Zodiac: The Killer Who Played Games with the Police

The First Shots

On December 20, 1968, the bodies of two teenagers were found on the remote Lake Herman Road near Benicia. Seventeen-year-old David Faraday and sixteen-year-old Betty Lou Jensen were dead. That evening, the young couple had simply been spending time together. No one could have known that their deaths would mark the beginning of a case that would haunt investigators for decades. The perpetrator was never caught.

The next attack took place on July 4, 1969, just a few months later. In Blue Rock Springs Park in Vallejo, an unknown man shot and killed Darlene Ferrin. Her acquaintance, Michael Mageau, survived the attack, although he was also shot. At first, no one knew whether the two cases were connected. The police did not know the perpetrator’s name, had no motive, and had no clear idea who might be targeted next. Then the letters arrived.

"This is Zodiac"

At the end of July 1969, letters arrived at three California newsrooms. Their author claimed responsibility for the murders in Benicia and Vallejo. Each of the letters contained a piece of an encrypted message. The author wanted the newspapers to publish it. If they refused, he threatened to kill again. At that moment, something fundamental changed.

The perpetrator was no longer just trying to escape justice. On the contrary, he began actively entering the public arena. He wrote to newspapers, communicated with the media, and built up the image of someone who held the reins firmly in his hands.

The cipher appeared in print and the public set to work on it. Donald and Bettye Harden, a married couple from Salinas, figured out how to solve it. It did not reveal the author’s identity, but it contained a disturbing account of his alleged motives. It also mentioned further murders. It was in this very exchange that the image began to form of a perpetrator who had turned the entire investigation into a kind of personal game.

In one of his later letters, the author introduced himself by the name Zodiac. He also used the symbol of a circle with a cross, which became his characteristic sign. The letters that were originally supposed to help clarify the crimes ultimately became part of the mystery themselves.

The Attack at the Lake

On September 27, 1969, Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard were resting by Lake Berryessa. A man in unusual clothing with a hood approached the couple. On his chest he had a symbol resembling a crosshair. He tied them both up and then began attacking them with a knife. While Hartnell survived the attack, Shepard later succumbed to her injuries.

The perpetrator left the scene. He left behind further traces that investigators linked to his previous attacks. This case differed from the earlier shootings. The method of attack and the circumstances under which it occurred had changed. It was precisely these differences that complicated efforts to create a clear profile of the perpetrator and to predict his next moves.

However, survivor Hartnell was able to provide a description of the attacker and his clothing. Investigators thus gained further information, but not the answer to the most important question: who was it?

The Taxi Driver Who Became Part of the Story

On October 11, 1969, an unknown man hailed a cab in San Francisco. Behind the wheel sat twenty-nine-year-old Paul Stine. The ride ended in Presidio Heights. There, Stine met his death.

At first, nothing suggested that the case might be connected to earlier attacks. But then a letter arrived at the offices of the San Francisco Chronicle, in which the author claimed responsibility for the murder. Enclosed with the letter was a piece of the victim’s bloodstained shirt, proof that the writer knew details of the crime. The letter was not just a confession. It also contained threats and warnings of further attacks.

According to contemporary reports, shortly after the murder police stopped a man in the area who matched the description of the suspect. Due to incorrect information about his appearance, however, they let him go. Whether it was really the perpetrator was never confirmed.

The episode became one of the most discussed moments of the entire case. The idea that investigators had the killer within reach and still let him escape continues to fuel speculation to this day.

Ciphers, threats, and a game with the public

Zodiac’s letters shared a few common traits. Their author boasted about what he had done and threatened further attacks. At the same time, he tried to influence how newspapers wrote about him.

Some of the messages contained ciphers. Others included drawings, strange turns of phrase, or personal threats aimed at specific journalists. In one letter, for example, he threatened school buses. A little later, he sent a Halloween card to Paul Avery, a journalist who was covering the case.

Zodiac thus gradually became not only the subject of a police investigation, but also a figure followed by the entire public. With each new letter, more questions arose. And every cipher carried the possibility that it might contain something no one had yet understood. But here a problem emerged. Not every claim in the letters could be reliably verified. Zodiac himself gave different numbers of victims and claimed responsibility for other crimes. Investigators officially attributed five murders to him. Two people he is believed to have attacked survived. The key to understanding the case lies precisely in this difference. On one side stood the perpetrator’s claims, on the other what could actually be traced.

