The first was more of a theory that linked together over 40 murders, and that was the Smiley Face Murders.
Now, there is a lot of controversy surrounding this theory, yet there is FAR too much evidence linking the 45 murders for it to be a coincidence.
Beginning in the late 1990s and spanning to the 2010s, 45 young men were found dead in bodies of water across multiple Midwestern American states.
Investigations quickly ruled out the possibility of accidental drowning. Instead, it was concluded by not one but multiple Law enforcement agencies that corpses were murder victims.
I first heard about this case when I was in high school, as one of the many online forums I frequented continuously brought the topic up, causing my interest to peak.
I, like many other Cybersleuths, believed there was more to this case than what met the eye. In fact, it was first online that the term "Smiley Face" became associated with the killings as it was made public that officers had discovered graffiti depicting a smiley face near more than a dozen corpses that had been abandoned in the bodies of water where they would eventually be found.
Now, usually, something so obvious should have been picked up on by the FBI or even local law enforcement agencies; however, for some strange reason, the presence of the Smiley face graffiti was practically ignored by the authorities, causing us Cybersleuths to tear at our hair in confusion.
The signs were all there that a Serial Killer or Multiple Serial Killers were active, yet it was BLATENTLY BEING IGNORED.
Enter three New York City Detectives, Kalvin Gaston, Tony Dennis, and Dr Leonard Gilcrest, a criminal justice professor at STC State University.
The three of them formulated an official Theory that all 45 murders were linked and could be attributed to a person or an organized group of people who were specifically targeting young college-age men who were leaving parties or bars while drunk.
Each of the victims shared similar traits, such as being athletic, popular, or successful students, while the majority were Caucasian.
In fact, it was the two detectives who even first found the smiley face graffiti near the dump sites, further linking the murders and establishing a VERY CLEAR Pattern, something only seen in serial killings.
Like every other Cybersleuth or murder mystery enthusiast, I delved as deep as the information allowed, analyzing crime photos, reading the autopsy reports, and even reading every single investigation report I could get my hands on.
There wasn’t a single doubt in my mind that this was the work of more than one person. Unfortunately, my opinions didn’t matter, and no matter how loud I yelled or, well, typed, no action was initiated by Law Enforcement, causing the murders to enter the annuls of Coldcases.
To my dismay, after the final killing occurred in 2017, that was where the trail ended, which could only mean three things: firstly, either the Killer had stopped their actions, second, they had been arrested, but it was unknown who they were, which to be honest was the more logical idea, or third, the person or persons had changed their pattern.
’The first murder occurred on February 16th, 1997, in New York City. Fordham Uni Student Perry McNelson disappeared after leaving a bar called the Snazzy Pup on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.’ Flipping through the pages of the white book, I examined the photo of the victim before looking at the day his body was found.
’It wasn’t until April 7th of the same year that his body was found floating near a pier in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. The Autopsy report indicates he had been dead for a month when found, meaning he was murdered between February 16th and March 7th.’
’Although it’s a large window to work with, I should be able to pull it off once I have enough particles to access my talent. I still need money and a way to get to New York, but I have four years to figure out the logistics.
Gingerly closing the white book, I placed it back on the pedestal and picked up the black one with enthusiasm in my eyes.
While the Smiley Face Murders was a mystery I was hyped up to solve, it was the Zodiac that really sent me off the deep end; it was an old, like REALLY old, cold case that had been in pop culture for decades.
Books, news articles, television, hell, there were even a couple of movies about the mystery. Now, I had a legitimate chance at cracking a case that, even though considered solved in 2023 since the FBI had identified a suspect thanks to DNA evidence, I had my skepticism toward.
I remember that day clearly, May 17th, 2023; it was the day that sources began leaking info online that the FBI had confirmed who the suspected Killer was.
Allegedly, they had named a man by the name of Gerald Franklin Poaching, an Airforce veteran from San Francisco, California.
Since it was such a high-profile case, the media went bonkers for a solid few days; however, the FBI eventually made a statement that the case was still technically ongoing.
We would eventually come to find out that the reason for their hesitation in announcing their findings was that the man…had been dead since 2018.
As annoying as it was, there would be no real answers; however, the FBI apparently had partial DNA evidence and multiple signed affidavits from people that had "been confessed to" by Gerald, wherein he admitted to being the Zodiac Killer.
To some, that was more than enough evidence to prove his guilt, but to people like me, who had spent decades examining and learning all they could about killers, it didn’t add up.
For as high profile of a case as the Zodiac, there needed to be conclusive and irrefutable proof that Gerald was the real deal, especially since in the nearly 60 years since the killings occurred, and the man named Zodiac appeared, NUMEROUS people had stepped forward admitting to be him, including several who acted as copycats.
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For decades, now and then, people would pop up, or news articles would run, stating, "THE ZODIAC HAS BEEN FOUND," yet every time, law enforcement was quick to refute the claims and make statements about how the case was still ongoing.