Morbid - William Bonin "The Freeway Killer" Part 2

Episode Date: November 18, 2021

Just when you survived the brutality of part one, we’ve got part two coming right at ya. William Bonin is still up to no good, traipsing around the streets of CA in his murder van with his disgusting accomplices. Luckily in this part we’ll get into how William was caught, talk about the trial and how everyone turned on each other and the finality of this case! We also discuss a current missing kids case from Tennessee. 3 year old Noah Clare and 16 year old Amber Clare were abducted by family member Jake Clare In Tennessee and Kentucky. The car he was driving them in was abandoned in San Clemente California.  Jake is 6'7 and almost 200 lbs, he has tribal tattoos on his shoulder and arm, he also had a tattoo of "Clare" on his right forearm. He's hard to miss. Here is the updated information: https://www.mlive.com/news/2021/11/car-linked-to-missing-kids-believed-to-be-in-michigan-now-found-in-california.html They are in imminent danger and if you have any information about their whereabouts or Jake's, please contact: Gallatin Police Department at 615-451-3838 or TBI (Tennessee Bureau of Investigations) at 1-800-TBI-FIND As always, thank you to our sponsors: Hello Fresh: Get up to fourteen free meals—plus, three free gifts!—with code morbid14 at HelloFresh.com/morbid14. Babbel: Right now, when you purchase a 3-month Babbel subscription, you’ll get an additional 3 months for FREE. Just go to BABBEL.com and use promo code MORBID. Athena Club: Sign up today and you’ll get 20% off your first order! Just go to AthenaClub.com and use promo code mtc MVMT: Shop MVMT’s biggest sale of the year before the rest at mvmt.com and use code MORBID at checkout. Embark: Go to Embarkvet.com to get free shipping and get 64$ off with Promo code MORBID Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash KelleyListener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra LallyListener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey, weirdos. I'm Ash. And I'm Elena. And this is morbid. This is morbid. Everything about this episode is going to be morbid. Elena and I have just sat here for the past like 30 minutes going through everything going on right now with this missing person's case. Yes. So you may have seen. I know we both shared it. A lot of people have been sharing it. There was this, so there's this case of these two kids. kids, Noah Claire and Amber Claire. And they were taken from Tennessee and Kentucky by a family member, Jake Claire. When I first saw this, I was like, what the heck? Because it just seems immediately. Yeah. And it's been going on for a while. Now there's like clear and eminent danger involved. Like, it's a really scary case. So I just really want to get you guys up to speed on this because they have not found these kids yet and they are in actual danger. So I want to get them.

out there. So we're talking about Jake Clare, who is 35 years old. He's believed to have abducted his three-year-old son, Noah Claire, from Gallatin, Tennessee. And he's also suspected of abducting his 16-year-old niece, Amber Claire, from Kentucky. Now, Noah's biological mother, Amanda Ennis, had dropped him off for a visit with his father, Jake. That was on Friday, November 5th. Yeah. Which I didn't realize it was that long ago. No. They had an every other weekend kind of arrangement with the father. And when he was supposed to bring him back on Sunday, November 7th, he never did.

Now, the entire time that little three-year-old Noah was with Jake, he had stopped, you know, the both of them had stopped responding or communicating with Amanda, the mother. She was getting nervous. She wasn't hearing from them, wasn't able to get in contact with them. So she tried to get help because she's a mother. And she, nobody would do anything. They basically told her it's just. Jake's weekend with him, he can do what he wants, which is fucked. Yeah. If you believe that your child is an imminent danger and like no matter if he's on custody or not, like can we just go do a welfare

check? Well, and it's also like, okay, he's not responding. Like, that's a problem. When you're co-parenting, you both need to know where your child is at all times. Like, that's just something that needs to happen. And is that not like what you, like, is that not what you would do? Is a welfare check? To me, it sounds like this is out of the ordinary. So for her to say they don't do this, he doesn't like just go in communicating with me. Like it doesn't happen. This is concerning. That and that should be looked into.

If it's a concern. If this is not something that's always done, if he's always one that just cuts off communication during his visits. Right. Okay. I understand that that sucks. But clearly there was something that happened here that made her feel anxious about it. Yeah. And that's her fucking child.

So go check on him. I feel for this family. like my heart is breaking for them. Now, so they were unable to do anything. But when it came time for him to be dropped off, and he didn't drop him off, that's when they could finally move. Now, Amanda's quoted us saying, this is the mother of Noah. She said, quote, I immediately start freaking out. I call my family. We try to contact the police and they wouldn't do anything for us because it was Jake's time with Noah. So it wasn't until Sunday at 6 p.m. when Jake was supposed to bring Noah back that they could really do anything. They had police cars there waiting. I had my family there.

with me waiting and he never showed up. I can't imagine how she felt like sitting wherever she was waiting for her baby to be brought back to her. No, this is just like really just breaking my heart. I can't imagine this. And Amber, 16-year-old Amber Claire, also went missing from her home in Kentucky. Now her mother, Jamie Bravada, said, quote, I can't handle it as much so I end up crying and send her a message on Messenger just hoping she sees it. We're searching for her, waking up in the morning and trying to find her. She was initially labeled as a runaway, and they said that she ran away willingly because they claimed from notes that she left that seemed like she was going somewhere.

But she's now labeled as a missing and endangered child. So that's important. An Amber Alert was not issued for Noah until November 16th, Tuesday of this week. So 10 days after he went missing essentially. Now, even more disturbingly, it appears that family members have. spoken to the media and said they believe that Jake, the uncle of Amber, was grooming her in some way. The notes that they were referring to were like a little disturbing. They were just like a little like what's going on here. And family believe that they might not have been even written by Amber

and they might have even been coached for her to write by Jake. So something's happening. He was definitely grooming in some way, at least manipulating her in some way that they saw and they are concerned. Now, he was also kind of like a survivalist, an outdoorsman. Yeah. It's weird that we've seen a couple of cases with this kind of scenario. Jake is six foot seven. So he's a big guy. He's a giant.

And he's 180 pounds to 200 pounds somewhere in there. And he's like well built. Yeah, he's a strong dude. He's a tall guy. So he's very hard to miss. You're going to be able to see him. He has blue or hazel eyes, brown hair. he has very distinctive tribal tattoos on his left arm and shoulder, and they're big, like very

out there. And his right arm also has another distinctive tattoo. On his right forearm, he has Claire, C-L-A-R-E, tattooed on it. Now, police have issued two active arrest warrants for custodial interference on him, and this has also been upgraded to an especially aggravated kidnapping, which is important because this can only be issued if the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death. So this is serious. This needs to be like, we need to find them. Red alert. Now, little Noah Claire, who is three years old, he's three feet tall five inches.

He's 40 pounds with blue eyes and brown like curly adorable hair. He's adorable. He was last seen wearing gray sweatpants, a camo shirt, black jacket, and black shoes. Amber Claire is 16 years old. She's 5'7, about 140 pounds. Green eyes, darker, dirty blonde hair. She is diagnosed with epilepsy and left home without her seizure medication, which is really bad and something she would likely not do in her own volition.

