Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - "The Lake Elsinore Killer" William Suff Pt. 2

Episode Date: January 26, 2023

No matter where Bill Suff lived, he was seen mainly by neighbors and co-workers as a helpful and happy man. It was a massive shock to them, and especially his wife, when he was indicted on 14 murder counts and one count of attempted murder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes discussions of infanticide, murder, mutilation, sexual assault, and child abuse. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. On February night in 1990, the smell of citrus permeated the crisp air of Lake Elsinore, California. 39-year-old Bill Suf sat in the driver's seat of his silver van and made conversation with 34-year-old Carol Miller. As they sat in the grove of twisted grapefruit trees, Bill reached towards Carol. Perhaps she thought he was about to kiss her. It was cold and she likely wanted to get started.

But Bill had something else in mind. Bill had picked her up under the pretense of a sexual transaction and wanted to put her at ease. After all, he had something planned and it would be more fun if she was surprised. Bill got out of the car and dragged Carol from the passenger seat and onto the ground. Then he retrieved a long, sharp knife from his van. He wrapped his hands around Carol's neck and squeezed. She struggled at first, pulling at his fingers and trying to scream for help, but he was too strong. His grip cut off her air supply, and within minutes she died. After making several more cuts, Bill sat back, satisfied. He strolled over to a nearby tree and picked a grapefruit.

He peeled it as he circled Carol's body, admiring his handiwork. Crouching over Carol, Bill pushed the blade into her chest. He had control, he had power, and his victim had nothing. It was the most incredible rush Bill had ever known. Bill bit into the fruit, feeling the sweet juice dripped down his chin. There was no need to rush. Nobody was coming. to stop him.

Hi, I'm Greg Poulson. This is Serial Killers, a Spotify original from Parcast. Every episode, we dive into the minds and madness of serial killers. Today, we're exploring the brutal murders of William Lester Suff, known as the Lake Elsinor Killer. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson. Hi, everyone. You can find episodes of serial killers and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify.

Last time, we discussed the anger and dangerous views towards women Bill likely developed in his childhood. We uncovered his attempts to control women, from his ex-wife to the infant daughter he abused and killed. And after a decade in jail, we learned that Bill moved back to his hometown in Lake Elsinore, California. There, he began killing local sex workers. This time, we'll examine Bill's evolving methods of murder. We'll talk about his new wife and their baby. Finally, we'll explore Bill's growing hunger and reckless behavior, which eventually caused his downfall.

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Find yours at Target today. To most who knew Bill Suff in the late 1980s, the 30-something-year-old was an exceptional person. He was the Star Supply Clerk at the Riverside County Purchasing Department, a volunteer for community projects, and a friendly face around Lake Elsinore. However, in mid-1989, there were a few neighbors who felt uneasy about Bill. There was nothing immediately off-putting about the tall, round man

who occasionally wore glasses, but the manager of his apartment building thought something about the happy go-lucky bachelor seemed strange. His neighbors heard him coming and going in the middle of the night and thought he seemed secretive. They started avoiding him because of this. Of course, Bill had plenty to hide. Behind his good guy act, he was hungry for power and control. Bill manipulated the people around him, stole from a helpless old woman, and visited sex workers, despite publicly despising them. Now he had violently attacked at least one of these women.

And while we can't be sure, it's possible some had already died at his hands. In the summer of 1989, Bill hopped into his silver Mitsubishi van with a personalized license plate, Bill Suf One. It was hardly inconspicuous, but Bill knew how to fly under the radar. Late at night, he cruised through the familiar streets of Riverside County. He knew this place like the back of his hand and headed to where he was sure he'd find women who offered sexual services. When Bill saw Kimberly Little, he pulled over. He knew Kimberly and had paid for her services multiple times, so the 28-year-old got into Bill's car without hesitation.

He wasn't a threat. He was a regular John, or so she thought. The two drove away from town for some privacy, but the night didn't go how it usually did, They had sex, but it's unclear whether it was consensual. At some point Bill's violence escalated. He reached over and grabbed Kimberly's neck. Bill had murdered women using strangulation before, and it's possible this method of killing helped satisfy his need for control. Vanessa is going to take over on the psychology here and throughout the episode.

