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New lead in the Zodiac Killer Case ?


JonathanVonErich

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On February 19 America's most Wanted featured a new picture of one of the Zodiac Killer's victim, Darlene Ferrin. Pictured with Ferrin is a man of unknown identity. The man on the picture closely resembles the composite sketch of the Zodiac Killer that was formed based on eyewitness' descriptions back in 1969 shortly after the murder of Paul Stine. Police believe the photo was taken in San Francisco in the summer of 1966 or 1967.

Here is a link to the picture: New Picture of Darlene Ferrin

(Source: Zodiackiller.com and Mr. Tom Voigt)

Many people still think Darlene Ferrin knew her killer or that the two were somehow connected, so is that Zodiac on the picture with Darlene ?? For now the identity of the man on the picture remains unknown, but Zodiac Investigator Tom Voigt and others are trying to find his identity.

I'm not saying the man on the picture is indeed Zodiac, it could be simply a friend of Darlene or a family member. Some people think the man on the picture is Darlene's ex-husband, Jim Phillips. However many people think the man on the picture don't really looks like mr. Phillips, so we can't be 100% sure about the identity of this man. Again, I repeat, I'm not saying the man on the picture is indeed The Zodiac Killer. For now the identity of the man is unknown, and I really think we need to find out the identity of this person. I have seen pictures of Darlene's ex-Husband and in my opinion he doesn't really looks like the man on the picture, but I'm no expert. Some people think Zodiac knew Darlene/Darlene knew Zodiac, so perhaps the picture is indeed showing Darlene with her killer. I'm trying to find more about this.

Edited by JVE
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Interesting find JVE. Have they asked someone in her family if they could ID this person?

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Interesting find JVE. Have they asked someone in her family if they could ID this person?

Surprisingly we don't have this information right now, but my guess is that her family don't know who the man is. Pam Huckaby, Darlene's sister, always talks openly about her sister's murder and to this day she said nothing about this "Unknown man", or if she did we know nothing about it. The fact AMW are still showing the picture to millions of viewers on their website is a proof that to me nobody came forward with the information.

What I want to know is : How did "America's Most Wanted" got the picture ?? Who gave them this picture ?? Right now we don't know how they got the picture. I went to their website, to at least 5 other websites and nobody seems to know how they got the pic, I'm trying to find this important detail.

Again I don't know if this man is indeed Zodiac. A minority thinks the man is Jim Phillips, Darlene's ex-Husband, but the more I look at pictures of mr. Phillips the more I'm sure he is not the man on the picture. Hell, if mr. Phillips is indeed the man on the picture I'm sure he would have come forward and said that indeed he was the "Unknown man", but nobody came forward and the man on the picture remains a mystery.

I'm searching for more answers. Maybe the man on the picture have no connections with Darlene's murder, but people needs to investigate and have to at least try to find the answers.

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Thanks for the pics, Boo. :tu:

Like I said some people believe the "Unknown man" of the picture is Darlene's ex-Husband, Mr. James(Jim) Phillips. In my opinion Mr. Phillips doesn't really looks like the man on the picture, I could be wrong but to me they don't look alike.

PHOTO_13111198_119137_16673969_ap.jpg

(Courtesy: A&E Community)

Mr. Phillips is on the left, The mystery man is on the right. To me they don't look alike. The jaw, the nose, the ears....

Again : If it was indeed mr. Phillips on the picture why did America's Most Wanted showed the picture to millions of people without asking if it was indeed mr. Phillips on the pic ?? I mean it would be only common sense to make sure it's not somebody from Darlene's past (Husbands, family members, close friends).

The fact nobody came forward with the information is, to me, proof that the man is not somebody from Darlene's family or a former Boyfriend/Husband.

I'm searching for more answers.

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Yeah. You would think Darlene's sister would recognize a picture of her ex-brother in law. Why would she keep that hushed? Anyone that knew her at the time of the marriage would be able to ID him. I don't think it's him for that reason, unless she lived far far away and the family never met him.

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Yeah. You would think Darlene's sister would recognize a picture of her ex-brother in law. Why would she keep that hushed? Anyone that knew her at the time of the marriage would be able to ID him. I don't think it's him for that reason, unless she lived far far away and the family never met him.

