“Zodiac” killer: Ex-investigators want to have identified serial killers beyond any doubt

Who was the “Zodiac” killer? A question that has not been answered since the murders in the late 1960s. Now, however, former investigators are “absolutely certain” that they have identified the serial killer.

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It is one of the most spectacular, unsolved criminal cases in US history. Between December 1968 and October 1969, a man terrified the San Francisco Bay Area. He ambushed especially young couples in lonely places and killed them, wrapped in a robe on which the zodiac sign (“Zodiac”) was emblazoned, with countless knife wounds. He murdered five people, two survived.

What makes the case particularly mysterious: The perpetrator sent letters and hard-to-decrypt cryptograms mainly to the “San Francisco Chronicle” and other editorial offices in the Bay Area. In one of those encrypted letters – known as Cipher 408 – he was known to kill for fun. After the murder in October 1969, however, “Zodiac” suddenly stopped his acts of violence and never appeared again as a suspected perpetrator – apart from a few cryptograms, which he then sent to newspapers. Not least, this disappearance from the scene contributed to the fact that the “Zodiac” puzzle was never solved.

“Zodiac” killer: ex-soldier Gary Francis Poste should be

Until now. This is what at least a group of retired FBI investigators and prosecutors who call themselves The Case Breakers believe. The group around the Californian TV producer and security advisor Thomas Colbert has made the solution more famous cold cases prescribed. In Los Angeles, the Case Breakers announced this week that they had unequivocally identified the “Zodiac” killer more than 50 years after his deeds. It is said to be the house painter Gary Francis Poste, a former soldier from Groveland. Poste died in 2018 at the age of 80. A comparison of wanted photos with photos from Postes darkroom found the man. In both cases, the familiar, characteristic scars on the forehead of the alleged serial killer can be seen. In addition, the investigators want to have decrypted cryptograms in which Poste could be recognized. Most recently, in December of last year, the hope that the name could be found in a document known as cipher 340 was shattered.

The Case Breakers became aware of Gary Francis Poste through a direct tip from a relative of the alleged killer. The man claimed that Poste tried to hit him with a hammer, it was said. On the day of the alleged disclosure of the “Zodiac” identity, a former daughter-in-law of the alleged perpetrator also reported. She reported to the San Francisco Chronicle that she fled California because of the threats Postes made.

“Zodiac” name is said to be in encrypted anagrams

The ex-investigators also want to have identified the name of Gary Francis Poste in an anagram that can be found in encrypted messages “Zodiacs”. “I am absolutely sure that we have solved the case,” said Case-Breakers boss to the “Chronicle”. Their research also confirmed that the murder of an 18-year-old student in Riverside, 700 kilometers from San Francisco, was carried out by the “Zodiac”. Because of the circumstances of the crime and a letter of confession, the act of violence committed in 1966 was already considered a possible first “Zodiac” murder.

Above all, the reference to the anagram also raises doubts that “Zodiac” was actually found. The computer expert David Oranchak pointed out that anagrams – the change in the order of the letters of a word – can be interpreted a lot. Oranchak was involved in the decryption of Chiffe 340, in which the serial killer said he did not want to end up in the gas chamber, but contrary to expectations, he did not reveal his real name. The FBI and the San Francisco Police are therefore not as convinced as the Case Breakers that the “Zodiac” puzzle is solved. You rather speak of soft evidence. “The Zodiac case remains open,” the judicial authorities therefore stated.

Sources: The Case Breakers; “San Francisco Chronicle”

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