July 7, 2024 • 11 mins
From Friendly Neighbor to Notorious Killer: The William Suff Case. Discover how a man known for his cooking and kindness hid a dark side as a terrifying predator. This episode reveals the shocking truth behind the Riverside murders.
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SUBSCRIBE to 10 Minute Murder.
Have friends that also like true-crime stories?
SHARE this podcast with them!
CONNECT on social media to read about new episodes and see visuals that go along with the story.
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email: joe@10minutemurder.com
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Follow 10 Minute Murder-
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:49):
William lester Seff was convicted of hisfirst crime in nineteen seventy four, when
he and his wife, Terrell,were accused of fatally beating their infant daughter.
Although Terrell's conviction for the murder waseventually reversed because of a lack of
evidence, William ended up receiving aseventy year sentence, but after only a
(01:10):
decade behind bars, he was releasedon parole. By now, William was
thirty four years old, and heseemed to turn his life around, getting
a job as a stock clerk inRiverside County, California. He found it
easy to make friends in the area, and those who knew him described him
as a friendly nerd who was alwaysdoing things to help people when he wasn't
(01:32):
at work. He was passionate aboutbeing a cook a chef, and he
wrote his own cookbooks and even wonprizes for his homemade chili in local cooking
competitions. Two years after William wasreleased from prison, a body was found
at a drainage ditch in Riverside.A member of the public was walking along
picking up aluminum cans when he sawa young woman lying on her back covered
(01:56):
in blood and wearing clothes that hadbeen ripped and shredded. The man stepped
closer, realized that the woman wasdead and quickly ran to get help.
Although the female victim had been severelymutilated, her face was identifiable. Her
name was Michelle Yvette Gaudierrez and shewas only twenty three when she died.
(02:17):
Her autopsy revealed that she had beenstrangled, stabbed in the torso, buttocks,
and face, and her genitals hadbeen deliberately mutilated. It was clear
that Michelle's death was murder, andalthough investigators thoroughly searched the scene for evidence,
they had no clues pointing them towardsthe perpetrator. Only two weeks later,
(02:38):
another body was found. A twentyfour year old homeless woman, Charlotte
Palmer, had been dumped by theroadside, only twenty five miles away from
where Michele Gudierrez had been discovered.However, unlike Michelle, Charlotte's body had
been exposed to the elements for along time, and her autopsy wasn't helpful
(02:58):
to reveal any information. In fact, her cause of death was ruled as
inconclusive. The next death came inJanuary nineteen eighty seven, when thirty seven
year old Linda Ortega's body was foundby a road in the city of Lake
Elsinore. It was clear that herremains had been left there for quite a
while. The medical examiner estimated thatshe had been killed at least three days
(03:21):
before the body was found, possiblyeven longer. Now California law enforcement was
aware that they had found the mutilatedbodies of three women, all disposed of
in a very similar way. Forthe first time, they were starting to
wonder if they were dealing with aserial offender. Three months later, twenty
seven year old sex worker Martha Youngwas found dead in a ravine only a
(03:45):
few miles away from Linda Ortega's body. Martha was strip naked, had high
levels of amphetamines in her system,and had died around three weeks before she
was discovered. Her autopsy ruled hercause of death as being a combination of
strangulation and a drug overdose. Martha'sdeath confirmed police suspicions a serial killer was
(04:08):
at work and Riverside targeting vulnerable womenwhose disappearances were less likely to be discovered
quickly. The Riverside Police formed atask force dedicated to solving the case.
And almost immediately the killings stopped.It was as if the murderer was aware
that the police were on to himand either stopped his crimes or found a
(04:30):
new way of disposing his victims.For two full years, there was complete
silence from the Riverside Killer until thebody of a thirty seven year old sex
worker was found partially buried on theshore of Lake Elsinore. Linda may Ruiz
had died from asphyxiation, her headhad been partially buried, and her throat
(04:51):
was full of sand. Once again, the case didn't move forward for another
six months, and then another prostitutewas found dead. The task force was
devastated to learn that another victim appearedto have been taken by the killer.
Kimberly Little was a twenty eight yearold woman who shared many characteristics with the
Riverside Killer's previous victims. She hadbeen under the influence of drugs and alcohol,
(05:15):
and she was a sex worker,and she had been killed by asphyxiation.
However, Kimberly's body provided the taskforce with something that they had been
searching for, physical evidence that theycould use to narrow down their search.
