1 00:00:01,209 --> 00:00:03,799 THIS PROGRAM CONTAINS VIOLENCE AND DISTURBING IMAGES. 2 00:00:03,878 --> 00:00:05,758 NOT RECOMMENDED FOR MINORS. 3 00:00:22,689 --> 00:00:25,939 Most serial killers watches it on TV. 4 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:31,780 And that makes them even more satisfied of having committed their crimes. 5 00:00:35,493 --> 00:00:38,753 In a strange way, there is a certain competitiveness, 6 00:00:38,830 --> 00:00:43,040 which increases violence and brutality. 7 00:00:44,627 --> 00:00:47,957 I think every killer wanted to do it one thing more than the other. 8 00:01:02,437 --> 00:01:06,567 EPISODE FIVE – A NEW NIGHTMARE 1980 - 1983 9 00:01:13,907 --> 00:01:16,237 One thing these nicknames of serial killers did 10 00:01:16,326 --> 00:01:18,996 was to place them in a time and place... 11 00:01:19,162 --> 00:01:20,002 PATT MORRISON COLUMNIST FOR THE LOS ANGELES TIMES 12 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:23,500 ...in the vast Los Angeles area. 13 00:01:23,583 --> 00:01:26,253 And it wasn't just identifying a series of crimes. 14 00:01:26,336 --> 00:01:27,416 THE DATING GAME KILLER 15 00:01:27,670 --> 00:01:31,340 It was to define them by location so they could recognize them... 16 00:01:31,424 --> 00:01:32,304 THE SKID ROW STABBLER 17 00:01:32,383 --> 00:01:33,723 ...know where they operated and what was happening. 18 00:01:33,843 --> 00:01:34,723 THE TOOLBOX KILLER 19 00:01:34,803 --> 00:01:36,973 So when they spoke from the Hillside Strangler, 20 00:01:37,055 --> 00:01:38,555 they weren't talking about the beach, 21 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:39,970 they weren't talking about the port, 22 00:01:40,058 --> 00:01:42,388 they were talking about the San Gabriel Valley. 23 00:01:44,312 --> 00:01:46,062 The police had two suspects 24 00:01:46,147 --> 00:01:48,567 in the case of the Hillside Strangler. 25 00:01:48,650 --> 00:01:50,190 The first was Kenneth Bianchi 26 00:01:50,276 --> 00:01:53,146 that he had pleaded guilty in exchange for handing over his cousin, 27 00:01:53,238 --> 00:01:54,358 Angelo Buono. 28 00:01:54,447 --> 00:01:55,987 But after that, the L.A. District Attorney decided 29 00:01:56,074 --> 00:01:58,334 that there was not enough evidence against him 30 00:01:58,409 --> 00:02:00,619 and wanted to dismiss the whole case against him. 31 00:02:00,787 --> 00:02:01,657 MATT MURPHY FORMER PROSECUTOR 32 00:02:01,746 --> 00:02:04,786 They didn't believe that Kenneth Bianchi was trustworthy. 33 00:02:05,333 --> 00:02:06,883 He will be released. 34 00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:08,250 He will be released! 35 00:02:09,170 --> 00:02:10,460 I was completely devastated. 36 00:02:11,172 --> 00:02:14,432 And suddenly, I received a magical call from Chief Gates. 37 00:02:14,592 --> 00:02:15,472 BOB GROGAN - FORMER HOMICIDE DETECTIVE THE HILLSIDE STRANGLER CASE 38 00:02:17,679 --> 00:02:19,809 I think boss Daryl Gates I had never called a detective 39 00:02:19,889 --> 00:02:21,769 in your whole life, I'm sure. 40 00:02:22,559 --> 00:02:25,019 But he called me. He knew I was... 41 00:02:25,103 --> 00:02:28,403 a little disturbed, let's put it that way. 42 00:02:28,481 --> 00:02:32,901 And he said, "Don't worry, Everything will be fine on Monday." 43 00:02:34,445 --> 00:02:35,855 He said just that. 44 00:02:35,947 --> 00:02:38,527 We have four processes today... 45 00:02:38,616 --> 00:02:39,616 RONALD GEORGE - HIGH COURT JUDGE FROM LOS ANGELES - CALIFORNIA 46 00:02:39,701 --> 00:02:42,871 ...in the case of the people vs. Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi. 47 00:02:42,954 --> 00:02:45,464 The judge ruled that there was proves easy enough... 48 00:02:45,582 --> 00:02:46,502 ROGER BOREN - ATTORNEY THE HILLSIDE STRANGLER CASE 49 00:02:46,583 --> 00:02:48,253 ...to convict Angelo Buono. 50 00:02:49,127 --> 00:02:52,007 The judge said, "I don't think that's the case." an unwinnable case. 51 00:02:52,088 --> 00:02:53,668 "The case will continue." 52 00:02:54,924 --> 00:02:57,804 After all the detective work, 53 00:02:57,886 --> 00:02:59,546 there would be a serial killer 54 00:02:59,637 --> 00:03:02,517 released back into the community 55 00:03:02,599 --> 00:03:03,729 to kill more people? 56 00:03:03,808 --> 00:03:06,388 And it was necessary unprecedented decision making 57 00:03:06,477 --> 00:03:09,267 from Judge George who said, "No, 58 00:03:09,355 --> 00:03:11,515 "I'm not going to let them dismiss the case." 59 00:03:11,608 --> 00:03:13,898 "That needs to be decided by a jury." 60 00:03:13,985 --> 00:03:17,275 And in the end, Judge George I was totally right. 61 00:03:17,363 --> 00:03:19,453 Two cruel serial killers... 62 00:03:19,532 --> 00:03:21,622 one of them would definitely continue 63 00:03:21,701 --> 00:03:23,831 attacking the community... they needed to face justice. 64 00:03:25,496 --> 00:03:29,416 My obligation, and I think I did the hard way, 65 00:03:29,500 --> 00:03:31,960 it was to go against what both sides of a process 66 00:03:32,045 --> 00:03:34,795 they wanted me to do it and do what I thought was right, 67 00:03:34,881 --> 00:03:37,631 and, thinking that I work for society, 68 00:03:37,717 --> 00:03:40,047 what would be best for her. 69 00:03:40,136 --> 00:03:42,306 I crossed the street, I went into a liquor store 70 00:03:42,388 --> 00:03:44,808 and bought a bottle of champagne for me. 71 00:03:45,516 --> 00:03:47,436 I entered the judge's chamber, 72 00:03:47,518 --> 00:03:49,938 I added a bottle of Dom Perignon on the table and said: "Your Excellency." 73 00:03:50,021 --> 00:03:53,481 And he said: "Grogan, get that out of my room!" 74 00:03:53,566 --> 00:03:55,316 That guy was such a professional. 75 00:03:55,401 --> 00:03:57,241 "We can't do that. 76 00:03:57,320 --> 00:03:59,860 "For God's sake, Grogan, This is a court of law! 77 00:03:59,948 --> 00:04:01,448 "You go drink that!" 78 00:04:01,532 --> 00:04:03,532 And I said: "I will drink for you, Your Excellency." 79 00:04:05,536 --> 00:04:07,116 I arrived at work 80 00:04:07,205 --> 00:04:09,615 and I discovered that I would be the prosecutor responsible for the case. 81 00:04:09,707 --> 00:04:11,457 I was surprised like everyone else. 82 00:04:11,834 --> 00:04:13,844 I didn't think I would be nominated for this case. 83 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:15,460 I wasn't even in the division of criminal law. 84 00:04:17,048 --> 00:04:19,718 We were not seen as lawyers 85 00:04:19,801 --> 00:04:21,551 with sufficient experience in murder cases. 86 00:04:21,678 --> 00:04:22,678 MICHAEL NASH - ATTORNEY THE HILLSIDE STRANGLER CASE 87 00:04:24,055 --> 00:04:27,305 What a mistake to put these two hillbillies, 88 00:04:27,392 --> 00:04:29,312 so to speak, in this case. 89 00:04:30,395 --> 00:04:31,725 Opening argument begins today 90 00:04:31,813 --> 00:04:33,773 about another terrible case murder in Los Angeles. 91 00:04:34,899 --> 00:04:37,319 The defendant is Angelo Buono, who is accused 92 00:04:37,402 --> 00:04:39,992 of being the famous author of murders, the Hillside Strangler, 93 00:04:40,071 --> 00:04:42,241 who terrorized the city four years ago. 94 00:04:43,449 --> 00:04:45,909 When the trial began, the courtroom was packed. 95 00:04:45,994 --> 00:04:48,754 And it was being broadcast nationally on TV. 96 00:04:50,707 --> 00:04:53,417 This case was quite notorious. 