In the last blog post, The Zodiac Killer, we delved into the crimes of the infamous criminal. Despite the direct evidence, the letters, and the encrypted codes that manifested the existence of the Zodiac Killer, the case turned cold. During the investigation, however, the authorities identified several suspects that complicated the mystery of the Zodiac Killer. In this blog post, we will explore the clues that led authorities to the particular suspects.

Earl Van Best Jr. is the first suspect identified by the authorities. The suspect’s son, Gary L. Stewart, engendered the suspicion after publishing a book that was intended to convince people that his father was the Zodiac Killer. According to Stewart, his father strongly resembled several of the sketches of the Zodiac Killer, which were based on the accounts of witnesses. Also, Stewart realized that the number of symbols in one of the encrypted codes was equal to the number of letters in his father’s name. Lastly, Stewart uncovered a marriage certificate that allegedly displayed his father’s handwriting, and claimed that the handwriting matched the penmanship of the Zodiac Killer. Despite the circumstantial clues that made Earl Van Best Jr. a suspect, the evidence is severely flawed. For example, the authorities discovered that Earl Van Best Jr.’s priest completed the certificate, so the handwriting was not Earl Van Best Jr.’s penmanship. Also, Earl Van Best Jr. matched some descriptions of the Zodiac Killer, but not all of them. To elaborate, several of the witnesses claimed that the Zodiac Killer was stocky, but Earl Van Best Jr. was not a heavy set man. Therefore, Earl Van Best Jr. is not likely the serial killer, but is an interesting suspect nonetheless.

The second suspect was identified by Robert Graysmith, a political cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle. Graysmith claimed that Arthur Leigh Allen was the Zodiac Killer based on a plentitude of direct and circumstantial evidence. Before I go into detail about this next suspect, I will admit that the evidence is uncanny. On the day of the third Zodiac Killer attack, Allen told his family that he was going scuba diving at Lake Berryessa, the location of the specific crime. That night, Allen returned home with blood stains on his clothes and with a bloody knife, which is extremely odd because the victims of the Zodiac Killer were ruthlessly stabbed on the same day. On another note, Allen’s friend revealed to the authorities that Allen’s nickname was “The Zodiac” before the public referred to the mysterious serial killer as “The Zodiac.” In addition, the police discovered dissected animals in Allen’s freezer and an assortment of bloody knives. Interestingly, Allen was also arrested for child molestation in 1974 and was sentenced to prison for 3 years. The fact is interesting because during those 3 years, the authorities never received letters from the Zodiac Killer. Also, Allen confessed to killing Paul Stine, one of the Zodiac Killer’s victims, while serving his sentence in prison. One of the inmates told the police about Allen’s confession, which spurred them to perform a lineup. During the lineup, an individual who survived one of the Zodiac Killer’s attacks was asked to identify the man who had shot him. Surprisingly, the victim instantly recognized Allen. All of the evidence that implicated Arthur Leigh Allen is highly convincing; however, there are some inconsistencies that prevented the authorities from detaining Allen for the crimes of the Zodiac Killer. For example, Allen’s DNA did not match any of the DNA collected from the letters and Allen’s fingerprints did not match the fingerprints found at the crime scenes. Also, Allen does not resemble any of the sketches of the Zodiac Killer and his handwriting did not match the penmanship of the Zodiac Killer.

The final suspect is Lawrence Kaye or Kane. A police officer, Harvey Hines, engendered the suspicion because he may have witnessed the Zodiac Killer walking from his final crime and Hines believed that Kane most closely resembled the man that was seen near the vicinity of the crime. Kane is an intriguing suspect because he suffered from permanent brain damage due to a car accident. According to a psychologist, Kane was mentally unstable and struggled to feel self-gratification as a result of the car accident. In addition, a girl related to one of the Zodiac Killer’s victims claimed that Kane was the man stalking her sister before the night of her murder. Despite the chilling circumstantial evidence, Kane’s DNA or fingerprints were never compared with the DNA or the fingerprints of the Zodiac Killer. Also, Kane does not resemble most of the sketches of the Zodiac Killer.

So here’s the final lineup: Earl Van Best Jr., Arthur Leigh Allen, and Lawrence Kaye. Who do you think may have been the Zodiac Killer? Or… do you think more than one person was involved?