Nacht is basically correct. In the Bates case they have a human hair that was found in her hand almost certainly from the killer and from the human hair they extracted what is called mtDNA aka mitochondrial DNA.

The SFPD has DNA extracted from the back of a postage stamp which is called nuclear DNA. At first they said they had a profile that they can use then it seems that they had no confidence at all in that profile and now either on the basis of new testing or new opinions perhaps they do have some confidence.

But in any event with current technology it is not possible to compare mtDNA to nuclear DNA.

However, Paul Holes told me that new developments may enable such a comparison to be made in the very near future.

But overall I can say that RPD is actively dismissive and even hostile to the idea of Zodiac killing Cheri.

I see, thank you for clearing that up for me

And I was aware of Riverside PD’s stance and attitude toward Zodiac being Bates assailant. If they had evidence or even a strong reason to suggest that Zodiac wasn’t her killer then I’d understand them being dismissive. No evidence has come to light either for or against the idea that Z was her killer so why they should be so dismissive is confusing to me. Yes, they had their own suspect in mind for Cheri’s murder for years and years and used that as their grounds for dismissing a Zodiac connection, but when that suspect that they had long championed as being responsible for Bates murder had his DNA compared to the DNA from the hair’s root found in Cheri’s hand and it was not a match, you’d think they then would have been more open, at the very least, to the possibility of Z being involved. I don’t think it was Z personally anyway.

Am I correct in recalling that even thought the DNA of Riverside PD’s long time suspect didn’t match, they still hold the belief that it was him that murdered Cheri?

Yes they say either the hair was not from the killer (very doubtful imo) or he was helped by a friend (also very doubtful imo).

By Riverside police detective div. I assume you mean Det. Jim Simmons ( he is listed in the PE article )
so really if you cannot convince 1or 2 top detectives in any force your guy is not going to be looked into ,by that force .

"They were confident that one suspect was the likely killer, but they lacked physical evidence needed to press charges. The suspect has been living out of the country, but several years ago, he flew back into California. Detectives obtained a warrant for his DNA and tested it against a hair fiber sample they had from the crime scene. The fiber didn’t match, but Simons said the police cannot be sure if the hair fiber sample they have is even that of the killer.

“They (previous detectives) zeroed in on one suspect that they did the direct comparison (DNA test) and it didn’t match, but it’s entirely possible it could still be him,” said Simons."

What nonsense! Unlike the Z DNA that comes from letters, this hair was found in Cheri Jo’s hand. Who else it could be from (unless it is hers and Michael would have the same mt-DNA if they had the same mother) except her killer? Just idiotic. Let them tell us how it could be from someone else.

I was in touch with the editor and a reporter from this paper earlier this year asking them to do an impactful and hard hitting investigative piece. Was DNA ever derived from the stamps or envelopes of the "Bates had to die" letters? Were they licked? If not, they may be from Z, who did not lick his stamps and envelopes.

Were the "Bates had to die" letters analyzed with the most modern techniques for identifying impressed writing?

This is a piece of trash. It could have been so much more.

Mike

Well said, RPD needs to have a big giant light shined on them and their mishandling of Cheri’s case. It’s a joke, and if I was Cheri’s Family, would be calling them out

Look how badly they messed up this case this was the match to Elizabeth Ernstein http://www.doenetwork.org/hot/hotcase1200.html It couldn’t be more off! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article … grove.html http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51613