Unsolved cases

The horrifying murders of the Zodiac Killer part 1

In the late 60's and early 70's, the zodiac killer terrorized Northern California. Killing at least five people and claiming to have killed 37 people in total .

Brent: 37?!

Ryan: he claims to have killed 37 people.

Brent: like he wrote a note?

Ryan: yea, he was a, he was a douche bag.

On December 20, 1968 around 11 pm near Vallejo, California, 17 year old David Faraday and 16 year old Betty Lou Jensen were shot and killed while sitting in a parked car in a gravel parking area off of Lake Herman Road. By the time police arrived, Betty was found dead on the ground 30 feet away from the car , but David was still alive. However, David would die on the way to the hospital. At this time, nobody knew that this was the work of a serial killer.

The Zodiac's next crime would occur on July 4, 1969 at around midnight near Blue Rock Springs park , only a few minutes away from the previous crime. The zodiac approached a parked car with a flashlight, shooting 22 year old Darlene Ferrin and 19 year old Michael Mageau before walking away and coming back to shoot them both again. Both were still alive when found, but only Mageau survive. Mageau was able to make out the face of the man who shot him and described him as

* A young white man

*approximately 26 to 30 years old,

* stocky,

* 200 pounds or larger,

* about 5'8

*with light brown curly hair,

* A large face.

Within an hour, the police received a phone call from somebody claiming to be the shooter. He also claimed to be the shooter in the Lake Herman Road murders.

On August 1, 1969 the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Francisco Examiner and the Vallejo Times Harold all received identical hand written letters from someone claiming to be the killer. The letters revealed specific details about the murders to prove that the writer was in fact the killer. The letters were signed with a distinct mark, a circle with a cross through it, the mark that would eventually become as the mark of the Zodiac Killer. Also included in the letters were three different codes that the zodiac demanded be printed in newspapers or else he would kill again.

The zodiac claimed that the cracked codes would reveal his identity. On August 4, another letter was received that started with the phrase, "This is the zodiac speaking", marking the first time the killer referred to himself as the zodiac. On August 8,1969 the code was cracked by a couple in Salinas, CA it reads:
" I like killing because it is so much fun, it is more fun than killing wild game in the forest because man is the most dangerous animal of all to kill. Something gives me the most thrilling experience, it is even better than getting your rocks off with a girl. The best part of it is that when I die, I will be born in paradise and those I have killed will become my slaves, I will not give you my name because you will try to slow down or stop my collecting off slaves for after life"

Brent: since when do you get to keep slaves in the after life when you kill someone?

Ryan: well apparently that's common knowledge in crazy also, this dude must've skipped class the day they taught run-on sentences because that s**t was ridiculous.

Brent: also.. this guy sounds like, just the biggest bro douche ever, right? Killing is better than getting my nuts off with a girl? Like shut up.

On September 27,1969 in Napa, California 22 year old Cecelia Shepard and 20 year old Bryan Hartnell were picnicking on the shore of Lake Berryessa when Cecelia saw a man hiding behind a nearby tree and staring at her. After some time, the man came out from behind the tree wearing an execution style hood over his head with the zodiac killer symbol on his chest.
He had a gun and a long knife and used a pre-cut rope to tie up Cecelia and Bryan before stabbing them repeatedly. Cecelia died at the hospital but Bryan Hartnell would survive, despite being stabbed six times in the back. Bryan Hartnell described the man as being