William McDuff Andrew- AKA ‘Mac’
Mac Timeline compared to Zodiac’s:
Just obtained, Mac at University of SD in 1968 where he attended college and was back home in the bay area in time for start of Zodiac crimes
*Mac grows up in Vallejo living in apartments connected to his father’s realty business 500 feet from intersection of Springs and Tuolumne
*June 1968, MacGruber graduates from Chico State College
*December 20, 1968, Faraday & Jensen killed at Lake Herman Rd about 7 miles East of Mac’s parents on outskirts of Vallejo
*July 4, 1969, just before midnight Ferrin & Mageau attacked by Zodiac at Blue Rock Springs about 4 miles North East of Mac’s parents. Mageau described Zodiac as 5ft8, 195-200Lbs, chubby with a large round face, 26-30 years old, no glasses. Mac was 24 years old, 5ft8, 200 lbs, chubby with a large round face and sometimes wore glasses, but not always.
*July 5,1969 30-40 minutes after the Blue Rock Springs attack, Zodiac calls police from phonebooth approximately 500 feet from Mac’s parents.
*September 21, 1969, Mac’s cousin in Deer Lodge, MT is examined by a doctor due to illness.
*September 25, 1969 After taking a turn for the worse, Mac’s cousin in Deer Lodge, MT is once again examined by a doctor and it’s determined she has Broncopneumonia.
*September 27, 1969, Zodiac attacks at Lake Berryessa in Napa County. During conversation, Zodiac mentions being an escaped prisoner from a prison, presumed to be in Deer Lodge, MT.
*October 11, 1969, Zodiac kills Paul Stine in San Francisco
*October 13, 1969, Mac’s Cousin dies in Deer Lodge, MT
*October 13, 1969, Zodiac mails letter w/ piece of Paul Stine’s shirt
*1970, Mac shows an address in Chico
*June 19,1970 Officer Richard Radetich gunned down in SF near 643 Waller St
*June 26, 1970 Zodiac writes a letter hinting he killed Radetich
*October 1971, Mac shows an address in San Francisco at 551 Duboce Ave, 0.2 miles from Radetich shooting.
*March, 1971, Zodiac mailed his last letter for almost 3 years
*Spring, 1971, Mac takes a job with the State of CA, unsure what position he had, but by the end of his 30 year career, he was a prison sergeant
*Sometime in 1971, Mac’s future wife moves with her family from another state to Vallejo
*1973, Mac listed as living at his parents new home in Vallejo, still within 500 feet of their previous home
*January, 1974, Zodiac writes his first letter in 3 years
*June, 1974, Mac gets engaged
*July, 1974, Zodiac mailed his last confirmed letter
*October 1974, Mac gets married and moves to Vacaville where he lives 300 feet from a couple who had received in 1969 when they lived in Vallejo, a letter containing baseball tickets from someone claiming to be Zodiac
*December, 1990, possible card from Zodiac mailed from Eureka, CA- a town 200+ miles from Vallejo. Mac purchased property in Eureka area in the 1980’s.
*2014 Mac dies in Oregon
*August 2015 Mac’s widow posts on her blog that she found a box of Mac’s old stuff that she called ‘The Guilt Box’ (Guilt was written on side)Inside the box was a copy of David kahn’s book- The Codebreakers, the same book experts believe Zodiac used as a guide to create his ciphers. Mac’s widow mentions that Mac had originally read the book in 1980(as far as she knows) and lost his original copy. He liked the book so much, he asked her to get him another copy, which is the one found in the box.
MISC:
*Mac’s friends recall him driving or having access to what two different friends called a Volvo, or Volvo like car in the late 60’s.One thought it was Tan or Brown, the other recalled it being Blue.
