Blue-collar worker with quite a bit of technical aptitude (mechanic, electrician or demolition man, perhaps).

Quiet, reserved type, but capable of displaying an explosive temper if goaded.

Outdoorsman. Quite possibly an avid hunter.

Pretty much agree, blue collar worker, family man of not high intelligence, but above average and most probably enjoyed orienteering, fishing and hunting. Serial killers tend to stalk and kill in areas they are familiar with, so as to facilitate a secure escape route. Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs were near Lake Herman , Lake Berryessa speaks for itself and Presidio Heights Washington and Cherry Street were no more than one mile away from the coastline of Marina Boulevard.
The famous Fisherman’s Wharf, situated roughly 3 miles east of the Julius Khan Playground was developed as a tourist attraction in the 1970’s and 80’s, and prior to this became a fishing magnet for Italian migrants. It provided good fishing, that included the now famous Dungeness crab. If the Zodiac was responsible for the Domingos/Edwards and Hood/Garcia crimes, they again were on the coastline, so fishing may have been the reason he knew these spots well.
The Zodiac Killer also used a crossed circle logo, employed to maximum effect when he mailed us his Button Letter and Phillips 66 Petroleum Map on June 26th 1970, stating the crosshair was to ‘be set to Mag N’. His directional knowledge appeared a little flawed during the commission of his two phone calls, but seemed very precise when he talked about radians and inches along the radians, as well as stating the compass dial on the Phillips Map was to be set to Magnetic North. He seemed very familiar with this concept, despite the fact radians would have meant very little to the general public, unless of course, you were a very keen fisherman, hiker or hunter, or all three. He stated he used a pencil flashlight in the Lake Herman crime, a pencil flashlight was a useful tool, not only as the the Zodiac claimed to use as a sighting implement to focus his aim, but a tool that may have been readily available to him already, as it was often used in pursuits, such as fishing and hiking. It was ideal to read maps and to manage small fishing tackle, as it could be used hands free, held in the mouth, and it also had the advantage of being lightweight and compact. The proximity of water in all these locations had the added benefit, in the disposal of his weapon in the immediate aftermath of each crime .
I believe he probably had a family, like Dennis Rader, church going, quiet unassuming man, with a deadly secret or fantasy.
The loudmouths rarely act, but he was probably had a calm demeanor, with an explosive edge. His religious leanings as an American, would not cut the field down much, as a high proportion of the USA are believers in God, unlike the UK, so that does not help much, however, considering what he did, his concept of religion, not unlike Dennis Rader was flawed, and probably had a fringe religion. If you believe Kathleen Johns Modesto account, then he likely had two children, due to the contents on the back seat, unless he was a traveling salesman that allowed his free movement , with no suspicion from his family. And he with near certainly is dead. People with massive egos very rarely grow out of it and I would be highly surprised if he had sat in silence for 40+ years.

I tend to go back and forth as far as who Z was as a person. I think, it’s likely that he was somebody that was mostly ‘buried’ in society. I mean that he didn’t stand out, likely had a menial 9-5 job, was certainly not a genius or super villain. I think he likely was unsuccessful with Women, and maybe had a hard time getting dates, and if he did manage to have a real committed relationship, or marriage, it ended in a breakup. I think he was a quiet person who most people didn’t know existed, and he felt pushed aside by society. He found his voice, or his power in his letters. I think the crimes he committed took a back seat to his writing, almost as if the crimes just provided something for him to write about. Seeing his letters published, and reading about himself in the paper probably was the highlight of his days. I think it’s possible, that Z, whoever he was, likely wrote letters to the editors of local papers frequently, and maybe before his murders, may have used his real name(I doubt he used his real name after he sent his 1st z letter).

Somebody like Fred Manalli fits this bill for me. He was unsuccessful in his marriage. He desperately wanted to be a famous writer, and failed at that. He is somebody that I could see seeking out attention to his writings, and how better to do that, then ensure yourself front page press. Hell, at the time he wrote ‘Paradise it’s a nice place'(a story hardly anybody read),the ‘slaves in paradise’ stuff was written by zodiac, almost as if it somehow might somehow generate publicity for his story(if Manalli was Z). He had a dead end job, at a small college, while he watched people he looked up to in the writing world, excel. I could see somebody like Fred hitting a breaking point.

If Z was married, or had a Girlfriend, I could see him frequently being down in his basement or garage, escaping from his real world into his warped fantasy world. He might be in there reading, listening to records, playing with ciphers, etc.

