The unsolved mystery of the Zodiac Killer’s identity has captivated the true crime world for decades. The infamous killer, who killed at least five victims in the Bay Area in the late 1960s, was infamous for writing messages in code that he sent to local news channels. He terrorized the community and at one point even threatened to blow up a school bus full of children.

Police never had enough evidence to arrest anyone for the crimes, but they did name at least one suspect in the case: Arthur Leigh Allen, a former elementary school teacher and convicted sex offender. There are numerous theories circulating online about the true identity of the Zodiac Killer. However, some people who knew Allen when they were young are convinced authorities correctly identified him from the start.

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Netflix’s new three-part documentary, This is the zodiac speakingrevolves around the Seawater family, who viewed Arthur Leigh Allen as a father figure during their childhood. “We realized that we had visited all the murder sites before the murders,” David Seawater said in the trailer.

The docuseries also features interviews with several of Allen’s former students, surviving friends of the Zodiac victims, and local TV reporter Williams, who conducted Allen’s last on-camera interview before his death in the early 1990s. Investigative journalist Robert Graysmith, who covered the case extensively in his 1986 book Zodiacis also included in the docuseries.

Read on to discover more about Arthur Leigh Allen and why the Seawaters firmly believe the person who helped raise them was the Zodiac Killer.

Who was Arthur Leigh Allen?

Arthur Leigh Allen was a Navy veteran who lived in Atascadero, California and worked as a teacher at Santa Rosa Elementary School in the early 1960s.

Allen’s former students revealed that he was known for learning to decipher codes. He also played music in his classroom, including “Tom Dooley,” a song about the murder of a woman, and “I’ve Got a Little List” from the dark opera The Mikado. Some students remembered him calling girls “my beautiful” and noted his tendency to bring dead animals to class.

For example, David Seawater remembered a deceased frog that Mr. Allen brought in and named “Forg.” David, his sister Connie and their younger brother Don met Allen in the early 1960s when their father was in a mental institution.

Allen struck up a friendship with their mother, Phyllis, and regularly accompanied the family to dinners and outings. He took the children on outings, including clam digging and watching movies at the theater. ‘He treated us like kings, like his own children. We thought he was just the best,” David explained on the series.

Why do the Seawater Children believe that Arthur Leigh Allen was the Zodiac Killer?

Before moving to Northern California in June 1963, Allen took David, Connie and Don to Tajiguas Beach outside Santa Barbara, California. Allen told them to stay in the car, but when he returned, Connie said he was huffing and puffing and his hands were covered in red stuff. The children remembered that this was the same day as the suspected first Zodiac murder – when Robert Domingos and his fiancée, Linda Edwards, were shot dead on the same beach.

Three years later, on October 28, 1966, when David Seawater was a sophomore in high school and Connie was a freshman, Allen picked them up to take them to a race track. They spent two nights in Riverside, and on October 30, David was reportedly fast asleep at the motel and could not be woken. Connie remembered taking Allen for a ride, and when she returned to the motel, she drank some juice and fell into a deep sleep. All she remembers is Allen leading them to the car on October 31. The siblings believe it is no coincidence that Cheri Jo Bates, a student at Riverside City College, was found stabbed to death on October 30.

Eventually the Zodiac killings stopped, and those who believe Allen was the killer point out that he was arrested in 1974 for child molestation. He spent three years in prison and then served five years of probation until 1982, according to Time.com.

Did Arthur Leigh Allen confess to the sea waters that he was the Zodiac Killer?

In This is the zodiac speakingConnie believes that Allen hinted to her that he was the Zodiac killer. As she grew older, she kept in touch with Allen, who even met her son. In 1991, while they were sailing together, she asked him if he was the Zodiac killer. He allegedly replied that if he told her, he would have to kill her. “I thought it was a big joke,” Connie said in the documentary.

Meanwhile, David was instructed by his mother – who supported Allen despite the speculation surrounding his identity – to call him in 1992 after learning of his declining health. During their conversation, David said Allen cried and confessed to drugging him and abusing his sister Connie. When David asked Allen if he was the Zodiac Killer, he admitted that he was.

David said he told his family what Allen told him, but they didn’t believe him. They were estranged for years until they saw the 2007 film Zodiac, Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo. “The three of us started putting together the pieces of our childhood puzzle, and eventually a hundred things fell into place,” Connie said in the documentary.

“We started looking into things and realized that we had visited all the murder locations before the murders,” David added. In 2023, after filming for This is the zodiac speaking Finally, David died of cancer at the age of 73.

Where is the Zodiac Killer now?

The whereabouts of the real Zodiac Killer are unknown, but he is believed to have died. Arthur Leigh Allen, the only suspect named by police, died on August 26, 1992 at the age of 58.

After Phyllis died on April 23, 2017, the Seawaters discovered a box containing numerous letters their mother exchanged with Allen.

“Every time someone spoke to me about the police I jumped,” he reportedly wrote in one. “If I see a murder head, my palms would sweat,” he wrote in another. One of the most revealing notes, however, read: “The most dangerous part is when I’m close to confessing.”

This is the zodiac speaking is now streaming on Netflix. Watch the official trailer below.