The Zodiac is a chart of signs, based on the day of one’s birth corresponds with a horoscope. The Zodiac is also the name of a serial killer, whose identity continues to baffle law enforcement. There have been many books and movies made about this particular serial killer, but what are the facts? What is real and what is drummed up Hollywood drama?
Using a web search I found a website that has a very detailed timeline of The Zodiac Killer’s (TZK) murders. This website is from a crime based television channel. This channel is known for having and presenting the facts in an unbiased view. I feel this to be a reliable information source due to the reputation of the channel and their research team.
TZK killed five people and injured two in northern California. He is rumored to have killed up to 37 people, however there is no solid evidence connecting him to all of the crimes. His reign of terror lasted from 1966 – 1975. In this time he sent the police and newspapers numerous letters, four of which were cryptographs. TZK was never brought to justice for his crimes, and though there have been many suspects over the years, his identity remains a mystery.
His first murder occurred on October 30 1966. He killed a college student by the name of Cheri Jo Bates. There didn’t appear to be a motive, and with no money missing from her purse, they could rule out robbery. Her clothes were intact so rape was unlikely. Her car; however, was disabled and police suspect TZK waited for Cheri return and attempt to start her car. They believe he then offered her a ride. He led her to a driveway and used a small knife to slash her in the chest, back, and the throat. When she was found, Cheri had at least 11 slashes, and her head was close to dec...
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...ss one can never truly know if the information you have found is reliable. Researching research is very time consuming and at some point, it just gets frustrating.
Works Cited
Castleden, Rodney. "The Zodiac Killer of San Francisco." Serial Killers: They Live to Kill. London: Futura, 2008. 347-60. Print.
Marlowe, John, and Charlotte Greig. Evil Beyond Belief. London: Arcturus LImited, 2009. Print.
Wark, Jake. "The Zodiac Killer, One of the Greatest Unsolved Serial Killer Cases." TruTV.com: Not Reality. Actuality. Web. 11 Apr. 2011.
The Zodiac Killer. "Riverside Documents Linked To Unsolved Murder of Cheri Jo Bates - 20 Ab - Riverside Bates Confession Black and White - Zodiac Killer Facts Document Gallery." Letter to Chief of Riverside Police. The Zodiac Killer - Zodiac Killer FACTS - Reporting the Facts / Debunking the Myths. 7 Aug. 2010. Web. 11 Apr. 2011.
Russell, Z. "H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer." H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer. WordPress, 29 Nov. 2011. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.
Newton, Michael. "BERKOWITZ, David Richard." The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. 2nd ed. New York: Facts On File, Inc, 2006. 16-19. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.
A serial killer is a person who murders three or more people over a period of more than 30 days, with a "cooling off" period between each murder, and whose motivation for killing is largely based on psychological gratification. Most people do not understand what can make a person want to kill multiple people for no reason other than own satisfactional gain. In actuality serial killers have been studied for over hundreds of years, and the information that has been documented continues to grow. The research that I have gathered about serial killers focuses on their childhood development, the differences and similarities between men and female serial kills, and finally general information on how their brains operate and their motives for committing such harmful acts.
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
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...
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.
"Panache Report Serial Killer And Alligators." Panache Report Serial Killer And Alligators. Myra Panache, n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
Zodiac is a movie with Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey, Jr. Jake Gyllenhaal is Robert Graysmith who is a cartoonist who becomes obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac killer and writes a book about the zodiac. Mark Ruffalo is David Toschi who is an inspector of the San Francisco Police Department. Robert Downey, Jr is Paul Avery who is a police reporter. The Zodiac Killer was a serial killer who would target his victims in northern California and when he would kill his victims he would send letters to the police and he would also send zodiac codes to the local Bay Area press. Graysmith, toschi, and Avery take the case of the zodiac killer and try to find out the killers identity and crack his codes.
A serial killer is traditionally defined as the separate killings of three or more people by an individual over a certain period of time, usually with breaks between the murders. (Angela Pilson, p. 2, 2011) This definition has been accepted by both the police and academics and therefore provides a useful frame of reference (Kevin Haggerty, p.1, 2009). The paper will seek to provide the readers with an explanation of how serial killers came to be and how they are portrayed in the media. Several serial killers have a definitive and common personality profile.
Charles Manson and the Manson family committed gruesome crimes that shocked Los Angeles in 1969. The actress Sharon Tate and four others were ritualistically slaughtered in her Hollywoods Hills home. The murderers had left cryptic messages on the walls in the victims blood, and law enforcement were stumped by the multiple stab wounds found on the victims. The next day a married couple, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, who were successful shop owners, were found in their Las Feliz home murdered in the same way as Sharon Tate and her friends.
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
Ted Bundy was one of the most vicious serial killers in American history. He confessed to 28 grotesque murders in the 1970’s but the actual number of his victims remains
O'Driscoll, P. (2005, Jun 28). 'BTK' calmly gives horrific details ; serial killer who stalked wichita enters guilty plea. USA TODAY. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/408976968?accountid=10244
...nd most stunningly, the NSA deciphered cryptographs that contained his name; all pointing to him as the most likely, and the most probable culprit.The Zodiac was one of the most cold and calculating murderers of the twentieth century. His gruesome and violent ways of killing, along with the coinciding of his murders with moon phases, star appearances, radians, and the astrological chart, among other things, also make him the most terrifying murderer of the twentieth century. The scariest thing of all is that this maniac was never caught, and if not dead, is still living somewhere, potentially threatening the lives of the peaceful people around him.
In Robert Graysmith’s books, which the 2007 movie, “Zodiac” was based off of, Arthur Leigh Allen was portrayed as the main suspect.(Fagan, 2014) He was questioned in 1969 and again in 1971 after one of his friends said he talked about killing people and securing a flashlight to a gun like the Zodiac had. Allen also owned the same caliber gun used in one of the zodiac shootings, told the police that the bloody knives in his car were used for killing chickens and a coincidentally owned a zodiac brand watch. Allen was less than honorably discharged from the navy and was fired from his school teaching job for allegations of sexual misconduct. The police ended up investigating Allen again in 1991 after an informant said that Allen had boasted to him about killing a cab driver.