Kathleen Leslie Milne, 42, was found dead on January 19, 1991, near Lake Elsinore, California. Her nude body was discovered lying on a red robe in a pile of trash that included discarded beer cans and old tires. A white sock had been stuffed into the back of her throat; the cause of death was asphyxiation from strangulation combined with airway obstruction. Milne was also known as Kathy Puckett and Carol Kathleen Swenson and had a history of drug use and prostitution.

Milne’s killing matched a pattern in Riverside County between 1989 and 1991 in which several women with similar backgrounds were found nude or partially clothed and murdered, leading investigators to suspect a serial offender targeting vulnerable women. William Lester Suff was later arrested in January 1992 and was linked to these murders by forensic evidence; he was convicted in 1995 of multiple counts including Milne’s murder and sentenced to death.

Anyone who knew Milne, her aliases, or her whereabouts in the months before January 1991 is asked to come forward with information.