Teen’s 1986 Death in Lake Elsinore Tied to Notorious Serial Killer

Investigators made significant strides on Tuesday in a cold case that dates back to 1986, when 19-year-old Cathy Small’s murder was linked to serial killer William Suff, who has been convicted of 12 murders.

Small’s body was found early in the morning of February 22, 1986, on Bank Street in South Pasadena. According to Lieutenant Patricia Thomas from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau, she was discovered lying in the road, wearing a nightgown and showing signs of multiple stab wounds.

A subsequent autopsy confirmed that Cathy died from repeated stab wounds and strangulation.

Initially unidentified, a Lake Elsinore resident recognized her after reading about the murder in a local newspaper. He contacted the detectives, stating that Small had lived with him for several months. “Later that day, he identified the victim as Cathy Ann Small,” Thomas explained. “He told detectives she was a prostitute in the Lake Elsinore area.”

The resident also revealed that Cathy had left his home around 10 p.m. the previous night, heading to meet a man named Bill, who was going to pay her $50 for a ride to Los Angeles. He never heard from her after that night.

Over the decades, detectives have tirelessly sought to find answers in a case that had gone cold. Numerous leads were followed, yet they never reached a concrete conclusion.

In October 2019, a turning point came when an investigator from the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner notified detectives about a deceased man who had lived in the same vicinity where Small’s body was found over thirty years earlier.

This 63-year-old man was discovered dead on his couch. During the investigation, the coroner’s investigator noted disturbing items in his house, including numerous photographs of women who appeared to be drugged and restrained, as well as a newspaper article identifying Small as the victim.

Upon discovering this connection, detectives sought a search warrant for the man’s home. They uncovered various pieces of evidence, but DNA testing showed that the man’s DNA did not match that found on Small, nor was it linked to any other crimes.

Continuing their inquiry, detectives re-examined all the evidence from the original 1986 investigation. They soon realized that none of the items, including the sexual assault kit and Small’s clothing, had previously been tested for DNA.

In August 2020, new testing on the sexual assault kit and clothing revealed DNA from two male donors. One of these donors was confirmed to be William Lester Suff, then a 70-year-old convict, while the other donor remained unidentified. Suff is often referred to as the Riverside Prostitute Killer or the Lake Elsinore Killer.

Suff was initially arrested in 1992 after a routine traffic stop led to charges for multiple murders. In 1995, he was sentenced to death for the horrific crimes he committed against twelve sex workers in Riverside County between 1989 and 1991. Currently, at age 73, he remains on death row at San Quentin State Prison.

Moreover, Suff was previously convicted of murdering his 2-month-old daughter in Texas in 1974 and was sentenced to 70 years in prison. He was paroled to California in 1984 after serving just ten years.

Following the DNA match, homicide investigators transferred Suff from San Quentin to the Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles, where they interrogated him for two days. Thomas reported that Suff confessed to the murder of Cathy Small and even recounted details of other murders in Riverside County.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna spoke at the press conference, emphasizing the importance of justice. “We believe we’re bringing a sense of long-overdue justice and closure to the victim and her family,” he remarked, highlighting the need to remember Cathy not only as a victim but as a loved one who lost her life tragically.

Also present was Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who revealed that at the time of her death, Small was a mother of two young children. “Cathy had a family who cared about her deeply,” she said. “It is horrifying that her life was taken away so violently. Today, we stand before you to announce that justice will be served for Cathy and her family.”