97 00:04:53,501 --> 00:04:55,171 When the trial began, the estimate was 98 00:04:55,253 --> 00:04:57,053 that it would last around a year, 99 00:04:57,130 --> 00:05:00,260 and that was basically what they said to the jury. 100 00:05:00,675 --> 00:05:04,175 Ken Bianchi took the stand for six months. 101 00:05:05,013 --> 00:05:07,223 It was a pretty boring trial. 102 00:05:07,307 --> 00:05:10,847 But the law is the law and she's pretty clear, I think. 103 00:05:10,935 --> 00:05:13,725 Defense lawyer Gerry Chaleff 104 00:05:13,813 --> 00:05:17,153 he was one of the best defense lawyers from here in Los Angeles. 105 00:05:17,233 --> 00:05:19,783 One of the best interrogators that I had ever seen. 106 00:05:19,861 --> 00:05:22,991 He wanted to focus on Ken Bianchi. 107 00:05:23,906 --> 00:05:25,696 Basically, the strategy defense in this case 108 00:05:25,783 --> 00:05:29,583 was to establish that Kenneth Bianchi was not a reliable witness, 109 00:05:29,662 --> 00:05:33,212 that he had acted alone and that Angelo had nothing to do with it. 110 00:05:33,291 --> 00:05:35,381 I think this case revolves around only Mr. Bianchi. 111 00:05:35,460 --> 00:05:36,710 He created it. 112 00:05:36,794 --> 00:05:37,674 GERALD CHALEFF ANGELO BUONO DEVESA LAWYER 113 00:05:37,754 --> 00:05:40,264 He explains many proofs in his own way 114 00:05:40,340 --> 00:05:42,130 and I think your credibility is crucial. 115 00:05:42,216 --> 00:05:45,426 They were using a witness 116 00:05:45,511 --> 00:05:47,471 who was a confessed serial killer. 117 00:05:47,555 --> 00:05:49,965 And to make the jury believe in you, 118 00:05:50,058 --> 00:05:52,098 it's a good move 119 00:05:52,185 --> 00:05:53,935 attack that person's credibility 120 00:05:54,020 --> 00:05:55,810 because the jury will automatically hate you. 121 00:05:55,897 --> 00:05:57,687 The big question in a trial, 122 00:05:57,774 --> 00:05:59,234 which is always dynamic, 123 00:05:59,317 --> 00:06:02,487 is to know if the tactic will deceive some of the jurors. 124 00:06:02,570 --> 00:06:04,700 For the jury, employees, 125 00:06:04,781 --> 00:06:06,951 the lawyers, the judge, 126 00:06:07,033 --> 00:06:10,083 it was like going to the same job for about two years. 127 00:06:10,161 --> 00:06:13,621 Since November 16, 1981, it was happening 128 00:06:13,706 --> 00:06:16,206 the people's case against Angelo Buono. 129 00:06:16,292 --> 00:06:19,252 I'll try to make it important in different parts of the trial. 130 00:06:19,337 --> 00:06:21,207 I think it's up to the jury to decide. 131 00:06:21,297 --> 00:06:23,257 We hoped the jury could see 132 00:06:23,341 --> 00:06:26,471 behind all that confusion and make the right decision. 133 00:06:39,190 --> 00:06:42,110 In the early 80s bodies of young boys 134 00:06:42,193 --> 00:06:44,703 were being found throughout Southern California. 135 00:06:44,779 --> 00:06:46,569 Victims of the Highway Killer. 136 00:06:46,781 --> 00:06:48,281 They were discarded naked, 137 00:06:48,366 --> 00:06:50,366 tied, strangled and raped. 138 00:06:50,451 --> 00:06:51,371 PAUL HOLES INVESTIGATOR 139 00:06:51,452 --> 00:06:55,332 It was very similar in detail with the Hillside Strangler cases. 140 00:06:57,208 --> 00:07:00,378 But in this case, they were men who were being murdered 141 00:07:00,461 --> 00:07:02,591 and having their bodies discarded. 142 00:07:04,006 --> 00:07:06,676 The authorities had nothing yet. 143 00:07:06,759 --> 00:07:09,179 They had no suspects and no witnesses. 144 00:07:09,262 --> 00:07:10,642 This guy was like a ghost 145 00:07:10,721 --> 00:07:13,641 and he was acting all over Southern California. 146 00:07:13,724 --> 00:07:15,814 He operated in a huge area. 147 00:07:15,893 --> 00:07:18,983 How he went in and out of everyone these places without being seen? 148 00:07:21,983 --> 00:07:23,113 The most recent victim 149 00:07:23,317 --> 00:07:25,357 it was a young man called Charles Miranda. 150 00:07:25,778 --> 00:07:29,738 He was asking for a ride home after leaving a nightclub in Hollywood. 151 00:07:29,824 --> 00:07:32,834 A few days later to find Charles Miranda, 152 00:07:32,910 --> 00:07:34,000 another young man was found discarded. 153 00:07:34,078 --> 00:07:34,998 ROBERT SOUZA - FORMER L.A. DETECTIVE CASE OF THE HIGHWAY KILLER 154 00:07:35,872 --> 00:07:39,002 His name was James McCabe. He was 12 years old. 155 00:07:39,959 --> 00:07:43,499 He was last seen at a bus stop in Huntington Beach 156 00:07:43,588 --> 00:07:45,418 on the way to Disneyland. 157 00:07:46,048 --> 00:07:48,928 He had the same characteristics 158 00:07:49,010 --> 00:07:50,600 the other victims. 159 00:07:50,678 --> 00:07:52,048 He had been beaten and had been raped. 160 00:07:52,138 --> 00:07:53,058 JOAN RENNER SOCIAL HISTORIAN 161 00:07:53,181 --> 00:07:55,021 He had been strangled, but he had been murdered, 162 00:07:55,516 --> 00:07:59,646 well, they thought they had put a tire iron or a pipe... 163 00:07:59,729 --> 00:08:01,019 against his throat. 164 00:08:01,481 --> 00:08:05,571 What kind of monster catches a 12 year old boy 165 00:08:05,651 --> 00:08:08,321 and says, "Shall we go to Disneyland?" 166 00:08:08,571 --> 00:08:11,531 THE HIGHWAY KILLER 167 00:08:13,326 --> 00:08:14,906 It was the middle of March in 1980 168 00:08:14,994 --> 00:08:17,164 when, somehow, the murders got even worse. 169 00:08:17,955 --> 00:08:19,705 In less than a week, 170 00:08:19,790 --> 00:08:24,090 four bodies of boys, aged between 14 and 19 years old, they were found. 171 00:08:26,422 --> 00:08:28,972 At that time I called my wife 172 00:08:29,050 --> 00:08:31,340 around four or five times daily to find out about my children. 173 00:08:31,427 --> 00:08:33,097 To find out if they had returned from school. 174 00:08:34,180 --> 00:08:35,390 I wanted so badly to catch this killer, 175 00:08:35,556 --> 00:08:38,556 I was almost losing my professional behavior. 176 00:08:40,811 --> 00:08:42,271 My partner was great. 177 00:08:42,396 --> 00:08:45,776 John St. John was an older man who managed not to get involved. 178 00:08:45,858 --> 00:08:47,568 He wasn't like me. 179 00:08:48,402 --> 00:08:50,742 He used to say: "Bob, let's get this guy." 180 00:08:50,821 --> 00:08:52,781 He said, "We're going to turn the city over. 181 00:08:52,865 --> 00:08:54,615 "We will do everything we can. 182 00:08:54,700 --> 00:08:56,450 "And we'll be lucky." 183 00:08:57,620 --> 00:09:01,370 Suddenly the press was all on top of us. 184 00:09:01,457 --> 00:09:03,997 Because these kids were too young and they were being caught on the streets 185 00:09:04,085 --> 00:09:05,285 and then murdered. 186 00:09:06,212 --> 00:09:08,632 They always tell me not to accept rides from strangers. 187 00:09:08,714 --> 00:09:10,514 There's a maniac on the loose. 188 00:09:10,591 --> 00:09:12,431 That's basically it. 189 00:09:13,803 --> 00:09:16,263 The media was going crazy. 190 00:09:16,889 --> 00:09:19,809 Often, the media invents things... 191 00:09:19,934 --> 00:09:20,894 PAUL TIPPIN FORMER L.A. DETECTIVE 192 00:09:21,018 --> 00:09:24,358 ...or invent names which end up being accepted. 193 00:09:24,438 --> 00:09:25,608 The Hillside Strangler. 194 00:09:25,690 --> 00:09:27,570 The famous Trash Bag Killers. 195 00:09:27,650 --> 00:09:29,360 The killer is being known 196 00:09:29,443 --> 00:09:31,243 like the Skid Row Stabber. 197 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:34,160 But it was something that went viral when the Orange County Register 198 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:37,030 named this case from the Highway Killer. 