Please note, Vanessa is not a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist, but we have done a lot of research for this show. for this show. Thanks, Greg. According to a 2014 study by the University of Pennsylvania, strangulation is often a gendered attack. Men are 10 times more likely to strangle their partners than women. The study found that men who turned to strangulation did so when they didn't feel in control of their partners. It was a way to stop them from speaking or acting, literally halting their access to air, to make them submissive, a personal act of domination. This could be why Bill used such a method. He wanted Kimberly to be at his whim, to breathe when he allowed it,

or to die when he demanded it. After several terrifying minutes, Kimberly slumped over, dead. But Bill wasn't finished. He took a knife and plunged it into her chest several times. After he was satisfied, Bill drove to Cottonwood Canyon, a remote area just 15 minutes east of Lake Elsinore's Street. There, something made Bill pause as he dragged Kimberly out of his van. He didn't like seeing her naked, mutilated body. He set her down and rummaged through his car, finding some clothes. Bill then lifted Kimberly enough to put a shirt on her. After that, he dug a long blue towel out of his van and covered her bottom half. It's not clear why Bill did this, but an FBI profiler would later speculate that because he knew her, he was struggling with a more profound sense of

inner conflict, like remorse. Whatever his intentions were, Bill didn't seem to consider the evidence. It wasn't just the clothes, strands of Bill's hair clung to the towel, his shoes left footprints, and traces of semen were found at the scene. Without cleaning up, Bill drove back home, content and unaware of the trail of clues he'd left. A few days later, someone found Kimberly and alerted the police. Officials arrived on the scene to collect evidence. They were hopeful at least the clothes and shoe prints would lead to some answers. But they didn't.

At least they didn't produce any suspects, Bill or otherwise. It also didn't cause authorities to connect her death to other similar crimes. Remember, there had been multiple sex workers killed in the Lake Elsinore area over the last few months. Well, the police considered these separate attacks. made by different perpetrators rather than a single killer. That meant evidence from each of those crime scenes probably weren't being cross-referenced or used together. So for now, the clothes, footprints, and semen found around Kimberly's body

were just pieces to a bigger puzzle, waiting to be assembled. Bill seemed to keep his night prowling to a minimum for the next four months. He likely wanted to wait and see if the police were catching up to him. Then, in mid-November, he might have worried these circumstances. fears were about to come true. Bill was speeding through Riverside County in his silver Mitsubishi, when a flash of red and blue lights went off behind him. He pulled over, perhaps wondering if this was it. The police had traced his crimes back to him. Amazingly, the cop didn't immediately haul Bill out of the car. Instead, he asked for Bill's license and registration before writing a

speeding ticket. There was one problem, though. Bill, who liked Plains. playing by his own rules, didn't have insurance. The officer wrote another citation and said Bill needed to appear in court. Instead of being filled with dread, Bill might have been elated. He knew they had no clue he was a killer. If they had, they would have arrested him on the spot. This possibly gave him some confidence because he blew off his court appointment. And after that, it didn't seem to take long for Bill to return to his nightly prowling.

About five months after killing Kimberly, Bill decided to go back to Main Street in Lake Elsinor and find another sex worker. Late at night that December, he picked up 23-year-old Christina Lale. Bill drove Christina out of town, then attacked. He strangled her to death, then stabbed her. This time, however, Bill didn't feel the same satisfaction. To get that feeling, it seemed he decided he needed to humiliate Christenor. He took a 95-watt light bulb and placed it inside her vagina.

According to a 2021 study published in the Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology, when a killer mutilates a dead body by inserting a foreign object like the light bulb or mutilation like stabbing, it's usually a sign of the disorder, necrosatism. The term refers to those who get sexual gratification from corpse mutilation. In Bill's case, he already had a long history, of using violence and murder to enjoy these feelings of power, so it's likely that the insertion of the light bulb was an escalation of that motive. But this escalation is also what made his next move so confusing.

Bill again draped his clothing over Christina before abandoning her on a busy road in Quail Valley, about 20 minutes north of Lake Elsinor. Covering the body seemed to contradict Bill's desire to humiliate his victim. Whatever his motivation was, Bill went home to live. Lake Elsinore, Christina was found by hikers the next day who alerted authorities. They were shocked by the stab wounds and sickened when they discovered the light bulb.