She's thought to have a cell phone, though. They don't know for sure, but they're thought they're thinking she has a cell phone, which is why her mother is saying she's messaging her trying to get her attention. Now, he had been spotted Jake in a 2005 silver Subaru legacy with Tennessee plates, 4-2-M-Y-10. And it had like bumper stickers all over it initially, like covered with them. He took those off, which is very unsettling to me. Terrifying in and of itself.

But recent developments are that that car has actually been found. So Tuesday, November 16th, so just this week, just yesterday, it was located abandoned in San Clemente, California. Now, disturbingly, it's clear children had been in this car. There was a car seat. There was a car seat. There were instant meals, instant milk inside. I mean, that ton of camping gear, things of that nature. I mean, piled up blocking the back window.

So much stuff. Filty, this car is. And the car itself was filthy, caked in dirt and mud. And all of it was left in the car. Yeah. Like the meals, everything. So I'm like, are they on foot or did he have like some kind of connection to get another car? Like, that's where this whole thing gets super weird.

And Amber's mother said, quote, if Jake was watching this, he needs to just step up and do the right thing and bring them home. He's not going to be able to take care of them forever. And it's, I hate these things so much. Like, I hate them so much. First of all, I'm just like, my heart is breaking for these mothers and these families and just like not knowing. And to hear that it's been upgraded to like, you know, these kids are in eminiscate. danger of serious bodily harm or death is, I don't know how there's been. And it said because of recent developments and it didn't obviously specify what those developments are, but I can't even

imagine. I'm so, I just like, it's breaking my heart. It's like killing me. It's like, you know, certain cases just like jump out and grab you. And when you see it and this was just one of those, it's like the summer wells thing that just like you're just. And in the same jurisdiction. Yeah, which is strange. And it seems like the Amber alerts got screwed up. and they were requiring certain criteria for it, and it was just delaying things. I think we need a revamp on that criteria. When a kid is missing, who gives a shit if they are a runaway

and you end up with egg on your face because you put an Amber Alert out for a runaway? Why wouldn't you just do that? I'd rather overreact than underreact. Especially in these situations. You don't know. Overreact every time. Have egg on your face every single time.

I will never fall to police department for overreacting to a missing child and finding out that they did it themselves. Well, and they wouldn't even put the Amber alert out for three-year-old little Noah. So it's like, what fucking criteria do I need? My three-year-old is missing and I can't get into contact with his father. Why is that not criteria enough? This is a very frustrating one and it's like really bothering me. I'm just so hoping that this has a happy ending.

It's like, I really hope so. Everything in me is hoping for a happy ending. But please keep an eye out. If you were in the California area, if you were in that area, the San Clemente area. You cannot miss this guy. You can't miss him. Look out for those tribal tattoos. They are hard for him to cover up. Yes. Look out for little Noah. He's got beautiful curly hair. Yep. Little curly-haired boy. This guy is six foot seven. Look at and if you, you know, if you go on any of our social

media, we've posted photos of them too. So please look out for them. I'm just really hoping that like enough people can get these kids home to their families because it's breaking my heart. When you watch those poor mothers, especially, we just, we just want. watched an interview with Amanda Noah's mom. And she was just breaking down, like, just saying, like, please don't hurt my baby. And it's just, I keep thinking my youngest is two. Yeah. And he's only less than a year old, than my youngest.

And I'm like, he needs so much. They need so much at that point. And you can't give it to him when you're on the run. Like, give him back to his mom. Like, it's just like, uh. And that's the thing. Like, it doesn't matter your differences with his mother. Yeah.

Guys, both of you love him. So hopefully Jacob does. Don't do something to that kid. You both love him. Like, give him back. Just give him back, man. Like, I do the right thing. Differences are differences.

Like, nothing is worth this. No. And you just hope, like, he does the right thing. So everybody be on the lookout for that. If you see them, let me give you a place where you can inform that you have seen them. Hold, please. Anyone with information on Amber Claire or Noah Claire's whereabouts, please contact the Gallatin Police Department at 615-451-3838 or the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations at 1-800-T-T-B-I-F-B-I-F-N-D.

Yes. So make sure that you contact those if you have any information or spot them. And hopefully we will see them home and unharmed very shortly. I really hope so. Because this sucks. Big time. We are thinking of their families. And that's, with that horrifying beginning to this case, we're going to go into more horrifying stuff. So I'm sorry, I really don't have a lot of fluffy segways.

It's morbid. This is definitely a morbid one. But I felt it was, we both felt it was really important to get that out because it's been bothering us big time. Now, we're going to go back to talking about William Bonin, which I'm, I'm, I'm, Sorry. I'm sorry we're going to do that. Yeah, thank you for that. I apologize. It's not something I want to do. Now, when we last talked about this dillweed, he was, he is a dill weed. He truly is. He was working with at least three other dill weeds, which is wild. Yeah, but they were able to pew. Yeah, just butts and pew. Buts, pew and Miley. So he had at this point convinced William Billy Pugh, who was 19 years old to do this with him. He also had convinced Vernon Butts, who was 22 years old, and Gregory Miley, who was 19 years old. And how old is William at this point?

In 1979, he was like 32. Oh, okay. So because he was born in 47, I think. So he was in his early 30s, so it's not like he's like 60 or something, you know, like, but it's still like he's hanging out with like 19 year olds, like getting him to like. come over and watch porn with him. Like, that's not okay. That's not a right. But I just wanted to start this out too with a quote from William. Oh, goody. That I think sums up who he is as a person. Awesome. He said, quote, most people are overconfident of their value on this planet. Most people can be done without. Wow, sir. Wow. That's so dark. Yeah. And I think that really just sums him up. Like that's, yeah. That's literally William Bonin right there. Wow. And when we

last talked, we were talking about how crazy it was that the police were like, I don't think this a serial killer. Astounding. Dozens of young boys have been killed in the same way and dumped in the same way. And there's like ligatures left on them. In the same area with ligatures. Yeah. But nah, I don't think so.

And I think the reporters actually had it right in this, especially the reporter J.J. Maloney for the Orange County Register when he said it seems like the police and And he was like, and I can't say I blame him, but they don't want the pressure that comes around with saying that there's a serial killer and having to solve that. Like once you say a serial killer is out there, you better start moving because the clock is tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. Because people want him off the streets. Obviously. But the thing is, people are going to catch on because they are going to keep reporting these deaths. People are going to put two and two together.

Is this the same person? And you can't keep telling them, no, there's no evidence of that. Because they're going to be like, but I see the evidence. with my eyes. They're like, but two plus two does equal four. Yeah. So I think when we last talked, we said that it was JJ Maloney who kind of like busted it open by publishing a story where he basically called out the police department and was like,

you need to stop being scared of the public scrutiny that comes along with this. And actually handle it. Say it's a serial killer. And they were pissed, right? Yeah, because they were the ones that called him the freeway killer in that, in that newspaper. And actually it ends up that there's the freeway killers. But the police, like we said, were pissed.

