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.
Convicted California Victims
Suff was convicted of murdering 12 women in Riverside County. The dates below are the verified dates on which the victims were found dead; in many of the cases, the precise time of death could not be established publicly and may have occurred shortly before discovery.
- Kimberly Lyttle, 28 — June 28, 1989 — Cottonwood Canyon near Lake Elsinore, California: Lyttle was found beside a roadway after being strangled. She had suffered blunt-force injuries and other abuse before her death. Fibers recovered from material covering her body were later compared with items associated with Suff.
- Christina “Tina” Leal, 23 — December 13, 1989 — Quail Valley, California: Leal was discovered on a hillside after being strangled and stabbed. Marks on her wrists and ankles indicated that she had been restrained. The particularly severe nature of her injuries became an important part of the prosecution’s demonstration of the killer’s escalating violence.
- Darla Jane Ferguson, 23 — January 18, 1990 — Riverside, California: Ferguson’s body was found near a roadway with a plastic bag covering part of her body. Her wrists had been bound, and she had suffered blunt-force trauma before being strangled.
- Carol Lynn Miller, 35 — February 9, 1990 — Highgrove, California: Miller was found in a grapefruit orchard near Riverside. She had been stabbed several times and smothered. Evidence at the scene indicated that the killer had remained in the orchard for a period of time rather than immediately leaving after abandoning her body.
- Cheryl Coker, 33 — November 6, 1990 — Riverside, California: Coker was found partially inside a dumpster. She had been strangled with considerable force and mutilated after death. Investigators recovered a shoe impression from the scene that was later compared with footwear belonging to Suff.
- Susan Melissa Sternfeld, 27 — December 21, 1990 — Riverside, California: Sternfeld was found near a dumpster after being strangled. Her unclothed body appeared to have been intentionally positioned, reinforcing investigators’ belief that the offender was deliberately arranging some victims.
- Kathleen Leslie Milne, 42 — January 19, 1991 — Riverside, California: Milne was found near a trash container. She had been strangled and asphyxiated, with a sock used during the attack. Her body had also been positioned before it was abandoned.
- Sherry Ann Latham, 37 — July 4, 1991 — Riverside, California: Latham was found dead near a dumpster in an industrial area. She had been strangled, and the location and condition of her body resembled several earlier crimes attributed to the same offender.
- Kelly Marie Hammond, 27 — August 16, 1991 — Riverside, California: Hammond’s body was discovered near a dumpster. She had been strangled, with acute drug intoxication identified as a possible contributing factor. The evidence nonetheless placed her death within the established pattern of Suff’s attacks.
- Catherine McDonald, 30 — September 13, 1991 — Lake Elsinore, California: McDonald was approximately four months pregnant when she was killed. She was stabbed and subjected to compression of the neck. Her body was deliberately posed and mutilated. Footwear impressions at the scene were among the physical evidence considered during the investigation.
- Delliah Zamora, 35 — October 30, 1991 — Glen Avon, California: Zamora was found after being strangled with extreme force. Injuries to her hands indicated that she may have attempted to pull away the ligature or object used against her neck.
- Eleanor Casares, 39 — December 23, 1991 — Riverside, California: Casares was found in an orange grove near Jefferson Street and Victoria Avenue. She had been stabbed in the chest and strangled, and her body had been mutilated after death. She was the final victim included among Suff’s 12 California murder convictions.
The Surviving Victim
One woman survived an attack that prosecutors attributed to Suff. On January 10, 1989, 27-year-old Rhonda Jetmore entered Suff’s vehicle after agreeing to a paid encounter. Suff began choking and assaulting her, but Jetmore fought back with a flashlight and bit his finger while attempting to escape.
During the struggle, Suff lost his glasses. Jetmore used the distraction to flee and flag down a passing vehicle. A person inside the vehicle intervened, allowing her to get away. Her account later provided investigators with evidence of Suff’s behavior, his method of approaching women and his use of strangulation before the confirmed California murder series had been fully recognized.
The Cathy Ann Small Cold Case
In 2024, investigators announced that Suff had been linked through DNA evidence to the killing of Cathy Ann Small, a 19-year-old woman from Lake Elsinore. Small’s body was found on February 22, 1986, on a residential street in South Pasadena, California. She had been stabbed repeatedly and strangled.
Small’s killing occurred several years before the earliest murder for which Suff was convicted in California. According to investigators, Suff admitted meeting Small in Lake Elsinore and driving her to the Los Angeles area. The DNA connection expanded the known geographic and chronological scope of his activity, indicating that he may have been killing women well before the Riverside series attracted sustained law-enforcement attention.
- Cathy Ann Small, 19 — February 22, 1986 — South Pasadena, California: Small was found stabbed and strangled on a residential roadway. Decades later, forensic testing linked Suff to evidence from the crime scene.
Additional Suspected Victims
Investigators examined numerous other killings as possible Suff crimes. Similarities included the victims’ backgrounds, the use of strangulation or stabbing, the removal or arrangement of clothing and the disposal of bodies in isolated areas of Riverside County. Suff was not convicted of the following murders, and they should therefore be regarded as suspected or investigated connections rather than legally established victims.
