MURDERED: Roberta “Bibi” Lee

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On the morning of Sunday, December 9th, 1984, team members of the Bay Area Rescue Unit met at Redwood Park in Berkeley, California. It was a somber gathering because the job ahead of them was a grim one: They were looking for possible remains of a girl who’d gone missing while running near this park less than a month before.

The person they were looking for was Roberta Theresa Lee—her friends and family affectionately called her by her nickname, “Bibi,” and that’s how we’ll refer to her for the remainder of this podcast episode. An entire community had been looking for Bibi, and this latest walking search of the park was an almost last-ditch effort to find whatever clues they could to figure out what happened to her.

The teams split up into groups and made their way into the park. The dog-handler of a German Shepherd removed its leash, and this dog—which was trained to smell for decaying flesh—quickly led the handler to a thicket of bushes, where he discovered parts of a decomposing, half-nude human body lying in the heavy brush. This body belonged to Bibi, and it was apparent that she’d met a violent end.

So, who left Bibi Lee in this shallow grave some seven-hundred feet from the entrance to Redwood Park, heartlessly discarded like so much garbage? Was it the mysterious bearded stranger that an eye-witness described wrestling with someone who looked like Bibi near a windowless van? Was it one of the many students that Bibi was attending college with? Or was something even more sinister at play—was someone who’d been much closer to Bibi responsible for this heinous murder? Who would do such a thing to someone as ambitious and fun-loving as Bibi Lee?

**Flyer with sketch of Bibi, the suspect, and his vehicle**

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UNSOLVED: Danielle Bell