Introduction
At a length of 13 symbols, the Zodiac Killer’s My Name Is cipher is very short. In fact, it’s so short that it’s unlikely any proposed solution will be universally accepted unless it can be corroborated with other evidence in the case, which is unlikely to happen at this late date…
One could consider these circumstances and conclude that there’s really no point in trying to solve the cipher; if the solution will be unverifiable, why bother? You will probably be unsurprised to learn, I disagree. Apart from the intellectual challenge of trying to decipher the cryptogram’s meaning, the almost certain motivation that drove the killer to create the cipher suggests that it may indeed conceal some version of the killer’s true name which, in turn, means the cipher may be one of the best remaining opportunities that we have to actually identify the Zodiac.
While these circumstances mean that I cannot say to an absolute degree of certainty that the solution I am about to propose is correct, what I can say is that it’s reasonable — unlike much of the Zodiac killer cipher speculation out there. It’s based on a solid understanding of ciphers and thorough knowledge of the case. It makes sense from a number of different perspectives. Moreover, this solution is, in an important structural way, similar to my proposed solution for the killer’s 32 cipher (which I am not going to go into at this time).
My Name Is Cipher Solution — Step 1
The first observation to make regards the three repeated symbols in the middle of the cipher. As others before me have noted, the symbol is a taurus sign enclosed within a circle. Some people refer to it as an eight within a circle; but, we can tell it’s a taurus symbol because, if you look closely, you can see that the top of the eight is not closed.
A straight-forward solution would suggest that we should replace this symbol with a letter. However, there are multiple reasons to conclude that this straight-forward approach is incorrect. First, the high repetition rate of the symbol makes the likelihood of it representing a single letter low. Even though these symbols may exist within different parts of a first and last name, having a single letter that appears three times in the span of five letters is improbable.
Second, the symbol itself is telling us something. In all of his writing, the killer used this encircled taurus symbol a total of zero other times. Beyond its rarity, the symbol is also intricate, if not ornate. The author is using this special symbol to serve a special purpose. It’s not the same as the other symbols. Its uniqueness is meaningful.
So what purpose is it serving? I submit that the author is using this symbol to divide the cipher into four different sections.
My Name Is Cipher Solution — Step 2
Our next step is to try to make sense of the different sections. Fortunately, the final three sections have a familiar structure that is often associated is a name, in particular: first initial, middle initial, and last name. Not only does this possibility make sense from a structural perspective, but it also feels like a logical choice for the killer to make: instead of providing a complete name, he’s using some initials.
Understanding this structure, we can begin to see the implications of the symbol repetition. Specifically, the middle initial is the same as the last letter of the last name.
Furthermore, two letters of the last name are shared with the first section. Here we can begin to see the purpose of the initial section. It should be some type of easily inferable word or phrase that, once solved, will provide part of the solution to the last name. It’s an extraneous aid to decipherment.
Lastly, since the symbols for the first initial and the first letter of the last name are used nowhere else in the cipher, they are both completely unconstrained and therefore they each can represent any letter.
My Name Is Cipher Solution — Step 3
Turning our attention to the first section, we have an extra four symbols. One of these symbols, however, is at the exact opposite end of the spectrum from the encircled taurus symbol in that it has appeared in nearly every communication authored by the killer. That symbol, of course, is the zodiac symbol.
This symbol has a meaning, and we know what the meaning is; it represents the killer’s murderous persona: the Zodiac.
Assuming this is correct, we have three unknown symbols and the zodiac symbol right before a first initial, middle initial, and last name. What three-letter word or phrase could precede the Zodiac in this context. Really, there is only one possibility that makes sense: I am.
Additional Support
Did the killer leave a clue to the cipher if the form of the first two words of the subsequent sentence?
There is one more reason to believe that the first three symbols of the cryptogram encipher the phrase I am. The killer wrote I am right under the symbols. It’s a very comfortable stretch of the imagination to consider that the killer chose this sentence and the left alignment of the cipher (instead of indenting it) specifically to provide a clue to the cipher’s decryption.
Full Solution
Putting all of these pieces together, we arrive at the following solution where:
- The encircled taurus symbols have been replaced with periods.
- The two completely unconstrained letters (each of which can be any letter) are shown as underscores.
- The single unknown letter that represents both the middle initial and the last letter of the last name is shown as X.
I A M [the Zodiac] . _ . X . _ M I X
There are a couple of possibilities that fit these constraints; the strongest is probably the following (I’ve removed the first section since it is no longer serving a purpose). As you can see, the first initial remains unknown; the rest, however, have been assigned.
? . T . S M I T
Now, if we entertain the possibility that the killer may have opted to omit a letter from his last name in the interest of reducing the probability that somebody might actually solve the cipher, we arrive at what the Zodiac might have called a rather interesting possibility:
? . T . S M I T H
Epilogue
Anybody know a man who fits the following?
- Is or would have been approximately 80 years old
- Middle name starts with the letter T
- Last name is Smit or Smith
- Lived in Southern California in 1964
- Lived in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1969
If so, let me know 🙂
I have seen many theories on this cipher and this is a better dissection than most, however I am still unconvinced by all of them, including my own for that matter. When I look at his initial opening gambit, the Zodiac states “This is the Zodiac speaking. By the way have you cracked the last cipher I sent you. My name is….”
