Zodiac Killer Research Paper

The Zodiac Killer: Terror of California
“Dear Editor this is the Zodiac speaking…(Montaldo)”. With these chilling words the notorious killer first introduced himself. Who was the Zodiac Killer? This is a question that has been asked since the early 1970’s when the killings started to become a pattern in Northern California. This case that has been going on for at least 50 years, and the notorious killer still has yet to be identified. However, the police are not completely in the dark; they were able to get descriptions of this murderer from those that managed to survive his attacks, along with the famous letters he or she wrote and sent to newspapers in the San Francisco Bay area detailing these gruesome crimes. Though the identity of this
It has been suggested recently by Gary Stewart, who even wrote a book on the matter, that his biological father was the Zodiac Killer. Though Gary’s father, Earl Van Best Jr., greatly resembles the police composite sketch of the famous killer, he does not match the large, heavyset body type described by the victims (Bergara). Other than his close resemblance, there is not any substantial evidence pointing to him as the killer. Another prime suspect in this case, named Lawrence “Kane” Kaye, has a good bit more evidence than that of the case for Earl Van Best Jr. He is said to have lived near some of the victims and crime scenes, and even worked with one of the victims. Kane had also sustained a brain injury in a car accident in 1962 and his psychologist said that he was “losing the ability to control self-gratification” (Bergara). Later, Kathleen Johns, who claims to have gotten a ride with the Zodiac Killer before managing to escape once he told her he was going to kill her and her child, identified Kane as the culprit (Bergara). However, many say she is not a particularly credible source due to the different versions she has told in the years following the incident (Montaldo). Though a compelling argument, this theory also fails
This friend, named Don Cheney, gave a few very interesting details about Allen that further proved his guilt. He said that Arthur Leigh Allen had called himself the Zodiac before the killer came into the public eye and that his dear friend had told him of plans to hunt and kill people (Bergara). This idea of hunting people was reinforced when, in an interview, Allen said his favorite book just so happened to be The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell (Bergara). This book focuses on the idea of hunting humans for sport once the hunt of animals lost its thrill, and is referenced in a letter from the Zodiac. When a high school teacher and his wife had uncovered the meaning of one of the many codes included in the Zodiac letters, this disturbing reference to the book was made: “I LIKE KILLING PEOPLE BECAUSE IT IS SO MUCH FUN IT IS MORE FUN THAN KILLING WILD GAME IN THE FORREST BECAUSE MAN IS THE MOST DANGEROUE ANAMAL OF ALL…[sic]” (Montaldo). The survivor of the attack at Blue Rock Springs, Michael Mageau, identified his shooter in a matter of seconds after being shown photographs of suspects from the case. “It was not until 1991 when Vallejo Det. George Bawart, a close friend of mine, tracked down Mike to a LA airport and was able for the first time to show him a photo line up of five driver’s license