Opinion ID: 2671522
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Murder of Cheryl Coker

Text: Cheryl Coker was last seen by her husband on October 30, 1990, as she walked to University Avenue in Riverside to engage in prostitution. On November 6, 1990, her nude body was found in a dumpster located in an industrial area of Riverside. The cause of death was ligature strangulation. On her neck was a single thin ligature mark that was so deep in the front that it cut through the skin. Fingernail marks on her neck were consistent with someone trying to grab the ligature. Due to decomposition, the medical examiner could not identify petechial hemorrhage, but the reddish-brown color of the eyes probably indicated hemorrhaging. There was hemorrhage in the soft tissue under the ligature mark, and there were bruises on her forearms and on the backs of her legs. Her right breast had been excised postmortem, and was found approximately 30 feet away from the dumpster. RFLP testing on DNA on a used condom found near her feet reflected five matches to defendant. The frequency of this combination of matches was one in 540 million Blacks, one in one billion Whites, and one in 150 million Hispanics. Fibers from her pubic area were similar to the carpet in defendant‘s van and to the rope found in his van. A hair from her pubic area was similar to defendant‘s head hair. Shoe impressions found in the vicinity of the dumpster could have been made by a pair of ProWings tennis shoes owned by defendant.