Seemingly inspired by the Confession letter mailed on November 29th 1966 and published in the Inside Detective magazine in January 1969, the Zodiac Killer used the words "twich", "sqwirm" and "victom" in his Little List letter on July 26th 1970, followed by the Halloween card on October 27th 1970, in which he used the words "by" and called himself "Z" for the first time. Cheri Jo Bates was found murdered on Halloween morning. with three letters arriving five months later on April 30th 1967, of which, two were described in the newspapers as carrying the signature "Z". Phil Sins and Paul Avery would explore the notion that the Zodiac Killer may have dropped some clues to investigators and deliberately fashioned these communications to force a conclusion that he was the murderer of Cheri Jo Bates on October 30th 1966 in Riverside. Some investigators concluded that the Halloween card was a direct threat towards journalist Paul Avery, who he addressed on the envelope of the correspondence. In fact, it would only be five months before the Zodiac Killer again addressed the journalist, when he wrote "att. paul averly = chronicle" on the Pines postcard on March 22nd 1971.

​An exclusive report by Paul Avery, sandwiched between the Halloween card and Pines card, was released by the San Francisco Chronicle on November 16th 1970 (and covered by the Riverside Press-Enterprise) detailing the forged connection between the Riverside murder of Cheri Jo Bates and the Zodiac Killer case in Northern California. It's without doubt that the Zodiac Killer was heavily focused on the San Francisco Chronicle and Paul Avery at this moment in time, because in addition to the November 16th 1970 Chronicle article, a column authored by Herb Caen on November 25th 1970, described how Paul Avery had communicated with the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) requesting the "personalized" license plates reading "ZODIAC". As Zodiac researcher Jibberjabber pointed out, this is one of the rare occurrences where "Paul Avery", "Zodiac", "Herb Caen" and a request to the "DMV" would arise in one newspaper publication. If there was ever a time when the Zodiac Killer would have written to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, this was it. There has been much speculation on what may have inspired the yet to be seen DMV letter, allegedly mailed by the Zodiac Killer on an undetermined date during his reign of terror. Paul Avery requesting a "personalized" license plate from the DMV using the pseudonym "ZODIAC" during the height of his activity, would have been the perfect time. Had the Zodiac Killer's response been prompt, then we have the possibility of the mysterious DMV letter being mailed by the Bay Area murderer in late November or early December 1970.  

Unless there has been crossed wires, and the communication by Paul Avery requesting "ZODIAC" license plates from the Department of Motor Vehicles is the mysterious DMV letter, then a yet to be unearthed letter mailed by the Zodiac Killer in late 1970 is a distinct possibility.

A big thanks to Zodiac researcher Jibberjabber, who suggested this as a realistic inspiration for the elusive DMV letter. Also, I would like to thank Jarett Kobek for his assistance in allowing me to use a screenshot from his book, Motor Spirit: The Long Hunt for the Zodiac, and for sending me the newspaper cutting from Herb Caen's column on November 25th 1970. Jarett Kobek's book, How to Find Zodiac, can be found by clicking the link provided. The personalized license plate article provided is courtesy of Cragle.

Chaucer, an excellent investigative contributor to the Zodiac forums, noted correctly that Robert C. Cozens was director of the State Motor Vehicles from 1969 until at least 1976. Here is a notation in history stating "DMV letter from the Director of the California DMV, Robert C. Cozens, dated May 31, 1974", indicating he was certainly active as director in 1974.

Ronald Reagan was the Governor of California for two terms, the first beginning in 1967 and the second in 1971. He left office in 1975, declining to run for a third term.
Here is an excerpt from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
OFFICE OF THE GOVERER, Sacramento, California:
Governor Ronald Reagan today announced the appointment of Robert C. Cozens, 50, of Del Mar, as director of the State Motor Vehicles effective December 29, 1969. Cozens, a member of the San Diego county Board of supervisors with wide experience in transportation, highway and traffic safety matters, succeeds Verne Orr who has been appointed State Director of General Services.

As director of DMV, Cozens will also serve as Safety Coordinator for the State. He will receive a salary of $30,000 and will serve at the pleasure of the Governor. A Republican, he was appointed to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors in 1960 and was re-elected in 1962 and 1966. In addition to serving as both vice chairman and chairman of the Board of supervisors, he has also served as a chairman of the Local Agency Formation Commission, the San Diego County Comprehensive Planning Organization and Regional Transportation Coordinating Committee, the Airport Study Group of San Diego County, the Governor's committee on Traffic Safety, Traffic Operations to Improve Capacity and Safety Committee and the California Highway Functional Classidfication Advisory Comraittee.

Active in the County Supervisors Association of California, Cozens has served as general chairman of that group's Transportation and Public Works Committee, Aviation Committee, county Highway Safety Organization and City-county Sign Industry Committee. He is a member of the Southern California Regional Air Transportation Study Comrnittee, the Southern California Air Space Committee, the San Diego Stadium Committee, the United Community Services and the Engineering Grading Contractors Association.

A native of San Diego, he is a graduate of the Black-Foxe Military Institute and San Diego State College. During World War II, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and commanded a bomber squadron in the European theater. In 1944, as a lieutenant colonel holding the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with three clusters, he was assigned to the Pentagon where he worked on the nation's missile program. Cozens and bis wife Patricia have three married children.

The Zodiac Killer mailed several communications regarding the murders of Debra Furlong and Kathie Snoozy, brutally stabbed in San Jose on August 3rd 1969 - inextricably linked to the Zodiac Killer's Monticello Card mailed on July 13th 1971 insinuating the murder of Kathy Bilek in a wooded park in Saratoga on April 11th 1971. Three communications in 1971 can be linked together in the three young girls murders, one of which resulted in Karl Francis Werner being described as a "phony" by Zodiac, who he deemed responsible for snatching away his previously claimed attacks while being interviewed by detectives.

Tom Voigt of Zodiackiller.com stated "While I don't yet have as many details as I would like, at some point the Zodiac wrote a letter to the chairman of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in California. The letter was authenticated, apparently via handwriting, and was kept quiet for reasons unknown".

