Robert Lee Yates
Spokane Serial Killer
Active for 24 years
(1975-1998) in United States
18
CONFIRMED
VICTIMS
23
POSSIBLE
VICTIMS
Jump to:
- Summary
- Serial Killer Profile
- Serial Killer Type
- General Information
- Characteristics
- Childhood
- Cognitive Ability
- Incarceration
- Death
- 11 Timeline Events
- Serial Killers Active During Spree
- Boolean Statistical Questions
- 14 Books Written About Robert Lee Yates
- 4 External References
- Internal References
Robert Lee Yates an American serial killer known as the Spokane Serial Killer. Yates was known to have murdered at least thirteen women, all of whom were prostitutes in the Skid Row area of East Sprague Avenue in Spokane, Washington between 1996 and 1998. He confessed to three additional murders from 1975 to 1988 and was convicted of two more murders in Pierce County. Robert Lee Yates was sentenced to death by lethal injection in 2002 which was commuted to life without parole in 2018. Robert Lee Yates is currently serving life in prison at the Washington State Penitentiary.
Robert Lee Yates Serial Killer Profile
Serial Killer Robert Lee Yates (aka) Spokane Serial Killer, was active for 24 years between 1975-1998, known to have ( 18 confirmed / 23 possible ) victims. This Serial Killer was active in the following countries: United States
Robert Lee Yates was born on May 27th 1952 in Spokane, Washington, US. He was raised by both parents. His father, Robert Lee Yates. His mother, Anna Mae. Robert Lee Yates was sexually, and physically, and abused at some point of his life.
Robert Lee Yates a heterosexual male citizen of the United States of America. He completed 14 years of school, attended some college, no degree received. He married. He had five children.
Prior to his spree he had killed, and commited crimes.
In 1975 (Age 22/23) Robert Lee Yates started his killing spree, during his crimes as a serial killer he was known to rob, rape, and murder his victims. Robert Lee Yates used a weapon and was in possession of a firearm during his crimes. He was known to kill victims at his own home. He would keep personal items from the victim after the crime. Robert Lee Yates used a blindfold or simiar method of covering the victim's eyes. At the time of his crimes he was living with his wife and their five children, where he was known to work as a criminal, serial killer.
He was arrested on April 18th 2000 (Age 47), convicted on October 26th 2000 (Age 48), sentenced to death commuted to life without parole at Washington State Penitentiary at Walla Walla, Washington, US. He was convicted on charges of murder and other possible charges during his lifetime.
Profile Completeness: 84%
serial killers by profile completenessRobert Lee Yates has been listed on Killer.Cloud since November of 2016 and was last updated 5 years ago.
Robert Lee Yates a known:
( 651 killers ) SERIAL KILLER
The unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s), in separate events. Serial Killer as defined by the FBI at the 2005 symposium.
( 308 killers ) RAPIST
Rape is usually defined as having sexual intercourse with a person who does not want to, or cannot consent.
