The Riverside Prostitute Killer
Catching a Killer
On September 13, 1991, a construction worker found the body of 30-year-old Catherine McDonald, a known drug user and prostitute, near a building site in Tiscany Hills. Kelly wrote that at first glance investigators thought the murder might be unrelated to the others. The victim was African American, whereas all previous victims were Caucasian. However, upon closer inspection they noticed the victims right breast had been removed. But, unlike Cheryl Cokers mutilation, it was not lying next to the victims corpse. Apparently the killer had taken it with him. Investigators surmised that the killer heard a recent broadcast on the six o'clock news, during which a psychologist said that the killer was probably a white male who preyed exclusively on white women. Hence, the purpose of McDonalds murder was to show the media who was in charge.
The following month, on October 30, 1991, a man was driving along Summerhill Drive when he spotted something odd just off the shoulder of the road. At first I thought it was a mannequin, he later told investigators, but at closer inspection I realized it was the corpse of a woman. The victim was later identified as 35-year-old Delliah Zamora Wallace, a prostitute, drug addict and mother of five. The county coroner listed the cause of death as asphyxiation.
The victim toll was now at 18 and investigators still didnt have one viable suspect. The killer was striking at least once a month now and investigators knew it was only a matter of time before he killed again.
Two days before Christmas, 1991, Eleanore Ojeda Casares naked body was found near Victoria Avenue, just down the street from the Riverside police station. The 39-year-old drug addict and prostitute had been strangled and her right breast was missing. The proximity of the body to the police station angered investigators, who were convinced that the killer purposely placed her there in order to make fools out of them.
On the night of January 9, 1992, Officer Frank Orta was patrolling University Avenue, an area known for prostitution and drugs, when he suddenly noticed a van, matching the description of the APB, make an illegal U-turn. When Orta flashed his lights and siren, the 1989 Mitsubishi pulled off to the side and he quickly called for backup. Within minutes, officers Don Tauli and Duane Beckman were at the scene. The driver, a man by the name of William Suff, appeared to be polite, but upon running his name through the computer Orta discovered that his drivers license was suspended and his vehicle registration was expired. The suspect was then transported to the Riverside police station for questioning. Christine Keers (The Riverside Killer) and Brian Allen Lane (The Fifteen Most Horrific Murder Cases Ever to Shock America) both provide details, with some from The Los Angeles Times.