On November 29th 1966, one month after the murder of Cheri Jo Bates alongside the Riverside City College library, two confession letters were delivered to the Riverside Homicide Detail and Riverside Press Enterprise containing a sinister message. They read in part "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". If the good Samaritan, as he claimed in the letter, was offering to give her a lift home from his nearby vehicle, then it's fairly obvious that Cheri Jo Bates isn't going to willingly travel 3.5 miles back to her 4195 Via San Jose home with this individual and leave her prized Volkswagen Beetle with the windows rolled down, her keys in the ignition and the doors unlocked. Therefore, the idea that her killer promised her a lift home doesn't tally with the condition her vehicle was found the following morning.
The January 1969 Inside Detective magazine described the crime scene, stating "The victim of the savage attack was clad in faded red capris, a long-sleeved pale yellow blouse with a ribbon tied at the throat. Her feet were encased in white sandals. A large red and tan woven straw bag was half covered by the body". This large bag can be seen in the crime scene photographs. If Cheri Jo Bates had arrived back at her vehicle after exiting the library and placed her library books on the passenger seat, one might have expected Cheri Jo Bates to have first removed this straw bag from her shoulder prior to rolling the windows, placing her key in the ignition and preparing to drive away (especially if the bag was slung over her right shoulder). This oversize straw bag would certainly have impaired her ability to shift gear in a comfortable manner while driving. If she had removed this bag to prepare to drive home and was forcibly removed from her vehicle in a surprise attack under the threat of a knife or gun, why under any circumstances, would she have placed the bag back on her shoulders under duress (for it to be later found under her body in the driveway) The Confession letter author claimed she was very willing to talk and leave with him, which would explain her grabbing her bag before leaving - but not the condition her vehicle was ultimately found the next morning. If the author was her killer, she had two minutes (according to the Confession letter) to remove the straw bag from her shoulder before he arrived and offered the young woman assistance.
The January 1969 Inside Detective magazine described the crime scene, stating "The victim of the savage attack was clad in faded red capris, a long-sleeved pale yellow blouse with a ribbon tied at the throat. Her feet were encased in white sandals. A large red and tan woven straw bag was half covered by the body". This large bag can be seen in the crime scene photographs. If Cheri Jo Bates had arrived back at her vehicle after exiting the library and placed her library books on the passenger seat, one might have expected Cheri Jo Bates to have first removed this straw bag from her shoulder prior to rolling the windows, placing her key in the ignition and preparing to drive away (especially if the bag was slung over her right shoulder). This oversize straw bag would certainly have impaired her ability to shift gear in a comfortable manner while driving. If she had removed this bag to prepare to drive home and was forcibly removed from her vehicle in a surprise attack under the threat of a knife or gun, why under any circumstances, would she have placed the bag back on her shoulders under duress (for it to be later found under her body in the driveway) The Confession letter author claimed she was very willing to talk and leave with him, which would explain her grabbing her bag before leaving - but not the condition her vehicle was ultimately found the next morning. If the author was her killer, she had two minutes (according to the Confession letter) to remove the straw bag from her shoulder before he arrived and offered the young woman assistance.
Recently I looked at the autopsy report of Cheri Jo Bates, which may suggest her being placed in a choke-hold at the moment the attack began, while the killer stabbed backwards into her upper body and right arm, before thrusting her forward (face down) into the hard driveway floor and "finishing the job out" by stabbing her in the back and slashing her throat. This would explain why her straw bag remained in contact with her body throughout (although not slung over her head as a method of carrying it). A vicious attack from the front, by a knife wielding assailant facing Cheri Jo Bates, is less likely to have her retaining control of a large straw bag throughout.
None of the knife wounds to her front torso were immediately life threatening, so a savage attack with somebody thrusting a knife towards her (and into her) while she is mobile and able to run, is unlikely to create a scenario where her bag remained on her shoulder during this period. Her bag is likely to be dropped - and she is likely to move away. The chances that she would be coincidentally reunited with that bag later in the attack is extremely unlikely. The position of the straw bag under her body, on the right side, could suggest she had the bag on her right shoulder when the killer grabbed her around the neck with his left arm and stabbed backwards with his right hand. Her right arm would naturally come upwards to defend herself, with the straw bag remaining in relatively close contact with her body while upright. When the killer thrust her face down into the driveway, her straw bag fell from her right shoulder to the position shown in the crime scene. In other words, she was grabbed and killed in virtually the same spot in the driveway.
To listen to a comprehensive discussion on the Cheri Jo Bates murder in Riverside on October 30th 1966, with contributions from Druzer and Michael Morford, please visit the Citizen Detective podcast on Youtube (running time 3hr 10 mins).
None of the knife wounds to her front torso were immediately life threatening, so a savage attack with somebody thrusting a knife towards her (and into her) while she is mobile and able to run, is unlikely to create a scenario where her bag remained on her shoulder during this period. Her bag is likely to be dropped - and she is likely to move away. The chances that she would be coincidentally reunited with that bag later in the attack is extremely unlikely. The position of the straw bag under her body, on the right side, could suggest she had the bag on her right shoulder when the killer grabbed her around the neck with his left arm and stabbed backwards with his right hand. Her right arm would naturally come upwards to defend herself, with the straw bag remaining in relatively close contact with her body while upright. When the killer thrust her face down into the driveway, her straw bag fell from her right shoulder to the position shown in the crime scene. In other words, she was grabbed and killed in virtually the same spot in the driveway.
To listen to a comprehensive discussion on the Cheri Jo Bates murder in Riverside on October 30th 1966, with contributions from Druzer and Michael Morford, please visit the Citizen Detective podcast on Youtube (running time 3hr 10 mins).
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