Top 5 Mysterious Zodiac Killer Facts

This Northern California killer definitely had a method to his madness. Welcome to WatchMojo's Top 5 Facts, and our special series about famous murderers. In today’s instalment, we'll be counting down the five most notable and fascinating pieces of information surrounding this disturbing serial killer who terrorized California throughout the late sixties and early seventies.

The term "modus operandi" can be loosely defined as a characteristic or established way of performing a task. This was definitely the case when it came to The Zodiac Killer, who tended to target couples who were parked in cars or located in otherwise secluded areas. Zodiac was meticulous and prepared when it came to stalking his victims and catching them by surprise, often creeping up on them with a knife or firing gunshots at point blank range. The Zodiac also wore a black, executioner's style hood for his Lake Berryessa attack of Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shephard, as well as a white bib displaying a 3-inch by 3 inch cross-circle insignia as a sort of perverse coat of arms. Zodiac was also well prepared when it came to hiding his fingerprints, reportedly covering his hands in model airplane cement in order to make them muddled and difficult for authorities to lift.

It's not entirely uncommon for true crime authors to offer up theories as to who might have committed a series of unsolved murders, but it's another thing altogether for someone to come forward and claim one of their relatives as one of the most infamous serial killers in American history. This was exactly what happened in 2007 when Dennis Kaufman put forth his stepfather Jack Tarrance as a Zodiac suspect, due to his discovery of a similar looking executioner's hood, as well as a bloody knife and handwriting samples Kaufman claimed would match up with that of the Zodiac. Seven years later, Gary Stewart wrote a book claiming that he was the biological son of The Zodiac, having been abandoned by his biological parents in the early sixties. And while neither of these claims have resulted in any definitive answers, an even stranger turn of events took place during the 2016 American Presidential election. A series of comedic tweets actually placed one time candidate Ted Cruz as a potential Zodiac suspect, even though Cruz was born in 1970, making it physically impossible for him to be the killer.

The Zodiac Killer has five victims attributed directly to him, but this didn't stop him from sending letters directly to press and police, often claiming responsibility for multiple murders. To complicate things further, The Zodiac often sent these missives in code via ciphers, a form of communication that is deliberately disguised in order to convey a hidden meaning. Three separate letters were sent in 1969 to three major newspapers in the San Francisco area, each containing one third of a cryptogram, which Zodiac claimed hid the key to his identity. The press and police had to use outside sources in order to decode the hidden meanings behind these letters, which often shed light on the killer's loose grip on reality, as well as his affinity for cinema, such as "The Most Dangerous Game." Zodiac also demanded that his letters be printed on the front page, otherwise he would commit more murders. Less than a week later, another letter was sent to The San Francisco Examiner, opening with the chilling line which has now become the killer's calling card: "Dear Editor, this is the Zodiac speaking..."

The Zodiac Killer was bold and brash in his communication with both authorities and the press. This wasn't just limited to snail mail missives, however, as an anonymous call was placed via a nearby phone booth to the Vallejo Police headquarters, claiming responsibility for the gunshots which left Darlene Ferrin dead and Michael Mageau severely injured after encountering The Zodiac while parking at Blue Rock Springs, California. Mageau would survive his attack, however, and gave the description of a young white male, between 26 and 30 years old, a stocky build and light, curly brown hair. Adding unexplained insult to injury, two officers saw a white man similar to this description while making their way to the crime scene of Zodiac's next victim, car driver Paul Stine. The officers observed, but didn't detain this man, as a police dispatcher had mistakenly described the Stine suspect as a black male. Zodiac even commented on this baffling mistake during one of his letters to The San Francisco Chronicle, claiming that two officers had spoken to him a mere three minutes after shooting Stine.

Copycat crimes,fan letters and hoaxes accumulated in the years following the deaths of Zodiac's five confirmed victims, while phone calls and tips continue to be sent in to this day by those who think they may have the answer. One brief break in the case did occur when authorities managed to extract some saliva from a stamp, but this piece of evidence, while eliminating some subjects, wasn't enough to bring the Zodiac Killer to justice. This didn't stop the madman's flow of communication, either, as Zodiac sent both letters and greeting cards to investigators and members of the press throughout 1970. The final official communication with The Zodiac was received by The Chronicle in 1974, where he expressed his approval of "The Exorcist" as "the best saterical [sic] comedy I've ever seen," before closing his letter with a final running tally which simply said "Me= 37, SFPD=0."

Do you think you can identify The Zodiac Killer? How about cracking his unsolved, cryptic cipher messages? For more creepy killer top tens and secret code top fives, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.