And one of the captains on the police department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, said, I believe it was the Orange County Register that started all this. This has built up and created a lot of fear about a killer or group of killers. And there is no evidence substantiating any of that. Now, at this point, the press had Bonin feeling like a rock star. Of course. He loved it. He loved that he was noticed.

In fact, he would go through and cut out any article that was about him, and he would put it in a scrapbook that he kept in his van in the glove compartment. Wow. He had a literal scrapbook of all of his cases. It's like the movie that we just watched together with Leto. Oh, the little things. Yeah. Yeah. That's him.

Just like that. I know. You wonder if they like took little bits and pieces from different cases. Yeah. that's definitely, I mean, I know that the hillside stranglers like to keep certain, like, little scraps of there. So, it happens a lot. They, because they love it.

It's one of those things. Look at all of them. They love that. Oh, yeah. And it's one of those things, too, that you see in the movies and you're like, do they really do that? Yeah. And, like, no.

They really do that. But they really are that stupid and, like, they're definitely jacking off to those, like, clips. Oh, for sure. So weird. That's what they get off on that everybody is freaking. They love the panic and the fear that they're causing. And that they're the ones causing them.

Yeah. They're terrorizing. They love it. Now, April 11th, 16-year-old Stephen Wood was found dumped in an alley. So this is after the newspaper articles came out. It was near the Pacific Coast Highway. He had been abducted after a dentist appointment, and he was raped, beaten, and murdered. And the last thing he said to that mother, his mother that day was, see you later, alligator.

Oh, stop it. And his mom said, she said, in a while, crocodile. And that was the last thing they said. Now, this is really sad because his older brother ended up killing himself on Bonin's birthday nine years later. Whoa. He was so devastated by what happened to his little brother. He couldn't get over it. Oh.

And it's like really sad because that's horrible. These things don't just affect like the immediate people involved. It's like, no, they affect everybody in the family. Just ripple effects and tidal waves that go out so far to everybody in their lives and they don't care. Because it's one thing to lose your brother. Like that in and of itself is horrific and terrible. Then to lose your brother at the hands of a sadistic serial killer who raped and tortured him, how do you ever move on from that?

Like, what are the stages of grief involved with that? And yeah, because that's the thing. It's like to know that he suffered that immensely. And that he was in fear and that you weren't there to help him, even though, of course, you couldn't be there. But like as an older sibling, you always feel like you want to protect your siblings. You know, like, or as a parent, you always want to protect your children to know that there was a moment where you couldn't protect them from the monster under their bed that came to life. Like, I can't even wrap my brain around it.

Now, that was April 11th. April 29th, Darren Lee Kendrick, who was 19 years old, was abducted when he was promised drugs by Bonin and Vernon butts. So they were in the car together. Vernon was definitely the like one that was with him the most. Yeah, it seems like that. Now, Darren had it particularly bad. He was raped, beaten, and killed, but he also suffered a different kind of torture. He had a stab wound to his spinal cord with an ice pick. Oh, my God.

The ice pick was stabbed into his ear. Yeah. He also had chemical burns on his mouth, throat, chest, and stomach and face from being forced to drink hydrochloric acid. What? Yes. which sounds like the Hillside Strangler kind of shit. It does. It's like they were just like trying different things.

Like experimenting and shit. And from everything I read, it seems like everybody who knew Bonin, like these guys who did this with him, said he loved it and he wanted it to get worse and worse every time. Because he said the more that they screamed. Yeah. The more fun it was for him. That's so fucked. Yeah. Now his mother, Bonin's mother moved into his apartment.

with him at this time because remember he had moved out to his own apartment oh yeah she moved in with him again but this didn't stop him like it didn't slow him down not shocked he just brought people back to hurt them you know with her at the house she was there stop who knows if what she knew or what she heard or what she didn't hear but well she's an abusive piece of shit too i mean i was going to say she's the piece of shit who sent him she like created this a literal known pedophile and like sexual abuser of children. And they like beat their children regularly. Oh yeah. And didn't like feed them, didn't do anything. So it's like whatever she sucks. I can't exactly think that she was just like, oh no, what? Oh, how terrible. But whatever. Now at this time, he took, he was began like a kind of

relationship with a boy, an 18 year old named Lawrence Sharp. And for a while, Lawrence was staying at the apartment with him. No, was it like a friendship or was it more like a romantic? I think there was a sexual relationship involved. at least. That's what all sources say. They seemed fine. They seemed like normal. People who saw them said that everything seemed fine, like despite the age difference. But he then, William said he just woke up one day and decided that he was tired of him. And so instead of, I don't know, breaking up with him and asking him to move out of the house, he said, quote, I just got up one morning and decided I was tired of him. I just got tired of having him around and so I decided I should

kill him. No. And so he did. He did kill him. He killed Lawrence Sharp and he dumped him into a trash can sometime in April or May that year. This guy's a monster. He is so scary. Like the disregard that he just has. He is. And he had no remorse till the very end. Nothing. Through right up to the point, they stuck that needle inside of him. He was like, I literally don't give a shit. He very much was created. Oh, that's the thing here. Like there was no humanity in this guy. Like I don't feel bad for the adult, but I feel bad for the child. Yeah, you always feel bad for the child.

But then you, the adult, you're like, no. Right. Like you need to get some counseling and work through this. And something's got to give here. And not murder people. And I mean, during his trial, even the lawyers were like, yeah, you can blame it on child. Of course, there's clear evidence.

Nobody can argue that he had not a horrific childhood. Right. And that he was severely damaged by it. But he knows the difference between right and wrong. And they said people have gone through even worse. Of course they have. And they don't grow up to rape and abduct and torture and murder young boys. It's just not an excuse.

Like it's, it just doesn't, you can't say it. We just covered the case of Nona and she was sexually abused by her father. And she turned it around. Exactly. And she turned it into a thing where she was helping other people. Which is exactly what you can do. Yeah, she was turning it into like a positive thing where she was going to show people that they didn't have to. deal with this. Right. Now, finally around this time is when the police were like, you know what?

We might have a serial killer on our hands. Oh my gosh, you don't say guys. Who knew? Because they were crazy. You know what? He was wild. Yeah, nuts. They were like, he's starting to strike at least once every two weeks. Jesus Christ. He was pow, pow, pow, pow, pow. That is the scariest thing. Yeah. I can't imagine like being a young boy living in that. It's literally just like, oh yeah. John Wayne Gacey, like people, young boys in Chicago because Drew's dad literally lived in Chicago at that point in time was John Wayne Gacy's like target victim age and he told us he was like it was so scary it must have been so strange it's like during the Boston Strangler case my mom was literally living in an apartment in Boston you could open with a fucking credit card with three other girls

and their lock was busted because they were just like starving artists at the time and she said you could literally open the door with like a credit card like just kind of like scoot it in there and jimmy it open and then they would also like stack up glass bottles in front of the doors as their makeshift alarm system so if he tried to get in the door they would at least hear him and like have like a little head start and she was like yeah it was scary but like you just live and I was like are you kidding me like we need we've said it before and we'll say it again ma needs to be on the show because some of the shit that woman has lived through including us, to be honest.

