Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - “The Freeway Killer” - William Bonin

Episode Date: November 27, 2017

William Bonin drove California’s freeways, picking up hitchhiking men and boys and driving them to their deaths. As a child, he was abused by almost everyone he met--family, classmates and authority figures - leading to complete desensitization. Greg and Vanessa discuss Bonin’s hunger for power and addiction to torture, rape, and murder.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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You in? Must be 21 to enter. Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes dramatizations and discussions of murder and assault that some people may find offensive. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. When you think California at its roads, pristine images of vast mountain vistas and cool Pacific sunsets come flooding in. Songwriters and poets alike have spun many empathetic and emotional yarns about the Golden States freeways. Tales of freedom, love, and adventure. But while many focus on the positive sides of the road for their ballads,

there is also a much grimmer, darker side. The coastal highways and byways of California are littered with urban legends of robbers, stalkers, and brutal killers. Their tales are one of caution, harpingers to the innocent and naive that believe their journeys are safe. The most feared of these tales is arguably that, that of the freeway killer, William Bonin. Bonin was a cruel, malicious monster, a boogeyman who stalked the roads between Orange County and Los Angeles.

And like many monsters of old ballads, his singular hunger was for the innocent. More specifically, adolescent boys. In a dark green, Ford-a-Connelline van, Bonin approached unsuspecting male hitchhikers and pedestrians. He had charm, a jovial laugh. and a countenance of concern for the poor lads. He didn't want them to walk alone in the hot sun. Boys, sometimes as young as 12 years old, would enter Bonin's van and never return.

Days later, their corpses would be found, discarded, battered, and humiliated. From 1979 to 1980, William Bonin murdered over 20 young men and boys, up and down the four of five, Highway 5 and many freeways between Orange County and Los Angeles. A fact Bonin was proud of saying, quote, the more I killed, the easier it became.

The easier it got, the more I had to do it. Hi, I'm Greg Polson, and this is serial killers. Today we're going to take a deep dive into the infamy of William Bonin, the freeway killer. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson. Now, Vanessa is not a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist, but she's done a lot of research for this show. Hi, everyone.

We'd like to ask a quick favor. Would you leave a five-star review of serial killers on your favorite podcast directory? It seems so simple, but it really helps us out. And don't forget to subscribe while you're there because a new episode comes out every Monday. You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram at Parcast.

And on Twitter at Parcast Network. A quick note. In this week's episode, all quotes will be performed by actors. However, these lines are quoted from primary research sources and presented exactly as those people stated them. Prosecutors called him

the most arch-evil person who ever existed, a soulless monster. To the rest of the world, he was Bonin, the freeway killer. Where does one begin to understand a fiend such as his finesse? Hard to say, Greg. Police psychologists and psychiatricks alike have struggled to understand the motives of William Bonin.

Was he born a monster? Or was he a victim of neglect, abuse and abandonment. All could be contributing factors into what made William Bonin one of the more twisted serial killers we've featured on our show. Agreed. Bonin's criminal track record doesn't simply start with his murders. It goes as far back as age nine,

when he first began sexually abusing his younger brother and several other neighborhood youths. The horror story of William Bonin begins 1941 in the quaint town of Willamantic, Connecticut, where he was born and raised. It's here that Robert and Alice Bonin settled down and decided to start a family. But when World War II broke out, Robert Bonin enlisted, disappearing into the ranks of the brave men and women,

fighting to save the free world from tyranny. Robert later returned, but he had changed. War had taken its toll on Robert Bonin. He became much more vocal about his dissatisfaction with the state of his life and his home and his family. Pretty soon that dissatisfaction grew from simple outbursts. to random violence. Robert began to beat his wife in fits of rage.

Of course, remorse followed quickly, and the couple would reconcile. This sad cycle of abuse became the rhythm to which their lives revolved. Then, on January 8, 1947, William George Bonin was born, their second child of three. You'd think that the birth of their children

would have quelled some of the domestic violence. Sadly, that wasn't the case. Robert's insatiable rage only seemed to grow now that he had more mouths to feed. His violence quickly turned toward his young sons. Beatings became regular at the Bonin household. Most were induced by Robert's growing alcoholism. William was no more than a toddler when he first felt his father's wrath.