Then what follows, in theory, should flow seamlessly, so taking your example we have ” This is the Zodiac speaking. By the way have you cracked the last cipher I sent you. My name is I am the Zodiac …..T Smith” for example, and thereby from an English language standpoint, appears disjointed, although I accept that Zodiac was hardly a grammatical beacon of excellence. However, as always, another well presented article Mike. In view of your belief that these three symbols to be Taurus symbols and the similarity of the other symbol to be an upside down Aries symbol, it smacks of the Zodiac horoscope and calendar. Take a look at this calendar representation (link below) and bearing in mind a full moon is regarded as full above 95% illumination, and the date of April 20th 1970, the date this letter was mailed, can you see another connection to this cipher, whether meant by Zodiac or not. Then visit the further link for another clue.
http://www.almanac.com/astronomy/moon/calendar/CA/San%20Francisco/1970-04
http://www.astrology-zodiac-signs.com/
A good dose of skepticism is a healthy thing; so, of course, I cannot fault you for being skeptical.
In my view, whatever disjointedness is present is not a concern. The first two sentences are simply an introduction. The “My Name Is —” phrase makes the connection to Dr. D.C.B. Marsh’s challenge, and the cipher has whatever structure the killer chose for it. That it might be something other that a straight forward name is not surprising, to me at least.
The inclusions of the Aries and Taurus signs and their relation to the date is an interesting point. I continue to believe, however, that the date itself was only chosen because of the the six-month anniversary of Marsh’s challenge.
As an aside, it’s notable that April 20th is Hitler’s birthday and, relatedly, the day on which the Columbine massacre happened — Harris and Klebold specifically chose the date of the latter to coincide with the former. Undoubtedly, it’s a coincidence in terms of the Zodiac letter, but it’s an interesting one.
Those are good points, however, I have to disagree with you on the disjointedness part. In previous Zodiac letters, he did misspell “paradise”, which means it can be inferred that the Zodiac Killer is not a grammatical genius. So, disjointedness can be excused.
I know the answer to the zodiac My Name is cipher. So far, all I have had is resistance to the truth… May I share the actual solution here, not to disagree with anyone, but to give you what you have been searching for for 50 years. The Zodiac Killer’s real name!
The site identifies the correct elements, but the decoder may not have had the context to figure out the ‘correct’ translation.
The Answer: AEN = North East Asians / NAM = Vietnam / K = Known / M = moniker / anchor represents the Naval Branch of The United States Military –
What was the known Moniker of North East Asians in Vietnam in 1969 by the United States Military (Navy) ? Answer: Viet Cong . Call letters : Victor Charlie ; KM: “Charlie”
remember “Charlie Don’t surf!” – The real name of the Zodiac Killer is “Charlie”
Interesting take, Michael. But I have to agree with Richard, that “My name is… I am the Zodiac” etc. is disjointed – though I understand how you might infer that “I am” could be a clue. You may well be on the right track (at least one more logical than many others). Instead of “I am”, perhaps the first three letters are simply “The” and the Zodiac symbol is just “Zodiac”. You’d be left with “My name is… The Zodiac (name)”. Not that it gets you any closer to an actual name, but it does flow a bit better.
Regardless, I’ve enjoyed reading your take on many aspects of the case. Well done site. Thank you.
Thanks Aquiman. For those who know where to look, there is actually a previous incarnation of this solution that I contributed, many years ago, to the digital landscape that is the internet. In that version, I considered the possibility that the first three symbol instances could represent “THE” with the zodiac symbol simply meaning “Zodiac,” as you suggest.
But, in the intervening years, I’ve come to appreciate that the killer’s persona is definitely “The Zodiac.” This point is something that Graysmith never fully understood — hence the book named simply Zodiac and the constant references to “Zodiac.” And since the book was so popular, many others have followed suit, most notably Fincher in the form of the movie that’s largely based on the book.
Nevertheless, because of this interpretation, and given the potential “I am” clue, I now, personally, do not believe that “THE” is a likely solution to the first three symbols.
Congratulations Michael for the post, for me the reasoning does make sense.
I thought that the last symbol would be a double letter, such ‘th’. In such case, the last name would be ‘Smith’, what implies the middle name would starts with ‘Th’.
A quite common middle name stating that way is ‘Theodore’.
Hence the full name would be: First nam Theodore Smith.
With this info and some research, maybe it would be possible to find a suspect that could be a good fit.
Thank you for your great work!
Hi Juanjo,
That’s an interesting idea regarding the final symbol representing ‘TH’. It’s certainly possible. ‘Theodore’ is a good fit. ‘Thomas’ is also good.