199 00:09:37,577 --> 00:09:39,747 That name stuck. 200 00:09:40,538 --> 00:09:44,248 The Highway Killer was a genius. 201 00:09:44,917 --> 00:09:46,917 Everyone knew a highway. 202 00:09:47,461 --> 00:09:49,421 Everyone had already passed a highway. 203 00:09:50,756 --> 00:09:55,046 It was a connecting point between people 204 00:09:55,136 --> 00:09:56,596 in Southern California. 205 00:09:56,679 --> 00:10:00,469 And suddenly, a killer appears which leaves its victims, 206 00:10:01,392 --> 00:10:04,232 almost with contempt in their corner, 207 00:10:04,312 --> 00:10:08,362 dishonoring this system, this unification system. 208 00:10:08,441 --> 00:10:11,941 And everyone who needed it take the highways daily 209 00:10:12,028 --> 00:10:14,278 felt somewhat vulnerable. 210 00:10:14,363 --> 00:10:15,783 We were all in danger. 211 00:10:16,324 --> 00:10:19,164 Call him the Highway Killer... 212 00:10:20,995 --> 00:10:23,745 didn't help identify him. 213 00:10:23,831 --> 00:10:24,831 He could be anywhere. 214 00:10:24,915 --> 00:10:27,245 His victims could appear anywhere. 215 00:10:30,254 --> 00:10:32,304 I wasn't scared 216 00:10:32,381 --> 00:10:35,971 until I started reading about these dead kids. 217 00:10:36,552 --> 00:10:38,762 And I had a strange feeling, it was him! 218 00:10:40,431 --> 00:10:42,931 And a lot of the kids looked like me. 219 00:10:44,185 --> 00:10:46,975 My name is David McVicker, and I was kidnapped 220 00:10:47,063 --> 00:10:50,783 by the Highway Killer on September 8, 1975. 221 00:10:58,032 --> 00:11:01,202 I was at Westminster hanging out with my friends. 222 00:11:01,285 --> 00:11:03,495 It's time for me to go home 223 00:11:03,579 --> 00:11:06,039 and I had to walk around of 19 kilometers. 224 00:11:06,123 --> 00:11:08,133 I said goodbye to my friends and crossed the street. 225 00:11:08,209 --> 00:11:09,039 DAVID McVICKER SURVIVOR 226 00:11:09,126 --> 00:11:11,246 A blue car stopped next to me. 227 00:11:11,337 --> 00:11:12,757 There was a guy inside him. 228 00:11:12,838 --> 00:11:14,548 He asked, "Where are you going?" 229 00:11:14,632 --> 00:11:16,972 I replied: "I'm going to walk to Huntington Beach." 230 00:11:17,051 --> 00:11:18,471 And he said, "Can I give you a ride?" 231 00:11:18,552 --> 00:11:20,052 And I got in the car. 232 00:11:23,891 --> 00:11:25,691 So I said, "I'm staying here." 233 00:11:26,185 --> 00:11:28,305 And he just kept driving. 234 00:11:28,396 --> 00:11:29,646 I realized I was in trouble. 235 00:11:29,730 --> 00:11:31,070 Something was very wrong. 236 00:11:33,651 --> 00:11:35,111 He stopped on the side of the road from the main highway, 237 00:11:35,194 --> 00:11:37,744 close to a location where no one could see us. 238 00:11:39,615 --> 00:11:41,195 I was very scared. 239 00:11:41,575 --> 00:11:43,535 As soon as he stopped the car, 240 00:11:43,619 --> 00:11:46,789 I opened the door and tried to get out, 241 00:11:46,872 --> 00:11:48,542 but he caught me and threw me back inside. 242 00:11:48,624 --> 00:11:49,884 And he started hitting me. 243 00:11:51,085 --> 00:11:53,205 No one heard me scream. 244 00:11:53,754 --> 00:11:56,554 And the only thing I could do to save my life 245 00:11:56,632 --> 00:11:58,382 it was to do whatever he asked. 246 00:11:58,467 --> 00:12:01,847 And I said, "I'll do whatever you want, Just stop hitting me." 247 00:12:01,929 --> 00:12:03,759 And... sorry. 248 00:12:12,273 --> 00:12:13,443 Sorry. 249 00:12:17,778 --> 00:12:19,948 He asked me to turn around. 250 00:12:20,698 --> 00:12:22,318 I still didn't imagine. 251 00:12:22,408 --> 00:12:25,538 I didn't know what he was doing. I had no idea what was coming. 252 00:12:25,619 --> 00:12:31,039 He put my t-shirt on on my neck, a crowbar... 253 00:12:31,125 --> 00:12:33,745 a tire iron... by her sleeve 254 00:12:33,836 --> 00:12:36,836 and started raping me while rolling up his t-shirt. 255 00:12:36,922 --> 00:12:38,052 I couldn't breathe. 256 00:12:38,632 --> 00:12:40,932 And what I found that would be my last breath, 257 00:12:41,010 --> 00:12:42,550 I said, "God, help me." 258 00:12:44,513 --> 00:12:46,103 And he stopped. 259 00:12:46,849 --> 00:12:49,849 He got off me, told me to get dressed 260 00:12:49,935 --> 00:12:51,555 and asked me where I lived. 261 00:12:52,688 --> 00:12:54,898 And he started driving there. 262 00:12:57,985 --> 00:12:59,355 When we arrived at my house, 263 00:12:59,445 --> 00:13:01,695 he said, "We'll see you again." 264 00:13:01,781 --> 00:13:03,281 And I ran away in the dark. 265 00:13:06,035 --> 00:13:07,655 Three weeks later, the police arrested a guy... 266 00:13:07,745 --> 00:13:08,575 MATT MURPHY ABC NEWS CONTRIBUTOR 267 00:13:08,662 --> 00:13:10,622 ...for the rape of David McVicker. 268 00:13:11,874 --> 00:13:14,424 They took me to a room so that I could reconnoitre, 269 00:13:14,502 --> 00:13:16,752 six guys came in. 270 00:13:16,837 --> 00:13:18,337 I said, "It was that guy over there." 271 00:13:25,137 --> 00:13:27,637 His name was William Bonin. 272 00:13:30,184 --> 00:13:33,314 Before the attack on McVicker, William Bonin was sentenced 273 00:13:33,395 --> 00:13:35,015 to something called an indefinite sentence 274 00:13:35,105 --> 00:13:36,565 from one to fifteen years. 275 00:13:38,651 --> 00:13:39,861 I was euphoric. 276 00:13:41,111 --> 00:13:42,361 I wasn't scared anymore. 277 00:13:42,446 --> 00:13:44,066 This guy was going to be locked up forever. 278 00:13:45,157 --> 00:13:47,537 And then I started hearing some stories 279 00:13:47,618 --> 00:13:49,998 of children abandoned on the highways. 280 00:13:50,079 --> 00:13:51,619 And I thought he was free. 281 00:13:52,873 --> 00:13:55,463 But it was impossible. He was trapped. 282 00:13:55,876 --> 00:13:58,046 So I called the sheriff Orange County Department 283 00:13:58,128 --> 00:13:59,338 and I asked him 284 00:13:59,421 --> 00:14:01,631 if the guy was still in prison. 285 00:14:02,633 --> 00:14:04,553 Without David McVicker, had knowledge, 286 00:14:04,635 --> 00:14:06,135 in less than three years, 287 00:14:06,220 --> 00:14:08,100 William Bonin got parole. 288 00:14:08,180 --> 00:14:10,720 POLICE 289 00:14:12,393 --> 00:14:14,943 At the Los Angeles Police Department, we were with at least 290 00:14:15,020 --> 00:14:19,230 ten people on loan to analyze the clues. 291 00:14:20,401 --> 00:14:22,071 I would analyze them at night sometimes. 292 00:14:22,152 --> 00:14:23,822 To check if they hadn't missed anything. 293 00:14:24,697 --> 00:14:27,157 My partner, John St. John, may God rest his soul, 294 00:14:27,241 --> 00:14:29,451 he was around 60 years old at the time. 295 00:14:29,535 --> 00:14:30,995 He was always with me. 296 00:14:32,162 --> 00:14:33,462 We worked non-stop sometimes. 297 00:14:33,539 --> 00:14:34,869 You know, we worked 24 hours a day. 298 00:14:34,957 --> 00:14:37,037 In fact, once John and I, 299 00:14:37,126 --> 00:14:39,836 we said: "We've been working for 40 hours!" 300 00:14:42,590 --> 00:14:46,300 If we had any luck, we would find some pattern. 301 00:14:48,095 --> 00:14:49,555 We investigate all common patterns, 302 00:14:49,638 --> 00:14:51,558 like days of the week, that sort of thing. 303 00:14:52,433 --> 00:14:54,603 We even check the phases of the moon. 304 00:14:56,353 --> 00:14:59,403 And they didn't match 305 00:14:59,481 --> 00:15:00,941 with the days and dates of the murders. 306 00:15:03,736 --> 00:15:05,066 John St. John and Bob Souza 307 00:15:05,154 --> 00:15:07,534 were under intense pressure to solve this case 308 00:15:07,615 --> 00:15:10,615 and recognized that they had not progressed. 