Without knowing for certain, I have concluded that the DMV Letter was yet another response to newspaper and magazine articles that the Zodiac Killer had read. In October 1971, a magazine publication entitled 'True Detective' comprehensively featured the murders of Kathie Snoozy, Debra Furlong and Kathy Bilek, stating "At about the same moment, Park Ranger Ken Williamson was informing a member of the investigative team that he, too, had noticed a tall, bespectacled young man who had been a frequent visitor at Villa Montalvo. He was a loner and had impressed the Villa's ranger staff with his almost furtive conduct, said Williamson. The ranger had jotted down the license number of the strange youth's auto. The license number was forwarded to the California Department of Motor Vehicles headquarters in Sacramento, the state's capital 150 miles to the north of San Jose. The information teletyped back from the registration bureau was that the auto was the property of a Karl Francis Werner, living at an address on Shawnee Lane in San Jose".

After several 1971 communications such as the Monticello Card and 148 Character Cipher Letter mailed from the Zodiac Killer (including the March 13th 1971 'Los Angeles' Letter), it was apparent his obsession was focused on the savage knife murders of several females, including the suggestion of his involvement in the Riverside murder of Cheri Jo Bates on October 30th 1966. Then came the unfortunate news from his perspective, that his claimed murders of Debra Furlong and Kathie Snoozy as early as November 8th 1969, had been ripped away from him with the arrest of Karl Francis Werner in late April of 1971. His response was the 148 Character Cipher Letter and Monticello Card, which unfortunately fell on deaf ears. The police had arrested the real killer of these three young girls and Zodiac's vain attempt to claw them back had exposed him for the "phony" he was. However, that wasn't going to deter the Zodiac Killer, and he may very well have fired off one last hurrah in the form of correspondence to the Sacramento Department of Motor Vehicles. As Chaucer pointed out, Robert C. Cozens was appointed Director of the California DMV in 1969 and was serving during this period in 1971. 

If the Zodiac Killer had read the True Detective magazine or accompanying newspaper articles, detailing the capture of Karl Francis Werner through the diligent work of park ranger Ken Williamson at Villa Montalvo in Saratoga, then he would have read the passage stating that the "license number was forwarded to the California Department of Motor Vehicles headquarters in Sacramento". The perfect recipe for his fifth and final communication of 1971, conceivably addressed to Robert C. Cozens, who was the director of the California Department of Motor Vehicles at the time.

Of course, the exact contents of the elusive DMV Letter remain unknown, so the above thoughts on the communication must be viewed with this in mind. But if there is one thing we do know for certain, it is the inability of the Zodiac Killer to resist responding to publications that concern him - and the arrest of Karl Francis Werner through number plate recognition at the Department of Motor Vehicles, may very well have been one of those instances.

Ken Williamson and the DMV Letter
The Story of San Jose
1971-The Epitaph of a Killer
The Sacramento DMV Letter

Serial killer Karl Francis Werner may have found himself in the ignominious position of not only having been considered brieifly as a contender for being the Zodiac Killer, as well as the man who inspired the Zodiac Killer to his Lake Berryessa attack on September 27th 1969, but also the man who ultimately brought down the Zodiac Killer and ended his reign of terror, when he was booked for the murders of Kathy Snoozy, Deborah Furlong and Kathy Bilek on April 29th 1971.

However, none of this would have been possible if it wasn't for the keen observations of park ranger Ken Williamson at Villa Montalvo in Saratoga. This man noticed that the bespectacled Werner was attending the Villa Montalvo park and woods by himself virtually every day, until such time as Kathy Bilek's brutally stabbed body was discovered down a ravine in the woods. Finding this particularly suspicious, park ranger Williamson took it upon himself to track down the man known only to him as Karl and the search began in earnest. Knowing he was a college student due to previous interactions with the young man, he visited the nearby campus and traced the vehicle he remembered Werner driving, and subsequently noted the vehicle's registrtion. This information and the excellent observation skills of Ken Williamson gave police the vital lead, that ultimately led to the capture and conviction of serial predator Karl Francis Werner. Without the astute detective work of this observant park ranger, there is no doubt whatsoever that other girls and women would have lost their lives to this heartless killer. Werner (69) is currently incarcerated at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville    

Ken Williamson may also be responsible for the premature end of the Zodiac Killer's letter writing campaign that year. By the October of 1971, the Zodiac Killer had mailed two cards and two letters that year (one including a cipher), but it was the fifth and final communication of 1971 that may have been the elusive DMV letter, which finally exposed a killer for claiming the murders of victims he wasn't responsible for. He intimated he murdered Snoozy and Furlong by the inclusion of "Aug" in the November 8th 1969 'Driping Pen' card, and also claimed the murder of Kathy Bilek in the July 13th 1971 'Montcello' card, despite the fact that Karl Francis Werner had already been charged with all three murders. The Zodiac Killer was driven to claim the Bilek murder from Werner, because for nearly two years he had laid claim to Werner's other two victims (Snoozy and Furlong). This, in essence, is what drove him to reply to a 1971 San Francisco Chronicle article by Paul Avery regarding the questioning by police of Karl Francis Werner. The Zodiac wrote to the Chronicle stating "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". In other words, don't listen to Werner, I killed those three females. The threat of a further three kids doesn't require explanation - the correlation is there to see.   

None of these events would have transpired but for the diligence of Ken Williamson, who would ultimately inspire the last puff of defiant hot air from the Zodiac Killer before he was shamed and discredited into anonymity. He may have got away with claiming the abduction of Kathleen Johns, the murder of Richard Radetich and the disappearance of Donna Lass by virtue that none of these crimes had been solved. He was gifted the murder of Cheri Jo Bates by the column inches of Paul Avery - and not surprisingly accepted this gift with open arms, before throwing in a few more unnamed murders for good measure. None of which he revealed any information only pertinent to him and the police. He was only too willing to supply extra details in the July and August of 1969, make phone calls to the police after his second and third attack, write on a car door by a lake and send a bloody piece of shirt to the San Francisco Chronicle - yet any evidence thereafter was sadly lacking.

