Hi, everyone. Hope everything is going well. Inspite of this lock down, we are slowly moving into normal zone of our daily routine. This time, I have come up with sharing details about two serial killers and some awful case study about it.
As we are living in the modern society, where we can identify reason behind n number of murder cases in less time consumption. We can easily find the killer through CCTV cameras; DNA test (blood strains in the murder zone); Fingerprint scan report, also GPS tracking technology. Even a piece of SIM can help to recognize the criminals.
But those days, where technology wasn’t in practice to find the reason behind crime (especially serial killers) is just nightmare for the person who is dealing with those cases. Though they try to find the criminal, still there was a way for them to escape by finding excuses because of lack of strong evidences. Those days, sequence of death continues randomly since killer himself frame him as a victim in society views. 10 out 5 people were imprisoned because of lack of proof and continued to kill people with no sense of fear. Will discuss about killers below.
Vending machine killer:
This was occurred in Japan; here 12 people were killed in a sequence. The period of killing was done starting from April 30th of 1985 and ends at November 24th of 1985. Here killer planned to kill the victim by adding a highly toxic chemical herbicide Paraquat (also known as Gramoxone which is used to control weed and grass growth) into the drink. Also, the fact is drinks inside the vending machine is not poisoned by chemicals. Poisoned drink bottles are seen on the top of the machine or else placed next to the machine. So, the people who consumed it randomly were died. Though the first death was happened on April 30th. It took almost four months for the next death. The next eleven deaths were occurred between September 11 to November 24.
Around 1985, there was a pharmaceutical company named Otsuka. This company sell health tonic drink known as Oronamin C. But sale of health tonic decreases gradually, so they decided to increase the sale by joining hands with vending machine drink sales. The scheme is that, if people buy drink using vending machine, they will get free health tonic of Oronamin C along with it. So, the pharmaceutical company shareholders thought this might increase the sale of health tonic.
Unfortunately, this leads to the start of serial killing using vending machine. Japanese people have the habit of leaving the drink bottles near / top of the vending machine if they don’t like it. So that the other person can take it if needed.
The first person who was killed is old truck driver from Fukuyama, Hiroshima he is 45-year-old. On April 30th, when he was purchasing drink through vending machine, he took the Oronamin C health tonic spotted near the machine and drank it. After drinking it, he fell ill none of the doctors could save him. Doctors tried to diagnose the poison which is killing him slowly. After undergoing tests, it was identified as toxic chemical herbicide Paraquat. This chemical was banned in 30 different countries because of toxic nature. Consuming this chemical will affect the blood vessels; burning of tissue; and causes holes through throat. The first victim was died on May 30th of 1985 (suffered for one month).
The police started investigating the case, but there was no small spot left by the killer to get back to him. Slowly the case left unresolved. After four months, the same method of killing occurred again. This time 52-year-old man drank the free health tonic on September 11th and died after three days.
Then a 22-year-old student drank the free health tonic and died two days later. So, at the end of September four people died in different locations (Fukui, Miyazaka, and Osaka); four other people died at the end of October; and two people died in November.
The last one who died was 17-year-old girl from Saitama on November 24. After this, there was no more killings occurred. It stopped fortunately. To get rid of these awful deaths, warning note was added “not to consume drink found near / top of the vending machines.” But case remains unresolved. Still the killer and reason behind killing people haven’t found.
Zodiac Killer
This occurs in United States (Northern California). Here around 5 to 37 victims were killed. The period of killing was done between December 1968 to October 1969. Though the killer himself confesses that he killed around 37 victims, still in investigation police could find details only about five people who was brutally killed by zodiac.
The killer has habit of sending weird letters (code) to police and reporters about his next murder plan. But he won’t do any offence based on the letter sent. He makes investigators get confused and continue to kill people without any clues. He also called himself as Zodiac in one of his letters which he sent to the police officer’s. He also mentioned these lines in the letter, “Has he was enjoy killing people. It is more fun while comparing with playing games or killing animals. Mammals are actual animals who need to be killed. He also said that he is saving slaves for him after his death. He won’t give clues for murders which is going to take place in future, because it may stop saving slaves for him after life.”
Five incidents were in record about how zodiac killed people. His very first murder was done near Lake Herman. On December 20, 1968 a couple (college students: Betty Lou Jensen and David) went on a date near the lake. Around 10.15 p.m. couple was killed by gun. As per enquiry, a person who resides near the lake had first found the dead body lying few meters away from the car (driven by the couple). Case scene was recorded (FR details) as, killer came by a car, tried parking the car near the couple’s car and asked the couple to move out of the car. While they were about to run, he just shot the head (of couple). Both died at the spot and no evidence was found near the corpse.
Next incident occurred on July 4, 1969 in Blue spring park which was four miles away from the lake Herman. Here the couple (Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau) came together to the Blue Spring park. As they were sitting inside the car, they have seen a car driven faster crossing them. Again, the same car reached their spot, parked next to them and a person came out of it. He was holding 9 mm luger (Semi-automatic Pistol). He also diverted the victims by using flash light before shooting at them, firing five times. Both the victims were hit. Then while zodiac walking back to his car, he heard the moaning sound of Michael, so he went back and shot both the victim twice.
On July 5, 1969 around 12.40 p.m., the zodiac himself called Vallejo Police Department to report and said he is responsible for the murder which took place in Blue Spring park. He also confesses that the murder which took place in Lake Herman (six and half months back) was also did by him. The reporters at the Vallejo department tried tracing the phone calls and located the place (which is 500 m from Ferrin victim residence and a few blocks away from the department). But the reporters neither the police couldn’t find zodiac over there.
