As I delve into the lives of these enigmatic figures, each one shrouded in mystery and intrigue, it’s impossible not to feel a sense of awe at the complexity of human nature.
The series “This is the Zodiac Killer” on Netflix delves back into the enigmatic unsolved mystery, casting a strong suspicion on Arthur Leigh Allen as the prime suspect – however, it’s important to note that nine different individuals have been implicated in the killings throughout investigations.
Back in the groovy ’60s, I was just a young gamer, not yet born, but if I were around, I’d remember the chilling events unfolding in the vibrant San Francisco Bay Area. Five innocent lives were cruelly taken, and the atmosphere turned from flower power to something far more sinister.
As stated by the individual involved, these fatalities merely represented a small portion of the overall issue. By the time of his final correspondence in 1974, he admitted to having ended the lives of 37 individuals. However, despite this, the mystery surrounding the Zodiac Killer remains unsolved.
Almost sixty years on, we find ourselves delving into “This is the Zodiac Speaking,” a gripping true crime documentary on Netflix that centers around Arthur Leigh Allen. While I’ll be exploring his tale, it’s important to keep in mind that eight other individuals have also been linked to the murder cases.
Arthur Leigh Allen
As a gaming detective, I’ve always been intrigued by the unsolved mystery of the Zodiac Killer. The investigations have consistently pointed to Arthur Leigh Allen as the prime suspect. Interestingly enough, he’s the sole individual who has ever been singled out by the police as a person of interest in this chilling case.
Allen had a military career spanning eight years in the U.S. Navy, ending with an honorable discharge in 1959. Approximately a decade later, allegations of inappropriate conduct with students led to his termination from his position as an elementary school teacher.
The police questioned him since it was discovered that he had been spotted near Lake Berrysea when Bryan Calvin Hartnell and Cecelia Ann Shepard were murdered. He claimed that he was engaged in scuba diving during that time instead.
Two years after the initial encounter, Donald Cheney, Allen’s friend, disclosed that he had discussed having a desire to harm people in the past and had even casually mentioned the name “Zodiac”. The police re-interviewed him, during which he expressed dissatisfaction with them, using a term similar to one the murderer had used to refer to law enforcement in a letter. In 1972, the police obtained a search warrant for Cheney’s residence, where they discovered a Zodiac Watch, identical to the one used by the killer, bearing the same emblem.
Additionally, there were other pieces of evidence that supported this claim: His handwriting bore striking similarities in grammatical errors to that of the Zodiac Killer, and they shared the same shoe size (10). In 1992, Michael Mageau – one of the Zodiac’s survivors – identified Allen’s photo as the potential killer. However, a police officer who claimed to have witnessed him fleeing from a murder scene stated that his face appeared too round for the suspect.
Despite attempts to construct a substantial case against Allen, it proved insufficient for prosecution. Tragically, he passed away in 1992 at the age of 52 due to arteriosclerotic heart disease.
In Netflix’s latest documentary, relatives of suspect Allen assert that he admitted guilt regarding the crimes and accompanied them to various locations where the Zodiac killer committed murders. The series further highlights the fact that the killings ceased when Allen was detained for an unrelated offense (lewdness with a minor) and kept in custody.
In David Fincher’s 2007 film, Mark Ruffalo played Detective Dave Toschi, one of the investigators. Upon first meeting him, Toschi told the actor that he was certain it was the man they were looking for. However, despite his confidence, Toschi never had concrete evidence to support his claim, which led him to pursue other leads in the investigation.
Earl Van Best Jr.
As suggested by the 2014 book “The Most Dangerous Animal of All: Searching for My Father… and Finding the Zodiac Killer” penned by Gary Stewart and Susan Mustafa, Earl Van Best Jr. is a strong suspect in connection to the murders.
The information was derived from compelling, though indirect evidence such as: a striking police drawing, fragmented fingerprints, matching handwriting, coded messages found in letters attributed to the Zodiac Killer, and remnants of DNA. (Vulture)
Nevertheless, following Stewart’s theory being selected by FX for a documentary series in 2020, inconsistencies emerged. Experts questioned the connection between Best’s handwriting and the killer’s, and although he expressed frustration with the contradictory evidence, he continued to uphold his theory.
Regardless of what evidence was presented against him, he would argue, ‘Even if we made mistakes in identifying fingerprints or handwriting, it doesn’t automatically mean I am wrong. Perhaps this issue has grown so deeply connected to his identity that admitting error is difficult,’ commented Kief Davidson, the director of the documentary.
It’s unlikely that we will identify the true identity of the Zodiac Killer. While it seems improbable that Earl Van Best Jr. is the Zodiac himself, it wouldn’t shock me if he had some involvement or connection with the case.
Gary Francis Poste
In the year 2021, Gary Francis Pote emerged as a potential suspect linked to the Zodiac case, as a team called Case Breakers claimed that he was responsible for the murder of Cheri Jo Bates.
It is thought that the drawing of Poste resembles a previous sketch of the Zodiac, especially with what seem like the same scar marks on the forehead, as stated in the San Francisco Chronicle. Additionally, certain anagrams are said to have uncovered his name.
18-year-old student Bates, who was attending college, tragically lost her life in October 1966. It’s generally thought that the Zodiac killer might have been involved in her murder, but much like the police’s difficulties in linking similar crimes to Allen, this has never been definitively proven. Consequently, her case remains open and unsolved (from an official standpoint).