Despite the wealth of evidence, including Bill's clothes, the crime scene didn't offer investigators any new leads, and whatever DNA they may have found likely wasn't a match in their database. Even though Bill served prison time in Texas, the state didn't require DNA samples from incarcerated individuals until 2001. So far, authorities had found multiple bodies, but had no suspects. After a few weeks of playing it cool, Bill realized again the police weren't going to bust down his door. So maybe he didn't need to keep looking over his shelter or hold off for five months each time he claimed a victim. Instead, he could take what he wanted, when he wanted it.

Coming up, Bill expands his disturbing rituals and kills again. again. Are you looking for support in your weight management journey? Zepbound terseptitide may be able to help. Zepbound is a prescription medicine used with a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity to help adults with obesity, or some adults with overweight who also have weight-related medical problems to lose excess body weight and keep the weight off. Zepbound is approved as a 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, or 15 milligram injection. Zep bound contains terseptide and should not be used with other terseptide containing products or any GLP1 receptor agonist medicines. It is not known if Zepound is safe and effective for use in children. Don't share needles or pens or reuse needles. Don't take if

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start your gut health ritual. Try Activia today. Enjoying Activia twice a day for two weeks as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle may help reduce the frequency of minor digestive discomfort, which includes gas, bloating, rumbling, and abdominal discomfort. Now back to the story. By the end of 1989, Bill Safed killed at least two women in Riverside County, California.

Based on how they died, he seemed more interested in inflicting pain and humiliation than murdering them, and he was only growing more curious and more confident. In January 1990, Bill took another life, 23-year-old sex worker Darla Ferguson. He left her on an unnamed dirt rift. and though he didn't dress her in clothes, he did hide her naked upper body under a trash bag. Three weeks later, Bill drove 34-year-old sex worker Carol Miller to an isolated citrus grove, then killed and mutilated her. Afterwards, it seemed Bill picked a grapefruit from a nearby tree and ate part of it,

before covering her face with his shirt and driving home. We may never know what went on in Bill's head during and after after these attacks, specifically why he covered the bodies and faces of the women he killed. But it seems unlikely that a remorseful person could enjoy a snack next to their mutilated victim. Whether or not Bill felt any emotional consequences for his actions, there were several forensic ones. After a citizen found Carroll's body and reported it to the police, a team rushed to the grove. Bill's van left hundreds of feet of tire tracks in the area, which was a new clue. More importantly, a detective saw the stab wounds in Carol's chest and noticed something essential.

The cuts were very neat. This meant someone had been slow and intentional. And that wasn't all. Officials realized the wounds were similar to the ones found on Christina Layle, the 23-year-old Bill murdered last December. At this point, Bill had killed at least four women. Now seeing obvious similarities between these deaths, detectives finally began discussing the possibility of a serial killer. Still, they couldn't say that for sure. Not yet. And because they didn't have enough evidence to prove there was a repeat killer, officials couldn't organize a task force.

As a reminder, the first in this string of seemingly related killings occurred in 1986. At this point, it was 1990. The mentioned lack of evidence was one reason for the delay in realizing this was a serial killer. But it's also possible these individual victims weren't made a priority, and therefore it took a long time to realize they were connected. Sex work is criminalized, which means those who are victimized often don't get the same level of protection from law enforcement. According to the study, a systematic review of the correlates of violence against sex workers, a lot of times violence against sex workers isn't even considered an offense.

All this is to say that identifying the perpetrator was taking a long time, and because of that, Bill was safe to enjoy his public life. In February 1990, 39-year-old Bill Suff walked into a Lake Elsinor convenience store and saw a young girl at the register. Cheryl was a 17-year-old with dark hair, bangs, and an earnest smile. When they started talking, her sweetly, sweetness drew Bill in, but more so he loved how impressionable she was. Bill asked Cheryl out and began spinning tails to charm her. He claimed up lived in Lake

Elsinor his whole life. He didn't talk about his ex-wife, daughter, or the time he'd spent in a Texas prison. Likely, thanks to his confidence, Cheryl fell for the older man. The couple dated for a few months before Bill talked Cheryl into marriage. In March, of that same year, he whisked her away to Las Vegas, where they exchanged vows before a few friends. From Bill's perspective, Cheryl was likely a far better spouse than a sex wife, who was coincidentally named Terrell. It seemed because his new partner was so young, he could control her more easily. He required her to be the perfect, loyal, doting wife. Bill, on the other hand, continued visiting sex workers. When Cheryl asked why he was never home at night, he explained.

he was in charge of a disaster preparedness program for Riverside County. It required overtime. He even made pamphlets for this non-existent program to sell his story. Bill didn't take any more lives for a few months, but he didn't stay completely under the radar either. In June, police pulled him over for speeding again. Bill seemed to enjoy his small rebellions. Perhaps the confidence he felt from getting away with murder empowered him to do as he pleased in his public life.

