Everyone loves a good mystery, but what happens when a mystery remains unsolved, never reaching a satisfying conclusion like the classic Scooby-Doo reveal?
Let’s begin with one of the most publicized unsolved cases, so well-known that a website is dedicated to tracking down the perpetrator: the Zodiac Killer.
Unlike most criminals who operate in secrecy, the “Zodiac,” as he called himself, was anything but discreet. From 1968 to 1969, he terrorized San Francisco with a series of murders, taunting the police with coded letters sent to local newspapers. While he is directly linked to at least five deaths, he claimed to have killed 37 people. His reign of terror began when the bodies of Betty Lou Jensen, 16, and David Arthur Faraday, 17, were discovered near their bullet-riddled car. Jensen was found dead at the scene with five gunshot wounds to her back, while Faraday died from a bullet wound to the head en route to the hospital. Six months later, a couple parked four miles from the initial crime scene was also attacked, resulting in one death and one injury. The survivor, Michael Mageau, provided a description of the killer: a heavyset white man, approximately 5’8″ tall. However, it was the Zodiac Killer himself who provided the remaining clues.
At 12:48 a.m. that same night, police received a strange call:
A month later, newspapers received the first letter from the Zodiac Killer. He demanded its publication on the front page, threatening a killing spree if his demand was not met. The letter described the murders, all written in mysterious ciphers that appeared to form a code. This became a recurring theme in his subsequent letters, each signed with a crossed-circle symbol. One such letter was deciphered by a high school teacher and his wife. It read:
The Zodiac Killer continued his killing spree, leaving behind a trail of frustrating evidence for the police: coded letters, anonymous phone calls, the crossed-circle symbol inscribed on victims’ cars, blood-stained shirts sent to the media, and accounts from survivors. Despite all this, the police never apprehended him.
Read more about the Zodiac Killer here