The Zodiac Killer has never been captured nor charged for his crimes, but his reign of terror and the ongoing mystery surrounding his identity has left a lasting imprint on the world of true crime.
From the late 1960s to the early 1970s, the serial murderer took the lives of at least five victims throughout the state of California, although he may have killed as many as 37. He frequently targeted young couples in quiet or isolated areas, often choosing to shoot them with a .22 caliber pistol.
As authorities tried to piece together the string of seemingly random murders, investigators uncovered twisted clues left behind, including items belonging to the Zodiac Killer’s previous victims and his signature symbol: two crossed lines inside a circle.
All the while, he taunted authorities with more than 20 written letters and cryptograms mailed to local newspapers and investigators. Among his communications were several ciphers, a series of coded messages that included clues to his identity and threats about future crimes. With every letter, the killer insisted his messages be published on the front pages of newspapers, promising to unleash even more terror if his demands weren’t met.
Over the course of several years, letters from the Zodiac Killer continued to pour in, making him a media sensation. He even alerted authorities to his own crimes in a series of phone calls. With Californians on high alert, citizens were never sure where he would strike next—until it all seemingly came to a stop around 1970.
As a new decade unfolded, notes claiming to be from the killer started to slow down. To this day, it’s unknown if correspondence and murders that happened after that period can be ascribed to the killer. There’s been no confirmed communication from him since 1974.
Investigators dedicated their lives to uncovering the Zodiac Killer’s identity, and while there have been several suspects, there has never been enough evidence to make arrests. The case remains open and is under investigation by California authorities and the FBI.
