January 7, 2025 • 35 mins
In the late 1960s, a killer terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area not just through his brutal attacks, but through an unprecedented campaign of psychological warfare. Through encrypted messages, taunting letters, and phone calls to police, the Zodiac Killer transformed himself from a murderer into a cultural phenomenon that still captivates us today. Join David Culpepper as he explores the verified attacks, the possible victims, the prime suspects, and the lasting impact of one of America's most notorious unsolved cases. From the Lake Herman Road murders to the breaking of the 340 cipher in 2020, this episode unravels the complex web of a killer who wanted not just to take lives, but to live forever in our collective imagination.
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Episode Transcript
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Hey everyone, welcome back to Legends and Lore. I'm your host David Culpepper. Today
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we're diving into one of the most notorious, unsolved cases in American history, the Zodiac
Killer. Now you might think you know this story, the mysterious letters, the ciphers,
the taunting of police and newspapers, but there are layers to this case that most people
have never heard about. Before we get into all that though, let's go back to a cold
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December night in 1968. December 20th to be exact, David Faraday, just 17 years old, was
on his first date with 16-year-old Betty Lou Jensen. David had borrowed his mother's
rambler and promised to be home by 11 p.m. They drove out to Lake Herman Road, a lonely
stretch between Vallejo and Benesia, California. It was a popular spot for local teens, secluded
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enough for privacy, but not so remote that it felt dangerous. At least that's what everyone
thought. What's interesting and something most people don't know is that earlier that
evening two different couples had noticed a strange car in the area. One couple reported
seeing a light-colored, possibly white vehicle driving without headlights. The other mentioned
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a car that seemed to be patrolling the area, passing by multiple times. Neither couple
thought much of it at the time. Around 11.10 p.m., another car pulled up alongside David's
rambler. What happened next would mark the beginning of a terror spree that would grip
California and capture the nation's attention for decades to come. The killer approached
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their car and in a matter of moments, both teenagers' lives were tragically cut short.
David was found outside the passenger side killed by a single shot to the head. Betty
Lou, she had tried to run. Her body was found 28 feet from the car, struck by five bullets
in the back. Here's something most documentaries don't mention. The police initially thought
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this was a random act of violence, maybe a robbery gone wrong. But the killer had left
something behind, something that wouldn't make sense until months later. The shell casings
at the scene came from more than one type of ammunition, suggesting the killer had actually
reloaded during the attack. This wasn't a crime of passion or opportunity. This was
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methodical, planned. And this was just the beginning. Over the next year, the Bay Area
would be terrorized by a series of attacks, each one accompanied by bizarre letters, complex
ciphers, and a growing sense that law enforcement was dealing with something they'd never seen
before. And what makes the Zodiac case so unique isn't just the brutality of the crimes,
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though they were certainly brutal. It's the killer's obsession with playing a twisted
game with the public. Most serial killers try to stay hidden to blend into society. The
Zodiac, he wanted attention, he craved it, and he was willing to go to extraordinary
lengths to get it. After the Lake Herman Road murders, things went quiet for about six months.
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Life in Vallejo started to return to normal. Then came July 4, 1969, while most of America
was celebrating Independence Day. 22-year-old Darlene Farron and 19-year-old Mike Mazzue
pulled into the Blue Rock Springs parking lot just four miles from the first attack.
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Now here's something fascinating that often gets overlooked. Darlene might have known
her killer. In the months before her murder, she told friends that someone had been following
her. She had even pointed out a man to her sisters at the restaurant where she worked
as a waitress, saying he'd been watching her. But like so many details in this case, we
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may never know if this was connected to what happened that night.
Around midnight a car pulled up beside them, much like what happened at Lake Herman Road.
The car left, then returned ten minutes later. The killer approached with a bright flashlight,
temporarily blinding them. Then he opened fire. Darlene was hit several times and died
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almost immediately. Mike, despite being shot in the face, neck, and chest, somehow survived.
Less than an hour after the shooting, something unprecedented happened. A man called the Vallejo
Police Department. I want to report a murder. No, a double murder. If you go one mile east
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on Columbus Parkway to the public park, you'll find kids in a brown car. They were shot with
a 9mm Luger. Also killed those kids last year. Goodbye.
The caller was never identified. This officially marked the beginning of the Zodiac's campaign
of psychological warfare against the police, the papers, and the entire Bay Area. Then,
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just a month after the Blue Rock Springs attack on August 1, 1969, three nearly identical
letters arrived at three different newspapers. The Vallejo Times Herald, the San Francisco
Chronicle, and the San Francisco Examiner. Each contained one-third of a complex cipher,
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what we now call the 408 cipher, along with the demand, publish these on the front page,
or more murders would follow. It was particularly chilling, and something that doesn't get talked
about enough is how the killer proved he was responsible for the previous murders. In these
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letters he included details that only the killer could have known, specific details about the
ammunition used, the position of the victims, even what Darlene Farron was wearing that
night. But he didn't just stop there. He shared his twisted motivation, writing, I like killing
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people because it is so much fun. Now this is where our story takes an unexpected turn.
While the police were scrambling to break this cipher, a high school teacher and his wife
in Salinas, California were about to make history. Donald and Betty Harden, just ordinary citizens,
managed to crack the 408 cipher in just one week. Think about that for a moment. Professional
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cryptographers had been stumped, but this couple, working at their kitchen table, figured
it out. The decrypted message was, well let me read you part of it, I like killing people
because it is so much fun. It is more fun than killing wild game in the forest because
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man is the most dangerous, rue animal of all. Yes, that's dangerous spelled wrong. Our killer
wasn't the best speller. But what's really interesting is what he didn't say in the
cipher. Despite all those words, he never revealed his motivation, his identity, or any real
clues about who he was. But the zodiac wasn't done, not even close. In fact, he was about
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to commit what many consider his most terrifying attack at Lake Berryessa. And this time, he
would show up wearing something that would become one of the most iconic and disturbing
images in criminal history. September 27, 1969. Lake Berryessa was a popular spot for
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college students and tourists, especially on warm fall days like this one. Brian Hartnell
and Cecilia Shepard, both college students, had picked a secluded spot on the shore for
a peaceful afternoon. What they didn't know was that someone was watching them. The figure
that approached them that day would become legendary. A man wearing a black executioner's
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hood with a white cross symbol stitched on the chest. Now here's something most people
don't know. Brian initially thought it was some kind of prank. After all, who would wear
such an elaborate costume and broad daylight? The man claimed to be an escaped convict from
a prison in Montana. He said he needed their car and money to escape to Mexico. Brian, who
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survived the attack and gave us this detailed account, noticed something odd. The man's
voice was calm, almost practiced. He spoke without any trace of desperation you'd expect
from an escaped convict. What happened next was methodical, almost ritualistic. The killer
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had Brian and Cecilia lie face down on the ground. He bound them with pre-cut lengths
of plastic clothesline. Another sign this was carefully planned. Then, well, the attack
was brutal. Both victims were repeatedly stabbed. Cecilia was struck ten times Brian's six.
