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1:00

to the Serial Killer

1:02

Podcast. The podcast dedicated

1:04

to serial killers. Who

1:06

they were, what they did and

1:08

how. Episode 214. I

1:13

am your humble host, Thomas Rosland

1:15

Weiburg Thun. And this

1:17

episode airs on the 25th of

1:20

December, Christmas Day. So

1:23

I would like to wish my dear

1:25

listeners a very Merry Christmas. Gueul

1:28

as we say here in the high

1:30

north. And a happy new

1:32

year. So sit back

1:34

and relax. Perhaps with

1:36

some mulled wine and Christmas

1:38

cookies. As I present to

1:40

you the continuation of

1:43

the tale of the hillside

1:45

strangers. Kenneth Bianchi and

1:47

Angelo Bono. We left

1:49

off last episode with the murder

1:52

of Yolanda Washington. Our

1:54

killer's background story is thus at

1:57

an end. And now we

1:59

continue. where we left off

2:01

two episodes ago. Enjoy.

2:07

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2:09

told by me, would not be

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possible without my loyal Patreonies. They

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2:24

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2:26

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2:34

You are truly the backbone

2:36

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and without you there would be

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want to show you that your patronage

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So don't miss out and join now.

4:05

Thanksgiving Week 1977 will

4:08

be remembered as a

4:10

true week of terror

4:13

and horror in the history of

4:15

Los Angeles. No

4:18

one except Frank Salerno and a

4:20

couple of other officers had

4:22

paid attention to similarities between

4:24

the Judy Miller and Lisa

4:26

Kastin murders, and as

4:28

for Yolanda Washington, she had been dead

4:30

for more than a month and might

4:32

soon have been written off as

4:35

just another murdered prostitute. But

4:38

now, in a mere annoying

4:40

days, five more bodies,

4:43

all of them nude young women or

4:45

girls, turned up on

4:47

hillsides in the Glendale Highland

4:49

Park area, and connections among

4:51

them were obvious to everyone.

4:54

Buono and Bianchi's acts, though

4:57

not their identities, had finally

4:59

penetrated the consciousness of the

5:01

city. Not a morning nor

5:04

an afternoon passed for the citizens

5:07

without them being confronted in the

5:09

newspapers and on radio and

5:11

television with news of the killings.

5:15

The fear, even the certainty,

5:17

that the hillsides' strangler, as

5:20

Buono and Bianchi, came quickly

5:22

and collectively to be called,

5:24

would strike soon again. The

5:27

term hillsides' strangler seemed

5:30

to spring up spontaneously once

5:32

police began referring to the

5:34

hillsides' murders, with no

5:37

one able to claim sole authorship. Nor

5:40

did police object to the use of

5:42

the singular, though they

5:44

were convinced that there had to be

5:46

more than one strangler. The

5:49

less the killers thought was known about them,

5:51

the better. In

5:54

the city, women became afraid to drive

5:56

their cars alone at night. Parents

5:59

feared for their lives. daughters, self-defense

6:01

classes for women multiplied.

6:04

City parks were deserted, sails

6:07

of mace, tear gas and

6:09

guns exploded. Women

6:11

debated what they would do if confronted

6:13

by the strangler. The

6:15

options discussed was if it was better

6:17

to try to run away, to fight,

6:20

to scream, or to cooperate,

6:22

so as not to make him angry. Some

6:25

people thought that the stranglings were a

6:27

message from God, vengeance on

6:30

a valueless city. The

6:32

Times soon ran a feature story

6:34

carrying the headline, The

6:36

Southland's New Neighbor, Fair.

6:40

Such headlines and stories

6:42

proliferated in all the media. They

6:45

increased, of course, the fear

6:47

they reported, but they

6:50

reflected reality. No phrase

6:52

could better describe the mood of

6:54

the city then and for months

6:56

to come than the title of

6:58

the 1950 Richard Widmark film

7:00

called Panic in the Streets.

