On
this date, February 23, 1996, William Bonin A.K.A the Freeway Killer was executed by means of a lethal injection in in San Quentin
State Prison, California. I will post information about him from Wikipedia and
some other resources before giving my comments.
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1980 mugshot of William Bonin.
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Background information
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Birth
name
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William
George Bonin
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Also
known as
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The Freeway
Killer
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Born
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January 8,
1947
Willimantic, Connecticut, United States |
Died
|
February
23, 1996 (aged 49)
San Quentin, California, United States |
Cause of
death
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Lethal
injection
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Conviction
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Attempted
Abduction
Molestation Murder Rape Sexual Assault |
Sentence
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Death
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Killings
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|
Number
of victims
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21-36
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Country
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United
States
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State(s)
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California
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Date
apprehended
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June 11,
1980
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William George Bonin (January 8, 1947 – February 23, 1996) was an American serial
killer and twice-paroled sex offender, also known as the Freeway Killer
who committed the rape, torture and murder of a minimum of 21 boys and young
men in a series of killings between 1979 and 1980 in southern California. Bonin
is also suspected of committing a further fifteen murders. He was convicted of
14 of these murders and subsequently executed in 1996.
Bonin
became known as the Freeway Killer due to the fact that the majority of
his victims' bodies were discovered alongside numerous freeways in southern
California.
Early life
Childhood
Bonin
was born in Connecticut in January, 1947, the second of three brothers. His
father was a compulsive gambler and alcoholic, Bonin's mother, Alice, was also
an alcoholic, who frequently left Bonin and his brothers in the care of their
grandfather, a convicted child molester. Bonin and his brothers were neglected
as children, and were often fed by neighbors.
In
1953, aged 6, Bonin was placed in an orphanage, where he remained until the age
of 9.
At
the age of 10, Bonin was arrested for stealing license plates and ended up in a
juvenile detention center for other minor crimes. By his teens, back home with
his mother, Bonin began molesting younger children.
Engagement and U.S. Air Force
After
graduating from high school in 1965, Bonin became engaged to marry, and joined
the U.S. Air Force. He served in the Vietnam War as an aerial gunner, logging over
700 hours of active duty and earning a Good Conduct Medal. While serving in
Vietnam, Bonin risked his own life under fire to save the life of a fellow
soldier, but also later admitted to sexually assaulting two fellow soldiers at
gunpoint. Bonin was honorably discharged from the U.S. Air Force in October,
1968 and returned to Connecticut to live with his mother before moving to
California.
First indictments
On
November 17, 1968, at age 21, Bonin committed a sexual assault on a youth. In
late 1968 and early 1969, he kidnapped and assaulted four youths between the
ages of 12 and 18. In 1969, he was indicted on five counts of kidnapping and
four counts of sexual assault on five youths. He pled guilty to molestation and
forced oral copulation and was sentenced to the Atascadero State Hospital as a
mentally disordered sexual offender amenable to treatment. In 1971, he was sent
to prison, declared unamenable for further treatment.
Bonin
was released in May 1974 after doctors concluded he was "no longer a
danger to others." Within 16 months of his release, Bonin had been charged
with the gunpoint rape of a 14-year-old hitchhiker named David McVicker and the
attempted abduction of another teenager, for which he was sentenced to between
one and 15 years' imprisonment at the California Men's Facility in San Luis
Obispo.
Release and acquaintance with
Vernon Butts
On
October 11, 1978, Bonin was released from detention with a total of 18 months'
probation. Upon his release, Bonin moved to an apartment complex in the city of
Downey in southeast Los Angeles County, where he found employment as a truck
driver and began dating a girl whom he told acquaintances he would regularly
accompany to Anaheim on Sundays.
Shortly
after moving to Downey, Bonin became acquainted with a 43-year-old neighbor of
his named Everett Fraser. Bonin became a regular attendee at the frequent
parties Fraser held at his apartment and through these social gatherings he
became acquainted with a 22-year-old factory worker and part-time magician
named Vernon Butts and a 19-year-old Texas native named Gregory Miley.
