In 1968, five people were murdered in Northern California. The killer called himself the Zodiac. He either shot or knifed his victims. No one knew when, where, or who the Zodiac would kill next.

Paul Stine is believed to have been his final victim. Stine was a cab driver in San Francisco when he was shot to death in 1969. The Zodiac sent a piece of Stine’s bloody shirt to a newspaper bragging about the killing.

The Zodiac has been compared with the recent Washington, D.C. snipers. These serial killers seemed to have no reason for the murders. Victims were chosen at random. Letters were sent to newspapers. In the letters, the killers made fun of the police who tried to catch them. Both the Zodiac and the D.C. sniper got thrills out of murdering and scaring people.

Arthur Allen was thought to be the Zodiac. The police never charged him. He denied that he had done the murders. When Allen died in 1992, tests were done on his body. Part of his brain tissue was tested for DNA. His DNA wasn’t the same as the DNA on the stamp of a letter sent by the Zodiac. The results proved that Allen had told the truth and was not the Zodiac.

Although the killings stopped n 1969, the Zodiac wrote letters until 1974. It has been thirty-three years since the murders. Over 2500 tips have been given to the police. Most of the old detectives have retired. Kelly Carroll, a police investigator, keeps checking out new clues with the aid of new technology. Still no one knows if the Zodiac is dead or alive or how many people he killed.

For additional information, look at these Web sites:

• DNA Tests May Reveal the Zodiac Murderer: LA Times
  
• A Party for a Serial Murderer: Wired News
• Was Tahoe disappearance linked to Zodiac killer?: Tahoe Daily-Tribune
• Ballistics match rifle to sniper attacks: CNN.com
• Famous Cold Cases: The Zodiac Killer: CourtTV.com

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