Has the FBI finally identified the identity of the terrifying serial killer "The Zodiac" 54 years after his time in operation? At least that's what American journalist Thomas Colbert said in a statement to the media on Wednesday. Colbert said that sources dealing with old files within the FBI confirmed in a conversation with him that there were partial DNA samples that pointed to the killer's identity.
According to the journalist, U.S. Air Force officer Gary Francis Fawcett, who was once pointed out by many as a murderer, is now listed in FBI files as a suspect in the murders of at least five people more than 50 years ago.
FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., photo: AP
The zodiac operated during the 60s and early 70s primarily in Northern California and has been linked to five murders, with authorities still believing it killed between 20 and 28 people.
The name "Zodiac" was chosen by the murderer himself, who used to send encrypted letters to the newspaper editorial boards with various messages that included, among other things, warnings about future murders and bragging about his actions while expressing contempt for the various investigative authorities that tried to catch him.
Either way, an American organization called The Case Breakers, to which journalist Colbert himself belongs, and which consists of former FBI agents, prosecutors, intelligence officials and detectives, claimed back in 2021 that it had solved the case and that Fawcett was the killer. But now the organization believes that the FBI itself also has substantial evidence linking Fawcett to the series of murders in the 60s.
FBI agents. Will the case be resolved 50 years later?, Photo: Reuters
According to Colbert, the developments in the case, confirmed to him by FBI officials, are a new set of "gold" evidence that could resolve the case. The evidence relates to weapons and bullets Fawcett handed out to friends when he turned 80. Also, according to Colbert, there are also six different people to whom Fawcett admitted to being the zodiac.
In relation to the wealth of this evidence, FBI officials say, according to Colbert, that it is irrefutable evidence. "As a nation, over the years we have abandoned the ten brothers and sisters of the murdered who survived. It's time for the concealment to stop so that the truth is told to these people who are still waiting for it," Colbert said in a statement.
California State Police (Archive). Not cooperating with the organization, photo: Reuters
On the other hand, officials who responded on behalf of the FBI back in 2021 said the case remained open and no new progress had been made. The FBI's denial did not stop The Case Breakers, who have since approached five different law enforcement agencies and other state agencies to take and seriously investigate the accumulated evidence. But no U.S. law enforcement official agreed to help the organization.
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