In the 1960s, it was suspected that Richard Gaikowski was the face behind the infamous Zodiac Killer, who murdered not less than five people in Northern California. Whoever the Zodiac Killer was, he ranks among the likes of Jack the Ripper, Bible John, the Servant Girl Annihilator, and the Atlanta Ripper as serial killers who were never caught.
While the motive of the killings for some of these fellows will never be known, we can conclude from the letters of the Zodiac Killer that he murdered his victims because he liked killing people.
He clearly expressed this in one of his letters. For him, man is the most dangerous animal to kill, and doing so was a “thrilling experience”. Like the rest of his kind, this killer had a twisted mind. He believed he would be reincarnated in a paradise where the people he killed would be his slaves. Several people were suspected to be the Zodiac Killer and Richard Gaikowski was one of them; below are the things to know about him.
Is Richard Gaikowski The Zodiac Killer?
For several reasons, it has been expressed in various quarters that Richard Gaikowski was the Zodiac Killer, even though the claim is yet to be authenticated substantively. Apart from the fact that he looked like the sketch of the Zodiac Killer offered by the authorities, there are certain reasons why Richard Gaikowski was suspected as the killer who claimed to have killed 37 people.
1. Background Details of Richard Gaikowski
Richard Joseph Gaikowski, also called Dick Gyke was born in Watertown, a city you will find in Codington County, South Dakota. He was born on the 14th of March 1936 and was raised in the city. Richard schooled at Webster High School and thereafter, attended the Northern State Teachers College located in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
2. He Served In The Army
It is said that the man suspected to be the Zodiac killer served the Army in the 1950s for about two years as a medic. He was also an activist journalist and worked with several publishing houses. At some point as a journalist, sometime in October 1965, Richard Gaikowski got himself arrested intentionally so that he could be jailed. He wanted to spend some time behind bars in order to write a piece about the state of the jail from the perspective of a prisoner.
3. The Alleged Zodia Killer Was Also a Filmmaker
Gaikowski was a big fan of the arts. Apart from being a writer and editor, he produced and directed a few films and other projects like Drummer, Moody Teenager, Festival of the Bards, and Deaf/Punk.
4. He Sounded Like the Killer
After the Blue Rock Springs attack in Vallejo, California on the 4th of July 1969, the Vallejo Police Department received a call the next day from a man who said he was responsible for the attack that claimed the life of Darlene Ferrin and left Michael Mageau hospitalized. A police dispatcher named Nancy Slover received the call from the Zodiac Killer and would later point out that a recording of Richard Gaikowski’s voice is the same as that of the Zodiac killer.
5. Richard Gaikowski’s Handwriting Was Consistent With That of The Zodiac Killer
This was determined by the California Department of Justice. To verify this, more samples believed to be Richard’s writings were collected but it was concluded that they were not a match.
6. Richard Gaikowski’s Colleague Was Convinced He’s The Killer
Identified as Goldcatcher to protect his identity, the said colleague worked with Richard in the 1980s for a newspaper. Goldcatcher secretly recorded Richard for hours and came to believe he was the Zodiac Killer because Gaikowski had a lot of information about the killings of Zodiac.
7. His Name Appeared In One of The Zodiac Killer’s Cryptograms
Being a writer, Richard Gaikowski went by names like “Gaik” or “Gike” as his last name for the articles he published in 1969. Now, the Zodiac Killer was fond of sending cryptogram letters to the press. The one he sent on the 31st of July 1969 had “GYKE”, which was taken to be another short form of Richard’s last name. In addition to that, the cipher was coded in such a way that phonetically derives Richard’s full last name.
8. The Zodiac Killer Went Silent When Richard Was Committed to a Mental Health Facility
For many people, the fact that Richard Gaikowski had a mental issue that saw him receive treatment at San Francisco’s Mount Zion Hospital is enough reason to suspect he was the Zodiac Killer. What’s more, the killer didn’t send out any letter for almost 3 years which happens to be when Richard was involuntarily committed to getting treated for mental illness.
9. He Sent a Total of 15 Letters which He Mailed Everyday Except Wednesday
Richard worked for Good Times, a weekly newspaper that had Wednesday as its production day. As the Zodiac Killer had a total of 15 letters mailed every other day of the week except on Wednesday, it was hypothesized that Richard was the killer and didn’t get to send out any letters on Wednesday because of the unusual workload employees of the establishment were subjected to on Wednesdays.
See Also: Christopher Wilder – 10 Terrifying Facts About The Beauty Queen Killer
10. What Happened To Richard Gaikowski?
Although there seems to be a lot of things that validate having Richard Gaikowski as a suspect for the murders the Zodiac Killer committed, authorities never had any evidence to nail him for the killings. Richard passed away in San Francisco on the 30th of April 2004; he died of cancer. He was laid to rest at the Webster Cemetery in Webster, South Dakota.
Barely seventeen years after the death of the alleged Zodiac Killer, an investigative group called the Case Breakers revealed in 2021 that they had uncovered the real identity of the Zodiac Killer. The Case Breakers comprised 40 former police officers, journalists, and military intelligence personnel.
According to reports, the Case Breakers identified one man named Gary Francis Poste as the face of the Zodiac Killer. The investigators claimed Gary and the Zodiac Killer had the same forehead scars and shoe size.
Other people who have been accused of being the Zodiac Killer include Jack Tarrance, Guy Ward Hendrickson, Arthur Leigh Allen, Earl Van Best Jr., and Joseph Giuseppe Bevilacqua.