Darlene and her sister Pam were very close, so she would be able to recognize her ex-brother in law, same thing with Darlene's other sister Linda. So to me this is proof that the man on the picture is not somebody from her family or her ex-husband Jim Phillips.

I took 1 month before sharing the story, just in case somebody would come forward and put an end to this story. But the fact is: 1 month after millions of people saw the picture nobody came forward to tell the identity of this man, and to me this is really strange.

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The man's resemblance to the composite sketch is also rather alarming. Right down to the horn rimmed glasses and the fact that the bangs are combed straight back but I don't want to speculate. Someone must have taken the picture and knew them at that time. It was taken inside a house. You can see the fireplace and a baby picture behind them.

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Every photo I've seen of a new Zodiac killer suspect has looked like that sketch. Or at least that's what I was expecting to see through the power of suggestion.

Apparently the case was botched very badly by San Francisco PD. A lot of evidence and statements went missing. (I think one of the investigators took some home with him!) Of course, San Francisco wasn't the only jurisdiction to investigate Zodiac killings, but their incompetent "taking over" of the case threw a monkey wrench into everybody's investigation. Worse yet, the beat cops responding to the call involving the shooting of the San Francisco taxi driver didn't even detain Zodiac himself as a possible witness! So I think it's doubtful that we'll ever know for sure.

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I don't think he looks like the composite sketch. In the composite the eyebrows are much closer to his eyes, plus Zodiac seems to have dimples and looks older. The mystery man does resemble the picture of JIm Phillips to me.

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I don't think he looks like the composite sketch. In the composite the eyebrows are much closer to his eyes, plus Zodiac seems to have dimples and looks older. The mystery man does resemble the picture of JIm Phillips to me.

Well the sketch was made at least 2 years after the new picture of Darlene was taken, perhaps even 4 or 5 years after ( hard to say since we don't know exactly when the picture was taken ) but we can be sure the sketch was made AFTER the picture was taken, so if the "Unknown man" is indeed Zodiac then of course he would look a little bit older on the sketch since it was made years after the picture was taken.

I respect your opinion Voyager, but I don't see it. Look at the nose, the jaw, the ears...It doesn't looks like Jim Phillips to me.

Again the question is: If indeed it was Mr. Phillips on the picture then why did a very respected show like AMW decided to show it to millions of people without being 100% sure it wasn't somebody from Darlene's past (Family members, Husbands, close friends) !? I mean like it or not but America's Most Wanted is a respected show, a very serious show and I would be really surprised to learn that they didn't do their homeworks before showing the picture to millions of people.

And I'm still trying to find out how did AMW got the picture. By a former Investigator ?? By somebody close to Darlene ?? We don't know the answer right now.

What's so special about this is that we didn't discovered this new picture on the Web, on some forum or website, the picture was first seen on a very popular TV Show, seen by millions of Americans, that's very unusual, so my guess is that they received a very good tip from the person who gave them the picture and that they are sure that the Unknown man is not from Darlene's past (Family member, Husbands, Close Friends). And Darlene's story wasn't even a main feature of the February 19 episode, so I'm sure they didn't showed the pic only to boost their ratings. Even Tom Voigt, who know everything about the case and who have interviewed just about everybody involved in the case, first saw the picture on AMW.

I'm still searching for more answers.

Edited by JVE
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Ooh, very intriguing. I can see the resemblance between the man and the composite sketch. If this were a more current investigation that was still fresh, I would think that resemblance would be enough for the authorities to check out that guy. I don't think he's her ex husband though. I mean, the pictures make them look similar but not like the same man.

Thanks for sharing, Jon.

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Thanks K.

What's interesting is that Most people believe Darlene knew her Killer/The Killer knew Darlene. Not everybody agree about this theory, another proof that the Zodiac Killer case is a terrible mess. What I am about to write is controversial, some people (most) believe it really happened, others disagree, but like any good investigator I think I have to share this with the people here.