As if to prove this, Bill blew off traffic court for a second time. Not only that, it seems he didn't pay rent. It's unclear if he didn't have the money or if it was yet another rule Bill felt like breaking. Either way, that move caught up with him, and the couple was nearly evicted in the late summer of 1990. That might have been fine with Bill, who seemed ready to move on. In September, he and Cheryl relocated to the city of Rialto in San Bernardino County,

about an hour north of Lake Elsinore, where they lived with Cheryl's parents. Then about a month later, Cheryl found out some good news. She was pregnant. The thought of impending parenthood didn't seem to have much of an effect on Bill's behavior. He got into more car trouble in his new home. In early October, police cited him for having an expired vehicle registration. And once again, he failed to make an appearance in court. Then he broke the law again in a far more sinister way.

That fall, he drove back to Lake Elsinor in his silver minivan and picked up 33-year-old Cheryl Coker. He strangled Coker to death, then sliced off her right breast. Once he finished mutilating her, Bill did something new. He set Coker's body in an alley in Northeast Riverside. He placed her carefully, making no attempt to cover her. that instead positioned her with her legs apart as if to humiliate her. In late December, he did the same thing to another victim, 27-year-old Susan Sternfeld. Bill strangled Susan with such force that he broke the bones in her neck.

Then he posed her body obscenely in an alley very close to where he left Cheryl Coker. He intentionally left both bodies by dumpsters. Authorities would later speculate it was as if he was sending a message. These women were trashed to him. Posing one's victims is an aspect of necrosatism behavior, and Bill likely enjoyed arranging their bodies in humiliating ways. Whatever emotion or motivation he felt to cover the corpses seemed gone. It's possible that now what Bill was drawn to was the idea of shocking the police.

This disturbing new habit of Bill's once again caught the attention of detectives who discovered these grisly crime scenes. With each new body, they had more puzzle pieces, from tire marks to hair to footprints. There had been at least six murders by this point, and detectives were actively trying to connect them. But despite the vast amount of evidence left behind and the similarities between the crimes, police still didn't have enough to form a task force. Until January 1991, when that all changed. That's when a motorist found 42-year-old Kathleen Milne Pucket,

by a small road northwest of Lake Elsinore. She had all the same stab wounds as the other women. In the dirt, detectives saw clear tire tracks. A quick analysis confirmed they were identical to the tires from Carol Miller's case, the woman found in the Citrus Grove. Finally, they had proof there was a serial killer operating in the area.

After that, Lake Elsinore and Riverside County combined detectives to create a task force. They began their investigation by revisiting old cases from the past year. While the task force was finally starting to assemble the gruesome puzzle pieces, Bill was dealing with a frustrating reality. He couldn't just ignore a traffic court summons. The same month Kathleen was killed, San Bernardino County issued an arrest warrant against

Bill for failing to show up in court. Though paying the tickets and appearing for his summons would have been the simple and safe choice, Bill likely found it beneath him. so it seems like he just ignored the warrant. He continued hurting women, too. In April 1991, he murdered 24-year-old Sherry Pacer and posed her by a dumpster, just like he had with his other victims.

It might be hard to imagine, but the same man who was brutally murdering sex workers was also making an excellent impression on his new community in Rialto. He and Cheryl had moved into their own apartment the prior December, and his neighbors saw him as the same lovely guy he seemed to be in Lake Elton.

He often checked in with them to see if he could help with anything. Bill made his biggest impression when volunteering for the town. He attended local meetings to set up a neighborhood watch and often put on a tough guy attitude. While some appreciated it, others found his desire to control the streets of Rialto odd, especially when things got out of hand. One time a neighbor parked in a space meant for Bill's car, Bill then marched outside with a pistol, acting like a cop rather than an inconvenienced local. And some people were noticing other worrisome behavior.

