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Cheri-Jo Bates walked from her campus library into the darkness
towards her car. The battery was flat. A man appeared and offered to
help her. He tinkered with the engine but having no luck he offered
to take her home. He led Cheri-Jo to an alleyway between two houses,
where the pair spent at least half an hour, then he stabbed her in
the chest and back, slashing her throat until her head was almost
off.
Cherie-Jo was the Zodiac Killer's first confirmed kill. She died
on 30 October 1966 in Riverside, California. A letter to the local
press declared Cheri-Jo was not the first, nor would she be the
last.
In the next 15 years, the Zodiac Killer committed six known
murders and may have been responsible for 40 unsolved killings, 39
of which were women.
Next to die was 17 year old David Faraday and his 16 year old
girlfriend. A few days before Christmas in 1968 the lovers sat
parked up in a rural lane outside Vallejo, North California, a
gunman jumped out shooting Faraday in the head, his girlfriend
managed to run 10 meters before five bullets hit her in the back.
Six months later another young couple was similarly shot in their
car. The boy lived but his girlfriend died. Forty minutes later
Vallejo police received an anonymous call from a man telling
officers of the killing and claiming responsibility for Faraday’s
death the previous year.
Weeks later, the killer sent coded letters to the local press
saying “I like killing people because it is so much fun.” He
claimed that his purpose was to collect slaves for the afterlife.
Unsolved killings and letters continued through the 70s, but the
police were uncertain what crimes to attribute to the Zodiac. On
three occasions victims managed to evade their attacker and later
identify the Zodiac Killer from sketches drawn up from witnesses
statements. The last letter definitely penned by the Zodiac was in
1978 when he warned residents of the Bay Area that “I am back with
you”. No traceable crimes were then committed though. The case
remains open.
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