1 00:00:08,448 --> 00:00:10,412 Today, the nude body of a teenage boy 2 00:00:10,413 --> 00:00:11,895 was found propped up against a back alley door. 3 00:00:11,896 --> 00:00:13,274 He had been choked to death. 4 00:00:13,275 --> 00:00:15,585 This is the 33rd killing of the same 5 00:00:15,586 --> 00:00:17,585 type in the last few months. 6 00:00:17,586 --> 00:00:20,999 The bodies just kept piling up at a very 7 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:23,688 disturbing frequency. 8 00:00:23,689 --> 00:00:26,964 This killer was relentless. 9 00:00:26,965 --> 00:00:32,136 Young hitchhiking kids are being picked up, raped, 10 00:00:32,137 --> 00:00:34,585 strangled, and dumped naked. 11 00:00:34,586 --> 00:00:37,516 There's no evidence left behind. 12 00:00:37,517 --> 00:00:40,930 They showed us a board, and there were 45 names, at least, 13 00:00:40,931 --> 00:00:42,757 on this chart. 14 00:00:42,758 --> 00:00:45,723 And it was titled Southern California Homosexual Murders. 15 00:00:45,724 --> 00:00:48,033 Crime rate was just unbelievable. 16 00:00:48,034 --> 00:00:50,102 A witness said she saw a hitchhiker 17 00:00:50,103 --> 00:00:52,619 gassed and pulled into a van. 18 00:00:52,620 --> 00:00:53,550 He nicknamed it. 19 00:00:53,551 --> 00:00:55,481 It was the Death Van. 20 00:00:55,482 --> 00:00:59,481 He would say, if you got in the Death Van, you didn't get out. 21 00:00:59,482 --> 00:01:01,792 The pressure of solving a case-- 22 00:01:01,793 --> 00:01:03,585 you felt very personally involved. 23 00:01:03,586 --> 00:01:05,206 It was you against them. 24 00:02:14,172 --> 00:02:16,205 Two men, Patrick Kearney and David Hill, 25 00:02:16,206 --> 00:02:17,826 wanted for questioning in two murders, 26 00:02:17,827 --> 00:02:19,447 surrendered here last Friday. 27 00:02:19,448 --> 00:02:21,619 Officers also wanted to talk to them about five 28 00:02:21,620 --> 00:02:23,861 other similar killings. 29 00:02:23,862 --> 00:02:26,619 Kearney is arrested, put away in prison. 30 00:02:26,620 --> 00:02:28,930 He's not going to do any more killing. 31 00:02:28,931 --> 00:02:33,516 But from the spring of 1979 until early 1980, 32 00:02:33,517 --> 00:02:37,895 the bodies just kept increasing and piling up at a very 33 00:02:37,896 --> 00:02:39,723 disturbing frequency. 34 00:02:39,724 --> 00:02:42,895 This killer was relentless. 35 00:02:42,896 --> 00:02:49,792 Young hitchhiking kids from 15 to 19 36 00:02:49,793 --> 00:02:54,930 are being picked up, raped, strangled and dumped naked. 37 00:02:54,931 --> 00:02:56,826 They're beat up sometimes. 38 00:02:56,827 --> 00:02:58,688 They're not necessarily tortured. 39 00:02:58,689 --> 00:03:00,550 They're not kept prisoner. 40 00:03:00,551 --> 00:03:04,723 And there's no evidence left behind at all. 41 00:03:04,724 --> 00:03:07,585 The bodies are stripped down. 42 00:03:07,586 --> 00:03:11,585 All their identifications are done away with. 43 00:03:11,586 --> 00:03:18,033 This is also pre-DNA, so the forensic scene is a little less 44 00:03:18,034 --> 00:03:20,206 than we would think of today. 45 00:03:24,724 --> 00:03:26,826 A task force had been set up. 46 00:03:26,827 --> 00:03:28,964 They were patting themselves on the back 47 00:03:28,965 --> 00:03:31,343 at what they had accomplished. 48 00:03:31,344 --> 00:03:34,516 But they hadn't solved the Freeway Murders. 49 00:03:47,827 --> 00:03:51,964 Markus Alexander Grabs, a 17-year-old German tourist, 50 00:03:51,965 --> 00:03:54,999 disappeared in August 1979. 51 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:57,516 He was over here hitchhiking. 52 00:03:57,517 --> 00:04:00,412 And he was seeing Los Angeles. 53 00:04:00,413 --> 00:04:02,309 And he was down in Newport. 54 00:04:02,310 --> 00:04:05,516 He got his backpack, and he decided he was going to see-- 55 00:04:05,517 --> 00:04:07,309 go up Northern California. 56 00:04:07,310 --> 00:04:10,412 And a van comes along and picks him up. 57 00:04:10,413 --> 00:04:14,895 Markus Grabs is found in Malibu Canyon, 58 00:04:14,896 --> 00:04:17,033 stabbed 70 times. 59 00:04:17,034 --> 00:04:20,619 And it's a horrific scene. 60 00:04:20,620 --> 00:04:22,550 The Sheriff's Department, they got it. 61 00:04:22,551 --> 00:04:24,171 The homicide team, they went out. 62 00:04:24,172 --> 00:04:25,619 They looked for evidence. 63 00:04:25,620 --> 00:04:27,240 His body was nude. 64 00:04:27,241 --> 00:04:28,619 He had a backpack. 65 00:04:28,620 --> 00:04:30,654 The backpack had been thrown on him. 66 00:04:30,655 --> 00:04:31,930 There's no evidence there. 67 00:04:31,931 --> 00:04:34,447 So the homicide detective didn't 68 00:04:34,448 --> 00:04:36,447 know what to make out of it. 69 00:04:36,448 --> 00:04:40,619 This is miles and miles from Newport Beach, 70 00:04:40,620 --> 00:04:42,481 in a very remote area. 71 00:04:49,517 --> 00:04:54,136 Donald Ray Hyden, 15, disappeared August 27, 72 00:04:54,137 --> 00:04:56,343 '79 in Los Angeles County. 73 00:04:56,344 --> 00:04:58,792 His body is found just a short distance 74 00:04:58,793 --> 00:05:01,309 away from Markus Grabs' body. 75 00:05:01,310 --> 00:05:03,136 And his body is found in a dumpster. 76 00:05:03,137 --> 00:05:05,309 It'd just been thrown in, nude. 77 00:05:05,310 --> 00:05:07,585 He had been sexually molested. 78 00:05:07,586 --> 00:05:09,930 The sheriffs-- you know, they're working that. 79 00:05:09,931 --> 00:05:11,481 And they're looking at the two. 80 00:05:11,482 --> 00:05:13,654 And they think, there's got to be something 81 00:05:13,655 --> 00:05:15,688 connecting these two because of the closeness 82 00:05:15,689 --> 00:05:16,931 where the bodies are found. 83 00:05:20,379 --> 00:05:24,067 The gruesome discoveries were covering six counties, 84 00:05:24,068 --> 00:05:27,102 from Kern County to the north of Los Angeles County, 85 00:05:27,103 --> 00:05:30,723 Orange County to the south, on into Riverside County, 86 00:05:30,724 --> 00:05:33,757 San Bernardino County, a very large 87 00:05:33,758 --> 00:05:36,447 area of Southern California. 88 00:05:36,448 --> 00:05:39,688 It became obvious that law enforcement authorities, 89 00:05:39,689 --> 00:05:44,033 the detectives, needed to get together and connect 90 00:05:44,034 --> 00:05:45,688 the dots geographically. 91 00:05:45,689 --> 00:05:48,688 Who is the serial killer, or serial killers, 92 00:05:48,689 --> 00:05:50,344 leaving bodies along the freeways? 93 00:05:54,344 --> 00:06:01,309 I was just out of the Army in 1966. 94 00:06:01,310 --> 00:06:02,930 I decided to go on to the Police Department. 95 00:06:02,931 --> 00:06:04,102 I had a brother on the Department. 96 00:06:04,103 --> 00:06:05,999 He'd been there seven years. 97 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,550 I was pretty impressed with where he had worked. 98 00:06:08,551 --> 00:06:11,516 He never worked homicide, but he used to talk about friends 99 00:06:11,517 --> 00:06:12,861 of his who were in homicide. 100 00:06:12,862 --> 00:06:14,412 And it was kind of intriguing to me. 101 00:06:14,413 --> 00:06:17,447 And I thought, I'd like to be an investigator. 102 00:06:17,448 --> 00:06:19,274 I was one of the youngest guys. 103 00:06:19,275 --> 00:06:21,136 I actually started in homicide with five years on the job. 104 00:06:21,137 --> 00:06:24,447 I went to Hollywood Homicide, and 105 00:06:24,448 --> 00:06:26,999 that was quite an experience. 106 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:29,516 John St. John was a personal friend of mine. 107 00:06:29,517 --> 00:06:31,826 He came to RHD in the mid '70s. 108 00:06:31,827 --> 00:06:32,895 Very likeable. 109 00:06:32,896 --> 00:06:34,481 He was an older man. 110 00:06:34,482 --> 00:06:36,964 John came on the job three years before I was born. 111 00:06:36,965 --> 00:06:38,585 John was well known. 112 00:06:38,586 --> 00:06:40,274 He was the number-one detective on the job. 113 00:06:40,275 --> 00:06:42,205 He had badge number 1. 114 00:06:42,206 --> 00:06:44,412 John was interested in this West Side Rapist case 115 00:06:44,413 --> 00:06:45,585 that I'd handled. 116 00:06:45,586 --> 00:06:47,205 And John, being an older man-- 117 00:06:47,206 --> 00:06:49,447 and he was probably in his late 50s at that time. 118 00:06:49,448 --> 00:06:50,895 John was very interested in what 119 00:06:50,896 --> 00:06:52,619 we did, what we did to solve it, 120 00:06:52,620 --> 00:06:54,964 and how we put people in jail because he had never 121 00:06:54,965 --> 00:06:56,792 worked a serial killer case. 122 00:06:56,793 --> 00:06:58,481 And that was the only thing that put us on a level playing 123 00:06:58,482 --> 00:07:00,343 ground because I always said, I want to know 124 00:07:00,344 --> 00:07:02,654 what St. John has forgotten. 125 00:07:02,655 --> 00:07:04,343 I was pleased to work with John. 126 00:07:04,344 --> 00:07:05,826 I never had a problem. 127 00:07:05,827 --> 00:07:07,447 We were partners, never had an argument. 