[Music]
this Northern California killer
definitely had a method to his madness
welcome to watchmojo.com hours in
today’s installment we’ll be counting
down the five most notable and
fascinating pieces of information
surrounding this disturbing serial
killer who terrorized California
throughout the late 60s and early 70s he
threatens to go on a killing rampage
if the cryptogram is not published on
the Chronicles front page number five
the zodiac murders followed a familiar
pattern and you really creeped us out
the term modus operandi can be loosely
defined as characteristic or established
way of performing a task this was
definitely the case when it came to the
Zodiac killer who tended to target
couples who were parked in cars or
located in otherwise secluded areas
zodiac was meticulous and prepared when
it came to stalking his victims and
catching them by surprise
often creeping up on them with a knife
or firing gunshots at point-blank range
the Zodiac also wore a black executioner
style hood for his Lake Berryessa attack
of Brian Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard as
well as a white bib displaying a three
inch by three inch cross circle insignia
as a sort of perverse coat of arms
zodiac was also well prepared when it
came to hiding his fingerprints
reportedly covering his hands and model
airplane cement in order to make them
muddled and difficult for authorities to
lift number four people have come
forward to claim relatives as the zodiac
it’s not entirely uncommon for true
crime authors to offer up theories as to
who might have committed a series of
unsolved murders but it’s another thing
altogether for someone to come forward
and claim one of their relatives was one
of the most infamous serial killers in
American history this was exactly what
happened in 2007 when Denis Kauffman put
forth his step father Jack Tarrant as a
Zodiac suspect due to his discovery of a
similar-looking executioner’s hood as
well as a bloody knife and handwriting
samples Kaufman claimed would match up
with that of the zodiac you have 42
identical marks between Jack Torrance
and the zodiac letters yes seven years
later at Gary Stewart wrote a book
claiming that he was the biological son
of the
having been abandoned by his biological
parents in the early 60s and while
neither of these claims have resulted in
any definitive answers an even stranger
turn of events took place during the
2016 American presidential election to
die of love is to live by it a series of
comedic tweets actually placed one time
candidate Ted Cruz as a potential zodiac
suspect even though Cruz was born in
1970 making it physically impossible for
him to be the killer come on that’s
absurd you know some people actually
liked the Zodiac killer number three the
Zodiac often communicated encode via
ciphers the Zodiac killer has five
victims attributed directly to him but
this didn’t stop him from sending
letters directly to the press and police
often claiming responsibility for
multiple murders prove I kill them I
shall stay some facts which only I in
the police know to complicate things
further the Zodiac often sent these
missives encode via ciphers a form of
communication that is deliberately
disguised in order to convey a hidden
meaning three separate letters were sent
in 1969 to three major newspapers in the
San Francisco area each containing one
third of a cryptogram which zodiac
claimed hid the key to his identity the
press and police had to use outside
sources in order to decode the hidden
meanings behind these letters which
often shed light on the killer’s loose
grip on reality as well as his affinity
for cinema such as the most dangerous
game here on my island I hunt the most
dangerous game zodiac also demanded that
his letters be printed on the front page
otherwise he would commit more murders
less than a week later another letter
was sent to the San Francisco Examiner
opening with the chilling line which has
now become the killer’s calling card
this is the zodiac speaking
number two the Zodiac taunted
authorities after his crimes the Zodiac
killer was bold and brash in his
communication with both the authorities
and the press this wasn’t just limited
to snail mail missives however as an
anonymous call was placed via a phone
booth to the Vallejo Police Headquarters
claiming responsibility for the gunshots
which left Darlene Ferrin dead and
Michael Mageau severely injured after
encountering the zodiac while parking
Rock Springs California mojo would
survive his attack however and gave the
descriptions of a young white male
between 26 and 30 years old a stocky
build and light curly brown hair adding
unexplained insult to injury to officer
saw a white man similar to this
description while making their way to
the crime scene of zodiacs next victim
car driver Paul Stine the officers
observed but didn’t detain this man as a
police dispatcher had mistakenly
described the Stine suspect as a black
male wait I thought someone said it was
black that’s the description that
without the radio car’s zodiac even
commented on this baffling mistake
during one of his letters to the San
Francisco Chronicle claiming that two
officers had spoken to him a mere three
minutes after shooting Stine number one
the Zodiac killer was never caught I
need to stand there I need to look him
in the eye and I need to know that it’s
him copycat crimes fan letters and
hoaxes accumulated in the years
following the deaths of zodiacs five
confirmed victims while to this day
phone calls and tips continue to be sent
by those who think that they may have
the answer zodiac didn’t do it but took
credit for it anyway because he’s in it
for the press one brief break in the
case did occur when authorities managed
to extract some saliva from a stamp but
this piece of evidence while eliminating
some suspects wasn’t enough to bring the
Zodiac killer to justice this didn’t
stop the madman’s flow of communication
either a Zodiac sent both letters and
greeting cards to investigators and
members of the press throughout 1970 I
feel it in my bones you ache to know my
name and so I’ll clue you in but then
why spoil the game the final official
communication with the zodiac was
received by The Chronicle in 1974
wherein he expressed his approval of the
Exorcist as quote the best satirical
comedy I have ever seen before closing
his letter with a final running tally
which simply said me 37 SFPD 0 so do you
think you can identify the Zodiac killer
about cracking his unsolved cryptic
cypher messages I wonder that absolutely
positively does not match
is the letter K for more creepy killer
top tens and secret code top fives be
sure to subscribe to watchmojo.com you
know people forget one thing there’s pee
innocent people that died and there’s
families there they don’t have
resolution so it’s not just a mystery
them it’s real life
[Music]
this Northern California killer
