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Richard Grinell, Coventry, England
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DID CHERI JO BATES KNOW HER KILLER?

2/17/2017

 
One question has always persisted in the murder of Cheri Jo Bates in Riverside on October 30th 1966 - did she know her killer? The attack has many hallmarks of anger and impulsion, suggestive of a killer seeking retribution for a perceived injustice on his part, although not all crimes are always as cut and dry as they may seem on first inspection. In this instance however there are good reasons to believe the killer knew Cheri Jo Bates in some capacity and had an intimate knowledge of the area in question.

The first thing we shall take a look at is where the killer parked his vehicle, having likely followed Cheri Jo Bates to the Riverside City College Library that evening or knew that she was attending. Cheri Jo Bates Volkswagen Beetle was ultimately found parked approximately 75 yards east of alleyway, parked on Terracina Drive - and it is likely her murderer parked close by - probably slightly west of her location on the same street. In the 'Confession' letter mailed a month after the attack, believed to be from the perpetrator, it stated "Then I waited for her in the library and followed her out after about two minutes. The battery must have been about dead by then. I then offered to help. She was then very willing to talk to me. I told her that my car was down the street and that I would give her a lift home. When we were away from the library walking, I said it was about time she asked me, "about time for what? ". I said it was about time for her to die. I grabbed her round the neck with my hand over her mouth and my other hand with a small knife at her throat".  The part detailing her leaving the library annex early is likely true, but the inference that his vehicle was parked on the other side of the alleyway was patently false.
  
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In a magazine article dated January 1969 one key line shows this falsehood "At the murder scene, drops of dried blood leading from the body to Terracina Drive were discovered indicated to the detective that the murderer had walked to the street following the slaying".  In other words, the killer was backtracking from the alley not passing through it to the adjacent street. If he had a vehicle, it was likely parked on Terracina Drive within visibility range to Cheri Jo Bates Volkswagen Beetle.

The 'Confession' letter portrays a killer seeking revenge for all the "brush offs" he had endured down the years. Would he really be that brazen, to center the investigation towards himself if he knew her? Well probably - after all, the police probably thought that as well and could easily have interpreted this statement as a double edged sword. He may very well have been on the fringes of her circle of friends, as opposed to being a close friend of Cheri's. It was mentioned in the article that she received a lot of attention from male admirers.

The idea a random killer, unknown to Cheri and Riverside City College seems unlikely - there are much easier ways to lie in wait for a random female victim than commit a prolonged attack in the heart of a college campus, only a matter of yards from the library annex during or near opening hours. The crime appears ill thought out and impulsive. Whomever the murderer was, he specifically targeted her Volkswagen Beetle, not knowing how long she intended remaining inside the library that evening. Was this indicative of the determination on his part?

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Another possibility, is that the killer knew Cheri Jo Bates was only entering the library for a couple of minutes to discharge her reading material and was waiting close to her vehicle as she did so. That is because he may have already spoken to her prior to her entering the library. The murderer follows Cheri Jo Bates to the library that evening and approaches her as she is leaving her vehicle. He is likely an admirer of Cheri Jo Bates. 

The 'Confession' letter stated "I then offered to help. She was then very willing to talk to me. I told her that my car was down the street and that I would give her a lift home. When we were away from the library walking, I said it was about time. She asked me, about time for what?. I said it was about time for her to die". The friends of Cheri Jo Bates pointed out she was very proud of her Volkswagen Beetle and that she was afraid of the dark. These two factors make it extremely unlikely she would head down a dark alley with a stranger, especially considering she could have returned to the library to seek assistance, which was only a matter of yards away. Leaving her vehicle unlocked with the windows rolled down and the keys in the ignition is perplexing. Had she gone willingly, why would Cheri Jo Bates have left her vehicle in such a manner? It may suggest coercion at a much later time.  

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The attack, judging by its ferocity, likely lasted up to a minute long between two buildings that were unoccupied. This could have been something the killer was fully aware of, further suggesting his familiarity with his surroundings and possibly the college itself.

