On August 16, 1991, the body of Kelly Marie Hammond, a 27-year-old white female from Rubidoux, California, was discovered in an alley in Corona, Riverside County. Her nude body was found posed, with her right arm bent and tucked under her abdomen, her left arm bent with the hand on the ground palm up, her left leg drawn to her chest, and her right leg extended outward. She had two lacerations on her forehead that occurred prior to death. The cause of death was determined to be strangulation.
Kelly Marie Hammond was one of the victims of William Lester Suff, a convicted serial killer responsible for the murders of at least 12 women in Riverside County between 1989 and 1991. Suff targeted women who were often involved in prostitution and had histories of drug use. He was convicted of multiple counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 1995. The California Supreme Court upheld his death sentence in 2014.
Suff's modus operandi included strangulation, stabbing, and mutilation of his victims. He often posed their bodies and kept personal items as trophies. In the case of Kelly Marie Hammond, a friend identified Suff as the person driving the van that Hammond entered the evening she disappeared. This identification, along with other forensic evidence, contributed to Suff's conviction.
William Lester Suff remains on death row at San Quentin State Prison. His case is considered one of the most notorious serial murder cases in Riverside County history.
