This class will provide a deep dive into a case that continues to capture the public's attention fifty years after the notorious Zodiac ended his reign of terror in the San Francisco Bay area.  As with all of my unsolved crimes classes, this class will include lecture and extensive discussion, with ample opportunities for students to do their own research on various topics of their choice.

The course will include three main areas of analysis:

1.  The Zodiac crimes and the potential crimes that may be attributed to the Zodiac.
2.  The Zodiac's writings, including a full decryption of the Zodiac's coded messages, which go far beyond the two long ciphers.  Students will learn how the Zodiac encrypted his messages and will be able to see how he crafted every single one of his writings as a coded message.
3.  The suspects.  We will focus heavily on Arthur Leigh Allen, but we will also discuss other suspects, some of whom may have been working with the Zodiac.  Those suspects include:

Richard Gaikowski
Rick Marshall
Larry Kane
Ted Kaczynski
Donald Lee Bujok
Gareth Penn

Throughout our discussion within each section of the course, we will review police and FBI files, as well as recordings that are relevant to the case.

Students will be given lists of optional research opportunities, including websites, books, and online videos, all of which I have reviewed for content and appropriateness.

The section on the Zodiac's codes/ciphers is truly unique because I am the person who has completed the full decryption of the Zodiac's writings, so my students will have the most complete information available on this immense body of cryptologic materials.