(Trends Wide) — Law enforcement agencies said they are still investigating the Zodiac Killer case after an independent group of case investigators claimed Wednesday they had solved the mystery of who was behind the decades-old serial killings.
The Case Breakers, a team of 40 former law enforcement investigators, said they identified the man they believe to be the Zodiac Killer using new physical and forensic evidence and eyewitness information, according to a press release.
The group also filed affidavits with the court and obtained decades of photographs of the man’s former darkroom, The Case Breakers said. In the statement they identified the man and said they believe he died in 2018.
Trends Wide’s attempts to reach family members of the identified person have been unsuccessful.
The Zodiac Killer is believed to be responsible for at least five murders in Northern California from 1968 to 1969.
In response to the new claims, the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) confirmed to Trends Wide that there is still an open investigation.
“We cannot discuss possible suspects as this is an open investigation,” the SFPD said in a statement.
The FBI, which has been supporting local police in the investigation, also did not acknowledge the claims.
“The Zodiac Killer case remains open. We have no new information to share at this time,” the FBI said in a statement to Trends Wide.
The Case Breakers also said in the statement that the man is responsible for the 1966 murder of Cheri Jo Bates in Riverside County, California.
While the Riverside Police Department was unable to comment on the man identified by The Case Breakers, Riverside Police Department public information officer Ryan Railsback said the Zodiac Killer is definitely not the person responsible for the death. by Bates.
The only link Bates’ murder had in common with the Zodiac Killer was a handwritten letter received in the mail claiming responsibility, Railsback said.
The Zodiac Killer, who was never caught, gained notoriety by writing letters to the police and local media bragging about the murders until 1974.
Claiming to have killed 37 people, he also wrote some code letters and included bloody pieces of clothing as proof of the acts.
