StMU Research Scholars

Featuring Scholarly Research, Writing, and Media at St. Mary’s University

September 10, 2017

“This is the Zodiac Speaking:” The Serial Killer That May Never Be Found

Winner of the Fall 2017 StMU History Media Award for

Article with the Best Use of Multiple Images

Best Storyteller

Best Descriptive Article

Imagine walking down the street one morning in California. The sun is out and the air is warm as you pass by many people, maybe even hundreds. You keep to yourself, and your business, but a few strangers you pass by make eye contact, and you smile at each other. But some do not smile back. You do not make anything of this; it is normal. This actually happens so often and with so many people that you take little to no notice as to how many people you do pass during the day and the faces you see. But what if one of the strangers who passed by you, maybe smiled at, maybe bumped into, or even held the door for was not a simple stranger? What if one of these people with whom you made a one-second interaction was actually a notorious killer, responsible for many murders. This idea was a reality in the 1960’s for all that lived in the San Francisco Bay Area of California; and actually still may be. This was the reality while in the area of the Zodiac, who claimed he killed thirty seven people.1

Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday | Courtesy of Zodiac Killer Facts Image Gallery

On the night of December 20, 1968, in Benicia, California, Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday were setting out for a night of new memories. The two teenagers were going out on their first official date, and to both of them, the night was full of promise. David picked up Betty Lou and informed both of her parents that he would bring her home by 11:00 pm. The two went out and shared the evening together in hopes of furthering their relationship. As the night passed on, Betty Lou and David found a spot along Lake Herman Road, or “lovers’ lane.” The time was past 11:00 pm and worries arose. The worries turned into horror, because Betty Lou and David were soon found dead. Betty Lou had been shot in the back five times and was found less than thirty feet from the car, leading some to believe she tried to run from the scene of the attack. David just had one shot to his head. Besides the victims’ bodies and spent shell casings, nothing else at the scene was recovered as evidence or as clues as to who could have murdered these teenagers. With no leads, this case produced no clear suspects.2

Darlene Ferrin | Courtesy of Zodiac Killer Facts Image Gallery
Michael Mageau | Courtesy of Zodiac Ciphers

Seven months later, two more people were targeted. It was the fourth of July in 1969 when they were gunned down at Blue Rock Springs Park, which was Northwest of Lake Herman Road where Betty Lou and David had met their tragic end. Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau were viciously attacked, and sadly Darlene died after receiving many gunshot wounds. But Michael miraculously survived, although he had been shot in the leg, neck, and jaw. Michael was luckily able to talk despite his injuries and told police what had happened the night of the attack. The friends drove to the park after Darlene picked up Michael and pulled into the parking lot. Darlene parked her Chevrolet Corvair, and a car pulled into the lot as they were talking. Those in the car got out and set off fireworks to celebrate the holiday and soon left.

The Lake Herman Road crime scene | Courtesy of Zodiac Killer Facts Image Gallery

It was immediately after this that another car pulled in. But this time it parked right behind Darlene’s car. A few moments passed, as the headlights shone into the Corvair, but then the car reversed and left the parking lot. Only a few minutes passed before the same car returned. The person driving the car opened the driver’s door and exited the vehicle. Michael recalls that the driver was holding a bright light and approached the two in the car. Michael said that a man approached them, but he assumed that the man was a police officer. Michael reached for his ID and rolled down his window. The man casually walked to the passenger side of the Corvair, lifted up a gun and pointed it at Darlene and Michael. He then repeatedly pulled the trigger. Both Michael and Darlene were hit. Michael remembered looking over at Darlene horrified, but she was already slumped over her steering wheel. After several more shots were fired, the gunman lowered his hand, turned around, and began walking back to his car. The pain from the gunshots pushed Michael to scream in pain. When the gunman heard the screams, he immediately returned to Darlene’s car and shot two more times.3 With the satisfaction of thinking he had just killed the two, the killer returned to his car and drove away. Darlene and Michael were found immediately by three teens who had driven by, finding Michael rolling on the ground. When the police arrived, the two were still alive. Darlene was not moving, but her eyes were open and she was softly moaning as police and an ambulance rushed her and her friend to the hospital. Darlene unfortunately died before arriving at the hospital, but two minutes after she was pronounced dead, a call was made to the Vallejo Police Department.4 The attack on Darlene and Michael had obviously not been the killer’s last stop of the night. A few blocks down the road the killer stopped at a payphone. He then made a call to the Vallejo Police Department, and when Dispatcher Nancy Slover answered, a man began to speak in a colorless, dreary voice that sounded scripted. “I want to report a murder. If you will go one-mile east on Columbus Parkway, you will find kids in a brown car. They were shot with a nine-millimeter Luger. I also killed those kids last year. Good-bye.”5

