The cold case of the Zodiac Killer remains one of the most well-known unsolved murder cases in America. This self-named serial killer terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area between the late 60’s to early 70’s, seeking public engagement through encrypted messages he sent to popular newspapers.

In 1969, the first message was decrypted by a couple in Salinas, California only a few weeks after its publication in the press. The message simply elucidated how the Zodiac found killing to be enjoyable. 51 years after this cipher was solved, as December of 2020 a 340 character encrypted message has been deciphered by three codebreakers around the globe. However, once again, the cipher provided little towards the identity of the killer, essentially saying he was not afraid of being caught and the repercussions that were due. 

Freshman Sarah Lehman comments on the decryptions saying, “Perhaps the reason the public is so obsessed with the cold case of the Zodiac Killer is the sheer theatrical nature of it.” This is further proven by his addition of communicating several death threats to the public along with the encryptions. Freshman David Abell agrees with this idea, saying “The Killer’s reasons for sending these messages is just a manipulation to stay in the public eye.”