During Kimberly's autopsy, several pieces ofclothing, fiber, and a couple of
pubic hairs were found which were confirmedto not belong to her. While this
(05:39):
evidence alone could not be used toidentify who the murderer was, it would
be incredibly useful if investigators had asuspect and mind. Kimberly's murder was also
the crime that truly brought the caseinto the public eye. Reporters from nearby
towns began traveling to Riverside to findout more about the debts, and before
long, the media had nicknamed themurderer the Lake Elsinor Killer and the Riverside
(06:04):
prostitute killer. The police captain endedup holding multiple press conferences about the murders
in an attempt to stop the publicfrom panicking. He insisted that the task
force was pulling out all the stopsin order to find the culprit. But
even though the task force was workingendlessly, they seemed to be no closer
(06:25):
to apprehending the Riverside killer. InNovember nineteen eighty nine, thirty six year
old sex worker Judy Lynn Angel wasfound dead close to Lake Elsinore. It
was clear during the autopsy that Judyhad not died quickly. In fact,
she had viciously fought back, sustainingdeep defensive wounds to her hands, before
(06:46):
she was overpowered. Her skull hadbeen crushed by multiple blows to her head
and face, and her body hadbeen mutilated. After Judy's murder, the
killer seemed to become more and morebold. It was as if he was
less afraid of being caught. Hewas killing more frequently, sometimes posing the
bodies of his victims or torturing themin new ways. But the key details
(07:10):
of the cases remained the same,making it easy for law enforcement to link
the crimes together. The first realbreak in the case came in August nineteen
ninety one, when a sex workerwas picked up by a man in a
gray van out of nowhere. Theman became angry and violent, and the
woman managed to escape from his vehicleand run away, only for the same
(07:32):
man to then pick up one ofher friends, twenty three year old Kelly
Hammond. Kelly's body was found thatsame day on the side of the road.
She had been strangled to death sorecently that she was still warm.
The survivor, who had managed toescape from the killer's car, provided a
description which was used to create acomposite sketch. Over the rest of nineteen
(07:55):
ninety one, the killer was stillat large, taking at least one victim
every month. By October, theRiverside Killer's body count was at eighteen,
and he had started to mutilate thebodies of some of his victims by removing
their right breasts. It also seemedlike he was starting to toy with the
task force, placing their bodies inlocations near the police station to taunt them.
(08:20):
On the ninth of January nineteen ninetytwo, a police officer pulled over
a gray van that matched the descriptionof the Riverside Killer's vehicle. The driver
was William suff who had now beenout of prison for almost two decades.
After discovering that William had an expiredvehicle registration and a suspended license, the
officers took him back to the station. During hours of questioning, William denied
(08:46):
any knowledge of the crimes, buthe was still arrested and samples of his
hair were taken to compare to thesamples from the bodies of the Riverside Killer's
victims. Ultimately, Judge Becky Duganruled that there was sufficient evidence of William's
guilt for the case to go totrial. In March nineteen ninety five,
the trial began. The prosecution describedWilliam as a sexual sadist who got pleasure
(09:11):
from torturing and killing his victims.A criminologist from the Department of Justice testified
that William's hair matched samples taken fromtwo of the crime scenes, and so
did fibers from William's clothing, sleepingbag, and betting. After almost fifty
days of testimony, the jury foundWilliam suff guilty of twelve counts of first
(09:33):
degree murder, and he was sentencedto death. Despite the Riverside killing now
having received justice, one question remainedunanswered. What had he done with the
breasts that he cut out of twoof his victims. Although it has not
been confirmed, it is highly suspectedthat William may have used human meat in
his award winning homemade chili, whichhe then fed to the employees of Riverside
(09:58):
County. That's ten minute murder fortoday brief and bingeable True Crime. I'm
Joe, I'm the host, andthank you for taking the time to listen
to ten minute Murder and I hopeyou weren't eating right there toward the end
(10:20):
of that kind of snuck the grossbacked in there on you. Sorry about
that, and if you are eating, I just hope it wasn't chilly.
Hey. If you're a new listenerto ten Minute Murder, make sure you
hit subscribe wherever you're listening right now. That's going to more easily help you
catch up on all the back episodesand when the new ones come out,
you'll be first in line to getthose. If you enjoy the podcast,
(10:43):
share it with your friends and family. And if you listen on a place
that allows ratings and reviews like Spotifyor Apple Podcasts, go ahead and leave
that. Leave a five star reviewfor ten Minute Murder. That helps the
show grow. Plus it makes melove you more, not that it's a
competition. If you want to getin touch with me, my email address
is Joe at ten minute Murder dotcom and the website is ten minute Murder
(11:05):
dot com. That's going to doit. That's your episode for today.