The dying fumes of the Zodiac Killer may have transpired in the latter months of 1971, or early months of 1972, when the Zodiac Killer was driven to communicate to the chairman of the DMV in Sacramento. A communication facilitated by the excellent work of Ken Williamson, whose 'vehicle license plate' details of Karl Francis Werner, resulted in the police identifying the home address of Werner at Shawnee Lane in San Jose and his eventual arrest. Bearing in mind the Zodiac Killer had directly and indirectly included San Jose in a total of five communications to date, with two consecutive ones in 1971, then it wouldn't be too surprising if the one mailed to the DMV in Sacramento (likely in the November or December of 1971) had a San Jose connection also.        

In October 1971, a magazine publication entitled 'True Detective' comprehensively featured the murders of Kathy Snoozy, Deborah Furlong and Kathy Bilek, stating "At about the same moment, Park Ranger Ken Williamson was informing a member of the investigative team that he, too, had noticed a tall, bespectacled young man who had been a frequent visitor at Villa Montalvo. He was a loner and had impressed the Villa's ranger staff with his almost furtive conduct, said Williamson. The ranger had jotted down the license number of the strange youth's auto. The license number was forwarded to the California Department of Motor Vehicles headquarters in Sacramento, the state's capital 150 miles to the north of San Jose. The information teletyped back from the registration bureau was that the auto was the property of a Karl Francis Werner, living at an address on Shawnee Lane in San Jose".

The Zodiac Killer, probably in one last throw of the dice, sent a letter to the chairman of the DMV in a desperate attempt to reclaim some lost pride. It likely read as follows "I am the murderer of the two kids in San Jose in August and the girl on the 11th of April near the park in Saratoga. I drove away quite slowly from both crime scenes so as not to draw attention to my car. Stop listening to phonys". Yet, on this occasion he couldn't supply any extra details known only to him and the police, finally bringing the Zodiac Killer's unabated fortune of claiming unsolved crimes to a crashing halt - and thereby exposing him as the real phony that many suspected he always was. The Zodiac Killer's race was run - and Ken Williamson was the architect in his unthroning.    

Bringing together several articles to paint the entire picture, I would like to tell you a little story about San Jose and the major impact it had on the actions of the Zodiac Killer spanning just over two years. The attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard at Lake Berryessa on September 27th 1969, inextricably linked to Debra Gaye Furlong (14) and Kathie Ann Snoozy (15), two young girls who were found murdered on August 3rd 1969 in the Bay Area of San Jose. The man ultimately convicted for these two murders in 1971, Karl Francis Werner, was the trigger behind the attack at Lake Berryessa. 

The Zodiac Killer had successfully murdered three and seriously injured one person by the time he mailed his trinity of July 31st 1969 letters to the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner and Vallejo Times-Herald. He then presented codebreakers with the extremely unusual challenge of deciphering three parts of one cipher from the hand of a serial killer, demanding that he receive front page coverage for his efforts. The three communications and three murders, in his mind, warranted the full attention of the American public when he wrote "Here is part of a cipher the other 2 parts of this cipher are being mailed to the editors of the Vallejo Times and SF Examiner. I want you to print this cipher on the front page of your paper. In this cipher is my idenity. If you do not print this cipher by the afternoon of Fry.1st of Aug 69, I will go on a kill ram-Page Fry. night. I will cruse around all weekend killing lone people in the night then move on to kill again, until I end up with a dozen people over the weekend".  

The two major news publications, the San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner, dismissed his demands by only publishing his offerings on page four and nine respectively. The Zodiac Killer's disdain was immediate, when on August 4th 1969 he presented us with his sinister pseudonym "This is the Zodiac Speaking" in a follow-up letter, that concluded with "I was not happy to see that I did not get front page coverage". But imagine his horror, when two days later the San Francisco Chronicle (August 6th 1969) ran a comprehensive front page article about the murders of Debra Gaye Furlong and Kathie Ann Snoozy in San Jose. Here is an excerpt:

The two young girls, found dead Sunday on a sun-parched San Jose hillside, appear to have been victims of a sexual psychopath, whose blood frenzy led him to "overkill". Dr. John E. Hauser, Santa Clara county's chief medical examiner and coroner, said yesterday that the girls, Deborah Gay Furlong, 14, and Kathy Snoozy, 15, died in a "frenzied flurry of knife-wounds" inflicted so swiftly that neither gave any evidence of having struggled against the attack. Dr. Hauser, so shaken by the brutality of the crime he could scarcely find words, said the Snoozy youngster had 150 wounds on her back, 50 on the front and a "storm" of punctures on her neck. Deborah's body had about 100 wounds on her back and upper front and a dozen on her neck. Dr. Hauser said he was "puzzled" by many aspects of the brutal slaying. He said neither girl had been sexually molested; neither had suffered any wounds below her waist, neither gave evidence of having struggled to escape. Only the Snoozy girl, he said, had one small mark on her hand, suggesting she may have tried vainly to deflect the plunging knife. The coroner said both girls must have died very quickly and he is investigating the possibility they may have been drugged before the stabbing began. Blood and skin samples as well as stomach contents have been sent for further examination to area laboratories, he said. The results should be known in a few days. It is Dr. Hauser's opinion that the multiple puncture wounds were inflicted by one or two small knives, the largest wound the size of a pocket knife with a half-inch blade. "I've never seen a case with this many stab wounds," Dr. Hauser said. "You know, I've been in this profession a long time and sometimes I think I'm rather callous, but when I saw these girls, believe me it was terrifying. "The Nazi sex mutilations during World War II were nothing compared to what was done to these young girls.     

