Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - “The Trash Bag Killer” - Patrick Wayne Kearney

Episode Date: March 20, 2018

Patrick Wayne Kearney was born in Los Angeles, California in 1939. As a child, he was tormented relentlessly by schoolmates, and found happiness in slaughtering animals. We examine how he transitioned from a bullied child to a violent killer who left dozens of men in garbage bags alongside California freeways.  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 discussion. of murder and assault that some people may find offensive. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. On the 1st of July, 1977, police receptionist Linda Gutterud was watching the thermometer reached 94 degrees.

As she finished yet another complaint call, two men entered the Riverside California Sheriff's Information Center. The small, thin one pointed to a wanted poster on the wall and simply declared, that's us. Linda stared at the poster and replied, I guess so. Thus ended the 15-year killing spree that covered five California counties. When most people look back at the early 1960s, they remember the Letterman's crooning on the radio, the mashed potato dance craze sweeping America, the British invasion's subversive music yet reached U.S. shores. These people conveniently forgot the Cuban Missile Crisis,

the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War protests, and the beginning of a 15-year five-county killing spree that terrified Southern California and left as many as 43 people dead. Hi, I'm Greg Poulson, and this is serial killers. Today we're going to take a deep dive into the life of Patrick Wayne Kearney, better known as the Trashbag Killer. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson. Vanessa is not a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist, but she has done a lot of research for the 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. From 1962 until 1977, it is estimated that the trash bag killer, Patrick Wayne Kearney, killed upwards of 46 young men. Kearney sexually abused the corpses before bathing and dismembering them in his bathtub. Kearney's favorite method of disposing the bodies was to place their remains in garbage bags

that he left on the sides of the Southern California freeways. Like with so many serial killers, to understand Kearney's motives, we first have to examine his childhood and what factors led to his gruesome crimes. Understand the boy, and you understand the man. Patrick Wayne Kearney was born in East Los Angeles, California, on September 24, 1939, 23 days after the start of World War II. His father was George Kearney, a Los Angeles police officer. His mother, Eunice Kearney, was a stay-at-home mom who cared for Kearney and his two younger brothers, Michael and Chester. The parents were described as decent, honest, and uncomplicated, although George was known to be a strict disciplinarian. Shortly after Kearney's brother, Michael, was born in 1944, the family moved to nearby Monta Bello,

a slight, shy, sickly kid with thick glasses, who others referred to as, effeminate. Kearney was an easy target for abuse and was bullied when he started attending elementary school in Montebello. Kearney's schoolmates tormented him so terribly that years later he would compare his childhood to the fictional character, Carrie White, from Stephen King's novel, Carrie. Kearney identified with the shy girls' unsuccessful attempts to fit in and how her classmates made each day a living hell. In 1947, the Kearneys gave birth to their third son, Chester Ross Kearney. Three years later, the family moved to recede to California, where Kearney was still tormented by bullies.

He was often called girly boy and queer boy. This bullying may very well have pushed Kearney along his murderous path. A study conducted at the University of Texas at Austin found that juvenile hamsters who were bullied by an adult became more aggressive toward smaller animals, while being fearful and subordinate with hamsters of similar size or larger. Dr. Yvonne Delville, who led the study, found that the hamsters who were bullied produced abnormal levels of the neurotransmitters serotonin and vasopressin, which affect aggression and inhibition. Also, these hamsters were shown to consistently produce abnormally high levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. But how does that apply to human,

Well, Delville believes that young brains that are constantly exposed to cortisol are at a high risk of abnormal brain development. Or as Dr. Delville so succinctly put it, quote, basically, a bully victim becomes a victimizer. Kearney's desire to pick on weaker men may at least partially explain his pattern of killing. But how so? Because most of his victims were physically larger than him. Physically, yes. But Kearney found a way to make himself more powerful. He carried a gun and his victims did not. Like the bullied hamsters, once he saw himself as powerful, he switched from being a victim and became a tormentor of others.

However, as we have learned in previous episodes, just because a child is bullied doesn't mean they're going to become a bad person or a criminal. No, far from it. But bullying does have long-lasting repercussions for the adult victims. According to a paper written by Mark Dombeck, Ph.D., The most common effects of bullying are low self-esteem, lingering feelings of anger, and the need for revenge. In severe cases, adults are sometimes unable to maintain healthy relationships and have few or no friends. Well, that fits Kearney perfectly. He was primarily a loner with no friends.

