Kenneth Lester German

Very good likeness to the Stine sketch... the face and hair are similar.

https://www.dailyrepublic.com/all-dr-news/solano-news/fairfield/solano-man-says-grandfather-was-zodiac-killer/

Find a Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/13121402/kenneth-lester-german

Kenneth Lester German
Born: Oct. 13, 1933 Fairfield, CA.
Died: Nov. 26, 2005
Parents: Luther Lester German and Josephine Abigaile Cleveland German
Siblings: None
Spouse(s): Charlene Davenport (married 12/31/1950 in Los Angeles)
Children: Kay Nelson, Kim Johnson... Two other children, do not know their names yet.
Education: Unknown
Military: Unknown (did serve in the Korean War though)
Work History: Officer with the Suisun City PD (?)
Known Addresses:
411 Tennessee St., Vallejo, CA. (1940's)
350 Rockhurst Ct, Fairfield, CA.
2254 Clipper Ct, Fairfield, CA.
2137 Rockville Rd, Fairfield, CA.
4606 Suisun Valley Rd, Fairfield, CA.
4614 Suisun Valley Rd, Fairfield, CA.
PO Box 133, Suisun City, CA.

Has also used the last name Treadway.

FAIRFIELD — A Dixon man believes his grandfather was the notorious Zodiac Killer, and he and his mother have provided DNA samples to compare as possible familial matches.

“I believe my grandfather (Kenneth Lester German) did it because he matches the description,” said Phillip Powers, who has provided to the Solano County Sheriff’s Office photos, writing samples and other items he believes links his grandfather to the killings that occurred in the late 1960s and into the early 1970s – including several in Solano.

Those items include DNA swabs taken by the Sheriff’s Office, just one of several agencies that have independent investigations into the serial killings.

“We did collect some items and we did take some DNA samples that we will be providing to the Vallejo Police Department,” confirmed Detective Sgt. Dax West.

West said the Sheriff’s Office does not have any DNA evidence from the Zodiac, so there would be nothing to compare with the Powers’ samples.

However, the Vallejo police have envelopes believed to have the killer’s DNA on them, as does the San Francisco Police Department, which developed the first genetic profile of the serial killer in 2002.

Depending on the account, the Zodiac has been directly linked to five or seven killings. In his last letter, sent in 1974, he claimed to have killed 37.

Family lore ‘links’ German to Zodiac

Phillip Powers of Dixon says his grandfather, Kenneth Lester German, was the Zodiac Killer. (Courtesy photo)

Powers believes a family story in which his grandfather reportedly confessed to being the Zodiac.

According to Powers, German made the confession to one of his four daughters, Kay Nelson, when she was a young girl. That story could not be confirmed as Nelson could not be reached for comment.

“She took it as a joke,” Powers said.

Not everyone in the family supports Powers’ theory or his efforts to prove what he believes. In fact, he admits some of his relatives are very upset with his investigation.

Powers is motivated on several levels, he said, not the least of which is his own diagnosis of having a bipolar disorder.

“I want to know if I got it from him” Powers said.

But Powers also believes the families of the Zodiac victims deserve closure, and he is convinced there may be more bodies than are currently known – and possibly located on what was once family property on Suisun Valley Road.

Powers has gone so far as to take a series of markings that appeared on the Zodiac’s “Exorcist Letter,” and using it as a kind of overlay of the property, believes it marks the location of the two houses at the address, while outlining where former landfills were located on the site.

Powers said he remembers distinctly how upset his grandfather got when he was playing in one of the landfills, though he admits his grandfather may have just been especially concerned for his safety.

There are specifics about the houses that Powers believes are referenced in the Zodiac letters, but those assertions are speculative at best.

His mother, Kim Johnson, said she agreed to provide a DNA sample in hopes it will provide a definitive answer so her son can move on from what has become an obsession.

Johnson does not think her father was the Zodiac.

Zodiac remains an obsession for some

Sgt. West is not surprised that Powers has developed a kind of obsession with the case. He said not a week goes by that he does not receive some kind of information about the Zodiac case. In other words, Powers is not alone.

“The interesting thing about the Zodiac case is there are different (law enforcement) agencies who have their own investigation,” West said.

“And we get calls all the time on the Zodiac case. We have people all over the world that are trying to solve the case,” the detective said.

West said it was not long ago that he was engaged in a correspondence with a man from Australia who was sure he had solved the case.

The central element to almost all of the attention the case receives are the cyphers that appeared in the letters, puzzles that the Zodiac said would provide his identity.

Powers is convinced one of those cyphers spells out his grandfather’s name. Still, he is trying to confirm if his grandfather was ever exposed to cypher technology or training while he was in the service during the Korean War. He has received no answers to date.

West confirmed he met with Powers and collected some material, which has been booked as possible evidence, he will not discuss any specific element of the investigation.

“Just like any other investigation, even though the case is from 1968 . . . we don’t discuss it . . . because our goal is to prosecute it,” West said.

One thing West is not, he insists, is obsessed with the Zodiac. He said he remains dispassionate about the famous case. It is the only way he can look at all the material he receives objectively.

But West also admits that if a true suspect ever was identified, he would like to put him in a room and interrogate him.

German died in 2005.

Who is Kenneth Lester German?

German is, in a word, ambiguous.

According to Powers, German “was an only child growing up on a produce farm with parents who showed little to no affection. As is the recollection of my mother.”

German’s “father was a Navy man and himself from a strict upbringing. He, too, grew up and died here. He was the husband of Abigail Cleveland, a descendant of Grover Cleveland. She out lived him and (the) Leukemia that he contracted from radiation exposures while stationed at Mare Island,” Powers noted in an email.

“His successes at farming will come to crumble in the later years because of Kenneth’s distractions from reality and mental breakdown. Also accounted by his daughters,” Powers noted.

German had property in San Pablo the family did not know about until much later; he often disappeared for periods of time; and there is even some confusion about what he did for a living – or at least where he worked.

They know he farmed, and it is confirmed he was an officer with the Suisun City Police Department.

However, according to Powers, the family had always thought he also had been a deputy with the Solano County Sheriff’s Department, which has been determined by West not to be true.

Powers thinks it is odd that so many in his family, including his mother, remember German having a uniform that resembled that of a sheriff’s deputy.

German often referenced his combat experiences, but Powers knows his grandfather spent his time during the Korean War in Europe. There are some holes in the service profile Powers is trying to fill.

Powers also has what he believes is a paper trail to other matters he thinks links back to the Zodiac, but again, there is no hard evidence, yet.

The night the Zodiac was nearly caught

On Oct. 11, 1969, a cab driver by the name of Paul Stine was shot in the head by his passenger. A teenager witnessed the event and provided a description of the suspect.

However, a dispatcher wrongly described the shooter as black.

So when two San Francisco police officers passed a stocky white male with heavy-rimmed glasses, they ignored the man.

The Zodiac later mocked the near encounter in one of his letters.