The Suspicious Death of Patricia May "Pat" Tan, April 1970

Patricia Tan, who was also known as Pat, was born on November 4, 1943 in Morris, Illinois, where she also grew up. At the time of her death she was described as "Eurasian": her mother was white, and her father was Indonesian. By early spring 1970, Patricia, 26, was a college student and had been living in California for the past two years.

At the time of her death, Patricia Tan, 26, was described as "Eurasian": she was a half white, half Indonesian college student. She was from Morris, IL, but she had been living in CA for the past two years. She had a strong interest in movies, and purportedly may have been trying to break into the Hollywood movie scene. She was very tall, possibly about 6'.

Patricia's 1961 Morris Community High School senior yearbook photo.

At 2pm on Sunday, April 19, 1970, Patricia's body was found by a man named Thadeius Koslowski in a wooded canyon in the area of Bootjack Camp on Mt Tamalpais. She was found hanging from a tree limb with both feet on the ground. Two electric cords and a white cotton rope, woven together, were around her neck. There were deep rope marks around her neck. She had several bandaids on her left hand and right leg. There were leaves and sticks in her hair. She was wearing a brown jacket; blue, green, and tan pullover shirts; a brown bra; green panties; sandals; a brown belt; and blue jeans. Rigor had fully set in.

Patricia's death was ruled a suicide. It was noted by the coroner that it was very unlikely that someone would be able to drag or carry her through the steep terrain, though she could have navigated it herself or accompanied someone there.

In one of Pat's pockets was a key to a Greyhound bus depot storage locker in San Francisco. Inside the locker was a wicker bag containing "misc. papers, newspapers, clothing, toiletries, and an address book." By calling numbers in the address book, authorities were able to make the connection to Pat Tan, and her uncle was able to travel to CA and positively identify the body as hers on April 29th.

The last known address that I could find was 1350 McCollum St in LA, where she was staying with her friend Susan Bowers for about three months before Pat's death. When Susan last saw her in March or April, Pat said that she was going on a trip to Berkeley to visit some friends. Patricia's mom had also wired her $50 under the assumption it was for said trip to Berkeley. At some point she stashed her belongings in the Greyhound bus depot locker in SF, and then by April 12th she arrived in Muir Woods, and then supposedly eventually hanged herself on Mt Tamalpais.

Mt Tamalpais (red), Muir Woods (green), San Francisco Greyhound bus station (yellow), Berkeley (blue). Created by me in Google Maps.

Pat Tan's death is considered suspicious to online users, as her feet were on the ground when she was found, and the bindings around her neck supposedly would be too difficult for her.

The Zodiac sent another letter to newspapers the day after Pat's body was found. Because of this there has been speculation online that Patricia was a victim of his.

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The creator of the site The Zodiac-Murder Connection has had an external medical expert, Dr Sue Norris, give her interpretations of the autopsy reports of various cases. Here is the most relevant part of what she had to say about Patricia Tan's autopsy report:

"The braided "noose" surprised me: this is a great way to make a strong noose that doesn't cut into the flesh as much as a single strand. It's sturdier and more effective at "strangling." However, it takes forethought and initiative to do this: two characteristics which are often lacking in a severely depressed person. That being said, were this a noose from a "murder kit" carried by a serial killer, I'd expect all three strands to be made of the same material, rather than the haphazard pieces of cotton and electrical cord. Honestly, though, I could go either way . . . my best guess is Ms. Tan simply understood physics (pressure as a function of force over area) and applied that understanding to her noose.

Two pieces of information seem to support the argument that Ms. Tan was murdered. First, the "abrasion" on the left wrist and "superficial tissue loss" on the dorsum of the left foot are consistent with being dragged, face down, with uneven weight distribution (ie. on a steep hill or with one side of the body supported more than the other as it's dragged.) This could just be coincidental: wounds she sustained while hiking prior to her death. I do wish I knew more about the "superficial tissue loss" on the left toes. Since there was insect activity at this location, I don't know if the tissue loss was caused by an abrasion or by hungry larvae.

The other piece of information that is harder to explain is the multitude of leaves and twigs found in Tan's hair. Even at my clumsiest off-trail hiking, I usually only come home with the slightest of forest flora tangled in my hair. She either spent extensive time with her head on the ground, and then didn't bother to brush her hair off (possible) or she was dragged on the ground (I see the second scenario as more likely for this specific topic, but it doesn't fit with my overall impression that this was a suicide).

Originally, I thought the fact that the hyoid bone was intact was significant evidence that this was a voluntary suicidal hanging. I recall fracture of the hyoid being associated with homicidal strangulation. However, a quick review of the literature shows that, while this is correct, it's not anywhere near a definitive way to separate suicide from homicide. This is especially murky in younger people.

To sum it up, I lean towards suicide, but I'm not sold on it being a suicide. I can see why it was officially called a suicide, in the absence of any more evidence otherwise. But there are some unexplained pieces to this puzzle."

Sources

Zodiac-Manson Connection, archived

Tapatalk Zodiac forum threads

Autopsy report, pages 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, archived

Map of Greyhound Bus Depot, pg 3 of pdf

External medical doctor's impression of autopsy report, archived