DNA Evidence

There are some reports of DNA evidence existing. These are related to the stamps in Vallejo and Cheri Jo Bates in Riverside.

My y-linked DNA is nearly identical to Robert's.

I have located a small group of cousins in the Sacramento area that share mitochondrial DNA with Robert. Basic mtDNA testing will be necessary to link them to Robert and the maternal line.

Z 408 cipher

Contained in three letters postmarked July 31, 1969

Deciphered by Bettye and Donald Harden

The first cipher was mailed in three parts and deciphered within a week or two. The last line of the third section has not been clear. I interpret it as an anagram.

E B E O R I E T E M E T H H P I T I

I immediately noticed P I T I and began to read it as 'pity'. I then noticed E T H and assembled the word 'pitieth'. Pitieth is used in the King James Version of the Bible so I suspected the writer might have had a Bible reference in mind. I was also aware that Robert M. Higgins cherished his collection of C. H. Spurgeon sermons in leather bound volumes.

Further examination of the last eight letters of the anagram show that pitieth is a seven letter word. There is an extra H not needed to complete the word. However, H could be combined with the initial E or the IE combination to read 'he' or 'hie'. I focused on hie because it is rarely used in modern or 19th century texts. I felt that it would only be included if it was copied from a unique text.

E and M are prominently placed at the center of the line. There are eight letters before and after the E and M. This placement drew my eyes and thoughts to 'me'. Choosing the arrangement 'hie me pitieth' sounded like a quotation. Only six letters remained. The British sound of the phrase made me think the initial E would be the word 'he' with the silent 'h' omitted from the written text.

'E HIE ME PITIETH' gave me confidence that I could enter the words and remaining five letters into my search browser and get a result. I was not disappointed.  Two meaningful references were on the first page of results. Psalm 103:13 and a sermon by C.H. Spurgeon using the psalm were obviously worth examining. I read the sermon and psalm and I was convinced these were the sources the anagram was pointing to.

Psalm 103:13, King James Version

13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.

C. H. Spurgeon used this reference in this sermon. 

God’s Fatherly Pity

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

March 2, 1882

Scripture: Psalms 103:3

From: Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Volume 28

After reading the sermon and Psalm 103 I reorganized the anagram to read.

'E PITIETH ME

HIE TO

REB

After reflecting on all I then knew I interpret the anagram to mean.

He pitieth me,

I must hie to the mercy seat.

signed,

Rebel

Robert once told me to read the sermon. I picked up the book off his shelf and asked him how to find it. He told me to open the book at the marker he had placed in it. The half sheet of paper had something like this written on it and I asked him why the word rebel was on it. He said, "that's me, I'm a rebel". I was conflicted because he worked very hard to assure I was well behaved and had never made any statements inviting me to rebel against anyone. I had not seen him rebel in any way so I told him I couldn't understand why he would say that. He told me he was a rebel and ended the conversation.

Knowing what I know now, I see the sermon as his chosen manifesto. He believed God had allowed him to murder people as 'folly' and believed God would welcome him to the mercy seat as his loving father.

David Oranchak and Z 340

I am continuing to learn what my father did and what his influences were.

David Oranchak knows the Zodiac better than anyone else in the world, including myself. David's Youtube channel has been invaluable to me. I have learned how significant Robert's time in San Francisco was and how Charlie Chan at Treasure Island influenced him. Robert was a big movie and graphic novel fan. I knew he loved 20th Century Fox movies when they were twenty five cents ('two bits' as he said) and I knew he had been aware of Sally Rand, the fan dancer, but I had not been aware that all these personalities and their performances had coincided with Robert's time in San Francisco.

I noticed that David solved Z 340 while working with Sam Blake and Jarl Van Eycke but with all the chaos I was discovering in my family I didn't have the time or energy to watch his Youtube videos until my mind cleared a bit. When I binged through the videos I saw Robert learning and imitating Dr. Zodiac, Batman, and each citation David cites. David is clear and correct in tracking the pop culture influences Robert immersed himself in .

