The Zodiac Killer (Part 1)

Summary

Episode 667: The Zodiac Killer (Part 1) – Morbid Podcast Summary

Released April 28, 2025 by Morbid Network | Wondery

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Introduction

In Episode 667 of Morbid, hosts Ash and Elena delve into the chilling case of the Zodiac Killer, exploring the intricacies of his crimes, communication methods, and the ensuing police investigation. This episode meticulously outlines the sequence of murders attributed to the Zodiac Killer, highlighting the fear and confusion that gripped the communities involved.

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The First Murders: David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen (December 1968)

The Zodiac Killer's reign of terror began in December 1968 with the brutal murders of 17-year-old David Faraday and his 16-year-old girlfriend, Betty Lou Jensen, on Lake Herman Road in Vallejo, California.

• Background of Victims:

  • Ash (08:40): “David was one of Vallejo High School’s star wrestlers… Betty was a popular and responsible student at Hogan High School.”

• The Crime Scene:

  • On the evening of December 20, 1968, after a seemingly innocent date, David and Betty were parked at a beloved local spot when a second car pulled up behind them and opened fire. Betty was killed instantly, and David succumbed to his injuries shortly after being rushed to the hospital.

• Police Response:

  • Ash (12:30): “David was shot once in the head, just behind the left ear. Betty was shot five times in the back with one bullet piercing her heart.”

Despite numerous witnesses, including Stella Borges who discovered the bodies at [11:20], investigators found little evidence to identify the assailant. The community was left bewildered, as both victims were well-liked and had no apparent enemies.

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Challenges in the Initial Investigation

The investigation faced significant obstacles:

• Limited Evidence:

  • The cold December weather froze the ground, eliminating potential tire tracks from the perpetrator's vehicle.

• Lack of Motive:

  • Friends and family provided no leads, leading investigators to ponder if the killer was a stranger with no known connection to the victims.

• Alternative Theories:

  • Investigators considered that the murders might be the act of a "murderous maniac" disconnected from the victims’ lives.

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The Killer's Communication: Letters and Ciphers

A defining aspect of the Zodiac case was the killer’s communication with the media and police through cryptic letters:

• First Letter:

  • Sent to the San Francisco Chronicle, detailing the murders with specific facts only the killer and police knew, accompanied by a hand-drawn cipher (37:02).

• Cipher Characteristics:

  • Elena (37:22): “Very unsettling… Each letter had misspelled words and inconsistent punctuation, which seemed intentional.”

• Decoding Efforts:

  • High school teacher Donald Hardin and his wife Betty cracked the cipher, revealing the message: “I LIKE KILLING PEOPLE BECAUSE IT IS SO MUCH FUN.” The subsequent messages continued to taunt the police, establishing the Zodiac persona.

• Notable Quote:

  • Ash (36:47): “I LIKE KILLING PEOPLE BECAUSE IT IS SO MUCH FUN… When I die, I will be reborn in PARADISE…”

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The Second Set of Murders: Darlene Ferrin and Mike Mageau (July 4, 1969)

Nearly seven months later, the Zodiac Killer claimed two more lives:

• Victims:

  • 22-year-old Darlene Ferrin and her 19-year-old boyfriend, Mike Mageau, met their end at Blue Rock Springs on the Fourth of July.

• The Attack:

  • Ash (26:32): “A man in a hood with a semi-automatic handgun approached their car and indiscriminately shot them. Mike survived with multiple gunshot wounds, providing a crucial eyewitness account.”

• Eyewitness Account:

  • Mike Mageau described the attacker’s vehicle and appearance, aiding the investigation despite his severe injuries.

• Police Investigation:

  • Investigators struggled to connect the second set of murders to the first, as the modus operandi differed slightly, but suspicions remained high that it was the same individual.

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Public and Police Response

The Zodiac Killer's actions sowed widespread fear:

• Community Fear:

  • Elena (21:30): “People couldn’t fathom that by 2025 we still wouldn’t know who this person is.”

• Law Enforcement Efforts:

  • Police intensified their search, establishing reward funds and conducting extensive interviews, yet the killer remained elusive.

• Impact on Society:

  • The killings disrupted the sense of safety in the community, with public advisories cautioning against visiting secluded areas.

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The Third Set of Murders: Cecilia Shepard and Brian Hartnell (September 27, 1969)

The Zodiac Killer escalated his brutality with the murders of Cecilia Shepard and Brian Hartnell:

• Victims:

  • Cecilia Shepard, a 22-year-old mother, and Brian Hartnell, a 20-year-old student from Pacific Union College.

• The Attack:

  • Ash (52:00): “The killer, disguised in a makeshift hood with a crosshairs symbol, approached the couple at Lake Berryessa, brutally stabbing them multiple times.”

• Surviving Victim:

  • Brian Hartnell survived despite being stabbed eight times, providing a more detailed description of the attacker and his vehicle.

• Killer’s Signature:

  • A message was traced back to the previous murders, reinforcing the theory that all killings were perpetrated by the same individual.

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Cipher Decryption and Media Involvement

The Zodiac Killer’s taunting communications continued to baffle and provoke investigators:

• Second Cipher:

  • An anonymous individual cracked another cipher, which included more personal details and further established the Zodiac’s pattern of communication.

• Notable Quote:

  • Elena (49:09): “Donald Hardin said he’s bright enough, but not necessarily of high intellect.”

• Public Engagement:

  • The media played a significant role in disseminating the Zodiac’s messages, though not all publications complied fully with his demands, inadvertently encouraging further silence.

---

Community Fear and Law Enforcement Efforts

The Zodiac Killer's unresolved spree heightened community anxiety:

• Ongoing Threat:

  • With three sets of murders attributed to the same individual, the belief that the Zodiac would strike again intensified.

• Police Descriptions:

  • Ash (60:03): “A young, short, and heavyset man, driving a brown car.”

• Public Advisories:

  • Law enforcement issued warnings to stay away from secluded areas, reflecting the pervasive fear.

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Summary and Conclusion

Part one of Morbid's exploration into the Zodiac Killer provides a comprehensive overview of his early murders, the cryptic communications that defined his infamy, and the profound impact on the Vallejo and broader communities. Despite intensive investigations, the Zodiac Killer remained an elusive figure, leaving behind a trail of fear, unanswered questions, and one of the most enduring mysteries in true crime history.

Ash and Elena conclude Part 1 by acknowledging the complexity and horror of the case, setting the stage for further exploration in Part 2.

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• On the Initial Crime Scene:

  • Ash (12:30): “David was shot once in the head, just behind the left ear. Betty was shot five times in the back with one bullet piercing her heart.”

• On the Cipher’s Decoding:

  • Ash (37:02): “I LIKE KILLING PEOPLE BECAUSE IT IS SO MUCH FUN…”

• On the Killer’s Communication Style:

  • Elena (37:22): “Each letter had misspelled words and inconsistent punctuation, which seemed intentional.”

• On the Second Attack:

  • Ash (26:32): “A man in a hood with a semi-automatic handgun approached their car and indiscriminately shot them.”

• On Public Fear:

  • Elena (21:30): “People couldn’t fathom that by 2025 we still wouldn’t know who this person is.”

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This comprehensive summary encapsulates the key elements discussed in Part 1 of Episode 667, providing listeners with a clear understanding of the Zodiac Killer’s early activities, the investigative challenges faced, and the profound societal impact of his crimes.

Transcript

[Ash]

Hey weirdos, it's Ash. Before we dive into today's twisted tale, let me tell you about the spooky perks of Wondery. It's like having a skeleton key that unlocks ad free listening and early access to new episodes. So don't wait.

[Mikey]

Try Wondery.

[Ash]

Today you can join Wonder plus in the Wondery app or in Apple podcasts or Spotify.

[Elena]

You're listening to a morbid network podcast.

[Mikey]

Let Audible expand your life by listening. Explore over 1 million audiobooks and exclusive Audible originals that will inspire and motivate you all in one easy app. Tap into your well being with advice and insight from leading professionals and experts on better health, relationships, career, finance, investing, and even more. Maybe you want to kick a bad habit or start a good one. Recently I listened to so Thirsty, which was really good. I like how the narrator went between the two characters voices. That was really fun. And then I just started listening to God of the Woods. So good. Get advice and insight from leading professionals and experts on health, relationships, career, finance, investing, and more. There's so much opportunity to learn and more to imagine when you listen. Start listening today when you sign up for a free 30 day trial at audible.com morbid guys, the wait is almost over for Mission Impossible the Final Reckoning, hitting theaters on May 23rd. Everyone is pumped to see this on the big screen. Stunts are next level. Like, how does Tom Cruise just keep raising the bar? And the best part, the whole crew is back together, seeing Ethan Hunt and the squad just going all in for what looks like their craziest mission yet. It just hits different. And talk about a world tour. One minute they're tearing through city streets, streets, and then the next they're doing wild stuff in the Arctic. The locations are amazing. It's looking like the ultimate summer movie experience. The action, the crazy plot twists, and that classic Mission Impossible theme of having your teams back. It's all there. This one's going to be epic. See Mission Impossible the Final Reckoning only in theaters Friday, May 23rd.

[Ash]

Hey, weirdos. I'm Ash.

[Elena]

I'm Elena.

[Ash]

And this is Morbid. That was a rushed intro because we're having a fight.

[Elena]

We are.

[Ash]

And it's serious. The pod might be. No, I'm just kidding.

[Elena]

Serious.

[Ash]

It's serious. So buckle in for the last episode.

[Elena]

Here's the. I don't. Okay, so the fight is over. The fight.

[Ash]

The fight. It's a fight. The brawl. We're gonna come to blow soon.

[Elena]

Whether you can use the word aesthetic as an adjective and you can I.

[Ash]

Say no, the Oxford Dictionary disagrees.