Yeah, you know, I know, right. She's lived through all of us. Plus many other things. Yeah, it's at once every two weeks this was happening. They were finding bodies in this scenario. That is wild. And at this point, there was like the Sunset Strip murders going on, the hillside strangler, the trash bag murders.

There's all kinds of shit. Like, California was wilding at this point. As soon as you said, I just heard the intro to California love in my head. It was not California love. It was not. It was California. terror. California is really scary. Yeah, it was really scary then. So the various places he was dumping bodies all finally got together, all the jurisdictions, because that was part of the problem,

too, is different jurisdictions. They don't mesh well. It's tough for them to come together. Good for them, though. Okay. It's tough. It finally did it. Because I was going to say it's tough for them all to put those big, heavy egos to the side. Seriously. And start being like, hey, maybe we should save some lives instead of swinging our dicks around. So finally, they got together. I just picture like multiple police departments like, whoa! That's literally what it was. And finally, they were like, let's put those things away and let's get together and actually look at the evidence and, I don't know, save some children from being murdered.

Yeah, like maybe that's what we should do. So they did. They pooled their evidence in an effort to stop this. And they created a task force like they always do that focuses on this. And they were ready. They're like, let's catch this freeway killer. Now, luckily, they did run into a little bit of luck because William Pugh, one of his accomplices there, tried to steal a car on May 29th, 1980. Of course he did.

And he got caught. Good. Dumbass. While he was waiting for trial, he saw that there was on the news. He saw that there was another body found. And he knew it was the freeway killer. He knew it was his friend William Bonnan. So he's going to try and get out of this.

Hey, lawyer. I know who did that. And they were like, excuse me? And he was like, yeah, it's William Bonnan. I can tell you everything you want to know. So he didn't implicate himself. I was going to say. But he said, hey, like, I know who it is.

If you give me a better deal, I can tell you everything. But here's, okay, so here's my question. So you got a better deal on this charge. But like, they are going to find out that you were involved in all of this. So then you don't get a plea deal for that as well. But you might if you talk. But I don't really know how many neurons are collectively firing, between all of these guys?

Two and a half, I'd say, give or take. So I think this is just like one that went, pugh. One that went pew. Yeah, it went pew. Literally. It went Pugh and Pugh's brain. And so he was like, hey, like I can tell you stuff.

Just, you know, let's, like you think you're going to get a drop charge here. But what do you think is going to happen when they find out that you two are raping and killing these young boys? To me, it doesn't seem like William Pugh is like a big picture guy. I think he's more of a day-to-day guy. I think he's that day-to-day guy that you just say. like what's on the docket for today and he's like don't know but I'll figure it out wow you can't ask him what's on the docket for tomorrow he doesn't know you got to figure it out so he didn't though so the l-a-pd

detective john st john interviewed him which like john that's great who doesn't love a john you know i hate all johns i love i'm just kidding i love a john but he so he told this detective that william bonin had confessed to him he said he confessed to me that he did all this and he said he had also told him that he was, which this was true, he said, not only had he confessed to me when we were in the car together, but he actually told me that he had been planning to kill me the night that he met me, which he did. He told him, I was planning on killing you, but then, like, I decided you could probably like, you know, somebody saw me leave the party with you, so I would have been caught. Like literally told him that and he was like, ah ha ha, and then he was like, you want to

kill people with me? And he was like, sure. Yeah. So he actually, and William Bonnan admitted that. He was like, oh yeah, I literally told William Pugh that I planned to kill him that night. And I absolutely did. But people saw me leave that party with him. And I am not, I'm not about that. Wow. And like, that's like a power move in the scariest way possible. The most terrifying way. Yeah. Because then of course you're going to do those things with him. Because if not, he might just kill you later. Of course. So you are kind of just you have to. You're fucked at that point. And William Bonnan was like we said, his IQ was high. He was a smart guy. Yeah, it was like 122. Yeah, it was higher. So he's definitely an above average intelligence, and you can see it, unfortunately, because he did go to great lengths to make sure he didn't get caught. He didn't leave a lot of things behind.

He was pretty careful to make sure nobody saw him with these boys before that. That's why he didn't kill William Pugh because he said people saw me leave the party. Whether somebody would bring that up later, I don't know, but I'm not taking the chance. Right. Now, he tells this detective. You know, this is what he told me. He confessed everything else to me. And what's crazy is that this particular detective, John St. John, I love that name,

had taken a tip from someone who claimed they actually lived nearby to William Bonnan. And the neighbor had called a tip line earlier and mentioned his name and said, I think he was responsible for some of these. I heard some screaming in his house, but I didn't know if it was kids playing. Right. Because, you know, it's a neighborhood. Yeah. And again, always just overreact everybody.

And good for them. They called. They called the tip line. Good job. And I understand that sometimes it's hard. You hear something and you're like, was that innocuous or was that scary? Yeah. Sometimes you're like, was that a scream or was that an animal?

Well, and then the shitty thing is is that there are cases where like you call and like sometimes you make you feel dumb. Oh, absolutely. Because they're like, okay. And you're like, okay. And that's on them. Like that's on some, you need to be better at your job shit. Like, it's like, don't, just let people overreact. It's better to overreact and underreact.

Have we not learned that thus far? Yeah, for real. So I don't have a theme of this entire fucking podcast. Nobody's going to get mad at you for overreacting. I'm not going to get mad at you for overreacting to, like, child murder. No, I don't, I'm not. I don't even think you can't overreact to child murder. I'm never going to get mad at you for underreacting.

Correct. So just know that. It's just my new thing. Know that going forward. What do you say things? Correct. Correct. Now, the same month, May, 1980, he had.

He had someone come live with him again. So after he killed Lawrence Sharp, he had another boy come live with him. This is 18-year-old James Monroe. Also, going back to that, was his mom not like, hey, what happened to your roommate? Oh, I don't think she gives the shit about anything. But, like, just worth mentioning. That's just my feeling about Alice. But they began a relationship, James and William.

And Bonin at some point that month confessed to him everything and said, this is what I've done. And he said, do you want? want to come with me and start abducting, raping, and murdering young boys together. I do not. And James was like, yeah, I do. So this motherfucker has now found the fourth human being that wants to do this with him. Yeah. Okay.

And just by being like, hey, can I tell you something? Like, it's crazy in these cases when they have one person that wants to do that with them. But four? Four people that are like, yeah, I will abduct, rape, torture, and murder. young children with you sounds like a plan. Yeah. What is going on California? Well, and it makes you think, like, how many more would he have gotten? It makes you think how many people exist like that right now? Like, how many people in the grocery store out of 100 are like, yeah, cool, I'll go rape and kill people. Would agree to just go murder someone with you if you just like hypothetically threw it at them.

This show has terrified me into oblivion. Yeah, truly. It really has. Like, I can't do anything. And I mean, he was on pace to get a new accomplice every other month here. Like, he's, He was literally just like stacking them up. And this was on June 1st that they had this discussion. And on June 2nd, they picked up Stephen Wells hitchhiking together. They offered him money for, and they said they offered him money for sex. We will never know. That's what they say.

