LET THE GAMES BEGIN

12/2/2017

The fourth episode of the History Channel docudrama about the Zodiac Killer will air on December 5th 2017. The show was featured in an article by Fox News on December 1st 2017, in which it stated "The team says it may have solved a significant portion of the diabolically complicated Zodiac code, Z340." But what are they referring to?
A portion only refers to a part, piece, section, chunk, segment, slice or fragment, so it's highly unlikely it is referring to any wholesale decryption. Significant does not mean large part, only notable, remarkable, consequential or conspicuous, so the claimed 'solution' could be just a small feature of the 340 cipher, dressed up in wording to imply a greater find.
There are some notable features present on the 340 cipher, and here are three.
The first was presented in an article by Jos Kirps, which is not readily available on the internet anymore with a cursory search. It involves the blending of the 'Halloween' card and 340 cipher, in which the wording Paradice and Slaves from the 'Halloween' card forms a cross formation within the 340 cipher, with corresponding characters (see below)
In this image I have placed the additional phrases By Fire, By Gun, By Rope and By Knife from the 'Halloween' card in the respective quadrants of the 340 cipher
The second interesting feature is the corrected sixth line of the 340 cipher. In 2012 I found a tenuous link from this portion of the 340 cipher to the 'Exorcist' letter mailed four years later. See here.
The third notable area of interest is the 'near Zodiac' placed on the 20th line of the 340 cipher, almost signature like. Was this a random array of characters, or was it specifically designed by the author and killer for a reason. I have suggested a possibility for its design, linking the '13 Symbol' cipher and 340 cipher as a form of continuation. See here.
These three offerings may have nothing to do with the History Channel revelation next Tuesday, and none were maybe what the Zodiac Killer intended, but I would like your opinion and suggestions to the claim "the team says it may have solved a significant portion of the diabolically complicated Zodiac code, Z340." What do you believe they have found.

Fox News article:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/12/01/zodiac-killer-detectives-hope-dna-will-unlock-murderers-id-at-last.html

39 Comments

Shawn

12/2/2017 06:07:14 am

Hi Richard,

In the episode 4 description you posted here it reads...

"The code team has a massive breakthrough on the Z-340."

Based on that description I would think anything less than a
definite message (as found in the 408) with a logical code key
is just another hype job by the History Channel.

I wouldn't be surprise if they try to recycle a half baked theory that is already present on the internet.

Thanks,

Shawn

Ray Jenkins

12/2/2017 04:22:50 pm

Agreed Shawn. It will probably be about as massive as the massive bomb they uncovered during their massive search of the massively diabolical Mt. Diablo!

Rubislaw 32 link

12/2/2017 09:44:13 am

Perhaps we should extend the ''Code Team'' some slack,and see what they come up with [?].

Though,judging on performances,so far,they haven't come up with a lot.

More a case of ''When in doubt,steal '' [?].

I am content that the serious minded,and noble cryptography journalist,Klaus Schmeh,has their ''measure'',now.

Though newspapers,such as ''The Daily Mail'',still appear largely ignorant,of what the ''Code Team'' are attempting to pull off,as something innovative and scientifically important.

It seems to be a case of ''last chance saloon'' for this team,before they may have to consider professional wrestling,as an alternative occupation.

Learn a few moves,talk the talk,and bring happiness and entertainment to thousands of grandmothers and their grandsons,alike.

Dave link

12/2/2017 10:31:26 am

Here's a wayback machine copy of Kirps' findings:

https://web.archive.org/web/20120117015446/http://www.kirps.com/web/main/resources/various/zodiac340/

Richard

12/2/2017 02:28:13 pm

Cheers Dave.

Shawn

12/3/2017 06:44:19 pm

Hi Richard,

The title of the final episode is "THE CODE IS CRACKED"

"A Team Member has solved the infamous Z340 cipher, which
has eluded codebreakers for 50 years"

https://i.imgur.com/dYSKIhn.png

Thanks,

Shawn

Ray Jenkins

12/3/2017 07:22:07 pm

Hi Shawn, Wow that is quite a claim for them to be making!

