The infamous California Zodiac killer may have been identified as 40 former law enforcement officials, known as the “Case Breakers,” found a hitherto unknown clue that links the killer’s crosshair symbols to U.S. Air Force veteran Gary Francis Poste, according to The Daily Wire. The serial killer killed five people, according to authorities, but he claimed in public letters that he had killed around 40 people.
The group’s Thomas J. Colbert told The Daily Mail that they had found the killer’s symbols on a wooden post in Groveland half a mile away from Poste’s property. Poste, who died in 2018, was considered a suspect and in the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office’s database since 2016. The office declined to provide further comment on the findings in respect of the victims and their families. But the Case Breakers have spoken to several key people, including a man that Poste and his wife used to babysit, a man who was one of Poste’s partners in crime, and the former girlfriend of Poste’s son.
The killer terrorized the Bay Area in the late 1960s and proceeded to taunt law enforcement with unsolvable riddles that accompanied his murders. The Case Breakers say that scars on Poste’s forehead match sketches of the killer. Footprints in the ground where he murdered the 18-year-old Cheri Jo Bates were also found to match military-style boots. A wristwatch with paint on it was also found, and the team notes that Poste was a painter for 40 years.
Many of the murders occurred while the victims were sitting in their cars. In 1968, Poste went on to shoot and murder high school sweethearts David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen. He also shot Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau. Mageau was severely wounded but survived. A year later, the killer repeatedly stabbed Cecelia Ann Shepard and Bryan Calvin Hartnell as they sat on a blanket. Hartnell survived. He then went on to shoot Taxi driver Paul Stine in the back of the head.
