Group of Independent Sleuths Claim They’ve Cracked the Zodiac Killer Case

A group of about 40 former law enforcement officers, journalists, and military intel officers claim they’ve identified the Zodiac Killer as a man who died in 2018. The group identified the suspect as Gary Francis Poste and said he is implicated in a 1966 murder that was never linked to the Zodiac Killer case. Police have never confirmed an identity of the prolific serial killer, who is officially connected to five murders in 1968 and 1969. The team, calling itself the Case Breakers, said they identified Poste after uncovering “forensic evidence” that included photos from the man’s darkroom. They claim the scars on Poste’s forehead match the lines in a sketch of the Zodiac.

Multiple sources who spoke to Fox News alleged Poste was the leader of a criminal “posse” that worked out of the High Sierra region. The Case Breakers alleged he was responsible for the death of 18-year-old Cheri Jo Bates in 1966, hundreds of miles away from the killer’s San Francisco hunting grounds. A spokesperson for Riverside Police Department told Fox that its Homicide Cold Case Unit has determined Bates’ murder “is not related to the Zodiac killer.” An officer with the department called the Case Breakers' proof “circumstantial evidence.” A Case Breakers member accused the department of letting “ego and arrogance” get in the way of results.

Other law enforcement offices are echoing Riverside’s sentiment. The San Francisco branch of the FBI said it had “no new information to share at the moment.” The FBI and San Francisco police told the San Francisco Chronicle the Case Breakers’ evidence didn’t appear to be conclusive. The only other man ever named as a suspect in the Zodiac case was Arthur Leigh Allen, who died in 1992.