Kearney's academic record was middling at best. Low academic achievement is another symptom of bullying. But what causes these victims of bullying like, Kearney to become violent. Well, some children exposed to excessive violence at an early age are more inclined to become desensitized to it and its consequences. And we know Kearney was exposed to violence at an early age. At the age of 13, George Kearney taught his son how to slaughter pigs by shooting them with a 22-caliber

rifle. George explained that to minimize blood splatter, Kearney should shoot the pigs behind the left ear, which caused the bullet to lodge in the gun. the pig's brain without exiting the skull. Kearney was so good at it that he often slaughtered the animals unsupervised. Kearney found the act of slaughter brought him pleasure. After he butchered the pigs, he often rolled in the blood and guts of his kills. In 1952, he began to torture animals while fantasizing about killing people. A history of torturing animals is quite common among serial killers. Over 70% of violent offenders have a history of torturing small

animals compared to 6% of nonviolent offenders. And Kearney didn't just kill livestock. Sometime between the ages of 13 and 14, Kearney sexually assaulted the family dog. This could be another sign of Kearney's need to victimize others. His first sexual experience involved abusing and raping a devoted pet dog that wouldn't fight back. In 1953, Kearney attended the Diane S. Leachman Special Education Center, a junior high school in Reseda that specializes in children with learning disabilities. The bullying continued. He wasn't there long before George Kearney quit the LAPD to become a salesman for a travel agency. This required the family to relocate to Wilcox, Arizona, where Patrick discovered his love of languages.

He eventually became proficient in Spanish, Japanese, and Chinese. For once, Kearney was showing interest in a psychologically healthy hobby. But before Kearney could settle into his new home, his father once again moved the family. This time, to Redondo Beach, California, where Kearney graduated from high school in 1957. The Kearney's moved for the fourth time to Houston, Texas for a brief time, then back to California again, which left Kearney little time. to make any friends. Kearney enrolled into the El Camino Community College, but a year later, he dropped out to enlisted the United States Air Force.

Kearney hoped to see the world and put his language skills to good use, but instead of some far-flung exotic locale, Kearney found himself stationed in Texas. And it was while in Texas that Kearney met the man who would be his on-again, off-again lover, for the next 15 years, David Hill. Hill. But like so much of Kearney's story, no details of their first meeting are known. Hill was the total opposite of Kearney, where Kearney was only five-foot-five, bespectacled and shy. Hill was tall, six-foot-two, muscular, and had an outgoing personality that put people at ease.

A source who knew both men told the New York Times that Kearney was humorless and colorless, while Hill was easygoing with no goals in life. The source also stated that Hill was a compulsive gambler who would let his hair grow long and then cut it short, often dyeing it black, red, blonde, and then back to black. Born in Lubbock, Texas, to a poor but devoutly religious family, Hill was the seventh of nine children. When Hill was very young, his father, J.W. Hill,

committed suicide by hanging himself in a Lubbock jail cell. Those who knew Hill as a child often described him as having no interests, goals, or direction. The only activity he showed any passion for was roller skating. In 1959, Hill dropped out of high school to join the army. He was stationed in his home state where he met Kearney. Soon, the two opposites became close friends and eventual lovers. Their relationship had to remain a secret. as being gay was a crime in 1959.

If their love affair had been exposed, the men faced dishonorable discharges and prison time. In 1959, Hill was diagnosed with an unspecified mental illness, which may have been code for the fact that he was gay. Hill was discharged from the army. He returned to his hometown of Lubbock and married Mary Elizabeth Carlson. Although the two were childhood sweethearts, their marriage lasted only effective.

few months before they separated. Not surprising, given Hill's long-standing relationship with Kearney. Meanwhile, Kearney received an honorable discharge from the Air Force and moved back to California. He found employment as an electrical engineer with Hughes Aircraft Corporation, which was building military satellites. Although Kearney was known as a loner, he was considered a diligent worker and a real electronics whiz. Despite the fact that he did not have a college degree, Kearney's employers at Hughes saw promise in the young man and enrolled him in a special in-house course. This gave him the skills that enabled his promotion to associate engineer. Sometime in 1962, Hill arrived in Los Angeles and moved into Kearney's one-story stucco Long Beach home.

