He even worked as an usher in a movie theater, says Gatti, who started logging after he got back from the war. Miles Merrill, who learned to teach flying from Yates, thought the man he spent time with seven hours a day for eight weeks was a single parent. [11][12], Stacy Elizabeth Hawn The military, at that time, was diminishing its numbers, and so Robert was granted an early retirement with full pension and benefits. Oster, a mother of two, was last seen in October; she disappeared the day after completing a drug treatment program. [35][36][37][32][20], Melody Ann Murfin In 1970, he graduated from Oak Harbor High School. Its Day 99. April 18, 2000 - Yates is arrested on the way to work. [51][50], In July 2015, the Washington Supreme Court once again rejected an effort by Yates to overturn his conviction and death sentence. Robert Lee Yates pleaded guilty to murdering 13 women in Spokane, Washington, killing them and dumping their bodies in rural areas. However, there is another side to Robert Lee Yates. During the interview, Yates said that whenever he thinks of his five children, he imagines them as teenagers. Law enforcement officers in many of those places are studying unsolved crimes to see if Yates might be involved. Fall 1970 - Goes to Skagit Valley Community College. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. 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Former landlords in College Place don't remember him. "There's absolutely no doubt," says Sterk, adding that DNA links Yates to eight of the deaths. Linda Yates left Robert Yates for one month early in their marriage and again for one year in the mid 1980s. In Spokane, the family rented a modest brown home on the South Hill, in a cul-de-sac subdivision with manicured bushes and tulips and ranch homes that stretch for blocks. Yates had three cars, and he fiddled with them and washed them in front of his home. He was anything but atypical. Al Gatti, who was close friends with Robert Lee Yates Jr. in high school, said they spent a lot of their free time together fishing, hiking, hunting, and even working odd jobs to make extra money. He learned to be an instructor pilot for the OH-58, the Kiowa, at the time the Army's primary observation helicopter. He threw the coffee on the other crew members as they waited to punch out. The house has been assessed at $113,000. They celebrate the Sabbath on Saturday. European newspapers call him the "notorious Washington Ripper." Yates pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder in that attack. He was posted internationally as well, and some of the countries he went to were Germany, and eventually, Haiti and Somalia for UN peacekeeping missions. He sang in the choir, pitched baseballs, hunted deer. And after their five kids came along, he was a doting dad who enjoyed fishing and camping trips. He told a neighbor he thought he'd be a bus driver. Jay Inslee, the Governor of Washington, stated that he would not sign any death warrants for convicts who had been given the death penalty. The couple went on to have four daughters and one son. 5. He also confessed to two murders committed in Walla Walla in 1975 and a 1988 murder committed in Skagit County. On the surface, Yates seemed like a fairly "normal" man. On the day of his arrest, law enforcement officials entered their house early in the morning to search for evidence of his crimes. Yates confessed to the killings in October as part of a deal to escape the death penalty. Meanwhile, in September of that year, the police asked Yates for a DNA sample, which he refused to give because it was an insinuating and extreme request from a family man. Late that spring, another prostitute was found shot to death. He crossed a strike picket line to work 12-hour shifts at Kaiser Aluminum, a hot, ear-splitting smelting plant. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. In March 1999, Yates tried to get a job flying helicopters for Spokane's air-ambulance service, but no positions were available. He also seemed to have a talent for writing poetry. Kari & Associates Robert Lee Yates, Jr. Neighbors joked that if they parked a car out front, maybe he'd wash that one, too. A mother-of-pearl button was found that matched one missing from Joseph's jacket. Once, Yates told Gatti that what ticked him off about his religion was he couldn't eat the pork spare ribs at a local buffet. Addressing the court Monday, Richard Rotter apologized for killing Officer Dan Rocha last year: I have fallen.. And I said, Oh my God. I turned ice cold," Linda Yates said. October 1981 to February 1984 - Yates is a helicopter pilot in the 503rd Aviation Unit in Europe. On August 1, 1998, Christine Smith filed a police report for assault and robbery after she was hit in the head during a sex act. [5] Many of his subsequent victims were prostitutes working along East Sprague Avenue who had substance abuse issues, and Yates would often do drugs with them and other prostitutes. Oct 3, 2002. Saw things through quite well. Yates bought a new home for $122,000, a tan split-level about a mile away from the rental. Women's bodies started showing up along the Spokane River in 1990. [47] A September 19, 2008 execution date was stayed by Chief Justice Gerry L. Alexander pending additional appeals. Otherwise, Yates flourished in the Army. September 1997 - Driving a white Corvette, Yates is stopped for a traffic violation near East Sprague Avenue, the strip of town where prostitutes work. Someone spilled coffee in his hard hat, and Yates shouted, jokingly at first, and then seriously. In 1990, he returns to the United States to take a survival course. The quiet husband and father's 18 slayings were so horrible that he was sentenced . He didn't dispute it - in July 1974, a month before his divorce was final, Yates married Linda Brewer. As reported by Kitsap Sun, Yates' family described him as "a loving, caring and sensitive son, a fun-loving and giving brother, [and] an understanding, generous