Myth of the Zodiac Killer: Is Gary Francis Poste still alive?

Peacock's recent mystery drama miniseries, titled Myth of the Zodiac Killer, managed to make headlines for its controversial take on the theories surrounding the Zodiac Killer. Myth of the Zodiac Killer explores the idea that the killer might have never existed in the first place.

One of the most notorious serial killers in the history of America, he is predicted to have killed five people, although there remain several other cases that he is suspected of. His identity remains a mystery since the killer was never apprehended.

Owing to the lack of evidence, the cases remain unsolved and this fact has led investigators and detectives to come up with numerous theories over the years, including the ones in Myth of the Zodiac Killer.

However, the theory in Myth of the Zodiac Killer that the serial killer may have not existed in the first place seemed particularly outrageous to the investigating community. The viewers have now revisited the cold cases, leading the prime suspect in the case, Gary Francis Poste, to be back in the spotlight.

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Myth of the Zodiac Killer: Gary Francis Poste died in 2018

Gary Francis Poste (Image via Oxygen)

Three years before the suspicion that Poste could be the Zodiac Killer, the 80-year-old had died due to sepsis. According to an investigation conducted by a team of cold case investigators in 2021, it was Poste who was the Zodiac Killer.

They contended that Poste was the killer because of the scars on his forehead and the way his name appeared disturbingly closely in one of the perpetrator's coded notes.

Furthermore, according to eyewitnesses, he also had a violent attitude and even headed a "criminal posse" in the 1970s in California.

Gwen, a neighbor of Poste's, revealed to Fox News that the criminal once watched over her in the 1970s. She remembered that he had taught her how to shoot a gun and that she'd also witnessed several physical altercations between Poste and his wife.

In an interview with Fox News, she commented:

"He lived a double life. As I’m an adult thinking back, it all kind of makes sense now. At the time when I was a teenager, I didn’t put two and two together until I got older. It hit me full-blown that Gary’s the Zodiac.”

Additionally, Chris Avery, an individual who claimed to be a member of Poste's infamous faction, came forward to provide his own views on the matter. In an interview with Case Breakers, he admitted that Poste had been very kind to his group members but everyone had been aware that he lacked a conscience. He further commented:

"I’ve seen him kill bears, deer, otters, ferrets,” Avery said. “[J]ust anything that lived, he liked to shoot them, watch [them] fall down. He liked to mess with the carcasses when he was done. He just got bloody. He groomed me into a killing machine.”

Several other stories resembling those of Avery and Gwen have since come forward, adding to the insurmountable evidence against Poste.

Lastly, Fox News reports that the Case Breakers discovered several crucial hints that they claim to connect Poste to the Zodiac Killer.

Poste's forehead scars, which the Air Force veteran sustained in a 1959 vehicle accident in Clinton, Indiana, provide one hint. The Case Breakers note that the Zodiac killer's scars are depicted similarly in sketches.

"[There is] photographic proof, as a former FBI agent put it, of ‘irrefutable’ scars on our Zodiac’s forehead — spotted by three witnesses and an observing cop, then later passed on to the 1969 SFPD sketch artist.”

Even though this is the closest the detectives have ever gotten to catching the Zodiac Killer, the theory explained in Peacock's Myth of the Zodiac Killer has been highly criticized by audiences.

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Myth of the Zodiac Killer is now available for streaming on Peacock.