Of course, all such names also fit with the idea of the last symbol just being ‘T’ and the killer leaving off the final ‘H’. Even if we identify the right person, we might not ever know which way he was intending it to be interpreted…
Blaine Thorman Smith, that’s insane he is still ignored https://www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/z13-blaine-blaine.627294/
Just finished the trilogy, which I found superb. Congratulations, Michael! Very intrigued by your thoughts about the 13 cipher. My comment was going to be the same as these earlier readers–that THE would make more sense than I AM. “My name is– THE Zodiac. AKA, _ A _ ____.” I was playing with the possibility that the @ [circle 8] symbol might be an A. Like all others, I failed to find a satisfactory answer in terms of the killer’s name, however.
Two other very quick thoughts: Re Paul AVERLY… the legal definition of “aver” means to allege as a fact. Might have been some wordplay there on the Zodiac’s part when he misspelled Paul Avery’s name.
Very tiny nitpick: Footnote in vol. 3, section 3.5.1., is located in correct place chronologically but incorrectly states the moon landing was in 1970. It was 1969. Forgive that mention–easy to fix for next printing. I’m a writer and journalist (20 years at LA Times) and I thought you did a hell of a job of synthesizing all of the information in this unbelievably complex story and laying out a clear and persuasive narrative. Bravo! Well done!
Hi David,
Thanks for the kind words.
Yeah, as I mention in one of the other comments, I used to entertain the possibility that the first three letters could be THE. But, I have since become strongly convinced that the Zodiac symbol is intended to represent “THE ZODIAC,” which means the three symbols need to be something else. And, of course, there’s the whole I AM clue underneath the cipher. In any event, there’s a lot of room for different opinions…
That’s an interesting observation about Paul Avery’s name and the killer’s misspelling of it.
Thanks for pointing out the mistake; you’re the first person to find that one. It’s funny how you can proofread things so many times and still have mistakes slip through… I’ll fix it.
Thanks again!
I think the whole thing is his actual name, including the zodiac symbol. His first name is Dana or Gene, or some short name with 2 vowels.
I am __ A __ A or __ E __ E. I’m not aware of any male names with I, O, or U with that pattern.
If it’s Dana, then the last name is __ A __ __ I __
If it’s Gene, then the last name is __ E __ __ I __
Of course, I have no idea if this theory is any better than others.
Really enjoy your site and, like you, am fascinated by the Zodiac case.
In regards to the never ending quest to decipher – my strong suspicion is that “his” name is not in any of the ciphers. He had promised in the first one to reveal himself and instead lied – which is hardly surprising, since he doesn’t play by a sense of fair play. He enjoys to taunt above all else, in my opinion.
More to the point, with a number of cryptographical experts failing to find a solution along with dozens (perhaps hundreds) of eager amateurs It seems hard to believe his unsolved ciphers are real.
Although I respect your opinion and no one knows for sure I believe absolutely his name is in some of the ciphers never forget that two lines of the 408 have never been deciphered and most police believe they either have a name address or more likely someone who knew who the killer was it would have gave him great pleasure as he was a egomaniac to send his very name to the police I don’t believe he would have been able to resist which is my why he made the deciphers so hard to solve he wants to get credit for his murders just after his death
His full name is in Z408, missed by Hardens 50 years ago. Last name is in Z340, and I cannot tell you what is in the rest, they are also solved. And this is totally 100 percent true. His name is known by LE only at this time. And a few other people.
Oh good. And here I was worried this case might never be solved…
what about Robert Graysmith?
As for “The Zodiac” that’s referencing a style of murder but if you change it to Zodiac, it’s personifies and tells the tale of a man meaning that Zodiac is more then just enjoying a kill but rather that is another one of himself…. a bit hard to explain but yeah.
Hey wanted to let you know, Robert Graysmith’s Original name was Robert Gray Smith before he had it changed. Go ahead and look it up.
I, too, have been hung up on Robert Grey Smith (changed to Greysmith later on as an adult.)
I’m fascinated that there are still responses to this page, which I stop by and check every few weeks for a year or so now
Dear Michael:
You will truly love my work!
I have fully completed and solved the three (3) Ciphers left behind by the Zodiac.
The American Cryptogram Association suggested I contact various website Authors,
like yourself, in hopes you would know of the FBI Agent that I should contact that is:
1) familiar with the Zodiac Killer Case and
2) would have the knowledge and authority to review my work and authenticate / verify
that I have solved all three (3) remaining Zodiac Cipher Codes.
I have fully deciphered the:
1) 8 November 1969 – 340 Cipher
2) 20 April 1970 – Name Cipher / 13-letter Cipher
3) 26 June 1970 / 26 July 1970 – Mt. Diablo Code.
I have Canadian Copyright Registered my work under:
1) Book: “Code Game” – Canadian Copyright #1143041 and
2) Book: “Mt. Diablo: The Zodiac’s Masterpiece” – Canadian Copyright #1127310
I sincerely look forward to hearing back from you with the FBI Agent that I
should contact.
Very Best,
Linda L. Fraser
Thanks for your comment, Linda.
The right person to contact at the FBI, to the best of my knowledge, is Daniel Olson. Here’s a link that has the contents of a letter from him regarding the Zodiac ciphers.