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Cecilia would later die from her wounds. While Brian, despite his injuries, survived. But
here's where the Zodiac did something completely unexpected. After the attack, he walked calmly
to Brian's car and drew his signature cross-circle symbol on the door with a black marker. Then
he wrote the dates of his previous attacks, adding today's date to the list. It was like
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he was keeping score, marking his territory. Then, just like before, he actually alerted
the police. He drove to a phone booth in Napa, called the police, and reported his own crime.
I want to report a murder, no, a double murder. They're two miles north of Park Headquarters.
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They were in a white Volkswagen, Carmen Gia. The really unsettling part? He ended the call
by saying, I'm the one who did it. Just two weeks after Lake Beriesa, the Zodiac made
his boldest and most shocking move yet. This time, he changed everything about his pattern.
Instead of targeting young couples in secluded areas, he struck in the heart of San Francisco's
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Presidio Heights neighborhood. Instead of using a gun or knife, he chose a taxi cab.
On October 11, 1969, Paul Stein, a 29-year-old cab driver, working his way through graduate
school, picked up a passenger at the corner of Mason and Geary Streets. The destination
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was supposed to be Washington and Maple. What happened next would change this case
forever. Here's a detail that haunts investigators to this day. Three teenagers witnessed the
crime from their window across the street. They saw the killer sitting in the front seat
with Stein. It's all him shoot Stein point blank in the head. But instead of fleeing
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immediately, the killer did something truly bizarre. He took out a piece of Stein's shirt,
carefully tearing away a section. He then methodically wiped down the cab's interior,
apparently cleaning his fingerprints. The witnesses watched this entire scene unfold,
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thinking they were watching a robbery gone wrong. They did call the police and actually
provided a description that was remarkably detailed. White male 25-30 years old crew
cut glasses, stocky build. But here's where things went horribly wrong. In one of the
most tragic miscommunications in criminal history, the police dispatcher described a
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suspect as a black male. For crucial minutes, police were looking for the wrong person.
Two patrol officers actually stopped a stocky white man walking through the presidio just
minutes after the murder. He matched the description perfectly. But they let him go because they
were looking for a black suspect. To this day, many investigators believe they had the
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Zodiac right there and let him walk away. Three days later, a letter arrived at the San
Francisco Chronicle. Inside was a piece of Paul Stein's bloody shirt. Proof that this
was indeed the work of the Zodiac. But this letter was different. The killer was angry.
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He was taunting the police, bragging about how close they'd come to catching him. He
wrote about his plans to shoot out the tires of a school bus and pick off the little darlings
as they come bouncing out. This threat against school children changed everything. The Bay
area was already terrified. But now parents were keeping their kids home from school.
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Police began following school buses on their routes. The Zodiac had managed to paralyze
an entire region with just a few words on paper. But here's something fascinating. During
this period, the Zodiac's letter started showing signs of, well, let's call it evolution. His
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early letters were fairly straightforward, taking credit for murders, making threats.
But now he was including elaborate ciphers, references to obscure literature, even jokes.
He quoted Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado. He called into live TV shows. It was like he
was developing a character, creating his own mythology. One letter from this period particularly
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stands out. The Zodiac claimed he had been stopped by police near a crime scene and managed
to escape. He wrote, The cops could have caught me last night if they had searched the park
properly instead of holding road races with their motorcycles. Was he talking about the
night of the Stein murder? Was this just another taunt? Or was he trying to tell us something
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more? Then there's the 340 cipher, sent in November 1969. Unlike the first cipher, this
one remained unbroken for 51 years. When it was finally cracked in 2020, it didn't reveal
the killer's identity, as many had hoped. Instead, it contained more taunts. I hope
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you are having lots of fun and trying to catch me. I am not afraid of the gas chamber because
it will send me to paradise all the sooner. What's particularly interesting about this
period is how the Zodiac seemed to be following his own press coverage. He would respond to
articles about him, correct details he felt were wrong, and even complained when he wasn't
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getting enough front page coverage. In one letter, he wrote, I get awfully lonely when
I am ignored. Now let's talk about the hunt for the Zodiac,
and the one name that keeps coming up over and over, Arthur Lee Allen. Allen first came
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to police attention in 1971 when his friend Don Cheney came forward with an incredible
story according to Cheney back in 1968 before the first known Zodiac murder. Allen had talked
about his desire to kill people, calling them Zodiac kills. He allegedly described wanting
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to shoot couples in their cars, attach flashlights to guns, and even wrote stories about an insane
man who hunted people for sport. Pretty damning stuff, right? But here's where it gets really
interesting. Allen had been fired as an elementary school teacher for sexual misconduct. He was
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a watch enthusiast, remember, the Zodiac wore a Zodiac brand watch. He lived in Vallejo
when the first murders occurred. He was absent from family gatherings on the dates of known
Zodiac attacks. He even had the same type and size of military boots that left prints
at Lake Berryessa. Now get this, Allen owned the same type of typewriter that may have been
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used for the Zodiac letters. When police searched his trailer they found explosives, bomb making
materials, and even a manifesto describing fantasies of killing people. Plus, and this
is something that doesn't get mentioned enough, he was left handed just like the Zodiac was
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believed to be based on handwriting analysis. But, and this is a big but, the evidence against
Allen was all circumstantial. His DNA didn't match partial DNA found on the stamps of the
Zodiac letters. His fingerprints didn't match those found on the Stein taxi. Even his handwriting
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didn't match the Zodiacs, though some argue he could have disguised it. Here's something
really unsettling though. When police interviewed Allen, he said, I'm not the Zodiac, but if
I was I certainly wouldn't tell you. But he did wear a Zodiac watch to his police interview.