As far as clues we have from his crimes, we have him wearing a hood at Berryessa, and not a paper sack just to hide his identity, but a homemade hood with his symbol on it. This tells me he was out of touch with reality, and his fantasies had gotten the better of him. We can tell that he likely was of average to below average income, since he was driving a car with two worn,mismatched brands of tires on the front of his car. That could speak to a type of person who is younger, maybe a college aged person, maybe still living at home with Mom & Dad. Somebody like MrX would not drive around in some heap with mismatched tires(sorry Mike R, just my opinion). Of course, somebody that supports a successful business minded suspect, will argue that their suspect used that car only so their car wouldn’t be used or seen. I just don’t buy a rich successful type of person being Zodiac. Most rich wealthy men have Families, businesses to run, money to spend, cars to race, yachts to buy,etc,etc. I think chasin after couples in secluded areas on weekend nights would be way down the list of things to do.

These are all my opinions, and I am no expert on profiling by any stretch, but I think my opinions closely match MOST profilers views of zodiac.

Zodiac would have been employed in some sort of blue collar profession, perhaps maintenance or unskilled industrial work. Despite his lower station, he would have been much smarter than anyone would have given him credit for and in his spare time, would have pursued autodidactic interests, learning about things that piqued his curiosity. He was a reader and consumer of pop culture. We know he loved movies and he probably watched a lot of television and listened to the radio. He would have been a regular at his local library.

The contrast between his drab, menial professional life and his uncredited intellect would have bred private resentment and an inferiority complex that fueled his rage. He probably did not have more than a high school diploma; academically, he struggled due to an undiagnosed learning disorder and for this he was probably teased. He learned early to retreat into fantasy and all of his crimes bear evidence of a personality driven by highly complex fantasies but lacking in commonsense practicality. He was a big dreamer but a poor doer, which would have been a source of tremendous conflict during his childhood and teen years.

Zodiac was a loner, though not entirely by choice. He would have been an extremely shy person, though polite and unassuming. If anyone in his day-to-day got a hint of his temper, they would have noted that it came out in the form of a quiet simmer rather than explosive tantrums. He would have had few, if any, close friends and was almost certainly not involved in any sort of romantic relationship at the time of the killings. He was far too timid to approach women and was deeply self-conscious about his weight, which he concealed by wearing baggy, dark-colored clothing.

His living situation is a bit more difficult to assess. It’s easy to presume that, due to his activities, he lived alone. If that was the case, he probably rented, either a cheap efficiency (quite possibly a basement or in-law apartment) or a furnished room. It is possible that he lived with older relatives, but this not likely. That said, I would not rule out his income being supplemented by the occasional check from home. His living space would be neat , if a bit cluttered, and it would have upset him greatly to find so much as a hair was out of place.

This is not a person who would arouse suspicion. Even if anyone was aware of his more esoteric interests, they would not raise any red flags. He would have been viewed as unambitious and lazy by the people who knew him and if anyone in his circle did suspect him, they did not do so seriously. Nor did law enforcement, if in fact he was ever reported. He did not have an adult arrest record before the murders began.

Some very good insights, but three questions:
1.Do you believe the Zodiac used his own car in the commission of the crimes or stole them, particularly in view of license plates being remembered, or his car, switched plates.
2.He used a different gun at every crime, on a low wage or stolen.
3.His reference to theatrics and Mikado, possibly ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ or Charlie Chan, all crafted well before his time, shows the propensity of a more mature man.

Some very good insights, but three questions:
1.Do you believe the Zodiac used his own car in the commission of the crimes or stole them, particularly in view of license plates being remembered, or his car, switched plates.
2.He used a different gun at every crime, on a low wage or stolen.
3.His reference to theatrics and Mikado, possibly ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ or Charlie Chan, all crafted well before his time, shows the propensity of a more mature man.

1.) Can’t say who the car was registered to. Only thing we can say for certain is that it was a few years old and poorly maintained (lack of tread in tiretracks at Lake Berryessa). That said, I sincerely doubt he used a stolen vehicle. My main belief is the Zodiac was an extremely immature offender rather than the arch-criminal he wanted the public to think he was.
2.) I doubt the guns were stolen. He wrote of buying them through the mail in his letters. That rings as true to me, especially given my sense of Z as socially awkward and shy.
3.) The offender profile is much more in line with an assassin or school shooter than your typical, sexually-motivated serial killer so I would wager that Z was a much younger man than suspected, probably between the ages of 24 and 27 at the time of Lake Herman Road. Furthermore, that The MIkado and The Most Dangerous Game were older (the Charlie Chan connection is a lot more tentative), this doesn’t mean anything. We’re talking about the late-60s, way before home media. Movie houses would play classic movies on the cheap and we know of a number of contemporaneous theaters in the SF area that ran The Most Dangerous Game around the time of the Zodiac killings. Furthermore, it’s based on a very popular short story, one which was still in the curriculum when I was in school in the mid-90s. As for The Mikado, Gilbert and Sullivan continue to enjoy a lot of popularity as community theatre productions.

Just out of curiosity, what is it about Zodiac that points to him being a blue-collar individual?

