The Zodiac Killer
California · 1968–1969
A taunting serial killer who mailed coded ciphers to newspapers and was never identified — one of whose codes went unsolved for 51 years until amateur codebreakers cracked it in 2020.
Overview
The Zodiac Killer was an unidentified serial killer who attacked seven people on four occasions in Northern California between December 1968 and October 1969; five victims died and two survived. The killer mailed letters and ciphers to Bay Area newspapers, adopting the name 'the Zodiac' and taking credit for the attacks. One of the ciphers, the 408-symbol Z408, was sent to newspapers, while the 340-character Z340 remained unsolved for decades. The only suspect authorities ever publicly named was Arthur Leigh Allen, who was never arrested or charged and died in 1992. The case remains open.
Where it stands
The Zodiac Killer was never identified and the case remains open, including in Napa County. Investigative interest revived on December 5, 2020, when an international team of private citizens — software developer David Oranchak, mathematician Sam Blake, and programmer Jarl Van Eycke — submitted a solution to the Z340 cipher to the FBI, which officially confirmed the solution's validity 51 years after the cipher was mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle. The only suspect authorities ever publicly named, Arthur Leigh Allen, was the subject of several searches but was never arrested, as his fingerprints and handwriting could not be definitively linked to the Zodiac; he died in August 1992.
Persons of interest
The theories below are reported strictly as attributed to the cited sources. Naming a person here is not an accusation. Individuals are named only where they are deceased, were formally charged, were officially named by authorities, or have been publicly cleared.
- Arthur Leigh AllenDeceased
According to Wikipedia's account of the Zodiac Killer suspects, Allen was the only suspect authorities ever publicly named and was by far the lead most pursued by the police, the subject of several searches, but he was never arrested or charged because his fingerprints and handwriting could not be definitively linked to the Zodiac. He died in August 1992.[2]
Sources
- Zodiac Killer
“Police and investigators concur The Zodiac attacked seven people on four occasions in California. Five victims died; two survived”
- Zodiac Killer suspects
“While many theories regarding the identity of the Zodiac have been suggested, the only suspect authorities ever publicly named was Arthur Leigh Allen”
- The Zodiac Killer: A Timeline
“At the intersection of Washington and Cherry Streets, the passenger shot Stine in the head and removed a piece of the victim's shirt.”
- FBI confirms Zodiac Killer's 340 cipher solved by trio of amateur math and software codebreakers
“David Oranchak, a US-based software developer, Sam Blake, a mathematician based in Australia, and Jarl Van Eycke, a programmer based in Belgium, managed to crack Z340.”
- The Solution of the Zodiac Killer's 340-Character Cipher
“David submitted this solution to the FBI Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit (CRRU) on Saturday, December 5, 2020.”