7:05

On Sunday, the 20th of

7:07

November, Sergeant Bob Grogan had

7:09

planned an outing on his

7:11

boat, but for him

7:13

there was no possibility of deep-sea fishing

7:15

that day. He mildly

7:17

cursed when, reading the Sunday paper

7:20

while his wife was off at

7:22

mass, he got the call

7:24

to go immediately to the corner

7:27

of Ranon's Way and Wawona Avenue

7:29

in the hills that separate Glendale

7:31

from Eagle Rock. Had

7:34

he known that he was embarking on

7:36

what would become an obsession that would

7:38

consume six years of his life, he

7:41

would have cursed more vigorously. The

7:46

area surrounding the crime scene was all

7:48

twisty little streets among low

7:50

hills, not the sort of place

7:52

a killer could get away from

7:55

quickly unless he knew it as well

7:57

as his own neighborhood. The Dead

7:59

Girl lay on her side under

8:01

a small tree. Opposite

8:04

was a vacant lot, but elsewhere

8:06

modest houses lined the streets. Had

8:09

it not been a Sunday, the body would have

8:11

been discovered earlier. Grogan

8:14

arrived just after noon. Approaching

8:17

the body, Grogan thought immediately of

8:19

his own teenage daughter, and tried

8:21

to banish the thought. He

8:24

noticed the ligature marks at the

8:27

neck, wrists, and ankles. When

8:29

a coroner's assistance turned her over,

8:32

blood trickled from her rectum.

8:35

And Grogan had no trouble making

8:37

deductions based from that. It

8:40

was his belief, based on

8:42

his investigations of scores of

8:44

rape murder cases, that

8:46

the victims were often sodomized,

8:49

and often so after the

8:51

murder itself. Necrophilia,

8:53

Grogan felt sure, was

8:56

far more common human activity

8:58

than generally believed. Because

9:01

almost anyone would sooner admit

9:03

to murder than to enjoying sex

9:05

with dead bodies, it

9:08

was a difficult crime to prove.

9:12

Small bruises showed around her breasts,

9:15

and then, examining her more closely,

9:17

Grogan noticed something that made him

9:20

think at first he

9:22

was looking at the body of a drug addict. Puncture

9:25

marks on the inner arms. But

9:28

there were only two puncture marks,

9:31

none of the usual scars and

9:33

needle tracks of the addict. The

9:35

rectal bleeding, and the

9:37

absence of the body of any

9:40

obvious signs of a dissipated drug

9:42

existence, suggested to Grogan

9:44

that she might have been tortured

9:46

before, during, or after the killing,

9:49

maybe all three. He

9:51

stepped back and looked about. He

9:54

noticed no footprints or disturbances

9:56

of any kind on

9:58

the ground around her. and the

10:00

body showed no signs of having been

10:02

dragged. He concluded that she

10:05

had been placed where she lay, probably

10:07

by more than one man, removed from

10:10

a car that had then

10:12

sped off, but the driver must

10:14

have known the neighborhood. While

10:18

Grogan was writing up his preliminary

10:21

report and speaking to the coroner's

10:23

office that afternoon, learning

10:25

that no drugs had been found in the body,

10:27

a small boy

10:30

was making another discovery. At

10:33

about four o'clock on the other

10:35

western side of the Elysian Valley,

10:38

Armando Guerrero, nine years old, was

10:40

playing in a trash heap on

10:42

a shady slope about

10:44

fifty feet below the obscure little

10:46

street called Landa. It

10:48

was dark and damp and

10:51

a little scary, a great place

10:53

for a kid to sift through trash for

10:55

treasures. That

10:57

afternoon, as the November light

11:00

began to fail, Armando thought

11:02

he spotted something unusual in

11:04

the trash pile along with the

11:06

old mattresses and bottles and cans.

11:09

Armando saw two department store

11:11

mannequins lying head to

11:14

foot together amid the junk. The

11:16

boy thought they would be great to

11:18

take back home. He approached

11:21

one, reaching down to tug at its

11:23

foot, but then he noticed

11:25

a dark circle around the ankle, with

11:28

ants feeding in it. Armando

11:30

was frightened. He uttered

11:32

a prayer to the blessed virgin and ran

11:35

home to tell his brother. When

11:37

the brother, Alonso, seventeen years

11:40

old, touched the mannequins,

11:42

he re-telephoned the police, saying

11:45

that the mannequins were very stiff but

11:47

that he was afraid they were very

11:49

real. He thought he had seen

11:52

blood on them. In

11:55

fact, these were two little girls,

11:58

so fragile, helpless, and dead,

12:01

rot working away at their faces.