The Zodiac Killer must have been incensed that despite his brutal murder of three people during the holiday season, followed by his cryptic correspondences, he failed to achieve front page coverage from the Chronicle or the Examiner, despite threatening another dozen victims over the weekend. The only difference, he must have surmised, was the method of attack and the horror that such an intimate attack with a bladed instrument on two young girls had engendered in the psyche of the newspapers and public at large. The Zodiac Killer knew at this moment he had to ratchet up his attacks and get up close and personal with the use of a knife. But this wouldn't be any ordinary attack - he would dress up in an executioner's costume and hunt for young girls armed with a 12-inch knife - not "a pocket knife with a half-inch blade". Although Karl Francis Werner's capture was two years in the making, he was the absent agent behind the attack on Bryan Hartnell and murder of Cecelia Shepard just seven weeks later. Without the murders of Debra Gaye Furlong and Kathie Ann Snoozy on August 3rd 1969, it can be argued the attack at Lake Berryessa would never have taken place.

No surprise then, that the Zodiac Killer wanted to outdo the August 3rd 1969 murders, by setting his sights on three young girls from Pacific Union College as they sunbathed on the shores of Lake Berryessa on September 27th 1969. Three murders with a 12-inch bladed knife would definitely have done the trick. But something clearly thwarted this attack and two hours later he focused in on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard, determined not to be denied and secure his front page coverage. After the sixteen strikes into the young couple, he retreated and traveled back up the hill to lay claim to this attack as the Zodiac Killer. After writing the dates of his previous two attacks and this one on the car door of Bryan Hartnell, he emphasized the words "by knife" at the foot of the message. The Zodiac Killer was effectively saying "do I get front page coverage now". The brutal knife attack, he hoped, would get the recognition akin to the murders of Kathie Snoozy and Debra Furlong. Not only did he get the recognition, but it had an added benefit of the newspapers considering the possibility of his involvement in the Kathie Snoozy and Debra Furlong murders. This certainly didn't escape his attention.    

Six weeks later he duly obliged by slipping in "Aug" into his confirmed murder count when mailing the 'Dripping Pen card on November 8th 1969, bumping up his total to seven victims. The Lake Berryessa attack "by knife" had effectively secured him two more victims by association. But to cement his perceived involvement in the San Jose murders, he had to strike while the iron was hot.

On November 21st 1969 he mailed a threatening letter to the San Jose Police Department beginning with the words "There's no doubt I will do my Thing!". The letter initiated this response: 'For the information of the Bureau and Sacramento, after a cursory analysis, officers of the San Jose, California PD, believe widow in message may be Mrs (redacted), San Jose, California. San Jose PD instituting 24 hour surveillance on Mrs (redacted).' It is clear that this woman had some connection to the Snoozy and Furlong murders, and by the Zodiac Killer interjecting himself into the San Jose investigation, he was attempting to solidify the notion of his involvement in them. Bearing in mind this letter was mailed to the San Jose Police Department and their response to secure the woman's safety, it isn't too surprising that the Zodiac Killer would threaten to murder a San Jose policeman in the Fairfield letter mailed a month later, on December 16th 1969. The Zodiac Killer thought he had now successfully cemented his claim to the Snoozy and Furlong murders. His choice of switching from gun to knife had paid dividends. My guess, is he was banking on these murders never being solved.

Imagine the Zodiac Killer's dismay in late April of 1971, when his plans lay in tatters, upon the arrest of Karl Francis Werner for the April 11th 1971 murder of Kathy Bilek at Villa Montalvo in Saratoga, as well as the murders of Kathie Snoozy and Debra Furlong in San Jose two years earlier, on August 3rd 1969. The Zodiac Killer would eventually be exposed as a fraud - caught in the act of claiming somebody else's victims at last. He reacted forthwith, by mailing two communications to the San Francisco Chronicle in the middle of 1971. 

In the first, he was trying vainly to convince us that he was in fact the murderer of all three girls (Snoozy, Furlong and Bilek) by claiming that Karl Francis Werner was the fraud or phony. Paul Avery, arch nemesis of Zodiac, wrote an article on April 30th 1971 detailing the capture of Werner. The newspaper article stated "He (Werner) was immediately advised of his rights concerning any statements he may make and legal representation to which he is entitled, the detectives said. Werner was then taken to the scenes of the crimes. Late yesterday he was undergoing questioning. The detectives would not reveal what statements, if any, he had made concerning the killings of the three girls". 

The Zodiac Killer responded sometime after he read this article (probably in the month of May 1971), mailing a 148 character cipher stating "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". In this correspondence he claimed his victim count was 21, by writing "I done it 21 times". This, in accordance with his claimed victim count of 17+ in the March 13th 1971 'Los Angeles' letter. We can ascertain that this communication was mailed around the middle of 1971, because he fired off a second correspondence a short time later. The correspondence about to be discussed was withheld from newspaper publication (as was the 148 character cipher), so the fact that both contained a victim count of 21 and mailed in close proximity to one another, should be enough to consider both being mailed by the Zodiac Killer. The second communication we will show, is not only trying to claim the murder of Kathy Bilek - again attempting to show that Karl Francis Werner was a phony - but is also linking itself to the murders of Snoozy and Furlong.    

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". Many have speculated on the location mentioned in the card as "Monticello" in Napa County, California, because of the Lake Berryessa attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard on September 27th 1969. It has been further speculated on whether "April" was a woman's name or the month of the alleged murder. After a comprehensive review of all the information, I believe the woman's identity, labelled as victim number 21, can finally be revealed, along with the exact location of Monticello. 

On Sunday, April 11th 1971, Kathy Bilek (18) visited Villa Montalvo in Saratoga, having planned to read a paperback book (The Gabriel Hounds) and engage in a spot of bird watching​ in the seclusion of a remote, wooded portion of the park, near a small stream. Her body was found the next day by her father, Charles, while Santa Clara County Sheriff's deputies searched nearby. She had been stabbed 17 times in the back and 32 times in her chest and stomach, although her killer had taken care to avoid stabbing her breasts. Her murder was also attributed to Karl Francis Werner. Wikipedia. The brutal murder of Kathy Bilek would again be claimed by 'Zodiac', not only in the Monticello card, but in another Zodiac letter, also mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle just before the Monticello card. Kathy Bilek was murdered in "April", exactly as mentioned in the Monticello card, and "in the woods" at Villa Montalvo (a wooded section of the park). Saratoga is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is located on the west side of the Santa Clara Valley, directly west of San Jose, The appearance of San Jose once again. ​ ​

It was easy to get sidelined into believing Monticello was referring to Napa County, because the town was completely covered by Lake Berryessa, the site of Zodiac's third attack. However, the "Monticello" the author is referring to in the pasted card, is again in San Jose. Monticello is a neighborhood in San Jose, California, just over 9 miles east of Villa Montalvo, the site of Kathy Bilek's murder. ​In other words, the author of the card was saying "I killed Kathy Bilek near Monticello, in the Villa Montalvo woods in April". ​To view the proximity of Monticello to Villa Montalvo click here.

