Paul Avery
Encyclopedia
Paul Avery was an American
police reporter, best known for his stories on the infamous serial killer known as the Zodiac
, and later for his work on the Patricia Hearst
kidnapping.
, and Washington, D.C.
. Avery started his career in journalism in 1955 working at a variety of newspapers before joining the San Francisco Chronicle
in 1959. In the mid-1980s, after working for The Sacramento Bee
and writing a book about the Hearst kidnapping, he signed up with the then- Hearst-owned San Francisco Examiner, where he stayed until his retirement in August 1994.
case, a series of killings -- unsolved to this day -- that began in December 1968 and ostensibly ended with the death of a San Francisco cab driver in October 1969. At the time, Avery was a police reporter at San Francisco Chronicle
.
For a long time, it was thought that the Zodiac
's activities were limited to the Bay Area, but Avery discovered a 1966 murder in Riverside that he linked to the Zodiac
.
The Zodiac
soon wrote Avery (misspelled by the Zodiac as "Averly") a Halloween card, warning, "You are doomed." The front of the card read, "From your secret pal: I feel it in my bones/you ache to know my name/and so I'll clue you in . . ." Then inside: "But why spoil the game?" Just as quickly as the threat was made public, a fellow journalist made up hundreds of campaign-style buttons, worn by nearly everyone on The Chronicle staff, including Avery, that said, "I Am Not Paul Avery." It was during this time that Avery began carrying a .38 caliber revolver.
was kidnapped in February 1974, Avery joined forces with Chronicle reporter Tim Findley to produce a series of stories detailing the kidnapping and writing about the members of the little-known band of revolutionaries called the Symbionese Liberation Army
.
Avery covered the Hearst case until the newspaper heiress-turned-bank robber was arrested in September 1975. Avery then holed up on his houseboat at Gate 5 in Sausalito with Boston writer Vin McLellan to write The Voices of Guns, a book on the SLA and the Hearst kidnapping."
) the strong-willed reporter carried on his life-long love of crime and journalism until the end of his life. After joining the Sacramento Bee in 1976, Avery discovered that authorities had wrongly charged an innocent man with murder and the reporter was instrumental in convincing detectives to drop the charges.
Paul Avery died of pulmonary emphysema
in West Sound, Washington on Orcas Island
, located in the San Juan Islands
of north Puget Sound
. Avery's loved ones scattered his ashes in the San Francisco Bay
.
, a feminist organizer. He had two children from an earlier marriage, Charles Avery and Cristin Moak.
by Robert Downey, Jr. The film details his involvement in the Zodiac case including his discovery of the 1966 Riverside murder, the threat on his life, the "I Am Not Avery" buttons, his involvement with cartoonist turned Zodiac expert Robert Graysmith
, as well as his eventual physical decline, including his abuse of cocaine
and alcohol
, ending with a brief mention of his fatal illness.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
police reporter, best known for his stories on the infamous serial killer known as the Zodiac
Zodiac Killer
The Zodiac Killer was a serial killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The killer's identity remains unknown. The Zodiac murdered victims in Benicia, Vallejo, Lake Berryessa and San Francisco between December 1968 and October 1969. Four men and three women...
, and later for his work on the Patricia Hearst
Patty Hearst
Patricia Campbell Hearst , now known as Patricia Campbell Hearst Shaw, is an American newspaper heiress, socialite, actress, kidnap victim, and convicted bank robber....
kidnapping.
Career
He was born in Honolulu, the son of a U.S. Navy officer. He was raised and educated in Honolulu, Oakland, CaliforniaOakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. Avery started his career in journalism in 1955 working at a variety of newspapers before joining the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
in 1959. In the mid-1980s, after working for The Sacramento Bee
The Sacramento Bee
The Sacramento Bee is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its creation in 1857, the Bee has become Sacramento's largest newspaper, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 25th largest paper in the U.S...
and writing a book about the Hearst kidnapping, he signed up with the then- Hearst-owned San Francisco Examiner, where he stayed until his retirement in August 1994.
Zodiac killer
Perhaps the most famous story of Avery's career was the ZodiacZodiac Killer
The Zodiac Killer was a serial killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The killer's identity remains unknown. The Zodiac murdered victims in Benicia, Vallejo, Lake Berryessa and San Francisco between December 1968 and October 1969. Four men and three women...
case, a series of killings -- unsolved to this day -- that began in December 1968 and ostensibly ended with the death of a San Francisco cab driver in October 1969. At the time, Avery was a police reporter at San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
.
