On July 5, 1969, Mike Mageau and Darlene Ferrin were sitting together in a parked car at a quiet parking lot on the outskirts of Vallejo, California. The area was isolated, with no other cars or people around. What seemed like a quiet evening would soon become a terrifying encounter that Mageau would never forget.
The couple was sitting in the car when another vehicle suddenly approached. Its driver shone the headlights directly at them. At first, there was no way for Mageau or Ferrin to know what was about to happen. Then the mysterious driver got out of the vehicle and started firing.
Mageau was hit by the gunfire and screamed in pain. But the attacker did not simply drive away. He came closer to their car and fired more shots at the couple. Even while seriously wounded, Mageau remained conscious enough to get a look at the attacker.
The shooting left Ferrin fatally wounded. She died from her injuries, while Mageau survived the attack. In a matter of moments, a quiet parking lot had turned into the scene of a deadly shooting.
The mystery deepened less than an hour later when the attacker called the Vallejo Police line. During the call, he claimed responsibility for the shooting. He also claimed responsibility for a previous attack, connecting the two crimes.
The case took another strange turn roughly three weeks later.
The Vallejo Times Herald, San Francisco Examiner and San Francisco Chronicle all received letters about the crimes. The letters contained details about the attacks and included ciphers that supposedly contained information that could reveal the identity of the person responsible.
These messages would become an important part of the investigation. Instead of simply disappearing after the shooting, the attacker appeared to be deliberately drawing attention to the crimes.
For Mageau, however, the events were much more personal. He had been sitting in a parked car with Ferrin when an unknown man suddenly approached and opened fire. He survived despite being seriously wounded, while Ferrin did not.
Mageau later stayed largely under the radar. He avoided interviews and did not become a regular public figure connected to the case. His survival meant that he was one of the few people who could potentially provide firsthand information about the attacker.
The location of the shooting was also significant. The couple had been sitting in an isolated parking lot, away from other people and traffic. When the attack began, there was nobody nearby to immediately intervene.
Decades later, the shooting remains one of the attacks associated with the Zodiac Killer. The letters, ciphers and claims of responsibility helped turn the case into a mystery that continued long after the night of the shooting.
But behind all the ciphers and unanswered questions was a real couple sitting alone in a car.
One of them died that night.
The other survived.