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It's like he was playing with them, enjoying the attention. But Allen wasn't the only suspect.
There was Lawrence Cain, who, one of the surviving victims, Darlene Farron's sister, and even
another witness identified. Rick Marshall, a film industry professional who some believe
had the technical knowledge to create the ciphers. Ross Sullivan, a librarian who was
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an expert in codes and suffered from mental illness. Even the unabomber, Ted Kaczynski,
was briefly considered. Lawrence Cain is particularly interesting because he keeps showing up in
witness statements. Remember Darlene Farron, the victim at Blue Rock Springs? Her sister
insists she saw Cain following Darlene several times before her murder. Even more intriguing,
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Kathleen Johns, who may have been another Zodiac victim, identified Cain as the man who abducted
her and her infant daughter in March 1970. Now something most people don't know about
Cain, he suffered a brain injury in a 1962 car accident that reportedly changed his personality.
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Medical records show damage to the part of his brain responsible for controlling urges
and behavior. He lived in the Lake Tahoe area, where the Zodiac claimed to have taken victims
that were never found. And get this, handwriting experts noted some interesting similarities
between Cain's writing and the Zodiacs. Then there's Rick Marshall. Marshall worked as
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a film industry professional, which is significant because the Zodiac's letters often contained
references to obscure films and showed knowledge of film techniques. He was also a Navy veteran
with code training, which could explain the ciphers. What really got investigators' attention
was that Marshall had a bitter hatred for couples, especially young couples showing affection
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in public. Now Ross Sullivan is a fascinating suspect that doesn't get enough attention.
He worked at the Riverside City College Library when Cherry Jo Bates was murdered there in
1966. A murder some believe was the Zodiac's first kill, though it was never officially
confirmed. Sullivan was brilliant with codes and ciphers, wrote poetry about murder and
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mutilation, and had a military background. His own family members believed he could have
been the Zodiac. Here's something really unsettling. Sullivan's co-worker said he would sometimes
come to work in different clothes than he left in, with no explanation. He suffered from
schizophrenia and would have episodes where he'd disappear for days at a time. The timing
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of these disappearances allegedly matched with some of the Zodiac's attacks. If I were
a betting man, and I'm not, of course, this would be my guy.
And finally, one of the lesser known but compelling suspects was Earl Van Best Jr. He was suggested
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as the Zodiac by his own son in a controversial book. What makes him interesting is that his
criminal record shows a pattern of targeting young women, and he had extensive knowledge
of codes from his work as a rare book dealer. Plus, there's an eerie resemblance between
Van Best and the police sketch from the Stein murder. And this brings us to one of the most
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frustrating aspects of the Zodiac case. Why, with all these promising suspects and mountains
of evidence, haven't we been able to definitively identify the killer? The answer lies in what
I call the perfect storm of imperfection. Let me explain. First, we're dealing with crimes
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that occurred in the late 1960s, before DNA testing, before computerized databases, before
modern forensic techniques. The evidence collected back then wasn't handled with the same care
we use today because no one knew these methods would eventually exist. A perfect example,
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investigators used rubber stamps on the Zodiac's letters to mark them as evidence, potentially
contaminating any DNA that might have been there. Then there's the jurist's dictional
nightmare. The Zodiac killed across different cities, different counties, even possibly
different states. Each department had its own way of handling evidence, its own filing
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system, its own theories about the case. Some evidence was lost in transfers between departments,
some was misplaced during office moves, some just disappeared. But here's what really complicates
things. The Zodiac himself seems to have been forensically aware, way ahead of his time.
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He wore gloves, he wiped down crime scenes, he used different weapons, different ammo,
even the way he licked his stamps, if he even did lick them, was inconsistent. It's like
he knew that someday these tiny traces might be used to identify him. And then there's
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what I consider the most maddening part. The physical evidence we do have? It's contradictory.
The partial DNA from the stamps doesn't match Arthur Lee Allen. The fingerprints from the
taxi don't match Kane. The handwriting analysis doesn't conclusively match anyone. It's almost
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as if, well, as if the Zodiac wanted to leave just enough evidence to keep everyone guessing.
Modern technology has opened up some fascinating new avenues in the Zodiac case, and for the
first time in decades there's real hope for a breakthrough. Let me tell you why. In 2020,
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we saw what modern tech could do when a team of code breakers finally cracked the 340 cipher
using specialized software. They accomplished something that had stumped experts for over
50 years. But that's just the beginning of what today's technology might reveal. Genetic
genealogy, the same technique that caught the Golden State Killer, could be the key.
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In 2018, investigators gathered DNA from the back of Zodiac letter stamps and envelopes.
Now they're running this through expanded DNA databases, building family trees, looking
for distant relatives who might lead to the killer. Even if the Zodiac is dead, his DNA
could still tell us who he was. Here's something really interesting. Artificial intelligence
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is being used to analyze the Zodiac's handwriting in ways that weren't possible before. These
programs can detect subtle patterns that human experts might miss. They're even using AI
to compare the linguistic patterns in the Zodiac's letters against writings from various suspects.
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And all that is great. But perhaps the most promising new approach involves digital mapping
and geographic profiling. Investigators are using advanced software to analyze the locations
of confirmed and suspected Zodiac attacks, along with where the letters were mailed from.
