Tag: unsolved mysteries

Voynich Manuscript Breakthrough? The Secret Behind “The Most Mysterious Book in the World” May Involve an Ancient Cipher System

The year was 1637, and Georg Baresch, an alchemist and renowned collector of antiquities based in Prague, had a baffling mystery on his hands. For years now, he had been in possession of a most unusual item: a bizarre manuscript filled with strange imagery of plants, astrological diagrams, curious structures, human figures, and a range of other curiosities.

This “Sphinx,” as Baresch characterized it, was so strange that it prompted him to reach out to the Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher, known for his success in deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, with hopes of obtaining information that might lead to a breakthrough in solving the mystery of the puzzling manuscript.

Today, the same bizarre treatise first obtained by Baresch in the seventeenth century is known throughout the world as the Voynich Manuscript, and despite the efforts of many since Baresch’s time who have sought to decode it, the document still refuses to give up its secrets. After more than a century of scrutiny, no one has convincingly explained who wrote it, what it says, or even whether its text carries any real meaning at all.

However, new research may finally offer scholars a fresh perspective on this confounding mystery. According to a recent peer-reviewed study, while the mystery of the Voynich Manuscript endures, a new theory strengthens the possibility that the text in a document often referred to as “the most mysterious book in the world” may have once served as a cipher system.

The hypothesis, detailed by researcher and science journalist Michael A. Greshko in the journal Cryptologia, indicates that the famous manuscript bears qualities that seemingly match the technological capabilities of scholars in the Middle Ages, potentially helping to reframe questions about the manuscript that have long perplexed researchers.

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Ohio Police Release Video of Person of Interest in Mysterious Killing of Dentist and Wife

Columbus, Ohio, police released new video of a ‘person of interest’ in the mysterious killing of a dentist and his wife.

As previously reported, a dentist and his wife were gunned down in their Columbus, Ohio, home last week, and police still have not identified a suspect.

Dr. Spencer Tepe, 37, and his wife Monique Tepe, 39, were found shot to death in their home last Tuesday morning after police conducted a welfare check.

Their two children were found in the home crying, but were not physically harmed.

Police were called to conduct a welfare check after Dr. Tepe, who was known for being punctual, failed to show up to work at Athens Dental Depot.

Athens Dental Depot owner, Dr. Mark Valrose, told 911 dispatchers that Dr. Tepe always shows up to work on time.

“He is always on time and he would contact us if there was any issues,” Dr. Valrose told dispatchers, according to WSYX. “I don’t know how else to say this but we are very very concerned. This is very out of character for him. We can’t get in touch with his wife, which is probably the more concerning thing.”

Police said there was no sign of forced entry, and no weapon was found at the scene of the crime, so they don’t believe it was a murder-suicide.

Dr. Tepe was shot multiple times, and his wife suffered one gunshot wound to the chest.

New footage released by Ohio police shows what appears to be a male wearing a dark colored hoodie and jeans walking down an alley near the Tepe’s home during the time of the double homicide.

“Detectives believe the murder of Mr. and Mrs. Tepe occurred sometime between 2:00 and 5:00 a.m. on the morning of December 30th in the upstairs of their residence. Recovered video footage shows a person of interest walking in the alley near the Tepe’s residence during that timeframe,” Columbus, Ohio, police said on Facebook.

“We have received and are continuing to receive numerous tips from the community, which our detectives are following up on. If you have information that could lead to the identity of the person in this video, please call 614-645-2228 or use the QR code provided. Anonymous tips may also be made to Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477,” the police said.

“We want to thank the community for the tips we have received. We know there are questions and concerns surrounding this tragic incident. Detectives are working diligently to solve this case. We will continue to update you as the investigation progresses,” the police added.

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Mystery: Police Still Searching For Suspect After Dentist and Wife Gunned Down in Their Columbus, Ohio, Home

A dentist and his wife were gunned down in their Columbus, Ohio, home earlier this week and police still have not identified a suspect.

Dr. Spencer Tepe, 37, and his wife Monique Tepe, 39, were found shot to death in their home Tuesday morning after police conducted a welfare check.

Their two children were found in the home crying but were not physically harmed.

Police were called to conduct a welfare check after Dr. Tepe, who was known for being punctual, failed to show up to work at Athens Dental Depot.

Athens Dental Depot owner, Dr. Mark Valrose told 911 dispatchers that Dr. Tepe always shows up to work on time.

