MO MO - Ricky McCormick, 41, St Louis, 30 June 1999

[dotr]

:Welcome1:

Welcome to Ws. COOPMER802!
Thanks for your insights into this mysterious case, it must be important imo. if FBI is going to all this trouble to crack this code, such as it is!

 

[CanManEh]

i would like to know if its ever been said just how he died and then how they know its a murder all i know is he was found in a field and they say its a murder why the lack of what happend to him maybe it was a suicide but the fbi is more interested in his code just something dont seem right to me here.

 

[dotr]

Wondering if anyone really did crack the code and/or, if any headway has been made into the investigation into Ricky's death?

 

[Rayemonde]

Wondering if anyone really did crack the code and/or, if any headway has been made into the investigation into Ricky's death?

Me too...

 

[dotr]

http://www.news.com.au/technology/o...s/news-story/e6b8bf10ed4fc02648deba3a605089a6
February 9, 2016

[h=1]Dead man’s code still unsolved by FBI and amateur internet sleuths[/h]
WHEN the FBI struggles to solve a case, it will sometimes turn to internet sleuths for assistance.

This is exactly what it did when it was unable to decipher a code located on the body of Ricky McCormick — a man who had been found dead in an abandoned cornfield in Missouri.
However, amateur web sleuths, redditors, government conspiracy theorists and law enforcement have had zero luck deciphering the code, so the mystery remains unsolved.
The body of the 41-year-old was so badly decomposed his fingertips had completely fallen off when it was discovered on June 30, 1999.
Taking into account his 11 month prison sentence for first-degree sexual abuse and his connections to a local drug ring, police immediately suspected foul play.
This theory was only strengthened by the fact his body had been discovered in a field that had developed a reputation as a dumping ground for bodies some 30km from his home.

To this day the code remains unsolved and while the FBI is not offering a cash reward, it hopes the satisfaction of solving a perplexing mystery will be more than enough for someone to come forward.

 

[macrauchenia]

...

Be careful not to discount the intelligence of this guy. I have a stepdaughter that is highly intelligent; however, she dropped out of school. Her IQ test baffled me because she scored average; however, I was later informed by a doctor that her street smarts were what compensated for her book smarts…if she wanted to learn it, she would. She also tried writing in code. The reason why it would be nice to know the guys full name is many times kids first play with code with their names. They will set letters to represent the letters in their name. Then when they write, they simply replace those letters to pre-assigned letters in their name. It also appears the words are abbreviated…and possibly misspelled (as mentioned in other posts). If this code was used in correspondence, then it would need to be something that others would have the encryption to decode. Did none of his family not know if he communicated with these codes with other folks or were they strictly for him? Maybe the FBI needs to contact some of his school buddies/cell mates to see what they remember about the codes.

Yes, I agree 100% we should not dismiss McCormick's intelligence (and ability to concoct codes) just because he was "uneducated."

Formal education is not equivalent to intelligence by any means. Cleverness will get you places that post-graduate degrees cannot. Terrible spelling doesn't signify idiocy: by itself it only indicates a specific incompetence in spelling. Even intelligence tests measure nothing more than how good someone is at taking those tests! (The development of IQ tests was disturbingly racist; its arbitrary scores based on groups considered a priori "less intelligent" than the white middle-class groups. Then there's the Flynn Effect, and .... but I am already off topic.)

Anyway, I think McCormick's notes ARE some sort of code, but a very idiosyncratic code, probably riddled with spelling errors.

 

[dotr]

Some here may find this new code-breaking school at Bletchley, interesting, fwiw..
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?326765-Famed-U-K-codebreaking-centre-to-be-new-College-of-Cybersecurity&p=13063158#post13063158
[h=2]Famed U.K. codebreaking centre to be new College of Cybersecurity[/h]

 

[Tulessa]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/188581537853164/

 

[dotr]

This you tuber was suggested on the Buckskin Doe thread, this is the first video that popped up, hopefully fine to post here.
[video=youtube;eLKscrXkKUw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=62&v=eLKscrXkKUw[/video]

 

[Cliff Hardy]

Truly fascinating case with so many unanswered questions:

Why was Ricky's body out in the open and easy to see from the road, yet so decomposed? Surely it had been relocated there?

