David Fincheris a master of his craft at the height of his career, boasting several Oscar-nominated modern classics such asSeven,The Social Network, andFight Club. The 2007 movieZodiacstarringRobert Downey Jr.,Jake Gyllenhaal, andMark Ruffalonot only joins this lineup of impressive Fincher films, but is also inspired by one of American history’s most infamous serial murderers.
Written byJames Vanderbiltand based on the booksZodiacandZodiac UnmaskedbyRobert Graysmith, who worked as a cartoonist at theSan Francisco Chronicleduring the murders, the movie follows Jake Gyllenhaal’s Graysmith, whose obsession with the Zodiac becomesthe focus of its tagline: “There’s more than one way to lose your life to a killer.” But how much of Graysmith’s book and Fincher’s movie is true?
Between 1968 and 1983, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.
The Zodiac Killer Murdered Five People Before the Movie’s Opening Scene
The real Zodiac story begins with two Lompoc High School seniors, fiancéesRobert DomingosandLinda Edwards. While sunbathing on a beach near Gaviota State Park during their “Senior Ditch Day” in June 1963, the two were bound with rope and were shot eleven and nine times respectively. Their bodies weredragged to a nearby shackwhere Robert’s father found them soon after. Similarly, in October 1966,Cheri Batesleft her father a note to say she’d gone to the Riverside City College Library only for her Volkswagen Beetle to be found abandoned there the next day, and her stabbed corpse left between two nearby houses. The local paper received a typed confession from the supposed killer one month later, and the following year, the newspaper, police, and Bates' fatherall received similar handwritten letterssigned “Z.” These events wouldn’t be linked to the Zodiac killer until years later.
The story continues with more high schoolers,Betty Lou JensenandDavid Faraday, whose first date took place in December 1968. According to passing motorists,they were parked at a lovers' lanein Benicia before Jensen was found shot in her back in the front seat and Faraday shot in the head outside the vehicle. In Vallejo the following year, married motherDarlene Ferrinparked in another lovers' lane withMichael Mageau. They were approached by a stranger who shot them both. Ferrin died of her injuries but Mageau survived. The killercalled the Vallejo Police that nightto confess, stating, “I also killed those kids last year. Goodbye.” The killing of Darlene Ferrin is where David Fincher’sZodiacbegins its story.
Did the Zodiac Killer Really Write to the Newspaper?
On July 21, 2025, three letters were posted to theVallejo Times-Herald,The San Francisco Chronicle, andThe San Francisco Examinerrespectively. These were mostly identical, detailing the weapons and ammunition used in the murders. They stated, “I like killing because it’s so much fun,” and threatened to kill again if the publications refused to publish his attached cipher.Another letterwas sent to theExaminerfive days later teasing the police for failing to solve the cipher. “When they do crack it, they will have me.” This letter features the first use of the name “the Zodiac.“San Francisco Chroniclepublished their cipher, but it didn’t stop the killing. The following September, college studentsBryan HartnellandCecelia Shepardwere both stabbed by a man wearing a hooded costume and the Zodiac symbol. Shepard died of her wounds but Hartnell survived.
One month later, 28-year-old cab driverPaul Stinewas shot in the head and had a piece of his shirt removed. SFPD’sDave Toschiinvestigated the scene and would soon become the inspector most famously related to the case.Toschi’s fame and stylewould go on to inspire movies such asDirty HarryandBullitt. Toschi considered Stine’s death part of a routine robbery until the killersent a letter toThe San Francisco Chroniclethat included the missing piece of Stine’s bloodstained shirt to prove his legitimacy. In the movie, the Chronicle’sPaul Averyreads the letter, bringing Toschi (Ruffalo), Avery (Downey Jr.), and cartoonist-turned-Zodiac-obsessive Robert Graysmith (Gyllenhaal) together at last.
Zodiac and Paul Avery Became Unlikely Pen-Pals in Real-Life
The Chronicle soon became the Zodiac’s primary correspondence for publication, sending themtwo more letters that year. The letters included ciphers and accounts of the police nearly catching him but ignorantly letting him go. They would go on to receive several more letters from the Zodiac throughout 1970,some denying involvementin recent crimes, others claiming responsibility. Enjoying the fame Avery’s articles provided him, theZodiac demanded in April 1970that the people of San Francisco’s Bay Area wear “Zodiac buttons” featuring his symbol.In July 1970, he complainedabout the lack of “Zodiac buttons” being worn.The Chronicledecided against publishing a few Zodiac letters at this time, with Avery controlling the narrative himself. As a result, the killer likely became frustrated andbegan targeting Avery personally.
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One year after receiving Paul Stine’s bloody clothing in the mail, Avery receiveda Halloween cardthat read, “From your secret pal,” “Peek-a-boo - you are doomed,” and the number “4-teen” implying either the Zodiac had claimed an unidentified fourteenth victim, or that it could be Avery himself. Unlike the movie suggests, there was no bloody cloth in this envelope as Paul Stine’s clothing was received the year prior. However, as the movie suggests, this new targeted correspondence directed at Avery specifically (or “Averly” as Zodiac frequently misspelled it) meant thatAvery carried a .38-caliber revolverwith him at all times after that. The film also correctly notes thatChronicleemployees including Avery himself would later wear “I Am Not Avery” buttons as a joke to avoid becoming the Zodiac’s next victim.
The Zodiac Case Remains Unsolved
The Zodiac killings seemed to stop in the following years. This was seemingly contradicted bya letter to the Albany Times Unionin August 1973 that stated where and when he would kill again. The police failed to identify any murders from that date to relate to the Zodiac, and handwriting experts were unable to verify whether it was even written by the same person.Another letter to theChroniclein 1974stated, “Me – 37, SFPD – 0” implying the killer had claimed 37 victims by then and was still at large.
Ultimately, the Zodiac’s identity remained a mystery, withToschi convinced it wasArthur Leigh Allen, a teacher and child molester who had served three years in a mental hospital. Unfortunately for Toschi though, Allen’s fingerprints and handwriting didn’t match the killer’s, and he passed a polygraph test thatAllen said went on for 10 hours. Police quietly reopened the case in 1991. 1969’s Zodiac survivorMichael Mageauidentified Allen from a mugshot in 1991, but theVallejo police department deemed this to be invalidsince, by his own admission, Mageau never got a good look at the gunman at the time. Allen died in 1992. Robert Graysmith would go on to write the book that Fincher’s movie was based on, both of which attempt to provide some closure by surmising that Allen was the Zodiac but that he died before the police could question him again after Mageau’s supposedly valid statement.