They're looking for patterns that might reveal where the killer lived or worked. This kind
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of analysis has already suggested that the Zodiac likely had some connection to the military,
possibly Travis Air Force Base. There's also new work being done with enhanced photographic
analysis of the few crime scene photos we have. Modern software can pull details from
old photos that weren't visible before. They're even applying this technology to newspaper
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photos from the time period, looking for anyone matching the Zodiac's description and crowd
shots from the area. And here's something that gives me hope. Cold case units are now
using predictive algorithms that can connect seemingly unrelated crimes. They're finding
possible Zodiac attacks that weren't previously connected to the case, potentially giving
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us new evidence to work with. Some of the most intriguing recent developments in the
Zodiac case have come from a group called the case breakers. Though I should note their
findings are controversial and disputed by many investigators. In October 2021, they
claim to have identified the Zodiac as Gary Francis Post, who died in 2018. They pointed
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to some fascinating evidence, scars on Post's forehead, that seemed to match scars visible
in the Zodiac police sketch, and they claim to have found his name hidden in one of the
ciphers. But here's where it gets really interesting. In late 2023, an independent researcher named
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Jen Buckholz made headlines by identifying what she believes are additional hidden messages
in the Zodiac's 340 cipher. Using modern cryptographic analysis, she found what appears to be a second
layer of encoded text, something that had never been noticed before. The FBI hasn't closed
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the case either. They're still actively collecting DNA from persons of interest. In fact, they've
been quietly gathering DNA samples from the children and grandchildren of deceased suspects,
building a genetic database that could eventually lead to a match. There's also been a renewed
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interest in the possible Riverside connection. Remember Sherry Joe Bates, the potential first
Zodiac victim? In 2021, police finally confirmed that a letter received by the Riverside Police
Department in 2016 was actually written by someone admitting to faking the Bates had
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to die letters from 1967. This has forced investigators to completely reevaluate the
connection between the Bates murder and the Zodiac. What's particularly fascinating is
that cold case investigators are now looking at a series of unsolved murders along the
California coast from the mid 1970s. These killings stopped around the same time the
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Zodiac's letters ceased. They're using modern criminal profiling techniques to determine
if these could be later Zodiac crimes where he changes MO. Even after more than half a
century, the Zodiac case continues to grip our imagination in a way few other unsolved
cases do. And I think I know why. First, there's the psychological game the Zodiac played.
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Unlike other serial killers who operated in shadows, the Zodiac wanted an audience. He
wasn't just killing, he was performing. Through his letters, his ciphers, his costume at Lake
Barresa, he was creating a character, almost like a twisted super villain. He wasn't just
committing crimes, he was telling a story. And in a dark way, he made the public part
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of that story. Then there's the cipher aspect. Those coded messages tap into something deep
in human nature. Our need to solve puzzles, to find meaning and chaos. Every time someone
cracks one of his codes, like with the 340 cipher in 2020, it feels like we're getting
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closer to the truth. It gives us hope that maybe, just maybe, the final piece of the
puzzle is still out there waiting to be found. But I think what really keeps this case alive
in our collective imagination is what I call the coffee shop theory effect. Everyone who
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learns about this case feels like they could solve it. The evidence seems so tantalizingly
close. The witnesses who saw him, the letters he wrote, the phone calls he made, it feels
like the answer must be right there in front of us if we could just look at it from the
right angle. And maybe that's exactly what the Zodiac wanted. Maybe his greatest success
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wasn't the murders or the ciphers, but the fact that decades later, we're still here.
Still trying to solve his puzzle, still telling his story. In a twisted way, he achieved exactly
what his letters suggested he wanted. Immortality through infamy. But there's one final thing
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that keeps this case relevant, the possibility that it could still be solved. Unlike Jack
the Ripper or other historical killers, the Zodiac case exists in that sweet spot where
modern technology could still crack it. There's DNA evidence, fingerprints, handwriting samples,
all waiting for the right breakthrough. Every advance in forensic science brings the possibility
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that tomorrow could be the day we finally learn the truth. So, how big of a cultural
impact has the Zodiac killer had? Well, the Zodiac killer's shadow stretches far beyond
the actual crimes. He's become part of our cultural DNA, influencing everything from
how we tell stories to how we think about unsolved crimes. Most people know about David
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Fincher's 2007 film, Zodiac, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr. But what's
fascinating is how that film approached the case. Not as a thriller, but as a study of
obsession. It showed how this case doesn't just consume the investigators, it consumes
anyone who dives too deep into it. But the influence goes much deeper. The Zodiac basically
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created the template for how we think about serial killers who communicate with the public.
Every time there's a case involving coded messages or letters to newspapers, the Zodiac
comparisons immediately begin. He's become the measuring stick for this type of crime.
The case has also influenced how we think about cipher-based mysteries. Remember the
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Cicada 3301 Internet Mystery? Or the recent viral marketing campaigns that use codes and
puzzles? They all owe something to the Zodiac ciphers. He showed how powerful the combination
of mystery and puzzle solving could be. What's particularly interesting is how the case changed
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police procedures. The Zodiac's ability to move between jurisdictions exposed huge flaws
in how different police departments communicated with each other. Many of the interagency
task force protocols we see today were developed in response to cases like this. And here's
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something that often gets overlooked. The Zodiac case helped create the modern true crime community.
Long before Reddit and Twitter, people were gathering in living rooms and coffee shops
sharing theories about this case. It was one of the first cases where the public felt like
they could be part of solving it. As we wrap up today's episode of Legends and Lore, I
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can't help but think about the real people at the heart of this story. While the Zodiac
killer has become almost mythical, a boogeyman of American true crime, we should never forget
David Faraday, Betty Lou Jensen, Darlene Farron, Cecilia Shepard, and Paul Stein. Their lives
were cut tragically short and their families have spent over five decades waiting for answers.
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The Zodiac case remains active. Somewhere in an evidence locker, there might be a DNA
sample that will finally tell us the truth. Or maybe the answer lies in one of those ciphers,
still waiting to be fully understood. Or perhaps someone listening right now knows something
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they haven't shared. Some small detail that could break this case wide open. What we do
know is that the Zodiac wanted to be remembered. He wanted to create a legacy of fear and fascination.
And in that, he succeeded. But maybe his own arrogance, his need to taunt and tease through
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letters and codes left behind the very clues that will eventually unmask him. Until that
day comes, the Zodiac remains one of our greatest unsolved mysteries. A reminder that sometimes
the most haunting stories are the ones without an ending.