The years of abuse also took a toll on poor Alice. She too fell into alcoholism, and because of this, she began to neglect even her more basic maternal duties, such as feeding and clothing the boys. To the neighbors, the Boninian. were a troubled lot. Many took pity on the modern children. Families would invite them into their homes and giving them food, attention, and even clothes. But it wasn't enough to placate the horrors they faced at home from their father. Not only did they suffer at the hands of their father, but also their

grandfather. William's maternal grandfather was a convicted child molester and pedophile. He had sexually abused his daughter Alice multiple times during her childhood and adolescence. Now he had access to three young boys. Alice later recounted that she wasn't surprised her father abused his grandchildren. Alice said, quote, I hate to say it, makes me sick thinking about it, but it was common in our family. My father had most of my life, even tried it after I was married, end quote. To make matters worse, Alice also believed that her husband Robert was raping their children. She said she could just tell. These violent moments of molestation, verbal and physical abuse, these were the only times young William got any attention from his father and grandfather.

Yeah, it's revolting. Yes. With no strong parental figure, let alone positive role model, William was thrust into a harsh world. There, the weak, were preyed upon daily. He learned quickly that he was merely a piece of meat, used either for pleasure or stress relief. This was the imprint his male role models instilled in him. As Alice came to realize the trouble her sons were in, she began to sink into depression and alcoholism. She also suffered from extreme mood swings, sometimes loving the boys and other times being absolutely furious with them for no apparent reason.

A trait that was also passed down to William. She did try to help her boys, though. In 1953, Alice sent her boys away to an orphanage for better care and to keep them away from their grandfather. Bonin was only six years old. Things quickly went from bad to worse for the boys. The orphanage used draconian punishments to discipline the children. Should anyone break the rules, they would be beaten repeatedly, sometimes until they bled. Offenders were also forced to hold stress positions, like push-ups or half-squots without moving for long durations, sometimes five minutes, other times 15.

And if the administrators were feeling especially cruel, over half an hour. worst of all, the new boys were also forced into simulated drownings, held either in sinks or toilets by the older boys or even the faculty, a sort of baptism by drowning. When Bonin was around eight years old, a visiting Catholic priest came to the orphanage. While he spoke of purity and the healing powers of God, his true intentions were misery and woe. The priest molested and sometimes even raped the young boys. one by one, the priest worked his way through the children until at last he came to poor William Bonin.

The priest prayed upon Bonin on multiple occasions, taking advantage of the impressionable lad. This went on for two years. If Bonnan ever refused the priest, restraints were used to hold the child down. Finally, the priest's time at the orphanage ended, but the lessons of cruelty he taught William stayed. Some of the older boys also began to pick on William,

and not just through verbal or physical abuse. No, the boys began to sexually assault Bonnet. At this point, however, Bonin had almost become desensitized to the trauma. I only agreed if they bound my hands. Bonin was eight years old when he made this request. Oh, how terrible. Such a young boy subjected to such shame, and to become so trained and regulated to it, it makes my skin crawl.

Indeed. I mean, how unlucky to come into contact with that kind of abuse. And so often. Which brings me to my next question. Why ask for bonds? I mean, what purpose was there in having his hands and feet restrained during the act? Did he not want the option to fight back? Well, habit, I would imagine.

More than likely, in many of his other encounters, he had been held down or tied up while being sexually violated. We know that the priest often held him down, as did his grandfather. To young William, this was his sexual education. There was no love, no compassion, just raw, unforgiving. force. If you wanted someone or something, you simply took it. Bonin asked for bonds because, in his mind, he assumed that that was what was supposed to happen. He was developing a warped idea of how sex was handled, one that would stay with him the rest of his life. In 1956, Alice took the boys

out of the orphanage in Willamantic and brought them to their new home in Mansfield, Connecticut. While the home was new, the abuse stayed the same. Bonin's father continued to mistreat the boys and his gambolns and drinking problems showed no sign of slowing down. With no one to look after him again, William Bonin sank into a delinquency problem pretty quickly after he returned home. He and other kids he roped into helping him would go on thieving sprees all across town. This went on for about a year. Finally, the law caught up to him.

