Ross Sullivan

[Tahoe27]

It could be a whole lot of unnecessary assuming though.

What if his alibi was that he was proven to be in Florida or something? He is an interesting suspect, don't get me wrong, I just think there could be a lot more we don't know so we shouldn't jump to conclusions.

[JeffP]

It could be a whole lot of unnecessary assuming though.

What if his alibi was that he was proven to be in Florida or something? He is an interesting suspect, don't get me wrong, I just think there could be a lot more we don't know so we shouldn't jump to conclusions.

I doubt his alibi was that he wasn't there as the librarians stated he was seen as his usual location on the Friday before the murder.

[morf13]

It could be a whole lot of unnecessary assuming though.

What if his alibi was that he was proven to be in Florida or something? He is an interesting suspect, don't get me wrong, I just think there could be a lot more we don't know so we shouldn't jump to conclusions.

I doubt his alibi was that he wasn't there as the librarians stated he was seen as his usual location on the Friday before the murder.

He was there before her murder,and then was not seen for weeks after, which seems unusual in itself,since he was a fixture there. Seems something made him stay away. Personally, I like how Jo Ann stated that "if I saw him again, with different clothes on, in my mind he would be guilty, and low and behold he had different clothes on". It's funny in a way, but in a way, I take her serious. Something about Ross got her attention,to the point, she made mental notes of certain things, and also noted the timing of changes to his usual routines & habits.

[snooter]

my gut says dear old dad the preacher gave the alibi..if that is the case RS would never have been considered a serious POI...

[JeffP]

It could be a whole lot of unnecessary assuming though.

What if his alibi was that he was proven to be in Florida or something? He is an interesting suspect, don't get me wrong, I just think there could be a lot more we don't know so we shouldn't jump to conclusions.

I doubt his alibi was that he wasn't there as the librarians stated he was seen as his usual location on the Friday before the murder.

He was there before her murder,and then was not seen for weeks after, which seems unusual in itself,since he was a fixture there. Seems something made him stay away. Personally, I like how Jo Ann stated that "if I saw him again, with different clothes on, in my mind he would be guilty, and low and behold he had different clothes on". It's funny in a way, but in a way, I take her serious. Something about Ross got her attention,to the point, she made mental notes of certain things, and also noted the timing of changes to his usual routines & habits.

And also keep in mind that Gerald Katz and other of Tim's friends ALWAYS suspected that Ross was responsible too, according to Katz himself. He says that Ross left Riverside fairly early in 1967 (probably only returned only to get his transcripts). Then there is the confession by Ross' brother to Katz that he felt Ross was responsible. All of this information was VOLUNTEERED by Katz. No one sought him out (he only provided more details when I emailed him). Everything else Katz said was true and unlocked a whole bunch of information that has led us here. So I believe him when he said that Tim believed Ross was the killer of Cheri Jo and the Zodiac. Gerald isn't some quack, he is an alternative energy/solar energy specialist. He owns his own business in Riverside and is adviser to the local power company. So, the question is, why would Tim believe this?

Important facts: that Ross knew Cheri Jo Bates, something even the Librarians didn't know. That Ross' brother, Tim, married Bates' close friend from high school, Bonnie Bartlett (who were the same year). That Bates became engaged in San Francisco about one or two weeks after Tim and Bonnie married in San Francisco and then ended up dead a week after that. The timing there is what stands out to me.

My guess: Ross had a crush on Cheri Jo going back to when Bonnie first started dating Tim in 1963 or so. But she was WAY above his league and gave him "brush offs" and wouldn't talk to him. Then he sees her at Riverside City College and perhaps, once again, makes an overture. She, again, refuses him. Or perhaps she pretends she doesn't even know him and brushes him off. His brother marries and a jealous, vengeful Ross (five years older than his brother and probably never having had a real girlfriend despite his constant attempts at trying) hears that Cheri Jo is engaged to some jock (who had previously attended RCC when Ross was there). So...he gets his revenge on her.

Re-read the "confession" letter. There are a lot of clues there.

I think the Riverside Police had the right idea about what happened, about it being personal and angry, but they just had the wrong suspect.

[JeffP]

my gut says dear old dad the preacher gave the alibi..if that is the case RS would never have been considered a serious POI...

Could be, but Dad was in NY. Did Ross tell them that he was in NYC and Dad corroborated?

[JeffP]

my gut says dear old dad the preacher gave the alibi..if that is the case RS would never have been considered a serious POI...

Could be, but Dad was in NY. Did Ross tell them that he was in NYC and Dad corroborated?

Might Ross have traveled all the way to NYC after the murder, and that was why he wasn't seen for a couple of weeks?

[morf13]

Well, I for one have never seen a full police report, or anything else that clears Ross, or gives him an alibi. Has it really ever been confirmed? And the souce of the alibi, with all due respect, is simply all guess work. He could have just as easily gotten an alibi from somebody else, or maybe one of the people at the YMCA, etc, but who knows, maybe he never really got questioned by police. Remember, these Library women suspected him, but this letter was not given to Howard Davis until the 1990's, I believe. Did they go to the police immediately after the attack with their suspicion?

[morf13]

At this point, we are going to need something solid about Ross. Some forms that he hand printed, would be great. Additional info from Friends or Family ,etc. These are things that will be needed to get real far. I had hoped that one of his former classmates would respond to me. I reached out to at least a dozen of his fellow seniors in his yearbook asking if they remembered him, and not one answered. Would love to find out he did a nice written note in a yearbook

[Paul_Averly]

One thing that is troubling is that Ross was cremated back in 1977. Meaning no DNA.

Maybe the brother can have his DNA checked against what RPD has. Then again this might make him a suspect if it matches.