Zodiac Killer
The Zodiac killer was a serial killer who operated in San Francisco from 1960s to 1970s. The Zodiac killer got this name following a series of letters that contained ciphers that he supposedly sent to the press. The zodiac killer is said to have murdered five known victims between 1968 and 1969 but investigations have never substantially connected the murders. However, there were other murders that the Zodiac killer was tied to even though there was inconclusive evidence to confirm these claims. The last Zodiac murder was reported in 1974 after which the serial killings were never reported again. However, the zodiac killer was never caught and the police closed investigations in 2004.
How is this serial killer different from
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a normal homicide suspect? Most homicide suspects do not discuss their crimes before police solve the alleged crimes.
According to Guillen (2002), serial killers tend to refrain from confessing or discussing murders before the case is solved. However, the zodiac killer would call the police to report the crimes and he would even claim that he did murder the victims. Besides, he would write numerous letters to the press claiming that he committed the murders.
Another feature of the zodiac killer that differentiates him from other homicide suspects is that he did not show motive behind the crimes. The FBI argues that for most serial murderers, there is always a motivation behind the killings (FBI, 2012). However, Zodiac’s motivation was not clear even though he appeared to take credit for the murders.
Zodiac also did not have a particular way of killing. According to the California Research Bureau (2011), most serial killers tend to use a single type of murder weapon or follow a single pattern of crime. However, the zodiac killer would target different types of victims including couples, teenagers and cabdrivers. In an incidence, he tried to abduct a woman. Besides, his weapons of murder varied from firearms to knives.
Other unique features of the zodiac killer were that he identified himself by the name Zodiac and he would use a cross circle symbol on his letters and on one of his victim’s
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car. What were his criteria when choosing his victims? Zodiac’s victims did not have particular criteria. However, in the initial crimes of December 1968, July 1969 and September 1969, Zodiac’s victims were young or teenage couples mostly going out at dusk. The murder incidences that took place later involved a male cabdriver and a man inside a parked vehicle. Another victim was a woman who was abducted by Zodiac but she managed to escape. This implies that he targeted both male and female victims. All the same, a certain pattern appeared in the way he chose his victims. First of all, all the murders happened after dusk or at night. Second, all the victims were ambushed as none of them expected to have an encounter with a killer. All the victims also appeared to be alone. Another thing that is evident from all the crimes is that they all happened in the open streets or car parks. Did forensic psychology have any input into this case? All through the Zodiac killer’s murders the Napa and San Francisco police departments conducted the investigations in search of solid leads to the offender.
However, the investigators mostly focused on suspect description by witnesses and police officers as well as the deciphering of the coded messages of the suspect’s letters. The local police in San Francisco sought the help of FBI behavioral analysts or psychologists to assist in identifying the behavioral profile of the murderer but they still could not identify the victim (Butterfield, 2002). After the police failed to get any leads, the FBI eventually collected all the Zodiac letters and sought the help of psycholinguistics in establishing a psychological profile. According to Guillen (2002), the psychologists helped in establishing a link between all the murders and also in developing the possible psychological traits of the killer. Despite the psychologists’ help in the case, the zodiac killer was never identified (Guillen,
2002). Why do you think he was never captured? The zodiac killer was never captured because of various reasons. First, the examination of the hand written letters and ciphers was never conclusive. According to Butterfield (2012), the police concentrated on decoding the ciphers in bid to understand the killer’s message with the expectations of finding leads. There were also a number of letters that the investigators considered fake and that they were not sent by the zodiac killer. Besides, there was a lot of confusion regarding the authenticity of the letters and the police took time before encoding the messages. For these reasons, the examination of the letters was not fruitful. Another reason that made the Zodiac killer difficult to capture is that he gave so many clues regarding his identity. According to Butterfield (2012), the killer called himself zodiac in his letters and he would call the police to report and confess the murders. In addition, he used a cross circle on the letters and on a victim’s car. Some of the victims described him as white, well-built, brown hair and in his early forties while others described him to be white, heavy built, blonde hair and in his thirties. The numerous clues about his identity and behavioral profile were of little or no investigative significance. Another reason that made the Zodiac killer elusive was that he wore a disguise in most the crimes hence witnesses and survivors could not give a clear identification of the killer. Apart from the woman who was abducted and some survivors, other survivors and witnesses claimed that the killer wore a disguise (Butterfield, 2012). Hindsight is better than foresight—what else could have been looked at to help capture this killer? From the case, it is evident that while solving a case, learning from the past can be more helpful than trying to predict the future. In order help capture the killer, the investigators should have considered several things. First, a taskforce that involved all law enforcement agencies should have been established to help in reviewing all the case information and assign leads. According to the FBI, developing a task force helps in developing an effective investigative model that would examine crime activities and establish significant leads (FBI, 2008). Another thing that should have been looked at is collaboration and networking between law enforcement agencies and other investigative agencies. This collaboration, according to the FBI, helps in sharing information to assist in identifying leads and other link cases (FBI, 2012). In the Zodiac’s case, if there was enough collaboration and sharing of information between different investigative departments, the police officers who reportedly passed a person who matched the zodiac killer could have identified and arrested the suspect. Other things that the investigators should have considered include identifying motivating factors behind the killings and involving forensic psychologists earlier in the case.