Murder spree
Bonin
usually selected young male hitchhikers, schoolboys or, occasionally, male
prostitutes as his victims. The victims, aged 12 to 19, were either enticed or
forced into his Chevrolet camper van, where they would be overpowered and bound
hand and foot with a combination of handcuffs, and wire or cord. They then were
then sexually assaulted, tortured and usually killed by strangulation with
their own T-shirts, although some victims were stabbed or battered to death.
One victim, Darin Kendrick, was forced to drink hydrochloric acid; two victims
had ice-picks driven into their ears and another victim, Mark Shelton, died of
shock.
The victims were usually killed inside Bonin's van and most were discarded
alongside various freeways in southern California. In a minimum of 12 of the
murders, Bonin was assisted by one or more of his four known accomplices.
First murder and initial arrest
The
first murder for which Bonin was charged was that of a 13-year-old hitchhiker
named Thomas Glen Lundgren. Lundgren was last seen leaving his parents' house
in Reseda on the morning of May 28, 1979: his body was found the same afternoon
in Agoura. An autopsy revealed that Lundgren had suffered emasculation and
bludgeoning to his face and head. In addition, the youth had been slashed
across the throat, stabbed, and strangled to death. In the abduction and murder
of Lundgren, Bonin was assisted by Vernon Butts, who is suspected of
accompanying Bonin on eight further murders attributed to the Freeway Killer.
In
the summer of 1979, Bonin was again arrested for molesting a 17-year-old boy in
the coastal community of Dana Point. This violation of the conditions of his
parole should have resulted in Bonin being returned to prison. However, an
administrative error resulted in him being released. Everett Fraser drove to
collect Bonin from the Orange County Jail where he had been incarcerated.
Fraser
later recollected that as he drove Bonin home, Bonin told him: "No
one's going to testify again. This is never going to happen to me again."
Freeway Killer murders
Two
months after the murder of Thomas Lundgren, on August 4, 1979, Bonin and Butts
abducted a 17-year-old from Westminster named Mark Shelton as the youth walked
to a movie theater near Beach Boulevard. Shelton was violated with foreign
objects, causing his body to enter a state of shock which proved fatal. His
body was then discarded in San Bernardino County. The following day, Bonin and
Butts encountered a 17-year-old West German student named Markus Grabs
attempting to hitchhike from Pacific Coast Highway. Grabs was bound with orange
ignition wire and driven to Bonin's home where he was sodomized, beaten and
stabbed a total of 77 times before his body was discarded alongside a Malibu
freeway.
On
August 27, Bonin and Butts abducted a 15-year-old Hollywood youth named Donald
Ray Hyden. Hyden was last seen alive walking upon Santa Monica Boulevard at one
a.m. His body was found the same morning in a dumpster located near the Ventura
Freeway. The youth had been stabbed in the neck and the genitalia, strangled
and bludgeoned about the skull.
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David Murillo, aged 17. Murdered September 9,
1979.
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Two
weeks after the murder of Donald Hyden, on September 9, Bonin and Butts
encountered a 17-year-old La Mirada youth named David Murillo cycling to a
movie theater. The pair lured Murillo into Bonin's van where the youth was
bound, raped, bludgeoned and strangled before his body was discarded alongside
Highway 101. Eight days later, an 18-year-old Newport Beach youth named Robert
Wirostek was abducted as he cycled to his job at a grocery store: his body was
found on September 19 alongside the Interstate 10 Highway.
Bonin
was not known to have killed again until on or about November 29, when he and
Butts abducted and murdered an unidentified youth estimated to be around 19
years old. This victim was savagely beaten, then strangled to death before his
body was discarded in Kern County. The following day, Bonin—operating
alone—abducted and strangled a 17-year-old named Frank Dennis Fox; his nude
body was found two days later alongside a highway five miles east of San Diego.
