Opinion ID: 2671522
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Murder of Susan Sternfeld

Text: Susan Sternfeld was last seen on December 19, 1990, at approximately 2:00 p.m., looking to ―turn a trick‖ on University Avenue in Riverside. On December 21, 1990, her nude body was found in an enclosure for a dumpster in an industrial area in Riverside. The cause of death was strangulation. There were hemorrhages 9 in her eyes and eyelids and in the muscles of her neck, abrasions on her neck, and a fracture in her larynx. RFLP testing on DNA from a vaginal swab reflected five matches to defendant. The matches were the same as found in the sample from the condom at the Coker crime scene. As noted above, that DNA profile appears in one in 540 million Blacks, one in a billion Whites, and one in 150 million Hispanics. Fibers found on the victim‘s body were similar to defendant‘s van‘s carpet, upholstery, and seat fabric, the rope found in the van, and the red acetate lining of the sleeping bag found in the van. h. Murder of Kathleen Milne, also known as Kathleen Puckett Kathleen Milne worked on University Avenue in Riverside. Her sister last saw her on January 18, 1991. Her nude body was found the next day adjacent to a dirt road in the Lake Elsinore area. The cause of death was asphyxiation due to strangulation and obstruction of her airway by a white sock that had been stuffed into her mouth. She had hemorrhages in her eyes, mouth, and neck, and a fracture in her larynx. RFLP testing on DNA from a vaginal swab reflected four matches to defendant. The frequency of this combination of matches was one in 16 million Blacks, one in 23 million Whites, and one in 13 million Hispanics. A fiber from her hair was similar to the carpet in defendant‘s van. A tuft of yarn recovered from the sock in her mouth was similar to fabric on the seats of defendant‘s van. One of the tire impressions found off the roadway and in the direction of her body was consistent with an Armstrong Ultra Trac tire, the type of tire that was on defendant‘s van, and was also consistent with tire impressions at the Leal, Ferguson, and Miller crime scenes. 10
Sherry Latham worked on Main Street in Lake Elsinore. Her nude body was found on July 4, 1991, in a field in the Lake Elsinore area. The cause of death was strangulation. There was hemorrhaging in the muscles of her neck and a fracture in her thyroid cartilage, but decomposition made it difficult to identify other injuries. A hair found on Latham was similar to hair from defendant‘s cat. Fibers found on her were similar to the red acetate lining inside the sleeping bag in defendant‘s van and fibers from a rope in defendant‘s van. j. Murder of Kelly Hammond Kelly Hammond was last seen on August 15, 1991, working on University Avenue in Riverside. On the evening she disappeared, her friend, Kelly Whitecloud, was also working as a prostitute on University Avenue. Whitecloud entered a van that pulled up beside her, and the man inside agreed to pay her $20 for sexual services. Because Whitecloud was hungry, the driver first took her to a McDonald‘s restaurant, and then they returned to his van. In the van, they argued because he wanted to take her to ―the orchards‖ and she wanted to go to her motel room. In addition, he said he would pay her only $10 because he had purchased food for her. She told him she wanted to get out, but he refused to stop the van, so she jumped out while it was moving. The van drove half a block farther and picked up Kelly Hammond. Whitecloud yelled to Hammond not to go, but Hammond left in the van and never returned. Hammond‘s nude body was found on August 16, 1991, in an alleyway in an industrial area of the City of Corona. Her body had been posed, with her face down, her right arm under her abdomen, her left arm bent at the elbow with the palm of her hand facing upward, her left leg drawn up into her chest area, and her right leg extended outward. The cause of death was strangulation, with acute 11 opiate intoxication also contributing. She had hemorrhages in her eyes and mouth, lacerations on her forehead, and abrasions on her face. Abrasions on her wrist were consistent with a restraint. A linear injury on the back of her neck and an abrasion on the front of her neck could have been inflicted with a ligature. There were four areas of hemorrhage that were caused by compression on her neck. RFLP testing on DNA from a vaginal swab reflected two matches to defendant. PCR testing on the DNA also reflected one match to defendant. The frequency of the combination of the two matches from the RFLP testing and the match from the PCR testing was one in 7,000 among Blacks, one in 18,000 among Whites, and one in 4,000 among Hispanics. A hair from Hammond‘s body was similar to hair from defendant‘s cat. Fibers found on her body and in her hair were similar to fabric on the seats, fabric in the upholstery, and the carpeting of defendant‘s van. A fiber from her body was similar to the red acetate lining inside the sleeping bag in defendant‘s van. At trial, the manager of the McDonald‘s restaurant identified defendant as the man with Whitecloud the evening Hammond disappeared, and Whitecloud identified defendant as the driver of the van that picked up Whitecloud and then Hammond. Whitecloud described the van as ―bluish gray‖ with ―grayish‖ carpeting. She recalled that it had two ―captain‘s chairs‖ in front and one in back, and something that looked like a Bible on the center console. When shown a variety