ZODIAC CIPHERS
Richard Grinell, Coventry, England
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THE GRILLE CIPHER

9/2/2019

 
THE 340 CIPHER WAS CRACKED ON DECEMBER 3RD 2020 BY DAVE ORANCHAK, SAM BLAKE AND JARL VAN EYCKE, SO THIS EARLIER ARTICLE SHOULD BE VIEWED IN RESPECT TO RECENT DEVELOPMENTS.
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The Zodiac Killer placed "paradice" and "slaves" in a cross formation, possibly signifying the afterlife
In the history of cryptography, a grille cipher was a technique for encrypting a plaintext by writing it onto a sheet of paper through a pierced sheet (of paper or cardboard or similar). The earliest known description is due to the polymath Girolamo Cardano in 1550. His proposal was for a rectangular stencil allowing single letters, syllables, or words to be written, then later read, through its various apertures. The written fragments of the plaintext could be further disguised by filling the gaps between the fragments with anodyne words or letters. This variant is also an example of steganography, as are many of the grille ciphers. Wikipedia.

The Zodiac Killer began his letter writing campaign on July 31st 1969, when he mailed three portions of one cipher to the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner and Vallejo Times-Herald. However, it wasn't until October 5th 1970 that his communications took on a different appearance entirely, in which the Bay Area murderer began claiming he was "crackproof" and stated "sorry no cipher", with four out of the next five communications (if we include the Monticello Card) employing the notion of a grille cipher. The '13 Hole' Postcard, possibly using a "red cross" decoder (akin to the Dick Tracy red decoder) , to be punctured by the 13 holes on the card and overlayed onto the 340 character cipher. This would reveal the enciphered "paradice" and "slaves" bisecting the 340 cipher both horizontally and vertically along its mid-section.
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The 13 holes overlayed onto the 340 cipher in a cross formation, taken from the '13 Hole' Postcard would reveal the hidden arrangement in the 340 cipher (similar to the depiction on the right, although portrayed with yellow squares as opposed to white punch-holes). This was the arrangement already present on the Halloween Card in reveal mode.

The '13 Hole' Postcard has 13 punch-holes in the fabric of the card, the Halloween Card has an eye peeking through the knothole in the tree, and the mask on the skeleton has two eyeholes. Then (if I am correct) we have one hole punched in both the March 22nd 1971 Pines Card and the July 13th 1971 Monticello Card, which when overlayed on a map by the Sierra Club of Lake Tahoe and the Villa Montalvo woods in Saratoga, would both reveal the name of the victim in both instances. The point being, we have a rudimentary grille cipher being employed or insinuated in four communications spanning through October 5th 1970 and July 13th 1971. The arrangement of "paradice" and "slaves" on the Halloween Card, and the punch-holes in every other card during this period, revealing something significant hidden beneath. The name of Donna and Kathy in the two 1971 postcards, and the hidden configuration in the November 8th 1969 340 cipher, derived from both October 1970 communications.

The grille cipher, even in its most rudimentary form, was implied or used through four of Zodiac's last five communications from October 5th 1970. I am completely confident that the Monticello Card is fashioned in exactly the same manner as the Pines Card, separated by less than four months, with the single punch-hole revealing the location of Donner Memorial State Park (Donna Lass) and Oak Hill Memorial Park & Cemetery (Kathy Snoozy) by the Monticello neighborhood of San Jose. Two locations, two victims and two names, all bound by two postcards. If these overlays didn't drop over these locations accidentally, then why should the cross design on the '13 Hole' Postcard and Halloween Card mimic the 340 cipher accidentally as well.

Was the Zodiac Killer inspired by the simple Dick Tracy grille cipher, or had he invested in the book The Codebreakers - The Story of Secret Writing by David Khan, released the year before the Zodiac attacks began on December 20th 1968? It is without much doubt, that the grille cipher featured heavily in his final two communications of 1970, even though one could argue that the single holes punched into the 1971 postcards are more representative of an overlay, rather than a decryption technique - yet in every instance, a message was revealed through the punch-holes.

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JD
9/2/2019 05:33:58 pm

I like not only the grille cipher, but the Dick Tracy decoder as well. Two very good possibilities. There is one thing that I noticed about the pace card, and wonder if there might be a simpler solution to it. It has to do with by fire, by gun, by rope, etc. On the pace card he stated "it's just one big thirteenth," as if something big is planned, and again he has the number 13 with a red cross. If you turn the card so that the 13 holes are at the bottom, it also looks like two fill-in-the-blank words. "The" could be the first word, and "thirteenth" the second word. Maybe he was just highlighting "the thirteenth." I checked the Oct 13, 1970 newspaper for San Francisco, to see if anything could be connected. There was one item I noticed that made the front page: "Arson Perils Historic Old St. Patricks. Heroic firemen saved historic St. Patrick's church from destruction last night as a four-alarm blaze completely gutted a three-story building next door. The church was threatened by a five-alarm-fire in the same building on September 1. Like that one, last night's blaze was deliberately set.

