[13] During Bonin's engagement, he repeatedly informed his fiance he suffered from recurring nightmares in which he would sexually assault a faceless young woman in a deserted place before discarding her corpse in a shallow grave. He was a victim of William Bonin AKA "The Freeway Killer". As a result, he was not reported missing until February. At the time of his death, he had been scheduled to be tried on July 27 for six of the murders he had accompanied Bonin upon. Six officers from three of the jurisdictions in which the "Freeway Killer" had most regularly either abducted or deposited the bodies of his victims formed a task force dedicated to the apprehension of the suspect or suspects who, as one of the officers upon this assembled task force later recalled, was striking at an average rate of once every two weeks in the spring of 1980. [278], After nine days of uneventful surveillance in which Bonin worked at Dependable Drive-Away, visited friends, and returned to his residence,[278] on June 11, 1980, police observed Bonin driving in a seemingly random manner throughout Hollywood, unsuccessfully attempting to lure five separate teenage boys into his van[279] before succeeding in luring a youth into his vehicle. [322], Charvet repeatedly reminded the jury he had exposed myriad inconsistencies in the testimony of Munro's account of the murder of Wells in the various statements he had given, and had compelled him to admit that he lied on numerous occasions. [294], On August 8, all charges were formally submitted against Bonin. Downey truck driver William Bonin, dubbed the Freeway Strangler or the Freeway Killer, murdered at least 21 boys and men between 1979 and 1980. [260] On May 28, he overheard the details of the ongoing murders on a local radio broadcast and confided to a counselor his recognition of the perpetrator's modus operandi as being that described to him by Bonin two months previous. Bonin was ordered to return to court on January 7 for pretrial motions and the formal setting of a trial date. [299] On August 22, Miley by this stage 19 years old was arrested in Texas and subsequently charged by California authorities with the murders of Miranda and Macabe. [135] In contrast, Bonin held Butts in high regard for his social popularity and for empowering him,[52] describing the young man as very intelligent. Evident attempts had also been made to remove his testicles and slash his throat,[148] and his rectum was found bleeding and extensively distended, leading a coroner to opine he had been impaled by a large object. As they drove to find a spot to dump the body,[273] they encountered a police car, causing Bonin to privately mock the officers. On May 25, 2016, Miley died of injuries he had sustained two days previously, when he had been attacked by another inmate in an exercise yard at Mule Creek State Prison. During his time in Vietnam, he raped two fellow soldiers at gun point. [224] Following the murder of Macabe, Bonin and Miley spent the money retrieved from his wallet for lunch. After receiving repeated complaints by angry neighbors, Bonin's father merely yelled at his son for stealing. This murder spree took place over 10 months and could have continued had it not been for the surveillance and effective detective work of police. interviews, reportage, and information never released to the public, The Grim Sleeper captures the long, bumpy road to justice in one of the most [187] While driving on Interstate 10, Butts orally copulated the youth before repeatedly striking him and taking Bonin's place behind the wheel, who then tortured Wirostek by bending his fingers and squeezing his genitals before extensively bludgeoning him with a tire iron and strangling him with his T-shirt and a tire iron. In addition, the youth had been slashed across the throat, extensively stabbed about the chest and stomach, and strangled to death. Despite admonishing Charvet for a potential conflict of interest, Judge Keene had permitted him to act as Bonin's defense attorney at his first trial. [73], At approximately 4:07p.m. the same day, 15-year-old Russell Duane Rugh was abducted from a bus stop in Garden Grove. Each successive appeal proved unsuccessful,[349] with the U.S. Supreme Court refusing to overturn Bonin's death penalty convictions in August 1988 and January 1989. [228], Throughout his adult life, Bonin worked in a series of menial professions such as the aforementioned bartendering profession and taxi driving. [223], Based on Bonin's confession, police obtained a warrant authorizing a search of Butts' Lakewood property on the same date as Bonin's initial arraignment; this July 25 search uncovered evidence linking Butts to several of the murders to which Bonin had already confessed, and Butts was brought before