[Elena]

I don't give a fuck what the Oxford Dictionary says. I never. Whoa. I've never.

[Ash]

You heard it here first.

[Elena]

I don't. That does not sound correct to me to say like, wow, that's so aesthetic. Like what?

[Ash]

I don't know. I like it.

[Elena]

I don't. I don't.

[Ash]

Because it can be an adjective. It says it on. On the line. It says adjective concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty.

[Elena]

Yeah, I don't get that. I think Mikey's on my side here.

[Ash]

Yeah, because he's old.

[Elena]

Yeah. Mikey just reached for that mic. He said. I'm sorry.

[Ash]

They've been attacking me all day.

[Elena]

That's. Oh my God.

[Ash]

We won't go into specifics.

[Elena]

She's rallying the morbid listeners.

[Ash]

Is this real?

[Elena]

She's.

[Ash]

Guys, they've been attacking me all night.

[Elena]

They've been making Ash sad all day.

[Ash]

Listen, guys. They have. I cried in the bathroom earlier. That's dirty.

[Elena]

That's dirty as cuz you know that everyone's going to be like, for Keeper Ash.

[Ash]

It's true. Do it.

[Elena]

Guys.

[Ash]

Don't come forth.

[Elena]

That's irresponsible usage of your power is what that is.

[Ash]

You know what?

[Elena]

Irresponsible. That's wielding power like a dictator.

[Ash]

You guys, this might be the last episode. Oh my God. Now you're getting your dogs. That's fake. My dogs are like, I got the listeners. But you get literal hellhounds.

[Elena]

Hell yeah, I do.

[Ash]

I don't think. Oh, they're pissed. I don't think it's. I don't think it's. I don't think that's fair. We're just angrily drinking water at each other. Now. That's a real thing. No, but we're both just going. Which is ridiculous because we're both just holding. I'm holding a Stanley and you're holding a roommate and we're just going like snarling at each other across the microphones, taking aggressive sips. See, we're sisters. It's fine. I'm not actually her. I never cried in a bathroom. I'm reading this off a script.

[Elena]

It's true. She was not. She was not. Say it again. Say it with more feeling. Now.

[Ash]

Say it with aesthetic so that. No, that. That actually doesn't make any sense.

[Elena]

But yeah. What do you guys think?

[Ash]

Weigh in. Do you even know what we're fighting about? Do we make it?

[Elena]

Can you use aesthetic as like. Or do. I shouldn't say. Can you. Do you use aesthetic in that way, as like, this is a big.

[Ash]

I've seen people argue about this before.

[Elena]

Like, I didn't even know this was a thing.

[Ash]

I think it's a generational thing. I think you're right. I think I. Since I toe the Gen Z millennial line and I don't listen. Gen Z, I love you, but I don't always love to, you know, head over that way. I think I'm on that way with this one.

[Elena]

You are on that way. I feel like that's definitely more of a Gen Z thing.

[Ash]

I think it. I think they, like, reworked the. The word. Yeah, I'll agree with you there.

[Elena]

Yeah. But that. That word has been retooled, I think.

[Ash]

Yeah, I think so too.

[Elena]

For sure.

[Ash]

I like it.

[Elena]

And you know what? Here's. Here's where we come out. You can like it.

[Ash]

Thank you.

[Elena]

And I can raise your roommate.

[Ash]

Raise your little brumaid.

[Elena]

I'll raise my roommate.

[Ash]

Cling. You have to drink, too. Actually, you really shouldn't. Cheers. With water. I think that's bad luck. So maybe the show is ending.

[Elena]

Oh, so is it technically water?

[Ash]

You know, it's crazy. Usually mine has my little armor in there, but today it doesn't because I just wanted ice water.

[Elena]

It's just wawa.

[Ash]

I don't like. I don't like that you're saying that I don't like that.

[Elena]

I actually hate it so much.

[Ash]

I don't really know why you did.

[Elena]

I just horrified myself.

[Ash]

Felt you. You. Oh, man. We're taking a little bit of time off, but you won't know. So we're batch recording a lot of things right now. So if we sound insane, that's why, like. So we're taking time off, but, like, it's not going to affect episodes.

[Elena]

Yeah, like, your episodes will come out the same time.

[Ash]

We have to record, like a bunch of stuff in advance. And that makes us cuckoo crazy.

[Elena]

And that makes us cuckoo crazy.

[Mikey]

Right now.

[Ash]

I'm actually excited. Question mark. To talk about this case. I think this is a really fascinating case. It's obvious. This is obviously, if you're here, you know, it's the Zodiac. This is like a Obviously incredible. Obviously. I just. Obviously. Over again, this is a very devastating case.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

But I think it's very interesting and it's wild to me that. Don't come at me in the comments because it still is unsolved. That it's still unsolved.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

You can sit there and you can tell me that it's solved all you want.

[Elena]

It's still technically on.

[Ash]

It's not. It's not solved.

[Elena]

It's the same thing as the Jack the Ripper thing.

[Ash]

Yeah, no, I feel that way. I'm going to come a zodiologist.

[Elena]

A zodiologist also. Oh, sorry, didn't mean to.

[Ash]

Go ahead, go ahead.

[Elena]

Also, I didn't. I can't find the little. I wrote down on a card who sent me this, but a listener. And if you're listening, you're awesome and I'll make sure to figure out your name.

[Ash]

And you better be on her side of the aesthetic.

[Elena]

Be on my side. No, a listener sent me, went to London and went to the Jack the Ripper, like tour and all that and sent us like in the PO Box, like, sent me a pin that says Ripperologist on it from the like, like the museum.

[Ash]

That's so cool.

[Elena]

And I put it on my leather jacket. You put it all the time.

[Ash]

She opened it and goes, I'm putting this on my leather jacket because I'm so excited. I love you, rule.

[Elena]

Thank you so much. That was such a cool gift. I loved it and I wear it now. I wear it all the time.

[Ash]

She was very genuinely excited I was to get that because I was like.

[Elena]

Oh, I'm officially a ripperologist.

[Ash]

Yeah, yeah, you have been. I feel like it's already beneficial. So let's get into it. So the Zodiac killing started with the Lake Herman road murders where 17 year old David Faraday and his girlfriend, 16 year old Betty Lou Jensen were killed.

[Elena]

Betty Lou.

[Ash]

I know Betty Lou.

[Elena]

What an adorable name.

[Ash]

16 and 17 years old.

[Elena]

My God.

[Ash]

Literal babies. And they were your typical American teenagers. In the fall of 1968, David was one of Vallejo High School star wrestlers. He was a popular student. He was an Eagle Scout, not a Cub. That year he had actually been awarded the Scouts God and Country award, which is like a pretty high honor.

[Elena]

Wow.

[Ash]

Similarly, Betty was said to be a popular and responsible student at Hogan High School where she was in her junior year.

[Elena]

So young, junior in high school.

[Ash]

Yeah. They were both active and after school activities. They both participated a lot in community events. Like they were just like very all American teenagers. In fact, it was one of those community events actually decorate the decorating committee for a winter dance that was being put on by the city. That brought the two of them together in mid December. And within a week of meeting, they had fallen for each other hard. And they started rearranging their schedules so they could spend more time together outside of school. Just young love.

[Elena]

Oh, I love it.

[Ash]

Now, Betty's parents had always forbidden her from dating. They really wanted her to focus on school instead. But that December, she did manage to convince them to leave, let her go out with David, and she and David made plans for Friday, December 20, which was going to be Betty's first ever date. This was a big deal, and it's literally less than a week before Christmas. So when the day finally arrived, David picked Betty up from school. They spent a few hours together just kind of like hanging out before their official date that night. But David dropped her off at home around 6pm and then came back to pick her up a few hours later. A Little bit after 8pm, Betty invited him inside. Of course, he had to go meet the parents. And the four of them chatted briefly for about 20 minutes, and then David and Betty left the house. They told Betty's parents that they were going to the Hogan High Christmas concert and then to a party at a friend's house and that they'd definitely be back in time to make Betty's 11pm curfew. It turns out they didn't really have any plans of going to the school concert. Oh, they actually went to visit one of Betty's friends and they left that friend's home around 9pm okay, then where they went from there is unknown, but some speculated that maybe they visited another friend along the way or stopped at, like, a fast food restaurant. But whatever the case, by 11pm, David's station wagon was seen parked at the entrance to Benica Pumping station on Lake Herman Road, which was a very popular lovers lane area in Vallejo. They parked right at the start of a shift change at the pumping station, too. So a lot of people remembered seeing the car and saw the two of them inside.

[Elena]

Okay.

[Ash]

Many, many witnesses.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Now, around 11:20pm, a local mom, Stella Borges, was driving past the pumping station on her way to pick her son up from a local movie theater. And when she rounded the corner by the entrance to the station, her headlights swept across the lovers lane, where she and the other passengers in her car could clearly see two bodies lying on the ground outside of the station wagon. Oh. Stella would later tell police, it looked like David had fallen out of the open door. Yeah. Obviously very frightened by what she'd seen, she sped past the scene in the direction of the nearby downtown Benica, where she flagged down the first police cruiser that she could find. And after listening to her story, Captain Dan Pitta and his partner called in the report to the station, rushed to the scene and called for an ambulance on the way.

[Elena]

Okay.

[Ash]

Now, Captain Dan Petta's arrival at the scene was followed very quickly by members of the Beneka and Vallejo police departments and also deputies from the Solano County Sheriff's Department. It was the latter department who did have jurisdiction over the entire area that night. Betty was declared dead at the scene. But when paramedics checked on David, he was still breathing. He was just barely conscious.

[Elena]

Holy.

[Ash]

Weirdly, that happens a lot in this case.

[Elena]

Really?

[Ash]

And I. It's. It doesn't seem to be intentional. It's just a strange thing that happens with a lot of these killings.