10-year-old Bonin was arrested in 1957 for stealing license plates off cars. Bonin was then sent to a juvenile detention center and reformatory. There, he consensually engaged in sexual acts with older boys and even his counselor. Bonin was sentenced to four years at the detention facility, from 1957 to 1961. Upon his release, he was put back into custody of his parents. He was now 14. Having fallen on hard financial times and facing foreclosure on their home, Robert opted to relocate his family.

Selling their home and packing what little they had, the family moved to California. The Bonin settled in a modest home on Angel Street in the city of Downey. Soon afterwards, however, Bonin's father died of cancer. There was little mourning among the family. With Robert gone, Alice had to take more responsibility for her family. Bonin, however, returned to his old tricks, theft, robbery, and grand theft. This was also a time when he introduced the local children to his brand of power. Bonin began to molest the younger neighborhood boys.

Like those who had tortured him, he tied them up and subjected them to whatever vulgarity he could come up with. At his molestation didn't stop with the local children. Bonin also engaged in forced sexual acts with his younger brother, carrying on the dark tradition his father and grandfather taught him. Tell me, Vanessa, why would he do that to his own brother? This may have been a display of dominance, almost as if he was training himself. Training himself? Well, Bonin didn't want to be a victim the rest of his own brother.

his life. To feel the shame of being mistreated over and over, by attacking his brother and the other neighborhood kids, he elevated himself from prey to predator. In his mind, this would make sure he wouldn't be victimized ever again. Bonin's mother knew something was wrong with William. She finally tried to help guide him. Perhaps it was too little too late. Bonnet had become a full-on rapist. If he wasn't in school, he was out committing crimes or molesting children. Mom meant well. I don't hold anything against her, but she just didn't understand.

As Bonnan went into high school, Alice continued to try and tame the wild child. She even convinced him to get engaged to a local girl, much to Bonnan's chagrin. Don't know why she thought that would be what calms me down. Guess she had hoped that the love of a good woman would have made me normal. Bonin reluctantly agreed to the engagement and later to be wed after he graduated. high school in 1965, but he found a way out. On November 1st, 1965, the Vietnam War broke out. And while many only found disappointment in the Indochina conflict, Bonin found himself.

We'll return to our story in just a moment from the Pardcast Network. And now let's continue our story. As we discussed before the break, William Bonin had been physically abused his entire life. If it wasn't on the hands of his grandfather, then it was his own father. When he was placed in the care of an orphanage, a Catholic priest continued the onslaught of abuse, along with several other tortured young boys. Everywhere he went, Bonin was sexually assaulted. As he grew older, he assaulted others, continuing the cycle.

After a dark adolescence, Bonin graduated from high school in 1965, just in time to take part in one of America's most infamous conflicts, the Vietnam War. To him, I'm sure it sounded like the perfect opportunity to take out some of his deep-seated hatred for the world around him. Yes. William joined the Air Force shortly after the war began in 1965. He began to train as a helicopter gunner. Now, tell me, Vanessa, what do you think this would have done to a psyche? Would this have quelled his darker tendencies at all, or would he have been spurred on by his lust for violence? Well, I'm afraid it may have made things worse.

Time in the military would have taught Bonin to disassociate himself from death and violence. that violence and ultimately killing were okay, provided he did it for the right reasons. True, Bonin would have learned discipline and how to function around others, but the military had a hierarchy, like his family, and Bonin had to learn to fit into it. And like his family, the better he got at violence, the stronger and more revered he would be. So you're saying the military would have just supported his notions of violence and power?

Well, perhaps. More than anything, the ravages of war would have also showed him that his want and need for violence was okay. That as long as he provided a service, it was okay for him to rape and kill. Anyone that goes over there who learns aggression there and spend a year. I guarantee you're going to come back knowing aggression.

Shortly after finishing basic training and gunnery school, Bonin was assigned to the 205th assault support helicopter company of the 11th Aviation Battalion. The unit was first activated in August of 1965 before being actively deployed in Vietnam in 1967 in Fuloi. Bonin was assigned to an attack helicopter, providing covering fire for the troops below. For the next five months in 1967,

Bonin logged almost 700 hours of combat. Passing over the dense jungles of Vietnam, Bonin rained down screaming hot lead on the VC. You could see them all below, scurring around like ants. Sometimes it would seem like there was hundreds all running about getting themselves killed. No real goal or ultimate purpose. Vietnam was an important time in my life.

