Cheri Jo Bates

Cheri Jo Bates is documented in the ColdCaseIndex database as a homicide case in Riverside, California. The events are dated to October 30, 1966. The victim is recorded as 18 years old and female. The last known information on record places the case at October 30, 1966, Riverside City College Library, CA.

Within the ColdCaseIndex taxonomy, Cheri Jo Bates is filed under Homicide with a status of Unsolved. A homicide entry documents a killing in which the perpetrator has not been identified, has not been convicted, or where the case is otherwise historically notable. The record is cross-referenced under the themes homicide, Zodiac Killer, California, unsolved, college campus, which connect it to related cases across the database.

As of the most recent information compiled here, no arrest has been publicly recorded in the Cheri Jo Bates case, and it remains open and unsolved. Cases like this can be reactivated at any time — advances in DNA analysis, forensic genetic genealogy, and renewed public attention have resolved cases that lay dormant for decades.

Primary jurisdiction for the Cheri Jo Bates case rests with local law enforcement in Riverside, supported by California state investigative authorities. The case sits within a wider national picture: the U.S. homicide clearance rate has fallen from roughly 90% in the 1960s to about 54% today, and more than 346,000 homicides recorded since 1965 remain unsolved. ColdCaseIndex documents individual cases like this one to keep them publicly visible and searchable.