12:05

Through the greenish slime on one

12:07

mouth, he saw

12:09

blood-clothered braces on the teeth.

12:12

He summoned LAPD homicide. It

12:15

was Bob Grogan's partner, Dudley

12:18

Varnie, who examined the bodies.

12:20

Sergeant Varnie estimated at once that the

12:23

girls had been dead for a week.

12:26

He noticed the ligature marks, the absence

12:28

of any clothes or jewelry, the smears

12:30

of dried blood, the army's

12:32

advance. Tired

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activate the 14-day trial period. Looking

13:30

up toward Landa Street, Varney

13:32

speculated that the girls' bodies had

13:34

been tossed from there and had

13:36

rolled down onto the trash heap.

13:39

One man could have done the job. The

13:42

girls were so small. But

13:44

that seemed unlikely. Varney

13:47

asked the boys whether they recognized the

13:49

girls. They said no, but

13:51

the older brother said that he had

13:53

heard that two girls were missing from

13:56

St. Ignatius School. A

13:58

poster had been distributed offering The

16:00

possibility of capturing both

16:03

girls multiplied pleasurable anticipations.

16:06

An orgy, followed by a

16:08

twin killing. When the girls

16:10

got off the bus on York Boulevard,

16:13

Bono and Bianchi motioned them over

16:15

to the car. Flashing their

16:17

fake badges, Bianchi told the girls that

16:20

a burglar was loose in the neighborhood.

16:23

He was armed and dangerous. The

16:26

girls had better accept a ride home from

16:28

the police. Dolores and

16:30

Sonia, who had just stolen

16:32

about a hundred dollars worth of costume

16:35

jewelry from a shop at the plaza,

16:38

were anxious to cooperate for fear

16:40

that their crime would be discovered.

16:42

And at first, when they were told to strip

16:45

down at Bono's quote unquote

16:48

satellite police station, they

16:50

thought that ever being searched, it

16:53

did not take long for them

16:55

to realize that what they thought

16:57

had been police officers were in

16:59

fact the exact opposite.

17:02

But by then it was of course

17:04

far too late. Bono

17:08

and Bianchi, after getting their sexual

17:10

fill from the girls, each of

17:12

them raping the girls both vaginally

17:15

and anally, murdered Sonia

17:17

first in the spare bedroom. When

17:20

they came into the living room to get Dolores,

17:23

she asked plaintively, where's

17:25

Sonia? Bono told

17:27

her not to worry, as she would

17:29

soon see her again. The

17:32

jewelry the girls had stolen was

17:34

a great temptation to Bianchi, but

17:37

Bono was watching too closely and

17:39

made sure that it went into the

17:42

dumpster along with the girls' clothing and

17:44

the jewelry they had been wearing. These

17:47

included ceramic pins of

17:49

unicorns, cloudbursts, rainbows, a

17:52

thin gold plated necklace with charms,

17:55

a floating heart and a teddy bear. Bianchi

17:58

happened to be driving his car. his

18:00

girlfriend's Mazda station wagon this

18:02

time, and it proved

18:04

convenient transport. With

18:06

the two bodies laid out in the back under

18:08

a blanket, Bono directed Bianchi

18:11

to the cow patch. It

18:13

gave Bono particular pleasure to dump

18:15

the bodies there as

18:18

it reminded him of childhood picnics.

18:23

Then came Christina Weckler. They

18:26

had driven over to Hollywood and

18:28

observed the heavy concentration of police,

18:30

and they knew that there were others

18:33

under cover. They required

18:35

something nearer to hand. Bianchi,

18:38

remembering Christina as a girl who had

18:40

spurned him at 809 East Garfield, checked

18:45

to see whether she still lived there by

18:47

making an anonymous phone call to her. A

18:50

few days later, on that Saturday

18:52

night, with Bono waiting

18:54

in the Cadillac, Bianchi knocked

18:56

on Christina's door and,

18:58

showing her his badge, said, and

19:00

I quote, Hi! Remember

19:03

me? It's Kenny Bianchi. I

19:06

used to live next door. How's it going?

