The Zodiac Killer
Malisa Musick-Roberts
Student-Fort Hays State University

Abstract
This paper focuses on the attempted profile of the Zodiac Killer who remains an unidentified serial killer active between 1968-1969. It is believed he is responsible for the attacks of seven victims, five of which died at the scene or shortly thereafter. Of the two male victims who survived, a physical description was given and a composite was generated. To this day, the case remains open. Included is a generic profile of the killer and the typology of the offender. The most descriptive profile is of the victims and their crime scenes because there is more locatable information pertaining to them. Much is unknown about the Zodiac Killer because in 1974 he stopped all communication with the newspapers and police. The paper concludes with interviewing techniques that would be used if a suspect were ever arrested or interrogated for these vicious crimes.

The Zodiac Killer
Offender
Although it is impossible to say exactly, a physical profile includes that the Zodiac Killer is most likely a white male, 25-35 years of age, may not have done well in school, menial profession, may have little or no friends and no partner. One eyewitness stated he had short blond hair, a big face, 25-30 years of age and approximately 5 ft. 8 in. However, this profile is a mixture due to his seemingly fascination with the press, sending correspondence and phoning in to the police his crimes. He appears to be geographically stable and knows the area well. Psychologically offender may be a mix of a mission serial killer and a visionary serial killer. His first 3 attacks were on couples and each graduated with violence. He also used different weapons in the first attacks. The last attack was on a lone male and there was a souvenir taken (Harmening, 2014).
Killer
The offender capable of committing these crimes would be described as a mixture of an organized and disorganized killer. It appears some of the killings were crimes of opportunity, but also the victims fit a certain typeset. In three of the attacks the victims were couples who were attacked in different ways. We cannot know whether the attacks were planned or spontaneous or if the killer knew any of the victims. The killer seems to escalate in his confidence with each attack. This killer follows the news media, leaves the bodies intact, no sexual assault and seems to attack in a graduated blitz pattern on the couples. In the third attack he used a costume which may have furthered a fantasy he was playing out. He left behind physical evidence at all of the crime scenes. Although it does not appear he planned to kill certain individuals, it does appear he left out those nights with the intention of killing someone.

