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William Suff, also known as the Riverside Prostitute Killer, is one of California's most brutal serial murderers, whose crimes spanned from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. Convicted in 1995 for the killings of 12 women in Riverside County, Suff had previously served a reduced sentence for the 1974 murder of his infant daughter in Texas before being paroled in 1984.
Shortly after his release, a pattern of killings emerged across Southern California, targeting sex workers and vulnerable women. Authorities would later tie him to the 1986 cold case murder of 19-year-old Cathy Small through DNA evidence, prompting a confession in 2022, as per an ABC News report dated August 15, 2024.
Despite committing heinous crimes, William Suff remained under the radar for years, even working as a county clerk while evading capture.
His case will be profiled in Unknown Serial Killers of America, a new Oxygen series premiering May 18, 2025, with the William Suff episode airing May 25 at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT. This article explores five chilling details about William Suff’s crimes and how he evaded justice for so long.
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5 important details about the crimes of William Suff explored
The Unknown Serial Killers of America series airing on Oxygen brings focus to cases that never gained national notoriety despite their severity. One such case is that of William Suff, whose crimes in Riverside County, California, spanned from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s.
Though eventually convicted of 12 murders, he was suspected in up to 19 killings and linked to additional cold cases decades later. As the episode William Suff airs on May 25, 2025, the following details highlight the disturbing aspects of his crimes that led to his inclusion in this true-crime series.
1) A prior conviction for killing his infant daughter
Before the Riverside murders began, William Suff had already been convicted in 1974 for the killing of his two-month-old daughter in Tarrant County, Texas.
He and his wife, Teryl, were both accused, but her conviction was overturned due to a lack of evidence. According to The Guardian report dated August 13, 2024, Suff was sentenced to 70 years but served only a decade before being paroled to California in 1984.
2) Victims were s*x workers and mutilated in specific ways
Many of William Suff’s victims were vulnerable women, often sex workers with histories of drug use. He targeted them across Riverside County, often mutilating their bodies in ways that investigators linked together. In several instances, victims’ right breasts were removed. A Los Angeles Times report dated July 29, 1992, quoted officials stating,
“Some victims were sexually mutilated, and several bodies were posed in lewd positions… some victims also had bite marks.”
The first known victim, Michelle Gutierrez, was found stabbed, strangled, and sexually mutilated. Later victims like Kimberly Lyttle and Judy Angel were also subjected to brutal acts, and autopsies revealed evidence of torture and restraint.
3) He evaded capture while working a county job
Despite being a serial offender, William Suff held a public job. He was employed as a stock clerk with Riverside County, and his responsibilities included delivering supplies to law enforcement offices investigating the murders.
His ability to maintain a seemingly normal life and interact with law enforcement while committing these crimes added to the case’s complexity. This aspect is examined in Unknown Serial Killers of America to explore how killers like Suff avoid detection for years, as per Oxygen.
4) A cold case was reopened due to a newspaper clipping
In 1986, 19-year-old Cathy Small was found stabbed and strangled in South Pasadena. For years, her murder remained unsolved.
In 2019, a coroner investigating the death of a 63-year-old man across the street from the crime scene found disturbing photographs and a newspaper article referencing Small’s case. This prompted a DNA reanalysis. According to an ABC News report dated August 15, 2024, the DNA evidence was finally tested in August 2020, and the evidence matched with William Lester Suff.
When confronted with this evidence, Suff confessed to killing Cathy Small, a crime committed three years before his known murder spree began.
5) Arrested after a survivor's tip and caught with incriminating fibers
In August 1991, a woman escaped from Suff’s van after he became violent. That same day, 23-year-old Kelly Hammond, another woman picked up by Suff, was found dead.
The survivor gave a description that led to a composite sketch. Months later, in January 1992, William Suff was pulled over while driving a gray van, leading to his arrest.
Investigators collected hair and fiber samples, which were later matched to crime scene evidence. A Department of Justice criminologist testified during his 1995 trial that the fibers from his van and personal belongings matched those found on multiple victims. This evidence was critical in securing convictions for 12 murders.
Stay tuned for more updates.