19:09

Listen, I'm a member of the police

19:11

reserve now. See, they even give you

19:13

a badge. I was just

19:16

patrolling the neighborhood, and I noticed your

19:18

car, the VW, right? Well,

19:20

wouldn't you know it? It looks like

19:22

somebody's crashed into it, right there in

19:24

the parking lot. If you'll

19:26

come out and help me, write up a

19:29

report. It might help you collect

19:31

on your insurance. End

19:33

quote. That

19:36

was all it took. Having

19:38

done everything sexually they could think

19:40

of to Christina, finding

19:43

themselves at the moment for murder,

19:46

they agreed that they ought to try

19:48

something different for the sake of experiments

19:50

and to confuse the cops. Bono

19:54

said he had just a thing. He

19:57

fetched from his cigar box, a

19:59

hypodermic The

22:00

red hair. They. Waited for

22:02

her to drive off again and then

22:04

followed her. They. Had

22:06

their badges, And. The

22:09

handcuffs and this time on Buono

22:11

had suffered a forty five automatic

22:13

into his belts. Bianca.

22:16

Was driving the Cadillac. When. Lauren

22:18

turned onto her own streets. Be

22:20

on. Keep it off the Cadillac

22:22

alongside Lawrence Mustang. Bono

22:25

held his badge up to the window

22:27

and pointed forcefully for her to pull.

22:30

Bianca. Got outs and toddler and ever

22:32

going to have to take are in. The

22:35

when Lauren said that they would have to talk to

22:37

her father. Who. Was in the

22:39

house just nearby. Bianca dragged are

22:42

out of the car. And

22:44

into his. She shouted that they

22:46

would Not get away with this. Back

22:50

gets the house. Bono won the

22:52

coin slip. And. Into spare

22:54

bedroom with him. Lauren.

22:56

Told him that he had nothing

22:58

to worry about. She liked sex.

23:00

she said. She. Had spent hours

23:03

in bed with her boyfriend that evening and

23:05

was ready for more. When.

23:07

Blow know past her over to be on T.

23:10

Bono. Said that this was the best

23:12

one so far. She. Knew what

23:14

she was doing. She enjoyed it. Be.

23:17

Okay would have a great time. Not.

23:20

And of course have not enjoyed a

23:22

second of the rates. But. She

23:24

was an intelligent young woman and had

23:26

recent with ourselves that her best hope.

23:29

Was to try to cooperate and as much

23:31

as possible. Smart. Us

23:34

that might be. It did

23:36

nothing. To. Save her! Ass

23:39

with Christina Wexler. Burrow.

23:42

Know suggested that I try something new.

23:45

He. Brought in an electrical cord from

23:47

his shop. Pair. The way the

23:49

insulation on one end. Separated.

23:51

The wires take them to Lawrence

23:53

Hands and plugged in the court.

23:57

As. Lauren was electrocuted. Causing.

24:00

Learning and insane amounts of

24:02

pain. She. Trembled and

24:04

moan behind her gag. But.

24:06

The shock did not kill her. Bow.

24:09

On our he wrapped her hands and try it

24:11

again. Repeatedly. Putting the plug

24:13

in the socket and pulling it out. But.

24:16

Again, she refused to die.

24:19

Even though they found the electro

24:21

tortures to be some, the cousins

24:23

was sexually sated. And. Wanted to

24:25

get the job done. So. They

24:28

put a plastic bag over our heads but

24:30

accord around her neck. And strangled

24:32

her to does. It.

24:35

Have been reckless. They are to each

24:37

other. To. Take the girl from

24:39

almost directly in front of her

24:41

parents' house. That. Car

24:43

the time supporter divorce had to have

24:46

been a black and white sedan, leading

24:48

police to suspect. That. The Strangler

24:50

was posing as a policeman. They.

24:52

Agreed. That. Next time

24:55

they were try an entirely

24:57

new approach. The

24:59

abduction should be made from

25:01

a completely safe place. Tired

25:06

of ads interrupting your gripping investigations?

25:09

Good. News ad free listening on Amazon.

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the saga of the Hillside Stranglers.

26:09

In two weeks, I will

26:11

bring to you part 8. So

26:13

as they say in the land of radio, stay tuned.