Unsolved Crimes: The Zodiac Killer

Unsolved crimes are predominantly the work of a serial killer, who is unable to be identified, due to either a lack of evidence or a very smart, guile person. The unsolved crimes generally have a negative effect on the general public, in that they create a sense of fear and uneasiness. An example would be The Zodiac KIller. The killer's’ identity is a mystery to this day, though many people, as well as investigators, have speculations of who he really is (Rutherford-Morrison).

The most infamous unsolved crime to date is credited to a man known as the Zodiac Killer (Rutherford-Morrison). He was active in Northern California, around the cities of Benicia, Napa, Vallejo, and San Francisco during the late sixties, early seventies. The Zodiac admitted

The most recognized being Arthur Leigh Allen. According to a friend of Allen’s, he would often refer to himself as “The Zodiac,” even before The Zodiac had publicly called himself that. He had also gone scuba diving at Lake Berryessa the day of the murder that happened there, and came home covered in blood, bearing a knife. In 1974, Allen was jailed for child molestation and during this time, no murders were committed and no letters were sent to the newspapers (Rutherford-Morrison). While he was in jail, an inmate told police that Allen had admitted to the killing of Paul Stine (“horrifying”). Though Allen’s fingerprints did not match any prints that were recovered. His handwriting did not match the handwriting in the letters, either. The second and third suspects are much less convincing. Earl Van Best Jr. was said to closely resemble the descriptions of the killer, and his handwriting was a match. Lawrence “Kane” Kaye most closely resembled the killers descriptions, as well as the man that the police had talked to after the Paul Stine murder, and Ferrin’s (from the Vallejo Murder) sister said that Kane had been following and harassing her sister in the weeks prior to her death, but his handwriting was not a match, nor where his fingerprints (“horrifying”).

The Zodiac Killer is a very well known unsolved crime. As investigators continue to work, an identity will be discovered, maybe someone will be able to decode the still uncoded ciphers to figure out who was behind all of the tragedy that overtook Northern California at the time. The most commonly believed suspect is Arthur Leigh Allen, and with the amount of evidence pointing to him, it is highly plausible that he is, in fact, The Zodiac Killer. But until the case is closed, the identity of the Zodiac Killer will remain a