I have to point out that there is a much higher probability that you’ve simply convinced yourself that your solutions are correct, than that they are actually correct. Many people would argue that the same statement applies to my two proposed solutions. It’s just the nature of the problem…
If the three Taurus symbols represent spaces then Zodiac has a four letter first name, two middle initials and a four letter last name.
Assuming a likely range of birth years for an American serial killer active in 1969, Zodiac’s first name is most likely John, Paul, Jack, Carl, Fred, Earl, Gary, Dale, Leon, Glen, Dean, Jose, Dick, Neil, Tony, Joel, Mike, Karl, Otis, Mark, Juan, Alex, Bill, Gene, Hugh, Lyle, Ivan, Emil, Alan, Eric, Lynn, Dave, Karl, or Kent.
Depending on the first name the last name would most likely be Aijn, Alba, Albu, Baak, Baar, Baas, Bean, Bret, Cino, Cola, Cole, Dean, Eads, Earl, Fear, Fini, Finn, Frei, Gaal, Grec, Grey, Haak, Haas, Head, Hier, Holt, Jain, King, Lupo, Maas, Naim, Neal, Peak, Pini, Rais, Read, Rios, Solo, Ughi, Vega, Volk, Voll, Wade, Wolf, Zini or Zino .
Any suggestions on how to proceed further?
I have a question I know for a fact that I have solved this cipher so I was interested if anyone knew of any reward money available for solving it . And no I’m not telling anyone till I have revealed it publicly. I’m extremely confident that my solution will stand up to ANYBODY’S SCRUTINY including the F.B.I. the C.I.A , N.S.A. I garuntee you I have solved but I don’t want to go unpaid for my work so if you know about any prize money or reward I will be grateful for that information. I did a quick search but found nothing
James,
There is no reward for solving this cipher, apart from the gratitude of many an interested person. If financial compensation for your time and effort is what you want, then you’re better off spending your energy elsewhere…
The truth is, you’re just the latest person to guarantee a solution to one of these ciphers. It happens, not infrequently.
The fact that you are guaranteeing a solution to this cipher tells me that you don’t understand ciphers well enough to have solved it. A solution to this cipher, even the correct one, cannot be guaranteed; unless, I suppose, you are the killer (I’m assuming you’re not).
I’m sure this is not the response you wanted. For that, I apologize. But, reality often cares little about what we want…
Mr. Cole,
I would like to hear your thoughts on Craig Bauer’s (et al.) 340 cipher “solution” promoted on the recent History Channel, “Hunt for the Zodiac Killer.” David Oranchak is also part of that five-member expert code team assembled by computer scientist, Dr. Kevin Knight for Karga Seven Pictures, Inc.
Please help me. I’m finding it difficult to reconcile their confident “solution” results with the many years of past cautions/guides/lectures like this one by Oranchak: http://www.zodiackillerciphers.com/?p=602
These are intelligent academics and researchers who must have known what (contractually) they were entering, surely we can’t just put it down to the editing tricks of a TV production company.
I hope your very next blog post will discuss and clarify this topic. Thank you.
Thanks for your question. Please, call me Mike.
I’m a bit busy at the moment, working on my book in what little time I can wrestle away from that pesky thing known as a day job…
I don’t buy the solution. There are too many “degrees of freedom” (as discussed here).
I’m pretty sure some of the people shown on the show do not truly believe this is the solution either; of course, Craig surely does. I have mixed feelings about this series. Obviously, it’s nice to increase the level of exposure for the case of the Zodiac. But, it’s sad that it falls into some of the common Zodiac pitfalls. Also, several of the best cipher minds in the Zodiac community are involved with the production. So, the very people who are normally available to provide objective analysis, are apparently constrained in ways that they typically would not be.
I would give the link you provided more weight that the information communicated by the show.
In my view, cipher solutions are like combinations. So, when you hear the tell-tale characterization “this is the best solution I’ve seen” (a paraphrase), you should be immediately skeptical. It’s like saying, this combination may not work, but it’s the best one we’ve tried so far. When solutions get close, everything falls into place, which removes remaining ambiguity, exceptionally short ciphers notwithstanding.
Does anybody have any doubt that the solution to the 408 cipher is correct? Of course not. If and when a solution to the 340 is truly found, it will likely enjoy the same level of acceptance.
One of the cipher experts on the show said something that I have not heard before. (Keep in mind I am a novice.) He said a code is not truly known to be cracked until it produces “actionable intelligence.” One reason the Enigma machine in WWII “worked” is because if it said the Luftwaffe was going to bomb Coventry tomorrow night then, sure enough weather permitting, the Luftwaffe bombed Coventry the following night. In other words, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. What actionable intelligence does Baur’s solution provide? For that matter what actionable intelligence did the solved Z480 provide? Short of checking in paradise to see if some souls are waiting at the will call window for the Zodiac to show up I don’t see anything to verify or any way to verify it.
But let’s say both ciphers are truly cracked and it leads to somebody, what then? The suspect could readily admit to writing the ciphers but could very plausibly deny having killed anyone.
As I see it the only communications that warrant serious scrutiny are the ones with details of the Lake Berryessa and Blue Rock Springs shootings and with Paul Stine’s shirt tails. And it is not clear to me that the writer of the Paul Stine letters provides his bonafides to the earlier shootings.