Thank you so much for listening toten Minute Murder.
William lester Seff was convicted of hisfirst crime in nineteen seventy four, when
he and his wife, Terrell,were accused of fatally beating their infant daughter.
Although Terrell's conviction for the murder waseventually reversed because of a lack of
evidence, William ended up receiving aseventy year sentence, but after only a
(01:10):
decade behind bars, he was releasedon parole. By now, William was
thirty four years old, and heseemed to turn his life around, getting
a job as a stock clerk inRiverside County, California. He found it
easy to make friends in the area, and those who knew him described him
as a friendly nerd who was alwaysdoing things to help people when he wasn't
(01:32):
at work. He was passionate aboutbeing a cook a chef, and he
wrote his own cookbooks and even wonprizes for his homemade chili in local cooking
competitions. Two years after William wasreleased from prison, a body was found
at a drainage ditch in Riverside.A member of the public was walking along
picking up aluminum cans when he sawa young woman lying on her back covered
(01:56):
in blood and wearing clothes that hadbeen ripped and shredded. The man stepped
closer, realized that the woman wasdead and quickly ran to get help.
Although the female victim had been severelymutilated, her face was identifiable. Her
name was Michelle Yvette Gaudierrez and shewas only twenty three when she died.
(02:17):
Her autopsy revealed that she had beenstrangled, stabbed in the torso, buttocks,
and face, and her genitals hadbeen deliberately mutilated. It was clear
that Michelle's death was murder, andalthough investigators thoroughly searched the scene for evidence,
they had no clues pointing them towardsthe perpetrator. Only two weeks later,
(02:38):
another body was found. A twentyfour year old homeless woman, Charlotte
Palmer, had been dumped by theroadside, only twenty five miles away from
where Michele Gudierrez had been discovered.However, unlike Michelle, Charlotte's body had
been exposed to the elements for along time, and her autopsy wasn't helpful
(02:58):
to reveal any information. In fact, her cause of death was ruled as
inconclusive. The next death came inJanuary nineteen eighty seven, when thirty seven
year old Linda Ortega's body was foundby a road in the city of Lake
Elsinore. It was clear that herremains had been left there for quite a
while. The medical examiner estimated thatshe had been killed at least three days
(03:21):
before the body was found, possiblyeven longer. Now California law enforcement was
aware that they had found the mutilatedbodies of three women, all disposed of
in a very similar way. Forthe first time, they were starting to
wonder if they were dealing with aserial offender. Three months later, twenty
seven year old sex worker Martha Youngwas found dead in a ravine only a
(03:45):
few miles away from Linda Ortega's body. Martha was strip naked, had high
levels of amphetamines in her system,and had died around three weeks before she
was discovered. Her autopsy ruled hercause of death as being a combination of
strangulation and a drug overdose. Martha'sdeath confirmed police suspicions a serial killer was
(04:08):
at work and Riverside targeting vulnerable womenwhose disappearances were less likely to be discovered
quickly. The Riverside Police formed atask force dedicated to solving the case.
And almost immediately the killings stopped.It was as if the murderer was aware
that the police were on to himand either stopped his crimes or found a
(04:30):
new way of disposing his victims.For two full years, there was complete
silence from the Riverside Killer until thebody of a thirty seven year old sex
worker was found partially buried on theshore of Lake Elsinore. Linda may Ruiz
had died from asphyxiation, her headhad been partially buried, and her throat
(04:51):
was full of sand. Once again, the case didn't move forward for another
six months, and then another prostitutewas found dead. The task force was
devastated to learn that another victim appearedto have been taken by the killer.
Kimberly Little was a twenty eight yearold woman who shared many characteristics with the
Riverside Killer's previous victims. She hadbeen under the influence of drugs and alcohol,
(05:15):
and she was a sex worker,and she had been killed by asphyxiation.
However, Kimberly's body provided the taskforce with something that they had been
searching for, physical evidence that theycould use to narrow down their search.
