John Salter
JUAD 3313
01/04/2018
The Zodiac Killer The Zodiac Killer in my opinion is one of the most mysterious killers that I can think of, and from a historic aspect is my favorite due to the killer never being caught. One reason that makes the killer mysterious to myself is their sudden stoppage of killing people, and the stoppage of taunting law enforcement by using the local media., and like previous stating their never being caught, charged with the offenses, and being found guilty. This means given the period the murder could have been anyone and possibly still be alive today for example someone like your next-door neighbor and even possibly a U.S. Senator. One of the main things this killer is known for were his cryptic messages
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The first two people who are believed to be the first two victims of the Zodiac Killer took place in June of 1963. The names of these two initial victims were Robert Domingos, and his fiancée Linda Edwards. The killings took place while the couple took part in senior skip day. Both victims died from numerous gun shot wounds. The male victim’s father found the victims. It wasn’t until 1972 until the Sheriff’s Department of Santa Barbra announced that the suspect in the killings was believed to be no other than the Zodiac Killer. Although these killings were believed to be done by the Zodiac Killer, the killing claiming to be the one doing the crime did not occur until December of …show more content…
The role they played was the role of assistance to the local authorities. The FBI used experts in handwriting, finger print experts, and cryptanalysis or code breakers. The code breakers had the task of trying to figure out the meaning behind the 50+ shapes and the 26 letters that made up the cryptic messages. The reason the FBI did not take the lead in this case was due to the crimes not occurring inside the FBI’s jurisdiction. So, the FBI just aided in the investigations during the case.
Throughout the years many people have claimed to be the Zodiac Killer, many people have also been accused of being the Zodiac Killer from Charles Manson all the way to the US Senator Ted Cruz. There is also a man who kept a journal on his mission to find out who his biological father was, whom he believed was the Zodiac Killer. Recently the case was reopened due to it never being solved, and law enforcement officials still take tips and investigate leads that involve the Zodiac Killer. This includes if the person like many already have claimed or claims to be the Zodiac
I would like to try and discuss theories and ideas about the Zodiac Killer (1966-1978, 1966 is when the killings started and his letters sent, 1978 was when his letters stopped but the killings unsure about if they stopped). What I have found out is that he killed about 37 or 40 people (he claims to have killed). The Zodiac sent letters to the chief of the SFPD or the News, threatening to kill someone or many people. The Zodiac wrote on some of his letters of how he killed some of his past victims, it explained what he used to kill his victims, to how he used his tools. Some of the letters the Zodiac sent were in ciphers or encrypted; one letter was thought to uncover the name of the Zodiac, but the letter was never cracked. Moving to his victims.
Serial killers are everywhere! Well, perhaps not in our neighborhood, but on our television screens, at the movie theaters, and in rows and rows of books at our local Borders or Barnes and Nobles Booksellers” (Brown). When people think of serial killers, names such as Dahmer, Gacy, Bundy, and Gein are cited. During the time Jack the Ripper was executing his victims in London, Holmes began his gruesome career in Chicago (America’s Serial Killers). “Despite being America’s first serial killer, Holmes is hardly a familiar name and until now we haven’t had any popular visual record of his crimes: (Spikol). Why is it that people only think of the more popular killers with higher known profiles? They are all very similar to one another because they share characteristics. H.H. Holmes was a successful serial killer because he was well educated, cunning and charming. Those are just a few traits Holmes ...
The murders of the Zodiac Killer took place in California’s Bay Area between 1968 and 1969. One of the reasons why the murders are so commonly known of is because of the Zodiac’s relationship with the media. Between the years of 1969 and 1974, 18 letters were sent to local newspapers or citizens in the area. These letters contained details of the murders that the public could have no way of knowing, threats, and even a code made up of strange symbols which are stated to be the real name of the Zodiac.
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
Now this man killed allot of people so this paragraph isn’t for the faint of heart. The first victim will be Paul Lee Stein. He worked as a cab driver in the late 1960s 1968 to be exact. The zodiac hopped in the car of steins cab… A normal customer is all steins must have thought but boy was he wrong…. He asked to get taken across town. About a block before arrival he shot stein in the head with a 9mm. pistol. After he took his wallet keys and a piece of his shirt for proof. Now onto Darlene Elizabeth Ferrin the next victim on the list. She sat in her car with her boyfriend who survived the attack… he must have been devastated by the fact that he couldn’t help what is possibly the love of his life…. When the zodiacs car parked behind them. He got out and shot both multiple times with a 9mm. luger pistol. Later, Ferrin, had a medical professional pronounce her dead. The final victim will be Cecelia Ann Shepard. The zodiac pulled up his car by a couple having a picnic he then said he had just escaped from prison he held tied them up while holding a 45. He stabbed both of them but only Shepard died. As it can see he could be known as a very evil man and killed at weird times as the saying goes expect it when it’s least expect
...se events formed two rectangles held together by a solid line. This symbol, whose origin is the same as the Zodiac symbol used by the murderer, symbolizes the afterlife, and is placed on graves to hurry the souls to the afterlife. With Zodiac’s obsession with the afterlife, and the need for slaves in the thereafter, it is hypothesized that he is responsible for close to 100 murders across the area. 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.
