Retired Lieutenant Pushes Final Push to Solve 1966 Campus Stabbing

Ken Welty believes the time to catch the person who killed his friend Cheri Jo Bates is now.

Welty, 78, and Bates' brother, Michael Bates, 79, have spent the last three decades gathering evidence for the cold case. They recently established a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. The two men, who have never met in person until this month, are working to keep the case active after six decades of silence.

Bates was an 18-year-old student at Riverside City College when she was stabbed to death on October 30, 1966. A janitor found her body at 6:32 a.m. the next day in an alley between Terracina Drive and Fairfax Avenue. A man's watch was recovered nearby, which detectives believe was ripped from the suspect's wrist during a struggle.

Welty, a retired Los Angeles Police Department homicide lieutenant, said he has not officially investigated the crime but has collected police reports and letters from citizens with theories. He noted that detectives believe Bates knew her attacker and that she was likely walking willingly with him when she was killed. The Riverside Police Department is currently re-examining DNA and fingerprint evidence using new technology, according to Police Chief Larry Gonzalez.

Theories have circulated for years that the Zodiac Killer, who operated in the San Francisco Bay Area, was responsible. However, a handwritten letter pointing to the Zodiac was retracted by the author in 2016. Current police focus remains on a person of interest identified early in the investigation who has remained the primary suspect.

Michael Bates, a former electrician, said he learned of his sister's death while watching a movie in 1966. He has received numerous tips from amateur investigators, including one from a man in England who sent a packet of findings and another from a Louisiana woman whose son claimed responsibility before dying. Bates described these leads as frustrating but necessary to keep the case alive.

Welty said he hopes to see progress before he passes away, noting that he and Bates were 18 years old when she died. He is satisfied that he has done what he can as an outsider to keep the memory of the case strong.