It was there I figured out perhaps my most important lesson. Human life is overrated. It's terrifying. How could he say such things? Well, again, look at his childhood. Since Bonin was born, most of his life has been a patchwork of a bit. abuse and sexual violence. His parents, the most important people in a child's development, were absent most of the time. And if they were there, it usually meant he was about to get a beating

or worse. Even when Bonnan was sent away, he was only met with more pain and suffering. More than likely, Bonin must have assumed his life really didn't matter much, except to be tormented. That must have made him angry, not only at himself, but at the world around him. As he got older, he resorted to the same kind of violence inflicted on him to get his aggression out. Now, in war, Bonin could escalate that violence further. Bonin realized that in war, he could be a master of death, that lives of his enemies ultimately depended on his merciful grace, something he didn't have.

Perhaps it was that love of violence that made him such a good soldier. Not only had he logged 700 hours in a chopper, he was commended for his effort. William Bonin received several awards and even a medal for bravery. During a skirmish, one of Bonin's gunners was hit by, enemy fire. The soldier screamed, nearly falling out of the chopper. Out of his own volition, Bonin left his gun. He went over to his comrade, avoiding the bullet storm flying around him. He pulled the man back into the chopper and returned to his gun and opened fire on the enemy

combatants. It's hard to believe that William Bonin risked his life for another human being. Well, regardless, the military was proud of his service and decided to award him the Medal of Good conduct. This medal was awarded to soldiers on active duty who had suffered no infractions, court martial offenses, or any non-judicial punishments. Bonin accepted the word graciously. Even harder to believe he had gotten away with no infractions, or at least none that he was caught for. Indeed. While on the surface, Bonin seemed like a model soldier. Off duty, he was anything but. Bonin engaged in numerous extracurricular activities while touring the South historian. Out there as anything goes, I slept with any number of men, and women for that matter.

Bonin claimed most of his sexual exploits while stationed in Vietnam were consensual, but of course there were the few exceptions. As Bonin rose through the ranks, his zest for power seemed to stir in him darker cravings. During the Tet offensive, Bonin sexually assaulted two soldiers below his rank. He cornered each man when they were alone. He then produced a pistol, threatening to shoot them unless they did what he said. From there, Bonnan would tie their hands and feet together. Why rape soldiers below his rank? Well, I would assume it has to go back to that idea of power and hierarchy. As a higher ranking officer, Bonin probably assumed that he had a right, no, a duty, to make sure those men knew he was in charge. This

further goes back to Bonin's deep-seated fear of appearing weak or vulnerable. He raped not for pleasure, but to prove himself a superior person. Once his five months were up, Bonin was honorably discharged from the Air Force in October of 1968. No one had reported the unlawful sexual acts Bonin had inflicted on his fellow soldiers. Shortly thereafter, Bonin returned home to his fiancée and mother in Downey, California. Bonin was now 21 years old. Bonin married his fiance, but the marriage quickly fell through once she caught wind of Bonin's dark past. Bonin's two brothers also moved on, leaving only Alice to deal with her troubled son.

After the divorce, Bonin moved back in with his mother. While on the surface, he seemed like the devoted son taking care of his mother. Underneath it all, he was a thirsty monster. He turned his attention to the young neighborhood boys that lived in his area. As he looked at them with lust and hunger, terrible ideas began to fill his head. Bonin began to prowl his neighborhood for nubile young men. he could figuratively and literally sink his teeth into. Once again, we warn you that the following deals with intense acts of sexual violence and torture.

Extreme discretion is advised, especially for listeners under 13. On November 17, 1968, Bonin found his first victim. It was a 12-year-old boy. He lured the boy into his car and drove him to a secluded area. Once away from prying eyes, Bonin pounced. Bonin forced the boy into oral copulation. When he fought back, Bonin bludgeoned his face and head with a tire iron. Then he restrained the boy's hands and feet with cord.

