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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter.

If you know me, you know I am obsessed with anything crime related. The topic I always get fascinated by is serial killers. Although it is not a topic that is casually brought up in conversation, that is something I can talk about for hours. I’m interested in crime related topics so much that it made me want to become an investigative journalist. As much as I love to bring people with me down the serial killer rabbit hole, the one I’ve been focusing on recently is the Zodiac killer.  

The Zodiac killer is a chilling case that has haunted so many people for years. From 1968 to 1969, the Zodiac was linked to at least five murders in Northern Carolina. One of the things the killer was known for is mailing letters and ciphers to newspaper outlets and asked for them to be printed on the front page of their newspapers. If these outlets didn’t comply, he would go on a mass rampage and claim more victims. Before the Zodiac vanished for years, the killer claimed that he had killed over 37 individuals. Only investigators have evidence that five of those murders were his doing.  

Now, the reason I became so interested in this case is because Netflix recently dropped a documentary that provides new evidence on who is behind the killing of so many innocent lives. “This Is the Zodiac Speaking” sheds light on one of the top suspects that investigators believed was the Zodiac killer. Arthur Leigh Allen was a public-school teacher in the late 1950s through the 1960s. He first became a suspect when Cheri Jo Bates was murdered at Riverside City College around the same time Allen was potentially there.  

Throughout the documentary, we hear from people who knew Allen when they were kids and talked about experiences with him. Although they viewed him as a good person, that view changed as something dark occurs that affect their perspective of him a lot more. Not only do we hear from people who had Allen in their life, we also hear from investigators, journalists, and friends of the Zodiac victims.  

One of the main things I noticed while watching the documentary was that the Zodiac was playing a game with law enforcement. Every time he claimed a victim, he wouldn’t want it to be kept a secret. He always wanted to tell them what he did without revealing his identity. That is the reason this documentary is so chilling to the point the viewers can’t wrap their head around it.  

With this case still being investigated and Netflix sharing this show to the world, it gives viewers like me the opportunity to gather our own clues on who we think it could be. The more determined someone is to find out certain details, the more information they will gain in the end. I mean, who doesn’t love a good mystery to solve in their free time? 

Olivia Francis is a second-year member of the Her Campus at SBU chapter. She oversees the site’s culture, entertainment, and wellness verticals on the site, including mental health, relationships, TV shows, and movie coverage. Olivia is currently a second-year student majoring in Communications, Social Justice & Advocacy at St. Bonaventure University. Beyond Her Campus, Olivia has been published in many anthropologies over the years through an organization called Young Writers. She is also one of the leading coordinators for SBU's Break The Bubble. In her free time, Olivia enjoys writing poetry and short stories, along with taking walks while listening to her favorite music genres on Spotify such as Pop or R&B. One of her goals is to travel the world someday and explore new foods and customs. An interesting fact about Olivia is she is not only the first college gen student but, she is the first female in her family to go for a higher education.