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You are here: Home / Case of the Month / Case of the Month: Suzanne A. Bombardier

Case of the Month: Suzanne A. Bombardier

June 1, 2014 By Alice

Case of the Month: Suzanne A. Bombardier
Case of the Month: Suzanne A. Bombardier

The Case of the Month for June features Suzanne A. Bombardier. It is written by guest blogger Jennifer Kathleen Gibbons.

UPDATE: on Jan 2, 2015 the award-winning magazine Salon featured this case, Jennifer’s story, and links back to this post. Please check below for more the updates.

**

In June 21, 1980 Suzanne (known to everyone as Suzie) Bombardier was babysitting her nieces at her sister’s apartment in Antioch, California.

It was the first night of summer. Suzie just finished eighth grade and was going to start her last year of junior high in the fall.

The San Francisco Examiner reported that Suzie talked to a friend until 1:30 in the morning while Saturday Night Live and Don Kirschner’s Rock Concert played in the background. She told her friend she was “really beat” then hung up.

Her sister Stephanie Mullen arrived at home around 4am after working a long shift. Normally when Suzie slept over, she spent the night on the couch. However, Suzie wasn’t on the couch. Figuring that she was with the girls, Stephanie headed to bed.

Case of the Month for June: Suzanne Bombardier (pic #10)The next day, Stephanie noticed Suzie wasn’t there. Again, according to The Contra Costa Times, she wasn’t concerned. Suzie must have gotten up early and walked the mile back to her house where she lived with her mother Catherine and stepfather James Rutland. Then Catherine called. “Where’s Suzie?” she asked. She wasn’t home. It was then that Stephanie noticed Suzie’s suitcase was still in the living room, untouched.

The Antioch police was contacted. However, as the Examiner documented, they waited the customary twenty-four hours to start searching. In the meantime, James Rutland started his own search around the apartment building looking for clues until he was asked to stop by neighbors.

On Friday June 27th, a nude body was found in the nearby San Joaquin river. While waiting for confirmation, Catherine Rutland received in the mail Suzie’s report card. She received, the Contra Costa Times reported, straight A’s. Dental records provided by the family confirmed the body was indeed Suzie’s. She had been stabbed. The gold necklace she wore was missing.

Antioch police questioned several suspects including a boy named Terry. Terry, according to Suzie’s best friend Leesa Metznger, was a boy Susie was seeing. He was slightly older. He had an alibi which was checked out by the police. Other suspects were cleared as well.

Grave Suzanne A. Bombardier Photography Jennifer Gibbons
Photography Jennifer Gibbons

Her funeral was on July 1st with her family and classmates attending. She was buried at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Lafayette, California. On her grave is her picture: a beautiful young woman with long blonde hair. Etched on the grave was the title of her favorite song: you’re in my heart.

Ten days after Suzie’s death, the Contra Costa Times reported there was a “blue flu” meaning police officers in Antioch called in sick. It is not known if this slowed down the investigation or not.

Other noteworthy cases

In November 1983, Angela Bugay was reported missing and found dead in a nearby field. Bugay lived a short distance away from the apartment where Susie’s sister lived. Years later, Larry Graham was arrested and convicted in 2006 in Angela’s murder. Graham killed himself in San Quentin in 2009.

Suzy was mentioned in a letter written by Timothy Binder, who offered his services to help the police find Angela. Years later, Binder was a person of interest in the disappearance of Amanda “Nikki” Campbell. He was later released. The case (along with other several other cold cases) were later profiled in the true crime book Stalemate by John Philpin.

Notes by AdS: 

  • There were no signs of struggle or forced entry at the Mullen home
  • Suzanne died from one stab wound to the heart
  • Police stated in the Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, CA) from July 1, 1996 that they do still have evidence in this case.
  • There are very few articles about Suzanne Bombardier online however, Jennifer found some on a public library fiche. They are from the San Francisco Examiner. Both Jennifer and I have approx 18 good photocopies.

UPDATE 1: SFGate journalist Kale Williams used this post in his slide show overview of several cold cases from the Bay area.

UPDATE 2: Apparently on picture day, Suzie was looking for a necklace to wear. Her sister Sharon gave her one of hers. That is the necklace Suzie wore for the picture. Afterwards, Suzie gave the necklace back to Sharon. Some family members thought that Suzie was wearing Sharon’s necklace the night she disappeared, but she wasn’t.

UPDATE 3: on Jan 2, 2015 the award-winning magazine Salon featured this case and Jennifer’s story. The article included a link to this post. Congratulations to Jennifer for being featured on Salon and thank you to Salon Magazine for adding my blog’s name and the link to this post. I appreciate that very much.