309 00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:13,160 And they needed to think outside the box. 310 00:15:13,245 --> 00:15:14,995 They were looking for anything you gave them... 311 00:15:15,164 --> 00:15:16,044 CARS ONLY FOR EMERGENCY CALLS FROM DETECTIVES 312 00:15:16,165 --> 00:15:19,125 ...some help that season where the police had no technology. 313 00:15:19,209 --> 00:15:21,499 There were no DNA tests or digital automation. 314 00:15:21,629 --> 00:15:22,459 MICHAEL CONNELLY WRITER 315 00:15:22,546 --> 00:15:23,796 They didn't have any of those things. 316 00:15:23,881 --> 00:15:25,341 They only had their courage and their instinct. 317 00:15:25,424 --> 00:15:29,764 And I had an idea in the middle of our investigation. 318 00:15:30,304 --> 00:15:32,974 We had another team of serial killers 319 00:15:33,057 --> 00:15:34,097 working in Los Angeles, 320 00:15:34,767 --> 00:15:37,897 Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris, 321 00:15:37,978 --> 00:15:40,148 which were called from Toolbox Assassins. 322 00:15:40,606 --> 00:15:42,516 They were arrested for kidnapping, 323 00:15:42,608 --> 00:15:44,858 raping and torturing young girls. 324 00:15:45,569 --> 00:15:47,109 The name "toolbox" came about... 325 00:15:47,196 --> 00:15:48,066 PETE DEMETRIOU KNX-1070 NEWS RADIO, LOS ANGELES 326 00:15:48,155 --> 00:15:51,615 ...due to the use of pliers in the victims' private parts, 327 00:15:51,700 --> 00:15:54,240 the use of ice picks and things like that. 328 00:15:55,245 --> 00:15:57,575 Think of something they used, 329 00:15:57,665 --> 00:16:00,125 and that's why they got their name of Toolbox Assassins. 330 00:16:01,085 --> 00:16:02,955 We knew that Roy Norris and Lawrence Bittaker, 331 00:16:03,045 --> 00:16:04,625 they used a van. 332 00:16:04,713 --> 00:16:07,173 The van was caught with them. 333 00:16:07,257 --> 00:16:09,587 And it was inside that they did it their tortures. 334 00:16:10,678 --> 00:16:14,348 We thought the Highway Killer I also had a car. 335 00:16:14,598 --> 00:16:16,268 And he knew the city very well. 336 00:16:17,476 --> 00:16:20,096 Did you know that this criminal was using a vehicle. 337 00:16:20,187 --> 00:16:22,307 And that he operated in a huge region. 338 00:16:22,398 --> 00:16:26,608 He could have been using a similar van to the Toolbox Assassins. 339 00:16:27,486 --> 00:16:29,276 Their MO was similar. 340 00:16:29,363 --> 00:16:32,783 They were kidnapping, raping and torturing. 341 00:16:32,866 --> 00:16:34,446 This is what we imagined what was going on with our guy. 342 00:16:35,703 --> 00:16:37,163 Their last murder, 343 00:16:37,246 --> 00:16:39,036 it was that of the victim Shirley Ledford. 344 00:16:39,707 --> 00:16:44,167 The things she went through exceed human understanding. 345 00:16:45,546 --> 00:16:47,666 During the trial, in court, 346 00:16:47,756 --> 00:16:50,336 they played an audio which had been recorded 347 00:16:50,426 --> 00:16:53,256 of the last horrible hours by Shirley Ledford. 348 00:16:54,888 --> 00:16:59,348 Viewers had no idea what they would hear. 349 00:16:59,435 --> 00:17:00,885 I had heard screams before. 350 00:17:01,020 --> 00:17:03,610 I didn't find it, I didn't find it that I could keep listening, 351 00:17:03,689 --> 00:17:05,689 but I've never heard anything like it in my life. 352 00:17:06,567 --> 00:17:08,687 This was a notorious case in Los Angeles. 353 00:17:08,777 --> 00:17:11,777 It was the worst of the worst in terms of execution 354 00:17:11,864 --> 00:17:15,164 because they weren't just raping and killing, 355 00:17:15,242 --> 00:17:16,622 they wanted to cause pain. 356 00:17:17,953 --> 00:17:19,583 The John St. John Detectives 357 00:17:19,663 --> 00:17:23,133 and Bob Souza decided to use a similar MO 358 00:17:23,208 --> 00:17:26,748 to the Assassins of the Toolbox in your favor. 359 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:27,760 JAMI FLOYD ABC NEWS CONTRIBUTOR 360 00:17:27,838 --> 00:17:30,008 What did they decide to do It was something innovative. 361 00:17:31,759 --> 00:17:34,049 I heard that one of them 362 00:17:34,136 --> 00:17:36,136 I was trying to blame the other person. 363 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:39,270 Roy Norris wanted to avoid the gas chamber 364 00:17:39,349 --> 00:17:42,559 and I was throwing everything on my shoulders from your partner in crime, 365 00:17:42,644 --> 00:17:43,654 Lawrence Bittaker. 366 00:17:44,813 --> 00:17:47,073 And I heard he was cooperating with the sheriffs. 367 00:17:47,149 --> 00:17:50,319 I called the sheriff and said: "I'd like to talk to your guy 368 00:17:50,402 --> 00:17:53,532 "to see if he can give us some help on our killer." 369 00:17:54,531 --> 00:17:58,661 That was the beginning of criminal profiling. 370 00:17:58,744 --> 00:18:02,754 We had another serial killer who was on the loose, 371 00:18:02,831 --> 00:18:05,381 kidnapping victims in this region. 372 00:18:06,043 --> 00:18:09,803 We could go talk to him and see if we could get into your mind 373 00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:12,260 to try to discover the mind from the Highway Killer. 374 00:18:13,509 --> 00:18:15,839 This had never been done. 375 00:18:15,928 --> 00:18:17,428 It was a brilliant strategy. 376 00:18:22,226 --> 00:18:24,766 Okay, we entered the room 377 00:18:24,853 --> 00:18:28,943 and Roy Norris was fully handcuffed and in an orange jumpsuit. 378 00:18:32,236 --> 00:18:33,696 And the first thing he said to me was: 379 00:18:33,779 --> 00:18:35,529 "I know why you're here. 380 00:18:35,989 --> 00:18:37,239 "I'm not going to talk to you 381 00:18:37,324 --> 00:18:38,874 "about something Larry and I We're in trouble." 382 00:18:38,992 --> 00:18:41,412 I said, "It's okay, I don't mind with what you and Bittaker did. 383 00:18:41,495 --> 00:18:44,155 "I'm here to talk about the Highway Killer." 384 00:18:46,208 --> 00:18:47,918 Norris looked at me and said: 385 00:18:48,710 --> 00:18:50,750 "I heard about this case, I've been reading about it." 386 00:18:53,632 --> 00:18:56,972 "Well, he must have a partner." 387 00:18:57,511 --> 00:18:59,351 He said, "It was easy for Larry and me 388 00:18:59,429 --> 00:19:01,559 "because we stopped the car. I could get the girl, 389 00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:03,930 put her in the van and Larry drove." 390 00:19:04,017 --> 00:19:06,267 He said: "I think they're looking for two guys." 391 00:19:14,319 --> 00:19:17,489 He said, "He must have a sliding door on the van 392 00:19:19,032 --> 00:19:21,912 "because when we stop the car at a bus stop 393 00:19:21,994 --> 00:19:23,794 "or anywhere in which we see the victim, 394 00:19:25,539 --> 00:19:27,369 "just slide the door 395 00:19:27,457 --> 00:19:29,707 "and no one behind or in front of the van 396 00:19:29,793 --> 00:19:30,883 "You'll see nothing. 397 00:19:30,961 --> 00:19:32,461 "It's just an open door, 398 00:19:32,546 --> 00:19:34,336 "we can pick them up and put them in there." 399 00:19:35,048 --> 00:19:37,888 And he said, "He probably you already know where you will dispose of the bodies 400 00:19:37,968 --> 00:19:39,388 "before you catch them." 401 00:19:41,138 --> 00:19:42,718 And I kept doing it other questions for him. 402 00:19:42,806 --> 00:19:45,346 And he said, "Well, I know that he catches them in one place 403 00:19:45,434 --> 00:19:47,024 "and discards them in another. 