August 14th 2024.
In Southern California, a long-standing mystery has finally been solved thanks to a fortunate turn of events. The perpetrator responsible for the 1986 murder of a 19-year-old woman, Cathy Small, has been identified as a notorious serial killer who was already on death row. This update comes from the Los Angeles county sheriff's officials, who were able to piece together the evidence and close the case.
Small, who was working as a prostitute at the time, was tragically killed in February of 1986. According to sheriff's Lt. Patty Thomas, Small had told her roommate that she was meeting a man named Bill who was promising her $50 to drive from Lake Elsinore to Los Angeles. That night, Small left her home wearing a nightgown, but she never returned.
A few days later, Small's roommate came across a newspaper article about a woman who had been stabbed to death in South Pasadena. Fearing the worst, the roommate contacted the police and was able to identify the victim as Small. Despite their best efforts, investigators were unable to solve the case and it eventually went cold.
But then, in October of 2019, a coroner investigator stumbled upon a new lead while looking into the death of a man who lived across the street from where Small was killed. Inside the man's home, the investigator found several concerning items, including photos of women who appeared to have been held against their will, as well as a newspaper article about Small's murder. This prompted the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to execute a search warrant and conduct DNA testing on the items. However, the results did not match Small's DNA.
Although the deceased man was initially considered a suspect, further investigation revealed that he was not connected to Small's case or any other crimes. But this discovery led investigators to revisit Small's case file, where they discovered that crucial pieces of evidence, such as a sexual assault kit, had never been DNA-tested. In August of 2020, Small's clothing was finally tested and the results were uploaded into a federal database, which ultimately led to the identification of the killer as William Suff.
At the time of Small's murder, Suff was already on California's death row for 12 other murders in Riverside County. He was known as the "Riverside Prostitute Killer" or the "Lake Elsinore Killer." In May of 2022, Suff was brought from San Quentin prison to Los Angeles, where he confessed to killing Small during a two-day interview with detectives. Suff admitted to not only Small's murder, but also to some of his other previous crimes.
According to Thomas, Suff had met Small at a computer repair shop where he worked, and they had arranged for him to pick her up later that night. However, an argument ensued and Suff became enraged when Small knocked his glasses off his face. He then retrieved a knife from his vehicle and stabbed her multiple times in the chest. Suff then pushed her out of the car and drove away.
At the time of Small's murder, Suff was on parole from Texas, where he had served time for the 1974 death of his two-month-old daughter. Due to his age, previous convictions, and pending death sentence, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office has declined to prosecute Suff for Small's murder. However, they have expressed their condolences to the victims' families and have offered support through their bureau of victim services.
The closure of this case brings some comfort to the victims' families and the community, and the district attorney's office is thankful to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for their hard work in solving this long-standing mystery. The district attorney's office also extends their deepest condolences to all those affected by these tragic events.
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