# The Zodiac ciphers > The Zodiac Killer mailed four ciphers to Bay Area newspapers in 1969 and 1970. The 408-symbol cipher was solved within a week by a Salinas couple; the… Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) Updated: 2026-10-27T17:48:34+00:00 --- **MYS** 0D71P8TJ5WTD·Mystery · document # The Zodiac ciphers **0** [Follow][Ask a question](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions/key-questions?mystery=zodiac-ciphers) The Zodiac ciphers ![A view of Lake Berryessa in Napa Valley.](https://mysteriesdept.com/media/folio/zodiac-ciphers-lead) Haha169 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Z408 408 symbols in three parts; mailed 31 July 1969; solved 8 August 1969 by Donald and Bettye Harden⁠[[1]] Z340 340 symbols, 63 distinct; mailed 8 November 1969; solved December 2020⁠[[1]] Z340 system Homophonic substitution with a (1,2)-decimation transposition applied to two 9-row sections⁠[[1]] FBI confirmation 11 December 2020; CRRU says it independently verified the decryption⁠[[1]] Z13 13 symbols, mailed 20 April 1970 after 'My name is'; unsolved⁠[[1]] Z32 32 symbols, mailed 26 June 1970 with a map; unsolved⁠[[1]] Z340 unicity distance At most 152 characters (von zur Gathen 2023)⁠[[7]] Status Partly explained Questions 1 of 4 answered People [**David Oranchak** Software developer; co-solver of Z340; maintains the transcriptions](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/people/FIG0D71PAS2760T/david-oranchak)[**Sam Blake** Australian mathematician; co-solver of Z340](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/people/FIG0D71PB0W0M22/sam-blake)[**Jarl Van Eycke** Belgian programmer; author of AZdecrypt; co-solver of Z340](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/people/FIG0D71PB8P1YFT/jarl-van-eycke)[**Bettye Harden** Solved Z408 with her husband](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/people/FIG0D71PAH85AQV/bettye-harden)[**Donald Harden** Salinas teacher; solved Z408 with his wife](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/people/FIG0D71PA9E298W/donald-harden) All 6 people › [**The Zodiac Killer** Unidentified writer of the letters and ciphers](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/people/FIG0D71PA1M6FM0/the-zodiac-killer) Catalog key**MYS** 0D71P8TJ5WTD Between July 1969 and June 1970 the man who called himself the Zodiac sent four ciphers to newspapers in the San Francisco Bay Area, along with letters claiming murders in Vallejo, Lake Berryessa and San Francisco. He was never identified⁠[[1]]⁠[[2]]. The first cipher, Z408, came in three parts to three papers on 31 July 1969. On 8 August Donald and Bettye Harden, a schoolteacher and his wife in Salinas, sent the Chronicle a solution: a homophonic substitution whose text boasts of killing and of collecting "slaves for my afterlife" and ends in 18 letters that read as nonsense⁠[[1]]⁠[[3]]. The second, Z340, arrived on 8 November 1969 and resisted the FBI, the NSA, Navy cryptographers and fifty years of amateurs. In December 2020 Oranchak, Blake and Van Eycke showed it to be a homophonic substitution whose plaintext had been rearranged by a regular diagonal transposition. The FBI's cryptanalysis unit confirmed their decryption on 11 December 2020⁠[[1]]⁠[[4]]. Two short ciphers remain. Z13 (April 1970) follows the words "My name is"; Z32 (June 1970) came with a map and a claim that it gave the place of a bomb. Both are too short, with too many distinct symbols, for any reading to be shown unique under ordinary substitution⁠[[1]]. Of the 4 questions on this site, 1 are answered. ### Key questionsset by the editors [**Does Z32 encode a location?** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/questions/QST0D71PEP27A6T/does-z32-encode-a-location)No answer ahead yet [**Is the 2020 decryption of Z340 the true message?** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/questions/QST0D71PE6E3RE4/is-the-2020-decryption-of-z340-the-true-message)Answered: the Oranchak, Blake and Van Eycke decryption is the message the writer enciphered. [**What does Z13 say?** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/questions/QST0D71PEE83PWE/what-does-z13-say)No answer ahead yet [All 4 questions ](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions/key-questions?mystery=zodiac-ciphers) ## The object The ciphers are handwritten grids of letters, reversed letters, Greek-like signs and geometric symbols. Z408 is 24 rows of 17 symbols using 54 distinct symbols; Z340 is 20 rows of 17 using 63; Z13 is a single line of 13; Z32 two lines of 17 and 15, with 29 distinct symbols among its 32⁠[[1]]⁠[[5]]. Researchers work from ASCII transcriptions in which each drawn symbol is represented by one keyboard character; this project uses Oranchak's, which are the basis of the solvers' published work⁠[[5]]. [![Z408 (three sheets mailed to the Times-Herald, Examiner and Chronicle)](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/71d4c9506c5c40f264b100beb672e04c4867f58a32e4b766baf69a7f38cd6a3e.jpg)](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/artifacts/ART0D71PP887D0G/z408-three-sheets-mailed-to-the-times-herald-examiner-and) Z408 (three sheets mailed to the Times-Herald, Examiner and Chronicle)The Zodiac Killer, 1969. Public domain[Artifact ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/artifacts/ART0D71PP887D0G/z408-three-sheets-mailed-to-the-times-herald-examiner-and) Z408 was published in the Vallejo Times-Herald, the San Francisco Examiner and the San Francisco Chronicle in early August 1969 at the writer's demand. Z340 was published in the Chronicle on 12 and 13 November 1969⁠[[1]]. The originals are evidence in an open case; the FBI's released files include its 1969 cryptanalysis reports⁠[[6]]. **Map of the continent** [Open the full map](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/map) [+][−] 1 **FBI Laboratory, Department of Justice Building, Washington, D.C.** Laboratory Within 100 m 2 **FBI Laboratory, Quantico, Virginia** Laboratory Within 1 km 3 **Salinas, California** City Within 10 km 4 **Vallejo, California** City Within 10 km 5 **San Francisco, California** City Within 10 km MappedWithin 1 kmA regionNatural Earth ### Timeline **Timeline** Squeezed where little happened. Each mark is a published claim, by how it stands:AcceptedMost likelyStill possibleDisputedRuled out ## What is known Z408 decodes with a 54-symbol homophonic key into 390 letters of English with misspellings ("forrest", "anamal", "paradice") followed by 18 unread letters, EBEORIETEMETHHPITI⁠[[1]]. Its key rebuilt from this project's transcription is consistent except for one symbol that reads A five times and S three times, which is either an encoding slip or two drawn symbols merged in transcription. [![Z340 (one sheet mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle)](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/e6819cf3a1bfb1119e7d6643a915a26be59f91e5bf61d558017c7b499194c1d5.jpg)](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/artifacts/ART0D71PPQW7WX1/z340-one-sheet-mailed-to-the-san-francisco-chronicle) Z340 (one sheet mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle)The Zodiac Killer, 1969. Public domain[Artifact ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/artifacts/ART0D71PPQW7WX1/z340-one-sheet-mailed-to-the-san-francisco-chronicle) Z340's solution has three parts. Rows 1 to 9 and rows 10 to 18 are each read by starting at the top left and stepping one row down and two columns right, wrapping at the edges; rows 19 and 20 are read in order with some words reversed. A symbol skipped on row 15 and an excluded fragment (LIFE IS) explain the garbles the solvers first met⁠[[1]]. The plaintext begins "I hope you are having lots of fun in trying to catch me that wasnt me on the TV show", a reference to a caller who claimed to be the Zodiac on Jim Dunbar's programme on 22 October 1969, and ends "my new life will be an easy one in paradice life is death"⁠[[1]]. Applying the derived key to the first nine transposed rows maps all 63 symbols with no conflicts, which this project confirmed with the data file. Neither solved cipher names the writer. Z408 says "I will not give you my name"; Z340 continues the afterlife theme⁠[[1]]. ## What has been tested Z340 was tried with the Z408 key within days, and by the FBI in a report of 18 December 1969 that found the Z408 key failed and suspected transposition⁠[[1]]⁠[[6]]. From 2006 onward, open software (ZKDecrypto, AZdecrypt) used hill-climbing on n-gram statistics to break homophonic ciphers automatically. Statistical work by the solvers' community found an excess of repeated symbol pairs at a spacing of 19, which pointed to a regular transposition. In 2020 Blake generated a batch of 655,088 transposition variants and Oranchak ran them through AZdecrypt; a (1,2)-decimation of the first nine rows produced readable fragments, which