When a couple moved in with Bill and Cheryl that summer, they were alarmed to witness an argument where Bill flew into a rage when he saw Cheryl wearing a red sweater. He said it reminded him of the blood he used to see working in the pediatric ward during his military service. Another time, Bill screamed at Cheryl for wearing too much makeup. According to their new roommates, he yelled at her to take it off. and made degrading misogynistic remarks about how she looked. Still, beyond these incidents, more people appeared to like Bill than not.

He was a star employee for Riverside County, a neighborhood protector, and a reliable volunteer. His double life was going as well as it could have. Until it wasn't. Because that summer, Bill faced another development, one he was all too familiar with. In July 1991, Cheryl gave birth to a baby girl, Bridget Ann. Bill likely saw Bridget Ann as a competitor for his wife's attention, just like he had with his first daughter, and it seemed like her birth antagonized him, because with every passing day, Bill grew more reckless. That same month, he killed another woman in Riverside, 37-year-old Sherry Latham. He posed her in the Lake Elsinore area, like the others.

It was almost as if he was taunting the authorities, as if he was suggesting that he was going to keep. Keep killing, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop him. Coming up, the puzzle pieces of Bill Suff's crimes finally click into place. This episode is brought to you by Prime. Obsession is in session. And this summer, Prime Originals have everything you want. Steamy romances, irresistible love stories, and the book to screen favorites you've already read twice. Off campus, L, every year after, the love hypothesis.

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Or capture sun-kissed bliss. with limonada jolada, where zesty Brazilian lemonade accord meets coconut milk and golden brown sugar. Don't miss Sol de Janeiro's limited edition perfume mist collection, only at Sephora. Now back to the story. By the late summer of 1991, 41-year-old Bill Soff had killed and mutilated at least nine women, posing some of them around Riverside County as if to taunt the police. As for the authorities, they were making progress, but it was minimal. They confirmed the car tracks they'd found at some of the crime scenes had a unique tread design,

but they would have to check the tires of every suspicious vehicle in order to find the car in question. The task force also analyzed any footprints they found at the crime scenes to determine the killer's shoe type and size. It was a common brand, so it didn't help narrow down their search. While investigators spun their wheels, Bill was searching for more victims. That August, Bill went hunting along U.S. University Avenue in Riverside. He was in his minivan like usual. Around 10 p.m., he picked up a woman named Kelly White Cloud. Together, they drove to get fast food before sitting in the car to discuss business. It seemed like a nice enough start to the night. By now, Riverside County sex workers

knew someone was praying on them, but many needed the money and kept working. Still, White Cloud was on guard. When Bill suggested taking her out to the orchards, she felt uneasy. Her hesitation infuriated Bill. He started yelling at White Cloud, who shouted right back. She knew in her gut that something was wrong, so she opened the passenger door and bolted. Bill's narcissistic tendencies likely meant he didn't take this rejection, this failure, very well. He felt the need for power more than ever, which meant he wasn't ready to go home just yet. Later that night, he pulled over to pick up 27-year-old Kelly Hammond. As she got in the car, a distant shout made her pause.

White Cloud, who knew Hammond, had appeared, and she was telling Hammond to get out of the van. Bill clenched the steering wheel tightly, furious he was about to lose two victims in one night. However, Hammond waved the warning off and got into the car. Delighted, Bill drove her to the orchards. it was starting to feel like he would always get his way. Hammond's body was found only hours later, still warm. She was strangled, stabbed, stripped, and posed in an alleyway. At this point, Detective Christine Kier's Sheffield, who'd been on the case since the beginning,

was tired of the task force's slow-moving ways. She quickly leapt into action. Sheffield had previously worked as an undercover sex worker. So unlike some of the other members of the force, she knew who to go to for information. The same day Hammond was found, Sheffield toured the streets of Riverside, asking women who worked in the sex trade if they had any information about Hammond. She was able to get a name, Kelly White Cloud, one of Hammond's friends. Once Sheffield found White Cloud, it didn't take long to get the full story of what happened.