Richard
9/3/2019 12:40:37 am

Nice idea JD. Or the big thirteenth could have been Old (3) St Patricks (10).

JD
9/3/2019 01:50:47 am

Thanks, Richard. I didn't even notice that Old St Patricks would fit too. There could be a number of other words that fill it out, that might be a clue as well. But just as easily it could go back to the 340 Cipher and a hint at an overlay. But it is another idea, anyway.

JD
9/4/2019 08:06:35 pm

I hope you don't mind me getting off topic again, but there is something about the 13 symbol "my name is cipher" that I wanted to throw out here. I think you solved it back in 2014. Whether you or anyone else noticed it or came out and said it, I do not know. I haven't gone through all of the articles on this site.

While the Zodiac wasn't going to give his real name, all of his communications are bread crumbs, or puzzle pieces, that have to be put together. "My Name Is" gives us a clue as to what should be the answer: a person's name. Kane is the other clue. There are lots of "Kane's" out there, but he would want to be specific. That's why I believe the answer is the name of an author, who I do not even need to name as you and everyone on this site are quite familiar with him. Zodiac likes the the number thirteen, so he's only going to use the first and last name because that gives him thirteen symbols. The "E" is W, the "N" is the letter I, the "M" is T, and the "Circled 8" is the letter L.

The book is "Twinkle Twinkle Killer Kane." This author was a member of the U.S. Air Force in the 1950s, and worked in the Psychological Warfare Division, as well as taught at the University level. Killer Kane references his book, but there are other Killer Kane's to be noted. Buck Rogers, Colonel John "Killer" Kane's B-24 Liberator Bomber Group during WWII, but even more interesting is the Vietnam War 18-man reconnaissance team code named "Killer Kane." They were specially trained in parachuting, scuba diving, and demolitions.

Granted, I could be way off track, but I tend to think, as you said once, that he wanted to "connect the dots." I think he wanted his ciphers to be solved, and did his best at throwing out clues on how to solve them so that everyone could be putting the puzzle pieces in place.

Richard
9/4/2019 09:50:08 pm

I did an article finding William Blatty in the cipher if that is what you mean JD, but cannot find it on my site after a cursory search. I believe it matches the cipher perfectly. I posted it here
http://www.zodiackillersite.com/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=2967

Forgive me, if that isn't what you meant.

Tom1
9/5/2019 06:16:46 am

Randall Clemons has done extensive research and has authored considerable material on this topic. He even posted an article titled,"my name is connect the dots". His website was the first one I discovered when I began reading about this case several years ago. He has done a great job linking the probable use of overlays the messages from Mr. Z.

JD
9/4/2019 10:36:46 pm

That's exactly what I meant. I actually hadn't seen that particular posting, but I don't think it was a ridiculous idea. I think you did solve it. And, perhaps, it is one of the most important clues as to his identity.

JD
9/4/2019 10:44:51 pm

Maybe not in his name being Kane or William, but that it has something to do with a character in that book, or the bomber group, or the recon team, or something similar. Something he identified with or identified him.

Rubislaw 32 link
9/5/2019 08:59:03 am

Thanks for the reference,''Twinkle,Twinkle,Killer Kane'',JD.

Never heard of it before....anything is worth a look at,because the Zodiac seemed to have a habit of palming off blame....among his ''little games''.

As one example...it has barely ever registered that there are two seemingly obvious allusions,to ''Ted K'',in the cipher text,of the two Scorpion ciphers,that the FBI have published.

And yet,''Ted K'' fans,like AKWilks [...with all due respect...] never mention this.

Why ? Well I can only presume that,it is because Ted K's conviction and imprisonment,appears to conicide with the presumed time of Scorpion's ciphers.

But yes....palming off blame,from the real Zodiac...seems all too prevalent an occurrence.

Carl Krash link
9/5/2019 09:03:53 am

Joe (George) A. (Achilles) 'Paradice' Karadanis

JD
9/5/2019 03:17:12 pm

Thanks Rubislaw. I actually got that from Richard. I just hadn't realized he had done the article on William Blatty already. Carl, I just read your previous information on Joe Kardanis, and the mob angle. That's an interesting approach. I noticed the mention of motels, it made me think of something else. In the 1960's there were motels in Riverside and other locations in California that were ran under the name "The Mikado." And as odd as it sounds, there was a man named Les (Killer Kane) Kruse who was connected to Nevada and California, and "sought to disguise his movements with a fancy salt and pepper hair piece." That caught my attention, but he turned out to be too old, and mainly moved in mob circles in Chicago. There was a wrestler named "Killer Kane," and a weed control chemical named "Killer Kane." Another article that caught my attention was from San Francisco in 1972. James Stack, 38 yrs old in 1972, ran a deli and was running for political office, and mentioned that he had spent four years in the Arc & Wing Services of the Air Force and said he was part of a "group so secret that I can't tell you about it," which operated under a man named "Killer Kane." That of course would almost certainly have been John Kane -- I'm not sure how long he served after WWII -- unless there was another service member using the name "Killer Kane" as well, and since there is no elaboration, I'm thinking that might have been the group code named "Killer Kane." Maybe not.