cribs then completed⁠[[1]]. Joachim von zur Gathen estimated the unicity distance of Z340's whole system, homophonic substitution plus sectioning, transposition and irregularities, at no more than 152 characters. Since the cipher has 340, a second readable decryption under the same system is very unlikely⁠[[7]]. [![The 20 April 1970 letter with Z13](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/e0e2b1d20e8ec572b32b1247557389e115b3e6740ec957d3f009444305cb619f.png)](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/artifacts/ART0D71PQ7G6W87/the-20-april-1970-letter-with-z13) The 20 April 1970 letter with Z132230redondo, 1970. CC BY-SA 4.0[Artifact ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/artifacts/ART0D71PQ7G6W87/the-20-april-1970-letter-with-z13) [![The 26 June 1970 letter with Z32 and the marked map](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/v/927a9e0fc684dfe441b0fa60c8b44f48ed999dc636dc80aefd8b81496fa6d61c/w800)](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/artifacts/ART0D71PQFA1NYK/the-26-june-1970-letter-with-z32-and-the-marked-map) The 26 June 1970 letter with Z32 and the marked mapThe Zodiac Killer, 1970. Public domain[Artifact ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/artifacts/ART0D71PQFA1NYK/the-26-june-1970-letter-with-z32-and-the-marked-map) For Z13 and Z32 no such argument exists. Thousands of plausible names fit Z13 under substitution, and Z32's 29 distinct symbols allow almost any 32-letter phrase⁠[[8]]⁠[[1]]. The last 18 letters of Z408 are in the same position: 15 of their 18 symbols are unique there⁠[[1]]. Published claims, such as a 2024 preprint reading Z32 as directions from Mount Diablo, have not been accepted by the cryptanalysts who solved Z340 or confirmed by investigators⁠[[9]]. ## The readings For Z340 the competing readings were settled by the 2020 solution: earlier claimed solutions, including Gareth Penn's and Robert Graysmith's, relied on anagramming or free rearrangement and were rejected by the FBI, which says it reviewed many proposals over 51 years and found none with merit⁠[[1]]. The 2020 decryption is accepted because the transposition is regular, the plaintext was not forced, it refers to a datable event of October 1969, and its length is above the unicity distance⁠[[1]]⁠[[7]]. For Z13 the main readings are a name under substitution (many candidates), a non-name phrase, or a cipher with a further step like Z340's. For Z32 they are a location under substitution with the map's radian setting, a non-location taunt, or meaningless symbols. For the Z408 tail they are filler copied from above to square the third section, or a second message under another key⁠[[1]]. None of these can currently be tested to a conclusion. ### Published claims **Published claims and their status** | Year | Who | Claimed | Status | Reason | |---|---|---|---|---| | 1969 | Donald and Bettye Harden⁠[1] | Z408 is a homophonic substitution cipher whose English text boasts of killing and of collecting slaves for the writer's afterlife. | Accepted | The key reads 390 letters of consistent English, and the 2020 solvers and the FBI accept it⁠[1]. | | 1969 | FBI Laboratory cryptanalysts⁠[10] | The Z408 key does not read Z340, and the second cipher probably involves a transposition. | Accepted | The 2020 solution found exactly that: a homophonic substitution with its text rearranged by a diagonal transposition⁠[1]. | | 2020 | David Oranchak, Sam Blake and Jarl Van Eycke⁠[1] | Z340 is a homophonic substitution whose plaintext was rearranged by a regular diagonal transposition, and it reads as a message referring to an October 1969 TV call. | Accepted | Confirmed by the FBI's cryptanalysis unit and above the unicity distance of the system, so a second reading is very unlikely⁠[4]⁠[7]. | | 2020 | FBI San Francisco⁠[4] | The Z340 cipher was solved by private citizens, and the FBI's cryptanalysts confirmed the decryption. | Accepted | The solvers' full method was published in 2024 and no rival reading of Z340 has been accepted⁠[1]. | | 2023 | Joachim von zur Gathen⁠[7] | The unicity distance of Z340's full system is at most 152 characters, well under the cipher's 340. | Accepted | Holds under three models of the plaintext language and supports the uniqueness of the 2020 solution⁠[7]. | | 2024 | David Oranchak, Sam Blake and Jarl Van Eycke⁠[1] | Z13 and Z32 are too short, with too many distinct symbols, for any proposed reading