Hey everyone, welcome back to Legends and Lore. I'm your host David Culpepper. Today
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we're diving into one of the most notorious, unsolved cases in American history, the Zodiac
Killer. Now you might think you know this story, the mysterious letters, the ciphers,
the taunting of police and newspapers, but there are layers to this case that most people
have never heard about. Before we get into all that though, let's go back to a cold
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December night in 1968. December 20th to be exact, David Faraday, just 17 years old, was
on his first date with 16-year-old Betty Lou Jensen. David had borrowed his mother's
rambler and promised to be home by 11 p.m. They drove out to Lake Herman Road, a lonely
stretch between Vallejo and Benesia, California. It was a popular spot for local teens, secluded
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enough for privacy, but not so remote that it felt dangerous. At least that's what everyone
thought. What's interesting and something most people don't know is that earlier that
evening two different couples had noticed a strange car in the area. One couple reported
seeing a light-colored, possibly white vehicle driving without headlights. The other mentioned
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a car that seemed to be patrolling the area, passing by multiple times. Neither couple
thought much of it at the time. Around 11.10 p.m., another car pulled up alongside David's
rambler. What happened next would mark the beginning of a terror spree that would grip
California and capture the nation's attention for decades to come. The killer approached
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their car and in a matter of moments, both teenagers' lives were tragically cut short.
David was found outside the passenger side killed by a single shot to the head. Betty
Lou, she had tried to run. Her body was found 28 feet from the car, struck by five bullets
in the back. Here's something most documentaries don't mention. The police initially thought
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this was a random act of violence, maybe a robbery gone wrong. But the killer had left
something behind, something that wouldn't make sense until months later. The shell casings
at the scene came from more than one type of ammunition, suggesting the killer had actually
reloaded during the attack. This wasn't a crime of passion or opportunity. This was
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methodical, planned. And this was just the beginning. Over the next year, the Bay Area
would be terrorized by a series of attacks, each one accompanied by bizarre letters, complex
ciphers, and a growing sense that law enforcement was dealing with something they'd never seen
before. And what makes the Zodiac case so unique isn't just the brutality of the crimes,
(03:03):
though they were certainly brutal. It's the killer's obsession with playing a twisted
game with the public. Most serial killers try to stay hidden to blend into society. The
Zodiac, he wanted attention, he craved it, and he was willing to go to extraordinary
lengths to get it. After the Lake Herman Road murders, things went quiet for about six months.
(03:29):
Life in Vallejo started to return to normal. Then came July 4, 1969, while most of America
was celebrating Independence Day. 22-year-old Darlene Farron and 19-year-old Mike Mazzue
pulled into the Blue Rock Springs parking lot just four miles from the first attack.
(03:51):
Now here's something fascinating that often gets overlooked. Darlene might have known
her killer. In the months before her murder, she told friends that someone had been following
her. She had even pointed out a man to her sisters at the restaurant where she worked
as a waitress, saying he'd been watching her. But like so many details in this case, we
(04:15):
may never know if this was connected to what happened that night.
Around midnight a car pulled up beside them, much like what happened at Lake Herman Road.
The car left, then returned ten minutes later. The killer approached with a bright flashlight,
temporarily blinding them. Then he opened fire. Darlene was hit several times and died
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almost immediately. Mike, despite being shot in the face, neck, and chest, somehow survived.
Less than an hour after the shooting, something unprecedented happened. A man called the Vallejo
Police Department. I want to report a murder. No, a double murder. If you go one mile east
(05:03):
on Columbus Parkway to the public park, you'll find kids in a brown car. They were shot with
a 9mm Luger. Also killed those kids last year. Goodbye.
The caller was never identified. This officially marked the beginning of the Zodiac's campaign
of psychological warfare against the police, the papers, and the entire Bay Area. Then,
(05:29):
just a month after the Blue Rock Springs attack on August 1, 1969, three nearly identical
letters arrived at three different newspapers. The Vallejo Times Herald, the San Francisco
Chronicle, and the San Francisco Examiner. Each contained one-third of a complex cipher,
(05:49):
what we now call the 408 cipher, along with the demand, publish these on the front page,
or more murders would follow. It was particularly chilling, and something that doesn't get talked
about enough is how the killer proved he was responsible for the previous murders. In these
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letters he included details that only the killer could have known, specific details about the
ammunition used, the position of the victims, even what Darlene Farron was wearing that
night. But he didn't just stop there. He shared his twisted motivation, writing, I like killing
(06:31):
people because it is so much fun. Now this is where our story takes an unexpected turn.
While the police were scrambling to break this cipher, a high school teacher and his wife
in Salinas, California were about to make history. Donald and Betty Harden, just ordinary citizens,
managed to crack the 408 cipher in just one week. Think about that for a moment. Professional
(06:57):
cryptographers had been stumped, but this couple, working at their kitchen table, figured
it out. The decrypted message was, well let me read you part of it, I like killing people
because it is so much fun. It is more fun than killing wild game in the forest because
(07:18):
man is the most dangerous, rue animal of all. Yes, that's dangerous spelled wrong. Our killer
wasn't the best speller. But what's really interesting is what he didn't say in the
cipher. Despite all those words, he never revealed his motivation, his identity, or any real
clues about who he was. But the zodiac wasn't done, not even close. In fact, he was about
(07:44):
to commit what many consider his most terrifying attack at Lake Berryessa. And this time, he
would show up wearing something that would become one of the most iconic and disturbing
images in criminal history. September 27, 1969. Lake Berryessa was a popular spot for
(08:06):
college students and tourists, especially on warm fall days like this one. Brian Hartnell
and Cecilia Shepard, both college students, had picked a secluded spot on the shore for
a peaceful afternoon. What they didn't know was that someone was watching them. The figure
that approached them that day would become legendary. A man wearing a black executioner's
(08:30):
hood with a white cross symbol stitched on the chest. Now here's something most people
don't know. Brian initially thought it was some kind of prank. After all, who would wear
such an elaborate costume and broad daylight? The man claimed to be an escaped convict from
a prison in Montana. He said he needed their car and money to escape to Mexico. Brian, who
(08:53):
survived the attack and gave us this detailed account, noticed something odd. The man's
voice was calm, almost practiced. He spoke without any trace of desperation you'd expect
from an escaped convict. What happened next was methodical, almost ritualistic. The killer
(09:17):
had Brian and Cecilia lie face down on the ground. He bound them with pre-cut lengths
of plastic clothesline. Another sign this was carefully planned. Then, well, the attack
was brutal. Both victims were repeatedly stabbed. Cecilia was struck ten times Brian's six.
