With ross mental issues could he have been manipulated into committing the cjb homicide…

One detail in the confession letter was "A small knife at her throat".
I don’t think it was known she was murdered with a small knife.

thanks Morf. i love the way some people on this site leave out
relevant information to suit their story. it was mentioned in the
letter sent by Riverside to Napa. i think 3 1/2 inch blade. i call that
nothing but a pocket knife. i can’t imagine planning ahead to kill someone
with a knife that small. most likely, that would be heat of the moment.
also, where she was found was between 2 vacant houses the College
had bought for future growth. wouldn’t it seem that the killer would
have known this. which again points towards anything but random.
most likely he knew her, her car, something about Volkswagens and
the library itself. now, i wonder who fits that description?

bbp—What about Monarch’s post did you feel relevant to yours? Am I missing something?

the size of the knife. when was this information made public?
the confession letter refers to, "a small knife." if that info had
not already been made public, most likely the letter-writer
was also the killer. does that male any sense?

Two considerations: 1. That the RCC Library was open on Sunday night. How many people other than RCC students/faculty/employees would have known that?
2. That the "Wing Walker" footprints found at the scene of Cheri’s death, and suggestive that her killer was service-related (probably Navy) were also the type of
footprints found at Lake Berryessa in 1969?

Is this thread derailed once again?

Do we really have to debate the possibility that Z might be involved?

Tahoe: Maybe the "clear vision" of the photo doesn’t look like Cheri to you, but the one on the cover of the college paper sure looks like her to me. And, it does to several others I’ve discussed it with, including one guy who knew her back when. I don’t remember his name, but he said he’d bought her VW, and some papers of hers were still in the glove compartment. Wish I’d asked him what they were!

One of the photographers for the year book was Bob Hayes. possibly took Cheri`s photo. linking : undersheriff Bob Hayes was also in the papers regarding the SLA and someone trying to have a gun registered? Sheriff`s Capt Robert Hayes was in the papers regarding findings at a Santa Rosa hitchiker murder. and something about finding an earing from one of the victims? Cutting to the chase could it be the same Guy.. pretty common name though. But if we are looking for RH`s this is one of them. Photography a hint some place as well? and LE and crime scene knowledge if it be the same guy.

Is this thread derailed once again?

Do we really have to debate the possibility that Z might be involved?

It’s pretty amazing how whenever talking about Z some people simply can’t stay on topic. It’s a wonder why case was never solved.

There aren’t any details in the letter which were known only by the killer and the cops. The only possible detail is the phone call, but RPD have never confirmed that they received any such call. I don’t think they did, personally: They seem to doubt the letter themselves, which they wouldn’t have if a call had actually been made.

RPD thought there were such details at the time. They just decided that the letter came from their suspect. At least that’s what FBI docs indicate. They seemed to change their mind as it became increasingly clear that Z wrote the letters and not their suspect. Maybe they were mistaken. Or maybe they wanted to explain away the letter by disconnecting it to the crime.

Two considerations: 1. That the RCC Library was open on Sunday night. How many people other than RCC students/faculty/employees would have known that?
2. That the "Wing Walker" footprints found at the scene of Cheri’s death, and suggestive that her killer was service-related (probably Navy) were also the type of
footprints found at Lake Berryessa in 1969?

Wing walker boot prints were NOT found at Cheri’s crime scene

There aren’t any details in the letter which were known only by the killer and the cops. The only possible detail is the phone call, but RPD have never confirmed that they received any such call. I don’t think they did, personally: They seem to doubt the letter themselves, which they wouldn’t have if a call had actually been made.

RPD thought there were such details at the time. They just decided that the letter came from their suspect. At least that’s what FBI docs indicate. They seemed to change their mind as it became increasingly clear that Z wrote the letters and not their suspect. Maybe they were mistaken. Or maybe they wanted to explain away the letter by disconnecting it to the crime.

I think that this is due to the Bates case prints or DNA not matching Z case prints or DNA. I think at some point they likely cross checked them and if there was no match it would explain why RPD simply thought Z only wrote the letters in her case

Morf wrote,
"Wing walker boot prints were NOT found at Cheri’s crime scene."

the letter that Riverside PD sent to Napa PD seems to say otherwise?
something to the effect they had a Air Force base nearby and a heel
print was found that matched the shoes they sold to their personnel.
if this is true, it seems to be a significant clue.

There are many types of military shoes/boots, the letter does not specify "wing walkers" only that the heel of the shoe print matched a shoe that was sold at the Air Force base. We cannot extrapolate that to mean the shoe print was a "wing walker".

RPD must have seen some connection. it may have been the main reason
they saw a similarity between their case and LB? on a similar vein. with Ross’
weight, and being on his feet a lot as a librarian and a dishwasher, wouldn’t
those be shoes he might likely wear. if you were into style back then, you
wore penny loafers. but if comfort was the deal, you wore Bates Floaters
or WingWalkers. i still think it and the size of the knife used to kill CJB are
very important clues. if any of our members should talk to someone that
knew Ross back in the day, maybe they could ask if they remember him
wearing shoes like that?

There were (very) different sizes.