Yates, Robert Lee

Robert Lee Yates
Information summarized and researched by Marianne Wells, Alicia Washburn, Stacy Weil, ,Allison Yancey, Gina Stikes, Tonya Bowles, Holly Matheney, Justin Crenshaw, and Anthony Paulin Department of Psychology Radford University Radford, VA 24142-6946
Date	Age	Life Event
1945		Grandmother kills Grandfather with an ax
1952	0	Born May 27, 1952
1958	6	Molested by an older neighborhood boy
1964	12	Unusual relationship with dominating Mother
1965	13	Father says churchgoing, intelligent, and athletic
1967	14	Joins parents church – Seventh Day Adventist
1969	16	Father says became moody and violent
1970	18	Spring – Graduates Oak Harbor High School in Whidbey Island
		Enters Skagit Valley College 1970-Spring 1972
1972	20	Earns Associate’s degree from Skagit Valley College
		August 27, 1972 marries Shirley Nylander
		Attended college at Walla Walla
1974	19	March – Separates with Shirley Nylander after 18 months of marriage
	22	July 14 – Marries Linda Brewer –annulled because divorce was not final from Nylander
		August 29 – Divorce finalized in King County
		December – Linda gives birth to first born Sasha
1975	23	Summer – Works at Walla Walla Washington State Penitentiary for 3-4 months
		July 13 – Shoots Susan Savage (22) and Patrick Oliver (21) by Mill Creek near Walla Walla – Bodies discovered July 14
		Angry at Pantrol coworker and spreads fecies on business door
1976	24	July 24 – Marries Linda Brewer again in a legal ceremony in Oak Harbor
		October 9 – Mother Anna Marie dies of cancer in Coupeville, Washington
1977	25	October 4 – Enlists in US Army in Seattle
		Daughter Sonja born
1980	28	July – Permission to take firearms outside of US
		July 10 – Takes oath of office and becomes warrant officer at Ft. Rucker, Alabama
		Stationed in Europe, Hanau, Germany (1980-1984)
1981	29	Daughter Amber born
1984	32	Stationed in Ft. Rucker, Alabama – various aviation training battalions (1984-1988)
1988	36	Station in Europe, Geoppingen, Germany (1988-1991)
		December 28 – Body of Stacy E. Hawn (23) found in Skagit County, Washington – Prsotitute, shot once in head – admits to killing
1989	37	Son Kyle born – starts neglecting daughters
1990	38	February 22 – Body of Yolanda Sapp (African American, 26) prostitute
		March 25 – Body of Nickie Lowe (White, 34) prostitute
		May 15 – Body of Kathy Brisbois (White, 38) prostitute
1991	39	Stationed in Ft. Drum, NY – flew helicopters and taught others to fly (1991-1995)
1992	40	May 12 – Body of Sherry Palmer (White, 19) prostitute shot in chest with plastic bag over her head – never charged with this murder
1995	43	Stationed Ft. Rucker, AL
1996	44	August 9 – Tarayon Corbitts (17) male transvestite prostitute body found – shot – suspected but never charged with this murder
		August 18 – Graduated Instructor pilot course
		August 25 – Patricia Barnes (White, 60) Not a prostitute but a street walker
		April 1 – Requests to leave the US Army with Honorable Discharge and received lots of medals
		April – Family moves to Spokane Washington
		Daughter Sonja finds address book in lunch pail soon after Linda found motel receipts- saw women’s names she didn’t recognize – Yates explanation was he was trying to find car parts
	45	June 14 – Body of Shannon Zielinski (White, 39)found shot in the head on Holcomb Road in Mt. Spokane Park Drive
		Linda catches Yates cleaning blood out of van and he claims he hit a dog and it died on the way to the vet
1997		April – Joins the Army National Guard
	46	August 26 – Jennifer Joseph (16) found on Forker & Judkins Rd. and Heather Hernandez (20) found on Springfield Rd. both shot and prostitutes
		September 24 – Stopped for speeding in Corvette but police marked it as a Camaro which causes problems later in investigation
		November – April 2000– National Guard Training Weekends
		November 5 – Darla Scott (White, 28) prostitute found shot with plastic bag over head on Hangman Valley Rd.
