Conclusion

With the Zodiac Killer still unknown, many people still want answers to their questions. Many investigators and people involved the Zodiac was never caught and the case was left open for awhile. After many times of the case being close and reopened it still remains open to anyone that has answers. A movie was later made in 2007 about the adventures of the Zodiac Killer. Its hope that people will have more knowledge of this case, “Investigators hope that this new discovery may lead to a new break in the case.” (http://www.biography.com/people/zodiac-killer-236027)


www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dWgRfb17-M

Stories, Reflection

My favorite part of looking in the Zodiac killings was discovering that a woman had come out and said that her father was the “Zodiac Killer”. I don’t understand why she didn’t say anything sooner if her father had already passed away from cancer. I think that she should have come to realization sooner; in my opinion I think that the Zodiac Killer really was her father. The police should look much further into her evidence that she claims that she had discovered. In some of the victim’s cases he lured them in, so people should know better than to go over to a stranger in the dark. With all the killings and news blowing up, people should have been more cautious. There were warnings and stories going around and there weren’t any curfews for teenagers? He more specifically went after younger couples that were alone; therefore something could have been prevented.  

Evidence, Reflection

Many say that evidence wasn’t a major factor is this case, yet I think that the detectives should have done more in the finding of the Zodiac. The police directly talked to him without knowing it, that’s just ignorant to the fact that he was right there. I think that the police could have done better and stayed more organized and the Zodiac Killer could have been caught. They should have been one step ahead of him and been keeping a much closer eye. It seemed to me as if everyone else was more worried about the Zodiac than the police. The Zodiac wrote hand written letters, then why didn’t they check those? If so many witnesses claimed that there was always a suspicious man walking and stalking everyone, then they should have called for help immediately. Everyone waited until the last minute to try and figure things out and so many lives were taken.

History, Reflection

The Zodiac Killer is one of my most favorite killers of times. It fascinates me that he got away with everything he did, even though I know it was wrong. He was very intelligent and took the time to plan everything out. Many people think that psycho killers are dumb, but honestly I think that they are some of the smartest people in the world. The Zodiac knew exactly what he was doing and succeeded in everything that he did. His goal was to play mind tricks and games with people and he had the whole state of California living in fear. I would have loved to work on this case and discovered everything that he left behind. It amazes me how he personally made his own puzzles and riddles for everyone to guess locations and people. The key to being a murderer is to keep close eye to not get caught red handed. The Zodiac Killer did just that.

Stories, The Zodiac Killer's daughter?

Many years have passed and out of the blue a woman claims that the Zodiac Killer is her father! Her father’s name was Guy Ward Hendrickson, in which he killed at least two of the known victims. (http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/delivery?sid=2c1661b2-fa1b-4bfa-bb32-613ec3daf62%4.com). She claims that she found old belongings that belonged to her father. A victim that was killed during that time, Perez (daughter) said that she found the victims glasses that were hidden. During the time of the killings and adventures, Perez was forced to tag along and even sometimes watch live murders. Her father would tell her to cover her ears and hide and no matter what never come out. She recalls and reminisces that at a point in time she heard gunshots and other noises, but she was only 7 years old to know what was going on. Her father claimed that the “gunshots” that she was hearing were only firecrackers. Supposedly he later died of cancer, yet Perez knew that she couldn’t keep the dark hidden secret any longer.    

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4980082n

Stories, survivors

          Although many killings were made, there were still somehow survivors that live to tell their stories. Mike Mageau was a survivor that isn’t quite comfortable to tell what actually happened. He was with a female named Darlene Ferrin, in which they were in a parking lot alone and The Zodiac came up to their car firing his caliber at them. Shots were firing everywhere, but only leaving him wounded. After screaming for help the Zodiac came back and shot him twice. He somehow still survived, yet Darlene was already dead. Another case was a woman that goes by the name of Kathleen Johns, at the time she was driving down the road with her baby. Out of nowhere a car is driving besides her telling her to pull over that something was wrong with her wheel. He assured her that he could help her to a nearby phone or gas station. She agreed and grabbed her baby boy and hesitantly got into the car. As they were driving she realized that he wasn’t stopping at any gas stations and was quickly passing every opportunity. She asked him to pull over and let her out, yet he angrily wouldn’t let her go. At an intersection she quickly ran out and hid behind a bush with her baby. The Zodiac Killer quickly drove off and to never be seen again. Everything was done, and even with all of the descriptions and after all of the questioning there weren’t any traces that lead to who the Zodiac Killer.

Stories, Cheri Jo Bates

Cheri Jo Bates was one of the most memorable victims that the Zodiac Killer had murdered. She was a college student just coming out of the college library that was on campus. The Zodiac had purposefully disabled her car and had been stalking her for a while. He then somehow had encouraged her to come to him because he saw her struggling with her car. He had lured her to a dark alley that was near y and had killed her. He beaten her until she was injured and had stabbed her over a couple of times with a small knife that he held. When reporters had investigated her body there was no form of rape, and also there was a conclusion that it had nothing to do with robbery. He sent in letters explaining that Cheri had to die, because she was one of his slaves that he would be rewarded for later on in his afterlife. In the letter he said “Bates had to die there will be more.” Some believe that this was a hoax and Cheri Jo Bate’s death had nothing to do with the Zodiac killings. However, he wrote a poem and sent it in which was directed to Cheri’s death.