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 100 ml 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 had eaten at approximately 4:00-4:30 pm, placing her time of death between 6:00 pm and 8:30 pm based on the autopsy findings. Students acquainted with Cheri Jo Bates said they were in the library between 6:30 pm and 6:40 pm and never saw her. In addition, no confirmed sightings can be corroborated by any other person thereafter, despite the popularity of Cheri Jo Bates and further indicating her time spent in the library was brief, having likely left prior to 6:30 pm. Something the killer may have already known in advance had he spoken to her.

The 'Confession' and Bates letters were purportedly sent by the killer - and these may further connect the killer to the college.
The following is from a 1966/67 Riverside City College catalog "The present library is located on the Terracina Avenue side of the Quadrangle. Its collection includes more than 35,000 books, 400 current periodicals and newspapers, 1,950 reels of microfilm and 2,000 pamphlets. Its indoor and outdoor facilities can accommodate 225 students. The library staff, which includes five professional librarians, offers students and faculty individual assistance. The services of the College Library are available to students and residents of this area without charge. Students have free access to any of the books and magazines in the collection and are encouraged to use the library for their recreational reading as well as for academic pursuits. The circulation period is flexible and is determined by the demand for the material in question. Usual loans are for three weeks, but shorter periods may be required for assigned reading in limited materials. Longer loans may be made upon request. Borrowers are held responsible for any library materials which are lost or damaged while in their care. A photocopying machine, where students can secure 8 1/2 X 11 inch black and white copy of printed or typed material, is available at the library for ten cents. Hours of service are: Monday through Thursday 7:45 a.m - 10:00 p.m; Friday 7:45 a.m - 4:30 p.m; Sunday 1:00 - 5:00; 6:00 - 9:00 p.m".       

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The Riverside City College would purchase vast quantities of lined and unlined paper for the students and staff alike. It is therefore not unreasonable that the photocopier in the library would be also purchased to accommodate this paper size for ease of use. The three Bates letters sent by the killer on April 30th 1967, as seen in this FBI document, were written using 8 1/2 X 11 inch lined paper, the same dimensions as the paper used in the photocopying machine and likely paper used by the college.

Earlier, the killer had sent the 'Confession' letter, which he typed and photocopied. Sheriff Earl Randol described this letter, "The original of this letter was evidently destroyed or kept by the suspect, as the Press and our department received a carbon copy of the original. These carbon copies were a fourth and fifth copy and difficult to read. A photograph of this letter and the envelope is attached. A reproduction of the confession letter is also attached. It should be noticed that the copies received by the Press and our department were on plain white paper of poor quality. Width of paper is 8 inches. The length of the paper is unknown as the suspect (a peculiarity) tore off the bottom and top of the paper".

Not such a peculiarity if the suspect was attempting to disguise the dimensions of the paper or remove any anomalies or distinguishing features left by the photocopying process, that could possibly link him to the photocopier in question and maybe the college itself. The idea the killer would disable Cheri Jo Bates vehicle with no knowledge whatsoever on her likely return from the library to the said vehicle, could have placed him in area for at least three hours, observing the Volkswagen Beetle in close proximity. Not the actions of a master criminal, but possibly somebody who was primarily focused on Cheri Jo Bates as his choice of target.

Greg H.
2/17/2017 10:14:32 pm

My feelings are that Zodiac (before he was actually Zodiac) may have been interested in taking credit for the Bates murder and did not commit the crime. If you read the first news stories about the incident, Zodiac really tells us nothing that couldn't have been learned from reading the papers. The information about her car being disabled can be found early in the news article I've linked below. For an individual who took pains to reveal facts about crimes he did commit (LHR and BRS) it's odd that he'd not try to tell us something about Bates that 'only the killer would know.' Shades of Kathleen Johns and the lack of detail given in that alleged abduction (only info repeated from the news) are evident.

The monkey wrench in the equation, however, is the desk etching that was found on campus, which quite unequivocally links Zodiac to Riverside College in some capacity. It is certainly a statistical longshot that a depraved, budding serial killer would be spending time at the college, carving his disturbed verse into desktops while there then just so happens to be a vicious, unsolved murder that occurs outside the library and was committed at random. Common sense would dictate that the person who scrawled up the desk also killed Cheri Bates.
If the desk did not exist I'd feel confident in saying the 'confession' letter was complete bluster and Zodiac had no direct involvement. But it's clear to me he was something more than a passing stranger at Riverside College.

