By Robert Scucci
| Updated
As a fan of all things true crime, I spent my senior year in high school reading through Robert Graysmith’s Zodiac and Zodiac Unmasked books, not knowing that a film adaptation starring Jake Gyllenhall as the Zodiac obsessed author was just a couple of years away from going into production. Every few years, I revisit the case because there’s something so alluring about such a highly publicized serial killer case – especially one that’s still open over 50 years after the elusive killer’s alleged first crime in 1968. Functioning as a supplementary piece of true crime content, This is the Zodiac Speaking shifts away from the media sensation surrounding the Zodiac murders and points its focus to those who were close to the still-primary suspect in the investigation, Arthur Leigh Allen.
Was Arthur Leigh Allen The Zodiac Killer?
Arthur Leigh Allen, who passed away in 1992, was either a victim of mistaken identity who was harassed by the police until he the day he was buried, or the actual Zodiac Killer. This is the Zodiac Speaking revisits the case from the perspective of the Seawater family. Siblings David, Connie, and Don welcomed Allen into their lives when the Navy-vet-turned-school-teacher started dating their mother, Phyllis.
The Seawater siblings look back fondly at their time spent with Allen during the time the Zodiac killer was still making regular headlines for his crimes, menacing letters to the police, and cryptic cipher codes. Through their personal accounts of growing up with Allen, they set out to tell their story, as they remember it through the decades, because there are too far many coincidences connecting Allen to the murders that only decades of hindsight could help them piece together.
A Series Of Coincidences and Circumstantial Evidence
This is the Zodiac Speaking makes a compelling case for why Arthur Leigh Allen – the man who was such a positive father figure to David, Connie, and Don when they were children – remains the primary person of interest. Through Connie’s recollection of events, she reveals how Allen took her and her brothers on a road trip passing through Tajiguas Beach in 1963, only to leave them in the car while he surveyed the area. Upon his return to the car, he had blood on his hands and they promptly left the beach.
Years later, the siblings learned that the timeline of their travel with Allen lined up with the murder of Robert Domingos and his fiancé Linda Edwards, who were killed in the same area. Forensic evidence suggests that the slaying matched Zodiac’s modus operandi, including pre-cut lengths of rope to tie up his subjects, and executing them with a gun shot at point-blank range. While this murder was never “officially” tied to the Zodiac’s rampage, which canonically started in 1968, the Seawater siblings assert that he was in the area when the crime was committed.
In 1966, another incident involving Allen allegedly drugging the brothers and sister while on a trip to the Riverside racetrack occurred. During this two-day ordeal, which they only later in life realized was a messed up situation to be in, the siblings learned that Cheri Josephine Bates was probably stabbed to death while they were unconscious.
The most damning piece of evidence in This is the Zodiac Speaking, however, is the period of time when the elusive serial killer stopped contacting the police. Ironically enough, Arthur Leigh Allen was serving a sentence for child molestation, and was incarcerated at the Atascadero State Hospital from 1974 to 1977. Shortly after Allen was released, the letters to the police resumed.
A Compelling Case Is Made
This is the Zodiac Speaking is a frustrating watch, not due to any creative failing on the part of directors Ari Mark and Phil Lott, but because if the SeaWater siblings are earnestly trying to tell the story of their involvement with Allen for the sake of closing out the case, they make a very compelling case that he’s our guy. Unfortunately, this “evidence” is circumstantial, anecdotal, and speculative at best.
Allen was subjected to several search warrants that couldn’t unearth enough material evidence to properly try him for his alleged crimes, but as Connie opens up throughout this three-part docuseries, you’d be hard-pressed to think of anybody else who checks off all of the same boxes as a viable suspect.
If you’re already familiar with the work of Robert Graysmith, the cartoonist-turned-cipher-cracking-sleuth who devoted most of his adult life to the Zodiac case, then This is the Zodiac Speaking is an exceptional piece of supplemental true crime content you’ll want to dive into. If you’re just getting your feet wet, you may want to familiarize yourself with the cold case on a more fundamental level because this is a personal and subjective recollection of events that doesn’t necessarily cover all of the physical evidence as laid out in other documentaries on the subject.
THIS IS THE ZODIAC SPEAKING REVIEW SCORE
You can stream This is the Zodiac Speaking with a Netflix subscription.
