The FBI has confirmed that the 340 Cipher, one of the most puzzling mysteries of the Zodiac Killer case, has been solved by a code-breaking team:
In the statement, the FBI wrote: "The FBI is aware that a cipher attributed to the Zodiac Killer was recently solved by private citizens. The Zodiac Killer case remains an ongoing investigation for the FBI San Francisco division and our local law enforcement partners.
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"The Zodiac Killer terrorized multiple communities across Northern California and even though decades have gone by, we continue to seek justice for the victims of these brutal crimes.
"Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, and out of respect for the victims and their families, we will not be providing further comment at this time."
Back in November 1969, the cipher sent a letter in to The Chronicle which has been puzzling authorities ever since.
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'Zodiac' was the pseudonym used by a serial killer who brutally murdered at least five people - though it's claimed the number could be more than 30 - across Northern California throughout the 1960s and '70s.
The San Francisco Chronicle spoke to code-breaking expert David Oranchak, who is convinced that the cipher's text includes the phrase: "I hope you are having lots of fun in trying to catch me... I am not afraid of the gas chamber because it will send me to paradise all the sooner because I now have enough slaves to work for me."
Oranchak told the newspaper: "Last weekend, a team I'm on solved the 340 and submitted it to the FBI. They have confirmed the solution. No joke! This is the real deal."
Earlier this year, TV network FX produced a documentary which investigates the killer called The Most Dangerous Animal of All.
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The four-part series is based on the book of the same name written by Gary Stewart, who claims his father was the notorious murderer.
Stewart, who lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said: "The wanted sketch [of the Zodiac Killer] just made my heart stop for an instant, because I had seen that face before and it looked just like my father."
Though he had always wanted to meet his birth parents, Stewart didn't meet his mother - whose husband, a police officer, had worked on the Zodiac case - until 2002.
It was then that he decided to look into his biological father: Earl Van Best Jr.
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Best Jr. was 27 when he started a relationship with Stewart's mum Judy, 13 at the time, and was later imprisoned for it.
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