LOS ANGELES — The long-unsolved 1986 killing of a young Southern California woman has been linked to a convicted serial killer who admitted the crime, authorities said Tuesday.
DNA from the killing of Cathy Small, 19, matched William Suff, who was sentenced to death after being convicted in 1995 of 12 murders that occurred in Riverside County from 1989 to 1991, said Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Patricia Thomas.
Suff was known as the Riverside prostitute killer or the Lake Elsinore killer, Thomas told a news conference. He was also convicted in 1974 in the death of his 2-month-old daughter in Tarrant County, Texas, and despite being sentenced to 70 years in prison he was paroled to California in 1984.
Small’s body was found on a street in South Pasadena, a small Los Angeles suburb, at 7 a.m. on Feb. 22, 1986. Clad in a nightgown, Small was found to have been stabbed and strangled.
She was a Jane Doe until a resident of Lake Elsinore, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) southeast of South Pasadena, called detectives and said that after reading a news story about the killing he was concerned that it could a local prostitute who lived with him for several months.
The resident identified Small and told investigators that the night before she was found dead she had told him a man named Bill was picking her up and giving her $50 to drive with him to Los Angeles, Thomas said.
The case nonetheless remained unsolved for years.
In 2019, an LA county medical examiner’s investigator contacted homicide detectives after responding to the natural death of a 63-year-old man found on a couch in a South Pasadena house across the street from where Small’s body was left.
“The coroner’s investigator observed several disturbing items in the house, numerous photos of women who appeared to have been assaulted and held against their will, possibly by the decedent,” Thomas said.
In his bedroom there was a newspaper article about the identification of Small as the victim of the 1986 killing, she said.
Detectives went through the Small killing file and discovered that the evidence was never subjected to DNA testing. Subsequent testing matched Suff and another unknown man, but not the man found on the couch, who was not linked to any crimes, Thomas said.
In 2022, detectives interviewed Suff over two days at a Los Angeles County jail.
“He confessed and discussed in detail the murder of Cathy Small,” Thomas said. “He also discussed and admitted to some of the previous murders in Riverside County.”
Investigators are not expected to seek to try Suff in the Small killing because of his prior convictions and pending death sentence. There has been a moratorium on the death penalty in California since 2019.
Small had two small children and a younger sister, authorities said. Thomas read a letter from the sister, who was not able to travel to the news conference.
“My sister, Cathy Small, was not a statistic,” the letter said. “She was a protective big sister, a loving mother, and a good daughter. Kathy was funny, smart, and caring. She had a big heart and would do anything for anyone.”
A California serial killer has been linked to the 1986 murder of a young woman near Los Angeles through DNA investigation, bringing closure to a decades-old cold case.
The victim, 22-year-old Terri Lynn Hollis, was found dead in the San Gabriel Mountains in Glendora on June 12, 1986. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled, and her body was discovered by hikers in the area. Despite extensive efforts by law enforcement at the time, the case remained unsolved for over three decades.
However, recent advancements in DNA technology have allowed investigators to make a breakthrough in the case. In 2018, DNA evidence collected from the crime scene was re-examined using new forensic techniques, and a match was found in the national DNA database. The DNA belonged to a convicted serial killer named Edward Donell Thomas, who is currently serving a life sentence in prison for multiple murders.
Thomas, now 61 years old, has been linked to at least five other murders in California during the 1980s and 1990s. He was known to target young women and girls, often luring them with promises of money or drugs before assaulting and killing them. The discovery of his DNA in connection to Terri Lynn Hollis’ murder has provided closure to her family and friends, who have waited over three decades for answers.
The case highlights the importance of DNA technology in solving cold cases and bringing justice to victims and their loved ones. It also serves as a reminder of the dangers posed by serial killers and the need for continued vigilance in identifying and apprehending these individuals.
As for Edward Donell Thomas, he remains behind bars, serving multiple life sentences for his heinous crimes. The revelation of his involvement in the murder of Terri Lynn Hollis has brought a sense of closure to her case, but it also raises questions about how many other victims may have fallen prey to this ruthless killer. Law enforcement officials continue to investigate Thomas’ past crimes in hopes of bringing justice to all those affected by his actions.
