Well, if circumstantial evidence could convict a dead man, this is the case in which it absolutely should, in my opinion. This is the Zodiac Speaking on Netflix is an INCREDIBLE docu-series that takes a long, hard, serious look at one of the most viable suspects of the Zodiac serial killings - Arthur Leigh Allen.
1: We Called Him Mr. Allen
Establishing what exactly this case entailed isn't too hard. Some psycho was shooting, stabbing, binding, torturing, and terrorizing young couples in California. Then he started sending letters to the police that included ciphers and codes and weird poetry. Threats.
We learn about the murders, the letters, and the weird connections to this one guy, who was dating Phyllis Seawater down the street - a single mom.
All of these events seemed to start in the '60s. Possibly as far back as 1963 with a beachside murder of two young adults in Santa Barbara - timeline here.
And guess what? His step-kids remember it.
2: Are You the Zodiac?
By the '70s, Mr. Allen had been busted for sexual assault of children. He was sent to a mental hospital, and strangely, the Zodiac killings had stopped for the time that he was incarcerated for four years.
Suddenly, right after Allen is released - another Zodiac letter has been sent to the police department. The last letter.
So, one of these journalists starts stalking Allen, because he had a hunch. So then the book comes out (a future post for sure), from this journalist, and Allen starts acting fucking bizarre as if he hadn't been acting like a weirdo already.
Skip forward to the '90s, and ANOTHER tip comes in regarding Arthur Leigh Allen - so investigators searched his basement and found something wild.
A bunch of bombs, a bunch of clippings from the Zodiac case, and a typewriter (that matches the kind used to type the letters).
But - NOTHING directly linking him to the crimes. No bloody shirts, bloody knives, or specific firearms were found.
The media gets a whiff of Allen being suspect, and they start showing up at his house. And one of them gets an actual interview.
Personally, at this point, I think that Allen is absolutely the Zodiac Killer. It's simply an opinion, and I understand that it's only a theory, but it's by far the most probable.
He says, "By far the worst part about it is that I don't deserve it."
No. The worst part about it is the dead people.
And even if he didn't kill people, he molested children and was a narcissist (clearly).
When his kids found out about the allegations regarding the Zodiac killings, they were shocked, to say the least. Connie visited him and described her private conversation with him.
She asked him the million dollar Question:
"Are you the Zodiac?"
"If I told you that, I'd have to kill you too."
Suddenly, the kids learn about those four years in the hospital. Mom lied to them. He was in the hospital for molesting kids. Not for something else. So they all talk about it, and suddenly they all look at their Mother differently.
And they start calling Mr. Allen on the phone. David speaks to him.
"I was not as good to you as you think I was."
3: Box of Secrets
"I molested your sister."
Arthur admits to molesting the Seawater kids, specifically Connie. And then admits to being the Zodiac openly on the phone.
So, it's time to talk to mom.
It seems she knew about everything the entire time. If not the Zodiac killings, perhaps definitely the molestation. She asked him not to dig into the box on her property until after she died. David shares this information with Connie and Don.
Both Don & Connie didn't believe what David had told them and didn't want to admit that they had holes in their childhood memories. David shared with them that Arthur had also admitted to drugging them as kids.
Skip to 1992.
Arthur Leigh Allen dies and is found with a letter in his hand - speaking to how poorly done the investigation into him as the Zodiac was, and how he wasn't the Zodiac at all. Denial Denial Denial.
2007 - the film Zodiac comes out, and the grown up Seawater kids are confronted with the very real possibility that their stepdad could have been a serial murderer.
The hood? The kids made one just like that for Mr. Allen.
And Mama Seawater? Denial Denial Denial.
"What box?" She asked- when David confronted her.
And then they found it. Mama Seawater passed away, and while her kids went through her things, they found it. A chest that included letters and a VHS Tape - which contained recordings of Arthur Leigh Allen denying his guilt as the Zodiac. Then a private message to Phyllis Seawater. Then his butt (???, yes, actually his butt).
But the letters are where the real shock lay.
His last victim? It's heavily implied that it was meant to be Connie in the '70s.
It never happened, for whatever reason, but the letters showed off Allen's clear intent.
The last chunk of this episode reflects on Phyllis Seawater and the updates in forensic science that led to the continued search for the truth. Mainly, based on DNA evidence.
The modern Zodiac team is still working on the case, and it is mentioned that the team reached out to armchair sleuths at home for help; much of the case has been discussed and even Zodiac ciphers solved through this method.
Then they hear about the knife. Connie's son went along with Allen for a drive, and Allen gave David a knife wrapped in tape. David kept it and handed it over to the Forensics Department during production.
The staining on the knife is confirmed to be potential blood on screen, and the lab continues to work on the knife and the connected DNA evidence.
Multiple DNA Samples come back from the knife, and they announce that they are waiting for the final results on the knife.
We learn that David passes away before production wraps, which is so incredibly upsetting, but the family is united again in the chase for the truth. David brought them together.
"You can't ever quit."
You be the judge.
-B
Comments