There have been several identified and unidentified Zodiac Killer suspects over the years since the mysterious serial killer went on a killing spree in the 1960s. It is arguably the most popular unsolved case in America. The case of the Zodiac Killer remains unsolved even today after several people were suspected and even thoroughly investigated. This triggered arguments about whether one of the Zodiac Killer suspects could be the one.
The killer murdered 5 people between 1968 and 1969. He was known to target young couples and cab drivers. Even though his kill count isn’t as high as most other famous serial killers from the US, his popularity is owed to the short span within which he killed and the fact that he was never found. Here is a list of the Zodiac Killer suspects and the charges they were pressed with over the years.
Arthur Allen Leigh
Arthur Allen Leigh is the most famous among the Zodiac killer suspects. The alleged paedophile served in the US Navy. He was then a school teacher before he was accused of sexual misconduct. Authorities found Arthur Allen Leigh in close vicinity to one of the crimes which led to the allegation. However, a lack of evidence led to Leigh walking free. In 1971, a friend of Arthur told the police that he expressed a want to kill people and frequently used the word Zodiac.
This accusation made the case against Arthus Allen Leigh the strongest among all the Zodiac Killer suspects. However, even after a thorough search through his house and belongings, the police failed to find anything that could be used to prove his guilt.
Richard Gaikowski
The case against Gaikowski wasn’t as strong as the one against Leigh. Richard Gaikwski worked as a newspaper editor with the Good Times. The staff working on the paper were reportedly all packed on Wednesdays which happened to be the only day of the week when the Zodiac Killer didn’t send emails. A co-worker also identified his voice to match that of the Zodiac killer.
However, the police didn’t find enough evidence against Richard Kaigowski.
Lawrence Kane
Kathleen Johns was a woman who claimed to have been abducted by the Zodiac killer. When this news broke out, it was as though the Zodiac killer would now be caught without hassle. She pointed to Lawrence Kane’s photo from a line-up and claimed she was the Zodiac killer. An officer who was at the crime scene and got a quick view of the killer also claimed he resembled Kane.
He was also diagnosed with severe brain injuries following an accident in 1962. He too remains a prominent one of the Zodiac killer suspects. Kane died in 2010.
Gary Francis Poste
Gary Francis Poste died in 2018 at the age of 80. In 2021, a group of several journalists, military officers and former law enforcement professionals came together to claim that Poste was indeed the Zodiac killer. Even back when the killer was active, the police questioned Poste. They found several connections between Poste and the mails the Zodiac killer was sending.
Gary Francis Poste remains one of the most important Zodiac Killer suspects after Arthur Allen Leigh.
Louis Joseph Myers
Myers became a suspect only after his death when a friend of his reported to the police that Myers told him he was the killer. Myers allegedly asked his friend to reveal the truth to the police after he died. He was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis when he revealed this to his friend. As late as 2001, when Myers died, police suspected that people began lying about being the Zodiac killer owing to the fame and media attention the case received.
Almost all of the evidence found by the police disproved the claim that Myers was the Zodiac killer.
Richard Marshall
Although the evidence used to make this claim is unclear, the police claimed that Richard Marshall was one of the Zodiac killer suspects. He was in San Fransisco, close to the murder scenes, in 1969 when the crimes occurred but that is all the available evidence that was used to establish his connection.
Myth of the Zodiac Killer is a Peacock series that follows all kinds of theories and possibilities relating to the case of the Zodiac killer’s murders.