404 00:19:47,102 --> 00:19:48,562 "Because we know it confuses you." 405 00:19:48,645 --> 00:19:50,355 He said: "We know how police officers think." 406 00:19:51,857 --> 00:19:53,397 This opened my eyes 407 00:19:53,483 --> 00:19:55,653 because he was the first serial killer who I had talked to. 408 00:19:58,947 --> 00:20:00,157 Many of these killers 409 00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:01,950 they want their work to be known 410 00:20:02,034 --> 00:20:04,334 and they read the newspapers and watch TV. 411 00:20:04,411 --> 00:20:06,961 When one of them is caught and are sitting in prison, 412 00:20:07,039 --> 00:20:09,079 for the rest of your life, 413 00:20:09,166 --> 00:20:10,706 they don't like to talk much, 414 00:20:10,792 --> 00:20:13,462 they like to bank... 415 00:20:13,545 --> 00:20:15,255 they think they are better than detectives. 416 00:20:15,339 --> 00:20:17,969 But detectives get things done because they only think about the ego. 417 00:20:18,050 --> 00:20:19,760 I think we realize 418 00:20:19,843 --> 00:20:22,723 what guy could be smarter than we thought. 419 00:20:24,139 --> 00:20:26,769 At the time, the people of Los Angeles 420 00:20:26,850 --> 00:20:28,640 They thought they had already been through everything. 421 00:20:29,728 --> 00:20:32,648 But what came next it was different from anything else 422 00:20:32,731 --> 00:20:34,271 that they had already seen. 423 00:20:35,234 --> 00:20:37,114 SUNSET BOULEVARD JUNE 23, 1980 424 00:21:10,602 --> 00:21:14,402 THE SUNSET STRIP KILLER 425 00:21:15,357 --> 00:21:18,987 I joined the LAPD in 1969. 426 00:21:19,945 --> 00:21:23,815 In 1978, I went to the Robbery and Homicide Unit. 427 00:21:23,907 --> 00:21:24,777 FRANK GARCIA - HOMICIDE DETECTIVE SUNSET STRIP MURDERER CASE 428 00:21:24,866 --> 00:21:27,076 It wasn't a job that I started things little by little, 429 00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:30,080 I was soon thrown into a fire. 430 00:21:32,165 --> 00:21:35,585 The Sunset Strip Killers they were the most brutal 431 00:21:35,669 --> 00:21:38,959 and the wildest I had ever seen. 432 00:21:45,887 --> 00:21:50,557 On June 12, 1980, the bodies of two young women 433 00:21:50,642 --> 00:21:53,732 they were found on the access climb to Ventura Highway. 434 00:21:55,981 --> 00:21:57,691 The bodies were lying in the bushes. 435 00:21:58,650 --> 00:22:01,190 One of them was face down. 436 00:22:01,361 --> 00:22:03,451 Both were shot in the head. 437 00:22:05,032 --> 00:22:08,162 One of them had a gunshot wound to the chest. 438 00:22:09,202 --> 00:22:12,332 We didn't have a crime scene because the crime scene 439 00:22:12,414 --> 00:22:14,174 This is where crimes are committed. 440 00:22:15,083 --> 00:22:16,343 There was no blood there, 441 00:22:17,044 --> 00:22:19,714 what does this mean that they had bled elsewhere 442 00:22:19,796 --> 00:22:21,006 and were discarded there. 443 00:22:21,089 --> 00:22:22,469 They didn't cover them 444 00:22:22,549 --> 00:22:24,799 and it was an area full of bushes. 445 00:22:24,885 --> 00:22:25,755 LEROY OROZCO - FORMER DETECTIVE THE CASE OF THE SUNSET STRIP KILLERS 446 00:22:25,844 --> 00:22:27,804 They hadn't been taken to a place to hide. 447 00:22:29,639 --> 00:22:32,979 One of the victims was naked 448 00:22:33,810 --> 00:22:35,230 and the second 449 00:22:35,312 --> 00:22:38,692 had a part which was removed from his waist. 450 00:22:40,275 --> 00:22:42,485 The panties, the pants, 451 00:22:42,569 --> 00:22:45,609 looked like they had been taken, what it indicated 452 00:22:45,697 --> 00:22:48,487 that they could have been raped after they are dead 453 00:22:48,575 --> 00:22:50,785 one of them or both. 454 00:22:53,372 --> 00:22:55,872 The location was close 455 00:22:55,957 --> 00:23:00,087 from one of the case locations from the Hillside Strangler. 456 00:23:02,589 --> 00:23:05,089 One of the people thought the following, you want to know? 457 00:23:05,175 --> 00:23:07,085 We have a copycat here. 458 00:23:08,011 --> 00:23:10,011 But the MO was very different. 459 00:23:10,097 --> 00:23:12,467 The Hillside Strangler strangled all victims 460 00:23:12,557 --> 00:23:14,727 and these two were shot in the head. 461 00:23:16,645 --> 00:23:20,265 The circumstances of these murders raised many questions. 462 00:23:20,357 --> 00:23:23,187 No girl had signal of being tied up, 463 00:23:23,276 --> 00:23:26,526 So how could anyone have arrived too close to them to shoot 464 00:23:26,613 --> 00:23:28,123 in your heads? 465 00:23:29,199 --> 00:23:32,489 The next day, we received the information 466 00:23:32,577 --> 00:23:35,367 Ballistics on bullets 467 00:23:35,455 --> 00:23:39,205 who had killed these girls and hit with the gun... 468 00:23:40,085 --> 00:23:43,755 ...a Raven 25 caliber, which is a semi-automatic pistol. 469 00:23:44,881 --> 00:23:46,511 When the two girls were identified, 470 00:23:46,591 --> 00:23:48,931 the blonde was Cynthia Chandler 471 00:23:50,303 --> 00:23:52,473 and the brunette was Gina Marano. 472 00:23:53,515 --> 00:23:55,805 They were only 15 or 16 years old. 473 00:23:56,685 --> 00:23:59,145 Detectives interviewed their family. 474 00:24:01,148 --> 00:24:03,228 Cynthia Chandler and Gina Marano 475 00:24:03,316 --> 00:24:05,646 they were half-sisters from Huntington Beach. 476 00:24:07,446 --> 00:24:09,816 Gina was an exemplary student 477 00:24:09,906 --> 00:24:12,276 and Cynthia sang in the church choir. 478 00:24:12,367 --> 00:24:13,237 LOUISE FARR, WRITER - THE SUNSET MURDERS 479 00:24:13,952 --> 00:24:16,872 But even so, they were fugitives. They weren't happy at home. 480 00:24:16,955 --> 00:24:20,245 They didn't want the rigidity a disciplined life 481 00:24:20,333 --> 00:24:22,543 what your parents wanted that they had. 482 00:24:23,670 --> 00:24:25,840 They found a way to arrive in Los Angeles. 483 00:24:28,133 --> 00:24:30,553 These two girls they had the habit of leaving the house 484 00:24:30,635 --> 00:24:32,345 and go to Sunset Strip. 485 00:24:33,430 --> 00:24:34,890 Who was going to L.A., 486 00:24:34,973 --> 00:24:36,853 had to go to Sunset Strip to enjoy and party. 487 00:24:39,978 --> 00:24:43,438 Some young people went to nightclubs, 488 00:24:43,523 --> 00:24:45,113 they used cocaine, metaquala... 489 00:24:45,192 --> 00:24:46,072 DR. LOIS LEE FOUNDER OF CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT 490 00:24:46,151 --> 00:24:47,991 ...they had risky behavior and wore bold clothes. 491 00:24:49,154 --> 00:24:50,954 This was one of his favorite places 492 00:24:51,031 --> 00:24:53,991 in search of new sensations and fun. 493 00:24:54,701 --> 00:24:56,331 They were chosen by boys 494 00:24:56,411 --> 00:24:58,871 and they had fun, you know? 495 00:25:01,625 --> 00:25:03,165 We knew where they came from. 496 00:25:03,251 --> 00:25:04,671 But where they were going, we didn't know. 497 00:25:05,212 --> 00:25:08,222 And then someone had to get them on the Sunset Strip. 498 00:25:09,549 --> 00:25:12,139 Detectives involved in the investigation 499 00:25:12,219 --> 00:25:15,349 or anyone else, I had no idea who had done it. 500 00:25:15,430 --> 00:25:17,640 This case was a total enigma. 501 00:25:20,519 --> 00:25:25,399 About two later, a girl called the division 502 00:25:25,482 --> 00:25:27,482 and said he knew 503 00:25:27,567 --> 00:25:29,817 who could have committed the murder of the two girls. 