Crime Junkie
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MURDERED: Dorothy “Toby” Tate

September 28, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In November 1983, sheriff's deputies in San Luis Obispo County, California, responded to what looked like a minor car accident on a dirt road near Highway 1. A 1980 Chevy camper van sat half off the road with a damaged fender, a bent hood, and shattered front passenger windows. There was blood spatter by the driver's seat and blood running down the inside of the driver's door. But both front seats were empty. When a deputy slid open the van's rear door, he found the source: a woman lying on the floor of the cargo area, dead from a single gunshot wound below her ear. Two leashes were still draped around her neck; her dogs—one inside the van, one wandering outside—were unharmed. A trail of blood droplets led away from the van. Someone had walked away alive.

The victim and the evidence left behind

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:46) **Case Introduction: The Cold Case of Dorothy “Toby” Tate** - Ashley introduces a case that seemed unsolvable for decades, with preserved DNA evidence leading to a shocking twist.
  • 2 (02:28) **The Crime Scene: A Faked Accident** - Deputies find Toby’s van after a minor crash, but discover she has been murdered by a single gunshot wound to the head.
  • 3 (04:46) **Victim Profile: Toby Tate, the Free Spirit** - Investigators learn about Toby’s life as a traveler, her dogs, and her reason for being in California.
  • 4 (07:28) **A Mysterious Second Camper** - A ranger finds a second, improperly filled-out registration for the same campsite, potentially pointing to a suspect.
  • 5 (09:36) **Reconstructing the Ambush** - Evidence shows Toby was shot through her driver’s side window, and the killer likely moved her body to buy time for a robbery.
  • 6 (13:07) **Dead Ends and a Stolen Camera** - Despite a reward and searches of local pawn shops, the case goes cold for nearly two years.
  • 7 (19:50) **A Family’s Grief and a Detective’s Promise** - Toby’s family is devastated, and her sister Priscilla keeps calling the sheriff’s office for decades.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

The murder of 41-year-old Toby Tate is a case that no one thought would ever be resolved – one that spent decades collecting dust in a file box at the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office. Until two detectives decided to take another look… and all of a sudden, after 40 years, the hazy picture of a fatal 1983 burglary gone wrong started to come into focus, and preserved DNA evidence revealed a twist that no one saw coming.

  • If you know anything about the murder of Dorothy “Toby” Tate or the movements of Charley Sneed or Steven Hardy, please reach out to the San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Office Detectives Division at (805) 781-4500 or, if you’d rather stay anonymous, you can call the San Luis Obispo County Crime Stoppers at (805) 549-7867.

 

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Crime Junkie is hosted by Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat. 

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