Thousands of men have been named as a possible suspect for the Zodiac Killer, a serial killer who was active in California between December 1968 and October 1969. The Zodiac murdered five known victims in the San Francisco Bay Area, operating in rural, urban, and suburban settings. He targeted three young couples and a lone male cab driver. The case has been described as "arguably the most famous unsolved murder case in American history," and has become both a fixture of popular culture and a focus for efforts by amateur detectives.
In 2007, The Guardian wrote that over 2,500 people have been brought up as a possible Zodiac suspect, and at least a half dozen names were credible.[1] The San Francisco Police Department had investigated an estimated 2,500 suspects by 2009.[2] Richard Grinell, who runs the website Zodiac Ciphers, said in 2022 that "there are probably 50 or 100 suspects named every year."[3]
While many theories regarding the identity of the Zodiac have been suggested, the only suspect authorities ever publicly named was Arthur Leigh Allen, a former elementary school teacher and convicted sex offender who died in 1992. Other suspects seen as viable include Earl Van Best Jr., Gary Francis Poste, Giuseppe Bevilacqua, Lawrence Kane, Paul Doerr, Richard Gaikowski, and Richard Marshall.
- ^ Tunzelmann, Alex von (2012-02-23). "Zodiac shows all the vital signs of historical accuracy". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
- ^ "Zodiac Killer: Meet The Prime Suspects". America's Most Wanted. Archived from the original on September 1, 2011. Retrieved January 18, 2009.
- ^ "Has the Zodiac Killer Mystery Been Solved (Again)?". Los Angeles Magazine. Archived from the original on September 4, 2023. Retrieved September 4, 2023.