The dark poetry below was found on the underside of a desk in the campus library Cheri Jo Bates frequented. Many think this note may be another taunt from the Zodiac. Like the similar linking of the Patricia Hautz letter with the Zodiac, CrimeShadows.com disagrees with this assessment. Read the following for more information:

Sick of living / unwilling to die

cut,

clean.

if red,

clean.

blood spurting,

dripping,

spilling;

all over her new

dress

oh well,

it was red

anyway.

life draining into an

uncertain death.

she won’t

die.

this time

someone ll find her.

just wait till

next time.

rh

It sounds like a suicide note. “Sick of living” sounds very much like the words of someone suffering from depression. “Unwilling to die” may express the desperation of someone who is crying out for help. The initials indicate that the writer wanted to clue the reader in to his/her identity, perhaps hoping someone would recognise her. The writer, if suicidal, was more than likely a female speaking of herself in third person (“all over her new dress”). The writing was found on the underside of the desk (or the backside of a desktop), The desk may have even been in a storage position. The writer was most likely alone, contemplating a suicide attempt at the time of its writing. The only reason the poem received the attention it did was because it was discovered around the time of Cheri Jo Bates murder. Cheri Jo Bates died. Nobody found her. She did not have a “next time.” She was not wearing a red dress. She was not cut with the “clean” blade of a razor. She was brutally stabbed with a small knife.

The Zodiac, was not secretive in his taunts and warnings, only about his identity. He sent his writings directly to his audience. Why would the Zodiac say “she won’t die. this time someone’ll find her”. The Zodiac was a confident killer. It seems that the writer intended to attempt suicide and be discovered bleeding to death. It seems she hoped that the discovery of the note would get her the attention she was desperately seeking.

While I am sure there will be disagreement on these conclusions, I feel certain they are close to the mark.

Related posts:

1. Dennis Kaufman Turns Over Alleged Zodiac Killer Evidence to FBI
2. Zodiac News
3. The Hautz Letter
4. Zodiac Role Model for NC Killer – Or Just a Distraction? Updated
5. Smiley Face Killers – Fact or Fiction?