The date was Tuesday, April 22nd 1986, when Laotian couple Koy Ien Saechao (48) and Choy Fow Saelee (40) were traveling back on the two-and-a-half journey to their residence in Dorman Road, Yuba City after visiting their son in a Merced, California hospital, situated in the area of the San Joaquin Valley of Northern California. They were only 45 minutes from home, when it was believed they had opted to take a rest on the roadside edge near the interchange of Highway 99 and I-5 Sacramento, and their paths crossed with a merciless killer. How the killer approached is open to question, but the assailant unleashed a barrage of gunfire into their car, blowing in both front side windows, the testimony to which was the 15 small caliber shell casings scattered and retrieved from outside the driver side door. The couple suffered multiple shots to the head.
Sacramento is situated approximately a one hour drive northeast of Vallejo, CA, and a one hour and forty minutes drive due east of Lake Berryessa - and mentioned in two letters by the Zodiac Killer. Firstly, in the Fairfield Letter, postmarked December 16th 1969, it was claimed by the author he would go on to kill at least 38 more people, including three in Fairfield, CA and nine in Sacramento. Fairfield is on a direct route from Vallejo through to Sacramento and within easy traveling distance for the Zodiac Killer, if indeed he was a resident of the Benicia, Vallejo or San Francisco area during the said time period. More crucially though, the 1986 Letter, mailed on Tuesday, May 6th, is relevant to the date and area where Koy Ien Saechao and Choy Fow Saelee were gunned down.
As stated in a previous post on this topic, the author of the 1986 Letter claimed that these latest victims were killed ''about two weeks ago''. Exactly two weeks prior to May 6th would have been April 22nd 1986 and the exact date of the cold-blooded execution of Koy Ien Saechao and Choy Fow Saelee. The method of killing here is eerily familiar to that of the Lake Herman Road double murder of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen on December 20th 1968, and the Blue Rock Springs Park murder and attempted murder of Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau on July 4th 1969. All the couples ambushed in their car - and although not substantiated - it may be likely the killer approached this couple from behind in his vehicle, due to the locality of the crime. The most revealing aspect of the Koy Ien Saechao and Choy Fow Saelee murder, was that shortly afterwards a 'Mystery Man', thought to be a hitchhiker, flagged down a California Highway Patrol Officer in East Nicolaus and informed him of an automobile accident at the precise location the couple were eventually discovered. He was later sought for questioning in connection to the double homicide on Highway 99, but he failed to come forward, and his identity remains unknown to this day. The author of the 1986 Letter stated "I will give you a clue to help you with the mystry, They were killed by a freeway. The Blue Meannies almost caught me". Had the murderer already given the clue about his own identity to the California Highway Patrol Officer and he indeed was the 'Mystry' Man. | This is the Zodiac Speaking. I am still out there and crackproof. I want you to know about my latest slaves that I have collected about two weeks ago up by Sacramento Ca. I will give you clue to help you with the Mystry. They were killed by a freeway. The Blue Meannies almost caught me. The Bodycount is growing now 100+ all over the state of Ca and Na. |
A relative of Koy Ien Saechao and Choy Fow Saelee said "We don't want to get killed in the United States, we want to live here for freedom". Let us hope one day that they find a resolution to the answers they desperately yearn, and the killer, whomever they may be, finds that freedom will one day be no more.