Film Summary: The Zodiac Killer

Summary:
The Zodiac takes place in the late 1960s and 1970s, where the citizens of San Francisco are in mass hysteria as a result of a serial killer that dubbed himself the Zodiac. The Zodiac hunts the citizens of San Francisco and taunts investigators with cryptic messages, cryptograms, and threatening phone calls. The film first introduces the Zodiac Killer on July 4, 1969 as he ruthlessly shoots Darlene Ferrin and Mike Mageau in Vallejo, California. A month later, the Zodiac delivers a handwritten letter to multiple news agencies that included a cypher. He promised tantalizing details about his identity to anyone who could decipher his cryptic message. This prompts investigators and reporters to become obsessed with uncovering the identity of the Zodiac Killer. The most prominent characters involved with the case are Robert Graysmith, a political cartoonist from the San Francisco Chronicle; Paul Avery, a crime reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle; and David Toschi, a police inspector who was assigned the Zodiac case. Graysmith steadily becomes obsessed with the case and entrenches himself in investigations, which puts his marriage and family life in jeopardy. Compiling information from Avery and Toschi, Graysmith identifies Arthur Leigh Allen, who was previously the leading suspect in the case, as the Zodiac. The

Back then, there were many conflicts between jurisdictions, which was evident in the film. Police departments were reluctant to release any information and evidence they had on the case to other departments. Therefore, it made it hard for Toschi to get past evidence, but it was easier for Graysmith because he worked for a newspaper company. Today, police departments can share information and evidence electronically. Therefore, many departments have easy access to all of the information found in the case