The “Z32” cipher (i.e. the Zodiac Killer’s 32-character-long cipher, also known as the “map code” cipher, or the “Phillips roadmap cipher”) was sent to the San Francisco Chronicle on 26th Jun 1970. It was part of a letter that ended in this way:-
This cipher was accompanied by a section of a map: made by the Phillips 66 company, this was a roadmap of California that at that time was widely available at service stations. (There’s a huge version here.) The Zodiac Killer had placed his signature symbol on top of Mount Diablo, together with what seem to be instructions as to how to link the map with the contents of the cipher.
A follow-up note from the Zodiac Killer (on page 5 of the “little list” letter, postmarked 26th July 1970) added: “PS. The Mt. Diablo code concerns Radians &#inches along the radians“.
Cipher Facts
Only three shapes (the ‘C’-shape, the ‘O’-shape, and the hollow triangle shape) within the ciphertext appear twice: everything else appears exactly once. This seems to imply that we are looking at a homophonic cipher, the same cipher technique that the Zodiac Killer used in his Z408 cipher. As a result, it would be impossible to solve such a small homophonic ciphertext unambiguously without a large amount of extra information, or without knowing the cipher key.
Interestingly, because nearly all of the cipher shapes used in the (solved) Z408 cipher key reappear in this cipher, it seems possible that this might do the trick. Unfortunately, applying the Z408 homophonic cipher key to it yields nothing that makes any obvious sense:-
(C) I F E L N I O W H D A (Ω) N G O A
O E S N B X (shaded box) T (C) E T D I E I
Furthermore, solving this (slightly more language-like) cipher as if it were a newspaper cryptogram again seems to yield nonsense, e.g. “dsbelishourtwichthekingmadearses“.
Geography Facts
The Phillips 66 California roadmap scale for “San Francisco And Vicinity” is 1 inch to about 6.4 miles: so the plaintext should presumably contain both a number (for the direction) and a number in inches (i.e. to be multiplied by 6.4 to give a physical distance in miles along that direction).
The reference to magnetic north seems to imply that the bearing was calculated not from the map, but by eye from the peak of Mount Diablo. (Here’s a video panorama taken from the top platform area, and diagrammatic views facing North and facing South.)
People will always have different opinions on anything to do with the Zodiac Killer, but it seems most likely to me that at the top of Mount Diablo he turned his watch round (or rotated an external bezel) so that 12 o’clock faced magnetic North; and then read off the time (or bezel value) that would point to his bomb target of choice. Hence the plaintext part indicating ‘direction’ could easily be something like a time, though some people have concluded that it would be measured in radians.
In 1970, magnetic North for this area fell 15 degrees clockwise of true North: so for example San Francisco (at 256 degrees round from true North) would have been at about 241 degrees clockwise relative to magnetic North, i.e. extremely close to “eight o’clock”. Similarly, San Mateo sits 227 degrees from true North, i.e. 212 degrees from magnetic North, i.e. extremely close to “seven o’clock”.
Claimed Solutions
The most famous claimed solution to the Z32 cipher was by Gareth Penn, who was convinced that the word “radians” held the key, and that the locations of various killings (relative to Mt Diablo) were determined by some kind of mathematical or geometric scheme. However, it seems fairly unlikely that this was correct, and few now believe that the Zodiac Killer followed the precise scheme suggested by Penn.
Hi Nick:
First impression — I had never seen the “radians” note before, and I didn’t read it as “4” #inches, but as “+” or “&” #inches. The character is looks to me like a downstroke, stop, upstroke, curve around counterclockwise, cross. Unless it’s my imagination, there’s a telling bulge to the right of the downstroke where he went a little “wide-right” on the upstroke. Anyway, that’s how I make a plus sign. Aren’t most people’s 4’s made with downstroke, lift, back to top, down to left and then across?
I would guess he first wrote “concerns radians and inches along the radians” and then clarified (!) it by inserting the “#” with a caret underneath, i.e., “radians and (number of) inches along the radians.” That would suggest that the “inches” are to be measured along the circumference of some circle.
Of course, that also assumes that he knew what a radian is. Maybe you’re right that he didn’t know that. Maybe he meant “radius,” in which case the reference would be to some angle and a distance from the origin. On the other hand, he doesn’t know what a radian is but he gets polar coordinates?
I’m not familiar with the Zodiac history, so no idea if this reading of the note has been considered before.
Best,
Jim
Erm… Wikipedia agrees that it’s a plus sign, so that’s settled 😉
The implication of not having a “4” in the letter would be that the plaintext contains not only a time (direction) but also a distance.
But that information could be sent using just a few characters (very roughly, “40-5” would be enough to specify San Francisco).
So the ciphertext seems relatively long, considering the amount of information needed. The explanation for that could be that he didn’t encipher numerals, so everything is spelled out. If so, likely cribs might be “one” … “twelve”, “twenty” … “fifty”, “minutes”, “inches”. Maybe “hours” as well, although my first impulse would be just to use the minute hand on the map’s “clock” to specify the bearing, e.g. “thirty seven minutes four and one half inches.” Something like that.