[Elena]

That's interesting.

[Ash]

Yeah. So David was rushed to Vallejo General Hospital, but unfortunately it was too late. He did end up being pronounced dead at the hospital at 12.05am he had been shot once in the head, just behind the left ear. And Betty had been shot five times in the back with one of the bullets piercing her heart.

[Elena]

Holy.

[Ash]

Yeah, this was intense. A surgeon analysis of the crime scene really didn't yield much as far as clues. And there were even fewer leads, unfortunately. From what investigators could tell, the couple had been parked on that lover's lane when a second car arrived and pulled right up behind them, which is just so creepy to me.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Based on the locations where shell casings were discovered, they theorized that the driver of the second car fired into the station wagon, evidenced by the bullet hole in the back window of the car. That gunshot obviously forced the couple out of the car, where David was likely shot in the head while he was still on the ground. Betty, it seemed, had tried to run away from the shooter, but she only made it. They estimated about 20fe when the the gunman started firing from his position next to the station wagon, with five of the six shots hitting Betty in the back. Jesus. Once the killer believed he had executed the two teenagers, he left the scene without even collecting the bullet casings. Wow. Calmly left the scene.

[Elena]

Holy.

[Ash]

Yeah. Intense. Now, the crime scene was frustrating, and it was frustrating from the moment investigators arrived. Because it was December, the ground was practically frozen solid. So that made it impossible to identify any kind of tire tracks from the second vehicle. Deputy Sheriff Russell Butterbach told reporters, I just couldn't say how or what happened. We haven't got that far in the investigation. But there was really nobody any anyone could think of as a potential suspect because both victims seemed like really the last people anybody would want dead.

[Elena]

Yeah. It's not like they had all these ties to crime or something, you know?

[Ash]

No. And again, they're 16 and 17 years old, they're involved in their community. Like there's not even people really at school that don't like them.

[Elena]

Yeah, they like hung out at like church events. Yeah.

[Ash]

So days later. Investigators had swept the crime scene several times at that point, but had made almost no progress in the case. Lead investigator Ledley Lundblad said, we gathered all the physical evidence that was available at the scene, cartridge cases and other items, and these will be tested in the laboratory. Meanwhile, investigators started interviewing, of course, friends and family, hoping that, that one of them could shed light on to who might have wanted David or Betty dead. Unfortunately, while David and Betty's friends were able to provide a lot of information about their day to day lives, nobody had any information about who would have wanted to kill them. And even though this had been Betty's first date, in the absence of a clear suspect, detectives started wondering whether the killer was maybe a young man who had been rejected by Betty in the recent past. It's always a possibility.

[Elena]

Yeah, I mean, sure, we had really.

[Ash]

Not like they didn't really have anything to go on. So yeah, start somewhere.

[Elena]

And honestly that is the most. That's the easiest route to go down.

[Ash]

Exactly. Investigator Lundblad said, we're looking into it, but at this stage we're not overlooking any possibilities whatsoever. So she was like, we're looking into it, but we're looking into everything.

[Elena]

Which again, you have to. Yeah, like you can't, you can't discount any possibilities when you have nothing to go on.

[Mikey]

Exactly.

[Elena]

Like you, you got to start somewhere.

[Ash]

You gotta, honestly at that point, you gotta like pull out of the area.

[Elena]

Yeah, just start pulling strings.

[Ash]

Now, when interviews with the victims families turned up really no useful information, investigators had to start considering alternative theories like we were just saying, including the potential that the teenagers had, quote, met their deaths Friday night at the hands of a murderous maniac who was not acquainted with either of his victims. Like theory.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

And this theory was given a little more weight when sheriff's deputies received a call from a teenager, William Crow, who reported having a strange experience about an hour and a half before the murders occurred. According to Crow, he'd been parked with a friend in the same act in the same exact area where David and Betty were discovered. And he noticed another car parked in a dark area just a short distance away. He said the driver was watching them for sure. He said, when I saw his, When I saw its backup lights come on, I gunned our car out of there. Good for the driver. Followed Crow and his friend until they reached downtown Venica, where he turned off and dropped out of sight. But Crow said, as far as I was concerned, that was the end of it. Until I read Saturday what happened in the same spot where we were.

[Elena]

Huh.

[Ash]

Imagine, like, knowing that you were in.

[Elena]

The same spot, I was gonna say, and like knowing that you somehow had an instinct that got you out of there.

[Ash]

Like trust your gut?

[Elena]

No.

[Ash]

Now, toward the end of December, after exhausting the really small amount of leads that they had anyway, sheriff's investigators had grown more confident in the murderous maniac quote, unquote theory. Lundblad said, I think they were ordered out of the car at gunpoint. And when they didn't come out quickly, the killer fired a warning shot through the rear side window of the vehicle. The assailant then shot the boy, and when he fell, the girl started running and was killed as she ran, which. So they're pretty much thinking the same thing here.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Nothing of value had been taken from the vehicle, so robbery was ruled out as a motive. Nobody had been sexually assaulted, so that was ruled out now too. But the problem investigators faced was that there was virtually no way of connecting the killer to the victims, and that made solving this case seem very unlikely.

[Mikey]

This show is sponsored by Better Help. There used to be such a stigma around going to therapy, seeking help, admitting that you know you needed help with a problem. Mental health awareness is growing, but there's still progress to be made. 26% of Americans who participated in a recent survey say that they've actually avoided seeking mental health support due to fear of judgment. That bums me out. When people hesitate to get help, it doesn't just affect them, it impacts families, workplaces and entire communities. This mental health awareness month, let's encourage everybody to take care of their well being and break the stigma. Because the world is better when people are healthy and happy. I personally love going to therapy, but it was a journey for me to get there. I was also worried about judgment. I was also worried about opening up. There are a lot of things to worry about, but once you get there, you just kind of break down those walls and it feels really good to be open and honest with yourself and you will find yourself kind of opening up more in situations outside of therapy and that just feels really good. We're all better with help. Visit betterhelp.commorbid to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp H-E-L-P.commorbid with longer daylight hours, you may be spending more time away from the house and giving burglars more opportunities to strike. Unfortunately, FBI crime data shows break ins are more likely during daylight hours than under the cloak of night. Protect your home with Simplisafe's proactive security that helps stop threats before they even happen. I personally have a Simplisafe and I love everything about it. You know that I love tapping into that app to see those cameras pop up. I love that. But I also have this added on alarm thing that makes it even louder when the alarm sounds so nobody's going to miss it. With Simplisafe, millions of Americans enjoy the new standard in home security and greater peace of mind every time they arm their system when heading out in the morning or when they're locking up each night. Traditional security systems only take action after somebody's broken in. That's too late. Simplisafe's active guard outdoor production can help you prevent break ins though before they even happen. Visit simplisafe.commorbid to claim 50% off a new system with a professional monitoring plan and get your first month free. That's simplisafe.com morbid morbid. There's no safe like simply safe.

[Ash]

By the dawn of the new year, the story had unfortunately slipped from the front pages of the local papers and into the back. And by mid January it really stopped getting coverage altogether.

[Elena]

That's crazy.

[Ash]

I know. As the end of January approached, those student groups from Vallejo and Hogan high schools established a reward fund and they went door to door around the community to collect donations, hoping that the offer of a reward would elicit some kind of help from the community in jump starting the case, which they knew was getting colder and colder.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

And they did. They, they got a good reward fund up, but nobody ever attempted to collect it.

[Elena]

Well, and you look at it now and you're like knowing that we are now in 2025 and we don't know who this person is. Like that's crazy. Like it's insane. Think about it. Back then, they probably never in their wildest dreams could fathom that in 2025 we still would not possibly know who this person is.

[Ash]

Probably couldn't even fathom the year 2025, never mind the fact that they would like that this case would make it this far without getting any kind of.

[Elena]

So crazy.

[Ash]

You know, obviously it's had moments where it's come back up and people have found out new things, of course, but you know, it's really sad. So a few Months later, on March 30, though, the story did pop up again in the Vallejo Times Herald, only to remind readers, though, of how little progress had been made. Leslie Lundblad told reporters, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't work on it. I've got a case file about 4 inches thick, all the information I've been able to turn up, and I have a fairly sizable evidence locker. But even with all that information, she did acknowledge that investigators were, quote, only a bit nearer to the solution of the crime than they were when they first arrived on the scene that cold Friday night in December.

[Elena]

Damn.

[Ash]

Yeah, really sad.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

By that time, everybody had pretty much settled into the belief that David and Betty's killer was completely unknown to the both of them and the crime was, as far as they knew, motiveless. Betty's father, Vern Jensen, said, I don't feel vindictive, but I am apprehensive. I feel some nut is on the loose, which, I mean, yeah, you would feel that way.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

David's mother, Jean, was similarly unnerved by the idea that her son had been killed by a deranged stranger who was still on the loose and all, like, might kill again. Yeah, I think that would be the scariest part of all, for sure. She said, and he'll find it easier next time. We know he's a nut, but what kind of nuts?

[Elena]

Not which I mean. And we're still asking that.

[Ash]

Yeah. Oh, truly and really, they weren't wrong. And soon they were going to find out just what kind of person killed their children.

[Elena]

So true.

[Ash]

Scary.

[Elena]

Oh, I just feel so bad. Imagine that being, she goes out on her first date, her first date ever.

[Ash]

And her parents were like reluctant to even let her go. That must be that.

[Elena]

I can't.

[Ash]

An awful feeling.

[Elena]

Yeah. My brain just came wrap around that.

[Ash]

Nobody should have to feel.

[Elena]

No way.

