Every Location The Zodiac Killer Attacked

Netflix This is the Zodiac speaking delves deep into the chilling mystery of the Zodiac killer and his victims, shedding new light on Arthur Leigh Allen, the prime suspect. Spanning three intense episodes, the series provides unprecedented insights from people who knew Allen personally, leading viewers to believe that the case against him may be stronger than ever. The revelations include disturbing accounts of family friends, who say Allen even took them to the same locations where the Zodiac attacks occurredblurring the lines between his public life as a teacher and the shadows of his alleged crimes.

The documentary also revisits the investigation through the lens of Zodiacthe acclaimed 2007 David Fincher film, which raised awareness of Allen’s possible involvement. With contributions from Robert Graysmith, the journalist whose work inspired Fincher’s film, the series brings new evidence to light, leaving audiences captivated and horrified. Each attack location tells its own storypiecing together a map of the Zodiac Killer’s reign of terror in California from 1968 to 1969, when he paralyzed the region.

6

Santa Barbara, California

Robert Domingos and Linda Edwards

In June 1963, high school seniors Robert Domingos and Linda Edwards went to a remote beach near Gaviota State Park in Santa Barbara County for “Senior Ditch Day.” The young couple did not return home that night, prompting Robert’s father to search the beach, where he discovered the bodies in an abandoned shack. Both were tied up with rope and shot multiple times with a .22 caliber gun.

Investigators discovered that the killer tried to set fire to the shack but failed, leaving the scene untouched and raising troubling questions that would only deepen as the years passed. Nearly a decade later, in 1972, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department announced a possible connection to the Zodiac.noting disturbing similarities between this case and his other attacks.

The ammunition used in the Domingos-Edwards murders matched the Zodiac type used in his attack on Lake Herman Road in 1968. Like other Zodiac crimes, this incident involved an isolated outdoor environment, with the killer targeting a young couple in a local where escape was almost impossible. These shared characteristics fueled speculation that the Zodiac had struck years before its acknowledged spree in Northern California.

5

Benicia, California

Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday

In the small town of Benicia, California, on December 20, 1968, high school students Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday embarked on their first dateassuring Betty Lou’s parents that they would return around 11 p.m. Instead, the couple ended up parked on a secluded stretch of Lake Herman Road, a well-known “lovers’ lane” spot. Shortly after 11pm, passing motorists spotted his car, a Rambler, along with two motionless figures nearby.

Responding officers arrived and found Betty Lou shot in the back five times. David, found near the car with a gunshot wound to the head, was still breathing but barely surviving. The crime scene revealed disturbing clues: Bullet holes in the Rambler’s roof and rear window suggested the killer may have fired warning shots to force the teens out of the vehicle.

Investigators recovered Winchester Western Super Of course, it pointed to a murder caused by a stranger. This murder, later linked to the Zodiac, marked the beginning of a wave that would terrorize Northern California.

4

Vallejo, California

Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau

In Vallejo, California, on July 4, 1969, waitress Darlene Ferrin and her friend Michael Mageau parked at Blue Rock Springs Park, a popular spot for late-night gatherings. Around midnight, another car entered the parking lot, left and returned minutes later. The driver got out, pointed his light at Ferrin’s Corvair and opened fire with a 9mm pistol. Michael was hit in the jaw, shoulder and leg, while Darlene was hit multiple times.

Shortly thereafter, a man called Vallejo police from a pay phone, speaking in a low, calm tone as he claimed responsibility for the attack and also referenced the murders on Lake Herman Road. Darlene succumbed to her injuries, but Michael survived, providing police with critical details about the shooter’s actions.. Investigators found no viable suspects. On July 31, 1969, Vallejo Times-Herald received a letter postmarked that day in which the writer claimed responsibility for the shootings at Blue Rock Springs and Lake Herman Road.

The letter included detailed information about the attacks, from the type of ammunition used to the number of shots fired, proving their involvement. That same day, The Chronicle of San Francisco and The San Francisco Examiner each received almost identical letters, each accompanied by a third of a coded cipher, which the writer demanded be published by August 1, threatening further violence if his demands were ignored.

Node of the examiner August 4 response, the killer first identified himself as “the Zodiac.” Through these insulting letters, each filled with precise details of the crime, The Zodiac Killer Began Building His Infamous Legacyfixing the audience’s attention on its chilling and calculated violence.