128 00:07:07,448 --> 00:07:09,481 We worked together for about three or four years. 129 00:07:09,482 --> 00:07:13,930 But in '79, these bodies were really starting to pile up. 130 00:07:13,931 --> 00:07:16,136 Even though we didn't have our own case at that time, 131 00:07:16,137 --> 00:07:18,964 we were assigned to monitor these cases because we 132 00:07:18,965 --> 00:07:20,861 had found out that a lot of these victims 133 00:07:20,862 --> 00:07:23,274 were being abducted out of Los Angeles 134 00:07:23,275 --> 00:07:24,723 and then dumped elsewhere. 135 00:07:24,724 --> 00:07:26,688 It was important for us to stay on top 136 00:07:26,689 --> 00:07:28,447 of this with the Sheriff's Department and 137 00:07:28,448 --> 00:07:29,999 Orange County Sheriffs. 138 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:32,550 And we pretty much went to all their meetings. 139 00:07:32,551 --> 00:07:35,378 At one time, they showed us a board. 140 00:07:35,379 --> 00:07:38,792 And there were probably 45 names, at least, on this chart. 141 00:07:38,793 --> 00:07:42,274 And it was titled, Southern California Homosexual Murders. 142 00:07:42,275 --> 00:07:45,067 And we always felt like, if there's 143 00:07:45,068 --> 00:07:47,412 bodies dropping around the county, eventually, 144 00:07:47,413 --> 00:07:48,861 we're going to probably get one. 145 00:07:48,862 --> 00:07:50,378 And of course, jurisdiction lies 146 00:07:50,379 --> 00:07:51,586 with where they find the body. 147 00:07:57,827 --> 00:08:00,102 John and I got our first call out. 148 00:08:00,103 --> 00:08:01,964 Central Detectives called us in our office, 149 00:08:01,965 --> 00:08:04,861 which was only about a mile away from the dump site. 150 00:08:04,862 --> 00:08:09,999 And they said they had a nude young-- young boy in a dumpster 151 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:12,136 on Harlem Place off of Second Street. 152 00:08:15,551 --> 00:08:17,688 When we got here, there was a black-and-white unit 153 00:08:17,689 --> 00:08:19,930 here and Central Detectives. 154 00:08:19,931 --> 00:08:21,930 And they pointed it out to us where the body was. 155 00:08:21,931 --> 00:08:25,723 So we approached the dumpster carefully, told the patrol 156 00:08:25,724 --> 00:08:27,378 officers, hey, stay back. 157 00:08:27,379 --> 00:08:28,964 We don't want any more people around the dumpster 158 00:08:28,965 --> 00:08:30,861 than we absolutely had to have, because it's 159 00:08:30,862 --> 00:08:32,516 a crime scene, basically. 160 00:08:32,517 --> 00:08:35,102 So then we just examined as much as we could, 161 00:08:35,103 --> 00:08:37,240 look-- looking into the dumpster. 162 00:08:37,241 --> 00:08:39,826 I'm 6' 4", and I had to stand on my tip-toes 163 00:08:39,827 --> 00:08:41,999 to look in because he was down a little ways. 164 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:45,481 And I could see that it was a nude young boy. 165 00:08:45,482 --> 00:08:47,309 It was fresh. 166 00:08:47,310 --> 00:08:49,930 In fact, it looked more like he was asleep than decomposing. 167 00:08:49,931 --> 00:08:52,205 By that time, we called the coroner's office, 168 00:08:52,206 --> 00:08:55,447 took a real hard look inside the dumpster. 169 00:08:55,448 --> 00:08:59,516 It was apparent that there was some kind of sexual assault, 170 00:08:59,517 --> 00:09:01,378 since he was nude. 171 00:09:01,379 --> 00:09:04,654 And we figured he'd probably abducted from somewhere else 172 00:09:04,655 --> 00:09:06,136 and then just dumped here. 173 00:09:06,137 --> 00:09:07,895 So we didn't have a lot of confidence 174 00:09:07,896 --> 00:09:09,964 that we were going to find a lot of evidence here. 175 00:09:09,965 --> 00:09:11,964 But we did have the coroner's office come out. 176 00:09:11,965 --> 00:09:14,033 And we did a good search of the whole dumpster 177 00:09:14,034 --> 00:09:16,378 and put the body in a body bag. 178 00:09:16,379 --> 00:09:19,102 The first thought we had when we saw the body, 179 00:09:19,103 --> 00:09:21,240 it was so similar to all the others that had been 180 00:09:21,241 --> 00:09:23,309 occurring all through 1979. 181 00:09:23,310 --> 00:09:25,240 And of course, this was early into 1980. 182 00:09:25,241 --> 00:09:27,516 And we thought, oh, boy, we're in for a rough year. 183 00:09:27,517 --> 00:09:30,067 We had about nine different bodies at that time, 184 00:09:30,068 --> 00:09:33,516 but all similar situation, along freeways and 185 00:09:33,517 --> 00:09:36,964 in back alleys like this, behind gas stations. 186 00:09:36,965 --> 00:09:39,481 This just really-- we were pretty 187 00:09:39,482 --> 00:09:40,964 convinced it was connected. 188 00:09:46,793 --> 00:09:49,171 We identified the body as Charles Miranda, 189 00:09:49,172 --> 00:09:50,723 15-year-old boy. 190 00:09:50,724 --> 00:09:52,447 And we found out that he had been 191 00:09:52,448 --> 00:09:55,205 hitchhiking around the Starwood area in West Hollywood. 192 00:09:55,206 --> 00:09:58,205 And he wound up here, where they 193 00:09:58,206 --> 00:09:59,688 dumped the body, of course. 194 00:09:59,689 --> 00:10:01,757 For a killer that knew his way around, 195 00:10:01,758 --> 00:10:04,895 you'd almost have to know these alleyways in downtown 196 00:10:04,896 --> 00:10:06,447 Los Angeles because you don't just stumble 197 00:10:06,448 --> 00:10:08,378 into one of these alleys. 198 00:10:08,379 --> 00:10:10,033 And we figured there were two of them. 199 00:10:10,034 --> 00:10:14,067 To lift a body that's 165, 170 pounds, that high, 200 00:10:14,068 --> 00:10:16,136 it would probably take two guys to do it right. 201 00:10:16,137 --> 00:10:18,895 So that's when we really were pretty convinced the killer 202 00:10:18,896 --> 00:10:20,275 had an accomplice. 203 00:10:23,344 --> 00:10:25,964 Looking at the body, it was disturbing to me 204 00:10:25,965 --> 00:10:27,309 for a lot of reasons-- 205 00:10:27,310 --> 00:10:28,378 one, because he was about the age 206 00:10:28,379 --> 00:10:30,171 of my oldest son at the time. 207 00:10:30,172 --> 00:10:31,861 The body was badly bruised. 208 00:10:31,862 --> 00:10:36,033 It was hard to tell too much until the autopsy. 209 00:10:36,034 --> 00:10:37,757 And the autopsy kind of revealed 210 00:10:37,758 --> 00:10:39,895 that he had ligature marks, and he'd been strangled 211 00:10:39,896 --> 00:10:42,274 and sexually assaulted. 212 00:10:42,275 --> 00:10:44,481 That particular method of operation 213 00:10:44,482 --> 00:10:46,826 was pretty consistent with this new-- 214 00:10:46,827 --> 00:10:48,723 new wave of killings. 215 00:10:48,724 --> 00:10:51,309 And so now John and I were-- it was game on for us 216 00:10:51,310 --> 00:10:53,964 because now we're not only monitoring. 217 00:10:53,965 --> 00:10:55,034 We have a case. 218 00:10:58,965 --> 00:11:01,412 After Charles Miranda, there was a real uptick 219 00:11:01,413 --> 00:11:05,240 between March and May of 1980. 220 00:11:05,241 --> 00:11:08,550 Beginning with Thomas Lundgren, 13 years old, 221 00:11:08,551 --> 00:11:13,447 May 1979, in Los Angeles County. 222 00:11:13,448 --> 00:11:16,378 David Louis Murillo, 17, disappeared 223 00:11:16,379 --> 00:11:20,999 September 9, '79, found the next day in Los Angeles County. 224 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:26,585 More and more young men were found nude, molested. 225 00:11:26,586 --> 00:11:27,826 Who's doing it? 226 00:11:27,827 --> 00:11:29,930 No one knows. 227 00:11:29,931 --> 00:11:31,757 Robert Wirostek. 228 00:11:31,758 --> 00:11:35,792 He was 18 when he disappeared, September 17, 1979, found 229 00:11:35,793 --> 00:11:38,412 a week later in Orange County. 230 00:11:38,413 --> 00:11:41,723 James McCabe, 12 years old, disappeared and 231 00:11:41,724 --> 00:11:45,274 found February 3, 1980, in Los Angeles County. 232 00:11:45,275 --> 00:11:51,274 Ronald Craig Gatlin, 18, disappeared March 14, 1980. 233 00:11:51,275 --> 00:11:53,585 The police try to cover it up. 234 00:11:53,586 --> 00:11:55,688 They don't want the public to panic. 235 00:11:55,689 --> 00:11:59,585 They don't want to have the politicians 236 00:11:59,586 --> 00:12:01,688 breathing down their neck. 237 00:12:01,689 --> 00:12:06,171 So it's hushed up, and it's kept under the radar. 238 00:12:06,172 --> 00:12:10,895 JJ Maloney is a reporter who ends up in Orange County. 239 00:12:10,896 --> 00:12:14,723 Someone dumps an envelope on his desk in early 1980. 240 00:12:14,724 --> 00:12:18,171 And it says, gay boys getting killed. 241 00:12:18,172 --> 00:12:19,585 And it's all these clippings of all 242 00:12:19,586 --> 00:12:20,826 these young boys who are being found 243 00:12:20,827 --> 00:12:22,447 all over Southern California. 244 00:12:22,448 --> 00:12:24,171 And he sees a pattern here. 245 00:12:24,172 --> 00:12:25,171 And he goes to his editor. 246 00:12:25,172 --> 00:12:26,654 He says, this is going on. 247 00:12:26,655 --> 00:12:28,654 The police are stonewalling us. 248 00:12:28,655 --> 00:12:31,481 It's our obligation to do this story. 