They said he agreed to come back to the apartment. There they bound him, raped him, and killed him by strangling him. He was found the following day on June 3rd with signs that he had been very. viciously beaten in his face and his cause of death was ligature strangulation. Now, what's crazy, so the day that these two, James Monroe and William Bonnan, pick up Stephen Wells hitchhiking and do this. That was June 2nd. The police had actually begun surveillance on Bonin on that day. The day that he was found. Because on June 1st, that was when they were talking to William Pugh. And that's when they got all this information. So by June 2nd, they started

the surveillance and that was the same day that he picked up Stephen Wells, but they had started the surveillance either, like, right after it. Dude, this really does mirror John Wayne Gacy. It really does. It really does. Crazyest ways. Literally 24-hour surveillance was started the same day he killed Stephen Wells. That's wild. They just happened to miss him. Like, that's nuts. But like surveillance means you don't miss something. Like, yeah, you're not supposed. Like, the whole point of it is that you like, don't miss that. You, like, get everything. You, like, surveil. Like, Quick tip for next time.

Just write that down. Surveillance means you watch them. Forever. A lot. The whole time. 24 hours. Thank you. Pretty, like, please.

So June 11th, they were following him because he's on surveillance. It's already June 11th at this point and they don't have anything. June 11th. And he, because I think he had like laid low for a few days. I wonder if he started catching on to it. He might have. They said they didn't know if he knew or not, but this kind of makes me think that he didn't. Oh, okay.

June 11th, they were following him in an unmarked. and he was alone in his murder van. He's just driving around through Los Angeles, literally prowling the streets, staring at boys on the side of the street. They watched from the unmarked police car as he stopped and talked to five different boys, trying his best to get them into his van.

They all refused. Who knows if they found something off about him or they just didn't need a ride, but those five got away. They were behind him and followed him the whole time until he pulled into a parking lot. And there he managed to lure a 17-year-old boy named Henry into his van. Now, they kept following him to another place because they're like, oh, shit.

Where is he bringing Henry? So they're following him, but they don't want to like attack right away because what could happen to Henry. So they're like, they got to play it, right? You don't want like a hostage situation. Exactly. So they follow him to a more secluded area where he had parked the van. And they hear struggling and screaming inside the van. So they descend upon the van.

Like they are just like, we got to. to go in there. When they break in there, Bonin was literally raping Henry. Oh, God. And they grabbed him immediately. Now, inside the van, they found all the tools used by Bonin and his accomplices. They found a lot of blood stains all over the interior. The inside of the glove box, they found the scrapbook with all of the articles cut out. It was in the car. In the glove box. So it was pretty clear to them who they had caught here. Yes. Like he literally had a scrapbook that was like, hello, I'm the freeway killer. Wow. Yeah. The boy survived, luckily, but was obviously traumatized physically and emotionally from the whole ordeal. He was taken to the hospital, checked out. He was released.

Bonin was arrested immediately, and he was interviewed by John St. John several times. Now, each time, he said he had absolutely nothing to do with the murders. He didn't even own any of the things in the van. He said, what's all the blood about in your van, though? He said, I know who does own everything in that van. And I know who did do all this. It's your van, sir. But he said, I was sworn to secrecy not to tell. And I was threatened that if I told he would come for me next. I'd be like, okay, cool. Well, you're going to prison anyway because we literally caught you raping a child. So you can go ahead and keep your secret, but like, we're going to get you eventually. Well, finally, he was like, okay, at first he's like, no, all those knives belong to the real killer.

And I'm not the real killer. Are you shitting me? So finally, once they like, you know, prodded a little bit more, he moved that lie to say he was actually helping the real killer but again it was because he was being threatened with his own life and oops that 17 year old that I was caught raping that's not my fault either I was doing what he told me to do oh yeah you just rape people because other people say so okay now luckily none of this is working obviously no because the police are like it's like that tic talk sound like are you shitting my dick yeah it's literally are you shitting my dick like come on they knew this was a bullshit story and that this guy was the freeway killer. They had blood, semen, and fiber and hair evidence at this point now that confirmed him as the killer.

And a fucking scrapbook in a van registered to you, sir. Now, the van had green carpet fibers and these fibers were found on a ton of the victims and they were able to match them. And the blood and semen that they found on some of the victims at the crime scenes in the van. Match. Inside of him, all matched. So they were like, dude, we got you. You're dumb. So now they're like, how do we get him to confess? We got to get this asshole.

Because he's like a stone wall right now. He's like, nope, didn't do it. With a stupid mustache. So they had to like circumvent his story a little bit, like this whole like, I'm just a victim attitude and find a way to appeal to anything else inside of him. Now, initially they thought that this whole thing worked because he had like a shred of humanity inside of him. But we find out later what the real reason was this worked.

And let me just tell you right ahead of time. it's not because he gives a shit. Yeah. I just want you to know that. I didn't really get that vibe from him overall. So John St. John sat down to interview him, and he said he sat in front of him silently, and they just stared at each other. That is my worst nightmare.

He then said he just, so the detective just placed a folded piece of paper in front of him, just like slid it over to him. Didn't say a word. Like a movie. Like a movie. He was like, I totally did it just like that. He was like, this is too much, but I did it. And he said after a second or two, Bonin picked it up, read what was on the paper,

and then slid it back over to him, and he said, I'm ready to confess. What did the paper say? That paper was a letter, and it was written by a mother of one of the victims who had not yet been located, but was tied to him. His name was Sean King, and he was a known victim, but they just didn't have his body. So the letter was his mother begging Bonin to just tell her where her son's remains were, so that she could bury them properly and give him respect. it worked so he did have like a little shred no because he didn't tell her where he was well just hold on to it hold on to that thought that he might have a little bit of shred because later

he tells you exactly why he did what he did and i'll get to it don't worry come on man i'm gonna let you let you think for a second that maybe he was like you know what you know what well now i know that he didn't so i'm just like i'm trying to think of why not but go ahead go off he said i'm ready to say that he said he was ready to say that he abducted, raped, beat, tortured, and murdered 21 boys. Wow. Then he dropped a bomb. That's when he said, oh, by the way, I'm in the business of doing this with four other men. Yeah.

So the police had always wondered how one guy was doing all of this, but they definitely didn't think it was like this. They did not think there was four other people that had been doing this. No, this is like the Ridgeway killers, too. Yeah. And of course, he's sitting there. And wait, the who? No. I said the Ridgeway. I meant the Chicago Ripper crew. Yes, you're right. But then I think, what did I morph that with?

Gary Ridgeway. Thank you. The Green River Killer. Because for a second, I was like, yes. You were like, no. You were like, no. The Ridgeway, I'm leaving. Goodbye. I just glued through. I was like, yes. Wait, what? No. Like, should I know that killer? I should do that other times with like different things. Okay. So yeah, the Ripper. You're right though. Yeah, right. That really is. Now, of course, he says, you want to know who they are? I'll just let it all out. Okay. So he's like, I'll let you know who they are. They're William Billy Pugh. He's 19 years old. And then they said, Vernon, custody.

