The last confirmed murder of the Zodiac Killer was the cold-blooded execution of Paul Stine near the intersection of Washington and Cherry Streets in the wealthy district of Presidio Heights, on October 11th 1969. Just over a month later a man uttered the words "I'm through. I'm Zodiac That's me" just before he died. On November 21st 1969, he had been shot by an officer as he held a knife to his 11-year-old daughter's throat. That man was 32-year-old David Martin, who lost control in a drug-fueled attack late at night in his San Francisco home, subjecting his family to a terrifying ordeal. He attacked his wife, injuring her with a broken bottle and knife, forcing her to flee from the residence with her 9-year-old son. Police surrounded the house, before eventually gaining entry, from where they were able to facilitate a clear line of sight, incapacitating David Martin shortly before his death on November 21st 1969. .View newspaper article from the Sydney Morning Herald.
Sydney Morning Herald Police obviously had a duty to investigate his claims, but although no more confirmed Zodiac attacks occurred after his death, many letters and cards accredited to the Zodiac Killer continued. Subsequent testing showed that David Martin's fingerprints failed to match any of the fingerprints held on file and his characteristics did not resemble the composite sketch of the killer, generated from the three teenage eyewitnesses at Presidio Heights. This alone cannot rule him out entirely, but it is with near certainty he was not the elusive killer law enforcement had strove so hard to capture.
Zodiac Claim Is Discounted By Officers - Desert Sun, 22 November 1969.
SAN FRANCISCO (UPi)- 'Police do not believe that a demented San Francisco father killed by a patrolman as he threatened to slit his daughter's throat is the Zodiac killer who claims to have murdered seven persons. David 0. Martin was killed early Friday by a single shot by officer Thomas Burns. Before he died, he said “I am Zodiac.” His final words to Burns were ‘‘Thank you officer...l am through.” But police said later that they had determined Ihrough fingerprint comparisons that Martin’s claim he was the Zodiac killer was not time. They said Martin had a record of arrests dating back eight years, mostly on narcotics law violations. Martin, a skilled construction worker, had not worked for five years. Police were first alerted when his wife ran with the couple’s 9-year-old son out of the house screaming ‘‘He’s gone crazy..he’s going to kill us.” She was bleeding from where her husband had pricked her with a knife and a broken bottle. She said her husband had suddenly gone berserk, apparently as the result of his daily use of barbiturates and amphetamines. Martin was still clutching his sobbing and frightened daughter. 11, as he died. The girl and her mother were taken to a nearby emergency hospital and treated for their cuts.'
Zodiac Claim Is Discounted By Officers - Desert Sun, 22 November 1969.
SAN FRANCISCO (UPi)- 'Police do not believe that a demented San Francisco father killed by a patrolman as he threatened to slit his daughter's throat is the Zodiac killer who claims to have murdered seven persons. David 0. Martin was killed early Friday by a single shot by officer Thomas Burns. Before he died, he said “I am Zodiac.” His final words to Burns were ‘‘Thank you officer...l am through.” But police said later that they had determined Ihrough fingerprint comparisons that Martin’s claim he was the Zodiac killer was not time. They said Martin had a record of arrests dating back eight years, mostly on narcotics law violations. Martin, a skilled construction worker, had not worked for five years. Police were first alerted when his wife ran with the couple’s 9-year-old son out of the house screaming ‘‘He’s gone crazy..he’s going to kill us.” She was bleeding from where her husband had pricked her with a knife and a broken bottle. She said her husband had suddenly gone berserk, apparently as the result of his daily use of barbiturates and amphetamines. Martin was still clutching his sobbing and frightened daughter. 11, as he died. The girl and her mother were taken to a nearby emergency hospital and treated for their cuts.'
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