The Night the Zodiac Was Inches Away from Being Captured

Two Officers Stop the Zodiac in the Dark and Let Him Walk: The Murder of Paul Lee SteinOctober eleventh, nineteen sixty-nine. A taxi driver named Paul Stein is shot in the head on a quiet residential street in San Francisco, and three teenagers watch a man calmly wipe down the vehicle before walking into the darkness. The killer's identity would become unmistakable-but not before two patrol officers unknowingly stopped him mere minutes after the murder and released him into the night.We explore the chain of catastrophic errors that put the Zodiac within arm's reach of capture: a radio dispatcher's single typographical mistake that changed "Caucasian" to "African American", the officers who questioned the real suspect without recognizing him, and the killer's later letter mocking the police for their brush with him. How did the country's most wanted serial killer slip through the hands of law enforcement when he was standing directly in front of them?Victim: Paul Lee SteinDate: October 11, 1969Location: Washington and Cherry Street, Presidio Heights, San Francisco, CaliforniaStatus: Unsolved- A radio operator's typo broadcasts the wrong suspect description, sending every responding officer to hunt for someone who doesn't exist- Two patrol officers stop a man matching the actual witness description perfectly but release him because they're looking for a different person- The killer mails a bloodstained piece of the victim's shirt to the San Francisco Chronicle, confirming his identity and bragging about evading capture- Detectives later reconstruct that the Zodiac was detained and questioned by police while still holding evidence from the crime scenePaul Lee Stein, San Francisco 1969, Presidio Heights, taxi driver murder, Zodiac killer, police error, unsolved case, serial killer, investigation, homicide, true crime EnglishTo listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected] listen ad-free and access premium episodes, start your 30-day free trial at obomedia.comOBOMEDIA presents true crime storiesa true crime podcast built on real cases.Every true crime story in our crime files follows the crime investigation from the missing person report to the trial: investigators and police building a murder case, a police investigation gone cold, justice for the victim and those who survived.We open the unsolved murder, the cold case reopened decades later, the mysterious death, the disappearance, the serial killer, the family murder, the murder mystery; the missing persons  a missing woman, a missing girl, a missing man found dead and the missing and murdered.From the infamous case to the unsolved case, from classic true crime to dark true crime and disturbing true crime: true crime reports, real crime stories, real murder cases, true murder stories and unsolved mysteries one true crime case at a time, from the OBOMEDIA true crime vault.© 2026 Created with OBOMEDIA technology. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text and related materials) are the property of their respective creator and are distributed under the OBOMEDIA name on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited. For permissions, licensing and business inquirie