249 00:12:31,482 --> 00:12:33,654 And his editor agrees. 250 00:12:33,655 --> 00:12:37,861 And on March 24, 1980, they break the story. 251 00:12:37,862 --> 00:12:41,274 And Maloney coins the term, Freeway Killer. 252 00:12:45,655 --> 00:12:47,412 Today, the nude body of a teenage boy 253 00:12:47,413 --> 00:12:49,723 was found propped up against a back alley door. 254 00:12:49,724 --> 00:12:51,067 He had been choked to death. 255 00:12:51,068 --> 00:12:53,343 This is the 33rd killing of the same 256 00:12:53,344 --> 00:12:54,964 type in the last few months. 257 00:12:54,965 --> 00:12:57,136 The latest possible victim of the Freeway Killer 258 00:12:57,137 --> 00:12:59,447 was found Monday behind this Mobile station 259 00:12:59,448 --> 00:13:00,999 in Huntington Beach. 260 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:03,930 This is the sixth victim found in Orange County. 261 00:13:03,931 --> 00:13:06,999 And he superficially resembles the boy described last week 262 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:09,619 by a witness, who said she saw a hitchhiker 263 00:13:09,620 --> 00:13:11,826 gassed and pulled into a van. 264 00:13:11,827 --> 00:13:14,274 Behind the service station here at Beech and Adams, 265 00:13:14,275 --> 00:13:16,274 the nude body of 18-year-old Steven Wells 266 00:13:16,275 --> 00:13:17,757 was found last Tuesday. 267 00:13:17,758 --> 00:13:20,102 The Huntington Beach Police are asking for help 268 00:13:20,103 --> 00:13:21,930 in finding Steven's killer. 269 00:13:26,137 --> 00:13:28,136 The television reporters, the newspapers, 270 00:13:28,137 --> 00:13:30,516 were starting to really focus on this. 271 00:13:30,517 --> 00:13:33,757 And there's starting to be a panic about what was happening 272 00:13:33,758 --> 00:13:35,654 in Southern California. 273 00:13:35,655 --> 00:13:38,516 Why were all of these young men, teenagers and younger, 274 00:13:38,517 --> 00:13:42,240 being kidnapped, and murdered, and 275 00:13:42,241 --> 00:13:46,792 then dumped all throughout Southern California? 276 00:13:46,793 --> 00:13:50,481 I was a sergeant at the Training Academy. 277 00:13:50,482 --> 00:13:53,102 And they promoted me to lieutenant 278 00:13:53,103 --> 00:13:57,274 and then transferred me into the Investigation Bureau. 279 00:13:57,275 --> 00:14:00,723 And at this time, the assistant sheriff 280 00:14:00,724 --> 00:14:03,481 had decided that they needed, we 281 00:14:03,482 --> 00:14:05,861 needed, someone to handle the press 282 00:14:05,862 --> 00:14:09,136 because we were getting larger and more and more activity 283 00:14:09,137 --> 00:14:13,550 and having more and more contact with the media. 284 00:14:13,551 --> 00:14:17,826 Actually, I started the first PIO, Press Information Office, 285 00:14:17,827 --> 00:14:19,654 in Orange County. 286 00:14:19,655 --> 00:14:23,516 My job as a PIO was to answer their questions so that they 287 00:14:23,517 --> 00:14:25,688 wouldn't interfere with the investigation 288 00:14:25,689 --> 00:14:27,723 or be bothering the investigators 289 00:14:27,724 --> 00:14:29,378 while they're trying to work. 290 00:14:29,379 --> 00:14:33,378 One of the, really, things about a serial killer 291 00:14:33,379 --> 00:14:37,481 is that people have a rush, and especially the public. 292 00:14:37,482 --> 00:14:39,033 Oh, you've got a serial killer. 293 00:14:39,034 --> 00:14:41,171 You've got another Kearney out on the streets. 294 00:14:41,172 --> 00:14:43,619 No, we can't say that yet. 295 00:14:43,620 --> 00:14:45,205 And we used to take a lot of heat for that. 296 00:14:45,206 --> 00:14:46,274 They'd say, oh, you got it. 297 00:14:46,275 --> 00:14:48,067 You know, it's coming. 298 00:14:48,068 --> 00:14:51,550 No, we're not ready to say that there is a serial killer. 299 00:14:51,551 --> 00:14:53,447 We're still putting things together. 300 00:14:53,448 --> 00:14:56,792 So it took us quite a while before we admitted that there 301 00:14:56,793 --> 00:14:59,205 was a serial killer out there. 302 00:14:59,206 --> 00:15:02,033 The terror increased, especially 303 00:15:02,034 --> 00:15:04,861 in the gay community, because it became obvious 304 00:15:04,862 --> 00:15:10,343 that many of these victims were either gay or bisexual or 305 00:15:10,344 --> 00:15:13,240 suspected of being gay. 306 00:15:13,241 --> 00:15:16,481 The gay community has been targeted with violence ever 307 00:15:16,482 --> 00:15:19,102 since the gay community has existed, 308 00:15:19,103 --> 00:15:24,102 so it's not new to have people targeting the community and-- 309 00:15:24,103 --> 00:15:26,481 and trying to pick people off. 310 00:15:26,482 --> 00:15:29,688 In the past, the police usually wouldn't do very much 311 00:15:29,689 --> 00:15:31,654 about it either. 312 00:15:31,655 --> 00:15:35,343 Once you get into the 1970s, and the political climate is 313 00:15:35,344 --> 00:15:38,964 a little bit different, the police are a little more 314 00:15:38,965 --> 00:15:42,033 obligated to at least go through the motions that 315 00:15:42,034 --> 00:15:44,067 they are investigating this. 316 00:15:44,068 --> 00:15:47,826 The perception in the gay community at that time 317 00:15:47,827 --> 00:15:50,447 would have certainly been that the police isn't going 318 00:15:50,448 --> 00:15:53,619 to lift a finger to help us with this, unless it 319 00:15:53,620 --> 00:15:55,550 makes them look bad somehow. 320 00:15:55,551 --> 00:15:57,102 They don't care about us. 321 00:15:57,103 --> 00:16:00,274 They've been targeting us for a century. 322 00:16:00,275 --> 00:16:02,723 We had a murder that involved homosexuals, 323 00:16:02,724 --> 00:16:04,378 but we didn't handle them any different 324 00:16:04,379 --> 00:16:05,688 than any other murder. 325 00:16:05,689 --> 00:16:07,585 Human beings are human beings. 326 00:16:07,586 --> 00:16:11,343 So we were-- there might have been a prejudice in some areas 327 00:16:11,344 --> 00:16:12,792 toward gay people. 328 00:16:12,793 --> 00:16:14,792 But we couldn't-- we couldn't afford that. 329 00:16:14,793 --> 00:16:18,240 We had to be pretty much neutral 330 00:16:18,241 --> 00:16:20,516 and put our feet in the shoes of the victim 331 00:16:20,517 --> 00:16:21,826 and find out who did it. 332 00:16:21,827 --> 00:16:23,792 That was kind of our attitude. 333 00:16:23,793 --> 00:16:25,585 The feeling of law enforcement 334 00:16:25,586 --> 00:16:28,274 was, we have a problem, and we got to do something about it. 335 00:16:28,275 --> 00:16:30,447 We had a lot of information coming in. 336 00:16:30,448 --> 00:16:32,447 We had people making phone calls. 337 00:16:32,448 --> 00:16:34,067 We had people writing letters. 338 00:16:34,068 --> 00:16:35,723 We had people who would show up. 339 00:16:35,724 --> 00:16:39,067 I have information, I think, maybe, on a suspect. 340 00:16:39,068 --> 00:16:40,861 It was my job to take the information that 341 00:16:40,862 --> 00:16:44,895 came in relative to Los Angeles murders that 342 00:16:44,896 --> 00:16:47,240 were occurring with that MO. 343 00:16:47,241 --> 00:16:50,378 They all had to be categorized and thoroughly investigated. 344 00:16:50,379 --> 00:16:53,619 And that's where I came in, just on that particular MO 345 00:16:53,620 --> 00:16:55,585 with the young boys. 346 00:16:55,586 --> 00:16:59,586 Then the police get a break because of Maloney's headlines. 347 00:17:04,586 --> 00:17:07,240 A young offender sees one of the headlines. 348 00:17:07,241 --> 00:17:12,136 And he had been part of it, to a certain degree. 349 00:17:12,137 --> 00:17:15,757 And he realizes, if the headline 350 00:17:15,758 --> 00:17:19,274 is correct, then the person in question, 351 00:17:19,275 --> 00:17:21,033 he thinks he knows who it is. 352 00:17:21,034 --> 00:17:24,792 Now, he doesn't know for sure, but he's got an idea. 353 00:17:24,793 --> 00:17:26,964 We had handled a case in Van Nuys. 354 00:17:26,965 --> 00:17:29,309 And John and I, we were up all night, 355 00:17:29,310 --> 00:17:31,102 36 hours at a crime scene. 356 00:17:31,103 --> 00:17:33,102 And we were both pretty-- pretty beat. 357 00:17:33,103 --> 00:17:34,688 We got a call from the office. 358 00:17:34,689 --> 00:17:37,550 And we had pagers then, so my pager beeped. 359 00:17:37,551 --> 00:17:38,930 I called the office. 360 00:17:38,931 --> 00:17:42,447 And our lieutenant said, we have a kid 361 00:17:42,448 --> 00:17:46,412 over at Los Padrinos juvenile facility 362 00:17:46,413 --> 00:17:49,378 who thinks he knows something about the Freeway Killer. 363 00:17:49,379 --> 00:17:51,895 So John and I thought, well, we got a lot of clues like this. 364 00:17:51,896 --> 00:17:54,964 Tom and I-- Tom had given us clues similar to this. 365 00:17:54,965 --> 00:17:56,309 But we thought, well, we better-- 366 00:17:56,310 --> 00:17:57,516 we better go do it now. 367 00:17:57,517 --> 00:17:58,826 So we went over there. 