Murderers and Serial Killers in the Chicago Area. A notorious murderer or serial killer is the typical next door neighbor one would hardly associate with a serious crime: an educated psychopath with little regard for life. Most of them commit murder for some misplaced psychological benefit. Their actions border on insanity, as some commit theft by stealing their victims’ belongings and committing rapes, an indication of a need for financial gain or a craving for distorted sexual desires.
The Zodiac Killer is an unidentified man who is presumed to be a serial killer that operated in Northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Murdering at least five people, but the Zodiac claims to have killed upwards of 37 people in total. In 1969 the Zodiac Killer began sending letters to the Bay Area newspapers, taking credit for the five killings and threatening further violence. The Zodiac Killer would call and send cryptic letters to the law enforcement agencies in Northern California, taunting them since they were unable to bring him to justice. The police had suspects but none that they could ever charge for the murders, due to lack of evidence, so this mystery still remains unsolved. The cultural impact that the Zodiac Killer has had on tv, movies and the media is still around today and has had many shows and movies remade after what this killer did. The cultural impact as well as for the families of the victims still remains today with still no closure, for those families who live in Northern California still there is the fear that crosses the minds on how such an awful criminal was once a part of their society, someone they may
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The killer has to be Bruce Davis. First off, he lived by Lake Tahoe where A girl went missing. After the disappearance, he moved away. Now people could say this happens to be just a coincidence but let this prove it more. When he moved away he moved again. This time in California where he spent most of his time at Newport Beach. A girl named Cheri Jo Bates favorite place to go just so happened to be Newport beach. She went very frequently. the final reason will be he worked at Riverside college during renovations from 1965 to 1967. In this time, the girl Cherri Jo Bates got murdered at riverside college. Bruce had also gone off the grid a year earlier. Now with the evidence, everyone will agree with the facts. Bruce Davis has to be the zodiac
In order to identify serial killers before they kill repeatedly, a person needs to study the characteristics that make up this type of criminal. Most serial killers have been abandoned, by one or both parents, they are emotionally, physically, and even sexually abused by a family member, or relatives from unstable families who have criminal, psychiatric and alcoholic histories, or tend to have hate for their parents and people in general which makes them have antisocial personality disorder. They have conflicted, pained, or tortured animals at a young age and most are highly interested in gaining control over things. Even though not every serial killer posses these characteristics, most share these characteristics the same way they share the psychological need to have complete control and power over people. Dennis Rader was one normal average citizen until he shocked the public when he was caught as a serial killer who caused tragedy in their town.
The most common characteristics that many serial killers share are killing and abusing of animals during childhood, fetishism, anti-socialism, high I.Q.’s (while also doing poorly in school), and alcohol and/or substance abuse. Fictional character, Dexter Morgan, exhibited serial killing tendencies from a young age. He would kill neighborhood animals and was forced by his father to fake emotion and normality to fit in. It appears that Showtime hit the nail on the head with this one. One of the most well known serial killers, Ted Bundy, was infamously known for being cold and merciless. During interviews, he responded to questions about his victims by calling himself cold and explaining that he could not care less about his victims. Cannibalistic serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer, started out by killing dogs and leaving their heads out on a stick for others to see before moving on to killing and eating people. These are just a few examples of many that prove that commonality is what makes a serial killer, a serial
The most resent developments to the Zodiac case have taken place on the East Coast. In 1998, a string of murders occurred in the New York metro area by someone claiming to be the Zodiac. Though police have assumed that this is a copycat case, it has not been ruled out that the Zodiac may once again be on the move. Bibliography Graysmith, Robert Zodiac.