504 00:25:31,363 --> 00:25:33,453 I don't know if the guy at the police station 505 00:25:33,532 --> 00:25:36,162 thought he was talking with a crazy person or not. 506 00:25:36,243 --> 00:25:39,413 But she started talking to him and provide some information. 507 00:25:40,205 --> 00:25:42,575 She claimed she was the killer's girlfriend 508 00:25:42,916 --> 00:25:45,996 and described the clothes 509 00:25:46,086 --> 00:25:47,796 worn by one of the girls. 510 00:25:50,924 --> 00:25:52,264 The call dropped. 511 00:25:53,593 --> 00:25:56,813 And this girl never called again. 512 00:25:58,390 --> 00:26:01,480 Around 11 days later that these two young women were found, 513 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:04,270 the police were called to a disturbing scene. 514 00:26:09,442 --> 00:26:11,442 I had already participated in big cases, 515 00:26:12,070 --> 00:26:14,570 but never from such a bizarre case. 516 00:26:23,873 --> 00:26:24,833 THE HIGHWAY KILLER 517 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:26,210 St. John and Souza 518 00:26:26,293 --> 00:26:27,883 they had been involved in this investigation for six months 519 00:26:27,961 --> 00:26:31,131 and they weren't even close to identifying the Highway Killer. 520 00:26:31,214 --> 00:26:34,554 They were finding that they would never catch him. 521 00:27:06,207 --> 00:27:08,747 John and I were awake for 36 hours 522 00:27:08,835 --> 00:27:10,415 and working on this case. 523 00:27:10,503 --> 00:27:12,423 We received a call from our lieutenant. 524 00:27:13,465 --> 00:27:16,335 He said a lawyer from the Juvenile Detention Center 525 00:27:16,426 --> 00:27:19,216 I was with a boy who was talking about the Highway Killer. 526 00:27:20,847 --> 00:27:22,517 John and I thought about going home, 527 00:27:22,599 --> 00:27:24,979 take a nap and go talk to him later, 528 00:27:25,060 --> 00:27:26,900 but we decided to go at that time. 529 00:27:26,978 --> 00:27:29,358 I said, "It could be something that we don't know yet." 530 00:27:29,564 --> 00:27:31,784 The boy's name was William Pugh 531 00:27:31,858 --> 00:27:33,528 and he was a bit cornered at first 532 00:27:33,610 --> 00:27:35,820 because we knew he wanted some kind of agreement 533 00:27:35,904 --> 00:27:38,574 regarding your accusation of car theft. 534 00:27:39,074 --> 00:27:40,784 But he started to open up more 535 00:27:40,909 --> 00:27:43,199 and said, "I kind of went out with this guy. 536 00:27:43,286 --> 00:27:45,036 "And he seemed very interested this Highway Killer thing. 537 00:27:45,121 --> 00:27:47,581 "He had all the news of newspapers in your glove compartment." 538 00:27:47,666 --> 00:27:49,536 I asked what his car was. 539 00:27:49,626 --> 00:27:51,086 And he said it was a van. 540 00:27:52,212 --> 00:27:54,262 I asked, "What's his name?" 541 00:27:55,173 --> 00:27:56,513 Bill Bonin. 542 00:27:58,343 --> 00:27:59,973 The police had investigated a lot 543 00:28:00,053 --> 00:28:03,433 of rape offenders during this investigation 544 00:28:03,515 --> 00:28:07,015 and one of the names that had appeared it was William Bonin's. 545 00:28:07,602 --> 00:28:10,562 John and I, we looked at each other, and we thought, "That's it." 546 00:28:12,023 --> 00:28:13,783 I asked: "Do you know this guy well?" 547 00:28:13,858 --> 00:28:16,818 And he said, "Well, I was." enough with him." 548 00:28:16,903 --> 00:28:18,573 I asked: "You are sexually involved 549 00:28:18,655 --> 00:28:19,855 "or is it something else?" 550 00:28:20,281 --> 00:28:22,701 He said, "Yes, more or less." But there are many other things." 551 00:28:23,368 --> 00:28:24,788 I asked: "Have you seen him, 552 00:28:24,869 --> 00:28:26,539 "you already saw him catch any boy or something?" 553 00:28:26,705 --> 00:28:29,205 He said, "No, but he asked me if I wanted to tag along. 554 00:28:29,290 --> 00:28:31,330 "Because he wanted to leave to catch some young man." 555 00:28:33,962 --> 00:28:35,592 That was enough for us 556 00:28:35,672 --> 00:28:37,512 because I was anxious at that moment. 557 00:28:37,674 --> 00:28:39,474 We need to send someone after him now. 558 00:28:44,597 --> 00:28:46,557 We ran back to the police station 559 00:28:46,641 --> 00:28:47,771 and we told this to our lieutenant. 560 00:28:48,476 --> 00:28:51,976 We had a meeting with the Special Investigations Unit. 561 00:28:52,063 --> 00:28:53,903 They specialize in surveillance. 562 00:28:53,982 --> 00:28:57,992 And a friend of mine and former partner, Jerry Lefrois, 563 00:28:58,069 --> 00:28:59,239 we call him Frog. 564 00:28:59,320 --> 00:29:01,570 I said, "Frog, this case is important. 565 00:29:01,656 --> 00:29:03,656 "It's about the bastard, the Highway Killer. 566 00:29:03,742 --> 00:29:05,032 "I have no doubts." 567 00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:11,250 In the Special Investigations Unit, 568 00:29:11,332 --> 00:29:13,332 we are tasked with surveillance 569 00:29:13,418 --> 00:29:16,378 and apprehend criminals of important crimes. 570 00:29:16,463 --> 00:29:17,963 In the early evening of June 2nd, 571 00:29:18,047 --> 00:29:19,667 they told us that a possible suspect... 572 00:29:19,758 --> 00:29:20,678 JERRY LEFROIS FORMER LOS ANGELES DETECTIVES 573 00:29:20,759 --> 00:29:23,429 ... drove a 72 Ford van. 574 00:29:24,721 --> 00:29:26,601 When we arrived at the location, 575 00:29:26,681 --> 00:29:29,311 we are in a good position across the street. 576 00:29:30,351 --> 00:29:33,101 And an hour or two later, we observed two individuals 577 00:29:33,188 --> 00:29:35,318 exiting and loading a huge cardboard box. 578 00:29:37,025 --> 00:29:38,985 They put the box in the van. 579 00:29:45,617 --> 00:29:47,367 And they left in the car. 580 00:29:50,497 --> 00:29:51,827 We were talking 581 00:29:51,915 --> 00:29:53,745 on the radio with the police and we informed them that they had returned 582 00:29:53,833 --> 00:29:57,003 and they were heading west. 583 00:29:58,546 --> 00:30:01,796 But when units arrived in the area, 584 00:30:01,883 --> 00:30:03,133 they couldn't find him. 585 00:30:03,259 --> 00:30:04,639 BOLSA CHICA HIGHWAY 586 00:30:05,011 --> 00:30:06,261 A day or two later, 587 00:30:06,346 --> 00:30:09,056 a body was found behind a gas station. 588 00:30:10,892 --> 00:30:13,102 It was Steven Wells' body. 589 00:30:13,603 --> 00:30:16,983 He was on his way to work. And I was waiting for the bus. 590 00:30:17,732 --> 00:30:20,942 He had been attacked so brutally 591 00:30:21,027 --> 00:30:23,357 which was almost unrecognizable. 592 00:30:24,739 --> 00:30:29,489 He was in a horrible situation when they found him. 593 00:30:29,577 --> 00:30:33,457 This murderer got incredibly worse, 594 00:30:33,540 --> 00:30:35,880 with regard to violence. 595 00:30:35,959 --> 00:30:38,289 If it was already bad, now it was worse. 596 00:30:40,088 --> 00:30:41,548 And that's when we thought 597 00:30:41,631 --> 00:30:45,181 that when they left that house, 598 00:30:47,470 --> 00:30:49,510 this young Wells could be inside the box 599 00:30:49,597 --> 00:30:50,807 that we saw them carry 600 00:30:50,890 --> 00:30:52,600 and put it in the back of the van. 601 00:30:57,397 --> 00:30:58,607 It was a difficult position, 602 00:30:58,690 --> 00:31:00,530 that of the surveillance team 603 00:31:00,733 --> 00:31:03,533 because they couldn't go confront Bonin 604 00:31:03,611 --> 00:31:06,741 at that moment of surveillance 605 00:31:06,823 --> 00:31:08,283 just to ask what was in the box 606 00:31:08,741 --> 00:31:11,741 and put an end to possible chances 607 00:31:11,828 --> 00:31:14,708 getting what could be conquered with vigilance. 