I am wondering if this means "cracked definitively beyond all reasonable doubt", or "believed cracked by a Team Member"?

As I have said before, numerous people over the years have claimed to have solved it. The problem is other people look at their so-called solutions and can instantly tell it is not a valid solution. I am actually expecting a whole lot of smoke and mirror subterfuge. Time will tell.

Richard

12/4/2017 01:53:45 am

Maybe it should read "A Team Member has solved part of the infamous Z340 cipher, which has eluded codebreakers for 50 years"
I am intrigued.

Ray Jenkins

12/4/2017 02:16:14 am

That is an amazing claim for them to make. Perhaps a "deliberate" typo that will serve to stimulate their ratings greatly. If it turns out to be a partial "maybe", a lot of people are going to be disappointed. Sadly their are never any guarantees in TV land.

Richard

12/4/2017 04:53:07 am

Don't forget Ray, the 340 cipher has already been 'solved' at least 500 times, so this 'History Channel solution' must be incorrect in at least 499 peoples eyes.

Ray Jenkins

12/4/2017 05:02:46 am

I solved it once, so make that 501 times. LOL! No, I would never be so naive as to presume I had solved that alphabet soup. However, many people have made this claim, at their peril. It is astounding the way some people can truly believe that they have solved it. They put forward their creations on various forums. Nobody is impressed. Few comment. Others snicker. As fast as it grew, the hype deflates like another South Sea bubble.

Ray Jenkins

12/2/2017 04:01:26 pm

This is nothing new. Many of us have pondered the same connection in the past, including yours truly. John Rose's well thought out findings were following a similar vein.

I have also wondered if the 340 is actually a cardan grille and the solution is revealed by the "holes" in the Halloween card. But without having the original material in front of me, I had a lot of problems with determining the precise scale. Basically I just re-scaled the card to the same length (i.e. width) and turned it on its side so it is positioned to "North" when superimposed on the cipher.

Using the substitutions from the 408, the most meaningful thing I ever discovered was that the first four symbols revealed the letters E, T, O,N. We know that "All letters were written on Eaton, Woolworths fifth avenue paper..."

So what did I learn from the exercise? Nothing.

It will be a real let down if the only thing the 340 every says is "Paradice Slaves Zodiac", but really, can we expect anything more insightful?

Shawn

12/4/2017 06:21:32 am

Hello,

I would not be surprised if one of the team member does have a significant unpublished solution he developed on his own before there was a thought of HC doing a Zodiac Killer show.

Maybe this team member showed the HC his solution and they built
a sloppy show around the solution to use as the big buildup to the final show in which the nugget is shown.

Thanks,

Shawn

Shawn

12/4/2017 12:28:51 pm

Hello,

In the 2009 History Channel special called "San Francisco Slaughter" Dan Olson FBI Crypto expert suggest 6 of the lines in the 340 are most likely to contain a message.

Dan Olson part starts at 8:00 minutes into the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG2M3NOyCB4

Thanks,

Shawn

Richard

12/4/2017 01:19:47 pm

http://www.zodiacciphers.com/340-alternate-version.html

Ray Jenkins

12/4/2017 02:41:24 pm

So how come crypto experts can get away with saying such things, but an average Joe comes up with the same idea and the experts all sneer at it by saying "Well that is interesting, but there is too much variability for anybody to know for sure"?

Rubislaw 32 link

12/4/2017 03:18:33 pm

Some interesting comments made.

As a trained mathematican,I would never claim to be an expert cryptographer,as those trained in the specific applied science.

But,mathematicians can hold advantages in ability to solve ciphers,through the all encompassing study of Advanced Algebra.

Don and Bettye Harden were schoolteachers,and habitual crossword puzzlers,which I would think,might give them advantages,also,And,so it proved to be,with the ''408''.

The FBI Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Unit,will be ''role trained'',to an extent,so it might come as no surprise,that for example,given a part solution,they might be better placed to turn it into a complete solution.And ''criminal'',let alone ''Zodiac specific'' aspects of recognition,might come easier to them,than the keen amateur,or cryptography teacher.

