Will there be a sequel to This Is the Zodiac Speaking?

Are there any serial killer cases, whether solved or unsolved, that you’re just done with hearing about at this point? They’ve been analyzed and talked about to death. Can’t we just move on?

I feel that way about two cases: Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac Killer case. I was shocked to discover that I wasn’t alone in the case of the Zodiac. The managing editor at SFGATE felt the same.

However, she wasn’t impressed by Netflix’s This Is the Zodiac Speaking. I was. Not only did it totally resurrect my interest in the case, it evoked a completely unexpected emotional response during the final episode of the three-part docuseries. It had me bawling my eyes out and reaching for tissues, something I’ve never done while watching any other similar kind of documentary.

No spoilers here, but I will say it had to do with the now-grown Seawater children featured in the series, particularly brother and sister David and Connie Seawater. They extensively recounted their memories of spending time with Allen, who they referred to by his middle name, Leigh. I couldn’t help but like both. They’re sympathetic witnesses, which is why what happens to one of them at the end hit my heart so hard.

This Is the Zodiac Speaking has a lot of compelling witnesses, including two reporters. The first is Rita Williams, a former KTVU reporter who bravely went to Allen’s home and convinced him to agree to an interview. Then there was investigative reporter Robert Graysmith, whose research into the case led him to write the book Zodiac, which inspired the 2007 movie of the same name.

But it was the Seawater siblings who provided the most compelling testimony in this doc.

The Seawater Children and Arthur Leigh Allen

David and Connie explained that Allen had befriended their mother while their father was in a mental institution, one Allen himself would later be committed to. Their mother had six children, so she welcomed having someone who wanted to take a few of the older ones off her hands from time to time.

The children loved him. I thought the filmmakers did a fantastic job setting up their happy memories of him as children and then how they ultimately came to believe he very well could be the Zodiac. It wasn’t a conclusion they came to quickly, easily, or lightly.

However, as they thought about it over the years, they realized he maybe wasn’t always appropriate with them. Then there was also the fact he said some unusual, perhaps telling things, from time to time.

They also admitted that his mother’s relationship with him was almost as cryptic as the Zodiac’s ciphers. So were some of the references she made about him. For the most part, she defended there was no way he could be the Zodiac. Except, she also alluded to the fact she knew more than she’d say, and all would come out when she passed. She hinted that everything they needed to know was in a box.

After she passed, they searched for the box, found it, and were stunned at all the correspondence they found inside. It really did contain a lot of circumstantial evidence that could indicate Allen was the Zodiac —and that their mom knew all along.

Ciphers and DNA and a “This Is the Zodiac Speaking” Sequel

The box wasn’t the only piece of potentially incriminating evidence. The fact Allen had a Zodiac diving watch was interesting too, but definitely not damning. His propensity for ciphers was, though.

Not too many people concoct their own ciphers, but Allen did. Once upon a time, he’d been a teacher. Former students explained how he’d make a game/classroom activity with them out of creating ciphers. That was super compelling, but not as much as the DNA—even though it ultimately revealed nothing. (Yet.)

The DNA came from a bloody knife one of the other Seawater brothers had found in Allen’s car during one of his outings with him. When he’d asked Allen about it, Allen had told him he could have it if he wanted. The brother had saved it, all wrapped up, all these years. It underwent DNA testing that indicated blood residue still remained on it.

It turned out to belong to three males, but who? Was any DNA from any of the Zodiac’s victims preserved so that it could be tested against that found on the knife? Possibly.

This Is the Zodiac Speaking included the following statement: “The DNA evidence from the knife has been shared with the Napa, Vallejo, and Riverside Police Departments. The production team is awaiting the results.”

Why “This Is the Zodiac Speaking” Is Primed for a Sequel

The information presented in This Is the Zodiac Speaking pretty much sold me that Arthur Leigh Allen was the Zodiac Killer. One of the most compelling elements was that the Zodiac killings stopped cold for four years at the same time Allen was institutionalized for child molestation.

Still, this docuseries didn’t conclusively prove the killer’s identity.

Yet, it may still play a part in doing just that.

People eventually cracked the Zodiac’s cipher. As Vallejo PD Zodiac investigator Terry Poyser said during the third episode, “Who knows what technology will give you tomorrow, or what evidence turns up tomorrow, or what a lab can do on this case?”

A sentiment reinforced in that same episode by forensic scientist Suzanna Ryan. “The testing today is nothing like the testing in the 80s and 90s.” It’s likely we’ll say that in coming decades about today’s testing.

Especially if something new comes along that reveals the final piece of this puzzle. Which it might, depending on what the DNA shared with the various police departments shows.

That won’t make SFGATE’s managing editor happy to hear, but it’s why I think we haven’t heard the last from the Zodiac or about the Zodiac and why there could be a This Is the Zodiac Speaking sequel.

Truly Bizarre

Even though Robert Graysmith doesn’t want to think about the case anymore (because it haunts him not having that final answer), he, in part, sums up why this case endures. “I think there’s never been a case like this,” he said. “Fifty years from now, we’ll be talking about this case.”

But perhaps Don Seawater summed it up best. “It’s a bizarre mystery. Just as bizarre as they get.”

It is. And it affected a lot of people, both directly and indirectly. Ultimately, however, as salacious as it is, the people who truly deserve answers are the victims. (Justice, too, but that may rest in the hands of a higher power at this point.)

Still, like others expressed in This Is the Zodiac Speaking, I hope they get that.

The Zodiac’s Victims, In Memorium

David Arthur Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen – December 20, 1968

Michael Renault Mageau (survived) and Michael Renault Mageau – July 4, 1969

Bryan Hartnell (survived) and Cecelia Shepard – September 27, 1969

Paul Stine – October 11, 1969

Other Known Possible Victims 

Cheri Jo Bates – October 30, 1966

Kathleen Johns (survived) – March 22, 1970

Donna Lass (disappeared) – September 6, 1970

Check-In

Do you think Arthur Leigh Allen was the Zodiac?