The payphone the killer used to make the call to the Vallejo Police Department | Courtesy of Zodiac Killer Facts Image Gallery

Now that this bragging killer had made a mistake and left a survivor, it was time to begin the search for this mystery man. Michael Mageau left a description of the man who had killed Darlene and left him wounded. Ed Rust of the Vallejo Police Department took down the description: “short, possible 5′ 8″, was real heavy set, beefy build… not blubbery fat, but real beefy, possibly 195 to 200 lbs or maybe even larger… short curly hair, light brown almost blond… with a large face.”6 After Mageau was shown various photographs of individuals that could possibly be the murderer, he concluded that none of these men were the killer.

The letter the Zodiac sent news offices on July 31, 1969 | Courtesy of Zodiac Killer Facts Image Gallery

Three weeks passed, and although there was now a description of the murderer, there was nothing else to lead police to him. But then three envelopes arrived at three Bay Area newspaper offices. All envelopes contained handwritten letters and a coded message. The person who wrote the letters left a detailed list about the two shootings. The writer then revealed that the coded message, once deciphered, would reveal his identity. Concluding the letter, a threat was made, “If you do not print this cipher by the afternoon of Fry. 1st of Aug. 1 – 69, I will go on a kill rampage Fry. night…I will cruse around and pick off all street people… then move on until I have killed over a dozen people.”7 The letter was signed with a symbol of a circle with a cross inside it. Following the threat, all three newspapers published the cipher out of fear that the killer would remain true to his word.8 This ignited everyone from experts to even amateurs to attempt to decode the cipher. Investigators followed tips and even received help from citizens who claimed to have solved the puzzle. But what one citizen found was that it did not reveal the killer’s identity. Instead, it was a statement. “I like killing people because it is so much fun… I will not give you my name because you will try to slo(w) down or stop my collecting of slaves for my after life …”9

Cecilia Shepard & Bryan Hartnell | Courtesy of Zodiac Killer Facts Image Gallery

Weeks later in Napa Valley another couple was stabbed at Lake Berryessa. After several stab wounds, Cecilia Shepherd died, but Bryan Hartnell became the second survivor of the Zodiac. Bryan described the man wearing a black squared hood with a white circle with a cross through it on his chest. The Zodiac even left his own mark, by placing his symbol on Bryan’s car with a black marker. He then wrote out “Sept 27 69 6:30 by knife.”10

More victims emerged as time passed, but the Zodiac was never captured. The Zodiac sent in pieces of a blood-stained shirt from a victim who had been the killer’s cab driver. The Zodiac had shot him in the head. Along with the scraps of the shirt, a letter was included as well. This letter sent law enforcement into a frenzy because of what it described.11 It read, “School children make nice targets I think I shall wipe out a school bus some morning just shoot out the frunt tire + pick off the kiddies as they come bouncing out.”12 This forced police cars to follow all school buses with armed officers to protect all from the threat.

