Schizophrenics are typically socially awkward. The cause is different than say, autism, but after years of interacting with people with all kind of mental illnesses I sometimes find it hard to tell the difference when I’m just having a conversation. I like to say that autism causes social blindness, whereas schizophrenia causes a warped lens. How warped that lens is depends on where they are in terms of symptoms, but when unmedicated, at the risk of sounding unPC the social behaviour can become extremely bizarre, both in manner, and perhaps more importantly thinking. Those that are Schizoaffective, and experience depression and sometimes even mania, can become very withdrawn, which further exacerbates the problem.

And when you factor in years of being stigmatised and labelled as "weird", well that can be a big part of what makes a person unusual in their behavior.

I think part of the problem is the way things have changed over the years in terms of clinical diagnosis. The diagnostic manuals and their contents serve one important function, they standardise diagnosis. This means a researcher in Russia can test drug for a standardised diagnosis and clinician in Botswana can perscribe it with relative confidence in efficacy and that they are indeed treating the same illness. The diagnostic manual used in the 1960’s contained many subtypes of schizophrenia and frankly it probably pathologised traits that we would now accept as harmless, whether or not they represent a deviation from the norm. Compound that with the fact that experts are conveying technical information to a journalist who is then disseminating it to the teaming millions, and you have a recipe for misunderstanding.

When expert doctors in the 1960’s and 70’s speculated that the Zodiac may be schizophrenic they weren’t necessarily speculating on whether in a clinical setting he would qualify for the diagnosis, or indeed whether he would by today’s standards. Because they didn’t have to try and treat him they were free to speculate on individual traits. It may not be accurate to say that most serial killers are schizophrenics, but it is accurate to say that schizophenic traits are much much higher amongst serial killers than the general population. (classic example of being tripped up by statistics) It is the very nature of serial killing that the person must possess some faculties and functional ability whilst at the same time having thinking that is grossly divergent from the average persons. Since Police are not tasked with prescribing treatment, they are free to search not just for those who qualify for some clinical bench mark, but rather when questioning people they can be on the lookout for certain unusual traits.

I have worked with mentally ill people. He DOES NOT HAVE AUTISM.

Maybe schizophrenia but not even sure about that.

I have worked with mentally ill people. He DOES NOT HAVE AUTISM.

Maybe schizophrenia but not even sure about that.

Schizophrenics can function relatively normally while suffering some degree of delusions or detachment from reality.

There was a heated debate about autism in another thread, but this speculation is pointless as clinically diagnosing autism is very in-depth and complex, not just based on a handful of letters.

1. He seemed to be such a loner , socially awkward , bad self esteem and very unceratin thats why he had so much ego and seeked attention.

How do you know this? There’s nothing in his letters or crimes that suggest this.

2. He choose victims such as young people in order to feel more powerful. I think in his mind a young guy was much easier target than maybe 35 yo man that could be an experienced veteran.

This is assuming he chose his victims intentionally. I tend to think these were random crimes of opportunities. He killed the two couples because they were remote spots. He killed Stine because that was the driver who happened to pick him up at night.

3. He choose remote location in order for his victims to be helpless which indicate he needed the feel of control , he wanted the easiest way possible. If you compare him to the golden state killer , he would enter his victims home where men with guns could be present. The golden state killer was more fit and in shape.

If this is true, then how do you explain the Stine murder that took place on a well-lit city street surrounded by buildings?

4. He enjoyed the "power" of being anonymous and create confusion.

Yes, this I agree with. He got a laugh out of teasing people with his identity, but would never ever give clues as to who he was intentionally.

5. He was skilled in multiple ways (writing , codes & ciphers & he had at least some knowledge of how to make a bomb , shooting etc).

He wasn’t skilled in writing. His handwriting was usually sloppy; he misspelled words. His codes and ciphers while unusually were pretty basic. Any amateur with a basic knowledge of codes could do what he’s done. Also, what makes you think he was skilled at shooting? All of his murders by gun were done at extremely close range.

