High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Robert Graysmith (born September 17, 1942) is an American true crime author. He was working as a political cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle in 1969 when the Zodiac Killer case came to light. Graysmith attempted to decode letters written by the killer. He became obsessed with the case over the next thirteen years, finally confronting the person he suspected, Arthur Leigh Allen, at his workplace. His second marriage ended in divorce, which he directly attributes to his intense interest in the case. Graysmith wrote two books about the case, eventually giving up his career as a Pulitzer-prize nominated cartoonist to write five more books on high-profile crimes, one of which became the basis for the 2002 film, Auto Focus. The 2007 movie Zodiac, directed by David Fincher, was partly based on his books and featured Jake Gyllenhaal as Graysmith. Graysmith now lives in San Francisco.