Robert Lee Yates Jr., also known as the "Spokane Serial Killer" and the "Grocery Bag Killer," is an American serial killer who murdered at least 16 people and attempted one more in Washington state between 1975 and 1998. Yates targeted vulnerable female sex workers. He solicited them for sex, shot them in the head, and covered their faces with plastic grocery bags before dumping their bodies. His spree began in 1975 when he shot a picnicking couple to death in Walla Walla, followed by a 1988 murder in Skagit County, and a concentrated wave of 11 murders in Spokane County and two in Pierce County between 1996 and 1998. He maintained a normal public profile as a married father of five and a U.S. Army helicopter pilot before his arrest in April 2000.