The Monticello card stated "Shought victims 21", referring to the Kathy Bilek murder, whereas, in the 148 character cipher, the author was claiming he had already "done it 21 times." The Monticello card was never released to the newspapers or public, so bearing in mind these two communications were both likely mailed at approximately the same time, there is a high probability they were mailed by the Zodiac Killer.

"I killed Kathy Bilek near Monticello, in the Villa Montalvo woods in April".
"Near Monticello Shought Victims 21 ...... In The Woods Dies April".

The ​November 8th 1969 'Dripping Pen' card would not be the only communication insinuating his involvement in the murder of Debra Gaye Furlong and Kathie Ann Snoozy, when the Monticello card arrived just over 20 months later, on July 13th 1971. The San Francisco Police Department had reason enough to place the Monticello card in 'suspected Zodiac correspondence' when searching for traces of DNA on potential Zodiac communications, indicating the high regard it was held in.

It is with little doubt that Karl Francis Werner was responsible for the murder of Debra Furlong, Kathie Snoozy and Kathy Bilek in 1969 and 1971, but the overarching question is, why did the Zodiac Killer describe the location of Kathy Bilek's body as "near Monticello"? The neighborhood of Monticello is 9 miles east of Villa Montalvo. Why did the Zodiac Killer choose to pinpoint this particular location, rather than any other neighborhood in between Monticello and Villa Montalvo? He could have pasted "near Willow Glen", "near Oster", "near Carlton", or any other location closer than Monticello. It is arguable that he chose this particular location for a specific reason.   ​

Tom Voigt, creator of the hugely successful Zodiackiller.com website has sought a potential Zodiac letter, described as the DMV letter. On his message board he stated "While I don't yet have as many details as I would like, at some point the Zodiac wrote a letter to the chairman of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in California. The letter was authenticated, apparently via handwriting, and was kept quiet for reasons unknown". None of the following can be definitively proven, but I will attempt to expand on this elusive correspondence based on the limited information we have, and use the propensity of the Zodiac Killer to respond to newspaper and magazine articles against him. We know he closely followed anything that was written about him and often replied in kind. With that said, it is possible the DMV letter was mailed to the chairman of the Department of Motor Vehicles because he read an article referencing this department. If the letter was addressed to the chairman, it is very likely the letter was addressed to the headquarters of the DMV in Sacramento. What we now have to do, is tie the Sacramento DMV to a Zodiac crime, or a crime claimed by Zodiac, written in a publication that the Zodiac Killer had reason to read - who subsequently got upset because it portrayed him as a liar and a fraud. It therefore follows, that it is highly unlikely to be a polite correspondence from the Bay Area killer. Based on the above, I believe the DMV letter was mailed in the October or November of 1971.

As early as November 8th 1969 the Zodiac Killer was claiming the murders Debra Gaye Furlong (14) and Kathie Ann Snoozy (15), who were found murdered on August 3rd 1969 in the Bay Area of San Jose. This was his "Aug" on the 'Dripping Pen' card. He would later insinuate his involvement in the murder of Kathy Bilek (18), murdered in the woods of Villa Montalvo in Saratoga, due west of San Jose. On July 13th 1971, a potential Zodiac communication arrived in the form of a pasted card. It read "Near Monticello Shought Victims 21 ...... In The Woods Dies April". The author of the card was detailing the murder of Kathy Bilek in the woods of Villa Montalvo on April 11th 1971, just 9 miles from the neighborhood of Monticello in San Jose. He chose this neighborhood because it encompassed the Oak Hill Memorial Park at 300 Curtner Avenue. The cemetery where the body of Kathie Ann Snoozy lay - and chosen to hint at the forename "Kathy", pertaining to Kathy Bilek.

​Assuming these communications were mailed by the Bay Area murderer, it would be fairly obvious that the Zodiac Killer was following the San Jose murders closely from August 3rd 1969, through his 'Dripping Pen' card of November 8th, to the eventual murder of Kathy Bilek, and up to his correspondences in the middle of 1971. Therefore, it would be no great surprise if he continued to monitor any newspaper or magazine articles regarding the murders of the three young females. ​

In October 1971, a magazine publication entitled 'True Detective' comprehensively featured the murders of Kathie Snoozy, Debra Furlong and Kathy Bilek, and the subsequent arrest of Karl Francis Werner. There is every chance the Zodiac Killer read this magazine article, compelling him to continue his contact with authorities regarding these murders.

One particular section about Kathy Bilek caught my eye - that may have been the reason why the Zodiac Killer wrote a letter to the chairman of the DMV in Sacramento. It stated "At about the same moment, Park Ranger Ken Williamson was informing a member of the investigative team that he, too, had noticed a tall, bespectacled young man who had been a frequent visitor at Villa Montalvo. He was a loner and had impressed the Villa's ranger staff with his almost furtive conduct, said Williamson. The ranger had jotted down the license number of the strange youth's auto. The license number was forwarded to the California Department of Motor Vehicles headquarters in Sacramento, the state's capital 150 miles to the north of San Jose. The information teletyped back from the registration bureau was that the auto was the property of a Karl Francis Werner, living at an address on Shawnee Lane in San Jose." 

