Dean Carter

Dean Phillip Carter (born August 30, 1955) is an American convicted spree killer who was sentenced to death for the murders of four women: Susan Knoll, Jillette Mills, Bonnie Guthrie, and Janette Cullins. He was also implicated in the death of a fifth woman, Tok Chum Kim. In total, Carter was suspected of 30 murders throughout the western United States.

Murders
Prior to his killing spree, Carter broke into the residence of 22-year-old Rose Steward, whom he proceeded to rape and choke for the next five hours, causing her to lose consciousness twice. When Carter finally left at dawn, Steward, who had pretended to sympathize with her attacker, kissed him goodbye before running for help.

On April 12, 1984, the bodies of Susan Knoll and Jillette Mills were found stacked in a closed bedroom closet in a Culver City apartment. Mills had been sexually assaulted, and each victim had died from asphyxia caused by strangulation. Knoll's vehicle was discovered one block from the apartment, though Mills's Datsun 280 ZX automobile, as well as personal items belonging to both victims, were missing.

That same day, the body of Bonnie Guthrie was discovered on the floor of her apartment in Culver City. Like the previous victims, she had been sexually assaulted, she had died from asphyixa caused by strangulation, and personal items were missing from her apartment.

Two days later, on April 14, the body of Janette Cullins was found in her San Diego apartment. Her cause of death was the same as that of the other victims, and there was indication that someone had broken into her apartment.

Three days later, on April 17, an Arizona highway patrol officer observed Jillette Mills's vehicle traveling erratically near Ash Fork, Arizona, and conducted a traffic stop, which resulted in Carter's arrest. Inside the vehicle, investigators recovered numerous personal items linking Carter to each of the deceased women.