There are differences between these couple murders and the ones attributed to Zodiac:
- Zodiac mostly used a gun - the Ohio murders were done with a firearm, by bludgeoning, and one couple, Todd Schultz and Annette Johnson, were dismembered, their torsos pulled out of the Hocking River, their arms and legs found buried in a cornfield.
- Zodiac left his victims where he found them - at least a few of the Ohio victims were transported, some attempt at hiding or disposing of the bodies was made.
- Zodiac killed in a fairly well-defined zone, San Francisco to the Napa area. The Ohio murders took place in a triangle, Akron and Toledo in the north, Logan in the south. Possibly indicating a travelling killer if one person was responsible.
- I do not know that there was any communication to the police or press about the Ohio murders, and it does appear that Ohio authorities are very leery of connecting them. It seems like Zodiac would have wanted everyone to know he was still at it, all the way across the country.
But, as xymphora pointed out:
...(T)here was a series of murders in northern Ohio from 1979, when Chandler arrived in northern Ohio, to 1982. These murders were of young couples killed in various violent ways. The Zodiac killer killed, or attempted to kill, young couples in various violent ways...
The murders of BTK Strangler [Google search] victims Marine Hedge and Dee Davis were not originally connected to that killer by the authorities. Nor was the murder of Vicki Wegerle, which BTK claimed in his first 2004 letter, sent to the Wichita Eagle. One reason was that police had assumed that the killer was either dead or in prison, or had otherwise moved on. There were some differences in method of operation, too - the most obvious being that both Hedge and Davis were abducted from their homes and found elsewhere, and BTK had previously committed his murders in the victims homes and left them where he killed them.
This proved that a killer so similar to Zodiac that many have thought them to be the same person could change his m.o. just enough to throw authorities off his scent. The hallmark of the "organized" serial killer is the continuing refinement of method of operation.
Article comments
1 - Donald E. Schultz
The story of Todd Schultz and Annette
Cooper (she was never addopted by Dale) is way out of line. They were both shot and didn't come from a drive in to the corn field.To blame it on some one other than Dale N.Johnston who was found guilty in a court of law with three judges is ridiculus. Take it from me the young man's father. It wasn't the Zodiac that killed Todd. It was Dale N. Johnston
2 - lorie
I know who the man was who claimed to be Joseph Chandler III, I met the man several times during my life and he is related to my ex-husband. Both he and my ex have lived lives of crime dating back to when they were teens. "Chandler" said that he had dated the Black Deliah" and had been the one who cut her body in half...she'd jilted him because he was younger than her. He is the man in the photos of her...she was Elizabeth Short. Contact me back if you want more info. Thanks.
3 - Steve Huff
I am interested, Lorie. Please go to planethuff.com/darkside and write me via the contact form, and I will e-mail you back.
4 - David Schultz
This Chandler thing is funny. Todd Schultz and Annette Cooper were murdered by Dale N. Johnston.
A three judge panel in a court of law convicted and sentenced Mr. Johnston for this crime, Unanimously. He was later released from prison on a technicality, never declared innocent, but was in fact granted a new trial. The only reason he is loose today is because of lack of funding for the re-trial. The Chandler thing is still funny to me. It would make a great class-b thriller chiller drive in movie for teens.Can anyone explain to me the significance of the geographical "triangle" (Toledo, Akron & Logan)?
As a work of fiction this is interesting. If you want really scary stuff I would invite you to get my perspective on those murders. Todd was my first cousin & only 4 years younger than me when
he was murdered. Do you want to know the horror a family goes through when something of this magnitude strikes at your soul? We're not talking fiction and fantasy anymore now. The loss is real. It doesn't regenerate with a screen refresh or attaining the next level. Would you like to share the real faces of death with me? The real faces of death were the ones I saw when the news was broken to Todds' parents. I was there when the news was broken to them. That was the moment I consciously recognized what death really looks like. It's not pink wax and flowers at the funeral home.It'a deafening silence colder than you could ever imagine. It is the sharpest reality to the point of madness.It hurts when someone outside and not affected likes to twist it for pleasure or worse yet, profit by my familys' loss. I respect the freedom of speech. I will defend your right to it with my own life, even if I disagree with what you're saying. I wanted all who run across this to know that there are people living with the knowledge that horror is very real and live those lives changed forever.
5 - Mike
When I was 6 years old I saw The Zodiac Killer right after he killed a cab driver. I didn't know who he was at the time. When I saw the pic of Joe Chandler I realized that he is the man I saw in October 1969. No doubt about it.
6 - Debbie Fleming
I been reading on the internet that this "Joseph Chandler" could possibility be "John Victor Dial" he has been missing since 1966 John Victor Dial is my uncle so at this point not sure what to think there has not been no reported earnings on him since 1968 also had a private investigator do some searching he has no background is like he does not exist no paper trail.
I want to mention my uncle was a civil engineer which consisted of mechanical,
electrical, plumbing, jack of all trades
he was in the military and orginally from
Texas he married a cuban woman from Panama.