Ten days after the murder of Frank Fox, a 15-year-old Long Beach youth named
John Kilpatrick disappeared after leaving his parents' home to socialize with
friends. Kilpatrick was strangled to death before his body was discarded in a
remote area of Rialto.
On
January 1, 1980, Bonin brutalized and strangled a 16-year-old Rialto youth
named Michael Francis McDonald; his fully clothed body was found in San
Bernardino County two days after his murder, although his body was not
identified until March 24.
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James
Macabe, aged 12. Murdered February 3, 1980.
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Participation of Gregory Miley
On
February 3, Bonin, assisted by an acquaintance of his named Gregory Matthews
Miley, drove from Downey to Hollywood, where they encountered a 15-year-old
hitchhiker named Charles Miranda hitchhiking upon Santa Monica Boulevard.
Miranda was forced to hand his wallet to Bonin before he was overpowered,
raped, assaulted with other objects, then garroted. His nude corpse was dumped
in an alleyway. Bonin then suggested to Miley: "I'm horny, let's go and do
another one." A few hours later, in Huntington Beach, Bonin and Miley
abducted, raped and killed James Macabe who, at age 12, was Bonin's youngest
victim. Macabe was abducted as he hitchhiked to Disneyland. According to Miley,
the boy entered the rear of the van voluntarily as he drove, then he heard
Macabe crying as Bonin beat and raped him. Bonin then strangled Macabe with a
tire iron as Miley repeatedly jumped on his chest. His naked, beaten body was
found three days later alongside a dumpster in the city of Walnut.
Subsequent killings
Bonin
did not strike again until March 14, when he abducted and killed an 18-year-old
Van Nuys youth named Ronald Gatlin. Gatlin was beaten, sodomized and suffered
several deep, perforating ice pick wounds to the ear and neck before he was
strangled with a ligature. His body was found the following day in the city of
Duarte. One week later, on March 21, Bonin lured a 14-year-old named Glenn
Barker into his van as the youth hitchhiked to school. Barker was also raped,
beaten and strangled to death with a ligature, although his body also bore
evidence of numerous burns to the neck which had been inflicted with a lit
cigarette. At 4 p.m. the same day, a 15-year-old named Russell Rugh was
abducted from a bus stop in Garden Grove. Rugh was bound, beaten and strangled
to death before his body was discarded alongside that of Glenn Barker in
Cleveland National Forest. The youths' bodies were found on March 23.
Encounter with William Pugh
One
evening in March, 1980, Bonin offered a 17-year-old named William Pugh a ride
home as the pair left the house of Everett Fraser. Within minutes of accepting
the ride, Bonin asked Pugh whether he would like to engage in sex. Pugh later
stated he panicked upon hearing this question and, after sitting in silence for
several minutes, attempted to leave the vehicle once Bonin had slowed the
vehicle at a stoplight. In response, Bonin leaned across and grabbed Pugh by
the collar, dragging him back into the passenger seat. According to Pugh, Bonin
then confided in him that he enjoyed "picking up" young male
hitchhikers on Friday and Saturday nights, whom he would abuse before strangling
to death with their own T-shirts. In a matter-of-fact tone, Bonin informed
Pugh: "If you want to kill somebody, you should make a plan and find a
place to dump the body before you even pick a victim."
Pugh
was driven to his home without being assaulted.
Murder of Harry Turner
On
March 24, Bonin and Pugh abducted a 15-year-old runaway named Harry Todd Turner
from a Los Angeles street. Turner had absconded from a boys' home in the desert
community of Lancaster four days prior to his meeting Bonin and Pugh. According
to Pugh, he and Bonin lured Turner into Bonin's van with an offer of $20 for
sex. After binding, sodomizing and biting the youth, Bonin ordered Pugh to
"beat him (Turner) up." After Pugh had bludgeoned and beat Turner
about the head and body for several minutes, Bonin strangled the youth to death
with his own T-shirt before discarding his body in a Los Angeles alleyway.