Victims The victims involved in the Zodiac’s murder spree had similarities in the first three attacks. They were couples that were approached while engaging in intimate behavior. The first and second victims, Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday were high school students that had participated in “high school ditch day” on December 20th, 1968. After spending the day out together, the two spent their first date at the local lovers’ lane on Lake Herman Road in Benicia, California. The couple arrived around 10:15 pm. Their bodies were discovered by a local resident around 10:45 pm. It was determined from the evidence that the killer pulled up and ordered them from David’s Rambler. The killer shot David in the head as he was exiting the car through his own passenger side window and he died immediately. Betty Lou’s body was found approximately 30 feet away with five gunshot wounds to the back. It appears she attempted to run away after being exiting the car. There were visible tire tracks in the gravel where the killer drove away. Also found were several shell casings and a witness reported seeing a vehicle parked next to the couple earlier. Darlene Ferrin, 22, and Michael Mageau, 19, were the third and fourth victims to be attacked. They were approached on July 4th, 1969 between 11:30pm and 12:00 am after they parked Darlene’s Corvair at Blue Rock Springs Park in Vallejo. This was only 4 miles from the Lake Herman site. Michael, who survived the attack, reported that a car pulled up beside them and then left. The car returned, parked behind them, and the driver got out and walked to the passenger side of their car. The couple thought it was a police officer after a bright light was shined in through the window. The attacker used a 9mm to shoot both victims multiple times. The shooter returned to his vehicle but after hearing Michael scream in pain, came back and shot each victim twice more. The shooter left after believing both to be dead. Darlene Ferrin later died at the hospital and Michael Mageau survived. Shell casings were found at the scene. Unlike the first attack, the shooter has approached his targets on foot and shot them at close range. Later that night the shooter used a payphone a few blocks away from the Vallejo Police Department to report what he had done. The dispatcher attempted to guess that the caller was about 30 years old. Mr. Magaeu was able to give a description that the gunman was a white male, approximately 5 ft. 8 in. tall with a beefy build and light brown short curly hair. He was also said to have a large face. Although the surviving victim tried, he was unable to identify possible suspects. On September 27, 1969, college students Cecilia Shepherd, 22 and Bryan Hartnell, 20, were picnicking at Lake Berrynessa in Napa County. Hartnell, who survived the attack, said they were approached by a man holding a gun and wearing a black executioners hood, clip on sunglasses, and a bib-like piece of clothing with a circle and cross drawn on it. He claimed to be an escaped inmate from Montana and told them he needed their car and money to go to Mexico. The gunman then pulled out pieces of clothesline and had Cecilia tie up Hartnell and then he proceeded to tie her up. Afterwards, the gunman pulled out a knife and stabbed them repeatedly. The gunman then walked to the driver’s side of the victim’s car and drew the circle and cross symbol, then wrote; Vallejo, the dates 12-20-68 and 7-4-69 then wrote Sept 27 69 @ 6:30 by knife with a black marker (Harmening, 2014). After the killer left, he placed a call from a payphone a few blocks away from the Napa County Sheriff’s Office to report who he was and what he had done. The phone call was traced and a wet palm print was lifted from the receiver. A fisherman found and reported the bloody scene. Shepherd was conscious and gave a description then lapsed into a coma and died two days later. Hartnell survived and gave more details from the hospital. This third attack seems even more confident. The killer had a dialogue with his victims. Although he used a gun to subdue them, this time he used clothesline to bind them and a knife to attack. Up to this point, the Zodiac has reportedly approached and attacked three couples. Each time his length of time spent with the victims is longer. He has used different subduing techniques, different weapons and used restraints on one couple. Throughout his active time frame, the Zodiac Killer also sent letters and cryptograms to the local newspapers taking credit for the murders. His last victim, Paul Stine, 29, was a cab driver in San Francisco. The murder was reported at 9:55pm on October 11, 1969 by a teenager who witnessed the shooter wipe down the cab before walking away from the scene. Police responded and found Paul dead from a 9mm gunshot wound to the back of the head. His wallet and keys were missing as well as a piece of his blood stained shirt tail. Two days later the San Francisco Chronicle received a letter and a piece of Pauls’ bloody shirt tail. This murder was completely different than the other attacks. Had the Zodiac not claimed responsibility for it, the police may have considered it a random robbery. Over the next few years the Zodiac maintained his correspondence with the police and the press. He sent many letters with ciphers, symbols and cryptograms. There was silence between 1971 and 1974. The final letter was received by the Chronicle on January 29, 1974. He discussed the movie The Exorcist, wrote out a passage from Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado and ended with Me=37 SFPD=0. If the Zodiac is still alive he would be approximately 75 to 85 years of age (Harmening, 2014).
Suggested interviewing techniques Once in custody, a mix of interviewing techniques could possibly get the suspect to admit association with the crime(s). It appears this offender displays a mix of organized/disorganized characteristics. It might be best to attempt an interrogation at night because disorganized offenders tend to be at their best at that time. Attempting to show empathy and introduce information may also be beneficial. This offender might be more likely to respond to individuals who use a relationship-motivated strategy. He might not be used to lengthy personal contact with others. If this is the case it might be beneficial to use constant stream of conversation. This would be a good time to introduce crime scene facts. Lastly, the establishment of a positive personal relationship might coax a statement of involvement (Holmes, 2009). References
Holmes, R.M. & Holmes, S.T. (2009). Profiling Violent Crimes (4th Ed.). Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage Publishing.

Harmening, W.M. (2014). Serial killers: The psychosocial development of humanity’s worst offenders, Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas Publishing.