On October 27th 1987, a letter was mailed to the Vallejo Times-Herald stating "This is the Zodiac speaking. I am crackproof. Tell herb caen that I am still here. Tell the blue pigs if want me I will be out driving around on Halloween in my death machine looking for some kiddies to run over. Cars make nice weapons. The pigs can catch me if They can find me out there. Just like in the movie The Car. Tell the kiddies watch before they cross the street on Halloween nite. Tell Tochi my new plans."

​Experts very quickly determined it was a hoax letter. "The fake letter sent to the Vallejo Times-Herald in midweek was a simulation of a hoax letter written in 1978", police Capt. Roy Conway said Thursday. "The determination was made by experts in the state Department of Justice", he said. In Sacramento, spokeswoman Melinda Stehr of the attorney general's office said handwriting experts confirmed the letter was a simulation of a letter sent to the San Francisco Chronicle a decade ago, which was also considered to be a hoax."Someone saw the letter and was using it as a copy."  Stehr said. "It's a fake. It's a hoax". UPI.

The person responsible for this letter (if a hoaxer) was certainly determined to reinvent the Zodiac Killer after an absence of nine years from the April 24th 1978 letter, or thirteen years from the January 29th 1974 'Exorcist' letter. So, why would the hoaxer choose one of the already publicized hoax letters to imitate, rather than the copious other communications deemed genuine? In other words, why would a hoaxer choose a hoaxed letter to convince everybody he was genuine?

The opening three lines of the 1978 and 1987 letters are extremely similar, with both "telling herb caen he had always been here". Why would a hoaxer, determined to convince us he was the Zodiac Killer, not only choose a previously 'debunked' letter, but imitate the wording so closely as to give the impression to investigators it was just copied? On the flip side, if the author was the Zodiac Killer, such a concern would not be a consideration. A person attempting to hoax the 1987 letter would first have to access old newspaper cuttings of Zodiac communications and handwriting to copy. If they were prepared to go to this effort, then they may as well have reproduced any Zodiac correspondence from 1969 to 1971, as opposed to selecting the 1978 letter.​​

"The Tochi reference is to David Toschi, who was the prime investigator of the Zodiac killings, which began in 1968. He was demoted after being accused of sending a fake Zodiac letter to the San Francisco Chronicle in 1978". UPI. 

​The hoaxer must surely have been aware of David Toschi's perceived involvement in writing the 1978 letter and his recent retirement from law enforcement, hence the belated reference of "Tell Tochi my new plans", but nevertheless, continued on to mimic the 1978 letter anyway. The author of the 1987 letter could not have accidentally chosen to copy this letter without realizing the authenticity issues surrounding it - rather he chose it for purpose. The author of the 1987 letter could have been the author of the 1978 letter and therefore did not have to "see the (1978) letter to use it as a copy", and as a result, there was no need for imitation. The assertion by investigators that the author of the 1987 letter was somehow attempting to copy the 1978 letter would be negated in this instance, as it would be if the Zodiac Killer had authored both letters and didn't care if they looked similar in style or wording. If the 1987 letter had looked wildly different to anything mailed previously, people would say "the handwriting looks nothing like the Zodiac Killer". In this instance though, the difference was clearly not enough and therefore considered "a simulation".  The December 7th 1969 and December 16th 1969 'Fairfield' letters both fell foul of this contradiction.   

The Zodiac Killer implied he was responsible for the August 3rd 1969 double murder of Kathy Snoozy and Deborah Furlong in San Jose, when he mailed the November 8th 1969 'Dripping Pen' card. Two weeks later, on November 21st 1969, the San Jose Police Department were sent a warning letter threatening harm on a "widow". Then came the December 16th 1969 'Fairfield' letter which threatened "more blood" at many different locations, including a policeman in San Jose.