The mysterious person did not have a real name because no one was able to identify him. The murder gave his a name which was the Zodiac Killer. The Zodiac Killer was responsible for five murders in California during the late 1960s. The Zodiac Killers first two murders was on December of 1968 in Benicia, California. David Farraday, who was 17, and Betty Lou Jensen, who was 16, were the first two of a series of murders by the Zodiac Killer. The two of them were inside a parked, when the Zodiac Killer came up behind them and shot them. A similar case happened to the next victim of the mysterious killer. The following year, on July 4, 1969, another couple were shot dead in their car, in Blue Rock Springs Park in Vallejo, California. 22 year old Darlene Ferrin was shot dead, but Michael Mageau, who was 19 years old survived the shots. The strange thing after these murders is that the police received a phone call from an unidentified person that confessed to murdering those people. The next killings occurred two months later, on September 27, 1969. Two couples were also in a parked car in Lake Berryessa in Napa County. Cecelia Shepard and Brian Hartnell were shot at by the killer, but Brian Hartnell, who was 20 years old survived the mu...
Ted Bundy Ted Bundy's Trail of Terror From the Beginning of Taking Life Until The End of His Life. Serial killers tend to be white heterosexual males in their twenties and thirties. While it is impossible to predict who will become a serial killer, there are traits that appear to be similar in all killers. These behaviors include cruelty to animals, bedwetting, lying, drug and alcohol abuse, and a history of violence. According to Robert Ressler et al., "serial homicide involves the murder of separate victims with time breaks between victims, as minimal as two days to weeks or months.
People thought Zodiac was unintelligent, but that perception was obviously wrong because he had training in the following areas: explosives, cryptography, astrology, chemistry and guns. He also knew how to prevent leaving fingerprints on crime scenes; he could have learned that from jail. He knew he was clever and it made him happy to know that the police seemed to be running in circles. His letters themselves were works of art. He used codes and symbols as easily as normal people print the alphabet. It was thought at the beginning that the letters were in Zodiac's own handwriting. Later on, the theory was that he was using samples of alphabet letters taken from other people. He then used a tracing and enlarging device to reprint them into a letter. This man was clever enough to throw off the police by coding of his letters. He often used astrological symbols and signs. If his intent was to frighten San Francisco, then he achieved his goals without a doubt. His name, Zodiac.
The Zodiac Killer was a serial killer from the late 60’s and early 70’s. The zodiac killer identification was never known. The Zodiac Killer was most famous for killing couples in their car at night. He started his killing spree on October 30, 1966 in San Francisco with his first victim, eighteen-year-old Cheri Jo Bates. Cheri’s throat was cut so deep it almost decapitated her. On November 29, 1966, the Riverside police received a copy of an anonymous letter in the mail. This letter taunted the police about the murder of Cheri Jo Bates and how she will not be the last. (Wilbur R. Miller, 2012) This was his way of being in control and getting his voice heard. Just a few months later he kept to his promise that there will be more death. The Zodiac killer murdered a young couple, David Faraday and Betty Jensen, in Vallejo, California. David was killed by one shot to the head and Betty was shot five times ten feet away from the car. The police suspected Arthur Leigh Allen, a child molester, who fit the description of the Zodiac Killer almost to a T, but there was no incriminating evidence, so he was never charged. The Zodiac Killer was suspected of killing 2,500 people throughout his killing spree, and was never caught. The Zodiac Killer’s reason for killing was that once he killed his victims they would be his slaves in the afterlife. He thought of himself as a “God”, all powerful and all knowing. (Wilbur R.
Even though through research we have found the traits, and reasons why serial killers like to kill there is still much to be learned about them. As years go on so will the research on serial killers and hopefully we as a society will fully understand them and one day be able cure whatever inside that makes them have the urge to kill.
Ted Bundy is one of the most infamous, sadistic serial killers known to man. During his tenure as a killer, Bundy confessed to the murders of 30 women, though the official number of kills is unknown to this day. Bundy’s sadistic habits began at an early age due to his rough upbringing and abusive parents. His tactical methods of killing left miniscule amounts of evidence, which remained undetectable by the “still rudimentary forensics techniques of the 1970s” (Crime Museum). Bundy also managed to uphold an impressive “clean-cut appearance” and portrayed characteristics of an “upstanding character” (Crime Museum). Ted Bundy, through the course of a troubled childhood and keen wit, managed to successfully become known as one of the most infamous
A serial killer is a person whom everybody knows as a friend, a lover or even a father but no one knows about his killer instinct until it's to late. Serial killers have plagued this country and others for many years. They are hard to find and virtually undetectable until they start murdering the innocent.
The early signs of a serial killer can be caught at a young age. According to Shirley L. Scott, “Because serial killers don’t see other people as more than objects, the leap between setting fires and killing people is easy to make.” (Scott 5) This is describing one of the signs, which is setting fires just to destroy things. Another sign is bed-wetting; most psychologists believe this is a sign because of the disturbing dreams that some potential serial killers have. Another sign of a serial killer is harming animals. Th...