FBI asks public for help breaking encrypted notes tied to 1999 murder

[Binky]

FBI asks public for help breaking encrypted notes tied to 1999 murder
By Brett Michael Dykes

By Brett Michael Dykes brett Michael Dykes – Tue Mar 29, 4:22 pm ET

In what seems like a throwback to the still-unsolved Zodiac killings that terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1970s, the FBI has sent out a public appeal for amateur sleuths to help solve a key cryptographic clue in a 1999 murder case.

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On June 30, 1999, police officers in St. Louis, Missouri found the body of 41-year-old Ricky McCormick, who'd been murdered and dumped in a field. The only clues investigators recovered from the scene were two encrypted notes stuffed into the victim's pockets.

"Despite extensive work by our Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit (CRRU), as well as help from the American Cryptogram Association, the meanings of those two coded notes remain a mystery to this day, and Ricky McCormick's murderer has yet to face justice," the FBI said in a press release today. CRRU chief Dan Olson added, "We are really good at what we do, but we could use some help with this one ... Maybe someone with a fresh set of eyes might come up with a brilliant new idea."

The FBI has reached out to the public with code breaking brain teasers in the past--but they were games, not actual cases. This is the chance for want-to-be FBI sleuths to break their brains on code that is part of a current investigation. The notes are after the jump.

Channel your favorite CSI character, folks. Here are the notes:

The bureau isn't offering any reward for assistance in solving the case at this time, but the FBI is asking people who believe they may have some insight into the notes write to the address below:

FBI Laboratory
Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit
2501 Investigation Parkway
Quantico, VA 22135
Attn: Ricky McCormick Case

[DemonGeminiX]

Solve it and they start looking at you as a possible suspect.

:thumbsup:

[Hal-9000]

"pockets" meaning the killer made sure there was more than one place to find the notes.Some people assume that intricate codes already in existence are being used.This one appears home-made and could mean something only to the person that wrote it.Or it was directed at another person with the key, or directed at another person without the key as a direct challenge.

In any scenario, it's a very bold move.There's handwriting, there's a tangible medium to get fingerprints from and the paper and ink can be analyzed as well.

There's numbers and two types of brackets throughout the characters.Most people don't use brackets in hand written notes (I do for some posts..)

This person isn't trying to be arrogant...they either have something to say or they left notes of gibberish to throw off the police.

[Shady]

These notes are incredibly complex. There is very little consistency between the letters. My guess is who ever wrote this wrote a letter with one hand and the wrote the next one with the other hand. Look at the 4th row, 5th and 6th letters. They are both P but they were drawn in complete different styles.

Also the groupings of NCBE and WLD appear quite frenquently.


This reminds me of Charlie's writing on It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia.

[St. George]

I'm no expert but I've been studying these notes for quite some time now and I think the killer is probably dyslexic.

[Arkady Renko]

looks like garbled microsoft activation keys to me.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Solve it and they start looking at you as a possible suspect.

:thumbsup:

:theyareontome:

[Binky]

looks like garbled microsoft activation keys to me.

hahaha or captcha