		Mean to children, spends money, problems with impotence
		December 7 – Melinda Mercer (White, 34) prostitute found shot with plastic bag over head in South Tacoma
		December 18 – Shawn Johnson (White, 36) bartender/waitress, drug addict found shot with plastic bag over head on Hangman Valley Rd.
		December 26 – Laurie Wason (White, 31) prostitute, drug addict found shot with 3 plastic bags around head-found near Shawn McClenahan (White, 39) prostitute, shot with 3 plastic bags (fingerprints on bag) around head found near 14^th and Carnahan
1998		February 8 – Sunny Oster (White, 41) prostitute, drug addict shot with 3 plastic bags around head on Graham Rd.
		April 1 – Linda Maybin (White, 34) prostitute found shot with plastic bag over head found near Wason and McClanahan near 14^th and Carnahan
		April 13 – DNA proof found on Johnson & Scott verifies same man
		May 12 – Melody Murfin (White, 43) drug addict reported missing and found October 16, 2000 – shot with plastic bag around head and buried near Yates bedroom window at 600 S. Napa
	47	July 7 – Michelyn Derning (White, 47) prostitute, drug addict found naked shot in vacant lot at 218 N. Crestline
		Starts seeing Aloha Ingrahm for over 1 year – they do drugs together and has no impotence problem
	47	August 1 – Attempted murder of Christine Smith who escaped bullet and reported being assaulted and robbed while working as a prostitute
		September – Pulled over with Jennifer Robinshon in car and claimed she was friend’s daughter he was taking home
		Police started to investigate types of bags found on victims heads
		September 19 – Would not submit DNA sample after being stopped by the cops because the request was too extreme for a family man
		September 24 – Composite sketch of serial killer released in Spokane
		October 13 – Connie LaFontaine Ellis (White, ) prostitute shot with plastic bag over head found in South Tacoma
		November 12 – Sonja & Amber call police on Father and citation issued for Domestic Violence – charges later dropped to misdemeanor assault
		December – Hired at Kaiser Aluminum Plant and takes job as replacement worker and works as a carbon setter which is a very physical job and trains as a crane operator
1999		March 17 – Yates picks up Cheryl Sickerman but doesn’t harm and he is asked to come in for questioning
2000		April 18 – Arrested while on the way to work for the murder of Jennifer Joseph; found fibers, button, and blood in corvette
		May 18 – Charged 7 counts of murder and 1 count of attempted murder
	48	July 17 – Charged with 2 counts of murder in Pierce County for the Tacoma killings – sentenced to death
		October 19 – Pleads guilty to 13 counts of murder and 1 count of attempted murder as part of a plea bargain to save him from the death penalty
		October 26 – Sentenced by Judge to 408 years in Spokane
		Christine Lanae Smith recognized Yates on tv – She was one of the few that escaped
2001	49	May – Linda and kids remain in contact with Yates; Linda says she can’t divorce him
2002	50	August 12- Pierce County trial begins for the murder of Melinda Mercer and Connie LaFontaine Ellis
		September 20 – Jury convicts Yates on 2 counts of aggravated first degree murder
		October 4 – Sentenced to death by lethal injection
		November 4 – Arrives on death row at Washington State Penitentiary where he once worked as a guard
		Case on appeal
General Information
Sex			Male
Race			White
Number of victims			Suspected of over 18 murders, charged with 15
Country where killing occurred			United States
States where killing occurred			Washington
Childhood Information
Date of birth			May 27, 1952
Location			Whidbey Island, Washington
Birth order			N/A
Number of siblings			Only Child
XYY?			No
Raised by			Both parents
Birth category			Only child
Parent’s marital status			Married
Family event			Mother died while Yates in High School
Age of family event			24
Problems in school?			N/A
Teased while in school?			N/A
Physically attractive?			Yes
Physical defect?			N/A
Speech defect?			N/A
Head injury?			N/A
Physically abused?			N/A
Psychologically abused?			Unusual Relationship with Dominating Mother
Sexually abused?			Molested by neighbor
Father’s occupation			N/A
