The Zip Tie Murder
When Stanislaus County Sheriff’s deputies respond to a motorcycle accident on a rural stretch of J-59 in La Grange, California, they are shocked to discover they have a murder on their hands. Robert Kope is found a quarter of a mile from his bike, strangled to death with plastic zip ties. Detectives face more questions than answers, especially after learning of a similar death linked to Robert several years earlier. With no witnesses and very little evidence to go on, the investigation goes cold. Was Robert a target, or was his murder a crime of opportunity?
If you have any information about the murder of Robert Kope, contact Detective Jesse Tovar at the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department at 209-525-7080, email jtovar@stansheriff.org, or submit to our website.
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Melanie
My husband and I drove by when he was found. There was 2 lady’s in a car calling 911 no one else was there. It was mind boggling to see. He had biker gear on but no bike. But when we seen he bike down the road it was obvious to us he didn’t crash. It was placed there.
Bill Blaski
It’s2023 and they have the person of interest name and picture. But they say they can’t find him, put this person on blast as a person of interest and let people do work! That man seems to hold the answers. Let’s find him!
Matt Boyer
This case has bugged me for a long time, and unfortunately the podcast didn’t shed light on what seems to me to be more relevant than the white truck.
Why was he in the area he was found? It’s not on the way home from Oroville to San Jose. Not even close. Even accounting for his preference to take back roads, that area along J59 is barely closer to San Jose than Oroville and it would take longer get from Oroville to La Grange than it would Oroville home to San Jose.
There’s a bunch of reasons the guy that reported the accident might have lied about being with someone else (i.e. not wanting to involve the other person)… so, why Kope was in the La Grange area seems the stronger clue.
Matt R.
This is definitely an interesting factor but the problem with this thinking is that Kope never seemed to have planned routes he took home, and he just kinda enjoyed the scenic views with whatever road he felt like taking in the moment. Even on this ride home, he told his girlfriend he was going to stop to take in some fishing. Kope was never in a rush to get home, so it makes it harder to make sense of the when and why.