I pulled a knife on him and he got scared. He has repeatedly appealed his sentence, claiming that he had not known Bonin had been the Freeway Killer until after Wells' murder, and that he had been tricked into accepting a plea bargain whereby he pleaded guilty to this second degree murder charge. [207] The body bore signs of extensive blunt force trauma to the face and head, with ligature marks on the wrists and ankles indicating Fox had been bound throughout his ordeal. Bonin was then arrested for theft on October 25, 1967. [196] They then parked the vehicle at a secluded spot where he was bound, repeatedly raped by Bonin and Butts, extensively bludgeoned about the chest, neck,[197] and skull with a tire iron,[198][199] then strangled with a ligature before his nude body was thrown out of the van[198] and over an embankment into a bed of ivy alongside Highway 101. Bonin was suspected of committing at least 21 murders, and the killings for which he was convicted are shown in italics: On July 1, 1977, Patrick Kearney, the prime suspect in a series of killings of young men known as the "Trash Bag Murders", voluntarily surrendered to Riverside police. [37], Furthermore, from their early childhood to 1957, Bonin and his brothers were frequently placed in the care of their maternal grandfather, a child molester who had sexually abused Bonin's mother until her adulthood, and whom Bonin's mother suspected of molesting his grandsons[31] during the prolonged instances they were under his care. Bonin began asking him about "fags" and homosexuality before accelerating the vehicle and producing a handgun. . Bonin was convicted of 14 murders and put to death in 1996. . Under the guise of providing drugs for him to sell, Bonin parked behind an apartment building before binding the boy by knife-point. [45] In early 1962, the family relocated to 2417 West 187th St. in Torrance, California. Guess we gave him too much of the stuff. I don't like [raping] some limp piece of meat. His condition sourced from his excessive alcohol addiction. Wood's older brother had introduced him to Bonin, so he willingly entered Bonin's van. People believe there were many more victims. [195] After entering the van, Bonin offered him money for sex which was refused. "[102] As McVicker was leaving Bonin's vehicle, Bonin further remarked, "We'll meet again. [59] Nonetheless, Bonin's mother, later expressing extreme disappointment and contempt for her middle son's sexuality and actions,[60][42] evicted her son from the household on at least one occasion for undisclosed reasons. [348] As such, the state of California opted to use lethal injection as an alternate method of execution to the gas chamber, branding the gas chamber a "cruel and unusual" method of execution.[349]. [223], Based on Bonin's confession, police obtained a warrant authorizing a search of Butts' Lakewood property on the same date as Bonin's initial arraignment; this July 25 search uncovered evidence linking Butts to several of the murders to which Bonin had already confessed, and Butts was brought before a Municipal Court on July 29, charged with accompanying Bonin on six murders committed between August 1979 and April 1980. [268], A police investigation into Bonin's background revealed his extensive history of convictions for sexually assaulting teenage boys. [149] They were then sexually assaulted, extensively beaten about the face, torso, head and genitals, and tortured before typically being killed by strangulation with their own T-shirts and a tire iron while letting them fade in and out of consciousness,[14] although some victims were stabbed or battered to death. [98] As a result, Bonin was released from detention on October 11, 1978, albeit with eighteen months' supervised probation. [75] He also bore signs of extensive beating. "[144] To those unaware of his crimes, Bonin who made daily trips to Orange County to buy newspapers reportedly "seemed obsessed" with the case. Bonin would later boast of this killing in an interview with reporter Dave Lopez, stating "that little kid was the easiest one to kill.". [228], Throughout his adult life, Bonin worked in a series of menial professions such as the aforementioned bartendering profession and taxi driving. Approximately four weeks later, on November 30, Bonin operating alone abducted 17-year-old Bellflower youth Frank Dennis Fox;[206] during the process of ligature strangulation, Bonin had killed the youth while still sodomizing him. [42], In July 1974, Bonin rented an apartment in Hollywood with intentions of circulating within the adult gay community, but was largely unsuccessful due to poor social skills and soon relocated to his parents' new house on 10282 Angell Street in Downey, California, while briefly working as a bartender in Fountain Valley. Noting Bonin's frantic state and similar profile to the rapist, she promptly searched him and retrieved handcuffs. Munro was an accomplice of William George Bonin, who admitted to killing 21 boys and was convicted in the rape, torture and murder of 14 of them in Orange and Los Angeles counties. This administrative error totaling approximately $79,424 was only discovered after a funeral director notified the Social Security Administration of Bonin's death. As such, the appellate judges declared their satisfaction with the validity of Bonin's convictions, concluding that Bonin's verdict would not have changed with further mitigating circumstances revealed. [334][n 20] While incarcerated in this capacity, Charvet attempted to secure a change of venue, citing the extensive pretrial publicity surrounding the case in the county minimizing the chances of securing an untainted jury within the jurisdiction; however, this motion was refused by Judge Kenneth Lae, who ruled in November 1982 that there had only been minimal publicity surrounding the Freeway Killer case in Orange County following Bonin's earlier convictions. When Bonin asked Kendrick whether he was gay, Kendrick attempted to flee,[249] but Bonin and Butts overpowered and bound him[180] and Butts sodomized him; Bonin raised the volume of Butts' sound system to cover Kendrick's screams. He's still holding out hope for parole one day. Furious, Bonin resolved to commit a murder. Miley was sentenced to a term of 25 years to life for the first-degree murder of Charles Miranda by Superior Court Judge Bonnie Lee Smith on February 5, 1982. In his testimony, delivered on November 17, Munro stated that shortly after the murder of Wells, he and Bonin drove to a McDonald's restaurant and purchased hamburgers with $10 taken from Wells' wallet. [54] He expressed his disagreement with the State's decision