I am posting a Zodiac Killer item. I believe that I have figured out the meaning of the final eighteen letters of the 408 SYMBOL CIPHER that was sent to three major newspapers on August 01,1969. The letters were; EBEORIETEMETHHPITI . It translates as; ENEOLCESEOESTTECSC or, ENE OL CE SE OUEST TEC SC . This is a civil service school that was started in 1945. The school is the ENA(ECOLE NATIONALE d’administration. It allows French Civil Servants to enter politics and law more easily. The student must complete a 2-part exam. The ENA has had 5,600 French Senior Officials and 2,600 Foreign Officials graduate from it. Many well known people have graduate from this school.
I believe that the Zodiac Killer may have been one of these graduates. If so, his identity may be obtained with some further research. This is a very interesting case. Let me know what you think. Thank you,
Rick A. Roberts
After giving some more thought to my posting about the 408 SYMBOL CIPHER, I had another idea about who the Zodiac Killer could be. He might be a disgruntled student or applicant of the school(ENA) who did not finish or get accepted to the elite school. Also, I read that many scientists as well as civil servants, and politicians attended the school.
When I looked at the ages of known victims, I find that they were from sixteen to twenty-nine years of age. I wonder if this has any correlation with the age of – let’s say high school to college or college grad plus. Maybe this is why the killer selected from this population?
If one could obtain a list of rejected applicants, or failed students, and or graduates from the ENA from the 1960’s to 1970’s perhaps the Zodiac Killer can be found out. Thank you,
Rick A. Roberts
I have been researching the identity of the Zodiac Killer. At the end of one paper he identifies himself. It states – ” MY NAME IS – “. This cipher has letters and symbols in it. There are thirteen of these. The circle symbol appears with the letter “B” inside of it. This makes a total of sixteen characters in all. When deciphered it reads; TENDONLONHONRNTH or, TEN DON LON HONRATH. The name DON HONRATH appears. Don Honrath was a musical composer. He composed a musical play for theatre on 27 December, 1935 titled, “LO AND BEHOLD”. I also found that he composed other musical arrangements until the late 1960’s. Was DON HONRATH the Zodiac Killer? Had he attended the ENA ? What do you think about this? Thank you,
Richard(Rick) A. Roberts
I have been looking at the Z 32 CIPHER – MAP CODE CIPHER- LOCATION OF BOMB. The following is my deciphering of it ; SIFKLNIRWHDS(END)ORTGOESNBXLTSETDIEI . This translates to ; IS IN FRONT LEFT CORNER NEAR WOODS END AND GO ACROSS SAND BOX LIGHTS SET I DIE .
I am going to try to figure out the mathematical location using radians and degree, minutes, and seconds on the Phillips 66 Map. Truly,
Richard(Rick) A. Roberts
I have deciphered two more Zodiac Killer messages. The first cipher uses circles(symbols). The first symbol is a filled in circle,next is circle with bottom filled in, third is a circle with left side filled in, fourth is circle with top filled in, fifth is circle with period in center of it, sixth is a circle with line across middle from one side to other side, seventh is circle with line vertically through middle of circle, eighth is circle with “B” in it, ninth is circle with cross centered in it. This message reads, “TADIEHNON= D”. Circle with “B”= ON . This message reads, “THE DAY I DIE ON”. The second part of cipher deciphers to “DEPENDS ALL EYES REST SEE CHANNEL KRNE(KRON TV)”.
The second cipher is; HEA><OO(circle with line vertically through center)(circle with line horizontally through center)OL<. This cipher reads; "TEWENNNNHNTN". The message is "TWO & FOUR IN HUNTINGTON". Was the claimed twenty-fourth victim of the Zodiac Killer in Huntington Beach, California?
Rick A. Roberts
I have made a typographical error. The first message reads, “TADIEHNOND”. I accidentally placed an “=” sign in between the last “N” and the last “D”. Thank you,
Rick A. Roberts
I believe that I have deciphered another short message that followed the two previous messages that I posted. The first character is the outline of a triangle, the second is “T”, third is “/”, fourth is a perpendicular symbol, fifth is “W”, sixth is “B”, and the last one is “I”. This message reads, “ISKREOT”, or “RISKETO” or finally, “RISKY TOO”.
Rick A. Roberts
Here is an additional four line Zodiac Killer Cipher that I have deciphered. The first line is, “L”, filled in circle, top horizontal filled in circle, “C”, “<", "+", "F", reverse "L", "W". This is, "TTISNESAE", and reads, "SETS IN EAST". The second line is, "C", circle with "+" centered in it, "W", reverse "C", "P", "O", "S", "H", "T". This is, "SDEVINATS", and reads, "FIVE IN SAINT SS". The third line is, "W", "<", triangle with period centered in it, perpendicular symbol, "B", outline of square, "Y", "O", "B", and reads, "ENAROYUNO", or "YOU ARE IN ONE". The fourth line is, "N", reverse "P", reverse "K", "S", circle with "+" centered in it, "Z", "O", filled in triangle, "A", or "NEIADENST". It reads, "END IN EAST". The message is, "SETS IN EAST FIVE IN SAINT SS YOU ARE IN ONE END IN EAST".
