HE WAS, ON THE ONE HAND, OBVIOUSLY NOT EDUCATED TO ANY GREAT DEGREE ...(SEE LIST OF MIS-SPELLED WORDS IN LINK BELOW), BUT IN SPITE OF THIS, HAS MANAGED TO DESIGN AND PRODUCE A CODE WHICH BAFFLED THE POLICE INVESTIGATORS AND THE F.B.I. AND IN FACT WAS ULTIMATELY SOLVED BY A HISTORY TEACHER AND HIS WIFE.
AND IT WAS A DECENT CODE.
BASICALLY A SUBSTITUTION CODE WITH MULTIPLE SUBSTITUTIONS FOR MULTIPLY USED LETTERS, IT
USED MORE THAN 50 CHARACTERS TO REPRESENT THE 26 LETTERS OF OUR ALPHABET.
IN SPITE OF THIS HOWEVER, IT WAS SOLVED IN LESS TIME THAN ZODIAC HAD HOPED FOR SO HIS NEXT CIPHERS WERE MUCH MORE COMPLEX AND IN FACT REMAIN UNSOLVED TO THIS DAY..
MOST IMPORTANT HOWEVER, IN THE HISTORY OF ZODIAC IS HIS UNCANNY ABILITY TO "READ" THE MEDIA AND USE THEM TO FURTHER HIS OWN AMBITION TO BE FAMOUS AND FEARED.
THERE IS LITTLE DOUBT THAT IN THE WORLD OF SERIAL KILLERS HE DOESN'T REALLY RANK IN THE TOP 100, AND YET OFTEN HIS NAME WILL COME UP, EVEN TODAY, MORE THAN 30 YEARS AFTER THE FACT.
WHY IS THIS, SINCE THE STATS DON'T SUPPORT HIS NOTORIETY. EVEN AS A KILLER HE WAS ONLY A MODEST SUCCESS,MANAGING TO KILL ONLY 5 OF THE 7 PEOPLE HE HAD IN HIS COMPLETE CONTROL.
UNOPPOSED, UNRUSHED AND WITH ALL THE WEAPONRY HE NEEDED AT HIS DISPOSAL, HE STILL LEFT 2 OUT OF 7 PEOPLE ALIVE.
WITH A KILL RATIO OF ONLY 71.42 % AND A TOTAL VERIFIED # OF KILLS AT 5, HE FALLS FAR SHORT OF THE NUMBERS REQUIRED TO CLASSIFY HIM AS A SERIAL KILLER.
SO WHY IS HE STILL REMEMBERED...APART FROM THE OBVIOUS FACT THAT HE REMAINS UN-NAMED AND STILL AT LARGE?
PUBLICITY!!
HE WAS HIS OWN P.R. MAN AND WITH THE WILLING CO-OPERATION OF THE PRESS, WHO WERE ONLY TOO WILLING TO COVER THE FRONT PAGE WITH THE LURID DETAILS OF THIS MAD KILLER AND HIS WRITINGS, HE MADE HIMSELF FAMOUS...OR AT LEAST INFAMOUS.
WITH A TOTAL OF MORE THAN 20 LETTERS AND CARDS AND SOME WRITINGS ON CAR DOORS AND SUCH, HE CERTAINLY RANKS AS ONE OF THE MORE 'WELL-WRITTEN" OF THE KILLERS OF THE 60'S AND YET MOST OF THE COMMUNICATIONS CAME AFTER THE LAST VERIFIED KILLING HAD TAKEN PLACE AS IF HE WERE HOPING TO STAY IN THE LIMELIGHT BY WORD RATHER THAN BY DEED.
SADLY, HE WAS HELPED BY AN UNSCRUPULOUS DETECTIVE WHO WAS LONG-TIME INVOLVED IN THE CASE AND WHO HIMSELF YEARNED FOR THE ATTENTION THE CASE BROUGHT AND ULTIMATELY WROTE SOME 'LETTERS' IN THE ZODIAC STYLE WHICH HE HOPED WOULD PROPELL HIM INTO THE LIMELIGHT OF FURTHER INVESTIGATION.
HE WAS, HOWEVER , FOUND OUT AND TRANSFERRED...HOPEFULLY TO A GARBAGE DETAIL.
LUCKILY THE LETTERS ARE POORLY DONE (ARE WE SURPRISED THAT ZODIAC WAS NEVER CAUGHT WITH A DETECTIVE WHO EVEN WANTED TO COUNTERFEIT THE LETTERS AND IN FACT DID SUCH A POOR JOB OF IT?) AND THEY WERE IDENTIFIED ALTHOUGH THERE IS NOW STILL SOME DOUBT ABOUT SOME OF THEM.