Though I do not know this fact,for sure,the FBI have revealed,in the past,that there is a specific word,that they always look for first,when examining any potential solutions,to Zodiac's puzzles.And that this word,is ''not'' one of the ''usual suspects'',like ''paradice'' or ''afterlife''.

That is an interesting thought for Zodiac enthusiasts,to ponder,I would think [?].

My money would be on the word ''Son''.

Any other takers ?

Richard

12/4/2017 03:32:04 pm

My guess is he was designing the 340 cipher for a while, probably in advance of the Stine murder. My guess is the Berryessa crime is mentioned somewhere, and a likely word is 'girl.' Such as "I am the murderer of the girl by the lake."
For what it's worth. Possibly the 'Dripping Pen' card holds the key- The pre-written message "Sorry I haven't written but I just washed my pen" seems an odd choice, since he wrote on October 13th, less than a month a go," and he did make a point of referencing September in his list of months.

Ray Jenkins

12/4/2017 05:50:38 pm

How about "eat"? From "Melvin eats blubber." Or "nasty"? From "No nasty ones".

Shawn

12/4/2017 07:58:19 pm

Hi Richard,

I notice a Cipher Book on the Code Breakers table in the History Channel documentary called "Cryptologia". Book at edge of table.

http://ww3.hdnux.com/photos/67/36/10/14541334/3/rawImage.jpg

Dave Oranchak, a team member has a PDF with a few pages from the book posted at his website. The section of the book is titled "Algorithmic solution of sequential homophonic ciphers"

http://www.oranchak.com/king-homophonic-ciphers.pdf

In this section on page 165 the Zodiac Ciphers are referenced.

I wonder if this some sort of clue to who and how the 340 was solved?

Thanks,

Shawn

Ray Jenkins

12/4/2017 05:38:36 pm

I hope not Rubislaw. "Son" seems too Manson-esque. Manson = Man's Son = Son of Man = "Manson is God". But strangely the whole concept of afterlife and slaves does seen to mesh with that concept, so who knows?

The obvious word is "BOO!" It is also a lot like "boo-boo". “Hey blue pig, doesn't it rile you to have your nose rubbed in your boo-boos?"

The word "Blue" is perhaps meaningful? "blue pig", Blue Meanies".

But they are perhaps too obvious?

Rubislaw 32 link

12/4/2017 04:00:01 pm

So Richard...you might be looking at ''girl'',''pen'',and ''Sept'',as possible candidates for the FBI's ''key word'' ?

Rubislaw 32 link

12/4/2017 04:07:40 pm

It has occurred to me that another candidate for the FBI's ''key word''.....is ''Cid''.

''Cid'' has no direct meaning in English,but...

i] It is a Zodiac misspelling for ''kid''

ii] It stands for ''Criminal Investigations Division'',in the British Police Force.

iii] It means ''Lord'' or ''Master'',in Spanish

Rubislaw 32 link

12/4/2017 04:21:42 pm

Hey.....maybe it's ''Gyke'' [LOL]

Someone might be happy [?].

Ray Jenkins

12/4/2017 05:49:21 pm

Or "GAIK". LOL!

Ray Jenkins

12/5/2017 03:05:05 pm

That would be like having your Gaik and eating it too! *boom, boom*

Ray Jenkins

12/6/2017 02:17:06 pm

Or...

" That would be the icing on the Gaik! "

*groan*

Ray Jenkins

12/5/2017 03:02:48 pm

"SLA" seems to be meaningful, considering one alleged Zodiac correspondence was solely concerned with those three letters.

If the Zodiac did send the Symbionese Liberation Army letter, it seems to me he was really wanting to clue us in to the significance of "SLA", if only because it is the first three letters of "SLAVES".

Perhaps he was asking us to consider the relevance of the other three letters too: "VES"?

Rubislaw 32 link

12/5/2017 05:41:53 pm

Yes,Ray...''SLAVES'' still presents a bit of a mystery,as a complete explanation....and thinking about the back of the Halloween Card,in particular.

I recently looked at it reversed [ ''SEVALS'' ].

''SEVALS'' can mean ''Gifts of God'',in Ottoman Turkish.