22. Gregory Miley, 19 years old. Oh, in James Monroe. So he said Vernon Butts was really the main one who helped him the most, and he was correct. He said Vernon had literally had a hand in a lot of the cases, like literally done the things that he had done. And he said he hurt the boys or killed some of them himself. he was the one that was mainly in it. When he gave interviews to the media after they announced that he was the guy,

because as soon as he was announced as the freeway killer, he immediately was like, I will give interviews to the media. Sure. Oh, of course. Let's talk about it. Why do you think that they were like, they like totally pinned it on him and not five of them collectively? I mean, they definitely, they all get pieces of it.

Okay. But they were able to determine that he killed alone a lot of times. He did kill alone. Okay. And when, and they were able also to determine that he was the main aggressor. And they were idiots that were with him. Just there. But they were also monsters themselves just in a different way.

Okay. Now when he gave these interviews to the media, he basically was like, I don't feel bad. I have zero remorse. I like killing. And that's why I do it. And he told them at one point, like, I am addicted to it. It's like a drug to me. I need it all the time.

and sometimes I need more because it's just not doing the job. Wow. Like it was very open. Like, let's talk about it. And he actually was quoted as saying, quote, sometimes I'd get tense and think I was going to go crazy if I didn't get some release. Like my head would explode. So I'd go out hunting.

Killing helped me. It was like needing to go gambling or getting drunk. I had to do it. No, it's very different. It's very different. Very different. He actually spoke to one reporter named David Lopez and gave a very extensive interview. And he told him things like he liked the sound that dying kids made.

What the fuck? He also told him he was scared of getting the death penalty. He didn't want to die. And he told him he only told the police where Sean King's body was and only confessed after that because the police promised him a hamburger and he was really hungry. So that whole thing about like I read the letter and felt something for that. No, he was just really hungry and they said, we'll give you a hamburger if you tell us and he was like okay i don't yeah i don't have any words i i wish that you guys could see my face right now it's literally it's befuddled i would say a hamburger a hamburger a hamburger he wanted a hamburger and they offered him one so he said okay you know what they should have done they should have offered him said hamburger and then had him confess and then

eaten it in front of them thank you that is actually precisely what i was going to say Yeah. They all should have, like, everybody in the fucking police department at that point should have collectively gone into the room with like five gazillion hamburgers and just salivated over them. Yeah. That would actually be hilarious to just completely surround him with like Big Macs and just sit there and all eat them. And I'll talk about how good they were. Do you, do you want some? No, sorry. I don't think you'd like it. Just sit around him and be like, man, it's, it's that Big Mac sauce, isn't it? It tastes so good. I love. Something about these. hamburgers. Oh, is it the pickles that taste different? I don't know. William, what do you think? Oh, I forgot. You don't have one. Should we get more of these guys? Yeah, let's get more. Let's get more and just throw them out. Why didn't they do that? Yeah, they should have. Oh, never throw out a hamburger. Either way. That's why he did that. Wow. It was not the letter from Sean's grieving mother. That's horrible. And I hope that she didn't know that. I hope she never had to hear that piece of information. Well, he also told a story about punching a boy in the throat so many times that he eventually killed him with that method alone. by just punching someone in the throat over and over. Oh my God. Yeah.

Another quote from one of his interviews is, quote, they were trying to stop me from stabbing them and I would just stab. Just stab. I stuck them in different places with the knife because I didn't know where to stab. You know, I didn't know where the vital organs are or anything like that. Okay. That's him talking about just stabbing someone to death. That he was like, I don't know.

I didn't know where anything vital was. so I just stabbed around until I found something. That's... And then when you hear the... Because I heard the audio of it, he is so dead. Just like cavalier. Just...

I don't know. Like when he says it, he's just like... He's like, you know, I didn't know where the vital organs were, like anything like that. Just like he's talking about a grocery list or something. It's like very... Like, even like Ed Kemper, though,

like talking about like literally, brutally murdering people. And he just says it like, Oh yeah, and then I went to the grocery store and I bought three apples to make an apple pie. One of the scariest ones is Dennis Rader when he's confessing in court. If you watch that, that's one of the scariest, the most clinical, most removed confession I have ever seen. It's so scary. And he rattles it off like it happened yesterday.

He can remember every fucking detail of his sense. Oh, of course, because he like, yeah. Wild. All of them suck so hard. Yeah. So they were able to use this. evidence that they had to officially connect him to 16 murders. That's what they were able to like officially connect him to with the evidence. And that's what they charged him with initially for trial.

They did believe he did the full 21 and that he was actually responsible for committing at least another 15 on top of it. I was going to say, because when I looked him up, it said that he was believed to do like 36 or something like that. He was at least 21 that they could definitely say he did, but I think they only had the real concrete evidence for the 16. but then 15 more on top of the 21. Wow. And what is really fucking shitty is that he was never able to be officially linked to more because they didn't have his DNA on file anymore.

Why? His DNA is gone. Evidence was destroyed and lost and they can't. Oh, and he's dead now. And he's dead. So they can't go back and link him. That sucks. With DNA at least.

Now they... How do you lose that DNA? Honey, we are talking about... A specific department. Yes. The Lappida. No, they had to extradite James Monroe back to California because he had actually skipped town.

Of course he did. He was an idiot and they caught him immediately. And he denied everything, but they were able to charge him with at least the murder of Stephen Wells. Good. Because he was around for that one. I think that is the only one he was around for, but they were able to charge him with it.

Now, July 25th, they were able to search Vernon Butts' home. And they found evidence to connect him to. at least six of the murders. Wow. He's a fucking idiot. He was arrested promptly, of course, and he said he was there for a lot of the killings, but he did not actively participate, and he didn't want to. You just wanted to be there.

You're just there. Okay. And he said Bonnan threatened his life. They're all telling the same story, and that's why he did it. And now this story shifted in a ton of ways, because he said he had no hand in the torture, rape, or murders. He said he was just there. And he said, okay, maybe I can.

I hit a couple of them, but I didn't rape or murder them. Then he said, okay, I did rape some of them, but no, I didn't murder them. And then he said, just kidding. I actually did torture one victim completely, but I did not kill him. And then he said, actually, nope, I just drove the van around the towns and cities while Bonin was in the back, doing literally everything himself. So I take it all back. I didn't do anything. I just beep, beep, I just drove the van.

And then he said, nothing. Good. Awesome. He ended at the beginning. Full circle. Full circle. You actual moron. Hate you so much.

