Michael Allen Cates, 46, was strangled and killed in Los Angeles on October 9, 1989. His death was one of five similar killings attributed to Juan Chavez, who targeted gay men in the late 1980s. Chavez reportedly lured victims to their homes, tied them up, robbed them and strangled them with items such as exercise ropes, neckties or electrical cords.

The series of murders began in 1986 and went unsolved for years. A 1994 fingerprint match on a victim’s car linked Chavez — then serving time for an unrelated kidnapping and robbery — to the killings; that match led to his confession and later charges. In 1999 Chavez pleaded guilty to the five murders and received five consecutive life terms without parole.

If anyone knew Michael Allen Cates or has information about his life or those events, please share what can help remember him or support ongoing inquiries.