William Suff
William Lester Suff (born Bill Lee Suff; August 20, 1950), also known as The Riverside Prostitute Killer and The Lake Elsinore Killer, is an American serial killer.
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| “ | I submit to you, Mr. Suff is no longer a member of the human race. By the nature of the crimes he has committed for 22 years, he has no heart, he has no soul and, by God, he has no conscience. | „ |
| ~ Paul Zellerbach, a prosecutor, describes Suff. |
Biography edit
In 1974, a Texas jury convicted Suff and his then-wife, Teryl, of beating their two-month-old daughter to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals later reversed Teryl's conviction but upheld Suff's in Suff v. State (Tex. 1976) 531 S.W.2d 814, finding insufficient evidence to convict her as either the primary actor or a principal in their baby's murder. Though Suff was sentenced to 70 years in a Texas prison, he served only ten years before his 1984 release on parole.
Suff subsequently raped, tortured, stabbed, strangled, and sometimes mutilated 12 or more women in Riverside County between June 28, 1989, and December 23, 1991. On January 9, 1992, Suff was arrested after a routine traffic stop when a police officer found a bloody knife and objects believed to be related to the killings.
Described as a mild-mannered loner, Suff worked as a warehouse clerk for Riverside County when he was arrested, having been hired while still on parole from Texas. During his time in this job, Suff delivered office furniture to the officers on the task force investigating his killing spree. He liked to impersonate police officers and cooked chili at office picnics.
In fact, it was alleged that he used the breast of one of his victims in his chili, which won the "Riverside County Employee Chili Cookoff." He was also working on a book about wild, lethal dogs. He enjoyed vanity plates and was an avid volunteer in the county's car-pooling.
On July 19, 1995, a Riverside County jury found Suff guilty of killing 12 women and attempting to kill another, though police suspected him responsible for as many as 22 deaths. Suff did not testify in his own defense. During the penalty phase that followed, the prosecutor presented evidence linking Suff to the 1988 murder of a San Bernardino woman, as well as evidence that despite his prior Texas prison term for murdering his first daughter, he abused and violently shook his three-month-old daughter by his second wife. On August 17, 1995, after deliberating for only 10 minutes, the jury returned verdicts of guilty on 12 murder counts and on one count of attempted murder.
The jury could not unanimously agree to find him guilty on a 13th count of murder. On October 26, 1995, the trial court followed the jury's verdict and ordered Suff condemned to death. Suff resides on death row at San Quentin State Prison.
His 2014 appeal of the sentence was rejected by the California Supreme Court, which upheld the death penalty.
Victims edit
- Kimberly Lyttle, 28 - June 28, 1989
- Tina Leal, 23 - December 13, 1989
- Darla Ferguson, 23 - January 18, 1990
- Carol Miller, 34 - February 8, 1990
- Cheryl Coker, 33 - November 6, 1990
- Susan Sternfeld, 27 - December 21, 1990
- Kathleen Milne, 42 - January 19, 1991
- Sherry Latham, 37 - July 4, 1991
- Kelly Hammond, 27 - August 16, 1991
- Catherine McDonald, 30 - September 13, 1991
- Delliah Zamora, 35 - October 30, 1991
- Eleanor Casares, 39 - December 23, 1991