6. He was for sure mentally ill because of the all the stuff that he did , but not enough mentally ill to get caught. its hard for me to believe that he had like schizophrenia but it gotta be something else.

Like what then?

So I need you guys to help me make a more accurate profile.

Seems like you already have it figured out.

I strongly believe that "the confession letter" was sent by him which confirms my theory of him being lonely and socially awkward. He just dosen’t feel like a family guy.

People said the same thing about BTK.

I like questions like this but am often disappointed by the general view points of others and the eventual argument that will arise regarding his intelligence.

Regarding mental illness, there is absolutely nothing at all to firmly suggest that the Zodiac had or ever really suffered from a pathological mental illness. To clarify there is basically nothing that a good psychiatrist could possibly prescribe him either then or now to rectify him, his issues seemingly derive from cognitive and personality disorders amongst transient environmental issues and his own perceived view points. A good prescription is life in prison.

Regarding personality, a grade A C#%t, a angry self centred bitter narcissistic judgemental man who most probably used and abused all the people around him. If he were a loner it’s because he ran out of subjects to abuse and probably only felt bad about it in the sense of losing ones property. Also most likely a self perceived under achiever which he probably blamed society and everyone else for. Deceptive, secretive, vindictive, superficial charmer the list in endless with a such a man but oddly not a rapist?

-much of his personality profile i adopted by utilising the general profile of a serial arsonist which i feel he shares many similarities with. Interestingly serial arsonist tend to strike relatively close to their homes (1-2miles)(Stine) and/or within close proximity to locations that they have a historic fondness for. In my view Vallejo, Benicia, LB probably hold many good memories of a younger more youthful Zodiac.

Thanks for your answer Jacob!!

I have worked with mentally ill people. He DOES NOT HAVE AUTISM.

Maybe schizophrenia but not even sure about that.

Schizophrenics can function relatively normally while suffering some degree of delusions or detachment from reality.

There was a heated debate about autism in another thread, but this speculation is pointless as clinically diagnosing autism is very in-depth and complex, not just based on a handful of letters.

He could be schizophrenic but i think it was on a mild degree. He seemed very organized and secretive which is not the case with schizophrenic people. About autism idk , maybe Asperger ? his letters was way too sarcastic many times to be from an autistic person if you ask me.

1. He seemed to be such a loner , socially awkward , bad self esteem and very unceratin thats why he had so much ego and seeked attention.

How do you know this? There’s nothing in his letters or crimes that suggest this.

2. He choose victims such as young people in order to feel more powerful. I think in his mind a young guy was much easier target than maybe 35 yo man that could be an experienced veteran.

This is assuming he chose his victims intentionally. I tend to think these were random crimes of opportunities. He killed the two couples because they were remote spots. He killed Stine because that was the driver who happened to pick him up at night.

3. He choose remote location in order for his victims to be helpless which indicate he needed the feel of control , he wanted the easiest way possible. If you compare him to the golden state killer , he would enter his victims home where men with guns could be present. The golden state killer was more fit and in shape.

If this is true, then how do you explain the Stine murder that took place on a well-lit city street surrounded by buildings?

4. He enjoyed the "power" of being anonymous and create confusion.

Yes, this I agree with. He got a laugh out of teasing people with his identity, but would never ever give clues as to who he was intentionally.

5. He was skilled in multiple ways (writing , codes & ciphers & he had at least some knowledge of how to make a bomb , shooting etc).

He wasn’t skilled in writing. His handwriting was usually sloppy; he misspelled words. His codes and ciphers while unusually were pretty basic. Any amateur with a basic knowledge of codes could do what he’s done. Also, what makes you think he was skilled at shooting? All of his murders by gun were done at extremely close range.

6. He was for sure mentally ill because of the all the stuff that he did , but not enough mentally ill to get caught. its hard for me to believe that he had like schizophrenia but it gotta be something else.

Like what then?

