Real name?

I think YES and give the best reason why.





Considering why the Zodiac would give his real name in his puzzles.

This would be confirmed if the Zodiac is identified, so all I can do for now is to give reasons for my speculation that it is his real name.





Serial Killers mostly do not reveal their names on purpose although there have been cases where serial killers have handed themselves in. Edmund Emil Kemper is one such case. Serial Killers who have given their names have also done so mistakenly. The Kansas serial killer B.T.K., identified as Dennis Rader, made mistakes. He sent Wichita investigators and media, letters and packages and eventually a 3.5” computer disk with his real name inadvertently embedded in the disk’s metadata. Ted Bundy gave his name Ted to some of his targets that got away.





It is possible the Zodiac has given a clue to his real name, never expecting anyone to break the Halloween code because of its obscurity. I doubt very many cryptology cases have depended on kid’s comics. However, we need to keep in mind that serial killers mostly don’t reveal their real names. So the probability of it being the Zodiac’s real name is slim, but there may be good reasons why it is his real name.





A Zodiac communication containing the 408 cipher found in his July 31st, 1969 letters, was sent to the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner and Vallejo Times. In these letters, he claimed that “In this cipher is my identity.”





The three-part 408 cipher solution cracked by Donald and Bettye Harden of Salina, California revealed that the Zodiac had not given his real name. Part of the solution reads, “I will not give you my name because you will try to slow down or stop my collecting of slaves for my afterlife.”





Dr. D.C.B. Marsh, president of the American Cryptogram Association, laid down a challenge to the Zodiac which appeared in the article “Cipher Expert Dares Zodiac To ‘Tell’ Name.” by Will Stevens and published by the San Francisco Examiner in October 22nd, 1969. It reads:





Dr. Marsh told the Examiner today: "The killer wouldn't dare, as he claimed in letters to the newspapers, to reveal his name in the cipher to established cryptogram experts. He knows, to quote Edgar Allen Poe, that any cipher created by man can be solved by man. Zodiac has not told the truth in his cipher messages to the Examiner, the Chronicle and the Vallejo Times-Herald. Zodiac has not done this, because to tell the complete truth about his name -in cipher code - would lead to his capture. I invite Zodiac to send The American Cryptogram Association a cipher code - however complicated - which will truly and honestly include his name".





So due to the 408 solution revealing that the Zodiac is a liar and a challenge from Dr. D.C.B. Marsh, the Zodiac may have used his real name.





It is likely the Zodiac Halloween card was not created on the spot but took a long time to make with deep consideration. If the Zodiac Halloween Card was motivated by Marsh, then this is the case for it containing his real name. It could not be a cipher code like any other. The key would have been so ambiguous that he stood an extremely high probability of it never been broken, but also had the capability of being cracked to make it a legit win on his part. It seems, in this case, the key may have been something that had personal meaning to the Zodiac alone, and these violent comics read at a younger age would fit such a personality and choice of key. Hence Tim Holt comics are the key, and he may have actually given his real name.





The fact the Zodiac exclaimed he was crack-proof in his March 13th, 1971 letter to the Los Angeles Times, indicates he believed he had succeeded in this challenge and probably continued to think this for the rest of his life. It seems, that to be crack-proof and therefore unidentified while terrorizing society with his letters, has been his central emotional need all along. His criminal signature may explain why the homicides stopped, and consequently, he seemed satisfied with just writing unbreakable codes.





I also tend to suspect he is connected to Riverside.