Turner's autopsy subsequently revealed the youth had received a total of eight
fractures to the skull inflicted by a blunt instrument before he had been
strangled.
Later killings and acquaintance with
James Munro
On
April 10, Bonin killed twice on the same day; abducting a 16-year-old
Bellflower youth named Steven Wood and discarding his nude body beside the
Pacific Coast Highway, then, hours later, abducting and killing an 18-year-old
acquaintance of his named Lawrence Sharp. Sharp was beaten, strangled and
discarded behind a Westminster gas station. Three weeks later, on April 29 in
Stanton, Bonin and Butts lured a 19-year-old supermarket employee named Darin
Kendrick into Bonin's van while parked in the parking lot of the store where
Kendrick worked. Kendrick was forced to drink hydrochloric acid by Bonin before
Butts drove an ice pick into his ear. His body was discarded near the Artesia
Freeway.
On
May 19, Bonin again asked Butts to accompany him on a killing; however, Butts
reportedly refused to accompany him. Operating alone, Bonin abducted a
14-year-old South Gate youth named Sean King from a bus stop in Downey and
discarded his body in Yucaipa. Bonin then visited Butts' residence and bragged
of the killing to his accomplice.
Nine
days after the murder of Sean King, Bonin invited a 19-year-old homeless
drifter named James Munro to move into his apartment. Munro accepted Bonin's
accommodation offer; later describing his initial impression of Bonin as being "a
good guy; really normal." The youth also accepted a subsequent offer
of employment at the Montebello delivery firm where Bonin worked.
By
the spring of 1980, the murders committed by the Freeway Killer, as he
was known in the press, were receiving considerable media attention. On May 29,
William Pugh (who had been arrested for auto theft), heard the details of the
ongoing series of murders on a local radio broadcast and confided to a
counselor his suspicions that Bonin may be behind the killings. The counselor
reported his suspicions to the police, who in turn relayed the information to a
LAPD homicide sergeant named John St. John. Upon hearing the confidential tip
from the counselor, St. John interviewed Pugh and deduced from his conversation
with the youth that Bonin may indeed be the Freeway Killer.
An
investigation into the background of Bonin revealed his string of convictions
for sexually assaulting teenage boys. Detective St. John assigned a
surveillance team to monitor Bonin's movements. The surveillance of William
Bonin began June 2, 1980.
Murder of
Steven Wells
On
June 2, the same day as police surveillance of Bonin began, Bonin, accompanied
by James Munro, enticed an 18-year-old print shop worker named Steven Jay Wells
from a bus stop on El Segundo Boulevard into Bonin's van. Wells was driven to
Bonin's apartment where, according to Munro, the youth was raped, beaten, then
strangled with his own T-shirt. Bonin then placed Wells' body inside a
cardboard box which he and Munro then carried to his van. The pair then drove
to the residence of Vernon Butts, whom Bonin asked for advice as to disposal of
Wells' body. At Bonin's subsequent trial, Munro recalled Butts' response:
"'Try a gas station like' or 'where' - I don't know which - 'we dumped the
last one.'" Munro also later testified that as Bonin showed Butts the body
of Wells, Butts had advised Bonin against discarding the youth's body in the
nearby canyons due to the late hour. Wells' body was discarded behind a
Huntington Beach gas station.
The
day after Bonin was arrested, Munro stole Bonin's car and fled to his native
Michigan.
Arrest
On
June 11, after nine days of surveillance, police observed Bonin attempting to
pick up five separate teenage boys, then succeed in luring a youth into his
van. The police followed him until his van parked in a desolate parking lot,
where they arrested him in the act of assaulting a 15-year-old identified as Harold
T.
Victims
Bonin
and his four known accomplices in murder were convicted of 14 murders committed
between August 5, 1979, and June 2, 1980, although Bonin was also charged with
two additional murders for which he was acquitted at his first trial in Los
Angeles County. Of these murders for which Bonin was convicted, 10 were committed
in the Los Angeles County and four in nearby Orange County, however, the
Freeway Killer was suspected of committing at least 21 murders. The killings
for which Bonin was convicted are shown in italics on the table to the right.