Both men were openly gay, but they were not well known in the greater Los Angeles gay scene. They avoided the gay bars due to the fact that Kearney did not drink. Although Kearney had helped Hill complete a high school equivalency course, Hill could not find steady employment and fell into a pattern of part-time and short-lived jobs. He frequently worked in bars and bathhouses for very little money. This financial disparity in their incomes could only have made Hill's in Kearney's troubled relationship even more turbulent. Late in 1962, Hill became restless and moody. He abruptly decided to hitchhike across the country. We do not know if this was due to friction with Kearney

or just a general dissatisfaction with his life in California. But Hill eventually returned to Lubbock and tried to patch up his relationship with his wife. Once more, Kearney was left to deal with his rejection alone. To fill his empty nights, Kearney took history classes at California State University in Long Beach. Although Kearney enjoyed his studies, He needed a darker diversion to handle his frustration and anger over being abandoned by Hill.

Kearney was about to begin a pattern that would last for 15 years. According to Jack Rosewood, author of a biopic on Kearney, the urge to kill was always strongest when Kearney and Hill's relationship was in trouble. This may have been because Kearney felt inferior to Hill or feared Hill would eventually leave him for good. This fear and rage proved to be a lethal, combination for Kearney's first victim. Our story will continue in a moment right after the break. Kayak gets my flight, hotel, and rental car right, so I can tune out travel advice that's

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And now let's continue our story. In the spring of 1962, a few months after David Hill left him, Patrick Wayne Kearney took a long ride on his motorcycle and met a 19-year-old man. We don't know much about this man, except that he may have been from either Louisiana or Oklahoma. Kearney charmed the young man into taking a ride with him to a secluded spot near Indio, California, off state highway 86. It's unknown if Kearney proposed a trist or merely convinced the young man to take a pleasure ride, but Kearney's small frame and gentle manner could have lulled anyone into believing he was not a threat. Once Kearney had the young man alone, he drew a 22-caliper pistol and shot the victim behind his left ear,

exactly as he slaughtered the pigs in his youth. He then dragged the young man's corpse further into the bushes, where he sexually assaulted. resulted it. After the thrill had worn off, Kearney realized he'd made a major mistake. He allowed a witness, the young man's 16-year-old cousin, to see him drive off with the victim. Kearney drove back to where the cousin was waiting. After persuading the cousin to go for a ride with him, Kearney drove him to the same spot where he had just murdered the other man. Again, Kearney put his victim at ease before shooting him in the head and raping. the boy's dead body. Years later, court psychiatrist asked Kearney what drove him to his first killings. He answered, quote, killing someone sounded sexual, exciting, end quote. Is that why he

sexually assaulted his victims? He was aroused by the killing? Partially, yes, but necrophilia is more complicated than mere sexual release. It often stems from an extreme fear of rejection. A study done by Jonathan P. Rossman, MD, and Philip J. Resnick, MD, in the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, stated that over 60% of necrophiliacs wanted to possess an unresisting partner. For example, Edmund Kemper, better known as the co-ed butcher, killed 10 people, including his paternal grandparents and mother, and regularly engaged in necrophilia. He once said, quote, if I killed them, you know, they couldn't reject me as a man. It was more or less making a doll out of a human being

and carrying out my fantasies with a doll, a living human doll. I'm sorry to sound so cold about this, but what I needed was to have a particular experience with a person to possess them in a way I wanted to. I had to evict them from their bodies, end quote. Kearney had discovered a powerful and addictive combination of violence, sex, and death, and like any untreated addiction, it consumed his whole life. Kearney needed the thrill of a new kill.

