Like something out of a crime show, we can imagine there have been thousands of letters; both hoaxes and genuine, designed to taunt, trick, and lure the police and others involved in the case on a false trail. See below for just three infamous letters that have been sent by serial killers.
Ricky McCorkmick’s Murder
As one of the most famous crimes to still remain a mystery, McCorkmick’s body was discovered in 1999, in Missouri. He was known to possess a criminal record, as well as to have dropped out of school and, at the time, was unemployed. When the body was found, two notes, complete with encryptions were retrieved and, 12 years after the murder, the public was called upon to help decode the hidden message.
Perhaps the most interesting part of this case is that no cause of death was certified, not even homicide.
The Zodiac’s Cryptogram
In total, the Zodiac killer released eighteen letters, leaving them in the hands of the newspapers. Though the murders of five victims at the hand of this killer date back to early 1970s, only one of four of the coded letters have been even partly solved, leaving an air of mystery around this case. Interestingly, two amateurs who came across the message in the newspaper were the ones to crack the code (Donald and Bettye Harden).
Unfortunately, even after all these years, there’s still no solid evidence to suggest the others have been deciphered.
From Hell
We thought we’d save possibly the most famous letter until last, sent to George Lusk by notorious Jack the Ripper. Again, this killer was never found and carried out the killings in 1888, in London’s East End. Not only did Lusk receive an illiterate message though, he was also sent part of a kidney. As one of the victims had their kidney taken out, it was understandable to assume it was the Ripper himself. But there are many theories surrounding the kidney, as well as the letter named ‘From Hell’.
These are just a small selection of some of the world’s deadliest letters ever to be sent and found. Do you have any more to add?
![Jack-the-Ripper-Suspect[1]](https://storage.googleapis.com/wp-static/thejacktherippertour.com/Jack-the-Ripper-Suspect1.jpg "Jack-the-Ripper-Suspect[1]")