​On July 13th 1971, a pasted card was mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle with the words "Near Monticello Shought Victims 21 ...... In The Woods Dies April". This was referencing the murder of Kathy Bilek (18) on Sunday, April 11th 1971, stabbed multiple times at Villa Montalvo in Saratoga (just west of downtown San Jose), only nine miles from the neighborhood of Monticello. This neighborhood sits next to Oak Hill Memorial Park, where Kathy Snoozy is buried. At about the same time, a 148 character cipher was received by the San Francisco Chronicle, postmarked Fairfield, California. Bearing in mind Kathy Snoozy, Deborah Furlong and Kathy Bilek were all stabbed innumerable times, disfiguring their bodies, it is rather telling that the author of the 148 character cipher and letter should threaten 3 more young people like so: "Tis the Zodiac Speacking. Why can't you stop me. I can't stop killing. Stop listening t(o) phonys. If this is not on your front page in a week I will skin 3 little kids and make a suit from the skin" and "next time I will send a patch of human skin if there is some left over". ​

​If the Zodiac Killer was responsible for the above mentioned outlier communications, then it wouldn't at all be surprising if he mailed a later communication referencing the murder of three more "little kids" in San Jose, and used this as his inspiration to threaten "kiddies when they cross the street on Halloween nite".   The 1987 Letter-Death on Four Wheels. 

"Evil has visited the earth in many forms.....now it returns as 'The Car'. A car possessed. Who knows what it wants. They all know nothing can stop the car. There's nowhere to turn, nowhere to hide, no way to stop 'The Car'. What evil force drives the car." The Car (1977) Official Trailer.

On October 27th 1987, a letter was mailed to the Vallejo Times-Herald stating "This is the Zodiac speaking. I am crackproof. Tell herb caen that I am still here. Tell the blue pigs if want me I will be out driving around on Halloween in my death machine looking for some kiddies to run over. Cars make nice weapons. The pigs can catch me if They can find me out there. Just like in the movie The Car. Tell the kiddies watch before they cross the street on Halloween nite. Tell Tochi my new plans". It is unknown whether this correspondence is a genuine Zodiac communication, and the content of the letter is vague. However, we will attempt to discover the inspiration behind this correspondence and the location of where the threat was intended or inferred to have been carried out, even though it never materialized. 

The Zodiac Killer mailed the 'Exorcist' letter on January 29th 1974, just over one month after the USA release of 'The Exorcist' movie on December 26th 1973. He then mailed the 'Badlands' letter on May 8th 1974, just over one month after the Los Angeles, California release date of Badlands on March 29th 1974.

​The Car was released on May 13th 1977, so this time the Zodiac (or a hoaxer) would take 10 years to reference this movie in the 1987 letter. Was this really the primary inspiration for this letter, or had the author read something in the newspapers far more recently that triggered his recollection of the 1977 film, bearing in mind the tone of the letter and his threat of running over kids in his vehicle.

Just over a month before the arrival of this correspondence, on September 12th 1987, Jose Santo Bugarin (26) and Rodolfo Alvaro (31) were traveling on King Road, San Jose, California when their car slammed into four children playing on the front lawn of a residence, killing three and injuring one. The driver then backed over the bodies and left the scene. Both were apprehended a short time later. "Bugarin was arrested on three counts of second-degree murder. Alvaro also was arrested on murder charges". Chicago Tribune.  This was covered extensively in the newspapers.

"SAN JOSE (AP) A man who ran over and killed three children entered a plea bargain on Wednesday, pleading no contest to second degree murder and two vehicular manslaughter charges. Jose Santos Bugarin, 26, of San Jose, had two of the original murder charges filed against him changed to manslaughter. He will be sentenced to 21 years and eight months in state prison. Bugarin was the driver of a car that plowed through a front yard on King Road in San Jose on Sept. 12, killing three children".

​Did the Zodiac Killer or the author of the 1987 letter read the news stories of this senseless crime and callously draw inspiration from this tragedy (Cars make nice weapons), compelling him to write the above correspondence, piggybacking off newspaper articles in not dissimilar fashion to his early communications?

The Car movie featured a satanic driverless car running people over in the fictional desert town of Santa Ynez in Utah. IMDB. However, Santa Ynez is not so fictional in California. The town of Santa Ynez is one of the communities of the Santa Ynez Valley. It is situated just 20 minutes or 12 miles (as the crow flies) from the site of the Robert Domingos (18) and Linda Edwards (17) murders on June 4th 1963, widely touted as an early Zodiac crime. Anton LaVey was awarded the title of Technical Advisor in the movies credits, with a quote from his Satanic Bible.

