Why the Zodiac Killer was Never Caught
September 8, 2022
The infamous Zodiac Killer, active from 1968 to 1969, is the pinnacle of true crime. Killing a total of five people and injuring two within a year, this killer is one of the most dangerous people in history. With a multitude of people trying to solve this case, no one has been able to crack the code. While the zodiac killer has sent ciphers and codes to numerous police stations, the question then becomes, why?
To its surprise, police and investigators have not found DNA at any reported crime scene. This is quite extraordinary due to the killer leaving notes on cars and sending ciphers to the police. However, if DNA were to be found, it would not have been able to be tested as that sort of technology did not exist at the time. Even years later, government forces have not cracked this case because there was simply no DNA evidence.
The zodiac killer also sent police a total of four coded messages. While most have been solved, it took years for most of them to be decoded. In these messages he explains the reason behind his motives, naming his next victims, and supposedly even giving his name. While this is not confirmed, the decoded part of this letter leads to a jumble of letters at the bottom potentially being the zodiac killer’s name. While this may be true, they could not decode this part of the letter and no other solid evidence was revealed in any of the other letters sent to police.
A sketch of the zodiac killer was made from two surviving victims. While one might think that this would lead police right to the killer, that stands untrue. The sketch is very generic and could fit the description of just about any middle aged man at the time. Having glasses, short hair, and white skin, it was hard to distinguish him from other men with similar features. It is also questionable whether or not the sketch is 100% accurate as the zodiac killer wore a mask and a costume. The two survivors only caught a slight glimpse of him while they were both very injured.
During his last murder, the zodiac killer was nearly caught by police but made a mere escape. Naturally, after that murder the killings stopped, but the letters continued. The publicity and fear of the zodiac killer continued. It is possible he did commit other crimes that were never attributed to him, but there have been no reports to such events. Over the years people have claimed similarities with their uncle or their cousin or their neighbor as the infamous killer. Many people have attempted to solve this yet still, nothing has been found. However, the case still remains open and unsolved 53 years later.