freeway phantom

Whitechapel-based murder crime scenes usually do not produce 2:1 pattern when plotted on a map. Using the angles between the crime scenes to produce 2:1 patterns was a unique feature of the Zodiac’s modus operandi during the 1970s and 1980s. He used this strategy to turn the map of his crime scenes into a meaningful design.

The Zodiac, a master of meticulous planning, selected a distinct feature on the map as the central point for his design. From this point, he painstakingly drew lines to his crime scenes, each angle carefully calculated. The resulting 2:1 patterns are a clear testament to his meticulousness and intellectual prowess, demanding our respect and admiration.

Diagram 1 presents the map of Freeway Phantom’s crime scenes, showcasing the precision of the design and emphasising the use of the Zodiac’s trademark technique. The numbers displayed in the circles follow the order of the Freeway Phantom killings. Only five victims appear on the map because the killer left the second victim a few feet from the first, a detail that underscores his desire to conflate the first and second crime scenes to reduce the total number of crime scenes to five. 

The protractor’s outer ring of markings records angles increasing clockwise, while the inner ring records angles increasing counterclockwise.

Measuring clockwise, the line to the southernmost crime scene slopes at an angle of 74 degrees. The angle from the horizontal ( 90 degrees) to the northernmost crime scene is 66 degrees (156 – 90). The two angles total 140 degrees, twice the slope (70 degrees) of the middle line measured counterclockwise.

The line to the southernmost crime scene is  16 degrees below the 90-degree line, while the line to the northernmost crime scene is 24 degrees off the vertical. These angles create a 2:1 relationship, as 24 is one and a half times greater than 16.

The design includes four more angles from the 90-degree line to the northernmost crime scene. These angles are 10 degrees ( 90 to 100 degrees), 10 degrees (100 to 110 degrees), 36 degrees ( 110 to 146 degrees), and 10 degrees from 146 to 156 degrees) when proceeding in a clockwise direction. 

These four angles give rise to two more 2:1 relationships. The 20 degrees from the 90-degree line to the 110-degree line is twice the 10 degrees between the 146 and 156-degree lines. Moreover, 36 degrees is one and a half times greater than the 24 degrees between the northernmost crime scene and the vertical.