Corey Starliper claims to have solved the 340-character Zodiac Killer cipher by applying a Caesar code to an alphabetic interpretation of the symbols in the cipher text. Here is his solution:

	KILL/SLF/DR/HELP/ME/KILL/MYSELF/GAS/CHAMBER/AEIOUR/DAY
	S/QUESTIONSABLE/EVERYY/WAKING/MOMENT/IM/ALIVE/MY/PR
	IDE/LOST/I/CANT/GO/ON/LIVING/IN/THIS/WAY/KILLING/PEOPLE/I/
	HAV/KILLD/SO/MANY/PEOPLE/CANT/HELP/MYSELF/IM/SO/AN
	GRY/I/COULD/DO/MY/THING/IM/ALONE/IN/THIS/WORLD/MY/W
	HOLE/LIFE/FUL/O/LIES/IM/UNABLE/TO/STOP/BY/THE/TIME/YOU
	/SOLVE/THIS/I/WILL/HAV/KILLD/ELEVEN/PEOPLE/PLEASE/HELP/
	ME/STOP/KILLING/PEOPLE/PLEASE/MY/NAME/IS/LEIGH/ALLEN

His solution is a hoax. The plaintext message above was created not by detecting patterns in Caesar shift values, but by inserting arbitrary words into the solution by using arbitrary Caesar shift values. The analysis below shows the assignments of Caesar shift values to each line of cipher text. Here are the meanings behind each section:

Ciphertext: The enciphered text from the Zodiac Killer's original message.
Corey's interpretation: This shows how each symbol is interpreted as a letter of the alphabet. A blank space means there was no interpretation.
Corey's solution: This is the corresponding decoded text from Corey's solution, as shown in the original article.
Corey's Caesar shifts: In the original article, a photograph of Corey's decryption notes is included. Above each line of cipher symbols, he writes the Caesar shift values, or direct assignments of plaintext letters, or a hyphen (to indicate a wildcard, or direct use of the ciphertext symbol). Some of these shifts are illegible in the photograph of Corey's notes, and are indicated with a question mark.
Actual Caesar shifts: These indicate the true Caesar shift values, determined by computing the number of steps (to the left or right) that you have to go in the alphabet to get from the starting letter to the letter of the solution. If the number here is underlined, then the shift is backwards. Otherwise, the shift is forwards. For example, if you start at "H", and the Caesar shift value is "3", then the decoded letter is "K" because it is 3 letters to the right of "H" in the alphabet. If the Caesar shift value is "3", then the decoded letter is "E", because it is 3 letters to the left of "H" in the alphabet.
Comparison: A green check mark means that the actual Caesar shift matches the one Corey wrote in his notes. A red "X" means that it does not match. A hyphen means that Caesar shifting was not used (for example, a direct assignment of a plaintext letter to a cipher text symbol). A question mark means no comparison can be made because the Caesar shift value is illegible in the photograph of Corey's notes.

Encryption schemes that use Caesar shifting use a fixed or repeating set of shift values. For example, ROT-13 ciphers perform a Caesar shift of 13 steps on every character in the plain text. Vigenére ciphers, on the other hand, use a sequence of Caesar shift values that are consistently repeated throughout the entire cipher text. But in the results below, pay careful attention to the sequences of Caesar shift values that correspond to Corey's solution. There is no pattern to them. That means you can simply replace Corey's solution with ANY plain text you wish, and generate another sequence of meaningless Caesar shift values. Additionally, Corey claims that the Caesar shift sequence "346" has a special significance at the very beginning of the decoded cipher text. But as you can see below, there is no such repeated sequence.

Confronted wth the lack of a proper system of Caesar shifts, Corey claims that he used other methods in addition to Caesar shifts. He admits that he adjusted his decryption method as he got stuck trying to fit words using Caesar shifts. But he claims that each word selection was based on some other methods that he has yet to disclose in a "30-page paper" describing his methodology. It is likely to contain long descriptions of very tenuous links between the words he selected for his solution, and various aspects of the Zodiac Killer case. He may also attempt to use pseudomathematics such as numerology to connect his word choices with the Caesar shift values. Using these techniques, one can easily demonstrate the selection of a great number of possible guesses for the solution, none of which would have any special merit or significance over any other. I will demonstrate this when his "30-page paper" is made available.

To summarize: Corey's system allows him great freedom to guess words that fit his preconceived notions of the Zodiac case. His guesses are no better than any one else's guesses, and his solution has no significance.