to be shown unique. | Accepted | Thousands of names fit Z13 under substitution, and Z32 has 29 distinct symbols in 32⁠[8]⁠[1]. | | 2024 | David Oranchak, Sam Blake and Jarl Van Eycke⁠[1] | The last 18 letters of Z408 are probably filler, copied from symbols above, to make the third part the same size as the others. | Most likely | Fits the layout, but 15 of the 18 symbols are unique there, so a second message cannot be excluded⁠[1]. | | 2024 | Allen (SSRN preprint)⁠[9] | Z32 gives directions from Mount Diablo, read with the radian markings on the map sent with it. | Disputed | Not accepted by the cryptanalysts who solved Z340 or confirmed by investigators, and Z32 is too short for any reading to be shown unique⁠[1]. | ## What would settle it For Z13 and Z32, the solvers name three routes: solid links between the solved ciphers' construction and the short ones; discovery that the short ciphers were copied from a source with a known solution; or the writer's worksheets. A confession or the identification of the writer by other means would also allow a candidate to be checked⁠[[1]]. A new statistical argument cannot overcome the length limit on its own. ## Questions 1 of 4 questions are answered. **Key questions** [All 4](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions/key-questions?mystery=zodiac-ciphers) **0** [Does Z32 encode a location?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/questions/QST0D71PEP27A6T/does-z32-encode-a-location) 0 of 0 sub-questions answered·0 Open: 3 answers, none ahead **0** [Is the 2020 decryption of Z340 the true message?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/questions/QST0D71PE6E3RE4/is-the-2020-decryption-of-z340-the-true-message) 0 of 1 sub-questions answered·0 Answered: The Oranchak, Blake and Van Eycke decryption is the message the writer enciphered. **0** [What does Z13 say?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/questions/QST0D71PEE83PWE/what-does-z13-say) 0 of 0 sub-questions answered·0 Open: 4 answers, none ahead ## Evidence 14 findings [Is the 2020 decryption of Z340 the true message?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/questions/QST0D71PE6E3RE4/is-the-2020-decryption-of-z340-the-true-message)6 findings [The Oranchak, Blake and Van Eycke decryption is the message the writer enciphered.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/answers/ANS0D71PF5P4ZMP/the-oranchak-blake-and-van-eycke-decryption-is-the-message)Most likely +[A key derived from the first nine transposed rows maps all 63 symbols with no conflicts and reads the rest, after two documented corrections.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/evidence/EVD0D71PFDG382N/a-key-derived-from-the-first-nine-transposed-rows-maps-all)Established +[The FBI's CRRU says it independently verified the decryption (statement of 11 December 2020).](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/evidence/EVD0D71PFNA2XSJ/the-fbis-crru-says-it-independently-verified-the-decryption)Established +[The plaintext refers to the caller on Jim Dunbar's TV programme of 22 October 1969, seventeen days before the cipher was mailed.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/evidence/EVD0D71PFX41ST5/the-plaintext-refers-to-the-caller-on-jim-dunbars-tv)Supported +[The unicity distance of the full system is at most 152 characters, well below 340.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/evidence/EVD0D71PG4Y1RJP/the-unicity-distance-of-the-full-system-is-at-most-152)Supported −[The placement of LIFE IS and the row-15 shift are the solvers' corrections, not features read directly off the cipher.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/evidence/EVD0D71PGCR1JAP/the-placement-of-life-is-and-the-row-15-shift-are-the)Suggestive [An earlier claimed solution (Graysmith, Penn and others) is correct and the 2020 reading is a coincidence.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/answers/ANS0D71PGMJ5JDY/an-earlier-claimed-solution-graysmith-penn-and-others-is)Disputed −[Earlier claims used anagramming or free rearrangement; the FBI found none with merit over 51 years.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/evidence/EVD0D71PGWC02TJ/earlier-claims-used-anagramming-or-free-rearrangement-the)Established [What does Z13 say?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/questions/QST0D71PEE83PWE/what-does-z13-say)3 findings [Z13 is a simple substitution of the writer's name or alias.