Afterwards, Bonham sodomized the poor child repeatedly. Bonin released the terrified child and fled into the night. Over the course of four months from December 1968 to March of 1969, Bonin raped four more victims, all of them young men between the ages of 12 and 14. In each case, Bonin kept a similar modus operandi, luring young men into his car before binding their hands and feet and violating them. With each victim, Bonin got more and more creative, too.

He began to bring tools along with him regularly and also removed interior handles of his van to prevent escape. Essentially, Bonin was repeating that which is forced on to him. Vanessa, what is it that makes someone repeat that? kind of torture to someone else. Well, trauma is like a snowball, rolling down a hill. If not stopped, the snowball grows in size, picking up mass and acceleration, thus increasing its speed towards calamity.

Bonin was never properly treated or counseled during his childhood. As such, and I'm sure with many others in a similar situation, the only way he thought he could deal with his shame and anger was to pass it on. If others felt what he felt, perhaps he could find some solace. But Bonin didn't just rape his victims. No, sadly. As Bonin claimed more victims, he began to escalate the violence. Bonin started to not only beat these young men, but torture them as well.

William beat these poor young men specifically aiming for their heads or faces. Sometimes he would use his hands, other times tools. To top it all off, he would also damage their genitals by squeezing or smashing them with blunt instruments. Justice, however, was just around the corner. for William Bonnan. The victims notified the police and an investigation was launched. Thankfully, in March of 1969, Bonin was arrested, trying to restrain a 16-year-old victim in his car.

Police surrounded him and forced him from the car. The boy was saved. Bonin was indicted on five counts of kidnapping, four counts of sodomy, one count of oral copulation, and one count of child molestation against the five youths he abducted, and one attempted for the boy he had just kidnapped. So tell me, Vanessa, what are your thoughts on Bonnet's methodology? Why the young men? And what did he hope to gain from torturing these poor boys? Well, as I mentioned earlier, Bonin sought to rectify what had happened to him in his youth. But also, you have to understand that to Bonin, his childhood torture was essentially his education about

sex. To him, sex wasn't just about pleasure. It was about power, pain. Bonin had been a victim his entire life. Now he could take that power back by inflicting the same form of torment on others. It was a combination of twisted retribution and sexual gratification. He became that which he hated and feared. His father, grandfather, the boys at the juvenile detention center, and of course the priest. He knew nothing else. You also have to remember that his only real understanding of physical affection and lust came from those early childhood traumas. To him, if he wanted, something, he had to take it by force. If anyone fought back, he simply got rougher. Sickening. So do you think this was a case of nurture over nature?

Well, it's tough to say. While it's clear his childhood had a lasting effect on him, he also chose to continue the cycle of abuse. That's interesting. Now, Bonin pleaded guilty to the molestation and forced oral copulation charges. He was sentenced to a Tascadero State hospital as a patient. A Tascadero is an all-male maximum security psychiatric facility, located at the central coast of California, between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Bonin was classified as a disordered sexual offender, a common diagnosis for rapists and the homosexuals lumped in with him at the time. Bonin was sentient to observation by psychiatrists. They hoped to understand his condition and how to cure it. Doctors were surprised by what they found.

Bonin was incredibly intelligent, testing at 120 on an IQ test. Doctors also found that he suffered from manic depression, which causes long periods of sadness and also heightened mood swings. More interestingly, doctors found that Bonin's body was covered in scars. Docs kept asking me all these bizarre questions, mostly about the scars on my body. Do you remember how you got this? Do you remember how you got that? Where's that from? I was a stupid.

Then they had the ball. to ask me if I'd ever been sexually abused as a kid? I told them no. Of course, that couldn't have been farther from the truth. The examinations revealed extensive scar tissue and damage to Bonin's rectum, anus, and buttock. This led doctors to suspect a history of sexual abuse. When they asked, of course, he deflected. Clearly, he felt great shame in what had happened to him.

More interestingly, though, doctors also noticed severe damage to his head, especially the prefrontal cortex of his brain. That section of your brain helps to regulate complex cognitive behavior, personality, expression, decision-making, and moderate social behavior. Without it, it's hard for a person to control themselves or learn restraint. This helped to explain Bonin's aggressive need to rape and murder. It was an insatiable want that the brain couldn't properly deal with. So then it was a case of nurture over nature?

