The Zodiac Killer’s Identity Is Unknown More Than 50 Years Later
The Zodiac Killer spent years terrifying the public and seeking out new victims in the Northern California area. The crimes he committed in the late 1960s and early 1970s continue to haunt the public to this day. Given the twisted enjoyment that the Zodiac took in committing these crimes, made evident in his infamous letters, it is no surprise that the horror he inspired more than 50 years ago still lingers today.
The Zodiac Addresses The Public
One of the unique factors about the Zodiac Killer case isn’t just that he wrote letters. He desired to reach the public at large through his letters. He frequently demanded that either part of his letters or the ciphers he sometimes sent with those letters be published in local newspapers.
The first letters in which he showed his desire to be seen and recognized by the public – if only in the limited capacity he allowed – was in the set of three letters sent to the Vallejo Times Herald, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the San Francisco Examiner. All letters were mailed on July 31st, 1969. In these letters, all nearly identical to each other, he claimed to have been responsible for the shootings at Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs.
Each of these letters also included 1/3rd of his first cipher, which you can find here – Z 408 cipher part 1, Z 408 cipher part 2, Z 408 cipher part 3. These parts of the cipher were what the Zodiac wanted these newspapers to publish. He demanded a front-page publication and threatened to go on a “kill rampage” if his demands were not met.
These are some of the earliest known Zodiac Killer letters – and it becomes immediately clear that the Zodiac, in some capacity, wanted an audience even if he was not willing to completely reveal himself. Could this desire for acknowledgment lead to his identification now, all these years later? Only time will tell.
Information Gathered From the #1 Zodiac Killer Website
Tom Voigt is responsible for the creation, curation, and editing of the #1 Zodiac Killer website, Zodiackiller.com. Launched in 1998, Zodiackiller.com remains the ONLY Zodiac Killer website recognized by law enforcement. To learn more about the release of Zodiac Killer: Just the Facts, as well as other information about the Zodiac Killer case, visit Zodiackiller.com today.
