The Zodiac Killer: The Code Breakers Pt. 3
December 11th, 2020. A software developer in Virginia, a mathematician in Melbourne, and a Belgian programmer get on a video call. Between them: a 340-character cipher unsolved since 1969. The FBI tried. The NSA tried. Fifty-one years of nothing. Then the characters begin to resolve. It says: "I hope you are having lots of fun trying to catch me."
That is where Part 3 begins.
Kathryn and Gabriel lay out the complete authenticated Zodiac communication record chronologically, go deep on what made the Z340 uncrackable for half a century, cover the Z13 cipher prefaced with "My name is" that has never been confirmed, and meet the people who tried to hold the investigation together. Detective Dave Toschi, eight filing cabinets and animal crackers in his jacket pocket. Cartoonist Robert Graysmith, who gave up his marriage to a book about someone never identified. The Zodiac did not have to threaten any of them. He just had to stay unsolved.
Part 4 drops next Monday. The suspects. The names. Finally.
SOURCES: Oranchak, David. Z340 Research and Decryption Documentation. zodiackillerciphers.com. Oranchak, David. "Let's Crack Zodiac: Episode 5, The 340 Is Solved!" YouTube, December 2020. youtube.com/watch?v=-1oQLPRE21o. Blake, Sam, and Van Eycke, Jarl. Z340 Cipher Solution. December 2020. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Confirmation of Z340 Solution. December 2020. Graysmith, Robert. Zodiac. Berkley Books, 1986. Graysmith, Robert. Zodiac Unmasked. Berkley Books, 2002. Toschi, Dave, and Armstrong, William. Zodiac Homicide Investigation Files. San Francisco Police Department, 1969–1978. California Department of Justice. Zodiac Killer Case Files. State of California, 1969–2004. Ziraoui, Faycal. Proposed Solutions to the Z13 and Z32 Ciphers. 2024. Fincher, David, dir. Zodiac. Paramount Pictures, 2007. Bullitt. Warner Brothers/Seven Arts, 1968. Dirty Harry. Warner Brothers, 1971.
DISCLAIMER: This episode discusses murder, serial homicide, threats against children, unsolved violent crimes across multiple California jurisdictions, and the psychological and behavioral profile of an unidentified perpetrator. Cipher analysis, letter reconstructions, and investigative timelines are based on authenticated correspondence, official police reports, survivor accounts, established investigative record, and published academic and journalistic research. No theory presented constitutes proven fact. Discussion of proposed cipher solutions, including the Z13 and Z32, reflects published claims by independent researchers and has not been confirmed by law enforcement. Discussion of potential suspects is strictly educational and does not constitute accusation, legal conclusion, or forensic finding of any kind regarding any living or deceased individual. Reference to the 2025 development connecting this case to additional crimes is based on emerging reporting and has not been confirmed by any law enforcement agency. Psychological and cultural framing is for educational purposes only and does not constitute clinical diagnosis or professional forensic analysis of any individual.
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