This so-called poem, measuring in its entirety just under 5.5 inches in length, was found by a janitor in a storage room at the Riverside City College library in the December of 1966. It was later determined to have been written with a blue ballpoint pen on the underside of a folding plywood desk, with the author apparently reminiscing about a knife attack that occurred a year earlier on April 13th 1965.
The Press and Daily Enterprise newspaper covered the story of a young woman who survived being stabbed at the Riverside City College by Rolland Taft, who was ultimately arrested and jailed for the crime. He wasn't responsible for the desktop poem or the murder of Cheri Jo Bates because he was still incarcerated in 1966, but it's fairly clear that the author of the desktop poem drew inspiration from this crime. The Press and Daily Enterprise headline on April 17th 1965 was entitled Clean-cut Youth Sought For Stabbing, seemingly having been mirrored by the desktop author, when they began with the two words cut and clean. The author signed off the poem with the letters rh, believed by many to be the initials of the author. However, bearing in mind the author of the desktop poem is reminiscing in the present tense of how "she won't die, this time someone'll find her", they are quick to remind us that we wait until next time. That "next time" being rh or Riverside, Halloween. The Riverside Desktop Poem has become inextricably linked to the murder of Cheri Josephine Bates on October 30th 1966, who may possibly have been murdered on Halloween in Riverside, had the perpetrator managed to convince her to enter his vehicle. Just like the November 29th 1966 Confession letter, there remains skepticism as to whether this was the work of the Zodiac Killer, despite similarities in the handwriting and the use of phrases employed in later authenticated Zodiac correspondence. Cheri Jo Bates was a graduate of Ramona High School, situated at 7675 Magnolia Avenue in Riverside, which boasts a nationally acclaimed band and color guard as part of its Creative and Performing Arts program which has been featured in major motion pictures, television shows and commercials worldwide. California questioned documents examiner, Sherwood Morrill, formed the opinion that the handwriting on the desktop was consistent with that of the Zodiac Killer, however, because handwriting is subjective and open to interpretation, other experts in the field would disagree. Cheri Jo Bates was slashed numerous times and her throat cut by a presumed short-bladed knife on October 30th 1966 in an alleyway just off Terracina Drive, 75 yards west of the Riverside City College library. The middle distributor wire of her Volkswagen Beetle had been torn out, effectively disabling her car. There were no direct eyewitnesses to the murder, although people living in close proximity to the library recalled hearing screams sometime between 10:15 pm and 10:45 pm, and shortly thereafter, the sound of an old vehicle driving off. However, nobody alerted the police and it wasn't until 6:30 am on Halloween morning that her body was discovered by Riverside City College caretaker, Cleophus Martin. SEE CHERI JO BATES MURDER |
THE RIVERSIDE DESKTOP POEM
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There may be an explanation for the rh written at the foot of the Riverside Desktop Poem that doesn't include the author's initials :
The Zodiac Killer finished many of his communications with the running victim total. The Dripping Pen card mailed on November 8th 1969 gave us the time of his murders in the form of a month, along with the running victim total. The Bus Bomb letter on November 9th 1969 stated "up to the end of Oct I have killed 7 people". The July 31st 1969 San Francisco Chronicle letter warned us of future murders, threatening "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". The Halloween card is also believed by many to be a future threat towards Paul Avery. The November 29th 1966 Confession letter warned "I am stalking your girls now", and the April 30th 1967 Bates letters promised "there will be more". Therefore, it would be unsurprising if the Desktop Poem concluded with a prediction of future happenings.
So, let us apply the same model to the Riverside Desktop Poem, where the author signed off the poem with "Just wait till next time. rh". The Riverside Desktop Poem was discovered in the December of 1966 by a Riverside janitor, but it may very well have been written much earlier, possibly prior to the murder of Cheri Jo Bates on October 30th 1966, with the warning of "Just wait till next time. rh". referring to the time and place of his next murder. Remember, the author of the Confession letter had suggested he was trying to lure Cheri Jo Bates into his vehicle. This could have indicated he had planned to murder Cheri Jo Bates at a later time than 10:30 pm, when screams emanated from the alleyway - on Halloween Day itself - but something clearly had resulted in the unplanned struggle in the alleyway and her 'premature' murder from the perspective of the killer. Had he achieved his objective in luring the young woman into his vehicle, the likely prediction of the Riverside Desktop Poem would have come true: "Just wait till next time. riverside, halloween".
The Zodiac Killer finished many of his communications with the running victim total. The Dripping Pen card mailed on November 8th 1969 gave us the time of his murders in the form of a month, along with the running victim total. The Bus Bomb letter on November 9th 1969 stated "up to the end of Oct I have killed 7 people". The July 31st 1969 San Francisco Chronicle letter warned us of future murders, threatening "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". The Halloween card is also believed by many to be a future threat towards Paul Avery. The November 29th 1966 Confession letter warned "I am stalking your girls now", and the April 30th 1967 Bates letters promised "there will be more". Therefore, it would be unsurprising if the Desktop Poem concluded with a prediction of future happenings.
So, let us apply the same model to the Riverside Desktop Poem, where the author signed off the poem with "Just wait till next time. rh". The Riverside Desktop Poem was discovered in the December of 1966 by a Riverside janitor, but it may very well have been written much earlier, possibly prior to the murder of Cheri Jo Bates on October 30th 1966, with the warning of "Just wait till next time. rh". referring to the time and place of his next murder. Remember, the author of the Confession letter had suggested he was trying to lure Cheri Jo Bates into his vehicle. This could have indicated he had planned to murder Cheri Jo Bates at a later time than 10:30 pm, when screams emanated from the alleyway - on Halloween Day itself - but something clearly had resulted in the unplanned struggle in the alleyway and her 'premature' murder from the perspective of the killer. Had he achieved his objective in luring the young woman into his vehicle, the likely prediction of the Riverside Desktop Poem would have come true: "Just wait till next time. riverside, halloween".
