“This is the Zodiac Speaking”
Between 1968 and 1969, a serial killer terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area. He didn’t just kill; he taunted the police and the press. He sent cryptic letters to newspapers, often starting with the chilling phrase “This is the Zodiac speaking,” and included ciphers that he claimed revealed his identity. He officially claimed 37 victims, though police have only confirmed five deaths. To this day, the Zodiac Killer has never been identified.
The Ciphers and the Suspects
The Zodiac’s most famous puzzle, the “340 Cipher,” wasn’t cracked until 2020 by a team of amateur codebreakers. Sadly, it didn’t contain a name, but rather a mocking message: “I hope you are having lots of fun in trying to catch me.”
- Arthur Leigh Allen: The prime suspect for decades. He owned a Zodiac watch, wore the same size boots as the killer, and reportedly told a friend he wanted to kill people and call himself “Zodiac.” However, his DNA and handwriting did not match the evidence found on the letters.
- The Sketch: The famous police sketch shows a man with glasses, but eyewitness testimony was inconsistent. The killer was bold, once even talking to police officers near a crime scene who didn’t realize he was the suspect because the dispatch described a different race.
- Gary Francis Poste: In 2021, a cold case group claimed to have identified the killer as Gary Francis Poste based on forehead scars matching the sketch, but the FBI remains unconvinced.
The Perfect Crime? The Zodiac stopped writing in 1974 and vanished. Did he die? Did he go to prison for another crime? Or did he live out his life as a quiet neighbor, laughing at the world that couldn’t catch him?