[Ash]

So by the summer of 1969, David and Betty's murders had faded completely from the newspapers and life in Vallejo was starting to get back to normal. Then in early July, that feeling of terror and helplessness returned when two more young people were gunned down by an unidentified killer. 22 year old Darlene Ferrin worked at a local diner and she was well liked by everybody who knew her. Yeah, it seemed to everybody that she and her husband Dean had a pretty good life. They were living together, raising their infant daughter in a pretty nice neighborhood. Even though she was married, Darlene was known to date other men on occasion. And that summer she had been seeing 19 year old Mike. I think it's Mageau, who she'd met at the diner.

[Elena]

Okay.

[Ash]

So on the afternoon of July 4th, Mike and Darlene made plans to see each other later that evening. First, Darlene was going to go to a Fourth of July party with her sister, and then she'd go see Mike after.

[Elena]

Okay.

[Ash]

It was around 11:30pm when she finally arrived to pick Mike up, so they decided to go out to a late dinner together. A short time later, Darlene pulled off the road into the parking lot of Blue Rock Springs, which is just a local park, and turned the engine off. A few minutes earlier, she actually had mentioned to Mike that there was something she wanted to talk to him about. But before she could actually get out what she wanted to say, their conversation was interrupted because a carload of teenagers pulled into lot and were just like, throwing firecrackers everywhere. Teenagers being teenagers, but so they couldn't talk, really, because every time she went to say something, there would be a loud blast.

[Elena]

It was interrupted.

[Ash]

So they resumed their conversation a few minutes later after the group of teenagers had left. But then they were interrupted again, this time by another car that had pulled into the lot. By this time, the entire parking lot was empty. But this driver, who was alone in his car, pulled about 8ft behind Darlene's car, turned off his headlights and sat motionless in his car for a minute or two, started his car again, and drove out of a lot.

[Elena]

Huh.

[Ash]

Creepy.

[Elena]

I would hate that.

[Ash]

Creepy.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Obviously that was a strange situation. So Mike asked Darlene if she knew the driver of that vehicle. It sounds like she was getting pretty annoyed at this point because she was clearly trying to have, like, an important discussion, and she kept getting interrupted, so she just said, oh, never mind. And Mike didn't know what to make of Darlene's confusing response, but he knew that she seemed irritated or overwhelmed, so he decided not to push for an explanation. With the distraction behind them, they got to talking again. But it wasn't long before, again they were interrupted. About five minutes after leaving the parking lot, that second car, the one who had pulled behind them, returned, this time parking a little bit farther away from Darlene's car, about 10ft behind on the passenger side with the headlights still on. This time, the driver got out of the vehicle and walked toward the passenger side of Darlene's car. It was especially dark in the lot that night, and Mike couldn't really make out any details of the driver of the other car, only that he appeared to be carrying a large flashlight, like a police officer's flashlight.

[Elena]

Interesting.

[Ash]

So he Figured he. They were getting hassled by the police for some reason. Like maybe they couldn't park there or something.

[Elena]

Yeah, that would be the first thing I would think.

[Ash]

Yeah. So he reached into his pocket for his wallet and was looking for his driver's license. But when the man reached Mike's window and shined the light in, he didn't ask for id he just started firing into the car with a semi automatic handgun, shooting Mike in the back, neck and mouth.

[Elena]

Everybody knows this case, but I fear that, and I can count myself among these people. I fear that we don't truly. A lot of people don't truly recognize, like, how brutal, intense it is, because I think it's like it gets painted a lot of times with a very broad brush of like a lover's lane.

[Ash]

Yeah. People know the ciphers.

[Elena]

And the more the ciphers and all like which. Very interesting.

[Ash]

Yeah. The more salacious parts of the story.

[Elena]

I'm not taking away that that's interesting. I'm saying me personally, I've never. This is one case I never looked super far into.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

And like hearing details like this, that it was like. Like a high powered weapon being just shot into a car.

[Ash]

Point blank range. Pretty much.

[Elena]

Point blank range. Like, I don't. I didn't fully appreciate how gnarly.

[Ash]

No, neither did I.

[Elena]

Like that is horrifying reading about this.

[Ash]

Your jaw just like.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Is open the entire time. Yeah.

[Elena]

I'm shook.

[Ash]

Just wait. So, convinced that Mike was dead, the shooter turned the gun toward Darlene, who sat in the driver's seat, obviously paralyzed with fear. At this point. Yeah. Was shot several times, hitting her in the arm, shoulder, chest, and back. As the killer was walking back to his vehicle, Mike yelled out in pain because he's still alive, causing the shooter to return to the vehicle where he shot each of them two more times.

[Elena]

Holy.

[Ash]

Now, convinced that he killed the couple in the car, the man returned to his vehicle and sped out of the parking lot. But as the shooter pulled out of the lot, Mike, still alive, managed to get the passenger passenger door open and fell onto the pavement. He had been shot multiple times at this point, but somehow he was still able to get a good look at this person's car and described it later as a similar to Darlene's brown Corvair, although perhaps a lighter shade of brown. And he also was able to get a look at the license plate. He didn't get numbers, but he recognized it as an older style that was no longer used by the state. State.

[Elena]

Holy.

[Ash]

To have the wherewithal after being shot that many times at that close range is unthinkable.

[Elena]

I. It really is.

[Ash]

Like, that's really. That's miraculous.

[Elena]

Yeah. I. I can't. And I can't believe it's happened twice that somebody was at least left surviving for any period of time.

[Ash]

And it happens again.

[Elena]

That's weird.

[Ash]

It is weird. And it's just. Again, it's not intentional.

[Elena]

No. You can tell her.

[Ash]

Not like he's leaving these scenes very much thinking that he's killed.

[Elena]

I mean, and he's. He's done a lot to make sure he has killed everybody. So it's even more miraculous, even, like.

[Ash]

When Mike yelled out, he went back to make sure and not only shot Mike again, but shot Darlene again as well.

[Elena]

Jesus.

[Ash]

So Mike laid there on the ground for about 10 minutes until he was finally discovered by three teenagers who luckily pulled into the law.

[Elena]

Wow.

[Ash]

Yeah, they checked on.

[Elena]

We're following up, like, teenagers. With like.

[Ash]

Thank goodness.

[Elena]

We're following up and with teenagers.

[Ash]

Let's go.

[Elena]

Yes, teenagers.

[Ash]

So he was bleeding badly, so they left to get him help. And not long after, Vallejo police arrived in the parking lot where they found Mike still lying on the ground beside the car. He was in bad shape, but he still took the time to provide officers with the details of everything that had happened, including his basic description of the shooter's car.

[Elena]

Wow.

[Ash]

Darlene.

[Elena]

Unbelievable.

[Ash]

It is. Darlene, on the other hand, was barely breathing and couldn't speak. Both victims were rushed to the hospital, where Mike was immediately rushed into emergency surgery and he was placed in the icu. But unfortunately, Darlene died before they reached the hospital.

[Elena]

So sad.

[Ash]

It's awful. And she's a young mom. She was a 22 year old mother. Yeah. At 12:40am, as investigators were still processing the scene at Blue Rock Springs, a startling call came into the Vallejo Police Department. The caller said, I want to report a double murder. If you will go one mile east on Columbus Parkway to the public park, you will find the kids in a brown car. They were shot with a 9 millimeter lugger. I also killed those kids last year. Goodbye.

[Elena]

Wow.

[Ash]

Can you imagine being on the other end of that phone?

[Elena]

That is so cold.

[Ash]

Goodbye.

[Elena]

Goodbye. And they said, I also killed those kids.

[Ash]

They said that it was like, cold, chilling, freaky.

[Elena]

I hate that.

[Ash]

So investigators quickly determined that the call had been placed from a gas station payphone a little less than a mile from the crime scene, which had closed several hours earlier. Of course, by the time they arrived, the caller had gone. But what was clear from the caller's tone was that it wasn't a confession made out of guilt or some sense of moral responsibility, anything like that. It was very much intended to mock investigators.

[Elena]

Yeah. Like, absolutely.

[Ash]

I did it again. Try to catch me.

[Elena]

Yeah. Like, haha. Huh.

[Ash]

Like the attack on David Faraday and Betty Jensen, the Blue Rock Springs crime scene didn't turn up much as far as clues or leads. Despite having had the flashlight shine in his face when the killer approached, Mike did feel confident that he would be able to identify the shooter if he saw him again, which is crazy.

[Elena]

That's like. That's like he's honestly shocking. He is as a human being. Like, I can't believe that.

[Ash]

Yeah. He described the man as young, short and heavyset, and driving a brown car.

[Elena]

Wow.

[Ash]

At the time, this was the best description that he could provide. And even that was a struggle because one of the slugs had entered his neck, which injured his tongue and fractured his jaw.

[Elena]

Oh, my God.

[Ash]

So he's providing all of this information you have to remember while dealing with those kind of.

[Elena]

Oh, my God. I don't know how you concentrate on anything but the horrific pain that you are probably in.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

And the trauma.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

Of what you've gone through. Like, absolutely incredible.

[Ash]

It's crazy. Another important witness was George Bryant, who was the son of a local golf course owner about 800ft away from the parking lot when the two were shot. According to George, he had been looking out his bedroom window a little after 11:30pm that night, and he couldn't see into the parking lot, but he could hear everything very well. He told investigators he initially heard a group of young people laughing, followed by the sound of firecrackers, that group of teenagers. And around midnight, George said he heard what he thought was the sound of a single gunshot shot. A short pause. Another series of shots fired in rapid succession.

[Elena]

Damn.

[Ash]

I can't imagine hearing that.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

And he said once the shots finally stopped, he heard the sound of a car start and pull out of the parking lot. In a press conference the next day, representatives of the Vallejo Police Department didn't and really couldn't do much to calm the public's fears. Over now four shootings having occurred in a span of about seven months.

[Elena]

Wow.

[Ash]

Yeah. One officer put it really simply saying, we've got a crazy man on the loose.

