

27, 1969, attack on college students Bryan Hartnell, 20, and Cecelia Shepard, 22, who were enjoying the day on the shore of Lake Berryessa, 30 miles north of Napa. One of the most chilling and brutal crimes attributed to the Zodiac Killer was the Sept. Zodiac Pictured are some of the letters the self-identified Zodiac Killer sent to the San Francisco Chronicle during his string of attacks in 19. See the entire first letter from the Zodiac here. “Dear Editor, this is the Zodiac speaking,” the letter began, according to .Įach of the killer’s letters bore a symbol: a circle with a cross through it, similar to the crosshairs on a rifle scope. “It is more fun than killing wild game in the forest because man is the most dangerous animal of all.”Īs detectives from multiple police departments scrambled to identify the killer, he sent another letter to the Examiner in which he first used his moniker. “I like killing because it is so much fun,” read that cipher, which puzzled police but was later solved by Salinas teacher Donald Harden and his wife, Bettye. He threatened to attack more victims if the letter was not published on the front page of each newspaper.Įach envelope contained one-third of another cipher, which became known as the 408 Cipher. The missive contained details only the killer could have known, authorities said.
#Zodiac killer victims photos serial
Zodiac Pictured are Betty Lou Jensen, 16, David Faraday, 17, and Darlene Ferrin, 22, who California police investigators believe were killed by a serial killer calling himself the Zodiac Killer. “I am the killer of the two teenagers last Christmas at Lake Herman.” “Dear Editor,” the letter began, according to. 1, 1969, a letter was sent to the Chronicle, the San Francisco Examiner and the Vallejo Times-Herald. Less than an hour later, a man called the Vallejo Police Department and took credit for that attack and the one on Faraday and Jensen, the website said. The man opened fire, killing Ferrin and seriously wounding Mageau. The couple was approached by a man with a flashlight - and a gun. 20, 1968, on Lake Herman Road near Vallejo.Īccording to, Darlene Ferrin, 22, and Mike Mageau, 19, were sitting in Ferrin’s car July 5, 1969, in a similarly remote spot four miles from the previous murder scene. His first confirmed victims, David Faraday, 17, and his 16-year-old girlfriend, Betty Lou Jensen, were shot and killed near their car Dec. The self-named Zodiac Killer stalked and killed at least five people across California’s San Francisco Bay Area in 19. “The Zodiac Killer terrorized multiple communities across Northern California, and even though decades have gone by, we continue to seek justice for the victims of these brutal crimes,” FBI officials said. The agency said out of respect for the victims and families, and due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, no further information would be provided. #Breaking - Our statement regarding the #Zodiac cipher: /cJCtlDEbMw- FBI SanFrancisco December 11, 2020 “The Zodiac Killer case remains an ongoing investigation for the FBI San Francisco division and our local law enforcement partners.” “The FBI is aware that a cipher attributed to the Zodiac Killer was recently solved by private citizens,” the statement read. The FBI’s San Francisco office confirmed the news in a statement Friday. The Zodiac Killer eventually claimed he’d killed more than 30 victims, though investigators have only been able to link him to five deaths. In a 1970 letter, he mentioned that he would “torture all 13 of my slaves that I have waiting for me in paradice,” the newspaper reported. The killer also repeated the theme of having slaves awaiting him in paradise. The misspelling of the word “paradise,” thought to be purposeful, was in several of the Zodiac’s letters. The decoding of the cipher is believed to be legitimate for several reasons, according to the Chronicle. > Related story: Police seek to ID Zodiac Killer through DNA after success with Golden State Killer Hopes were dashed that the cipher would contain the killer’s name. “Where everyone else has nothing when they reach paradice, so they are afraid of death.” “I am not afraid of the gas chamber because it will send me to paradice all the sooner, because I now have enough slaves to work for me,” the puzzle continues. The cipher confirms law enforcement officials’ suspicions that the caller to the talk show was a fraud, the newspaper reported.
