The Zodiac Killer

The Zodiac Killer was an unidentified serial killer who committed a series of brutal murders in Northern California during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He taunted the police and the public with cryptic letters and ciphers, many of which remain unsolved. The Zodiac claimed to have murdered 37 people, though only 5 of those are definitively attributed to him.

The Zodiac killer gained notoriety for sending cryptic letters to newspapers, some of which contained ciphers. He claimed to have murdered 37 people, but the police were never able to confirm these claims. Some of the ciphers remain unsolved to this day.

Despite numerous investigations, the Zodiac's identity remains one of the most famous unsolved mysteries in American criminal history.

Arthur Leigh Allen was A longtime suspect of being the Zodiac killer. Unfortunately, all the evidence was all circumstantial and Allen was never officially charged with the crimes.

Known Victims

1. Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday – 16 & 17 years old. Killed on December 20, 1968, near Vallejo California, in a remote area off Highway 132. The couple were parked in a car when the Zodiac approached them. Both were shot at close range. Faraday in the head, and Jensen in the back.

2. Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau – 22 & 19 years old. Killed on July 4, 1969. at Blue Rock Springs Park, near Vallejo California. The couple was sitting in a parked car when the Zodiac approached, shining a flashlight into their car. He shot both victims multiple times. Ferrin died at the scene, Mageau survived longer enough to provide a detailed description of the killer as wearing a dark hood and a symbol resembling a cross on his chest. Mageau died shortly thereafter.

3. Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Ann Shepard – 20 & 22 years old. Killed on September 27,1969 at Lake Berryessa, Napa County, California. The couple were sitting by the lake when the Zodiac approached them wearing an executioner's-style hood with a symbol on it. He tied them up, then stabbed them repeatedly. He also drew a symbol on Hartnell’s car door, like those he had used in previous letters. Both victims survived, however, Shepard died from her injuries later.

4. Paul Stine – 29 years old. Killed on October 11, 1969, in the Presidio Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Stine, a taxicab driver, picked up a fare in the early evening. The Zodiac shot him in the head, took his wallet, and reportedly removed a piece of his shirt. A witness saw the killer, who was described as a white male in his 30s, walking away from the scene. This murder was the last one conclusively linked to the Zodiac.

Victims Possibly Linked to the Zodiac

Cheri Jo Bates – Killed on October 30, 1966. Riverside, California. Bates was found murdered in a car in an isolated area. Her body showed signs of brutal stabbing and slashing. A letter was sent to the Riverside Press-Enterprise claiming responsibility for the murder, but the Zodiac did not officially claim her death until years later, leading some to believe the case may have been the Zodiac's first killing, though it remains debated.

Other Suspected Victims – There are other unsolved murders that some theorists link to the Zodiac, but they have not been confirmed. The Zodiac's true number of victims is still unknown, and some believe he may have committed additional crimes that were never officially attributed to him.