[Elena]

Yeah. Which, yeah, yeah, I get why.

[Ash]

He said they hadn't really identified any specific motive for the shootings, but it was clear that the suspect had set out intending to kill people. Of the semi automatic hand weapon used in the killings, the officer said, it's an offensive weapon made to kill people. It packs more power than a.45.

[Elena]

Holy.

[Ash]

Yeah. When asked why the shooter would have left the scene without being certain that the two were dead, the officer replied, I think he left because he emptied his gun. Wow. Which turns out chilling. That hunch was a good one. Technicians at the scene ended up finding the exact number of cases you would find in a loaded 9 millimeter pistol, leading investigators to theorize that, yes, the killer had only stopped because he hadn't brought additional ammunition.

[Elena]

That is. Is terrifying.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

That he would have kept going, probably. And that he just totally unloaded his.

[Ash]

Also imagine being Mike and hearing that.

[Elena]

Like that you only are here because of your own like, you know, insane, like, like strength.

[Ash]

Strength.

[Elena]

Yeah, yeah. And like, but, you know, perseverance, but like also just some wild thing that like there was nothing left. Yeah, but if there was, he would have, he would have kept going. He was like, that must. I don't know what that feeling would be, but it must be wild.

[Ash]

Under the circumstances, Darlene's husband Dean was the most logical suspect in this case. But he had an alibi at the time of the shootings. He was working a shift at the Tennessee street restaurant and his presence was verified by every single one of his co workers.

[Elena]

Okay.

[Ash]

Otherwise there was no other suspects or really any evidence that would have pointed investigators in the direction of the killing killer. And given the phone call made shortly after the shooting, detectives had pretty good reason to suspect that the shooter in this case was the same person who killed David and Betty the previous December. This wasn't a one off, you know?

[Elena]

Yeah. They weren't like, maybe this is a different situation.

[Ash]

No. So those suspicions were strengthened a few weeks later when the San Francisco area newspapers all received similar letters from somebody claiming to be the killer. The first letter sent to the San Francisco Chronicle was written in crude block printing and red said, dear Editor, this is the murder of the two teenagers last Christmas at Lake Herman, plus the girl on the fourth of July near the golf course in Vallejo. To prove I killed them, I shall state some facts which only I plus the police know. Christmas. One, brand name of ammo Super X. Two, ten shots were fired. Three, the boy was on his back with his feet to the car. Four, the girl was on her right side feet to the west. The fourth of July. One girl was wearing pattern slacked. Two, the boy was also shot in the knee. Three, brand name of ammo was Western over. Indicating to them to flip the sheet of paper over here is part of a cipher. The other two parts of this cipher are being mailed to the editors of the Vallejo Times/ SF Examiner. And I kind of tried to pause where he breaks.

[Elena]

Yeah. So you could see, like, where written.

[Ash]

Very interestingly, like it's a new line when you don't necessarily need a new line.

[Elena]

It's interesting.

[Ash]

Yeah. The.

[Elena]

It's very unsettling.

[Ash]

It's very unsettling. There's a lot to be made of the way that the Zodiac communicates.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

In time, the letters to the news outlets would become a hallmark, like, we know. Of the Zodiac Killer. And the press would eventually dub him the Zodiac Killer. But when they got these initial letters, everybody was incredibly confused. And really, they could have just been easily dismissed as the confessional of a mentally ill person who maybe hadn't committed these crimes.

[Elena]

Yeah, I mean, that happens all the time.

[Ash]

So. So nobody was taking them too, too seriously at first, but very detailed. Very detailed, and we'll get there. For one thing, though, the grammar and punctuation were noticeably inconsistent, with some statements ending in a period and others having no punctuation at all. Okay. And each letter had a solid number of misspelled words. Like, for example, he spells Christmas. This. C, H, R, I, S, T, M, A, S, S. Oh, okay.

[Elena]

Too.

[Ash]

That kind of thing. That's really the only one I can point to in that letter. He spelled patterned wrong. I think there's a few things that are spelled, but people got the feeling that maybe these mistakes were also intentional. Like, he's trying to look a little.

[Elena]

Off, especially the added S in Christmas. It almost feels like it's like, yeah, I'll just put this in. Yeah.

[Ash]

Who knows? But.

[Mikey]

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[Ash]

You can share as many photos as.

[Mikey]

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[Ash]

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[Ash]

Off your Catit purchase now. Accompanying each letter was a cipher. Each of the three ciphers were hand drawn and were unique, but they all went together. So in order to solve one, you needed access to all three. But they were all sent to separate newspapers. There was also an ominous warning in each letter that read pretty much as an ultimatum to the editors of the paper. Ciphers published the ciphers by the next afternoon. Or the killer threatened to, quote, go on a killing rampage. And he said he would kill a dozen or more people, as indicated in the letters. The killer, definitely, like you caught on to, did know information about the murders.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

That hadn't been disclosed by investigators. Including the brand of ammunition used in the shootings.

[Elena]

Yep.

[Ash]

So detectives did have every reason to believe that the letters were genuine. But still, only the Chronicle complied with the killer's demand and published the cipher the next day.

[Elena]

Oh.

[Ash]

The examiner ran a story the day after receiving the letter, but didn't publish the cipher itself. And the Times Herald published their cipher a few days later and didn't put it on the front page like the killer wanted.

[Elena]

Oh.

[Ash]

Despite not fully complying with his demands, there luckily was no mass shooting. Wow. Yeah.

[Elena]

Surprising.

[Ash]

Yeah, it is. Is. So, in hopes of drawing the killer out of hiding, or at least maybe getting some additional information, Vallejo Police Chief Jack Stilts told reporters he was not convinced the letter was written by the actual killer. If it was, he would like the letter to supply more facts to prove it.

[Elena]

Wow.

[Ash]

He's just nagging him.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

In response, the San Francisco examiner received a second letter on August 4th that read, Dear Editor, this is the Zodiac Speaking. I answer to your asking for more details about the good times I have had in Vallejo. I shall be very happy to supply even more material. By the way, are the police having a good time with the code? If not, tell them to cheer up. When they do crack it, they will have me. On the 4th of July, I did not open the car door. The window was rolled down already. And he wrote already, like, are you all ready? Instead of it already happened.

[Elena]

Yeah. Like a L, L. Yep.

[Ash]

The boy was originally sitting in the front seat when I began firing. When I fired the first shot at his head, he leaped backwards at the same time, thus spoiling my aim. He ended up on. On the back seat, then the floor, thrashing about violently with his legs. That's how I shot him in the knee. I did not leave the scene spelled C E N E of the killing. With squealing tires plus racing engine as described in the Vallejo paper, I drove away slowly so as not to draw any attention to my car. And that was it.

[Elena]

I. That's like. So, like, I wasn't freaked out and, like, skidding away. I was actually going slow. But thanks. Like, that's very. Like somebody who's very insecure with their own. Yes. Situation and is trying to be like, I'm actually a tough guy and I wasn't scared at all.

[Ash]

It definitely comes off as a very insecure person.

[Elena]

Not a tough guy.

[Ash]

And like an attention grabber. Somebody who's like, I want you to know all the facts.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

And, like, I want you to know how I set out to do this.

[Elena]

Yep. Like, I am fixing my. This story. It's. It's very btkish to me, where it's like, where he was. Which tells you exactly what kind of person this person is. Or was.

[Ash]

Yup.

[Elena]

Because it's like, he has to be like, well, wait a minute. You have it wrong.

[Ash]

This is why I did.

[Elena]

This is what happened, and this is.

[Ash]

How I did that.

[Elena]

Like, you can't say these things. And it's like, there's a.

[Ash]

There's a story here.

[Elena]

And it's like, babe, you killed people. So I think that's really the most important thing here. Nobody's worried about how you. If you, like, skidded out of the place or if you slowly drove like it.

[Ash]

That really makes no difference.

[Elena]

It's not the biggest part of this.

[Ash]

That one is just like, I. Like you said, like, I wasn't scared.

[Elena]

Yeah. It's very much like a personal thing. I was being brave.

[Ash]

I drove out slowly after I Murdered two teenagers, but. Okay.

[Elena]

Two, like, people who are unarmed.

[Ash]

Yeah, yeah. While I'm riding their business.

[Elena]

Like, yeah. Tough guy.

[Ash]

No. The letter had no signature, just a simple symbol in the shape of a crosshairs, which will become very familiar.

[Elena]

Yep.

[Ash]

The publication of the letter so soon after the killings did emphasize to the public that there definitely was something to fear in their community. Yeah. In an interview with the examiner, Police Chief Jack Stilts encouraged all residents to, quote, stay out of lonely areas. A warning reiterated by Captain Wade Bird, who said, we could be looking for a very dangerous man.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

I can't imagine being a teenager or, like, we'll come to find out, being anybody at this point.

[Elena]

A human.

[Ash]

Yeah. Just. It's so. It must have been so scary.

[Elena]

Yeah, it's very much like. Like the David Berkowitz.

[Ash]

Yes.

[Elena]

Kind of situation where it's like you just don't know when they're gonna hit next.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

You know, it's so true. Really scary.

[Ash]

And whatever I do read about this case, I always think of that movie, the Town that Dreaded Sudden Down.

[Elena]

Oh, my God. Yes.

[Ash]

So that is a scary movie.

[Elena]

That's a terrifying movie.

[Ash]

And it's really so similar.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

To the facts of this case. Like, obviously, it's, you know, dramaticized, but.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Dramaticized.

[Elena]

Dramatic.

[Ash]

Dramatic. Dramaticized.

[Elena]

Dramaticized.

[Ash]

Dramatized. Dramatized. We don't know, Mikey. Right.

[Elena]

In is the word dramatized or dramaticized.

[Ash]

Dramatized.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Doesn't dramaticized also sound right, though? I don't know if it is, but it sounds.

