One of the smallest and most underrated pieces of evidence in the Cheri Jo Bates murder case is the cigarette butt recovered from the alleyway on October 31st 1966. At 9:30 pm on Sunday October 30th 1966, a female student was walking through the ill-fated alleyway where Cheri Jo Bates' body would ultimately be discovered, when she observed a man smoking a cigarette. The two exchanged pleasantries, unfortunately however, she was unable to furnish a facial description of the man as he was standing in the shadows. Clearly the police believed this a valid and significant sighting, as not only was this woman the last eyewitness before the murder but she was evidently able to specify the man's exact location, resulting in the police retrieving a cigarette butt from the alleyway, that years later would yield a DNA profile. The cigarette butt had a DNA concentration of 0.003 nanograms per microliter. Hair, believed to be from the killer, was found in a blood clot at the base of Cheri Jo Bates' right thumb, which also yielded DNA. If these two specimens were able to be matched then we could say that the killer of Cheri Jo Bates is the man responsible for discarding the cigarette retrieved. This may not necessarily be the man viewed by the female student, but there is a strong likelihood as she would have led or described to police the exact location she had encountered him, and seemingly this was the only cigarette butt tested. This opens up many possibilities.
The unidentified male had a line of sight to Cheri Jo Bates' Volkswagen Beetle parked on Terracina Drive, he was standing in the alleyway 30 minutes subsequent to the library closing its doors, and was the last person seen in the alleyway prior to screams being heard, approximately 45 to 60 minutes later by local residents. This is the most viable suspect in relation to the murder. We know Cheri Jo Bates was not present in the library at 9:00 pm and did not leave at closing time. If this was her murderer, he may have been under the impression Cheri Jo Bates was in the library when he arrived to the Riverside campus. He disabled her vehicle and waited for her to exit. By 9:30 pm he would have realized she hadn't exited the library, but with her vehicle close by knew she would be returning sooner rather than later, and the alleyway was the perfect vantage point. If this man was a random killer not familiar with Cheri Jo Bates, simply on the lookout for lone women, he certainly rejected the opportunity that presented itself at 9:30 pm when a young female student passed him in the alleyway. Does this, along with the disabling of Cheri Jo Bates' vehicle indicate he had a specific target in mind? It definitely points in this direction.
The unidentified male had a line of sight to Cheri Jo Bates' Volkswagen Beetle parked on Terracina Drive, he was standing in the alleyway 30 minutes subsequent to the library closing its doors, and was the last person seen in the alleyway prior to screams being heard, approximately 45 to 60 minutes later by local residents. This is the most viable suspect in relation to the murder. We know Cheri Jo Bates was not present in the library at 9:00 pm and did not leave at closing time. If this was her murderer, he may have been under the impression Cheri Jo Bates was in the library when he arrived to the Riverside campus. He disabled her vehicle and waited for her to exit. By 9:30 pm he would have realized she hadn't exited the library, but with her vehicle close by knew she would be returning sooner rather than later, and the alleyway was the perfect vantage point. If this man was a random killer not familiar with Cheri Jo Bates, simply on the lookout for lone women, he certainly rejected the opportunity that presented itself at 9:30 pm when a young female student passed him in the alleyway. Does this, along with the disabling of Cheri Jo Bates' vehicle indicate he had a specific target in mind? It definitely points in this direction.
Does the fact that Riverside Police have consistently dismissed any link to the Zodiac Killer suggest a DNA comparison has been established. If the DNA retrieved from the Riverside crime scene has all but ruled out long standing suspect 'Bob Barnett,' then for anybody who believes the Cheri Jo Bates and Zodiac cases are connected, and have a 'favorite' suspect, then available DNA could effectively rule them out too.
The DNA comparison ruled out 'Bob Barnett', but how many of Cheri Jo Bates' colleagues, companions and friends of the day have latterly been screened and been eliminated or otherwise.
This crime has all the hallmarks of a killer who knew Cheri Jo Bates, knew where she was going that evening, knew her vehicle - and if the man in the alleyway was our killer, he was prepared to wait a substantial period of time to secure his objective. The answer to how close this person was to Cheri Jo Bates may lie in the discarded cigarette butt, how long he was prepared to lie in wait in the alleyway, and possibly his mistaken belief that Cheri Jo Bates was studying in the library until closing time. These, coupled with the disabling of the Volkswagen Beetle may point to the inner circle rather than a stranger.
The DNA comparison ruled out 'Bob Barnett', but how many of Cheri Jo Bates' colleagues, companions and friends of the day have latterly been screened and been eliminated or otherwise.
This crime has all the hallmarks of a killer who knew Cheri Jo Bates, knew where she was going that evening, knew her vehicle - and if the man in the alleyway was our killer, he was prepared to wait a substantial period of time to secure his objective. The answer to how close this person was to Cheri Jo Bates may lie in the discarded cigarette butt, how long he was prepared to lie in wait in the alleyway, and possibly his mistaken belief that Cheri Jo Bates was studying in the library until closing time. These, coupled with the disabling of the Volkswagen Beetle may point to the inner circle rather than a stranger.
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