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NewsKTLA 5 — CaliforniaOctober 28, 2026Los Angeles County

Police seek new leads 60 years after Cheri Jo Bates' murder in California

Photo: KTLA 5 — California

Riverside police are renewing calls for public information in the 1966 unsolved murder of 18-year-old college student Cheri Jo Bates as the case reaches its 60th anniversary. Detectives are utilizing modern forensic tools, including DNA analysis, probabilistic genotyping, and artificial intelligence, to review evidence collected over the decades.

Cold CaseLaw EnforcementForensic SciencePublic Safety
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Why It Matters

Residents with information about the 1966 homicide can contact the Riverside Police Department's Cold Case Unit to aid an active decades-old investigation.

Key Facts

  • Friday, Oct. 30, marks the 60th anniversary of the killing of 18-year-old Cheri Jo Bates in Riverside, California.
  • Bates' body was discovered in an alley near Terracina Drive and Fairfax Avenue on the Riverside City College campus after she failed to return from the school library.
  • On Oct. 31, 1966, at approximately 5:45 a.m., Joseph Bates reported his daughter missing to the Riverside Police Department.
  • A civilian discovered Bates' body at approximately 6:32 a.m., and responding officers determined her death was a homicide.
  • A 1967 handwritten letter previously fueled years of speculation connecting the murder to the Zodiac Killer.
  • In April 2016, Riverside police received an anonymous letter stating the 1967 correspondence was a hoax written by a teenager seeking attention.
  • Investigators and the FBI's Los Angeles Investigative Genealogy Team submitted a postage stamp from the letter for DNA analysis, identifying an individual who admitted to writing the letters and was cleared of the murder.
  • Current detectives are utilizing DNA analysis, probabilistic genotyping, and artificial intelligence tools to evaluate decades-old evidence.
  • The Riverside Police Department's Cold Case Unit can be reached at Homicidecoldcase@RiversideCA.gov for tips related to the murder.

Who's Mentioned

PersonJoseph Bates“Father of Cheri Jo Bates who reported her missing”PersonZodiac Killer“Serial murderer in Northern California historically linked in speculation to the”locationRiverside City College“Location near where Bates' body was discovered”locationTerracina Drive“Street near the college campus where the body was found”locationFairfax Avenue“Street near the college campus where the body was found”OrganizationFBI’s Los Angeles Investigative Genealogy Team“Assisted Riverside police with DNA analysis”OrganizationRiverside Police Department“Law enforcement agency investigating the cold case”PersonCheri Jo Bates“18-year-old college student whose 1966 murder remains unsolved”