April
16, 2008) While research continues into Zodiac suspect Richard Gaikowski (see
the March 26, 2008 update below), a new photo has recently surfaced of one of the original
top suspects, Rick Marshall. Exclusive to
Zodiackiller.com, click here to see how Marshall
looked in the 1970s.
> The current issue of Inland Empire
Magazine has a feature story on possible Zodiac victim Cheri
Jo Bates. For info on how to obtain a copy, click here.
> Howard "Buzz" Gordon, who dated Zodiac victim Darlene Ferrin in the months
before her murder, recently passed away from natural causes. At the time Gordon dated
Ferrin, he worked for the Solano County Sheriff's Dept. and was eventually a suspect in
her murder. Here's a link to notes from a 1991 interview
with Gordon.
March 26, 2008) To help commemorate
Zodiackiller.com's recent 10th anniversary (March 20, 2008), Zodiac author Michael Butterfield has produced a series
of 20 audio files featuring our discussion of the last decade of Zodiac events. Click here for the
MP3 files. (Butterfield's excellent YouTube video segments about the Zodiac case can be found here.)
> In case you've been living in a cave the last few weeks, there's a new Zodiac suspect
on the block and he's the best of them all. His name is Richard Joseph Gaikowski, a former
newspaper editor from San Francisco. For more on Gaikowski, visit the Zodiackiller.com message board and click on the
mugshot.
Jan. 25, 2008)
To most Zodiac buffs (as well as newcomers to the Zodiac case who have seen the recent
David Fincher film Zodiac), Don Cheney is no stranger.  Cheney is, afterall, the
man who went to the police back in 1971 because he thought his former friend Arthur Leigh
Allen was the Zodiac.
In the recently released director's cut of Zodiac, one of the special features on
the two-disc DVD is a documentary about Allen. Cheney was interviewed on camera and made
several statements about Allen that made Cheney appear suspicious, even to a
retired detective also featured in the documentary. Was Cheney lying all along about
Allen? Or, could Cheney have actually helped Allen commit the Zodiac crimes?
Click here for a look at a suspicious letter Cheney
sent me several years ago. To order the two-disc director's cut of Zodiac featuring
the Allen documentary, click the image directly below this update.
> Mike Butterfield's Zodiac website has been updated with new information. Check out ZodiacKillerFacts.com.
> There's no coverage of the Zodiac case, but I still wanted to plug an excellent new
site out of Oklahoma City, Okla. that is dedicated to solving the cold cases in its area.
Here's a link to coldcaseokc.com.
Dec. 12, 2007) My library of
Zodiac-related video has grown quite large over the years, and some is extremely rare. One
such rarity is a campy (but very good) production from around 1979 called Zodiac: Sign
Of Death. At just under 10 minutes in length, Zodiac: Sign Of Death is packed
with excellent footage and a funky 70s soundtrack. My favorite part is the voice of
Zodiac; it's the same actor who was the voice of the computer "HAL" in the
classic film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Click the numbered links below to listen to select MP3 clips of Zodiac: Sign Of Death.
 1 (146KB) | 2
(200KB) | 3 (99KB) | 4 (127KB) |
5 (181KB) | 6
(83KB) | 7 (83KB) | 8
(58KB) | 9 (133KB)
Dec. 1, 2007) A newspaper based in
the United Kingdom recently published a story claiming mega-celeb Britney Spears is a
regular user of this website. Could it be true? I'll never tell. (I make it a habit not to
reveal the identities of site users who prefer to remain anonymous.) Click here
to read the story.
Nov. 7, 2007) While I prefer to make
all Zodiac-related information free for users to access, sometimes financial issues make
it necessary for me to offer certain information for sale only. However, I believe the
Zodiac case benefits greatly when people are more informed. That's more rewarding to me
than the occasional Internet sale. Therefore, the Zodiac FBI Files, Historical Newspaper
Archive and High-Resolution Zodiac Letters -- three items that were previously available
for purchase only -- are now free to download. Click the links below:
FBI Files | Newspaper Archive | Letters
Nov. 4, 2007) In
a little more than a year it will be the 40th anniversary of Zodiac's first-known attack.
Since then, much has changed in the locations where Zodiac was active. Click the images
below for a high-resolution view of life (circa 1960s) in Vallejo, Lake Berryessa and San
Francisco, Cal.
  
(Images may be saved for free.)