They also picked up Gregory Miley and discovered he was suffering from at least some kind of mental illness. They were never, they never released what? I don't know if he was ever diagnosed with anything. I think they just basically said that he was not of completely sound mind. But did he get charged? He did get charged. Oh, okay. And he did not get insanity, but he didn't.

nothing like that. Oh, okay. So it's in every report I saw, so I felt it was important to put out there. But again, there is no diagnosis. It was not used to put him in a hospital or anything, so I don't know exactly what it was. I mean, murdering people makes you pretty mentally ill. It certainly does. So I'm not exactly sure, but he did eventually plead guilty to his involvement. Now, in January 1981, Bonin had a hearing, like just one of the preliminary hearings. And he pled not guilty. Why? You already confessed. So everybody was like, what? Because he talked to the press. He admitted everything. Right. Now he's pleading not guilty. How does that work? I think he was just being a dick. I don't know. And the same month, January 2nd, Vernon Butts was arraigned and he pled not guilty as well.

But then four days after that, he hung himself with a towel in his cell. Wow. And he was killed. Yeah. So that tells you everything you need to know about his. involvement. Now, Bonin went to trial on November 4th, 1981. Now we only have Pew, Miley, and Monroe left as the accomplices, and Pugh has given information, so he's got a little bit of a different deal here. Right. So the prosecution had Miley and Monroe on their side to testify against Bonin. Okay. They told everything. Yeah, saying, yeah, like canaries. Details about each murder and how Bonin loved it and enjoyed the pain and torture of it all. They said he would take what little money these victims had in their pockets,

and Bonn would buy, like, fast food burgers with it and eat them sitting next to their bodies in the van. What the fuck. And he would randomly, like, while he was eating a burger, he'd be like, huh, thank Sean wherever you are. Like, he would say shit like that. Like, he thought it was hilarious. What is wrong with this guy?

In both of them, both Miley and Monroe said they can still remember the sounds of bones breaking when these boys would be strangled with the tire iron because they said he would literally crush their necks. And they both were able to say what these victims said in their last moments. They also confirmed that some of the boys' genitals had been removed and tossed into fields. Jesus. People in the courtroom literally got physically sick. I'm sure they did. They were running from the courtroom at times.

Like people would just have to run out of the courtroom because it was that graphic of testimony. Yeah. Now, the defense had a tough job. You don't say... Being the defense attorneys of William George Bonin is probably not awesome. He had fired his original lawyer, the court-appointed one, and he hired William Sharvet and Tracy Stewart. They knew they had to at least try to say he didn't do it, but they knew this was going to be a long shot. Especially because he had confessed to multiple media and the actual police. But they were trying to say that Miley and Monroe were not credible witnesses. but they knew that this was going to be a long shot again because, like you said,

Bonnet had told everyone in the press, basically everyone on planet Earth that he did it, that he liked it, that he didn't feel bad about it. And they also caught him in the middle of abducting and raping somebody. Yeah, and he had already been caught for raping other boys and like let go. So it was also brought up that he, you know, that this was going to be tough to say it's not him because he used this very unique and specific. It's called the windlass method of strangulation for more than six of the cases in front of them that day. Is that when he did the tire iron garot?

A windlass, I guess, is a mechanism or machine used to crank rope or cable. So it tightens the rope or cable and it's like a garot in a way or like how Bonin would use a t-shirt and a tire iron to strangle the victims. Because he'd use the tire iron to like tighten the thing. So that signature really hurt him. Yeah. Like that was definitely tied back to him. But they figured if maybe they could really hammer in that horrific childhood angle, that they could at least get some mercy and at least stop the death penalty,

which is what they were asking for him. Okay. And they were like, that's really all we can do. Yeah. Now, they brought in a child psychologist. And this child psychologist said it was clear that because of his horrific abuse, he had endured as a child, that he was not able to distinguish between, love and violence.

And they said he was only shown abuse and aggression. He was never shown love, never shown safety, so he doesn't know what that is. But the prosecution brought in a psychologist who said, yeah, sure, sure. I've also talked to him as an adult and he's a legit sadist and he just likes to hurt boys. He was not remorseful because he said he liked it and he didn't care that it was wrong, but he knew it was. So he is able to distinguish between right and wrong. and he does know that love exists, he just doesn't care.

He doesn't want it. And again, they were like, sure, he has a horrific childhood, but they came forth again and said, so do a lot of other people and they don't do this. It's not an excuse. Right. Like, I'm sorry. Like, sure, we can feel bad for him as a child, not now. They also put David Lopez on the stand.

He was that reporter that William Bonin, like, really gave the really horrific details to. And he went on that stand and he told them everything that he told him that he loved the sounds of kids dying, not giving a shit about the letter from Sean King's grieving mother, punching a kid in the throat until he died and being scared to die himself. Apparently all of that worked. Because January 6th, 1982, he was found guilty of 10 counts of murder. They couldn't get him on two of the counts of murder that they were charging him for in this jurisdiction. So he only got the 10, but then he was found guilty of four more in another county. So there was like another whole trial and he was found guilty of four more.

Okay. So he ended up being found guilty of 14 out of the 16 that they tried him of. He was sentenced to death and he would never be remorseful even for a second. He consistently said he was not sorry. He would have continued to kill if he didn't get caught. And his only regret was that he was caught and that he had to stop. Wow. And he was on death row for 14 years. Holy shit. He literally wrote two victims families and told one mother how much he loved killing her son because of the screams he made. Okay. Why are we not scanning the letters that William Bonin is writing? I have no idea how these got out, but he was able to contact these people. That is the most fucked thing I've ever. Like you're sitting in prison and we're not going to just like peek through your mirror really quick. Just. to make sure that you're not doing something like that?

I have no idea. But that to me, it just seals the deal for him. Because they flip through the mail that they're receiving to make sure there's not like any kind of craziness in there. But you can't look through the mail. Or you don't even have to look at it. The fact that he's sending a family member, a letter,

nope. Well, that's, well, think about Kenneth Bianchi. He was able to send, you know, what's her name? Victoria. I was like, what's her name there? No, Veronica. Veronica Compton. Yeah.

He was able to send Veronica Compton, like, crime scene photos in another, like, right. And like a detailed plan to, like, help him get out of prison. Yeah, I have no idea what's going on. Yeah, we should probably figure that out as well while we're here. Yeah, that's something we should all be on top of. But, yeah, that happens. So he's a fucking demon. That's horrific.

I'm so sorry for those parents. Oh, I can't even fathom. And he made a ton of appeals, but they were all denied. The last one. You think we're going to let you out after you told us? You're writing to parents that you love the same? sounds that they're dying children made and you're going to have the balls to file an appeal at the same fucking time. I can tell you with like full, if somebody wrote me a letter and said that,

there would not be a safe place on planet Earth for them. Not even prison. Not even prison. I mean you think you're safe in there. Ha ha. Like I don't, that's wildly horrific. I can't. I don't even want to like put myself in that headspace. So his last appeal was denied an hour before he was executed. What? Like, come on. I know. It's ridiculous. But let's bring us to February 22nd, 1996. That is the day before his scheduled execution. He gave one final interview and he said, you know what? And this was totally just to be a dick. He was like, you know what? I'm fine with dying now. Like the day before, he's like, I've made peace with it. Yeah. I'm like, all right. Probably shaking in your boots, buddy. And for even more reasons to hate this creature, he said in this final interview that even though the victim's families believe they're going to get closure and peace with his execution, they wouldn't. And that made him happy. What? Yep.

