From 1967 to 1969 I was a full time student at Riverside City College. As you all know Cheri Jo Bates was murdered on this campus on October 30th, 1966 and there has been a belief (unproven) that the crime was done by the infamous Zodiac Killer. Both Cheri and myself graduated from Ramona High School but she graduated a year or two before my graduation in 1967. We also went to the same church, St. Catherine’s Catholic Church in Riverside but I did not know her at all.
In February 1968 I was 18 years old and I was interested on learning how to ski. The 1968 Winter Olympics were just opening in Grenoble France, and this is why I am positive of the date. I was in the old library at RCC which was located on the eastern side of the Quadrangle and had just checked out books on skiing. The old RCC library had a foyer section which was separate from the library with several ancient single seat wooden desks. The desks were the kind you would find in a classroom in the 1930’s and 40’s. Their frames were ornate cast iron with simple wooden tops, with no plastic or formica in their construction. As I was reading the books I notice some graffiti on the upper left top of the wooden desk. It was a cipher made up of backward facing letters and symbols I couldn’t identify. I remember backward facing E and K letters. Also there were triangular delta symbols, at least two letter z’s and I distinctly remember several circles with an inscribed cross. Also I think there was a symbol of one of the signs of the astronomical zodiac. I think the zodiacal sign was the one for Sagittarius but after 45 years I’m not sure. Most graffiti are usually someone’s initials or a pornographic word but these were different. I was really curious about this because whoever carved the cipher spent a lot of time carving them as they were precisely carved. The individual symbols were tiny and blocky, not more than quarter of an inch high and wide and there were two or three lines of symbols with 3 to 4 symbols per line but my memory is fuzzy about this. At the time the cipher meant nothing to me it was just a curiosity. This was 14 months after Cheri Jo Bates was murdered less than one block from this location and almost a full year before anyone ever heard of the Zodiac Killer and his ciphers. In 1969 the new present RCC Library opened and after 45 years I seriously doubt that this antique wooden desk is still around. In the two years that I attended RCC I used the old library this one time only (the old library was out dated, tiny and just plain inadequate, a glorified study hall) and I checked out books on skiing only once in my entire life so I am positive on the date that is tied to the 68 winter olympics. I completed my studies at RCC in June 1969 and transferred out, six months before Zodiac and his ciphers became known to the world.
My theory is that he chose her at random and followed her by car to RCC. When she went into the library he disabled her car and then waited in the foyer, where the library entrance was located, and sat at the very desk I described above and waited for her to leave . While sitting at the desk he could easily observe everything going on in the actual library because the large double doors leading into the library were always left open during library hours. While he patiently waited he passed the time by carving the cipher on to the desk. When she left the library she literally walked right by him and he waited a few minutes before leaving as he knew that her car battery would die almost immediately as she tried to start it. Then he left the library and offered her help. The desk and the carved cipher sat there in the foyer for the next 14 months until I found it in February 1968. Today I have no doubt in my mind that the Bates murder was committed by the Zodiac.
At the time I never paid much attention to the Zodiac case. In fact the only thing I knew was that someone calling himself the zodiac was murdering people in the bay area. I didn’t know how many murders or any details of the murders. I also wasn’t aware that ciphers were being sent to the media and the police. I was just to busy trying to complete my college education as failure was not an option. I do remember that the Riverside Police Department made the announcement that there was no connection between the Bates murder and the Zodiac. In fact they later stated that they knew who the killer was but didn’t have enough evidence to arrest and convict him. It wasn’t until a month ago I was watching the movie Zodiac and they showed the mysterious cyphers that a gigantic CLICK went off in my head. "WTF!!! I REMEMBER SEEING THOSE BEFORE! HELL I KNOW EXACTLY WHERE I SAW THEM! Recently I tried contacting the author of the book Zodiac indirectly but never got a reply.
So there you have it. Maybe this all means something or maybe it means nothing at all. After 45 years this is colder than cold but I know what I saw.
Thank you for sharing, VERY interesting indeed!
And welcome to the forum:)
Hi, english is not my first language so please bear with me 
Thank you A.N.Other,
Your post give me the chills! Appreciate you sharing this with us!
And Welcome!
Zincerely, Zamantha
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If Zodiac ever joined a Z forum, I’m sure he would have been banned for not following forum rules. Zam’s/Quote
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MODERATOR
I doubt Graysmith has any interest in anything else about Zodiac, unless it came from Art Allen. (He can’t help with the case) You should contact Riverside police cold case Dept. about this. They might listen to you, because you can prove you went to RCC around that time. Maybe if you could be hypnotized, you will recall exactly what you saw ? I think this is important. If Zodiac was a student there at that time, that would make him much younger than the 3o yr old I saw in Napa 1968. Unless there were two Zodiac’s, one younger than the other ? Or someone older who had access to the desk , like an janitor or a construction worker working at the library. Can you draw the symbols that you do remember ? Thank you , this was very interesting.
