On the morning of October 22, 1969, a man claiming to be the Zodiac Killer called the Oakland police department asking for F. Lee Bailey to come on the Jim Dunbar Show on local station KGO. The caller said that Melvin Belli would be an acceptable replacement, should Bailey be unable to appear on the program. Belli appeared on the program with Jim Dunbar.
An unidentified man called the station several times. Upon speaking with Belli, a man who said his name was "Sam" claimed to be the Zodiac Killer. During the telephone conversation, "Sam" stated: "I’m gonna kill those kids!" A transcript taken from an excerpt of the actual program appears below:
Jim Dunbar: Talk to us. Just tell us what’s going on in... inside you... right now. Please.
"Sam": I have headaches.
Jim Dunbar: Right.
Melvin Belli: How long have you had those headaches, Sam? Been a long time?
"Sam": Since I killed a kid.
Melvin Belli: Well... Was it before December that you had the headaches?
"Sam": Yes.
Melvin Belli: Did.. Were you in service? That you might have had an injury in service? Did you ever fall out of a tree or down stairs? Were you ever unconscious?
"Sam": I don’t know.
Melvin Belli: You don’t remember. Does aspirin do you any good?
"Sam": No.
Melvin Belli: Doesn’t do any good?
"Sam": No.
Jim Dunbar: Sam...
Melvin Belli: Damn stuff never did me any good either, when I had haeadaches.
Jim Dunbar: Sam, let me ask you a question. Did you, um, did you attempt to call this program one other time when Mr. Belli was with us? And, you called...
"Sam": What?
Jim Dunbar: Did you try to call us one other time about two, two or three weeks ago when Mel Belli was with us?
"Sam": Yes.
Jim Dunbar: And you, uh, well –
Melvin Belli: You couldn’t get through, and we were talking?
Jim Dunbar: And you couldn’t get through, the phones were tied up, is that it?
"Sam": Yes.
Melvin Belli: Sam, let me ask you this – There’s some reason why you go to a particular doctor or a particular priest, and some reason why apparently you, you wanted to talk to me, or Lee? Is it that you feel we have compassion for people who get in trouble? Or, is it you feel that we can do something for you? Or is that you feel we’re, we’re, have enough integrity that if we promise you something, that we’re gonna stick to it?
Jim Dunbar: Well, let’s find out why he wanted to talk to... Why did you want to talk to Mr. Belli, Sam?
"Sam": I don’t want to be hurt.
Belli arranged to meet with "Sam" in person. "Sam" said that he would meet Belli at the top of the Fairmont Hotel.
The calls placed by "Sam" were never traced, however, calls made afterward were traced to the Napa State Hospital and were determined to have been placed by a mental patient. That mental patient was Eric Weil, an amateur photographer.
