Contact her at katie.dowd@sfgate.com. Stewart wrote. "That’s not the father’s handwriting, I’m sure of it," Audrey Phelps, administrator at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Reno, told The Chronicle in 2014. In the quiet Presidio Heights neighborhood, Zodiac pulled a 9 mm and shot Stine in the head. The authors simply assumed that such a reversal had occurred and then reversed the image to suit their needs. "The Most Dangerous Animal of All" is based on a 2014 nonfiction book of the same name by Gary Stewart, who claims his father was the man who killed five people around the Bay Area in … The American singer’s earnings remain impressive compared to other famous singer’s like Ciara and Jennifer Hudson, who also rank in Richest Musician list. Katie Dowd is an SFGATE Senior Digital Editor. No law enforcement agency has accepted his evidence as valid and virtually all of his evidence has been debunked. The only way to link Earl Van Best to the crime relied on assuming that the print was left by the killer and then reversing the image of that print. He always filled those out. He opened fire, killing them both. Therefore, certain letters of the alphabet were not available in the Best signatures to compare with the same letters which appeared in the Zodiac writings. Katie Dowd is the SFGATE Managing Editor. At least four different photograph exhibits of handwriting comparisons between the Zodiac’s writing and Best’s writing cited this marriage certificate as evidence. What does that mean for Bay Area winter? 22... Man steals from SF Walgreens as TV crew reports on... SF extends Shared Spaces Program to next summer, Berkeley encourages hills residents to leave area ahead of Sunday's wind event, 'Do not hike alone': For 21 months, the Trailside Killer terrorized Bay Area's outdoors, SF tech execs apologize for addicting features in Netflix doc, This breakfast institution has served the best eggs Benedict in Tahoe for more than 40 years, PG&E issues shutoff warning due to weekend Bay Area wind event, A luxury Tahoe chalet where the snow never melts is asking $2.5M, Test your cloth, N95, or KN95 mask at home. The Vallejo Times Herald, San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Examiner all received letters from Zodiac boasting of his crimes and warning he'd strike again if the letters were not published on the front page. Three teens in a house across the street called the police, thinking they were watching a robbery. Gary Stewart stands at the height of and bodyweight is unknown. At 7:40 p.m., he called the Napa County Sheriff's Office from a payphone to report the crime. Being born on 28th May 1944, Gary Stewart was 59 years old. Stewart claimed that his father’s fingerprints matched a fingerprint found at the scene of a Zodiac murder. Van Best made San Francisco news in the early ‘60s when at age 28 he began a predatory relationship with a 14-year-old girl. Other samples of Fliger’s writing on other marriage certificates were remarkably similar to the writing on Best’s marriage certificate. It's clear that Stewart struggles to grapple, as anyone would, with the terrible revelation that his father was a convicted pedophile who victimized Stewart's own mother. He quickly became the best singer in his age group. In December of 2015, Gary Stewart sent angry email to the ZodiacKillerFacts contact email address. Allen was ruled out. Gary Stewart’s book The Most Dangerous Animal of All was released in May 2014.Three months later, ZodiacKillerFacts.com featured a review of Stewart’s book which debunked his claims that his father Earl Van Best, Jr. was the Zodiac killer. Shortly after the publication of Stewart’s book, Zodiac theorist Mike Rodelli reported that he had contacted the church where Stewart’s parents had married. But whether putting that story out there for the world to see on television helps or hurts Stewart's case remains to be seen. Links to this review were posted at the ZodiacKillerFacts forum, Reddit, Twitter and other social media sites. “Why did it take 16 months after the release of my New York Times Bestseller for you to publicly ‘debunk’ me?” Stewart also bragged, “I’ve solved the case,” and then cried that “people without real purpose” continued to “pursue some boogey man in a case that’s beyond solved!”. I would gladly accept Earl Van Best, Jr. as the Zodiac killer if Gary Stewart or anyone else provided any credible evidence to support that solution. Six months after her death, Riverside police received a letter that read: "Bates had to die. Police arrived on scene and a series of blunders allowed Zodiac to get away... For reasons unknown, the dispatcher told police to look for a black male suspect. However, some believe that Cheri Jo Bates, an 18-year-old student at Riverside City College who was slain in 1966, may have been a victim of Zodiac. Superficially, Van Best did have some commonalities with the Zodiac Killer. Thinking he'd killed them both, Zodiac returned to the parking lot, where he drew his signature cross-circle on Hartnell's car door (seen here) and, with a black pen, wrote the locations and dates of all three murder sites. In FX's The Most Dangerous Animal of All currently screening on Hulu, Gary L. Stewart investigates whether his biological father is the infamous Zodiac killer. This explanation may sound satisfying to some, but Stewart once again fails to address important facts and reality itself. "It’s Reverend Edward Fliger’s (the priest who signed the certificate). Gary Stewart, his co-author Susan Mustafa, his publisher Harper/Collins, and his handwriting expert Mike Wakshull presented the handwriting “match” as fact in Stewart’s book only to learn in a matter of days that someone had identified the real person responsible for handwriting samples attributed to Earl Van Best, Jr. Into that void have stepped dozens of people claiming to know, or be related to, the real Zodiac Killer. Gary showed an interest in music from quite an early age. Is working from home (literally) a pain in the neck? On page 329, Stewart and co-author Susan Mustafa stated that Lieutenant Bob Garrett examined the fingerprints found at the scene of the Zodiac’s last