Richard Gaikowski (March 14, 1936 - April 30, 2004) was the prime suspect in the case of the Zodiac Killer.
Early Life
Richard Gaikowski was born in Watertown, S.D., on March 14th 1936. He went to Webster High School and then went to Northern State Teachers College in Aberdeen, S.D.
In the military
Richard served as an stint in the Army in the 1950s and he trained as a medic.
Activity in 1960s and 1970s
In October 1965, Gaikowski was arrested for refusing to sign a traffic citation following a routine stop in Contra Cost Country in California.
Death
Richard died of lung cancer at the San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center on April 30, 2004.
Evidence of Richard being the Zodiac
- Look like the sketch
- Nancy Slover said that his voice is the same as the Zodiac.
- Richard was in the military.
- Was trained as a medic to rip wounded soldier's clothing off, which the Zodiac did to Paul Stine after killing him.
- Was from Poland.
- it is 98% assured Gaikowski was the Zodiac.
- When Gaikowski was committed to a mental asylum, the Zodiac Killer didn't write for nearly 3 years.
- In one of the Zodiac's cryptograms, the word "GYKE" can be seen among the letters.
Criticism of Richard being the Zodiac
- Richard's friends said that Richard was in Albany, New York during the time of the murders, therefore making it impossible for him to commit the murders. Michael Butterfield also dismiss Richard. His friends lied about this, however, and Richard was never in New York.
- Cleared via fingerprints by the FBI in 1989.