3

Albany, New York

No confirmed victims

In August 1973, the Zodiac case took an unusual turn when the Albany Times Union newspaper received a cryptic letter postmarked August 1 and bearing a crossed circle symbol in place of the return address. The writer warned, “I’M ALIVE AND WELL AND I’LL START KILLING AGAIN” before threatening to kill someone on August 10 at 5pm and hinting at “a shift change”. The letter included three lines of coded symbols.

FBI cryptanalysts deciphered part of the message, revealing a chilling reference to Albany Medical Center with the phrase, “This is just the beginning.” Investigators, however, found no crimes matching the details provided. In January 1974, the Zodiac resurfaced with another letter to The Chronicle of San Franciscosigned with an ominous “box score” that read “I – 37, SFPD – 0”, a possible claimed victim count.

This letter contained a dark reference to the work of Gilbert and Sullivan The Mikadosuggesting possible suicidal thoughts. Shortly afterwards, on February 14, he sent a postcard referring to the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)the radical group behind the kidnapping of heiress Patty Hearst, signing the message “a friend.” These messages continued to confuse authorities and deepen the mystery around the motives and whereabouts of the Zodiac. In an even greater escalation, the Zodiac sent a series of messages to the Chronicle in 1974.

A card postmarked on May 8 condemned the film Badlands for his “glorification of violence” and, on July 8, another letter criticized Chronicle “Count” columnist Marco Spinelli, suggesting that the writer had a deep contempt for representations of violence in the media and of certain public figures. Signed as “the Red Ghost”, this message showed the killer’s continued attempt to provoke and disturb the public through his unpredictable letters and sinister criticism, insinuating an underlying obsession with attention and notoriety.

2

Modesto, California

Kathleen Johns

In late March 1970 near Modesto California 22-year-old Kathleen Johns was traveling with her young daughter on Highway 132 on his way to visit his mother in Petaluma. As she was driving, a vehicle stopped next to her, with the driver signaling that the car’s wheel appeared to be loose. Stopping, she found a man who offered to help, but instead he loosened the lug nuts, causing her wheel to fall off as she tried to steer.

The man then convinced Kathleen to accept a ride, but she quickly realized the danger when he made indirect threats to harm her son. Fearing for your safety, Kathleen bravely picked up her daughter and jumped out of the vehicleflagging down a driver who transported her to the nearest police station. There, she identified the man from a police sketch of the Zodiac killer. Months later, the Zodiac alluded to this meeting in a letter to The Chronicle of San Franciscoreferring to “a very interesting tour” with a woman and her son.

This letter, postmarked July 24, 1970, was one of several cryptic correspondences that continued to deepen the mystery surrounding his identity. In the following months, the Zodiac sent more letters to The Chronicle of San Franciscoincluding a greeting card on April 28, 1970, where he demanded that San Francisco residents wear “Zodiac Buttons” adorned with its symbol – a crossed circle.

In another, postmarked June 26, 1970, he attached a map with the same symbol marked on Mt. Diablo and claimed it indicated the location of a bomb. His July 26 letter detailed graphic threats and alluded to complex geometric codes, showing an obsession with control over his public image and terror in the San Francisco Bay Area.

1

Lake Berryessa, California

Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard

At the end of September 1969, college students Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard were enjoying a peaceful day on the shores of Lake Berryessa, located about 30 miles north of Napa, California. Their tranquility was shattered when a man wearing a hooded costume with a crossed white circle approached, claiming to be a fugitive who needed money and a car to escape to Mexico.

He tied her wrists with a plastic clothesline and violently stabbed Bryan six times and Cecelia ten times as she fought for her life. The assailant then scrawled a crossed circle and details of his previous murders on Bryan’s car door. Later that night, at 7:40 p.m., the attacker called the Napa Police Department from a pay phone, confessing to the attack and directing officers to the crime scene.

This chilling call highlighted his desire for notoriety as he described the crime as “a double murder.” Cecelia tragically died two days later, but Bryan C. Harnell survived the Zodiac Killer’s attack to tell the harrowing story, covered in This is the Zodiac speaking. Investigators determined that the message on Bryan’s car door matched the writing style of the Zodiac letters, linking this brutal attack to the infamous murder spree.