Who penned the 2 page letter found in his pocket and what was its purpose and content?

The authorities have been unable to decipher the code for all these years, yet are confident the letter's content would help solve the case? Makes me wonder if they think they have part solved the code but are unwilling to share that with the public?

 

[dotr]

http://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/ricky-mccormick-155049

[h=1]12 Years After Ricky McCormick's Murder, the FBI Asked for Help Decoding Two Encrypted Notes in His Pocket[/h]
Feb 28, 2018

All of the twists and turns in Ricky McCormick's murder have made it one of the most intriguing true crime cases ever, starting with the fact that police kept two encoded notes found in his pocket a secret for 12 years before asking the general public for help translating them.

Ricky was a troubled man who suffered from severe heart and lung conditions, had four illegitimate kids, lived with his elderly mother one and off for years, and had recently served jail time for statutory rape. At the time of his death, he was living on disability benefits and was 41 years old. When his body was found in a ditch in 1999 near West Alton, MO, he had already been missing for five days, and police ruled out homicide.

Very lengthy link within link.
https://www.riverfronttimes.com/stl...y-to-his-mysterious-death/Content?oid=2498959

Although it had been just three days since he disappeared, the flesh on his outstretched hands was already rotted to the point that his fingertips, just below the top knuckles, had fallen off and lay next to him in the weeds.

In 1995 authorities discovered the bullet-ridden body of an alleged prostitute in an abandoned house along the same stretch of U.S. Route 67. Two years after McCormick's death, state road crews mowing grass some 300 yards away from where he lay found the nude bodies of two more women.

Looking back, Gloria McCormick suspects Ricky's hospital visits were attempts to find a hideout where he could lay low. Sitting at an open window in her same apartment, Gloria's voice softens between tugs on her Salem 100's cigarettes. "Maybe he knew he got into something that put his life on the line," she says. "He knew he could have stayed here. But maybe he didn't want to put my life on the line."

 

[aeroplanejetpac]

I've been debating making a podcast based off of this case, I'm trying to find more information on the actual case that doesn't involve just the letters. Does anyone have any other evidence on this case? Also, does anyone have some tips on digging up information about the case?

 

[aeroplanejetpac]

My question is, were the other bodies cases solved?

 

[aeroplanejetpac]

http://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/ricky-mccormick-155049


Very lengthy link within link.
https://www.riverfronttimes.com/stl...y-to-his-mysterious-death/Content?oid=2498959

My question is, were the other bodies cases solved?

 

[dotr]

My question is, were the other bodies cases solved?

Welcome to Ws aeroplanejetpac!
Good question about the other murdered victims, i do not think those cases have been solved, will look around- but thinking that maybe one of the reasons LE is so keen on Ricky's notes, is that maybe it might help lead to the people responsible for the sex worker deaths?
imo, speculation.
https://www.riverfronttimes.com/stl...y-to-his-mysterious-death/Content?oid=2498959

How his corpse ended up facedown in this cornfield in rural St. Charles County — twenty miles from where he worked and lived in downtown St. Louis — was anyone's guess. But the desolate sliver of land between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers has been a criminal dumping ground for years.



In 1995 authorities discovered the bullet-ridden body of an alleged prostitute in an abandoned house along the same stretch of U.S. Route 67. Two years after McCormick's death, state road crews mowing grass some 300 yards away from where he lay found the nude bodies of two more women.

 

[dlbroox]

I am new to Websleuths and new to the McCormick case. But for some reason it's really gotten under my skin so although I've lurked around here for a while I had to join.

I've spent most of the last four days reading everything I can find and studying the notes. One of the things that jumps out at me the most is never talked about: the formatting of the P1 note.

I am actually a graphic design teacher who deals with a lot of kids with different learning disabilities. I have trouble believing the P1 note was written by a person with huge deficiencies in writing considering how organized that note is even aside from the content. The note shows a hierarchy of items or ideas. The description of Ricky's learning disabilities would indicate he could not be the author of the P1 note. He might be the author of the other note that someone is trying to emulate. I believe there are either two hands at work here or one who is trying to fool the police into thinking Ricky wrote the notes.

