Zodiac Killer Research Paper

Remaining Mysterious: The Zodiac Killer

Continuing in the tradition of Jack the Ripper and Dusseldorf Vampire Peter Kurten, while foreshadowing BTK, The Zodiac Killer was factually a world-wide, unknown murderer for five or numerous more murders in the northern region of California. The Zodiac Killer, whom is a strange, semi-secretive, smart killer has gotten away with all of his sneaky activities. The Zodiac Killer gave himself the unique name, and no one knows the meaning behind it. His target was young couples in the area. It is believed and set upon arguments, that the Zodiac, was simply an individual committing all of these hatred crimes, alone. The world is still blind to the fact of knowing exactly who is it to hold

the culpability for these brutal murders.
The Zodiac has committed and confessed to thirty-seven known murders for certain, but it has been projected by police to be nearly seven individuals were attacked, but five actually lost the fight in the battle.

Zodiac’s main target was young couples, usually the ones that were attending college. His mode of operation included the use of knives and guns as a use of a weapon in secluded areas. With reports, he has been known to wear an unusual costume while attempting murders. One of the couples that were haunted were, Betty Lou Jensen and Arthur Faraday, aging from sixteen and seventeen in age. They were parked in a secluded spot, known as “Lover’s Lane”, when Zodiac saw the two lovers cuddled in the front of Faraday’s automobile. The automobile was drenched in bullet holes when the two victims were found and located outside of it. Jensen was found several feet away from the automobile with evidence of five back gunshot wounds, while Faraday was found alive with

a shot to the head; however, he died while on the way to the hospital. Another innocent couple that was discovered was, Darlene Elizabeth Ferrin and Michael Renault Mageau. This couple was a few years older than Jensen and Faraday, nineteen and twenty-two. Zodiac used his gun for this couple’s mode of operation as well. Although Ferrin took her last breath, Mageau survived and was able to give a description of the shooter to the police. Even though Jensen, Faraday, Ferrin, and Mageau were filled with bullet holes, Shepard and Hartnell were cut open with stab wounds. Cecilia Ann Shepard and Bryan Calvin Hartnell were also attacked when Zodiac approached them in the unusual costume that he temporarily wore. The unexplainable murders continued to happen throughout northern California.
After Zodiac would complete his favorite relaxation, he would either call and report the murders, or begin to write taunting letters to the police station. Zodiac has written at least eighteen letters to the police and occasionally, private citizens. One morning at 12:40 a.m., Zodiac got in contact with the Vallejo Police Department and reported the Ferrin and Mageau, and also reported the killing of Jensen and Faraday. After tracking the phone call, they came up with nothing but a telephone booth located less than a mile from Ferrin and Mageau’s death site. Zodiac was so clever and had a high sense of significance in the results of his killings. He had the ability to not get caught by any circumstance after making trackable calls and broken ciphered letters to police. The survivor of a horrific attack, Magaeu, described The Zodiac as a short, heavy set, Caucasian man. Even after the description that Magaeu was able to provide, officials have yet to solve the investigation. The weary people begin to try to solve the mystery themselves. People were on the outlook for each other, trying to help police capture this dangerous suspect. Within his letters, he used cyphers to write. A husband and wife decoded the cyphers and within three or more of his letters, it has to be said that the possible identity of the Zodiac comes to be, “Robert Emmet the Hippie”. Even though the cyphers were broken by the couple and the potential name of the Zodiac was found, police still scrutinized Arthur Leigh Allen, Rick Marshall, Bob Vaughn, and David Fincher. Unfortunately, none of the eligible suspects had any trace of evidence that could be held against them. Within investigations, Richard Gaikowski came out on top of the thousand possible suspects. There have been several possible evidences found, that can be linked back to the killings. Gaikowski was born in the year of 1936, which would have given him the age of about thirty when the killings first started to happen. Strangely, Gaikowski refused to sign a traffic citation and was later arrested for it. Not only was this strange, but the dispatcher that spoke with the Zodiac when he reported the calls, voice is similar to the voice of Gaikowski’s. Gaikowski was also a medic, which taught him the human body and how to tear clothing off a body to represent cleanliness in a certain order. With so much accurate evidence that shares so many similar proportions to the reports of the cold-hearted murders, how could they not be traced back to be the blame of Gaikowski?
On August 1, 1969, Zodiac’s first letter had made its arrival to The San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Chronicle and Vallejo Times-Herald newspapers. He described the murders in the letters and demanded that the letters be published on the front page of each newspaper by that afternoon. He threatened the companies that if they did not, that he would go on a killing rampage and randomly select a dozen people to be his innocent victims. The letters left the people taunted and scared for their lives here on the earth. The letters were marked with a cross-circle symbol, that is still unidentified as to what the meaning of it was. With the evidence collected, it is still uncertain as to whom the murderer actually is. Police until this present day, have the cases still in investigation. Becoming annoyed, they have closed most of the cases and marked them as unsolved. Due to his intelligence, the murderer of the brutal murders of innocent teens, has walked away from of all his wrong-doings.
With concluding facts, the Zodiac was a resident of the northern region of California.

It is still a mystery as to why the Zodiac named himself, “the Zodiac.” Committing the murders in the late sixties and early seventies, California was troubled by dozens of unsolved murders. There has been said to be over thirty-seven murders, but police only believe it to be only five convicted murders. Zodiac’s main target was young, college couples. His favorite form of weapons were guns and knives, which he used to take the lives of innocent couples. Even though one of the survivors of his massive attacks was able to give a description of the killer, the suspect still remains unknown to this day. The murderer, who referred to himself as "the Zodiac," made contact with the police and newspapers throughout the region of his reign of terror, through a series of ominous notes. Although the police were never able to capture Zodiac, they were able to gather information about him through the letters. However, some people believed to know his identity. With the irritation of unsuccessful evidence and missing pieces to the puzzle, the police department came to a decision to discontinue the investigation. Definite questions as to the killer’s actions are still unanswered. As one or many may question, is it only okay for a delusional individual to happily go around murdering innocent, young people without any remorse? Though it has been mentioned that Mr. Richard Gaikowski is the number one

runner up for being acknowledged as the suspect, is that a settle answer that the world will be content with? Even though there was little evidence to argue whom is the legit Zodiac, the collected evidence can prove to be Gaikowski. Seems as though there will only be two people that will ever know the darken truth, which is God himself, and the person who has a heart colder than a frozen ice cube.