The Zodiac Killer

The Zodiac Killer

The Zodiac Killer is by far one of the most notorious serial killers of the 20th century for the fact that he has yet to be identified. While it is certain that he killed at least 5 people, he has claimed to have killed 37. There have been several new facts and theories brought into light in the past decades. It seems unbelievable that with all the advances we have made since the Zodiac Killer was actively killing that he has yet to be captured, but the idea that someone so menacing has evaded capture is what makes the Zodiac Killer interesting.

The first attack that has been definitively linked to the self-proclaimed “Zodiac Killer” took place on December 20, 1968. 17-year-old David Faraday and his 16-year-old girlfriend, Betty Lou Jensen, were fatally shot on the outskirts of Vallejo, California in car at a remote spot on Lake Herman Road. When police arrived on the scene, both Faraday and Jensen were found just outside the vehicle, which was covered in bullet holes. Jensen was dead upon arrival, but Faraday was barely hanging onto life. Unfortunately, he died while en route to the hospital. Police were extremely confused by the crime because there did not seem to be an apparent motive or link to a suspect.

Just over six months after the killings, on July 5, , Darlene Ferrin, 22, and Mike Mageau, 19, were also killed. As Faraday and Jensen had been, Ferrin and Mageau were sitting in their parked car by Blue Rock Springs Park. This location was not far from where Faraday and Jensen had been killed. Ferrin died on the way to the hospital, but Mageau survived. Mageau, in his report to police, claimed that a car pulled up behind them with his lights on. Initially, he believed is was a police officer, but as soon as the Zodiac Killer approached the driver’s side door, he began to fire his gun. He then turned to leave, but Mageau began to yell, so the killer returned and fired more shots. Still, he survived and gave a description of the shooter to police. Mageau claimed that the Zodiac Killer was a short, heavyset white man, about 5' 8" and around 195 pounds. An anonymous man called the Vallejo Police Department soon after the shooting to report the murders and to take credit for the murders of Faraday and Jensen.

It was on Friday, August 1, 1969, that the first of the Zodiac Killer’s letters were received by three separate newspapers. The San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Chronicle and Vallejo Times-Herald each received an almost identical letter written by a person taking credit for the attacks on the four teens. He gave each newspaper ⅓ of a confusing cipher and detailed descriptions about both crimes. The Zodiac Killer demanded that each of his letters be posted on the front page of each newspaper by Friday or he would go on a spree and kill 12 people over the weekend. The newspapers complied and published the letters while authorities and citizens both began to try and decode the messages. Police investigators publicly stated that they had doubts that this was the true killer to try and lure him out, and the plan worked. On August 4th, another letter arrived, but this time to just the San Francisco Examiner. In this letter, it was the first time he referred to himself as the Zodiac. Yet again, he sent another cipher that claimed would reveal his identity. Only 4 days later on August 8th, a high school teacher and his wife managed to crack all but the last 18 letters of the message. Unfortunately, the message was more a rave as to how much the Zodiac Killer enjoyed killing rather than an identity.

On September 27, 1969, there was yet another couple was targeted. Bryan Hartnell, 20, and Cecelia Shepard, 22, were picnicking near Napa, California on Lake Berryessa. A man wearing an executioner's hood and carrying a semiautomatic rifle approached them and claimed he had escaped from a Montana prison. He demanded money and the keys to their car. Despite being fully cooperative, the man went on to make Shepard hogtie Hartnell, then the man did the same with Shepard himself before he stabbed them both and walked off casually, leaving behind a message written on the couple’s car door. The pair was found by a fisherman while they were still alive, but it took over an hour for medical help to arrive. The Napa Police Department received a call not long after from the Zodiac Killer to inform them of the crime and also take credit. Shepard died two days later, but Hartnell survived and gave a detailed description of the attacker and the attack itself.

The next attack was not on a couple like the previous three had, but instead on a lone cab driver. On October 11, 1969, 29-year-old Paul Stine of San Francisco picked up a passenger in Union Square and drove to the wealthy area of Cherry Street and Nob Hill. The man proceeded to shoot Stine in the temple before taking his wallet, car keys, and a piece of his shirt. Three young teens witnessed the event from a building nearby and promptly contacted police. They described the shooter as being between 25 and 30 and with a stocky build a crew cut shirt. A manhunt was promptly launched, but there was a terrible miscommunication and police were sent to search for a black man. It was later found out that police passed a man fitting the exact, correct description, but because he was white, police did not consider him a suspect. On October 14, the San Francisco Chronicle received another letter from the Zodiac contained Stine’s blood soaked shirt. He went on to claim the he next intended to target a school bus filled with children. Then, on November 8 and 9, the San Francisco Chronicle received two more Zodiac letters. The first one was a 340-character cipher. The second letter was seven pages long and included another piece of Stine's shirt. In the letter he claimed the police had stopped and talked with him three minutes after he shot Stine. He also drew a schematic of what he referred to as his "death machine" which was made to blow up large objects, such as school busses.

Then, on December 20, 1969, Melvin Belli, a well-known defense attorney and victim of a Zodiac hoax, received a Christmas card from the real Zodiac that contained yet another piece of Stine’s shirt. The Zodiac begged for help, claiming he couldn’t remain in control for much longer. Belli reached out to try and get the Zodiac to contact him, again, but it did not work. On April 20, 1970, the Zodiac set another letter to the San Francisco Chronicle which included a 13-character cipher and a diagram of a bomb he planned to use to blow up a school bus. Throughout the summer, the Zodiac continued to send in letters of mocking ciphers, but there were no murders that could be positively linked to him. In 1974, the letters suddenly stopped.

The Zodiac Killer case continues to frustrate both law enforcement and average citizens alike, and while several jurisdictions keep the case remain open, the San Francisco Police Department currently considers the case inactive and unsolved. While no one has ever been definitely identified, three suspects tend to stand out the most in the Zodiac Killer case: Arthur Leigh Allen, Earl Van Best, Jr., and Lawrence “Kane” Kaye. Arthur Leigh Allen claimed to be scuba diving at Lake Berryessa the day Shepard and Hartnell were attacked, a friend of Allen said that he had referred to himself as the Zodiac, and when police searched his trailer they found bloody knives, sexual objects, dissected animals, and homicide bombs. Allen was jailed for child molestation in 1974 and the letters promptly stopped. Earl Van Best, Jr. was initially accused of being the Zodiac Killer by his son, Gary L Stewart. He bears a striking resemblance to the police sketch from Paul Stine’s murder and the number of letters in one of the Zodiac Killer’s ciphers has the same number of letters that are in Best’s name. Finally, Lawrence “Kane” Kaye lived where the victims were attacked, and the sister of one of his victims claimed that he had been bothering her sister in the weeks before she was murdered. One of the cops who encountered the man who may have been the Zodiac following Paul Stine’s murder also said that Kane bore the best resemblance to the man he’d seen on the street shortly after the killing.

Despite all the years that have past without the Zodiac being caught, police and citizens remain very interested in the case. Many doubt that a perpetrator will ever be caught, but others remain hopeful. Personally, I doubt that someone will ever be tried for the Zodiac killings seeing as there are no more murders being committed.

Bibliography

Montaldo, Charles.  "Why the Case of the Zodiac Killer Remains Unsolved." About.com News & Issues. About Inc., 01 Mar. 2016. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.

Rutherford-Morrison, Lara. "Everything You Wanted To Know About The Zodiac Killer, But Were Too Afraid To Google." Bustle. Bustle, 28 June 2016. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.