Ed Neil first heard about the Zodiac Killer in 1989-90. He had moved to American Canyon in 1989 (just 8 miles from Lake Herman Road where the Zodiac case started), attended Sonoma State University (where Arthur Leigh Allen, the most well-known Zodiac suspect attended in the 1970's). He began studying the Z case in January 1993, received his degree in history in 1993 and received his certification in massage therapy in 1995. He then met Tom Voigt online in 1998, and became a major contributor to his site and his message board.