True Crime Subject: The Zodiac Killer

Dates: December 20th, 1968-January 29th, 1974

Where: Northern California

Known Victims:

David Arthur Faraday-17
Betty Lou Jensen- 16
Michael Renault Mageau- 19
Darlene Elizabeth Ferrin-22
Bryan Calvin Hartnell- 20
Cecelia Ann Shepard- 22
Pall Lee Stine- 29

Possible Victims:

Robert Domingos- 18
Linda Edwards-17
Cheri Jo Bates- 18
Donna Lass- 25
Kathleen Johns-22

Copycat Cases: New York City Zodiac and Japanese Zodiac

The case has never been solved. It remains an open case to this day.

The Zodiac Killer is known for killing his victims in cold blood. Some of the victims were killed with a gun. A couple of them were stabbed. Out of the seven confirmed cases, two of the victims survived the attack. One of which was able to give a description of the Zodiac to the police.

Months after the first double homicide, the Zodiac Killer started writing to three newspapers boasting about his crimes. He confessed to the known ones and many others. He claims to have killed thirty-seven people in total. He threatened to go on killing sprees if his story wasn’t placed on the front page.

My thoughts:

There are some things that just don’t really make sense to me with all of this. I’ll start with contacting the newspapers. It seems like the safest place to start. I just don’t get vibes that this person was looking to become a celebrity. I’m inclined to believe that either there were two killers or there was someone out there who followed the case really closely and wanted to make a name for themselves so to speak.

Another thing that didn’t really make sense to me is the change in motive in a few of the cases. Out of the seven victims, two were stabbed. The rest were shot. Why would he have stabbed the two and not the rest? Especially when there was a gun on him. He used it to force them to submit. Also, the last known victim doesn’t fit in either. The rest of the victims had been couples. He was a lone cab driver.

Out of the four cryptograms that the Zodiac sent, only one was solved for sure. I’m curious if there are people out there to this day that still try to work to solve these. I am not going to lie, I probably would if I was good at any of that stuff. I’m not. I am good at being curious on what goes on in the human mind during the darkest of times.

I don’t doubt there were more than seven victims. With the way that the victims were killed, it doesn’t seem like something that was just done on a whim. It wouldn’t shock me if there were victims of the Zodiac that were never found. I also wouldn’t be surprised to find that the person who was taunting the media was somebody entirely different than the Zodiac. They could have even been a potential fan of the Zodiac. What I can say for sure is the case is filled with intelligence and rage.