Carl Krash link
9/7/2019 06:01:30 am

Wow. I’ve never come across the Mikado motels. I know K&M were developing and building motels in the region from the late 50’s until the construction of The Sundowner Casino in Reno in 1974. How was Karadanis allowed to build in Chicago mob controlled Reno? And why did his partner Bob Maloff pay for Larry Kane’s burial? To me these are big questions. Thanks!

Rubislaw 32 link
9/5/2019 05:53:35 pm

''RATHER convincing'' [?].

''Scorpion'' opened his introduction,to the FBI,with :

'' Hi ! Remember me ? ''

Excerpts from his introduction :

'' I strongly advise that you keep this letter and start a RATHER large file,since you will be hearing from me again,I have enclosed a RATHER difficult encoded message,containing information that will prove RATHER useful to you.''

'' I would much RATHER communicate with you,with letters....''

'' This would create a RATHER messy situation....''

-------------------

To compare,with the Zodiac :

Bus Bomb Letter,November 9th 1969 :

'' I have grown RATHER angry with the police,for telling lies about me.''

K.Johns Letter,July 24th 1970 :

'' I am RATHER unhappy because you people will not wear nice Zodiac buttons.''

---------------

Twenty years on....not that much had changed [?].

Or,so I ''rather'' believe.

dB link
9/6/2019 11:12:23 pm

I'm a total newbie when it comes to cryptography BUT I was extremely enthralled by the Halloween card when I ran across it on reddit a few days ago. Without reading your above Grille theory (in fact, I just found this page) thought that the eyes on the card related somehow to the back of the halloween card as a sort of punch out and then overlay type mechanic.

I did this b/c of the way in which "by" was written on top of one another and by the fact that all but one of the eyes was placed on the card by the zodiac in what appears (at least to my first impression) as deliberate.

If you punch out the eyes on the card and overlay them onto the back of the halloween card as it would've laid on the card (meaning it would be a reverse of the eyes onto the back of the card) that it might read something.

I did this and there it just sorta has sat on my desktop b/c it didn't make any sense to me. That is until I saw your 340 cipher punch method and, frankly, am a little surprised at how similar the results are to your 340 image listed above.

I don't know if it's anything... or something... or nothing at all but maybe it's best I link it here and let smarter minds decide.

https://imgur.com/gallery/NXZW5jF

Richard
9/7/2019 01:01:55 am

It seems dB that the eyes certainly had significance, otherwise why go to all the effort of adding 12. The suggestion appears to be "look for". The Zodiac Killer didn't add the eye in the knothole of the tree, so we shall look at the other 8 eyes you have effectively punched through. Obviously the four Y's are highlighted. This leaves PEEC, similar in nature to PEEK from "peek-a-boo you are doomed". It clearly isn't the correct spelling, so it would depend on the significance the individual observer places on this finding. People will often consider the significance of certain findings in varying degrees. The 13 eyes ties with the 13 punch-holes, to again open the possibility to the Paradice and Slaves connection, but as for whether the punch-holes to the rear, tallying closely to 4 Y's and PEEC has any meaning or was purely accidental, is wholly dependent on the evidence you require. For me, it would require a lot more work, but every great theory has to start somewhere. The overlay or punch-holes likely present in four of his final five communications certainly are present for a reason. Often, binding several communications together through one method is the best approach for a convincing theory, so keep searching and you never know.

Tom1
9/7/2019 01:08:15 pm

Understanding cryptography is well beyond my capabilities to understand. I have read however considerable amounts of material by Randall Clemons pertinent to the use of overlays by MR Z. He shows some examples of the possible use of overlays as the key to solving the 340. He also has an overlay for the Phillips 66 Map. In addition he has written an ebook on cryptography.

Richard
9/7/2019 03:25:09 pm

I think Randall has a similar approach to me Tom, in that he doesn't believe that 340 cipher is a conventional cryptogram. Without doubt, Randall has done some great work on the Zodiac case, and although we may differ in approach, doesn't mean you cannot respect the work they have done. He still keeps in touch from time to time. Whatever approach you take, the Zodiac almost certainly employed overlays as part of his communications. Whether to reveal a name, burial site or message, there is a strong case to be argued for him employing such a tactic. The Phillips 66 Map was an overlay in plain sight.


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    The Zodiac Killer may have given us the answer almost word-for-word when he wrote PS. The Mt. Diablo Code concerns Radians & # inches along the radians. The code solution identified was Estimate: Four Radians and Five Inches To read more, click the image.
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    The Zodiac Atlas: The Zodiac Killer Enigma by Randall Scott Clemons. Click image for details.
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