Zodiac Killer's Cipher Cracked After 51 Years

After 51 years, a team of amateur codebreakers from around the world managed to crack one of the Zodiac Killer's ciphers. The serial killer mailed the cipher to the San Francisco Chronicle in November 1969, which has stumped some of the world's smartest minds for decades.

The cipher was finally solved by Australian software engineer Sam Blake, American cryptographer David Oranchak and Belgian software engineer Jarl Van. While the mysterious message does not reveal the Zodiac Killer's identity, it did provide some insight into the mind of the person who claimed responsibility for killing as many as 37 people in the San Fransico area.

"I HOPE YOU ARE HAVING LOTS OF FUN IN TRYING TO CATCH ME THAT WASNT ME ON THE TV SHOW WHICH BRINGS UP A POINT ABOUT ME I AM NOT AFRAID OF THE GAS CHAMBER BECAUSE IT WILL SEND ME TO PARADICE," the killer wrote.

He then went on to say that he was not afraid of dying and expected to have an easy life "in paradice death[SIC]."

"ALL THE SOONER BECAUSE I NOW HAVE ENOUGH SLAVES TO WORK FOR ME WHERE EVERYONE ELSE HAS NOTHING WHEN THEY REACH PARADICE SO THEY ARE AFRAID OF DEATH I AM NOT AFRAID BECAUSE I KNOW THAT MY NEW LIFE IS LIFE WILL BE AN EASY ONE IN PARADICE DEATH," the Zodiac Killer continued.

The team of codebreakers told the San Francisco Chronicle they believe the TV show the killer was referencing was an episode of AM San Francisco, which aired a few weeks before the letter was mailed to the newspaper. During the show, a caller claiming to be the Zodiac Killer told the host, "I don't want to go to the gas chamber."

The San Francisco Division of the FBI said that the case remains active, and the agency continues "to seek justice for the victims of these brutal crimes."

"The FBI is aware that a cipher attributed to the Zodiac Killer was recently solved by private citizens. The Zodiac Killer case remains an ongoing investigation for the FBI San Francisco Division and our local law enforcement partners. 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. Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, and out of respect for the victims and their families, we will not be providing further comment at this time," the agency said.

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