Is This The Face of The Zodiac Killer?

"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 dangerous animal of all ... I will not give you my name because you will try to slow down or stop my collecting of slaves." - Zodiac Killer's Cipher Decoded, 1969



The Zodiac Killer has both intrigued and frightened me ever since I can remember. My parents were close friends with the 2 victims and their families. My moms best friend and maid of honor in her wedding was sister to one of the victims. She said after the murders, the family still drove that car the murders took place in, because they were too poor to afford another one. I can not even imagine the emotions one would feel getting in to a car where a tragedy such as this one had occurred.

I can recall emotional responses from both of my parents whenever documentaries or reports of the Zodiac came on television. Needless to say, I want this person the be discovered, to give a resolution to the families and everyone who was terrorized in the Bay Area during that time period. While the Zodiac claims to have killed 37 people, there have been only 5 confirmed murders with 2 surviving victims.

There is a man, Gary L Stewart, claiming that his father, Earl Van Best Jr, may have been the Zodiac Killer. His claims are purely circumstantial, he is waiting on DNA testing but decided to throw this new suspect in to the mix. For money I presume, we shall see what the DNA testing has to say.

The Zodiac Killer, whose serial murders terrorized northern California in the late ’60s, was a man named Earl Van Best Jr., according to a new book by Gary L. Stewart, who happens to be his biological son. Stewart’s The Most Dangerous Animal of All, as we reported Monday, is for sale now from HarperCollins after a top-secret rollout. “I’m really hoping this will bring some closure to the families of my father’s victims,” Stewart tells People.

• “If you look at Gary’s photo next to the sketch of the Zodiac next to his father’s mug shot, you can see that there is very clearly more than just a passing resemblance,” a HarperCollins spokesperson told Elon Green. “They look alike.”

• According to a Daily Mail report on the contents of the book, Stewart found the words EV, Best, and Jr in one of the cryptograms that the killer sent to the San Francisco Examiner, claiming it contained his identity. The name also popped up backwards in a different code, and the odds of that being a coincidence, Stewart claims, are “astronomical.”

Is This Man The Zodiac Killer?

Below is the Zodiac Killer’s “my name is” cipher with my solution revealing the decoded message: “Earl Van Best Jr” (actually a reversed “Earl Best” prefaced by “Van” surrounding the word “Jr”). You’ll note that Earl Van Best’s name contains 10 unique characters while the cipher contains 8 unique characters – the reason for the discrepancy could be an ingenious cipher trick.

Additional information:
The Most Dangerous Animal of All

a reply to: Jennyfrenzy

His claims are purely circumstantial, he is waiting on DNA testing but decided to throw this new suspect in to the mix.

That mix is getting thick with suspects. So he's a look a like. I'll await the DNA results, too.

Further: His decipher of the code doesn't fit his fathers name as well as he claims. The first four reversed letters work, then it gets muddled.

a reply to: intrptr

Seems to be someone new every year, doesn't it? This new suspect passed away in 1984 and the last known murder was in 1970. If this is him then I wonder why he didn't kill during that 14 year time period. So many unanswered questions and mysteries surrounding this case.

I highly recommend that everyone actually go to the source linked, there is a list of the purported evidence, whether or not it is vetted....I guess I would need to buy the book. But Harper Collins is banking on you buying it.

Very interesting here. S&F

a reply to: Jennyfrenzy

• Stewart says his father’s fingerprints match those found at the crime scene, as both have a diagonal scar.

• A handwriting expert also tied Best’s signature on his marriage certificate to letters the killer sent to media.

• And in the wildest twist of all, Stewart says that his mother, Judy, went on to marry one of the lead homicide investigators on the Zodiac case, Rotea Gilford, after being with Best as a teenager. The author suggests this connection could have embarrassed the San Francisco Police Department and caused them to “shut down” the investigation. The police “knew more than they’re willing to admit,” a HarperCollins spokesperson says.

Interesting connection that of the Mother, guess we'll wait and see.

a reply to: Jennyfrenzy

Did any of the previous suspects ears match so well, these seem to be really a match.

a reply to: Char-Lee

That is an odd connection, I wondered about that myself. His ears do resemble the composite sketch, his handwriting is similar too. I've been looking for an image to post of that as well but it's in the video.

There's been some people through the years that use this case to profit from, hopefully this isn't one of those cases. Here are a few red flags that make me wonder if this could be him.

As always I was checking a little bit on the story here, and found some interesting pieces to the backstory...


Ancestry boards

Now, being a fan of ancestry research myself, this jumped out at me immediately. Most of the messages are from 2005, right after Stewart made contact with his birth mother. Another user, named Unamimous, william (dont know if its supposed to be anonymous...weird but ok) contacted him on the public board with very specific info.

