Posted on 11/20/2017 11:57:24 AM PST by nickcarraway
A new History series invites top detectives and coders to resolve the gruesome almost 50-year-old mystery.
"The Zodiac Killer is the most notorious unsolved murder cases in the history of the United States," retired Detective Supervisor in Criminal/Gang Homicide Division of LAPD Sal LaBarbera tells us.
Sal along with Ken Marine Corp vet and cold case specialist Kenneth Mains and a team of computer code crackers are determined to solve this serial killer mystery in History’s brand-new series, The Zodiac Killer: Case Close?
[Read more: The best shows on BT TV this month]
Here's all you need to know about the gripping new series.
What is 'The Zodiac Killer' about?
History’s The Zodiac Killer: Case Closed? is an investigative series that hopes to solve the decades long Zodiac Killer mystery once and for all.
Using the latest code cracking computer technology, a team of leading computer coders and two highly credible investigators (Sal LaBarbera and Kenneth Mains) hope to achieve what the Northern Californian police have never been able to do – identify the serial killer.
Striving for total credibility and avoiding sensationalism, Kenneth concluded that the show is as much about providing peace for the victims’ surviving family members as simply exposing the serial killer himself:
“For me I think you have to realise that it is not about Zodiac, it is about the victims, and the victims’ families sometimes we get lost in the idea of the Zodiac Killer, but Betty Lou Johnson, Cecelia Ann Shepard, Paul Lee Stine – they all have families and lives that were affected by their murders and I would want viewers to realise that it is not about Zodiac it is about getting resolutions for the victims and their families,” he said.
The Zodiac Killer was a serial killer who committed multiple murders in Northern California, USA between 1968-1970.
Despite the police considering over 2,500 suspects, he has never been formally identified and the case remains open. Five victims were murdered either by gun wounds or stabs, and a further two survived their attack.
However, the Zodiac Killer claimed through a series of letters and complex codes he sent to the media and police to have killed 37 people.
Between 1960-1970 the Zodiac killer sent letters and greeting cards to both the local police and media. Within this he declared himself as “The Zodiac” and he took personal credit for each murder committed. In some cases, he even enclosed pieces of evidence taken from the victims’ bodies, such as a piece of victim Paul Stine’s shirt.
“I think the Zodiac killer really enjoyed taunting and playing with the police through his letters more than the actual killing.
“I think he was a narcissist, he was above average intelligence and he had a lot of issues with authority,” Kenneth told us.
These letters included four cryptograms or ciphers, three of which remained unsolved. The Zodiac Killer claimed that within the ciphers exists his true identity and in one letter he even taunts “My name is –“ followed by the yet to be translated code.
Despite various witnesses claiming to have caught fleeting glances of the so-called Zodiac Killer, he has never been identified or indeed caught.
Why has he been so elusive and difficult to pin down? Well, Sal told it was for numerous reasons, including the unprecedented nature of the crimes and the lack of technology at the time:
“There are four confirmed Zodiac cases and attacks, two of the victims survived, a lot of these cases were spread out in the area and over time, and handled by different police departments. Some of these simply weren’t used to dealing with homicides. We lacked so much technology then, and not all of the evidence was properly preserved,” Sal said.
Witness accounts inspired a police portrait of Zodiac, which depicts him as a slim white man in his early 30’s, wearing glasses.
Zodiac Killer: Case Closed
While numerous suspects at the time matched this physical depiction, one in particular Ross Sullivan, stood out. He had surprisingly similar handwriting to that of the Zodiac’s, had studied cryptology and had been suspected in a previous murder committed in 1966, that police noted eerily matched in similarity to the killing of the Zodiac.
Sal said this individual certainly will not go unnoticed within the series investigations:
“Without giving anything away Ross Sullivan is definitely a good suspect right now but we will develop other suspects as the series goes on. Various suspects will appear and reappear and we will come up with the best evidence per each suspect that we can,” he said.
When is 'The Zodiac Killer: Case Closed?' on TV? Zodiac Killer: Case Closed? starts November 22nd on History at 9pm.
Watch History on BT TV channel 327/379 HD.
He’s a roommate with DB Cooper!
No. Him and Jack the Ripper, got away clean, will never be found. More good news for book publishers.
What does Hillary know about the Zodiac Killer and when did she know it?
He is found already, I can’t remember the guy’s name but his handwriting is 100% identical to the Zodiac.
Is the Zodiac Killer About to Be Found?
Umm, no. Not going to waste the time to watch.
Is Ross Sullivan still around? He looks pretty good for it so far.
Had to read the whole article to figure out which channel - History channel. The one channel I get. They did a good DB Cooper series a few few months ago. Hey, you don’t suppose ....
[He is found already, I can’t remember the guy’s name but his handwriting is 100% identical to the Zodiac.]
Arthur Leigh Allen?
Jack the Ripper was a Polak dentist. It came out recently.
Of course they won’t find the guy. It’s a show on the HISTORY CHANNEL!!! Talk about a network that has ruined itself. They are as bad as ESPN!!
I LOVE history, but that channel doesn’t even pretend to care about history anymore. Aliens? The Curse of Oak Island? WTF...... :-/
This will be just like every other such show. Drag on and on and on and never show anything new in the case at all.
“He is found already, I can’t remember the guy’s name but his handwriting is 100% identical to the Zodiac.]”
Arthur Leigh Allen?
That’s the Guy!
If the code was real it would have been solved by someone.
I suspect he just made up nonsense to make them waste time. There was a movie on a couple of days ago which was pretty bad. They tried to say it was likely some guy but they really had very little to go on.
Handwriting analysis is not nearly as accurate as most believe.
It reminded me of a very long TV movie about Ted Bundy. It spent several days following a bunch of detectives in Seattle who basically had little to do with his capture or conviction.
He was caught by a cop in Pensacola, Florida after murdering a little girl plus the Chi Omega attack. He was actually executed for the murder of the little girl.
Allen’s birthday is also the same as the Zodiac’s.
Just think of all of the inflatable boats he’s killed.
Either that or, since it is the History Channel, the killer will be revealed as an ancient bigfoot astronaut.
Arthur Leigh Allen (December 18, 1933-August 26, 1992) was the prime suspect of law enforcement in the case for the Zodiac Killer. Allen became publicly known as a Zodiac suspect shortly after the release of Zodiac, a book authored by Robert Graysmith. Allen was cleared through a comparison of DNA, fingerprints, palm prints, and handwriting.
Arthur Leigh Allen died on August 26, 1992 of a heart attack in his home in Vallejo.
http://zodiackiller.wikia.com/wiki/Arthur_Leigh_Allen
Here's a zodiac gif.
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