Former Friend Of Alleged Zodiac Killer Reveals Disturbing Behaviors He Saw

Sketch of the "Zodiac" Killer

Photo: Getty Images

A man who claims to be a longtime former friend of the alleged Zodiac Killer said he witnessed disturbing behavior and a violent side.

The man, who was identified as "Will," spoke with 'the Case Breakers' -- the team of more than 40 former law enofrcement specialists, journalists and military intelligence officers who claimed to have identified the notorious serial killer responsible for a series of murders in the San Francisco area during the late 1960s as Gary Francis Poste earlier this week -- about his prior relationship with Poste, who died in 2018, TMZ reports.

Will reportedly said their relationship began when Poste helped him with a legal issue and invited him to come up to a wooded area in Northern California in 1987 -- when Will was just 18 years old -- to hunt with him, an activity that continued regularly during the next 20 years.

Will told Case Breakers that Poste killed numerous animals "indiscriminately" and enjoyed "getting dirty" and bloody, describing Poste's behavior with the carcasses as "chilling," according to TMZ.

The claim falls under the Macdonald triad, which is a set of factors that links cruelty to animals, among other factors, to violent behaviors, particularly homicidal.

On Wednesday (October 6), FOX News reported the Case Breakers, "a team of more than 40 former law enforcement investigators, journalists and military intelligence officers," said it has identifed the Zodiac Killer as Poste, after years of research "uncovered new forensic evidence and photos from Poste's darkroom."

Among the findings are an image showing scars on Poste's forehead, which match the police sketch of the Zodiac Killer and dechipered letters sent by the Zodiac in which he claims responsibility for the killings, with Poste's full name removed to reveal an alternate message in one note, former Army counterintelligence agent Jen Bucholtz, who works on cold cases, confirmed to FOX News.

"So you've got to know Gary's full name in order to decipher these anagrams," Bucholtz said. "I just don't think there's any other way anybody would have figured it out."

The Case Breakers also believe Poste is responsible for the death of Cheri Jo Bates on October 31, 1966 in Riverside, California, which occurred two years prior to and hundreds of miles away from the San Francisco area where the Zodiac Killer first struck in a series of murders from 1968 to 1969.

The Zodiac Killer is confirmed to have been connected to five killings, but reportedly claimed to have struck a total of 37 victims, with the first incideint taking place in December 1968, resulting in a man and woman being fatally shot in a car in Benicia, California.

Bates, who was 18 at the time of her death, was found dead in an alleyway on the campus of Riverside College after her father reported her missing to police.

Authorties received a handwritten letter the following year, which led investigators to believe Bates' murder was possibly linked to the Zodiac Killer.

In 2016, investigators received a typed letter from an anonymous person in which the individual admits to writing the letter sent in 1967, which they referred to as a "sick joke."

"The author admitted that he was not the Zodiac killer or the killer of Cheri Jo Bates and that he was just looking for attention," the police department said via FOX News.

Investigators later confirmed that the individual was not involved in Bates' murder, nor was the Zodiac Killer ever linked to her case, which "remains an open investigation," adding "we do not have any additional details at this time."

The Case Breakers, however, believe Bates was the sixth individual killed by the Zodiac and have attempted to get investigators to compare her DNA with that of Poste, but has had zero success in their efforts.

Poste, an Air Force veteran, received medical check-ups for a gun incident at a hospital located 15 minutes away from the scene in which Bates was found dead in 1966.

A wristwatch with paint splatter on it was collected at the scene of Bates' death and is believed to belong to the individual responsible for the murder.

The Case Breakers confirmed Porte painted houses for more than four decades and detectives also found a heel print from a military-style boot, which matched the style and size worn by Poste, as well as markings found at Zodiac crime scenes.

The Case Breakers have previously worked on several other notable unsolved mysteries including the D.B. Cooper hijacking heist and the disappearance of former labor union boss Jimmy Hoffa.

You can read more about the Case Breakers' findings here.


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