definitely had a method to his madness
welcome to watchmojo.com hours in
today’s installment we’ll be counting
down the five most notable and
fascinating pieces of information
surrounding this disturbing serial
killer who terrorized California
throughout the late 60s and early 70s he
threatens to go on a killing rampage
if the cryptogram is not published on
the Chronicles front page number five
the zodiac murders followed a familiar
pattern and you really creeped us out
the term modus operandi can be loosely
defined as characteristic or established
way of performing a task this was
definitely the case when it came to the
Zodiac killer who tended to target
couples who were parked in cars or
located in otherwise secluded areas
zodiac was meticulous and prepared when
it came to stalking his victims and
catching them by surprise
often creeping up on them with a knife
or firing gunshots at point-blank range
the Zodiac also wore a black executioner
style hood for his Lake Berryessa attack
of Brian Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard as
well as a white bib displaying a three
inch by three inch cross circle insignia
as a sort of perverse coat of arms
zodiac was also well prepared when it
came to hiding his fingerprints
reportedly covering his hands and model
airplane cement in order to make them
muddled and difficult for authorities to
lift number four people have come
forward to claim relatives as the zodiac
it’s not entirely uncommon for true
crime authors to offer up theories as to
who might have committed a series of
unsolved murders but it’s another thing
altogether for someone to come forward
and claim one of their relatives was one
of the most infamous serial killers in
American history this was exactly what
happened in 2007 when Denis Kauffman put
forth his step father Jack Tarrant as a
Zodiac suspect due to his discovery of a
similar-looking executioner’s hood as
well as a bloody knife and handwriting
samples Kaufman claimed would match up
with that of the zodiac you have 42
identical marks between Jack Torrance
and the zodiac letters yes seven years
later at Gary Stewart wrote a book
claiming that he was the biological son
of the
having been abandoned by his biological
parents in the early 60s and while
neither of these claims have resulted in
any definitive answers an even stranger
turn of events took place during the
2016 American presidential election to
die of love is to live by it a series of
comedic tweets actually placed one time
candidate Ted Cruz as a potential zodiac
suspect even though Cruz was born in
1970 making it physically impossible for
him to be the killer come on that’s
absurd you know some people actually
liked the Zodiac killer number three the
Zodiac often communicated encode via
ciphers the Zodiac killer has five
victims attributed directly to him but
this didn’t stop him from sending
letters directly to the press and police
often claiming responsibility for
multiple murders prove I kill them I
shall stay some facts which only I in
the police know to complicate things
further the Zodiac often sent these
missives encode via ciphers a form of
communication that is deliberately
disguised in order to convey a hidden
meaning three separate letters were sent
in 1969 to three major newspapers in the
San Francisco area each containing one
third of a cryptogram which zodiac
claimed hid the key to his identity the
press and police had to use outside
sources in order to decode the hidden
meanings behind these letters which
often shed light on the killer’s loose
grip on reality as well as his affinity
for cinema such as the most dangerous
game here on my island I hunt the most
dangerous game zodiac also demanded that
his letters be printed on the front page
otherwise he would commit more murders
less than a week later another letter
was sent to the San Francisco Examiner
opening with the chilling line which has
now become the killer’s calling card
this is the zodiac speaking
number two the Zodiac taunted
authorities after his crimes the Zodiac
killer was bold and brash in his
communication with both the authorities
and the press this wasn’t just limited
to snail mail missives however as an
anonymous call was placed via a phone
booth to the Vallejo Police Headquarters
claiming responsibility for the gunshots
which left Darlene Ferrin dead and
Michael Mageau severely injured after
encountering the zodiac while parking
Rock Springs California mojo would
survive his attack however and gave the
descriptions of a young white male
between 26 and 30 years old a stocky
build and light curly brown hair adding
unexplained insult to injury to officer
saw a white man similar to this
description while making their way to
the crime scene of zodiacs next victim
car driver Paul Stine the officers
observed but didn’t detain this man as a
police dispatcher had mistakenly
described the Stine suspect as a black
male wait I thought someone said it was
black that’s the description that
without the radio car’s zodiac even
commented on this baffling mistake
during one of his letters to the San
Francisco Chronicle claiming that two
officers had spoken to him a mere three
minutes after shooting Stine number one
the Zodiac killer was never caught I
need to stand there I need to look him
in the eye and I need to know that it’s
him copycat crimes fan letters and
hoaxes accumulated in the years
following the deaths of zodiacs five
confirmed victims while to this day
phone calls and tips continue to be sent
by those who think that they may have
the answer zodiac didn’t do it but took
credit for it anyway because he’s in it
for the press one brief break in the
case did occur when authorities managed
to extract some saliva from a stamp but
this piece of evidence while eliminating
some suspects wasn’t enough to bring the
Zodiac killer to justice this didn’t
stop the madman’s flow of communication
either a Zodiac sent both letters and
greeting cards to investigators and
members of the press throughout 1970 I
feel it in my bones you ache to know my
name and so I’ll clue you in but then
why spoil the game the final official
communication with the zodiac was
received by The Chronicle in 1974
wherein he expressed his approval of the
Exorcist as quote the best satirical
comedy I have ever seen before closing
his letter with a final running tally
which simply said me 37 SFPD 0 so do you
think you can identify the Zodiac killer
about cracking his unsolved cryptic
cypher messages I wonder that absolutely
positively does not match
is the letter K for more creepy killer
top tens and secret code top fives be
sure to subscribe to watchmojo.com you
know people forget one thing there’s pee
innocent people that died and there’s
families there they don’t have
resolution so it’s not just a mystery
them it’s real life
[Music]
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