For a long time, it was thought that the Zodiac
Zodiac Killer
The Zodiac Killer was a serial killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The killer's identity remains unknown. The Zodiac murdered victims in Benicia, Vallejo, Lake Berryessa and San Francisco between December 1968 and October 1969. Four men and three women...
's activities were limited to the Bay Area, but Avery discovered a 1966 murder in Riverside that he linked to the Zodiac
Zodiac Killer
The Zodiac Killer was a serial killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The killer's identity remains unknown. The Zodiac murdered victims in Benicia, Vallejo, Lake Berryessa and San Francisco between December 1968 and October 1969. Four men and three women...
.
The Zodiac
Zodiac Killer
The Zodiac Killer was a serial killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The killer's identity remains unknown. The Zodiac murdered victims in Benicia, Vallejo, Lake Berryessa and San Francisco between December 1968 and October 1969. Four men and three women...
soon wrote Avery (misspelled by the Zodiac as "Averly") a Halloween card, warning, "You are doomed." The front of the card read, "From your secret pal: I feel it in my bones/you ache to know my name/and so I'll clue you in . . ." Then inside: "But why spoil the game?" Just as quickly as the threat was made public, a fellow journalist made up hundreds of campaign-style buttons, worn by nearly everyone on The Chronicle staff, including Avery, that said, "I Am Not Paul Avery." It was during this time that Avery began carrying a .38 caliber revolver.
Patty Hearst
When Patricia HearstPatty Hearst
Patricia Campbell Hearst , now known as Patricia Campbell Hearst Shaw, is an American newspaper heiress, socialite, actress, kidnap victim, and convicted bank robber....
was kidnapped in February 1974, Avery joined forces with Chronicle reporter Tim Findley to produce a series of stories detailing the kidnapping and writing about the members of the little-known band of revolutionaries called the Symbionese Liberation Army
Symbionese Liberation Army
The Symbionese Liberation Army was an American self-styled left-wing urban militant group active between 1973 and 1975 that considered itself a revolutionary vanguard army...
.
Avery covered the Hearst case until the newspaper heiress-turned-bank robber was arrested in September 1975. Avery then holed up on his houseboat at Gate 5 in Sausalito with Boston writer Vin McLellan to write The Voices of Guns, a book on the SLA and the Hearst kidnapping."
Later life and death
Despite his progressive illness (Avery suffered from emphysemaEmphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
) the strong-willed reporter carried on his life-long love of crime and journalism until the end of his life. After joining the Sacramento Bee in 1976, Avery discovered that authorities had wrongly charged an innocent man with murder and the reporter was instrumental in convincing detectives to drop the charges.
Paul Avery died of pulmonary emphysema
Emphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
in West Sound, Washington on Orcas Island
Orcas Island
Orcas Island is the largest of the San Juan Islands, which are located in the northwestern corner of Washington state in San Juan County, Washington.-History:...
, located in the San Juan Islands
San Juan Islands
The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the northwest corner of the contiguous United States between the US mainland and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of the U.S...
of north Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
. Avery's loved ones scattered his ashes in the San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
.
Personal life
At the time of his death, Avery was married to Margo St. JamesMargo St. James
Margo St. James , a self-described prostitute and sex-positive feminist, founded the organization COYOTE , which advocates decriminalization of prostitution.-History:...
, a feminist organizer. He had two children from an earlier marriage, Charles Avery and Cristin Moak.
2007 film
Avery was portrayed in the 2007 film ZodiacZodiac (film)
Zodiac is a 2007 American mystery-thriller film directed by David Fincher and based on Robert Graysmith's non-fiction book of the same name. The Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros...
by Robert Downey, Jr. The film details his involvement in the Zodiac case including his discovery of the 1966 Riverside murder, the threat on his life, the "I Am Not Avery" buttons, his involvement with cartoonist turned Zodiac expert Robert Graysmith
Robert Graysmith
Robert Graysmith is an American true crime author. He was working as a political cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle in 1969 when the Zodiac Killer case came to light. Graysmith attempted to decode letters written by the killer...
, as well as his eventual physical decline, including his abuse of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
and alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
, ending with a brief mention of his fatal illness.