All The Evidence Arthur Leigh Allen WASN’T The Killer

All The Evidence Arthur Leigh Allen WASN'T The Killer

The ending of David Fincher’s Zodiac reflects the sad truth of a real-life crime — the evidence simply isn’t there to name Arthur Leigh Allen the Zodiac killer. Allen was the most likely suspect on a truly baffling case. Oddly enough, he died of a heart attack before he could be charged. As Zodiac’s ending shows, it was generally accepted on circumstantial evidence that Allen was the killer, so the case went cold after his death. Let’s break down why Allen wasn’t the killer.

Zodiac is based on the book of the same name by Robert Greysmith, who is a prominent figure in the film. His book chronicled the mysterious serial killer’s reign of terror over Northern California. In the movie, a police officer (Mark Ruffalo) and two reporters (Robert Downey, Jr. and Jake Gyllenhaal) become obsessed with discovering his identity. Their obsession builds while the killer claims his victims and taunts the authorities with letters.

SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY

Related: Every David Fincher Movie, Ranked From Worst To Best

California lived in a state of terror while the Zodiac Killer was on the loose. As depicted in the David Fincher movie, those investigating the case so badly wanted to end the horror and heartbreak that the killer wreaked on their area, to the point of eventually having to settle on their best guess for the killer, instead of finding someone who matched hard evidence. Ultimately, fear, trauma and heartbreak led to Arthur Leigh Allen falsely being identified as the Zodiac Killer.

Arthur Leigh Allen WASN’T The Zodiac Killer

anthony edwards mark ruffalo zodiac

Some events may have been slightly exaggerated for the sake of the movie, but ultimately the events of Zodiac went down the same way they did in real life. Arthur Leigh Allen was a prime suspect for years with heavy circumstantial evidence against him. Just when it seemed like the police might have a break in the case, Allen died unexpectedly of natural causes. On paper, it truly seemed as though Arthur Leigh Allen was the Zodiac Killer. But the physical evidence simply wasn’t there, meaning that it could not have been him. Investigators and the citizens of Northern California simply came to believe it was Allen because they needed to repair the damage the Zodiac Killer had caused in their community.

The fear, anger and pain in the Bay Area was tangible, and Zodiac aptly demonstrated that through the lens of Graysmith, Toschi and Paul Avery. These men so badly wanted to save their community that they gave up everything to do so. As Avery was a crime journalist at the Chronicle, he became engrossed in the Zodiac case, to the point that he began receiving death threats, and turned to drugs and alcohol to cope. Toschi’s obsession led to accusations that he had forged a Zodiac letter, which prompted his department to demote him. The serial killer movie also depicts how, once Greysmith went public with his book, his family began receiving ominous calls with heavy breathing. His wife was so disturbed by his all-consuming obsession with the Zodiac Killer that she divorced him.

These men needed Arthur Leigh Allen to be the Zodiac Killer because they needed Northern California’s collective pain and frustration to stop. As Toschi said during the film, they just needed this to be over—Allen was their best bet. Although there was never any strong physical evidence, accepting him as the killer may have put some minds at ease. Sadly, the families of the victims portrayed in Zodiac will never have that same comfort.

Related: The Strangers True Story: Real-Life Crimes That Inspired The Horror Movie 

Arthur Leigh Allen’s Handwriting Didn’t Match the Zodiac Killer’s Handwriting

Robert Downey Jr and Jake Gyllenhaal in Zodiac

The Zodiac Killer started to make a name for himself through handwritten letters. Early in the movie, he began sending letters to The San Francisco Chronicle, bragging and taunting them. Obviously, finding a match for the handwriting would mean the authorities had their man. Police officer Dave Toschi believed they had a good start with Arthur Leigh Allen. Toschi began to suspect Allen for a number of circumstantial reasons. He wore a Zodiac watch, which bore the same symbol inscribed on all of the Zodiac Killer’s anonymous letters. Allen’s personality also fit that of a serial killer. He was on the quiet side, socially awkward and was a known pedophile.

Toschi had Allen’s handwriting analyzed and was devastated to find out it wasn’t a match. Allen was partially ambidextrous, and both hands were tested—still, there was nothing. While Allen’s handwriting may not have come back as a match, the circumstantial evidence was enough to keep Allen at the top of his mind throughout the rest of the investigation of the Zodiac case in the real-life-based movie. Police officers and journalists alike had been taunted by this killer. A few suspects emerged, but no one as strong as Allen. The initial handwriting sample didn’t match, but he wasn’t dismissed by the authorities. Arthur Leigh Allen was the first ray of light in a dark and frightening time for the people of San Francisco area. The journalists and police officers taunted by the Zodiac weren’t ready to let that go.

Ballistics and Prints from a Zodiac Murder Scene Didn’t Match Arthur Leigh Allen

zodiac lake

As Zodiac’s movie portrayal of the hunt to catch the titular killer shows, the case against Arthur Leigh Allen was lacking physical evidence, but Toschi still couldn’t let it go. He went for a second opinion on the handwriting and got some encouraging news. The second handwriting analyst shared a theory that a personality change could bring about other changes in a person, such as his handwriting. But a theory based on conjecture wasn’t enough to convict someone as the killer, so Toschi and his team obtained a search warrant to scour Allen’s trailer. 

The police officers found enough evidence that should have hypothetically nailed Arthur Leigh Allen, who was, of course, the top major suspect in the real Zodiac case. He owned the same windbreaker as one found at the scene. His shoe and glove size matched the Zodiac’s sizes. He had a gun. Allen was in the area when one of the Zodiac killings occurred. He fit the profile perfectly, yet somehow the second handwriting sample, ballistics and the prints in his trailer did not match the Zodiac’s.

Related: Is The Clovehitch Killer Based On The BTK Murders True Story?

Toschi, like others involved in the investigation, had become obsessed with the idea of Arthur Leigh Allen being the Zodiac Killer. So he was shocked and devastated to learn there wasn’t an ounce of physical evidence pointing to the fact that Allen was the killer. Toschi even admits in the movie that he’s not sure if he actually thought Allen was the Zodiac or just wanted it to be him. Fear and uncertainty had overtaken his hometown. As shown with Robert Graysmith, some people were too scared to ever let their children out of their sight. Toschi just wanted the serial killer chase, portrayed in the movie, to be over.

What Happened To The Real Life Zodiac Killer Suspect Arthur Leigh

Arthur-Leigh-Allen-from-Zodiac-movie

Arthur Leigh Allen, a California native who was born in 1933, had a fairly checkered past by the time the Zodiac investigation kicked off. As previously mentioned and discussed in the movie, he had been in trouble with the law for sexually abusing children, which, among other factors, made his innocence seem less and less likely. It’s also reported that he had been dishonorably discharged from the Navy in the 1950s. Allen died of heart failure in 1992, and a Zodiac Killer-related documentary entitled His Name Was Arthur Leigh Allen was released years later, in 2007. Despite everything, there was never actually enough evidence to prove that Allen was the infamous serial murderer that Fincher’s Zodiac orbits around.

Next: The Ripper: Does Netflix’s True Crime Series Glorify Serial Killers?

Robert Pattinson films, ranked

Every Robert Pattinson Movie Ranked Worst to Best (Including The Batman)

About The Author

Brynne Ramella
(370 Articles Published)

Brynne is a lifelong lover of movies hailing from Chicago. Ever since discovering “The Ring” at age 13, she’s had a slightly sadistic love affair with horror movies. Tweet her your horror movie recommendations @brynneramella. Please — she’s running out of movies to watch.

More From Brynne Ramella

Author: Deann Hawkins