CA Diane Peterson, age 25, teacher murdered in school 1978, Santa Clara County, California

[Richard]

Diane Peterson, age 25, was a high school teacher who was stabbed to death on the last day of school 1978.

Unsolved for 47 years, investigators have named a suspect who committed suicide in 1993.


LINK:

MSN

 

[Tired Professor]

How sad. Glad her family finally has closure though.

 

[dotr]

1978 cold case murder of California teacher solved after killer's relative confesses

The 1978 cold case murder of California high school teacher Diane Peterson, who was stabbed to death, has been solved this year, officials confirmed.

www.usatoday.com

''Diane Peterson was found dead on a hallway floor near her classroom at a San Jose high school on June 16, 1978, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office. She was 26. The killing happened on the day after summer break began when teachers returned to campus to finish cleaning their classrooms, the district attorney said.''

''The San Jose Police Department can now confirm that Harry "Nicky" Nickerson stabbed Peterson when he was 16, after a family relative witness came forward earlier this year. The district attorney's office said Nickerson confessed to the murder to the family member and was seen carrying a knife with the phrase "Teacher Dear" written on it.''

''A 1978 booking photo of the teen appeared very similar to a composite sketch eyewitness accounts shared, the district attorney's office said.''

https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/cold-case-san-jose-high-school-teachers-killer-identified-as-16-year-old-boy/

A police sketch of Diane Peterson’s killer (left). Harry “Nicky” Nickerson is seen as a teenager in an undated photo (right). (Images via SCCDAO)