02E02 - The Riverside Killer

A serial killer is at large in Riverside County, California, who began raping and murdering young women in their twenties during the late 1980s. With murders happening with increasing frequency, in March 1991 Bob Creed and John Davis are assigned to head a task force to study every aspect of the killer's sick, twisted crimes and find him. During this time he kills victim 16, Kelly Hammond, and while Bob is out of town following up on a lead for that case, victim 17, Catherine McDonald, a single mom with a young daughter. The murderer's crimes are each unique and brutal, and the toll on the victims' families and the investigators is overwhelming. Allie Whitecloud, who was out with Kelly the night she was murdered, comes in and provides information about the suspect, which allows a composite sketch of him to be drawn and identifies that he drives a van. The task force then is able to link the killer's vehicle to one specific model through various tire impressions left at the crime scenes and they are able to bring him into custody from a traffic search for the vehicle. William Lester Suff, 41 years old, turns out to be a county employee who has had direct contact with investigators from the beginning because of the nature of his job. When Bob goes to Suff's home with a search warrant, everything he sees there while talking to 18 year old wife Cheryl lines up with all the evidence collected at the crime scenes. His 1995 trial leads to convictions, 12 for first degree murder and 1 for attempted murder.