of vans by a police investigator the day after Hammond disappeared, she identified an Astro model van as the most similar to the van she had seen. When defendant was arrested in January 1992, he was driving a Mitsubishi van. The manufacturer‘s description of the van‘s color was ―Ascot Silver,‖ and defendant‘s ex-wife, Bonnie Ashley, described it as gray. In the van‘s glove box was a ―Notice to Appear‖ that had been issued to Kelly Marie Hammond a week before 12 she was last seen alive. A black appointment book was found in the van, and two captain‘s chairs were found in defendant‘s apartment. k. Murder of Catherine McDonald Catherine McDonald worked on University Avenue in Riverside. Her daughter saw her for the last time on September 12, 1991, when she left their apartment that evening, supposedly to go to the store. On September 13, her nude body was found near a dirt road in a remote location in the Lake Elsinore area. Her body was posed, with her legs spread apart, her feet together, and her arms extended outward from her body. The cause of death was neck compression and multiple sharp force injuries. There was hemorrhaging in her eyes, abrasions on her neck, and a large cut wound on her neck that penetrated through the muscle, the trachea, the left jugular vein, and the left carotid artery. There were three stab wounds to her chest, two of which penetrated her heart. The stab wounds to the chest and the wound to the neck were inflicted antemortem. There was bleeding in the neck, separate from the bleeding associated with the neck wound, which was evidence of compression to her neck. Her right breast had been excised postmortem. There was a stab wound and four cut wounds to her genitalia; the stab wound and two of the cut wounds were inflicted antemortem. RFLP testing on DNA from a vaginal swab reflected one match to defendant. That match would be found in one in 115 Blacks, one in 250 Whites, and one in 119 Hispanics. Fibers from McDonald‘s hair and body were similar to the red acetate lining of the sleeping bag, the white nylon insulation of the sleeping bag, the acrylic fabric of the gold pillow found in defendant‘s van, and fabric on the seats in defendant‘s van. Hairs found in her pubic area and in her vagina were similar to defendant‘s pubic hair. Hairs found in McDonald‘s head hair were similar to 13 the hair on defendant‘s cat. A hair found in the back of defendant‘s van was similar to McDonald‘s hair. Tire impressions were found on the dirt road, and shoe impressions were found in the immediate vicinity of her body. The shoe impressions could have been made by a pair of Pro Wings tennis shoes owned by defendant. The tire impressions were consistent with a Yokohama 382 tire on the right rear wheel and Yokohama 371 tires on the front wheels. When defendant‘s van was impounded in January 1992, a comparison of its front left tire, a Yokohama 371, was made with a tire track left at the McDonald crime scene, and the features and wear pattern were similar. The model of tire on the left rear wheel of the vehicle associated with the impression at the crime scene was not identified before defendant‘s van was impounded, but it was subsequently determined that the left rear tire of his van, a Dunlop SP32J, could have made that impression at the McDonald crime scene. The track width and the wheel base of the tire impressions were consistent with a Mitsubishi van. Defendant was employed by Riverside County as a stock clerk at the county‘s supply warehouse. He usually worked and took breaks at the packing table at the end of aisle 6. A box on a shelf at that packing table contained three purses, one of which contained an identification card with the photograph of a Black woman and the name McDonald on it. l. Murder of Delliah Zamora, also known as Delliah Wallace Delliah Zamora worked on University Avenue in Riverside. Her body was found on October 30, 1991, near a freeway interchange in Riverside County. The cause of death was strangulation. There were hemorrhages in her eyes, eyelids, and neck, and abrasions on her neck, perhaps caused by fingernails. Her larynx 14 was crushed, an injury that requires ―an extreme amount of pressure.‖ PCR testing of DNA from a vaginal swab reflected a match to defendant. Fibers on her clothing were similar to the red acetate fibers in the lining of the sleeping bag, a fiber from her wrist was similar to the sisal rope, and fibers from her shirt and hair were similar to the gold pillow found in defendant‘s van. In early November 1991, defendant gave his wife, Cheryl Suff, a blue denim ―Levi‖ purse, telling her that his boss had found it. Cheryl did not want the purse. Also in November 1991, he gave a blue denim ―Levi‖ purse to his neighbor, Vivian Swanson, telling her it had been Cheryl‘s, but Cheryl no longer wanted it. Sometime later in November, defendant gave Swanson a gold bracelet he claimed he had purchased. The ―Levi‖ purse recovered from Swanson had belonged to Zamora. The gold bracelet belonged to Zamora‘s niece, who had left it at Zamora‘s house. Two rings found in defendant‘s wife‘s jewelry box had belonged to Zamora. In the supply warehouse where defendant worked, a small purse containing citations issued to Zamora for prostitution and drug offenses was found in a box hidden on a shelf under the packing table at the end of aisle 6, where defendant typically worked. Another box on a shelf of the packing table at the end of aisle 6 contained three purses, one of which had belonged