_______________________________

Jennifer Gibbons
Jennifer Gibbons

Jennifer Gibbons graduated from Mills College with a degree in English and a concentration in Young Adult Literature.

At Mills, Gibbons won the Marion Haworth prize for Young Adult/Children’s Literature. She has written for a variety of publications, from the San Francisco Chronicle to The Jonestown Report. Her love of books (and the Dewey decimal system) led her to work for the Contra Costa Library system for ten years. She is working on a novel and a book of essays, which would both be farther along if her cats, Ida B. and Opal Louise, weren’t such drama queens.

UPDATE: Jennifer was interviewed about Suzanne’s case and writing this guest blog post by J.C. Lillis. Read it here.

________________
In the series “Case of the Month” I highlight an old cold case. These posts are never an in-depth analysis and of course, more information could be found online and in newspaper archives. The goal of these posts is to get the case back in the spotlights, to get people talking about it again, and if anything … to make sure that we do not forget the victims. Just because their cases are cold does not mean that we can close the book on them.

If you have any memories about Suzanne or thoughts about this case I encourage you to post them on your own social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, etc. Every time Suzanne gets mentioned online you enhance her digital footprint. We must make sure that she retains her web presence if we ever wish to find a solution in her case. You can help by linking to or sharing this post.

Thank you for sharing!

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Filed Under: Case of the Month, Guest Bloggers Tagged With: Case of the Month, guest blogger, Jennifer Kathleen Gibbons, stabbing death, Suzanne Bombardier

Reader Interactions

Trackbacks

  1. SOLVED: Suzanne Bombardier's murder - Defrosting Cold Cases says:
    December 12, 2017 at 8:48 am

    […] Lynn Bacom (63) will be charged with murdering Suzanne Bombardier, according to county prosecutors. He was arrested Friday at his Antioch home without incident, […]

  2. $50K reward offered in 40-year-old unsolved serial killer case – SFGate | SilentMajority.News says:
    June 15, 2016 at 2:47 pm

    […] When Mullen returned home around 4 a.m. Suzanne wasn’t on the couch where she usually slept. But figuring she had gone to sleep with her nieces, Mullen went to bed, according to the blog Defrosting Cold Cases. […]

  3. SF Chronicle posts Suzanne Bombardier's story says:
    June 23, 2015 at 5:09 am

    […] Chronicle posts Suzanne Bombardier‘s story that was written by guest blogger Jennifer Gibbons for DCC. Suzie’s story was […]

  4. Former officers want cold case of Suzanne Bombardier, murdered in Antioch on June 22, 1980, reopened | Antioch Herald says:
    June 8, 2015 at 5:51 pm

    […] case was profiled, last year, on the Defrosting Cold Cases website for their case of the month, the Antioch Herald, and the San Francisco Chronicle. Gibbons […]

  5. Former officers want cold case of Suzanne Bombardier, murdered in Antioch on June 22, 1980, reopened | Antioch Herald says:
    June 8, 2015 at 5:48 pm

    […] case was profiled, last year, on the Defrosting Cold Cases website https://www.defrostingcoldcases.com/case-of-the-month-suzanne-a-bombardier/ for their case of the month, the Antioch Herald, <http://www.antiochherald.com/2014/11/p14021/ […]

  6. And that’s why I do this! | Your Blog Coach says:
    January 3, 2015 at 1:02 pm

    […] cold case is about Suzie Bombardier and Jenn guest blogged about it on my other […]

  7. Payton Perspective: It’s time for different approaches to battling Antioch’s crime | Antioch Herald says:
    November 10, 2014 at 1:14 am

    […] For more information about the case, click here. […]

  8. How to use the library to research cold cases says:
    July 16, 2014 at 9:31 am

    […] some info to make it easier. To help provide examples, I am mentioning the cold case of Suzanne Bombardier, who was murdered in 1980. Her murder to this date has not been […]

  9. Q&A: Jennifer Kathleen Gibbons on the Cold Case She Can’t Forget | J.C. Lillis Q&A: Jennifer Kathleen Gibbons on the Cold Case She Can’t Forget | YA author says:
    June 8, 2014 at 7:00 pm

    […] case that’s haunted her since a chance meeting in a graveyard last year. The post is up on the Defrosting Cold Cases blog, and she’s committed herself to getting as many eyes on it as possible—to keep alive both […]

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Author Notes

Since 2009, I write about unsolved cases that need renewed media attention. I only do research and leave active investigations to the authorities.

My posts cover homicides, missing and unidentified people, wrongful convictions, and forensics as related to unsolved cases.

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Alice de Sturler
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