The Zodiac Killer, having previously mailed two communications (Monticello card and 148 character cipher) referencing the murder of Kathy Bilek and the victim total of 21, may very likely have fired off a third communication, this time to the Department of Motor Vehicles in Sacramento after reading these two paragraphs. As this magazine article was published in October of 1971, the DMV letter may have been postmarked with the latter months of that year - possibly October, November or December. The compunction of the Zodiac Killer in claiming, or interjecting himself into the middle of these murders, may have been the driver behind his contact with the chairman of the DMV. The content of this communication is unknown, but I guess he is continuing the menacing theme of his previous two correspondences, suggesting the identification of the vehicle belonging to Karl Francis Werner is somehow another red herring and threatening more murder and mayhem.

After five murders in a matter of 10 months in 1968 and 1969, followed by numerous communications, 1971 was a watershed year for the Zodiac Killer. When all is said and done, it will probably be remembered as the year Zodiac tried to convince law enforcement he had committed four brutal stabbings, when in fact he had committed none. The Zodiac legacy was coming to an end and his final two communications in the latter half of 1971 failed to make the newspapers, ultimately marking the final days of the Zodiac Killer. He wouldn't be heard from again. When Paul Avery wrote the San Francisco Chronicle article 'New Evidence in Zodiac Killings' on November 16th 1970, it must have been a heavenly blessing for the Zodiac Killer. He was being linked to the Cheri Jo Bates murder in Riverside on October 30th 1966. He would gladly accept this offering on March 13th 1971 when he unashamedly wrote a letter stating "I do have to give them credit for stumbling across my riverside activity, but they are only finding the easy ones, there are a hell of a lot more down there". A man inspired to attack Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard with a knife at Lake Berryessa, driven by the front page coverage of the August 3rd 1969 Snoozy/Furlong murders in San Jose - something he yearned - not only laid claim to the murder of these two young girls in the November 8th 1969 'Dripping Pen' card, but was only too happy to claim another in Riverside. 

​Then, just one month later, a gift arrived from the Vallejo Times-Herald on April 13th 1971, when the Zodiac Killer saw the words "One thing's certain, Miss Bilek's murder is almost a carbon copy of a double killing Santa Clara County" homicide detective said. "And all three could well be the work of the so-called Zodiac".

The Zodiac saw the publicity generated from the brutal stabbing of Deborah Furlong and Kathy Snoozy on August 3rd and capitalized on this at Lake Berryessa in September. It had now paid dividends on April 11th 1971, when Kathy Bilek (18) visited Villa Montalvo in Saratoga, having planned to read a paperback book (The Gabriel Hounds) and engage in a spot of bird watching​ in the seclusion of a remote, wooded portion of the park, near a small stream. Her body was found the next day by her father, Charles, while Santa Clara County Sheriff's deputies searched nearby. She had been stabbed 17 times in the back and 32 times in her chest and stomach. This crime was obviously linked to the Snoozy/Furlong murders because of the extensive knife wounds and the locality. But by committing the savage knife attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard at Lake Berryessa and hinting at his involvement in the San Jose murders of Snoozy and Furlong, the Zodiac Killer had now been given the opportunity by Paul Avery to accept the Riverside murder in 1966, along with the Kathy Bilek murder by the Vallejo Times-Herald on April 13th 1971. His switching to a knife in the commission of murder would inevitably lead law enforcement to link him to more crimes - something he knew only too well.

The 'Monticello' card mailed on July 13th 1971 was open-ended. It didn't directly claim the murder of Kathy Bilek, thereby allowing him a get out clause should this crime be later attributed to somebody else. The Zodiac Killer had used this tactic before when he insinuated his involvement in the murder of Officer Richard Radetich by stating "I shot a man sitting in a parked car with a .38". Then in the 'Pines' card, by again offering a cryptic message open to interpretation. He never actually claimed the murder of Cheri Jo Bates, simply stating "I do have to give them credit for stumbling across my riverside activity". Everything designed in such a fashion to avoid full admission.

The "August" reference on the 'Dripping Pen' card, while not actually writing it on the car door of Bryan Hartnell's vehicle, had metaphorically opened the door to the speculation shown by law enforcement in the article by the Vallejo Times-Herald. The September 27th 1969 attack, effectively enabled the Zodiac Killer to extend his reign of terror far beyond the shores of Lake Berryessa, into the heart of San Jose. The July 13th 1971 'Monticello' card was now the fifth communication referencing San Jose in the last 20 months - but there was still time for one more.

The final communication of 1971 may have been the elusive 'Sacramento DMV' letter, probably mailed in the November or December of 1971. This correspondence likely mirrored the November 21st 1969 San Jose letter and code, in which the Zodiac Killer mailed a correspondence to the San Jose Police Department and threatened a "widow". I have little doubt this woman had some involvement in the Deborah Furlong and Kathy Snoozy murders from the perspective of an eyewitness, and by Zodiac threatening her, he was effectively giving the impression that the murders were somehow pertinent to him. The Sacramento DMV letter was used for the same purpose - to keep the Zodiac story alive by means of interjection.  
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In October 1971, a magazine publication entitled 'True Detective' comprehensively featured the murders of Kathy Snoozy, Deborah Furlong and Kathy Bilek, and the subsequent arrest of Karl Francis Werner. There is every chance the Zodiac Killer read this magazine article, compelling him to continue his contact with authorities regarding these murders.

One particular section about Kathy Bilek caught my eye - that may have been the reason why the Zodiac Killer wrote a letter to the chairman of the DMV in Sacramento. It stated "At about the same moment, Park Ranger Ken Williamson was informing a member of the investigative team that he, too, had noticed a tall, bespectacled young man who had been a frequent visitor at Villa Montalvo. He was a loner and had impressed the Villa's ranger staff with his almost furtive conduct, said Williamson. The ranger had jotted down the license number of the strange youth's auto.
The license number was forwarded to the California Department of Motor Vehicles headquarters in Sacramento, the state's capital 150 miles to the north of San Jose. The information teletyped back from the registration bureau was that the auto was the property of a Karl Francis Werner, living at an address on Shawnee Lane in San Jose."

This was the final entry point of the Zodiac Killer. The 'Monticello' card and 'Sacramento DMV' letter had failed to hit the newspapers - and the reign of the Zodiac Killer had reached its end. The arrest of Karl Francis Werner for the three murders in San Jose had finally exposed the Zodiac Killer for the fraud he had metamorphosed into. The long shadow he had cast over the Bay Area of Northern California was starting to recede - and he knew his days were numbered.

