In 2007, David Fincher’s Zodiac was released to the mainstream public and it reignited true-crime aficionados’ obsession with one of the most prolific serial killer cases of all time. The film was based on the 1986 non-fiction book of the same name by Robert Graysmith (played by Jake Gyllenhaal in the film), a political cartoonist who believed that the Zodiac Killer was a man named Arthur Leigh Allen (John Carroll Lynch). The Zodiac Killer was a serial murderer who terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area during the late 1960s and early 1970s, taunting police with letters, bloodstained clothing, and ciphers mailed to newspapers. Arthur Leigh Allen was eventually cleared as being the killer because his DNA didn’t match key evidence left by the perpetrator so the case once again became one of the United States’ most infamous unsolved crimes…until now. According to a group of independent investigators who have spent years working on the case, they have reportedly determined the identity of the prolific serial killer.
According to a group of independent investigators called the Case Breakers, the identity of the Zodiac Killer has been revealed to be Gary Francis Poste. According to the Case Breakers, Poste not only evaded authorities in Northern California during his reign of terror but he also got away with another alleged murder hundreds of miles away that has linked him to the crimes of the Zodiac Killer. If you’re a true crime junkie like me and maybe wanted to know more from Poste about these allegations, you’ll be disappointed to find out that Poste died in 2018 from sepsis, septic shock, dysphagia, and vascular dementia … according to his death certificate obtained by “TMZ.” With his death, it’s impossible to question him about the accusations let alone charge him with a crime.
The Case Breakers, which is made up of more than 40 former law enforcement investigators, journalists, and military intelligence officers, feel confident in naming Poste as the Zodiac Killer based on clues uncovered during their independent investigation. The investigation included years of combing through forensic evidence and photos from Poste’s darkroom. Another image of Poste reportedly shows scars on Poste’s forehead that perfectly match up with scars on a police sketch of the Zodiac Killer. You can check out a side-by-side image of those photos below!
Former Army counterintelligence agent, Jen Bucholtz, says other clues point to Poste being the infamous killer and they come straight from the Zodiac Killer’s letters. One particular letter, which hadn’t previously been deciphered by law enforcement, is alleged by Bucholtz to reveal an alternate message when you remove the letters of Poste’s full name. It would take knowing the name in question to find the secret message, which explains why detectives failed to do so in the past.
The unsolved murder that the Case Breakers also believe Poste committed occurred on October 31, 1966. Cheri Jo Bates was murdered in Riverside, California, hundreds of miles away from the San Francisco area that the Zodiac Killer heavily terrorized. A handwritten letter believe to have been sent from the killer was sent to the cops the following year. It should be noted that police in the case refute that the letter actually came from the killer and do not believe the case is linked to the Zodiac murders. Here is what they said in the following statement:
“Our Homicide Cold Case Unit has determined the murder of Cheri Jo Bates in 1966 is not related to the Zodiac killer. We understand the public interest in these unsolved murders, but all inquiries regarding the Zodiac Killer should be referred to the FBI. The Cheri Jo Bates case remains an open investigation and we do not have any additional details to release at this time.”
As for the San Francisco Police Department, they have declined to comment on Gary Francis Poste being the Zodiac Killer. They note that they can’t talk about any potential suspects as it’s still an open investigation. The declaration that Poste is the Zodiac Killer hasn’t been officially verified by law enforcement.
As for Poste, if he is indeed the Zodiac Killer, he lived a relatively normal life. Poste was married, served in the armed forces, and worked as a house painter. This really isn’t all that surprising if he is the culprit because many infamous serial killers have been known to live pretty normal lives outside the fact that they led secret lives as murderers.
There are some that dispute the Case Breakers’ claims that Poste is the Zodiac Killer. Per “TMZ“, Riverside PD’s PIO, Ryan Railsback, says the Case Breakers cite the 1966 murder of Cheri Jo Bates and evidence the group says it gleaned from studying the file as the basis of their conclusion. Railsback says their initial suspicion the Zodiac was responsible, based on letters they received at the time, was simply a red herring and not worthy of further investigation. They insist if there was a reason to explore this more, they would have.
Enter Frank Falzon, a former San Francisco PD homicide inspector, who was once partners with the famed Dave Toschi, someone in charge of the Zodiac case in the early days. Falzon took over the file once Toschi left the case and he also believe that Poste isn’t their guy. According to Falzon, Poste’s name, from what he can recall, never came up as a strong possible suspect among the hundreds of names they had on file. His partner Toschi always believe Arthur Leigh Allen was the Zodiac Killer but, as mentioned earlier, Allen was cleared through DNA evidence.
If anything I hope this brings more attention to Fincher’s Zodiac which is one of the best films in his filmography. While critics embraced Zodiac, the film only grossed $33 million domestically on a $65 million budget, although it did clear $84 million worldwide. It’s a film that delivers scene by scene with gut-wrenching anxiety but it’s not a straight-up serial killer thriller and I think that’s why mainstream audiences didn’t immediately flock to it. With a cast featuring Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Brian Cox, Anthony Edwards, Donal Logue, and many more, I’d say no time like the present to rediscover this modern-day classic, especially with the Zodiac back in the headlines.
Do YOU think Gary Francis Poste is the Zodiac Killer?