FBI seeks public's help in deciphering encrypted notes found on 1999 murder victim

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FBI seeks public's help in deciphering encrypted notes found on 1999 murder victim

2011-03-31 11:46:08 GMT+7 (ICT)

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI (BNO NEWS) -- Federal investigators working on a 12-year-old homicide case have turned to the public to decipher two encrypted codes found in the victim's pants pockets.

On June 30, 1999, officers in St. Louis, Missouri discovered the body of 41-year-old Ricky McCormick. He had been murdered and dumped in a field. The only clues regarding the homicide were two encrypted notes that were found in the victim's pants pockets.

Despite extensive work by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) 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.

"We are really good at what we do, but we could use some help with this one," said CRRU chief Dan Olson. "Breaking the code could reveal the victim's whereabouts before his death and could lead to the solution of a homicide. Not every cipher we get arrives at our door under those circumstances."

The more than 30 lines of coded material use a maddening variety of letters, numbers, dashes, and parentheses. McCormick was a high school dropout, but he was able to read and write and was said to be "street smart." According to members of his family, McCormick had used such encrypted notes since he was a boy, but apparently no one in his family knows how to decipher the codes, and it's unknown whether anyone besides McCormick could translate his secret language. Investigators believe the notes in McCormick's pockets were written up to three days before his death.

Over the years, the FBI said, a number of CRRU's examiners - who are experts at breaking codes - have puzzled over the McCormick notes and applied a variety of analytical techniques to tease out an answer. "Standard routes of cryptanalysis seem to have hit brick walls," Olson said. "Our cryptanalysts have several plausible theories about the notes, but so far, there has been no solution."

The FBI said, to move the case forward, investigators need another sample of McCormick's coded system which might offer more context to the writings or allow valuable comparisons to be made. Or, if there is no new evidence, Olson said, "Maybe someone with a fresh set of eyes might come up with a brilliant new idea."

It is unknown if the note was written in English or another language, and the FBI has released only few details about the murder itself. "Even if we found out that he was writing a grocery list or a love letter," Olson said, "we would still want to see how the code is solved. This is a cipher system we know nothing about."

The photos of the note can be found on fbi.gov, but the agency said it is not offering a reward. "Just a challenge, and the satisfaction of knowing that your brain power might help bring a killer to justice." a statement said.

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