Global InformationZodiac Killer information
Zodiac Killer | |
|---|---|
 Composite sketch made in 1969 based on eyewitness accounts of the Presidio Heights murder | |
| Criminal status | Unidentified |
| Motive | Uncertain |
| Wanted since | 1968 |
| Details | |
| Victims | 5 confirmed dead, 2 injured, possibly 20–28 total dead (claimed to have killed 37) |
Span of crimes | 1968–1969[n 1] |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | California, possibly also Nevada |
| Location(s) |
|
Date apprehended | Unapprehended |
The Zodiac Killer[n 2] is the pseudonym of an unidentified serial killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s.[n 1] The Zodiac murdered five known victims in the San Francisco Bay Area between December 1968 and October 1969, operating in rural, urban and suburban settings. He targeted three young couples and a lone male cab driver. The case has been described as "arguably the most famous unsolved murder case in American history", and has become both a fixture of popular culture and a focus for efforts by amateur detectives.
The Zodiac's known attacks took place in Benicia, Vallejo, unincorporated Napa County, and the city of San Francisco proper. Five of his known wounded victims died, and two survived. He coined his name in a series of taunting messages that he mailed to regional newspapers, in which he threatened killing sprees and bombings if they were not printed. Some of the letters included cryptograms, or ciphers, in which the killer claimed that he was collecting his victims as slaves for the afterlife. Of the four ciphers he produced, two remain unsolved, and one was cracked only in 2020. The last confirmed Zodiac letter was in 1974, when he claimed to have killed 37 victims.
While many theories regarding the identity of the killer have been suggested, the only suspect authorities ever publicly named was Arthur Leigh Allen, a former elementary school teacher and convicted sex offender who died in 1992.
The unusual nature of the case led to international interest that has been sustained throughout the years. The San Francisco Police Department marked the case "inactive" in 2004, but re-opened it at some point prior to 2007. The case also remains open in the city of Vallejo, as well as in Napa and Solano counties.[1] The California Department of Justice has maintained an open case file on the Zodiac murders since 1969.[2]
Cite error: There are <ref group=n> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=n}} template (see the help page).
- ^ Napa PD Website, Vallejo PD Website and "Tipline", Solano County Sheriff's Office
- ^ California Department of Justice Website