Tom Voigt (left) and Zodiac suspect Rick Marshall
By Tom Voigt | Founder: Zodiackiller.com | tomvoigt@zodiackiller.com
When Rick Marshall vacated his Riverside apartment shortly after the murder of Cheri Bates in late 1966, he left a closet full of women’s clothing and handbags. Cross-dressing was not unusual for Marshall, who especially enjoyed the reaction he would get when going drag at the community pool. That changed when a local boy drowned and the residents feared it was somehow Marshall’s fault. Considered by his Riverside neighbors to be an evil pervert. it was probably no coincidence that Marshall quickly relocated to San Francisco, a place known for acceptance of men with similar quirks and characteristics.
Beginning in the late 1990s, whenever I would take a Zodiac-related research trip to the San Francisco Bay Area, I would make it clear that I wanted to find Rick Marshall. Often I would leave one of my Zodiackiller.com business cards at places where he was known to live or work. However, those who knew Marshall were both protective of him and suspicious of me. As a result, I hit every dead end in California. Then, after several years, my plan finally paid off.
On May 4, 2000, I had updated my website with a “secret” detail of the Cheri Bates murder that had recently been disclosed to me by Riverside detectives: Specifically, that Bates had been stabbed 42 times. I knew it was information that didn’t match the findings of her autopsy, but detectives in Riverside wanted me to report it, so I complied. Did those detectives intentionally feed me incorrect information in order to get a reaction from her killer? If so, it might have worked: Just 18 days later, Rick Marshall e-mailed me.
— Full e-mail below. I’ve corrected his many spelling errors —
Subject: silly man!!
From: rikitik@pacbell.net
Time: May 22, 2000 4:50:29 PM EDT
how can you waste time and energy on this dead horse Your information regarding me is fifth or sixth hand, for instance: I never lived in a warehouse in Marin. I leased an industrial property at 36A Front st in which included a four room fully equipped apartment. If I find any further scurrilous debasing dope handed out from this source, be prepared to defend a personal damage suit by a first-rate attorney, sgd Richard R Marshall
With that e-mail, Rick Marshall became the first Zodiac suspect ever to contact me. The timing was indeed interesting. While my Bates revelation was deservedly controversial and had been getting attention from news media throughout California, was it really the motivation for Marshall to reach out to me? According to his e-mail, Marshall was upset over a a piece of alleged misinformation that he had read here at Zodiackiller.com — my describing his 1974 residence as a warehouse when according to Marshall, it was actually an “industrial property.” Seems a rather trivial reason to prompt an e-mail.
Disturbing suggestion: Could the “dead horse” Marshall referred to have been Cheri Bates?
MY THOUGHTS ON THE E-MAIL:
I’ve disregarded Marshall’s spelling errors, simply because — while Zodiac-like — they could have been caused by age-related issues, such as poor eyesight. That aside, just as the Zodiac killer did, Marshall seemed to overreact to perceived lies told about him in the media, such as nitpicking over the use of “warehouse” instead of “industrial building.” Marshall’s referencing an attorney was also something the Zodiac killer did (Melvin Belli).
(I replied to Marshall’s e-mail, but never got a response.)
FINAL UPDATE:
*In July 2008, I received a phone call from a nurse at a care facility in Sacramento, Cal. She told me that Marshall was her patient, and he had spoken to her about the Zodiac case. The nurse found him to be extremely suspicious, but was not sure what to do. She asked for my help. Hoping that Marshall might finally be ready to confess due to his advanced age and deteriorating health, I contacted my sources at the Napa County Sheriff’s Department, the agency that originally investigated Marshall back in the 1970s. Immediately, two detectives were dispatched to Sacramento. After interviewing Marshall, the detectives allegedly concluded that he was likely not the Zodiac killer. At least, that’s what I was told off the record. It remains a mystery why one of the original Zodiac investigators chose to immediately burn his case files.
CONCLUSION:
As far as I know, genetic testing was not performed with Rick Marshall. In my opinion, Marshall remains as viable a Zodiac suspect as he ever was.
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