The Zodiac Murders

The “Zodiac Killings” began in 1966 and ended in 1974, without the perpetrator being apprehended. The case was cloaked in mystery as investigators sifted through thousands of possible leads. To this day, many questions remain as to the identity and whereabouts of the killer. The actual number of victims is also undetermined, but most agree that the offender murdered between 6 and 49 victims. Following a letter sent to the San Francisco Police Department that read “Me-37—SFPD-0,” many concluded that the Zodiac killer had murdered 37 people. During his reign of terror, 21 coded letters were sent to newspapers and police departments. Some of the letters have yet to be deciphered, and there is some question as to their authenticity. The killer earned the moniker of “Zodiac” from the letters he sent to the newspapers. He began each letter with the phrase “This is the Zodiac speaking.” He was also known for leaving his signature mark of a crossed circle on or around his victims. In a few cases, he carved the sign into their bodies.

The first victims, a young couple, were shot with a .22 caliber while in a lakeside parking lot in Vallejo, California. Seven months later, another young Vallejo [Page 540]couple was attacked in a parked car; the woman was killed and the man critically wounded. The killer called the police department shortly after this attack to inform them of what he had done and that he was also responsible for the killings the year before. The Zodiac seemed to enjoy killing, and 3 months later, another young couple was attacked, with similar results: The female died, and her male companion was critically stabbed with a 10-inch knife. The final victim was a 29-year-old male cab driver in San Francisco, who was shot in the head.

The most famous suspect in the case was Arthur Leigh Allen, a convicted pedophile. Several pieces of evidence linked Allen to the crimes. Allen lived within minutes of the lakeside crime scene where four victims had been attacked. He was unable to produce solid alibis for the times most murders occurred but was never arrested for any of the Zodiac killings. The fact that Allen was a pedophile and preferred children raised serious doubts that he would have been the Zodiac. Arthur Leigh Allen died of natural causes in 1992 at the age of 58. The case remains open.