Zodiac killer

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A Daughter Changes Her Mind About Zodiac Killer's Identity

'I think you're right,' Gloria Doerr says to author who accused her dad

(Newser) - San Francisco police still have not figured out the identity of the infamous Zodiac Killer , a man who killed at least five and injured two in the late 1960s. Over the years, amateur sleuths digging into the killer's taunting letters and ciphers to police have put forth countless suspects...

Another Zodiac Killer? FBI On Alert Over Albany Letters

Media outlets contacted by self-proclaimed 'Chinese Zodiac Killer'

(Newser) - The FBI is on alert in upstate New York after multiple news media outlets reportedly received letters from a writer claiming to be the "Chinese Zodiac Killer." Per the Albany Times Union , the Bureau is investigating incidents at several television stations in the New York capital and notified...

Cold Case Team: We've ID'd the Zodiac Killer

Police aren't so sure, say case remains open

(Newser) - While one codebreaker claims the Zodiac killer's own cyphers identifies him as a known suspect , a team of 40 former law enforcement investigators say physical and forensic evidence points to a different person. The so-called Case Breakers say they've identified a former US airman and house painter from...

He Claims to Have Solved Zodiac Killer's Last Ciphers

But results from French-Moroccan man aren't embraced in the case's online community

(Newser) - A French-Moroccan man claims to have done what decades of sleuths have failed to do—crack two unsolved ciphers left by the Zodiac Killer and reveal his identity. But as the New York Times reports, the claims of 38-year-old Faycal Ziraoui aren't exactly being embraced by the large online...

51 Years Later, a 'Zodiac Killer' Cipher Has Been Solved

Code-breaking trio solves one of the ciphers the killer sent to 'San Francisco Chronicle' in 1969

(Newser) - For 14 years, Virginia web designer David Oranchak has been toiling away on one of America's greatest mysteries: the "340 Cipher," a 340-character puzzle sent to the San Francisco Chronicle more than 50 years ago by the infamous "Zodiac Killer," who murdered at least five...

Inside One Man's Theory: There Is No Zodiac Killer

Thomas Henry Horan believes the murders were committed by various people

(Newser) - "Finding out there’s no Zodiac would be like finding out there's no Santa Claus," writes Bill Black for MEL Magazine —which may explain why a whole bunch of people are no fan of Thomas Henry Horan. He's a semi-retired community college writing professor in...

Answers in One Mystery Lead to More Questions

Could Robert Ivan Nichols be the Zodiac Killer?

(Newser) - What appeared to be a straightforward suicide case morphed into what's been called "one of northeast Ohio's biggest mysteries," involving a long-dead boy, identity theft, and a war hero turned deadbeat dad. Now, per the Plain Dealer , the cold case has been (somewhat) solved, largely thanks...

Cops Have Surprise Plan to Identify the Zodiac Killer

Police hope new DNA technology will help

(Newser) - First, the Golden State Killer—now the Zodiac Killer? With DNA evidence possibly pointing to the former , police say the same method could help identify the long-sought Zodiac Killer, NBC News reports. Police in Vallejo, Calif., say they sent two envelopes from the Zodiac Killer to a private lab for...

Cop Who Led Unsuccessful Hunt for Zodiac Killer Has Died

Dave Toschi was 86

(Newser) - Dave Toschi, the San Francisco police detective who led the unsuccessful investigation into the Zodiac serial killer a half-century ago, died Saturday after a lengthy illness. He was 86. Toschi was put on the Zodiac case after a San Francisco taxi driver was shot to death in 1969. He was...

Poll Wants to Know: Is Ted Cruz the Zodiac Killer?

It's the final question on a survey from Public Policy Polling

(Newser) - A sampling of tweets sent within minutes of each other on Thursday: "I'm confused and I'm just trying to get to the bottom of this. Is Ted Cruz the Zodiac killer? Or is he not?" and "Is Ted Cruz the Zodiac killer? I haven't seen...

Zodiac Killer Married 13-Year-Old, Book Claims

The late Earl Van Best Jr. was behind the killings, claims his son

(Newser) - The late Earl Van Best Jr. was the Zodiac Killer, at least according to his own son. HarperCollins yesterday released a book by Gary L. Stewart that got a quick avalanche of press, due in part to the fact that the publisher managed to keep the lid on the book...

Man Claims Dad Was Zodiac Killer in New Book

Gary L. Stewart says he came to conclusion while searching for biological father

(Newser) - It's an explosive claim shrouded in an unbelievable amount of secrecy. Gary L. Stewart alleges that a dozen years of research have led him to the conclusion that his father was the Zodiac Killer—and HarperCollins is publishing a book to that end today. New York broke the news...

Zodiac Killer Living in California: Book

Former state cop says evidence was ignored

(Newser) - The Zodiac killer who terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area is still living in northern California, says a new book by a former state police officer. The Zodiac is blamed for at least five slayings beginning in 1968. No one was arrested for the murders, and police stopped hunting for...

Cop: I've Deciphered a Zodiac Killer Message

But Lt. John Lewison has yet to share his solution

(Newser) - A Chicago cop says he has managed to decipher one of the coded messages that have long frustrated investigators—one left by the Zodiac killer. Lt. John Lewison has been something of a Zodiac hobbyist ever since the “BTK Killer” was caught in 2005 using clues from the taunting...

'Zodiac Killer Was Merchant Seaman'
'Zodiac Killer Was Merchant Seaman'
Jul 20, 2009 4:58 AM CDT

'Zodiac Killer Was Merchant Seaman'

Man confessed to string of murders, attorney reveals

(Newser) - A new suspect has emerged in the long-unsolved Zodiac Killer case, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. A "cowardly" merchant seaman paid $50 for an hour-long consultation with an attorney 30 years ago, and revealed that he killed five people beginning in 1968, and was considering confessing to police, said...

Dad Wasn't Zodiac Killer, Says Other Daughter

(Newser) - The half-sister of the California woman who asserted Wednesday that their father was the dreaded Zodiac killer of the 1960s isn’t having any of it, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Janice Hendrickson’s father “couldn’t hurt a fly,” she said today. “He did have a...

'My Dad Was the Zodiac Killer'

Californian claims to offer proof that her father was '60s serial killer

(Newser) - A Californian real estate agent came forward yesterday claiming to offer proof that her late father was the serial Zodiac Killer who terrorized the Bay Area in the '60s, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Her carpenter dad took her along to murder sites where the 7-year-old sat in the car...

17 Stories