Skip to content
Unsolved

Murder of Cheri Jo Bates

Year
1966
Where
California
Source
Wikipedia
Evidence
1
What the record says

The murder of Cheri Jo Bates occurred in Riverside, California, on October 30, 1966. Bates, an 18-year-old college freshman, was stabbed and slashed to death on the grounds of Riverside City College. Police determined the assailant had disabled the ignition wiring and distributor of Bates's Volkswagen Beetle as a method to lure her from her car as she studied in the college library.

Summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Records change. The source is the authority.

Where to start

Got ten minutes? Do one of these.

What does the record establish, and what has never been explained?

  • Read the source and write down every date, place and name it gives.
  • Find the earliest news report you can and note what it says that later accounts dropped.
  • List what has never been explained. One line each.

New to this? Read the field guide. Five short lessons.

Coverage and records

What is out there.

Nobody has researched this case yet. Have the AI search the web for reporting, podcasts and videos about it.