■Murderous Minds■

The Zodiac Killer

Yes another very famous killer, promise I'll do a not-so famous one soon!

Who Was the Zodiac Killer?

The self-proclaimed Zodiac Killer was directly linked to at least five murders in Northern California in 1968 and 1969 and may have been responsible for more. He taunted police and made threats through letters sent to area newspapers from 1969 to 1974, before abruptly ceasing communication. Despite intensive investigations, no one was ever arrested for the crimes and the case remains open. The mystery surrounding the murders has been the subject of numerous books and movies, including director David Fincher's acclaimed 2007 feature Zodiac.

Zodiac Killer Letters, Symbol & Cipher

On August 1, 1969, the San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Chronicle and Vallejo Times-Herald each received an identical handwritten letter in an envelope without a return address. Beginning, "Dear Editor: I am the killer of the 2 teenagers last Christmas at Lake Herman," the letters contained details from the Zodiac Killer's murders that only the killer could have known. The killer went on to threaten further attacks if the letters weren't printed on the front page of the papers.

Each letter closed with a symbol consisting of a circle with a cross through it, in what would come to be known as the Zodiac Killer's symbol. The letters were also each accompanied by one part of a three-part cipher that he claimed contained his identity.

While Bay Area police departments, with the support of the FBI, worked feverishly to track down the killer, another letter soon arrived at the San Francisco Examiner. Beginning, "Dear Editor: This is the Zodiac speaking," it also described the murders in detail and taunted police for not having been able to crack his code or catch him.

Several days later, high school teacher Donald Harden and his wife, Bettye, were able to solve the cipher. "I like killing people because it is so much fun," it read. "It is more fun than killing wild game in the forest because man is the most dangerous animal of all."

Three days after the fourth known Zodiac killing, the 1969 murder of taxi driver Paul Stine, the San Francisco Chronicle received a letter claiming the crime. Written in the same erratic print as the Zodiac's previous letters, it gave the details of Stine's murder and was accompanied by a bloody scrap of Stine's shirt. At the end of the letter, the killer mused that he would next shoot out the tire of a school bus and "pick off the kiddies as they come bouncing out."

The Zodiac Killer continued his taunting correspondence with Bay Area papers, in which he included more ciphers, claimed to have committed several more murders, and mocked the police for their inability to catch him.

In 1974 the letters stopped, although the investigation has not.

Composite of the Zodiac Killer

Photo: Bettmann Archives/Getty Images

Zodiac Killer Movies

The Zodiac Killer was the inspiration for the psychopath in the 1971 classic Dirty Harry, which includes a scene involving a school bus full of children being hijacked.

Years later, Robert Graysmith's writing fueled the creation of David Fincher's critically acclaimed Zodiac, which hit the big screen in 2007 with , and in starring roles.

Subsequent dramatized takes on the subject include the 2017 feature Awakening the Zodiac, about a couple that investigates the murderer before falling into his crosshairs.

The History Channel also featured a 2017 nonfiction TV series, , about investigators' hunt to decipher the Zodiac Killer's code.

Victims & Attacks