608 00:31:15,498 --> 00:31:17,708 We followed him several times, 609 00:31:17,792 --> 00:31:20,802 but there was nothing suspicious that indicated criminal activity 610 00:31:20,879 --> 00:31:22,669 until the evening of June 11th. 611 00:31:25,383 --> 00:31:27,763 Lefrois followed Bonin to Hollywood, 612 00:31:27,844 --> 00:31:29,514 Bonin was driving through the city. 613 00:31:29,596 --> 00:31:32,306 He was looking for someone to pick up. 614 00:31:33,141 --> 00:31:34,561 And at that moment, 615 00:31:34,642 --> 00:31:37,812 there was a young man in southern Santa Monica. 616 00:31:38,187 --> 00:31:41,817 Bonin saw him. He made a quick return. 617 00:31:41,900 --> 00:31:43,480 Bonin stopped the car. 618 00:31:45,653 --> 00:31:47,033 Talked to him. 619 00:31:48,698 --> 00:31:51,328 The van moved and the boy went with it. 620 00:31:51,409 --> 00:31:53,119 I didn't know what was going to happen, 621 00:31:53,202 --> 00:31:55,042 but I knew we needed to act quickly. 622 00:32:00,460 --> 00:32:02,840 The surveillance team followed Bonin 623 00:32:02,921 --> 00:32:04,841 to a parking lot in Hollywood. 624 00:32:06,090 --> 00:32:08,430 Boni parked the van... 625 00:32:09,719 --> 00:32:12,969 and stayed in one position that the doors were against the wall. 626 00:32:14,766 --> 00:32:17,976 The lights went out and I could imagine 627 00:32:18,061 --> 00:32:20,901 Bonin leaving his bench and going to the back of the van. 628 00:32:23,983 --> 00:32:26,863 The decision was: how much time did we have left? 629 00:32:26,945 --> 00:32:28,565 before we act? 630 00:32:30,323 --> 00:32:33,083 On the one hand, this could be 631 00:32:33,159 --> 00:32:34,539 a consensual sexual act. 632 00:32:35,495 --> 00:32:37,075 Or was there something more nefarious? 633 00:32:37,163 --> 00:32:39,213 It was a difficult decision to make 634 00:32:39,290 --> 00:32:41,210 because if it were consensual, 635 00:32:41,292 --> 00:32:43,132 they would blow their cover, 636 00:32:43,211 --> 00:32:45,211 but what if Bonin were the Highway Killer? 637 00:32:45,296 --> 00:32:46,506 They decided to act. 638 00:33:03,481 --> 00:33:05,731 One of the members of the Special Unit 639 00:33:05,817 --> 00:33:08,397 I could hear moaning coming from inside the van. 640 00:33:08,486 --> 00:33:11,236 He knew what was happening inside at that time. 641 00:33:11,322 --> 00:33:12,702 And I knew about Bonin's story. 642 00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:15,990 He said there were other sounds too. 643 00:33:16,077 --> 00:33:17,947 He said: "We better do something." 644 00:33:18,037 --> 00:33:20,537 The Unit caught him, They turned on the lights, you know? 645 00:33:30,591 --> 00:33:32,181 They handcuffed him. 646 00:33:33,594 --> 00:33:35,514 I don't know who the person was in our Unit 647 00:33:35,596 --> 00:33:39,886 who got into the van and found the boy behind, 648 00:33:39,976 --> 00:33:44,106 he had been tied up, but he was still alive. 649 00:33:45,106 --> 00:33:47,816 They had found it a tire iron next to him. 650 00:33:48,985 --> 00:33:51,145 He was going to hit the kid with that. 651 00:33:52,238 --> 00:33:53,738 I remember someone saying to him: 652 00:33:54,157 --> 00:33:56,157 "Do you know how lucky you were?" 653 00:33:56,993 --> 00:33:58,373 The boy was free. 654 00:33:58,870 --> 00:34:00,830 He had gone through enormous torture. 655 00:34:01,873 --> 00:34:03,373 I had no doubt 656 00:34:03,458 --> 00:34:05,538 that young man knew he was going to die. 657 00:34:05,626 --> 00:34:08,796 I would say he had less than a minute to live. 658 00:34:09,922 --> 00:34:12,592 He saved the boy's life, without a doubt. 659 00:34:14,635 --> 00:34:17,635 As soon as surveillance took Bonin to the police station, 660 00:34:17,722 --> 00:34:19,272 he was placed in an interrogation room. 661 00:34:19,348 --> 00:34:21,348 John was taking it easy. 662 00:34:22,143 --> 00:34:24,733 But I was staring at Bonin, 663 00:34:24,812 --> 00:34:27,982 this was a method which I used to intimidate. 664 00:34:30,068 --> 00:34:31,818 Bonin closed down. 665 00:34:33,446 --> 00:34:36,026 And John said: "Bob, can I talk to you for a minute?" 666 00:34:36,866 --> 00:34:38,276 And we went outside. 667 00:34:39,994 --> 00:34:42,004 He said: "Bonin is scared of you." 668 00:34:45,166 --> 00:34:47,166 I said, "Okay, John. You talk to him." 669 00:34:52,548 --> 00:34:55,888 John took a list of all victims. 670 00:34:57,178 --> 00:34:59,178 And Bonin, for some reason, opened immediately. 671 00:34:59,722 --> 00:35:02,562 He had told John, he said: "I'm scared of your partner." 672 00:35:02,642 --> 00:35:05,102 I think he thought I wanted to strangle him, and I wanted to. 673 00:35:06,729 --> 00:35:09,479 Only when the arrest was completed, 674 00:35:09,941 --> 00:35:11,781 the detectives finally admitted... 675 00:35:11,901 --> 00:35:12,781 DAVE LOPEZ FORMER KCBS-TV REPORTER, LOS ANGELES 676 00:35:12,902 --> 00:35:13,902 ...that all the cases were connected. 677 00:35:15,154 --> 00:35:16,574 There was a press conference 678 00:35:16,656 --> 00:35:18,776 saying they had made an arrest 679 00:35:18,866 --> 00:35:21,576 and identified him as a driver by truck from Downey. 680 00:35:21,661 --> 00:35:22,661 A Downey Guy Gets Arrested For Strangling Young People 681 00:35:22,745 --> 00:35:24,615 And they named him Bill Bonin. 682 00:35:25,248 --> 00:35:27,328 They didn't say the number of cases he had committed. 683 00:35:27,416 --> 00:35:28,786 They hid it, 684 00:35:28,876 --> 00:35:32,126 but they said he had committed many crimes. 685 00:35:32,213 --> 00:35:35,093 Remain seated. Order. The trial will begin. 686 00:35:35,174 --> 00:35:37,144 The first time Bonin was in court, 687 00:35:37,218 --> 00:35:39,048 They didn’t accuse him of any murder. 688 00:35:39,137 --> 00:35:40,807 because they knew they needed it for more information 689 00:35:40,888 --> 00:35:42,888 and other things needed arrive from the laboratory. 690 00:35:43,349 --> 00:35:45,849 He was put on trial on a Thursday or Friday, 691 00:35:45,935 --> 00:35:48,435 and they would need to wait until Monday 692 00:35:48,896 --> 00:35:52,016 to be able to accuse him of murder 693 00:35:52,108 --> 00:35:54,108 or he could bail. 694 00:35:55,361 --> 00:35:56,781 From there, 695 00:35:56,863 --> 00:36:00,243 we were getting ready to have an affair. 696 00:36:01,409 --> 00:36:04,659 All police departments began to collect information. 697 00:36:04,745 --> 00:36:06,745 Everything went to the Prosecutor's Office. 698 00:36:07,248 --> 00:36:09,078 The van was taken to the center, 699 00:36:09,167 --> 00:36:11,497 for our Unit Scientific Research. 700 00:36:12,420 --> 00:36:15,050 They looked inside and it was very interesting. 701 00:36:17,508 --> 00:36:19,838 Interior door handles had been removed. 702 00:36:20,845 --> 00:36:23,555 Someone who was inside the van I wouldn't be able to leave. 703 00:36:24,098 --> 00:36:27,598 In short, he had assembled the van to be a death trap. 704 00:36:29,520 --> 00:36:31,730 The police found nylon rope, 705 00:36:31,814 --> 00:36:33,904 a tire iron and three knives, 706 00:36:33,983 --> 00:36:37,073 which gave us a disturbing image the way Bonin 707 00:36:37,153 --> 00:36:39,953 captured and tortured his victims. 708 00:36:40,031 --> 00:36:41,411 Blood samples were taken. 709 00:36:41,490 --> 00:36:43,580 They searched the entire van for fingerprints. 