In the summer of 1997, Heather L. Hernandez, a young woman of 20, was new to Spokane, Washington. She had moved to the city in July from the Southwest, and those who knew her described her as smart, funny, and level-headed. A friend from her time in Phoenix remembered her as fun and bubbly, a person with a beautiful smile who loved life. Like many young people starting over in a new place, she was navigating a new chapter, but her time in Spokane would be tragically short.
Within a few
weeks of her arrival, Heather found herself in vulnerable circumstances, leading to a couple of arrests for prostitution. Her life took a devastating turn on August 21, 1997, when she crossed paths with a man who was preying on women in the city. That man was Robert Lee Yates Jr., a decorated former U.S. Army helicopter pilot and father of five who secretly lived a double life as a serial killer. He shot Heather, ending her life just as it was beginning.
Five days later, on August 26, 1997, Heather’s partially clothed and decomposing body was discovered in an overgrown lot in east Spokane. The cause of death was a gunshot wound. The same day, the body of another young woman, 16-year-old Jennifer Joseph, was also found in a different part of the city. The discovery of two victims on the same day sent a wave of fear through the community and confirmed for investigators that a serial killer was actively targeting the area's most vulnerable women.
For nearly three years, Heather’s murder remained unsolved, one of a growing list of cold cases that haunted the Spokane region. The victims were often women living on the margins, struggling with addiction or involved in sex work, and their cases were difficult to solve. A special task force was formed to investigate the string of killings that terrified the city and left families desperate for answers. The killer left few clues, and the investigation stretched on with no clear suspect.
The breakthrough finally came in April 2000. Investigators, following a tip about a white Corvette seen with one of the victims, identified Robert Lee Yates Jr. as a person of interest. DNA evidence conclusively linked Yates to the murder of Jennifer Joseph, and after his arrest, the full scope of his horrific crimes began to unravel. He confessed to a stunning number of murders, admitting he targeted sex workers, would have sex with them, and then shoot them.
In a plea deal to avoid the death penalty in Spokane County, Yates pleaded guilty to 13 counts of first-degree murder, including Heather's, and one count of attempted first-degree murder. He was sentenced to 408 years in prison. Later, he was convicted in Pierce County for two additional murders and sentenced to death, though this was commuted to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole after Washington state abolished capital punishment.
During the sentencing, the families of his many victims, including Heather’s, were given the chance to face the man who had stolen their loved ones. They described him as a monster who had inflicted immeasurable pain. Robert Lee Yates Jr., known as the Spokane Serial Killer, remains in prison for his crimes, having been proven responsible for at least 16 murders between 1975 and 1998. Heather Hernandez, a young woman with a bright smile who had just started a new life, was one of the last victims of his long and brutal reign of terror.
