Аннотация: Notes about the case of the Zodiac killer
As you know, the zodiac killer operated in California in the late 1960s. Basically he killed the young couple, just on account of his 5 murders. A few people survived after the attacks. Zodiac is famous because he wrote the letter after crimes, among them the famous 340-character cipher.
Still of the Zodiac case has not been solved, although there were many suspects and letters. In this case many facts attract attention, and I have tried to highlight those that seem strange to me.
The first and most important. I don't understand why on such limited area, where was Zodiac, he was never found. The identikit of the offender were widespread. This composite sketch was circulated in newspapers, on television, and hung around the city. The population of Vallejo (in the vicinity of which the murder occurred) is about 80 thousand people. It was easy to find this person, it could see the neighbors, bystanders, colleagues at work. But no... Even despite the fact that geographically the killings took place at a small radius, and there were at least a few of portrait killer, he was never found.
Everyone knows killer's car. Presumably it was a white Chevrolet Impala. It was possible to create a list of similar car (brands could be more) and calculate all owners of white Chevrolet in the area or within a certain radius.
These facts can say that the Zodiac lived far away from the crime scene or was the visitors who had been in the area at times. Perhaps he was not a permanent resident of these places and went there for work. These versions should have been processed.
Second. The Zodiac was not a professional killer. I will give a few arguments to prove it. The zodiac a few times was kept alive their victims. The victim testified against him and could identify. But it didn't happen.
The Zodiac has left TOO many traces of crimes, to talk about professionalism:
- fingerprints on the letters
- samples of handwriting in letters and on envelopes
- voice sample (the recording was available for some time)
- the prints of the palms as much as on the phone, and after the murder of Paul Stein
Let's say that the Zodiac could have been arrested later for another crime. Police checks each time a detainee on participation in other crimes, and could find such a connection. The police have fingerprints, voice, handwriting. The full set of evidence sufficient for arrest.
Why the police never apprehended the Zodiac?
If you consider Zodiac criminal episodes, you also select a few lucky coincidences that allowed Zodiac to get away from crime scenes:
- after the murder of Paul Stein Zodiac caught the eye of police patrol, he was a piece of Stine's shirt at that time
- after "car" murders the Zodiac in a hurry to leave and no one could catch him, nobody really saw him
- strange clowning with the costume at lake Berryessa. Why was it necessary to come up with the costume of the executioner, when you can be caught?
Every time the Zodiac left a lot of clues and risked being caught. For example, in the attack on the same lake Berryessa Zodiac wrote with a knife on the car door his message. While the victims car was parked near the road.
Any passing motorist could read the license plates on the car of the Zodiac and to remember them. But this did not happen.
Moreover, every time the Zodiac wrote letters, and sent them from different locations. This could shed light on his whereabouts. It was enough to make a map of point of origin, to have certain data.
It's not like a professional killer dressed as a carnival, wiping the fingerprints from the crime scene and even left various traces (e.g., traces from the sole of the boots).
Nowadays there is a DNA sample of the killer and perhaps the most reliably determine the identity of the Zodiac. But this is not yet happening.
And third. The strange thing is that he just disappeared after a series of his crimes. Why didn't he continue to write letters, to kill and to be satisfied with wide glory? It is not entirely clear. Probably the last story with Paul Stein very much frightened him, and he took note of that next time might not be so lucky. Maybe he just died for one reason or another, and no one has solved this.
In addition, no one was able to unravel some of Zodiac ciphers. My opinion, given that the 408 cipher was solved almost instantly. The 340 cipher is just a "decoy duck" which was made up to mislead. Don't know what techniques were used, but if the cipher text is passed through all the known procedures for its interpretation and has not been deciphered, most likely this is the work of an dilettante, in which he mixed up some components. Zodiac loved to fool the cops and leave out in the cold. He took upon himself the crimes of others, threatened to blow up school buses and so on.