368 00:17:58,827 --> 00:18:01,033 And we get this kid, William Pugh, 369 00:18:01,034 --> 00:18:03,792 and he's in custody for grand theft auto. 370 00:18:03,793 --> 00:18:05,895 And he's a pretty streetwise kid. 371 00:18:05,896 --> 00:18:08,136 And he's kind of hustling-- 372 00:18:08,137 --> 00:18:10,826 he's hustling us, trying to get a deal, 373 00:18:10,827 --> 00:18:12,654 because he doesn't want to do any hard time 374 00:18:12,655 --> 00:18:14,171 in juvenile authorities. 375 00:18:14,172 --> 00:18:15,447 I said, I'll have to hear what you-- 376 00:18:15,448 --> 00:18:17,136 what you have to tell us first. 377 00:18:17,137 --> 00:18:18,550 And then we could talk to the juvenile authorities. 378 00:18:18,551 --> 00:18:20,240 We'll see what we can do. 379 00:18:20,241 --> 00:18:21,481 So he said, well, I've been hanging out with this guy. 380 00:18:21,482 --> 00:18:23,792 He's an older guy. And he has a van. 381 00:18:23,793 --> 00:18:26,550 And he keeps a bunch of newspaper 382 00:18:26,551 --> 00:18:29,550 clippings in his glove box about the Freeway Killer. 383 00:18:29,551 --> 00:18:32,240 He lives in Downey, and he has a lot of young boys 384 00:18:32,241 --> 00:18:33,343 coming to his house. 385 00:18:33,344 --> 00:18:34,861 He's got kind of a mean streak. 386 00:18:34,862 --> 00:18:36,240 I've seen him really get mad. 387 00:18:36,241 --> 00:18:38,723 And I said, what's his name? 388 00:18:38,724 --> 00:18:40,964 He said, William Bonin. 389 00:18:40,965 --> 00:18:43,171 That was like the light bulb just went off. 390 00:18:49,172 --> 00:18:51,826 William Bonin was born in 1947. 391 00:18:51,827 --> 00:18:54,274 His parents had moved to Los Angeles 392 00:18:54,275 --> 00:18:56,550 at the beginning of World War II 393 00:18:56,551 --> 00:18:58,550 to work in the defense industry. 394 00:18:58,551 --> 00:19:00,999 His father got a job with an aircraft company. 395 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:04,205 His parents left a great deal to be desired. 396 00:19:04,206 --> 00:19:06,378 Both his parents were alcoholic. 397 00:19:06,379 --> 00:19:09,585 His father physically abused his wife and the kids. 398 00:19:09,586 --> 00:19:12,861 The father lost the family home gambling at one point, 399 00:19:12,862 --> 00:19:16,585 and the kids were sent to convent schools. 400 00:19:16,586 --> 00:19:20,654 And Bonin had some trouble there, said he was bullied. 401 00:19:20,655 --> 00:19:23,481 He had a little bit of a tough time being gay, 402 00:19:23,482 --> 00:19:25,723 trying to hide that he was gay. 403 00:19:25,724 --> 00:19:28,550 At one time, he did have a girlfriend. 404 00:19:28,551 --> 00:19:31,033 That was something to please his mother. 405 00:19:31,034 --> 00:19:33,861 His mother placed him with a grandfather. 406 00:19:33,862 --> 00:19:36,343 And unfortunately, he was a pedophile 407 00:19:36,344 --> 00:19:40,412 and molested the children, especially William Bonin. 408 00:19:40,413 --> 00:19:42,757 Then she thought, oh, maybe the best thing would 409 00:19:42,758 --> 00:19:44,205 be to put him in an orphanage. 410 00:19:44,206 --> 00:19:46,550 And he was molested by the older 411 00:19:46,551 --> 00:19:49,033 kids there, the other boys. 412 00:19:49,034 --> 00:19:52,619 He was also, at one point, held as a juvenile delinquent. 413 00:19:52,620 --> 00:19:56,688 And supposedly, the adult counselor there molested him. 414 00:19:56,689 --> 00:20:01,895 So this is a young man who had homosexual feelings at a very 415 00:20:01,896 --> 00:20:03,240 young age, and those were-- were 416 00:20:03,241 --> 00:20:05,412 punished at a very young age. 417 00:20:05,413 --> 00:20:07,861 Then, about a year or two later, 418 00:20:07,862 --> 00:20:10,240 his father got a job out here in Downey, 419 00:20:10,241 --> 00:20:11,585 in Southern California. 420 00:20:23,896 --> 00:20:27,033 Downey, California is famous for three things. 421 00:20:27,034 --> 00:20:30,792 It has the oldest McDonald's that is in existence 422 00:20:30,793 --> 00:20:32,550 still operating there. 423 00:20:32,551 --> 00:20:34,964 And it's famous for the Carpenters, the musical group. 424 00:20:34,965 --> 00:20:37,067 There was Karen Carpenter, Richard Carpenter. 425 00:20:37,068 --> 00:20:40,654 And of course, they're not too happy about the other thing 426 00:20:40,655 --> 00:20:43,895 they're famous for, and that is William Bonin. 427 00:20:46,620 --> 00:20:49,378 When he moved in there, he had been abused. 428 00:20:49,379 --> 00:20:53,619 And he wanted to control the neighborhood kids. 429 00:20:53,620 --> 00:20:55,447 They would come by, and he would 430 00:20:55,448 --> 00:20:59,240 give them alcohol or drugs or whatever for sexual favors. 431 00:20:59,241 --> 00:21:03,033 And you can imagine how the neighbors were 432 00:21:03,034 --> 00:21:05,274 not really happy on having William Bonin 433 00:21:05,275 --> 00:21:07,585 in their neighborhood. 434 00:21:07,586 --> 00:21:10,171 He's, say, 14, 15. 435 00:21:10,172 --> 00:21:12,171 He's in a new environment. 436 00:21:12,172 --> 00:21:14,309 He doesn't socialize well. 437 00:21:14,310 --> 00:21:17,585 He doesn't want anyone to find out his secret about the fact 438 00:21:17,586 --> 00:21:19,481 that he might be attracted to boys. 439 00:21:19,482 --> 00:21:21,412 His mom goes to the track a lot. 440 00:21:21,413 --> 00:21:23,309 His dad's out drinking and gambling. 441 00:21:23,310 --> 00:21:24,861 So he's kind of on his own. 442 00:21:24,862 --> 00:21:26,447 And he ends up getting in trouble with the law. 443 00:21:26,448 --> 00:21:27,481 He stole a car. 444 00:21:27,482 --> 00:21:29,067 He gets arrested. 445 00:21:29,068 --> 00:21:32,378 In high school, he starts just skipping school. 446 00:21:32,379 --> 00:21:35,550 And he basically becomes a high school dropout by the time 447 00:21:35,551 --> 00:21:37,033 he's a junior in high school. 448 00:21:37,034 --> 00:21:39,757 So this is, say, '67. 449 00:21:39,758 --> 00:21:43,067 The Vietnam War is heating up, so his mother 450 00:21:43,068 --> 00:21:46,171 talks him into joining the Army when he turns 18. 451 00:21:46,172 --> 00:21:48,274 She thought it might be good for him. 452 00:21:48,275 --> 00:21:50,171 It might give him some structure. 453 00:21:50,172 --> 00:21:53,585 He agreed, and he convinced a friend to join with him. 454 00:21:53,586 --> 00:21:56,205 And this is also part of Bonin's persona. 455 00:21:56,206 --> 00:21:58,310 He hated doing things alone. 456 00:22:00,827 --> 00:22:05,447 He ends up in Vietnam right before the Tet Offensive, 457 00:22:05,448 --> 00:22:10,309 which is the most massive battle in the Vietnam War. 458 00:22:10,310 --> 00:22:13,447 He was stationed there during his Air Force term 459 00:22:13,448 --> 00:22:17,033 as a gunner in an aircraft and actually was awarded, 460 00:22:17,034 --> 00:22:20,861 at one point, for his bravery. 461 00:22:20,862 --> 00:22:23,550 He ran out of his helicopter, pulled 462 00:22:23,551 --> 00:22:26,136 a wounded soldier out under fire, 463 00:22:26,137 --> 00:22:28,447 dragged him back, and saved his life. 464 00:22:28,448 --> 00:22:32,343 He also raped somebody at gunpoint, 465 00:22:32,344 --> 00:22:36,102 a fellow soldier in Vietnam, which he doesn't 466 00:22:36,103 --> 00:22:39,136 get in trouble for that. 467 00:22:39,137 --> 00:22:42,619 He must have seen a lot of heavy-duty action 468 00:22:42,620 --> 00:22:45,654 up and down because he was there when 469 00:22:45,655 --> 00:22:48,585 it was really intense battles. 470 00:22:48,586 --> 00:22:51,205 He also sees something which later plays in. 471 00:22:51,206 --> 00:22:55,171 He sees South Vietnamese troops shackling 472 00:22:55,172 --> 00:23:00,033 prisoners and then extracting information from them. 473 00:23:00,034 --> 00:23:02,136 At the end of his military service, 474 00:23:02,137 --> 00:23:05,516 there were a lot of disturbing signs about William Bonin. 475 00:23:05,517 --> 00:23:10,136 In 1969, Bonin was convicted of sexual assault 476 00:23:10,137 --> 00:23:11,585 against children. 477 00:23:11,586 --> 00:23:13,412 He's only back two or three months, 478 00:23:13,413 --> 00:23:17,585 and he's already raped four boys who were hitchhiking. 479 00:23:17,586 --> 00:23:21,240 He's sent to the Atascadero, to a mental institution, 480 00:23:21,241 --> 00:23:23,964 to see if they could rehabilitate him. 481 00:23:23,965 --> 00:23:26,205 And they tried, and they gave up. 482 00:23:26,206 --> 00:23:28,240 And they said, just send him to the state prison. 483 00:23:28,241 --> 00:23:30,033 And he was sent to state prison. 484 00:23:30,034 --> 00:23:31,999 And eventually, the state prison didn't know what to do 485 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:33,619 with him, and he's released. 486 00:23:33,620 --> 00:23:35,481 So this is the type of individual 487 00:23:35,482 --> 00:23:39,343 we have, a person who could not control 488 00:23:39,344 --> 00:23:44,585 their emotions as to sexual molesting young children, 489 00:23:44,586 --> 00:23:46,550 especially young boys. 490 00:23:46,551 --> 00:23:49,412 He moved back home with his parents, 491 00:23:49,413 --> 00:23:52,171 tried working as a bartender, and then 492 00:23:52,172 --> 00:23:53,827 got a job as a truck driver. 