SUPERIOR TOWNSHIP, Mich. – New information emerged 40 years later about the life and storied family of Cheryl Coates.
On Friday (Dec. 15), the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office announced the identity of remains discovered in 1985.
“They told me she had been a Jane Doe with them since 1985,” said Coates’ cousin Chrislan Manuel. “I just think of all the time we’ve been wondering what happened, where is she, is she alive, is she dead?”
Coates and Manuel come from a storied family as their great grandmother Meta Warrick Fuller was a famous African American sculptor who was a protégée of Auguste Rodin.
Their great-grandfather, Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller, was the first African American psychiatrist in the United States.
Coates’ mother, Meta Waller, was killed at the Pentagon on 9/11. She worked as the special programs manager for the administrative assistant to the secretary of the Army.
Waller died not knowing what happened to her daughter, who had disappeared decades earlier.
“It’s something she never got over,” Manuel said.
A few weeks ago, police told Manuel her cousin’s remains had been identified.
“One of the things that is most disheartening for me is that it turns out she was right here all the time,” Manuel said.
Manuel lives in Ann Arbor, about 15 minutes away from the wooded area in Superior Township where Coates’ remains were found.
“A part of me felt relieved to know, finally, what happened, but it was also very sad because they told me she was shot in the back of the head twice and buried in a shallow grave, and just thinking of how frightened she must have been,” Manuel said.
Over the years, the family had theories about what happened to Coates. They think she may have gotten mixed up with a bad crowd and set up by a roommate or possibly got caught as an informant.
Manuel doesn’t know if the killer will ever be caught but takes comfort in the fact she can give her cousin a proper burial near family.
The Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office is seeking information regarding Coates’ murder.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office Tip Line at 734-973-7711.
