Who is the Zodiac Killer? Netflix documentaries reveal new evidence

The unsolved mystery surrounding the identity of the Zodiac Killer has fascinated the true crime world for decades. The notorious killer, who killed at least five victims in the Bay Area in the late 1960s, was notorious for writing messages in code that he sent to local news outlets. He terrorized the community and once even threatened to blow up a school bus full of children.

Police never had enough evidence to arrest anyone for the crimes, but named at least one suspect in the case: Arthur Leigh Allen, a former elementary school teacher and convicted sex offender. There are numerous theories circulating online about the true identity of the Zodiac Killer. But some people who knew Allen when they were young are convinced authorities correctly identified him from the start.

ForbesAfter 51 years, the Zodiac Killer cipher has finally been cracked, and it's as scary as you'd expectFrom Nicholas Reimann

Netflix's new three-part documentary, This is the zodiac speakingThe focus is on the Seawater family, who viewed Arthur Leigh Allen as a father figure during her childhood. “We realized we had been to all the murder scenes before the murders,” David Seawater said in the trailer.

The documentaries also include interviews with several of Allen's former students, surviving friends of the Zodiac victims, and local television reporter Williams, who conducted Allen's final on-camera interview before his death in the early 1990s. Investigative reporter Robert Graysmith, who covered the case in detail in his 1986 book Zodiacis also included in the documentation.

Read on to learn more about Arthur Leigh Allen and why the Seawaters firmly believe that the person who helped raise them was the Zodiac Killer.

Who was Arthur Leigh Allen?

Arthur Leigh Allen was a Navy veteran who lived in Atascadero, California and worked as a school teacher at Santa Rosa Elementary School in the early 1960s.

Allen's former students revealed that he was known for teaching code breaking. He also played music in his classroom, including “Tom Dooley,” a song about the murder of a woman, and “I've Got a Little List” from the dark opera The Mikado. Some students recalled that he referred to girls as “my beautiful ones” and that he tended to bring dead animals to class.

David Seawater, for example, remembered a deceased frog that Mr. Allen had brought with him and which he called “Forg.” David, his sister Connie and their younger brother Don met Allen in the early 1960s when their father was in a mental institution.

Allen formed a friendship with her mother, Phyllis, and often accompanied the family to dinners and outings. He took the children on trips, which included looking for shells and watching films in the theater. “He treated us like kings, like his own children. We thought he was just the best,” David explained on the show.

Why do the Seawater Children believe Arthur Leigh Allen was the Zodiac Killer?

Before Allen moved to Northern California in June 1963, he took David, Connie and Don to Tajiguas Beach outside Santa Barbara, California. Allen told them to stay in the car, but when he returned, Connie said he came back wheezing and his hands were covered in red stuff. The children remembered that this was the same day as the alleged first Zodiac murder – when Robert Domingos and his fiancée Linda Edwards were shot on the same beach.

Three years later, on October 28, 1966, when David Seawater was a sophomore in high school and Connie was a freshman, Allen picked them up to take them to a track. They spent two nights in Riverside and on October 30, David was said to be fast asleep at the motel and unable to be awakened. Connie remembered a car ride with Allen, and when she returned to the motel, she drank some juice and fell into a deep sleep. She only remembers Allen walking her to the car on October 31st. The siblings believe it is no coincidence that Cheri Jo Bates, a student at Riverside City College, was found stabbed to death on Oct. 30.

Eventually the Zodiac murders stopped, and those who believe Allen was the killer point out that he was arrested for child molestation in 1974. According to Time.com, he spent three years in prison and then served five years on felony probation until 1982.

Did Arthur Leigh Allen confess to the Seawaters that he was the Zodiac Killer?

In This is the zodiac speakingConnie believes Allen hinted to her that he was the Zodiac Killer. As she grew older, she maintained contact with Allen, who even met her son. While sailing together in 1991, she asked him if he was the Zodiac Killer. He allegedly replied that if he told her he would have to kill her. “I thought it was a big joke,” Connie said in the documentary.

Meanwhile, David was told by his mother – who supported Allen despite speculation surrounding his identity – to call him in 1992 after she learned of his deteriorating health. During their conversation, David said Allen cried and confessed to drugging him and abusing his sister Connie. When David Allen asked if he was the Zodiac Killer, he admitted that he was.

David said he told his family what Allen told him, but they didn't believe him. They were estranged for years until they saw the film in 2007 zodiac, with Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo. “The three of us started putting these puzzle pieces of our childhood together and eventually a hundred things fell into place,” Connie said in the documentary.

“We started researching and realized we had been to all the murder scenes before the murders,” David added. In 2023, after filming for This is the zodiac speaking concluded that David died of cancer at the age of 73.

Where is the Zodiac Killer now?

The whereabouts of the real Zodiac Killer are unknown, but he is believed to be deceased. Arthur Leigh Allen, the only suspect named by police, died on August 26, 1992 at the age of 58.

After Phyllis died on April 23, 2017, the Seawaters discovered a box containing countless letters that her mother had exchanged with Allen.

“Every time someone mentioned the police to me, I jumped up,” he reportedly wrote in one. “If I saw a headline about a murder, my palms would sweat,” he wrote in another article. However, one of the most revealing notes said: “The most dangerous thing was when I almost decided to confess.”

This is the zodiac speaking is now streaming on Netflix. Check out the official trailer below.