Oct. 11, 2007)
Today is the 38th anniversary of Zodiac's murder of Yellow Cab driver Paul Stine in San
Francisco, Cal. While recent details of Stine's life have recently emerged and are being
researched for possible clues (see the Sept. 12, 2007 update below), vintage photos from
the files of the San Francisco Police Dept. are available to view. Taken within hours of
Stine's murder, here are: the cab | the crime scene 1 | the crime
scene 2
Sept. 26, 2007) It took hours of
work, but 30 high-resolution images are finally available to view
of top Zodiac suspect Arthur Leigh Allen's 1966-1968 personnel file. Several years ago I
obtained the file from the Calaveras County (Calif.) Unified School District where Allen
had worked as an elementary teacher. Within the file are many handwriting samples,
including his two-page job application. If Allen was the Zodiac, the file might contain
important clues.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE IMAGES
Sept. 12, 2007) Recently I learned
that Zodiac victim Paul Stine was allegedly hired as a
reporter by the San Francisco Chronicle shortly before his murder.
If that information is true, Stine -- who worked as a reporter for his high school
newspaper and was an English major at San Francisco State -- was just days away from
beginning his new job at the very newspaper Zodiac chose to write a vast majority of his
letters.
The potential implications are staggering. However, it's extremely important that I verify
this information as best I can.
If Stine was indeed telling others that he was a reporter for the San Francisco newspaper
(even if he was simply exaggerating), it stands to reason that Zodiac may actually have
known him and perhaps even targeted him for that specific reason.
If you knew Paul Stine or anyone in his family, circle of friends, classmates, fellow
employees, etc, please click here to contact me. You may remain
anonymous.
July 21, 2007) In just a few days,
David Fincher's Zodiac will be available to rent and buy on DVD. While not exactly
a factual portrayal of the Zodiac case, the film is packed with excellent performances.
One of the best was turned in by Robert Downey Jr. in his portrayal of real-life reporter
Paul Avery. (Avery was highly instrumental in the evolution of Zodiackiller.com.) In Zodiac,
Downey Jr.'s character displays mostly annoyance toward the case. However, the real Paul
Avery was very much involved in the Zodiac investigation. Here's
a case report Avery prepared for the police back in 1971.
> A fourth batch of excellent audio commentary on the Zodiac case has just been made
available by Mike Butterfield,
author of an upcoming book about the Zodiac. Available for free download in MP3 format (as
always), here's a
link to the audio.
June 12, 2007) Mike Butterfield, author of a forthcoming
book about the Zodiac case, has provided Zodiackiller.com with his third batch of great
Zodiac audio discussions. Available for free download in MP3 format, here's a link to
the audio.
May 8, 2007) A new Zodiac book is on
the market, as author Douglas E. Oswell's long-awaited The Unabomber And The Zodiac
has finally been published. For details, including ordering info, click here.
> On the subject of new Zodiac material, David Van Nuys (co-author of This Is The
Zodiac Speaking) has filmed nine YouTube installments about the Zodiac case. Here's a page
featuring links and discussion of the Van Nuys material.
> I recently spent 10 days in California researching the person of interest called
"Sam" (see April 2, 2007 update below). Once sufficient compelling data is
compiled, I'll personally approach as many law-enforcement agencies as necessary to spark
an official investigation. At the current rate of progression, it may not take long. If
you would like to help with this project, a website contribution
would be much appreciated.
More on the Eureka card
| More on "Sam"
April 2, 2007) In the last few
weeks, an incredible amount of tantalizing information has been collected about the person
of interest ("Sam") this website developed in connection to the
recently-discovered Eureka card. Several weeks ago I e-mailed a certain police department
and asked if it would be interested in seeing the information compiled about
"Sam." I have yet to receive a response. Quite unfortunate. In my opinion,
"Sam" has surpassed Arthur Leigh Allen in terms of interesting Zodiac-related
coincidences/circumstances.
It's now plainly obvious to me that before I again attempt to approach a law-enforcement
agency about "Sam," I will need to have all of the bases covered so that
"Sam" can't simply be ignored. Most likely a trip back to California will be
necessary in order to accomplish all of the needed intimate background research and
collecting of handwriting samples, as well as for me to approach "Sam" in person
(along with a retired homicide detective).
> Mike Butterfield has produced
more than an hour of great Zodiac audio discussion available to download in MP3 format. Here's a link to check it out.
> As expected, March 2007 was the busiest month in the history of Zodiackiller.com, as
the March 2 release of David Fincher's film Zodiac helped boost my hits to a total
of almost 30 million. Therefore, I almost feel guilty that Zodiac was such a total
bomb at the box office. Of course, had the film spent more time on the Zodiac's victims,
as well as the other aspects of the case that people actually find interesting, I
have a feeling things would have turned out much differently for the film.
