Chapter 8

Cameron Meets Family

September 27, 2010

Cameron had spent the last three months investigating Edwards and knew that if he wanted to get to the bottom of it all, he had to speak to his family. His job with the Montana Board of Pardons and Parole in Deer Lodge Prison was not accommodating to his research. Edwards had conned the parole board in 1959 and they released him to Portland, Oregon. Edwards killed a young couple on a lover’s lane in Portland in 1960 and got away with it. Cameron had to ask the family some questions so he traveled to Ohio and met with some family members. When he returned he met Neal at Morning Light Coffee.

“What did you learn? Did you find anything good?” Neal asked.

Cameron replied, “It was a trip I’ll never forget. I met some of Ed’s kids, relatives and co-workers. I interviewed Kay, his wife of 43 years. She has all the signs of a battered woman. She stayed with him to raise the 5 kids and 11 grandchildren. Ed stabbed her once, but it wasn’t reported to the police. He was always hanging out with the cops. Wherever they moved, and they moved often, he would immediately go to the police, introduce himself, and invite them over for barbeques and gambling. He was really into the FBI and had machines to make false credentials. She always thought he was a truck driver from 1968 to 1972, but it turns out he never was. He was a low level lumper, unloading trucks part time. He was traveling the country preaching his rehabilitation, all while he’s on parole.

“Edwards’ daughter, April, was incredible. Her husband invited me in and I sat down with them for hours. It was depressing. Her father was ruthless and burned down homes repeatedly, making the family move and live in campgrounds, hiding from the police yet always having them around. He recorded everything when the cops were over and she had boxes of tapes. She said that Ed would alter them if he felt there was any damaging information. He was always a game player; you had to beat him at it. When the family was older, he purchased a Rottweiler that was trained to kill. She talked about being forced to sit on the living room couch for hours after Ed had placed the dog in front of her and the kids, telling them not to move. She said if they had, the dog would have attacked.

“His son Jeff confirmed this. He told me, ‘Dad was repeatedly trying to get self-pity, and one day he walked into the kitchen and there he was, holding a shotgun under his chin, threatening to kill himself. I said go ahead and do it. I was sick of it.’ He told me he confronted his father about all the killings and hoped he would confess to give closure for the victims. Instead, Ed told him that the only closure he enjoys ‘is when they are begging for their lives.’ The man was pure evil, Neal. April had a box of Ed’s personal papers. Towards the top, I discovered an amazing article that’s never surfaced before.”

Sunday, March 21, 1971 Akron Beacon Journal

Neal asked, “Do you mean Edwards actually contacted the San Francisco Police and the Ohio press?”

“Yeah, he told them that he knew who the Zodiac killer was from his stretch in Deer Lodge. Listen to what the article says.”

“A former convict believes he served time with the man who has claimed thirteen victims in four years. ‘When I saw his picture, I told my wife: “what’s that story about? I know that man,’” the former convict said. ‘After reading the story, I’m sure I served time with him in Deer Lodge State Prison in Montana.”’

Neal demanded, “Let me see that! You found this in Edwards’ stuff?” He started reading. It was incredulous. “John, I thought you had something when you found the page in Ed’s book referring to the slaves. This absolutely proves a link between Ed and the Zodiac. The article is like trying to lead everyone somewhere, point them in a direction. Give them false clues or maybe some ‘busy’ work. And he saved it in his personal files! Clearly it was important to him. This is so Zodiac-like. It absolutely proves a connection between Ed and the Zodiac as early as March of 1971. This article ran on the one-year anniversary of the Zodiac’s Kathleen Johns abduction! What else did you get?”

Cameron answered, “Ed had movie transcripts, letters to the FBI, and lots of newspaper articles over 50 years of crime—cut out, dated and saved in nice little neat files. He had traveled the country speaking at schools and churches everywhere. I discovered some more fliers like the ones you found in the book.”

“By the age of 11 he had started a life of crime. He has committed every crime less than murder.”

During the Zodiac killings, Edwards had been promoting himself all over the country as an authority on crime with a degree from the University of Ohio.

March 7, 1971, Collier Chapel, Xenia, Ohio

Edwards was getting off on fooling everyone. He admitted to being arrested for suspicion of double murder and impersonating an officer. He admitted being a psychiatrist, a detective, and a con man. He was fooling everyone all over the country while he was killing.”

Cameron handed Neal some documents. “Look what his daughter April gave me—her own timeline as she could remember her life. She had given it to the police in 2009 but wasn’t convinced anyone was looking into all the murders her father did. She is sure there are many more.

“Neal, he was questioned in 1978 by the FBI regarding the Jimmy Hoffa disappearance.

“Remember what Ed said in his book about Jimmy 7 years before he killed him?”

“Jimmy and I had become friends almost instantly. We ate together, walked in the exercise yard together, lifted weights and played handball at least once a week, and spent long hours in the library discussing cases and reading. One day at chow, Jimmy said to me casually:

“Ed, I understand you’ve been writing letters to people looking for a job, so you can have something to put on your parole plan.”

“That’s right Jim. I’m afraid I haven’t had too much success.”

“Ed,” Hoffa replied, “I’ll be getting a visitor tomorrow or the next day. Twenty four hours after my visitor leaves you’ll have a telegram in your hands stating you have a guaranteed job on your release from Lewisburg.”

“Jim, how can I thank you? If I get the job don’t be surprised if I jump up and kiss you right on the forehead.”

“Ah, now,” Jim Hoffa chuckled, ‘don’t you worry about kissing me on the forehead. You’re just an old time con, and you’re trying to turn me into a homo.”

We both laughed and I tried to camouflage my anxiety. That night, I suffered my worst case of insomnia. A million things could happen. Jim could die of a heart attack.

Cameron furthered, “Kay and April both remembered Ed being questioned about Jimmy. They were living in Ocala, Florida at the time and they fled. That’s the same time April said the little black boys went missing. She described how they had just got new furniture and everything, suddenly; dad ups and moves everyone to Colorado to live in a campground. She had friends when she was young that just disappeared. She’s talking about the years 1978-82 because Ed went to prison in 82. He was in hiding after burning down a house in Butler, Penn. He was staying at the home of a Marietta, Georgia policeman with his wife and kids. April remembered it. She said he had a police uniform, too. We have a picture of Ed standing with a captain of the Atlanta Police Department. We will find some killings in Atlanta!

“His daughter and kids have endured some incredible suffering, yet the family stayed together 43 years. I could have spent days with them, but once I realized that he was the Zodiac killer, I felt like I could be obstructing justice. I’m not an investigator! I just wanted to confirm my hunches that the man was a serial killer. I was hoping the FBI or cops would do something about this. Edwards had killed everywhere and nobody wants to listen. The trip definitely confirmed that. The investigators from Ohio and Wisconsin took boxes of items in 2009. Who knows what is sitting in their evidence rooms! I doubt they even know what they have.”

Neal exploded. “Can we look at that? Or get a list of what they took?”

“No way. First off, the FBI doesn’t share. Second, this is supposedly an ongoing investigation, not open to the public. I’m not even in law enforcement anymore. I’ve been extremely lucky to get what I did and not get arrested! Oh, and I forgot to tell you, I wrote Edwards again.”

“Anything come back? I wrote to him, too.” said Neal.

“No, not yet. Sometimes it takes a while. I wonder if Edwards knows I’ve been talking to his family. Sometimes that jars something loose.”