sorry i haven't posted, my computer broke so it took me a bit to write on my phone but its fixed now so i will post 2 to make up
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, a serial killer known as "The Zodiac Killer" terrorized Northern California. There were at least five victims but later on, the murderer would claim he killed at least 37 people in total.
On Dec. 20, 1968, on Lake Herman Road in Vallejo, 17-year-old David Faraday and 16-year-old Betty Lou Jensen were shot and killed while sitting in a parked car in a gravel parking area. By the time police arrived, Betty was found dead but David was still alive. Unfortunately, he would die on the way to the hospital. This was the first murder that the Zodiac Killer conducted and got away with.
The Zodiac's next crime would happen on July 4, 1969, in Blue Rock Springs Park, only a few minutes away from the previous crime. The Zodiac Killer approached a parked car with a flashlight and then murdered 22-year-old Darlene Ferrin and 19-year-old Michael Mageau. Both were still alive when found but only Mageau would survive. He was able to describe the shooter as a young, white male, 26-30 years old, a stocky build, 200 pounds or larger, about 5'8 with light brown curly hair and a large face. Within an hour, the police received a phone call from someone who claimed to be the shooter and the shooter in the Lake Herman Road murders.
On Aug. 1, 1969, the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Francisco Examiner, and the Vallejo Herald all received a handwritten letter from someone who claimed to be the shooter. The letters revealed specific details about the killings to prove that the writer was indeed the murderer. All the letters were signed with a circle with a cross through it, the symbol that would eventually be known as the mark of the Zodiac Killer. Also included in the letter were three different codes that the Zodiac Killer demanded be printed in newspapers or else he would kill again. The Zodiac Killer said that the cracked codes would reveal his identity.
On Aug. 4, 1969, another letter was received that started with the phrase saying "this is the Zodiac speaking", marking the first time the killer referred to himself as the Zodiac. On Aug. 8, the code was cracked by a couple in Salinas, California. The codes read: "I like killing because it is so much fun. It is more fun than killing wild game in the forest because man is the most dangerous 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 that when I die, I will be reborn in paradise and those I have killed will become my slaves. I will not give you my name because you will slow down or stop my collecting of slaves for the afterlife."
After claiming three more lives and causing nationwide terror, the Zodiac Killer wrote his final letter on Jan. 29, 1974, concluding the letter with a new score "Me=37 SFPD=0." The true identity of the killer has never been found.