(09:39):
Cecilia would later die from her wounds. While Brian, despite his injuries, survived. But
here's where the Zodiac did something completely unexpected. After the attack, he walked calmly
to Brian's car and drew his signature cross-circle symbol on the door with a black marker. Then
he wrote the dates of his previous attacks, adding today's date to the list. It was like
(10:04):
he was keeping score, marking his territory. Then, just like before, he actually alerted
the police. He drove to a phone booth in Napa, called the police, and reported his own crime.
I want to report a murder, no, a double murder. They're two miles north of Park Headquarters.
(10:25):
They were in a white Volkswagen, Carmen Gia. The really unsettling part? He ended the call
by saying, I'm the one who did it. Just two weeks after Lake Beriesa, the Zodiac made
his boldest and most shocking move yet. This time, he changed everything about his pattern.
Instead of targeting young couples in secluded areas, he struck in the heart of San Francisco's
(10:50):
Presidio Heights neighborhood. Instead of using a gun or knife, he chose a taxi cab.
On October 11, 1969, Paul Stein, a 29-year-old cab driver, working his way through graduate
school, picked up a passenger at the corner of Mason and Geary Streets. The destination
(11:10):
was supposed to be Washington and Maple. What happened next would change this case
forever. Here's a detail that haunts investigators to this day. Three teenagers witnessed the
crime from their window across the street. They saw the killer sitting in the front seat
with Stein. It's all him shoot Stein point blank in the head. But instead of fleeing
(11:33):
immediately, the killer did something truly bizarre. He took out a piece of Stein's shirt,
carefully tearing away a section. He then methodically wiped down the cab's interior,
apparently cleaning his fingerprints. The witnesses watched this entire scene unfold,
(11:53):
thinking they were watching a robbery gone wrong. They did call the police and actually
provided a description that was remarkably detailed. White male 25-30 years old crew
cut glasses, stocky build. But here's where things went horribly wrong. In one of the
most tragic miscommunications in criminal history, the police dispatcher described a
(12:18):
suspect as a black male. For crucial minutes, police were looking for the wrong person.
Two patrol officers actually stopped a stocky white man walking through the presidio just
minutes after the murder. He matched the description perfectly. But they let him go because they
were looking for a black suspect. To this day, many investigators believe they had the
(12:43):
Zodiac right there and let him walk away. Three days later, a letter arrived at the San
Francisco Chronicle. Inside was a piece of Paul Stein's bloody shirt. Proof that this
was indeed the work of the Zodiac. But this letter was different. The killer was angry.
(13:05):
He was taunting the police, bragging about how close they'd come to catching him. He
wrote about his plans to shoot out the tires of a school bus and pick off the little darlings
as they come bouncing out. This threat against school children changed everything. The Bay
area was already terrified. But now parents were keeping their kids home from school.
(13:30):
Police began following school buses on their routes. The Zodiac had managed to paralyze
an entire region with just a few words on paper. But here's something fascinating. During
this period, the Zodiac's letter started showing signs of, well, let's call it evolution. His
(13:52):
early letters were fairly straightforward, taking credit for murders, making threats.
But now he was including elaborate ciphers, references to obscure literature, even jokes.
He quoted Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado. He called into live TV shows. It was like he
was developing a character, creating his own mythology. One letter from this period particularly
(14:18):
stands out. The Zodiac claimed he had been stopped by police near a crime scene and managed
to escape. He wrote, The cops could have caught me last night if they had searched the park
properly instead of holding road races with their motorcycles. Was he talking about the
night of the Stein murder? Was this just another taunt? Or was he trying to tell us something
(14:40):
more? Then there's the 340 cipher, sent in November 1969. Unlike the first cipher, this
one remained unbroken for 51 years. When it was finally cracked in 2020, it didn't reveal
the killer's identity, as many had hoped. Instead, it contained more taunts. I hope
(15:00):
you are having lots of fun and trying to catch me. I am not afraid of the gas chamber because
it will send me to paradise all the sooner. What's particularly interesting about this
period is how the Zodiac seemed to be following his own press coverage. He would respond to
articles about him, correct details he felt were wrong, and even complained when he wasn't
(15:23):
getting enough front page coverage. In one letter, he wrote, I get awfully lonely when
I am ignored. Now let's talk about the hunt for the Zodiac,
and the one name that keeps coming up over and over, Arthur Lee Allen. Allen first came
(15:45):
to police attention in 1971 when his friend Don Cheney came forward with an incredible
story according to Cheney back in 1968 before the first known Zodiac murder. Allen had talked
about his desire to kill people, calling them Zodiac kills. He allegedly described wanting
(16:08):
to shoot couples in their cars, attach flashlights to guns, and even wrote stories about an insane
man who hunted people for sport. Pretty damning stuff, right? But here's where it gets really
interesting. Allen had been fired as an elementary school teacher for sexual misconduct. He was
(16:33):
a watch enthusiast, remember, the Zodiac wore a Zodiac brand watch. He lived in Vallejo
when the first murders occurred. He was absent from family gatherings on the dates of known
Zodiac attacks. He even had the same type and size of military boots that left prints
at Lake Berryessa. Now get this, Allen owned the same type of typewriter that may have been
(17:00):
used for the Zodiac letters. When police searched his trailer they found explosives, bomb making
materials, and even a manifesto describing fantasies of killing people. Plus, and this
is something that doesn't get mentioned enough, he was left handed just like the Zodiac was
(17:21):
believed to be based on handwriting analysis. But, and this is a big but, the evidence against
Allen was all circumstantial. His DNA didn't match partial DNA found on the stamps of the
Zodiac letters. His fingerprints didn't match those found on the Stein taxi. Even his handwriting
(17:43):
didn't match the Zodiacs, though some argue he could have disguised it. Here's something
really unsettling though. When police interviewed Allen, he said, I'm not the Zodiac, but if
I was I certainly wouldn't tell you. But he did wear a Zodiac watch to his police interview.