Again, not necessarily. Even if he wasn't beaten, given Bonin's family history, it could have only been a matter of time until he lashed out. Both his parents were alcoholics, and it seemed as though Bonin was addicted to what he did, so addiction was clearly present and passed down. His grandfather and father were pedophiles. Bonin also chose to only hurt young men and boys. You'd also remember that Alice Bonin suffered extreme mood swings and fits of depression. What did the doctors that a Teskadero diagnosed Bonin with? Manic depression.

Right. But who knows? Perhaps Bonin would have been different if he had not suffered the injustices he did. Chances are he would have still had depression and addiction issues, if genetic history is any indication. Would he still have raped and killed? Therein lies the million-dollar question. Well, in 1973, Bonin was removed from a Tascadero State Hospital. He was transferred to California State Prison.

evidently, while at a Tascadero, Bonin got up to his old tricks. Bonin would ambush inmates in the showers and rape them. Again, he bound them as best he could and proceeded to have his way with them. This apparently went on for the better part of his stay at the facility. The thing about being in a facility, prison, orphanage, crazy bin, it's all the same. Got to display your dominance before someone else does. Atascadero said William could no longer be treated and sent him away. Now at California State Prison, Bonin realized he needed to change his attitude.

If I wanted any chance of escape, I had to learn to act proper. Less than a year later, Bonin was released on parole on June 11, 1974. Prison psychiatrist said he was, quote, no longer a threat. If only they had known what was to come. Our story will continue in a moment right after the break. Now the story continues. William Bonnan had just been released from prison under probation. All he had to do was keep a low profile and avoid hurting anyone else.

A challenge that proved too great. On September 8th, 1975, 14-year-old David McVicker was walking up and down the roads of Garden Grove, California. He was trying to hitchhike home. A car finally pulled over. The window rolled down and revealed 28-year-old William Bonin. asked if the young man wanted a ride. The unsuspecting McVicker excitedly agreed and got into Bonn's car. And just like that, the two sped off. They drove around for a long time, casually talking.

Soon McVickr realized that they weren't headed to home. He asked Bonnan where they were going. Bonin responded with another question. Are you gay? McVickr was taken aback. No one had ever asked him that, let alone a complete stranger. Bonin placed his hand on McVickrower. the young man became increasingly uncomfortable. He demanded to be dropped off. That's when Bonnan got angry. Bonin produced a pistol from his back pocket. He jammed it into the side of the boy's head. McVickers' heart was pounding. What could he do? Again, this next section gets graphic. Listener discretion is advised. Bonin drove the helpless preteen into a deserted field. Bonnan got out of the car and moved to the passenger side. He ripped the door open and demanded.

demanded McVickr get out of the car. McVickr reluctantly agreed. Bonin ordered him to strip. McVickr wept the whole time. Bonin then pounced on the boy, beating him severely and raping him. McVickr tried to get away, but Bonin bound the boy with his own clothing.

Towards the end of the disturbing affair, Bonin took McVickr's shirt and started to strangle him with it. The boy cried out, begging for help. Bonin apologized to the boy profusely. He claimed he didn't know what came over himself. He helped the young boy dress and then took him home. Bonin dropped the poor boy off. As McVicker got out of the car, Bonin rolled down the window and called back.

Be seeing you again real soon. He winked and drove off. David McVicker was horrified. He ran inside and immediately told his mother. She phoned the police. Though they only had a lead on Bonin's car, they immediately put out an AP. telling all officers to keep an eye out for Bonin's van.

No more than two days later, Bonin was arrested. He had been caught attempting to run over a 15-year-old boy with his car. Bonin had pulled up alongside the child in his car. He asked if the young man wanted to have sex for $35. The young man refused and walked away. Enraged, Bonin began to drive after the boy. A chase ensued. Bonin tried to run over the young man repeatedly.

