San Jose detectives say they solved the horrifying 1978 ruthless murder of a high school teacher who was found stabbed and killed in the school hallway with a knife marked “teacher’s dear.”
The violence unfolded at Branham High School on June 16, 1978.
Detectives say the student found Diane Peterson on the floor near the classroom, suffering from a single stab wound in the chest.
Harry “Nicki” Nickerson, 16 years old at the time, was a suspect in a brutal murder. Nickerson’s 1978 photo, taken four days after the murder, looked similar to a compound sketch of the suspect based on an eyewitness account.
One of those witnesses told police he confessed to the murder and saw him holding a knife with the word “sensei” on it.
“Police at the time were unable to support their claim,” an official with the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
Harry “Nicki” Nickerson was seen next to a compound sketch edited by an eyewitness. (SCCDA) Diane Peterson, seen in this undated photo. (Peterson Family via SCCDA)
Later in 1983, the family of a Branham student told investigators that he had claimed that his son had seen the murder and identified Nickerson as the person who did it, but the student later denied making the claim.
A year later, in 1984, yet another witness told the detective that Nickerson was involved in the murder of a teacher and that he did that as Peterson caught him in the midst of a drug deal.
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Almost 40 years later, the district attorney’s Crime Institute conducted a massive DNA test on the case, but it was unable to identify the perpetrator until the family moved forward in 2025.
“My relatives confirmed to police that Nickerson came to their home minutes after the murder and confessed that he had stabbed Peterson,” officials said.
Nickerson’s life following the murder was a series of runs with law enforcement.
He was arrested and convicted on charges of armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and lure, the release said. In 1984 he survived the ordeal but was shot critically during an attempted drug robbery.
Then, in 1993, he took his life with a self-harmed gunshot wound, officials said.
“This marks the end of a horrifyingly tragic mystery. If Peterson hadn’t crossed the path with this violent teenager, he would have been an elderly person today. I wish she had been there.” “We are delighted that we have resolved this case despite the murderer not living to face justice. I wish he had been there.”
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