·
In
nine murders; those of Lundgren, Shelton, Grabs, Hyden, Murillo, Wirostek,
Kendrick, Wells and a John Doe found in Kern County in November 1979, Bonin was
assisted by his primary accomplice, Vernon Butts, a 22-year-old factory worker
who, according to Bonin, was an extremely active accomplice.
·
Bonin
was assisted by 19-year-old Gregory Matthews Miley in the February 3 murders of
Miranda and Macabe. Miley then returned to his native Houston in March 1980.
·
James
Michael Munro, Bonin's lodger and coworker, assisted Bonin in the murder of
Steven Wells.
·
Following
Bonin's arrest, police discovered through Bonin's friends that 18-year-old
William Pugh, the individual who had informed police Bonin may be the Freeway
Killer, knew Bonin better than he had initially divulged. Police later learned
Pugh had accompanied Bonin on the March 24 murder of Harry Todd Turner.
·
Bonin
was not brought to trial for the murders of Mark Shelton, Robert Wirostek, John
Kilpatrick, Michael McDonald or a 'John Doe' whose body was found in a
Kern County reservoir in November 1979 because police did not find sufficient
evidence upon any of the victims' bodies which could conclusively link Bonin
alone to the crimes: police did charge Bonin and Butts with the murder of the
John Doe, and those of hitchhiker Mark Duane Shelton and grocery clerk Robert
Christopher Wirostek (alongside that of Darin Kendrick) in October 1980.
Shelton had been linked to the manhunt for the Freeway Killer upon his body
being found in August 1979, as had both the John Doe and Darin Lee Kendrick.
Wirostek, who vanished en route to his job on September 17, 1979, was not
confirmed as a Freeway Killer victim until his body was found and identified in
July 1980.
·
Three
months after all charges had been filed against each defendant, Vernon Butts
committed suicide, rendering his recorded testimony in these three cases
inadmissible as evidence. Police therefore chose not to charge Bonin with any
of these three crimes, although sufficient physical evidence was nonetheless
still present in the case of Darin Kendrick — a murder for which Bonin was
subsequently convicted.
·
On
August 5, 1980, a body previously identified as a 'John Doe' which had been
linked to the Freeway Killer was identified as that of John Frederick
Kilpatrick, a 15-year-old Long Beach youth who disappeared December 10, 1979,
and was found strangled December 13 in the city of Rialto. Neither Bonin nor
any of his accomplices were ever charged with the murder of Kilpatrick,
although Bonin never disputed the youth as being a victim of his.
·
Bonin
was charged with, but subsequently cleared of, the murders of Sean King and
Thomas Lundgren. However, Bonin did confess to both murders.
Confession
In
custody, Bonin confessed to abducting, raping, and killing 21 boys and young
men, naming Butts as his primary accomplice. Police also suspect Bonin to be
responsible for approximately fifteen other murders. Between July 26 and July
29, Bonin was charged with 16 of the murders to which he confessed and upon
which the prosecution believed they had sufficient evidence to obtain a
conviction. He expressed no remorse and told one reporter who asked Bonin what
he would do if he were still at large: "I'd still be killing, I
couldn't stop killing. It got easier each time."
Based
on Bonin's confession, police arrested Vernon Butts on July 25, and charged him
with accompanying Bonin on five of the murders. He was later charged with four
other murders committed between August 5, 1979 and April 29, 1980. On July 31,
Munro was arrested in Michigan and charged with the murder of Steven Wells and
on August 22, Miley was arrested in Texas and charged with the murders of
Charles Miranda and James Macabe. Butts, Miley and Munro all agreed to testify
against Bonin in exchange for being spared the death penalty.
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Mugshots taken of William Bonin (left) and
Vernon Butts (right) after their arrest.
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Vernon Butts, pictured after his arrest in
July, 1980.