(18:03):
It's like he was playing with them, enjoying the attention. But Allen wasn't the only suspect.
There was Lawrence Cain, who, one of the surviving victims, Darlene Farron's sister, and even
another witness identified. Rick Marshall, a film industry professional who some believe
had the technical knowledge to create the ciphers. Ross Sullivan, a librarian who was
(18:28):
an expert in codes and suffered from mental illness. Even the unabomber, Ted Kaczynski,
was briefly considered. Lawrence Cain is particularly interesting because he keeps showing up in
witness statements. Remember Darlene Farron, the victim at Blue Rock Springs? Her sister
insists she saw Cain following Darlene several times before her murder. Even more intriguing,
(18:54):
Kathleen Johns, who may have been another Zodiac victim, identified Cain as the man who abducted
her and her infant daughter in March 1970. Now something most people don't know about
Cain, he suffered a brain injury in a 1962 car accident that reportedly changed his personality.
(19:16):
Medical records show damage to the part of his brain responsible for controlling urges
and behavior. He lived in the Lake Tahoe area, where the Zodiac claimed to have taken victims
that were never found. And get this, handwriting experts noted some interesting similarities
between Cain's writing and the Zodiacs. Then there's Rick Marshall. Marshall worked as
(19:40):
a film industry professional, which is significant because the Zodiac's letters often contained
references to obscure films and showed knowledge of film techniques. He was also a Navy veteran
with code training, which could explain the ciphers. What really got investigators' attention
was that Marshall had a bitter hatred for couples, especially young couples showing affection
(20:05):
in public. Now Ross Sullivan is a fascinating suspect that doesn't get enough attention.
He worked at the Riverside City College Library when Cherry Jo Bates was murdered there in
1966. A murder some believe was the Zodiac's first kill, though it was never officially
confirmed. Sullivan was brilliant with codes and ciphers, wrote poetry about murder and
(20:30):
mutilation, and had a military background. His own family members believed he could have
been the Zodiac. Here's something really unsettling. Sullivan's co-worker said he would sometimes
come to work in different clothes than he left in, with no explanation. He suffered from
schizophrenia and would have episodes where he'd disappear for days at a time. The timing
(20:55):
of these disappearances allegedly matched with some of the Zodiac's attacks. If I were
a betting man, and I'm not, of course, this would be my guy.
And finally, one of the lesser known but compelling suspects was Earl Van Best Jr. He was suggested
(21:19):
as the Zodiac by his own son in a controversial book. What makes him interesting is that his
criminal record shows a pattern of targeting young women, and he had extensive knowledge
of codes from his work as a rare book dealer. Plus, there's an eerie resemblance between
Van Best and the police sketch from the Stein murder. And this brings us to one of the most
(21:43):
frustrating aspects of the Zodiac case. Why, with all these promising suspects and mountains
of evidence, haven't we been able to definitively identify the killer? The answer lies in what
I call the perfect storm of imperfection. Let me explain. First, we're dealing with crimes
(22:06):
that occurred in the late 1960s, before DNA testing, before computerized databases, before
modern forensic techniques. The evidence collected back then wasn't handled with the same care
we use today because no one knew these methods would eventually exist. A perfect example,
(22:26):
investigators used rubber stamps on the Zodiac's letters to mark them as evidence, potentially
contaminating any DNA that might have been there. Then there's the jurist's dictional
nightmare. The Zodiac killed across different cities, different counties, even possibly
different states. Each department had its own way of handling evidence, its own filing
(22:47):
system, its own theories about the case. Some evidence was lost in transfers between departments,
some was misplaced during office moves, some just disappeared. But here's what really complicates
things. The Zodiac himself seems to have been forensically aware, way ahead of his time.
(23:07):
He wore gloves, he wiped down crime scenes, he used different weapons, different ammo,
even the way he licked his stamps, if he even did lick them, was inconsistent. It's like
he knew that someday these tiny traces might be used to identify him. And then there's
(23:28):
what I consider the most maddening part. The physical evidence we do have? It's contradictory.
The partial DNA from the stamps doesn't match Arthur Lee Allen. The fingerprints from the
taxi don't match Kane. The handwriting analysis doesn't conclusively match anyone. It's almost
(23:49):
as if, well, as if the Zodiac wanted to leave just enough evidence to keep everyone guessing.
Modern technology has opened up some fascinating new avenues in the Zodiac case, and for the
first time in decades there's real hope for a breakthrough. Let me tell you why. In 2020,
(24:12):
we saw what modern tech could do when a team of code breakers finally cracked the 340 cipher
using specialized software. They accomplished something that had stumped experts for over
50 years. But that's just the beginning of what today's technology might reveal. Genetic
genealogy, the same technique that caught the Golden State Killer, could be the key.
(24:35):
In 2018, investigators gathered DNA from the back of Zodiac letter stamps and envelopes.
Now they're running this through expanded DNA databases, building family trees, looking
for distant relatives who might lead to the killer. Even if the Zodiac is dead, his DNA
could still tell us who he was. Here's something really interesting. Artificial intelligence
(24:59):
is being used to analyze the Zodiac's handwriting in ways that weren't possible before. These
programs can detect subtle patterns that human experts might miss. They're even using AI
to compare the linguistic patterns in the Zodiac's letters against writings from various suspects.
(25:19):
And all that is great. But perhaps the most promising new approach involves digital mapping
and geographic profiling. Investigators are using advanced software to analyze the locations
of confirmed and suspected Zodiac attacks, along with where the letters were mailed from.
