The Zodiac Killer 2024 Guide

Zodiac gave proof in his communications for four attacks. These attacks spanned December 1968 to October 1969. The targets of the first three were male-female couples in rural areas. The last was a male taxi cab driver in San Francisco. In the taxi driver attack, police converged quickly and almost caught the killer. While other serial killers have also bragged in anonymous communications about their attacks, law enforcement decided that Zodiac's need for publicity was exceptional. There was hope that Zodiac had quit killing after his near arrest (or in the months that followed) and that an absence of proof for possible later killings confirmed this. Most candidate attacks after October 1969 were female abduction-murders. Law enforcement decided that sexual assault was part of many of these later attacks. These attacks differed too greatly from the confirmed attacks for the same killer to have committed both sets. The public had deluged law enforcement with "suspects" and many investigators were glad to see the case fade away. While five dead and two wounded was a tragedy, there were fresh murders to solve. Most serial killers are driven by uncontrollable emotional needs. That Zodiac needed publicity more than additional killings was a straightforward scenario. Unfortunately, it became the only scenario. Zodiac had used different weapons, targeted different types of victims, and carried out attacks in different locations. This was variation. Zodiac had also shown preferences for vehicles, water associations, and attacking close to significant calendar dates. This was repetition. In the third attack on a male-female couple, Zodiac wore a costume. All of this suggested a complex fantasy, not crimes driven to satisfy short-term cravings. Amateur researchers have reviewed many unsolved homicides. In 2020, researcher Kristi Hawthorne shared her discovery that a 1962 murder of a taxi cab driver in Oceanside was likely the prototype for the taxi driver killing in San Francisco in 1969. Both were accompanied by the taunting of law enforcement and threats to carry out attacks on a bus. For many years, a 1963 attack on the Santa Barbara County coast has been considered a likely prototype for the third confirmed male-female couple attack. These and other candidate attacks strongly support a scenario in which Zodiac committed recognizable attacks before 1968. Law enforcement was too quick to use a psychological profile to define the killer. While it is difficult to use individual murders after October 1969 as proof that Zodiac had continued to kill, the candidate list is a long one. The best scenario appears to be that Zodiac was carrying out a fantasy that included not just killing and spreading terror, but disgracing law enforcement. Zodiac was flexible. He was not an animal. Researchers have suggested many themes for Zodiac's communications and attacks. Alfred Hitchcock dramas now appear to have been quite influential. Other aspects of the case also suggest an unusual criminal. For people who enjoy exploring mysteries, this case is special.