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/answers/ANS0D71PHC06HYE/z13-is-a-simple-substitution-of-the-writers-name-or-alias)Still possible −[Thousands of names and phrases fit the pattern; nothing selects among them.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/evidence/EVD0D71PHKT11F1/thousands-of-names-and-phrases-fit-the-pattern-nothing)Established [Z13 uses a further step (transposition, nulls, or a key unlike Z408's), as Z340 did.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/answers/ANS0D71PHVM3PW3/z13-uses-a-further-step-transposition-nulls-or-a-key-unlike)Still possible +[Z340 showed the writer added transposition and irregularities to homophonic substitution.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/evidence/EVD0D71PJ3E3KHB/z340-showed-the-writer-added-transposition-and)Suggestive [Z13 does not encode a name; it is a taunt or meaningless.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/answers/ANS0D71PJB87R91/z13-does-not-encode-a-name-it-is-a-taunt-or-meaningless)Still possible +[Z408 explicitly refuses to give his name, and Z340 contains none.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/evidence/EVD0D71PJK2014E/z408-explicitly-refuses-to-give-his-name-and-z340-contains)Suggestive [Does Z32 encode a location?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/questions/QST0D71PEP27A6T/does-z32-encode-a-location)3 findings [Z32 encodes a location or setting for the map's radian markings (for example a radian and inch measure from…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/answers/ANS0D71PK2P1XTM/z32-encodes-a-location-or-setting-for-the-maps-radian)Still possible +[The covering letter says the code and the map give the bomb's location.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/evidence/EVD0D71PKAG57EP/the-covering-letter-says-the-code-and-the-map-give-the-bombs)Established −[Twenty-nine of 32 symbols are unique, so many locations fit equally well.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/evidence/EVD0D71PKJA4MQQ/twenty-nine-of-32-symbols-are-unique-so-many-locations-fit)Established [Z32 is a bluff and encodes nothing usable.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/answers/ANS0D71PKT47Q58/z32-is-a-bluff-and-encodes-nothing-usable)Still possible +[The two solved ciphers contain boasts, not operational information.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/evidence/EVD0D71PM1Y105K/the-two-solved-ciphers-contain-boasts-not-operational)Suggestive [What are the last 18 letters of Z408?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/questions/QST0D71PEXW0XFF/what-are-the-last-18-letters-of-z408)2 findings [The tail is filler, copied from symbols above, to make the third section match the other two in size.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/answers/ANS0D71PMHJ495N/the-tail-is-filler-copied-from-symbols-above-to-make-the)Most likely +[The symbols in the tail appear to repeat symbols from the rows above.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/evidence/EVD0D71PMSC4RHT/the-symbols-in-the-tail-appear-to-repeat-symbols-from-the)Suggestive [The tail is a second message under a different key or procedure.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/answers/ANS0D71PN160V6W/the-tail-is-a-second-message-under-a-different-key-or)Still possible −[Fifteen of its 18 symbols are unique there, so many readings fit and none is preferred.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/evidence/EVD0D71PN904YQ5/fifteen-of-its-18-symbols-are-unique-there-so-many-readings)Established ## Artifacts The films, photos, papers and objects this mystery rests on, each with its own key and its distance from the original. **Artifacts** [See all 34](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/artifacts) Photo2 steps from object [Z408 (three sheets mailed to the Times-Herald, Examiner and Chronicle)](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/artifacts/ART0D71PP887D0G/z408-three-sheets-mailed-to-the-times-herald-examiner-and) The Zodiac Killer · Public domain (US, published without notice) Photo1 step from object [Z340 (one sheet mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle)](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/artifacts/ART0D71PPQW7WX1/z340-one-sheet-mailed-to-the-san-francisco-chronicle) The Zodiac Killer · Public domain (US, published without notice) Transcription2 steps from object [The 20 April 