493 00:23:56,172 --> 00:23:58,585 And he made a statement to himself-- 494 00:23:58,586 --> 00:24:02,309 I will never allow anybody to survive. 495 00:24:08,620 --> 00:24:11,861 Most serial killers work by themselves. 496 00:24:11,862 --> 00:24:15,274 Bonin, interestingly, had five accomplices 497 00:24:15,275 --> 00:24:16,379 at one time or another. 498 00:24:24,344 --> 00:24:27,585 Vernon Butts was the big one because it was 499 00:24:27,586 --> 00:24:31,895 with Vernon Butts, on an August evening 500 00:24:31,896 --> 00:24:33,757 at the drive-in theater-- 501 00:24:33,758 --> 00:24:36,585 they're sitting there, watching the movie, 502 00:24:36,586 --> 00:24:39,550 and they start talking about killing somebody. 503 00:24:39,551 --> 00:24:42,999 And all of a sudden, they decide to do it. 504 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:44,654 So they left the drive-in. 505 00:24:44,655 --> 00:24:46,964 And they drove down to a freeway entrance, 506 00:24:46,965 --> 00:24:50,136 where Bonin knew that kids were hitchhiking. 507 00:24:50,137 --> 00:24:52,861 And they pick up this kid, Mark Shelton. 508 00:24:52,862 --> 00:24:56,205 And they take him up into the Cajon Pass, 509 00:24:56,206 --> 00:24:58,343 which is up in the hills. 510 00:24:58,344 --> 00:25:01,412 And they beat him up, and they rape him. 511 00:25:01,413 --> 00:25:06,999 And now, they're at the point where they can step back, 512 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:08,964 but they kill him. 513 00:25:08,965 --> 00:25:11,826 It's like they walked through the dark panel 514 00:25:11,827 --> 00:25:13,826 into the new country. 515 00:25:13,827 --> 00:25:16,378 Bonin has now got the taste. 516 00:25:16,379 --> 00:25:20,240 And it's the taste that then keeps him going. 517 00:25:20,241 --> 00:25:21,586 It's the power. 518 00:25:23,206 --> 00:25:26,826 Bonin knew so much as to snatch some victims. 519 00:25:26,827 --> 00:25:28,792 When you snatched them, obviously, 520 00:25:28,793 --> 00:25:30,067 they're not going along. 521 00:25:30,068 --> 00:25:31,585 They're not cooperating. 522 00:25:31,586 --> 00:25:33,654 So he had a van with a sliding door 523 00:25:33,655 --> 00:25:35,964 that didn't have to open out. 524 00:25:35,965 --> 00:25:37,964 It was a Ford van. 525 00:25:37,965 --> 00:25:42,205 It had been specially made so that it had no windows. 526 00:25:42,206 --> 00:25:46,412 You couldn't unlock the doors in the back from the inside. 527 00:25:46,413 --> 00:25:48,792 It had carpeting in the back. 528 00:25:48,793 --> 00:25:53,378 And he had curtains up front so you couldn't see into the back. 529 00:25:53,379 --> 00:25:54,343 And he nicknamed it. 530 00:25:54,344 --> 00:25:56,240 It was the Death Van. 531 00:25:56,241 --> 00:26:00,792 He would say, if you got in the Death Van, you didn't get out. 532 00:26:00,793 --> 00:26:04,309 He was just always looking for someone 533 00:26:04,310 --> 00:26:08,205 he could pull up on at a stop sign or a bus stop, 534 00:26:08,206 --> 00:26:10,999 coax him into his van somehow. 535 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:13,688 He would get them comfortable, you know, 536 00:26:13,689 --> 00:26:15,412 especially if they were hustlers. 537 00:26:15,413 --> 00:26:18,964 He detested hustlers, and he would get them into the van. 538 00:26:18,965 --> 00:26:23,516 And then he had a rope and a knife hidden away. 539 00:26:23,517 --> 00:26:29,102 And so, as soon as they were in a compromised position, 540 00:26:29,103 --> 00:26:31,619 he would put the knife to their throat, 541 00:26:31,620 --> 00:26:35,171 tie them up, maybe work them over a little bit, 542 00:26:35,172 --> 00:26:39,205 then rape them and then strangle them. 543 00:26:39,206 --> 00:26:41,102 Generally, he would take the t-shirt 544 00:26:41,103 --> 00:26:46,205 and strangle the individual with their own t-shirt. 545 00:26:46,206 --> 00:26:50,033 Sometimes, he would take them to various locations. 546 00:26:50,034 --> 00:26:51,826 Sometimes, he would take them to his friend 547 00:26:51,827 --> 00:26:53,930 Vernon Butts's house. 548 00:26:53,931 --> 00:26:57,240 Sometimes, he would take them to his house in Downey, 549 00:26:57,241 --> 00:26:58,723 where he would molest them. 550 00:26:58,724 --> 00:27:00,723 And then he would kill them, then would 551 00:27:00,724 --> 00:27:03,550 have to take the body out, put it back in the van, 552 00:27:03,551 --> 00:27:07,378 haul it someplace, and then dump the body along the 553 00:27:07,379 --> 00:27:09,343 highway somewhere. 554 00:27:09,344 --> 00:27:11,964 He would steal money from their pockets. 555 00:27:11,965 --> 00:27:13,723 There was accounts where they would go and buy 556 00:27:13,724 --> 00:27:16,550 food, fast food, and come back and 557 00:27:16,551 --> 00:27:19,447 eat it right next to the bodies that they had just killed. 558 00:27:19,448 --> 00:27:24,343 And Bonin would look over and say, thanks for this. 559 00:27:24,344 --> 00:27:26,654 We're in the southern part of Downey, 560 00:27:26,655 --> 00:27:30,136 and we come across the freeway here. 561 00:27:30,137 --> 00:27:34,930 And we come to where William Bonin lived with his mother. 562 00:27:34,931 --> 00:27:37,861 You can see what the house looks like. 563 00:27:37,862 --> 00:27:40,930 It looks like a normal track house. 564 00:27:40,931 --> 00:27:44,343 He would come in at nighttime, go through the door there. 565 00:27:44,344 --> 00:27:47,067 And a lot of times, he would take the bodies. 566 00:27:47,068 --> 00:27:49,205 And sometimes, they were tied up. 567 00:27:49,206 --> 00:27:51,205 And sometimes, they walked in. 568 00:27:51,206 --> 00:27:53,412 One of the cases was Darrin Kendrick. 569 00:27:53,413 --> 00:27:54,688 They brought him down here. 570 00:27:54,689 --> 00:27:56,378 And he walked into the house. 571 00:27:56,379 --> 00:27:58,964 As soon as he got in the house, they closed the door, 572 00:27:58,965 --> 00:28:00,481 and they tied him up. 573 00:28:00,482 --> 00:28:02,516 And then he was molested. 574 00:28:02,517 --> 00:28:04,274 And he was mutilated. 575 00:28:04,275 --> 00:28:08,240 And they made him drink hydrochloric acid, 576 00:28:08,241 --> 00:28:11,309 which, you know, his face and his throat-- 577 00:28:11,310 --> 00:28:14,343 the pain that he must have gone through. 578 00:28:14,344 --> 00:28:19,378 Bonin had used an ice pick and pounded it into his ear. 579 00:28:19,379 --> 00:28:20,723 He was not dead. 580 00:28:20,724 --> 00:28:22,757 They stuck the ice pick in. 581 00:28:22,758 --> 00:28:26,757 And you can imagine it goes into your brain. 582 00:28:26,758 --> 00:28:30,240 And, you know, it causes a seizure, 583 00:28:30,241 --> 00:28:32,412 but it doesn't kill you. 584 00:28:32,413 --> 00:28:34,309 What type of human being-- 585 00:28:34,310 --> 00:28:36,619 what is going through your mind? 586 00:28:36,620 --> 00:28:40,412 And then what is the satisfaction that you're 587 00:28:40,413 --> 00:28:41,792 receiving from that? 588 00:28:46,172 --> 00:28:47,861 Pugh is a young kid. 589 00:28:47,862 --> 00:28:50,895 He's kind of a juvenile ruffian. 590 00:28:50,896 --> 00:28:55,067 And the reason that Bonin met Pugh 591 00:28:55,068 --> 00:28:58,792 is because Bonin used to party at this place owned by a guy 592 00:28:58,793 --> 00:29:00,378 named Scott Fraser. 593 00:29:00,379 --> 00:29:02,481 Fraser was a drug dealer. 594 00:29:02,482 --> 00:29:06,067 And he had a lot of homosexual-type parties 595 00:29:06,068 --> 00:29:07,447 with a lot of drugs. 596 00:29:07,448 --> 00:29:10,481 He called up Bonin and said, hey, 597 00:29:10,482 --> 00:29:11,826 there's a guy going to be over here. 598 00:29:11,827 --> 00:29:13,102 I know you're going to like him. 599 00:29:13,103 --> 00:29:16,067 He knew the type of young guys that Bonin 600 00:29:16,068 --> 00:29:18,102 liked-- young, slim, blond. 601 00:29:18,103 --> 00:29:20,171 He said, you should meet Billy Pugh. 602 00:29:20,172 --> 00:29:22,481 So Bonin comes over. 603 00:29:22,482 --> 00:29:25,585 And they hit it off immediately because, also, 604 00:29:25,586 --> 00:29:26,930 they have something in common. 605 00:29:26,931 --> 00:29:28,550 They were both incarcerated. 606 00:29:28,551 --> 00:29:30,654 And their two favorite subjects to talk about 607 00:29:30,655 --> 00:29:32,068 are sex and violence. 608 00:29:34,241 --> 00:29:40,343 And that night, through Bonin's clever manipulations, 609 00:29:40,344 --> 00:29:45,240 he convinces Pugh to go out and pick up somebody and 610 00:29:45,241 --> 00:29:47,240 murder him that very night. 611 00:29:47,241 --> 00:29:49,585 And they kill this kid named Harry Turner, 612 00:29:49,586 --> 00:29:51,723 and he's dumped in downtown LA. 613 00:29:51,724 --> 00:29:54,481 And it's dumped right in an alley, 614 00:29:54,482 --> 00:29:56,033 so he's found immediately. 