Robert Lee Yates
Robert Lee Yates | |
|---|---|
Spokane police mugshot, 2000 | |
| Born | Robert Lee Yates Jr. May 27, 1952 Oak Harbor, Washington, U.S. |
| Other names | The Grocery Bag Killer The Prostitute Killer Spokane Washington's Serial Killer The Spokane Serial Killer |
| Convictions | Aggravated first degree murder (2 counts) First degree murder (13 counts) Attempted first degree murder |
| Criminal penalty | 408 years imprisonment, Spokane County 2. Death (commuted to life), Pierce County |
| Details | |
| Victims | 16+ |
Span of crimes | 1975–1998 |
| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
Date apprehended | April 18, 2000 |
| Imprisoned at | Washington State Penitentiary |
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Robert Lee Yates Jr. (born May 27, 1952), also known as the Spokane Serial Killer and the Grocery Bag Killer, is an American serial killer, kidnapper, rapist, and former U.S. Army aircraft pilot who murdered at least sixteen people in eastern Washington between 1975 and 1998.
Yates was enlisted in the United States Army from 1977 to 1996, during which time he flew helicopters. He is believed to have begun killing in 1975 when a couple was shot to death in Walla Walla. Between 1988 and 1998, Yates committed eleven murders in Spokane County, two in Pierce County, and one in Skagit County. He was sentenced to death in 2002 but it was commuted to life without parole after the Washington Supreme Court ruled capital punishment unconstitutional in 2018. He is currently serving life in prison at the Washington State Penitentiary.