to execute him, stating: "A lot of people believe I should die for what I [have done]. On this date, the jury convicted Bonin of ten of the murders for which he was tried,[324] although he was found not guilty of the murders of Lundgren and King, of committing sodomy upon Grabs, of committing mayhem upon Lundgren,[325] and of robbing one other victim. [256] Bonin then visited Butts' residence and bragged of the killing to his accomplice. Bonin was later convicted of killing 14 people. [261] This counselor reported Pugh's suspicions to the police, who in turn relayed the information to Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) homicide sergeant John St. "Freeway Killer" William George Bonin, who had been accused of the murder of one boy, was charged on July 30, 1988, with an additional 13 counts of murder. Douglas also conceded in his cross-examination that he had previously agreed to testify against serial killer. Charvet then hearkened towards the credibility of some of the delivered testimony, pouring particular scorn upon Miley and Munro, whom he emphasized had turned state's evidence and thus, he alleged, had tailored their testimony to the desires of the police. [52] His primary hobby as a teen was bowling, something at which he performed adequately;[n 3] this hobby would last throughout the course of his teenage years. [313], The strategy of Bonin's defense attorneys, Charvet and Stewart, was to challenge the credibility of numerous prosecution witnesses, and to suggest that extremely significant mitigating factors as to the root causes of Bonin's behavior lay in the extensive physical, sexual, and emotional abuse he had endured throughout his early life. He was also charged with three counts of robbery. Initially doubting Bonin, Miranda began crying and begging for his life. Enraged with Shelton's fear and resistance, Bonin immediately beat the youth, squeezing his genitals and driving his knee into his face until he lost consciousness. [216], According to Miley, Bonin and Miranda engaged in consensual intercourse in the rear of the van as he drove, before Bonin privily stammered to him, "Kid's going to die. John Wayne Gacy, the Killer Clown. After fighting for his life for 17 years, the notorious "Freeway Killer" became the first person to be executed by lethal injection in California. [n 10] One victim, Darin Kendrick, was forced to drink hydrochloric acid; three victims had ice-picks driven into their ears[151][60] and another victim, Mark Shelton, died of shock from impaling. He remained unmoved upon receipt of this sentence, having earlier informed his attorney he fully expected to formally receive the death penalty. [241], Bonin then ordered Pugh to "beat him (Turner) up." [252][253] The body of 17-year-old Lawrence Sharp[9][n 15] was discarded behind a Westminster gas station. For these appeals, Bonin hired new lawyers, who initially submitted contentions that his previous defense attorney, Charvet, had provided inadequate defense at his trials by failing to place sufficient emphasis upon Bonin's bipolar disorder and the sexual abuse he had endured as a child. He's also won several Golden Mike Awards and other honors. Bonin was the first inmate in California to die by this method.[7]. It is located in the town of Windham in Windham County, Connecticut. [31] Lacking motivation and frequently borrowing money from his parents, Bonin joined the military with his mother's encouragement in December 1966. "[310], The method of Bonin's execution was superseded by lethal injection by the state of California in 1992, following the execution of Robert Alton Harris (the first inmate California had executed since 1967). Upon completion of the jury selection process, Bonin's attorney renewed an earlier filed motion that the trial should be moved to a jurisdiction outside of Orange County due to pretrial publicity tainting the jury pool; this renewed motion was again rejected by Lae, who ruled that the trial would begin on June 14. [17] Opponents and advocates of the death penalty alike were in agreement Bonin had endured extensive physical, emotional and sexual abuse throughout his childhood, but much scorn was given to the claims from his attorneys and supporters that his murders had been a direct manifestation of the abuse he had endured, and an attempt to purge his frustration and anger onto his victims. He clocked up almost 1,000 hours of active patrol time in the conflict, even winning a medal for bravery. [198] He encountered 16-year-old Bellflower youth Steven John Wood walking to school. [327] He was cleared of the charges of mayhem and murder against Lundgren because, according to Lpez, he had strenuously denied committing this particular killing in the interviews he had granted to him. Shortly thereafter, Bonin's girlfriend notified his boss of his arrest, adding that the arrest was in connection to the Freeway Killer case and causing Munro already apprehensive at Bonin's absence from work that day to become frantic. Classified Ads. [266], Following his Orange County convictions, Bonin was transferred from the Orange County jail to San Quentin State Prison, to await execution in the gas chamber.[343]. [141] A subsequent coroner's investigation revealed Butts had unsuccessfully attempted to take his own life on at least four occasions prior to his arrest. Second, it is a psychological roadmap which charts the evolution of Bonin's personality from abused child to sexual . [155] Reserving Sundays for his girlfriend, he typically cruised the freeways on Fridays and Saturdays. [42], Bonin regularly attended group therapy sessions while incarcerated at Atascadero. Contemporary records reveal Bonin fainted "dead away for ten minutes" from stress related to acknowledging his sexual orientation during his first interview at the Atascadero hospital. [23][31][n 1] Loosing his restraints, the orphan bound and performed fellatio on Bonin before attempting to rape him and forcing Bonin to orally copulate him. In 1974 he was released on probation, and in 1975 his probation was revoked for kidnapping and raping two teenaged boys. [209] His body was found on December 13; Kilpatrick remained known as a John Doe until August 5, 1980. [143] Bonin himself later confessed to a psychologist his feeling a sense of social belonging with his accomplices in murder that he had never previously experienced with any other individuals. Munro also later testified that Butts had actively dissuaded Bonin from discarding Wells' body in the nearby canyons due to the late hour, and general police presence caused by recent media coverage.

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