Age of first sexual experience			6
Age when first had intercourse			N/A
Mother’s occupation			N/A
Father abused drugs/alcohol			N/A
Mother abused drugs/alcohol			N/A
Cognitive Ability
Highest grade in school			12
Highest degree			Diploma
Grades in school			Average
IQ			N/A
Work History
Served in the military?			Yes
Branch			Army, National Guard
Type of discharge			Honorable
Saw combat duty			Desert Storm
Killed enemy during service?			N/A
Applied for job as a cop?			No
Worked in law enforcement?			Prison guard
Fired from jobs?			Yes
Types of jobs worked			Factory Work
Employment status during series			Employed
Relationships
Sexual preference			Hetero
Marital status			Married
Number of children			5
Lives with his children			Yes
Living with			Spouse
Triad
Animal torture			No
Fire setting			No
Bed wetting			No
Killer Psychological Information
Abused drugs?			Yes with prostitutes later in life
Abused alcohol?			No
Been to a psychologist?			No
Time in forensic hospital?			No
Diagnosis			N/A
Killer Criminal History
Committed previous crimes?			No
Spend time in jail?			No
Spend time in prison?			No
Killed prior to series? Age?			Not Known For Sure – May have overseas and killed Susan Savage and Patrick Oliver at 23
Serial Killing
Number of victims			Suspected over 18 – Charged with 15
Victim type			Prostitutes
Killer age at start of series			36
Gender of victims			Female
Race of victims			Mostly White
Age of victims			16-60
Method of killing			Gunshot
Type of serial killer			Mostly Organized
How close did killer live?			Drove to crime
Killing occurred in home of victim?			No
Killing occurred in home of killer?			No
Weapon			Killer brought with him
Behavior During Crimes
Rape?			Yes
Tortured victims?			No
Stalked victims?			Couldn’t be determined
Overkill?			No
Quick & efficient?			Yes
Used blindfold?			No but placed bags over head after death
Bound the victims?			No
After Death Behavior
Sex with the body?			Yes
Mutilated body?			No
Ate part of the body?			No
Drank victim’s blood?			No
Posed the body?			No
Took totem – body part			No
Took totem – personal item			Yes but never recovered
Robbed victim or location			Yes
Disposal of Body
Left at scene, no attempt to hide			Yes
Left at scene, hidden			No
Left at scene, buried			No
Moved, no attempt to hide			Yes
Moved, buried			Yes
Cut-op and disposed of			No
Moved, too home			Yes
Sentencing
Date killer arrested			April 18,2000
Date convicted			October 26, 2000 and September 20, 2002
Sentence			408 years in prison
Killer executed?			No
Name and state of prison			Washington State Penitentiary at Walla Walla
Killer committed suicide?			No
Killer killed in prison?			No
Date of death			N/A
Summary of Robert Lee Yates At first glance, Robert Lee Yates seems like a typical middle aged American man. He is married and a father of five. He grew up in Whidbey Island, Washington where he came from a solid, loving home with encouraging and supportive parents. He had a strong moral upbringing and Christian teaching from the time he could walk. He was an obedient child, dedicated student and team player on the Oak Harbor High School football team. Yates was also a military helicopter pilot and National Guardsman. However, there is another side to Robert Lee Yates. He is a convicted murderer and it is unknown exactly but estimated that Yates has killed over 18 women. Most of his victims were prostitutes who were involved with drugs. He would shoot them, usually in the head and tie plastic bags around their heads. Then he would dump their bodies after he was done. Yates’ is suspected of taking totems from his victims because money, identification, purses or wallets and a few other items were never recovered from the victims. The most prolific serial killer over sentenced in Washington State now sits on death row.
References Barer, Burl (2002). Body Count. NY: Pinnacle. crime.about.com/library/weekly/aa-spokabe.htm http://darkday.tripod.com/q-z/Yates.html www.courttv.com/onair/shows/mugshots/indepth/yates.html www.crimelibray.com www.karisable.com/skazyates.htm www.mayhem.net/crime/yates.html Morlin, Bill & White, Jeanette (2001). Bad Trick: The Hunt for the Spokane’s Serial Killer. NY: New Media Ventures.