Continuing on from the previous article on the murder of Cheri Jo Bates, we will attempt to expand on the timeline.
Claims that Cheri Jo Bates never entered the library at all on October 30th 1966, require that we totally dismiss the eyewitness testimony of the Mexican-American student, who stated 'he knew Cheri Jo Bates and had noticed her in the library the night in question. He said he saw the girl "writing something with a ball point pen in her blue spiral school notebook." The boy told us he was outside about 5.30 pm, waiting for the library to open at 6, and it was then he saw the girl'. We totally ignore that a male librarian at the college said he "thought he saw" Cheri Jo in the library that Sunday evening, but he was unable to pinpoint the time. And totally disregard the three library books that were discovered on the front passenger seat of Cheri Jo Bates' Volkswagen Beetle, which were likely dusted for fingerprints. The idea the library books may have been discharged from the library by another person, makes little sense, when somebody who knew Cheri Jo 'noticed her in the library the night in question'.
But the crucial eyewitnesses that are rarely mentioned, were the four young men, dressed in work clothes, who were noticed by Walter Siebert of 3667 Gloreen Court. He stated that on the Sunday evening in question 'he and a few friends were in the library from 7:15 pm until 9, but did not see Miss Bates, whom they all knew. They said they saw four men dressed in work clothes sitting on a fence across from the spot where Miss Bates' car was found, but they did not know them.' These four men were interrogated by police, and said "they had seen Cheri Jo near her car the previous night".
The four men, who viewed the young graduate that evening on Terracina Drive, at approximately 6:15 pm when Cheri Jo Bates parked up, were again spotted in the same location at 7:15 pm by Walter Siebert and friends. It doesn't matter if the four men spotted her at 6:15 pm, or when she returned to her vehicle at any later time, because the 'interrogated' men did not recall or relay to police any information pertaining to Cheri Jo Bates being approached and accompanied by an unknown male, or had noticed her car being tampered with and disabled, as well as any other car parked behind her, or her being abducted from the vicinity of her vehicle. In fact, they didn't relay any suspicious activity whatsoever - and were likely in this location between 6:15 pm and 7:15 pm, corroborated by themselves and Walter Siebert.
The idea that she entered the library, her Volkswagen Beetle was then disabled, she returned, and then after failing to start the engine, she was aided by the 'good Samaritan', is patently false. The four men also never mentioned to police hearing any screams or cries for help that night, despite the alleyway where Cheri Jo was found murdered being only 225 feet from their location. The only way for the 'Confession' letter timeline to be correct, or for any abduction theories to prevail, is if we conveniently dismiss the eyewitness testimony of these four young men. But one can be sure that people will, to protect their long formulated beliefs.
Claims that Cheri Jo Bates never entered the library at all on October 30th 1966, require that we totally dismiss the eyewitness testimony of the Mexican-American student, who stated 'he knew Cheri Jo Bates and had noticed her in the library the night in question. He said he saw the girl "writing something with a ball point pen in her blue spiral school notebook." The boy told us he was outside about 5.30 pm, waiting for the library to open at 6, and it was then he saw the girl'. We totally ignore that a male librarian at the college said he "thought he saw" Cheri Jo in the library that Sunday evening, but he was unable to pinpoint the time. And totally disregard the three library books that were discovered on the front passenger seat of Cheri Jo Bates' Volkswagen Beetle, which were likely dusted for fingerprints. The idea the library books may have been discharged from the library by another person, makes little sense, when somebody who knew Cheri Jo 'noticed her in the library the night in question'.
But the crucial eyewitnesses that are rarely mentioned, were the four young men, dressed in work clothes, who were noticed by Walter Siebert of 3667 Gloreen Court. He stated that on the Sunday evening in question 'he and a few friends were in the library from 7:15 pm until 9, but did not see Miss Bates, whom they all knew. They said they saw four men dressed in work clothes sitting on a fence across from the spot where Miss Bates' car was found, but they did not know them.' These four men were interrogated by police, and said "they had seen Cheri Jo near her car the previous night".
The four men, who viewed the young graduate that evening on Terracina Drive, at approximately 6:15 pm when Cheri Jo Bates parked up, were again spotted in the same location at 7:15 pm by Walter Siebert and friends. It doesn't matter if the four men spotted her at 6:15 pm, or when she returned to her vehicle at any later time, because the 'interrogated' men did not recall or relay to police any information pertaining to Cheri Jo Bates being approached and accompanied by an unknown male, or had noticed her car being tampered with and disabled, as well as any other car parked behind her, or her being abducted from the vicinity of her vehicle. In fact, they didn't relay any suspicious activity whatsoever - and were likely in this location between 6:15 pm and 7:15 pm, corroborated by themselves and Walter Siebert.
