William Lester Suff

Serial Killer

William Lester Suff: The Riverside Serial Killer

Early Life and the Murder of His Infant Daughter

William Lester Suff was born Bill Lee Suff on August 20, 1950, in Torrance, California. He later became known as the Riverside Prostitute Killer and the Lake Elsinore Killer because of the series of murders committed across Riverside County. Long before that series began, however, Suff had already been convicted of killing a member of his own family. After joining the military and moving to Texas, Suff married a teenage girlfriend and became a father. On September 25, 1973, his two-month-old daughter, Dijiania Suff, died after suffering severe physical abuse. Suff and his wife were accused of repeatedly mistreating the infant, who had numerous injuries and signs of chronic abuse. Suff was convicted of murder in Texas and received a 70-year prison sentence. Despite the length of that sentence, Suff was paroled on March 6, 1984, after serving approximately ten years. He returned to Southern California, where he found employment with Riverside County. His release allowed him to establish an outwardly ordinary life while, according to prosecutors, he began targeting vulnerable women throughout the region.

The Riverside County Murder Series

The murders associated with Suff occurred primarily in Riverside, Lake Elsinore, Quail Valley, Highgrove, Glen Avon and other communities in western Riverside County. Many of the victims were women involved in sex work or struggling with substance dependence. Their circumstances made them vulnerable to predators and sometimes delayed the recognition that a single offender might be responsible for their deaths. Suff generally approached women while driving through areas where sex workers were known to gather. He transported victims in his vehicle and attacked them in isolated locations. Strangulation was his most common method of killing, although several women were stabbed, beaten or smothered. Some victims were bound, sexually assaulted or mutilated, and several bodies were deliberately posed or left near roads, orchards and dumpsters. The placement and condition of the victims suggested that the killer was not simply attempting to conceal his crimes. In several cases, the bodies appeared to have been arranged so they would eventually be discovered. Investigators found recurring patterns involving ligature marks, binding injuries, missing clothing, postmortem mutilation and the disposal of bodies in relatively accessible areas. ...

Confirmed Victims: (12)

Kimberly Lyttle Age: (28), Date of Death: 1989-06-28

Suspected Victims:

Cathy Small Age: (19), Date of Death: 1986-02-22

Michelle Yvette Gutierrez Age: (26), Date of Death: 1986-10-30

Charlotte Jean Palmer Age: (25), Date of Death: 1986-12-11

Linda Ann Ortega Age: (37), Date of Death: 1988-04-29

Martha Bess Young Age: (27), Date of Death: 1987-05-02

Diane Mae Talavera Age: (37)

Julie Lynn Angel Age: (36), Date of Death: 1989-11-11

Cherie Michelle Payseur Age: (24), Date of Death: 179200

Survivors:

Rhonda Jetmore Age: (27), Date of Attack: January 10, 1989

William Suff - Wikipedia