Buzz
Discover a collection of ten cryptic letters connected to various criminal incidents. Identifying the sender or decoding the messages could lead to significant breakthroughs in these cases. After exploring this list, try your hand at solving some of these mysteries yourself.
10. Syracuse Anthrax Mystery
This case stands out as the least fatal on the list. Between 1997 and 2012, letters containing white powder were sent from Syracuse. The sender claimed the powder was anthrax, but tests revealed it to be harmless substances like baby powder or laundry detergent. Five letters targeted Bishop Ludden High School, three were sent to Le Moyne College, one reached Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle’s office, another went to Gaylord Bros., a library supplies manufacturer in North Syracuse, and the remaining eleven were directed at military and police associations, non-profits, government officials, private businesses, and TV celebrities across the East Coast.
The FBI suspects that all the letters were penned by a single disturbed individual, likely over thirty-five years old. This person may have interacted with mental health services and is probably a socially isolated individual struggling to integrate into society. The writer also exhibits an obsession with H.P. Lovecraft, incorporating excerpts from his works into the letters. The FBI is currently seeking tips to identify potential suspects.
9. Amerithrax
Following the 9/11 attacks, seven letters containing real anthrax spores were mailed. Two batches were sent: one to major media outlets like ABC, CBS, NBC, AMI, and the New York Post, and another to Democratic senators Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Patrick Leahy of Vermont. The attacks resulted in five fatalities and seventeen infections.
The messages in the letters suggested that Muslim extremists were behind them, with phrases like 'death to America and to Israel.' However, investigators believe this was a deliberate misdirection tactic used by the sender.
The FBI attributes the attacks to Bruce Edwards Ivins, a bio-weapons defense specialist. However, when the National Academy of Sciences reviewed the FBI's findings, they concluded that the available evidence was insufficient to definitively prove Ivins' involvement. Many experts, including senior microbiologists and several Senators and Representatives, doubt Ivins' sole responsibility or suggest he had accomplices. Ivins took his own life in 2008.
8. Murder of Vindalee Smith
On October 20, 2012, Vindalee Smith, a 38-year-old mother of four, was discovered dead in her Brooklyn home with a severe neck injury. She was eight months pregnant and set to marry her fiancé, Anthony Jackman, the following day, despite his existing marriage. Beneath her body lay a printed note stating: 'I will kill one pregnant woman a month starting now until Lee Boyd Malvo is freed!' The note was signed 'the apprentice' and accompanied by a smiley face.
Malvo, along with John Allen Muhammad, was part of the D.C. Snipers, responsible for ten deaths. Authorities believe the note was a diversion tactic. To date, no arrests have been made in connection with Smith's murder.
7. Murder of Eva Kay Wenal
On May 1, 2008, Harold 'Hal' Wenal, a prominent shopping center mogul, returned home to discover his wife of two decades, Eva Kay, lying lifeless in a pool of blood. The 60-year-old former model had been brutally beaten and her throat slit, seemingly ambushed as she entered her home. Despite the Wenals' considerable wealth and the abundance of valuables in their residence, nothing was stolen.
In July 2008, a letter composed of cut-and-pasted text arrived at the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The letter appeared to provide an explanation for Eva Kay's murder, suggesting she may have been involved in an extramarital affair. Investigators consider the letter authentic and believe it originated from the killer.
6. Cindy James Case
The Cindy James case is a bizarre crime that unfolded in Richmond, British Columbia. Cindy James, a 44-year-old nurse, was relentlessly stalked by an unidentified individual. Beginning four months after her divorce, James endured nearly a hundred instances of harassment, including menacing phone calls and notes left on her doorstep. The situation intensified when police became involved. James was discovered bound and gagged outside her home on one occasion and stabbed through the hand with a paring knife on another. Friends and family believed the stalker aimed to terrify her to death.
However, law enforcement suspected that James herself was behind the notes and fabricated the phone calls. She was even admitted to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation.
On May 25, 1989, six years and seven months after the first threatening call, James vanished. Her car was located in a neighborhood parking lot, with groceries still inside, her wallet beneath the vehicle, and blood on the door. Two weeks later, on June 8, 1989, her body was found in an abandoned house, her hands and feet bound behind her back and a black nylon stocking tightly wound around her neck. The official cause of death was a morphine overdose. Despite the evidence of being tied up, authorities concluded that James committed suicide. The identity of the note writer remains unknown.
5. Murder of JonBenét Ramsey
The strange and tragic case of JonBenét Ramsey began on December 25, 1996, when the six-year-old beauty pageant star was reported missing from her Boulder, Colorado, home. Tragically, her body was discovered eight hours later in the wine cellar of her family’s house. She was found beneath her favorite blanket, with a nylon rope around her neck, her hands bound above her head, and duct tape covering her mouth. Evidence suggested she had been sexually assaulted, and her skull was fractured by a blunt object. A garrote, made from a tweed cord and a paintbrush, was used to strangle her.