The cipher that waited over half a century

Among the most famous Zodiac cryptograms is the Z340 cipher. It was given this name simply because it contained 340 characters. Amateurs and professionals alike tried to solve it for many decades. Numerous theories emerged, but none was universally accepted as the correct solution.

Then, in December 2020, came the news that an international team had succeeded. The decryption was achieved by David Oranchak, Sam Blake, and Jarl Van Eycke. The FBI responded by stating that it was aware of the result and that the case remained under investigation. The text that was finally read revealed another message. However, it did not contain the perpetrator’s name.

And that is the crucial difference. The deciphered text can hint at what the author wanted to say, but on its own it does not prove who wrote it. Once again, there was no clear answer as to who was hiding behind the Zodiac. After more than fifty years, this most famous mystery of the case has revealed another small piece of its content, but it has kept the greatest secret to itself.

Who was the Zodiac?

Over the decades, a number of suspects have appeared in the case. Perhaps the best known of them is Arthur Leigh Allen, a man from Vallejo who once came under the scrutiny of investigators. His name became widely known mainly thanks to books and later film adaptations. However, Allen was never indicted. No one ever officially proved that he committed the Zodiac murders.

Over time, other names emerged, along with various hypotheses and supposedly new evidence. Some theories attracted great public attention. None of them, however, brought a generally accepted confirmation of the perpetrator’s identity. That is precisely where the difficulty lies.

Real investigation must be separated from speculation. A suspect is not yet a murderer. A match with a police description is not proof of guilt. And what private investigators or amateur researchers claim cannot be taken as an official conclusion. The Zodiac case therefore remains an open case, not a story with a confirmed resolution.

Why did they fail to catch him?

Several factors came together that complicated the investigation. The perpetrator moved around different locations and each time chose a slightly different method. On top of that, several police units were involved. At the time of the first murders, forensic DNA analysis looked nothing like it does today. Many pieces of evidence were stored or processed in an era when modern methods simply did not yet exist.

The Zodiac also deliberately played with the media. He created confusion around his crimes and claimed additional victims. He also provided information whose accuracy often could not be reliably verified. Many pieces of evidence that would now be suitable for modern analysis may be incomplete or contaminated. Even DNA therefore does not automatically guarantee that the perpetrator can be identified.

And then there is one more thing: time. Potential witnesses grow old, die, or are no longer able to recall details accurately after decades. People who might have come forward with crucial information may simply no longer be alive. The longer a case remains unsolved, the harder it can become to find answers.

A killer who never stopped being present

The late 1960s, when the Zodiac terrified the public, are long gone. Yet the case is still alive. New theories, documentaries, books and online investigations keep appearing. It undoubtedly belongs to American pop culture. Films and books have been inspired by it, and it continues to attract everyone who wants to solve what the police never could.

But behind the ciphers and police files are real people. David Faraday, Betty Lou Jensen, Darlene Ferrin, Cecelia Shepard and Paul Stine were murdered. Their loved ones still bear the consequences, while others became fascinated by the mystery of the perpetrator. That is precisely why it should not be forgotten that this is not a puzzle to be solved on a computer. It is an unsolved crime with victims whose lives were violently cut short.

The Last Message That Remained Unanswered

Zodiac simply wanted to be the center of attention. He sent letters, created ciphers, and promised further violence. This communication shaped the image of an offender who enjoyed public interest and needed to keep control over how the world talked about him. And this attention lasted much longer than the actual series of confirmed murders.

Yet neither the published letters, nor the deciphered codes, nor the repeated vetting of suspects ultimately brought an answer. The perpetrator’s true identity remains unknown. Perhaps the answer is still waiting somewhere. Maybe in the evidence that has passed through investigators’ hands so many times. Or perhaps there is a clue that will never be reliably verified.

As long as the offender’s identity is not confirmed, Zodiac remains one of the most famous unsolved cases in modern criminology. Justice eluded him, but his real name remains a question for which the world still has no reliable answer.

Sources and Further Reading

• San Francisco Chronicle — timeline of the Zodiac case

• San Francisco Chronicle — history of the letters and ciphers

• San Francisco Chronicle — overview of the case, victims, and suspects