All about the suspect Arthur Leigh Allen

The Zodiac Killer case remains unsolved and three former students of a prime suspect are still searching for a solution.

In the late 1960s, a serial killer who called himself the Zodiac murdered at least five people in Northern California. He provoked police by sending letters containing ciphers to local news outlets, claiming he was responsible for more than 30 deaths.

The Zodiac was never captured – and there are countless theories about its true identity. However, the late Arthur Leigh Allen, a Navy veteran and later school teacher, has been one of the authorities' main suspects for over 50 years.

Now Netflix's three-part docuseries is titled This is the zodiac speakingwhich premiered in October 2024, brings a new perspective to the fore. The true crime series features interviews with the Seawater family, who viewed Allen as a father figure and now believe he is the real Zodiac Killer.

Here's everything you need to know about Arthur Leigh Allen and why the Seawater family believes their longtime friend could be behind the infamous murders.

Who was Arthur Leigh Allen?

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

According to several of Allen's former students, he was known for teaching his students to decipher codes and playing music in his classroom, including songs such as “Tom Dooley,” about the murder of a woman, and “I've Got a Little List.” . out of The Mikado – an opera with themes such as death and cruelty. Allen also enjoyed collecting animals and bringing them to school. David Seawater specifically remembered a frog that Mr. Allen called “Forg.” This is the zodiac speaking.

Since then, investigators have made connections between Allen's classroom activities and the Zodiac's infamous communications. One of the Zodiac letters specifically quoted a lyric from “I've Got a Little List,” and the serial killer was known to intentionally misspell common words.

In 1963 Allen moved to Northern California. Nearly a decade later, he was arrested for child molestation and sentenced to four years in Atascadero State Hospital. The Zodiac's killings and letters stopped during this time.

Allen ultimately died at his home in 1992 at the age of 58.

Were the Seawater children related to Arthur Leigh Allen?

The Seawater children were not biologically related to Allen, but viewed him as a father figure. “Mr. Allen,” as they called him, became friends with their mother, Phyllis Seawater, when the eldest Seawaters — David, Connie and Don — attended Santa Rosa Elementary School in 1961.

Phyllis had seven children whom she shared with Paul Seawater. Accordingly This is the zodiac speakingWhen David, Connie and Dan were young, Paul was placed in the Atascadero State Hospital, leaving the Seawater matriarch to care for the children alone

Everyone Connie described in This is the zodiac speaking Described as “great, tall, stocky, smiling, friendly,” he often ate dinner with the family and took the older children on fun trips to the pool or the beach or on a road trip in one of his cars.

“He treated us like kings, like his own children. We thought he was just the best,” David added.

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

In June 1963, before Allen moved to Northern California, he took David, Connie and Don on a trip. They drove to Tajiguas Beach outside Santa Barbara, California, but Allen told them to stay in the car. When he returned, Connie noticed that his hands were covered in blood. The Seawater siblings later learned that this was also the same day as the first Zodiac murder, when Robert Domingos and his fiancée Linda Edwards were shot on the same stretch of beach.

Three years later, Allen showed up at the Seawater House on his way to Riverside, California and invited Connie to the race track. She seized the opportunity and David accompanied her. They spent two nights in Riverside on October 29th and 30th and experienced gaps in their memories. On the second night of her stay in Riverside, Cheri Josephine Bates, a student at Riverside City College, was stabbed. Connie and David later concluded that the fainting spells they experienced on this trip were likely due to Allen drugging them.

The last time David spoke to Allen was shortly before his death in 1992. The eldest Seawater recalled the conversation in the year This is the zodiac speakingand shared that Allen admitted to drugging him and Connie in Riverside and molesting his younger sister. David said that Allen also allegedly confessed to being the Zodiac Killer.

Where are the Seawater children today?

After his conversation with Allen, David told his mother and siblings what he had learned, but they didn't believe him. David and the family were estranged for years until they all saw the 2007 film Zodiac starring Jake Gyllenhaal as reporter Robert Graysmith and John Carroll Lynch as Allen.

“The three of us started putting these puzzle pieces of our childhood together and eventually a hundred things fell into place,” Connie said This is the zodiac speaking. David added: “We started researching and realized we had been to all the murder scenes before the murders.”

After the police showed little interest in their findings, David, Connie and Don agreed to take part in the Netflix series in the hopes of providing closure for everyone involved.

“The things we connected the dots to are real. If they could somehow help solve this case, whether he is or not, that would be great,” Connie said.

In 2023, after filming for This is the zodiac Speaking of which After wrapping up, David died of cancer. He was 73 years old.