Rick A. Roberts
I think that “SAINT SS”, in the fourth line of the message in the previous cipher that I posted is “SAINT SAN SIMEON”, in California. Thank you,
Rick A. Roberts
I have been doing some calculations on the Zodiac Killer – Location OF BOMB Map and Letter. Using the drawing on the map, I have set out to calculate the number of radians and inches along the radius on the Phillips 66 Map.
First took the scale of 1 inch is congruent to 6.4 miles. The previous letter that I posted mentioned “FIVE IN SAINT SS”. I believe that the “FIVE IN” is five inches. This would be the length of arc, which would be 5 inch X 6.4 miles/inch = 32.0 miles. It is 57.9 miles to San Saint Simeon. Using Pythagorean Theorem A(squared) + B(squared) = C(squared) with a right triangle on the map superimposed over the compass/time symbol results in the following; A(squared) = 32.0(squared) + 57.9(squared). The result is A = 48.277759728901181 mi. . The angle of the right triangle is Sin X (Theta, Angle) = 32mi. /57.9mi., sin(Angle) = .55267702936. Arc Sin of ,55267702936 is 33.551 Degrees 0r 0.58557 Radians . Latitude of location of bomb is congruent to 33.551 degrees. Radians travelled along arc is congruent to 0.58557 Radians .
The Zodiac Killer also instructed to set compass to True North, which I believe I have done, since this would be Geometric Pole or 90 degrees.
In an earlier post, I posted the deciphered message that read; “YOU ARE IN ONE END IN EAST”. This would position you on East end of the Mount Diablo State Park with a heading of True North. Perhaps someone can use the latitude and radians results to locate the exact location of the bomb that the Zodiac Killer said that he had planted.
Rick A. Roberts
There is one thing that I forgot to add to my previous post. The Zodiac Killer wrote on the Map of the Bomb Location to set compass to Magnetic North and not True North. You have to allow eighteen degrees for declination of the angle. Magnetic north is the Magnetic Field of the Earth’s Pole. True North is 90 degrees or the Geometric Pole. I learned that these two are 590 feet apart from one another. This will effect calculations.
Rick A. Roberts
This is in regards to an unrelated cipher. I could not get it to post where I wanted to.
“WIVE”, posted a cipher under, “Very Difficult Cipher”. It was partially deciphered by “Kachnitara”, on October 26. 2013.
This partial deciphering read, “IN THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN WHERE WORLDS BREAK DOWN”. I have further deciphered it to, “IN THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN THE FENCES WHERE WORLDS BREAK DOWN”.
“WIFE” found a second cipher and posted it also. It read, “MARENYMYIALFGIOACLIUARNIISRF”. I believe that this message is; “IN ARE MY MAGICAL COINS IF YOUR EYES ARE IN FOCUS”.
The total message is; “IN THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN THE FENCES WHERE WORLDS BREAK DOWN IN ARE MAGICAL COINS IF YOUR EYES ARE IN FOCUS”. I hope that this helps “WIVE” in some manner.
Rick A. Roberts
HE IS COMING BACK EVERBODY HIDE
im so scared someone help coe to ava !!!
Rick A. Roberts
You are the biggest magician of all times for me.
Thank you for deciphering this text. I lost my hope and here you are.. Thank you so much.
Can you tell me how did you done that?
I almost forgot about that text…
Wive,
I hope that my finished decryption of your text was of help to you. I am curious as to whether you found anything buried between the fences. If there are corner posts, you might try looking around them first using a metal detector with a discriminator to find the coins.
When I looked at the text of the message that your Grandfather left you, I noticed some words that almost jumped out at me. “ARE”, and “MY”. “N”=”IN”. Some of the words are scrambled in the text also. “MAGICAL”, “IF”, “YOUR”, “IN”, “FOCUS”, “COINS”. “AR”=”ARE”, “II”=”EYES”.
I enjoy deciphering texts or codes very much. Thank you for your message to me, and have a great week!
Rick A. Roberts
This article says that solving the cipher as if it were a cryptogram yields “dsbelishourtwichthekingmadearses”. Can anyone tell me where this came from? Also you have to unscramble some of these. This one is “The king’s lies made our arses twitch. HBD.” (HBD = happy birthday) Note that “arses” is British slang. Also your last decipher is “If your eyes are in focus, my magical coins are in the boundaries between the fences where world’s break down.” Both are taunting messages. The latter refers to Charon’s Obol. These coins were to pay the ferryman who took souls to the land of the dead – cf. collecting slaves for the afterlife. Saint SS refers to the saint San Simon (see: Maximon) – he was the equivalent of the ferryman in ancient Mayan culture. The killer certainly knew his mythology.
Now Zodiac was known to use British colloquialisms before, but the British word “arses” stands out and could have deeper meaning. As well as the obvious meaning it’s also the name of an ancient Persian king, which in turn lends itself to a genus of monarch flycatchers (a type of bird). It could be a coincidence in that he mentions “kings” in the same sentence, but the birds connection is interesting. For example, birdwatching is also called twitching; and “twitch” is also a word in this sentence, albeit spelled incorrectly. In one of the Zodiac letters, he writes “Action guide, want Zodiac, watch, FLT. 555, BIRDS FLY SOUTH, hidden magic amulet.” Now “Bird” is slang for “plane”, as well as being British slang for “young woman” – Zodiac often used words with multiple meanings. Monarch Flycatcher could also be a reference to the book Catcher in the Rye in which the protagonist Holden Caulfield asks his cab driver where the ducks go in the winter, and the cab driver thinks he’s crazy – remember the Zodiac also killed a cab driver. Of course this is all sheer speculation. Please take it or leave it as you see fit!
