Term Paper on "Zodiac Killer in San Francisco Terrorized"

Term Paper 6 pages (1695 words) Sources: 3 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Zodiac killer in San Francisco terrorized the city for almost a decade, beginning in 1968, murdering people seemingly at random and remaining unidentified and uncaught. Robert Graysmith in his book Zodiac tells the story from the point-of-view of an insider, for in 1968 he was a political cartoonist at the San Francisco Chronicle, a newspaper that was also part of the story because the killer wrote letters to the staff and the police and publicized both his killings and some of his rationale for the murders. The idea of a serial killer was not common when these killings started, and indeed the term itself seems to have been coined in the 1970s to apply to this sort of murder of a number of people over a period of time. The serial killer as an entity as not new, of course, and dates back in the popular imagination at least to jack the Ripper at the end of the nineteenth century. Killers like the Zodiac have been much studied in the decades since and has created an entire wing of law enforcement dedicated to profiling, meaning to analyze cases to determine the characteristics of the killer so as to know what sort of suspect to seek.

In the Zodiac case, the killer seemed to choose victims at random on the basis of opportunity, such as people in a lonely part of a large park of a cab driver at night. Six victims are attributed to the Zodiac killer, though based on his writings to the newspapers and the police, the number of victims may be much higher. The fact that the Zodiac killer also wrote these letters is another element in his psychopathology, and clearly he wanted not only to kill but also to taunt the police with his prowess and with their inability to catch him. He even wanted to shape how he was categorized and wrote to the San Francisco police, "I am not sick, I am insane. This is the Zodiac speaking, 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 to kill..." (Graysmith 54-55).

Another major element in the reputation this serial killer acquired was the ciphers he sent, leaving thousands of people to try to decipher them and find what message might be hidden in them. These ciphers were sent to the newspapers, which then printed them even as the authorities were trying to solve them. Such actions made all of the people in San Francisco participants in the case in a sensed, which probably added to the fear because no one was able to solve the puzzles. The cipher was not solved until Graysmith developed the solution in 1979, as confirmed by Greg Mellen of the American Cryptographic Association (Graysmith 241-242).

The serial killer is most often identified as a psychopath or sociopath. The criteria for this disorder have been identified by the American Psychiatric Association, based on an analysis of many serial killers in prison. This in itself creates some problems given that many serial killers are not caught, and many may not even be detected, meaning that their killings are never connected as having one perpetrator. This means that what we know about serial killers may not reflect all that can be known and that should be known to do a proper profile. The criteria that are used begin with the fact that this individual shows a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others and has done so since the age of 15. Such a pathology would be indicated by one of the following:

1. The individual would display a failure to conform to social norms of lawful behavior.

2. The individual would show deceitfulness, such as repeated lying, the use of aliases, or conning other people for profit or pleasre.

3. The individual would show a failure to plan ahead.

4. The individual would display irritability and aggressiveness.

5. The individual would have a reckless disregard for the safety of himself and others.

6. The individual would manifest consistent irresponsibility, seen in a repeated failure to sustain work behavior or to honor financial obligations.

7. The individual would show a lack of remorse

The serial killer is at least 18 years of age, though there is evidence of conduct disorder before the age of 15 (American Psychiatric Association 649-50).

Graysmith does a particularly good job of recreating the atmosphere in San Francisco during the murders and the way such random killings created fear and also posed a particular problem for law enforcement. Most killings are perpetrated by someone known to the victim, which makes investigation easier because it points to a specific pool of persons to be considered. Motive for the serial killer is often impersonal and has little to do with the victim except for seeing the victim as a type, and this makes the pool of suspects unmanageable. Other lines of inquiry are often possible, but in this case, those lines did not lead to the killer. The letters should have provided clues in terms of the paper used, the wording, fingerprints, and so on. Graysmith discusses the investigation of the letters and notes that police were puzzled by how they had been written, why some words would be crossed out in the middle, and other details. Graysmith suggests how the letters were written when he discovers that they could be manufactured using film strips and an overhead projector, with the Zodiac tracing the letters so as to disguise his own style by amalgamating a new style out of other people's writing (Graysmith 218-219). It seems evident that the Zodiac did perform some lengthy maneuver in order to hide his identity as best he could.

Forensic methods were applied to the clues that could be developed, and surveillance was used on those suspects who were identified as possible, to no avail. Analysis of the printed letters was undertaken, but this did not identify a perpetrator. One fingerprint was gathered but produced no hits. Massive efforts were made to develop leads, but ultimately no one was charged with these crimes.

Studies show the most common characteristics of serial killers, given that 90% of these killers are white males between the ages of 25 and 35. they have high IQs ranging from 105 to 120, though some have a higher IQ than that. Even though highly intelligent, they often show poor school performance and may be socially inept. They prefer isolation to being with people and have trouble holding a job. Many have a preference for a certain group as victims and may be trying to eliminate the entire group. Most heterosexual serial killers see women and children as victims, while most homosexual serial killers focus on harming gay men, prostitutes, and hitchhikers. Those who kill out of a sexual motivation do so because they have ties to sexual bondage. Many have a strong addition to pornography. They often come from dysfunctional families in which the parents are divorced or where one parent may have abandoned the family (Leung 1).

A study of convicted serial killers shows that a large percentage serial killers daydreamed and masturbated. A majority were isolated and had a habit of lying. A large number were bed wetters as children, and an equal number were rebellious and experienced nightmares. More than half had destroyed property, set fires, and stolen. Sexual fixation is seen as a general problem, often manifested in an obsession with pornography (Leung 1).

It is impossible to know how many of these characteristics apply to the Zodiac because he has not been identified. Graysmith suggests a number of possibilities, his particular favorite being Robert Hall Starr, the focus of… READ MORE

How to Reference "Zodiac Killer in San Francisco Terrorized" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Aviation Demands and Capacity Constraints at SFO Airport Essay

San Francisco Airport -- Solutions

In business, it is sometimes necessary to make decisions regarding the long-term future in terms of survival. This often means that there are few choices,… read more

Essay 3 pages (1082 words) Sources: 3 Topic: Transportation / Mass Transit

---

San Francisco Hear the 'Ding Essay

San Francisco hear the 'ding, ding, ding,' of the trolley car. All my life I heard this bell -- on Rice-a-Roni commercials. But now I am finally here, in the… read more

Essay 2 pages (729 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Music / Musicians / Instruments

---

Zodiac Speaking: Into the Mind Term Paper

Zodiac Speaking": Into the Mind of a Serial Killer by Michael D. Kelleher and David Van Nuys, it is apparent that most serial killers enjoy the fact they are being… read more

Term Paper 4 pages (1033 words) Sources: 4 Style: MLA Topic: Psychology / Behavior / Psychiatry

---

1906 San Francisco Earthquake Creative Writing

the 1906 SF Earthquake

I was in a deep sleep on the morning of April 18, 1906 when the foreshock hit San Francisco, but it roused me quickly. It was… read more

Creative Writing 2 pages (876 words) Sources: 2 Topic: Transportation / Mass Transit

---

About Me Term Paper

University of San Francisco, not only because of my background, but also because of my values and determination.

My major is Finance, and I plan to minor in Media Studies.… read more

Term Paper 2 pages (492 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Education / Teaching / Learning

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>