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THE MURDERS GAINING DUST

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The first edition release of Robert Graysmith's book Zodiac was unveiled on January 1st 1986 with respect to the infamous Bay Area murders. Just over 4 months later, a letter arrived at the San Francisco Chronicle claiming the murders of Laotian couple Koy Ien Saechao (48) and Choy Fow Saelee (40) just three miles north of downtown Sacramento. These murders had all the hallmarks of the Zodiac Killer's first two attacks in Benicia and Vallejo, along with a sprinkling of the disputed Kathleen Johns abduction in early 1970.

The couple had been ambushed in their vehicle on the hard shoulder of Highway 99 by an unknown assailant, who fired off fifteen rounds from a small caliber weapon through the driver side window of their car in a seemingly motiveless crime. The question arises, as to whether this crime was the actual Zodiac Killer re-energized by the publicity surrounding the Robert Graysmith book, or whether the Zodiac Killer or a hoaxer had noticed the limited newspaper coverage this crime had generated, and by sheer opportunism decided to lay claim to the double murder. Of all the crimes linked to the Bay Area murderer, these murders are the closest to his Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs attacks (particularly the July 4th 1969 murder). The murders on April 22nd 1986 were exactly "two weeks" prior to the postmarked envelope of May 6th 1986, they occurred in "Sacramento" on a "freeway", and the murderer may very well have interacted with the "blue meannies" shortly after the crime.

The newspapers speculated that Koy Ien Saechao and Choy Fow Saelee may have pulled over onto the hard shoulder to take a rest, when they were possibly ambushed by another passing motorist. They were returning home from visiting their son in a Merced County hospital, an approximate journey of 3 hours from their residence in Dorman Avenue, Yuba City. However, their vehicle was discovered only 3 miles (and a handful of minutes) from downtown Sacramento, where it may have been a more logical place to pull over and seek rest from their journey. They were only 40-45 minutes from home, so passing a major city, where they could have sought comfort in food and a toilet break, only to continue for about 3 to 5 minutes and pull over onto a isolated and dark hard shoulder, seems an unusual choice. They may not have pulled over by their own volition at all - they may have been coerced to the highway edge in similar fashion to the Kathleen Johns abduction on March 22nd 1970 (a crime still not under the canonical Zodiac umbrella). Had Koy Ien Saechao and Choy Fow Saelee actually stopped at a diner in Sacramento and were followed the three miles to the site of their murder? Without knowing the time of their departure from Merced County and the estimated time of their murder, we cannot ascertain whether they had enough time for such a diversion into Sacramento. This timeline would be of crucial importance.  

Highway 99 and Merced County was in fact the route taken by Kathleen Johns some sixteen years earlier, before she broke free and headed west on Highway 132 from Modesto. This likely has no bearing on the 1986 double murder, but the possible ushering of the victims to the side of the road in both instances, is nonetheless noteworthy. Despite the usual hoaxer being touted for the 1986 letter, we have 15 small caliber bullet casings retrieved from this crime scene (along with the bullets) sitting in evidence. Was there any other contact in 1986 from the Zodiac Killer, hoaxer or the "hitchhiker" who flagged down an East Nicolaus Highway Patrol Officer and informed him of the accident (that turned into murders) at the said location. Not only did the 1986 double murder resemble the attack on Michael Mageau and Darlene Ferrin on July 4th 1969, the murders were also followed by immediate contact with the police. Was the "hitchhiker" toying with the police or giving assistance - and more importantly, was it the Zodiac Killer to whom the Highway Patrol Officer from East Nicolaus spoke to on April 22nd 1986.

Kristi Hawthorne unearthed a possible link to the Bay Area murders while searching through some old newspaper articles. Taxicab driver Ray Davis (29) on April 11th 1962 was discovered in an alley behind 1926 South Pacific Street in Oceanside, having been shot twice in his taxicab. The interesting part of the story lies in a telephone call to police two days before the murder, in which the anonymous male stated “I am going to pull something here in Oceanside and you will never be able to figure it out".  On April 16th 1962, it appears the same man rang the Oceanside Police Department once again, stating “Do you remember me calling you last week and telling you that I was going to pull a real baffling crime? I killed the cab driver and I am going to get me a bus driver next". This 1962 finding has understandably generated much interest in the Zodiac community and on television (and rightly so), yet here we have a potential Zodiac letter mailed twenty-four years later, in tandem with a crime bearing hallmarks to three previous Zodiac Killer cases, and likely thirty pieces of evidence still available for inspection. Despite having tried several times, getting a response from the Sacramento Police Department has proved fruitless - and these murders have been all but forgotten, apart from the family members of Koy Ien Saechao and Choy Fow Saelee, who no doubt yearn for a resolution to this case. Unfortunately, I won't be trying anymore, so hopefully somebody else reads this and picks up the baton.  

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