An 18-year-old drifter, known only as Mike, fell prey to Kearney's gentle and disarming demeanor, and became Kearney's third victim. Repeating his previous M.O., Kearney lured Mike to a secluded spot outside of Indio, California. There, Kearney shot the young man in the head and molested the dead body. Kearney then took a hiatus from killing. Probably because Hill returned shortly after Kearney murdered Mike. Unable to repair his marriage, which ended in divorce in 1966, Hill came back to California. He once again moved in with Kearney in his Golden Avenue apartment in Long Beach. Soon after, in August, 1963, Kearney was in the United States. He was

was promoted at work to senior research assistant at Hughes Aircraft in Culver City. He was paid the then substantial salary of $20,000 a year. So Kearney was definitely in the upper middle class. He was wealthy enough to move to Culver City and rented duplex near the old Desilu Studios, which are now the Culver Studios. However, Kearney's success was a source of friction with Hill who still could not keep a job. In 1967, Kearney killed again. During a trip to visit a friend in Tijuana, Mexico, he shot the victim, who we know only as George in the head.

Then moved George's corpse to the bathroom, raped the victim, cut the body into pieces, and buried them. Even with Hill back in his life, Kearney couldn't stop killing. In December, 1967, Kearney and Hill moved again after Kearney bought a home in Redondo Beach, a city only 23 miles south. of downtown Los Angeles. Kearney and Hill shared this residence until Kearney was arrested and sent to prison. Years later, neighbors came forth with anecdotes about the couple's life while they lived in Redondo Beach.

Gene Hellinger remembered that neither Hill nor Kearney wanted to be friendly. George Julesenet, who ran the cork and bottle liquor that was across from Kearney's home, remembered Kearney as a frequent customer who bought lots of candy. Jerry Stevens, manager of the S&S market, remembered on two separate occasions that Kearney asked about purchasing a butcher knife with a 10-inch blade. Another source who wished to remain anonymous told the New York Times that Kearney often acted strange and grew upset if Hill invited guests to their home.

The new house did not seem to bring any domestic tranquility to Hill and Kearney's relationship. The couple argued continuously. The fighting often caused Kearney to jump into his Volkswagen bug and cruise down to Tijuana, where it is believed he used his proficiency in Spanish to commit several other murders. Soon the Mexican police were noticing a pattern to the murders. All the victims were shot in the head, raped, and dismembered. Kearney placed the remains in trash bags, which were later discovered on the side of roads. Years later, the Mexican authorities learned of Kearney's California.

thorny killings and suspected he was responsible for the Tijuana killings as well. However, Kearney never confessed to any of these killings, and there was not enough proof to link Kearney to the crimes. For years, Kearney kept his murderous activities south of the border, but in 1971, all that changed. Our story will continue in a moment after the break. And now back to serial killers. June 26th, 1971. Around four years after he killed George in Tijuana, Patrick Wayne Kearney gave into his homicidal impulses once again.

Kearney's next victim was a 13-year-old boy by the name of John E. Demichick. The boy was standing on a corner in Englewood when Kearney offered him a ride home. Instead of driving the boy home as promised, Kearney shot him in the head. head. Then drove the unconscious boy to a deserted area, about 15 miles southeast from Callexico. Wait, the boy was still alive at this point? Unfortunately, yes. Kernie took the boy out of his truck and dragged him to a nearby gully, where he undressed and raped the boy while he bled to death. Kearney then left the boy to die. It took 20 months for authority.

to find the body of young John Demichick along the U.S.-Mexico border. The corpse was so decomposed that John's mother, Edna, could only identify it by a scrap of clothing that she had last seen him wearing on the day of his abduction. Unlike some other missing victims, John Demichick did have someone who cared enough to search for him. John's father, Stephen Demichick, suspected John had run away to San Francisco to join the countercly.

culture movement. Stephen told John's mother and his four other children that he had found a new job in the Bay Area and was moving there. Stephen promised to send for them once he was settled, but in reality, Stephen spent all his nights and weekends driving the city streets and surrounding highways hoping to get a glimpse of John. Stephen said, quote, I dreamed of him up there. The last dream I had, he was in a dungeon. He was calling me. Come get me. I asked him, where are you? He never answered me. I went through a lot of hell, end quote.

The discovery of John's corpse in 1973 shattered his family. Edna died, leaving Stephen to raise four grieving children on his own. Edna's sister-in-law stated Edna had lost the will to live. Stephen said, quote, he's not coming back. There's nothing that can bring him back. I knew that the police called and his mother identified his clothes. I said, that's him. There's no use grieving anymore, end quote.

