Dorothy “Toby” Tate: A Beach Trip, a Broken Window and a Murder on Highway 1

On November 15, 1983, sheriff’s deputies responded to what looked like a minor vehicle accident along Highway 1 in San Luis Obispo County, California. A 1980 Chevrolet camper van sat partially off the road near the beach, its windows shattered and blood visible inside. When deputies opened the sliding door, inside was 41-year-old Dorothy “Toby” Tate, who had been shot below her left ear with a .45-caliber firearm. One of her dogs was beside her, another was wandering outside. Toby’s wallet and Nikon camera were missing. Investigators believed Toby had been ambushed after taking her dogs to the beach, and that her killer may have accidentally left behind exactly what detectives would need to identify him decades later. In 2026, 42 years after Toby’s murder, investigators announced they finally knew who was responsible. But solving the case revealed a twist no one expected…DNA pointed to one man and fingerprints pointed to another. In this episode of Crime Junkie, Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat examine how San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office Detectives Clint Cole and Jeff Robasciotti used forensic genetic genealogy, fingerprints and evidence preserved since 1983 to identify Steven Hardy and Charley Sneed as the men investigators believe were responsible for Toby Tate’s murder. You’ll hear about Toby Tate’s final trip down the California coast in November 1983, her stop at San Simeon State Park before heading toward Los Angeles, how investigators reconstructed the ambush along Highway 1, the gray or silver pickup truck they believe collided with Toby’s van, the cigarette and Coca-Cola can recovered near the crime scene, the Nikon camera stolen from Toby’s van—and the extraordinary trail investigators followed after it resurfaced in Bakersfield, California, two years later, and the blood evidence that finally produced an unknown male DNA profile decades after Toby was killed. DNA finally gave detectives a name: Steven Hardy.When Detective Clint Cole reopened Toby’s case, he focused on a trail of blood droplets leading away from her van. Toby had never left the vehicle after she was shot which meant the blood likely belonged to her killer. Modern testing produced an unknown male DNA profile. When CODIS and familial searches failed to identify him, investigators turned to investigative genetic genealogy with Parabon NanoLabs and CeCe Moore. Eventually, they identified the DNA as belonging to Steven Hardy, a Vietnam veteran originally from Ventura, California. But Hardy’s name appeared nowhere in the original investigation. Then detectives learned something strange. Around the time Toby was murdered, Hardy reportedly developed a noticeable limp. He told his sister that he had been along Route 1 helping a woman whose vehicle was stopped on the side of the road when another vehicle ran over his foot. Investigators wondered whether there was a piece of truth buried inside that story. Then the Coke can changed everything. Investigators wanted to determine whether fingerprints recovered from a Coca-Cola can at the 1983 crime scene belonged to Hardy. Forensic specialist Shelby Liddell started the analysis from scratch rather than simply comparing the prints directly to Hardy. She got a match, but it wasn’t Steven Hardy. Two separate fingerprints pointed to Charley Sneed, a man from New Braunfels, Texas, with a documented history of violent behavior. Now investigators had physical evidence potentially placing two different men at Toby’s crime scene. On January 7, 2026, prosecutors concluded there was sufficient probable cause to support prosecuting both men if they were still alive. But, both Steven Hardy and Charley Sneed were deceased by the time investigators identified them. And there may still be one unanswered question. Male touch DNA was recovered from Toby’s clothing, consistent with someone having moved her body from the driver’s seat into the back of the van. Investigators compared that DNA directly to both suspects. But, it doesn’t match Steven Hardy or Charley Sneed. Dorothy “Toby” Tate was a traveler, photographer, bartender, nanny, dog breeder, gardener and entrepreneur who had built friendships across the country. Her younger sister, Priscilla Tate, spent decades calling investigators and asking for updates, even when she had begun to believe the case would never be solved. If you have information about Dorothy “Toby” Tate’s 1983 murder, Steven Hardy, Charley Sneed, or anyone associated with them in California or Texas please call San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office Detectives Division at (805) 781-4500 or, if you would like to stay anonymous, call SLO County Crime Stoppers at (805) 549-7867. -------- Follow Crime Junkie: Instagram:   / crimejunkiepodcast   Facebook:   / crimejunkiepodcast   Twitter:   / crimejunkiepod   Crime Junkie is created anAmerican Idol Contestant Arrested For Murder!? The Case Of Ashley Flynn d hosted by Ashley Flowers.