I may get bricks thrown my way, but I’ve always wondered how thoroughly Joseph Bates’ alibi was checked out. Anyone know?

IMO this hasn’t been discussed enough..also Leonard Bates is somehow interesting (may be connected to Cecilia Shepard, thus potentially two Z victims):

viewtopic.php?f=96&t=3083

QT

Thanks, QT. Naturally, our sympathies embrace Cheri’s family; nonetheless, Joseph Bates’ whereabouts on the evening of his daughter’s death need to be verified. Was he with someone? Or did LE take his word for it, and gave him a pass? Another item of interest: JB and his wife were separated at the time of Cheri’s death. What was that all about? And could it somehow play into Cheri’s death? Ordinarily, when a couple separates, the mother retains custody of the children. Did Joseph and his wife divorce? If so, would the divorce records be available?

Joseph Bates had an alibi, he went to the beach earlier in the day with a friend. He arrived home at approximately 5.15 pm, and upon not finding Cheri home, left her a note. He then visited a friend, returning home close to midnight. My guess is the police checked this out, as they always tend to eliminate the inlaws before the outlaws. Nobody in or around the campus ever laid eyes on Joseph Bates and it is extremely likely his history with Cheri was well investigated. Unless this turns into another tin foil hatted conspiracy, like the Donald Harden escapade, it is highly unlikely Joseph Bates lumbered on down to the college grounds, where Cheri knew lots of people, including friends who probably knew Joseph, slaughtered his own daughter in brutal fashion, rather than just kill her anywhere else with much less risk of detection, then rushed home covered in blood, typed up the Confession Letter over supper to allay suspicion and then later wrote a letter to himself personally in the final ‘stroke’ of genius. With a sumptuous master plan like this, leaking bucketfuls of water, that also included visiting church in the morning with his daughter and repenting in advance of his brutality, like a pre-confession you might say, followed by demonstrating his love for his daughter with ‘tea and scones’ at Sandy’s restaurant, setting up the perfect father image in front of the morning ‘sunny side up’ crowd, I can’t believe he wasn’t jailed bang to rights. Sometimes you just have to accept the logical answer, that is, the police checked his alibi, which is routine in every murder case. and eliminated him.

Excellent post, UKS! You’ve effectively countered the suspicion that Joseph Bates was responsible for his daughter’s death. I was just following Holmes’ dictum of eliminating all possibilities.

I certainly wasn’t going to throw any bricks Dag. I know we give the police a hard time in this case, and they have undoubtedly made errors, compounded by the lack of forensic armory we have today, so I suppose timelines and alibis were key in 1966 for tripping up suspects and examining discrepancies. They still are today, but DNA and the like has made things far more clinical.

Thanks, QT. Naturally, our sympathies embrace Cheri’s family; nonetheless, Joseph Bates’ whereabouts on the evening of his daughter’s death need to be verified. Was he with someone? Or did LE take his word for it, and gave him a pass? Another item of interest: JB and his wife were separated at the time of Cheri’s death. What was that all about? And could it somehow play into Cheri’s death? Ordinarily, when a couple separates, the mother retains custody of the children. Did Joseph and his wife divorce? If so, would the divorce records be available?

Cheri’s Mother was not well. She died on July 4th 1969.

The question is where did Cheri go in the hours she was missing. If one contends she went in the library just after 6 pm and left shortly thereafter, she was ‘missing’ for 4 hours prior to her murder around 10.30 pm, indicated by screams and the autopsy findings. Despite nobody seeing her in the library at all, even if we contend she left at 9 pm upon closing, she was unaccounted for at least 1 1/2 hours. This is again way too long to account for returning to her Beetle, receiving ‘assistance’, then be subsequently murdered under her assailant’s ruse. Until we understand her whereabouts, or a reasonable possibility to account for this time, then the type of suspect we are looking for is all the more difficult. The disabling of her vehicle is simply not enough to explain this murder.

The alley around the corner she died at was known to be a meeting point for students / military guys (those were not welcome in front of RCC by the teachers); read that somewhere..no idea if that is correct but it seems plausible to me somehow.

QT

The question is where did Cheri go in the hours she was missing. If one contends she went in the library just after 6 pm and left shortly thereafter, she was ‘missing’ for 4 hours prior to her murder around 10.30 pm, indicated by screams and the autopsy findings. Despite nobody seeing her in the library at all, even if we contend she left at 9 pm upon closing, she was unaccounted for at least 1 1/2 hours. This is again way too long to account for returning to her Beetle, receiving ‘assistance’, then be subsequently murdered under her assailant’s ruse. Until we understand her whereabouts, or a reasonable possibility to account for this time, then the type of suspect we are looking for is all the more difficult. The disabling of her vehicle is simply not enough to explain this murder.

The time change could be a simple explanation. Many people here forget all about it and discover they forgot to do it when they are late (or early) for work. Guilty myself.

Am I the only one who wonders about a guy who may have had ties to two of Z’s victims, besides Z himself, of course? Leonard?

QT?

Am I the only one who wonders about a guy who may have had ties to two of Z’s victims, besides Z himself, of course? Leonard?

QT?

When you ignore everything that has been presented/discussed, then I’d have to say, yes.

Am I the only one who wonders about a guy who may have had ties to two of Z’s victims, besides Z himself, of course? Leonard?

QT?

When you ignore everything that has been presented/discussed, then I’d have to say, yes.

Up2whatever, now I am getting curious..what has been ‘presented/discussed’ about LEONARD Bates, who went to the same school where Cecilia Shepard’s father used to be a teacher? I cannot remember anybody ever having discussed this Leonard Bates before. So please, if you were so kind, would you deliver me any LINK or information regarding Leonard that has been presented/discussed before?

Thanks.

QT

I thought you were discussing Cheri’s father still. My mistake. If you think it’s worthwhile investigating her cousin (or whomever he is), well then, go right ahead.

QT–

You need to prove Leonard Bates was related, or it’s just some guy with Cheri’s last name….ya know?