Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 15, 1992 TAG: 9201150212
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RIVERSIDE, CALIF. LENGTH: Medium
BABY-KILLER SUSPECT IN SERIAL MURDER CASE
A man paroled after nearly 10 years in prison for the beating death of his infant daughter was charged Tuesday with two of 19 slayings police believe were committed by a serial killer or killers.William Lester Suff, 41, was under investigation in the other 17 killings, said Lt. Al Hearn, supervisor of a task force on the case.
Suff was ordered held without bail during a court appearance Tuesday via a jailhouse video camera. As an arraignment began on a Texas parole violation, the paperwork on two murder charges was handed to Municipal Judge Dennis McConoghy.
Suff was charged with the deaths of Catherine McDonald, 31, of Riverside, whose body was found Sept. 13, and Elenor Ojeda Casares, 39, of Riverside, whose body was found Dec. 23.
Casares was the 19th victim of a serial killer or killers stalking female prostitutes and drug users in Riverside County since 1986, authorities said.
Evidence collected at Suff's home and in his van link him to the McDonald and Casares slayings, Heard said. He didn't elaborate.
Suff didn't enter a plea and agreed to have his arraignment postponed to Feb. 4.
Victims' families have speculated the killer might be a police officer or someone impersonating an officer because some victims were described as women who wouldn't go with men they didn't know or trust.
Hearn wouldn't say if any law enforcement articles, such as a badge or uniform, were among the items found in Suff's van or home.
Suff had worked since October 1986 as a stock clerk for Riverside County, said assistant county purchasing agent Mark Seiler.
Suff and his wife, Teryl Rose Suff, were convicted of beating their 2-month-old daughter to death in Tarrant County, Texas, in 1974. Suff was paroled in 1984 after serving 10 years of a 70-year prison term, said David Nunnellee, a spokesman with the corrections division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Teryl Suff's conviction was reversed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
The official list of Riverside slayings starts with Michelle Gutierrez, 26, found Oct. 29, 1986. The bodies were discarded on hillsides, in alleys and along freeways in Riverside County, a rapidly growing area east of Los Angeles County.