The Zodiac Killer is the pseudonym of an unidentified serial killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s. The Zodiac murdered five known victims in the San Francisco Bay Area between December 1968 and October 1969, operating in rural, urban, and suburban settings. He targeted three young couples and a lone male cab driver. The case has been described as "arguably the most famous unsolved murder case in American history," and has become both a fixture of popular culture and a focus for efforts by amateur detectives.
The zodiac is a coordinate system of twelve "signs", based on twelve constellations used in astronomy and astrology.
Jim Dunbar was an American radio program director, talk show host and news anchor. Dunbar was associated with KGO Radio in San Francisco for 37 years. According to radio historian Ben Fong-Torres, "He changed the Bay Area radio landscape by helping turn KGO from an also-ran into the greatest powerhouse on the dial, with a 30-year run at the top of the ratings."
Zodiac is a 2007 American epic mystery thriller film that was directed by David Fincher and written by James Vanderbilt, based on the nonfiction books by Robert Graysmith: Zodiac (1986) and Zodiac Unmasked (2002). It stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey Jr., with Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox, Elias Koteas, Donal Logue, John Carroll Lynch, Chloë Sevigny, Philip Baker Hall, and Dermot Mulroney in supporting roles.
Heriberto "Eddie" Seda, often referred to as The New York Zodiac or The Brooklyn Sniper, is an American serial killer who was active in New York City from 1990 through 1993. He fatally shot three people and wounded six others before being caught on June 18, 1996.
Melvin Mouron Belli was a United States lawyer and writer known as "The King of Torts" and by insurance companies as "Melvin Bellicose". He had many celebrity clients, including Zsa Zsa Gabor, Errol Flynn, Chuck Berry, Muhammad Ali, The Rolling Stones, Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Bakker, Martha Mitchell, Maureen Connolly, Lana Turner, Tony Curtis, and Mae West. During his legal career, he won over $600 million in damages for his clients. He was also the attorney for Jack Ruby, who shot Lee Harvey Oswald days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
The Zodiac is a 2005 American criminal psychological thriller film based on the true events associated with the Zodiac: a serial killer who was active in and around Northern California in the 1960s and 1970s. The Zodiac was directed by Alexander Bulkley and co-written with his brother, Kelly Bulkley, and stars Justin Chambers, Robin Tunney, Rory Culkin, Philip Baker Hall, Brad Henke, Marty Lindsey, Rex Linn, and William Mapother.
David Ramon Toschi was an American law enforcement officer widely known for his efforts in the San Francisco Police Department as an inspector in the Zodiac Killer case. His personal style was the model for Bullitt and Dirty Harry.
Gareth Sewell Penn is an American true crime author and amateur detective known for being among the first non-journalists to write about the Zodiac Killer case. He published a theory about the killer's motives, publicly accused a noted UC Berkeley public policy professor of the crimes, and labeled himself a one-time suspect.
Robert Graysmith is an American true crime author and former cartoonist, known for authoring the 1986 book Zodiac, based on his work on the Zodiac Killer case.
Paul Avery was an American journalist, best known for his reporting on the serial killer known as the Zodiac, and later for his work on the Patty Hearst kidnapping and trial. He worked for decades at the San Francisco Chronicle and the Sacramento Bee.
The Zodiac Killer was a serial killer who operated in Northern California from at least the late 1960s to the early 1970s. His identity remains unknown. His crimes, letters and cryptograms to police and newspapers inspired many movies, novels, television and more.
David Joseph Carpenter, known as The Trailside Killer, is an American serial killer and serial rapist known for stalking and murdering a variety of individuals on hiking trails in state parks near San Francisco, California. He attacked at least ten individuals and was convicted in seven murders and was confirmed to be the killer in an eighth murder; Carpenter is also suspected in two additional killings. Two victims, Steven Haertle and Lois Rinna, mother of television personality Lisa Rinna, survived. Carpenter used a .38 caliber handgun in all but one of the killings. A .44 caliber handgun was used in the killing of Edda Kane on Mount Tamalpais.
The murder of Cheri Jo Bates occurred in Riverside, California, on October 30, 1966. Bates, an 18-year-old college freshman, was stabbed and slashed to death on the grounds of Riverside City College. Police determined the assailant had disabled the ignition coil wire and distributor of Bates' Volkswagen Beetle as a method to lure her from her car as she studied in the college library. The murder itself remains one of Riverside's most infamous cold cases, and has been described by some locals as a murder which "stripped Riverside of its innocence".
Zodiac Watches, or simply Zodiac, is an American brand of Swiss-made watches founded in 1882 by Ariste Calame in Le Locle, Switzerland. The company mostly focuses on its dive watches through its Sea Wolf line, one of the first modern dive watches, which debuted in 1953, before the Rolex Submariner and after Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. Although Zodiac was acquired by Fossil Group in 2001, its manufacturing remained in Bienne, Switzerland. Zodiac and Fossil Group are headquartered in Richardson, Texas.
San Francisco Express Times was a counterculture tabloid underground newspaper edited by Marvin Garson and published weekly in San Francisco, California from January 24, 1968, to March 25, 1969, for a total of 61 issues, covering and promoting radical politics, rock music, arts and progressive culture in the Bay Area. It was a member of the Underground Press Syndicate, and sold for 15 cents.
Karl Francis Werner was an American serial killer who was active in Santa Clara County in Northern California. He was convicted of the murder of three teenage girls during his period of activity from 1969 to 1971.
The Santa Rosa hitchhiker murders were a series of at least seven unsolved homicides involving female hitchhikers that took place in Sonoma County and Santa Rosa of the North Bay area of California in 1972 and 1973. All of the victims were found nude in rural areas near steep embankments or in creek beds near roads. Californian police believe that the perpetrator(s) of the Santa Rosa murders "interviewed" potential victims before killing them. Despite extensive investigations, they remain unidentified.
Irwin Weisfeld (1932–1968) was an American writer and bookseller who was jailed in 1963 under obscenity laws for selling the 18th century erotic novel Fanny Hill. The case became a finale in a series of First Amendment battles which made an impact throughout American media and culture.
Thousands of men have been named as a possible suspect for the Zodiac Killer, a serial killer who was active in California between December 1968 and October 1969. The Zodiac murdered five known victims in the San Francisco Bay Area, operating in rural, urban, and suburban settings. He targeted three young couples and a lone male cab driver. The case has been described as "arguably the most famous unsolved murder case in American history," and has become both a fixture of popular culture and a focus for efforts by amateur detectives.