DB Cooper

Dan Cooper was a character in a graphic novel published in Canada. It was never translated into English. The series started in 1954, Robert was in French speaking Sidi Slimane, Morocco from time to time in 1955. I suspect he got the comic book there. There wasn't much entertainment at the radio station camp in the mountains on the eastern border of Morocco.

Early in 1955 he attended jump school at Ft. Benning, Georgia. On a single occasion, there was a vehicle collision far enough from Sidi Slimane that the first response, including Robert, was a parachute jump onto the highway. The squad rendered aid and waited for ground transport to take the patient to a hospital. The DB Cooper jump was insanely dangerous. But if Robert was suicidal (as he sometimes was) he may have been looking for narcissistic supply, even in death. He would have handled it like an ordered mission. Do it and if you get hurt, get patched up and get ready to do it again. Successful or not, his character, Dan Cooper,  would get the attention he wanted.

The Cooper letters are very similar in tone to the Zodiac letters and Roberts grievances and style. I can only believe he used his training and experience to add the Dan Cooper character to the dystopian fantasies he was acting out. I saw a parachute after 1971. It had more or less 'appeared out of thin air'. George had a pilot's license but flew biplanes. I think it is more dangerous to jump from a biplane than a 727. The parachute was almost certainly the one Robert used in the DB Cooper jump. He denied it was his and claimed it was an old one 'George left laying around'.

Robert hid some twenties in a black medical bag (like a doctor might carry), I saw them there. He 'found' a large amount of twenty dollar bills in the pantry/work room of the house on Woodland in Modesto. He tried to persuade a businessman he knew to exchange the twenties for the smaller bills from the man's safe. I don't know if they completed the exchange. I overheard their conversation and was ordered to stay out of the room sometime in 1972.

Check out my Substack for more details.

https://substack.com/@randall1?utm_source=feed_sidebar

My Condolences to Survivors and Families of the Victims

It is with deep sadness that I publish this information. Robert Melvin Higgins was my father. I knew he had a very dark side throughout my life. I witnessed three murders he committed in Stanislaus County in 1964, when I was four years old.

I continue to grieve for those men. I was in their house the day before and in their yard when they were killed. My mother came to know what had happened. I told her what I could and asked questions until my father confessed to her. He told her she could live with him and have his income or live without him and figure out how to raise their children alone. She chose to stay with him.

I believe Robert invented the Zodiac as an alibi for those murders in Stanislaus County and others he had committed. His goal was to create a scapegoat. If anyone ever investigated him for the murders I knew about, he would blame the Zodiac. His sudden attacks on people he had no relationship to insulated him from suspicion.

As far as I can tell, Robert is responsible for many more murders than I and the police have ever thought. He seemed to kill regularly due to his delusions and bipolar disorder. He was addicted to amphetamines, barbiturates, and alcohol which provoked even greater cycles than his disordered thinking alone.

I wish to extend my condolences to each victim and their families, friends, and communities. Murder leaves a scar on each of these. I can't imagine the anguish people have experienced from his senseless acts.

May each victim rest in peace and each survivor experience healing and live in peace.

Randy Higgins

Zodiac/DB Cooper

Calendar and Information

Robert Melvin Higgins

April 9, 1921—February 18, 2009

SSN: 558-16-8013

Service: AF430849

Resided at:

615 Third St. Modesto, CA

316 Locust St. Turlock, CA

1195 Sycamore Dr. Simi Valley, CA 93065

Married to:

Barbara Mae Higgins

April 1, 1928—September 12, 2022

Married: January 21, 1956

Son-Randall Mark Higgins

July 1, 1958

Contact info:

346-978-8283

Zodiac.Macafee@gmail.com

Other Family:

  RLB (declines to discuss the story)

SRH (declines to discuss the story)

Melvin Russell Davis (biological father: DNA linked to Randall Mark Higgins)

March 19, 1902—April 6, 1985

Hilda Margaret McAfee (birth mother)

June 29, 1898—February 28, 1944

George Edwin Higgins (adopted Robert from Mater Misericordiae in Sacramento)

October 24, 1897—February 12, 1971

Katie Irene Turl

July 19, 1892—March 16, 1982

Verne Higgins

1918—August 25, 1921

about 1937-1938--Robert expelled from Modesto High School 

about 1938-1939--attended Mission High School in San Francisco 

1939 and 1940-- Golden Gate International Exposition at Treasure Island

August 31, 1939-- Charlie Chan at Treasure Island released by 20th Century Fox

Dr. Zodiac was the villain in the movie. Charlie Chan diagnoses Dr. Zodiac with pseudologia fantastica or pathological lying behavior. Robert seems to have adopted Dr. Zodiac's skills with disguises and lying as a typical expression of his personality. 

