Choi 1

Zodiac Killer

By Liz Choi

Introduction:

Filler: I'm Liz

Zodiac Killer was a in California. He had been active in the late 1960s and early

1970s. He killed at least five people and claimed to have killed thirty-seven people. The people in California were scared of him so they stayed awake at night worrying about that. This crime has been unsolved.

Crimes:

He murdered a teenager couple on 20 December 1968. They were Betty Lou Jensen and David

Faraday. They were shot and killed in a parked car on a gravel area next to Lake Herman Road,

Benicia, California. The next murder occurred on 4 in the parking lot of Blue Rock

Springs Golf Course, Vallejo, California. It was only few miles from the Lake Herman where the first murder took place.1 The victims were 19-year-old Michael Renault Mageau and 22-year-old

Darlene Elizabeth Ferrin. While Ferrin died, Michael survived and gave a description of the killer. On 27 September 1969, Bryan Calvin Hartnell and Cecelia Ann Shepard were at the park.

A man, who had a symbol that a circle intersected by a cross on his chest, approached them and stabbed them. He walked back to where the couple had parked their car and drew the circle and cross symbol on the car door, writing below it “Vallejo 12-20-68, 7-4-69, Sept 27-69 6:30 by

1 "The Zodiac Killer," Crime and Investigation, 19 Feb, 2014. http://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/crime-files/zodiac-killer/crime. Choi 2 knife”.2 Hartnell survived and gave a description. On 11 October 1969, a taxi driver, Paul Lee

Stine, was shot in the head. Three witnesses saw it happened. In the chaos, the police at the scene were looking for black man, even though what the witnesses had said seemed a white man. After a while, one of the cops happened to pass a white man who fit the description that the witnesses had actually described.3 That was officially the last murder.

Cipher:

On 5 July, 1969 at Vallejo Sheriff’s Department received a phone call from a man claiming responsibility for the Blue Rock Springs shooting, as well as for the Lake Hermon Road murders.4 The police traced the phone call but they didn't catch the man who had called them. On

1 August 1969, three newspapers received each different letters. The letters were about his murder that he had done, included the codes which would reveal him. The letters were also signed with a symbol of a circle intersected by a cross. Another letter was received on 7 August

1969, began "Dear Editor, This is the Zodiac speaking".5 On 8 August 1969, one of his letter with the codes was explained with some misspellings. He sent many letters with the codes or without codes that would claim his murder. However, among the letters with the codes, one letter

2 "The Zodiac Killer."

3 Alyssa Pereira, "Conspiracy Theorists Believe a SF Auto Mogul Was the Zodiac Killer," SFGate, 24 Mar, 2017. http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Conspiracy-theorists-believe-a-SF-auto-mogul- was-11026090.php#photo-2025456.

4 "The Zodiac Killer."

5 Ryan Bergana et al., "The Horrifying Murders Of The Zodiac Killer," BuzzFeed, 24 June, 2016. https://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanbergara/these-guys-went-to-the-murder-sites-of-the-infamous- zodiac-k?utm_term=.dpxoey171#.epDGARwNw. Choi 3 has been explained. One of his letter he had sent was written that "I like killing people because it is so much fun."6 On 20 April 1970, he sent a letter which was written his name by cipher. But no one is able to decode that. He had sent the letters until in 1974. He sent the last letter, in which he claimed to have killed 37 people.7 As he sent the letters, he mocked the police.

Today:

While he had disappeared, some people killed other people by emulating Zodiac and sent the fake letters. However, there was none revealed. In 2014, a book, The Most Dangerous Animal of

All, was released. The author was Gary L. Stewart, who claims that the Zodiac killer was his biological father, Earl Van Best, Jr., who died in 1984.8 The evidence was that the sketch of the zodiac and his father's mug shot look alike and his father's finger prints match those found at the crime scene. In effect, no one knows who he was and why he had killed people. I think there would be something that caused him to murder the people. It is still unsolved crime and people still wonder who the killer was.

6 "The Zodiac Killer."

7 Ibid.

8 Faith Karimi, "Man says he presents 'most evidence' that deceased dad was Zodiac Killer," CNN, 16 May, 2014. Choi 4

Works Cited:

"The Zodiac Killer." Crime and Investigation,19 Feb. 2014.

http://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/crime-files/zodiac-killer/crime

Bergara, Ryan, "The Horrifying Murders Of The Zodiac Killer." BuzzFeed, 26 June. 2016.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanbergara/these-guys-went-to-the-murder-sites-of-the-

infamous-zodiac-k?utm_term=.he5LVJK3K#.wvkjDAQMQa

Karimi, Faith, "Man says he presents 'most evidence' that decreased dad was Zodiac Killer."

CNN, 16 May. 2014. http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/16/us/zodiac-killer-son-book/

Pereira, Alyssa et al. "Conspiracy Theorists Believe a SF Auto Mogul Was the Zodiac Killer."

SFGate, 24 Mar. 2017. http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Conspiracy-theorists-

believe-a-SF-auto-mogul-was-11026090.php#photo-2025456