| Graduation Year | Class of 1984 |
| Date of Passing | Dec 27, 1986 |
| About | February 11, 1966 – December 27, 1986 Age 20 Cara Evelyn Knott, a 20-year-old San Diego State University college student, was found dead on Sunday, December 27, 1986, in a creek bed off Interstate 15 was strangled, the San Diego County coroner's office said Monday. Detectives had theorized that Cara Evelyn Knott died from a beating or from being thrown off a bridge over Mercy Road on Old Highway 15, which runs parallel to Interstate 15 south of Poway Road. But Deputy Coroner Jerry Hillbrand said Monday that an autopsy revealed that it was "strangulation by another person" that caused Knott's death. Knott's clothed body was found about 8:30 a.m. Sunday after she failed to arrive at her El Cajon home the night before. Knott had telephoned her parents at about 9 p.m. and told them she was leaving her boyfriend's house in Escondido, about 45 minutes away. A graduate of Valhalla High School, Knott was a junior at San Diego State University, where she was studying to become an elementary school teacher. Her father, Sam Knott, said he contacted police at 11 p.m. Saturday but they couldn't respond because of the department's policy requiring a 24-hour wait before beginning a missing person investigation. It wasn't until a search party organized by Knott found his daughter's abandoned car at 6:30 a.m. that police officers began searching and discovered her body about two hours later. Knott described his daughter as "an accomplished artist. One of her favorites was an ink drawing of an otter." He said she was an environmentalist who cared about endangered animals. "It has been a very difficult time," Knott said. "I just appreciate the warm support of the community. It has been very heart-rending." Memorial services for Cara are scheduled for Wednesday noon at Glen Abbey Memorial Park in Chula Vista. Her killer, Craig Allen Peyer (b. March 16, 1950), was a police officer and 13-year veteran of the California Highway Patrol. At Peyer's trial, it was revealed that he had been targeting women along the interstate, and had made predatory sexual advances on multiple female drivers. He was convicted of Knott's murder in 1988. |
