The Zodiac Killer: Still Unsolved?
Five murders, four cyphers, three newspapers, two survivors, one bomb threat, and countless suspects. Who was the Zodiac Killer, and will we ever know?
By: KJ Inskeep
Both professional and amateur investigators have been trying to solve the case of the Zodiac Killer for decades, and when a group of amateurs announced on October 6, 2021, that they had identified the Zodiac Killer, the case was once again brought into the limelight.
The Zodiac Killer is perhaps one of the most well-known unknown killers in modern history. The case has made its rounds in pop culture, from inspiring “Dirty Harry,” to a 2007 movie starring future Avengers Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo, to being discussed on many a true crime podcast, to the long-lasting meme that Texas senator Ted Cruz is the Zodiac Killer (he totally is). Despite its prominence in pop culture, many don’t know the details of the case, and you can hardly discuss suspects without discussing the case itself.
On December 20, 1968, two teenagers, David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen, were shot and killed outside of Vallejo, California. In July of 1969, Darlene Ferrin and Mike Mageau were also fired on while sitting in a car. Ferrin was killed, but Mageau survived. This time, the killer called the police and reported the murder, claiming responsibilty for Ferrin’s murder, as well as those of Faraday and Jensen. This is when things got weird. That July, the killer sent letters to three newspapers: the “San Francisco Chronicle,” the “San Francisco Examiner,” and the “Vallejo Times-Herald.” Each letter contained details about the murders that only the killer would know, a cypher, and a demand that the cyphers be printed on the front page, as well as a threat to kill more people if the cyphers weren’t printed. The “San Francisco Examiner” received a second letter shortly after that had a fourth cypher. That letter was also when the killer referred to himself as “the Zodiac.”
On September 27, 1969, Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shephard were attacked near Lake Berryessa, California. Shephard succumbed to her injuries, but Hartnell survived the stabbing. The attacker once again called the police and reported the attack himself, and also left a note on the couple’s car linking this attack to the killings in Vallejo. On October 11, 1969, taxi driver Paul Stine was shot and killed in his cab. Stine’s murder was originally believed to be a robbery unrelated to the murders in Vallejo and Lake Berryessa, but a letter sent to the “San Francisco Chronicle” containing a piece of Stine’s shirt linked the Zodiac Killer to the crime. Stine is the last confirmed victim of the Zodiac, though it is thought that Ray Davis and Cheri Jo Bates were both killed by him as well. The Zodiac Killer claimed to have killed 37 people in the other letters he sent to police and newspapers.
In the five decades since these murders, many suspects have been suggested. Some have been believable, like Arthur Leigh Allen, Rick Marshall, Lawrence Kane, Richard Gaikowski, and now Gary Francis Poste, while others are ridiculous, like Ted Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber, and Ted Cruz.
Allen was a favorite suspect among investigators. Dave Toschi, one of the main investigators at the time of the Zodiac killings, strongly believed that Allen was responsible for the killings. Allen was linked to Bates’ murder, as he was in Riverside at the time of her killing. More damning, however, was a report made by one of Allen’s friends. In January of 1969, Allen allegedly said that he would like to call himself Zodiac, kill couples, and taunt the police. He said that he wanted to write a novel about it, but many people, including investigators, believed that these statements were a little too similar to the Zodiac’s crimes. Other evidence also pointed to Allen, but police were unable to find any incriminating evidence when they searched Allen’s residence. His fingerprints and handwriting were found to not match the Zodiac’s, but Mageau claims that Allen is the man that shot him and killed Ferrin.
Other favorite suspects include Marshall, Kane, and Gaikowski. Marshall was heard making comments linking him to the killings on a ham radio. Kane reportedly stalked Ferrin, but had no connection to any of the other victims. Gaikowski worked for an anti-police newspaper that published articles that seemed to be connected to the killings.
The newest suspect is a man identified by a group called The Case Breakers. The group claims that Poste is the Zodiac Killer, but the only murder they link him to is that of Bates. They also claim that he had scars on his forehead that match that of the police sketches of the killer, and that he is ex-military. The killer was known to wear military boots.
The FBI says that the case is still open and unsolved. No suspect has been shown to be the Zodiac Killer, and some believe that it isn’t one man at all. We may never know who the Zodiac Killer really is, and maybe it’s better that way. As I wrote this article, I questioned if it should be written and if we should keep talking about this case. The Zodiac Killer clearly wanted attention from the public. He sent letters to newspapers and asked people to wear pins with his symbol on it; he clearly loved the press, and we have been giving it to him for decades. We’ve written books about him, made movies and TV shows about him, and talked about him on our true crime podcasts. Dave Faraday, Betty Lou Jensen, Darlene Ferrin, Cecelia Shephard, and Paul Stine deserve justice, yes, but at what point are we no longer searching for justice and instead just giving their killer exactly what he wants?