Zodiac Killer FactsAn undated photo of Zodiac Killer suspect Arthur Leigh Allen.In the late 1960s, a serial killer hunted victims in Northern California. The so-called Zodiac Killer murdered at least five people between 1968 and 1969, taunted journalists and the police with complicated ciphers, and seemingly disappeared without a trace. And though the serial killer has never been definitively identified, many believe that he was Arthur Leigh Allen.A convicted child molester, Allen once talked to a friend about writing a novel in which a killer called the Zodiac would stalk couples and send letters to the police. He wore a Zodiac watch with a symbol that matched the killers signature, lived near many of the crime scenes, and owned the same kind of typewriter that the Zodiac likely used to write his letters.But even though Allen seemed like the perfect suspect on paper, police were never able to tie him definitively to the Zodiac Killers crimes. Evidence like fingerprints and handwriting failed to link Allen to the murderer and, to this day, the true identity of the Zodiac Killer remains a mystery.Heres why some think that Arthur Leigh Allen was the Zodiac Killer anyway and why he was never charged with any of the Zodiacs murders. Arthur Leigh Allens Checkered PastWhether or not Arthur Leigh Allen was the Zodiac Killer, he led a troubled life. Zodiac expert Tom Voigt, who runs ZodiacKiller.com, told Rolling Stone: If [Allen] wasnt the Zodiac, he might be responsible for some other murders.Born in 1933 in Honolulu, Hawaii, Allen grew up in Vallejo, California, near the sites of many of the Zodiacs future kills. He briefly enlisted in the U.S. Navy and later became a teacher. But Allens behavior deeply disturbed his colleagues. Between 1962 and 1963, he was fired from Travis Elementary for having a loaded gun in his car. And in 1968, he was fired from Valley Springs Elementary for a much more serious incident: molesting a student.Public DomainArthur Leigh Allens drivers license from 1967, shortly before the Zodiac Killers spree began.From there, Allen seemed to drift aimlessly. He moved in with his parents and allegedly developed a drinking problem. He got a job at a gas station but was soon terminated for showing too much interest in small girls.According to ZodiacKiller.com, Allen then worked briefly as a janitor before finding some stability in his studies. He attended Sonoma State College and earned a bachelors degree in biological sciences with a minor in chemistry, which led to a junior position at an oil refinery. But Allen was charged with child molesting in 1974, after which he pled guilty and served a prison sentence until 1977. Then, he held a series of odd jobs until his death in 1992. At first glance, Arthur Leigh Allens life seems like a sad existence. But many believe that Allen led a secret double life as a serial killer called the Zodiac. Was Arthur Leigh Allen The Zodiac Killer?There are several reasons why Arthur Leigh Allen is seen as a compelling Zodiac Killer suspect. For starters, the Zodiac is commonly believed to have served in the military; Allen served in the Navy. Allen also lived in Vallejo, California, close to the Zodiac Killers hunting grounds, and wore a Zodiac watch with the symbol that the killer later signed on his letters. Then theres what Allen said. According to ZodiacKiller.com, Allen reportedly told a friend at the beginning of 1969 about an idea he had for a book. The book would feature a killer called Zodiac who killed couples, taunted the police, and signed letters with the symbol on his watch. Allens book idea could have merely been that an idea. But running through the Zodiac Killers known murders and suspected ones, it also seems entirely plausible that Allen committed them. Public DomainA police sketch of the Zodiac Killer. To this day, the identity of the serial murderer remains unknown.Shortly after one suspected Zodiac victim, Cheri Jo Bates, was stabbed to death on October 30, 1966, Allen took his only sick day off from work during that year. Two years later, the Zodiac Killers first confirmed victims Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday were killed just seven minutes from Allens home on December 20, 1968 (authorities later determined that Allen owned the same kind of ammunition that had killed the two teenagers).The Zodiacs next victims, Darlene Ferrin and Mike Mageau, were shot on July 4, 1969, just four minutes from Allens home. Ferrin, who died after the attack, worked