I also do not believe the FBI would invest time and energy solving a cipher found on a convicted felon dead in the middle of a corn field unless they thought the notes would lead to the solving of greater crimes.

I believe they are looking for a serial killer.

 

[dotr]

I am new to Websleuths and new to the McCormick case. But for some reason it's really gotten under my skin so although I've lurked around here for a while I had to join.

I've spent most of the last four days reading everything I can find and studying the notes. One of the things that jumps out at me the most is never talked about: the formatting of the P1 note.

I am actually a graphic design teacher who deals with a lot of kids with different learning disabilities. I have trouble believing the P1 note was written by a person with huge deficiencies in writing considering how organized that note is even aside from the content. The note shows a hierarchy of items or ideas. The description of Ricky's learning disabilities would indicate he could not be the author of the P1 note. He might be the author of the other note that someone is trying to emulate. I believe there are either two hands at work here or one who is trying to fool the police into thinking Ricky wrote the notes.

I also do not believe the FBI would invest time and energy solving a cipher found on a convicted felon dead in the middle of a corn field unless they thought the notes would lead to the solving of greater crimes.

I believe they are looking for a serial killer.

Welcome to Ws dlbrookx!
Thanks for the insight, also thinking that the FBI might be looking for a serial killer.
What type of information do you think might be in that note?

 

[Shin Masamura]

I am new to Websleuths and new to the McCormick case. But for some reason it's really gotten under my skin so although I've lurked around here for a while I had to join.

I've spent most of the last four days reading everything I can find and studying the notes. One of the things that jumps out at me the most is never talked about: the formatting of the P1 note.

I am actually a graphic design teacher who deals with a lot of kids with different learning disabilities. I have trouble believing the P1 note was written by a person with huge deficiencies in writing considering how organized that note is even aside from the content. The note shows a hierarchy of items or ideas. The description of Ricky's learning disabilities would indicate he could not be the author of the P1 note. He might be the author of the other note that someone is trying to emulate. I believe there are either two hands at work here or one who is trying to fool the police into thinking Ricky wrote the notes.

I also do not believe the FBI would invest time and energy solving a cipher found on a convicted felon dead in the middle of a corn field unless they thought the notes would lead to the solving of greater crimes.

I believe they are looking for a serial killer.

Very asute and excellent points.. the great thing about this forums is the fact we come from all types of professional backgrounds. I think yours will be helpful. Welcome to the team!

 

[dlbroox]

Welcome to Ws dlbrookx!
Thanks for the insight, also thinking that the FBI might be looking for a serial killer.
What type of information do you think might be in that note?

Thanks for the welcomes.

I don’t know what I think is in the notes at this point but I think it’s visually sophisticated. The letters in P1 can tend to align vertically.

There are many places where the e’s line up vertically.

And I’ve played with the numbers. One way I played with them turned up a Kansas City area code. But I’m thinking lots of people might have come up with that.

 

[dotr]

Ricky Mccormick Was Found Dead With Two Coded Notes We Still Haven't Solved - In Touch Weekly
Feb 28 2018 rbbm

Note 2. (Photo Credit: FBI)

note 1. (Photo Credit: FBI)

However, there were questions surrounding the case. He was 15 miles away from home, yet he didn't have a car and public transportation did not go where he was found. Then, 12 years later, the FBI revealed that his death was, in fact, a murder. Not only that, but he had two encrypted notes in his pockets when he was found. Police determined the notes were probably written within three days of his death.

At first, family members reportedly said that Ricky had written in code since he was a kid, which lead police to believe that he was the author. However, a 2012 report from the River Front Times featured new interviews with his family, who claimed that Ricky couldn't spell, he just scribbled. "[His] family members say they never knew of Ricky to write in code," said the report. "They say they only told investigators he sometimes jotted down nonsense he called writing, and they seriously question McCormick's capacity to craft the notes found in his pockets." So were the notes written by the killer?