Was the Zodiac Killer Ever Caught?
No, he was never caught, however, that is a question that needs some explanation, reason being is that because the Zodiac Killer has never been identified then we don’t know if he was put in prison perhaps for another crime. Define caught: Being identified for being the Zodiac Killer and convicted of canonical Zodiac Killer crimes, then no. However, perhaps he was tried and convicted of other crimes for which we had no idea that he was the Zodiac Killer then perhaps we can say he was caught but not for the Zodiac crimes. In recent years a few new suspects have been put forward as possible Zodiac Killer suspects such as Gary Francis Poste or Richard Hoffman have made news as being the Zodiac Killer however the FBI has not confirmed these new individuals and neither has the Zodiac Killer community been convinced that these two recent suspects are the Zodiac Killer. On top of that the general consensus is that these are actually poor suspects.
Who are the suspects?
1.) Arthur Leigh Allen — Netflix has an entire docuseries on Arthur Allen which lays out a lot of circumstantial and testimony of kids that he was step father to, the Seawater siblings. They even go so far as to allude that he did indeed confess before he died that he was the Zodiac Killer. See the trailer below:
- Circumstantial Evidence: Allen had a fascination with the Zodiac case and reportedly owned a Zodiac-brand wristwatch with a logo similar to the symbol the killer used in his letters. He also discussed the concept of hunting people with a gun and flashlight attached, resembling Zodiac’s methods, according to acquaintances.
- Matching Descriptions and Habits: Witness descriptions of the Zodiac’s physical appearance partially matched Allen’s build and features. Additionally, Allen was known to use misspellings and phrases similar to those in the Zodiac letters, like the word “Christmas” spelled “Christmass,” a detail noted by investigators.
- Timeline and Location: Allen lived near the area where Zodiac attacks occurred and was reportedly near the Lake Berryessa scene on the day of a Zodiac attack. He also had a history of violent tendencies and legal troubles that raised red flags for investigators.
- Polygraph and Search Results: In 1991, police searched Allen’s home and found numerous weapons and disturbing writings, though nothing definitively tied him to the Zodiac crimes. He also failed a polygraph test, though such tests are not reliable evidence of guilt.
- Conflicting Evidence: Despite these connections, Allen’s handwriting, fingerprints, and DNA did not match samples linked to the Zodiac, leaving his guilt unproven. Some say there was similarities but
2.) Richard Gaikowski — Gaikowski, a newspaper editor, became a suspect after former colleagues reported his erratic behavior and fascination with the Zodiac case. Some pointed to similarities in writing style between Gaikowski’s work and the Zodiac letters. Additionally, he lived in San Francisco during the time of the killings, and some have reportedly identified Gaikowski’s voice as resembling that of the killer. He does have a connection to Albany, NY in which there is a highly probable letter from the Zodiac to the Albany Times Union.
3.) Gary Francis Post — In 2021, an independent group called the Case Breakers identified Poste, a deceased Air Force veteran, as the Zodiac Killer. They cited photographic evidence of forehead scars matching the killer’s description and claimed that removing letters from Poste’s name revealed hidden messages in the Zodiac’s ciphers. However, law enforcement agencies have not confirmed these findings, and skepticism remains about the validity of this evidence.
4.) Ross Sullivan — Ross Sullivan resembled some of the descriptions of the Zodiac Killer. He was in Riverside around the time of the Cheri Jo Bates murder and disapeared after the murder. He reportedly had bipolor disorder and was hospitalized for mental health reason to include schizophrenia. He was a major susepct in the history channels investigation into the Zodiac Killer a few years ago.
References:
History Channel list of Suspects: https://www.history.com/news/could-any-of-these-men-have-been-the-zodiac-killer
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zodiac_Killer
