In most American cities the late 60ś to early 70ś was a time of peace and tranquility, but for the residents of the San Francisco Bay area, that time is forever stained red by the blood of the Zodiacś victims. From the late 1960’s to the early 1970’s a serial killer by the name of Zodiac terrorized California, with a total of 5 confirmed killings but at least 37 supposed or claimed killings. While these numbers are astonishing and terrifying at the same time, what’s more terrifying is that the Zodiac was never caught. There have been few leads on the identity and the last disappearance of the Zodiac, one theory states a possible connection between Zodiac and The Red Phantom, apart from that the suspect most often cited was Arthur Leigh Allen, and another possible suspect was Louie Myers.
A less popular theory is that of a connection between the Zodiac and another killer known as The Red Phantom. A large reason for this theory is because on the night of the 5th anniversary of the death of Darlene Elizabeth Ferrin, a murder previously committed by Zodiac, Jo Ann Parker left her apartment at 7:00 PM, and returned around 11:00 that night. The next morning she was taken to the hospital complaining of pain and later died due to internal injuries sustained from being beaten. (Gomez, Pg. 1) The fact that a young woman was seemingly beaten on the 5th anniversary of the death of a victim of Zodiac only to die the following morning is a substantial piece of evidence because of the date. A supposed victim of the Zodiac while he was using a different pseudonym dying on nearly the exact same date as one of his first victims cannot be a simple coincidence. The letter received by The Chronicle, which was a direct hit to “Count Macro” a columnist of the newspaper, from “The Red phantom” stated “Editor: Put Marco back in the hell-hole from whence it came- he has a serious psychological disorder- always needs to feel superior. I suggest you refer him to a shrink. Meanwhile, cancel the Count Marco column. Since the count can write anonymously, so can I----the Red Phantom (red with rage).” (Gomez, Pg. 1) This letter has since been verified to have been written by The Zodiac. This is one less popular theory on what the Zodiac resorted to after his seeming disappearance in the early 70’s. The next is more a possible suspect than another theory.
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The most commonly cited suspect in the case of identifying the Zodiac is Arthur Leigh Allen. Allen was cited as such in the 1990’s because he was institutionalized in 1975 for child molestation. (Encyclopædia Britannica, Pg. 1) Allen’s institutionalization coincided with the sudden cease in Zodiac’s killings at the end of 1974. Allen was a Vallejo school teacher at the time of the first murders, which gives him direct access to many of the areas in which the killings took place. (Encyclopædia Britannica, Pg. 1) This central location if you will, would have given Allen direct access to areas where the murders were committed. Allen might have been the most commonly cited suspect for the identity of the Zodiac but it has never been fully substantiated. Lastly, there is one more less commonly cited suspect to discuss.
Louie Myers is the suspect with the most current evidence to support his claims of being the Zodiac. While dying of cirrhosis of the liver in early 2001, Myers confided in friend Randy Kenny that he was the Zodiac. It turns out that Myers attended the same school as Farraday and Jense, and worked at the same restaurant as Ferrin. (Staff, Bio., Pg. 1) This shows that the suspect might have personally known the first victims, which would further explain the fact that Zodiac knew the astrological signs of his first victims. Myers was on military leave overseas during the years correspondence from the Zodiac stopped. (Staff, Bio. Pg. 1) This would help to explain Zodiac’s sudden disappearance for 3 years before reappearing. This is the next most commonly cited suspect next to Allen.
These suspects/ theories are the most common and contain the most evidence to link them to Zodiac. The few leads on the Zodiac have been at least two cited suspects and one less common theory on what happened to him after his “disappearance”. There are no final suggestions to speak of, but a final evaluation is that it seems even decades later that we will never truly know the monster behind the name Zodiac.
Works Cited
- Bauer, Craig P. “The Zodiac Ciphers: What We Know.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 8 Nov. 2017, www.history.com/news/the-zodiac-ciphers-what-we-know. Accessed 11 Jan. 2019
- Butterfield, Michael. “The Zodiac Killer: A Timeline.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 8 Nov. 2017, www.history.com/news/the-zodiac-killer-a-timeline. Accessed 9 Jan. 2019
- Gomez, Ricardo. “Preliminary Report on Project MK-ZODIAC.” Zodiac Killer | The Story of 'Sandy' | Project MK-ZODIAC (An Investigation of the Zodiac Killer), 2013, mk-zodiac.com/redphantom.html. Accessed 10 Jan. 2019
- Staff, Bio. “The Latest News on the Zodiac Killer.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 12 June 2017, www.biography.com/news/latest-news-on-zodiac-killer. Accessed 8 Jan. 2019
- 'Zodiac killer.' Britannica Academic, Encyclopædia Britannica, 7 Jan. 2009. academic.eb.com/levels/collegiate/article/Zodiac-killer/389351. Accessed 8 Jan. 2019.
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