THE "ZODIAC KILLER" PHONE CALLS TO BARSTOW [PART TWO]

On December 19th 1969, somebody claiming to be the Zodiac Killer threatened cops by making a phone call to Sergeant Robert Rengstorff of the San Jose Highway Patrol, stating "I am going to kill five of you officers and a family of five between now and Monday". This threat towards San Jose police and a family of five was issued on a Friday, exactly as was the November 21st 1969 letter, mailed to San Jose police threatening harm on a widow. After the threat on the widow was thwarted by 24-hour police surveillance on her residence, was this the response, to once again instigate fear in the San Jose community? 

The threat of killing "a family of five between now and Monday" is rather specific, almost as though he had earmarked a couple with three children. We know the Zodiac Killer read the August 4th 1969 San Francisco Examiner and August 6th 1969 San Francisco Chronicle newspapers, which may have inspired his attack at Lake Berryessa and certain subsequent claim to the Snoozy and Furlong murders by the addition of "Aug" on the November 8th 1969 Dripping Pen card. This was an obsession he would carry forward into 1971, referencing the Snoozy and Furlong murders at least two more times, if not three.

​The August 6th 1969 San Francisco Chronicle article, entitled The Frenzy Of San Jose Girls Slayer, read under the banner of Children "The other Furlong children are Glen, 16; Floyd, 12, and Pamela, 11.  Furlong said he did not know and had not yet talked to Kathy's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wilfred Snoozy. Both Snoozy, a carpet layer, and Mrs. Snoozy reportedly are in a state of collapse. Her funeral has been scheduled Friday at 11 a.m. at the Place Funeral Home in Los Gatos. Burial will be at Oak Wood Cemetery in Santa Cruz. Funeral services for Kathy will be held tomorrow (Thursday) at 2 p.m. at the Oak Hill Memorial Park Mortuary in San Jose. Burial will be at Oak Hill Memorial Park". The Furlong's had three surviving children called Glen, 16; Floyd, 12, and Pamela, 11, which ties in with the threat from the December 19th 1969 telephone caller to kill "a family of five between now and Monday".

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The rather obscure article about the phone call to San Jose Highway Patrol on December 19th 1969, threatening "I am going to kill five of you officers and a family of five between now and Monday", was somewhat mirrored by the person claiming to be the Zodiac Killer in Barstow, California on March 26th 1971. Not only did this individual make a phone call at 9:15pm to the KWTC radio station stating "This is the Zodiac. I'm coming out there", which he repeated and hung up, he also rang the radio station at 11:30pm claiming "This is the Zodiac. There are going to be four people dead in Barstow by morning", before repeating the statement and hanging up once again. The California Highway Patrol, as it did on December 19th 1969, also received a threatening phone call from the "Zodiac Killer" at 5:00pm on March 26th 1971. On December 19th 1969, I believe the threat was aimed towards the Furlong family of five in San Jose, so were the four people mentioned in this latest phone call in Barstow just a random and empty threat on four random people, or was the threat target specific? These are the only two "Zodiac" calls known to have been aimed at the California Highway Patrol, with both issued on a Friday, separated by 15 months, with the possibility of multiple targets. However, this doesn't reach the level of "beyond a reasonable doubt" that the callers on December 19th 1969 and March 26th 1971 were the same person, or the infamous Zodiac Killer. 

THE ZODIAC KILLER PHONE CALLS TO BARSTOW [PART ONE]

Thanks to Jibberjabber for his assistance in this matter.

Courtesy of Jibberjabber