“He is always on time and he would contact us if there was any issues,” Dr. Valrose told dispatchers, according to WSYX. “I don’t know how else to say this but we are very very concerned. This is very out of character for him. We can’t get in touch with his wife which is probably the more concerning thing.”

Police said there was no sign of forced entry and no weapon was found at the scene of the crime so they don’t believe it was a murder-suicide.

Dr. Tepe was shot multiple times and his wife suffered one gunshot wound to the chest.

Police cameras posted on a utility pole near the Tepe’s home may have captured the killer, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

Athens Dental Depot announced they will be closed for the remainder of the week.

“It is with heavy hearts that we share the sudden passing of our dear colleague and friend, Dr. Spencer Tepe, as well as his wife Monique. He will be deeply missed by our team and the many patients he cared for over the years. Our thoughts and sincerest condolences are with their families and loved ones during this very difficult time,” Athens Dental Depot wrote on Facebook.

“Our practice will be closed for the remainder of this week. If you have an urgent dental concern, please leave us a message on our emergency line and we will follow up as soon as possible,” the dental practice said.

“We will assess our availability for next week’s appointments and be in touch shortly,” they said. “We ask for your continued patience, support, and privacy as our team mourns these terrible losses,” they said.

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Psychic Credited with Finding Critical Clue in Unsolved Chicago Hit-And-Run Case

A Chicago man searching for the person responsible for a hit-and-run accident that killed his mother received some surprising help in his quest for justice when a psychic pointed him in the direction of a critical clue. According to a local media report, Damion Martin’s mother, Tanja Safforld, passed away last November after being struck by a car that promptly fled the scene. A police investigation into the incident ultimately ground to a halt in March, leaving her son to pursue the matter on his own.

Taking to social media, Martin detailed the circumstances of his mother’s death and revisited the location of the hit-and-run in the hopes of finding someone who might provide new insight into the case. As luck would have it, he was soon contacted by a person who witnessed the accident and indicated that the vehicle in question was a gray sedan. This was particularly important because, during their investigation, police were under the impression that the car was black, which is undoubtedly why their search for the hit-and-run driver came up short. Martin managed to confirm the witness’s account after he received a rather wondrous message from an unexpected source.

“A psychic wrote me out of nowhere and said, ‘go check a blue and yellow sign,'” he recalled, explaining that he returned to the scene and quickly spotted a nearby car dealership that matched the description provided by the mysterious mystic. When shown the business’s security footage from the time of the accident, the witness was able to identify the specific car that struck Martin’s mother. While police have since issued a new community bulletin with a photo of the vehicle, her son expressed dismay that a year has passed since the incident, leaving the culprit plenty of time to cover their tracks.

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The Zodiac killer and Black Dahlia murderer were the SAME man: Explosive investigation unmasks single suspect behind two of America’s darkest murders

Two sadistic crimes that were the stuff of nightmares.

Two reigns of terror over California.

Two of the most notorious cases in history left unsolved for more than half a century.

But now, after all this time, one suspected killer is unmasked.

In a world exclusive, the Daily Mail can reveal that a new investigation has concluded that the Zodiac killer and the murderer of the Black Dahlia were the same man.

The FBI and California police departments are reviewing the explosive theory – and a trove of damning evidence has been unearthed by independent investigators and is undergoing forensic analysis.

If the evidence passes scrutiny, it would mean that two of the world’s biggest murder mysteries will finally be solved.

Between 1968 and 1969, the Zodiac killer terrorized northern California, murdering at least five victims while claiming to have slaughtered dozens more. The phantom taunted the media and police with letters and ciphers, daring the public to unravel his identity.

Two decades earlier in 1947, another slaying cast a shadow of fear over the state.

Aspiring Hollywood actress Elizabeth Short, who became known as the Black Dahlia, was found dead near a lovers’ lane in Los Angeles. Her body had been mutilated – severed clean in half at the waist, with a grotesque smile carved into her cheeks.

Now, after more than a half-century of mystery, countless law enforcement and amateur investigations, unsuccessful attempts to harness DNA testing, and the world’s brightest codebreaking minds left defeated, investigative consultant Alex Baber believes he has finally solved both cases.

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MIT professor shot at his Massachusetts home dies

A Massachusetts university professor who was shot at his home has died, campus officials say.