Vallejo Police Lt. Jim Husted reported that a mysterious caller placed three separate calls within 1 ½ hours after Darlene Ferrin’s death to each of the family members. These calls were made before media announcement of the murder. According to the Vallejo police reports, Darlene’s in-laws, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Ferrin, reported that they had received an anonymous phone call on the night Darlene was killed. The call was made before the media released the names of the victims but long after the victims had been identified at the scene. The Ferrins stated that the caller said nothing; only the sound of heavy breathing could be heard over the line. A similar call had been placed to Darlene’s home approximately ninety minutes after the shooting at Blue Rock Springs Park. At the time of the investigation, police did not consider these calls to be suspicious, and instead believed that the calls were most likely made by a concerned friend or perhaps even a reporter after news spread that someone named Ferrin had been shot. The fact the calls were made before media announcement of the murder maybe the proof that it was indeed The Killer who made the calls, if so then it would the proof that The Killer knew Darlene and knew her family. Some people disagree, some people think it was a friend of Darlene or a reporter, but the fact the caller didn't said a word is perhaps proof that it was indeed The Killer of Darlene Ferrin. Some people now claims the calls were made by Darlene's younger brother but it could simply be a way of covering what really happened, we can't be 100% sure.

What's strange is that more than a month after showing the picture to millions of people we still don't know who the man is. Darlene was very close with her family, she had a lot of friends. If indeed the man was well known by Darlene's family/friends then I'm sure somebody would have come forward with the information, but nobody did. That's strange.

Edited by JVE
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Those phone calls are interesting JVE. I don't think a family member or a concerned friend would have been making prank calls to a victim's family especially if the news had not been released yet. A reporter might, but they wouldn't get much information by breathing heavy and not saying anything. They ask questions and want to establish more than someone answered the phone who's name they do not know. It does sound like whomever placed the calls was out to torment the family.

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UPDATE: Sorry for that but I just learned that the picture was first seen on Zodiackiller.com in November, so this mean that it has been 4 MONTHS since the picture was first seen and still nobody came forward with a name for the Unknown man. Sorry about that, I've just learned the information, my mistake.

So Zodiackiller.com first showed the picture and then AMW showed it last february. 4months is a long, long time, If indeed the man on the pic is Darlene's ex-Husband or somebody who was in her entourage then I don't understand why the identity of the man still remains unknown and why nobody came forward with a name.

Zodiackiller.com have close or more than a million hit a month, the site is very popular and the creator of the site, Tom Voigt, know Darlene's sister very well so I don't understand why nobody came forward with a name.

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Thanks for the site name JVE. I looked through and I kind of took an interest in this guy. What do you know about him?

http://www.zodiackiller.com/SuspectGaikowski.html

Sounds like he may have had a connection with Darlene or at least her husband at the time. Interesting he worked for a newspaper and that he hung around where he'd be close to information about the investigation. Kind of like a lot of killers are known to do. He does kind of resemble the man in the picture.

Edited by susieice
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Thanks for the site name JVE. I looked through and I kind of took an interest in this guy. What do you know about him?

http://www.zodiackiller.com/SuspectGaikowski.html

Sounds like he may have had a connection with Darlene or at least her husband at the time. Interesting he worked for a newspaper and that he hung around where he'd be close to information about the investigation. Kind of like a lot of killers are known to do. He does kind of resemble the man in the picture.

Richard Gaikowski is a very good suspect but I don't believe he was The Zodiac Killer. There is only circumstantial evidence tying him to the case. I mean some of the "evidences" are strong ( He looks a lot like the sketch, Nancy slover, the former Vallejo Police Dept. switchboard operator who spoke to Zodiac early in the morning of July 5, 1969, said that Gaikowski's voice was the same voice the Zodiac had after she listened to samples of Gaikowski's voice ) but we have nothing solid against him, and sadly he died in 2004 so we can't talk to him or ask him to give his DNA.

Edited by JVE
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The article on this Gaikowski also says that Darlene got married and moved to Albany,NY. Him and her husband worked at rival newspapers. Is it possible that the picture was taken there? Sounds like he may have followed them. Anti-police and working for a newspaper may explain all the letters the Zodiac sent. No way to exhume the body for DNA, but since he was arrested earlier, wouldn't his fingerprints be on file? I'd really like to get a closer look at this guy. He peaks my interest.