But Stephen did grieve for decades. Often we focus on a serial killer's physical victims, forgetting that the surviving family and friends are also victims who carry the psychological scars from these violent episodes throughout the remainder of their lives. Unfortunately, more families. so Kearney's thirst for blood and sex could be satisfied. The late 60s and early 70s saw a sharp rise in serial killings in Southern California.

Some estimates state that the police were finding one body a week. After the Summer of Love and the Hate Ashbury decade in Northern California, Southern California had become the epicenter of the drug culture. This, plus California's accepting attitude towards gay youth, towards gay youth led many a young man to bum a ride to the Sunshine State. California was considered a refuge, protecting gays from the rest of the nation's harsh laws being imposed on gay men and women. While states like Florida were making it legal to discriminate based on a person's sexual orientation, California resisted and passed the 1975 consenting adult sex bill, making it legal for men over age 21 to engage.

engage in consensual sex. Many of those who flocked to California were teenage runaways, gay and straight, who were escaping abusive homes. These boys were penniless and emotionally fragile, a perfect combination for an adult to exploit and abuse them. Many fell into prostitution or drug dealing, which meant they needed to interact with strangers to survive. Also, their transient lifestyle relied heavily on hitchhiking for transportation. making them easy targets for killers who cruise the highways in search of potential victims. Most of Kearney's victims were bumming a ride when they crossed his path. At first, Kearney's killings were often confused with two other serial killers who shared the nickname the Freeway Killer.

One was William Bonin, who killed 21 boys and young men between 1979 and 1980. Another freeway killer was Randy Stephen Kraft, who claimed at least 16 victims between 1972 and 1983. Although estimates put the death count as high as 51, all three killers left their victims on the sides of the freeway, confusing the authorities into mistaking which murderer matched which victim. Kearney's need to find new victims drove him to hunt closer to home. He often cruised Los Angeles gay clubs and bars on Selma Avenue and trolled MacArthur Park in downtown Los Angeles for victims. One night, Kearney spotted a 17-year-old by the name of James Barwick.

Barwick was just Kearney's type. How so? Most of Kearney's victims were white and larger than him, just like his childhood bullies. As a boy, Kearney was unable to protect himself from the bigger kids. Perhaps he was using these strangers as proxies for revenge on his childhood tormentors. By killing these men and boys, he was really regaining a sense of dominance that he lacked as a little boy. Well, you're right. Barwick was young, white, larger than Kearney. So Kearney lured Barwick to an isolated area and shot him in the head.

In 1974, while most of America was concentrating on the Watergate scandal in Washington, D.C., Kearney was refining his technique for murder. Soon, his rate of attacks increased to roughly one a month. On the 24th of August, 1974, five-year-old Ronald Dean Smith Jr., played in a park with another boy not far from Shirley O'Connor's home in Lenox, California. His mother, Joanne O'Connor, a 22-year-old divorcee, was out of town and had left Ronald in Shirley's care.

When Ronald didn't appear for dinner, Shirley called Ronald's friend's home, and discovered Ronald's playmate had returned home hours ago. The boy explained that he and Ronald had gotten into a sand fight. Ronald's friend went home to get cleaned up, leaving Ronald crying alone in the park. Shirley immediately called the police, who searched the park and then conducted a door-to-door canvas of the neighborhood. Unfortunately, no one had seen Ronald. Police Lieutenant Ray Gott stated,

No clues, nothing. The boy just disappeared. Police contacted Ronald's mother and she rushed home. A week later, with no news on Ronald's disappearance, Joanne held a press conference at the police station, pleading for her son's safe return. She stated, quote, The reason we all wanted you to come here

is to tell whoever had Ronnie how much we want him back. We definitely do feel in our hearts that he's alive and okay and that he's safe. I just want to tell whoever he's with now that he's very important to me and that he's all I got and that I love him so very much. I know that whoever took Ronnie

took him because they wanted a little boy to love and I know you took him because he's so beautiful and that you won't hurt him, end quote. Unfortunately, Joanne was wrong. On October 13th of 1974, almost two months from the day Ronald disappeared, two boys were spending their Sunday collecting cans on the Ortega Highway near the El Cariso Village in Riverside County when they came upon a trash bag. The boys were shocked to discover its contents.