The reason I mention birds is because the Zodiac does too – in one of his letters he incorrectly quotes the story of a dicky-bird who dies of heartbreak which features in The Mikado, “titwillo, titwillo, titwillo.” Now titwillow is slang for imbecile, and “not a dicky bird” literally means nothing at all – it is British Cockney rhyming slang for “not a word”. Its etymology comes from “dicky”, a pet name for Richard. Maybe Goldcatcher is right and Richard Gaikowski was indeed the Zodiac killer. Coincidentally Gaikowski was born on March 14th exactly one month after Valentine’s Day, the day before the sun transits Pisces, on the anniversary of The Mikado’s debut in London in 1885. He was also involuntarily committed to a Napa State Hospital in 1971 on or around this date. His face matches the sketches, a witness reported that his voice matched that of the Zodiac, but the most damning piece of evidence in my mind is that just before she died Darlene Ferrin told survivor Michael Mageau that the name of the man who had been stalking her and had just pulled up in the car beside them was called “Richard”. He mentions this in the documentary “This is the Zodiac speaking” which is currently on youtube.
I just realised I tied your unrelated cipher to the Zodiac case. This was a silly mistake! I don’t have the Zodiac ciphers in front of me so I’m taking these translations as given and formulating a theory from memory. Everything else I said should still open to debate. Cheers!
Years ago I ran the Vigene’re cipher on the Zodiac Letters and one letter produced a first name initial, a middle name initial and a last name. I’m just a novice at deciphering codes and was hoping others who are more advanced at this could use this cipher to confirm or deny my findings.
The hollow and full triangles are on the map also the full square and the X is on the map surely that is obvious
The Normal letters are the first letter of the place name so C is a place name then hollow triangle is a beach
MY NAME IS…..
AENz*K*M*tNAM
NAMAENz*K*M*t
NAMAENz*K*W*T
NAMEIMZ(ODIACK) *J*W*T
NAME I’M ZODIAC J W T (SOLVED)
Bomb Location (its been a few years)
SET RADIAN TO ZERO NORTH OF THIRD ROAD
SheaStewart Cipher of May, 2015. ” wyyoo kwsyr bavrz eowev ye ” = ” it too width pushy as I owe at a ”
Rick A. Roberts
C9JI#OK.AMF8?ORTGXFDVJ%HCELZPW9
(what i decoded, i’m not sure about the percent sign, but i have a theory that the OK. might be oklahma. cordents telling where but i can not figure out the exact stop.)
Try bringing up to scale the first letter’s zodiac symbol’s and superimposing it over the map’s zodiac symbols twice over. and all the double symbols. He said the answers there. I’d try if i had a way to check. Maybe check the history of any big explosions in the area or box office flops, musical flops, earthquakes and such and maybe those line up on the map with the street names and/ or historical buildings or names of songs or movies or sets used in those shows.. He could be a big producer eventually and maybe his first direction debut or production was that next year and he quit killing or went underground. . Doesn’t have to be movies though but something with that direction or producer leadership.
Gunnar: it’s true that the Zodiac Killer and “The Producers” both debuted in 1968, but I’m not sure if I can see any other obvious link between the two.
“Sprrrringtime, for…” 😉
Thanks for commenting and I meant after the last letters were mailed so it would of been in late ’71 or ’72 that he got promoted or something happened. For him in music idk if he was a producer or musician. But something in that realm.
Rick A. Roberts-
Have you ever tried to solve Ricky McCormick’s cipher? This is one of the most interesting to me.
Chris,
Yes, I do have some work that I did on Rick McCormick’s Cipher. I have never posted this work before, but I will post it later today, 10/5/2015. I am just recovering from heart surgery that I had in September. Thanks very much for your interest.
Chris,
I have found some of my work on Rick McCormick’s Cipher. On Page 1 & 2 . I deciphered the following; ” ACSM ” = A SCAM or SCAM . ” fiRST PRSEONDE 71 NCBE ” = FIRST RESP.(RESPOND) ON DE (DECEMBER) 71 IN C.B.E. . ” CDNSE PRSEONSE 74 N CBE ” = SECOND RESP.(RESPOND) ON SE (SEPTEMBER) 74 IN C.B.E. INC. . ” PRTSE PRSE ONREDE 75 NCBE) = PART RESPOND DE (DECEMBER) 75 IN C.B.E. . ” HMCRENMREFCBE ” = FRENCH MEMBER . ” 99, 84.5 ” = Dose Levels In Radiodiagnostic Practice ? ” XDRLX ” = Diagnostic Reference Levels . ” NSREONSE ” =NO REASON . ” 651 MTC SEHTLSENCUTCTRS NMRE ” = 651 MTC THE LENS CUTTER CENTERS . ” SAISTENARSE ” = ARSENIST ? I will post more as I get it untangled. Thanks.
