- Robert Graysmith
Robert Graysmith (born
September 17 ,1942 ) is atrue-crime author of the books "Zodiac"; "Zodiac Unmasked: the Identity of America's Most ElusiveSerial Killer "; "Unabomber : a Desire to Kill"; "The Murder ofBob Crane : Who Killed the Star ofHogan's Heroes ?"; "The Bell Tower: The Case ofJack the Ripper Finally Solved" [ [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0895263246/ The Bell Tower:The Case of Jack the Ripper Finally Solved] ] and "Amerithrax: The Hunt for the Anthrax Killer".Writing career
Graysmith is best-known for his writings on the
Zodiac Killer case. He first became involved in that case when he was acartoonist for the "San Francisco Chronicle " during the period in which the Zodiac Killer was active. Although his conclusions are controversial, the "New York Post " contacted him for his insights when a copycat shooter,Heriberto Seda , was active in New York in the early 1990s. [Howard, Amanda and Smith, Martin: "River of Blood: Serial Killers and Their Victims" (Boca Raton: Universal Publishers, 2004), p. 301] Graysmith blames the Zodiac murders on onetime suspectArthur Leigh Allen . Graysmith based his book and case on actual police files.Two films have been based on his books: "
Auto Focus " and "Zodiac". Graysmith is portrayed in the film "Zodiac" byJake Gyllenhaal .Personal life
Graysmith was born in
Pensacola, Florida as "Robert GraySmith." Before his divorce from his first wife, Margaret Ann, they had two sons together, David and Aaron. After the divorce, he changed his name to Graysmith in 1976. Graysmith met his second wife, Melanie, an artist at the "Chronicle". They had a daughter together, named Margot Alexandra. They separated in 1980 and divorced in 1983.Bibliography
* "Zodiac" (1986)
* "The Sleeping Lady: The Trailside Murders Above the Golden Gate" (1990)
* "The Murder of Bob Crane" (1993)
* "Unabomber: a Desire to Kill" (1997)
* "The Bell Tower: The Case of Jack the Ripper Finally Solved" (1999)
* "Zodiac Unmasked: the Identity of America's Most Elusive Serial Killer" (2002)
* "Amerithrax: The Hunt for the Anthrax Killer" (2003)References
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