and dedicated father.". Mercer did not have a criminal record, nor any ties to prostitution, and reportedly worked as a waitress. His divorce from Nylander is not yet final. The prosecution sought the death penalty for the deaths of Melinda L. Mercer in 1997, and Connie Ellis in 1998, which were thought to be linked to the killings in Spokane County. The family moved to Cortez in 1974 and he attended Lewis-Arriola Elementary School, Cortez Junior High School and graduated from M-CHS in 1985. . Given the publicity surrounding the arrest, Fasy is likely to seek a change of venue to move the case out of Spokane County but wonders whether his client will be able to get a fair trial anywhere in Washington state. Also under investigation are the deaths of Darrin Wade Gehrke, 23, in 1995 and the disappearance of Linda Fisher Moran, 27, in December 1976. According to a website he established in his childrens memory, Yates is a former NASA engineer who remarried after divorcing Andrea a few years after the killings. The newlyweds moved to College Place, where they enrolled in Walla Walla College, a Seventh-day Adventist school. March 1999 - Yates picks up a prostitute in his Honda Civic for oral sex, according to court documents. On December 26, 1997, the bodies of Shawn McClenahan, 39, and Laurie Wason, 31, were found in a gully in Spokane. Yates was also a military helicopter pilot and National Guardsman. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. She was shot five days earlier according to detectives. A medical doctor by profession, his victims had fittingly consisted mostly of nurses. He is one of hundreds interviewed and asked for blood samples. They were shot and dumped like yesterday's yard clippings. After high school, Yates bounced from job to job, town to town, never straying too far from Oak Harbor. January 2000 - Detectives track down the white Corvette, parked in the garage of Jones' sister, who works for the Spokane police. Kim Barker's phone message number is 206-464-2255. Those who do recall a quiet boy who turned in assignments when they were due, the average Joe, the pitcher. Both women were shot twice in the head and their heads were wrapped with three plastic bags each. November 1997 - Yates is cited for speeding in his Corvette, about 2.5 miles from where a slain woman's body was found three weeks earlier. They thought they were actually seeking a white Camaro and let him go. Despite his outward appearance, something sinister was lurking under the surface of the killer's seemingly ordinary exterior. However, she felt guilty about splitting up the father from his daughters and moved back in with him. There are no openings. Gatti and Yates hunted deer together. During this school year, Sasha Yates, his oldest daughter, was enrolled in a middle school in Walla Walla. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. During his first trial in 2000, Yates took a plea bargain in which he pleaded guilty to 13 counts of first-degree murder in exchange for 408 years in prison, effectively avoiding the death penalty. At this time, the military was reducing its numbers, so he received full retirement despite being short of the customary 20 years served. On November 5, 1997, the partially decayed remains of Darla Scott, 29, were found in a shallow grave near a golf course in Spokane. April 1996 - Yates moves to Spokane without a job, rents a house with his wife and five children. She described the man as about 50 years old, 5'10" tall, 175 pounds, with sandy blond hair. He would say, `I think there might be a better way,' " Merrill says. Robert Yates was arrested for murder and detectives searched the entire property. Teenagers cruised the downtown strip in their cars; they called it "dragging the gut.". They were just trying to get some fresh meat.". He and his wife had six children, including Yates' mother, Anna Mae. He flew helicopters and once shot a pig from one. There, he taught helicopter pilots how to teach soldiers to fly OH-58 helicopters. 7 What did Rusty Yates say about Andrea Yates? [4], Yates' first murders were committed in 1975, when he shot and killed two college students who were picnicking. Authorities expect to bring additional charges in the deaths of other women within the next two weeks. As an adult, he was a man's man, a soldier. The couple went on to have four daughters and one son. [38][39][40], Michelyn Joann Derning The family settled in Spokane, Washington, and Robert was seen as a doting father as well. What kind of pickleball paddle does Kyle Yates use? But evidence ties Yates to the deaths of 11 more women killed since 1996 in Spokane and Tacoma, says Spokane County Sheriff Mark Sterk. In the months following Robert Yates' arrest and incarceration, the couple was forced to file bankruptcy. By the time Yates moved to town, five women were already dead. As reported by Seattle Times, Robert Lee Yates Jr.'s parents were devout Seventh-Day Adventists, and Robert joined the church when he was 14 years old. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. In July 2015, the Washington Supreme Court refused to change Yatess sentence. It was Linda Yates first interview since the arrest of her husband in Spokane the morning of April 18. He declined to comment on the specifics of the case: "The place where I do battle is in the courtroom.". He earned several commendation and service medals during his military career, including the US Army Master Aviator Badge. "Especially when he said he was going hunting, and he was dressed up nice and had cologne on," she told "Dateline." Henry Youderian first spotted Whidbey Island in World War I, when he was in the Army cavalry, stationed at Fort Casey. Whidbey Island is full of Youderians. The reexamination of an old clue finally helps investigators zero in on the murderer. He pleaded guilty for his crimes as part of a plea bargain so as to not receive the death penalty. 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