California serial killer William Suff linked to 1986 cold case murder in South Pasadena

SOUTH PASADENA, Calif. - The decades-old slaying of Cathy Small, whose body was found in South Pasadena in 1986, is linked to serial killer William Suff, who was convicted of murdering 12 women in Riverside County from 1986 to 1991, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department announced. 

During a news conference Tuesday, LA County Sheriff Robert Luna called it a "major breakthrough," calling it "long-overdue justice and closure" to Small and her family.

"Amongst everything else we're talking about today, you've always got to remember when we're talking about something as significant as this, we're talking about a victim who lost her life, and the family who will never forget that," Luna said.

Small was found stabbed to death on Feb. 22, 1986, in the 800 block of Bank Street, located near the area of Monterey Road and Meridian Avenues, LASD homicide Lt. Patricia Thomas said. An autopsy later determined Small died of "multiple stab wounds and strangulation." 

Small was identified as the victim after her roommate at the time read about the killing in the newspaper and contacted authorities. He told detectives Small was a prostitute in the Lake Elsinore area and had lived at his home for a few months.

According to the roommate, Small told him a man named Bill was picking her up and giving her $50 to drive with him to Los Angeles. 

That's the last time anyone heard from Small. 

In 2019, the investigation into Small's death was briefly reopened after it was possibly linked to the death of a man at a home across from where Small's body was found 33 years earlier, officials said. At his home, authorities recovered several disturbing items, including pictures of women who appeared drugged, assaulted, and held against their will. A newspaper article about Small's death was also found in his bedroom, according to authorities.

Cathy Small / LASD

However, the man's DNA did not match that of Small, and he was not linked to any crimes. 

In 2020, an examination of evidence in Small's death resulted in further DNA testing and updated DNA results, which "revealed the presence of two male donors." 

"One of the donors was identified as William Lester Suff -- at (that) time, a white 70-year-old man -- and the other an unknown male," Thomas said.

William Suff / LASD

"Bill Suff was a convicted serial killer, also known as the ‘Riverside Prostitute Killer,’ or the ‘Lake Elsinore Killer,’" Thomas said.

Suff was charged with the murders in 1992 and three years later found guilty and sentenced to death for 12 homicides in Riverside County between 1989 and 1991.

Suff was out on parole in California during the time of Small's death. He was convicted of murdering his 2-month-old daughter in Texas in 1974.

In 2022, Suff was transferred from San Quentin Prison to the LASD Men's Central Jail. There, he confessed to Small's murder and also discussed and admitted to some of the previous murders in Riverside County.