Fingerprints on a Coca-Cola Can Could Bring Closure to a Longstanding Murder Case

Steven Richard Hardy; Charley Sneed.
Credit:

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook (2)

Key Points

• Dorothy “Toby” Tate’s body was discovered in her camper van along California’s Pacific Coast Highway in 1984.
• The 41-year-old waitress had sustained a gunshot wound to the head.
• After four decades, authorities identified two Texas men as the suspects in her death.

On November 15, 1984, deputies from the San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of a suspicious camper van parked at a turnout along California’s Pacific Coast Highway. Motorists alerted authorities after noticing blood seeping from the van’s door.

Upon investigating, deputies discovered the body of Dorothy “Toby” Tate lying inside the cream-colored van.

Originally from Colorado, Tate had been traveling through California with her two Australian cattle dogs. She had recently stayed overnight at the San Simeon Creek Campground, close to Hearst Castle, before taking her dogs for a jog along the beach.

Investigators believe Tate had just finished her run when she was ambushed. “They found sand between her toes in the autopsy,” explained Clinton Cole, a Cold Case Detective with the San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Department. “We believe they were watching her walk on the beach and either knew or assumed this was her van.”

Dorothy “Toby” Tate.

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook

Cole suspects that Tate was shot through the driver’s side window while seated. Her body was later dragged to the rear of the van, where police discovered her.

At the crime scene, officers found a can of Coca-Cola and a blood trail leading away from the camper, which was later determined not to belong to Tate. Investigators reported that missing items from her van included $400 in cash, her purse, credit cards, and a new Nikon camera.

Blood trail at crime scene.

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook

According to Cole, the motive appeared to be robbery, as Tate had not been sexually assaulted and was found fully clothed. The identity of her killers remained a mystery for over 40 years.

On January 20, the San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Department announced a breakthrough in the case, crediting modern investigative techniques, including advanced DNA genealogy analysis, for the development.

The blood evidence collected from the crime scene was submitted for genetic genealogy and linked to Steven Richard Hardy, a 35-year-old Vietnam veteran from Texas. Fingerprints on the Coca-Cola can also implicated Charley Sneed, another 35-year-old present at the scene, according to the sheriff’s office.

Dorothy Tate crime scene.

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook

Both Hardy and Sneed were reportedly friends from New Braunfels, Texas. “Sneed was known to be a rough guy who liked guns and had a hot temper,” Cole noted. “Hardy, on the other hand, was more of a transient type who enjoyed drinking beer.”

Those familiar with the men stated they were almost always seen together. Cole speculated that they may have traveled to California due to Sneed’s legal troubles.

Dorothy “Toby” Tate crime scene.

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook

Shortly after the murder, Sneed returned to Texas, where he was eventually charged with kidnapping and sentenced to 40 years in prison. He was released in 2009 and passed away from natural causes in his 60s five years later. Hardy died in 2003 at a Phoenix veterans hospital from natural causes.