charge in these blog posts, or get the ebook version of all of Part 3 â Who Was D.B. Cooper? for free by clicking on the button at the bottom of this post. You can also buy the entire anthology of Anthrax to Zodiac at Amazon.com.
To access full show notes click here.
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In Chapter 13, of Anthrax to Zodiac, we'll look at some of the most intriguing pieces of evidence in the case including the possible link between the hijacker and a French-language comic book character.
Then, we'll take a hard look at the tiny particles of exotic metals and alloys recently discovered on the clip-on tie that Cooper left behind that could point to Cooper's place of employment.
Finally, weâll learn about the sophisticated scientific analysis done on the only Cooper ransom money ever recoveredâ$5800 found my an eight-and-a-half-year-old second grader during a camping tripâand how the results have change everything we ever thought about Cooper's escape.
Read the entire book free of charge in these blog posts, or get the ebook version of all of Part 3 â Who Was D.B. Cooper? for free by clicking on the button at the bottom of this post. You can also buy the entire anthology of Anthrax to Zodiac at Amazon.com.
To access full show notes click here.
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This post contains the last part of Chapter 12 of Anthrax to Zodiac and concludes he examination of Richard McCoy as a suspect in the hijacking of Flight 305. Read about how, after McCoy was convicted for a copycat hijacking, he escaped from a federal prison and was killed during an effort to apprehend him.
Then weâll look in detail at two other prominent candidates: the mysterious Robert Rackstraw, a war hero turned felon, and Lynn Doyle Cooper, a reclusive logger from Sisters, Oregon, and check out the pros and cons of each of these possible suspects.
You can get the ebook version of all of Part 3 â Who was D.B. Cooper?for free by clicking on the button at the bottom of this post. You can also buy the entire anthology of Anthrax to Zodiac at Amazon.com and have all seven cases in one ebook volume. The audiobook narrated by the author is also available at Audible, iTunes, and wherever you get your audiobooks.
To access full show notes click here.
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Who was D.B. Cooper? Over the past fifty years, the passenger in seat 18E of Flight 305 has morphed from a man into a legend. Yet, the hijacker calling himself Dan Cooper was a real, flesh and blood human being whose true identity has never been revealed.
This post contains the first part of Chapter 11 of Antrhax to Zodiac and looks at FBIâs investigation of the crime, including the question of whether or not the hijacker could have survived the jump. In the first part of Chapter 12, weâll also consider one of the most prominent entries on the suspect list: veteran helicopter pilot Richard McCoy of Provo, Utah.
You can read the entire book in these blog posts, or you can get the ebook version of all of Part 3 â Who Was D.B. Cooper? for free by clicking on the button at the bottom of this post. The entire anthology of Anthrax to Zodiac is for sale at Amazon.com.
To access full show notes click here.
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On November 24, 1971, a man using the name Dan Cooper boarded Northwest Orient Flight 305. Once airborne, he passed the flight attendant a ransom note and showed her what he said was a bomb in his briefcase. He demanded $200,000 in cash and four parachutes.
When the plane landed in Seattle, he collected the ransom and released the passengers and two of the crew then instructed the pilots to fly him to Reno. But somewhere between Woodland and Ariel, Washington, the hijacker strapped on the parachutes and jumped out of the plane with his loot, never to be seen again.
Chapter 9 looks at the social and economic context in which the hijacking transpired, and Chapter 10 explores the facts of the case.
You can read the entire book in these blog posts, or you can get the ebook version of all of Part 3 â Who Was D.B. Cooper? for free by clicking on the button at the bottom of this post. The entire anthology of Anthrax to Zodiac is for sale at Amazon.com.
To access full show notes click here.
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In the last part of Chapter 7, we'll examine the controversy surrounding the DNA collected from the JonBenĂ©tâs body.
We'll also consider further the possibility the family played a role in the crime. In spite of four secret grand jury indictments against John and Patsy Ramsey for their alleged roles in the murder, in a 2008 letter, the Boulder County DA publicly exonerated the entire Ramsey family of any involvement in the crime.
We'll wind up our consideration of JonBenét's death with Chapter 8, which includes my comments, some tips for keeping your children safe, a quiz to test your knowledge of the case, some snarky humor, and a list of references and cool sites.
Read the whole book in these blog posts, or buy the entire anthology of Anthrax to Zodiac at Amazon.com. You can also get the ebook version of all of Part 2 â Who Killed JonBenĂ©t Ramsey? for free by clicking on the button at the bottom of this post.
To access full show notes click here.
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In the last part of Chapter 6, we'll take a look at questions surrounding semi-digested pineapple found in JonBenét's small intestine, and we'll explore the relationship between JonBenét and her older brother, Burke.
We'll also discuss the rift between the police and the Boulder DA regarding whether the killer was a member of the household or an intruderâa rift that quickly widened into a chasm and may have caused irreparable damage to the case.
Chapter 7 includes an exploration of the main suspects in the murder, including the jolly âSanta Billâ McReynolds, accused child pornographer John Mark Karr aka Alexis Valoran Reich who confessed to the crime, and Gary Oliva, the known paranoid schizophrenic pedophile obsessed with JonBenĂ©t.
Read the entire book for free in these blog posts or get the ebook version of all of Part 2 â Who Killed JonBenĂ©t Ramsey for free by clicking on the button below. You can also buy the whole anthology of Anthrax to Zodiac at Amazon.com.
To access full show notes click here.
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Six hours after Patsy Ramsey called the Boulder police, JonBenĂ©tâs father, John, cried out from the basement of their home and emerged from the stairs carrying the corpse of his six-year-old daughter, launching one of the most notorious murder investigations of modern time.