March 13, 2007) This morning at 9
o'clock (Pacific Time) I'll be a guest on Eureka (Cal.) Radio Station KSLG-FM to discuss
the possible 1990 Zodiac correspondence (see the Feb. 25, 2007 update below). UPDATE: Click here for an MP3 file of the show (approx. 30 min. | 28 MB).
For much more on the Eureka card, including high-resolution scans, visit the all-new
Zodiackiller.com message board.
> The 2007 Zodiackiller.com Task-Force Meeting was a huge success, as everyone who
attended seemed to have a great time. David Van Nuys did an excellent job of hosting the
event. Guest speakers Howard Davis, Mike Butterfield, Nancy Slover and Bill Baker were
terriffic. And of course, John Mikulenka's Hunting The Zodiac documentary definitely lived up to the high
expectations. Audio of the event can be downloaded here.
> For those of you who have ordered the "Ultimate" Zodiac
DVD, thanks for your patience as I get caught up. I hope to have all orders
shipped by later this week.
> Thanks primarily to the heavy marketing campaign for the David Fincher movie Zodiac,
so far this month Zodiackiller.com has already received more than 16 million hits! If
you'd like to inquire about advertising opportunities, please contact
me.
Feb. 25, 2007) In the last week, the
San Francisco Chronicle discovered an envelope in its library of Zodiac materials.
Inside the envelope was a greeting card. Apparently its importance had never been
recognized, or it was thought to be a hoax.
A few days ago I was shown images of the envelope and card to help determine authenticity.
I believe it is authentic. (I promised I wouldn't publish any images until they
appear in the Chronicle.)
The Chronicle is busy preparing a huge story about this amazing and important
development. Keep an eye on its website, SFGate.com,
for the latest.
The date of the postmark left me in a state of shock.
> There's an all-new Zodiackiller.com message board. Click here to check it out.
> I'm departing for San Francisco this evening and won't be back for more than a week.
During that time, I'll be extremely busy preparing for the upcoming Zodiackiller.com
Task-Force Meeting (see the Feb. 14, 2007 update below for details) and I may not have the
opportunity to update this site with new information. Therefore I suggest keeping an eye
on the new message board, as the board moderators will post when I'm not able to. (I'll
still be checking my e-mail several times a day.)
Feb. 14, 2007) A huge update this
time, so make sure you scroll down for everything.
First and foremost, I'm deeply saddened to report the passing of retired San Francisco
Police Dept. Inspector Michael Maloney, who died of a sudden heart problem this past
weekend.  Maloney was a
great guy and a big friend of this website. Just last week he e-mailed me and was very
excited about attending the upcoming 2007 Zodiackiller.com Task-Force Meeting (see below).
In the few years preceding his 2004 retirement, Maloney had a big involvement in the
Zodiac investigation (along with his partner, Inspector Kelly Carroll). Together they gave
renewed attention to the Zodiac case and were involved in the important accomplishment of
securing the Zodiac's DNA profile, which may one day prove the key to solving the case. In
late 2005, Maloney contributed this special report to
Zodiackiller.com.
Meehall, I appreciate your contributions and will miss you. The next pint is on me. (Click
above image to enlarge)
> The 2007 Zodiackiller.com Task-Force Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, March 3 at
the 4 Star theater in San Francisco. The meeting is open to the public and will run from
noon until 3 p.m., featuring the debut of John Mikulenka's documentary film, Hunting
The Zodiac. (VIEW TRAILER)
Special guests at the meeting will include Nancy Slover (the police switchboard operator
who spoke to the Zodiac back in 1969), as well as David Van Nuys, the emeritus professor
of psychology at Sonoma State University and co-author of This is the Zodiac Speaking.
> I'm happy to announce that my predictions of another delay were wrong. David
Fincher's Zodiac will definitely be in theaters on Friday, March 2. And early
reviews have been excellent. I'll be there for opening night. (OFFICIAL WEBSITE)
> A new feature has been added to Zodiackiller.com! It's called SHOUTcast and it's my audio blog of all things Zodiac. So far I've only done
one, but more are on the way. Hope you enjoy it.
> I haven't yet seen any ads for it, but apparently FOX's America's Most Wanted
will be devoting an hour to the Zodiac case on Saturday, Feb. 24, beginning at 9 p.m.
(ET/PT).
Jan. 15, 2007) Writer Michael
Butterfield has a book in the works about the Zodiac case. For more information, including
excerpts from his book, check out Butterfield's MySpace page.
Dec.
