Post Office Killer’s Note Contains Cryptic Message

Escondido letter carrier John Taylor, who killed three people and wounded a fourth before committing suicide earlier this month, apparently left a cryptic suicide note, but one that offers no explanation for the shooting rampage.

In the undated and unsigned letter, Taylor, 52, talks about being pained and refers to unnamed antagonists who “have given me a reason,” but he did not elaborate further. The source of his pain is not mentioned, but he apologized for doing “what I’ve had to do.”

Taylor, who was three years away from retirement, shot his wife, Liesbeth, while she lay in bed the morning of Aug. 10. He then drove to work at the Orange Glen post office, where he killed fellow employees Ron Williams, 56, and Richard Berni, 38, with a .22-caliber pistol. Another worker, Paul DeRisi, 30, was wounded in the arm.

Taylor then turned the gun on himself and died at a local hospital.

The one-page, printed letter is directed to Taylor’s three sons and begins abruptly: “If you get this I’ll probably be dead. It’s for you, Jeff and J.J., in case I have a funeral. To help you get there.”

He follows with an apology: “I’m sorry. I’ve just done what I’ve had to do.” However, he offers no hint about what he planned to do. Instead, Taylor complains about an unexplained hurt. “I’m hurting a lot for my age anyway and only have pain to look forward too (sic) .”

This is followed by an elusive hint about a group of anonymous persons who have apparently done something to set him off: “I’m ready to go and these (expletive) have given me a reason.” He then offers an equally hazy explanation for what he intended to do. “I’m not crazy, just old fashioned,” he wrote.

The letter ends with a bit of paternal advice. “Don’t let this destroy your lives. I love you all,” Taylor wrote. He signed the letter, “Love, Old Dad.”

According to a report in the Escondido Times-Advocate, the letter was recovered from a military field jacket supposedly owned by Taylor. It is not known when the letter was recovered, but it was in the possession of Escondido police investigators Thursday night. A police spokesman said he did not know how investigators acquired the letter.

Before closing, Taylor told his sons to talk to Bob Rutledge “if you have any questions . . . he’ll explain.” Rutledge, a close friend of Taylor, was interviewed by the Times-Advocate but offered no explanation for Taylor’s actions. Instead, Rutledge and others interviewed suggested that Taylor was paranoid about losing his job before retirement.