This post contains the last half of Chapter 5 and the beginning of Chapter 6 of Anthrax to Zodiac. We'll take an in-depth look at the events leading up to the discovery of the body and the gross lack of proper police procedure that hobbled the investigation from the very start. Then, weâll do a deep dive into the ransom note and try to reconcile its contents with the events of the crime and its aftermath.
Why wait to read the whole story of JonBenĂ©t Ramsey when you can get the ebook version of all of Part 2 â Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey? for free right now by clicking on the button at the bottom of this post? You can also buy the entire anthology of Anthrax to Zodiac at Amazon.com.
To access full show notes click here.
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John and Patsy Ramsey enjoyed a traditional Christmas morning at home with their children, six-year-old JonBenét and nine-year-old Burke, before attending Christmas dinner at the home of friends.
According to Patsy Ramsey, she got up early the next morning and discovered a ransom note on the stairs. When she and John couldnât find JonBenĂ©t, at 5:52 a.m. on December 26, 1996, she called 911 and frantically indicated that her daughter had been kidnapped.
This post contains the first half of Chapter 5 of Anthrax to Zodiac and covers the case background and the details of the chaotic events of December 26, 1996 before JonBenét's body was discovered.
Why wait to read the whole story of JonBenĂ©t Ramsey when you can get the ebook version of all of Part 2 â Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey? for free right now by clicking on the button at the bottom of this post? You can also buy the entire anthology of Anthrax to Zodiac at Amazon.com.
To access full show notes click here.
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This post concludes Chapter 3 of Anthrax to Zodiac with more detail on the government's case against Dr. Bruce Ivins.
Ultimately, after Dr. Ivins's death, the FBI declared that they had gotten their man and promptly closed the case despite the fact that Dr. Ivins died an innocent man, having never been charged, let alone convicted, of anything. Over twenty years later, we are still left asking, "Who mailed the anthrax letters?"
We conclude wIth my comments, some tips for using the mail safely, a quiz to test your knowledge, some snarky humor, and a list of references and cool sites for further reading.
To access full show notes click here.
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So who actually mailed the anthrax letters? In the first part of the investigation, the government focused its attention on bacteriologist Dr. Steven Hatfill. But, eventually, the FBI admitted that Dr. Hatfill was not involved at all, publicly exonerated him, and paid him almost five million dollars in damages for illegally leaking his name to the press.
Next, the task force unequivocally declared that deceased government virologist and anthrax specialist Dr. Bruce Ivins was the perpetrator. Based on genetic testing of the anthrax spores in the letters, the government concluded that the only possible source for the spores was Dr. Ivins's lab.
This post contains the first part of Chapter 3 of Anthrax to Zodiac where we examine the details of the accusation and exoneration of Dr. Hatfill and the early part of the investigation into Dr. Ivins.
To access full show notes click here.
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In Chapter 2, we take a look at the actual mailings and examine the total extent of the contamination and total cost of the cleanup. We also explore the general investigative strategies that guided the FBI's Amerithrax investigation and consider the amazing scope of the failed efforts of the task force.
To access full show notes click here.
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This post contains the second half of Chapter 1 of Anthrax to Zodiac. Here, we examine the meat of the timeline of events involved in the mailings and learn, step by step and day by day, how the bioweapons successfully penetrated the halls of power in the US government and leading media outlets while federal agents, caught flat-footed by the attacks, struggled to discern what was actually happening and formulate a response. Then, we look at the toll of the attacks in lives and illnessâfive people dead, twenty-two more confirmed anthrax infections, and 32,000 people treated with prophylactic antibiotics.
Read the entire book free of charge in these blog posts or buy the ebook, paperback, or audiobook version of the complete anthology of Anthrax to Zodiac at Amazon.com. Also, you can get the ebook version of Part 1 - Who Mailed the Anthrax Letters? for free by clicking on the button at the bottom of this post.
To access full show notes click here.
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On September 11, 2001, Americans watched in disbelief as jumbo jets crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania. The country was under attack.
Families huddled around their televisions, waiting to see if other hijacked planes were still in the sky, on a collision course with more iconic symbols of American democracy.
In the weeks immediately following 9/11, in a state of collective shock, America anxiously waited for the next shoe to fall.
Then the anthrax letters came.
Despite spending hundreds of thousands of investigative hours and hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, the government never charged or tried, let alone convicted, a single suspect.
So, over twenty years later, we are still left wondering who unleashed the worst bioterror attack in American history.
This post contains the first half of Chapter 1 of Anthrax to Zodiac. We examine the background and context of the attacks and look at the early part of the timeline of events involved in the mailings.
To access full show notes click here.
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Welcome to "Anthrax to Zodiac," a thrilling investigative series that takes you on a journey into the most perplexing and captivating unsolved crimes in American history. Join Denise Diana Huddle, a renowned private investigator and archival researcher, as she delves into seven chilling mysteries that have haunted America.
From the unsettling anthrax letters that shook the nation in the aftermath of 9-11, to the enigmatic and still unidentified Zodiac Killer, these cases demand answers. Together, we'll traverse the years from 2001 to 1892, exploring the botched investigation surrounding the tragic murder of JonBenét Ramsey and unraveling the perplexing enigma of D.B. Cooper, the nation's only unsolved hijacking.
Prepare yourself for the unspeakable horror that surrounds the Black Dahlia and the haunting Lindbergh baby kidnapping. And of course, we'll dive into the infamous ax murder of Lizzie Borden's parents, a crime that has confounded the nation for over a century.
Throughout this captivating journey, we'll challenge conventional theories, present new evidence, and peel back the layers of these haunting mysteries. The truth may not be as clear-cut as once believed, and it's up to you, the listener, to weigh the evidence and draw your own conclusions. Join us on this gripping expedition into the heart of darkness as we strive to uncover the identities of those responsible for these heinous acts.