They're looking for patterns that might reveal where the killer lived or worked. This kind
(25:41):
of analysis has already suggested that the Zodiac likely had some connection to the military,
possibly Travis Air Force Base. There's also new work being done with enhanced photographic
analysis of the few crime scene photos we have. Modern software can pull details from
old photos that weren't visible before. They're even applying this technology to newspaper
(26:04):
photos from the time period, looking for anyone matching the Zodiac's description and crowd
shots from the area. And here's something that gives me hope. Cold case units are now
using predictive algorithms that can connect seemingly unrelated crimes. They're finding
possible Zodiac attacks that weren't previously connected to the case, potentially giving
(26:26):
us new evidence to work with. Some of the most intriguing recent developments in the
Zodiac case have come from a group called the case breakers. Though I should note their
findings are controversial and disputed by many investigators. In October 2021, they
claim to have identified the Zodiac as Gary Francis Post, who died in 2018. They pointed
(26:53):
to some fascinating evidence, scars on Post's forehead, that seemed to match scars visible
in the Zodiac police sketch, and they claim to have found his name hidden in one of the
ciphers. But here's where it gets really interesting. In late 2023, an independent researcher named
(27:14):
Jen Buckholz made headlines by identifying what she believes are additional hidden messages
in the Zodiac's 340 cipher. Using modern cryptographic analysis, she found what appears to be a second
layer of encoded text, something that had never been noticed before. The FBI hasn't closed
(27:36):
the case either. They're still actively collecting DNA from persons of interest. In fact, they've
been quietly gathering DNA samples from the children and grandchildren of deceased suspects,
building a genetic database that could eventually lead to a match. There's also been a renewed
(27:56):
interest in the possible Riverside connection. Remember Sherry Joe Bates, the potential first
Zodiac victim? In 2021, police finally confirmed that a letter received by the Riverside Police
Department in 2016 was actually written by someone admitting to faking the Bates had
(28:17):
to die letters from 1967. This has forced investigators to completely reevaluate the
connection between the Bates murder and the Zodiac. What's particularly fascinating is
that cold case investigators are now looking at a series of unsolved murders along the
California coast from the mid 1970s. These killings stopped around the same time the
(28:43):
Zodiac's letters ceased. They're using modern criminal profiling techniques to determine
if these could be later Zodiac crimes where he changes MO. Even after more than half a
century, the Zodiac case continues to grip our imagination in a way few other unsolved
cases do. And I think I know why. First, there's the psychological game the Zodiac played.
(29:09):
Unlike other serial killers who operated in shadows, the Zodiac wanted an audience. He
wasn't just killing, he was performing. Through his letters, his ciphers, his costume at Lake
Barresa, he was creating a character, almost like a twisted super villain. He wasn't just
committing crimes, he was telling a story. And in a dark way, he made the public part
(29:32):
of that story. Then there's the cipher aspect. Those coded messages tap into something deep
in human nature. Our need to solve puzzles, to find meaning and chaos. Every time someone
cracks one of his codes, like with the 340 cipher in 2020, it feels like we're getting
(29:55):
closer to the truth. It gives us hope that maybe, just maybe, the final piece of the
puzzle is still out there waiting to be found. But I think what really keeps this case alive
in our collective imagination is what I call the coffee shop theory effect. Everyone who
(30:15):
learns about this case feels like they could solve it. The evidence seems so tantalizingly
close. The witnesses who saw him, the letters he wrote, the phone calls he made, it feels
like the answer must be right there in front of us if we could just look at it from the
right angle. And maybe that's exactly what the Zodiac wanted. Maybe his greatest success
(30:38):
wasn't the murders or the ciphers, but the fact that decades later, we're still here.
Still trying to solve his puzzle, still telling his story. In a twisted way, he achieved exactly
what his letters suggested he wanted. Immortality through infamy. But there's one final thing
(31:00):
that keeps this case relevant, the possibility that it could still be solved. Unlike Jack
the Ripper or other historical killers, the Zodiac case exists in that sweet spot where
modern technology could still crack it. There's DNA evidence, fingerprints, handwriting samples,
all waiting for the right breakthrough. Every advance in forensic science brings the possibility
(31:25):
that tomorrow could be the day we finally learn the truth. So, how big of a cultural
impact has the Zodiac killer had? Well, the Zodiac killer's shadow stretches far beyond
the actual crimes. He's become part of our cultural DNA, influencing everything from
how we tell stories to how we think about unsolved crimes. Most people know about David
(31:49):
Fincher's 2007 film, Zodiac, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr. But what's
fascinating is how that film approached the case. Not as a thriller, but as a study of
obsession. It showed how this case doesn't just consume the investigators, it consumes
anyone who dives too deep into it. But the influence goes much deeper. The Zodiac basically
(32:14):
created the template for how we think about serial killers who communicate with the public.
Every time there's a case involving coded messages or letters to newspapers, the Zodiac
comparisons immediately begin. He's become the measuring stick for this type of crime.
The case has also influenced how we think about cipher-based mysteries. Remember the
(32:37):
Cicada 3301 Internet Mystery? Or the recent viral marketing campaigns that use codes and
puzzles? They all owe something to the Zodiac ciphers. He showed how powerful the combination
of mystery and puzzle solving could be. What's particularly interesting is how the case changed
(32:59):
police procedures. The Zodiac's ability to move between jurisdictions exposed huge flaws
in how different police departments communicated with each other. Many of the interagency
task force protocols we see today were developed in response to cases like this. And here's
(33:19):
something that often gets overlooked. The Zodiac case helped create the modern true crime community.
Long before Reddit and Twitter, people were gathering in living rooms and coffee shops
sharing theories about this case. It was one of the first cases where the public felt like
they could be part of solving it. As we wrap up today's episode of Legends and Lore, I
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can't help but think about the real people at the heart of this story. While the Zodiac
killer has become almost mythical, a boogeyman of American true crime, we should never forget
David Faraday, Betty Lou Jensen, Darlene Farron, Cecilia Shepard, and Paul Stein. Their lives
were cut tragically short and their families have spent over five decades waiting for answers.
(34:11):
The Zodiac case remains active. Somewhere in an evidence locker, there might be a DNA
sample that will finally tell us the truth. Or maybe the answer lies in one of those ciphers,
still waiting to be fully understood. Or perhaps someone listening right now knows something
(34:34):
they haven't shared. Some small detail that could break this case wide open. What we do
know is that the Zodiac wanted to be remembered. He wanted to create a legacy of fear and fascination.
And in that, he succeeded. But maybe his own arrogance, his need to taunt and tease through
(34:54):
letters and codes left behind the very clues that will eventually unmask him. Until that
day comes, the Zodiac remains one of our greatest unsolved mysteries. A reminder that sometimes
the most haunting stories are the ones without an ending.
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