	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Ciphertext, line 1:
Corey's interpretation:	H	E	R	V	P	L	A	V	P	K	I	O	L	T	G	O	D
Corey's solution:	K	I	L	L	S	L	F	D	R	H	E	L	P	M	E	K	I
Corey's Caesar shifts:	3	4	6	3	4	6	3	4	6	3	4	3	4	7	4	4	5
Actual Caesar shifts:	3	4	6	10	3	0	5	8	2	3	4	3	4	7	2	4	5
Comparison:

Ciphertext, line 2:
Corey's interpretation:	N	P	T	B	O		O		D	W	Y		V		K	F	O
Corey's solution:	L	L	M	Y	S	E	L	F	G	A	S	C	H	A	M	B	E
Corey's Caesar shifts:	2	4	7	3	4	-	?	-	3	4	6	-	14	-	2	4	10
Actual Caesar shifts:	2	4	7	3	4		3		3	4	6		12		2	4	10
Comparison:						-	?	-				-		-

Ciphertext, line 3:
Corey's interpretation:	B	Y	I	C	M	T	U	Z	G	W	O	O	L		Z	H	J
Corey's solution:	R	A	E	I	O	U	R	D	A	Y	S	Q	U	E	S	T	I
Corey's Caesar shifts:	10	2	6	6	2	1	3	4	6	2	?	2	9	-	-	?	1
Actual Caesar shifts:	10	2	4	6	2	1	3	4	6	2	4	2	9		7	12	1
Comparison:											?			-	-	?

Ciphertext, line 4:
Corey's interpretation:	S	P	P	A	A	L	A		V	O	P	O	T	T	R	K	O
Corey's solution:	O	N	S	A	B	L	E	E	V	E	R	Y	Y	W	A	K	I
Corey's Caesar shifts:	?	2	3	0	1	0	4	-	0	10	2	9	?	7	7	-	6
Actual Caesar shifts:	4	2	3	0	1	0	4		0	10	2	10	5	3	9	0	6
Comparison:	?							-					?			-

Ciphertext, line 5:
Corey's interpretation:		A	M	T	Z	T	J	D	I	O	F	P	T	P	O	K	I
Corey's solution:	N	G	M	O	M	E	N	T	I	M	A	L	I	V	E	M	Y
Corey's Caesar shifts:	-	6	-	7	2	15	4	10	-	2	4	4	6	6	10	2	10
Actual Caesar shifts:		6	0	5	13	11	4	10	0	2	5	4	11	6	10	2	10
Comparison:	-		-						-

Ciphertext, line 6:
Corey's interpretation:	P	A	R	A	F	L	O			D	C	K	F	V	O	D	O
Corey's solution:	P	R	I	D	E	L	O	S	T	I	C	A	N	T	G	O	O
Corey's Caesar shifts:	-	9	9	4	?	-	-	S	T	5	-	10	8	2	8	11	-
Actual Caesar shifts:	0	9	9	3	1	0	0			5	0	10	8	2	8	11	0
Comparison:	-				?	-	-	S	T		-						-

Ciphertext, line 7:
Corey's interpretation:		O	T	K	Q		I	O	U	C	X	G	V		Z	L	I
Corey's solution:	N	L	I	V	I	N	G	I	T	H	W	A	Y	K	I	L	L
Corey's Caesar shifts:	N	3	11	11	8	N	2	6	1	5	1	?	3	-	6	-	3
Actual Caesar shifts:		3	11	11	8		2	6	1	5	1	6	3		9	0	3
Comparison:	N					N						?		-		-

Ciphertext, line 8:
Corey's interpretation:	O	G	O	J	F	J		O	T		N	Y	Z	T		L	A
Corey's solution:	I	N	G	P	E	O	P	L	E	I	V	E	K	I	L	L	E
Corey's Caesar shifts:	6	?	?	6	1	6	P	?	15	-	6	2	?	?	-	?	?
Actual Caesar shifts:	6	7	8	6	1	5		3	11		8	6	11	11		0	4
Comparison:		?	?				P	?		-			?	?	-	?	?

Ciphertext, line 9:
Corey's interpretation:	D	V	M	T	B	T	Z	R	O	F	B	C	Y	A	O	O	K
Corey's solution:	D	S	O	M	A	N	Y	P	E	O	P	L	E	C	A	N	T
Corey's Caesar shifts:	-	3	2	1	6	6	1	2	10	9	12	9	6	2	14	1	9
Actual Caesar shifts:	0	3	2	7	1	6	1	2	10	9	12	9	6	2	12	1	9
Comparison:	-

Ciphertext, line 10:
Corey's interpretation:		Z	L	U	V	T	A	J	T	O	P	A	V	F	B	Y
Corey's solution:	H	E	L	P	M	Y	S	E	L	F	I	M	S	O	A	N	G
Corey's Caesar shifts:	1	15	L	5	9	5	8	5	8	9	7	12	3	9	1	2	G
Actual Caesar shifts:		5	0	5	9	5	8	5	8	9	7	12	3	9	1	11
Comparison:	1																G

Ciphertext, line 11:
Corey's interpretation:	U	T	R	I	O	T	E	I	D	Y	B	P	B	T	M	K	O
Corey's solution:	R	Y	I	C	O	U	L	D	D	O	M	Y	T	H	I	N	G
Corey's Caesar shifts:	3	5	9	6	-	1	7	5	-	10	?	9	3	12	4	5	8
Actual Caesar shifts:	3	5	9	6	0	1	7	5	0	10	11	9	8	12	4	3	8
Comparison:					-				-		?

