September | 2002 | MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL

Robert Lee Yates, Jr., Army National Guard Retired (photo: Ranker)

The Victims:
July 13, 1975: Patrick Oliver
July 13, 1975: Susan Savage
December 28, 1988: Stacy E. Hawn
August 25, 1996: Patricia Barnes
June 14, 1996: Shannon Zielinski
August 26, 1997: Heather Hernandez
August 26, 1997: Jennifer Joseph
November 5, 1997: Darla Scott
December 7, 1997: Melinda Mercer
December 18, 1997: Shawn Johnson
December 26, 1997: Laurie Wason
February 8, 1998: Sunny Oster
April 1, 1998: Linda Maybin
May 12, 1998: Melody Murfin
July 7, 1998: Michelyn Derning
October 13, 1998: Connie LaFontaine Ellis

Source: Robert Lee Yates | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers

Click here for another list of Victims of Robert Lee Yates from Serial Killers Podcast.

“According to the Spokane Spokesman-Review, the German federal police are looking into the deaths of 26 prostitutes with assistance from U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Command.Yates, a former Navy helicopter pilot, was stationed in Goeppingen, Germany, from 1988 to 1991. The FBI has found the black van he allegedly owned in Germany and has searched it for evidence.” –Whidbey News-Times (October 18, 2000)

UPDATE: Washington State Supreme Court Outlawed Death Penalty; Serial Killer Robert Yates’ Death Sentence Converted To Life in Prison (October 11, 2018)

ROBERT LEE YATES

Number of confirmed victims: At least 15
Years and location: 1970s-1990s, Washington state
Characteristics: A married father of five who flew helicopters in the Army and the National Guard, Yates predominantly preyed on prostitutes. One of the victims was buried in Yates’ yard.
Arrest, conviction and sentence: Arrested on April 18, 2000. Yates was arrested after police matched fibers found on the body of a dead prostitute to Yates’ car, which also had blood on the seatbelt and seat. DNA testing and other evidence linked Yates to at least 12 murders. He later pleaded guilty to 13 killings in exchange for a life sentence (408 years) in lieu of the death penalty. In 2002, he was convicted of two additional murders in a different county and sentenced to death. Yates’ attorneys have repeatedly appealed the ruling but he remains on death row awaiting execution at the Washington State Penitentiary.

Source: Serial Killers Fast Facts (CNN)

In the News:

Melissa speaks with the daughters of Robert Lee Yates Jr, who murdered at least 13 people in Washington State. (2015)

Robert Lee Yates Jr’s family members share their memories of the serial killer. (2015)

Spokane Serial Killer Robert Yates will be learning Thursday whether or not his death penalty conviction for the murders of two women near Tacoma will be overturned by the Washington State Supreme Court. KXLY4’s Jeff Humphrey reports. (2007)

In a majority opinion the Washington State Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from Spokane Serial Killer Robert Yates and upheld his death sentence for the murders of two women in Pierce County in the late 1990s. (2007)

Attorneys for convicted Spokane Serial Killer Robert Yates have filed their application for a stay of his execution which is scheduled for later this month. (2008)

Spokane Serial Killer Robert Yates has been transferred from death row in Walla Walla to Pierce County where he will be in court Friday as Judge John McCarthy signs his death warrant. KXLY4’s Jeff Humphrey reports. (2008)

Kathy Lloyd feared that Robert Yates would live longer than her. He killed her sister, Shawn McLenahan. Now a Tacoma judge will sign Yates’ death warrant, and Lloyd is hoping Yates will die soon. KXLY4’s Sally Showman reports. (2008)

Back in the mid 1990’s when Robert Yates was stalking Spokane prostitutes another serial killer was making regular visits to the city. A new book reveals the “Happy Face Killer” often traveled to Spokane where the long haul trucker would spend time with his children. KXLY4’s Jeff Humphrey reports. (2010)

Spokane Serial Killer Robert Yates is claiming he had ineffective legal counsel in his latest appeal of his death sentence for the killings of two women in Pierce County in the late 1990s. KXLY4’s Melissa Luck reports. (2013)

On August 26, 1997, the half-naked body of prostitute Heather Hernandez, 20 was found in an empty lot in Spokane Washington. The same day, the decomposed corpse of prostitute Jennifer Joseph, 16, was discovered in an alfalfa field. Both women had been shot in the head. The day after Christmas, four more women were found with plastic bags tied over their heads, the gruesome signature of a killer who had sexually violated each one of them, after they had died. When the killer is finally arrested he turns out to be a devoted husband, a father of five, a National Guard helicopter pilot and a Desert Storm veteran. Robert Lee Yates Jr. is charged for 13 murders. (2013)

Investigation Discovery:

A serial killer plagues Spokane, Washington, claiming the lives of more than a dozen victims. The reexamination of an old clue finally helps investigators zero in on the murderer. -Monster in Spokane, Unusual Suspects (S1,E6)

ID Go: The Yates family moves to Spokane, WA only to find it besieged by a serial killer who’s targeting young women and confounding the police. Now, the family’s never-before-aired home videos provide a chilling look of one of America’s most notorious killers. -Family Snapshot, American Monster (S2, E2)

ID Go: Tony Harris pieces together the 1990 case of three prostitutes killed in Spokane, Washington, and discovers a pattern of murders connected by twenty-two caliber bullets, a killing spree that shocked a city and a suspect with a stunning new identity. -Down by the River, Scene of the Crime with Tony Harris (S2, E1)

Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.

Down by the River | Scene of the Crime with Tony Harris | ID
Family Snapshot | American Monster | Investigation Discovery
Monster in Spokane | Unusual Suspects | Investigation Discovery
Spokane Serial Killer: Robert Lee Yates | Monster in My Family | AETV
These Home Videos Of The Yates Family Are A Prelude To Terrifying Trauma That Would Come
12 Terrifying Facts about Robert Lee Yates – The Most Deranged Killer
Monster in My Family: Robert Lee Yates Jr’s Daughters Speak Out
Monster in My Family: Yates Family Home Movies
Supreme Court to rule on Serial Killer’s appeal (2007)
Supreme Court upholds Yates death sentence (2007)
Spokane Serial Killer files for stay of execution (2008)
Judge to sign serial killer’s death warrant (2008)
Yates’ death still won’t bring closure to sister of victim (2008)
Daughter’s book sheds new insight into “Happy Face Killer” (2010)
Serial killer Robert Yates claims ineffective counsel in latest death penalty appeal (2013)
Most Shocking Murders : The Spokane Serial Killer (2013)
Watch Spokane Serial Killer: Robert Lee Yates – Monster in My Family | LMN

MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL

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Monthly Archives: September 2002

September: U.S. Department of Defense Casualties Report (2002)

Retired Army National Guard Pilot & Serial Killer Robert Lee Yates, Jr. Convicted of 2 More Murders in Washington; Sentenced to Death (September 19, 2002)