Serial KillerUnsolved

The Zodiac Killer

San Francisco, California, United StatesDecember 20, 1968

An unidentified serial killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Claimed responsibility for 37 murders, though only 5 are confirmed. Known for sending cryptic letters and ciphers to police and newspapers.

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MurderUnsolved

The Black Dahlia Murder

Los Angeles, California

On January 15, 1947, the body of Elizabeth Short, a 22-year-old aspiring actress, was found on a vacant lot in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Her body had been drained of blood, cut precisely in half at the waist, and posed with the two halves carefully separated. Her face had been slashed from the corners of her mouth toward her ears in a grotesque "Glasgow smile." There were no footprints, drag marks, or other trace evidence at the dump site — the body had been delivered with clinical deliberateness. Short, who became known as "The Black Dahlia" from her dark hair and reportedly favored black clothing, had been dead for approximately ten hours. The LAPD investigation became one of the largest in the department's history, involving hundreds of detectives and generating over 150 confessions — all false. Short had lived a transient life in the years following World War II, moving between cities with shifting companions and relationships, which made tracing her movements in her final days difficult. Her complex social life and the sensational nature of the mutilation drew enormous press attention that complicated the investigation. Despite decades of investigation, numerous books naming suspects, and extensive analysis of the crime, no arrest was ever made and no consensus suspect has emerged. Proposed suspects over the years include a doctor (based on the precision of the bisection), a mortician, an LAPD officer, and dozens of others. Author Steve Hodel long argued his own father, a physician, was responsible — a theory taken seriously by some investigators but never proven. The Black Dahlia murder remains unsolved and is one of the most famous cold cases in American history. It has inspired countless novels, films, and television productions, and has become a fixture of Los Angeles noir mythology. The combination of a beautiful young victim, extraordinary mutilation, a massive failed investigation, and absolute mystery has made it one of the most studied and speculated-upon murders of the twentieth century.

Serial KillerSolved

The Golden State Killer

Visalia, California

Beginning in the mid-1970s and continuing through the 1980s, a predator operating across California committed an extraordinary series of crimes that would remain unsolved for over four decades. He was known by multiple names as his crimes evolved — the Visalia Ransacker, the East Area Rapist, the Original Night Stalker — before the cases were linked and he was collectively dubbed the Golden State Killer. He committed at least 13 murders, more than 50 sexual assaults, and over 100 residential burglaries across dozens of California communities. Investigators were long baffled by the perpetrator's intelligence and discipline. He would surveil neighborhoods for weeks before striking, disabling porch lights, unlocking windows, and memorizing the layouts of homes. During assaults, he often called victims on the phone before or after attacks, taunting them. He left minimal physical evidence, and although a DNA profile was developed from crime scenes, it matched no one in existing databases for decades. Victims, investigators, and true crime researchers spent years piecing together the case with little progress. The breakthrough came in 2018 through genetic genealogy — investigators uploaded the killer's DNA to the public ancestry website GEDmatch and traced distant relatives, eventually narrowing to Joseph James DeAngelo, a 72-year-old former police officer living in suburban Sacramento. DNA recovered from a discarded item confirmed the match. DeAngelo was arrested in April 2018. In 2020, he pleaded guilty to 13 counts of first-degree murder and admitted to the other crimes in exchange for life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Golden State Killer case transformed law enforcement's approach to cold cases, sparking widespread adoption of investigative genetic genealogy as a tool. It also sparked significant ethical and legal debates about privacy and the use of consumer DNA databases by law enforcement — debates that continue today. Author Michelle McNamara, who coined the name "Golden State Killer" and spent years investigating the case, died in 2016, two years before his capture; her posthumous book 'I'll Be Gone in the Dark' became a bestseller and critically acclaimed HBO documentary.

Serial KillerSolved

The Night Stalker

Los Angeles, California

Richard Ramirez, known as the "Night Stalker," committed a series of break-ins, murders, and sexual assaults across Los Angeles and San Francisco in 1984 and 1985. He was convicted of 13 murders and died on death row in 2013.

Serial KillerSolved

Son of Sam

New York City, New York

David Berkowitz, known as the "Son of Sam," conducted a shooting spree across New York City between July 1976 and July 1977 that killed six people and wounded seven others, triggering one of the most intensive manhunts in New York City history. He targeted young couples and women sitting in parked cars, firing a .44 caliber Bulldog revolver and leaving no apparent motive connecting his victims. The city was gripped by fear, with nightlife noticeably declining as residents feared becoming the next target. Berkowitz compounded the terror by writing taunting letters to police and to New York Daily News columnist Jimmy Breslin, signing them "Son of Sam." In the letters he described hearing voices commanding him to kill and spoke of demonic dogs belonging to his neighbor — a claim he later admitted was fabricated to support an insanity defense. The letters generated enormous press coverage and turned the case into a national obsession. He was caught in August 1977 through methodical police work: a parking ticket placed near the scene of his final shooting was traced back to him. Officers conducting surveillance arrested him outside his Yonkers apartment building. At the time of arrest he was calm, apparently expecting to be caught. He pleaded guilty to six murders and was sentenced to six consecutive life terms with no possibility of parole. In prison, Berkowitz claimed he had converted to Christianity and became a born-again Christian, co-authoring a book and participating in victim-awareness programs. He has consistently been denied parole, which he himself has reportedly supported. His case changed New York law — "Son of Sam laws," which prevent criminals from profiting from their notoriety through books or media deals, were enacted in direct response to his case and later adopted across the United States.

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