The Zodiac Killer

Nadine Wesseling|October 9, 2021

The Zodiac Killer is easily one of the most infamous serial killers of all time and for the longest time no one’s been able to reveal his identity, however on the 7th of October a cold-case group claimed to have cracked his ciphers and revealed who they believe is the Zodiac Killer.

 

Before I reveal who and why he’s the Zodiac, let’s take a look at all the other suspects over the years and what the Zodiac Killer actually did.

 

What did the Zodiac Killer do?

 

He was active in the late 1960s, 1968-1969, in North California, USA. He’s murdered five known victims and injured 2 others, but he has claimed to be responsible for 37 deaths. The Zodiac wrote letters and ciphers and threatened things like bomb attacks and more killing sprees if they were not printed in the papers. He was obsessed with the attention that he received. 

 

Arthur Leigh Allen was one of the only people that have been named a suspect. He already had a criminal record as he was a sex offender. Luckily for him, he suffered a heart attack before he was tried. However investigators have agreed that although there was a lot of evidence against him, like him wearing a watch with the Zodiac’s sign (a circle with a cross in the middle), nothing could actually confirm him being the Zodiac.

 

The Zodiac Killer didn’t just murder people though, he also ended up inspiring a few copycats. Heriberto Seda, the New York Zodiac, and the person behind the Kobe child murders in Japan. Although they did have different methods and victims, sending messages for people to decode was a common theme.

 

Who is the Zodiac?

 

A cold case group, people who open cases that have been left unsolved, have claimed they’ve found the infamous serial killer. The man’s name is Gary Francis Poste but because he died in 2018 there will never be an official trial therefore leaving him only as a prime suspect.

 

The things that led to Poste being unofficially named the Zodiac are:

 

The scars from the police sketch match those on Poste. On the sketch there are two distinctive scars on the forehead that Poste also has. They’re long diagonal scars that come out of the wrinkles.

 

Poste is a veteran, and a watch that he bought at a military event was found at one of the crime scenes. The paint splatters on said watch make it distinct. This was a match.

 

Found at 3 other zodiac killings crime scenes was a heelprint matching the size and style of Poste’s. Meaning that he may have been there.

 

His name, Gary Poste, had links in the codes sent to the police in 1968-69. His name helped decipher code 340 in 2020.

 

And relatives and people who knew Poste have said that they “100% believe” that he was Zodiac. A woman he used to babysit had recounted instances where she was certain that she had grown up with the Zodiac Killer. From his violent behaviour towards his wife to his twisted personality.

 

However it’s important to remember that we may never know if it actually is Gary Francis Poste. We also may never get to know the true identity of the Zodiac ever as the gap between the late 60s and the present widens. More suspects are dying and so the identity of the most infamous killer may forever stay a mystery.