Even going back to Dennis Rader again (as I the sometimes have the bad habit of doing), he studied criminal justice at Wichita State while committing the early BTK murders. He used that college's resources (copy machines, books, education) to aid him in his cat-and-mouse games with LE, while he hid in plain sight. Profilers had long concluded BTK's connection with said college even if they had no idea who they were looking for.
I think Zodiac's placement at Riverside College by virute of the desk is ennormous. If he didn't do it, it's likely he was near the epicenter of the crime as it was obviously the talk of town and he may have been moved to try taking credit for a killing before embarking on actual serial murder.
A key question is the time frame in the discovery of the desk. Did he have time to make that etching after the murder while his plans fomented to initiate a campaign of terror against the community through the media? If so, defacing a desktop for this purpose was of equal significance to any correspondence he'd go on to send. https://i64.servimg.com/u/f64/14/94/58/13/batesd10.jpg

Richard
2/20/2017 07:04:36 am

I never can quite make my mind up on this as a Zodiac crime. I tend towards what you are saying, that Cheri was likely murdered not by a passing stranger. I am more convinced that this murder was personal, whereas the Zodiac crimes were committed on strangers. It is plausible the letters were sent by Zodiac, he certainly has a knack though, of claiming crimes that are never solved. The Riverside desktop poem is a strange one, certainly placing the author closer to the college than the letters, although I personally am not a great advocate of handwriting analysis, which is interpreted differently by different people.
The idea above that the killer knew she wouldn't be in the library long, the disguising of the typewriter individuality, by photocopying the Confession letter and the fact it was further torn top and bottom and possibly even guillotined on the sides, the desktop poem and its locality, the 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper, and the paint flecks on the wristwatch, could easily be interpreted as a college connection. Maybe even an art student with a flair for the dramatic. Who knows, but food for thought.

Greg H.
2/20/2017 10:01:28 pm

You're very right about his knack for laying claim, however tenuously, to crimes that remained unsolved. Certainly makes you wonder if he may have been doing more than just bluffing. I feel very strongly that Zodiac was behind all the communications related to the Bates case. I'm not just convinced he was the actual assailant.

I recently read the Stephen King short story "A Good Marriage" which was also made into a straight to DVD film. It puts forth an interesting thought experiment with relation to the strange predicament a spouse or family member finds themself in when confronted with the realization that the person they're sharing their home with is a notorious serial killer. Perhaps Zodiac did have a partner or someone he was close to who found out his identity. But when faced with such knowledge it's not quite so easy to come forward, is it? Consider how much life will change. If, for instance, Zodiac was the family breadwinner his arrest and incarceration could possibly result in a huge upheaval of life. Not only are there economic factors, but think about the shame and accusations it would bring to the family. Inevitably people will be convinced they knew all along or were somehow complicit. The backlash would be ennormous. So there is the possibility that those closest to Zodiac may have known their husband or father was indeed the killer but chose to keep it silent for fear of social reprisals or perhaps even vengeance from the man himself.
Often we wonder how no one could know or realize it who he was; well, there's always the possibility he was found out but it was easier not coming forward.

Saw
11/30/2017 01:05:04 am

Ive watched History Hunt for the Zodiac Killer and Cheri Jo Bates case is suspected as one of his first victim like you said she is the target of the suspect and know her. I’m just browsing the newspaper about her murder and found out that her father work as machinist in navy as well as his brother. An army boots footprint was found on the crime scene and on the documentary they suspects Ross Sullivan as prime suspect he wore army boots act odd etc. Another suspect to Lawrence Kane. A survivor of killing with her baby pointed him as the zodiac. Lawrence Kane worked in the Navy and know how to read codes. Do you think Kane is somehow know Cheri Jo Bates brother or her father and takes revenge on her?

LD
3/17/2018 09:37:04 pm

Lyle Kilgore was Bates perp. Good luck!


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