Ohio BCI to lead investigation into Coker homicide

The Riverside Police Department formally requested the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification take over as the lead investigating agency in Cheryl Coker’s homicide.

”BCI has been an active participant along with numerous other law enforcement agencies since the onset of this investigation,” read a statement from the department. “With Mrs. Coker’s remains being located in another county, it is the combined belief that the best course of action is for Riverside Police Department to fully utilize the vast resources of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification in the pursuit of justice for Mrs. SW.”

Riverside will still be involved in the day-to-day investigation.

Coker’s remains were found April 25 by a mushroom hunter in woods on private property in Greene County. Sheriff Gene Fischer said it was “not a common area for people to go.”

”We have never given up on this case,” said Riverside Police Chief Frank Robinson. “We have never wavered from continuing to follow all the evidence that we have collected or evidence that has been collected for us. Cheryl’s never been forgotten by the community.”

Coker had been missing since she dropped her daughter off at school on Oct. 2, 2018. Her car was found the next day in a shopping center near her home with her phone and purse inside.

In February 2019, Riverside police named Coker’s husband, William “Bill” Coker as a suspect in her case. He has denied any involvement and has not been charged.