Winner of the Fall 2018 StMU History Media Award for
Best Article in the Category of “Crime”
Best Article in the Category of “Political History”
Robert Graysmith, a cartoonist working for the San Francisco Chronicle in 1969, developed an obsession to discover who the Zodiac Killer was. On a rainy night he received an image of a driver’s license of a man named Arthur Leigh Allen. On this license was Allen’s date of birth, December 18, 1933. This information became the final clue in Graysmith’s investigation, allowing him to put all the pieces together to discover the identity of the Zodiac Killer.
On August 1, 1969, the first letter written by the Zodiac Killer was delivered to the San Francisco Chronicle. The letter was a confession to the murder of two teenagers, Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau, on July 4, 1969, at Blue Rock Springs Park in Vallejo, California.1 A cypher was attached to the letter and the killer demanded that his cypher and letter be published in the newspaper, threatening to kill more if the paper did not do so. This letter and the cypher that came along with it was the initial spark that led Graysmith into his obsession with finding out who this Zodiac Killer was. He himself tried to decode the cypher by reading different books involving code breaking, but was beaten to solving it by Donald and Bettye Harden, who solved the code themselves. Within the cypher, it talks about “man [being the most] dangerous animal of all.”2 Graysmith discovered that this line was from the movie The Most Dangerous Game, which is about a man who hunts people for sport. Nonetheless, this became Graysmith’s first piece of evidence to be discovered from the Zodiac Killer’s letter; yet, it wasn’t until seven years later, in 1977, when Graysmith started adding up the evidence that would pointhim to Arthur Leigh Allen as the Zodiac Killer.
Arthur Leigh Allen had a friend named Don Cheney, who provided information that pointed to Allen as the prime suspect in the investigation. Cheney had mentioned that on “September 27, 1969 in Napa, California, Allen [had told his family] he’d be leaving for the afternoon to go scuba diving at Lake Berryessa.”3 However, later that day Allen returned home covered in blood with a bloody knife found in his car. That same day a police report was filed for one murder that involved the killing of Cecelia Shepard, age 22, and although Bryan Hartnell was a victim in the attack that killed Shepard, he was able to survive.
Allen’s same friend, Don Cheney, also confessed that Allen referring to himself as the “Zodiac” before the publication of the letters, and even before the murders had taken place. Allen not only referred to himself as “Zodiac,” but also wore a Zodiac brand watch. The police further investigated him by searching his trailer, but “only [found] small dissected animals, bloody knives and sexual devices.” 4 None of this, however, was direct evidence linking Allen to the murders. Although he was not convicted for murder, he was separately convicted of child molestation resulting in a three year sentence in prison. Coincidentally, no Zodiac letters were sent during this time to the San Francisco Chronicle. Additionally, during his time in prison, one of Allen’s inmates reported to the police a confession Allen had told him. Allen reportedly took responsibility for the murder of Paul Stine, a taxi driver who was shot in the head by his passenger. This murder was also mentioned in one of the Zodiac’s letters. Right after this incident, an interview on national television by Melvin Belli had tried to elicit a confession from Allen for the murders, but unsuccessfully. Afterward, the Zodiac Killer tried to reach out to Belli by calling his house on December 18, 1969. Belli was unable to answer, but his maid did. She stated that all the Zodiac Killer said was, “It’s my birthday, I must kill.”5 A chilling, yet important fact in the investigation.
One piece of evidence that seemed to sealed the deal for Graysmith that Allen was the Zodiac Killer was Graymith’s interview with Linda Ferrein. Graysmith sought to question Darlene Ferrin’s sister, Linda Ferrin, to find out whether there was any correlation with her sister and the Zodiac Killer, due to a piece of information referencing Darlene’s painting parties in one of his letters. As Graysmith interviewed Linda, she described Darlene as always being surrounded by boys. But there was one in particular who stood out to her. Linda described this boy as antisocial when he attended one of Darlene’s painting parties. Darlene also warned Linda to stay away from him because she said he scared her, and also mentioned to her sister that this was the same man who confessed to her he had killed someone. Not only that, but he had a nickname for himself, which was Leigh, which was also Allen’s middle name. During that same time, Graysmith received an image of Allen’s driver’s license confirming Allen’s date of birth, December 19, 1933, the same date on which he made a phone call to Melvin Belli stating, “It’s my birthday, I must kill.”6 All of this piled up evidenced convinced Graysmith that Allen was the Zodiac Killer, because this was the only time that the Zodiac Killer gave out a piece of personal information. Unfortunately, authorities planned to have a meeting charging him with all these murders, but Allen suffered from a heart attack before the meeting could take place.