Nuno F Gomes Loureiro, 47, a nuclear science and engineering professor from Portugal, was shot “multiple times” on Monday and died on Tuesday morning in hospital, according to Brookline police and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) officials.

Police said officers responded to a call for gunshots at an apartment at about 8:30pm local time. Loureiro was taken by ambulance to a Boston hospital, where he died on Tuesday morning.

No one is in custody and police are treating the incident as “an active and ongoing homicide investigation”, the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office said.

CBS News, the BBC’s US media partner, reported that a neighbour said he heard “three loud bangs” Monday evening and thought somebody in the apartment building was kicking in a door.

Long-time resident Anne Greenwald told CBS that the professor had a young family and went to school nearby.

Loureiro majored in Physics at Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon in 2000 and obtained a Phd in physics at Imperial College London in 2005, according to his faculty web page.

Loureiro was known for his research on the dynamics of plasma – the part of blood that carries platelets, red blood cells and white blood cells around the body. He was named director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center in May.

He also studied how to harness clean “fusion power” to combat climate change, CBS said.

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Tim Walz Donor and Former Minneapolis Chamber CEO INDICTED on Five Counts of Bank and Wire Fraud — Accused of Embezzling $200K and Stealing $30K Reward Money for Unsolved Child Murder Cases

Former Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jonathan Weinhagen, a frequent donor to Democrat Governor Tim Walz, has been indicted on five federal counts of bank and wire fraud for allegedly embezzling more than $200,000 from the chamber and stealing $30,000 meant to help solve child murder cases.

According to federal prosecutors, Weinhagen carried out a six-year scheme between December 2019 and June 2024, using fake companies, fraudulent contracts, and even a phony obituary to cover his tracks.

According to FOX 9, Weinhagen ran an elaborate fraud operation from December 2019 through June 2024, when he abruptly left his position at the Chamber. Prosecutors allege that Weinhagen created a fake consulting company called Synergy Partners and used an alias, James Sullivan, to funnel money to himself.

He also allegedly:

  • Opened a $125,000 line of credit in the chamber’s name and funneled the money into his fake company.
  • Faked the death of his alias, publishing an obituary for “James Sullivan” when the chamber began asking questions.
  • Diverted $30,000 in reward money that had been donated to Crime Stoppers of Minnesota to help solve the shooting deaths of three children in 2021 — crimes that remain unsolved.
  • Tried to fraudulently obtain a $54,661 loan from SoFi Bank by claiming he worked for a restaurant group and earned $425,000 annually — both lies.

Federal prosecutors say the total embezzled amount exceeds $200,000.

Weinhagen also stole a total of $30,000 in reward money that had been earmarked to help find suspects.

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The Freeway Phantom murdered six girls and was never caught….so why did the case barely make headlines?

He was the faceless predator who hunted children on the streets of Washington D.C., snatching, raping, and strangling at least six little girls during his 17-month reign of terror.

The serial killer, who called himself the Freeway Phantom, tortured and murdered his young victims – one just ten years old – before dumping their bodies on the side of the freeway. 

From April 1971 to September 1972, he terrorized the nation’s capital and to this day has never been identified. His heinous crimes should place him among America’s most notorious serial murderers: Son of Sam, the Zodiac killer, the Boston Strangler or now the Gilgo Beach killer. 

Yet outside of D.C., very few people have even heard of the mystery murderer or his killing spree.  

The reason, investigators now admit, is as disturbing as the murders themselves: the killer’s victims were poor black girls from neglected neighborhoods, and didn’t matter to law enforcement at the time. 

‘Those black girls didn’t mean anything to anybody – I’m talking about on the police department,’ Tommy Musgrove, who had once headed the D.C. homicide unit, told the Washington Post in 2018.

‘If those girls had been white, they would have put more manpower on it, there’s no doubt about that.’

Now more than half a century after the murders America chose to forget, the case has been dragged into the spotlight thanks to a podcast, Monster: Freeway Phantom, which explores the shocking failures of the investigation.

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FBI lab report, contradictory witness statement inject fresh mystery in unsolved J6 pipe bomb case

The unsolved case of two pipe bombs planted at the major political parties’ headquarters in Washington D.C. before the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot is facing new mystery after FBI Director Kash Patel transmitted to Congress the lab analysis and interviews with a key witness who is challenging the official timeline of events.