So I need you guys to help me make a more accurate profile.

Seems like you already have it figured out.

I strongly believe that "the confession letter" was sent by him which confirms my theory of him being lonely and socially awkward. He just dosen’t feel like a family guy.

People said the same thing about BTK.

Also , have you seen the confession letter ?

The Confession Letter is not a confirmed Zodiac letter.

Also, it’s quite possible that the Belli letter was in response to the "call in" of a supposed Zodiac. He seemed to be mocking the caller and the conversation rather than actually crying out for help.

Also, clinically speaking, it’s virtually impossible to diagnose someone with mental illness based only on a few letters.

Thanks for your answer Jacob!!

I have worked with mentally ill people. He DOES NOT HAVE AUTISM.

Maybe schizophrenia but not even sure about that.

Schizophrenics can function relatively normally while suffering some degree of delusions or detachment from reality.

There was a heated debate about autism in another thread, but this speculation is pointless as clinically diagnosing autism is very in-depth and complex, not just based on a handful of letters.

He could be schizophrenic but i think it was on a mild degree. He seemed very organized and secretive which is not the case with schizophrenic people. About autism idk , maybe Asperger ? his letters was way too sarcastic many times to be from an autistic person if you ask me.

I agree with this. His letters seem way too sarcastic for someone with autism.

Thanks for your answer Jacob!!

Schizophrenics can function relatively normally while suffering some degree of delusions or detachment from reality.

There was a heated debate about autism in another thread, but this speculation is pointless as clinically diagnosing autism is very in-depth and complex, not just based on a handful of letters.

He could be schizophrenic but i think it was on a mild degree. He seemed very organized and secretive which is not the case with schizophrenic people. About autism idk , maybe Asperger ? his letters was way too sarcastic many times to be from an autistic person if you ask me.

I agree with this. His letters seem way too sarcastic for someone with autism.

Agree also. I’m no professional nor an expert on high functioning autism (Asperger Syndrome), but isn’t certain kind of social blindness its hallmark? Certain kind of inability to intuit what others are thinking and feeling. I think Zodiac, in his own twisted way, had a pretty good grasp of how to push the right psychological buttons in order to cause panic and confusion in others. It definitely seemed like something intuitive to him.

Rather than autism or schizophrenia, I would think it’s much more likely that he might have just had a personality disorder since his actions were very well planned. In active psychosis it would be quite difficult to stake out locations, plan attacks, write coherent letters all the while avoiding leaving evidence. Offenders with a psychotic disorder are usually captured quickly because in their condition, they usually do not even think about the concept of hiding their tracks. Since we know nothing about how Zodiac acted outside this Zodiac persona (which mostly exists in writing), it’s impossible to put him in a precise category, but his known behaviour definitely has indications of narcissism and machiavellism. And these personality features do play part in many different personality disorders, not just the narcissistic and antisocial ones.

Please see the thread link below:

viewtopic.php?f=25&t=4280&p=69065&hilit=dark+triad#p69065

Serial killers tend to have personality disorder, so we can realistically speculate about which PDs Zodiac had. Antisocial? Obviously. Narcissistic? An attitude of "I demand attention and I’m smarter than everyone else" would suggest so. Schizoid is possible when you consider his apparent resentment of happy couples and acting out comic book fantasies in his bizarre costume. The lust for celebrity may have been driven by social isolation. But we don’t know if he had an active social or family life or not.

I much appreciate the insights offered on this thread. They are helpful in establishing a basic understanding of how Z could have exhibited schizophrenic traits but had some foothold in reality.
I don’t know enough about schizophrenia to have an opinion on Z. It seems he had a high level of self awareness ("I will do my thing") but also a degree of detachment as he sees the enterprise as entertaining.

Zodiac wasn’t a narcissist. Read the letter where he mentions he wasn’t responsible for something. He says he wouldn’t intrude on someone else’s territory. This isn’t narcissism. Narcissists don’t even consider other people.