Zodiac Killer
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Zodiac Killer
The Zodiac Killer is the pseudonym of an unidentified serial killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s. The case has been described as the most famous unsolved murder case in American history. It became a fixture of popular culture and inspired amateur detectives to attempt to solve it. The Zodiac murdered five known victims in the San Francisco Bay Area between December 1968 and October 1969, operating in rural, urban and suburban settings. He targeted young couples and a lone male cab driver. His known attacks took place in Benicia, Vallejo, unincorporated Napa County, and the city of San Francisco proper. Two of his wounded victims survived. The Zodiac claimed to have murdered 37 victims. He has been linked to several other cold cases, some in Southern California or outside the state. The Zodiac coined this name in a series of taunting letters and cards that he mailed to regional newspapers, in which he threatened killing sprees and bombings if they were ...
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Zodiac Killer In Popular Culture
The Zodiac Killer was a serial killer who operated in Northern California from at least the late 1960s to the early 1970s. His identity remains unknown. His crimes, letters and cryptograms to police and newspapers inspired many movies, novels, television and more. This article's list focuses on entertainment ("popular culture") inspired by the events, with a few references to documentary and true crime media. Film *''The Zodiac Killer'' (1971), released while the killer was still active, was directed by Tom Hanson and starred Hal Reed and Bob Jones. *''Zodiac Rapist'' (1971), a pornographic horror film loosely based on the crimes directed by John Lamb with John Holmes in the leading role. *''Dirty Harry'' (1971), released while the killer was still active, was loosely based on the Zodiac case, featuring a serial killer who calls himself " Scorpio" (a sign in the Zodiac), who at one point kidnaps a school bus full of children, mirroring the real Zodiac's threat to shoot childre ...
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Composite Sketch
A facial composite is a graphical representation of one or more Witness, eyewitnesses' memories of a face, as recorded by a composite artist. Facial composites are used mainly by police in their investigation of (usually serious) crimes. These images are used to reconstruct the suspect's face in hope of identifying them. Facial reconstruction can also be used in archeological studies to get a visualization of ancient mummies or human remains. Methods Hand-drawing Construction of the composite was originally only performed by a trained artist, through drawing, sketching, or painting, in consultation with a witness or crime victim. Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI claims that hand-drawing is its preferred method for constructing a facial composite. Feature-based selection Feature-based systems essentially rely on the selection of individual features in isolation. Individual facial features (eyes, nose, mouth, eyebrows, etc.) are selected one at a time from a large databas ...
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Arthur Leigh Allen
The Zodiac Killer is the pseudonym of an unidentified serial killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s. The case has been described as the most famous unsolved murder case in American history. It became a fixture of popular culture and inspired amateur detectives to attempt to solve it. The Zodiac murdered five known victims in the San Francisco Bay Area between December 1968 and October 1969, operating in rural, urban and suburban settings. He targeted young couples and a lone male cab driver. His known attacks took place in Benicia, Vallejo, unincorporated Napa County, and the city of San Francisco proper. Two of his wounded victims survived. The Zodiac claimed to have murdered 37 victims. He has been linked to several other cold cases, some in Southern California or outside the state. The Zodiac coined this name in a series of taunting letters and cards that he mailed to regional newspapers, in which he threatened killing sprees and bombings if they were ...
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The San Francisco Examiner
The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst, and flagship of the Hearst Corporation chain, the ''Examiner'' converted to free distribution early in the 21st century and is owned by Clint Reilly Communications, which bought the newspaper at the end of 2020 along with the ''SF Weekly''. History Founding The ''Examiner'' was founded in 1863 as the ''Democratic Press'', a pro- Confederacy, pro-slavery, pro-Democratic Party paper opposed to Abraham Lincoln, but after his assassination in 1865, the paper's offices were destroyed by a mob, and starting on June 12, 1865, it was called ''The Daily Examiner''. Hearst acquisition In 1880, mining engineer and entrepreneur George Hearst bought the ''Examiner''. Seven years later, after being elected to the U.S. Senate, he gave it to his son, William Randolph Hearst, who was ...
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San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de Young. The paper is owned by the Hearst Corporation, which bought it from the de Young family in 2000. It is the only major daily paper covering the city and county of San Francisco. The paper benefited from the growth of San Francisco and had the largest newspaper circulation on the West Coast of the United States by 1880. Like other newspapers, it experienced a rapid fall in circulation in the early 21st century and was ranked 18th nationally by circulation in the first quarter of 2021. In 1994, the newspaper launched the SFGATE website, with a soft launch in March and official launch November 3, 1994, including both content from the newspaper and other sources. "The Gate" as it was known at launch was the first large market newspaper ...
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Vallejo Times Herald
The ''Vallejo Times-Herald'' is a nearly-daily newspaper in the city of Vallejo, California. It is printed six days a week, Tuesday through Sunday. History Luther Gibson founded the ''Vallejo Herald'' in 1922. Later that year, he purchased the ''Vallejo Times'' and merged the papers. He owned the paper until 1974 when he sold it to the Donrey Media Group. On June 20, 1978, 113 of the newspaper's workers went on strike. They established a rival paper, ''Vallejo Independent Press'', directly next door. In spite of widespread support and thousands of Vallejoans canceling their ''Times-Herald'' subscriptions in favor of the ''Vallejo Independent Press'', the strike and new paper folded in August 1984, no longer able to compete financially. In 1999, the ''Times-Herald'' changed ownership to the MediaNews Group, who took control of the paper from Donrey. The MediaNews Group became Digital First Media in 2013. This newspaper was one of three newspapers to receive a letter from the Zo ...