September 6, 1939 

killed Mrs. Joie Redman’s dairy cow while driving roadster with (Miss) Tibbetts in the car

1939/1940 Enlisted in United States Coast Guard (Portland)

Service Record:

Portland

general duties

San Pedro

fishing boat inspections

North Star (North Atlantic convoy escort)

30 days leave in London during 1943. Purchased complete works of Gilbert and Sullivan, personal copies of C.H. Spurgeon's sermons, and toured Jack the Ripper locations. He read and reflected on these as his voyages continued.

Gen. Black (from London to Sicily and through the Panama Canal)

crossed Equator in Atlantic and passed through the Panama Canal to the Pacific

Sheliak

crossed the Equator with 250 Army troops en route to Okinawa

1944 invasion of Okinawa

1945 liberty in Port Chicago

February 28, 1944

Hilda McAfee died from cervical cancer. Robert didn't know this and continually fantasized he would 'find' her and reconcile with her.

July 17, 1944

320 men killed while loading ammunition in Port Chicago

Robert sees this incident as indicative of Navy officers' incompetence

1945

Robert leaves USCG and drifts up and down West Coast from LA to Portland

1946-1950

whereabouts unconfirmed but his stories were diverse. Murders during these years cannot be ruled out.

Los Angeles

mortuary services

Amy Semple McPherson conversations

Pasadena

Pasadena playhouse gigs

Black Gospel group records as bass singer

1950-1954

Portland

Jim Elkins and pinball halls

Robert worked for Jim Elkins and/or his organization

Multnomah School of the Bible

1954-1961

1954 Met and began dating Barbara at Multnomah School of the Bible

1955 Enlisted in the United States Air Force

Service Record:

1955 Ft. Benning Georgia- Jump School

1955 Morocco; Sidi Slimane and radio station in eastern Morocco

began using amphetamines and barbiturates heavily

bought Dan Cooper graphic novels

parachute jump to rescue soldier injured in auto collision

1956/1957 Castle AFB, Merced

began using Thalidomide heavily

1958-1960 Torrejon AFB, Madrid

continued using Thalidomide heavily

1958 Randall born with Thalidomide damage

Robert leaves Randall to die in hospital

‘Crib death’ attempted by covering with blankets

‘Crib death’ attempted by smothering with pillow

Randall plans and injures himself by jumping into the overstuffed chair and window ledge

1961 Castle AFB Merced

reenlistment denied due to discipline record (1958 insubordination and ?)

30% VA disability granted due to pressure of job and a 'meltdown', battle fatigue, nervous breakdown. He was unable to work for days or weeks.

1962

April 9th--Robert's birthday fishing trip in Oceanside

April 10/11, 1962

Ray Davis shot in his taxi, Oceanside

day after Robert’s birthday

Robert on ‘fishing trip’ he told Barbara he ‘just needed to get away’

September 1962 Barbara begins teaching first grade at Ballico School

More 1962

September or October three men murdered with shotgun Robert borrowed from George Higgins for protection on farm in Stanislaus County in Randall's presence.

November +/- Farmer killed with tractor in Randall's presence.

Myrt (Beulah Covenant Church secretary) gaslighted and harassed resulting in hospitalization for mental illness.

January 1963

Salida bank robbery and 5 others

descriptions match Robert's appearance, known disguises, and car

February 1963 

Edwin Fagundes pleads guilty to bank robbery at Salida and others and is eligible for immediate parole

June 4, 1963

Robert Domingos and Linda Edwards killed on Gaviota Beach

Robert took the car and went to a farm on the ‘west side’ of the San Joaquin Valley

He claimed a farmer was going to be working to prep his fields for the new planting

February 5, 1964

Johnny Ray Swindle and Joyce Swindle killed in Ocean Beach

Robert was looking for a job and house to buy. He was planning to move to Southern California. He told Barbara he was going to start looking in San Diego.

