Charlotte Jean Palmer, a 24-year-old white woman from Anna, Illinois, was tragically murdered in December 1986. Her body was discovered on December 11, 1986, near Highway 74 and Matthews Road in Romoland, Riverside County, California. At the time of her death, Charlotte Jean Palmer was reportedly living a transient lifestyle. Her partially clothed body was found in a remote area, consistent with the pattern of other victims in a series of killings that plagued the region during the
mid-1980s.
Charlotte Jean Palmer was one of the known victims of William Lester Suff, a convicted serial killer who operated in Southern California. Suff, also known as the 'Riverside Prostitute Killer' or the 'Lake Elsinore Killer,' targeted women—many of whom were sex workers—and left their bodies in isolated or public areas. His crimes were marked by extreme violence, including stabbing, strangulation, and post-mortem mutilation. Palmer's murder fit the disturbing pattern of Suff's other known killings, which often involved brutal assaults and the disposal of bodies in areas where they would eventually be discovered.
William Lester Suff was eventually arrested and convicted for multiple murders, including that of Charlotte Jean Palmer. He was sentenced to death on August 17, 1995. His killing spree is believed to have claimed the lives of at least 13 to 20 women between 1986 and 1991, though the actual number may be higher. The arrest and conviction of Suff brought some measure of justice to the families of his victims, including the family of Charlotte Jean Palmer, a 24-year-old white woman whose life was cut short in a horrific act of violence.