at a restaurant near where Allen lived, prompting speculation that hed known her. And Mageau, who survived the attack, identified Allen as the man who had attacked them. In 1992, Mageau was shown a photo of Allen and yelled: Thats him! Hes the man that shot me!The coincidences dont stop there. After Zodiac victims Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard were stabbed at Lake Berryessa on September 27, 1969 (Hartnell survived, Shepard did not), Allen was seen with bloody knives, which he said hed used to kill chickens. San Francisco Weekly additionally reports that Allen wore the same obscure Wingwalker shoes as the Zodiac, and Allen also happened to have the same shoe size as the serial killer (10.5).Public DomainThe message that the Zodiac Killer left on Bryan Hartnells car, with the same circle symbol that Arthur Leigh Allen had on his watch.The Zodiacs last known victim, taxi driver Paul Stine, was killed on October 11, 1969, in San Francisco. Decades later, a man named Ralph Spinelli, whod known Allen, told police that Allen had confessed to being the Zodiac Killer and said that hed prove it by going to San Francisco and killing a cabbie.All of that seems suspicious enough. But Voigt also makes the case on his site that the timeline of the Zodiacs letters could reflect Allens nervousness about being caught by the authorities. After the police interviewed him in August 1971, the Zodiacs letters stopped for two and a half years. And after Allens arrest for child molestation in 1974, the Zodiac went silent. Arthur Leigh Allen was even the favorite Zodiac Killer suspect of Robert Graysmith, the former San Francisco Chronicle cartoonist whose book Zodiac was later turned into a feature film. Despite all this, however, Allen always maintained his innocence. And the police never found evidence strong enough to charge him.The Other Zodiac Killer SuspectsIn 1991, Arthur Leigh Allen started to speak out about the allegations against him. I am not the Zodiac Killer, he said in one interview in July of that year with ABC 7 News. I know that. I know that deep in my soul.Indeed, History reports that hard evidence failed to link Allen to the Zodiacs crimes. His palm prints and fingerprints didnt match evidence recovered from Stines cab or one of the letters, and a handwriting test suggested that Allen had not written the Zodiacs taunts. DNA evidence also appeared to exonerate him, though Voigt and others have argued against this.So, if not Allen, then who was the Zodiac Killer?Several other potential suspects names have been floated in recent years, including newspaper editor Richard Gaikowski, who was hospitalized for going berserk around the same time that the Zodiacs letters stopped, and Lawrence Kane, whose name appeared to show up in the killers ciphers. TwitterRichard Gaikowski bore a strong resemblance to police sketches of the Zodiac Killer.In 2021, an investigative team called the Case Breakers also claimed to have identified the Zodiac Killer as Gary Francis Poste, an Air Force veteran turned house painter who allegedly led a criminal posse in the 1970s. Poste, they said, had scars that matched ones in a Zodiac sketch. And they claimed that removing his name from the Zodiacs ciphers changed their meaning. Yet to this day, the Zodiac Killers true identity remains a head-scratching mystery. The FBIs San Francisco office maintains that The FBIs investigation into the Zodiac Killer remains open and unsolved.So, was Arthur Leigh Allen the Zodiac Killer? Allen died in 1992 at age 58 after suffering from diabetes and insisted upon his innocence until the end. But for Zodiac experts like Voigt, he remains a compelling suspect. The reality is that Allen is the suspect you just cant quit, Voigt told Rolling Stone. I just cant quit that Big Al, especially now [that] Im going over all these old emails and tips and leads going back 25 years. And some of the stuff that was said to me about it is just mind-boggling.After reading about Zodiac Killer suspect Arthur Leigh Allen, discover the story of San Francisco Chronicle journalist Paul Avery, who tried to hunt the infamous murderer down. Or, see how a French engineer claimed to have solved some of the Zodiac Killers most difficult ciphers while another team cracked the Zodiac cipher Z340.The post The Suspect You Just Cant Quit: Why Some Believe That Arthur Leigh Allen Was The Zodiac Killer appeared first on All That's Interesting.

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