The movie Zodiac has rekindled interest in the unsolved murders in San Francisco between December 1968 and October 1969. The killer was never identified despite numerous telephone calls, letters and cryptograms sent to the press. Theories abound as to why the Zodiac killer suddenly ceased killing and seemingly vanished. Three theories are presented here.
I. Mission Accomplished.
If the Zodiac killer was a true serial killer his actions and killings would continue and even become progressively more bold. Is it possible that the Zodiac was not actually a serial killer at all, but had one specific victim in mind? Perhaps, and once the true target had been eliminated, the Zodiac no longer had a need to continue killing or even remain in character. The victims’ backgrounds should be carefully studied and perhaps a suspect will emerge.
II. Incarceration.
It can be speculated that the Zodiac is still alive, but has been incarcerated for some other crime or even a murder that did not have the trappings of a serial case. If incarcerated, it is likely the sentence is a lengthy one for a serious crime. Investigators could narrow the search for suspects by examining arrest and conviction records around the time the Zodiac killings ceased or possibly around the time the authenticated letters ceased. Further, perhaps there are correction officers that recall inmates with an unusual fascination with Zodiac signs ore even the Zodiac case and the murders themselves. DNA material from the Zodiac killer is available on the countless letters sent to the Chronicle and any suspects could be tested to be ruled in or out.
It is interesting to note that after 1971, the Zodiac was silent for three years. Thereafter letters and material trickled in. Some of the material which appeared to sound like the Zodiac was not authenticated because it was not in the Zodiac’s handwriting. Is it not possible that some of the authenticated material was smuggled out of a prison? And is it not possible that the other material was dictated to an accomplice, or unsuspecting sap wanting attention?
III. The Zodiac Killer is Dead.
In fiction crime novels the reader feels cheated if the villain is vanquished by happenstance. If he is struck down by a bus or lightning or a heart attack, where is the satisfaction in that? Fiction requires that the protagonist capture or kill the villain only after an epic battle that leaves the hero bent and injured but not broken. Real life is not so neat and tidy.
Unfortunate and unforeseen events happen to the unjust as well as the just. It may very be that the Zodiac’s killing spree ended with the Zodiac’s death. Perhaps we should be thanking a nearly blind trolley operator or the Zodiac’s propensity for fatty foods for the streets of San Francisco being safe again.
Amateur sleuths are meeting in an effort to solve this now age old mystery. Perhaps they will and perhaps the case will remain unsolved. And perhaps they will discover the Zodiac killer is dead.