Edited by susieice
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The article on this Gaikowski also says that Darlene got married and moved to Albany,NY. Him and her husband worked at rival newspapers. Is it possible that the picture was taken there? Sounds like he may have followed them. Anti-police and working for a newspaper may explain all the letters the Zodiac sent. No way to exhume the body for DNA, but since he was arrested earlier, wouldn't his fingerprints be on file? I'd really like to get a closer look at this guy. He peaks my interest.

In my opinion Gaikowski is an interesting suspect, yes, but I don't think he was the Zodiac Killer. I have read almost anything there is to read about him and I have a feeling that Gaikowski is not the Zodiac. The problem with Gaikowski being the Zodiac is that people (including myself) have investigated the possibility of Gaikowski being the Zodiac for Months and we have still no solid evidences against him, so for now Gaikowski remains simply a suspect like many others. Gaikowski first became a suspect in the Zodiac case in the late 80's when a man named “Blaine Blaine” (also known as “Purple Blaine,” “Goldcatcher” and “Zakatarious”), who had worked with Gaikowski for the underground newspaper the GOOD TIMES, was convinced Gaikowski was Zodiac after reading Robert Graysmith’s book. However "Blaine" is not credible and seems to have an agenda against Gaikowski and he never had evidences to backup his claims.

Gaikowski could be the Zodiac, yes, but I'm still waiting for a solid evidence, and for now we have nothing against him. The fact Nancy Slover said that Gaikowski's voice was the same voice the Zodiac had after she listened to samples of his voice means nothing to me, after all she did it for a TV show called MysteryQuest, she must have felt the pressure of giving an answer, and I just have a hard time believing that after 40 years she could still remember the voice of a man who talked to her for less than 3 minutes.

About the fingerprints: I'm sure the authorities have Gaikowski's fingerprints in their file, but sadly we don't have one fingerprint belonging to Zodiac, so we can't compare the two.

But I think Gaikowski is perhaps the best suspect we have right now, but It doesn't mean I believe he was indeed the Killer.

Edited by JVE
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The unknown guy in the picture and the guy in the sketch do have subtle differences.

First, look at the hair. The guy in the photo has a part of the left, that's not something that is easy to get rid of by combing your hair back.

Second, look at the ear lobes.

Third, the jaw line doesn't quite match.

The sketch does mostly resemble Gaikowski more than this mystery man, however, it also matches one of my uncles (I know it wasn't him, he was KIA in 65).

Also, I really don't think that the man in the photo is/was her ex-husband. If the photo was taken shortly after they married, both would actually look happier than they do. They both look like someone is making them stand there for the photo.

Edited by MstrMsn
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In my opinion Gaikowski is an interesting suspect, yes, but I don't think he was the Zodiac Killer. I have read almost anything there is to read about him and I have a feeling that Gaikowski is not the Zodiac. The problem with Gaikowski being the Zodiac is that people (including myself) have investigated the possibility of Gaikowski being the Zodiac for Months and we have still no solid evidences against him, so for now Gaikowski remains simply a suspect like many others. Gaikowski first became a suspect in the Zodiac case in the late 80's when a man named “Blaine Blaine” (also known as “Purple Blaine,” “Goldcatcher” and “Zakatarious”), who had worked with Gaikowski for the underground newspaper the GOOD TIMES, was convinced Gaikowski was Zodiac after reading Robert Graysmith’s book. However "Blaine" is not credible and seems to have an agenda against Gaikowski and he never had evidences to backup his claims.

Gaikowski could be the Zodiac, yes, but I'm still waiting for a solid evidence, and for now we have nothing against him. The fact Nancy Slover said that Gaikowski's voice was the same voice the Zodiac had after she listened to samples of his voice means nothing to me, after all she did it for a TV show called MysteryQuest, she must have felt the pressure of giving an answer, and I just have a hard time believing that after 40 years she could still remember the voice of a man who talked to her for less than 3 minutes.

About the fingerprints: I'm sure the authorities have Gaikowski's fingerprints in their file, but sadly we don't have one fingerprint belonging to Zodiac, so we can't compare the two.

But I think Gaikowski is perhaps the best suspect we have right now, but It doesn't mean I believe he was indeed the Killer.

And all this is why the Zodiac will always be a mystery. He is by far the most elusive serial killer we have (meaning the US, the UK has the Ripper).