*Mac’s friends recounted that he was a bit odd, but felt he was harmless. They said he did not date or have any relationships when they knew him prior to end of college. Although Mac hadn’t seen most of these friends since college in 1968, he invited them to be in his wedding in 1974. When one of them found out he had become a prison employee, they were shocked because they felt he was too timid to do that job. None of Mac’s friends recalled him having any interest in The Mikado, The Most Dangerous Game, etc, but they said that their group of friends did read comic books and crime noir style detective magazines
*Mac was licensed for one of his jobs, which was to teach firearms training to prison guards for Pistols, rifles, and shotguns
*Mac possessed fishing and hunting licenses
*Mac’s writing looks quite similar to Zodiac’s
*Mac was heavily involved in Freemasonry in the 1960’s and 1970’s
If you knew Mac, worked with him, went to school with him, etc, I want to hear from you and I am offering $ for verified photos, video, audio, of Mac from the 1960s or 1970s. I also am trying to verifiy his employment, addresses, etc from 1968-1971. If you knew Mac, please contact me via this link
Arthur Leigh Allen
Perhaps the most well-known Zodiac suspect of all time, Allen was brought to the attention of authorities by his one time Friend, Don Cheney. Cheney claimed that before the Zodiac crimes ever started, Allen bragged that he would start killing people and calling himself Zodiac. A loner and alleged sex offender, Allen was a favorite suspect of both the authorities and author Robert Graysmith whose books, Zodiac, and Zodiac Unmasked, introduced Allen to the world. For as much negative publicity as it caused Allen to be a suspect in the public eye, it seems he took some pleasure from the attention. Allen died in August, 1992.
The pros: Arthur Leigh Allen seemed to fit many stereotypes and the image that many imagined fit Zodiac. He was a loner, a hunter, and good with guns. He had been to Lake Berryessa in Napa where one of the attacks happened. He owned a Zodiac watch that bore both the name Zodiac, and the crosshair symbol used by Zodiac on its face.
The cons: Allen seems to have been ruled out in multiple ways. His finger prints, palm print, and DNA did NOT match Zodiac case evidence. In addition, his handwriting, and guns were found not to be a match for the Zodiac’s writing, and weapons he used.
Rick Marshall
Richard ‘Rick’ Marshall, a Navy veteran, was a big movie fan, and SF film projectionist. He was was turned into police by an acquaintance after some disturbing behavior, and cryptic discussions. Marshall was a loner, and had used various names throughout his life. He was a favorite suspect of Napa County investigator, Ken Narlow. Marshall died in September, 2008.
The Pros: Marshall seems to have resembled the physical descriptions of Zodiac, and just as Zodiac was thought to have been a movie fan, Marshall definitely was. The fact he used aliases may point to something troubling in his past. Marshall has ties to Riverside in Southern CA where the Zodiac possibly was based in the mid 1960s.Marshall operated a teletype machine and used odd sized paper associated with it that Zodiac appears to have used.
The Cons: No physical evidence ties Marshall to the Zodiac case, and there is no mention of him owning or shooting guns. Detectives questioned Marshall on his death bed, and Marshall denied any involvement in the Zodiac murders.
Lawrence Kane
Lawrence Kane, originally born Lawrence Klein in NY, is a suspect that has long been a favorite of some investigators, most notably Harvey Hines. A career criminal, Kane suffered a traumatic brain injury in the mid 1960s’, and some claim that as a result of this, it left him unable to control violent urges. Kane mostly lived and operated out of the Lake Tahoe and South Lake Tahoe areas, and some have connected him to possible Zodiac victim, Donna Lass who vanished in that area. Lawrence Kane died in May, 2010.
The Pros: Kane seems to have definitely been a troubled person, and had a criminal history. His ties to the area where Donna Lass vanished from are strong
The Cons: The same thing that makes him a worthwhile suspect in the case of Donna Lass, seems to go against him as being Zodiac. He mostly lived in an area that was over 100 miles from the Zodiac epicenter of Vallejo, and nothing places him there. Despite high profile backers pushing Kane as a suspect for decades, there is zero evidence that ties him to the Zodiac case directly.