a Municipal Court on July 29, charged with accompanying Bonin on six murders committed between August 1979 and April 1980. Bonin's jailhouse writings offer new perspective on his brutality, methods, thoughts and personality. Shelton had been linked to the manhunt for the Freeway Killer upon the discovery of his body in August 1979, Two months after all charges had been filed against each defendant, Butts committed suicide, rendering his recorded testimony in these three cases. This administrative error totaling approximately $79,424 was only discovered after a funeral director notified the Social Security Administration of Bonin's death. [186] He then bound and raped the boy at knife-point before driving to Butts' residence. These lawyers contended that had Charvet placed further emphasis on these issues, Bonin would have been "humanized" in the eyes of his juries. They found another one, a strangler victim. Each later stated that Bonin seemed resigned to his fate; his attorney also added that he had not detected any remorse in his client.[358]. [78] Bonin was released from prison on June 11, 1974, after doctors concluded he was "no longer a danger to the health and safety of others". He also reminded the jury of the extensive abuse Bonin had endured as a child, of the testimony of Dr. Foster, and of the diagnoses doctors at the Atascadero hospital had reached between 1969 and 1971. [118] To further support this contention, the prosecution also presented forensic experts who testified that the fibers discovered upon the bodies of all six victims in question were a precise match with the carpeting in Bonin's van. Two of his accomplices died in prison. The following day, the prosecution and defense made alternate pleas for the actual sentence the jury should decide, with Norris requesting the death penalty and Charvet requesting life imprisonment. [214], On the morning of February 3, 1980, Bonin invited a 16-year-old boy into his parents' house to drink and engage in intercourse. [49], On August 20, 1979, Bonin picked up 18-year-old Robert Wirostek, who was cycling to a grocery store in Newport Beach before Bonin allegedly coaxed him by offering him $50 to perform acts of oral copulation. [310][n 22] These claims would be refuted by the prosecutor at Bonin's Los Angeles County murder trial, Stirling Norris, who recollected shortly before Bonin's execution: "He was the leader, and he chose weak people he could use. "[131] According to Munro, Butts who had been dressed in a Darth Vader costume[276] prodded the body before replying, "Oh, you got another one!" Questioned by police following this arrest, Bonin claimed to be glad of his apprehension, adding he may have murdered the youth and that he felt he was in need of professional help. Dietz further testified as to Bonin's actions being reflective of planning as opposed to impulsive behavior. February 22, 1996. [310], Miley and Munro testified against Bonin at his Los Angeles County trial, describing in graphic detail the murders in which they had accompanied Bonin. After engaging in mutual oral copulation, the teenager was bound and raped by Bonin in the van before being transported to his parents' house, where he was extensively flagellated with string until he cried and strangled to death with the aforementioned string. As such, Charvet called their testimony unbelievable. [This] world is filled with articulate people who can write and paint and were abused as children; very few of them become serial killers. [151] Butts claimed his participation in the murders was typically limited to restraining the victims, although he admitted to mutilating one victim with a wire coat hanger. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Shelton was then twice strangled over a fifteen-minute period with Butts' assistance. [31][68][14], Bonin served nearly two years in the Air Force before receiving an honorable discharge on October 25, 1968, at age 21. Bonin was physically linked to many of the murders by blood and semen stains,[252] and numerous, distinctive green triskelion-shaped carpet fibers found upon seven of the victims' bodies which were forensically proven to be a precise match with the carpeting in the rear of Bonin's van. Bonin was the first California inmate to be executed by lethal injection. [295], Despite initially proclaiming his innocence, Butts soon confessed to having accompanied Bonin upon each of the murder forays listed in each of the charges against him, and to have actively participated in the sexual abuse of several victims. In early 1966, Bonin dropped out of high school and obtained employment with the help of his father. [51] According to Bonin, he was something of an awkward, shy loner who generally felt uncomfortable in the presence of his