Search for person who killed Riverside college student in 1960s continues
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – Friday will mark the 60th anniversary of a Riverside murder case that remains unsolved but for which detectives continue to seek decisive clues that might close it.
Cheri Jo Bates, 18, was killed on the campus of Riverside City College, where she had gone to study in the library on the afternoon of Oct. 30, 1966.
Riverside Police Department Detective Steve Espinosa said that even though it’s been six decades, “information from the public may help bring answers to Cheri Jo’s family and move this investigation forward.”
The young woman went to visit the campus library while her family was elsewhere, though she left a note for her father telling him her destination, Espinosa said.
When his daughter didn’t return home that night, the man became anxious, finally contacting police shortly before 6 on Halloween morning.
Less than an hour later, an individual walking in the area of Fairfax Avenue and Terracina Drive, which is near the middle of the campus, discovered the body of a woman in an alleyway and called police. Espinosa said the remains were quickly confirmed to be those of Bates.
Detectives have not publicly disclosed the manner in which she was killed, or whether there was any type of attempted sexual assault.
“Investigators identified a primary person of interest,” Espinosa said. “Based on the evidence, this individual has remained a focus of the investigation over the years.”
There has not been sufficient evidence for an arrest.
“Investigators have continued to evaluate all viable leads and pursue new avenues of inquiry,” the police spokesman said. “The search for answers continues.”
Anyone with information was asked to contact the police department’s Cold Case Unit at homicidecoldcase@riversideCA.gov.
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