[Elena]

I don't think it is, but I. I see why guy.

[Ash]

Yeah. Yeah. Traumatized.

[Elena]

So. Because that one's the. The texarkana Moonlight Murders, 1946, which I.

[Ash]

Think you covered at a live show once.

[Elena]

Yeah, I think. Yeah, you're right.

[Ash]

Like, our first. One of. Our first live.

[Elena]

Very early live show, I think. But, yeah, it's a similar. It's got similar vibe to it.

[Ash]

Yeah. Where.

[Elena]

It's one of those things, too, where it's like they're telling people not to. Like to be careful.

[Ash]

Don't go to Lovers Lanes.

[Elena]

Yeah. And they just, like, you don't know when they're gonna hit. Hit. It's really scary.

[Ash]

Yeah. It's got. Oh, I hate that so much. It's got all the makings of this.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

So while spokespeople for law enforcement did their very best to keep the public calm, investigators were working behind the scenes to crack the cipher that had been received by the three news outlets. Stilts enlisted the help of the Cryptographic Unit of the U.S. navy Radio Station on nearby Skaggs Island. They were a group who had a lot of experience with encrypted messages and very complex cipher. But before the Navy had made any progress on the cipher, investigators received a call from a couple in Salinas who had seen the puzzle in the paper and managed to crack the code themselves.

[Elena]

Oh, I remember this part of it. Yeah, that's like. That blew my mind.

[Ash]

That's awesome. In the few days since the cipher was published, high school teacher Donald Hardin and his wife Betty spent several hours just focused on the code before they were able to decipher the symbol spelling kill. From there, it was just a matter of identifying the remaining symbols. And after about 20 hours, they decoded the entire message.

[Elena]

My God.

[Ash]

There were some hiccups, of course. Donald told a reporter, as you can tell, his spelling is rather poor. And in some places he had made errors in the use of his own cipher, which he did.

[Elena]

I love how like they are roasting this person. They're just like. As you can see, he's a fucking idiot.

[Ash]

He's an idiot. You gotta. It's like us when we call people. What Let us. So the message with errors and tails hacked red. This is so. And it's all in capital letters, which freaks me the out. E. I like killing people because it is so much fun. It is more fun than killing wild game in the forest because man is the most. It's hunger too. So people don't know if it was meant to say hungry or dangerous. Maybe.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Nobody really knows. But the most hunger to animal of all, to kill something gives me the most thrilling experience. It is even better than getting your rocks off with a girl. Girl. I feel like you haven't the best part of it. I A thy. So like I A T H A E. But he was very clearly trying to write. The best part of it is that.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

When I die, I will be reborn in paradise spelled P A R A D I C E. And all the I have killed will become my slaves. I will not give you my name because you will trust. Try to sloi. Slow down or stop my collecting of slaves for my afterlife. And then it was signed EBO Riot MF Hip T. What the. Yeah.

[Elena]

What the.

[Ash]

Yeah. That is unhinged.

[Elena]

Unhinged for sure.

[Ash]

Unhinged as. As neither Donald or his wife were able to decipher those last four words that I very clearly struggled through. But they suspected that it was a signature of some kind. When you say it out loud, it sounds like Some kind of Latin. So I don't know if he's like guising it in his own way as Latin. I'm not sure. Maybe we'll get. We'll get there someday. Who knows?

[Elena]

We'll get there someday.

[Ash]

So the next day, a second decryption arrived in the mail, this time from an anonymous source. Despite some discrepancies in the two solutions, they were more or less the same. Several months later, when he was asked for comments on what he thought the cipher revealed about the killer, Donald Hardin said, he's bright enough, but not necessarily of high intellect.

[Elena]

Interesting.

[Ash]

Which I could, because, I mean, you're.

[Elena]

There's got to be some level of intelligence to create a cipher.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

It's not an easy thing to do, especially one that will stump as many people as this one did.

[Ash]

Yep.

[Elena]

But it is strange that it's like, that's why it feels like these, these spelling mistakes and are like.

[Ash]

I think they're intentional. Absolutely.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

But Hardin suspected the killer actually had no experience with cryptography and that he had either made up the cipher on his own, which is impressive.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Or had pulled it from some obscure detective story that he read somewhere. He said there's no continuity, no fidelity in his code. There are no special characters in these cryptograms. They are all just something he dreamed up.

[Elena]

Interesting.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

Even scarier.

[Ash]

Yep. So the next eight weeks passed pretty quietly in and around Vallejo. In San Francisco, not even the publication of the decrypted message prompted another letter from the killer. He was probably pissed.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Then in late September, the silence was broken when yet another young couple was attacked, this time at Lake Baronesa, about an hour outside of Vallejo. 22 year old Cecilia Shepard and 20 year old Brian Hartnell, two students at Pacific Union College, had met in 1968, quickly fallen in love, and started spending all their free time together. By the fall of 1969, though, their relationship had cooled off a bit and eventually they drifted apart, with their breakup becoming final when Cecilia decided to transfer to UCLA Riverside. The breakup was pretty amicable. But Cecilia ran into a problem. She still had some things in her dorm up at Pacific Union. So on the afternoon of September 27, she decided to make the trip to campus to grab the last of her things.

[Elena]

Okay.

[Ash]

After grabbing what she needed from her dorm, she stopped in the cafeteria for some lunch. And wouldn't you know it, she ran into Brian. Of course they ate together, they caught up, but when they finished lunch, they didn't want to go their separate ways just yet. So the two of them, along with a friend, Judy, decided to go to a rummage sale in nearby St. Helena. After leaving the rummage sale around 2 that day, Brian and Cecilia dropped Judy back at campus, but still weren't done hanging out yet and decided to visit Lake Baronessa.

[Elena]

They weren't done.

[Ash]

I know a location that Brian had really always loved. So after parking the car, they started walking the short distance to the shoreline, where Brian laid out a blanket on the grass for the two of them. And they just sat there chatting. Now, a short time passed when Brian started hearing something large moving around in the bushes about 15 or 20ft behind them. He was laying on his back and wasn't wearing his glasses, so he knew he wasn't going to be able to see what was happening. And he asked Cecilia Celia, who was laying on her stomach facing him, he said, what was making the noise. She looked off in the distance and she saw a man standing at the tree line and then saw him disappear.

[Elena]

Oh, I hate that.

[Ash]

Yeah, it sounds like something out of a movie.

[Elena]

It really does.

[Ash]

Brian just chuckled to himself and was like, he's probably went into the woods to relieve himself and was like, embarrassed that you saw him. But Cecilia was like, no, I feel like he was watching us. And she couldn't shake that feeling.

[Elena]

Yeah, that would freak me the out.

[Ash]

Literally, moments. Moments after that man disappeared behind the tree, he reappeared, this time much closer to the couple than either of them had expected. And Cecilia then shouted, oh, my God, he's got a gun.

[Elena]

Holy. And the worst part is that, you know, they have seen all the stories.

[Ash]

Yeah, I know.

[Elena]

They know, like you, they've seen that. Like, think about seeing all these stories, hearing the horrible things, feeling the fear.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

And then you find yourself face to face with this person.

[Ash]

And again, they're not like, this is the middle of the day.

[Elena]

They're not doing something risky.

[Ash]

And they're at a park. They're not a quote, unquote, lonely place.

[Elena]

Exactly. You know, that's the thing. Like, you're not even. Like, you've watched, you've seen the, the.

[Ash]

Articles, you've watched everything, right. Quote, unquote.

[Elena]

And you've thought that fear and you've sat there and said, oh, my God, like, like, what if that was me?

[Ash]

They kind of talked about it.

[Elena]

All the things that we do sit here and be like, oh, my God, I can't imagine, blah, blah, that would be so scary. And then you find yourself in that.

[Ash]

Position in the middle of it. Yep.

[Elena]

Like, it just like that stuff Always freaks me out.

[Ash]

It's so scary. After the attack, Brian would describe for the police the incredibly surreal and confusing moments leading up to the attack. In the time between ducking behind the tree and reappearing in front of them, the man donned what appeared to be a heavy canvas executioner's hook hood that covered his entire head and came all the way down to his stomach.

[Elena]

That's so scary.

[Ash]

Oh, just wait. It gets crazier. The top of the hood seemed to be flat with four corners, like a paper bag. It clearly looked like it had been made by somebody who didn't really know how to sew. Embroidered on the front chest area was a concentric cross and circle about 3 inches in diameter that looked like crosshairs. And possibly the strangest part of the attire, the eye holes of the hood were covered with what Brian thought were clip on sunglasses.

[Elena]

What the.

[Ash]

I don't know why and tell me if I'm crazy, but for some reason, the scariest part of that is the sunglasses. I.

[Elena]

That's so weird.

[Ash]

Like, it's just so unsettling because, I mean, the scariest part is the fact that he's wearing an executioner sud. But because why? Why clip on sunglasses so you can't see his eyes. But, like, why that.

[Elena]

You could have chosen any other way to do that. Like, you could have put, like, a darker fabric that you like, still gauzy, that you can see through, and that would have been less. Like, that's. For some reason, that is just beyond.

[Ash]

And it just. It feels unhinged.

[Elena]

It 100%.

[Ash]

Like, it feels like a scary ass move to me.

[Elena]

Take absolutely.

[Ash]

As Cecilia had said, the man did have a gun in his hand, but he didn't appear to be advancing on them with menacing energy, per se. The man told Cecilia and Brian that he was an escaped convict from Deer Lodge prison in Montana and that he was on his way fleeing to Mexico. He said he had no intention of hurting them. He just wanted their money and the keys to Brian's car so that he could leave the country. So they were like, okay, like, cool, man. Obviously sensing that they're in danger here, though, Brian spoke calmly to the man wearing the hood and tried to engage him in conversation. He even offered to write him a check. He was like, I only have 75 cents on me, but I'll write you a check.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

The man just ignored what Brian was saying and instead told him he was gonna have to tie the two of them up.