Chris, Rick McCormick’s Cipher. On Page 1 & 2 . I deciphered the following; ” ACSM ” = A SCAM or SCAM . ” fiRST PRSEONDE 71 NCBE ” = FIRST RESP.(RESPOND) ON DE (DECEMBER) 71 IN C.B.E. . ” CDNSE PRSEONSE 74 N CBE ” = SECOND RESP.(RESPOND) ON SE (SEPTEMBER) 74 IN C.B.E. INC. . ” PRTSE PRSE ONREDE 75 NCBE) = PART RESPOND DE (DECEMBER) 75 IN C.B.E. . ” HMCRENMREFCBE ” = FRENCH MEMBER . ” 99, 84.5 ” = Dose Levels In Radiodiagnostic Practice ? ” XDRLX ” = Diagnostic Reference Levels . ” NSREONSE ” =NO REASON . ” 651 MTC SEHTLSENCUTCTRS NMRE ” = 651 MTC THE LENS CUTTER CENTERS . ” SAISTENARSE ” = ARSENIST ? I will post more as I get it untangled. Thanks.
Rick McCormick’s Cipher. On Page 1 & 2 . I deciphered the following; ” ACSM ” = A SCAM or SCAM . ” fiRST PRSEONDE 71 NCBE ” = FIRST RESP.(RESPOND) ON DE (DECEMBER) 71 IN C.B.E. . ” CDNSE PRSEONSE 74 N CBE ” = SECOND RESP.(RESPOND) ON SE (SEPTEMBER) 74 IN C.B.E. INC. . ” PRTSE PRSE ONREDE 75 NCBE) = PART RESPOND DE (DECEMBER) 75 IN C.B.E. . ” HMCRENMREFCBE ” = FRENCH MEMBER . ” 99, 84.5 ” = Dose Levels In Radiodiagnostic Practice ? ” XDRLX ” = Diagnostic Reference Levels . ” NSREONSE ” =NO REASON . ” 651 MTC SEHTLSENCUTCTRS NMRE ” = 651 MTC THE LENS CUTTER CENTERS . ” SAISTENARSE ” = ARSENIST ? I will post more as I get it untangled. Thanks.
Chris, Here is some of my effort on Rick McCormick’s Cipher. On Page 1 & 2 . I deciphered the following; ” ACSM ” = A SCAM or SCAM . ” fiRST PRSEONDE 71 NCBE ” = FIRST RESP.(RESPOND) ON DE (DECEMBER) 71 IN C.B.E. . ” CDNSE PRSEONSE 74 N CBE ” = SECOND RESP.(RESPOND) ON SE (SEPTEMBER) 74 IN C.B.E. INC. . ” PRTSE PRSE ONREDE 75 NCBE) = PART RESPOND DE (DECEMBER) 75 IN C.B.E. . ” HMCRENMREFCBE ” = FRENCH MEMBER . ” 99, 84.5 ” = Dose Levels In Radiodiagnostic Practice ? ” XDRLX ” = Diagnostic Reference Levels . ” NSREONSE ” =NO REASON . ” 651 MTC SEHTLSENCUTCTRS NMRE ” = 651 MTC THE LENS CUTTER CENTERS . ” SAISTENARSE ” = ARSENIST ? I will post more as I get it untangled. Thanks.
Chris, Here is some of my effort . On Page 1 & 2 . I deciphered the following; ” ACSM ” = A SCAM or SCAM . ” fiRST PRSEONDE 71 NCBE ” = FIRST RESP.(RESPOND) ON DE (DECEMBER) 71 IN C.B.E. . ” CDNSE PRSEONSE 74 N CBE ” = SECOND RESP.(RESPOND) ON SE (SEPTEMBER) 74 IN C.B.E. INC. . ” PRTSE PRSE ONREDE 75 NCBE) = PART RESPOND DE (DECEMBER) 75 IN C.B.E. . ” HMCRENMREFCBE ” = FRENCH MEMBER . ” 99, 84.5 ” = Dose Levels In Radiodiagnostic Practice ? ” XDRLX ” = Diagnostic Reference Levels . ” NSREONSE ” =NO REASON . ” 651 MTC SEHTLSENCUTCTRS NMRE ” = 651 MTC THE LENS CUTTER CENTERS . ” SAISTENARSE ” = ARSENIST ? I will post more as I get it untangled. Thanks.
Here are some more deciphered messages of the Zodiac Killer that I have worked on. LOCATION OF BOMB – Cipher reads, “TRIANGLE SHAPE”, “G”, “O”, “^”, “l”, “K”, “.I”, “+”. This deciphers to, “I, A, N, N, C,S,IN, E”, or “IS IN A CASE”. “>”, “U”, “Z”, “/”, “O with Period in center of it”, “O”.This deciphers to, “E, I, E, K, E, N”, or “KEYS IN”. “+”, “t”, “+”, “O with vertical line through it”, “9”. This deciphers to, “E, O, E, N, 9”, or “ENEONE” = “ANYONE”.
I know what the 32 cipher says
It talks of placing something on the map shown to a place north of the limited map shown (near Vallejo)
Then the Z killer emblem lined up with mag north will mark the spot
See my message of February 16, 2014 for the deciphered Z32 Cipher .