The idea that she entered the library, her Volkswagen Beetle was then disabled, she returned, and then after failing to start the engine, she was aided by the 'good Samaritan', is patently false. The four men also never mentioned to police hearing any screams or cries for help that night, despite the alleyway where Cheri Jo was found murdered being only 225 feet from their location. The only way for the 'Confession' letter timeline to be correct, or for any abduction theories to prevail, is if we conveniently dismiss the eyewitness testimony of these four young men. But one can be sure that people will, to protect their long formulated beliefs.
The FBI file above stated that 'the time of her death was fixed at 6:15 pm.' If we believe the four young men and Walter Siebert, who saw them at 7:15 pm, then this is not possible.
The pathologist F. Rene Modglin stated 'the gastric contents suggest she had eaten a supper type meal probably not more than 2 to 4 hours before death'. In addition, the stomach contents contained 'at least 100ml of thick fluid, with particulate food particles in which are easily recognized reasonably large pieces of beef, along with vegetable particulates and/or celery and onion, and what appears to be milk or cottage cheese'. Cheri Jo Bates consumed this meal at approximately 4:00-4:30 pm, before Joseph Bates arrived home. Food takes approximately 2-5 hours to leave the stomach, depending on its constitution. The pathologist stated she had eaten not more than 2-4 hours before her death. This means that if Cheri Jo Bates ate this meal at approximately 4:30 pm, then she would have been killed somewhere between 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. However, this contradicts the screams heard in the area at 10:15-10:45 pm, assuming it was the cries of Cheri Jo Bates. On this occasion, however, we shall leave the autopsy findings behind, as many internal and external factors can alter the rate of human digestion.
The pathologist F. Rene Modglin stated 'the gastric contents suggest she had eaten a supper type meal probably not more than 2 to 4 hours before death'. In addition, the stomach contents contained 'at least 100ml of thick fluid, with particulate food particles in which are easily recognized reasonably large pieces of beef, along with vegetable particulates and/or celery and onion, and what appears to be milk or cottage cheese'. Cheri Jo Bates consumed this meal at approximately 4:00-4:30 pm, before Joseph Bates arrived home. Food takes approximately 2-5 hours to leave the stomach, depending on its constitution. The pathologist stated she had eaten not more than 2-4 hours before her death. This means that if Cheri Jo Bates ate this meal at approximately 4:30 pm, then she would have been killed somewhere between 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. However, this contradicts the screams heard in the area at 10:15-10:45 pm, assuming it was the cries of Cheri Jo Bates. On this occasion, however, we shall leave the autopsy findings behind, as many internal and external factors can alter the rate of human digestion.
If the four young men were present from the time Cheri Jo Bates arrived at Terracina Drive at 6:15 pm, and remained up to and shortly after 7:15 pm, when and how was her Volkswagen Beetle disabled? We need a plausible scenario that takes Cheri Jo Bates away from the library for at least one hour or possibly more.
Earlier that day Cheri Jo had asked her friend Stephanie Guttman to accompany her to the Riverside City College library that evening, but Stephanie chose to stay home. Had Cheri Jo made alternative arrangements or met somebody she knew at the library. She had clearly not been present in the library from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm, yet did not return to her car to find it disabled. Had she, then one could be sure that the four young men would have been only too keen to aid the attractive college student in her time of need. At the very least, they would have noticed her being offered assistance by an unknown male or struggling to get the vehicle started. None of which they reported to police.
So where did she go after she left the library for upwards of one hour? The only reason for her to willingly choose not to return to her car, is if she was waylaid by a friend or acquaintance, who occupied her for some time away from the library - or she had planned to visit a friend. But if she had chosen to visit a friend, then this person had to have lived close to the Riverside library, within walking distance, otherwise she would have opted to drive. So what happened when she exited the library annex? It is highly unlikely she was kidnapped on the library steps during opening hours, or wandered away from the library with a complete stranger (after all, her Volkswagen wasn't disabled at this point, nor had she returned to it) - therefore it is highly probable Cheri Jo Bates traveled away from the library with somebody she knew. This appears the only option left. The four young men never relayed any car trouble to the police or anyone offering her assistance, so she couldn't have returned to the Volkswagen prior to 7:15 pm. Consequently, she had no reason to leave the library with a stranger.
Earlier that day Cheri Jo had asked her friend Stephanie Guttman to accompany her to the Riverside City College library that evening, but Stephanie chose to stay home. Had Cheri Jo made alternative arrangements or met somebody she knew at the library. She had clearly not been present in the library from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm, yet did not return to her car to find it disabled. Had she, then one could be sure that the four young men would have been only too keen to aid the attractive college student in her time of need. At the very least, they would have noticed her being offered assistance by an unknown male or struggling to get the vehicle started. None of which they reported to police.