The TV show made this glaringly obvious: there is no consistent modus operandi in any of these killings. It reminds me of the case of Henry Lee Lucas about twenty-five or thirty years ago. The word got out through the law enforcement grape vine that Lucas would confess to any homicide you presented him with. Of course, he had to first take a quick gander at the case file to “refresh” his memory. Detectives were flocking to him from all over the country. By the time he raised the white flag he had admitted to 300 killings. In the Zodiac we may have a Henry Lee Lucas in absentia.
Craig Bauer’s solution reads (I have added spaces for clarity unless otherwise indicated):
HERE IT IS I KILL BOTH
NIGHT AND DAY. I LIVE
BY THE GUN BAREL AIM [space]
SO QUIT WISHING FOR G
AME TO BE OVER PIG IS [space] M
I WRIST NI LOCKS? NOW
ANGRY DANGEROS [3 spaces] I
WONT CHANGE ANY OF GAME
The next (last) seven lines are “gibberish” according to Bauer except that the third of these lines is:
RICHARD M NIKSON
I’m sorry. My computer must have autocorrected and I didn’t catch it.. RICHARD should be misspelled as RICHERD.
Why everybody assumes that there is an one to one letter matching?
Hi Theodore,
Certainly a one-for-one letter match could be an erroneous assumption but as Mike points out above in his reply to Mason, you have to decide how many degrees of freedom you are going to allow yourself. The more degrees the less credible is the solution.
Decoded Confession letter. Pines to Palms to Forest to Lake Hemet. Follow trail to dead end. Cut Rune on tree to mark grave. To prove this look at the word “off” look for the word forest and at the word ” street” for cut rune on tree.
Use original letter with correct spacing. Email me for access to my notes.
I think the name in the cipher is Allen Kaufman. I have no tricky way of arriving at this other than I can just read it. And I can read some sentences in his other ciphers. I don’t think this is his real name though, as I googled “ALLEN KAUFMAN and found that is the name of a famous US chess player from the 1930s and former director of the American Chess Foundation. Seems a fitting joke as the Zodiac killer was known to enjoy the chess match he played with law enforcement.
As a kid I went through a phase of intense fascination with codes, basic cryptography and such. Basic substitution codes are famously trivial; just check the newspaper for the daily cryptoquote. Then, came the grid column resorting by key word, fascinating because the original letters are the same, just mixed by an overriding process. I lost my interest and patience long ago, but wonder how any forensic investigator can confidently know for sure if such short ciphers are really decoded, or if the result is a mix of wishful thinking and “star gazing” – pun intended. If the Zodiac’s intentions were honorable, he would not be murdering people; if he thought the ciphers were a grand game, and wanted to play fair, he risked actually be found out. It seems as likely as not that his real game was misdirection and gloating to watch inept LEO fail to catch him, and thinking he actually was going to provide detectives with useful leads seems more in line with a Hollywood “Sleuth/Inspector Plodder” plotline.
weird enough but there are a lot of news about zodiac on italian press and I cannot find any coverage on us news.
apparently it was solved. and the real name uncovered
https://ostellovolante.wordpress.com/zodiac-codici-soluzioni/
People claiming to have solved the ciphers are common. Objective third parties being convinced by the claims are not… The latter hasn’t really happened since August of 1969 (with the 408 cipher).
l think this is a different case. the man who gave the solution, according to the news, is a 82 yo who moved to ltaly from 1974 to 1990. former army who worked in ltaly for the CID in Tuscany by camp david US base. he was interviewed about an italian murder case he testified as witness back in the 90s. the details of the interview are not fully disclosed yet, but aparently he gave away some info and hints about this cipher. well he actually said he is the man behind those ciphers.
I think you are wrong. There was a letter where he said his initials where rh or hr
You’re certainly entitled to your opinion. But, based on your comment, I don’t think you understand the extent to which I’ve researched this case. I’ve been well aware of the desktop poem for almost two decades now. I don’t even think the Zodiac authored the poem, let alone believe the initials “rh” honestly represent the killer’s name
I feel like I’ve made a pretty compelling case in terms of this solution. There are additional reasons as to why I believe it’s correct, but I won’t be willing to go into those until the book is published…
I cracked it. It says Art (+) Everett Mr. Look I to it. Code Shatterer
knowing more than any ”gentile” about the whys of power, I am 100% certain that Zodiac was a JEW. The intelligence shown by Zodiac regarding anything to do with power would place him as the highest non-jew I have ever seen regarding that. He knew to take credit for ANYTHING in order to prevent a large polarization of power against him that was in reality. The more twists and turns and disinformation, the less likely that many investigators could be on the same page (an unconscious polarization of power against him). Look for a jew only.
dude i took a 5 minute crack at it and by using all three already solved ciphers came up with WEED SH REWH so when the guys have who have been doing this their entire life say its not that easy trust em.
fyi that was a direct one to one letter spelling and by no means do i think it s anywhere near correct
I think the last circle is crab…meaning cancer
My names Is : Arthur Le Allen
https://youtu.be/hUM7HoX8kHg
[Comment removed]
I believe I may have a solution for the 18 unsolved ciphers of the 408 zodiac killer cipher.
