San Diego Serial Murders

Serial Killer

San Diego Serial Murders and Related California Cases

Several Separate Murder Series

The ten victims commonly grouped under the broad label "San Diego Serial Murders" were not all killed by the same person. The cases involved at least three separate offenders: Bryan Maurice Jones, Dean Phillip Carter and California Highway Patrol officer Craig Alan Peyer. Although several crimes occurred in San Diego, others took place in Culver City and Oakland. The killings were committed between April 1984 and December 1986 and involved different methods, locations and circumstances. Bryan Maurice Jones, known as the "Dumpster Killer," was prosecuted in connection with four women murdered in San Diego between 1985 and 1986. Tara Mia Simpson, Trina Carpenter, JoAnn Sweets and Sophia Glover were found in or near dumpsters in neighborhoods around El Cajon Boulevard. Jones was convicted of murdering Sweets and Glover. Charges involving Simpson and Carpenter were ultimately dismissed, although investigators linked Jones to their bodies through fingerprint evidence. Dean Phillip Carter was connected to a separate sequence of killings committed during April 1984. Susan Lynn Knoll, Jillette Leonora Mills, Bonnie Ann Guthrie and Janette Anne Cullins were strangled in their homes. Carter was convicted of murdering all four women. He was also linked circumstantially to the death of Tok Chum Kim in Oakland, although the decomposition of her body prevented medical examiners from conclusively establishing that she had been murdered. Cara Evelyn Knott was killed in San Diego County in December 1986 by Craig Alan Peyer, a California Highway Patrol officer. Her murder was unrelated to the crimes committed by Jones and Carter. Peyer encountered Knott while he was on duty, strangled her and threw her body from a bridge. He was later convicted of first-degree murder.

Victims Linked to Bryan Maurice Jones

• Tara Mia Simpson, 19 August 29, 1985 San Diego: Simpson's badly burned body was discovered inside a dumpster near the 5100 block of El Cajon Boulevard. She had suffered an injury to her nose, a stab wound to her abdomen and signs of asphyxiation. Investigators also found evidence indicating that she had been sexually assaulted. Her killer placed her body in the dumpster and used a flammable substance to set it on fire in an apparent effort to destroy evidence. Jones was charged with her murder after his fingerprints were reportedly connected to her body, but the charge was later dismissed because prosecutors did not believe the available evidence was sufficient to secure a conviction.
• Trina Carpenter, 23 February 11, 1986 San Diego: Carpenter was beaten, sexually assaulted and strangled before her body was placed inside a duffel bag and discarded in a dumpster near 51st Street. Her killer then set the body on fire. She was initially unidentified and temporarily known as Jane Doe 1. The location was close to the dumpster where Simpson had been found several months earlier. Jones was charged with Carpenter's murder after investigators linked his fingerprints to the crime, but the charge was eventually dismissed.
• JoAnn Sweets, 34 May 9, 1986 San Diego: Sweets was found in a dumpster near the 4400 block of 51st Street. She had been strangled and severely beaten, suffering bruises and fractures to her neck, ribs and collarbone. Her partially clothed body had been wrapped in bedding, placed inside large plastic garbage bags and sealed with duct tape. A blanket covering her body was traced to Jones, and his fingerprints were discovered on items associated with the disposal of the body. Later DNA testing connected him to biological evidence recovered during the investigation. Jones was convicted of murdering Sweets.
• Sophia Glover, 37 August 15, 1986 Normal Heights, San Diego: Glover's body was discovered in a dumpster near Madison Avenue. She had been strangled and had suffered severe blunt-force injuries to her head, neck and chest. Her clothing was found in a nearby alley. Investigators recovered physical evidence linking Jones to the sexual assault and murder. He was convicted of killing Glover, and her death became one of the two murders for which he received a death sentence.

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Confirmed Victims: (10)

Tara Mia Simpson Age: (19), Date of Death: 1985-08-29

San Diego serial murders - Wikipedia