During Kimberly's autopsy, several pieces ofclothing, fiber, and a couple of
pubic hairs were found which were confirmedto not belong to her. While this
(05:39):
evidence alone could not be used toidentify who the murderer was, it would
be incredibly useful if investigators had asuspect and mind. Kimberly's murder was also
the crime that truly brought the caseinto the public eye. Reporters from nearby
towns began traveling to Riverside to findout more about the debts, and before
long, the media had nicknamed themurderer the Lake Elsinor Killer and the Riverside
(06:04):
prostitute killer. The police captain endedup holding multiple press conferences about the murders
in an attempt to stop the publicfrom panicking. He insisted that the task
force was pulling out all the stopsin order to find the culprit. But
even though the task force was workingendlessly, they seemed to be no closer
(06:25):
to apprehending the Riverside killer. InNovember nineteen eighty nine, thirty six year
old sex worker Judy Lynn Angel wasfound dead close to Lake Elsinore. It
was clear during the autopsy that Judyhad not died quickly. In fact,
she had viciously fought back, sustainingdeep defensive wounds to her hands, before
(06:46):
she was overpowered. Her skull hadbeen crushed by multiple blows to her head
and face, and her body hadbeen mutilated. After Judy's murder, the
killer seemed to become more and morebold. It was as if he was
less afraid of being caught. Hewas killing more frequently, sometimes posing the
bodies of his victims or torturing themin new ways. But the key details
(07:10):
of the cases remained the same,making it easy for law enforcement to link
the crimes together. The first realbreak in the case came in August nineteen
ninety one, when a sex workerwas picked up by a man in a
gray van out of nowhere. Theman became angry and violent, and the
woman managed to escape from his vehicleand run away, only for the same
(07:32):
man to then pick up one ofher friends, twenty three year old Kelly
Hammond. Kelly's body was found thatsame day on the side of the road.
She had been strangled to death sorecently that she was still warm.
The survivor, who had managed toescape from the killer's car, provided a
description which was used to create acomposite sketch. Over the rest of nineteen
(07:55):
ninety one, the killer was stillat large, taking at least one victim
every month. By October, theRiverside Killer's body count was at eighteen,
and he had started to mutilate thebodies of some of his victims by removing
their right breasts. It also seemedlike he was starting to toy with the
task force, placing their bodies inlocations near the police station to taunt them.
(08:20):
On the ninth of January nineteen ninetytwo, a police officer pulled over
a gray van that matched the descriptionof the Riverside Killer's vehicle. The driver
was William suff who had now beenout of prison for almost two decades.
After discovering that William had an expiredvehicle registration and a suspended license, the
officers took him back to the station. During hours of questioning, William denied
(08:46):
any knowledge of the crimes, buthe was still arrested and samples of his
hair were taken to compare to thesamples from the bodies of the Riverside Killer's
victims. Ultimately, Judge Becky Duganruled that there was sufficient evidence of William's
guilt for the case to go totrial. In March nineteen ninety five,
the trial began. The prosecution describedWilliam as a sexual sadist who got pleasure
(09:11):
from torturing and killing his victims.A criminologist from the Department of Justice testified
that William's hair matched samples taken fromtwo of the crime scenes, and so
did fibers from William's clothing, sleepingbag, and betting. After almost fifty
days of testimony, the jury foundWilliam suff guilty of twelve counts of first
(09:33):
degree murder, and he was sentencedto death. Despite the Riverside killing now
having received justice, one question remainedunanswered. What had he done with the
breasts that he cut out of twoof his victims. Although it has not
been confirmed, it is highly suspectedthat William may have used human meat in
his award winning homemade chili, whichhe then fed to the employees of Riverside
(09:58):
County. That's ten minute murder fortoday brief and bingeable True Crime. I'm
Joe, I'm the host, andthank you for taking the time to listen
to ten minute Murder and I hopeyou weren't eating right there toward the end
(10:20):
of that kind of snuck the grossbacked in there on you. Sorry about
that, and if you are eating, I just hope it wasn't chilly.
Hey. If you're a new listenerto ten Minute Murder, make sure you
hit subscribe wherever you're listening right now. That's going to more easily help you
catch up on all the back episodesand when the new ones come out,
you'll be first in line to getthose. If you enjoy the podcast,
(10:43):
share it with your friends and family. And if you listen on a place
that allows ratings and reviews like Spotifyor Apple Podcasts, go ahead and leave
that. Leave a five star reviewfor ten Minute Murder. That helps the
show grow. Plus it makes melove you more, not that it's a
competition. If you want to getin touch with me, my email address
is Joe at ten minute Murder dotcom and the website is ten minute Murder
(11:05):
dot com. That's going to doit. That's your episode for today.
Thank you so much for listening toten Minute Murder.
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