After decades of speculation, authorities in San Jose have established that the killer of a high school teacher was a pupil who was observed holding a knife with the words “Teacher Dear” inscribed on it.
According to the Santa Clara County district attorney’s office, on June 16, 1978, one day after Branham High School closed for the summer, a student discovered Diane Peterson lying on the floor of the hallway near her classroom with a single knife wound to the chest.
According to the news release, Peterson was one of several instructors on campus cleaning out their classrooms before summer break when she was killed.
Authorities had viewed Harry “Nicky” Nickerson, a 16-year-old student at the time, as a person of interest in the case for years, according to a media statement from Santa Clara County prosecutors.
However, the tips and leads they received led nowhere, and the case remained unresolved for 47 years.
Until earlier this year, when police believe a relative revealed that Nickerson admitted to stabbing the teacher just minutes after the incident, prosecutors said.
“This marks the end of a terrible and tragic mystery,” Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “Ms. Peterson would be a senior citizen today if she hadn’t met this vicious youngster. “I wish she were.”
Nickerson became a person of interest in the case two days after Peterson’s death, when he was arrested for an unrelated offence and detectives noted his booking photo matched a police sketch of the teacher’s killer.
The sketch was created by a student witness who reported hearing Peterson beg for help and seeing the killer flee. The same teenager, however, later denied his account, according to officials.
A witness told police that Nickerson was carrying a knife with the words “Teacher Dear” scrawled on the side. However, when questioned, Nickerson denied having a knife at all, and officials were unable to verify the claim.
Years later, authorities took note of the retracted allegation by a fellow student, as well as another individual who claimed Nickerson confessed to killing Peterson after she questioned him about drug selling, but neither tale was confirmed.
According to authorities, Nickerson had a criminal record that included convictions for kidnapping, armed robbery, and assault with a lethal weapon. He was shot and seriously injured during an attempted cocaine heist in 1984 before committing suicide in 1993.
“Nearly five decades have passed since a young teacher’s life was tragically taken,” San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph said. “While the suspect will never stand trial or face the consequences for his actions, we hope this resolution brings a measure of peace to the victim’s loved ones and to a community that has carried this loss for far too long.”
