The Zodiac Killer :
The Zodiac, also known as the Zodiac Killer, is not an identified serial killer who is responsible for five murders, two attempted murders, and one kidnapping committed in Northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Beyond these true facts, he is suspected of having committed numerous murders between 1966 and 1978. The case has inspired numerous books and films.
Victims :
The total number of victims of the Zodiac Killer remains unclear. At least five murders are attributed to him in the towns of Benicia and Vallejo, on the shores of Lake Berryessa near Napa, and in San Francisco, between December 1968 and October 1969. In his book, Robert Graysmith lists 49 names. The killer made 37 victims.
Details of the investigation² :
The killer addressed numerous letters to the press, including four ciphers, two of which, at the end of 2020. Besides, they have not been deciphered yet. The first was deciphered on 8 August 1969 by Professor Donald Harden and his wife, Bettye. The letters are signed with a symbol resembling a Celtic cross or the sight of a sniper rifle, a symbol also engraved with the tip of a knife on the door of one of the victims cars.
The Zodiac letters :
On August 1969, letters from the Zodiac were received by three Californian newspapers: the Vallejo Times-Herald, the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco Examiner. The letters that the killer claimed would reveal his name. The Zodiac demands that his letter and code be published on the front page of the newspaper, threatening to commit twelve murders the following weekend if they are not. Finally, the San Francisco Examiner published the letter on page four.
Cryptograms decrypted :
The letters sent to the press by the Zodiac include four cryptograms. It is composed of exactly 408 characters and was deciphered. Two other coded messages, which appears to contain the name of the killer, have still not been deciphered. The fourth message, was received in November 1969. On 17 February 2021, a young French-Moroccan engineering technician, claimed to have successfully solved the last two encrypted messages of the Zodiac. According to him, the message, reputed to contain the name of the killer, would point to Lawrence Kane, one of the known suspects in the case.