The fuck. Literally was like, I know you think you're going to get some kind of peace because I'm gone, but you won't. And that makes me happy. So far, he is one of the, like, he is like top three most people. He truly is. I don't think we've ever covered a case where they've like taken their last moments to say that to the families. Right? I can't think of one right now. I can't think of one especially. This one just really, really cut me to the court when I was reading it. Like there's not even a word. He's an asshole. He is. Truly. Just an asshole. Yeah. Now for his last meal, I, I'm always interested in last meals. I'm just like, I feel like I have to say them when I find them. Yeah. Especially when they're like, wow. Was it all that before you did? No. That would be crazy. But actually, he asked for two large pepperoni and sausage pizzas, three pints of coffee ice cream, and three six packs of regular Coke. He didn't eat all that.

He drank a lot of the Coca-Cola. I just don't understand why you would want to go out, like, feeling horrible. Because you're going to die. So they're like, you might as well. I'd like to feel. Fill you up somewhat good. Would you? When I die?

I don't know. I mean, I'm glad I'm not in this position. I was going to say I'd never be in the position of like lethal injection. Yeah, no. But it's always like amazing to me what people will choose to eat at their last meal. Like three pints of coffee ice cream? Like I like coffee ice cream. Not even like mint chocolate chip.

That's the thing. I like cookie ice cream. Like I think it's fine. Like, hi, coffee ice cream. I'll eat you if you're there. In a pinch. My last meal? I don't, I'm not asking for three actual pints of coffee ice cream.

And like, you think you'd vary it. And like, oh, the dairy. Oh, the dairy. Like, so much dairy. Two pizzas and three pints of ice cream. Yeah. I mean, I hope he felt like shit. Garbage.

I hope he felt like an actual garbage truck. Like hot garbage. And it's pretty safe to say he did. So we can all take, like, you know, some kind of like comfort in that. I do. Now, while he was there while he's like nomin on his gross last meal. Do you know how long they give you for your last meal? I don't know exactly how long they give you.

I wonder if there's like. to really eat it faster. I don't know, actually. That's a good question. I guess the warden also came by and chatted with him for up to an hour. And he was able to come out of there and say, I can confirm that the freeway killer is dying without one shred of remorse. Wow. And on February 23rd, the next day, 1996, the year that Ash came into this beautiful world.

Four months until me. So this guy went out and Ash came in. Good replacement, I think so. I would much rather take that. Now, Bonin was executed by lethal injection. He was 49 years old. And he was the first person to be executed by lethal injection in California history. Wow. I did not know that. Yeah, they were using the gas chamber before this. And then it was ruled like cruel and unusual.

So people that were there were families of the victims, some of the investigators. And also David, the boy we talked about in the. very beginning who was abducted and raped and was able he just dropped him off after trying to kill him and he said we'll meet again and he said we'll meet again little did he know it'd be there he was there he was there to see him and it's like yeah we met again motherfucker yeah while you were dying yeah and david like really went through it like after that and he but david got his life on track and he like powered through it good for him and last i read about him he's doing great so like good job david Good.

Now, William Bonnan's last words were, I feel the death penalty is not an answer for the problems at hand. I feel it sends the wrong message to the people of this country. Young people act as they see other people acting instead of as people tell them to act. I would advise that when a person has thought of doing anything serious against the law, that before they did, they should go to a quiet place and think about it seriously. So he was basically being like, if you want to break the law, you should probably think about it. because getting caught sucks. That was essentially his last words.

That was a really good translation. That was pretty much it. Yeah. Now, his family did not come to this execution, and they did not claim his body. No one he knew would claim that body. I mean, they also didn't show up for him in his real life, so. Yeah, but he had like siblings. He had extended family.

Yeah, I meant like his parents. Like, yeah, no one, I wouldn't expect them to come. But like, I didn't know if somebody would come, but good for them for not coming. No. But nobody claimed the body. So the state has the body cremated in that scenario. And his ashes were actually scattered in the Pacific Ocean. Why would they do that?

Which I was like gross. Yeah, no. The Pacific Ocean never asked for that. No, it didn't. I know that for a fact. Yeah. Now, as for his accomplices, two of them died. Now, Vernon Butts hung himself while waiting for trial.

And Gregory Miley was actually killed in 2016. while he was serving his sentence in Mule Creek State Prison, that's in California, he, I guess, was killed by another inmate in the yard. And I guess he was attacked. Then they put him back in it. He was like looked at medically. Then they brought him back to his cell and he was found unconscious and then brought into the hospital and he died.

Yikes. So, bye. Now James Monroe, who was convicted, remember of killing Stephen Wells, he is currently serving 15 years to life for second-degree murder. And he actually asked to, like, he wrote into the governor and whoever else is in charge and asked to be executed. Interesting. And they were like, nah. Like, that's not how that works. Like, honey, no. Like, now I want you to serve forever, because you are clearly miserable and that's really you deserve. You're like trying to get out of this. Now, William Pew was sentenced to six years for voluntary manslaughter. Because remember, he struck the deal.

I was like, what? He was freed from prison after serving only four years in 1985. So the year I was born, he got out of prison. Wow. He's now just out living. No, like, parole or anything? No, he's just out. It was in 1985, so he's just, who knows if that's even his name now.

I'm like, do we keep tabs on him? Not real sure. Or? Not real sure. I'm hoping he, uh, he was there for like a good amount of them. him and Butts were like, I mean, Vernon Butts was really like the guy. And Gregory Miley was definitely like way more brutal and hands-on than this guy. William Pugh, I think was, he was young too. He was young and he was definitely there, like bad. But I don't think he was as

hands-on as the rest of them. And then he did get that deal because he gave him up. But that is the end of the William Bonnan story. He's dead. Two of them are dead. Two of them are dead. one of them's out you know the other one's still in jail wow so that I that we are that was the most it was the most it definitely was you did the most I did I did the most this one I when I saw it I was like I'm sorry what yeah I have to tell you like my case this week is also the most yeah you I think you mentioned what your case was and I was yeah I did tell you but I haven't looked it up okay I remember like I knew about. I think we watched the movie together. I was going to say you and I like saw something about it, but I don't remember details. So I'm like, it's weird because I didn't remember details either.

It was like one of the cases on the like suggest a case form requested a lot. And then I started going through it and I was like, oh shit. And you're like, oh no. Yeah. Yeah. So get ready for that. And there's also, I have like kind of a, I'm an interesting, Patreon. I can speak. Sorry, I just had a moment. I was like, what am I trying to say? I have a very interesting Patreon bonus episode that I'm cooking up. So, uh, oh yeah. Look out for that patronesis. It's a cool one. And yeah, sorry. Sorry I introduce this into your brain. But we do hope that you keep listening. We do. And we hope you keep it weird. There's nothing in this story that I feel personally obligated to tell you to keep it, not keep it that way. Yeah, you know. This is all very, very.

much in your brain to not keep it that weird. No one keeps it as weird as William Bonnan. No. No. It's not weird. It's not even the word for it. So just like keep it weird. Bye. The end.