Robert Lee Yates
Serial Killer Profile:
Updated: 2019-05-01 Collected by Killer.Cloud
| General Information | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Robert Lee Yates |
| Nickname: | Spokane Serial Killer |
| Victims: | 18 - 23 |
| Years Active: | 1975 - 1998 |
| Ages Active: | 22/23 - 45/46 |
| Active Countries: | United States |
| Convicted Of: | murder |
| Life Span: | 1952 - |
| Characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Male |
| Citizenship: | United States of America |
| Sexual Preference: | heterosexual |
| Astrological Sign: | ♊ Gemini May 21 - Jun 21 |
| Birth Month: | May |
| Marital Status: | married |
| Children: | five children |
| Living With: | his wife and their five children |
| Occupation: | criminal, serial killer |
| Childhood Information | |
|---|---|
| D.O.B.: | May 27, 1952 |
| Given Name: | Robert |
| Birth Location: | Spokane, Washington, US |
| Birth Order: | N/A |
| Siblings: | N/A |
| Raised By: | both parents |
| Birth Category: | N/A |
| Mother: | Anna Mae |
| Father: | Robert Lee Yates |
| Cognitive Ability | |
|---|---|
| IQ: | N/A |
| Highest School: | 14 years of school |
| Highest Degree: | some college, no degree |
| Incarceration | |
|---|---|
| Arrested: | Apr 18, 2000 (Age 47) |
| Convicted: | Oct 26, 2000 (Age 48) |
| Sentence: | death commuted to life without parole |
| Prison Location: | Washington State Penitentiary at Walla Walla, Washington, US |
| Executed: | N/A |
| Previous Crimes: | TRUE |
| Previous Jail: | FALSE |
| Previous Prison: | FALSE |
| Death Information | |
|---|---|
| Death Date: | N/A |
| Cause of Death: | N/A |
| Death Location: | N/A |
| Killed In Prison: | N/A |
| Suicide: | N/A |
11 Timeline Events of Serial Killer
Robert Lee Yates
The 11 dates listed below represent a timeline of the life and crimes of serial killer Robert Lee Yates. A complete collection of serial killer events can be found on our Serial Killer Timeline.
| Date | Event Description |
|---|---|
| May 27 1952 | Robert Lee Yates was born in Spokane, Washington, US. #19520527 |
| May 27 1972 (Age 20) | 20th Birthday |
| 1975 (Age 22/23) | Robert Lee Yates started his serial killing spree. #1975 |
| May 27 1982 (Age 30) | 30th Birthday |
| May 27 1992 (Age 40) | 40th Birthday |
| 1998 (Age 45/46) | Robert Lee Yates ended his serial killing spree. #1998 |
| Apr 18 2000 (Age 47) | Robert Lee Yates arrested. #20000418 |
| Oct 26 2000 (Age 48) | Robert Lee Yates was convictedand sentenced to death commuted to life without parole at Washington State Penitentiary at Walla Walla, Washington, US. #20001026 |
| May 27 2002 (Age 50) | 50th Birthday |
| May 27 2012 (Age 60) | 60th Birthday |
| May 27 2022 (Age 70) | 70th Birthday |
Back to top Serial Killers Active During
The following serial killers were active during the same time span as Robert Lee Yates (1975-1998).
Serial Killers By Active Year
| 32 / 40 ANSWEREDSerial Killer Boolean Questions: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Killer Question | Killer Answer | Total Answered | ||
| living with children | TRUE | 268 | ||
| physically abused | TRUE | 231 | ||
| sexually abused | TRUE | 226 | ||
| previous crimes | TRUE | 367 | ||
| previous killed | TRUE | 208 | ||
| kill at killers home | TRUE | 320 | ||
| used weapon | TRUE | 453 | ||
| used gun | TRUE | 451 | ||
| rape | TRUE | 453 | ||
| blindfold | TRUE | 363 | ||
| totem personal item | TRUE | 354 | ||
| robbed | TRUE | 418 | ||
| father drug abuse | FALSE | 192 | ||
| mother drug abuse | FALSE | 195 | ||
| physically defect | FALSE | 300 | ||
| speach defect | FALSE | 300 | ||
| head injury | FALSE | 299 | ||
| psychologically abused | FALSE | 224 | ||
| forensic hospital | FALSE | 257 | ||
