What did the Zodiac Killer do?
The Zodiac Killer was the moniker for an unidentified serial killer in the late 1960s. He operated in the San Francisco Bay Area between December 1968 and October 1969. It has been confirmed that the Zodiac attacked 7 people, killing 5 of them, but many believe it could be more than that.
The case is by far the most famous unsolved murder case in American history and has had law enforcement stumped for over 60 years. So why was the serial killer called The Zodiac? The unknown murderer sent a series of taunting messages to newspapers, threatening killing sprees and bombings if the messages weren’t printed. The letters included cryptograms for people to decipher. He claimed he was collecting his victims as slaves for the afterlife. Two of these cryptograms remain unsolved, but law enforcement still doesn’t know the real identity of the killer.
Who were the victims?
- Teenagers David Arthur Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen were shot and killed on the 20th of December 1968, on Lake Herman Road.
- Michael Renault Mageau and Darlene Elizabeth Ferrin were shot on the 4th of July 1969 in the parking lot of Blue Rock Springs Park in Vallejo, California. However, Mageau survived the brutal attack.
- Bryan Calvin Hartnell and Cecelia Ann Shepard were stabbed on the 27th of September 1969, at Lake Berryessa in Napa County, California. Hartnell survived.
- Paul Stine was shot and killed on the 11th of October 1969, in Presidio Heights in San Francisco.
Who were the suspects?
- Arthur Leigh Allen – a former elementary school teacher and convicted sex offender who died in 1992. He was the only suspect authorities ever named, but there wasn’t any concrete evidence to link him to the crimes.
- Gary Francis Poste – In October 2021, a team of former law enforcement investigators known as the Case Breakers claimed there was forensic evidence and photos from Poste’s darkroom linking him to the crimes. Poste died in 2018 at the age of 80. Law enforcement has been sceptical about this investigation, but it’s possible he was responsible for the murders.
- Paul Doerr was a North Bay resident with a post office box in Vallejo, where the original murders happened. He was known to be an avid fanzine publisher and letter writer during the 1960s and ’70s. Of course, this doesn’t make him a murderer, but much of his work did exhibit parallels with Zodiac’s style.
These suspects were the main ones in the case, but nobody really knows who committed the brutal murders.
Where is the Zodiac Killer now?
It is likely that whoever committed these brutal murders is now dead, as the killings occurred over 50 years ago. If they are alive, they would be in the final years of their life. The case remains open, but it is looking increasingly likely it will never be solved.
David Fincher directed a movie about the killings called Zodiac in 2007, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo.
There has also been a slew of documentaries about the case, with one of the best being The Hunt For The Zodiac Killer produced by Channel 4 in the UK.
What do you think about the case of the Zodiac Killer? Let us know in the comments below.