@ Nick and Rick:
The Zodiac Killer’s daughter went to New York City’s Medical Examiner/Morgue (about five years ago) to return her derelict father’s remains to the family’s burial plot in California. Because his daughter (and her mother) met with us (about twenty years ago) and we all exchanged our “horror-stories” of life with that lunatic, we all agreed that we would not put ourselves in danger by meeting ever again as long as he was alive.
Please, let the Zodiac Killer “R.I.P” (rest in peace).
bdid1dr,
Have you ever looked at Donna Lass, Sandy Betts on the internet ? Much of my work on the Zodiac Killer Ciphers are posted there. I have thought for some time now that there were four persons involved in the Zodiac Killer Enigma.
@ Rick : Only two — a radioman on the Ticonderoga during the battle of Tonkin Bay — who received an honorable/medical discharge. Previous to his enlistment, he and his buddy would ride their motorcycles to Lake Herman to do ‘wheelies’. The “Zodiac’s” first murder occurred at Lake Herman.
The police officer (Sergeant?) who was in charge of the murders investigation died before he was able to solve the crimes. His records/files of the unsolved mystery were sent to the California “State Police”. As far as I know — it is still an open/unsolved case.
Hey, here a shout from me to help us along, out of the woods or in to the quagmire:
With a little imagination one can see the words
CALIFORNIA MAP NORTH or something along those lines in the first line
and OF and INCHES the lower one. Anyone else fonds that credible? Or totally not?
My imagination doesnt stretch further than that but maybe one of you can follow up on it.
GL
The z32 obviously says “north” on last 5 letters on top row.
just had a first look at cypher …seEn a programme about it.
0=NORTH
3=EAST
6==SOUTH
9==WEST
NO LETTER NORTH THIRD LETTER==S FOR 3
SIXTH LETTER==S FOR 6 NINTH LETTER==W FOR 9
POSSIBLY DENOTE SSW==SOUTH SOUTH WEST
contact me please
stacy: errrm…. why?
Derustzelve, you are closer to the z32 solution than you think! The first line contains the latitude. The second line contains the longitude. My solution of the z32 takes the form of:
CALI latitude value NORTH
X longitude value WEST PWD
So the solution is simple longitude by latitude. It can be solved without deciphering. The only trick is to convert latitude and longitude characters to numbers. I have done so. My solution meets every single clue that Zodiac gives related to the Z32. I’d be more than happy to share the complete solution and likely location with anyone interested.
Mr Pelling,
For some reason part of the syntax of my solution didn’t post. The syntax should read:
CALI {delimiter} latitude value {delimiter} NORTH
X longitude value {delimiter} WEST {signature} postscript
The partially filled geometric shapes are delimiters that bound values and text. Another important point is that the last three characters are NOT fill. If they were fill then we would be trying to solve the Z34! PWD is significant. It has meaning.
David Cobb,
Check out my prior posting of FEB 16, 2014 about location of bomb (Z32) cipher. The ” MY NAME IS … ” Cipher reads, THEODORE OSETH or THEODORE ETOSH. Look at the three circles with an 8 inside of each of them. Each of these represents the letter, ” O “. Who was the man that had a car with a license plate ” 3 888 ” California ? This ties to each of the ” 8’s ” in the ” MY NAME IS … ” Cipher.
Rick,
I believe that those circles with an eight inside are actually circles with a Taurus symbol inside. If you look closely, the top of each eight is not closed. The Zodiac was quite clever.
Upon just fiddling with the map, I arrive at one elementary school, Santa Rita Elementary School as a plausible result of his “school of choice”. I spent time on Google Earth messing around. Cool site!
http://zodiacciphersdecoded.blogspot.com/?m=1
gives the solution to the 408 remainder , bomb , and celebrity ciphers from 1 code key
Please see my previous work that I have posted previously on 16FEB2014 as to “LOCATION OF BOMB”.
My solution is:
S A D M I S I X R R O M / S I N S
/ I N O L I C O S I C / Y I N
I got this by using my decryption of the 340 for this letter, seems he possibly used the same encryption. I used the x because the symbols are virtually the same – the mirrored J with point. See it by yourself. My attempt for the 340 is
I, Aron, lynch in San Francisco Bay. I go an extra risico. I go this run. My laysart. I’m on rage in man. I snit Amen to sky. Sin amoc is risc. Art is lync, is a do, is to fag a sinner rat. As I moan: There is art. I do poetry as new grace. If I sent: Come to SNF [San Francisco], no Santy! Alter a: Enjoy X-Mas. All my act may annex any or is my teachers right [rite]. In car I tabs. I discount car, men! I run no [on] as [Noas] new star of animism rigor.
Could be read otherwise, I are on lynch instead of I am killing; The blind letters form a zodiac sign.
Many interesting things, 4th line, my laysart or my slay art – in letter 14/74 he wrote:
Dear Mr. Editor,
Did you know that the initials SLAY (Symbionese Liberation Army) spell “sla,”
an old Norse word meaning “kill.”
a friend
This code says
COUPLED WITH THE MAP I NW DVC INCHES TWO.
Here is my bomb cipher solution.
Okay I seven ins South of Diablo Mt peak
Or it means nothing and is total rubbish designed to get resources on decoding it while Zodiac laughs.