to Zamora and which contained earrings that were hers. Zamora had a habit of carrying smaller purses inside a larger purse. A blouse belonging to Zamora was found on a shelf of the packing table at the end of aisle 7. m. Murder of Eleanor Casares Eleanor Casares worked on University Avenue in Riverside. Her sister last heard from her in the morning on December 23, 1991. At approximately 1:00 p.m., her nude body was found near a dirt road in orange groves. The cause of 15 death was strangulation. There were abrasions on her neck, hemorrhages in her eyes and eyelids, a fracture in her thyroid cartilage, and a fracture and bleeding in her hyoid bone. There was a stab wound in the middle of her chest, which also would have been fatal. One of her breasts had been excised postmortem, and was found approximately 40 feet from her body. Human blood on a knife found in defendant‘s van was type A. A pinkishwhite substance, which may have been fatty tissue, on the knife was tested to determine the type of its phosphoglucomutase (PGM) enzyme, and it was determined to be a PGM type 2+1-. The blood and PGM types matched Casares‘s, and did not match defendant‘s. This combination of blood type and PGM type appears in 1.2 percent of the Black population, 1.8 percent of the White population, and 1.9 percent of the Hispanic population. Additional DNA testing reflected that the blood was consistent with Casares‘s and not with defendant‘s. A hair from Casares‘s clothing was similar to defendant‘s head hair. Hairs taken from her clothing and body were similar to defendant‘s pubic hair. Hairs found on her body were similar to hairs from defendant‘s cat. Hairs in defendant‘s van were similar to Casares‘s hair. Fibers on her clothing were similar to the fibers of numerous items in defendant‘s van: the carpeting, a green blanket, the gold pillow, the red acetate lining and white nylon insulation of the sleeping bag, and the sisal rope. Shoe impressions where Casares‘s body was found could have been made by the Converse shoes defendant was wearing when he was arrested on January 9, 1992. Tire impressions at the location were consistent with the Yokohama 371 16 tire, the two Uniroyal Tiger Paw XTM tires, and the Dunlop SP32J tire on defendant‘s van at the time he was arrested.3 Defendant gave the jeans that Casares was wearing on December 22, the day before her body was found, to a cousin of one of his neighbors. He gave the sweater she was wearing on December 22 to the agent who rented out apartments in defendant‘s apartment complex. An identification card with a photograph of a Mexican woman and with the name Casares on it was found in a purse in a box on a shelf of the table where defendant usually worked. On December 23, 1991, defendant had scratches on his face that were ―thick‖ and ―looked like claw-like marks.‖ During his interrogation on January 10, 1992, defendant admitted that on December 23, his van was on the avenue next to the orange groves, he had left his shoe impressions in the orange groves, and there was a body in the groves, but he denied putting the body there. 3 This final crime scene was the sixth at which tire impressions were found that matched the types of tires defendant had previously purchased for his van. In addition, the tire impressions at the various crime scenes matched each other. More particularly, the Armstrong Ultra Trac impressions found at the Leal, Ferguson, Miller, and Puckett crime scenes were consistent with each other, and the Yokohama 382 impressions found at the Leal, Ferguson, Miller, and McDonald crime scenes were consistent with each other. Also, the impression of a Yokohama 382 tire at the McDonald crime scene, which was made more than 19 months after the earlier impressions, reflected a well-worn tire. Finally, tire impressions at the McDonald and Casares crimes scenes matched the tires that were on defendant‘s van when he was arrested. More particularly, a Yokohama 371 tire impression at the McDonald crime scene was consistent with the Yokohama 371 on defendant‘s van, including excessive wear on the outside of the tire; the Dunlop SP32J tire impression at the McDonald crime scene was consistent with the Dunlop tire on defendant‘s van; and the Yokohama 371, the Dunlop SP32J, and the two Uniroyal Tiger Paw XTM tire impressions at the Casares crime scene were all consistent with the tires on defendant‘s van at the time of his arrest. 17 n. Defendant’s animosity toward prostitutes In 1984, defendant told his brother, Robert Suff, that he hated prostitutes. In August 1989, the 14-year-old daughter of the property manager at defendant‘s apartment complex and some of her friends dressed up like ―Barbies,‖ and asked defendant to judge who was the prettiest. Defendant said that the girls who were wearing makeup looked like ―goddamn prostitutes.‖ On another occasion, defendant became agitated about four women living with a man in the apartment complex, and said the women were ―whores.‖ In 1990, when a friend of defendant‘s stayed at his apartment for four to six weeks, defendant talked to her about prostitutes almost every night, and he commented that they needed to be killed because they were sluts. Defendant raised the subject of the ongoing prostitute killings five or six times with James Dees, a correctional officer, who came to the Riverside County supply warehouse to pick up supplies. In December 1991, defendant told Dees that he thought the person who was killing prostitutes was ―going to clean the place up.‖