Tom Voigt, creator of the Zodiackiller.com website has sought a potential Zodiac letter, described as the DMV letter. On his message board he stated "While I don't yet have as many details as I would like, at some point the Zodiac wrote a letter to the chairman of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in California. The letter was authenticated, apparently via handwriting, and was kept quiet for reasons unknown". None of the following can be definitively proven, but I will attempt to expand on this elusive correspondence based on the limited information we have, and use the propensity of the Zodiac Killer to respond to newspaper and magazine articles against him. We know he closely followed anything that was written about him and often replied in kind. With that said, it is possible the DMV letter was mailed to the chairman of the Department of Motor Vehicles because he read an article referencing this department. If the letter was addressed to the chairman, it is very likely the letter was addressed to the headquarters of the DMV in Sacramento. What we now have to do is tie the Sacramento DMV to a Zodiac crime, or a crime claimed by Zodiac, written in a publication that the Zodiac Killer had reason to read - who subsequently got upset because it portrayed him as a liar and a fraud. It therefore follows, that it is highly unlikely to be a polite correspondence from the Bay Area killer. Based on the above, I believe the DMV letter was mailed in the October or November of 1971.

As early as November 8th 1969 the Zodiac Killer was claiming the murders Debra Gaye Furlong (14) and Kathie Ann Snoozy (15), who were found murdered on August 3rd 1969 in the Bay Area of San Jose. This was his "Aug" on the Dripping Pen card. He would later insinuate his involvement in the murder of Kathy Bilek (18), murdered in the woods of Villa Montalvo in Saratoga, due west of San Jose. On July 13th 1971, a definite Zodiac communication arrived in the form of a pasted card. It read "Near Monticello Shought Victims 21 ...... In The Woods Dies April". The author of the card was detailing the murder of Kathy Bilek in the woods of Villa Montalvo on April 11th 1971, just 9 miles from the neighborhood of Monticello in San Jose. He chose this neighborhood because it was home to the Oak Hill Memorial Park at 300 Curtner Avenue. The cemetery where the body of Kathie Ann Snoozy lay, and was chosen to hint at the forename "Kathy", pertaining to Kathy Bilek. The full 'Monticello' card story can be examined here.

The Monticello card was preceded by the 148 character cipher and letter (likely mailed in May 1971) beginning with the wording "I'll do it to because I done it 21 times" and effectively pre-empting the victim total on the Monticello card. It was almost certainly mailed shortly after the beginning of May. Despite the fact the murders of  Debra Gaye Furlong, Kathie Ann Snoozy and Kathy Bilek had already been attributed to Karl Francis Werner, it seemed that the Zodiac Killer was determined to suggest otherwise. Or, at the very least, compound the misery of the families and friends of the victims. The Monticello card featured in the San Francisco Police Department DNA testing of possible Zodiac correspondence, so was obviously held in high regard (yet may have contained sensitive material, or featured an upsetting image deemed not suitable for release). If the DMV letter had followed the Monticello card, it too may have been considered unpalatable regarding the San Jose and Saratoga murders. 

Bearing in mind that these two communications in May and July were mailed by the Bay Area murderer, it would be fairly obvious that the Zodiac Killer was following the San Jose murders closely from August 3rd 1969, through his Dripping Pen card of November 8th, to the eventual murder of Kathy Bilek, and up to his correspondences in the middle of 1971. Therefore it would be no great surprise if he continued to monitor any newspaper or magazine articles regarding the murders of the three young females. 

In October 1971, a magazine publication entitled 'True Detective' comprehensively featured the murders of Kathie Snoozy, Debra Furlong and Kathy Bilek, and the subsequent arrest of Karl Francis Werner. There is every chance the Zodiac Killer read this magazine article and thereby felt compelled to continue his contact with authorities regarding these murders.

One particular section about Kathy Bilek caught my eye - that may have been the reason why the Zodiac Killer wrote a letter to the chairman of the DMV in Sacramento. It stated "At about the same moment, Park Ranger Ken Williamson was informing a member of the investigative team that he, too, had noticed a tall, bespectacled young man who had been a frequent visitor at Villa Montalvo. He was a loner and had impressed the Villa's ranger staff with his almost furtive conduct, said Williamson. The ranger had jotted down the license number of the strange youth's auto. The license number was forwarded to the California Department of Motor Vehicles headquarters in Sacramento, the state's capital 150 miles to the north of San Jose. The information teletyped back from the registration bureau was that the auto was the property of a Karl Francis Werner, living at an address on Shawnee Lane in San Jose".

The Zodiac Killer, having previously mailed two communications (Monticello card and 148 character cipher) referencing the murder of Kathy Bilek and the victim total of 21, it wouldn't be at all surprising if he fired off a third communication, this time to the Department of Motor Vehicles in Sacramento after reading these two paragraphs. Although this magazine article was published in October of 1971, there were numerous newspaper articles in September about Ken Williamson and his role in the downfall of Karl Francis Werner through a DMV search of license plates, so the DMV letter may have been postmarked in the latter months of that year - possibly September, October, or November at the latest. The fascination of the Zodiac Killer in claiming, or interjecting himself into the middle of these murders, may have been the driver behind his contact with the chairman of the DMV. The content of this communication is unknown, but I guess he is continuing the menacing theme of his previous two correspondences, suggesting the identification of the vehicle belonging to Karl Francis Werner is somehow another red herring - and threatening more murder and mayhem.