[Elena]

Oh, I hate that. I hate it.

[Ash]

Because why would he have to tie you? Why, if he's just taking your car?

[Elena]

Yeah. That's when you know is gonna ride.

[Ash]

Yup. So the gunman pulled a length of plastic clothesline from his back pocket and tossed it to Cecilia, telling her that she needed to tie Brian's hands behind his back. She did as she was told, but she didn't want to hurt Brian, so she tied the knots loosely. When she finished, the man tied Cecilia's hands behind her back using very tight knots.

[Elena]

Yeah, I figure.

[Ash]

And then retied Brian's hands with similarly tight bindings. Once their hands were bound, the gunman told Brian to lie on his stomach so that he could tie his feet. But Brian protested. At this point, he said, we might not be found here for hours and we could get hypothermia. Like we're, we're tied up. Just.

[Elena]

Yeah, like just go take the car.

[Ash]

Go ahead.

[Elena]

Take what you want.

[Ash]

Irritated, the man placed the barrel of the gun to Brian's head and shouted, I told you to get down, you guys. I got one of my absolute favorite.

[Mikey]

Packages in the mail the other day.

[Ash]

I got a whole box that was put together by Happy Egg.

[Mikey]

They included some super cool merch in there.

[Ash]

I was super excited to get the little socks, a little ha. But most importantly, I was over the moon to get my happy eggs.

[Mikey]

Happy Egg believes in spreading happiness through the simple pleasure of high quality and delicious eggs. They're free range farming standards. Working with small family owned farms to raise their happy hens outside on over 8 acres, coupled with the care and treatment their hens receive lead to tasty orange yolks that are rich and full of flavor. If you've never had happy eggs before.

[Ash]

I don't know what you're doing with your life.

[Mikey]

You need to go to your local grocery store and look for that yellow carton and crack open happy baby. You crack those eggs open and they're about to be the most beautiful yolks you've ever seen in your life. If you're like me and you love like an eggs bunny moment, or even just a simple sunny side up moment.

[Ash]

And you have something to dip those.

[Mikey]

Eggs into, I do.

[Ash]

A grilled English muffin.

[Mikey]

Or you, you dip the grilled English muffin into the eggs. Or you could dip the egg into the egg.

[Ash]

If you're really feeling crazy, visit happyegg.commorbid.

[Mikey]

To find a store near you.

[Elena]

You.

[Ash]

The dramatic tone was obviously horrifying, so Brian just did what the guy said. Now he was hog tied on the Ground. And the man turned his attention to Cecilia, binding her ankles in the same way as the man was tying Cecilia's bindings. Brian noticed that as he was doing it, the guy's hands were shaking, thinking, interesting. So he asked him, are you nervous? And the gunman replied, yes, I guess so.

[Elena]

Oh, yeah, that's very. Like, I'm. I'm so impressed that Brian had the wherewithal to ask that question.

[Ash]

I think he was trying to appeal to this humanity in any way. Show him, you don't have to do.

[Elena]

This if you're having a conversation where people.

[Ash]

Yeah. Like, so. In his mind, he interpreted the guy's hand shaking to mean that maybe he wasn't as dangerous as he appeared and maybe he wasn't going to harm them. But unfortunately, the gunman's nervousness was probably less of a sign of inexperience as it was excitement. Yeah, he may have been shaking because he was so excited, which is horrifying.

[Elena]

Especially judging from that cipher, like, the way he was talking.

[Ash]

Seems like he said he gets so excited that it's even better than.

[Elena]

Yeah, so sex.

[Ash]

Yeah. So. Accounts about what happened next have varied depending on when the story was told. According to the park ranger who discovered Brian and Cecilia a short time after the attack, Brian initially said that the man produced a knife from a holster and said, I'm going to have to stab you. Yeah. At hearing this, Brian reportedly told the man, stab me first. I'm chicken. I couldn't stand to see her stabbed first. First.

[Elena]

Oh, my God.

[Ash]

Which, like, that's a gentleman.

[Elena]

That just. But shattered my heart.

[Ash]

I know. Sometime later, though, Brian told detectives he couldn't remember whether he saw the man produce the knife or if he heard him say anything, and that it was equally possible that he said nothing before he plunged the knife into Brian's back.

[Elena]

Oh.

[Ash]

Whatever the case, he then stabbed Brian in the back eight times.

[Elena]

Oh, my God.

[Ash]

And Brian pretended to be dead. Dead again. Wow. And then when Brian, you know, as Brian was pretending to be dead, the man turned his attention to Cecilia and started brutally attacking her. He stabbed her more than 10 times in the back, abdomen, and groin, all while she was fighting back.

[Elena]

Oh, my God.

[Ash]

Confident that he'd be leaving both victims for dead, he stood up and calmly walked away, leaving Brian's wallet and the car keys laying right on the ground beside the couple.

[Elena]

No intention.

[Ash]

He had no intention of taking that car.

[Elena]

Holy.

[Ash]

Once he was sure that the man had gone, Brian called out to Cecilia. And despite the brutality of the attack, they both Started discussing how they could get their bindings off and go for help. She's still alive.

[Elena]

Both alive.

[Ash]

They're both still alive.

[Elena]

Holy.

[Ash]

So using his teeth, Brian was able to loosen Cecilia's bindings enough to free one of her hands. Hands. But the clothesline had been tied so tightly and for so long at this point that both of her arms had gone numb.

[Elena]

Oh my God.

[Ash]

And she wasn't unable to tie his hands or her own ankles. Desperate to find help, though, they just started screaming in the hopes that one of the boats on the reservoir nearby might hear them and investigate the sound.

[Elena]

Oh my God.

[Ash]

It took some time, but about 15 minutes later, which, imagine, must have felt like 15 days. Yeah, easily 15 years. A local fisherman, Richard Fong, heard the cries for help, and he went to get a park ranger. In the meantime, Cecilia actually, luckily had regained the use of one of her arms, and she managed to free Brian's hands, which let him untie all the remaining bindings. Believing that no help was coming, cuz they can't hear anything coming back at them, Brian decided he needed to get to the main road and flag down a passing car. Car. He's been stabbed in the back eight times.

[Elena]

I was just gonna say, like Jesus.

[Ash]

Luckily, he only had to make it about 225 yards, but even still. Yeah, that is incredibly impressive. When he was spotted by Ranger Dennis Land, who had heard the broadcast about Fong's report and started making his way to the scene. At that same time, Fong and park ranger William White had gone back to the shoreline by boat along with another couple who had also heard the noise. So a ton of people are arriving on scene scene. By the time everybody reached Cecilia, it was clear that her injuries were a lot more serious than Brian's.

[Elena]

God. Because she's been stabbed in the abdomen too.

[Ash]

Yeah, like the groin. The groin. And a few more times. And they're more serious than Brian's. But his injuries are still really bad too, like that. So that's saying a lot that hers were so bad. Ranger White would later say, I've seen a lot of things people cut by boat, blades and such, but never anything like these two nice kids just cut to pieces.

[Elena]

Oh my God.

[Ash]

So White immediately called an ambulance, and the group started tending to Cecilia the best they could while they waited for help to arrive. But unfortunately, the lake was in a remote area pretty far from any main road, so it took the ambulance and additional law enforcement almost 45 minutes to arrive. Yeah, the MTs, when they got there, loaded both victims into the ambulance and wasted no time getting to the hospital. But by the time they reached their destination, almost two and a half hours had gone by since the attack. And though Brian was still conscious, Cecilia had fallen into a coma.

[Elena]

Oh, no.

[Ash]

At 7:40pm, a little over an hour after Brian and Cecilia were attacked at Lake Berryessa, a call came in to the Napa Police Department for an anonymous call from an anonymous caller who said, I'd like to report a murder. No, a double murder. They are two miles north of park headquarters. They are in a white Volkswagen. Carmen Geek. Yeah. Just told them the. Assuming the caller was some simply reporting a crime they witnessed, Officer David Slate asked the caller for their name and location. But the man on the end ignored him and just kept talking, saying quietly, I'm the one that did it, and then just hung up.

[Elena]

Holy.

[Ash]

Yeah. The officer on the other end said he literally heard the phone being nestled back on the cradle.

[Elena]

What a nasty.

[Ash]

Yeah. Later, Officer Slate, who took the call, would describe the voice as possibly in his early 20s. In the background, he said he could hear the noise of traffic and background chatter just before the caller had hung up. When they traced the call to its origin, investigators discovered it had been placed from a pay phone in downtown Napa. In total, 35 latent prints were lifted from the pay phone.

[Elena]

Wow.

[Ash]

Including one promising palm print. Print. And some of the prints were actually so fresh that they still showed beads of moisture, which is cool. But unfortunately, they didn't do much in identifying their killer. Back at the crime scene, investigators were having little luck finding any leads. After Brian and Cecilia were removed from the scene, a well meaning park ranger moved their belongings and the bindings back to the park headquarters, which effectively compromised any evidence that could have been collected. They just.

[Elena]

Oh, that's unfortunate.

[Ash]

You didn't know back then, you know.

[Elena]

It'S not like they were trying to fuck everything up.

[Ash]

No, they were trying to help. There was, however, one strange and intriguing clue left at the scene. On the passenger side door of Brian's car, written in felt tip pen, the gunman wrote the following message. Vallejo, 12, 20, 68, 7, 4, 6, 9. 9-27-69, 6:30. By knife. What the. He's laying out the first murders. The first set of murders, the second set of murders, and now the third set of murders with a time stamp. And how he killed them by knife.

[Elena]

I hate that.

[Ash]

Yeah. Or how he thought he killed them.

[Elena]

Holy.