peers. Mass Murderers, Spree and Serial Killers. According to Lpez, Bonin had confided that although he resented the prospect of being executed, he had opted to kill repeatedly simply because he had enjoyed the "sound of kids dying". Actively bisexual and frequently abusing drugs and alcohol, Butts performed public magic acts at schools, privately for small groups,[133] and for children's parties in which he charged $30 per show to perform for audiences. Early on he was a troubled kid and ran away from home when he was eight years old. [195] After entering the van, Bonin offered him money for sex which was refused. [n 17] Bonin then sent Munro to purchase burgers. [240] Pugh had initially been charged with the first-degree murder of Turner, in addition to companion charges of robbery and sodomy; however, after five days of deliberation, the jury found Pugh guilty of the reduced charge of manslaughter, and innocent of robbery and sodomy. [271] Upon Munro's return, Bonin convinced Wells to allow himself to be bound with clothesline[118] upon the incentive of being given $200. An Orange County investigator later recalled that there "was not a policeman in that room that did not want to kill Bonin" for his confession. [399], Pugh was sentenced to six years in prison for the voluntary manslaughter of Harry Turner on May 17, 1982. [176] He was also violated with foreign objects including a stick, causing his body to enter a state of shock which proved fatal[177] before being discarded beside a gravel road in the Cajon Pass of San Bernardino County. [337] As such, Brown stated, the four Orange County victims had been killed by the same individual who had killed Miranda and Wells, and his accomplices in these two murders, Miley and Munro, would testify as to their accompanying Bonin on each of these murders. Video unavailable. [348] As such, the state of California opted to use lethal injection as an alternate method of execution to the gas chamber, branding the gas chamber a "cruel and unusual" method of execution.[349]. Next time, I figured I wouldn't use as much. Following the assault, Bonin vowed to never let this happen to him again. He (Munro) is to be put up for parole soon (Jan. 28). Your suggestions have been submitted and will be reviewed by the memorial manager. 1995)", "Defense Still Fighting as 'Freeway Killer' Awaits Death", "Boys' Killer Led a Twisted, Tortured Life", "Bonin v. Vasquez, 807 F. Supp. [59], Deciding to marry upon his return home, Bonin and Linda became engaged. [41] While incarcerated, he was molested by an adult counselor assigned to control and monitor the juvenile offenders. [n 7] In 1977, Bonin was subject to further psychiatric examination; the results of this evaluation indicated his sexual involvement with young boys related to his mother's micromanagement of his life. Bonin was born in Willimantic, Connecticut, on January 8, 1947, as the second of three sons raised by alcoholic parents. I met Vernon Butts [and] I admired him. Profile of Serial Killer Tommy Lynn Sells. [172], On August 4, 1979, Bonin drove from Silverado Canyon to a drive-in movie theater to spend time with Butts in Westminster; he soon suggested that they rape and murder a teenage hitchhiker. Seven of the 14 victims killed by "Freeway Killer" William George Bonin during 1979 and 1980: #1--James Michael McCabe; #2--Marcus Grabs; #3--Donald Hyden; #4--David Murillo; #10--Charles Miranda; #11--James Michael McCabe; #12--Ronald Gatlin. "[73][104] He was subsequently charged with the rape and forcible oral copulation of a minor, and the attempted abduction of a 15-year-old boy two days after Bonin's assault on McVicker. Help needed for podcasts [222] Macabe's body was discovered three days later, fully clothed, bearing several skull fractures and a bruised penis. One week later, on March 21, Bonin offered a ride to 14-year-old hitchhiker Glenn Norman Barker. [148] His underwear, jeans, and severed genitals bearing several bite marks[151] were discovered strewn in a field close to his body. Contending the prosecution's case was "full of holes", he then alleged the prosecution had resorted to what amounted to little more than "revulsion tactics" in the hope Bonin would be convicted upon that basis. When Monge attempted to exit the vehicle, Bonin punched his stomach and chest before squeezing his genitals, handcuffing him, and forcing Monge to orally copulate him. [141] Pugh was to later testify that he and Bonin lured Turner into Bonin's van with an offer of $20 for sex. Bonin would later boast of this killing in an interview with reporter Dave Lopez, stating "that little kid was the easiest one to kill.". On at least twelve occasions, Bonin was assisted by one of his four known . 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