Cheryl Coker Timeline: How police got to naming husband as suspect

Cheryl Coker

RIVERSIDE — The case into the disappearance of Cheryl Coker, 46, is now being investigated as a homicide, Riverside police said.

[ >> Cheryl Coker case now homicide investigation, husband named suspect ]

Cheryl’s husband William “Bill” Coker has been named as the suspect in the case.

Riverside police released a timeline of the events that have led to them naming Bill Coker a suspect in the case:

OCT. 2, 2018 (Date of Cheryl’s disappearance)

  • Approximately 7:35 a.m.: Cheryl's cellphone records show she arrived back at home after dropping off her daughter at school.
  • 7:40 to 7:45 a.m.: Cheryl makes several Facebook posts.
  • 7:35 to 10:51 a.m.: Cheryl's cellphone pings at her house.
  • Around 10:52 a.m.: Cheryl's cellphone pings near Kroger at 700 Spinning Road.
  • At approximately 10:52 a.m.: Cheryl's Toyota Highlander enters surveillance video in the parking lot of Kroger and is parked on the east part of the parking lot, closer to Clancy's Tavern.
  • A person dressed in all black, who appears to have a hood pulled up, exits Cheryl's vehicle and walks north in the parking lot toward Burkhardt Road.
  • At 10:53 a.m.: The person dressed in all black is seen walking
    • A 911 caller reports a suspicious white male dressed in all black with his hood pulled up walking in the neighborhood a short distance from the Coker residence.
    • The 911 caller first sees the white male near Utopia Place at Mundy Court.
    • The 911 caller circles the block, because he fears the white male is up to something
    • The 911 caller see the suspicious man a second time walking up Spring Garden Place at Christy Avenue, toward the back of Spinning Hills Middle School.
    • The 911 caller states the man used his hands to conceal his face.
    • The second witness sees the man walking toward the back of Spinning Hills Middle School.
    • The second witness reports how odd it was that the man was dressed for cold weather, despite unseasonably high temperatures on Oct. 2.
    • The second witness gives nearly the same description the 911 caller gave to dispatch
  • At approximately 11:09 to 11:10 a.m: The suspicious male is seen on four different exterior cameras at Spinning Hills Middle School. All four videos show the man walking toward the Coker residence.
  • At approximately 8:08 p.m.: Another video from inside Kroger shows Bill Coker enter the grocery store wearing all dark clothing; a black polo shirt, dark-colored shorts and dark-colored shoes. The video also shows a visible injury above Bill Coker's left elbow.
  • At approximately 8:11 p.m.: Bill Coker makes a purchase at the Kroger and exits the business.

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