Majority Of Zodiac Letters example essay topic

Much is unknown about the Zodiac killer, but given what is known about serial killers in general, this man was probably born between 1938 and 1943. That would make his age between 25 and 30 years old at the time of his first murder in Vallejo, California, in 1968. Also, that age estimate works with witness statements and it's supported by Zodiac's references to his victims in younger terms in his letters of 1969. Zodiac wasn't an attractive character from what we know. He may have had to wear glasses throughout his youth and his facial features weren't all that pleasing.

So overall he may have been unpopular as a young boy and spent a good deal of time alone. It seems as though rejection is a big issue for Zodiac. No one knows anything about the Zodiac's parents but it wouldn't be ridiculous to say that there was domestic violence, broken relationships with parents or guardians, and maybe even a physical or sexual abuse in the household. Considering the adult outcome, Zodiac would have turned out to be an angry, withdrawn, loner, whose adolescence just could have been filled with fantasies and irrationality. In California, December 20, 1968, Zodiac attacked Betty Lou Jenson and David Faraday. This was his first significant criminal act.

In a matter of 2 or 3 minutes, the attack was finished and he drove casually away from the scene. He showed no signs of remorse and seemed very calm about all of his actions. After the attack of these two people-murdering the female-Zodiac would have read about his actions in local newspapers, listened to it on a radio report, or watched it on a local news report on the tv. Seven months later he attacked Darlene Ferrin and Micheal Mage au on July 4, 1969, killing the woman of course. Afterward he phoned the Vallejo Police department to brag about what he did.

He also wrote to three newspapers to brag. By mid 1969, Zodiac would have completely controlled by his need to dominate, intimidate, and violate others, especially females and young couples. He usually killed young couples, and attacked at dusk or in the dead of night. Zodiac was not psychotic. He was in control of his actions and was also able to keep a life hidden from suspicion amount neighbours. Like most serial killers, no single act of violence, no matter how thrilling at the moment, seemed to last.

So once again, Zodiac randomly selected a young couple as the next victims. Once again, he killed the female and failed to kill the male. It seems like he was intimidated by another man's power, maybe he was afraid to lose to a struggle. People say that killing women-for him-was the only intimate relationship he could have with one. The error was pointed out in the media that this serial killer seemed unable to kill the males. It was mysterious to people.

This angered Zodiac enough for him to prove people wrong. Two weeks after his last attack, he shot a young male cab drive in the back of the head. In October, Zodiac murdered a man named Paul Stine and within moments of Stine's murder, Zodiac found himself face to face with two San Francisco Police officers. The killer actually talked his way out of the most risky situation he had ever faced. I think that's pretty amazing considering he was confronted with all that male power, which he always seemed to avoid. By luck, Zodiac got out of being arrested that night, and later bragged about what happened to the authorities, frustrating them in a way that was obviously hard to deal with.

Two days after Paul Stine's murder, Zodiac began a new era in his criminal career. For about 8 years, he would write to the San Francisco Chronicle-and occasionally others- off and on. From October 1969 until March 1971, the majority of Zodiac letters were filled with angry threats and bragging. At first he worked hard to prove his murders with information or evidence that only the murderer could know. But as time went on, his letters were pretty inaccurate to the details to the crimes.

Later on the became vague and almost laughable. It became noticed that Zodiac had one goal in mind, and that was to keep his image as one of the most feared criminals, but he was losing this battle. In the middle of his writing period to the S.F. Chronicle, Zodiac made a unsuccessful attempt to abduct a woman and her young daughter. He ended up letting them escape. It was then obvious that his career had come to an end. In the summer of 1970, he had nothing left to intimidate the public or tease authorities with, except unclear claims of more and more anonymous victims.

Zodiac sent a postcard to the San Francisco Chronicle in March 1971, then became silent for almost three years. Nothing is known about what he did during this time, but obviously for a short while he was able to control his disorder. In 1974, he restarted writing letters to the chronicle. They involved taunts, intimidation and claims of new victims similar to his past letters. It was like he was trying to pick up where he left off three year earlier. But in his next letters, written in February, May, and July 1974, were completely different than how they always were.

There were no more spelling mistakes, predictable taunts, and attempts of intimidation. It had been a routine to mail most of his letters from neighbourhood mailboxes in San Francisco, but in 1974, he mailed letters from north, east and south of the city. That new pattern made it hard to find out where he was living. After the last letter, he disappeared for about 4 years. Then, , he wrote to the same newspaper in April 1978. That letter was his last.

It was filled with bragging and threats, but it also seemed like he was at a near-psychotic state of mind. That last letter was a disturbed serial killers final communication with his favorite audience. What happened to Zodiac after April 1978 is unknown. Zodiac had proved to be exceptionally rare for a serial killer because he somehow managed to control his violent ways. But maybe he died, that could explain the end of his communication with California.

In the end, he claimed to have killed at least 37 people. People thought Zodiac was unintelligent, but that perception was obviously wrong because he had training in the following areas: explosives, cryptography, astrology, chemistry and guns. He also knew how to prevent leaving fingerprints on crime scenes; he could have learned that from jail. He knew he was clever and it made him happy to know that the police seemed to be running in circles. His letters themselves were works of art. He used codes and symbols as easily as normal people print the alphabet.

It was thought at the beginning that the letters were in Zodiac's own handwriting. Later on, the theory was that he was using samples of alphabet letters taken from other people. He then used a tracing and enlarging device to reprint them into a letter. This man was clever enough to throw off the police by coding of his letters. He often used astrological symbols and signs. If his intent was to frighten San Francisco, then he achieved his goals without a doubt.

His name, Zodiac.