known crime, the … This update occurred when the website switched to a new format. The evidence Stewart has offered can be politely described as lackluster at best. In 2002, SFPD tested his DNA against a partial profile they obtained from the saliva on stamps from Zodiac's letters. One of those men is Stewart, who says he instantly knew his biological father, Earl Van Best Jr., was the murderer after seeing the famous Zodiac Killer police sketch on TV one night. By that time, Van Best had been imprisoned for statutory rape. Two weeks later, Zodiac killed his final confirmed victim: San Francisco cab driver Paul Stine. Critical thinking skills are crucial when assessing the value and validity of claims made by Gary Stewart and others. He also earns a great deal of money from his endorsement contracts. But after reading his book, you come away feeling that Stewart does sincerely believe his father is the Zodiac Killer. Berkeley hills urged to evacuate until 'dangerous'... Why fighter jets flew over San Francisco on Thursday. He also took responsibility for the Benicia murders, saying, "I also killed those kids last year.". Put simply, Wakshull was wrong and the handwriting evidence did not implicate Earl Van Best, Jr. as the author of the Zodiac letters. Stewart and Mustafa had no reason to believe that experienced police officers had somehow reversed the fingerprint. My article debunking Stewart’s book was first post in August 2014, just three months after the publication of Stewart’s book. At one restaurant I pass, a group of eight people are gathered tightly sharing one punch... 'Obscene': Mayor accuses Jed York of trying to buy... For 21 months, an unknown killer terrorized Bay... Large tanker fire shuts down lanes on I-80 in San Pablo. They’ve chosen to highlight one of the weakest suspects in the infamous case. Your guide to purchasing KN95 and NIOSH-approved N95 masks, Walmart just announced that 'Black Friday' starts Nov. 4, The Under Armour face mask now comes in sizes from XS to XXL. This fact alone demonstrates the many problems with the methods and claims made by Stewart and his associates. He asked a handwriting expert to compare it to samples of the Zodiac’s handwriting and the expert declared it a likely match, but that's very much contested ground. * Best had some interest in ciphers when he was younger. Gig companies pony up millions more as Prop. Wakshull’s conclusions implicated Edward Fliger and not Gary Stewart’s father. The 408-symbol cipher was broken by an unlikely pair: Donald Harden, a teacher at Alisal High in Salinas, and his wife Bettye. He bound them and said he was an escaped prison inmate. As he approached, they were shocked to see he was wearing a black executioner-style hood. "I love Judy and she loves me…it was love at first sight.". Police had no leads until six months later... On the night of July 4, 1969, Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau were sitting in their parked car at Blue Rock Springs Park in Vallejo. So just how rich was Gary Stewart? David Oranchak’s informative site ZodiacKillerCiphers.com also featured analysis of Stewart’s cipher claims in article which also included a link to the ZodiacKillerFacts review of Stewart’s book. Wakshull claimed that the writing on the marriage certificate was that of the Zodiac killer. If other handwriting examples were available, the documents featuring only Best’s signature would not have been as important as Wakshull stated when describing the basis for his conclusions. * Best was reportedly in California during the time of the Zodiac crimes. The letters also came with ciphers — Zodiac said whoever cracked them would learn his true identity. As a further stretch, the assumption that the print was valid and the reversal of the image did not produce any match between the fingerprint found at the crime scene and Best’s fingerprint. Alongside the fact that handwriting analysis as a science is widely questioned, shortly after the book’s publication, a manager at the church that issued the marriage certificate laughed it off. So just how rich was Gary Stewart? Stewart claims that the San Francisco Police Department has thwarted his efforts and refuses to conduct the DNA testing necessary to prove that Earl Van Best, Jr. was the Zodiac. Why This Man Thinks His Father Was the Zodiac Killer | Time This week, FX debuts its miniseries on the Zodiac Killer. Van Best was also allegedly an abusive father, eventually abandoning his one-month-old in Louisiana. On Aug. 1, 1969, newspapers began to receive the first of Zodiac's famous letters. He was currently 59 years old. Riverside police dismiss any links between Bates' death and the Zodiac Killer. In his own book, The End of the Zodiac Mystery, Wakshull described his methods and the handwriting samples used in his examination. In a CNN interview with Erin Burnett, Stewart boasted, “I believe for the first time in the history of this case that I have presented more evidence than has ever been presented on any one suspect.” Stewart’s certainty was not justified by the evidence. Apparently, Stewart never noticed that article and, instead, focused on the publication date of the new updated posting of the original blog entry which was dated November 2015. He shouldn’t be surprised when informed people find it difficult to take him seriously. He lived at Jenkins, Kentucky, U.S. with his family. The American singer had generated a load of cash through songs and his vast, sponsorship deals. A San Francisco Chronicle photo of Earl Van Best Jr. * Best liked Gilbert and Sullivan operas quoted in Zodiac letters. Van Best was also a fan of ciphers. Gary Stewart was interviewed by Richard Grinell of ZodiacCiphers.com. You have entered an incorrect email address. There will be more." Most zero in on Arthur Leigh Allen as their prime suspect, but FX took a different tack. * Best was an immoral person who may have committed crimes. Bates was stabbed to death after leaving the library one night. "The Most Dangerous Animal of All" is based on a 2014 nonfiction book of the same name by Gary Stewart, who claims his father was the man who killed five people around the Bay Area in the late '60s.