It would appear that the character set used by the killer included the English alphabet,, the Greek alphabet, and characters borrowed from runes.
ITS A CLOCK!
anyone noticed that the symbol on the map has 0,3,6,9 rounded just like a clock?
now, you can also go with translating the 0 with 12 to represent 0:00 and 12:00
he wrote on the right side of the zodiac symbol which looks like a crossfire or in that case (rose des vent) so, he wrote -12 earlier in the letter to refer a score of 12-0 for him against the SFPD but what if this is it… on the (rose des vents) drawn on the map, its ( 3 ) so either add 12 or remove 12 from that number since the time is calculated in AM and PM 3am=15:00
it really looks like a clock to me…im no expert, not even a longtime Zodiac analyst but that just cant be unseen
The Zodiac Killer has always fascinated me, I have to ask – has anyone ever combined all of the codes together? It was thought that in the recently solved Cipher 304 that the Zodiac had made a mistake leading to the reason that the code remained nigh-unsolvable for the last half-century but what if it wasn’t a mistake?
What if under some combination of the ciphers the Zodiac had managed to create an elaborate code that could only be cracked by the combination of all of the ciphers in a certain order?
Again, I’m unsure if anyone has ever done something like this – I would expect that they have but I can’t find any records of it. Just an interesting thought nonetheless.
I did some reworking on my 16FEB14 deciphering of Z32 – LOCATION OF BOMB. I have came up with, ” SIFTLNIRWDS(OMEGA)NGOA “, & ” OESNBXLTSETDIEI “. ” IS IN FRONT LEFT NEAR WOODS END AND GO ACROSS SANDBOX LIGHTS SET I DIE “. The bomb had a photoelectric cell for detonation. Also, I believe that I found that were three or four playgrounds with sandboxes in the areas near MT. Diablo at State Parks.
All of the above attempts at solutions will fail to satisfy the cryptography experts. Why? Because they tell us more about people’s fanciful imaginations than their code-breaking skills. As with the two solved ciphers, this one will be no different. One thing we should have learned by now is that although he made a few mistakes, Zodiac ALWAYS conformed to the rules of basic code, straight from the old army handbooks. The answer will be in them somewhere but he may have used multiple encryption methods.
imightberelatedtozodiac
It says this in null cipher:
CDJ, I … AM … NORTG … OF … TEH … LAPD
All of the ciphers are solved. His last name is in the Z340 and missed. His full name was in Z408 and was missed by Hardens. Fixed both. That garbage ebormetththi word told you it was there. That word is from 15th century
Then i solved the “gibberish” Z32 says, Glasses Male Me – no name- 1 line
Z32 says Solar enkman Emperor of Japan. – 3 lines The only thing different that we found out is he installed solar panels during the killing years, He owns his own solar panel company now. We have his real name. You can try it yourself.
The way the two small ciphers were solved, take out special char, put rest in google translator hit enter. That is all there is to it. Those arent ciphers -they are translations.
Please see above I put out two ciphers and they must be removed per the FBI, the case is still open and I am not supposed to give out any clues because Zodiac reads about himself and this could blow the case. Must be done ASAP or I am in a lot of trouble. Thank you.
https://ciphermysteries.com/other-ciphers/zodiac-killer-ciphers/zodiac-killer-z32#comment-451328 This is the page where I stupidly put that information. FBI wants it off lest it hurts the case, Z reads about himself on internet and he might find we solved these and run or just kill me. Thanks.
You mean you really believed me? I wanted to find someone stupid enough to print my comments, I made that up to lead people off on purpose. I think its pretty funny Pelling published it.
Sharon Lindimore: tragically, you’re not even one of the ten worst commenters here. But thanks for trying, I’m sure you had fun.
I was not sure that this site was Tom Voights.or if you were a minion to him. He takes everything and turnes it around against you. Hes calling me names on facebook. He does that a lot – hide behind someone else. I apologize to you. And so many of the zodiac people are just plain mean for nothing. The Z crypto people gets their solved checked in 1 day, i wait for 2. YEARS However, I dont think anyone knows this. (now here is the worst information you can get. LE is talking about (seriously letting time run out on this case, (I am not kidding.) They know who and where is. How to get evidence, and they cannot with handwriting. MIP== 4 male 2 women. Suggestion of voice analyst, because that Belli tape has two places he reverts to his real language when he is upset. The musicians I know have an ear, they agree. I sent to SFPD Zodiac, Uscrypto, And SFFBI. (I guess you removed name. Thats really good because if i got wrong name and I Can be sued. One thing I am scared of, and the little girl grandchildren (8) The FBI after 15 months – have not checked anything I did. I think it has something to do with TV cryptos. David used to be in FBI. Another FBI Seageant (even though they name and address. Are not attempting to get DNA. I really have no clue but I wish they will tell us. Hes Dutch. Do not expect ciphers to be solved.
I did something dumb, dumb, dumb. I did get one word correct. I translated English to English. Try with identified language. It doesnt work Must be my meds and I didnt realize. Truth. Try it.
I did something dumb, dumb, dumb. I did get one word correct. I translated English to English. . Try it.
