Throughout the history of serial killers, very few have perplexed, angered, and captured the attention of investigators and the public quite like the Zodiac Killer. From December 1968 to October 1969, the self-named “Zodiac Killer” terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area. He has never been caught or identified, but the search revealed a direct attachment to five murders, and the Zodiac Killer has claimed to commit 37 murders in total. Through a series of mystery, murders, and cryptic letters, the hunt for the Zodiac Killer remains unresolved, and he remains one of the most infamous serial killers in America.
Who is the Zodiac Killer?
Though the true identity of the Zodiac Killer has never been discovered, police and investigators continually interviewed various suspects and persons of interest throughout their search. The Zodiac Killer was prolific for taunting police as well as the public with series of letters confessing to the crimes, and leading investigators to new crimes to connect to previous ones. There have been two identified surviving victims, though they were never able to positivly identify their attacker. He sent letters to the police and local newspapers from 1969 to 1974 before ending his communication. Victims were seemingly chosen at random, but the intense violence and brutality left investigators at a loss for reason.
Letters, Codes, Symbols, and Taunts
One of the most chilling aspects of the Zodiac Killer cases was the letters and threats that he anonymously sent to newspapers and police. The first letter was sent on August 1, 1969, to the San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Chronicle, and the Vallejo Times-Herald. The three papers received identical letters, handwritten, in unmarked envelopes without a return address. The letter read, “Dear Editor: I am the killer of the 2 teenagers last Christmas at Lake Herman…” The letter contained threats of further crimes that would take place if the publications did not print his letter in their papers, as well as details about the murders that only the killer would know. The letters also contained a cipher that was meant to contain the identity of the killer, as well as a drawing of a circle with a cross through it, that would later become the symbol for the Zodiac Killer. More letters continued to be received by newspaper publishers, taunting the police for not having caught him yet. The letters continued until 1974, when they abruptly stopped.
The Victims
The first confirmed crime connected to the Zodiac Killer was on December 20, 1968, where David Faraday (17) and his girlfriend, Betty Lou Jensen (16) were shot and killed in a car in Vallejo, California. The next was July 5, 1969, when Darlene Ferrin (22), and her boyfriend, Mike Mageau (19), where attacked in the same manner as David and Betty Lou. Darlene was killed and Mike was seriously injured but survived. Directly after the crimes against Darlene and Mike, a man called the Vallejo PD and confessed to the murders of David and Betty Lou, but gave no identity. The brutality escalated for the Zodiac Killer’s next strike on September 27, 1969. Cecilia Shepard and Bryan Hartnell were attacked, tied up, and stabbed by a man in a hoodie with the circle-cross symbol on it. Bryan survived the attack and was able to give that description, and a man called the police again to confess to the crimes, but still, there was no progress getting any conviction on the murderer. Lastly, on October 11, 1969, a taxi driver was shot and killed in San Francisco. The MO did not seem to fit with the rest of the confirmed Zodiac Killer crimes, but PD received another call confessing to the crime, from a man claiming to be the Zodiac Killer. These are the only four crimes that have confirmed ties to the Zodiac killer, but there are five others that have been linked to him, and he has confessed to 37 murders over the years. The crimes were primarily young couples in isolated areas, and appeared to be completely at random. None of the victims had any connection to victims of the other crimes.
Possible Identities
There was a sketch made of the possible identity of the Zodiac Killer from eyewitnesses after the taxi driver, Paul Stine’s murder, but there had never been a positive identification made from the sketch. No suspect has ever been arrested, charged, let alone convicted for the crimes committed by the Zodiac Killer. Speculated to have gained inspiration from the crimes of Jack the Ripper, the Zodiac Killer was similar in the fact that he hid under the radar, while taunting and taking public involvement in the investigation into his crimes. The theories surrounding the identity of the Zodiac Killer spiraled and sunk with both law enforcement and the public. The most famous theories are as followed:
Arthur Leigh Allen- To this day, Allen is still one of the most plausible identities for the Zodiac Killer, but there was never enough evidence left at crime scenes and never a true confession. He died in 1992 after complications with diabetes and was never positively connected to any of the crimes.
Earl Van Best Jr.- Best’s son had believed his father to be the Zodiac Killer, as he bears a striking resemblance to the police sketch.
Louie Myer- Myers passed in 2002, but after his death, a friend of his came forward to police claiming that Myers had confessed to him that he was the Zodiac Killer prior to his death. In the same case as the rest of the suspects, there was no proof to tie him to the crimes.
Theory of Multiple Killers- Many people believe that there must be multiple people involved in the Zodiac Killer crimes. Whether they be working together, or someone is just trying to take credit for crimes other than their own. There are too many different M.O.s, use of different weapons, different victim profiles, and locations for some people to believe that all crimes were committed by a single assailant.
Progress Today:
More than 50 years have passed since the crimes committed by the Zodiac Killer, and investigators are still on the hunt. Parts of the cipher has been decoded and reads, “I hope you are having lots of fun in trying to catch me that wasn’t me on the TV show which brings up a point about me I am not afraid of the gas chamber because it will send me to paradise all the sooner because I now have enough slaves to work for me where everyone else has nothing when they reach paradise so they are afraid of death I am not afraid because I know that my new life is life will be an easy one in paradise death”, but the translation has not helped further identify a suspect. The focus today has been on Gary Francis Poste, who was believed to be the Zodiac Killer by a team of investigators, but he died in 2018 and no DNA evidence has been able to give a positive ID.
There have been countless books, documentaries, movies, and media written about the Zodiac Killer since the events in the later 1960s, but no progression in the case, identification, or justice for the victims. There has never been a clear motive, reason, or connection between any of the crimes, and the case has pretty much been standstill for decades with failing leads from time to time. The fascination with the Zodiac Killer, not only by investigators, but through the public eye shows the true impact of the terrorizing effect that he had over San Francisco, and all of America.
