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
Sofia Resendiz
It is intriguing that there is not a definite real answer who the zodiac killer is. The evidence Graysmith collected seems plausible for there are many instances that point to Allen. It is so frustrating that this question could not be answered. I think it is a coincidence that Allen died of a heart attack during the time the meeting was going to take place.
Valeria Perez
Whenever I read unsolved mysteries such as this one it makes wonder what could have happened to such infamous people. This curiosity usually takes me down a spiral of conspiracy theory videos and articles on the internet. I really don’t get why people would ever do this and by leaving clues it is almost as if they are little kids playing a game. Really great article congratulations!
Avery Looney
Congratulations on a nomination for an award! This article was very interesting and a great read, it definitely deserved the nomination! Everyone knows the story of the Zodiac Killer, and that he was never technically found. The main suspect Arthur Leigh Allen was believed to be the famous serial killer, but we will never know for sure. Allen’s sudden death from a heart attack kept the authorities from ever getting a confession and facing trial. Now all we are left with is the question, is Allen the Zodiac Killer or was he never found?
Adam Portillo
This article was so interesting to read. The debate of who exactly the zodiac killer is could go on forever and thats the most interesting part about it. The only thing we can do is speculate and theorize on who the zodiac killer was. The Zodiac’s crimes were really disturbing to me and that part gives me the chills. I honestly don’t think we’ll ever find the killer and it will remain a mystery. Great article.
Eric Ortega Rodriguez
Wow, this article is extremely fascinating. I have never heard of the Zodiac killer before and this article does an outstanding job explaining different crimes and how they could lead to Allen being the zodiac killer. I also find the letters extremely interesting and I am sure that there is a code which needs to be deciphered. Overall, this was a very well-written article with captivating images. Great work.
Pedro Gonzalez Aboyte
This was a great article. Graysmith investing a huge amount of time in trying to solve the case of the Zodiac Killer and even though he was never officially caught, I do believe Graysmith was right. I think Allen was indeed the Zodiac Killer because just about all of the evidence matched and there was nothing that contradicted it. I believe the answer is pretty obvious that it was him. If it wasn’t, the real killer did an incredible job of misdirecting and may be smarter than intially thought. Regardless, this was a bery good article and congratulations on the nomination.
Rebecca Campos
While this is a very convincing theory about the true identity of the Zodiac Killer, there are many theories about the Zodiac Killer that are just as convincing. Some even say that there could have been copycats of the Zodiac, which would also make the case that much more complicated. The author presented the theory very well though with evidence that does seem rather detailed. Who knows if the mystery of the Zodiac Killer will ever be solved?
Crystal Baeza
This article was interesting. The Zodiac will always be a mystery unknown. Throughout the entire article I was left on the edge of my seat. It’s always interesting reading about crimes and how one could be capable of doing just horrific acts then never be caught. It was well-written and had me wanting to continue reading. I still can’t believe he was never found after all the evidence they had.
Luke Lopez
This was a very interesting article on the unsolved mystery of the Zodiac Killer. Graysmith brings up pieces of evidence that could link the identity of the Zodiac Killer to Allen such as Allen’s birth date being the same as the Zodiac Killer’s, and Allen returning home from a trip covered in blood while there was a bloody knife in his car. Overall, this was a great article on the unsolved mystery of the Zodiac Killer.
Jose Fernandez
There are many crime articles in the website, and this one is one of the greatest mysteries. Congratulations on being nominated. I didn’t know anything about the Zodiac Killer before, and your article is very informative. For starters, the image used for the cover really caught my attention. I always enjoy reading about mysteries and this is a great one. I believe Allen was the Zodiac Killer, it is a shame he died and that we will never be sure about what happened. I think this person was very creepy. Great article!