[Ash]

Above the message, the killer drew the now familiar symbol of the crosshairs. Within a few days, the message would be made public in the area papers. But smart investigators withheld the final line by now. Knife. Knowing that they could use that information to later verify the identity of their killer. Good call. Yeah. They were like, he's definitely going to contact us again, so let's keep that. Despite a solid amount of critical evidence having been compromised, there were still other clues at the scene that helped reconstruct what happened the day after the attacks. Investigators discovered a clear set of footprints leading from the scene back to where Brian's car was, which it was parked on Knoxville Road. Road. And they also discovered a set of clear tire impressions leading from where the gunman had parked right behind Brian's car out to the main road. And luckily, the tire impressions revealed a unique detail that the two front tires on the man's car didn't match, which would be invaluable should they ever find the car.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

So that's good. Now, that same day investigators discovered the tracks, detectives got a call from the dean of Pacific Union College College, who reported that three students had come, had come forward with some information that might be of help. According to the three young women, they were also at the lake that day. They had gone to sunbathe, and they were settled on a spot near the western shore, which is where Brian and Cecilia had been attacked. As they were getting out of their car, they said they all noticed a man, quote, in a light blue Chevrolet with California license plates, and he was parked nearby. Why? They thought really nothing of it at the time. But an hour, a half hour later, all of them saw the man from the parking lot standing about 50ft away. And he was clearly watching them.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

However, whenever they would look in his direction, he'd look away. Just creepy.

[Elena]

I hate that he's such a creep.

[Ash]

He's creepy.

[Elena]

That's the thing.

[Ash]

A short time later, the man passed by the group as he walked back toward the car. Cars. And when each witness was interviewed separately, they all described the man in pretty much the same way. Approximately 30 years old, 6ft tall, 200 to 225 pounds, stocky, with dark hair parted on the left side, wearing dark pants and a short sleeve sweater. And they all agreed he was nice looking.

[Elena]

Okay.

[Ash]

Which is even scarier that he's just a paw. I mean, who knows if this is the guy.

[Elena]

He's just a normal looking.

[Ash]

Just a normal looking dude, like nothing.

[Elena]

Out of the ordinary.

[Ash]

And it. There's a good chance it could have been that the Zodiac, because if you look at the earlier descriptions of him, Everybody says around 20 to 30.

[Elena]

Yep.

[Ash]

They say stocky or, like, heavy set? Kind of.

[Elena]

Yeah. Which makes sense.

[Ash]

Yeah. Now, the same day as detectives were interviewing the students from Pacific Union, investigators held a press conference to provide what few details they could about the case, identifying the assailant as likely the same man who had attacked the two couples in Vallejo earlier that year. Year Napa Sheriff's Captain Don Townsend told reporters, this man is a psychopathic killer.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Which, like, yes, valid. And he went on to say that the attack on Cecilia showed definite sexual overtones. But it's unclear what that statement was really based on. But he did suggest, again, without evidence that, quote, the slayings might be part. Might be the work of a Napa State Hospital inmates.

[Elena]

That's interesting.

[Ash]

Yeah, it. I think.

[Elena]

Because it's like. Didn't the last time he said he was escaped from a. Yeah. Huh.

[Ash]

Well, he told. Yeah, he told Brian and Brian, Cecilia that he was. But I don't know, it's.

[Elena]

Yeah. I mean, that doesn't.

[Ash]

Because he said he was an escaped inmate from, like, Minnesota. Yeah, something like that.

[Elena]

So that's different. But interesting that it was brought up a couple times.

[Ash]

Yeah, it is interesting testing. But who knows what the basis was. On the afternoon of September 29th, unfortunately, just before 4:00pm, Cecilia Shefford passed away in the hospital, making her the fourth confirmed murder victim of the man that the press now was referring to officially as the Zodiac Killer.

[Elena]

Oh, that makes me so sad.

[Ash]

I know. Brian Hartnell remained in serious condition but would eventually recover from his injuries.

[Elena]

That is unbelievable.

[Ash]

And to have that happen three times.

[Elena]

In a row in the men.

[Ash]

So. Yeah. Which is. And it's just by happenstance.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

And it's interesting. I hate it. I do, too.

[Elena]

Like, I. Like, I'm glad that they, you know, he survived. I mean, like, I hate that. Like. Well, we don't know what that's about.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

You know what I mean? Like, I hate that. Coincidence.

[Ash]

I think.

[Elena]

I think it is a coincidence.

[Ash]

But it is bizarre.

[Elena]

But it's just very bizarre.

[Ash]

There's a lot of. Of. I don't. I'm not saying, like, supernatural in the way of, like, ghostly, but there are, like, a lot of supernatural.

[Elena]

Paranormally supernatural about this. Not that there is.

[Ash]

Yeah, I'm not saying there is.

[Elena]

It has a. A vibe to it that's very otherworldly.

[Ash]

Yes.

[Elena]

It feels like. Because even his, like, outfit feels like from another planet kind of situation. Like, you're just like. I can't reconcile, like, someone wearing that.

[Ash]

Yeah. And I Think. Obviously the fact that it's unsolved leads even more, like, heightens that feeling.

[Elena]

Yeah. Like, makes it have, like an alien esque quality to it.

[Ash]

Yeah. But it is, it. It's a case that really leaves you with the chills. But in an interview conducted shortly after he came out of surgery, Brian described the killer as having brown hair, about five, nine to maybe six feet tall, 20 to 30 years of age, and 200 to 250 pounds, with a husky voice. Okay, so pretty similar to all the other descriptions. Investigators checked other aspects of Brian's story, including the killer's claim that he escaped from Deer Lodge State Prison in Montana. That's what it was. I think I said Minnesota earlier.

[Elena]

Either one.

[Ash]

But officials at Deer Lodge confirmed all their inmates were accounted for. Now, like, we know the term serial killer had not been established at this point, but in the two weeks that followed the attacks at the lake, the press and public started to process the fact that. That there was a multiple murderer living amongst them. And if the past was any indication, this guy was going to kill again. Some people were starting to think maybe the zodiac was sexually motivated. Evident in what was described as his quote, unquote, effeminate handwriting. And the quote, sexual aberration suspected by a psychiatrist. I don't know though.

[Elena]

The only. I think that's kooky to. To attribute it to the.

[Ash]

That I don't think there's enough what's.

[Elena]

I think what's more interesting is the fact that he literally wrote in the cipher. Like, it's better than getting your rocks off with some girl.

[Ash]

Well, and I think that's really where people were getting that feeling.

[Elena]

They're like, let's talk about his quote unquote effeminate handwriting. It's like, really?

[Ash]

Yeah. And it's like, I don't think these crimes are ne necessarily sexually motivated. I think he gets probably a sexual thrill from killing.

[Elena]

Yeah. Like, maybe that's the thing. Maybe like that's what it's about.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

Is that's where he gets his.

[Ash]

His thriller. Yes.

[Elena]

From. Is doing this. Which is up in a whole different way.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

But I don't know if I would consider that. I don't know. Maybe it's just like the wording that's on the. You know what I mean? Because I always think of, like a sexually motivated murder to include sexual assault or whatever.

[Ash]

Yes. You know, which, of course it doesn't always.

[Elena]

Which that's when you really think about it, you're like, okay, well, maybe, maybe, maybe it's just the term that's throwing me off. But perhaps they're correct.

[Ash]

Yeah, they could be. I mean, we don't really know some.

[Elena]

Way, shape or form.

[Ash]

Yeah. But to others, he was simply a maniac who believed the stars and planets commanded him to kill. According to an astrologer's prediction made just just before the Berryessa attack. The attack on the lake, quote, the heavens, indicated the killer might strike a third time. And this astrologer was only off by one day. Wow. Yeah, that's impressive. But regardless of the killer's motivations, almost everybody believed it was only a matter of time before he struck again. And unfortunately, they wouldn't be waiting long.

[Elena]

Oh, man.

[Ash]

But that is where we are going to wrap for part one.

[Elena]

Oh, wow.

[Ash]

Yeah, wow. Give you a lot of information for part one.

[Elena]

I was going to say this is just like, so heavy. Like there's just so much involved in this case.

[Ash]

There really is. And there's still a lot more to talk about in part two.

[Elena]

Damn.

[Ash]

But holy. We will leave you here because that's a lot to digest.

[Elena]

That is a lot to digest.

[Ash]

Crazy. Very crazy, bonkers case.

[Elena]

Damn.

[Ash]

So with all that, we hope you keep listening and we hope you keep it weird. Keep it so weird that you fight with your sister about the use of the word aesthetic.

[Elena]

Keep it that.

[Ash]

And keep it so weird that you're on my side.

[Elena]

No, my side.

[Ash]

I'm not old. Whatever.

[Elena]

Whatever.

[Ash]

Whatever. Michael.

[Elena]

Michael.

[Ash]

Sa foreign. If you like morbid, you can listen early and ad free right now by joining Wondery plus in the Wondery app.

[Mikey]

Or on Apple Podcasts.

[Ash]

Prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself.

[Mikey]

By filling out a short survey at Wondery.

[D]

You know those creepy stories that give you goosebumps? The ones that make you really question what's real? Well, what if I told you that some of the strangest, darkest and most mysterious stories are not found in haunted houses or abandoned forests, but instead in hospital rooms and doctor's offices? Hi, I'm Mr. Ballin, the host of Mr. Ballin's Medical Mysteries. And each week on my podcast, you can expect to hear stories about bizarre illnesses no one can explain, miraculous recoveries that shouldn't have happened, and cases so baffling they stumped even the best doctors. So if you crave totally true and thoroughly twisted horror stories and mysteries, Mr. Ballin's medical mysteries should be your new go to weekly show. Listen to Mr. Ballin's Medical Mysteries on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad free right now by joining Wondery in the Wondery app or on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.