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Zodiac Analysis

Decent Essays

The Monster Within In Zodiac, written by Robert Graysmith he says, “Just because you can’t prove it does not mean it is not true.” This premise was completely accurate and disheartening for David Toschi, the lead detective on the case because he could not uncover concrete evidence to convict Arthur Leigh “Lee” Allen. Lee was the prime suspect in the investigation and all signs pointed to him being Zodiac, which was the main similarity between the publication and motion picture. In addition, the text contained two prime suspects, but the feature film fixated on one. Graysmith later went to say, “The film ends by hinting that Zodiac may be the man behind you in the theatre” (Zodiac). He was articulating how they should be vigilant at all times because Zodiac could be the person juxtaposed to them and never know it. People may look ordinary but in reality, everybody is insane, some just suppress it better than others. Zodiac written by Graysmith had several parallels with the motion picture directed by David Fincher, but the main similarity was the accusation of Arthur Leigh Allen being Zodiac. Both the novel and the film focused on Lee being the main suspect considering all signs pointed to him, even though law enforcement officers did not have sufficient evidence to validate it. Zodiac allegedly murdered 37 civilians, although only 7 were substantiated to be Zodiac with 2 survivors: Mike Mageau and Bryan Hartnell. However, the cinema and publication both prompted scrutiny to the deaths of David Faraday, Betty Lou Jensen, Darlene Ferrin, Cecelia Shepard, and Paul Stine. Each of their unfortunate demises all corresponded to Lee’s whereabouts (Zodiac). The timeline made an impeccable match, but the evidence was not substantial for conviction. Lee was the only suspect served with a search warrant, after searching Lee’s trailer they uncovered incriminating evidence, but his handwriting did not match Zodiac’s (Collins). Lee went through handwriting tests that the police arranged for him and much to their dismay the handwriting expert determined there was no correlation from Zodiac’s letters to the handwriting submissions Lee presented (Grinell). The only known sign of the Zodiac logo was on a watch and

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