The Zodiac Killer

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the case of the Zodiac Killer who terrorized the city of San Fransisco for almost a decade, beginning in 1968. The paper discusses the known activities of the serial killer and the general pathology that would apply to a killer such as the Zodiac Killer. The paper then discusses which of these pathologies have been associated with the Zodiac Killer, as he has not yet been identified.

From the Paper:

"Law enforcement has become better equipped over the past thirty years to cope with this sort of crime, with the aforementioned use of profiles, with DNA as a new tool, and with the creation of units dedicated specifically to this type of crime. Even so, numerous instances can be cited where progress was stymied just as much as it was for the Zodiac case for many years before the killer was found. The Green River killer in Washington state is one such case, and he operated from 1982 to 1998 for "the largest unsolved murder case in the country" until Gary Ridgbeway pleaded guilty in 2003 ("Green River Killings" para. 1). Another case is that of the so-called BTK killer in Kansas, who operated from 1974 to 1991 and then again in 2004 until Dennis Rader was caught. Such crimes can be virtually impossible to stop and very difficult to solve, and the Zodiac case is a clear example. Graysmith details how the police and others tried to solve the crimes and how they failed, though the crimes did stop for reasons unknown."

Sample of Sources Used:

• American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Quick Reference Guide (4th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 1994.
• Egger Steven A. Serial Murder: An Elusive Phenomenon. New York: Praeger, 1990.
• Graysmith, Robert. Zodiac. New York: Berkley, 2007.
• "Green River Killings." The Seattle Times (19 Nov 2004). April 1, 2007. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/greenriverkillings/.
• Leung, Julietta. The personality profile of a serial killer (2004). Retrieved April 1, 2007 from http://www.bxscience.edu/publications/forensics/articles/psychologicalprofiles/killer.pdf.

More papers on The Zodiac Killer:

• Case Study # 96894 : "The Zodiac Killer- A Case Study"
• Film Review # 132672 : "Serial Killers in Film - "Zodiac Killer"
• Term Paper # 102798 : "The Serial Killer"

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