A sketch of the Zodiac by Robert Greysmith | Courtesy of Questersite

The Zodiac sent out many more letters, and made a number of odd demands. He wanted the people of the Bay Area to begin wearing Zodiac buttons that were to show his symbol on them. But when this did not happen, he wrote in another letter that his punishment for their not complying with him would be his shooting a man in the head in a parked car.13  The Zodiac taunted the police for being unable to catch him. He even wrote, “If the Blue Meanies are ever going to catch me they had best get off their fat asses + do something… the longer they fiddle… the more slaves I will collect for my afterlife.” He then signed the letter with his symbol and the number seventeen, claiming that this was the number of murders he had committed so far.14

Letter from the Zodiac relieved by the Los Angeles Times on March 31, 1971 | Courtesy of Zodiac Ciphers

The Zodiac killer has never been caught, even as the decades have passed. But his crimes have lived on in infamy and spread throughout the country. Many books have been published telling the story of the Zodiac killer’s spree, and his crimes became extremely well known. Due to the fact that he has never been captured, copycat killers have emerged. They have killed in the same fashion as the Zodiac, leaving behind notes signed, “Zodiac II” or “Zodiac III.”15

What remains true is that the Zodiac’s plea for attention has lived on far more than maybe he ever expected. Or perhaps his ongoing fame is exactly what he always wanted. With no real suspects and no more credible leads, the case is at a dead end. There is nowhere else to turn and no one else to question. The crimes that occurred in the sixties will possibly live on as being unsolved forever. Who knows where the Zodiac is today. Is he dead? Is he in jail for other crimes? Or could he even be alive? Could he, right now, be sitting in front of his television watching as his crimes are still being discussed today and knowing that he got away with everything.

  1.  Salem Press Encyclopedia, January 2016, s.v. “Zodiac Killer,” by Adrienne A. Kennedy.
  2. Brenda Haugen, The Zodiac Killer: Terror and Mystery (Mankato: Compass Point Books, 2011), 13- 15.
  3. Brenda Haugen, The Zodiac Killer: Terror and Mystery (Mankato: Compass Point Books, 2011), 22, 23.
  4. Brenda Haugen, The Zodiac Killer: Terror and Mystery (Mankato: Compass Point Books, 2011.), 23-26.
  5. Brenda Haugen, The Zodiac Killer: Terror and Mystery (Mankato: Compass Point Books, 2011), 27.
  6. Brenda Haugen, The Zodiac Killer: Terror and Mystery (Mankato: Compass Point Books, 2011), 25.
  7. Zodiac, Zodiac to Vallejo Times, Vallejo, Ca, July 31, 1969.
  8. Brenda Haugen, The Zodiac Killer: Terror and Mystery (Mankato: Compass Point Books, 2011), 29-31.
  9. Donald G. Harden, Donald G. Harden to the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco, Ca, August 9, 1969.
  10. Brenda Haugen, The Zodiac Killer: Terror and Mystery (Mankato: Compass Point Books, 2011), 38-40.
  11.  Brenda Haugen, The Zodiac Killer: Terror and Mystery (Mankato: Compass Point Books, 2011), 52-60.
  12. Zodiac, Zodiac to San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco, Ca, October 13, 1969.
  13. Zodiac, Zodiac to San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco, Ca, June 26, 1970.
  14. Zodiac, Zodiac to San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco, Ca, March 13, 1971.
  15.  Brenda Haugen, The Zodiac Killer: Terror and Mystery (Mankato: Compass Point Books, 2011), 76-88.

Tags from the story

The Year 1968

Zodiac Killer

Recent Comments

Justine Ruiz

This case has always been fascinating to me for many reasons. What code did he use? How did he learn that code? Why has his code still not been fully deciphered? Why did he become “careless” when it came to killing men since he left 2 of them alive? I personally believe that the Zodiac Killer was never caught or convicted for any other crimes because if he was, he would’ve wanted recognition. This article is well written with extremely thorough details that makes it chilling.