1964/1965

Glen Curtis cited for improper practices/ dispensing medications without a prescription from Mid Valley Pharmacy

Robert bailed him out and made monthly payments to ‘encourage’ his business

As a result, Robert's drug supplies are minimized.

September 1965

‘Nervous Breakdown’ and hospitalization in VA hospital LA

October 28/29 1965

discharge from VA hospital

diagnosis: depression, delusions of grandeur, electroshock therapy

October 28-30, 1966

Robert ‘ordered to appear in uniform’ for one year check-up. He fabricated requisitions and orders.

October 30, 1966

Cheri Josephine Bates killed at Riverside City College

Summer 1967

Robert’s appendix removed and drugs prescribed

1968

Robert meets Charles Manson at Spahn Ranch and becomes acquainted with family members while riding horses there.

December 20, 1968

David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen killed on Lake Herman Road in Benicia

Our family was in Kingsburg for Christmas

SRH birthday December 24

July 4, 1969

Michael Mageau  was shot and Darlene Ferrin was killed at Blue Rocks Spring Park in Vallejo.

Our family was in Kingsburg

Randall’s birthday July 1, Elsie Peterson’s birthday July 2.

1969 Zodiac letters mailed and received. All were postmarked in San Francisco

Robert lent car to Terry to drive to visit girlfriend north of San Francisco. Instructed Terry to leave 'these three letters in mail boxes on the way north, and this one in the mail box on the way south'.

September 27, 1969

Bryan Hartnell was stabbed and Cecelia Shepard was killed at Lake Berryessa

Howie Stevenson divorce was pending and Robert visited him in San Jose

October 11, 1969

Paul Stine was shot and killed in his taxi. Washington and Cherry streets in San Francisco.

Howie Stevenson divorce was pending and Robert visited him in San Jose

Lamplighter's Music Theatre presented The Mikado three or four miles from murder scene

December 1969

Melvin Belli letters and phone calls ‘it’s my birthday, I have to kill someone’

March 22, 1970

Kathleen Johns and daughter abducted near Modesto

Robert ‘visiting’ parents on Palm Sunday but didn’t ever go to the house

1970 Zodiac letters continue

Robert was taking frequent trips to Modesto by himself.

September 6, 1970

Donna Lass letters received after extensive coverage and facts disclosed in news

detailed description of encryption received by police. Directions followed by Sal La Barbera lead to Donner Pass. Code was probably an    attention getting joke using Donna Lass/Donner Pass as the punchline as in Cockney rhyming.

February 12, 1971

George Higgins died from colon cancer leaving Robert to manage the financial affairs of Katie with his savings and Social Security.

March 13, 1971

Los Angeles Times letter mailed from Pleasanton on the day after George’s funeral.

Spring 1971

George’s lawyer’s office burglarized and burned by Edwin Fagundes. Accusations in letter destroyed, all of the contents of the box intended for George’s grandchildren were destroyed or stolen.

Robert narrates story to Randall while driving from Modesto to Simi Valley, he thinks Randall is sleeping.

November 24, 1971

Dan Cooper hijacked NORJACK plane while Robert was traveling in Northern California

Robert still had Dan Cooper graphic novel on book shelf in Simi Valley.

Spring 1972

Robert ‘finds’ box full of twenties in Woodland Ave house and deposits $10-20,000 in Katie’s accounts

Parachute found in closet at Woodland Ave

‘Doctor’s bag’ twenties are found in Simi Valley

January 11, 1973

Olive Brown missing

Robert assists in search and smokes marijuana while 'searching'

Spring 1973

Randall ordered to bury a skeletal hand and fetal skeleton desiccated by lime on a Saturday

January 28, 1974

Olive Brown’s remains found

January 29, 1974

Zodiac ‘Mikado’ letter received

1974

Remainder of Zodiac letters received

1975 and following no Zodiac or DB Cooper related crimes believed to occur