The Zodiac Killer
Who is The Zodiac Killer? Will we ever figure out who committed those gruesome murders? What about those unsolvable ciphers, will anyone crack them? These are few of the common questions people that are familiar with the Zodiac might be asking. The zodiac killer was responsible for the murder of at least 5 confirmed victims, but has admitted to killing around 37, which he confessed to through personal letters sent to the police and newspapers. The murders took place throughout the 1960’s, and early 1970’s, in the North California area. The fact that the Zodiac killer had not been identified or caught, sparked fear and terror in the lives of the victims families, as well of the citizens that lived nearby. Even though the police came up with some suspects, being that there was no sufficient evidence, prevented the incarceration of those who were thought to be involved.
The cause for the Zodiac killer becoming so well known was the interaction he had with the police, as well as the newspaper chronicles. On July 5, 1969, one day after the Blue Rock Springs Attacks, and six months after the Lake Herman Road attacks, an anonymous call was made to the police from a local payphone. The man on the line claimed responsibility for both killings.
He also gave information that only the police or the actual killer would know, and then hung up.
Soon after he made contact once again, this time in the form of letters. In total there were 18 letters over the ten year period where he carried out most of his crimes.
Timeline:
-On August 1, 1969, The Zodiac Killer wrote a cryptogram and divided it into three sections. Each section was sent to three different chronicles, along with information about the murders that only the police, or the murderer would know. The three chronicles were in the area surrounding the murders, The Vallejo Times Herald, the San Francisco Chronicle, and The San Francisco Examiner. The Zodiac Killer threatened that if the letters were not published then he would go on a killing spree, and so the chronicles had no choice but to comply. All three sections put together are referred to as the Z-408 cipher, due to the character length of the symbols. Less than a week after its publication, the Z-408 cipher was cracked by a high school teacher and his wife. They claimed to have spent 20 hours until it was solved.
-On August 4th,1969, is first recorded time of which Zodiac referred to himself as “Zodiac.”
Along with him declaring his name, he signed the letter with the symbol of a cross hair. The symbol is also heavily associated with “Zodiac Watches.” This further strengthened his identity.
-On November 8th, 1969, The zodiac writes his 8th letter, along with another cryptogram referred to as Z-340.
To this day, many decades later, there still hasn't been a definitive answer that is agreed upon. The true identity remains one of the worlds greatest unsolved ciphers, as well as unsolved cases.
-On May 5, 2018, the Vallejo Police Department attempted to collect the DNA that had been found on the envelopes of which the letters were sent in. The results are still processing.
(Fictional)
-On April 18, 2019, The Police were given a mysterious tip about an alternate location, of a previous murder. The Zodiac’s connection to the murder was previously overlooked due to it being in a different country. After the police investigated the area they found a notebook which contained other letters that were never sent to be published.Police hope that this new evidence might lead to the Zodiacs true Identity.
What is a cryptogram?
A cryptogram Is a grouping of text, converted into a code of symbols. Each symbol is used instead of the actual intended letter. This method is used to conceal a message so that only the person that has the answer sheet can decode it. This prevents intruders from eavesdropping in on secret plans, or acquiring sensitive information.
There are many ways of decoding the ciphertext without an answer sheet. One of the methods is called cryptanalysis. Cryptographers use cryptanalysis to look at the symbol frequency, and compare it with the letter frequency. For example, if the most common letter used in the english language is “E,” and the most common symbols used in the ciphertext is “∆,” then it is assumed that E = ∆. Different patterns can give information to the Cryptographers, such as double letters, or comparing common two paired letters.
About the geocache
This is a multi styled mystery cache, and it’s recommended to solve at home before going to the location. Good luck and happy hunting
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