Horrified onlookers called the police, who quickly arrived to the scene. Police subdued the manic Bonnan. He was charged with rape, forced oral copulation of a minor, and attempted kidnapping. Bonin pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to one to 15 years at the all-male correctional facility in San Luis Obispo on December 31st, 1975. McVicker may have gotten some peace knowing his rapist was in jail, but the event had completely and totally scarred him. He dropped out of school shortly after that and took odd jobs to support himself. Understandably, David McVicker still has nightmares about what happened. That's how tragic. The ruin and the woe Bonnan caused. But why do you think he hadn't killed any of his

victims yet? Could have been there was no reason to in his head. He still got all the satisfaction he needed from raping alone. It may have also not crossed his mind. In prison, Bonin continued to rape and beat his fellow inmates. This, however, didn't seem to bother the prison guards or warden as Bonnan was out on parole two years later on October 11, 1978. He was placed on 18 months supervised probation. But things would soon change for Bonn as he was about to meet a crew that would accompany him on his future rampage. After his release in 1978, Bonin moved into an apartment complex in Kingswood Village about one mile from his mother, who he continued to watch over and care for.

Surprisingly, Bonin kept a low profile for the most part. Most of his shady interactions with young men came in the form of buying them alcohol and letting them use his house as a hangout. He also secured a job as a truck driver for a Montobello delivery firm, dependable drive-away. During this quiet period in Bonin's life, he became friends with his neighbor, Everett Fraser. Fraser was a socialite who threw huge parties at his apartment. Bonin soon became irregular at these parties, meeting several young men. The most significant of these encounters came in the form of ten. two men, George Miley and Vernon Butz.

Miley was an illiterate Texan who had made his way to California through a series of odd jobs. He wasn't particularly quick and had a tendency to fall into what it was he was told to. The other man, however, was quite different. Vernon Butz was an eccentric and unhinged man. He was a part-time magician and worked at a porcelain factory. Vernon was also especially interested in the occult and black magic. Bonin and Butz shared an interest in sexual. violence. As the two talked, the more and more they opened up about their darker fixations,

until Bonin posed an interesting question. You ever fantasize about killing hitchhikers? Vernon hadn't. Would you like to? On May 28, 1979, 13-year-old Thomas Glenn Lundgren left his house in California at 10.50 in the morning. Shortly after leaving his house, a green Ford-Econnelline van pulled up. Inside, set, Will you? Mbannon and Vernon Butts. They asked if the young man needed a ride anywhere. That same afternoon, Thomas' body was found in Agura Hills, California. His body only had a shirt, socks, and shoes on. It was also mangled and mutilated. His throat had been slashed. His head and face had been bludgeoned and fractured. There were also extensive stab wounds

across his body. Worst of all, his genitals had been severed. They were found in a field down from the body along with his jeans and underwear. Bonnet had finally graduated from serial rapist to full-on killer. Such a terrifying and demented man. Why do you think Bonin only started killing once he met Vernon Butts? I think it was having an audience.

Bonnet had been starred for attention all his life. Now he not only could get away with what he considered normal love or lust, but he also had someone who actively supported and egged him on. It was a moment of escalation that led to a darker zest, one that would send Bonin down the twisted path to becoming the freeway killer. So tune in next week as Bonin begins his long and horrific rampage up and down Southern California, how his crimes became so notorious and frequent, he earned the name the Freeway Killer.

And how ultimately his accomplices led to his downfall. Thanks again for tuning in to serial killers. If you want to listen to any previous episodes of serial killers, you can find them on iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Spotify, or in our website, Parcast.com, spelled p-A-R-C-A-S-T-T-com. If you like what you hear, please leave a five-star review or tell us what you think on social media. We're on Facebook and Instagram as at Parcast and Twitter at Parcast Network. It seems simple, but it really helps our show. Join us next Monday as we continue delving into the twisted psyche of William Bonin.

Have a killer week. The serial killers was created by Max Cutler and developed by Ron Cutler. It is a production of Cutler media and is part of the Pardcast Network. It is produced by Max and Ron Cutler, sound design by Ron Shapiro and Kenny Hobbs, with production assistants by Carrie Murphy, Carly Madden, and Maggie Admire. Serial Killers is written by Michael Pendis and stars Greg Paulson and Vanessa Richardson. Our amazing voice actor is Manu Narayan. You want to hear something spooky.

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