The decomposed remains of a little boy. They rushed home to call the police. Based on what the corpse was wearing, the police identified the body as that of Ronald Smith Jr. The autopsy also revealed that, unlike the older victims, Ronald had been kept alive for two days. His body indicated that he was repeatedly tortured before he was strangled. The extent of violence and the young age of the child

indicates Kearney was not only seeking victims outside his original MO. He was spinning out of control. This gruesome killing didn't satisfy Kearney for long. Just five months later, Kearney claimed another victim. This time, Kearney traveled to San Diego, where his path crossed Albert Rivera, a Latino prostitute. Like so many of Kearney's victims, Rivera was discovered, dismembered in a trash bag, on the side of the road near San Juan Capistrano. An autopsy revealed that he, too, was raped after he was killed.

However, Kearney's unusually neat disposal of Rivera was the first clue separating this killing from the work of other serial killers stalking Southern California. After killing his victim, Kearney took them back to his house where he raped them. Then he dragged the corpse into his bathroom and placed it into his bathtub, where he drained the blood and washed the body before dismembering it with a hacksaw. Next, he placed the pieces into different double-lined industrial strength trash bags. Finally, he placed the double-line bags into a normal green plastic garbage can liner that one could find in anyone's home.

Each bag was sealed with heavy-duty nylon fiber tape. He then threw the bags out onto the sides of the roads during his lunch breaks, after work, or late at night. But on November 10th of 1974, five, Kearney did it slightly differently when he murdered Larry Jean Walters, who was thought to be hitchhiking in Redondo Beach near Kearney's home. It makes you wonder if Kearney was actively hunting at the time or spied Walters on the side of the road and decided to take advantage of the opportunity. And that could explain for the deviation from his typical MO.

Unlike most of the other killings, Kearney took Walters back to his home before shooting and raping him. Reverting back to how he disposed of George's body in Tijuana, Kearney placed Walter's body parts in different locations instead of altogether. That's interesting. Why else do you think he may have slightly altered his pattern? Most likely he wasn't getting the same satisfaction that he used to. He needed something more. Notably, at this time, Kearney was closely following other serial killers. So when he wasn't killing, he was thinking about killing. Yes, and that, to me, points to a growing addiction.

He read newspaper accounts of the Zodiac Killer, as well as William Bonin, the Freeway Killer, and Randy Stephen Kraft, the scorecard killer. But by far, he was most obsessed with Dean Arnold Coral, who was known as The Candy Man. Coral was a vice president of a Houston, Texas candy company, founded by his mother and stepfather. He was thought to have killed a minimum of 28 boys over the span of three years, starting in 1970, and ending in 1973. The killings became known as the Houston murders, as most of the victims were abducted from Houston Heights,

a low-income area of Houston. Kearney saved every newspaper clipping about coral he could find and often read them for pleasure. Another case he closely followed was the Hillside Stranglers. In 1977, Kearney followed the rampage of the Hillside Stranglers, two cousins, Kenneth Bianchi, and Angelo Bwono, who were low-level pimps who initially murdered prostitutes, before they began to rape, torture, and strangle middle-class women throughout Los Angeles. Initially, the press had believed there was a single killer and dubbed him The Hillside Strangler. but the police knew there were two killers after finding both Bianchi's and Buono seamen at a crime scene. The name Hillside Stranglers was given to them, as they often dumped their victims on sides of the Hollywood Hills.

The reign of terror lasted only five months, but claimed ten victims. Even though Kearney derived vicarious pleasure from reading about other killers, it did not satisfy his need for the real thing. The biggest sign that Kearney's murderous addiction had grown was his activity in the year 1976 when Kearney committed some of his most violent and disturbing murders. Right. Kearney's killings accelerated at an alarming speed. On March 1st of that year, he found 17-year-old Kenneth F. Buckman on the side of the road. After shooting the boy in the head, Kearney took him home and raped him.