615 00:29:56,034 --> 00:30:00,171 And LAPD, obviously, knows it's the same guy. 616 00:30:00,172 --> 00:30:03,378 It's got all the earmarks of the same person. 617 00:30:03,379 --> 00:30:06,585 And Bonin and Pugh basically talk one more time, 618 00:30:06,586 --> 00:30:08,205 and then they never see each other again 619 00:30:08,206 --> 00:30:10,136 because Pugh gets arrested. 620 00:30:10,137 --> 00:30:12,516 And he ends up in a juvenile facility. 621 00:30:12,517 --> 00:30:14,930 And he was a juvenile when they did this murder. 622 00:30:21,620 --> 00:30:23,412 William Bonin's name had come up 623 00:30:23,413 --> 00:30:26,930 at a couple of our different meetings with other agencies. 624 00:30:26,931 --> 00:30:30,619 Bonin was a MDSO, Mentally Disordered Sex Offender. 625 00:30:30,620 --> 00:30:33,964 And Bonin had been under surveillance 626 00:30:33,965 --> 00:30:36,136 by Orange County Sheriffs at one time. 627 00:30:36,137 --> 00:30:38,067 But they didn't-- there was nothing untoward about his 628 00:30:38,068 --> 00:30:40,516 activities at that time, so Orange County 629 00:30:40,517 --> 00:30:43,033 dropped him as a suspect. 630 00:30:43,034 --> 00:30:45,033 We couldn't get back to the office fast enough. 631 00:30:45,034 --> 00:30:47,723 We got back, called a meeting right away with our captain, 632 00:30:47,724 --> 00:30:49,412 our lieutenant. 633 00:30:49,413 --> 00:30:50,792 We decided that we got to put surveillance on this guy 634 00:30:50,793 --> 00:30:51,792 right away. 635 00:30:51,793 --> 00:30:53,378 So we knew where he was. 636 00:30:53,379 --> 00:30:55,481 John and I started a background immediately, 637 00:30:55,482 --> 00:30:57,826 getting as much information as we could, 638 00:30:57,827 --> 00:30:59,585 the photos, everything we could possibly gather 639 00:30:59,586 --> 00:31:01,447 to give to surveillance. 640 00:31:01,448 --> 00:31:03,205 The sad thing about that surveillance 641 00:31:03,206 --> 00:31:05,792 was, just within about 12 hours or 642 00:31:05,793 --> 00:31:09,274 so, they watched Bonin and one of his accomplices 643 00:31:09,275 --> 00:31:11,171 put a big box in the van. 644 00:31:11,172 --> 00:31:12,826 They couldn't make the approach. 645 00:31:12,827 --> 00:31:14,757 They'd blow the-- they didn't know what they had. 646 00:31:14,758 --> 00:31:16,205 They couldn't make that approach. 647 00:31:16,206 --> 00:31:17,757 We found out later it was probably 648 00:31:17,758 --> 00:31:21,067 the last body that Bonin had actually killed. 649 00:31:21,068 --> 00:31:22,965 But they stayed with the surveillance. 650 00:31:28,551 --> 00:31:29,757 Bonin's under surveillance. 651 00:31:29,758 --> 00:31:31,033 He had taken this path all the way 652 00:31:31,034 --> 00:31:32,481 along the Hollywood Freeway. 653 00:31:32,482 --> 00:31:34,792 He got off here on Santa Monica Boulevard. 654 00:31:34,793 --> 00:31:37,861 And he made a left here on Santa Monica. 655 00:31:37,862 --> 00:31:40,033 There's usually seven or eight teams. 656 00:31:40,034 --> 00:31:42,550 So they're scattered, trying to cover 657 00:31:42,551 --> 00:31:44,550 any direction he might go. 658 00:31:44,551 --> 00:31:45,999 It's quite an art. 659 00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:47,412 When you work-- when you go with these guys, 660 00:31:47,413 --> 00:31:49,550 you'll see how good they are at it. 661 00:31:49,551 --> 00:31:52,481 Bonin, in his van, now he's cruising through here. 662 00:31:52,482 --> 00:31:56,412 This area in here, there would be young boys on the corners. 663 00:31:56,413 --> 00:31:59,240 And Bonin would pull over and talk to them. 664 00:31:59,241 --> 00:32:02,240 And as surveillance was watching him, 665 00:32:02,241 --> 00:32:03,964 he'd have a conversation. 666 00:32:03,965 --> 00:32:05,964 Maybe they didn't want to get in the car with him 667 00:32:05,965 --> 00:32:07,550 for whatever reason. 668 00:32:07,551 --> 00:32:10,136 So he would just move on and kept pulling over 669 00:32:10,137 --> 00:32:11,619 and talking to different ones. 670 00:32:11,620 --> 00:32:13,792 And then finally, up here around-- 671 00:32:13,793 --> 00:32:15,619 not this light, but the next light-- 672 00:32:15,620 --> 00:32:18,757 he stopped to talk to a kid. 673 00:32:18,758 --> 00:32:21,964 The kid got in the van, and they watched that. 674 00:32:21,965 --> 00:32:24,447 And then Bonin came back out and went back 675 00:32:24,448 --> 00:32:26,688 on Santa Monica Boulevard. 676 00:32:26,689 --> 00:32:28,964 Now, they have to really stay on him. 677 00:32:28,965 --> 00:32:31,274 You can't risk losing him. 678 00:32:31,275 --> 00:32:32,723 So now, they're watching him. 679 00:32:32,724 --> 00:32:34,861 And he wasn't slowing down, like he 680 00:32:34,862 --> 00:32:36,481 was looking for a place. 681 00:32:36,482 --> 00:32:38,412 He seemed to know exactly where he was going. 682 00:32:38,413 --> 00:32:41,309 Surveillance followed Bonin on Santa Monica Boulevard, 683 00:32:41,310 --> 00:32:43,033 over the Hollywood Freeway, and wound 684 00:32:43,034 --> 00:32:44,447 up here in this parking lot. 685 00:32:44,448 --> 00:32:47,757 We are just east of the Hollywood Freeway. 686 00:32:47,758 --> 00:32:49,585 He pulled into this parking lot. 687 00:32:49,586 --> 00:32:53,102 And Bonin backed up his van. 688 00:32:53,103 --> 00:32:54,412 Of course, surveillance couldn't tell 689 00:32:54,413 --> 00:32:55,757 what was going on in the van. 690 00:32:55,758 --> 00:32:58,481 So they just sat, and they watched. 691 00:32:58,482 --> 00:33:01,033 And they thought, we better look closer. 692 00:33:01,034 --> 00:33:02,585 So one of the surveillance officers 693 00:33:02,586 --> 00:33:04,826 came out, snuck around the parking lot. 694 00:33:04,827 --> 00:33:06,136 It was pretty dark out here. 695 00:33:06,137 --> 00:33:07,861 There were no lights or anything. 696 00:33:07,862 --> 00:33:10,688 He snuck up on the van, crawled underneath it to listen, 697 00:33:10,689 --> 00:33:12,964 and he heard a lot of moaning. 698 00:33:12,965 --> 00:33:15,516 And then he could smell some really bad-- 699 00:33:15,517 --> 00:33:17,378 bad smells. 700 00:33:17,379 --> 00:33:20,516 And that's when he signaled to the other surveillance guys 701 00:33:20,517 --> 00:33:21,999 that we've got to take him down. 702 00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:25,205 So they break their way into the van, 703 00:33:25,206 --> 00:33:26,999 and he's in the act of sodomizing 704 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:28,240 this young boy he had just picked 705 00:33:28,241 --> 00:33:29,895 up on Santa Monica Boulevard. 706 00:33:29,896 --> 00:33:31,481 And there's no doubt in my mind that he 707 00:33:31,482 --> 00:33:33,240 was going to kill the kid eventually 708 00:33:33,241 --> 00:33:35,378 because Bonin liked to have sex and strangle 709 00:33:35,379 --> 00:33:36,896 them at the same time. 710 00:33:38,551 --> 00:33:40,136 The kid was completely nude. 711 00:33:40,137 --> 00:33:41,861 There was a crowbar. 712 00:33:41,862 --> 00:33:44,102 And the kid's clothes were right there. 713 00:33:44,103 --> 00:33:46,758 They were probably within minutes of this kid dying. 714 00:33:50,482 --> 00:33:51,447 They got the kid out. 715 00:33:51,448 --> 00:33:52,964 The kid was terrified. 716 00:33:52,965 --> 00:33:54,861 He was a runaway from Orange County somewhere. 717 00:33:54,862 --> 00:33:55,895 Got him safe. 718 00:33:55,896 --> 00:33:57,447 Got him dressed. 719 00:33:57,448 --> 00:33:59,585 They took Bonin into custody, of course. 720 00:33:59,586 --> 00:34:03,343 They had a unit sit on the van until we could get a tow truck. 721 00:34:03,344 --> 00:34:05,171 Tremendous amount of evidence in the van-- 722 00:34:05,172 --> 00:34:09,102 not only tools that he used to murder these young boys, but 723 00:34:09,103 --> 00:34:12,999 also carpet fibers that matched fibers they 724 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:16,447 found on several of the bodies, which was pretty conclusive. 725 00:34:16,448 --> 00:34:19,171 We didn't have DNA at that time. 726 00:34:19,172 --> 00:34:23,516 And there was a lot of blood and body fluids on the carpet, 727 00:34:23,517 --> 00:34:25,378 in the carpet. 728 00:34:25,379 --> 00:34:27,205 If we would have had DNA, then we probably could have 729 00:34:27,206 --> 00:34:28,550 identified certain victims. 730 00:34:28,551 --> 00:34:30,379 But that wasn't the case. 731 00:34:33,344 --> 00:34:35,067 That was one of the biggest cases I ever handled. 732 00:34:35,068 --> 00:34:38,274 So it was a relief to have him in custody, believe me. 733 00:34:38,275 --> 00:34:40,447 And I probably slept better that night 734 00:34:40,448 --> 00:34:41,516 than I have in a long time. 735 00:34:41,517 --> 00:34:43,448 It was pretty incredible. 736 00:34:46,586 --> 00:34:48,930 The police arrest him. 737 00:34:48,931 --> 00:34:52,723 Sergeant St. John is there to greet him. 738 00:34:52,724 --> 00:34:55,274 Bonin writes about it in his jailhouse diary. 739 00:34:55,275 --> 00:34:58,792 He describes the scene with St. John, 740 00:34:58,793 --> 00:35:02,205 realizing that it's all over. 741 00:35:02,206 --> 00:35:05,067 And he says in his diary, he starts crying. 742 00:35:05,068 --> 00:35:06,999 I put him in the interview room. 743 00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:09,171 And I was a little rough on him. 744 00:35:09,172 --> 00:35:12,688 John was probably a little more professional than I was. 745 00:35:12,689 --> 00:35:13,861 I kind of lost it a little bit. 746 00:35:13,862 --> 00:35:15,171 And I was a little emotional. 747 00:35:15,172 --> 00:35:16,343 John advised him of his rights, and he 748 00:35:16,344 --> 00:35:17,550 started to talk a little bit. 749 00:35:17,551 --> 00:35:19,205 And then he just clammed up. 750 00:35:19,206 --> 00:35:22,102 And John kind of looked at me and said-- so we went 751 00:35:22,103 --> 00:35:23,447 outside the interview room. 752 00:35:23,448 --> 00:35:24,930 And he says, you know, I think he's-- 753 00:35:24,931 --> 00:35:26,481 I think he's a little nervous. 754 00:35:26,482 --> 00:35:28,171 He keeps looking at you. 755 00:35:28,172 --> 00:35:30,654 And he says-- like you're staring at him, you know? 756 00:35:30,655 --> 00:35:32,481 He says, let me have a shot at him. 757 00:35:32,482 --> 00:35:35,102 He says, I'm going to do a little fatherly thing with him. 758 00:35:35,103 --> 00:35:36,861 Good cop, bad cop, everybody hears about that. 759 00:35:36,862 --> 00:35:37,895 It's true. 760 00:35:37,896 --> 00:35:39,412 It works. 761 00:35:39,413 --> 00:35:41,240 It worked with Bob and John. 762 00:35:41,241 --> 00:35:43,033 John was the elderly man. 763 00:35:43,034 --> 00:35:45,481 I think John was almost 70 years old when he was working-- 764 00:35:45,482 --> 00:35:46,619 working that. 765 00:35:46,620 --> 00:35:48,550 He was a calming influence. 766 00:35:48,551 --> 00:35:49,826 Bob would just stand up there. 767 00:35:49,827 --> 00:35:51,412 He's 6' 4", 6' 5". 768 00:35:51,413 --> 00:35:53,516 He'd just glare at you. 769 00:35:53,517 --> 00:35:56,723 And that's very effective, especially 770 00:35:56,724 --> 00:36:00,757 to somebody like a Bonin, who is deathly afraid of him. 771 00:36:00,758 --> 00:36:02,688 So John started talking to him. 772 00:36:02,689 --> 00:36:04,067 And pretty soon, John pulled out 773 00:36:04,068 --> 00:36:05,516 some pictures of the victims. 774 00:36:05,517 --> 00:36:06,861 We got you dead bang, buddy. 775 00:36:06,862 --> 00:36:07,826 We know you did it. 776 00:36:07,827 --> 00:36:09,654 We got witnesses. 777 00:36:09,655 --> 00:36:12,274 And Bonin started talking and laying out all these cases 778 00:36:12,275 --> 00:36:14,033 he'd done and what have you. 779 00:36:14,034 --> 00:36:16,067 That arrest was just the beginning of the investigation 780 00:36:16,068 --> 00:36:19,378 because now, we're getting more and more information every time 781 00:36:19,379 --> 00:36:20,964 he sits down. 782 00:36:20,965 --> 00:36:22,516 He was very cooperative. 783 00:36:22,517 --> 00:36:24,136 He was kind of proud of what he did. 784 00:36:24,137 --> 00:36:27,274 He was talking in detail of how he killed these kids 785 00:36:27,275 --> 00:36:28,688 and what they did. 786 00:36:28,689 --> 00:36:30,619 Some of them, they took to his house, 787 00:36:30,620 --> 00:36:32,723 where they'd torture them and murder them. 788 00:36:37,896 --> 00:36:40,274 They had already got a confession from Bonin, 789 00:36:40,275 --> 00:36:42,378 but it was on the grounds that they wouldn't use it because he 790 00:36:42,379 --> 00:36:44,102 took them to other bodies. 791 00:36:44,103 --> 00:36:47,102 He was a very manipulative guy. 792 00:36:47,103 --> 00:36:49,481 That's where I became important to them. 793 00:36:53,310 --> 00:36:56,205 The night Bonin was arrested, everybody went to the mother's 794 00:36:56,206 --> 00:36:58,033 house in Downey. 795 00:36:58,034 --> 00:36:59,826 I saw this lonely figure of a woman 796 00:36:59,827 --> 00:37:00,930 sitting at the kitchen table. 797 00:37:00,931 --> 00:37:02,412 It was his mother. 798 00:37:02,413 --> 00:37:04,792 So the next day, I said to the newsroom-- 799 00:37:04,793 --> 00:37:06,550 I said, look, I think I can get her to talk to me. 800 00:37:06,551 --> 00:37:07,516 Just give me a crew. 801 00:37:07,517 --> 00:37:08,723 Let me see what happens. 802 00:37:08,724 --> 00:37:10,378 So I go back the next day. 803 00:37:10,379 --> 00:37:12,826 And sure enough, I got an interview with her. 804 00:37:12,827 --> 00:37:15,826 And she-- she said how, you know, he was a wonderful boy 805 00:37:15,827 --> 00:37:17,654 and, you know, he had a little trouble in the Army. 806 00:37:17,655 --> 00:37:19,240 And she didn't know he was gay. 807 00:37:19,241 --> 00:37:20,930 And she just can't believe he would do-- you know, 808 00:37:20,931 --> 00:37:23,723 it's a typical mom protecting her son. 809 00:37:23,724 --> 00:37:25,999 Bonin's in court a couple days later. 810 00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:29,861 His attorney named Earl Hanson, who came up to me 811 00:37:29,862 --> 00:37:33,067 and gave me his card, and he said, listen, 812 00:37:33,068 --> 00:37:36,274 Bonin really appreciates the way you talk to his mother. 813 00:37:36,275 --> 00:37:39,033 And he'd like to talk to you. 814 00:37:39,034 --> 00:37:41,619 Show this card when you go to the jail, 815 00:37:41,620 --> 00:37:44,447 and you'll be able to go in. 816 00:37:44,448 --> 00:37:45,757 That would never happen today. 817 00:37:45,758 --> 00:37:46,964 Never. 818 00:37:46,965 --> 00:37:48,550 It just wouldn't-- it's impossible. 819 00:37:48,551 --> 00:37:49,826 So I show the card. 820 00:37:49,827 --> 00:37:51,205 I get in. 821 00:37:51,206 --> 00:37:53,171 I go into where the attorney's room is. 822 00:37:53,172 --> 00:37:54,688 In comes Bonin. 823 00:37:54,689 --> 00:37:56,447 He's behind a Plexiglas. 824 00:37:56,448 --> 00:37:58,412 I was surprised at how small he was. 825 00:37:58,413 --> 00:38:01,309 He's a big-- he's a big man, but he's not tall. 826 00:38:01,310 --> 00:38:02,999 You know, I figured this guy would 827 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:04,792 be, you know, overpowering all these kids, you know, 828 00:38:04,793 --> 00:38:06,309 and putting them in a hog tie and everything, 829 00:38:06,310 --> 00:38:08,067 big, massive muscles. No. 830 00:38:08,068 --> 00:38:09,792 I was there for about an hour and a half. 831 00:38:09,793 --> 00:38:11,999 No notes because I wasn't allowed to take any notes. 832 00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:14,930 And he told me how he killed 26 kids-- 833 00:38:14,931 --> 00:38:16,654 26 kids. 834 00:38:16,655 --> 00:38:19,033 What really sent chills down my spine was when he said, 835 00:38:19,034 --> 00:38:21,826 I would never stop unless I was arrested. 836 00:38:21,827 --> 00:38:25,171 He says, I was never going to stop. 837 00:38:25,172 --> 00:38:27,792 I asked Bonin, what was the thrill? 838 00:38:27,793 --> 00:38:30,861 And I remember, he said, he loved the sound 839 00:38:30,862 --> 00:38:33,930 and he loved the terror in their face. 840 00:38:33,931 --> 00:38:36,136 It was haunting, just plain haunting. 841 00:38:36,137 --> 00:38:38,792 I mean, he just really enjoyed killing. 842 00:38:43,448 --> 00:38:45,171 So that investigation went on and on. 843 00:38:45,172 --> 00:38:46,826 I mean, we had to prepare for trial. 844 00:38:46,827 --> 00:38:49,205 And he was laying out, of course, his accomplices. 845 00:38:49,206 --> 00:38:51,102 And meanwhile, he didn't realize 846 00:38:51,103 --> 00:38:52,205 at first that all these accomplices 847 00:38:52,206 --> 00:38:55,171 were testifying against him. 848 00:38:55,172 --> 00:38:57,412 Butts is prosecuted. 849 00:38:57,413 --> 00:38:59,205 His attorney, at some point, said, 850 00:38:59,206 --> 00:39:01,999 hey, we could make a deal. 851 00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:06,136 He will testify against William Bonin. 852 00:39:06,137 --> 00:39:08,930 Now, the DA's office needs something. 853 00:39:08,931 --> 00:39:11,723 They can't-- there are no witnesses who saw 854 00:39:11,724 --> 00:39:16,136 Bonin pick these people up, kill these people, 855 00:39:16,137 --> 00:39:17,999 or dump the body. 856 00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:21,033 He comes in, and he testifies at the preliminary hearing. 857 00:39:21,034 --> 00:39:23,688 And he does it all, just down the line. 858 00:39:23,689 --> 00:39:24,723 We had our case. 859 00:39:24,724 --> 00:39:25,999 Everything was made. 860 00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:27,240 It was perfect. 861 00:39:27,241 --> 00:39:29,792 The DA couldn't have been happier. 862 00:39:29,793 --> 00:39:33,274 Then they checked out Butts's cell. 863 00:39:33,275 --> 00:39:35,412 He's hanged himself. 