The Zodiac Killer or a copycat, mailed a letter to the Vallejo Times-Herald on Tuesday October 27th 1987 claiming he would be driving around on Halloween night in his "death machine" looking for some "kiddies" to run over and that "cars make nice weapons". He also made reference to the movie The Car, directed by Elliot Silverstein and released in 1977, about a satanic, driverless car that embarks on a series of hit and run deaths. Here is a review of The Car.

The Zodiac modus operandi, if any can really be established,  involved attacks where he tended to seek out couple's in cars, the only deviation being the Presidio Heights slaying of taxicab driver Paul Stine on October 11th 1969, yet still a vehicle was integral to the crime. In searching for crimes based upon the threats outlined in the 1987 letter, where the author had used his car as a potential weapon, we shall examine the murder of a young girl in Wichita on October 31st 1987. But first, we will take a look at the brutal attack on a lone woman in Marin County who had a terrifying encounter one dark night in 1972

Isobel Watson (33) had just got off the bus on the evening of April 7th 1972 and was walking home along Pine Hill Road, Tamalpais Valley, Marin County at 9:00 pm, when a light colored vehicle veered towards her, knocking her to the ground. The driver exited his vehicle offering to take her home but after she had refused his offer of apparent help a second time, the concerned citizen suddenly became enraged, pulling out a knife and stabbing the woman in the neck and shoulder. ​Her screams alerted the neighborhood, forcing the assailant into a hasty retreat from the scene. She was treated at Marin General Hospital and fortunately survived the brutal attack.

Her description of the man alerted investigators to a possible Zodiac connection - that of a man with heavy-rimmed black glasses, in his early 40s, 5' 9" in height and short brown hair. It was not overlooked by police that the killer had attempted to lure the woman into his vehicle, not dissimilar to the method employed in the Modesto abduction of Kathleen Johns. Napa County homicide detective Kenneth Narlow believed in a greater than 50-50 chance of a Zodiac connection, bearing in mind the description given by Isobel Watson - and that April 7th 1972 once again fell on a Friday. ​The Zodiac crimes of Lake Herman Road, Blue Rock Springs Park, Lake Berryessa and Presidio Heights were on Friday, Friday, Saturday and Saturday respectively.

It is believed by some that the Zodiac Killer murders and correspondence were part influenced by an occultist theme. The Church of Satan was founded by author and occultist Anton Szandor LaVey, almost to the day, six months prior to All Hallows Eve on April 30th 1966 at the Black House, 6114 California Street, San  Francisco, California, close to the Presidio Heights district where Paul Stine was killed on October 11th 1969.  The building has since been demolished (in 2001). It was also exactly six months later that Cheri Jo Bates was murdered outside the Riverside City College library on October 30th 1966. The San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times ran articles on Anton LaVey calling him "The Black Pope". Anton LaVey knew the Tamalpais Valley area well, having attended Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley until the age of 16. He died on October 29th 1997 but curiously his death certificate stated his passing on Halloween morning. 

Was the Zodiac Killer an integral member of the Church of Satan, or was he part influenced by the Anton LaVey movement and the resulting press coverage? In a television interview, reporter Paul Avery, who had become the subject of the Zodiac Killer's Halloween card received a phone call from Anton LaVey stating that he thought the Zodiac Killer may have attempted to become one of his parishioners, subsequently providing Paul Avery with some material. This created a comical response from Paul Avery who stated that the "Zodiac was so bad even the Church of Satan didn't want him". As stated earlier, the Zodiac Killer mentioned the 1977 film The Car, about a satanically possessed vehicle that embarks on a murderous rampage, Anton LaVey was awarded  the title of Creative Consultant in the movies credits with a quote from his Satanic Bible.

The murder of Shannon Olson may be unlikely a Zodiac crime - with many people suggesting the BTK Killer, Dennis Rader as the possible murderer - as his crimes were committed in the area of Wichita, Kansas between 1974 and 1991 where he claimed 10 victims. However, the majority of his murders involved strangulation or suffocation, with only one of his victims, Kathryn Bright, having been stabbed. Dennis Rader has never confessed to the murder of Shannon Olson and the case remains unsolved to this day.