After 51 years coded messages of Zodiac Killer deciphered: FBI

The long-awaited mystery of the 340-character cipher has been solved and it turns out to be a taunting message.

The cipher was mailed to The San Francisco Chronicle in November 1969 and since then cryptographers, law enforcement agents were trying to decode it but couldn’t succeed. The 340 character cipher was expected to put light on the serial killers’ identity but it turns out to be another taunting message and revealed the attention-seeking personality of the killer.

David Oranchak a software developer in Virginia has claimed to solved the coded messages. He said that the code is self-boasting messages from the killer, translated to “I hope you are having lots of fun in trying to catch me” and “I am not afraid of the gas chamber”. Oranchak achieved the decoding of the cipher along with his partner Sam Blake from Melbourne, Australia, and Jarl Van Eycke from Belgium who is an applied mathematician and a warehouse operator and computer programmer respectively.

David Oranchak who owns a website and Youtube series about the serial killer ( Zodiac Killer) said he has been trying for the last 14 years to decipher the code and he’s thrilled to reveal it. Oranchak also said that he is worried about the family of victims and the impact the message will leave on them.

“The message in that cipher — I don’t see it as being helpful to them,” he said. “It’s more of the same junk that the killer liked to write about. It’s just intended to hurt people and make them afraid.”

Zodiac killer was the name given to the infamous serial killer of America. He operated his misdeeds between the late 1960s to the early 1970s in Northern California. Although the identity of the killer remained unknown he became known due to using cryptograms. He sends a series of letters and cards San Francisco Bay Area press taunting the police and boasting about himself.
Five murders in Benicia, Vallejo, Napa County, and San Francisco, respectively, between December 1968 and October 1969 are registered in his name and he claimed to have murdered 37 victims. The Psychopath usually targeted young couples. Two men had survived his murder attempts.
According to the reports Zodiac was nothing more than a Psycoptah and an attention seeker. In one of his early ciphers, he sent to the police he said, “like(d) killing people because it is so much fun.” He was believed to be a narcissist.

The case is still open and victims are still awaiting justice. The unsolved cipher was hoped to bring a clue about the identity of the killer but all the efforts go in vain.
Although, the FBI had approved the decoding of cipher by David Oranchak and his mates.
Before approving the claims, the FBI appointed a team of code-crackers in its Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit and verified the code.

“Over the past 51 years, C.R.R.U. has reviewed numerous proposed solutions from the public — none of which had merit,” said F.B.I. “The cipher was recently solved by a team of three private citizens.”
“The Zodiac Killer case remains an ongoing investigation for the F.B.I. San Francisco division and our local law enforcement partners,” the office said. “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.”

The San Francisco officials denied any further comment on the issue due to “the ongoing nature of the investigation, and out of respect for the victims and their families.”