Beyond the ''SLA'' significance,and possible connections to ''Lavatory'' and ''Avery'',it is difficult to see.

Possibly,sometimes we think that Zodiac had a little puzzle waiting for us,at every corner ?

He certainly offered us much to become curious about.

Perhaps sometimes,we ''expect'' everything he wrote,requires an explanation ?

Ray Jenkins

12/6/2017 02:19:20 pm

Yes indeed, it is always difficult (some may say impossible) to attribute meaning to the words of a madman.

I have read where some people have pondered if the SLAVS idea was intended to suggest that the Zodiac may have been of Slavic descent. Worth pondering.

Rubislaw 32 link

12/6/2017 04:27:54 pm

''SLAVS'' certainly is worth pondering,Ray.

I genuinely believe that I devote 90% of my time,examining ''Unidentified Zodiac''.But,if one has a suspect in mind,that can be difficult to separate.

I go with the ''Irish-Scots'' descent,and originating from the Southern States of the US.An ''Anglophile'' is pretty much a given,anyway [?].

Only LE can expose Zodiac,and bring him to justice.....so examining ''unidentified Zodiac'',is the only sensible way forward,in my mind.

But,something like ''SLAVS'',makes one think twice [?].

Ray Jenkins

12/8/2017 01:13:43 am

Cryptographers both professional and amateur could be along the right track when the compare the PARADICE/SLAVES motif with the 340. The Zodiac's cross symbolism often suggests that the center is significant. The eyes peeping through the holes in the Halloween card also seem to suggest the idea of "looking inwards, towards the centre". I have often felt that the center of the 340 holds the key. There is something about the symmetry and that big central "D" that suggests it is important somehow. The "by knife, by gun" quadrants also seem to be suggesting something. It is all like an obscure key of sorts... but of course all this could be nothing more than a red herring.

Ray Jenkins

12/8/2017 02:43:30 pm

I was pondering this again for a few hours last night, and perhaps started over-thinking the whole problem. But I wondered if maybe the "by fire, by gun" etc. are actually a suggestion, and in so being, may represent a key to the solution?

What does fire do? It burns things away. So maybe that quadrant is obsolete noise to be dispensed with.

What does a gun do? It makes a hole. So, is there something circular in that quadrant that is significant... or which should be excluded?

What does a knife do? It cuts. So is there a part of this quadrant that looks as though it should be slashed off, i.e. excluded?

What does a rope do? It binds or forms a knot. Is there anything in that quadrant that appears rope-like, or ties or binds together like a rope? A rope also strangles, so perhaps this quadrant has to be folded in some way? Or is there something in that quadrant that appears to "hang".

The BIG problem with any such theories is that although they seem plausible, any "solutions" will be open to the huge amount of variability in the method. In other words, the variables (or possibilities to explore) are so numerous that they effectively negate the legitimacy of any solutions.

Rubislaw 32 link

12/9/2017 08:51:19 am

It's always interesting,to me anyway,when someone brings up the subject of the ''Four By's'',as you have done,Ray.

Just to examine,in themselves,as entries on the back of the Halloween Card.Since clearly,they resonated with Zodiac,regardless of whether they held further significance,with the card,itself.....and,regardless of their ''lifting'',from the Tim Holt comic.

By Fire ; By Gun ; By Knife ; By Rope

My first thoughts were that they were all self explanatory,apart from ''By Fire''.

Then,realised,rightly or wrongly,that ''By Fire'' must be referring to Zodiac's motorcar[s].....his ''Chariot of Fire''.

But,just because he has never been,officially ''wanted'' for arson,doesn't mean,that he wasn't lay claiming to this [?].

Given that Zodiac remains a suspect,in the murder of Joan Webster,must surely make him a suspect in the ''Great Fire of Lynn'' [November 1981,MA,USA].An enormous inferno,started with an incendiary device,and possibly a diversionary tactic,employed by the perpetrator of Ms.Webster.

There were numerous unexplained hill fires in the vicinity of San Francisco,during Zodiac's reign of terror.And,with the knowledge of a ''collection'' of bomb hoax telephone calls,claiming to be Zodiac,suggestions at least,that Zodiac was always looking at ways to diversify,in his methods,of terror.