Welcome, A.N.Other…
Very interesting story. I agree with Sandy that contacting Riverside P.D. would be the way to go. Although they have probably had their fill of Zodiac tips, yours is certainly worthy of consideration. Unfortunately, there is probably no way to confirm your observation but if it could be confirmed, it would go a long way toward possibly confirming Zodiac’s involvement with CJB and make it almost certain that he was actually residing in Riverside and going to school with her. I have my doubts about that but you certainly seem sincere about your observation. Welcome to the board!
Thanks for the account A.N. Other, I can only echo what everyone else has said. "If Only".
I was wondering if you could help out with another ascpect of the case. Don’t know that you can, as it all occurred a year before you were there. However what we have been sorely missing over the years is a sketch and details of of where everything was in relation to everything else.
Did you ever learn exactly where Cheri’s car was parked and could you comment on such things as lighting and distance from library entrance.
In any case, there are several questions I would like to ask, if you feel you could comment?
Thanks again, and welcome to the forum.
Answering your questions, I do not know where her car was parked. The murder site was in a east to west running dirt alley that connected to Terracinna Ave which ran in a north south direction and was the street directly in front of the library. The site was not lighted and was extremely dark and couldn’t be more than 400 ft north from the east entrance of the library. Today the site has completely changed and most of the block including the murder site is now covered by a large RCC administration building. Some people on other Zodiac sites have asked what the college policy was concerning the library. Anyone could use the library. You did not have to show ID to enter the building and you could browse through the library collection freely. If you checked out a book you then had to show your RCC student card which did not have a photo ID on it. Others have asked that wouldn’t an older person "hanging out" in the library stand out. The answer is no. During that time their were lots of young people like me who were straight out of high school. There were also lots of older military veterans using their GI benefits and people in their 40’s and 50’s continuing their education. At the time I don’t think the registration fee for an entire semester was more than fifty dollar so it attracted lots of people across all age groups. So nobody unless they exhibited really strange behavior would stand out in the library.
In the movie Zodiac there is a scene where the police question the key suspect named Arthur Leigh Allen. Allen states that he would often come to Riverside to see the auto races. He is referring to Riverside International Raceway which is now long gone. But the interesting thing is that on the day of the Bates murder, Sunday, Oct 30, 1966 there was a major international sports car race at the track. It was the 1966 Times Grand Prix for sports cars and I am sure of this because I was there as a spectator. Bates was murdered in the early evening just a few hours after the race ended. Just another coincidence? Who knows. Like in the movie when the detective says if you spend your life tracking down Zodiac clues it will suck you dry.
I tried contacting Robert Graysmith with my tip but I couldn’t find any contact information. I found an interview that he gave to a reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle and the interviewer had an email address. I sent him the tip and asked him to please relay it to Mr. Graysmith. I have never gotten a reply. Can’t blame Graysmith, the poor man had an obsession with the case and now wants to get on with his life. Can’t blame him for that.
One more thing. The Riverside Police Department has no interest in this case. In their mind they have a suspect that they are sure is the murderer but they never had enough evidence to arrest and prosecute him. In fact just a few years ago there was an article in the Riverside Press Enterprise that they had picked up the same suspect for questioning. He had allegedly bragged to a friend that he had committed the murder. Nothing ever came of it. All of the people who worked the original case have long retired or are dead. One of the retired detectives who worked the case and had dismissed a Zodiac connection was recently picked up and charged with sexual child molestation.
One more thing. The cipher on the desk stands out in my mind because it was so weird and mysterious. And when I saw photos of the Zodiac ciphers there was a strong stylistic match.
Thanks for the info. Most of what you wrote about has been discussed at message boards in length. There is a lot here to be read that’s for sure! There are also photos of RCC showing locations of the library and where Cheri was found, etc. You can see Terracinna from where her body lies.
The RPD might not have interest in ZODIAC, but I can assure you they very much want Cheri’s killer caught.
“…they may be dealing with one or more ersatz Zodiacs–other psychotics eager to get into the act, or perhaps even other murderers eager to lay their crimes at the real Zodiac’s doorstep.“ L.A. Times, 1969
WOW, A.N. other, welcome aboard, and thanks for sharing. Very interesting indeed!
There is more than one way to lose your life to a killer
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Yes, A.N Other, very informative, thanks for sharing. I wouldn’t expect her murderer to stand out but rather fit right in. It’s interesting to hear that there were alot of older people and military veterans using the facility also. I don’t suppose that would be any different on a sunday evening? the impression I had is that it would have more a study/student crowd on those particular nights.
Thanks some much for your information A.N! As for the international race that gives credence to Mike R that his suspect Mr. X probably was in Riverside the day Cheri Jo was killed. Not saying I’m a fan of Mr. X but this info should help Mike and he may already know this.
Many yrs ago Tom V, Howard , Ed N, and myself were at the crime scene. The crime took place between two vacant houses owned by RCC, we found the address and went there. We also went to the Bates home on San Jose dr., they went inside , I didn’t. I have been back to Riverside a few more times in the past few yrs and it has changed, the houses were long gone.
Cheri Jo has been moved to another grave site.