I believe it is a form of slang like you would hear from an islander, say like a Jamaican slang dialect. Or a wild child unique language like you might hear in the movie Nell staring Jodie foster.
My solution of the last 18 characters:
E BEORIETEMETHHPITI
E / BE / ORIET / EM / ETH / HPITI
IT / BE / ALRIGHT / THEM / IS / HAPPY
I believe this is a referral to Zodiac’s victims that are already residing in paradise.
Maybe it can be used as a key to the 340 cipher. Or, maybe add meaning to some other clue of a more informed sleuth. Copyright 8/21/2019. Tim W. Cappelli.
There is a prize of US$3,000 on offer for a valid solution to the Zodiac 340 cipher at the Unsolved Problems web site at
http://unsolvedproblems.org/
This is curious…
The sketch of the Zodiac Killer looks like Count Marco without the mustache.
———-
From Wikipedia:
“Zodiac continued to communicate with authorities for the remainder of 1970 via letters and greeting cards to the press. In a letter postmarked April 20, 1970, the Zodiac wrote, “My name is _____,” followed by a 13-character cipher.”
Marco Spinelli has 13 letters
The letter criticizing Marco Spinelli was signed by “the Red Phantom” – 13 letters
They both dissapear after their last “writings”….
They both critized woman.
————
Could they be connected?
Hmmm…that IS curious, it is probably just a coincidence. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t connected.
Follows Greek Ane⊕eke rules. Possible initials.
My name is —
AEN⊕♉K♉M♉λNAM
AJDTOPOSOIDAS
A. J. D. TO POSOIDAS
?
AEN⊕♉KMλ
AJDTOPSI
“A. J. D. dedicates this name code to Poseidon.”
I think it spells “LuaBoyODonald”
the 340 was so easy to crack because it’s only half. Just like the reward poster after, it was meant for mass circulation so fake Z would see it, Fake z did Lass and claimed it as z and gets victim number wrong so real z sends another message. The part craig solved WAS that easy cuz the mush half is not for the cops. there’s messages in there. Possibly sullivan to kane, for example? Fake Z did lull anyways to keep cops busy and real z got pissed again. When did lass reward poster come out? Where CJ bates was killed, Box Spring Mountain is visible…lull’s body was dumped on spring mountain road.
I don’t know how to crack these things, but I stumbled s Across your site so I wanted to pose a question to you. Could this be a name with a title especially if he was found to be using techniques found in a 1950 Army Guide… I feel like to kill without a trace you’d have to have some some for of formal training.
Example would be
Capt . M . F . Cole.
The Taurus with the circle would represent a “.” Separating the title, first initial of the first name, first initial of the middle name and then the last name. I know on my name tag it’s Ofc. C.R. Lastname
Just some food for thought.
I AM ZODIAK A.K.A. OA. _MIO
Here what i am guessing: 8 sound like ATE, the killer sometime spell letter like ABC in spanish or Indonesia, JL = is like note to let you know to read the next letter in reverse. I came up with this final Solution:
“I AM ZODIAC AKA MAILMAN”
Hi everyone..
I was just wondering, could the ‘Taurus’ symbol used three times potentially be Vesica Piscis? This symbol is seen in the Washington Monument (possible clue to current location?) and was used to depict the vagina of goddess ‘Ma’at’. The symbol stands for ‘oversees order of world and restores chaos.’
Another suggestion: the two half-circles back-to-back, without the circle enclosing them, also symbolises ‘name of goddess’. Furthermore, if you are right and the symbol does stand for Taurus, well, that is also a ‘feminine sign’ in astrology. Could it be possible that the killer is female?
Just a stab in the dark. I am new to this and find it fascinating.
That could be true, but that would go against several witnesses and the police sketch. But, as I said, it could be true. For more information, go to the website listed below.
https://zodiackiller.com/
I think I know who the real zodiac killer was…………. Lawrence Kane. I have learned to code, and I have decoded his code. To bad he died in May 2010. Everything adds up, and everything led back to him.
The approach with the three Taurus symbols as separating objects seems logical to me. Both the uniqueness of the sign and the threefold repetition is a very good argument in my opinion.
I would have to make a suggestion for the then probably most important four characters on the right margin: The fourth character from the right, looks to me like an Aries symbol – but upside down. This could be a hint that the order of the characters must be reversed, so the surname must be read backwards. The Zodiac did this partially in the recently cracked 340 cipher, for example.
If you then look at the four characters again, the last character M would be the initial letter of the name and this would then be repeated with one of the two initials:
K . M. MAN@ (@ would be the reversed Aries symbol).
Comparing this sequence with the list of suspects, there is only one name that matches both the shortness of the surname and the recurring letters in the first and last names:
Larry “Kane” Kaye.
Then the cipher would read “L. K. Kaye.”
I’m not an expert on the Zodiac puzzles, but maybe this will help you a bit?
Why was it referenced by someone in this discussion that killer lived in southern CA in 1964?
