Many claim to be child of the Zodiac Killer; Louisiana man is only the latest

(CNN) -- His declaration grabbed the ear: I am the son of a mass murderer whose dark deeds and enigmatic identity spawned silver screen thrillers. I am the son of the Zodiac Killer.

Gary Stewart of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, may be the latest person to claim lineage with the infamous psycho murderer who inspired the movies "Zodiac" and "Dirty Harry."

But he's not the first to say he is descended from a man who police suspect killed five people in northern California in the late 1960s, then taunted the public with creepy letters to the media.

Zodiac has never been caught. And he has, in all, 37 people's lives on his conscience, he has said in his cryptic claims of responsibility.

He also may have spawned a child. Others before Stewart have purported to be his offspring.

There's the self-proclaimed "Stepson of the Zodiac Killer," Dennis Kaufman, who has appeared on TV news and a crime show touting his deceased stepfather Jack Tarrance as the crazed killer. He said his stepfather's handwriting was similar to the killer's.

There's Deborah Perez, who said she wrote some of the claims of responsibility for her father, Guy Ward Hendrickson, when she was 7 years old. Her half-sister called her claims lies.

There's Steve Hodel, who says his father was a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle -- the paper to which the Zodiac Killer sent his mocking notes. His claim too was discounted.