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Matthew
Miley
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James Munro
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Trial
Bonin
was brought to trial in Los Angeles County, charged with the murder of 12 of
his victims whose bodies had been found within this constituency, on November
5, 1981. Deputy District Attorney Stirling Norris, who prosecuted Bonin, sought
the death penalty for each count of murder for which Bonin was tried, stating
in his opening speech to the jury: "We will prove he is the Freeway
Killer, as he has bragged to a number of witnesses. We will show you that he
enjoyed the killings. Not only did he enjoy it, and plan to enjoy it, he had an
insatiable demand, an insatiable appetite - not only for sodomy, but for
killing."
Bonin
was physically linked to many of the murders by blood and semen stains, hair
and carpet fibers. Medical evidence showed that six of the murders for which
Bonin was charged were committed by a unique "windlass"
strangulation method, which was referred to by Norris as "a signature,
a trademark."
Both
Miley and Munro testified against Bonin at this trial, describing in graphic
detail the murders in which they had accompanied Bonin. Munro testified that
after the murder of Stephen Wells, he, Bonin and Butts drove to a McDonald's
restaurant and purchased burgers with money taken from Wells' wallet. As the
trio ate, Bonin laughed and mused: "Thanks, Steve, wherever you
are." Miley testified to his participation in the murders of Miranda
and Macabe; describing in graphic detail how both youths were beaten and
tortured with a crowbar before their murders and how he heard a "bunch
of bones cracking" as one of the youths was strangled by Bonin.
The
trial lasted until January 5, 1982. After six days of deliberation, the jury
convicted Bonin of 10 of the murders, but cleared him of the murders of Thomas
Lundgren and Sean King. Bonin was sentenced to death for the 10 murders of
which he was convicted.
Bonin
was cleared of the murder of Sean King because he had led police to the body of
the victim in December, 1980, with the agreement that his leading police to
King's body could not be used against him in court. He was cleared of Thomas
Lundgren's murder because he chose to deny this particular killing at his trial.
In
March, 1983, Bonin was tried in neighboring Orange County, charged with the
murder of four further victims who had been found murdered between November
1979 and April 1980. On August 26, 1983, Bonin was convicted on all four counts
of murder.
Bonin
spent a total of 14 years on California's Death Row, awaiting execution in the
gas chamber. He filed numerous appeals against his conviction while
incarcerated, all unsuccessful. His final submission to the United States Court
of Appeals was submitted in October 1994; this appeal was rejected on June 28,
1995.
In
1992, following the execution of Robert Alton Harris, 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.
"He had a total disregard for the sanctity of human life. Sadistic, unbelievably cruel, senseless and deliberately premeditated. Guilty beyond any possible or imaginary doubt." Los Angeles County Judge William Steele pronouncing sentence upon Bonin.
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William
Bonin, pictured while incarcerated on Death Row.
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Execution
William
Bonin was executed February 23, 1996, 16 years after his arrest, by lethal
injection inside the gas chamber at San Quentin State Prison. Bonin was the
first person to be executed by lethal injection in the history of California.
In
a final interview given to a local radio station less than 24 hours before he
was executed, Bonin claimed he had "made peace" with the fact
he was about to die. When asked whether there was anything he had to say to the
families of his victims, Bonin simply stated: "They
feel my death will bring closure, but that's not the case. They're going to
find out."
At
6 p.m. on the day he was executed, Bonin was moved from his cell to a death
watch cell, where he ordered his last meal: two large pizzas, three pints of
ice cream and three six-packs of Coke. In his last statement, given to the
warden one hour prior to his scheduled execution at midnight, Bonin again
expressed no remorse for his crimes and left a note that stated: 'I feel the death penalty is not an answer to the problems at
hand. I feel it sends the wrong message to the people of this country. Young
people act as they see other people acting instead of as people tell them to
act. I would advise that when a person has a thought of doing anything serious
against the law, that before they did, they should go to a quiet place and
think about it seriously.'
William Bonin was 49 at the time of his execution.