I think undoubtedly he had childhood issues, an absent Father and a domineering Mother.

Perhaps a quiet but intelligent child growing up. Excelled in Maths, fascinated by cars, and good at most jobs that involved his hands.

It seems he had little luck with the ladies, perhaps much too shy to try and talk to them, over years this turned to bitter rage; almost reminds me of the most recent Elliott Roger case. Z one day snapped and decided he would get back at the world for being such an under achiever, so bitter because everybody was having fun except him.

Hoping some more of you give your opinions on this.

He could be a professional and well-educated with a background in music. He could be an only child with a domineering mother and father who was absent in the sense he was also well-educated and employed in a professional capacity and spent most of his time working and didn’t have the time to give Z the attention he felt he wanted from him as a child.

Children were better behaved years ago and taught manners and that they should be seen and not heard. He could have a vivid imagination and a good sense of humor. He could have worked at professional jobs in a managerial capacity and be the last person anyone would ever suspect capable of committing even an assault or battery, especially to those who knew him and loved him.

He could definitely be described as a planner, being well-organized with perfectionistic tendencies, charming, polite and a very private person. He would know how to keep quiet and not tell anyone anything he didn’t want them to know but would be very fond of dropping hints and keeping people guessing. Communication would be one of the qualities he values most and time is very important as well. He would remain calm during a crisis or emergency.

You ever see the movie Office Space? Yeah, he the fat guy that got his desk moved into the basement.

You ever see the movie Office Space? Yeah, he the fat guy that got his desk moved into the basement.

Nice.

He could definitely be described as a planner, being well-organized with perfectionistic tendencies, charming, polite and a very private person. He would know how to keep quiet and not tell anyone anything he didn’t want them to know but would be very fond of dropping hints and keeping people guessing. Communication would be one of the qualities he values most and time is very important as well. He would remain calm during a crisis or emergency.

I agree with many of these points — Comfortable with situational pressure. And not a people person — I say that because I imagine a lack of the kind of human interaction that would counter his position of "collecting slaves" and keeping a tally on human kills. I also picture someone with financial restrictions — the cars, his limited schedule which seems tied to a routine of some kind (hourly worker, etc.)

I think undoubtedly he had childhood issues, an absent Father and a domineering Mother.

Nah. If anything, my money’s on the opposite.

Dad was a stern disciplinarian, probably verbally if not physically abusive, and Mom was a quiet, mousy woman who just stood there and agreed with everything Dad did.

Taunting authority figures like the police strikes me as a sign of paternal conflict, not maternal.

I think undoubtedly he had childhood issues, an absent Father and a domineering Mother.

Perhaps a quiet but intelligent child growing up. Excelled in Maths, fascinated by cars, and good at most jobs that involved his hands.

It seems he had little luck with the ladies, perhaps much too shy to try and talk to them, over years this turned to bitter rage; almost reminds me of the most recent Elliott Roger case. Z one day snapped and decided he would get back at the world for being such an under achiever, so bitter because everybody was having fun except him.

Hoping some more of you give your opinions on this.

I have never subscribed to the fact Zodiac was unlucky with women or love, hence he took his rage out on couples and saved his greatest resentment for women. In his first letter to the San Francisco Chronicle he stated ‘ I will cruse around all weekend killing lone people in the night then move on to kill again, until I end up with a dozen people over the weekend’. Here was an early suggestion that he was quite prepared to target anyone, as it transpired with the murder of Paul Stine. During the Lake Herman Road murders there was a suggestion that David Faraday fought back, which is probably why his class ring had become dislodged from his finger, and the close range shot. When Betty Lou Jensen ran he fired off several rounds to prevent her escape, not because she was a woman. At Blue Rock Springs both were shot roughly equal times, in fact I believe Darlene Ferrin was actually hit through Mageau. If we believe the stories at Lake Berryessa, then the Zodiac Killer may have been stalking three lone girls, not a couple, before turning his attention to Bryan Hartnell and Cecilia Shepard. Cecilia took the brunt of the attack as she was thrashing and rolling around, understandably terrified, however Bryan Hartnell played dead, otherwise there is no way he would have left him alive and without doubt would have stabbed him several times more also. Furthermore, despite both being hogtied he chose to stab the male first and don’t believe for a minute he did this upon the request of Hartnell. Then Paul Stine, a lone male cabbie, execution style. Also if you believe the Donna Lass and Kathleen Johns connection, again lone women, not couples. If, when he targeted single women as opposed to men, it boiled down to one thing, power and less resistance, as well as risk. The Zodiac Killer was above all, a callous coward. Trying to connect himself to the Cheri Jo Bates case was probably a ruse, claiming rejection as the motive and the confession letter claimed ‘I am stalking your girls now’. But not couples. Quite frankly I don’t think he cared who he killed, as long as he had the cards stacked heavily in his favor, and was the dealer of death,