The Zodiac Killer, Exams of Law

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The Zodiac Killer

By Jonathan-Noah Lockhart

and Jayden Idemoto

Who was the Zodiac Killer?

The Zodiac Killer was a serial killer who operated in Northern California and

San Francisco Bay areas in the late 1960’s and early 70’s. The Zodiac killer

was confirmed to have killed 5 people with 2 surviving , but claimed to have

killed as many as 37. Taunted law enforcement with letters containing hidden

clues, threats, and coded ciphers, many of which are still unsolved.

The killer was never caught, and the case remains open to this day.

First Letter to San Francisco Chronicle

Dear Editor This is the murderer of the 2 teenagers last Christmass at Lake Herman + the girl on the 4th of July near the golf course in Vallejo To prove I killed them I shall state some facts which only I + the police know. Christmas 1 Brand name of ammo Super X 2 10 shots were fired 3 the boy was on his back with his feet to the car 4 the girl was on her right side feet to the west 4th July 1 girl was wearing patterned slacks 2 The boy was also shot in the knee. 3 Brand name of ammo was western OVER

Continued (^) Here is part of a cipher the

other 2 parts of this cipher are being mailed to the editors of the Vallejo Times + SF Exam iner. I want you to print this cipher on the front page of your paper. In this cipher is my idenity. If you do not print this cipher by the afternoon of Fry.1st of Aug 69, I will go on a kill ram- Page Fry. night. I will cruse around all weekend killing lone people in the night then move on to kill again, until I end up with a dozen people over the weekend.

Letter sent to San Francisco Examiner

Dear Editor

This is the Zodiac speaking. In answer to your asking for more details about the good times I have had in Vallejo, I shall be very happy to supply even more material. By the way, are the police having a good time with the code? If not, tell them to cheer up; when they do crack it they will have me.

On the 4th of July: I did not open the car door, The window was rolled down all ready. The boy was originally sitting in the front seat when I began firing. When I fired the first shot at his head, he leaped backwards at the same time thus spoiling my aim. He ended up on the back seat then the floor in back thrashing out very violently with his legs; that's how I shot him in the knee. I did not leave the scene of the killing with squealing tires + racing engine as described in the Vallejo paper,. I drove away quite slowly so as not to draw attention to my car. The man who told the police that my car was brown was a negro about 40-45 rather shabbily dressed. I was at this phone booth having some fun with the Vallejo cops when he was walking by. When I hung the phone up the dam X@ thing began to ring & that drew his attention to me + my car.

Last Christmas In that episode the police were wondering as to how I could shoot + hit my victims in the dark. They did not openly state this, but implied this by saying it was a well lit night + I could see the silhouettes on the horizon. Bullshit that area is surrounded by high hills + trees. What I did was tape a small pencil flashlight to the barrel of my gun. If you notice, in the center of the beam of light if you aim it at a wall or ceiling you will see a black or dark spot in the center of the circle of light about 3 to 6 inches across. When taped to a gun barrel, the bullet will strike exactly in the center of the black dot in the light. All I had to do was spray them as if it was a water hose; there was no need to use the gun sights. I was not happy to see that I did not get front page coverage.

Suspects

Richard

Gaikowski

● Worked at newspaper where Zodiac letters were received ● Decoded ciphers contained references to places he worked, such as a movie theatre ● Committed to an asylum for violent tendencies, coincidentally, the letters stopped while he was imprisoned

Ted Kaczynski

● The “Unabomber” ● Constructed explosives ● ● Lived in the Bay Area during the late 60’s ● ● Communicated with media networks after crimes

Arthur Leigh

Allen

● At Lake Berryessa the day of the murder to fish ● Came home from the lake with bloody knife ● Fascinated in the thought of hunting people ● Once told his friend he would like to kill couples ● Said he would tie a flashlight to a gun so he could shoot at night ● Had a zodiac watch gifted to him by his mother in 1969 ● Zodiac watch had the same symbol as the zodiac killer ● Allen would sometimes refer to himself as the zodiac and would sign some letters with the zodiac sign from his watch