She also gave Sheffield a vague description. of Bill and said he drove a silver minivan. In a county of millions, it wasn't much to go on, but it was something. Sheffield was determined to make the most of this lead. She took White Cloud's information back to the task force immediately. In September of 1991, investigators issued a press release with all the information they had, which local newspapers published to help increase public awareness. The article included a description of the silver minivan and details about the man white cloud described, a white male, approximately 40, who wore glasses. It also contained a quote from a police officer that said the killers seemed to prefer white women. When Bill read the

press release, something didn't sit right. Detective Sheffield would later speculate he resented that the police felt like they knew what he was thinking, and he wanted to prove them wrong. During the second week of September, right after the article came out, Bill went hunting. This time he killed 30-year-old Catherine MacDonald, a black woman. He arranged her body in Lake Elsinore, where someone could find her quickly. To Bill, this probably felt like a strong statement. Nobody knew what he was thinking. Shortly after this, he got to relish this sense of superiority further.

The task force came to his workplace, the county supply purchasing department. They were getting furniture for their office. In his friendly manner, Bill asked the... police a few questions about the case. Thanks to his narcissistic tendencies, Bill loved being close to the action. It might have felt thrilling to operate right under the task force's nose. It also possibly reinforced his belief that nobody could control him, not even the police, and also not his family. It seems that Cheryl, Bill's 19-year-old wife, mostly stayed at home with three-month-old Bridget Ann. But in the evening, she went to night school to train as an

an airline ticketing agent. Their roommates worked evenings as well. So Bill was left alone with the baby, and in those instances, it's believed he would hurt her. Bill likely didn't want to make the same mistake with his second daughter that he'd made with his first. With Bridget Ann, there weren't any outward signs of physical abuse. But Cheryl started noticing that something wasn't right. The baby was constantly fussing, and the new mother couldn't figure out why. That fall, she had Bill drive them to a hospital for a checkup. Bill, who probably felt untouchable at this point, agreed. And at first it seemed like he was right.

When the doctors examined the baby, they couldn't find any physical signs of harm. They ran tests but sent the family home with ear medication and promised to keep them updated on the results. However, when the results came in, doctors were shocked by what they saw. The tests showed evidence of severe head injuries, which had caused. serious brain damage. Bridgetan also had three broken ribs and a broken femur. They immediately diagnosed the infant with shaken baby syndrome and alerted the police. According to a 2011 study published by Sultan Kaboos University Medical Journal, Shaken Baby Syndrome is the name for abuse

against an infant that causes brain injury. Because of its internal nature, it's hard to notice in babies without running specific tests, but it often leads to permanent brain damage. Three days after the hospital visit, local authorities knocked on the soft store. They took Bridget-Anne into protective custody and escorted both parents to the police station. Detectives questioned Bill and Cheryl about the abuse of their child, but both parents claimed they knew nothing about Bridget Ann's injuries. The police even used a polygraph test, but the results were inconclusive. The officials looked for criminal warrants against each parent, but they only searched within

California. So they didn't see information on Bill's past arrest in Texas. They also didn't see his two traffic warrants or that he owned a silver van. Unlike in 1976, the authorities couldn't prove that Bill or Cheryl harmed their daughter. Bridget Ann remained in protective custody, but her parents wouldn't face any charges. It's unclear how the couple responded to this tragic event. Cheryl lost her baby girl and didn't know why. Bill might have mimicked her confusion and grief, or maybe he carried on in apathy. The incident also could have increased his desire to get back at the criminal justice system. Two days after being questioned about his daughter, Bill killed 35-year-old Delia Zamora. And two months later, he murdered 39-year-old Eleanor O'Heda Casares.

He placed Eleanor just a half mile from a Riverside County Sheriff Station. Bill had already gotten away with so much and likely thought he could continue wreaking havoc for as long as he wanted. And maybe it was his distaste for rules that made him once again stop paying rent in his apartment. After several months, their landlord ran out of patience. He evicted the couple in December 1991. Bill then relocated him and his wife to Colton, 45 minutes north. of Riverside. He may have moved further away from his crimes, but he'd also gotten one step closer

to paying for them. In January, 1992, Bill drove through Riverside County at 9.40 p.m. He stopped to talk to a sex worker, but the negotiation didn't go well. Frustrated, he pulled away, then made it illegal U-turn. Immediately, a flash of red and blue illuminated the night, a cop who had already been quietly tailing him, approached the car to give Bill a ticket for the illegal maneuver. Bill was friendly enough, but when the officer ran his plates, he found issues with Bill's license. It was expired. So was the vehicle registration. It was enough to make the officer take a closer look at the van in front of him. According to the docu-series, World's Most Evil Killers,

when the officer peered in the back window, he saw a fishing knife with blood on it, or at least what looked like blood. Thanks to White Cloud's description of Bill, a police sketch had already been circulated, and this officer had seen it. As he stared at the driver of the minivan, he realized this Bill Suf looked a lot like that sketch. So the officer phoned the station asking for backup.

