My name is Merv Egan and this site is maintained on behalf of my company, Cuchulainn’s Shaggy Dog Tales Pty. Ltd.
As the name indicates, the company was formed to investigate myths, stories and legends wrongly accepted as fact by the general public. Although, these misconceptions are present in almost every sphere of human endeavour, the company’s activities are limited to the fields of religion, crime, history and politics.
The story of the Zodiac Killer was chosen to showcase the work of the company. The widely accepted version of the tale is an enigma filled with inconsistencies, distortions and half-truths. The Zodiac, according to popular belief, was an antisocial loner of medium to low intelligence. He killed a handful of victims and evaded detection through dumb luck rather than artifice or guile. But how much of this is fact and how much is urban legend? To what extent does the wishful thinking of police and the questionable opinions of researchers and armchair detectives coloured our perceptions?
Even a cursory examination of the facts suggests the Zodiac is – or was – both devious and extremely intelligent. Most of his ciphers defy the best efforts of professional code-breakers and amateurs alike. Although the Zodiac’s clues do contain valuable information, they are seldom what they seem and are crafted to mislead the naïve, the unwary and the gullible.
Indeed, the Zodiac may not be real. The police have always suspected that the murders at Lake Herman Road and the attack at Blue Rock Springs were the work of different individuals. Could the killings be the work of a Zodiac Gang and not a single person? If so, then the Zodiac was the leader of a small group and not an antisocial loner. As leader, he must have possessed sufficient interpersonal skills to recruit, direct and motivate his followers. Only a charismatic individual could keep his band united and functioning despite the unrelenting pressure from simultaneous police investigations in a number of jurisdictions.
Notwithstanding the best endeavours of the police and amateur sleuths, the Zodiac Killings remain unsolved. So why have these investigations come to nought? As I see it, the reason is simple: the full extent of the Zodiac’s crimes is seldom, if ever, considered and his attacks are never put in their proper perspective. The Zodiac was one of America’s most prolific serial killers, yet most investigations focus on a handful of crimes. He is usually treated as existing in a vacuum: a man without mentors or forerunners. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The real story of the Zodiac began eighty years before the first of the Zodiac Killings. Between April 1888 and February 1891, eleven part-time prostitutes were killed in the East End of London. Five of these killings, particularly brutal and bloody affairs, were attributed to a notorious killer known as Jack the Ripper. In the twentieth century, a couple of American killers, one of whom was the Zodiac, deduced that all 11 Whitechapel victims were killed by the same person, i.e. Saucy Jacky. The Americans identified the pattern behind the Whitechapel murders and used it, albeit in a slightly modified form, in their own endeavours. Their purpose was to honour – and surpass – the achievements of the most notorious serial killer of all time.
Although the Zodiac Killings are this site’s primary focus, the original Whitechapel Murders and the Zodiac’s other source of inspiration, i.e. the crimes of the Black Dahlia Avenger, will be considered. The Double Initial Murders in Rochester, New York, are included to show that the reach of the Zodiac is far, far greater than most people imagine.This site does not believe in the magic bullet approach to crime solving. We believe it is wrong to focus on a single clue or to become preoccupied with a single aspect of the murders. The murders will only be solved when a complete and coherent picture emerges and, even then, only if the solution accounts for most – or all – of the facts pertaining to the murders and the clues left by the Zodiac.
Inevitably, this site will challenge established beliefs about the Zodiac. It will not downplay findings which question accepted wisdom simply to avoid controversy or unpopularity. Accepted wisdom may tell us how researchers would have approached these murders, it doesn’t necessarily tell us how the Zodiac went about his grisly business.
The double Initial or Alphabet Murders commenced in 1971. Because the method used by the killer to determine the timing of the attacks was a derivative of the method employed by the Zodiac, it is not unreasonable to conclude that he was the killer.
After almost fifty years of silence, it’s time to let the Zodiac speak.