The poem said:

  Sick of living/unwilling to die
cut.
clean.
if red /
clean.
blood spurting,
dripping,
spilling;
all over her new
dress
oh well
it was red
anyway.
life draining into an
uncertain death.
she won't
die.
this time
someone ll find her.
just wait till
next time.
rh

Investigators say that the signature rh is referring to the president at the time, which was President Bradshaw.

Evidence, clues

In some cases, witnesses claim that they saw the Zodiac Killer. Bill Crow, a witness, says that someone driving a white Chevy drove past them stopped and backed up. (http://crime.about.com/od/history/a/zodiackiller.htm). In the Jensen and Faraday killing, 45 minutes before they were murdered Bill Crow was at the same place when this incident happened. Bill Crow lost the Zodiac at an intersection. Later on, Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday were murdered. The Zodiac Killer enjoyed going after young couples that were alone, in that case he targeted them. Zodiac had shot both of them, but David was still alive yet he died on the way to the hospital. At one point through all the altercations the Zodiac Killer wrote a letter to the Newspaper ordering everyone in that are to wear his symbol on their clothes. He was ahead of the game making more difficult for the police to catch him. Two police officers actually talked to him face to face after tracking a phone call to that location. At that time the Zodiac Killer was thought to be African American. The Zodiac Killer had then gotten away with ease. The police tried to specify how the man they had encountered looked and was perfectly matched to the descriptions that others had made. He sometimes would leave proof on his letters letting everyone know that he was making actual killings. For example, when he killed the cab driver he took a piece of his shirt with blood on it. The Zodiac Killer is still on the loose.  

Evidence, marks

Different sings and markings were left behind that the Zodiac enjoyed for people to see after he made a killing. Engravings were left on cars that were his “zodiac sign” that could be described as a circle with a plus sign in the middle. His marking could be compared to a target and he left the names of the places where he attacked people. He mainly did shootings where he was said to use a small caliber pistol. He left no physical evidence behind, such as hair follicles, fingerprints, or footprints. On the puzzles and riddles he would use symbols and he incorporated his zodiac sign. Some people believe that it was Morris Code. On August 8, 1969 a random teacher that taught high school had been keeping up with the Zodiac’s killings, suddenly him and his wife cracked one of the zodiac symbol letters. It was a 408-symbol cipher, yet the last 18 letters couldn’t be deciphered. The message ended up saying, “ I like killing people because it is so much fun it is more fun than killing wild game in the forrest because man is the most dangeroue animal of all to kill something gives me the most thrilling experience it is even better than getting your rocks off with a girl the best part of it is thae when I die I will be reborn in paradice and thei have killed will become my slaves I will not give you my name because you will try to sloi down or atop my collectiog of slaves for my afterlife ebeorietemethhpitti.” It seemed as if nothing was leading up to the actual Zodiac killer.

Evidence, Letters

          Letters became a very important part in the Zodiac killings. One of his favorite things to do was to write handwritten letters to the police and the media. The Riverside Police was the first ever place to receive a letter. The first ever letter was titled “The Confession”, in which he confessed of why he started to kill people. An agent that was working on the case that goes by the name Lyndon Lafferty said, “The important thing, always, is to try to solve the case.” (http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/deliver?sid=2c1661b2-fa1b-4bfa=bb32-6131ec3daf62%4.com). He began to become more public and later sent out personal cards to investigators houses. A postcard was sent to the editor, yet some believe that it was all false. Others believe that it was true because there were hidden messages within the writing. The card was Halloween themed and it was sent to Paul Avery, which was a detective in the Zodiac case. A little later another letter was sent out, but this time it was sent to the LA Times. After a long pause without killings the Zodiac came out again. He was strongly letting the newspaper know that he wanted his letters and puzzles out on the front pages and to specifically follow his rules. The writing on the letters was linked to the postcard that was sent out on Halloween. The Zodiac didn’t always spell things properly or use appropriate grammar; therefore the police could distinguish between the false letters and real letters. The Zodiac Killer’s communication was to specify when, where, and what he was going to do next. "The murders were the subject of intense investigation and media coverage, particularly because of the killer's taunting letters and phone calls, in which he explained the mystical and intellectual bases of his decision to kill."(http://school.eb.com/eb/article)

History, Why?

