Mind Games with a Serial Killer

“I truly believe this book will help your case, help your cause,” I said. “Now you’re a human being rather than just a headline.”

“Except you make me out to be a monster.”

“You’ve never treated me monstrously. And you’ve treated a whole lot of people well. You’ve done good for many, and, if any writer’s view of the world is worth reading, then yours is—you have a lot to say.”

“Yes. That’s true,” he said. “But I’m concerned about what you had to say.”

“What I have to say is nothing more than what I say. It’s what I believe to be true. You don’t have to agree.”

“Believe me, I don’t. Everything you say about me being guilty is fiction. I don’t know where you heard it, but it didn’t come from me.”

“Have I betrayed you?”

He hesitated; then: “I don’t know.”

“At various points in your life, you’ve felt that both friends and family betrayed you, but they nonetheless remained your friends and family.”

“That’s true.”

“I remain your friend. I believe this book may well save your life.”

“Do you really believe I’m a killer?”

“Yes,” I said.

He thought for a moment, and: “It’s possible to be friends with people who’ve done bad things—I’m friends with many people here in prison… but I don’t know that it’s possible to be friends with someone you think did something he didn’t do. That means you don’t really know the person, and how can you be friends with someone you don’t really know?”

“Maybe I know you better than you think,” I said.

“Maybe.”

“Friends?” I asked.

“I’m torn,” he said.

“Fair enough,” I said.

“When are you going to come up and visit me?” he asked.

“Later this month,” I said.

“Great!” said Bill Suff.

PHOTOGRAPHS

BILL SUFF’S FAMILY ALBUM

^{Above, clockwise: Wm. Suff, Bobby, Kenny, Roberta, Donny, and Bill. 1961, LaMirada, California.}

^{“Piss-poor protoplasm”. Bill Suff, eight months old.}

^{See Chapter 16.}

^{Bill in happier days.}

^{“Dressed for success”. Unfortunately, the uniform made the man. Bill in his band uniform with siblings (from left to right) Roberta, Bobby, Donny, and Kenny.}

^{See Chapter 10.}

^{Above: Air Force cadet Bill on his 20th birthday in 1969. At right, clockwise from top left: Bobby, Donny, Roberta, and Kenny.}

^{Bill’s Boy Scout sash and numerous merit badges.}

^{Bill and first wife Teryl on their wedding day, December 13, 1969. Not so happy as they appeared—Teryl was then pregnant with her stepfather’s child.}

^{(LEFT) Bill, Teryl, and Billy Jr. The caption on the back of the snapshot reads “A Lovely Trio,” yet Billy Jr. was beaten repeatedly and suffers permanent brain damage. (RIGHT) Bill and Billy Jr.}

^{Bill and Teryl’s Texas mugshots taken while serving time for the murder of their infant daughter, Dijianet. Model prisoner Bill received a seventy-year sentence but only served ten before being released on “postcard parole”. Teryl received a seventy-year sentence but had her conviction thrown out by the appellate court.}

^{The perfect couple in their perfect world—Bill, girlfriend Bonnie, and Myrtle the dog in 1984. Bonnie still believes that Bill began to kill when she broke off their relationship, but the evidence shows that he was sleeping with prostitutes as well as killing them even while he was living with Bonnie.}

^{Bill and second wife Cheryl during her pregnancy.}

^{Cheryl, Bill, and baby Bridgette, 1991. The more attention the baby got, the more angry Bill would become. He was murdering at least one prostitute a month by this period. Bridgette was taken away permanently by child welfare authorities at age four months.}

^{Bill’s bird drawings.}

^{Bill’s bird drawings, in color, they’re bright blue. They’re the template for the bizarre re-dressing and posing of Tina Leal’s corpse.}

^{See Chapter 14.}

^{Bill, chili cook-off champ.}

^{See chapters 8 & 9.}

^{Page one of Bill’s short story “Tranquilìty Garden”, written while in jail in Texas, 1974.}

^{See Chapters 3 & 4.}

^{Bill’s daily logs of his life on San Quentin’s Death Row.}

^{See Chapter 12.}

^{“The most wronged man on earth”. Bill today in San Quentin Prison. A model prisoner, and jovial, gentle soul who easily makes friends with guards and inmates alike. Now more than ever he’s convinced that everyone who meets him is convinced that he’s not the sort of person who could harm anyone.}

^{See Chapter 18.}

THE VICTIMS OF BILL SUFF

CHARLOTTE PALMER

Born October 17, 1962 • Died December 10, 1986

^{A perfect murder (no clues), but a signature work of murder as art. Bill wasn’t formally charged in Charlotte’s death, but police consider it “case closed” now that he’s on ice.}

KIMBERLY LYTTLE

Born June 27, 1961 • Died June 27, 1989

^{Bill says he loved Kimberly and wanted her to move in with him. When she refused, she got a fatal birthday present.}

TINA LEAL

Born April 17, 1966 • Died December 12, 1989

^{Tina was killed, mutilated, re-dressed to look like a cartoon character; and then Bill placed a lightbulb up into her womb. Why?}

^{See Chapter 14.}

DARLA FERGUSON

Born July 29, 1966 • Died January 17, 1990

^{Bill’s mom babysat and cared for Darla’s daughter. Bill showed his own “special” care for Darla.}

CAROL MILLER

Born June 20, 1954 • Died February 8, 1990

^{The killer posed Carol’s corpse, stood back, admired his handiwork, and then calmly peeled a grapefruit. Was he just famished after a hard night’s labor?}