I feel we may never know who he really is.

I also think that this mystery guy should be looked at for a connection with other Zodiac victims (at least to eliminate him as a suspect). Think about it, Bundy, Ramirez, Berkowitz, Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono... they all had some form of interaction with their victims before they killed them.

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Thanks for the pics, Boo. :tu:

Like I said some people believe the "Unknown man" of the picture is Darlene's ex-Husband, Mr. James(Jim) Phillips. In my opinion Mr. Phillips doesn't really looks like the man on the picture, I could be wrong but to me they don't look alike.

PHOTO_13111198_119137_16673969_ap.jpg

(Courtesy: A&E Community)

Mr. Phillips is on the left, The mystery man is on the right. To me they don't look alike. The jaw, the nose, the ears....

are you kidding me!?!? even stevie wonder can see that that is the same person!!

said it b4 and i'll keep saying it - there is no zodiac killer as we understand it...it was a media creation fed by a police conspiracy and the active imaginations of journalists.

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are you kidding me!?!? even stevie wonder can see that that is the same person!!

said it b4 and i'll keep saying it - there is no zodiac killer as we understand it...it was a media creation fed by a police conspiracy and the active imaginations of journalists.

Several of us have pointed out differences in the pictures. The unknown man has a longer face, a longer and thinner nose, different ears and different hair as MstrMsn said. They do look similar, but definitely not the same person if you ask me.

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are you kidding me!?!? even stevie wonder can see that that is the same person!!

said it b4 and i'll keep saying it - there is no zodiac killer as we understand it...it was a media creation fed by a police conspiracy and the active imaginations of journalists.

Look at the nose, the jaw, the ears... Sorry but I don't think The Unknown man is indeed Jim Phillips. Remember: The picture was first showed 4 months ago, then it was showed 1 month ago on a very popular TV show watched by millions and millions of people, so if indeed the Unknown man was Darlene's ex-Husband mr. Phillips then why did nobody from Darlene's past (Sisters, Family, Friends, ex-Husband himself) came forward to reveal the identity of this man ???!!! The fact that after 4 long months nobody came forward with a name is to me proof that the man on the picture is not her ex-husband/Family member/Close friend.

And I have read everything about the Zodiac Killer case, I have researched this case since 2000, have been in communication with many investigators who have worked on the case and In my opinion your theory doesn't make any sense. First of all you have no evidence to back up your claims. Show me the evidence sir, that's all I want. After years of reading everything about the case, asking questions to people who know everything about it, after buying 5 books on the case I never found anything, never found one single piece of evidence telling me that your theory is true. I think it's an interesting theory, but you have no evidence to back it up, sorry.

I have heard, read about this theory claiming that The police conspired to create a Serial Killer(Zodiac) simply to take care of some people who were involved in a Drug ring.

Right now all we know is: Betty Lou Jensen, David Faraday, Darlene, Cecelia Shepard and Paul Stine are all definite Zodiac victims. So the police conspired or Hided the real facts about the murders of a 17 years old boy and a 16 years old girl, who were very good students, simply because David was buying a little bit of drugs here and there ?? And then the police wrote a letter to themself, providing many details that were not known to the general public, simply to create a Serial killer !??

So the police Conspired or Hided the real facts about the murder of Darlene Ferrin, then writing letters and sent them to the Vallejo Times-Herald, San Francisco Examiner and San Francisco Chronicle, giving details that only the killer could have known !??

The police conspired or Hided the real facts about the murder of Cecelia Shepard and attack on Bryan Hartnell, two respected students who have no criminal past, two students who were Attacked on Daytime by a man wearing a costume featuring the symbol of the Zodiac Killer !!??

And the police conspired or Hided the real facts about the murder of Paul Stine, a man with no criminal past, then sent a letter to the San Francisco Chronicle containing a portion of Stine's bloody shirt !!??

The police wrote more than 20 letters/cards/ciphers to the Newspapers/Authorities simply to create a Serial Killer !!??

I respect your opinion sir, but your theory doesn't make any sense to me, and I know for a fact that most people agree with me. But if you have something to back up your claims then please share with all of us. :tu:

Edited by JVE
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