I believe that we can be confident of the ''Gun'' and ''Knife'' references.....but ''Rope'',is not entirely clear [?].

Is it just alluding to tying up his victims....or ''garotting'' of victims,as a form of strangulation [?].His ''confirmed'' victims have been subject to a knife or gun,exclusively.....but with more possible victims,then more possible methods of execution [?].

So,Zodiac could well have already succeeded as an arsonist,and strangler,by the time that he sent that Halloween Card.

Ray Jenkins

12/9/2017 02:38:15 pm

I guess this was one of the reasons why I pondered at one time if John Leonard Orr could have been the Zodiac, but this was entirely ruled out on the basis of fingerprints and the fact that he did not live in California when the Zodiac was active there.

Fire has many connotations, one being "firing a gun". So perhaps he was suggesting a crossover in themes? But guess it is possible that he was also a rampant fire bug, as he no doubt drove around the less traversed country roads and his letters do show that he was attuned to the natural world around him. So yes, this is entirely plausible.

I also agree about the bomb hoaxes, but I do think one recent commentator's suggestion that he disguised a bomb to coincide with damage caused by a major flood event, as being a tad "far-fetched".

"By rope." Yes he did tie up his victims at Lake Berryessa with... rope. The idea of ropes may also suggest a ritualistic element.

The Zodiac always wanted to portray a sense of "universality", so perhaps he was just taunting everybody into believing he could strike anywhere and anytime, using any means at his disposal. He was very much a one-man terrorist, but one without a political agenda. There was no reason for his crusade of killing except for an insane one, so perhaps this made him seem even more dangerous and less predictable than the average terrorist.

And of course there is Marina Habe's murder, whose body was said to have been burned!

Ray Jenkins

12/9/2017 03:08:27 pm

Joan Webster and Marie Iannuzzi... The other side of the country of course, but there are strange echoes of the Zodiac in these cases.

And it is difficult for me to escape the uncanny resemblance of the suspect's name Paradiso to the place Presidio and the word Paradise.

Lenny "The Quahog" Paradiso was born in 1943 and died of cancer aged 65 in 2008. But for all this semantic synchronicity, I doubt if Lenny "The Quahog" ever set foot in California.

Rubislaw 32 link

12/10/2017 10:50:41 am

Just on the Joan Webster Case.It has become active again,and admitted as such,by the D.A.of Essex County,MA.This,since March 2015.Just three days following the ''more'' public announcement,of the official re-investigation of the murder of Brenda Page [July 1978].

Lenny Paradiso was found guilty of the murder of Marie Iannuzzi,and spent the remaining 28 years of his life,behind bars.

Many believe that Paradiso was convicted,as much on the disappearance of Joan Webster,as Ms.Iannuzzi's murder.

The ''prime suspect'' in the murder of Ms.Webster is someone,known only as ''The Bearded Man''.This person was seen accompanying Ms.Webster,out of Logan Airport,Boston.

In recent years,an official police composite of the bearded man,has eventually been released to the public,and is available to view,freely [Google Images,e.g.].

Was the bearded man,the Zodiac Killer ?

So far,an unanswered question.

Ray Jenkins

12/10/2017 01:42:42 pm

I doubt if that suspect could be the Zodiac, given the glaring discrepancies in age and general appearance.

However, this other old serial killer in Washington DC has sometimes made me pause in wonder.

He could be of interest to those who think the Zodiac may still be alive and active. I personally have my doubts, but I guess anything is possible in "Zodiac Land".

This old killer just goes up to people and guns them down in their doorways.

Suspect in this case is an old guy with a white beard. Sketch could possibly resemble the Zodiac if you add on 50+ years!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2575189/Serial-killer-IS-loose-affluent-Washington-D-C-suburb-say-cops-respected-teacher-gunned-doorstep.html

Ray Jenkins

12/10/2017 03:01:37 pm

I also just noticed the map of his killings. The dot points form a definite triangle. That is eerily reminiscent of the Zodiac and his "rule of three" obsessiveness, relating to positions on maps and dot points that form triangles.

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