The short answer is no. They haven't caught him.
It’s been over fifty years since a man in a black executioner’s hood stood over Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard at Lake Berryessa, and we are still essentially stuck in the mud. If you're looking for a name that a judge has hammered a gavel over, it doesn't exist. There is no mugshot in the archives labeled "Zodiac." Instead, we have a police sketch of a man with heavy-rimmed glasses and a widow's peak that has haunted true crime junkies for decades.
Honestly, it’s kind of wild when you think about it. This guy sent taunting letters to the San Francisco Chronicle. He wore a costume. He literally called the police to report his own murders. He was almost caught—seconds away—after the killing of taxi driver Paul Stine in Presidio Heights. But he slipped away into the fog of San Francisco, and the trail has been cold, or at best lukewarm, ever since.
Why the question "did they ever find the zodiac killer" keeps trending
People are obsessed with closure. We live in an era of DNA miracles. We saw the Golden State Killer, Joseph James DeAngelo, get dragged out of his suburban home because of a distant cousin’s uploaded spit sample. Naturally, everyone assumes the Zodiac is next. But the Zodiac case is a different beast entirely.
The primary issue is the evidence. Or the lack thereof.
Back in the late 60s, "forensics" was basically just dusting for fingerprints and hoping the guy didn't wear gloves. The Zodiac was careful, but not perfect. He left prints on Paul Stine’s cab. He left a palm print on a letter. Yet, even with these markers, the FBI and California Department of Justice haven't found a 1:1 match that holds up in a court of law.
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There's also the problem of the letters. Between 1969 and 1974, the killer sent a series of cryptograms. Some were solved quickly. Others, like the "Z340" cipher, took over 50 years to crack. A team of amateur codebreakers—David Oranchak, Sam Blake, and Jarl Van Eycke—finally broke it in 2020. What did it say? Basically just more taunting. No name. No confession. Just a rambling mess about not being afraid of the "paradice."
The Suspects Everyone Still Argues About
If you spend five minutes on a message board, you'll hear the name Arthur Leigh Allen. He’s the "big" suspect. Robert Graysmith, the cartoonist who wrote the book that became the famous David Fincher movie, was convinced it was Allen.
And look, the circumstantial evidence against Allen is staggering. He wore a Zodiac brand watch. He talked about hunting humans. He was in the area of the attacks. He was a convicted child molester with a dark streak a mile wide. But the DNA didn't match. The handwriting didn't match. The fingerprints didn't match.
Then you’ve got guys like Gary Francis Poste. In 2021, a group called the Case Breakers made headlines claiming Poste was the guy. They pointed to scars on his forehead that supposedly matched the police sketch. The internet went nuts. "Did they ever find the Zodiac Killer?" headlines surged. But the FBI and local police were quick to throw cold water on it. They basically said the evidence was circumstantial and didn't link him to the specific crime scenes in a definitive way.
It’s a cycle. A new "expert" emerges with a new name. The media does a lap. The evidence is checked. The evidence is found wanting. We go back to zero.
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The Problem with DNA in 1960s Cold Cases
You'd think DNA would have ended this by now. It hasn't.
The DNA samples the police have are "touch DNA." We're talking about microscopic skin cells or saliva from the back of a stamp. In the 60s, police didn't know about DNA. They handled the letters with bare hands. They stored them in envelopes that weren't climate-controlled. The samples are degraded and likely contaminated by dozens of people who handled the mail.
In 2018, Vallejo police sent some of the envelopes for advanced "lab-on-a-chip" DNA analysis. We are still waiting for a "smoking gun" result. If they find a clean profile, they can use forensic genealogy. Until then, we’re just guessing.
The Most Credible Theories Remaining
Some investigators believe the Zodiac wasn't even one person. It sounds like a conspiracy theory, but it’s a legitimate academic line of thought. The idea is that the "Zodiac" was a persona created by a letter writer who took credit for disparate murders to gain infamy.
While most experts reject this—the ballistics and specific details in the letters link the crimes too closely—it highlights how messy the case is. The victims were different. The weapons were different (knives vs. guns). The locations varied from isolated lovers' lanes to a busy city street corner.
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Key People to Watch in the Investigation
- The Case Breakers: A team of former law enforcement and military intelligence who continue to push the Gary Poste theory.
- Tom Voigt: The creator of ZodiacKiller.com. He has spent decades cataloging every scrap of info and remains one of the most cited experts on the suspects.
- The FBI's San Francisco Office: They still officially keep the case open. It's "inactive" in some jurisdictions, but never "closed."
What Most People Get Wrong About the Search
People think the police are lazy. They aren't. They're just hamstrung by the law. You can't just arrest a dead man’s estate because he had the same shoes as the killer. You need a physical link.
The Zodiac was a "lucky" killer. He benefited from a time when different police departments didn't talk to each other. Vallejo PD, Napa Sheriff's Office, and SFPD were all working their own angles with very little coordination. By the time they realized they were looking for the same man, he had already stopped killing—or at least stopped writing about it.
It's also worth noting that the Zodiac might still be alive, though it’s statistically unlikely. If he was 30 in 1969, he’d be in his late 80s today. Most likely, he died decades ago, taking his secret to a quiet grave in a California suburb.
How You Can Actually Track the Progress
If you want to stay updated on whether they ever find the Zodiac Killer, you have to look past the tabloid headlines. Real progress happens in labs, not in "breaking news" tweets from amateur sleuths.
Keep an eye on the Genealogical Evidence updates coming out of California. This is the only way this case ends. If a lab can extract a full profile from the Stine letter or the Bates letters, they will run it through GEDmatch.
The moment a name pops up that connects to a family tree in Northern California, the world will know. Until that day, the case remains the greatest unsolved mystery in American history.
Next Steps for True Crime Enthusiasts
- Audit the Evidence: Read the primary source documents. Sites like ZodiacKillerFacts.com or ZodiacKiller.com host the actual police reports. Don't rely on movie dramatizations; read the witness statements from Mike Mageau and Bryan Hartnell.
- Follow Forensic Genealogy News: The technology used to catch the Golden State Killer is evolving. Follow the work of Parabon NanoLabs or Othram, as these are the organizations typically tapped for these high-profile cold cases.
- Check Local Archives: Many researchers are now focusing on "missing" letters or 1960s-era crimes that might have been early Zodiac "practice" kills. Investigating the Riverside City College library murder of Cheri Jo Bates is often considered the best "entry point" for new theories.
- Stay Skeptical: Any time a "new suspect" is announced, ask if there is DNA or fingerprint evidence. If the answer is "he had a similar personality," it's probably not him.