3 years later: No arrests in Cheryl Coker homicide case

RIVERSIDE — It’s been three years since a Riverside mother disappeared only to be found dead in rural Greene County by a mushroom hunter last year.

Cheryl Coker went missing Oct. 2, 2018 after dropping off her daughter at Stebbins High School.

The next day, investigators found her vehicle in the Kroger parking lot at Spinning and Burkhardt streets.

>> Cheryl Coker: Autopsy shows cause of death suggests ‘homicidal violence’

In February 2019, Riverside police told News Center 7 Cheryl Coker’s disappearance was now being investigated as a homicide and named her husband William Coker as a suspect. William Coker has never been charged in connection to the case.

Last April, Cheryl Coker’s remains were found off Waynesville Jamestown Road.

>>Cheryl Coker case: Riverside police name suspect, call disappearance a homicide

An autopsy report reviewed by News Center 7 suggested homicidal violence played a role in Cheryl Coker’s death, but the medical examiner could not determine an exact cause of her death.

“Due to the condition of the remains, near complete skeletonization, the precise cause of death could not be determined,” the autopsy report read. “However, the circumstances surrounding the disappearance as developed by law enforcement investigators, and death, as the post mortem changes are consistent with the time period and clothing is reported to be what was worn at the time of the disappearance, suggest the cause of death is related to foul play and as such a common term used to certify the cause of death is homicidal violence of unknown etiology.”

>> Cheryl Coker: Coroner unable determine how Riverside woman died

“Although I have faith in the justice system, it is hard knowing there is only one suspect reported and investigators still have not been been able to make a case in the criminal courts,” Cheryl Coker’s sister Margie Keenan told News Center 7′s Cheryl McHenry.

Keenan said she and her mother spent Saturday together and visited Cheryl Coker’s gravesite.

Despite no arrests for Cheryl Coker’s death, News Center 7 has regularly checked with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which is now the lead investigating agency on the case. The case is not considered a cold case.

>> Related: New details on found bones investigation in Greene County

“The case remains an open, active investigation,” said Steve Irwin, press secretary for Ohio BCI.

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