710 00:36:43,826 --> 00:36:45,946 We didn't have DNA tests yet. 711 00:36:46,495 --> 00:36:49,415 We had managed to beat 712 00:36:49,498 --> 00:36:51,788 the fibers of Bonin's car 713 00:36:51,876 --> 00:36:53,626 with the fibers found in some of our bodies. 714 00:36:53,711 --> 00:36:55,461 LINING FIBER 715 00:36:55,588 --> 00:36:57,418 As researchers discovered more and more 716 00:36:57,506 --> 00:37:00,046 about Bonin and his circle of friends, 717 00:37:00,134 --> 00:37:03,104 they began to find that he didn't just have one accomplice, 718 00:37:03,179 --> 00:37:05,349 he had more than one accomplice. 719 00:37:05,431 --> 00:37:07,391 The police spoke to Bonin's friends 720 00:37:07,475 --> 00:37:10,725 and they had heard of a man named Vernon Butts 721 00:37:10,811 --> 00:37:12,361 who spent a lot of time with Bonin. 722 00:37:13,356 --> 00:37:16,896 Vernon Butts worked in the same company as Bonin. 723 00:37:16,984 --> 00:37:18,574 I think he met him there. 724 00:37:18,653 --> 00:37:21,203 So, a researcher came to speak with Vernon Butts 725 00:37:21,280 --> 00:37:23,950 and he was very strange. 726 00:37:24,033 --> 00:37:26,333 And so, the researchers were asking yourself: 727 00:37:26,410 --> 00:37:27,620 "Is he an accomplice?" 728 00:37:28,537 --> 00:37:29,997 During the investigation, 729 00:37:30,081 --> 00:37:32,791 the police kept listening two other names that kept appearing. 730 00:37:33,793 --> 00:37:35,883 Greg Miley and James Munro. 731 00:37:37,338 --> 00:37:40,088 The police believed that until that moment they had three accomplices, 732 00:37:40,174 --> 00:37:42,394 but they began to suspect 733 00:37:42,468 --> 00:37:45,258 that they could have a fourth: William Pugh, 734 00:37:45,346 --> 00:37:48,176 the boy who originally told William Bonin. 735 00:37:48,933 --> 00:37:52,233 William Pugh was definitely 736 00:37:52,311 --> 00:37:54,731 pretending to be an innocent victim 737 00:37:54,814 --> 00:37:57,324 but nevertheless, he participated. 738 00:38:00,236 --> 00:38:02,446 We were aware of four accomplices. 739 00:38:04,323 --> 00:38:05,993 They all blamed Bonin, 740 00:38:06,075 --> 00:38:08,155 they accused him of everything, of course. 741 00:38:08,244 --> 00:38:09,124 A Suspected Being The Highway Killer Is Talking 742 00:38:09,203 --> 00:38:11,163 But we knew, when comparing the testimonies, 743 00:38:11,247 --> 00:38:12,867 that they had participated of the murders. 744 00:38:13,582 --> 00:38:15,332 There were serial killers 745 00:38:15,418 --> 00:38:17,338 who had used accomplices, 746 00:38:17,420 --> 00:38:21,800 like the Hillside Stranglers and the Toolbox Assassins, 747 00:38:21,882 --> 00:38:24,642 but use multiple accomplices? 748 00:38:24,719 --> 00:38:26,639 This was very unusual. 749 00:38:26,721 --> 00:38:29,971 That wasn't smart from Bonin. 750 00:38:30,099 --> 00:38:33,939 When there are many criminals working together, 751 00:38:34,020 --> 00:38:37,190 sometime something bad happens in their relationship. 752 00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:41,780 And that raised a question. 753 00:38:42,069 --> 00:38:44,609 How William Bonin asked for help 754 00:38:44,697 --> 00:38:47,157 of these four other men to participate in these murders 755 00:38:47,241 --> 00:38:49,871 and how did this wave of murders start? 756 00:39:01,672 --> 00:39:05,302 We were notified that a girl he had been shot in Burbank. 757 00:39:07,470 --> 00:39:09,100 It was a white woman 758 00:39:09,638 --> 00:39:12,558 and she was lying in the street with your head on the curb. 759 00:39:12,641 --> 00:39:14,311 Close to Burbank Studios. 760 00:39:14,393 --> 00:39:16,983 She was fully dressed. 761 00:39:17,063 --> 00:39:19,773 It didn't seem like they had tried take off her clothes 762 00:39:19,857 --> 00:39:21,067 and it didn't seem 763 00:39:21,150 --> 00:39:24,150 that they had tried to rape her. 764 00:39:25,279 --> 00:39:27,529 But she had also taken shot to the head. 765 00:39:29,742 --> 00:39:33,502 Karen Jones was a young mother who had left college 766 00:39:33,579 --> 00:39:36,499 and after some time in an abusive shelter. 767 00:39:36,624 --> 00:39:37,504 LOUISE FARR WRITER OF THE SUNSET MURDERS 768 00:39:37,583 --> 00:39:41,553 And he had started prostitution to support her little son. 769 00:39:43,130 --> 00:39:46,510 Ballistics indicated that the bullet 770 00:39:46,592 --> 00:39:48,552 it was the same weapon 771 00:39:48,636 --> 00:39:51,466 who had killed Cindy Chandlerand and Gina Marano. 772 00:39:53,224 --> 00:39:56,274 So we had three bodies with the same weapon 773 00:39:56,352 --> 00:39:59,112 and we thought, "We have a problem." 774 00:40:03,275 --> 00:40:06,985 That morning, around 6:30 or 7:00, 775 00:40:07,071 --> 00:40:08,821 another body was found. 776 00:40:09,949 --> 00:40:14,659 A naked and decapitated body behind the Sizzler on Ventura Avenue. 777 00:40:16,163 --> 00:40:17,583 I've had affairs in the past 778 00:40:17,665 --> 00:40:19,495 in which parts of the body had been taken. 779 00:40:19,583 --> 00:40:22,173 Fingers, private parts. 780 00:40:22,962 --> 00:40:24,212 But never a head. 781 00:40:25,756 --> 00:40:29,296 This was something very strange. 782 00:40:31,637 --> 00:40:33,507 There wasn't much blood there. 783 00:40:34,056 --> 00:40:36,266 It was my opinion 784 00:40:36,350 --> 00:40:39,520 and opinion of the detectives who were in this case, that she had been murdered 785 00:40:39,603 --> 00:40:41,483 and beheaded elsewhere. 786 00:40:43,858 --> 00:40:45,688 It was not to hide his identity 787 00:40:45,776 --> 00:40:48,316 because fingerprints were left, we understand that. 788 00:40:49,196 --> 00:40:51,616 I think it was just for fun. 789 00:40:52,992 --> 00:40:55,242 It was very, very evident, 790 00:40:55,327 --> 00:40:59,787 and the body was in sight. 791 00:41:00,499 --> 00:41:01,539 It wasn't hidden. 792 00:41:03,002 --> 00:41:04,342 The decapitated woman 793 00:41:04,420 --> 00:41:06,760 in the parking lot of the Sizzler restaurant 794 00:41:06,839 --> 00:41:09,089 was identified a day later. 795 00:41:11,927 --> 00:41:14,887 Exxie Wilson, she had traveled from Arkansas 796 00:41:14,972 --> 00:41:16,142 just a few days ago. 797 00:41:16,974 --> 00:41:20,984 She had no job options there and hoped to get rich in L.A. 798 00:41:22,062 --> 00:41:23,862 We have received the information 799 00:41:23,939 --> 00:41:26,399 that she had gotten there with Karen Jones 800 00:41:26,484 --> 00:41:30,114 to work on the Sunset Strip as a prostitute. 801 00:41:30,196 --> 00:41:32,026 Our investigation found 802 00:41:32,114 --> 00:41:33,824 that the night they were seen for the last time, 803 00:41:33,908 --> 00:41:36,288 they were working together on the Sunset Strip. 804 00:41:37,995 --> 00:41:40,655 We knew that Marano and Chandler 805 00:41:40,748 --> 00:41:45,168 were always on the Strip, getting into guys' cars 806 00:41:45,252 --> 00:41:48,762 or doing stupid things and having fun there. 807 00:41:49,215 --> 00:41:52,085 So the common thing that linked all these victims 808 00:41:52,176 --> 00:41:54,466 was that they were always on the Sunset Strip. 809 00:41:58,682 --> 00:42:01,272 That, of course, left the police with a huge doubt. 810 00:42:01,727 --> 00:42:05,807 Who was the killer and why was he were you picking up women there? 811 00:42:06,232 --> 00:42:09,862 But all this speculation would stay behind the scenes 812 00:42:09,944 --> 00:42:11,824 for what came next. 813 00:42:12,696 --> 00:42:15,566 STUDIO CITY, CALIFORNIA JUNE 27, 1980 814 00:42:32,633 --> 00:42:34,473 Subtitles: Renata Bianchi