A shocking breakthrough has been made in a decades-old unsolved murder case in California: the killer has been identified through DNA.
The gruesome murder took place in 1986, when the body of 19-year-old Cathy Small was found in the middle of a leafy street in South Pasadena. The teenager had been stabbed and strangled, but her killer was never found – until now.
Police have revealed that Small’s killer is notorious serial killer William Lester Suff, 73, also known as the Riverside Prostitute Killer and the Lake Elsinore Killer.
Suff is already on death row for the murders of 12 other women, whom he killed between the 1980s and early 1990s.
During a press conference Tuesday morning, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna confirmed the identity of the killer.
In 1986, the body of 19-year-old Cathy Small (pictured) was found in the middle of the 800 block of Bank Street in South Pasadena.
Suffer confessed to Small’s murder after being confronted with DNA evidence, officials said.
“It is horrific that her life was taken in such a violent and tragic way,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger.
The Sheriff’s Department said the case “has haunted the community” for decades.
“Today we stand before you to announce that justice will be served for Cathy and her family. Although nearly four decades have passed, authorities have never given up on this case,” Barger said.
Suff’s other confirmed victims include: Rhonda Jetmore, Kimberly Lyttle, Christina Leal, Darla Jane Ferguson, Carol Lynn Miller, Cheryl Coker, Susan Melissa Sternfeld, Kathleen Leslie Milne, Sherry Ann Latham, Kelly Marie Hammond, Catherine McDonald, Delliah Zamora and Eleanor Casares.
There are several other murders that have been attributed to Suff, although he was never charged.
The killer, Suff (pictured), is already on death row for the murders of 12 other women, whom he killed between the 1980s and early 1990s.
Suff was finally arrested in 1992 following a routine traffic stop after a police officer found a bloody knife and items believed to be connected to the murders.
A Riverside County jury found Suff guilty of killing 12 women and attempting to kill another.
This cold case is just the latest of many that have been solved using DNA technology. Similar tests have been used to capture monsters such as the Golden State Killer and the Grim Sleeper.
DNA was first used to help investigate a criminal case in 1986, and since then, hundreds of cases have been solved thanks to advances in genealogical research.
Genetic genealogy, the practice of entering a DNA profile into a public database to find relatives, has emerged as a powerful tool for identifying suspects who leave DNA at a crime scene.