I believe that your father was arrested in San Francisco for abducting your mother.She was 14 at the time. You were born in New Orleans. I am glad you found your birth mother !
Did not realize Van died. However there is a Earl Best living in San Francisco at this time on 46 or 47th Avenue. He is listed.
This may be you or a relative. Good luck

Like I said, very specific there, especially for a public board, when on Ancestry you have the option of direct messaging someone. The very next day Stewart replied:

Yes, you are absolutely right. I was born in New Orleans and I have the police reports on my father from his arrest in New Orleans. Are you part of the "Best" family. How did you know about my father's record? Thanks,
Gary

Following is just some unrelated messages about the ancestry research, however it is interesting to point out that Gary Stewart had changed his name to Earl Van Best Jr on the boards, however this may just be because he is using birthnames on his family tree.

Just thought it to be interested and related in a way to the story here.

a reply to: youdidntseeme

Thanks for posting that information!

This is a very interesting development and I can't wait to see where it leads...

a reply to: Char-Lee



It's hard to see their ears in this image, but here are the main Zodiac Killer Suspects

a reply to: Jennyfrenzy

Second from the left in that line up is Arthur Leigh Allen. If you ever watched that movie "Zodiac" it exhaustively detailed all the investigative results a journalist presented to police about him. Though deceased, it turns out he was in the Navy and some of the symbols used in ciphers were Navy signal corp symbols. He wore a Zodiac brand watch with the "Zodiac" symbol (circle with cross) on it, wing walker boots (also used by Navy personnel) and the weirdest part was he lived right near one of the early victims.

There is more "coincidental" stuff. See the movie. Its long and hard to muster through. If you have the inclination the twists are worth it.

Heres the link under his photo in the lineup you brought.

Arthur Leigh Allen File

Zodiac killers watch

Unless you can divine the name Donald Duck out of the messages like the things name was deciphered then this case is all but closed and only the formalitys remain.

The thing didnt put its name in code to be forgotten,there is physical evidence around for sure waiting for everyone to find.Planted evidence,to make sure we know he wasnt lieing about giving investigators his real name,even in death the things mentality would require this type of validation.

a reply to: intrptr


Last detail on Allen's profile

UPDATE: In October 2002, Allen's DNA was compared to DNA obtained from a confirmed Zodiac letter. There was no match. In 2003, due to Allen's alleged habit of having others lick his stamps and envelopes (he claimed the taste of glue made him sick), SFPD obtained a voluntary DNA sample from Don Cheney. The results were negative.

That fact always got me. The rest of Allen's profile seems to lend itself toward making him a prime suspect, but then the DNA. If the habit of having someone else lick stamps is true, that means that someone else out there is connected as well, and has stayed quiet for all of this time, knowing that Allen was a suspect. I always thought, why not just use a sponge....but the sender didnt, because there was extracable DNA from saliva.

a reply to: youdidntseeme

Right, no match. Which doesn't mean he didn't write the letter or the evidence wasn't contaminated.

Ever heard it said the devil guards his own?

a reply to: intrptr

He's the suspect I'm most familiar with. My family is from Vallejo, where he lived and he was in the news quite a bit before he died. While there is a lot of circumstantial evidence that ties him to the case, I don't think he did it. The reason being it doesn't make sense that he would just stop. Plus the DNA results didn't match even though he said he had someone else lick the envelope for him which is just odd. Like youdidntseeme said why not use a sponge.

a reply to: Jennyfrenzy

The reason being it doesn't make sense that he would just stop.

Thats subjective. BTK stopped for a decade(?). From memory: Zodiac killer continued to taunt police with letters after the killing stopped, proving the veracity of the letters by sending bits of torn bloody shirt from one of the victims.

Maybe he was done with the killing part and just continued to derive pleasure from taunting police. Maybe he changed his M.O. and wasn't recognized. The files are full of unsolved murders from that era.

a reply to: intrptr

You're right, serial killers do stop as BTK did, though he did start mailing letters to newspapers years after the killings stopped.

I have always thought the Zodiac either died, moved somewhere else and continued his crimes using a different MO or went to prison for something else.

a reply to: Jennyfrenzy

I have always thought the Zodiac either died, moved somewhere else and continued his crimes using a different MO or went to prison for something else.

Two out of three ain't bad. Check it out…

Five facts on Allen

a reply to: intrptr

The circumstantial evidence regarding Allen is pretty overwhelming. However his fingerprints don't match those of the Zodiac.

Was top suspect Arthur Leigh Allen proven to be the Zodiac? No. Arthur Leigh Allen was scrutinized by police for years, but no evidence linking him to the Zodiac crimes was ever found. Additionally, Allen's fingerprints, handwriting and DNA do not match that of the Zodiac.

Zodiac Killer FAQ

Headed to purchase the book after work, my bookstore has it on hold. I'll see if there is any additional information and post it.

a reply to: Jennyfrenzy

Arthur Leigh Allen was scrutinized by police for years, but no evidence linking him to the Zodiac crimes was ever found.

Thats what the movie Zodiac bears out. This cartoonist convinces one detective (at great pains) to have a look at evidence he has uncovered. This occurs after the police gave up and shelved it.

Additionally, Allen's fingerprints, handwriting and DNA do not match that of the Zodiac.

How can they say that in light of the DNA probably was from someone else? I'd be wary of those conclusive statements. They aren't evidentiary either. You read that link in my last post?

Seeee the mooovieee…