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1986 cold case in South Pasadena linked to Riverside County serial killer
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Topline:
William Suff, also known as The Lake Elsinore Killer, confessed to killing 19-year-old Cathy Ann Small in 1986, according to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department.
The background: In 1986, the body of Small was found beaten, stabbed, and dumped on a South Pasadena road. Her case remained unsolved for nearly 40 years.
The break in the case: L.A. County sheriff’s detectives in 2019 were called to the home of a 63-year-old man who had died of natural causes. He had items and newspaper articles that made them think he might be involved in Small’s death, but his DNA didn’t match with any crimes. Detectives then reviewed all the evidence of the 1986 murder and realized DNA testing had never been done on the evidence, including Small’s sexual assault kit and clothing.
Serial killer confesses: In 2020, DNA testing revealed a match for Suff, a serial killer in the Lake Elsinore area who was found guilty and sentenced to death for murdering 12 women in Riverside County between 1989 and 1991. In 2022, detectives brought Suff from San Quentin State Prison, where he is on death row, to L.A. County for questioning. Suff then confessed to killing Small, officials said.
What’s next: The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department is asking anyone who may have information about other cold cases to come forward.
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