There is a double meaning on all misspellings, and abbreviations, themes on cards and themes on stamps. Misspellings are intentional. You have to know the second word that goes with misspellings. Hes into the number 13, it even was his twitter id. Look at the lyrics in Mikado. It tells where Donna Lass is as well. It also holds the lyrics for “I’ve got a little list.”
This is a possible solution for the Z32; “If only you would arrive by residence CELO. I am”
This solution was used by referencing Z340 & Z408; For example, the first hieroglyph of Z32 can be declared C. How did I get this? Well, Z340 says that C = C; So on either Z340 or Z408 it has no other letter that stands for C, so C=C. Then while Z340 says that the second hieroglyph says unshaded triangle = M but Z408 says unshaded triangle = I; so we have 2 choices; M or I. This is an example.
Because the solutions to Z340 & Z408 both have a first letter in common(i), you can simply start with I. The keyword is CELO(10050 Cielo Drive was the address of the Tate Murders), “I am” has nothing to do with the cipher.
Maybe it’ll help solve the Z13
Thanks,
Hassan
I found a new and interesting theory in:
Beyond the fog of time – Zodiac killer an alternative analysis …
It connects all the ciphers (EBEORI …- Z13 – Z32) and leads to people (!) never investigated …
Did you imagine that Z32 could be read both in one sense and the other? … and always indicates the same geographical area as San Francisco.
The clues collected and the explanations of the logical steps are also convincing.
I respect the author’s work very much, I warmly invite you to read that book.
It’s a really good job …
Hi Nick
I am happy to see that someone other me is open to thinking beyond the solution to the Z32 having anything to do with radians, and merely taking the 12th divisions marked on the Phillips map compass rose at face value. Like you, I find that the direction out from Diablo along ‘8’ to San Francisco has the most interest, particularly given that the Zodiac had only just upped his game to commit a kill in the city, and that all his taunts subsequently were squarely aimed at the SFPD.
As to your interpretation of ‘8’ being ‘8 o’clock’, I would offer an alternative to this however.
Given that we have a person identifying himself with ‘the zodiac’ and dividing a full 360 into 12th parts from zero, I would have to go with the divisional units being ‘SIGNS’. This is consistent with how the zodiac itself is divided, a ‘sign’ being an extension of the sexagesimal system (degrees, minutes, seconds) amounting to 30 degrees. (Compare archaic uses of ‘sign’ as an angular unit in this sense in the astronomical works of Tycho Brahe, Kepler, etc.)
‘EIGHTSIGNSPLUSFOURINCHES’ — “+ # inches” — would complete the majority of the Z32 nicely to hit central San Francisco, and what remains can then be readily interpreted if we carry the encoding for ‘SIGNS’ over into the Z13 and then compare what is left there.
So I’m not like a super smart math person or a cryptologist or anything like that, but when I saw this
dsbelishourtwichthekingmadearses
I was wondering, am I the only one who sees this?
dsbelis | hour | twich | the | king | made | arses
blissed | hour | witch | the | king| made | sears/rases
If this actually means anything, hell if I know.
HI Nick- I want to tell you something pretty funny. You know the WOW signal from outer space? Well if you take 6 and change to 6th letter of the alphabet, take 5, pick the 5th letter of the alphabet. Translate to CZECH to English, It says Fuck It. Ha, ha,ha,
Hi Nick, you may print. Zodiac’s cipher arent ‘ciphers’ Not a one. They all are offshoots of the Arabian language from countries suceeded from Russia. That 4 lines David did you can do in 10 min. All in less than a day. He didnt know how to cipher, he lived in Azbanjani for 10 years, my clue. How you solve. Do Davids first to get the hang of it. How he deciphered a translation is amazing. You take a word or phrase, put it in Google translator, The Zodiac words on left after detecting language, and English on right, hit enter, Now you have some form of arabic. squiggles. Take the squiggles, put on left , repeat process to English. Make sure you use a non image file. Thats the answer, ever cipher has been done this way.
https://allthatsinteresting.com/zodiac-killer-cipher-solved
interesting
Enigmaress: debunked
Z32 says Solar (enkman) Its a solar panel, emperor of japan That is the language Telgu
The delta signs in the cipher may talk about the possible changes in latitude and longitude?
Without knowing much about the case I went online and found more info about the ciphers. I looked up for the letters that were solved at that time and started writing down the symbols used for each letter and found what seems to be a pattern. But I was missing something, so I searched a little more and found the other letter Zodiac sent with a hint where he made a small change that seemed to me had the intention of visually leading people to what he wanted them to see. On the hint letter he changed the position of the annotation (first it was above the horizontal line, then below) placing it closer to the Road I understand is mentioned on the cipher. Also, I think that lightly rearranging the placement of some of the symbol lines a letter can be easily formed. On Z32 each symbol represents one letter except for the black triangle that was used for a word. It says:
“I AM BACK HERE UP NORTH OF ROAD BLACKHAWK”
Leading the police to look up along the north side of the Blackhawk Road. Also the numbers written on the map might indicate a more specific location.
I also have been looking into these ciphers , and I have so far cracked the z13 and the 340 (for real though , the 2020 was a understandable accident, and soon I’ll prove it. But first I’m going to solve the z32 since I’ve solved the other 2 in only a couple months. Might as well get them all done.