Convincing enough? This is one of the most popular theories from Robert Graysmith who believed the serial murderer was Arthur Leigh Allen. Although there is supporting evidence that points towards him as the killer, many question Graysmith’s judgment and overall investigation. Regardless, the case still remains unsolved and we may never know who the real Zodiac Killer was. Was it Arthur Leigh Allen or was Graysmith’s theory further off than we thought?
- William Booth, “The Zodiac Writer,” The Washington Post, Mar. 09, 2007, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/03/09/DI2007030900522.html (accessed September 5, 2018). ↵
- Robert Graysmith, Zodiac (Penguin Publishing Group, 2007), 78. ↵
- William Booth, “A Killer Obsession,” The Washington Post, Mar. 1, 2007, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2007/02/28/AR2007022801979.html (accessed September 5, 2018). ↵
- Justin Moyer, “And the Zodiac Killer is…,” The Washington Post, May 14, 2014, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/05/14/and-the-zodiac-killer-is/?utm_term=.28c06c343598 (accessed September 7, 2018). ↵
- Robert Graysmith, Zodiac unmasked (New York: Berkley Books, 2003), 180. ↵
- Robert Graysmith, Zodiac unmasked (New York: Berkley Books, 2003), 180. ↵
125 comments
Jonathan Arreola
Stupendous work Nathalie Herrera! I loved this pithy, yet captivating story. I had never heard of the Zodiac killer before, but I was lured by the suspenseful title. I love mysteries and superstitions, this article definitely satisfied my taste. I had chills rippling through my skin, from the nape of my neck, down my spine, and to the soles of my feet. The Zodiac Killer was so creepy, I don’t know what I would have done if I was the maid who answered the strange phone call, or the press writer who received the confession letter. It’s frightening that there is a possibility Arthur Leigh Allen was not the Zodiac Killer, and that he is still out there as an old, decrepit man.
Daniela Cardona
The Zodiac Killer has always been an interesting topic to me. The idea that someone could do so many crimes and still never be found out is insane. At the same time, this criminal really did have to be a mastermind as to this day no one can still figure out his code. Who knows, maybe it was Arthur Allen. Sadly, the mystery will probably never be solved. I appreciated how this article took a big look at who he was rather than just what he did.
Avery Looney
Everyone has heard of the Zodiac Killer, but I have not heard of the theory that the famous serial killer was Arthur Allen. This article is very well researched and a great read. The evidence presented in the article is very convincing and it sounds as if Graysmith’s theory was the most compelling one. It is a shame that Arthur Allen had a heart attack before he could be arrested an tried in court, and because of his death the Zodiac Killer will remain one of the most famous unsolved cases of all time.
Micaela Cruz
I had no previous information of the Zodiac Killer and his murders and although this article did not specifically discuss the murders in detail, the author was still able to incorporate the most significant murders and their details pertaining to how it led Graysmith to his theory. Although the identity of the Zodiac Killer has always been a speculation, reading about the theories is interesting.
Daniel Linstead
The Zodiac killer is one of them mysteries that are never going to be solved and will be a part of American history forever. The thing that I find sad about this story and all the other unsolved murders that are around is that they don’t get the justice they deserve. I hate to say it but this killer was very intelligent in the way they were able to avoid the police.
Maxx Arizmendi
Mysteries like this are pretty interesting because of the conspiracy theories that go along with it. No one really knows what happened to him or where he went. This is because he disappeared without a trace. This article does a great job talking about who the Zodiac Killer was, and reading about him was really interesting.
Madison Guerra
This article was very interesting and kept me wanting to read more. The case of the zodiac killer has always interested me, it is crazy to know that someone got away with all of those murders and was never caught. Of course there are theories about who they thought the killer was but no one was ever pit behind bars for it, and i feel like this happens more than it should.
Brianna Ford
This was such a great read, providing information that I never knew about. I was never expecting a cartoonist to be the one who actually got the closest to finding out who the Zodiac killer was. I figured it be the FBI since they have more technology and resources. Author leigh Allen was a strange individual who enjoyed killing and telling people about the killings. I am glad he went to prison but I still want to know who the actual Zodiac Killer is, but the world may never know.
Reagan Meuret
It is incredible that all of this time has passed, yet we still do not know for certain who was responsible for these murders. This article did a great job of informing me with what the zodiac killer did, as I didn’t know much about him before this. It is just sad that it is likely this person known as the zodiac killer will likely never be caught.
Christopher Vasquez
This was a great article, and it does provide a compelling argument that Arthur Leigh Allen was the Zodiac Killer, especially when considering that the Zodiac Killer went on a three-year hiatus when Allen was imprisoned for the same amount of time. What is even more compelling was the fact that the killer mentioned that his birthday was December 18th and that Allen’s birthday, upon confirmation, was the same day. Although the evidence is circumstantial, the evidence does heavily indicate that he is the Zodiac Killer. Maybe one day we will know the truth.