Surprisingly, among the couple Michael and Ferrin, Michael was survived inspite of getting shot in face; neck; and chest. So, police investigated him and collected details about his appearance as follows: the killer is white male with short brown curly hair; he is around 26 to 30 years old; his weight is 88 to 90 kg (195-to-200-pound); and his height is 5-foot-8-inch (1.73 m). But these information about the killer is not close enough to trace him out.
Zodiac sent three letters which were received at three different places (Vallejo Times Herald, the San Francisco Chronicle, and The San Francisco Examiner). The letter holds the statement as, “he was the one who killed couple at Lake Herman and at Blue Spring park.” He also asked the reporters to publish this letter at the front page of the article. He also shared a puzzle, by solving it they can figure out its identity. He also said that he will find lonely people and kill them during night time. Until he ends up killing dozen people within weekend. The Chronicle magazine tried publishing the zodiac puzzle along with murder threat, but no one could solve the puzzle. So, his identity remains unknown.
On August 7, 1969, another letter was sent to the San Francisco Examiner. This was the first time, the killer himself named him as zodiac. The letter involves the puzzle of next murder, by solving this the reporters could get him (they will have me said zodiac).
On August 8, 1969, Donald and Bettye Harden of Salinas, California, tried cracking the puzzle. By cracking, they found information about code as follows: has some misspelled words, titled most dangerous game, killing people to be his slaves after life. No additional information they got from decoding the puzzle apart from these misspelled words and weird intentions.
On September 27, 1969, Pacific Union College students Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard went for picnic at lake Berryessa on a small island connected by a sand spit to Twin Oak Ridge. These two victims were killed in a different way.
This murder zone gives many details about the zodiac and its appearance. As per record, he was a white man with 1.80 m height; weight around 77 kg; with well combed greasy brown hair approached the victim. He was also wearing a black hood looks like the executioner (an official who carries out a sentence of death on a condemned person); clip on- sunglasses (nothing but constantly swapping between spectacles and sunglasses); bib like device (cloth or plastic shield tied under chin to protect the clothes) on his chest. The bib device has white three-by-three-inch (7.6 cm × 7.6 cm) cross-circle symbol on it.
Zodiac approached the victim with a gun and claimed himself as guilty person escaped from the jail killing two guards. He also said his name (two letter name) comes from Colorado or Montana. He killed the guards and took the car from them. As it was quite dangerous to travel in the stolen vehicle to reach Mexico. He just needs the car from the couple and travel to Mexico. At first the couple thought, it was kind of robbery and they would be let free once he takes his needs (car and money) from them. But zodiac has different plan.
He had brought plastic clothesline (a rope or wire on which washed clothes are hung to dry) and asked Shepard to tie hands of Bryan using that. After that, zodiac himself checked whether the clotheslines are tied up properly and tightened the rope. In most unexpected way, he stabbed the couple (repeatedly) from the back using knife. Shepard has six wounds and Bryan was suffering with ten wounds at the back. In the meantime zodiac went back to the couple car and drawn the cross-circle symbol on Hartnell's car door with a black felt-tip pen (deliver bold vivid lines, quick in drying, and water-based ink) and wrote beneath it: "Vallejo/12-20-68/7-4-69/Sept 27–69–6:30/by knife” (the words he wrote on the car door describes the murder date of people killed by zodiac so far).
Around 7.30 p.m., the sheriff’s office in Napa country, received an unknown call. The person (zodiac) in the call said that he encountered corpse near the lake Berryessa. Later he confesses that he was the person who did two murders near the lake as he mentioned earlier in the call. The phone he used to call was located near the Napa Car Wash on Main Street in Napa, which is 43 m away from the crime scene. Though the detective run towards the phone booth to trace the finger print of the killer, but it doesn’t match with any of the suspect in the wanted list.
Even this time, both the couple was still alive after zodiac left the lake. But Shepard went to coma while transferring her to the hospital using ambulance and died after two days in observation. But Bryan survived from the attack. By investigating Bryan, the appearance details of the zodiac killer are collected (Which is already given above in FR details).
Another incident occurred on October 11, 1969. This time zodiac killed the cab driver Paul Stine. Zodiac boarded a cab from Geary streets intersection in San Francisco and requested the driver to take him to Washington and Maple streets. As Stine driving the car, zodiac shot him in the head using a pistol.
The pistol sound was too loud, where the crime scene was closely witnessed by three passengers while passing by. The passengers updated the crime (while it was ongoing) to the police officers. They also said killer went out of the car by wiping the blood strains. While the police patrol Don Fouke and Eric Zelms listening to the statement said by the passengers, they have noticed a person crossing the path which matches the killer appearance. But within fraction of second zodiac disappeared from their views.
This was last record available or filed by patrol regarding Zodiac. Where the rest of the victims are still unknown. This case was marked inactive around April 2004, again reopened on March 2007. This serial killer case is kept active in the city of Vallejo, as well as in Napa County and Solano County. The California Department of Justice has maintained an open case file on the Zodiac murders since 1969.
Around 2,500 people were suspected as killer by detectives but till now zodiac identity is not revealed. Zodiac killer seem to be most famous serial killer in America.
Stay tuned. Will come back with another interesting topic soon....!
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