The documents obtained by Just the News show that both bombs — one planted at the Democratic National Committee and the other at the Republican National Committee — were filled with chemical building blocks of black powder, each was equipped with a 60-minute kitchen timer, and each had destructive potential.

But most notably, the FBI laboratory report never uses the word “viable” to describe either bomb. Both devices never exploded and were discovered about 16 hours after the FBI claimed they were planted outside both major party headquarters. 

“When properly assembled and initiated, an IED of this sort can cause property damage, bodily injury, or death,” the lab report stated. The report offered no clear explanation why the bombs — which it called “Improvised Explosive Devices” — did not detonate.

You can read that report here.

FBILabAnalysisJ6PipeBombs.pdf

Timeline of when bombs planted, discovered under review

The documents turned over by Patel to the House Judiciary Committee and its special Jan. 6 investigative subcommittee also raise questions about that timeline. They include interviews with a key witness who said the RNC device still had 20 minutes remaining on its timer when she discovered it the following day.

That witness raised the possibility that at least the RNC pipe bomb was planted just before it was discovered and not the night before as the FBI claimed.

The mystifying evidence now has congressional investigators exploring stunning new theories, including whether the bombs were made to look real but not to explode to create a diversion during the Jan. 6 protest or whether someone came back and set the timers later on one or both of the devices.

“The single greatest action that facilitated the protester’s ease of entry into the Capitol on January 6 was the placing of the pipe bombs, and the diversionary effect that had on security resources which would have otherwise been at the Capitol,” said Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., the chairman of the House Judiciary subcommittee that is investigating the law enforcement response to Jan. 6.

“After that day, the FBI was zealous in pursuing those trespassing at the Capitol, but quite lacking in their pursuit of whomever placed the pipe bombs,” he added. “One focus of this Committee will be highlighting the bizarre facts surrounding the pipe bomb case, hoping to bring much needed clarity on this subject to the American people.”

Lawmakers pilloried the FBI in a January report for the security failures surrounding the pipe bombs and the “chaotic response of federal law enforcement after their discovery,” Just the News previously reported. They also criticized the bureau for failing to provide “substantive updates” to Congress about the status of its investigation into the two bombs. 

The congressional panel also raised questions about how the FBI determined that both pipe bombs were “viable” explosive devices given that both were equipped with 60-minute kitchen timers, but were allegedly planted approximately 16 hours before they were discovered.

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Killer’s Death A Cover-Up? Investigators Reopen Cold Case…

Hamilton County Coroner Jeff Jellison is questioning whether notorious serial killer Herb Baumeister’s 1996 death was actually suicide, reopening one of America’s most disturbing cold cases that authorities prematurely closed nearly three decades ago.

Coroner Challenges Decades-Old Death Ruling

Hamilton County Coroner Jeff Jellison has publicly questioned the circumstances surrounding Herb Baumeister’s 1996 death in Canada, which was officially ruled a suicide. Jellison’s renewed investigation focuses on whether law enforcement adequately examined all aspects of Baumeister’s death before declaring the case closed. The coroner’s skepticism stems from the abrupt halt of the investigation immediately following Baumeister’s death, despite thousands of unidentified human remains at Fox Hollow Farm. This represents a concerning pattern where justice is denied simply because a suspect dies before trial.

Massive Crime Scene Reveals Investigation Failures

Fox Hollow Farm in Westfield, Indiana, contains the second-largest collection of unidentified human remains in the United States, exceeded only by the World Trade Center site. Baumeister allegedly killed numerous men throughout the 1990s, with only eight victims officially identified before the investigation ceased. The Hamilton County Coroner’s Office now uses advanced forensic genealogy through GenGenies to match DNA from bone fragments to living relatives across the nation. This technological breakthrough exposes how poorly the original investigation served victims’ families, who deserved thorough identification efforts regardless of the suspect’s fate.

Modern Technology Delivers Overdue Justice

Jellison’s office has successfully identified two additional victims using DNA analysis and genealogy techniques unavailable in the 1990s, with three more identifications pending verification. GenGenies provides these specialized forensic services at no cost, demonstrating the private sector’s commitment to solving cold cases abandoned by government agencies. The renewed investigation leverages cutting-edge technology to provide closure for families who waited nearly thirty years for answers. This progress highlights how institutional accountability and modern forensic methods can resurrect cases that bureaucratic inertia left to gather dust.

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