864 00:39:35,413 --> 00:39:37,654 Now, we don't have a case. 865 00:39:37,655 --> 00:39:40,999 All of those cases that Butts said, I was with him, 866 00:39:41,000 --> 00:39:44,861 I drove the van, we can't do those. 867 00:39:44,862 --> 00:39:47,412 We couldn't prosecute on the ones 868 00:39:47,413 --> 00:39:50,551 that Butts had told us that William Bonin had done. 869 00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:56,343 My conscience started bothering me. 870 00:39:56,344 --> 00:39:59,205 And all the investigators and different police agencies said, 871 00:39:59,206 --> 00:40:00,619 look, you know, we need you. 872 00:40:00,620 --> 00:40:03,619 And finally, six months into the fact, 873 00:40:03,620 --> 00:40:05,136 I said, okay, that's it. 874 00:40:05,137 --> 00:40:07,136 I can't-- I can't handle this anymore. 875 00:40:07,137 --> 00:40:10,654 And I broke the story that Bonin had confessed to me. 876 00:40:10,655 --> 00:40:14,585 He said that once he got them in, the talk of sex came up. 877 00:40:14,586 --> 00:40:16,723 He always had a knife handy, and he'd put a knife 878 00:40:16,724 --> 00:40:18,343 at their throat occasionally. 879 00:40:18,344 --> 00:40:20,171 And he says he-- he bragged about the idea 880 00:40:20,172 --> 00:40:22,999 that he had a great ability to tie people up very quickly. 881 00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:27,585 That is really a no-no in the reporter world, 882 00:40:27,586 --> 00:40:30,757 giving up your source or conveying 883 00:40:30,758 --> 00:40:33,205 information that he gave you. 884 00:40:33,206 --> 00:40:36,205 And I admired him very much for what he did with Bonin. 885 00:40:36,206 --> 00:40:39,309 I've never had another reporter do that. 886 00:40:39,310 --> 00:40:41,343 I just felt it was the right thing to do. 887 00:40:41,344 --> 00:40:42,999 I'm glad I did. 888 00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:44,999 I mean, I got crucified by some members of the media. 889 00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:48,136 I got hammered by the "TV Guide," which was 890 00:40:48,137 --> 00:40:49,792 a big publication back then. 891 00:40:49,793 --> 00:40:52,412 I had to do what I had to do, and 892 00:40:52,413 --> 00:40:54,792 I don't regret it to this day. 893 00:40:54,793 --> 00:40:58,171 I firmly believe that when the question comes up, 894 00:40:58,172 --> 00:41:01,447 are we journalists or citizens first, we are citizens first. 895 00:41:01,448 --> 00:41:03,343 The public has a right to know. 896 00:41:03,344 --> 00:41:05,516 The jury has a right to know. 897 00:41:05,517 --> 00:41:07,999 Every mother and father who have ever loved a child 898 00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:09,481 have a right to know. 899 00:41:09,482 --> 00:41:11,274 The jury came back about two days later 900 00:41:11,275 --> 00:41:12,931 and found him guilty on all 10 murders. 901 00:41:16,206 --> 00:41:18,412 They always go with the best cases. 902 00:41:18,413 --> 00:41:20,930 He was responsible for more than 25. 903 00:41:20,931 --> 00:41:24,964 And then he was subsequently held on four additional charges 904 00:41:24,965 --> 00:41:26,412 in Orange County. 905 00:41:26,413 --> 00:41:28,378 He got two separate life sentences and, 906 00:41:28,379 --> 00:41:31,481 actually, capital punishment. 907 00:41:31,482 --> 00:41:34,826 When Bonin is arrested, immediately, 908 00:41:34,827 --> 00:41:36,757 the first thing they do is they winnow 909 00:41:36,758 --> 00:41:41,343 out the cases they know that they believe Bonin committed. 910 00:41:41,344 --> 00:41:44,309 And quickly, within a couple of weeks, 911 00:41:44,310 --> 00:41:47,343 St. John tells the press-- because there are articles 912 00:41:47,344 --> 00:41:49,723 saying, he killed 45 people. 913 00:41:49,724 --> 00:41:54,240 Based on our investigation and incarceration 914 00:41:54,241 --> 00:41:56,757 of Bonin at these times, we believe he was 915 00:41:56,758 --> 00:41:59,585 responsible for 22 murders. 916 00:41:59,586 --> 00:42:02,412 They know someone else is out there. 917 00:42:02,413 --> 00:42:03,723 All of a sudden, there are more 918 00:42:03,724 --> 00:42:05,136 bodies that are turning up. 919 00:42:05,137 --> 00:42:07,964 And the bodies are really mutilated. 920 00:42:07,965 --> 00:42:11,999 And some of them are-- are chopped up, genitals cut off, 921 00:42:12,000 --> 00:42:14,516 found along various highways. 922 00:42:14,517 --> 00:42:15,895 What's going on? 923 00:42:19,862 --> 00:42:21,447 A Los Angeles judge set an execution 924 00:42:21,448 --> 00:42:22,930 date today for convicted freeway 925 00:42:22,931 --> 00:42:24,585 killer William George Bonin. 926 00:42:24,586 --> 00:42:27,516 Bonin was sentenced to death for the 1982 927 00:42:27,517 --> 00:42:29,516 sex murders of 10 boys. 928 00:42:29,517 --> 00:42:31,205 The judge ordered the former truck 929 00:42:31,206 --> 00:42:36,240 driver to die on June 23 in the San Quentin gas chamber. 930 00:42:36,241 --> 00:42:38,309 William Bonin had been on death row 931 00:42:38,310 --> 00:42:40,067 more than a dozen years and had gone 932 00:42:40,068 --> 00:42:42,757 through all sorts of appeals, as is required 933 00:42:42,758 --> 00:42:47,033 for death penalty convictions, when, in February of 1996, 934 00:42:47,034 --> 00:42:49,205 he was finally executed. 935 00:42:49,206 --> 00:42:54,205 He is put up as the poster boy for capital punishment. 936 00:42:54,206 --> 00:42:57,895 There are protests outside San Quentin saying, 937 00:42:57,896 --> 00:43:00,723 the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment. 938 00:43:00,724 --> 00:43:03,654 And then there's others, like the victims' families 939 00:43:03,655 --> 00:43:06,619 who are in attendance, who, you know, 940 00:43:06,620 --> 00:43:12,688 their lives have been wrecked by this unrepentant guy. 941 00:43:12,689 --> 00:43:17,033 I was called as a witness for the execution in San Quentin. 942 00:43:17,034 --> 00:43:19,895 It wasn't a celebration because there were the mothers 943 00:43:19,896 --> 00:43:22,447 of victims, fathers, and then, of course, 944 00:43:22,448 --> 00:43:25,102 a lot of the cops who were involved in the investigation. 945 00:43:25,103 --> 00:43:27,136 And there were probably 75 people, 946 00:43:27,137 --> 00:43:30,067 I think, total in the room. 947 00:43:30,068 --> 00:43:34,136 John St. John died 18 months before the actual execution. 948 00:43:34,137 --> 00:43:38,102 And John had told me when we first convicted Bonin--- 949 00:43:38,103 --> 00:43:40,171 he said, I want you to do me a favor. 950 00:43:40,172 --> 00:43:44,757 I might not be here if Bonin ever does get executed. 951 00:43:44,758 --> 00:43:45,999 But I want you to do something for me. 952 00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:47,378 And I said, what's that? 953 00:43:47,379 --> 00:43:49,171 He says, I want you to get up close. 954 00:43:49,172 --> 00:43:51,205 And I want you to say something to him. 955 00:43:51,206 --> 00:43:53,309 And I said, okay, I'll do that. 956 00:43:53,310 --> 00:43:55,067 John told me what he wanted me to say. 957 00:43:55,068 --> 00:43:57,930 So at the execution, I'm in the room. 958 00:43:57,931 --> 00:43:59,481 Bonin is on a gurney. 959 00:43:59,482 --> 00:44:01,757 He's already gotten the first stage of the-- 960 00:44:01,758 --> 00:44:03,378 the lethal injection. 961 00:44:03,379 --> 00:44:04,930 And I didn't think he'd hear me, 962 00:44:04,931 --> 00:44:06,895 but I had to fulfill my promise to John. 963 00:44:06,896 --> 00:44:09,654 So I got up real close to the window, and I said, 964 00:44:09,655 --> 00:44:11,550 adios, mother-[bleep]. 965 00:44:18,482 --> 00:44:20,240 Orange County investigators are 966 00:44:20,241 --> 00:44:23,033 dealing with a possible mass murderer and a list of victims 967 00:44:23,034 --> 00:44:24,999 that continues to get longer. 968 00:44:25,000 --> 00:44:29,481 The bodies continue to pile up in Southern California. 969 00:44:29,482 --> 00:44:31,309 The madness has not ended. 970 00:44:31,310 --> 00:44:33,412 I didn't actually feel I was getting the job done because we 971 00:44:33,413 --> 00:44:35,033 were having so many of them. 972 00:44:35,034 --> 00:44:36,585 And just when they thought they'd have something, 973 00:44:36,586 --> 00:44:38,205 another body would show up. 974 00:44:38,206 --> 00:44:39,757 And we're going back and looking at the chart. 975 00:44:39,758 --> 00:44:41,309 We're saying, wait a minute, there 976 00:44:41,310 --> 00:44:42,412 might be a third guy here, because that MO was 977 00:44:42,413 --> 00:44:44,033 even a little bit different. 978 00:44:44,034 --> 00:44:47,309 He was the most sadistic out of all of them. 979 00:44:47,310 --> 00:44:50,102 The details about how they died-- 980 00:44:50,103 --> 00:44:55,171 nothing can match the sickening descriptions. 981 00:44:55,172 --> 00:44:57,619 It's like a trilogy of terror with these three guys.