ESSENTIAL READING: KEN WILLIAMSON AND THE DMV LETTER

THIS ARTICLE HAS SINCE BEEN SUPERSEDED BY 'THE SACRAMENTO DMV' ARTICLE. Here is an accompanying extract from another valid DMV article (shown in red):

In October 1971, a magazine publication entitled 'True Detective' comprehensively featured the murders of Kathy Snoozy, Deborah Furlong and Kathy Bilek, stating "At about the same moment, Park Ranger Ken Williamson was informing a member of the investigative team that he, too, had noticed a tall, bespectacled young man who had been a frequent visitor at Villa Montalvo. He was a loner and had impressed the Villa's ranger staff with his almost furtive conduct, said Williamson. The ranger had jotted down the license number of the strange youth's auto. The license number was forwarded to the California Department of Motor Vehicles headquarters in Sacramento, the state's capital 150 miles to the north of San Jose. The information teletyped back from the registration bureau was that the auto was the property of a Karl Francis Werner, living at an address on Shawnee Lane in San Jose".

The Zodiac Killer, probably in one last throw of the dice, sent a letter to the chairman of the DMV in a desperate attempt to reclaim some lost pride. It likely read as follows "I am the murderer of the two kids in San Jose in August and the girl on the 11th of April near the park in Saratoga. I drove away quite slowly from both crime scenes so as not to draw attention to my car. Stop listening to phonys". Yet, on this occasion he couldn't supply any extra details known only to him and the police, finally bringing the Zodiac Killer's unabated fortune of claiming unsolved crimes to a crashing halt, and thereby exposing him as the real phony that many suspected he always was. The Zodiac Killer's race was run - and Ken Williamson was the architect in his unthroning.
Ken Williamson and the DMV Letter

Also read The Story of San Jose for full context surrounding the DMV letter.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE (NOW NOT APPLICABLE}
Tom Voigt, creator of the hugely successful ZodiacKiller.com website has been striving to secure Zodiac material previously withheld from the public for many years. Authenticated by a state document examiner, the DMV letter was mailed to the chairman of the California Department of Motor Vehicles, yet its delivery date and contents have remained elusive to this day. It appears the overriding consensus, that the closer this correspondence was mailed to the four canonical crimes, the more likely it is to be genuine Zodiac material. Having read the limited forum threads on this topic, the murder of taxicab driver Paul Stine in Presidio Heights on October 11th 1969 comes to the fore.

Tom Voigt stated "While I don't yet have as many details as I would like, at some point the Zodiac wrote a letter to the chairman of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in California. The letter was authenticated, apparently via handwriting, and was kept quiet for reasons unknown. The reason I have only lately been attempting to get permission from my source is because I just recently learned from victim Paul Stine's sister that Paul's wife at the time of his murder worked for the DMV". 

There is a California Department of Motor Vehicles at 1377 Fell Street, San Francisco, the same street that Paul Stine resided (1842 Fell Street) and just 700 meters away - but whether the suspect letter was mailed to the San Francisco offices and forwarded to the Department of Justice in Sacramento, or mailed directly to Sacramento, maybe Tom can elaborate. The Paul Stine police report suggested that the "suspect may also be in possession of the keys to the Yellow Cab, and possibly has the wallet belonging to the victim", so whether the Zodiac Killer mailed any possessions of Paul Stine with his communication to the DMV  chairman is uncertain. Having no idea the date this letter was mailed, opens up the possibility it may be connected to the Lake Berryessa attack on September 27th 1969, the only confirmed Zodiac crime in which the killer seemingly failed to document in letter form.

Having left his message on the car door of Bryan Hartnell's 1956 White Karmann Ghia, it is not unrealistic to consider that any correspondence following this crime may have been automobile related, hence the connections being drawn to the California Department of Motor Vehicles letter. Tom Voigt stated that "Paul's wife at the time of his murder worked for the DMV", but can we connect a possible Zodiac victim to the California Department of Motor Vehicles in or around the five murders attributed to Zodiac.

​On Saturday February 21st 1970, five months after the Paul Stine murder, John Franklin Hood (24) and Sandra Garcia (20) had traveled to East Beach, Santa Barbara, near East Cabrillo Boulevard - with John telling his parents he was to spend the day with his fiancee. Sandra had informed her parents that they "wouldn't be gone long," however, when they didn't return home that night the families became understandably concerned.

Their bodies were discovered early Sunday morning by beachgoers, fully clothed underneath a blanket. They had been brutally beaten and stabbed, predominantly in the back and face. ​John Hood had been stabbed eleven times, but it appears Sandra Garcia suffered the brunt of the attack, not dissimilar to the senseless attack on Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard at Lake Berryessa on September 27th 1969. Had the Zodiac Killer returned to a familiar method of execution after his venture into the heart of San Francisco, and was the Melvin Belli letter on December 20th 1969 the foreboding of a man who was about to murder once again, stating he may "lose control again and take his ninth or possibly tenth victim." Were John Franklin Hood and Sandra Garcia those victims?

"The eldest of six children, Hood was born in Seattle. He came to California with his family in 1950. He attended El Rio Elementary School and graduated from Camarillo High School in June, 1965. After graduation, he worked at Wimpy's Drive-In in Oxnard and then joined the Army in January 1966. He spent two years in Germany with the 64th Armored Division after boot training in Ft. Bliss, Texas, and then returned home for leave before being sent to Vietnam. While on leave, Hood met Sandra while they were both vacationing in Tijuana, Mexico. An expert marksman, Hood was sent to Vietnam on January 6, 1969 with the 64th Armored Division. Hood was closed-mouthed about the combat-filled year he spent there and about the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart and other medals he had received for valor. After returning to Oxnard, he went back to work for the drive-in eatery. Although Hood and Sandra were planning to be married, they had not set a wedding date." Oxnard Press Courier, February 23, 1970. 

Sandra Garcia worked for the California Department of Motor Vehicles in Oxnard, Santa Barbara. ​Was the DMV letter claiming this double murder, but was withheld from publication by police, who were unsure of a connection to the Zodiac Killer, or because of the sensitive details contained within the communication? We may have to wait a little longer to find out. 

FOOTNOTE: 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. Just over six weeks later a letter claiming to be from the Zodiac Killer was mailed to the Vallejo Times-Herald on October 28th 1987​.

"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." San Bernardino Sun- December 3rd 1987.

​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, Santa Barbara.  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. See article 'Death on Four Wheels'. 

Thanks to Tom Voigt at ZodiacKiller.com