Dorothy “Toby” Tate: A Beach Trip, a Broken Window and a Murder on Highway 1

A Van Off the Road [00:00]

• Sheriff's deputies responded to a crash on November 15th, 1983, finding a damaged camper van.
• Inside, they discovered Dorothy Toby Tate deceased from a gunshot wound to the head, not from the crash.
• Blood spatter and a trail of blood droplets indicated someone else had been at the scene.

  "But there is no way she got that wound from this minor crash. It is a single gunshot wound below the woman's left ear from a .45 caliber pistol that killed her."

The Free Spirit Traveler [02:00]

• The victim was identified as 41-year-old Toby Tate, who traveled the country in her van, Esmeralda.
• She was known for her adventurous spirit and diverse jobs, gathering many friends along the way.
• Tate was in California to visit her aunt and then planned to travel to L.A.

  "She had spent her adulthood traveling around the country in her van, which she named Esmeralda."

A Campsite Encounter? [04:30]

• Tate had checked into San Simeon State Park the afternoon before she was found.
• A self-registration system meant no one saw her directly, but two receipts were found for the same campsite.
• One receipt belonged to Tate, the other was improperly filled out by an unknown individual.

  "Strangely, though, when the ranger looks into this, he finds two receipts for that same campsite."

Ambushed on the Beach [07:00]

• Tate’s sister confirmed Toby intended to take her dogs for a run on the beach that evening.
• Sand found between Tate's toes and her keys in the ignition suggested she was attacked upon returning to her van.
• A bullet casing found nearby indicated she was shot as she started to drive away.

  "So investigators think that Toby left her campsite that evening, safe and sound, went to the beach with her dogs to run."

The Suspect's Vehicle [10:00]

• Investigators theorized the van hit the suspect's vehicle, causing Tate to be dislodged from the driver's seat.
• The suspect then allegedly moved her body to the cargo area and dropped a cigarette, as Tate did not smoke.
• The damage to the van allowed investigators to create a description of the suspect's vehicle: a gray or silver half or three-quarter ton pickup truck.

  "The thinking is that the van continued rolling after Toby had been shot. So it wasn't until her van hit something that it knocked her foot off the gas and then, like, rolled to a stop."

A Cold Case Grows Colder [14:00]

• Despite efforts, including checking body shops and pawn shops for Tate's stolen camera, no leads emerged.
• Limited forensic technology in 1983, such as the absence of DNA databases, hindered the investigation.
• A Coke can found near the scene yielded latent fingerprints, but there was no suspect to compare them to.

  "And they can't even make. DNA doesn't, yeah. Yeah, like they can't make DNA profiles yet."

The Camera Surfaces [18:00]

• Two years later, in November 1985, Tate's stolen camera was pawned in Bakersfield, flagging it as stolen property.
• The man who pawned it claimed he received it from someone else, initiating a chain of handoffs involving several people.
• The camera eventually traced back to a gas station owner who bought it from two unidentified men.

  "The serial number immediately flagged as a stolen item. So that's how the pawn shop knew to call authorities."

Decades of Grief [23:00]

• The case went cold, devastating Tate's family; her father died of a heart attack two months later.
• Tate's sister, Priscilla, continued to seek updates annually, while her younger sister, Judy, struggled with alcohol.
• Judy's daughter, Elisa, died by suicide in 1996, and Judy passed away eight months later.

  "The grief was like an infection that continued to just like rip through their family long after November of 1983."

A New Hope: Detective Cole [28:00]

• In 2017, Detective Clint Cole became the agency's first cold case detective, dedicated to solving unsolved homicides.
• He began re-examining Tate's case in 2019, focusing on blood droplets suggesting the killer was injured.
• DNA testing of the blood yielded an unknown male DNA profile not in the CODIS database.

  "And on the other end is this man who says, hi, I'm Detective Cole and I'm going to solve your sister's murder."

Genealogy and a Name [32:00]

• Using familial DNA searching and genealogy, investigators identified Stephen Hardy as the source of the DNA.
• Hardy had no felony convictions, but his sister recalled him developing a pronounced limp around the time of the murder after claiming he was hit by a car while helping a woman on Route 1.
• Detectives also identified Charlie Sneed, who had a history of violent crimes and owned a pickup truck similar to the one described.

  "The DNA belongs to Stephen Hardy. And that name is nowhere in the files."

Connecting the Dots [37:00]

• An officer who arrested Sneed in 1983 confirmed Sneed and Hardy knew each other and ran together in Texas.
• Hardy had a criminal record in Texas for a bad check after Tate's murder, and multiple stolen vehicle reports.
• Detectives theorized Sneed and Hardy worked together to rob Tate, with Sneed likely being the shooter.

  "This officer remembers Charlie Sneed all right, knew him really well, actually, because the two had gone to school together."

Unanswered Questions [42:00]

• The murder weapon was never found, and neither Hardy nor Sneed could be prosecuted as both were deceased.
• California's felony murder rule could have applied if they were alive, holding them responsible for Tate's death during the robbery.
• Touch DNA on Tate's clothing matched neither Hardy nor Sneed, suggesting a possible third suspect or contamination.

  "So we'll never know who pulled the trigger. No, the murder weapon has never been found."

A Final Peace [45:00]

• The case was publicly announced in January 2026, 42 years after the murder.
• Priscilla Tate visited the crime scene and campground, finding unexpected peace.
• The investigation continues regarding the unidentified male DNA, leaving a lingering question about a potential third individual involved.

  "But when Detective Robichotti takes her out to the scene of the crime and to the campground, Priscilla said that it actually kind of unexpectedly brought her a lot of peace."