Richard Gaikowski
A favorite of many online Zodiac enthusiasts, Richard Gaikowski was a mainstay in the SF Bay area counterculture movement, and heavily involved in the production of the Good Times counter culture newspaper. Prior to his years in the SF Bay area, Gaikowski, who was born in South Dakota, had been an Army Medic. He had also spent time in Albany, NY prior to the Zodiac murders, as did Zodiac victim Darlene Ferrin, and her ex-husband, Jim Crabtree. Gaikowski died in April, 2004.
The Pros: Richard Gaikowski lived in the SF Bay area at the time of the Zodiac murders, and his interest in newspapers, and editing the Good Times may have mirrored Zodiac in some ways. The fact he was in Albany, NY as was Darlene Ferrin is highly interesting, showing that they may have knew each other.
The Cons: Despite having major TV show projects devoted to him over the past several years, nothing to date has positively linked Gaikowski to the Zodiac case. Perhaps the biggest strike against Gaikowski, was that he may have been out of the country on the date of the first confirmed Zodiac murders on 12/20/68, something hotly debated by supporters of Gaikowski being Zodiac. He was definitely NOT in Riverside, CA during the mid 1960’s when possible early Zodiac activity was occurring down there.
Ross Sullivan
Originally discovered and proposed as a Zodiac suspect by Vallejo Times Herald reporter Dave Peterson, Ross Sullivan is the only suspect to date that can be placed in the Riverside City College library where the Zodiac was linked to. When Dave Peterson questioned library staff there, they were all too happy to voice their concerns about Ross Sullivan, someone that really creeped them out and had history of mental illness. Ross’s brother Tim, married the best friend of possible Zodiac victim, Cheri Jo Bates. Sullivan was in the Riverside area up until 1967 when he departed for another college in Santa Cruz. Sullivan died in September, 1977.
The Pros: Research and eyewitness statements have shown that Ross Sullivan wrote a paper on how to change handwriting, and had read a book on cryptography- both things that would have benefitted Zodiac. Additionally, Sullivan bares an uncanny resemblance to the SFPD Zodiac sketch, and his mental illness, which included Schizophrenia, is thought by some to mirror Zodiac.
The Cons: Despite Ross being heavyset, stocky and over 200 pounds as Zodiac was described, his height of 6ft2 is at least a few inches taller than most estimates of Zodiac’s height. Additionally, while Ross Sullivan moved to the SF Bay area in time for the Zodiac attacks to start there, he can only be placed in Santa Cruz, almost 100 miles away from Vallejo where Zodiac was primarily operating.
Ted Kaczynski
Ted Kaczynski is a serial bomber and killer that is known to many people, although not as many people outside of Zodiac Killer circles may know that he has been championed by some as being the Zodiac. The Unabomber as he came to be known, had spent time in California prior to his high profile arrest in 1996. Proponents of Kaczynski as the Zodiac Killer are quick to point our that he is a proven killer, and used bombs as his means of murder, something Zodiac threatened to do. Ted Kaczynski remains incarcerated for the Unabomber crimes.
The Pros: Kaczynski undoubtedly had the skills to have been Zodiac. He also has similar writing to Zodiac according to some opinions.
The Cons: Kaczynski and Zodiac, as killers could not be more different; while Kaczynski liked to kill from afar, Zodiac liked to get up and close to his victims. Some of Kaczynski’s movements may clash with Zodiac murder dates and most importantly, law enforcement including the FBI has undoubtedly poured over and analyzed every shred of Kaczynski’s life. If there was something connecting him to the Zodiac crimes, the link would undoubtedly have been discovered.
Countless Others
There is no shortage of suspects and ‘Persons of interest’ in the Zodiac case, far too many to post here. They range from Manson family members, to successful San Francisco Businessman, and everything in between. To learn more about, or discuss any of the Zodiac suspects in the case, visit the suspects section on the forum.