1970 letter with Z13](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/artifacts/ART0D71PQ7G6W87/the-20-april-1970-letter-with-z13) 2230redondo · CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo1 step from object [The 26 June 1970 letter with Z32 and the marked map](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/artifacts/ART0D71PQFA1NYK/the-26-june-1970-letter-with-z32-and-the-marked-map) The Zodiac Killer · Public domain (US) Photo1 step from object [The FBI's Zodiac file, with the Laboratory's 1969 cryptanalysis of Z340](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/artifacts/ART0D71PSNM64P5/the-fbis-zodiac-file-with-the-laboratorys-1969-cryptanalysis) Federal Bureau of Investigation · Public domain (US government work) [See all 34 artifacts](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/zodiac-ciphers/artifacts) ## See also [ **Copiale cipher** A 105-page cipher manuscript broken in 2011, the rule book of a secret society. ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/copiale-cipher) [ **Ricky McCormick's notes** Two pages of letter groups in the pockets of a man found dead in Missouri in 1999. ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/ricky-mccormick-notes) [ **Beale ciphers** Three number ciphers in an 1885 Virginia pamphlet said to locate buried gold. ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/beale-ciphers) [ **Dorabella cipher** An 1897 note of 87 semicircle symbols from Edward Elgar to Dora Penny, still unread. ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dorabella-cipher) ## References 1. 1.[Oranchak, D., Blake, S., Van Eycke, J. 2024. The Solution of the Zodiac Killer's 340-Character Cipher. arXiv:2403.17350 [cs.AI], 26 March 2024.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D71P64M215H/the-solution-of-the-zodiac-killers-340-character-cipher)cited 38 times here**SRC** 0D71P64M215H 1. 2.[Wikipedia contributors n.d.. Zodiac Killer. Wikipedia.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D71P8AY64XM/zodiac-killer)cited 2 times here**SRC** 0D71P8AY64XM 1. 3.[San Francisco Chronicle 1969. A 'Murder Code' Broken. San Francisco Chronicle, 9 August 1969.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D71P73W1E02/a-murder-code-broken)cited 2 times here**SRC** 0D71P73W1E02 1. 4.[Johnson, A. 2020. FBI: Private citizens solve cipher attributed to Zodiac killer. KION News Channel 5/46, 11 December 2020.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D71P6M86CW5/fbi-private-citizens-solve-cipher-attributed-to-zodiac)cited 3 times here**SRC** 0D71P6M86CW5 1. 5.[Oranchak, D. n.d.. Zodiac Killer Ciphers Wiki: Webtoy's transcription scheme; Unsolved 13-character 'My name is' cipher; Unsolved 32-character 'map code' cipher. zodiackillerciphers.com.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D71P7KG5XD0/zodiac-killer-ciphers-wiki-webtoys-transcription-scheme)[doi](https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvc77608.8)cited 2 times here**SRC** 0D71P7KG5XD0 1. 6.[Federal Bureau of Investigation n.d.. The Zodiac Killer (FBI Records: The Vault). FBI Records - The Vault.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D71P6W25AN6/the-zodiac-killer-fbi-records-the-vault)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1163/2468-1733_shafr_sim140020061)cited 5 times here**SRC** 0D71P6W25AN6 1. 7.[von zur Gathen, J. 2023. Unicity distance of the Zodiac-340 cipher. Cryptologia 47(5): 474-488.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D71P6CE73Y3/unicity-distance-of-the-zodiac-340-cipher)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1080/01611194.2023.2174821)cited 4 times here**SRC** 0D71P6CE73Y3 1. 8.[Oranchak, D. n.d.. Z13 Solutions. zodiackillerciphers.com wiki.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D71P7VA13XB/z13-solutions)cited 3 times here**SRC** 0D71P7VA13XB 1. 9.[Allen 2024. A Proposed Solution to the Zodiac Killer's 32-Character "Mount Diablo Cipher". SSRN.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D71P8342RGJ/a-proposed-solution-to-the-zodiac-killers-32-character-mount)[doi](https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4715713)cited 3 times here**SRC** 0D71P8342RGJ 1. 10.[Federal Bureau of Investigation 1969. The Zodiac Killer Part 01. FBI Records: The Vault.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D71P8TJ0ZHY/the-zodiac-killer-part-01)cited 2 times here**SRC** 0D71P8TJ0ZHY Last edited 27 Oct 2026