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...
A mixed psychopathic serial killer torments the San Francisco Bay area through several random violent killings in the 1960's and 70's while never been caught either. The intelligent serial killer also demands that the local newspapers print his vivid and detailed letters describing the horrifying facts regarding his killings. If they choose to ignore or not take him seriously, he will show them in the form of continued killings how serious he is. Leaving several clues to whoever can rise to the occasion and outsmart him, but always stays one step ahead of the authorities. The Zodiac saw himself as the hunter, but he also was thrilled with getting the chance to play the role of the hunted.
In California, December 20, 1968, Zodiac attacked Betty Lou Jenson and David Faraday. This was his first significant criminal act. In a matter of 2 or 3 minutes, the attack was finished and he drove casually away from the scene. He showed no signs of remorse and seemed very calm about all of his actions. After the attack of these two people-murdering the female-Zodiac would have read about his actions in local newspapers, listened to it on a radio report, or watched it on a local news report on the tv. Seven months later he attacked Darlene Ferrin and Micheal Mageau on July 4, 1969, killing the woman of course. Afterward he phoned the Vallejo Police departement to brag about what he did. He also wrote to three newspapers to brag.
Just a few months later, he kept to his promise that there would be more deaths. 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. 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.
In 2014, Gary Stewart published the book ‘The Most Dangerous Animal of All’, which he claimed that his father, Earl Van Best, was the Zodiac killer. The police’s evidence on that was the compared resemblance between Mr. Best and the police sketch they had of the so-called Zodiac killer. Also, they claimed that his father’s name appeared in the Zodiac’s cryptograms, and has a scar on his right index finger as would the Zodiac if they would have caught him from a previous crime. Another reason people thought it was Best was that a publicist, Chris Harris had claimed to had seen Mr. Best at a diner near the area of one of the killings. When Harris went into the diner he sat next to a man who resembled best. He also claimed Best turned to him and said: “You have no idea what it’s like to have to kill”. Randy Kenney claimed that it was his friend Louis Myers. He claimed he killed couples because he suffered from romantic rejection. Randy told police officers that Myers went to highschool with two of the victims and worked with one of
In the San Francisco Bay area, as well as in the rest of California, the late ‘60’s and early ‘70’s was a time of terror and fear. What started out as a seemingly random, but brutal murder on the night of October 30th, 1966, turned out to be the start of a series of horrific murders that would span 2,500 suspects, 56 possible victims, and over 400 miles. On the calm, cool night of December 20th, 1968, a young seventeen year-old named David Arthur Faraday was getting ready to take a young sixteen year-old named Betty Lou Jensen on her first date.
...tives that were on the case of the murdered women were called in and the car was immediately swept for forensic evidence. The test revealed the blood of one of the victim on the vehicle's carpet. The detectives took some blood and semen samples from Ted to match the ones found on the underwear of one of the victims. A forensic odontologist was called in to review the evidence that they had received from Bundy. Comparing the bite marks of the victims in the Chi Omega murders he was able to come up to the conclusion that the bite marks were that of Ted Bundy. With all the evidence from the new killings and previous killings, investigators were able to make an airtight case. Bundy was convicted and found guilty of murder and was executed on January 7, 1980. It was due to the forensic evidence in the investigations that the conviction and capture of Bundy was possible.
One of America’s infamous serial killers, The Zodiac Killer, also known as Zodiac, murdered victims in Northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Till this day, the identity of the Zodiac Killer remains unknown and the case is still open with the San Francisco Police Department, in the city of Vallejo, Napa County and Solano County. This notorious killer took pride in taunting law enforcement with coded messages that remain unsolved until today.
Jack the Ripper, the Zodiac Killer, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Son of Sam, the BTK Killer. The names and assumed names of these cold-blooded serial killers are forever branded into the cognizance of people everywhere. This is mainly due to the mass media coverage, including newspapers, movies, television specials and books. This media coverage brought to light that these killers were, on the surface, normal, successful, attractive, productive members of society – that is, until the time that their heinous crimes came to be discovered.