The student suspected of fatally stabbing San Jose teacher Diane Peterson nearly 50 years ago carried a knife inscribed with "Teacher Dear", authorities said Monday when announcing they had identified the suspected killer.

A relative of Harry "Nicky" Nickerson told San Jose police earlier this year that Nickerson came to their home and confessed just minutes after the killing on June 16, 1978.

A family member of Peterson, who asked not to be identified, thanked investigators for "not giving up for 47 years," according to a release from the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.

"Diane was a beautiful and wonderful person who is missed dearly," the relative said.

Peterson was found by a student on the floor near her classroom at Branham High School with a stab wound to the chest

See Full Page