Zodiac Killer

The so-called Zodiac Killer was an unidentified serial killer who is thought to have killed five victims (2 males, and 3 females) between December, 1968 and October 1969. He also injured two surviving victims. His known area of activity was the San Francisco Bay Area and (probably) the Napa Valley. The victims included three young couples and a lone male cab driver.

The killer send taunting messages to regional newspapers, where he threatened the public with killing sprees and bombing campaigns. He is not connected to any known case of either type. His messages also explained his personal beliefs about the afterlife. He thought that the souls of his victims were bound to him, and would serve him in the afterlife when his life ended. He included four cryptograms or ciphers in his correspondence. Two were decrypted in 1969 and 2020, and two have yet to be solved.

In a 1974 message, the killer claimed to have killed a total of 37 victims. The only other identified victim in this list is a college girl who died in 1966 . A composite sketch based on descriptions by the few witnesses who supposedly interacted with him indicates that the killer was a bespectacled white man with short brown hair. He was described as being between the ages of 35 and 45, with a heavy build in his body. He was clean-shaven.