Zodiac Killer’s Code Cracked Using Computers: FBI

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — A letter sent by the Zodiac Killer to the San Francisco Chronicle in 1969, written in a code made up of letters and symbols, has finally been decoded by three people working on different continents.

Zodiac is an infamous serial killer who has never been identified or caught. The FBI attributes 5 killings to him, although Zodiac claimed in letters to have killed more. The letters taunted police and continued to arrive years after his last known attack.

The FBI on Friday confirmed in a tweet that the code had been broken. It said, “The FBI is aware that a cipher attributed to the Zodiac Killer was recently solved by private citizens. The Zodiac Killer case remains an ongoing investigation for the FBI San Francisco division and our local law enforcement partners. The Zodiac Killer terrorized multiple communities across Northern California and even though decades have gone by, we continue to seek justice for the victims of these brutal crimes. Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, and out of respect for the victims and their families, we will not be providing further comment at this time.”

In a video posted to YouTube, American computer programmer David Oranchak said that he had worked with Belgian programmer Jarl Van Eycke, and Australian applied mathematician Sam Blake to break the code.

According to the Oranchak, the 340 cipher reads —

I HOPE YOU ARE HAVING LOTS OF FUN IN TRYING TO CATCH ME
THAT WASNT ME ON THE TV SHOW
WHICH BRINGS UP A POINT ABOUT ME
I AM NOT AFRAID OF THE GAS CHAMBER
BECAUSE IT WILL SEND ME TO PARADICE ALL THE SOONER
BECAUSE I NOW HAVE ENOUGH SLAVES TO WORK FOR ME
WHERE EVERYONE ELSE HAS NOTHING WHEN THEY REACH PARADICE
SO THEY ARE AFRAID OF DEATH
I AM NOT AFRAID BECAUSE I KNOW THAT MY NEW LIFE IS
LIFE WILL BE AN EASY ONE IN PARADICE DEATH

Here is Oranchak's video on YouTube, which explains the incredibly complex cipher and how the men cracked it —

The amateur codebreakers were disappointed that Zodiac did not reveal his real name.

The Zodiac Killer is known to have killed 5 people in 1968 and 1969 including 2 teenagers in Benicia, a young woman in Vallejo, another young woman at Lake Berryessa, and a cab driver in San Francisco. The victims were between the ages of 16 and 29.

Two men survived his attacks and have helped police through the years.