When the boy woke up, Kearney shot him three more times. Less than a month later, on March 21st, Kearney struck again. Kearney picked up 13-year-old Oliver Peter Molitor and allegedly convinced the boy to play doctor. Kearney then killed and dismembered the boy and buried the various trash bags of body parts around a Palos Verdes landfill. On the 19th of April, Kearney abducted 50. 13-year-old Larry Armendaris. Kearney kept to his M.O. By shooting Armendaris shortly after getting him into his truck,

he took the corpse back to his house, where he molested it before bathing it clean and cutting it up. Kearney disposed of Armandaris in his usual way. Just over two months later, Kearney struck again. This time, his victim was 13-year-old Michael Craig McGee. Despite Michael's youthful cherubic face, he had already had a run-in with the law. He dropped out of school at the age of 12

and was involved in burglary and car theft. His sister stated that McGee was a rebellious teenager. McKee met Kearney in June of 1976 while hitchhiking from Madondo Beach to Torrance, California. Kearney suggested they go camping together at his favorite spot near Lake Elsinore in nearby Riverside County. But McGee declined, telling Curney

to ask him the following week. On June 11, 1976, Kearney appeared at McGee's home to take him on the camping trip. McGee's older sister, who was in charge of her siblings when their mother was working, informed Kearney that McGee was grounded

and could not leave the house. Hearing Kearney's voice, McGee slipped out of the back door and ran after the older man as he began to leave. McGee's brother, Robert, tried to stop him. But McGee jumped into the truck

and Kearney drove. drove off. McGee's sister called the police, but as the boy had run away in the past, the police just assumed McGee was doing it again. They initially didn't follow up on the boy's disappearance. McGee was never seen again. Years later, Kearney claimed that he hadn't initially intended to kill McGee and that he was going to take the boy on a camping trip. According to Kearney's story, things went bad during the truck ride to Kearney's house to gather some supplies. McGee started to brag about how he had stolen another man's truck. At the house, McGee asked Kearney about his possessions

and whether the house had any burglar alarms. Aware of McGee's criminal record, Kearney decided the boy was planning to rob him and that he had made a big mistake letting the boy know where he lived. Instead of going camping, Kearney shot the boy. Of course, given that Kearney's general ammo was to abduct teenage boys, shoot them and dismember them, We have to take Kearney's entire story with a grain of salt.

True. When Kearney was asked, what happened to McGee's body, all he would say was, quote, I disposed to the body. You aren't going to find him, end quote. To this day, McGee's body has never been discovered. McGee's brother, Robert, later stated that he always blamed himself for not stopping his brother that June day. He refused to believe Michael was dead. Robert said, quote, I just refused to believe it. There was no body. There was no physical evidence. I would rather think Michael's off in Mexico, goofing off, maybe on a beach somewhere, end quote.

Sadly, we know that Kearney killed McGee. Curney had now claimed 14 victims over a 14 year spread, but he was just getting started. Kearney was able to kill at least a dozen additional men and boys before getting caught by police. Next week, we will investigate how Kearney's unique disposal methods helped police narrow down their list of suspects. And we'll uncover the one mistake that led to Kearney's arrest and conviction. 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 Apple Podcasts, Tune-in, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify, or on 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 to delve into the perverted psyche of Patrick Wayne Kearney. Killer Week. Serial Killers was created by Max Cutler is a production of Cutler Media and is part of the Parcast Network. It is produced by Max and Ron Cutler,

sound designed by Carrie Murphy with production assistance by Paul Mahler. Additional production assistance by Carly Madden and Maggie Admeyer. Serial Killers is written by James Griggs and stars Greg Poulson and Vanessa Richardson. A beloved 75-year-old man washing up getting ready for bed is brutally beaten and killed. Despite an exhaustive investigation,

the killer avoids arrest and then strikes again. I'm Global News crime reporter Nancy Hicks. You might listen to a lot of true crime podcasts this year, but they're not crime beat. Search for and follow the award-winning podcast Crime Beat on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts. Blood Trails is a true crime podcast born. in the outdoors. Where the terrain is unforgiving, the evidence is scarce, and the truth gets buried under brush and silence. I've seen something in the road. I instantly thought it was a sleeping bag.

And there was a full of blood. Somebody somewhere knows something. I'm Jordan Sillers. Season 2 is out now with new episodes every Thursday. Listen on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.