Gayle Mari Rousell, 40

Gayle Marie Rousell, a 40-year-old black woman, was found dead in the carport of an apartment building in the 14500 block of Halldale Avenue in Gardena on Nov. 6, 1984.

Authorities said Rousell worked as a prostitute. They linked her slaying to the killings of other prostitutes because of the similarity of the slash wounds on their bodies.

Det.Jerry Hudgeons of the Gardena Police Department told The Times in 1985 that Rousells' body had the distinctive wounds.

"It was like torture," he said. "It was just cutting. It could have been done with a screwdriver or a beer opener. . . . It doesn't look like a knife."

After slicing Rousell on the face, upper body and back, the killer fatally stabbed her in the back with a large hunting knife, Hudgeons said.