Detective Sheffield intercepted the call. Her first question was about the tires. What kind did the van have? When the officer told her the brand in size, She knew they matched the tracks they'd found at the crime scenes. She demanded he, freeze the scene. From that moment on, the puzzle pieces finally clicked into place. Officials determined Bill had the same shoes, tires, hair, and carpet fibers

tied to 14 of the dead women. They arrested him. The Lake Elsinore killer was finally behind bars. Bill sat in prison for several months as prosecutors prepared their case. The 41-year-old insisted he was innocent, even though the evidence against him was substantial. Despite his protests in July 1992, a grand jury indicted him on 14 murder counts and one count of attempted murder. The media published articles about Bill's brutality. His coworkers, neighbors, and friends couldn't believe he was capable of such atrocities.

The most surprised was his wife, Cheryl. Cheryl discovered many things about her husband through these publications. His first marriage, his first daughter's death, and his time in prison. It was all just as new to her as finding out he'd murdered at least a dozen women. One person didn't seem very shocked by Bill's actions. Terrell, his first wife, read about the murders from Texas. Bill had stolen her life and killed her daughter. Finally, he might see some lasting repercussions.

After about three years of preparation and trials, Bill faced those consequences. In 1995, a jury convicted him of 12 counts of murder and one count for the attempted murder of Ronda Jetmore. The sentence for his violent crimes was death. Bill was moved to San Quentin State Prison to wait on death row. Over the years, he must have been infuriated by his capture, but there had to be a part of him that thought he would get out of it. As he did during his 10 years locked up in Texas, Bill maintained his innocence. He behaved like a gentleman, and even when Cheryl filed for divorce, he kept his coal.

Amazingly, Bill's belief that he would somehow prevail paid off, well, at least in part. In 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom placed a moratorium on the death penalty in his state. 737 prisoners received stays on their executions, including 69-year-old Bill. Then in 2022, the governor announced his plan to dismantle California's death row. Bill's execution was canceled. Today, 72-year-old Bill's-sup sits in San Quentin. He's never confessed and likely never will. Because now, the only thing he has control over is his version of a

events. However, the tragic deaths of at least 12 women paint the real picture. Bill Suf was a monster who terrorized Riverside County, and though he escaped execution, he can never escape the title of the Lake Elsinor Killer. Thanks again for tuning into serial killers. We'll be back with a new episode. You can find all episodes of serial killers and all other Spotify originals from Parkast for free on Spotify. For more information on William Suff, we found the FilmRise docuseries, World's Most Evil Killers, Two-Four Productions Born to Kill, and Mind Games with a Serial Killer by Brian Allen Lane,

extremely helpful to our research. We'll see you next time. Stay safe out there. Serial Killers is a Spotify original from Parcast, executive produced by Max Cutler, our head of programming, is Julian Boireau. Our supervising sound designer is Russell Nash, with Nick Johnson as our head of production, and quality control by Spencer Howard. Stacey Nemick is our supervising editor, and Derek Jennings is our writing lead. This episode of serial killers was written by Kit Fitzgerald,

edited by Robert Tyler Walker, fact-checked by Cheyenne Lopez, researched by Sapphire Williams and Chelsea Wood, produced by Aaron Larson, and sound design by Michael Motion. Our hosts are Greg Polson and me, Vanessa Richardson. Pay off your home, travel for life, drive a Ferrari. In celebration of the world premiere of the Monopoly Big Board Buckslot Machine by Aristocrat Gaming, Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is giving one person a $1.6 million dream package. The biggest prize in Yamava's history. Club Serrano members can earn daily instant prizes and secure a spot in the finale May 29th.

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Despite an exhaustive investigation, the killer avoids arrest and then strikes again. I'm Global News crime reporter Nancy Hicks. You might listen to a lot of true crime podcasts this year, but they're not crime beat. Search for and follow the award-winning podcast Crime Beat on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.