- Michelle Yvette Gutierrez, 26 — October 29, 1986 — Riverside area, California: Gutierrez was found in a drainage ditch in an industrial area. Her death was investigated as a possible early crime connected to the later Riverside murder series.
- Charlotte Jean Palmer, 25 — December 10, 1986 — near Romoland, California: Palmer’s body was found near Highway 74. Authorities were unable to conclusively determine her cause of death, although smothering was considered a possibility.
- Linda Ann Ortega, 37 — April 29, 1988 — Lake Elsinore, California: Ortega was found near the community’s rodeo grounds after being stabbed. The location and treatment of her body led investigators to examine a possible connection to Suff.
- Martha Bess Young, 27 — May 2, 1988 — Lake Elsinore area, California: Young, who had traveled from Albuquerque, New Mexico, was found only a few miles from the location where Ortega had been discovered. Her death involved strangulation and amphetamine intoxication.
- Diane Mae Talavera, 37 — January 17, 1989 — Riverside County, California: Talavera was found strangled. Her death occurred during the period in which Suff was believed to be actively approaching women in the Riverside and Lake Elsinore areas.
- Judy Lynn Angel, 36 — November 11, 1989 — Temescal Canyon area, California: Angel died from severe injuries that included blunt-force trauma. Her killing was evaluated as part of the broader series, but Suff was not convicted in her case.
- Cherie Michelle Payseur, 24 — April 27, 1991 — Riverside County, California: Payseur was found dead under circumstances suggesting possible suffocation. Suff was tried for her murder, but the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on that count.
Investigation and Physical Evidence
As the number of victims increased, law-enforcement agencies formed a task force to compare the deaths. Detectives reviewed autopsy findings, victim histories, tire and shoe impressions, fibers and other physical evidence. The repeated discovery of women near dumpsters, rural roads and agricultural properties convinced investigators that the killings were likely connected.
Suff’s employment made the situation especially disturbing. He worked as a warehouse clerk for Riverside County and delivered furniture and supplies to government offices. He reportedly made deliveries to law-enforcement facilities associated with the very investigation attempting to identify the serial killer. Coworkers generally regarded him as quiet, helpful and unremarkable.
Investigators eventually connected Suff to the victims through a combination of witness information and physical evidence. Fibers, footwear impressions, hairs and items associated with victims contributed to the case. Police also examined jewelry and clothing that Suff had possessed or given to women he knew, suspecting that some of those objects had belonged to murder victims.
Traffic Stop and Arrest
Suff’s murder series ended after a seemingly routine traffic encounter. On January 9, 1992, a Riverside police officer stopped Suff while he was driving. During the encounter, officers discovered a bloody knife and other suspicious items inside his vehicle. Suff was detained as investigators compared the evidence with the recent murder of Eleanor Casares and the larger series of unsolved killings.
The search of Suff’s property produced additional evidence, including objects that investigators believed were connected to the victims. Detectives also focused on his vehicle as the likely place where women had been transported, restrained or attacked. His surviving victim’s description and the accumulated forensic evidence strengthened the case against him.
Indictment and Trial
In July 1992, Suff was indicted in connection with numerous Riverside County murders. His trial began in 1995 and involved extensive testimony from investigators, forensic specialists, medical examiners and people who knew both Suff and the victims. Prosecutors argued that the murders reflected a continuing pattern of domination, sexual violence and deliberate cruelty.
The defense challenged the reliability of the forensic comparisons and argued that the evidence did not conclusively place Suff at every crime scene. Prosecutors responded by presenting the combined weight of fiber evidence, shoe impressions, personal property, witness accounts and the recurring characteristics of the murders.
On July 19, 1995, the jury convicted Suff of 12 counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder involving Rhonda Jetmore. Jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict concerning the murder of Cherie Payseur. During the penalty phase, prosecutors also presented evidence concerning the murder of Suff’s infant daughter and other allegations of violence toward children.
Death Sentence
On August 17, 1995, the jury recommended that Suff receive the death penalty. On October 26, 1995, the trial court formally sentenced him to death. The California Supreme Court later reviewed the convictions and sentence, rejecting his principal appellate claims and leaving the judgment intact.
Suff’s case demonstrated how a convicted child murderer was able to leave prison after serving only a fraction of a lengthy sentence and later obtain public employment. His release became one of the most controversial elements of the case, particularly after authorities concluded that he had carried out a prolonged series of murders following his return to California.
Legacy of the Riverside Murders
William Lester Suff is remembered as one of the most violent serial killers in California history. His crimes were marked by strangulation, binding, stabbing, sexual violence and the mutilation or deliberate positioning of victims. The attacks reflected an escalating pattern in which vulnerable women were treated as disposable by both their killer and, at times, the broader society around them.
The case also highlighted the difficulties investigators faced when victims were involved in sex work or substance use. Some women had limited contact with relatives, frequently changed residences or were not immediately reported missing. These circumstances gave Suff opportunities to continue killing while individual deaths were initially investigated as separate incidents.
The later identification of Suff in the Cathy Ann Small case showed the continuing importance of preserving biological evidence from unresolved homicides. Modern DNA testing allowed investigators to revisit a crime committed in 1986 and connect it to a man already convicted of a separate series of murders. The discovery also renewed questions about how many additional women Suff may have killed between his 1984 release from prison and his 1992 arrest.