20, 2006) Now that the trailer to the upcoming Zodiac movie is finally in theaters,
I've decided to publish some new documents relating to Arthur
Leigh Allen, the movie's main Zodiac suspect. Guilty or not, Allen was a
fascinating guy:
-- Allen's Last Will And Testament | More of Allen's Favorite Recipes --
Reading his recipes, it's interesting to note the intentional misspellings Allen
frequently used, similar to what the Zodiac did. Of particular interest to me was Allen's
habit of frequently spelling "water" as watter (see the Dec. 1, 2006
update below for significance).
> Today is the 38th anniversary of the Zodiac's double murder at Lake Herman Road in
Vallejo, Cal. For those of you who missed it, click here
for my special 2003 update.
Dec. 1, 2006) Most Zodiac buffs are
aware the killer was apparently influenced by movies such as The Most Dangerous Game
and Charlie Chan at Treasure Island. Recently I've learned of two other possible
sources of inspiration --
1) The Astrologer Looks At Murder:
Written by Barbara H. Watters and published in
1969, this book takes an astrological look at several notorious crimes, including those of
Jack the Ripper. The number of possible
connections to the Zodiac killer is quite fascinating: The book was published the same
year the Zodiac debuted; the author's middle name is "Hunt;" her last name
("Watters") is in keeping with the Zodiac's alleged "water
connection;" the author is billed as hailing from "Washington," which is
the name of the street where the Zodiac's San Francisco victim was murdered; the
publishing company (Valhalla) is named after an Old Norse term for "Hall of the
Slain," which is reminiscent of the Zodiac's writings about "slaves in
paradice;" the word "Zodiac" is written in the first sentence of the book;
many of the Zodiac's cipher symbols are included with the book's artwork; the main chapter
mentions the date Sept. 27, which was when the Zodiac attacked a couple at Lake Berryessa;
that same chapter also discusses taunting the police with letters.
Buy
this book at Amazon.com
2) Ensign Pulver: A Warner Bros. film
released in 1964 and starring Walter Matthau, Robert Walker Jr., Burl Ives, Larry Hagman
and Jack Nicholson, Ensign Pulver is a comedy about the adventures aboard a Navy
ship during World War II. It's long been assumed the Zodiac killer had an affiliation with
the military, probably the Navy. Aside from that, the other possible connections to the
Zodiac are very interesting: The crew constructs a dummy
to represent the unknown shooter of the ship's despised captain; the dummy is named "The Great Assassin" by the crew and looks
remarkably like the Zodiac did years later in his murder
costume; the film was released on July 31 -- exactly five years prior to the
Zodiac's first letters -- reminiscent of the killer's penchant for being active on
anniversary dates that were significant to him. (Thanks to George L for the Ensign
Pulver tip.)
Buy
this video at Amazon.com
> For those of you planning to make purchases via Amazon.com, I've created a one-stop
shopping area that includes not only all available Zodiac books and DVDs, but an excellent
selection of other true-crime cases as well. Here's a link
to check it out. (Zodiackiller.com has an affiliate account with Amazon and gets a small
commission for every purchase made via this site.) For electronics, apparel and other
items, use the Amazon search box above. Thank you for helping support Zodiackiller.com
by using these Amazon links!
Nov. 16, 2006) After much
anticipation, the world finally gets a look at David Fincher's upcoming blockbuster film Zodiac:
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE MOVIE TRAILER
> Zodiackiller.com is now on MySpace! Visit www.MySpace.com/zodiackillerdotcom.
Oct. 31, 2006) Today is the 40th
anniversary of the murder of Cheri Jo Bates.
-----> Click here for a huge  update
Oct. 11, 2006) Add the "Zodiac Shack" to the list of Zodiac-related places
to change drastically in recent times. As seen in this overhead
picture, the shack has been destroyed by fire. Even the barn is gone.
Sept. 27, 2006) On this date in
1969, the Zodiac murdered Cecelia Shepard and
wounded Bryan Hartnell at Lake Berryessa in Napa
County, Calif. For almost 38 years, the crime scene
changed little. However, the last remaining tree recently toppled. Additionally, all
picnic tables and barbecue grills have been removed. The scene is now barren.
> Author Mike Kelleher has launched a
volunteer-oriented website focused on solving cold cases. Check out CaseLocker.com.
> The Lake Berryessa crime scene wasn't the only major Zodiac-related site to recently
face drastic changes. The Vallejo (Calif.) Ace Hardware
store, long-time workplace of Zodiac suspect Arthur Leigh
Allen, was torn down just a few days ago.
-- Thanks to Ed Neil for the recent pics of Lake Berryessa and Ace Hardware --
Aug. 24, 2006) In his new book Corroborating
Evidence II (now available
to order), author William T. Rasmussen presents possible solutions to the Zodiac
killer's letters and compares intriguing similarities between the Zodiac and another
unidentified serial murderer, the Phantom Killer of Texarkana. (See book cover)
> A major announcement regarding an upcoming Zodiackiller.com task-force meeting will be made soon. Check here for
updates.