In 2016, authorities including the San Francisco Police Department and FBI marked Arthur Leigh Poste as a potential suspect. They even paid him a visit while he was in prison, where he’d been held on charges of domestic violence. However, TV news anchor Dale Julin reported that Poste confessed to being the Zodiac during an interview, but this allegation couldn’t be independently confirmed.
In a recent update, the FBI’s San Francisco office stated that the Zodiac murder case is still unsolved and they currently don’t have any fresh details to disclose.
Giuseppe Bevilacqua
Joseph “Giuseppe” Bevilacqua has been recognized by Francesco Amicone, an Italian researcher with long-standing interest in the case, as a potential Zodiac suspect.
As a gamer putting on my detective hat, let me share a fascinating tidbit: A source claimed that Bevilacqua confessed to being both the Zodiac Killer and the Monster of Florence – two infamous serial killers who terrorized different parts of the world during the late 60s to mid-80s. Yet, it’s important to note that Amicone didn’t document their conversation, so this information remains unverified for now.
As a fervent admirer, I’d like to share two significant points from Amicone’s comprehensive probe: Firstly, Italian authorities wrapped up their investigation against him back in 2021. Regrettably, Bevilacqua passed away just a year later. Secondly, earlier this year, Amicone disclosed that he had forwarded Bevilacqua’s DNA profile to the FBI.
Lawrence Kane
Lawrence Kane was recognized by two individuals: Kathleen Johns, a survivor of the Zodiac case, and the sibling of Darlene Ferrin, who was the third known victim of the killer.
In addition to his other work, Kane was employed at the Sahara Casino, where Donna Less, a potential Zodiac victim, used to work. However, in September 1970, Donna vanished without a clue, and it wasn’t until 2023 that her skull was discovered and positively identified using DNA analysis. The manner of her death remains uncertain.
Last year, it was claimed that one of the Zodiac’s codes unveiled the term “Kayr”, possibly a mistake for Kane, and the whereabouts of a school situated in South Lake Tahoe. Nevertheless, this assertion has sparked significant debate among experts.
In 1962, Kane received a diagnosis for Impulse Control Disorder following brain injuries sustained in an accident. He passed away in the year 2010.
Paul Doerr
Paul Doerr was named as a Zodiac suspect in Jarrett Kobek’s 2022 book How to Find Zodiac.
Based on the account, the author’s physical characteristics matched with eyewitness descriptions of the suspect, and his writing showed resemblances to the Zodiac’s correspondence. This evidence, though circumstantial, was compelling enough that Doerr’s daughter decided against pursuing a lawsuit against Kobek.
Significantly, Doerr was associated with the Minutemen, a conservative organization that mailed intimidating letters to suspected communists, resembling the Zodiac’s symbols. Moreover, he possessed knowledge of the ANFO bomb recipe and implied in a 1974 letter that he had taken lives. Additionally, cryptography was a subject of his interest.
Back in August 2007, at the ripe age of 80, I found myself standing in the shoes of a man whose investigative work had long been hailed as exceptional – the elusive Zodiac killer’s most compelling suspect yet. This was none other than the renowned Graeme Robertson Doerr, who left an indelible mark on the world of crime-solving.
Richard Gaikowski
Richard Gaikowski is seen as the prime suspect by Tom Voigt, a prominent authority on the Zodiac murderer.
At one point, he worked as a journalist in the San Francisco Bay Area, often finding himself near crime scenes shortly after they occurred. However, following his commitment to Napa State Mental Hospital in 1971, his story took a different turn. He passed away in 2004.
As a gamer diving into a historical mystery, I’ve learned that Gaikowski compared sketches from the Zodiac case. Interestingly, one of his victim’s sisters recognized him at their funeral. Gaikowski claimed he was abroad when the Lake Herman Road murders took place, despite losing his passport. Remarkably, authorities seemed unwilling to compare DNA samples in this instance.
Among Gaikowski’s peers, there was one individual who firmly held the opinion that he was the Zodiac Killer. However, this person has often been labeled as a conspiracy theorist with questionable credibility and even a “kook” in relation to the Zodiac case.
Richard Marshall
In the late ’60s, Richard Marshall resided near the site where Paul Lee Stine was tragically slain, in the city of San Francisco.
According to History.com, people who lived near him described him as eccentric and mentioned that he often talked about discovering “something far more captivating than intimacy.” Additionally, this individual was fond of the film “The Red Phantom,” which was referenced by the Zodiac in a letter written in 1974.
Nevertheless, during a 1989 interview, Marshall asserted that he wasn’t the Zodiac. Despite being viewed as a potential suspect, he admitted to reasons behind this belief. Marshall passed away in a care facility in 2008.
Ross Sullivan
Following Bates’ murder, Ross Sullivan drew attention as a potential suspect. He was an employee at the Riverside City College Library and went missing for a number of days following her demise. Additionally, his physical appearance and clothing style somewhat matched the depiction of the Zodiac in a sketch.
1967 saw him relocate to northern California, where he was subsequently hospitalized due to bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. To this day, no police investigations have been conducted on him, and his life was tragically cut short by a heart attack in September 1977 at the age of 36.
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2024-10-24 17:19