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23/08/2020

2:58 pm

Samson Pullattu

True crime stories have the potential to be just as or even more unsettling as fictional ones, and the story of the Zodiac killer proves this. The introduction alone can give anyone shivers up their spines. If the Zodiac killer is still alive and is free, he must walk amongst the normal people, and that is horrifying. He took the lives of people that could have changed the world or have just led fulfilling lives- all to sate his disgusting desire. The crimes of the Zodiac even caused a ripple effect everywhere, creating more Zodiacs. A man that has killed a few dozen people should not be out and about, parading around as a common citizen. Unfortunately, he may never be brought to justice for his crimes.

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23/08/2020

2:58 pm

Nicholas Burch

The Zodiac Killer scares me to death. It’s hard to understand how serial killers could get pleasure out of murder, but I guess some people are wired differently. I am curious as to why he thinks the people he killed would become his slaves in the afterlife. Where does that idea come from? Was/Is he living in a fantasy world? There are so many people in America and it blows my mind that I could have passed a psychopathic serial killer in the grocery store today.

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23/08/2020

2:58 pm

Victoria Hoggard

I’ve heard a lot about this case and it still scares me, it’s scary to know that he was never caught and he is probably reading articles about himself. It’s very interesting to learn he became sloppy or careless when he tried to kill men. What was it that made him mess up leaving two of them alive?

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13/09/2020

2:58 pm

Mohammed Hani Shaik

A chilling story retold amazingly! The fact that he possibly killed around 37 people and the police never came close to even having any leads on the case is worrisome. However, I wonder if it is the genius of the zodiac killer or the ignorance and incompetence of the police due to which this case hasn’t been solved. I also wonder if he is such a genius why did he leave two survivors behind? Was it a part of his plan?

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07/02/2021

2:58 pm

Maria Luevano

I have always been fascinated by the zodiac killer, and he has truly made a name for himself in our society. There are still many unanswered questions about the zodiac killer and makes you wonder if he’s even out there today. It is a brutal story and is always hard to hear about, but you did an amazing job writing this article. There are so many details and can see the effort reflect in your work.

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26/10/2021

2:58 pm

Daniela Iniguez-Jaco

I love the way you ended it! I am reading this article after they discovered who was the zodiac killer, so to answer your question yes he was sitting in front of his tv watching all the documentaries about him and conspiracy theories about him. His letters always creep me out especially when he says, “school children make nice targets” that is the scariest thing because he killed for fun. I don’t understand how they could not catch him earlier, once they discovered who he was he had died in 2018. Another killer got away with murder.

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11/11/2021

2:58 pm

Ariana Vargas Lopez

This case of the Zodiac Killer scares me to this day because he was never found and the killer got away with many crimes. He can still be alive now or committed more crimes without others knowing or lives somewhere else. It makes me think that he can be any other customer at my job or a stranger I’ve encountered or he can be anywhere we will never know. The FBI has left this case open after finally decoding the Zodiac Killer’s cypher. There is one suspect who died in 2018 to have been the murderer, but it is still unsure if it is him.

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18/02/2022

2:58 pm

Emily Rodriguez

Wow! It’s no wonder this article won the awards that it did. The author is an AMAZING storyteller. The introduction was a perfect way to pull in the readers and get them ready to read the entire thing. I think it was a great idea that the author included pictures of the victims, it brought a face to the names. Although an unfortunate story, the author told it in a great way. It amazes me that this killer was never found. I love how you ended it, very suspenseful and keeps the reader on their toes.

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20/09/2022

2:58 pm

Iris Reyna

Congrats Gabriela on winning an award in your categories. The article was captivating, you are such a good storyteller. I felt like I was physically a part of the time period but at the same time, it was terrifying because the Zodiac Killer was never caught. Hopefully one day the truth will come out and the victims and their families will get the justice they deserve.

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26/02/2023

2:58 pm

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