| previous jail | FALSE | 352 | ||
| previous prision | FALSE | 336 | ||
| kill at victims home | FALSE | 323 | ||
| torture | FALSE | 426 | ||
| stalk | FALSE | 418 | ||
| bound | FALSE | 406 | ||
| strangle | FALSE | 443 | ||
| sex with body | FALSE | 430 | ||
| mutilated | FALSE | 447 | ||
| ate part of body | FALSE | 451 | ||
| drank blood | FALSE | 442 | ||
| posed body | FALSE | 365 | ||
| totem body part | FALSE | 365 | ||
Books that Mention Robert Lee Yates
Kevin Smith
Serial Killer Rapists
Blake Bailey
A Tragic Honesty
Richard Yates
Revolutionary Road
Mark Fuhrman
Murder In Spokane
Burl Barer
Body Count
Jack Smith
The Spokane Killer
James Alan Fox
Extreme Killing
James Alan Fox
Extreme Killing
14 Books that mention Serial Killer
Robert Lee Yates
| ISBN10 | Book Title | Author | Killers Mentioned | Killers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1733630619 | Serial Killer Rapists | Kevin Smith | 266 Total Including Ramadan Abdel Rehim Mansour | 266 |
| 0312423756 | A Tragic Honesty | Blake Bailey | Robert Lee Yates | 1 |
| 0307270890 | Revolutionary Road | Richard Yates | Robert Lee Yates | 1 |
| 0061098736 | Murder In Spokane | Mark Fuhrman | Robert Lee Yates | 1 |
| 0786030259 | Body Count | Burl Barer | Robert Lee Yates | 2 |
| 1539532917 | The Spokane Killer | Jack Smith | Robert Lee Yates | 1 |
| 0761988572 | Extreme Killing | James Alan Fox | Robert Lee Yates | 2 |
| 1483352803 | Extreme Killing | James Alan Fox | 8 Total Including Kendall Francois | 8 |
| 0786003480 | Evil Secrets | Kathy Braidhill | Robert Lee Yates | 1 |
| 0275973360 | A Violent Heart | Gregory K. Moffatt | Robert Lee Yates | 1 |
| 0816069875 | The Encyclopedia of Seria... | Michael Newton | 108 Total Including Anatoly Onoprienko | 108 |
| 0993823246 | Serial Killer Quarterly V... | 6 Total Including Lee Mellor | 3 Total Including Earle Leonard Nelson | 3 |
| 0595287808 | The Big, Bad Book of Bob | Lawrance Binda | 3 Total Including Robert Rozier | 3 |
| 1506349129 | Extreme Killing | 3 Total Including James Alan Fox | 8 Total Including Sean Vincent Gillis | 8 |
Robert Lee Yates Jr. (born May 27, 1952) is an American serial killer from Spokane, Washington. From 1996 to 1998, Yates is known to have murdered at least 13 women, all of whom were prostitutes working on E. Sprague Avenue, in Spokane.
External References
- Robert Lee Yates on en.wikipedia.org, Retrieved on Sep 18, 2018.
- Juan Ignacio Blanco, Robert Lee YATES Jr. on murderpedia.org, Retrieved on Sep 18, 2018.
- Marianne Wells, Alicia Washburn, Yates, Robert Lee on maamodt.asp.radford.edu, Retrieved on Sep 18, 2018.
- Q578579 on www.wikidata.org, Retrieved on Oct 9, 2018.
Internal References
Robert Lee Yates is included in the following pages on Killer.Cloud the Serial Killer Database
- #2 of 30[ Page 1 ] of Serial Killers with birthdays in May
- #4 of 40[ Page 1 ] of Gemini Serial Killers sorted by Confirmed Victims
- #20 of 327[ Page 2 ] of Serial Killers active in the United States
- #31 of 651[ Page 3 ] of serial killers sorted by Years Active
- #36 of 307[ Page 3 ] of Serial Killer Rapist sorted by Confirmed Victims
- #66 of 651[ Page 5 ] of serial killers sorted by Confirmed Victims
- #194 of 651[ Page 13 ] of serial killers sorted by Profile Completeness
- #643 of 651[ Page 43 ] of the A-Z List of Serial Killers
- Statistics:
- Serial Killers Statistics, charts Robert Lee Yates is included in: Active Serial Killers by Country, Serial Killers By Gender, Age of Serial Killer by Date, Killers By Astrological Sign, Killers By Birth Month, Serial Killers IQ Level, Highest Degree Achieved, Sexual Preference, Active Serial Killers by Year and Statistical Boolean Questions.
- Years Active: