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The most notoriouskillers hide in plain sight,
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free to kill, and kill again.
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But most are not the criminalmasterminds of fiction.
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In their minds, theycommit the perfect murder.
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In reality, it's their foolishmistakes that get them caught.
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California, 1979.
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The Sunshine State looks
like heaven on earth.
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It's almost
tempting to speculate,
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but it's rather
like the movie Jaws.
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This is a place of
sunshine, and tourists,
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and happiness, and surfing,and the ocean, and stuff.
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But a
nightmare is unfolding.
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Suddenly, there was a bodyturning up on a weekly basis--
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almost a daily basis.
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Behind this sunnyfacade is a lurking horror.
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Throughout the
70s, motorists have
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been discovering deadbodies dumped on the side
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of California's freeways.
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One investigator of theseseemingly unconnected killings
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is Bernie Esposito.
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This was becoming, you know,a weekly, biweekly thing.
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So there was a great deal ofurgency in trying to find out
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who was committing these acts.
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The police arepuzzled by the sheer number
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of dead bodies.
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During the 70s, over
100 corpses are found
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dumped by the state freeways.
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For crime writer
Mark Billingham,
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the body count should
ring alarm bells.
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Even though bodies were beingfound every couple of days,
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the local law enforcementwere kind of--
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they were in denial as well.
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But you know--
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There were a couple of newspaperjournalists that kind of went,
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Hello!
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Serial killers on the loose!
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And the police were then kindof going, la, la, la, la, la!
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You know, let's all go surfing!
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No one knows ifit is one killer, or many.
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There's no question
that Southern
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California, at that time,was Serial Killer Central.
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I mean, we now know
that there were
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at least three different serialkillers operating in that area.
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Perhaps more.
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But the media givethe faceless predator a name--
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The Freeway Killer.
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In many cases, the victimsare young men or boys.
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Tension rises on the streets.
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It seems no young male is safe.
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Psychologist Vonda
Pelto remembers the fear
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across the Sunshine State.
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Parents were fearful ofletting their kids outside,
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particularly young boys.
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And there was just a thick layerof horror all over the area.
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Whoever The
Freeway Killer is,
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he's just getting started.
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Many more will die.
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On March the 22nd, 1979, apattern begins to emerge.
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We received a call of twoyoung bodies that were dumped
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in the Ronald Casper's park.
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Forensic
pathologist Jimmy White,
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has the gruesome task
of examining the bodies.
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There were signs of sexualactivity on the victims,
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if not necessarily semen.
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There might have been,
you know, rectal damage.
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That sort of thing.
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Examination
of the two bodies
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reveals disturbing facts.
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Both were teenagers,
and both, it appeared,
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had been tortured andmurdered by the same killer.
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By Spring 1980, several
more young male victims
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turn up with similar injuries.
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These bodies strike
a real similarity.
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There are some common
denominators here
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that we can't ignore.
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These were murders
that you knew were
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committed by a serial killer.
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A predator witha taste for teenage boys.
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Esposito and his team haveto find the killer fast.
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We had felt a real
sense of urgency
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to try to capture
this individual,
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because the bodies wereshowing up at an alarming rate.
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For Esposito,catching the killer is not
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just a professional concern.
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It is deeply personal.
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At the time, my own son wasapproximately the same age,
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same physical descriptionof these particular victims
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that were being dumped allover Southern California.
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So I had a particular
interest in trying
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to capture this individual.
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Police teams fromtwo different jurisdictions
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make the case a
priority, but the body
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count continues to rise.
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There's so many bodies thatquite honestly what happens
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is they start to bleed intoone another, so to speak.
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Between August
1979 and May 1980,
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13 more victims with
similar injuries
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are found dead on the roadside.
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On the 29th of May 1980, theLAPD make a breakthrough--
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17-year-old Billy
Pugh is in custody.
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He's arrested for a
minor theft, but he
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offers the police
information in return
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for favorable treatment--
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information on The
Freeway Killer.
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Obviously, there's a degreeof skepticism on behalf
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of the police, but it
quickly becomes clear
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that he's able to give themall sorts of details that would
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be unknown to anybody else.
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He claims to havebeen recruited as an accomplice
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by the killer.
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So Billy Pugh is able
to say to the police,
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if you let me off, I can tellyou who The Freeway Killer is.
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Pugh
gives them a name--
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William Bonin.
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Billy Pugh startedtelling his juvenile hall
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counselor that he had accepteda ride from William Bonin.
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And he opened the glovebox of William Bonin's van,
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and he found all of thesearticles that were collected
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on The Freeway Killings,
that were appearing
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in all of the newspapers.
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They have a name,but they also have a problem.
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Because Pugh is anaccomplice, his talk is cheap.
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What we had was
just some information
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that was uncorroborated.
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You need somecorroboration for evidence
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that you know is going
to be tested in court.
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Testimony of an accomplicehas to be corroborated.
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The police
need hard evidence.
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They begin
surveillance of Bonin.
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We took turns
surveilling Bill Bonin.
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LAPD took a shift.
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LA Sheriff took a shift.
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We took a shift.
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So it was a continual
thing where we had him
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under surveillance for days.
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After nine dayswith nothing to report,
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Bonin suddenly becomesactive on the 11th of June.
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The detectives witness
what could only
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be described as a nightmare.
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They watch him cruising
around in his van trying
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to pick up young men and boys.
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And he tries to pick
up five different boys.
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And the police watch and wait.
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And they have to wait.
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They can
only break cover
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when they are sure to
catch him in the midst
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of committing a crime.
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Suddenly, after
five failed attempts
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to lure young men intohis van, a 15-year-old boy
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accepts his invitation.
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He picked up a youngkid on one of the streets
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in Hollywood.
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Got him into the van.
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Pulled into a closed
service station.
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The police
are on a knife edge.
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If they leap too soon,they jeopardize the case.
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If they wait too
long, a boy may die.
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LAPD crept up on the
van, and they can hear
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this kid crying inside the van.
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They believe Bonincould be The Freeway Killer,
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but in trying to get
evidence against him,
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there is a risk a childmay get hurt or even die.
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As the police approach thevan where William Bonin is
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attacking a 15-year-old, it isclear that they must act now
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or the boy will die.
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They couldn't let
it go on any further.
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You know, it was time to move.
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Before he killed the kid,he was in the process
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of tying the kid up, when LAPD,you know, knocked on the door.
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The scene revealedinside the van is horrific.
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The boy who was raped by Boninis lucky to escape his life.
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They took the kid to safety.
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Arrested Bill Bonin.
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So at that point, we hadthe van in police custody.
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The van is a
mobile torture chamber
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fitted out with
everything Bonin might
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need for a gruesome attack.
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So that's when we obtaineda search warrant for the van,
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so that we could
legitimately examine
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that van for forensic evidence.
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The forensic
team begin their work.
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They know that tying Boninto the freeway murders
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depends on robust evidence.
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We did find some blood
evidence in the van.
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I'm not sure which victimsthe blood was associated with,
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but I do remember there
being blood in the van.
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As forensics
continue, Bonin
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is questioned by the police.
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He does not react like
your average killer.
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He appears proud
of what he's done.
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To the detective's amazement,he wants to share the story
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of his revolting crimes.
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He very much wanted to tellyou about his escapades--
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about his conquests.
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Bill Bonin would like youto think how smart he was.
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Bonin is also
assigned a counselor--
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Vonda Pelto.
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Over her career at LA
County Men's Prison,
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she has been an
agony aunt to people
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like Charles Manson
and Ted Bundy.
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My main job in the jail was tokeep these high profile killers
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from killing themselves.
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And so it was not analysis.
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It wasn't psychotherapy.
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It was like friendly chats.
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And they would
come, and they would
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say, hey Doc, how about a hotcup of coffee and a cookie?
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And I'd say, sure, come on in.
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In the flesh,
Bonin is approachable--
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even appealing.
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He was very
smooth, soft spoken.
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He didn't look anythinglike a serial killer would.
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A nice, nice fellow to sitand chat about the weather.
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Just plumb nice fellow
that William Bonin.
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But Bonin's
tales will take
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their toll on Pelto's psyche.
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The whole time that he wastelling me of his killing,
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I thought I was
going to throw up.
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I was having a very difficulttime listening to this.
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He was telling me
this story like you
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might read a story to a child.
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With
relish, Bonin begins
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his tale of a fateful encounterwith a man named Vernon Butts.
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Vernon Butts was into blackmagic, Dungeons & Dragons,
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things of that nature--
and just generally
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a pretty deranged individual.
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Bonin meetsButts at a party in 1978.
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They immediately hit it off.
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Allegedly, Bonin
and Butts were
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lovers, which is,
you know, how they
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cemented their relationship.
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And at one point,
again, allegedly,
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Bonin watched Butts having sexwith another man in his house.
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But there is more totheir relationship than sex.
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Bonin makes a dark
proposal to Butts.
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And Bill said, you know, whatwould you think about picking
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up somebody and killing them?
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And Butts said, yeah,
I could go for that.
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So that's how this
whole spree got started.
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The duo head
out in Bonin's van
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onto the freeways of California.
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They obviously had, you
know, some very strange
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tastes anyway.
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And I think there was a degreeto which they were just pushing
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the envelope, and trying
to get a bigger thrill,
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00:15:06,720 --> 00:15:09,480
and a bigger thrill,
and a darker thrill.
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And it got very out of hand.
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August 5th, 1979.
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A 17-year-old
German holidaymaker
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thinks he's in luck.
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They picked up
their first victim--
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who was hitchhiking at anon-ramp to the freeway.
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And he said to
me, you know Doc,
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I got up feeling
OK that morning.
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And then after a while, mymother really began to bug me.
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I began to feel really agitated.
258
00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:44,520
So I thought I'd drive
down to Laguna Beach.
259
00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:48,080
And he said, I just happenedto see this kid hitchhiking,
260
00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:49,920
and all of a sudden,
I felt really horny.
261
00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:57,440
The boy
climbs into the van,
262
00:15:57,560 --> 00:16:00,080
but things take a turnthat he wasn't expecting.
263
00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:11,400
As Butts looks on, Bonin
overpowers and rapes
264
00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:12,640
the hitchhiker.
265
00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:19,800
Then Bonin draws a knife.
266
00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:29,520
Bonin said that he's startedrubbing the knife up and down,
267
00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:33,320
marks his smooth skin.
268
00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:39,400
And then he said to the boy,I think I'm going to kill you.
269
00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:44,080
And the boy at first thoughtthat Bill was kidding.
270
00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:48,040
And he said, no, come on,you're not going to do that.
271
00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:49,880
And then he stuck
the boy with it.
272
00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:56,360
As he is attacked,the boy puts up a fight.
273
00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:02,320
Bonin goes into a frenzy.
274
00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:05,400
Bill said, I panicked.
275
00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:07,960
He said, I just kept
stabbing and stabbing.
276
00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:15,040
The boy
is stabbed 77 times.
277
00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:29,280
This murder is the start ofa horrific killing spree.
278
00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:37,400
Six months later, and withmore murders to his name,
279
00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:41,920
he is cruising the streets witha newly recruited accomplice--
280
00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:45,040
19-year-old Gregory Miley.
281
00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:48,800
Bonin said, let's gopick up a kid and kill him.
282
00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:52,840
And Miley was excited
about the idea.
283
00:17:56,880 --> 00:17:59,720
James McCabe
is only 12 years old,
284
00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:02,160
and is making his
way to Disneyland.
285
00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:03,840
He had his money
in his pocket,
286
00:18:03,960 --> 00:18:08,040
all excited, and he could easilytake the bus to Disneyland
287
00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:08,960
without a problem.
288
00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:29,680
But Bonin'sfriendly offer of a free ride
289
00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:30,600
is hard to resist.
290
00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:38,080
When Bonin was driving
out to a secluded place,
291
00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:40,520
Miley was with the boy.
292
00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:43,800
And the boy started saying, hey,this doesn't look like the way
293
00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:44,800
to Disneyland.
294
00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:53,360
The boy realizessomething is terribly wrong.
295
00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:56,640
The van is not
going to Disneyland.
296
00:18:56,760 --> 00:18:59,880
But Miley said, yeah,we're just going to go out
297
00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:01,720
and party a little
while, and then
298
00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:04,240
we're going to take you
right to Disneyland.
299
00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:13,520
But the child neverreaches the Magic Kingdom.
300
00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:17,120
Despite the 12-year-old'sdesperate pleas,
301
00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:20,760
he is raped and murdered
in the back of the van.
302
00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:23,560
Miley said, I knew
we weren't going
303
00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:24,880
to take him to Disneyland.
304
00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:37,840
Into the Springof 1980, Bonin partners
305
00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:40,480
up with up to four
different accomplices,
306
00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:46,480
who participate in a spree ofincreasingly sadistic murders.
307
00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:51,000
His 13th victim endures
a horrific death.
308
00:19:51,120 --> 00:19:53,520
After being raped and
beaten, he is forced
309
00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:56,560
to drink a caustic chemical.
310
00:19:56,680 --> 00:20:00,640
Then, he is subjected
to unusually cruel abuse
311
00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:04,520
by Bonin and Butts.
312
00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:08,120
They were testing to seeif the victim was dead.
313
00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:11,800
So Vernon Butts hadbrought along an ice pick.
314
00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:15,320
So they took the ice pick,and they stuck it up his nose
315
00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:17,600
and into his brain,
to see whether or not
316
00:20:17,720 --> 00:20:20,560
they got any movement.
317
00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:23,000
Another one, they took athey took a wire coat hanger,
318
00:20:23,120 --> 00:20:26,280
and shoved it through his
ear, and tried to poke
319
00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:27,680
it out through the other ear.
320
00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:37,760
Bonin's murder rampageis indiscriminate, violent,
321
00:20:37,880 --> 00:20:40,920
and prolific, but
at the same time,
322
00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:46,240
he succeeds in remaining
under the police radar.
323
00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:50,000
But soon his predilectionfor young, easily
324
00:20:50,120 --> 00:20:55,440
led accomplices will prove tobe the fatal flaw in his plan.
325
00:20:55,560 --> 00:20:58,840
He had this sense
of being the boss.
326
00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:02,800
And that was his littlegroup-- his little crime ring,
327
00:21:02,920 --> 00:21:04,280
you know.
328
00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:07,160
And he manipulated thoseindividuals into, you know,
329
00:21:07,280 --> 00:21:12,600
helping him to commit
these particular crimes.
330
00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:17,320
March 1980.
331
00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:21,400
Bonin has just committed amurder with his new accomplice
332
00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:23,920
Billy Pugh.
333
00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:27,760
But two months later,
Pugh is arrested.
334
00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:31,560
It was all such a good plan,that Bonin would go around
335
00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:33,680
and recruit this series ofmen that would help him,
336
00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:34,960
that would help him kill.
337
00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:36,400
It would help him
dispose of the bodies.
338
00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:39,760
But of course long termit is not a good strategy.
339
00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:41,360
And it ended up
being his undoing
340
00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:43,600
when Billy Pugh was arrestedfor something very trivial,
341
00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:45,120
like stealing a bike.
342
00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:47,400
He was able to say to thepolice, hang on a minute,
343
00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:49,280
I think I know who might
be your Freeway Killer,
344
00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:52,720
because, you know, heknew very well that Bonin
345
00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:54,360
was doing these things.
346
00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:56,920
And so as soon as he was facedwith incarceration himself,
347
00:21:57,040 --> 00:22:00,840
was able to drop
the dime on Bonin.
348
00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:04,640
But Bonin is notarrested straight away.
349
00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:08,680
Instead, he's put under policesurveillance in an attempt
350
00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:09,960
to obtain evidence.
351
00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:15,480
The strange thing
that Bill knew
352
00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:19,480
that the surveillance
was out there,
353
00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:22,640
and that it was like a joke.
354
00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:25,080
But despite
this, Bonin's thirst
355
00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:27,720
for sex and death still
needs to be quenched.
356
00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:35,800
2nd of June 1980--
357
00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:38,680
10 months after
the first murder--
358
00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:44,040
18-year-old Steven Wellsis waiting at a bus stop.
359
00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:48,280
Unfortunately for Wells, heaccepts a ride from Bonin
360
00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:51,400
and another recruit,
James Monroe.
361
00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:55,440
Now, clearly this surveillancewas not all-encompassing,
362
00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:58,200
because while still
under surveillance,
363
00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:00,000
Bonin, together
with James Monroe,
364
00:23:00,120 --> 00:23:01,920
was able to kill Stephen Wells.
365
00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:07,720
In a change
to the usual pattern,
366
00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:11,400
Bonin takes Wells back
to his parents' house.
367
00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:15,560
There the boy is raped,
beaten, and strangled
368
00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:16,880
with his own t-shirt.
369
00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:18,440
They put his body into
the back of the van,
370
00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:21,160
and they drive to Butts' house.
371
00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:23,680
Butts-- a fantasist,
who loves to dress
372
00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:25,600
up as film characters--
373
00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:29,160
opens the door in costume.
374
00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:32,600
They took Butts out
to the van to show
375
00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:36,840
him the boy who is dead inthe back of the van, hog-tied.
376
00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:39,080
And Butts said to
them, wow, you guys
377
00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:43,080
really did a good one tonight.
378
00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:45,240
To me this smacks of
kind of showing off.
379
00:23:45,360 --> 00:23:48,800
It's like a cat bringing amouse in, you know, to show you.
380
00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:51,760
They want to show
Butts what they'd done.
381
00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:55,000
After showing his killto Bonin's closest accomplice
382
00:23:55,120 --> 00:23:58,480
and some-time lover,
Bonin and Monroe
383
00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:00,840
manage to evade the
police surveillance,
384
00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:01,800
and dump the body.
385
00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:07,720
With $10 looted
from Wells' corpse,
386
00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:11,240
they stop off to buy hamburgers.
387
00:24:11,360 --> 00:24:17,000
Bonin feels untouchable, buthis luck is about to run out.
388
00:24:17,120 --> 00:24:19,600
So nine days after the
murder of Steven Wells,
389
00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:21,480
the police are still
watching Bonin.
390
00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:24,760
And they watch himcruising around in his van.
391
00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:28,280
He tries to pick up
five different boys.
392
00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:30,160
Eventually, he does
succeed in getting
393
00:24:30,280 --> 00:24:35,920
a boy into the back of the van,and the police watch and wait.
394
00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:38,600
So having listened for a while,they burst in, and caught Bonin
395
00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:40,560
in the act of raping this kid.
396
00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:53,400
In custody,
Bonin will shock
397
00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:56,920
hardened policemen
with the savage story
398
00:24:57,040 --> 00:24:59,240
of his killing spree.
399
00:24:59,360 --> 00:25:01,320
But this is just talk.
400
00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:05,000
The police need to tie
Bonin to the murders
401
00:25:05,120 --> 00:25:07,760
through cold, hard evidence.
402
00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:17,480
William Bonin has been caughtin the act of raping a teenager,
403
00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:20,040
but to nail him for
murder, the police
404
00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:23,120
still have a mountain to climb.
405
00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:28,760
Under interrogation, Bonin bragsabout his skill as a killer.
406
00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:31,920
Bill Bonin would like youto think how smart he was,
407
00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:35,560
because he would tell you aboutthe things he did to get rid
408
00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:37,960
of evidence--
409
00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:40,720
how he would get
rid of clothing,
410
00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:43,520
how he would get rid
of identification,
411
00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:46,760
how he spoke with
Butts assuring him
412
00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:49,760
that we couldn't
get fingerprints off
413
00:25:49,880 --> 00:25:50,640
of a dead body.
414
00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:55,720
Forensic
teams had been
415
00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:57,680
collecting evidence
from bodies dumped
416
00:25:57,800 --> 00:25:58,920
over the last nine months.
417
00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:05,280
This evidence is needed toback up the eyewitness accounts
418
00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:07,640
of Bonin's accomplices.
419
00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:10,400
Jimmy White was the
forensics expert
420
00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:12,600
for Orange County at the time.
421
00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:14,840
I would get called
out to crime scenes
422
00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:17,360
to help the homicide
investigation
423
00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:20,520
program in Orange County.
424
00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:22,600
Central
to White's analysis
425
00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:25,640
is a search for fibers
on the victim's bodies
426
00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:29,120
that might tie
them to the killer.
427
00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:32,880
As White analyzes forensicsfrom each crime scene,
428
00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:37,720
he sees the same fiber
crop up again and again.
429
00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:40,080
The thing that became
readily apparent,
430
00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:46,320
were the presence of these greencarpet fibers on the bodies.
431
00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:49,960
Forensic teams fromother police departments comb
432
00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:51,920
bodies for clues.
433
00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:54,640
They, too, find fibers.
434
00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:58,360
We brought our evidence, andit became apparent they we're
435
00:26:58,480 --> 00:26:59,760
all looking at the same thing.
436
00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:04,000
The fiber size was same,
shape was the same.
437
00:27:04,120 --> 00:27:07,920
If, Forensics can findwhere these fibers are from,
438
00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:11,920
they can be used as apowerful piece of evidence.
439
00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:15,560
And eventually, investigatorswere able to trace the whole
440
00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:17,360
history of the carpet-- where it was manufactured,
441
00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:20,120
and all that sort of thing.
442
00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:23,240
Forensics kneweverything about the carpet,
443
00:27:23,360 --> 00:27:30,640
but had no one to link itto until Bonin was arrested.
444
00:27:36,160 --> 00:27:40,200
Jimmy White arrives at the
scene of Bonin's arrest.
445
00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:44,400
When he enters the
van, the penny drops.
446
00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:46,400
If you want an "a-ha"
moment, you know,
447
00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:48,320
you open the back door ofthis van, and there's this
448
00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:49,520
variegated green carpet.
449
00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:54,440
On the
floor of Bonin's van,
450
00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:58,760
where so many innocent boyshad been attacked and killed,
451
00:27:58,880 --> 00:27:59,800
is a green carpet.
452
00:28:04,120 --> 00:28:08,720
The fibers are examined
in minute detail.
453
00:28:08,840 --> 00:28:11,000
And we got the carpet.
454
00:28:11,120 --> 00:28:14,440
And we determined as much aswe could just through our crime
455
00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:17,920
lab's investigation of thecarpet, that those fibers did,
456
00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:21,680
in fact, come from his van.
457
00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:24,920
The fibers
tied Bonin and his van
458
00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:27,600
to a number of victims.
459
00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:31,240
Realizing the game
is up, Bonin shops
460
00:28:31,360 --> 00:28:34,880
his lover and some-timesaccomplice Butts to the police.
461
00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:41,400
We went to his home armed
with a search warrant,
462
00:28:41,520 --> 00:28:43,320
and we knocked on Vernon's door.
463
00:28:43,440 --> 00:28:45,720
And Vernon came to thedoor, and he was completely
464
00:28:45,840 --> 00:28:49,120
dressed as Darth Vader.
465
00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:52,320
We had a forensic team withus when we searched the house
466
00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:55,280
for evidence, and one
of the criminalists
467
00:28:55,400 --> 00:29:00,440
went into the bathing area, andsprayed what we call luminol.
468
00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:06,280
And luminol is a substancethat will fluoresce blood.
469
00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:09,960
The luminol revealsthat Butts' bathroom has
470
00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:11,640
been doubling as an abattoir.
471
00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:18,680
And one of the criminalistscame out, and summoned us,
472
00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:22,120
and said, come here, you guysprobably ought to look at this.
473
00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:23,920
So we went into
the bedroom area,
474
00:29:24,040 --> 00:29:26,840
and it had been a
bloody homicide scene.
475
00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:29,800
And he tried to
clean up the shower,
476
00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:32,280
but blood still remained.
477
00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:37,320
Butts is arrested.
478
00:29:37,440 --> 00:29:41,000
He confesses to being
Bonin's accomplice.
479
00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:44,640
Bonin's need to share hissadistic appetites with others
480
00:29:44,760 --> 00:29:47,440
will now work against him.
481
00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:52,600
His accomplices have now becomewitnesses to the murders.
482
00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:59,960
Out of the accomplices thathelped William Bonin, Butts was
483
00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:04,120
probably the most
vicious, and probably
484
00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:07,760
had a little bit
more sophistication
485
00:30:07,880 --> 00:30:09,720
than the other individuals.
486
00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:12,120
Butts was not
easily manipulated.
487
00:30:12,240 --> 00:30:14,960
He was a very, very
willing participant.
488
00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:18,880
And he was very, very
vicious in participating
489
00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:21,520
in these particular crimes.
490
00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:23,520
Butts is
forthcoming, showing
491
00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:27,440
the police the locations
of many of the bodies.
492
00:30:27,560 --> 00:30:30,320
The case against Bonin
becomes stronger,
493
00:30:30,440 --> 00:30:33,480
with eyewitness statementsfrom former accomplices
494
00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:39,720
like Monroe, Miley, and Pughto back up the forensics.
495
00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:43,480
Billy Pugh actuallyaccompanied him on a homicide.
496
00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:46,360
He's trying to ingratiatehimself to his juvenile hall
497
00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:48,840
counselor and all of
that sort of stuff,
498
00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:53,160
so that he could get a gooddeal and get out of there early.
499
00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:56,280
And pretty soon, he got
himself into a situation
500
00:30:56,400 --> 00:31:00,880
where he was admitting thathe was part of a homicide.
501
00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:03,960
On the eve of thetrial, the case against Bonin
502
00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:06,960
is coming together.
503
00:31:07,080 --> 00:31:11,200
The prosecution has the greencarpet fibers from the van,
504
00:31:11,320 --> 00:31:14,560
blood in the house, thetestimony of accomplices,
505
00:31:14,680 --> 00:31:17,000
and even a confession
from Bonin himself.
506
00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:22,840
But as yet, there
was no explanation
507
00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:27,320
as to why a single man couldclaim to kill so many victims.
508
00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:37,360
As William Bonin
faces intense scrutiny
509
00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:40,240
for a succession of
horrific murders,
510
00:31:40,360 --> 00:31:42,040
his life story is analyzed.
511
00:31:45,320 --> 00:31:48,000
Violence and loneliness
forms the backdrop
512
00:31:48,120 --> 00:31:51,400
of Bonin's young life.
513
00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:53,520
The father went off to war.
514
00:31:53,640 --> 00:31:58,720
And when he returned,
he was angry.
515
00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:04,720
His mother wasn't really ableto give Bonin or his brothers
516
00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:06,840
the loving and nurturing
that they needed.
517
00:32:09,800 --> 00:32:12,320
Bernie Espositois wary of laying
518
00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:16,920
the blame for Bonin's crimesat the feet of others.
519
00:32:17,040 --> 00:32:20,840
He came from a very
dysfunctional home.
520
00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:23,720
But on the other
hand, I don't happen
521
00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:26,000
to be one of thoseindividuals that believes
522
00:32:26,120 --> 00:32:31,600
that an abusive home necessarilyresults in everybody being, you
523
00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:34,640
know, a killer, a murderer,
a monster of some sort,
524
00:32:34,760 --> 00:32:35,920
that preys on others.
525
00:32:36,040 --> 00:32:39,320
As a matter of fact,
I feel the opposite.
526
00:32:39,440 --> 00:32:41,720
But according tocriminal psychologist David
527
00:32:41,840 --> 00:32:45,400
Holmes, Bonin's upbringingcould have allowed
528
00:32:45,520 --> 00:32:47,280
his dark side to flourish.
529
00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:51,080
Bonin's childhood
was almost feral.
530
00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:55,160
He was almost having
to bring himself up.
531
00:32:55,280 --> 00:32:58,360
It's a good atmosphere fordeveloping someone, who perhaps
532
00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:01,960
already has inbred
psychopathic tendencies,
533
00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:04,480
to learn to cope with
the world by being
534
00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:07,720
aggressive back towards it.
535
00:33:07,840 --> 00:33:10,400
To escape
his terrible home life,
536
00:33:10,520 --> 00:33:13,480
the 7-year-old Bonin
turns to crime.
537
00:33:13,600 --> 00:33:20,200
He was stealinghubcaps and little items,
538
00:33:20,320 --> 00:33:25,360
and his parents
couldn't handle him.
539
00:33:25,480 --> 00:33:27,280
And so the thing they
did-- they had him
540
00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:29,160
put in a boy's detention home.
541
00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:35,680
Here, Bonin becomesa victim of sexual abuse,
542
00:33:35,800 --> 00:33:38,560
and a grim pattern begins.
543
00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:41,160
And he was only
there a few months,
544
00:33:41,280 --> 00:33:44,200
but while he was there
in this detention home,
545
00:33:44,320 --> 00:33:46,960
he was raped by a 13-year-old.
546
00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:53,760
When he returned home, he beganto rape his younger brother.
547
00:33:53,880 --> 00:33:56,400
Eventually, theabuse of the younger child
548
00:33:56,520 --> 00:33:58,920
is revealed.
549
00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:02,840
The parents solution
only makes things worse.
550
00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:06,840
They put them into
a Catholic orphanage,
551
00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:09,880
where they spent about
a year and a half.
552
00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:15,400
During that time, Bill
was seduced by a priest
553
00:34:15,520 --> 00:34:17,040
who came to the orphanage.
554
00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:24,680
By almost any standards,Bonin had an extremely dark,
555
00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:27,520
unhappy, and abusive childhood.
556
00:34:27,640 --> 00:34:29,400
So his entire childhood,
he's pretty much
557
00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:31,440
defined by violence and abuse.
558
00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:37,040
After a dark
and twisted adolescence,
559
00:34:37,160 --> 00:34:39,520
Bonin is caught
up in the conflict
560
00:34:39,640 --> 00:34:42,560
that defines his generation--
561
00:34:42,680 --> 00:34:44,760
The Vietnam War.
562
00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:50,640
He serves over 700 hours, andis commended for his actions.
563
00:34:50,760 --> 00:34:55,760
Bonin's 700 hours as
a gunner in Vietnam,
564
00:34:55,880 --> 00:34:58,200
will have taught
him many lessons.
565
00:34:58,320 --> 00:35:02,400
He could kill in this
situation with impunity.
566
00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:06,520
His desensitization to
the process of killing
567
00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:09,320
will have been well
grounded in this
568
00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:13,120
intense and repeated activity.
569
00:35:13,240 --> 00:35:16,080
For Holmes,
Vietnam might have
570
00:35:16,200 --> 00:35:18,360
made him even more dangerous.
571
00:35:18,480 --> 00:35:20,840
They would have
trained him in the idea
572
00:35:20,960 --> 00:35:23,160
that you don't get
emotionally involved.
573
00:35:23,280 --> 00:35:26,080
It was just simply a
learning experience,
574
00:35:26,200 --> 00:35:30,480
and showed him how easy itwas to take a life away.
575
00:35:30,600 --> 00:35:33,560
And he was
honorably discharged,
576
00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:37,200
which is interesting, becauseduring his time in the service,
577
00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:39,120
he raped several other men.
578
00:35:42,160 --> 00:35:44,480
The rapes don'tcome to light until many years
579
00:35:44,600 --> 00:35:47,320
later.
580
00:35:47,440 --> 00:35:51,200
On his return to California,he is still an unknown threat.
581
00:35:55,160 --> 00:35:57,280
Within a year of
his return, he's
582
00:35:57,400 --> 00:36:01,960
arrested for sexual offensesagainst five young boys.
583
00:36:02,080 --> 00:36:05,480
But instead of prison,
he is sent to Atascadero
584
00:36:05,600 --> 00:36:08,400
Psychiatric Hospital.
585
00:36:08,520 --> 00:36:12,040
He was interviewed
by two psychiatrists,
586
00:36:12,160 --> 00:36:16,040
and the psychiatrists gavehim the label of mentally
587
00:36:16,160 --> 00:36:18,040
disordered sexual offender.
588
00:36:21,840 --> 00:36:24,800
Five years later,Bonin is considered to be no
589
00:36:24,920 --> 00:36:26,640
longer a threat, and released.
590
00:36:30,080 --> 00:36:34,680
The following year,
he attacks again.
591
00:36:34,800 --> 00:36:39,240
The victim-- 15-year-old
David McVickers.
592
00:36:39,360 --> 00:36:44,920
David McVickers had beenbrutalized, sodomized,
593
00:36:45,040 --> 00:36:49,800
sexually assaulted, in avery, very violent manner,
594
00:36:49,920 --> 00:36:52,280
by William Bonin.
595
00:36:52,400 --> 00:36:56,160
After Bonin was finished,Bonin released him.
596
00:36:56,280 --> 00:36:59,640
McVickers shopsBonin to the police.
597
00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:03,200
Bonin is charged, convicted,and he is sent to prison,
598
00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:05,240
where he spends a year.
599
00:37:05,360 --> 00:37:08,160
As he walks out of prison,he says to an accomplice,
600
00:37:08,280 --> 00:37:10,640
this is the last time thisis ever going to happen.
601
00:37:10,760 --> 00:37:13,520
It's at that point he makes adecision that he's not going
602
00:37:13,640 --> 00:37:14,920
to leave anybody else alive.
603
00:37:18,520 --> 00:37:21,120
True to hisword, Bonin goes on to rape
604
00:37:21,240 --> 00:37:26,200
and kill at a terrifying rate.
605
00:37:26,320 --> 00:37:29,880
For Holmes, Bonin's compulsive
and addictive behavior
606
00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:32,120
could have a genetic origin.
607
00:37:32,240 --> 00:37:37,040
He inherited compulsiveand alcoholic tendencies.
608
00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:39,880
This was evident in his
father's alcoholism.
609
00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:42,880
But in him, it was more
expressive in this kind
610
00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:46,760
of addicted frenzy of killing,he could not really control.
611
00:37:49,960 --> 00:37:51,680
And he
combines this killing
612
00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:54,840
with an unusual
exhibitionist streak--
613
00:37:54,960 --> 00:37:56,120
a need for an audience.
614
00:37:58,760 --> 00:38:00,920
He was very proud
of what he did.
615
00:38:01,040 --> 00:38:05,080
He expected older people toalmost share in his delight.
616
00:38:05,200 --> 00:38:07,520
And he was very quick
to kind of admit
617
00:38:07,640 --> 00:38:10,960
to crimes when he was caught.
618
00:38:11,080 --> 00:38:12,800
Bonin is
a killer who wants
619
00:38:12,920 --> 00:38:18,400
to be noticed andrespected, but his audience,
620
00:38:18,520 --> 00:38:20,960
for the most part,
are young boys
621
00:38:21,080 --> 00:38:23,240
inferior to him in some way--
622
00:38:23,360 --> 00:38:27,800
younger, less
intelligent, gullible.
623
00:38:27,920 --> 00:38:30,120
Apart from Butts.
624
00:38:30,240 --> 00:38:34,080
He was a lover, and an equal.
625
00:38:34,200 --> 00:38:36,680
And that made him dangerous.
626
00:38:36,800 --> 00:38:38,920
It's a strange and
twined relationship
627
00:38:39,040 --> 00:38:40,880
between Bonin and Butts.
628
00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:44,480
Either could have beencapable of killing the other.
629
00:38:44,600 --> 00:38:47,120
Therefore, in a
way, Bonin and Butts
630
00:38:47,240 --> 00:38:50,200
were bonded in this
kind of alliance--
631
00:38:50,320 --> 00:38:52,160
this bizarre alliance--
632
00:38:52,280 --> 00:38:57,120
of almost like two scorpionsbacking off from each other.
633
00:38:57,240 --> 00:39:01,720
But prison woulddrive a wedge between the two,
634
00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:04,320
and one of them would
take his own life
635
00:39:04,440 --> 00:39:06,520
rather than face the
full force of justice.
636
00:39:11,800 --> 00:39:15,360
When they are both takeninto custody pending trial,
637
00:39:15,480 --> 00:39:18,600
William Bonin proves
himself to be tougher
638
00:39:18,720 --> 00:39:21,000
than his accomplice
Vernon Butts.
639
00:39:21,120 --> 00:39:24,280
Butts, at the
first opportunity,
640
00:39:24,400 --> 00:39:26,400
would actually kill
himself in prison,
641
00:39:26,520 --> 00:39:30,720
and escape all consequences.
642
00:39:30,840 --> 00:39:35,320
Butts' suicide leavesBonin to face the music alone.
643
00:39:35,440 --> 00:39:39,000
Bonin would have felt acertain amount of desertion,
644
00:39:39,120 --> 00:39:40,800
but I think, at
that point in time,
645
00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:46,600
he was happy to relish in anykind of limelight that he had.
646
00:39:46,720 --> 00:39:48,720
Alone,
in custody, Bonin
647
00:39:48,840 --> 00:39:54,720
continues to open up his twistedpsyche to the authorities.
648
00:39:54,840 --> 00:39:57,200
For Holmes, this
enables him to piece
649
00:39:57,320 --> 00:40:01,760
together a motivation behind theapparently senseless killings.