Hi Kiki,
The killer likely murdered several people in Southern California before relocating to the Bay Area and becoming the Zodiac. The murders he’s suspected of having committed include:
Robert Domingos and Linda Edwards – Gaviota (near Santa Barbara) – June 1963
Joyce and Johnny Ray Swindle – San Diego – February 1964
Cheri Jo Bates – Riverside – October 1966
Hi Michael,
I read your solution in your book, which I found quite interesting. When I saw SMIT(H), the first thing that popped into my head was that, if valid, the Zodiac was playing another game. Smith, of course, is the most famous way of saying “Anonymous” for people checking -in to hotel rooms. It was a running joke. So perhaps that was the case here and he was getting the last laugh, yet again.
Thanks for reading. I hope that’s not true, but it’s certainly a possibility…
If it is Smith, and a joke, then the first initial would almost certainly be ‘J’ for John.
Mike,
What if this code is a fake? I know I know, it’s far-fetched but if he’s a serial killer, he probably won’t give us his real name.
I’m not saying this is true, it’s just a theory.
May I please post my theory here. There are 40 theories why not let mine be debated?
On June 30,2021, Kevin Fagan, San Francisco Chronicle Zodiac reporter, printed an article entitled: Zodiac killer code cracked? The S.F. Chronicle gets tips like this almost every day (sfchronicle.com) The article was written to address the most recent claims of solving the famous 340 cipher written by the murderer known as the ‘Zodiac’. In that article, Kevin reiterates his confidence in a group led by a Zodiac investigator named David Oranchak, who stated his solution to the 340 Cipher was confirmed by the FBI. However, no direct statement saying that this group solved the infamous 340 cipher was ever released by the FBI and the FBI stated, “It is still an open investigation”. In what seemed like a throw-away paragraph in the article, Kevin Fagan mentions a few newcomers to the Zodiac investigation. In the first line he states, ” It’s impossible to count all the others in the hunt. Just this month, they include Steve Butler, a Southern California app developer who says the ciphers are truncated words indicating the Zodiac’s name is Charlie.”
Upon reading that line in the article, Steven responded to an email sent to him by Kevin Fagan and after the conversation, took Kevin’s advice and used the ‘Comment Section’ of the article to ‘prove’ that the information he had de-ciphered was ‘truly’ correct and identifies not only the Zodiac, but the motive for the killings, as described in the ciphers, letters, cards and notes that were mailed to the S. F. Chronicle.
In the Zodiac community, a cipher called the ‘My Name Is … ” Cipher was thought to not actual have the name of the Zodiac in it and many believed and still believe that it would never be solved. David Oranchak believes he solved it and that it reads ” I am Crack Proof “. His interpretations were presented as results from keys being ran by a supercomputer to unlock letter and symbol shifts.
Steven Butler, the app developer from Playa Vista, Ca., delivered a ‘VERY’ different result. Not being a cryptologist and having time on his hands due to Covid-19 lockdown, Mr. Butler read an article saying the Zodiac Killer ciphers had not been solved in overs 50 years. Intrigued by this mystery, he went online and began to look at the images of the letters and cards and to examine the ciphers. He noticed the ‘My Name is… cipher in a letter sent to the S. F. Chronicle. It occurred to him that this cipher was a ‘Single’ line of text, while the others were several paragraphs and or pages. His question to himself was ‘why’? – Without a background in cryptology, Steven had no ideas about letter substitution or algorithms and all the other things associated with the science, so he decided to read all the letters and cards and concentrate on the parts written in plain English, to get a ‘sense’ of the persona called the ‘Zodiac’. A particular phrase caught his eye. In one letter about a bomb, the Zodiac says he never was going to use a bomb to hurt children as he had stated in an earlier communication, and that he was not the person who set off a bomb at a police station earlier that month. However, he went on to say that ‘Killing a Police Officer is Ok, because they can shoot back.” Steven wondered what kind of person would say something like that. That is when he believes he received the clue that would ‘unlock’ all the answers to all the ciphers and codes and letters and cards of the “Zodiac Killer’.
Steven surmised that not only do you have to think like that, but you must act like that to be an ‘effective’ member of the military. You have to accept that shooting at people who shoot at you is not only acceptable but required. That is when he remembered the ‘One Line” cipher called, “My Name Is”… The cipher was written as follows – AEN(zodiac symbol)@K@M@(navy anchor)NAM – Steven saw something he thought to be familiar, the letters NAM seemed like how you would describe Vietnam on a ‘personalized’ licensed plate. So, he approached the task of deciphering the Zodiac Code like solving personalized license plates vs. a supercomputer taking on a numerical cryptologic masterpiece.
AEN, he figured would translate as Northeast Asia and NAM was Vietnam. So, after a few guesses he settled on K and M as abbreviations for ‘Known Moniker” and the Navy anchor symbolized the group that the known moniker would come from. Upon researching that information, it turned out that the Northeast Asians in Vietnam, during the conflict were described as ‘VC’. ‘VC’ was ‘short’ for the radio call symbol ‘Victor Charlie’. However, the Known Moniker among service members for ‘Victor Charlie’ was simply spoken as “Charlie”, a name made most famous in the movie ‘Apocalypse Now’, by the famous line, “Charlie, don’t surf”. This is how he concluded that the first name of the Zodiac Killer is ‘Charlie”!
