$100,000 reward offered for 1966 campus stabbing
Retired police lieutenant Ken Welty and the victim's brother are seeking new leads after six decades of silence.
By Ivan Mori ·
Ken Welty stands in his Cypress home holding a page from his 1964 Ramona High yearbook. A note at the bottom of the page was written by his classmate Cheri Jo Bates. She signed it before her sophomore year ended. Two years later, she was dead.
On October 30, 1966, an 18-year-old student at Riverside City College was stabbed to death on campus. Her body was discovered in an alley on Halloween. The case remains unsolved. Welty, now 78, has helped establish a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
Welty, a retired Los Angeles Police Department homicide lieutenant, said he is mounting a final effort to find the killer. He has collected newspaper clippings, Bates’ death certificate, and police reports. He has also contacted the media. He said he does not have access to inside information but wants to keep the story alive. He believes somebody knows something.
Cheri Jo Bates moved to Riverside from Nebraska in 1958. Her brother, Michael Bates, said she was a cheerleader who wanted to be an airline stewardess. Michael, 79, said he learned of his sister’s death while watching a movie in the Navy. He has worked with Welty for 30 years. The two men met in person for the first time this month.
Witnesses said Bates was walking away from her disabled car with someone she knew. A man’s watch was found nearby. A janitor found her body at 6:32 a.m. on October 31. Police believe she put up a strong struggle. The watch was likely ripped from the suspect’s wrist.
Detectives previously linked the case to the Zodiac Killer based on a handwritten letter from 1967. The author recanted that claim in 2016. Police now believe Bates likely knew her assailant. Her boyfriend was cleared because he was out of town. A person of interest has remained the primary suspect for years.
Police Chief Larry Gonzalez told KABC/7 that detectives are using new technology to examine DNA and fingerprint evidence. The department declined to discuss the case with the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin this month. Welty said he is satisfied with their efforts. He pointed to a photograph of Bates and said she would not be forgotten.