650
00:40:01,880 --> 00:40:03,760
He was a hedonistic
serial killer,
651
00:40:03,880 --> 00:40:09,440
but with almost
frenzied, compulsive,
652
00:40:09,560 --> 00:40:13,360
traits that meant he could notreally stop what he started.
653
00:40:13,480 --> 00:40:16,760
Basically, had no restraints,and required more, and more,
654
00:40:16,880 --> 00:40:17,640
and more.
655
00:40:22,080 --> 00:40:24,240
What
began as pedophilia,
656
00:40:24,360 --> 00:40:28,520
morphed into something
more stark and deadly.
657
00:40:28,640 --> 00:40:32,760
Bonin admitted to himselfthat the thing he wanted most
658
00:40:32,880 --> 00:40:36,280
was just the power
over life and death--
659
00:40:36,400 --> 00:40:40,200
that he liked the ideathat he could see the life
660
00:40:40,320 --> 00:40:43,760
draining out of these kids.
661
00:40:43,880 --> 00:40:47,240
Even in custody,
it's an experience
662
00:40:47,360 --> 00:40:51,120
he retells to those around him.
663
00:40:51,240 --> 00:40:53,920
Holmes believes that Boninthought the experience
664
00:40:54,040 --> 00:40:56,480
was something to be shared.
665
00:40:56,600 --> 00:41:00,440
He imagined that otherpeople would also enjoy this,
666
00:41:00,560 --> 00:41:03,480
but just simply daren't do it.
667
00:41:03,600 --> 00:41:06,200
He imagined that other people
would share in this joy,
668
00:41:06,320 --> 00:41:12,480
and he was telling peopleendlessly what he'd done.
669
00:41:12,600 --> 00:41:15,000
If his only way of
gaining pleasure
670
00:41:15,120 --> 00:41:18,600
was to actually relive
these experiences
671
00:41:18,720 --> 00:41:21,840
by telling them to others,then that is what he would do.
672
00:41:26,280 --> 00:41:28,080
In the
state of California,
673
00:41:28,200 --> 00:41:31,400
Bonin's repeated confessions,alongside forensics
674
00:41:31,520 --> 00:41:33,400
linking him to
the murder scenes,
675
00:41:33,520 --> 00:41:35,800
could only have one conclusion.
676
00:41:35,920 --> 00:41:41,320
Bonin's activities as
a sadistic serial killer
677
00:41:41,440 --> 00:41:44,920
were certain to draw
the death penalty.
678
00:41:45,040 --> 00:41:49,920
Bonin is sentenced todeath on 14 counts of murder.
679
00:41:50,040 --> 00:41:53,520
He is to be executed
by lethal injection.
680
00:41:53,640 --> 00:41:56,160
I asked Bill directly--
681
00:41:56,280 --> 00:41:59,840
do you think that if you
hadn't gotten caught,
682
00:41:59,960 --> 00:42:01,520
would you have stopped?
683
00:42:01,640 --> 00:42:03,920
And he said, no, I couldn't.
684
00:42:04,040 --> 00:42:06,840
He said, I would
still be killing
685
00:42:06,960 --> 00:42:08,280
if I had not got caught.
686
00:42:08,400 --> 00:42:12,040
And I tried to figureout, could have therapist
687
00:42:12,160 --> 00:42:13,680
done something different?
688
00:42:13,800 --> 00:42:16,840
And I don't believe anything
would have changed him.
689
00:42:16,960 --> 00:42:20,480
Not meds, not therapy,
not shock treatment.
690
00:42:20,600 --> 00:42:21,720
Nothing.
691
00:42:21,840 --> 00:42:23,880
He was a killer.
692
00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:26,360
Despite
the penalty, Bonin
693
00:42:26,480 --> 00:42:29,960
continues to hold out
for a stay of execution,
694
00:42:30,080 --> 00:42:32,480
but his appeals
are unsuccessful.
695
00:42:35,400 --> 00:42:38,880
On the 23rd of
February, 1996, he
696
00:42:39,000 --> 00:42:42,800
becomes the first to beexecuted by lethal injection
697
00:42:42,920 --> 00:42:43,720
in California.
698
00:42:47,720 --> 00:42:50,240
But Bonin's death
is not the end.
699
00:42:50,360 --> 00:42:54,280
Bonin accounted for the murdersof 14 young men and boys,
700
00:42:54,400 --> 00:42:58,000
bringing some closure
for their families.
701
00:42:58,120 --> 00:43:02,280
But Esposito suspects thatthis is not the full story.
702
00:43:02,400 --> 00:43:05,240
He had literally dumpedbodies all over the place.
703
00:43:05,360 --> 00:43:10,800
And Bill Bonin suggested tous, without giving us any names
704
00:43:10,920 --> 00:43:13,800
or details, that, you know,
he was a truck driver,
705
00:43:13,920 --> 00:43:17,080
and he would pick uphitchhikers in various parts
706
00:43:17,200 --> 00:43:19,240
of the country.
707
00:43:19,360 --> 00:43:20,840
Bonin never
gave up any more
708
00:43:20,960 --> 00:43:25,040
information on his involvementin further unsolved cases.
709
00:43:25,160 --> 00:43:29,680
So, I'm sure, in my own mind,that there are more victims
710
00:43:29,800 --> 00:43:34,040
that we have no idea wherethey are, who they are,
711
00:43:34,160 --> 00:43:37,520
or how they died, or
where they were dumped.
712
00:43:37,640 --> 00:43:40,720
But I'm sure there's others.
56191
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