Robert Graysmith, quoting Sgt Dave Bonine stated "We have a witness report, that at 6:10 pm one of Cheri Jo’s girl friends saw her go by in her Volkswagen headed towards RCC on Magnolia". Another report at the same time showed an Air Force man spotting a light green Volkswagen driven by a blond female up an alley parallel to Magnolia. If you believe these accounts, then you have to square this with the sighting of the Mexican-American student, who stated "he knew Cheri Jo Bates and had noticed her in the library the night in question. He said he saw the girl "writing something with a ball point pen in her blue spiral school notebook". The boy told us he was outside about 5:30 pm, waiting for the library to open at 6, and it was then he saw the girl".

She cannot be arriving for the only time at the library at 6:10 pm, while simultaneously be waiting for the library to open at 5:30 pm. But if the Mexican-American student had noticed her around 5:30 pm in the vicinity of the library, at which point she noticed her missing bibliography, then she may have called her friend around the same time (possibly 5:35 pm). When her friend couldn’t help her, she then may have returned home to 4195 Via San Jose to search for her bibliography. This would have taken her approximate 30 to 35 minutes, having her arriving back along Magnolia at 6:10 pm. This is the only logical explanation for her being seen at two locations, that initially seemed to conflict with one another. If Graysmith’s account is accurate, Cheri Jo Bates must have returned home to search for her bibliography.

Bang-on Richard, I think it’s highly likely she did return home to look for her bibliography.
It’s the only explanation for her being seen arriving at RCC at two different times.

I wonder if she HAD to have it to do what she needed at the library ? if so then she must
have found it at home and returned to RCC, only question is was it among her possessions
found at the crime scene ?

The Inside Detective magazine detailed two library books and a notebook on the front seat (as opposed to three library books). This tallies with the recollection of the Mexican-American student who described her writing in her blue spiral notebook. But no mention of a bibliography in the vehicle or her straw bag. If her bibliography was critical to her studying that evening, maybe this determined her stay at the library or not. If nobody saw her in the library subsequent to 6:30 pm, then her determination to retrieve her bibliography may have affected her ability to search for her reading material that night, as "Other students who were acquainted with Cheri Jo said they were in the library between 6:30 pm and 6:40 pm, and did not see the girl during that time". The lack of this bibliography mentioned in any subsequent magazine or newspaper articles, coupled with a brief stay in the library, appears to suggest a failure to find her bibliography that evening. But this is certainly not a foolproof argument.

Gren and Mitchell drove to Cheri Jo’s home to interrogate a relative, assuming they’re referring to her dad.
The relative told the investigators he had been home until about 4:30 or 5pm that Sunday and had then driven to the beach. “Cheri Jo’s Volkswagen was parked in front of the house when I left and she was somewhere close by in the neighborhood” said the man.
Where do you think she might have been if her car was in front of the house? Because that comment would make you think she wasn’t at the house when he left but her car was there? Was she at a neighbour’s house? Maybe I’m missing something here? If I am please fill me in.
Edit: does anyone know who were her neighbours?

I have wondered for ages with no answer just what her duties were at the bank!

Who is this Donna? All I can gather is she and Cheri were friends and worked together at the bank. Is she still living? It would be great for someone to contact her. Were they the same age? What were the duties of each? Where and when did these two meet?

Where is Cheri’s diary? That could shed some light as well as her notes, etc. Just what books did she check out of the library? Those librarians who were so eager to accuse Ross surely could provide answers. Just what books were found in her car? Are they the ones checked out from the library?

Did anyone go through all books and notes page by page looking for notes, underlinings, or things like bookmarks that were used?

Sandiland: One of her neighbors was a fellow female HS student who had just married another fellow HS student, whose initials are RH,and is my "POI".

Oh wow. Dag I never knew this. According to Cheri Jo’s dad’s statement, Cheri Jo must not have been home when he left but she was close by, but her car was in front of the house. Hmmm, interesting. Neighbor knew where she was going?

The neighbor lived right around the corner from Cheri, so almost certainly knew what her car looked like. At the time of the killing, the neighbor and her newly married husband lived in another part of Riverside, in the general area of the University. incidentally, this is also the area where a young lady was given a ride by a man who took her to the boonies and attempted to rape her about a month after Cheri’s death. He, in fact, referenced the murder: "I’m not the killer of that girl at Riverside college," or something like that.

Gren and Mitchell drove to Cheri Jo’s home to interrogate a relative, assuming they’re referring to her dad.
The relative told the investigators he had been home until about 4:30 or 5pm that Sunday and had then driven to the beach. “Cheri Jo’s Volkswagen was parked in front of the house when I left and she was somewhere close by in the neighborhood” said the man.

Where are you getting that info???

Zodiackillerfacts.com Maybe this site is not entirely trustworthy? But the article I got the info from was inside detective on that site. Is that reliable info?

Go here: http://zodiackiller.com/Bates.html

No relative would refer to her as "Cheri Jo," she went by Cheri.

For the old detective magazines and more: http://zodiackiller.com/ZStuff.html

thank you

My posted info (word for word) is also on your site under the inside detective magazine page 5.
I get the feeling that the exact same info is not reliable on zodiackillerfacts.com but is where I was redirected?

My posted info (word for word) is also on your site under the inside detective magazine page 5.
I get the feeling that the exact same info is not reliable on zodiackillerfacts.com but is where I was redirected?

I never said the info was unreliable. Please don’t put words in my mouth.

Very well Mr Voigt. Shouldn’t matter where I came across the info as long as it’s reliable, just making a point