> After months of anticipation, The Zodiac (ShadowMachine Films) is finally
available to order on
DVD . Upon its limited release last March, it became the first film about the
Zodiac case to play in theaters in 35 years. Here's more
about The Zodiac.
July 4, 2006) On
this 37th anniversary of Zodiac's murder of Darlene Ferrin
in Vallejo, Calif., here's an audio message from Darlene's
sister, Pam Huckaby.
> Here is some new information about William T. Rasmussen's forthcoming book featuring
the Zodiac, CORROBORATING
EVIDENCE II.
June 12, 2006) After years of
searching, I've finally found and interviewed Nancy Slover, the former Vallejo Police
Dept. switchboard operator who spoke with the Zodiac early
in the morning of July 5, 1969. Believe it or not, our 90-minute conversation was the
first time Nancy had been interviewed about the Zodiac case in more than 36 years. It was
quite an interesting discussion, to say the least. I'm thrilled she is now willing to go
on record for the first time about her roll in the Zodiac mystery.
Much more info is on the way and will be posted asap. For now, here are a few of the more
interesting details Nancy provided:
*The call was absolutely not recorded by police
*Zodiac's taunting "Goodbye" at the end of the call was very bizarre and
over-the-top
*The operator who patched the call through to the police station was on the line with
Nancy for at least the first few seconds of the call. However, the phone company refused
to cooperate with the police and identify the operator
*At the time of the shooting, Nancy was living on the same street as the male victim
Here's a message from Nancy to all the visitors of
Zodiackiller.com. (100K/MP3)
Questions and media inquiries for Nancy can be
submitted to nancy@zodiackiller.com.
> Last week's Zodiac chat with author Mike
Kelleher went great, as Mike spent a little more than two hours answering
questions from the 60 or so total participants. Hopefully we can schedule another chat in
the near future.
June 1, 2006) Mike Kelleher, author
of This
Is The Zodiac Speaking, will be a special guest in the Zodiackiller.com chat room on Wednesday, June 7 @ 7 p.m. (Pacific Time). For
those of you who can't make it into the room, feel free to send
me your questions/comments for Mike and I'll do my best to pass them along.
April 13, 2006) I'm
sad to announce that Wilma Shepard, mother of Zodiac victim Cecelia Shepard, died on March 11, 2006, in Redding,
Calif. She was 82. (Read the obituary.)
In 1999, I had the good fortune to speak with Wilma at length. She provided me with many
vintage newspaper stories about Cecelia's murder, as well as other helpful research
materials.
Wilma outlived her daughter by more than 35 years and never learned the identity of her
killer. I know she wouldn't want us to stop searching now.
-- Wilma and Cecelia | A
letter from Wilma --
April 4, 2006) The Zodiac Movies page has been updated with my reviews of both
the recent theatrical release The Zodiac, as well as last summer's straight-to-dvd Zodiac
Killer.
> Zodiackiller.com received a whopping 3.4 million hits in March 2006, an all-time
record for this site. To inquire about advertising, click here.
> After some technical difficulties, the Zodiackiller.com Info Line is
back in action. If you have any Zodiac-related information to share, call (415) 267-4818.
Meanwhile, here are a few of the more interesting/entertaining calls I've received over
the last year or so, all in MP3 format:
Call 1 (157 KB) | Call 2
(69 KB) | Call 3 (173 KB) | Call
4 (106 KB) | Call 5 (102 KB)
March 17, 2006) Today marks the
first time in 35 years that a film about the Zodiac case is in theaters. (See the Feb. 17,
2006 update below for info about where The Zodiac is
playing. I'll be screening the film shortly and will provide a review.)
*1971 saw the release of Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry, which was based on the
Zodiac case, although the villain was called Scorpio
*1971 was also the year of the ultra-low budget The Zodiac Killer, which played in
just one theater
Feb. 17, 2006) ShadowMachine Films
has provided its much-anticipated theatrical release date for The
Zodiac: Opening night is March 17, 2006 in these cities/theaters:
*San Francisco Area -- San Francisco (Presidio); Vallejo (Vallejo 14); San Jose (Century
25); Daly City (Daly City 20); Union City (Union City 25)
*Los Angeles (Sunset 5)
*Houston (Greenway Grand 24)
*Dallas (City Place 14)
*Atlanta (Atlantic Station)
2002-2005 News Center Archive |
1998-2001 News Center Archive
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