Ciphertext, line 12:
Corey's interpretation:	O	V	C	L	R	J	I		O	T	O	M		T	P	B	F
Corey's solution:	I	M	A	L	O	N	E	I	N	T	H	I	S	W	O	R	L
Corey's Caesar shifts:	6	9	2	L	3	4	5	?	?	6	7	4	5	3	1	?	6
Actual Caesar shifts:	6	9	2	0	3	4	4		1	0	7	4		3	1	10	6
Comparison:								?	?				5			?

Ciphertext, line 13:
Corey's interpretation:	Z	O	A	S	Y		T	N	I	O	F	B	C	O	I	A	R
Corey's solution:	D	M	Y	W	H	O	L	E	L	I	F	E	F	U	L	L	O
Corey's Caesar shifts:	11	?	2	4	9	0	8	9	3	6	-	3	3	6	3	11	3
Actual Caesar shifts:	4	2	2	4	9		8	9	3	6	0	3	3	6	3	11	3
Comparison:		?				0					-

Ciphertext, line 14:
Corey's interpretation:	L	G	F	N	A	F	O	O	O	B		C	V	O	T	T	T
Corey's solution:	L	I	E	S	I	M	U	N	A	B	L	E	T	O	S	T	O
Corey's Caesar shifts:	L	2	1	5	?	M	?	1	14	-	L	2	2	-	1	-	5
Actual Caesar shifts:	0	2	1	5	8	7	6	1	12	0		2	2	0	1	0	5
Comparison:					?		?			-	L			-		-

Ciphertext, line 15:
Corey's interpretation:	Y	B	X	O		I	O	A	C	E	V	V	U	Z	O		T
Corey's solution:	P	B	Y	T	H	E	T	I	M	E	Y	O	U	S	O	L	V
Corey's Caesar shifts:	?	-	1	5	H	?	5	7	10	-	3	7	-	7	-	L	2
Actual Caesar shifts:	9	0	1	5		4	5	8	10	0	3	7	0	7	0		2
Comparison:	?	-			H	?				-			-		-	L

Ciphertext, line 16:
Corey's interpretation:	I	C		O	Z	B	K	O	O	P	A		F	M	Q	G	O
Corey's solution:	E	T	H	I	S	I	W	I	L	L	H	A	V	E	K	I	L
Corey's Caesar shifts:	4	9	?	6	1	7	12	6	3	4	17	A	16	8	6	2	3
Actual Caesar shifts:	4	9		6	7	7	12	6	3	4	7		10	8	6	2	3
Comparison:			?									A

Ciphertext, line 17:
Corey's interpretation:	R	C	T	T	L	O	O	C	V	T	F	L	W	B	I	O	L
Corey's solution:	L	E	D	E	L	E	V	E	N	P	E	O	P	L	E	P	L
Corey's Caesar shifts:	6	2	16	15	-	10	7	2	3	4	1	3	7	10	4	1	-
Actual Caesar shifts:	6	2	10	11	0	10	7	2	8	4	1	3	7	10	4	1	0
Comparison:					-												-

Ciphertext, line 18:
Corey's interpretation:	T	T	O	W	C	Z	W	C	P	O	S	H	T	I	O	O	P
Corey's solution:	E	A	S	E	H	E	L	P	M	E	S	T	O	P	K	I	L
Corey's Caesar shifts:	11	7	4	8	5	10	11	13	3	?	-	12	5	P	4	6	4
Actual Caesar shifts:	11	7	4	8	5	5	11	13	3	10	0	12	5	7	4	6	4
Comparison:										?	-

Ciphertext, line 19:
Corey's interpretation:	I	F	K	D	W	V	A	T	B		Y	O	B			C	C
Corey's solution:	L	I	N	G	P	E	O	P	L	E	P	L	E	A	S	E	M
Corey's Caesar shifts:	3	6	3	3	7	9	7	4	10	?	9	3	10	A	S	2	10
Actual Caesar shifts:	3	3	3	3	7	9	12	4	10		9	3	3			2	10
Comparison:										?				A	S

Ciphertext, line 20:
Corey's interpretation:	V	M	D	H	N	P	K	S	Z	Z	O	A	A	I	K	I	T
Corey's solution:	Y	N	A	M	E	I	S	L	E	I	G	H	A	L	L	E	N
Corey's Caesar shifts:	3	1	3	5	?	6	8	?	?	9	8	7	A	3	1	3	7
Actual Caesar shifts:	3	1	3	5	9	7	8	7	5	9	8	7	0	3	1	4	6
Comparison:					?			?	?