JonBenét’s mother discovered a two-and-a-half-page handwritten ransom note demanding $118,000—nearly the exact amount of her father’s recent work bonus. The note was unusually lengthy and appeared to be written by a group of foreigners. It contained numerous threats, warning the Ramseys against contacting authorities.
Investigators believe the note’s author is the killer, but no match has been found for the handwriting or the DNA left on JonBenét’s body. Some have speculated that the handwriting resembles that of JonBenét’s mother.
4. Circleville Letter Writer
Circleville, a small Ohio city with a population of over 13,000, is famous for its annual Circleville Pumpkin Show. It is also known for an enigmatic figure called the Circleville Letter Writer.
Beginning in 1976, residents of Circleville started receiving anonymous, malicious letters. Thousands of these letters, written in block print, were sent to both city officials and ordinary citizens. One of the recipients was Mary Gillespie, a school bus driver, who was accused in the letters of having an affair with a school official. On August 19, 1977, Mary’s husband, Ron Gillispie, received a call that seemingly revealed the writer’s identity. He left his home with a gun to confront the sender but was later found dead near his house. His car had veered off the road, and his gun had been fired once. His death was attributed to the crash, but it remains unclear whether it was an accident or murder.
Later, while driving her bus, Mary noticed signs along her route taunting her. When she attempted to remove one, she discovered a booby trap designed to shoot her. The gun used in the trap belonged to her former brother-in-law, Paul Freshour.
Freshour was convicted of attempted murder and was believed to be the Circleville Letter Writer. However, the letters continued even while he was in solitary confinement, with no access to writing materials and his mail under surveillance. His parole was denied due to the ongoing letters, and he even received one himself after the denial.
3. Jack the Ripper
The notorious unidentified serial killer operated in and around London’s Whitechapel district in 1888. The Ripper is believed to have killed five victims, all of whom were prostitutes. There are three letters suspected to have been written by the Ripper: the Dear Boss letter, the Saucy Jacky postcard, and the From Hell letter.
The Dear Boss letter introduced the name Jack the Ripper, as it was the signature used by the author. In the letter, the writer taunted law enforcement, expressing delight in the murders and detailing plans to kill more women, including cutting off the ear of the next victim. The letter gained credibility when, three days later, two victims were discovered, one of whom was missing an ear lobe.
The second communication was the Saucy Jacky postcard, which referenced the Dear Boss letter before its public release and mentioned the double murder from the previous night. The postcard appeared to be stained with blood. Both this and the Dear Boss letter were sent to the Central News Agency.
The third letter was addressed to George Lusk, head of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee, and arrived in a small three-inch-square cardboard box. Accompanying the letter was a kidney preserved in wine. One of the victims had been missing a kidney, though it couldn’t be confirmed if the kidney piece was from the victim. While the handwriting resembled the first two letters, this one contained numerous spelling errors, unlike the others. Despite numerous suspects, the case remains one of history’s most infamous unsolved mysteries.
2. Zodiac Killer
The Zodiac Killer, a serial murderer who reveled in taunting both law enforcement and the public, was active in California during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He claimed five lives and injured two others.
Similar to our top entry, the Zodiac coined his own name in one of his letters—eighteen in total. He also etched messages into a library table and a car door at a crime scene. His letters, typically sent to newspapers after murders, were notorious for their use of cryptography. He created four coded messages, only one of which has been partially deciphered to date. This breakthrough was achieved by amateur codebreakers Donald and Bettye Harden, who decoded it after seeing it in the newspaper.
The remaining ciphers include the 340 Character Cipher, dispatched on November 8, 1969, and the letters sent on April 20, 1970, and June 26, 1970, both of which were addressed to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Over the years, many have attempted to crack the unsolved ciphers. Some have even claimed success, but no definitive proof has emerged, leaving the crimes unresolved.
1. Murder of Ricky McCormick
The murder of Ricky McCormick is the most prominent unsolved case handled by the FBI’s Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit (CRRU). McCormick’s decomposing body was discovered in a St. Charles County, Missouri, cornfield on June 30, 1999. McCormick, a high school dropout with a criminal past, was unemployed at the time of his death.
McCormick’s body was discovered fifteen miles from his residence in an area inaccessible by public transport. While no official cause of death was determined, it wasn’t initially classified as a homicide, as there was no evidence suggesting foul play.
Twelve years after his death, the FBI declared McCormick’s death a homicide and sought public assistance in deciphering two encrypted notes found on his body. Despite efforts by the CRRU and the American Cryptogram Association, the code remains unsolved. Authorities believe the notes were written three days before his death and have even created a dedicated page to solicit help from the public.