- Bonin's main accomplice, Vernon Butts, accused of accompanying Bonin on at least nine of the murders, hanged himself with a towel on January 11, 1981, while awaiting trial. Butts had told police the killing spree had been "a good little nightmare."
- James Michael Munro was sentenced to a term of 15 years to life for the second degree murder of Steven Wells on April 6, 1981. Munro has repeatedly appealed his sentence, claiming that he had been tricked into accepting this plea bargain.
- On May 17, 1982, William Pugh was sentenced to a six-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter in the case of Harry Todd Turner. Pugh had been charged with the first degree murder of the youth; however, after five hours' deliberation, the jury found Pugh guilty of the reduced charge of manslaughter.
- Gregory Miley was sentenced to a term of 25 years to life for the February 1980 murder of 15-year-old Charles Miranda on February 5, 1982.
Serial Killers with similar modus
operandi
On
July 1, 1977, Patrick Kearney, a suspect in a series of killings of young men
known as the Trash Bag Murders, surrendered to Riverside Police. Kearney had
been a fugitive for two months, following his being forensically linked to the
murder of a 17-year-old named John LaMay—confirmed as a victim of the Trash Bag
Murderer. Kearney subsequently confessed to the murders of 28 boys and young
men; many of whom he had discarded alongside freeways in southern California.
In contrast to Bonin, Kearney dismembered and discarded the majority of his
victims' bodies in trash bags. Although primarily known as the Trash Bag
Murderer, Kearney is also known as the Freeway Killer.
Three
years after the arrest of William Bonin, police arrested a 38-year-old Long
Beach IT specialist named Randy Steven Kraft for a series of linked
killings—also known as the Freeway Killer murders—which had begun in December
1972. Kraft had initially been apprehended for driving in an erratic manner as
he attempted to discard the body of a 25-year-old Marine from his car in
Mission Viejo. After his arrest, police discovered in the trunk of Kraft's
vehicle a coded list depicting cryptic references to his victims, leading Kraft
to becoming known as the Scorecard Killer in addition to the Freeway Killer.
Although
his disposal method had been similar to that of William Bonin, Kraft is known
to have both drugged his victims before he killed them and to have used
differing torture methods upon their bodies, including the burning the victims'
chest with an automobile cigarette lighter. In addition, many of Kraft's
victims had been aged in their early- or mid-twenties—a small number of whom
had been dismembered.
Collectively,
Bonin, Kraft and Kearney may have claimed up to 131 victims.
Media
Film
In
February 2010, Image Entertainment released Freeway Killer; a film
directly based upon the murders committed by Bonin and his accomplices. The
film cast Scott Anthony Leet as William Bonin and Dusty Sorg as Vernon Butts.
Bibliography
Dennis McDougal. Angel of
Darkness: The True Story of Randy Kraft and the Most Heinous
Murder Spree, Warner Books, Inc. 1991.ISBN 978-0-7088-5342-9.
William
Bonin. Doing Time: Stories from the Mind of a Death Row Prisoner. Eagle
Publishing. 1991. ISBN 978-1-8790-2704-6
LINKS:
COMMENTS:
Together
with other serial killers, many people (especially those from California,
including the victims’ families) are happy that Bonin had been permanently
demolished from the earth. Many are satisfied that his reign of terror had
finally come to an end. I agreed with his execution, as life imprisonment is
never justice because his victims are dead and gone, I cannot stand the fact
that he can breathe if he was kept alive.
'I feel the death penalty is not an answer to the problems at hand. I feel it sends the wrong message to the people of this country. Young people act as they see other people acting instead of as people tell them to act. I would advise that when a person has a thought of doing anything serious against the law, that before they did, they should go to a quiet place and think about it seriously.'
I
totally denounce this statement at all, as life imprisonment is just a mockery
of justice. Serial killers like William Bonin will spend time in his cell,
revelling and fantasizing about his the murders he committed. I suspected that
he said that, as he was just afraid to die and used that statement to say the
death penalty is ‘wrong’.
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