On the afternoon of September 27, 1969, college students and friends Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard had settled along the shore of Lake Berryessa for a relaxing afternoon visit. According to Bryan, he and Cecelia were lying on the ground along the shoreline when she noticed a man lingering in the shade of some trees nearby. Suddenly he appeared wearing a bizarre, hooded costume that had a white crossed circle stitched onto the front. The assailant held the frightened coeds at gunpoint as he explained that he intended to rob them and make his escape. Bryan and Cecilia were bound with clothesline, and, just as they had hoped that the ordeal was about to end in mere inconvenience, the hooded stranger set upon them with a foot-long knife. When the savage attack was over, the stranger simply walked away and left his victims to die. Cecelia died several days later. Bryan survived. Zodiac Killer – Lake Berryessa (zodiackillerfacts.com)
After the stabbing, the Zodiac used a black marker to draw a large, crossed circle on the door of Bryan’s car. Then he listed the dates of the two shootings and added this notation. “Sept. 27 69 6:30 by knife”. An hour later a call was received by Napa County Police Department to report the murder attempts and it is believed that that call came from the Zodiac Killer himself from a pay phone nearby. Based on information from the decoded portions of the letters, cards and notes sent by the Zodiac to the San Francisco Chronicle, the Zodiac would have answered to the name of ‘Charlie’ or ‘Chuck’, would have been born in 1938 and most likely attended St. Ignatius High School. (This information has not been confirmed by law enforcement and is subject to verification) – If you recognize this sketch and it resembles someone you know with these characteristics, 5′ 8″ tall, stocky’ dark hair parted on the left side that was approximately 160 – 180lbs in 1969 – Please contact law enforcement with that information. (That was the description of the person of interest for the Lake Berryessa Murder and Attempted Murder)
(There is one piece of information Mr. Butler has withheld from the public but provided to law enforcement. In case of a challenge of his results, this piece of information, he believes validates that he has unlocked the coding method which was employed by the Persona called ‘The Zodiac’.)
For further reference and all his conclusions and the process and work to un-code the Zodiac, upon the suggestion of Kevin Fagan (The San Francisco Chronicle ‘Zodiac’ Reporter, Mr. Steven Butler published all his research and conclusions in the ‘comment’ section of the article mentioned above. Zodiac killer code cracked? The S.F. Chronicle gets tips like this almost every day (sfchronicle.com)
You seem to be posting this in multiple places on the internet. I’m not sure what your goal is… All I can say is that: (a) The solution found by David Oranchak, Sam Blake, and Jarl Van Eycke is clearly and unquestionably correct, (b) the FBI said it was aware that the 340 “…was recently solved…” (c) I’m not aware of Dave proposing a solution to the “My Name Is…” cipher, and (d) the stuff in your comment is the kind of stuff we see from time to time, and I’m sure none of it (except the recitation of basic facts) is correct.
The keys to the ciphers are in the killer’s head. They died with him. But then again there is no such thing as a secret. Everyone thinks they know so much about the Zodiac. If truth be told how would you know? Whats the point? It seemed like random killings but were they? Perhaps in his mind there was a line between the innocent and the guilty. Maybe he liked to be the hero, the avenger. Why? What was it like to grow up Zodiac? Who was he protecting? Did anyone cry when he died or was he murdered and his greatest fear became his reality? Why was he never caught? Thats my final thought.
I hardly believe to be the first who notes that but Richard Gaikowski is accused by a very weird person known as Blaine Blaine or Goldcatcher whose full name is Blaine Thorman Smith (B. T. Smith)! Considering the fact your article was published before Goldcatcher’s full name and before Z-340 (which also has issue with missed letter H) descryption, now I feel sure your idea just got proven by the time and the Zodiac Killer is actually B. T. Smith
I think it’s simple –
It’s a bunch of letters thrown together, which if decoded, would be a word jumble, which would need to be played with, in order to find the correct name.
The back of shoot is T. Removing T and A CID from the name of Radetich gives REH.
He was letting people know that he was going to kill Richard Radetich and he did.
Robert E. Hunter, Jr. knew him or at least he was watching him.????????
The Z13 does not contain any name whatsoever. The Z32 does not contain any bomb information. Z32 says Solar, Enkman, Emperor of Japan. Z13 says Glasses male me. You find a file that allows those special chat to be held in buffer, drag and drop in google translator, hit enter. Theres your answer on right, you do every “cipher” this way – they are language translations solved 2 years ago. ALL of them. He lived in Middle east starting 75, then returned. Daughter born there. He could not cipher, although millions believe he did. There was a dna match in another state, but we dont need to talk about that now. 4 lines were done on TV, there is 15 left, and those were done by someone else, They are all done. The 4 lines done has a missing word and three errors.
Yes it is possible to have 3 char close together in a translation. The reason why it is possible during a translation to another language is a foreign word can either expand or contract, which happens with all so called ciphers.