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Luger P08 Pistol
The Pistole Parabellum—or Parabellum-Pistole (Pistol Parabellum), commonly known as just Luger or Luger P08 is a toggle-locked recoil-operated semi-automatic pistol. The Luger was produced in several models and by several nations from 1898 to 1949. The design was first patented by Georg Luger. It was meant to be an improvement of the Borchardt C-93 pistol, and was initially produced as the ''Parabellum Automatic Pistol, Borchardt-Luger System'' by the German arms manufacturer Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM).Datig, Fred A., ''The Luger Pistol'', Gun Digest, 1957 ed., Chicago Illinois: Edward Keogh Co. Inc. (1956) pp. 164-165 The first production model was known as the ''Modell 1900 Parabellum''. It was followed by the "Marinepistole 1904" for the Imperial German Navy. The Luger was officially adopted by the Swiss military in 1900, the Imperial German Navy in 1906 and the German Army in 1908. The Luger was the standard service pistol of Switzerland, Portugal, the ...
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Robert Graysmith
Robert Graysmith (born Robert Gray Smith; September 17, 1942) is an American true crime author and former cartoonist. He is known for his work on the Zodiac killer case. Career Graysmith worked as a political cartoonist for the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' in 1969, when the Zodiac killer case came to prominence. He attempted to decode letters written by the killer and became obsessed with the case over the next 13 years. Graysmith wrote two books about the case; his 1986 book ''Zodiac'' was the basis for the 2007 film by the same name. He eventually gave up his career as a cartoonist to write five more books on high-profile crimes, one of which became the basis for the film ''Auto Focus'' (2002). Personal life Graysmith was married to Margaret Ann Womack, a nurse, from 1963 to 1973. He then married Melanie Krakower in 1975, but they divorced in 1980. He directly attributes his failed marriage to his intense interest in the Zodiac case. In popular culture The film ''Zod ...
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Rambler (automobile)
Rambler is an automobile brand name that was first used by the Thomas B. Jeffery Company between 1900 and 1914. Charles W. Nash bought Jeffery in 1916, and the name was reintroduced to the automobile marketplace by Nash Motors from 1950 to 1954. The "Rambler" trademark registration for use on automobiles and parts was issued on 9 March 1954 for Nash-Kelvinator. Nash merged with the Hudson Motor Car Company to form American Motors Corporation (AMC) and the Rambler line of cars continued through the 1969 model year in the United States and 1983 in international markets. Rambler cars were often nicknamed the "Kenosha Cadillac" after the original location and the largest place of manufacture in the city of Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rambler 1897–1914 The first use of the name Rambler for an American-made automobile dates to 1897 when Thomas B. Jeffery of Chicago, Illinois and builder of the Rambler bicycle constructed his first prototype automobile. After receiving positive reviews a ...
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Presidio Heights, San Francisco, California
San Francisco, in the US state of California, has both major, well-known neighborhoods and districts as well as smaller, specific subsections and developments. While there is considerable fluidity among the sources, one guidebook identifies five major districts, corresponding to the four quadrants plus a south central district. These five broad districts, counterclockwise are: Central/downtown, Richmond, Sunset, Upper Market and beyond (south central) and Bernal Heights/Bayview and beyond (southeast). Within each of these five districts are located major neighborhoods, and again there is considerable fluidity seen in the sources. The San Francisco Planning Department officially identifies 36 neighborhoods. Within these 36 official neighborhoods are a large number of minor districts, some of which are historical, and some of which are overlapping. Some of San Francisco's neighborhoods are also officially designated as " cultural districts." Alamo Square Alamo Square is a subset o ...
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Lake Berryessa
Lake Berryessa is the largest lake in Napa County, California. This reservoir in the Vaca Mountains was formed following the construction of the Monticello Dam on Putah Creek in the 1950s. Since the early 1960s, this reservoir has provided water and hydroelectricity to the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The reservoir was named after the first European settlers in the Berryessa Valley, José Jesús and Sexto "Sisto" Berrelleza (a Basque surname, Anglicized to "Berreyesa", then later respelled "Berryessa"), who were granted Rancho Las Putas in 1843. Geography The lake is over when full. It is approximately long and wide. It has approximately miles of shoreline. Near the dam on the southeast side of the reservoir is an open bell-mouth spillway, in diameter, which is known as the Glory Hole. The pipe has a straight drop of , and the diameter shrinks down to about . The spillway has a maximum capacity of 48,000 cfs (1360 m³/s). The spillway operates when ther ...
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Kaiser Foundation Hospital
Kaiser Permanente (; KP), commonly known simply as Kaiser, is an American integrated managed care consortium, based in Oakland, California, United States, founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney Garfield. Kaiser Permanente is made up of three distinct but interdependent groups of entities: the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. (KFHP) and its regional operating subsidiaries; Kaiser Foundation Hospitals; and the regional Permanente Medical Groups. As of 2017, Kaiser Permanente operates in eight states (Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia) and the District of Columbia, and is the largest managed care organization in the United States. Kaiser Permanente is one of the largest nonprofit healthcare plans in the United States, with over 12 million members. It operates 39 hospitals and more than 700 medical offices, with over 300,000 personnel, including more than 87,000 physicians and nurses. Each Permanente Me ...
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