Arthur Leigh Allen: Difference between revisions
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==Life== |
==Life== |
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Allen was born in [[Hawaii]] in [[1933]] and later moved to [[California]]. Allen had originally been employed as an elementary school teacher in [[Calaveras County]], [[California]] teaching grades 6 and 7. However, in late 1968, Allen had been fired from his job because of allegations that he molested a student. Allen was a diabetic and died at the age of 58 |
Allen was born in [[Hawaii]] in [[1933]] and later moved to [[California]]. Allen had originally been employed as an elementary school teacher in [[Calaveras County]], [[California]] teaching grades 6 and 7. However, in late 1968, Allen had been fired from his job because of allegations that he molested a student. Allen was a diabetic and died at the age of 58 from a fatal heart attack. Allen had been working at a hardware store for over a decade, before his death in 1992.<ref>http://www.chasingthefrog.com/reelfaces/zodiac.php </ref> |
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==Suspect in Zodiac Case== |
==Suspect in Zodiac Case== |
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Revision as of 20:56, 19 May 2008
Arthur Leigh Allen (December 18, 1933 – August 26, 1992) was the prime suspect in the Zodiac murders. Although he was never charged in the case, many believed him to have been the infamous Zodiac serial killer.
Life
Allen was born in Hawaii in 1933 and later moved to California. Allen had originally been employed as an elementary school teacher in Calaveras County, California teaching grades 6 and 7. However, in late 1968, Allen had been fired from his job because of allegations that he molested a student. Allen was a diabetic and died at the age of 58 from a fatal heart attack. Allen had been working at a hardware store for over a decade, before his death in 1992.[1]
Suspect in Zodiac Case
Much of the case for Allen as the serial killer is based on a considerable amount of circumstantial evidence. Most of this evidence has been outlined and explored in Robert Graysmith’s book Zodiac. Allen’s shoe size (10.5) and glove size were the same as the killer’s. He owned and regularly wore a sports watch that was a Zodiac brand with the same logo as the killer. Allen lived in Vallejo across the street from one of the first victims (Darlene Ferrin) and where one of the killings took place. When interviewed by police, Allen mentioned that he had bloody knives in the car on the day of one of the murders claiming they were covered in chicken blood. Allen also stated that he was a fan of the short story The Most Dangerous Game, which the Zodiac killer had alluded to several times in his letters.
In July 1971, a friend of Allen reported his suspicions about him to the Manhattan Beach Police Department, and the report was forwarded to the SFPD.[2] When questioned later, Allen claimed without prompting that the bloody knives he had in his car the day of the Lake Berryessa attack had been used to kill chickens; and when asked if he had read The Most Dangerous Game, he replied affirmatively and said it had made an impression on him.[2] This interested the police, as the 408 character cipher appears to reference that short story. Allen was the only suspect in the case whom police had enough evidence against to execute not just one, but three search warrants: on 14 September 1972; 14 February 1991; and 28 August 1992, two days after he died.[2][3] Allen denied his guilt in interviews but there was much circumstantial evidence against him.[4][5] Police found no physical evidence to prove that Allen was the Zodiac Killer, and the Vallejo PD chose not to press charges against Allen, a felon, despite finding weapons and explosive components in his home following the 1991 search.[4] Ultimately, Allen's fingerprints and handwriting did not match the Zodiac's, no concrete evidence linking him to the Zodiac killings was ever found, and recent DNA testing on the Zodiac letters in 2002 did not provide a match.[6][7] However, neither Vallejo nor SFPD ruled Leigh out after the test results. [8]
Never Charged
While many believe that Allen was the Zodiac killer, Allen had been cleared several times during the investigation of the murders and the simultaneous hunt for the killer. These included passing a polygraph test, clearing a fingerprint screening (from those left at the crime scene of the taxicab murder), clearing a handwriting test and, most recently in 2002, being ruled out by a DNA test conducted based on DNA collected from one of the stamps of the Zodiac letters.
Book and Film
Robert Graysmith’s book identifies Allen as the Zodiac killer. In 2007, a film by David Fincher entitled Zodiac, thoroughly makes a case for Allen as the killer. A notable theory, that was presented in the 2007 film Zodiac and the book, is that Allen knew and dated Darlene Ferrin, one of the first victims of the Zodiac killer.
References
- ^ http://www.chasingthefrog.com/reelfaces/zodiac.php
- ^ a b c Wark, Jake, The Case Against Arthur Leigh Allen; 2001, accessed on 2007-03-01 Cite error: The named reference "JAKE" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Voight, Tom, The Arthur Leigh Allen File; 2003; accessed on 2007-03-01
- ^ a b Zodiac case overview by Clint Vander Klok; accessed on 2007-03-01
- ^ Suspect profile of Arthur Leigh Allen; accessed on 2007-03-01
- ^ Matthias Gaffni, Vallejo police send three letters for DNA testing; Times-Herald; 2007-02-22; accessed 2007-03-01
- ^ CNN Interview With Kelly Carroll; Aired 2002-10-27; accessed 2007-03-01
- ^ Matthias Gafni, Ex-coach, teammate recall Zodiac suspect; Times-Herald; 2007-02-23; accessed 2007-03-01