The Zodiac Killer even continued to taunt the police in a variety of ways. He focused on the media, such as the newspaper companies. He explained to the police as to why he was a murderer and did the things that he did. The Zodiac personally wrote to a newspaper company and stated “The police shall never catch me, because I have been too clever for them.” He enjoyed playing games with the minds of the California people. His specific directions were given out that made it to the police and the media. People started to pay closer attention to the things that the Zodiac would say. Some say that he was handsome and had dark hair on the sides of his face, nearly over 200 pounds, and medium heavy built. At one point there was a false accusation saying it was an African American, yet everyone said it was a white male. Someone stated, “The individual I saw that night was a white male adult approximately 35 to 45 years of age, 5 feet 10 inches, and 180 to 210 pounds. Since we were looking for a Negro male adult, we proceeded on Jackson Street toward Arguello, continuing our search.” He rarely attacked in the day, but mainly found pleasure at night. His killings led to one after another and he went after younger people in age. He proceeded with his plans to keep people wanting more of his mind games. He was clever killer that ended up changing lives.

History, Where?

          The first few killings grew rapidly throughout the California area. The Zodiac began in the South where murders were found in the Riverside area. This is where many people began to suspect that the Zodiac Killer was a male. He then moved onto the Vallejo area of California where everyone started to fear of where he would go next. The Zodiac was beginning to outsmart everyone and then did killings in Napa, which he was moving to the North. San Francisco was a major city where he murdered numerous people and knew that it would be harder for the police to find him. On October 11, 1969 was the night that a San Francisco cab driver unknowingly was driving the Zodiac Killer around. At one point the driver stopped in front of a building where the Zodiac shot him. Two alleged teenagers were watching and called frantically to 911. The Zodiac had then darted off to a different location. Slowly he began more killing sprees. In Napa, California he allegedly was seen at Lake Berryessa spying on people. Two females said that they were soaking up some rays when they noticed a man watching them for over half an hour. Later on that day a man said that another man [Zodiac] had come up behind him and his son then quickly left. Although no one knew who the Zodiac killer was, he was getting around quickly. The word was spreading and people were preparing. Everyone was only left to wonder as to where he would strike next.   

History, Who?

The most famous question asked is “Who is the Zodiac Killer?” In the beginning an unknown person began a marvelous killing spree to detonate his satisfaction of murdering humans. He eventually called himself Zodiac, which he attacked the Northern part of California in the 1060’s which led into the earliest time of the 1970’s. This killer used his cranium to personally make killings and tease the media. The Zodiac sent many letters to the newspaper businesses and the detectives that were involved in this case. She/he mainly went after couples that were alone and departed from everyone. After his first killing he from then on gave clues out to the media encouraging anyone to figure his puzzles out to save the next person’s life. “He took responsibility for murdering as many as 37 people, but police investigators confirmed that seven people were attacked by the Zodiac of which five died.”(http://crime.about.com/od/history/a/zodiackiller.htm). Many people say that he was just an image of an insane person that enjoyed feeding off of peoples’ reactions and the enjoyment that he had after killing someone. “The murders were the subject of intense investigation and media coverage, particularly because of the killer’s taunting letters and phone calls, in which he explained the mystical and intellectual bases of his decision to kill.” (http://school.eb.com/eb/article-9389351?query=The%20Zodiac%20Killer&ct=eb).  Everyone was always focused on who he was that many didn’t try to figure his riddles and puzzles and gave up opportunities on saving others. Detectives and the media tried time and time again to catch The Zodiac Killer, yet it seemed like such a challenge for everyone.   

Introduction

Many people enjoy listening to murderous stories that captivate the ears. In this world today stories are dispersed throughout, yet the most interesting story would have to be over The Zodiac Killer. The Zodiac Killer is infamous for the secret killings in the Northern part of California, mainly in the San Francisco area. Rumors and lies have been spread around only to terrorized society. This gruesome story will only leave you in awe as to make your own conclusion as to who “The Zodiac Killer” really is. The Zodiac Killer case is known by many, yet it seems as if everyone have moved on and forgotten about this tragic incident. The history part of the Zodiac Killer still lives and some evidence still remains. The Northern part of California wasn’t prepared for what was coming; certain people weren’t ready for a tragic ending. Everyone was living their daily lives only to find out that a psycho killer was ready to strike and begin his/her journey. Through tough decisions and cooperation The Zodiac Killer got away with many killings. She/he accomplished what their goals and plans were to scare the people in Northern California area. Many lived in fear and were watching and following on daily news to catch the horrific story of The Zodiac Killer. Broadcasts and newspaper were going crazy over what was happening in the California area. Everyone was doing everything they could to catch this so called “killer”. The Zodiac Killer was way too intelligent for anyone to handle.

http://www.biography.com/people/zodiac-kiler-236027

Works Cited

Barrett, Sean Gardiner and Devlin. "Panel Selects NYPD." Panel Selects NYPD Veteran (4/18/2012): 1.

Collins, Terry. "Advertiser." My Father Was California's Zodiac Killer 30 March 2012: 2.

Fagan, Kevin. "Zodiac's seasoned sleuths." San Francisco chronicle 5 July 2011: 5.

Jenkins, John Philip. "Encyclopedia Britannica." Zodiac killer. 26 March 2012 <http://school.eb.com/eb/article-9389351?query=The%20Zodiac%20Killer&ct=eb>.

Montaldo, Charles. The Zodiac Killer. 30 March 2012 <http://crime.about.com/od/history/a/zodiackiller.htm>.

Zodiac Killer biography. bio true story, 2012.