So where did she go after she left the library for upwards of one hour? The only reason for her to willingly choose not to return to her car, is if she was waylaid by a friend or acquaintance, who occupied her for some time away from the library - or she had planned to visit a friend. But if she had chosen to visit a friend, then this person had to have lived close to the Riverside library, within walking distance, otherwise she would have opted to drive. So what happened when she exited the library annex? It is highly unlikely she was kidnapped on the library steps during opening hours, or wandered away from the library with a complete stranger (after all, her Volkswagen wasn't disabled at this point, nor had she returned to it) - therefore it is highly probable Cheri Jo Bates traveled away from the library with somebody she knew. This appears the only option left. The four young men never relayed any car trouble to the police or anyone offering her assistance, so she couldn't have returned to the Volkswagen prior to 7:15 pm. Consequently, she had no reason to leave the library with a stranger.
If the screams heard from the alleyway at 10:15-10:45 pm were Cheri Jo Bates, then she had left the library with somebody she knew prior to 6:30 pm, returned to her vehicle sometime after 10:00 pm, placed her library books on the seat, but failed to start the engine. It is at this point the offer of assistance may have arrived, when nobody was in the vicinity. The library had long been closed. Her vehicle had to have been disabled between 7:15 pm and around 10:00 pm. If the friend she had spent time with hadn't accompanied her back to her vehicle, then the likelihood she was trailed to the library that night by a third party, who didn't like what he saw - and lay in wait - is one possibility. If she was accompanied back to her vehicle by the friend, then it is conceivable an argument may have occurred and the supposed 'friend' disabled her vehicle in front of her to prevent her leaving. Neither option can be ruled out.
Whatever the case, it appears the killer knew the victim and had a vested interest in the attractive woman, seemingly corroborated by the uncontrolled and ferocious attack in the alleyway only yards from her vehicle. But there are more questions.
The 'Inside Detective' magazine described the scene of the murder and stated that 'a large red and tan woven straw bag was half covered by the body'. Had Cheri Jo been at a secondary location for 3-4 hours after leaving the library, then surely she would have carried her blue spiral notebook and three library books in her 'large straw bag' - not separately. However, this would mean that after she returned to her Volkswagen Beetle, she would have taken the library books out of the bag and placed them on the passenger seat, rather than just placing the bag itself on the seat. What caused her to leave her prized Volkswagen Beetle in a hurry, with the library books still on the seat, the key in the ignition and the windows rolled down, yet still in possession of the large straw bag? You certainly wouldn't be running for your life clutching a large woven straw bag, and you certainly wouldn't have left your vehicle in the above condition willingly at 10:00 pm at night on the promise of a lift home or phone call. One possibility, is that she had her keys ready to unlock the vehicle, sat in the driver seat, removed the bulky library books from her bag, rolled down the windows, placed the key in the ignition, when she was approached and either forcibly removed from the vehicle, or threatened with the knife and ushered down the road into the alleyway. Needless to say, we have only scratched the surface in the most puzzling of cases.
CHERI JO BATES-MINUTE BY MINUTE (PART1)
Whatever the case, it appears the killer knew the victim and had a vested interest in the attractive woman, seemingly corroborated by the uncontrolled and ferocious attack in the alleyway only yards from her vehicle. But there are more questions.
The 'Inside Detective' magazine described the scene of the murder and stated that 'a large red and tan woven straw bag was half covered by the body'. Had Cheri Jo been at a secondary location for 3-4 hours after leaving the library, then surely she would have carried her blue spiral notebook and three library books in her 'large straw bag' - not separately. However, this would mean that after she returned to her Volkswagen Beetle, she would have taken the library books out of the bag and placed them on the passenger seat, rather than just placing the bag itself on the seat. What caused her to leave her prized Volkswagen Beetle in a hurry, with the library books still on the seat, the key in the ignition and the windows rolled down, yet still in possession of the large straw bag? You certainly wouldn't be running for your life clutching a large woven straw bag, and you certainly wouldn't have left your vehicle in the above condition willingly at 10:00 pm at night on the promise of a lift home or phone call. One possibility, is that she had her keys ready to unlock the vehicle, sat in the driver seat, removed the bulky library books from her bag, rolled down the windows, placed the key in the ignition, when she was approached and either forcibly removed from the vehicle, or threatened with the knife and ushered down the road into the alleyway. Needless to say, we have only scratched the surface in the most puzzling of cases.
CHERI JO BATES-MINUTE BY MINUTE (PART1)
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