Morbid - Episode 279: 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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to Morbid early and ad-free. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. You're listening to a Morbid Network podcast. This episode is sponsored by the Audible Original Series, Exposed, the Ashley Madison hack. In the early 2000s, millions of people joined AshleyMadison.com, a dating site for married people to have affairs. But the promise of discretion was shattered in the summer of 2015 when anonymous hackers published millions of cheating spouses information into a searchable database.
Starting point is 00:00:37 Presented by award-winning Canadian actress Sophie Nelisse, this new Audible original explores the aftermath of the Ashley Madison hack. Dive into this real-world scandal to find out what happens when private affairs become public domain. As you follow along the stories of those caught up in the hack, unearth societal concerns around privacy in the digital age. Join Sophie Nelis for Exposed, the Ashley Madison hack. Listen now on Audible. Wondery's new podcast, Blame It On The Fame, dives into one of pop music's greatest controversies. Milli Vanilli set the world on fire. But when their adoring fans learned
Starting point is 00:01:14 about the infamous lip syncing, their downfall was swift and brutal. Listen to Blame It On The Fame, Milli Vanilli, on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, weirdos. I'm Ash. And I'm Alayna. And this is Morid 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
Starting point is 00:02:06 missing persons 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, Noah Clare and Amber Clare, 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 you guys up to speed on this because they have not found these kids yet and they are in actual danger.
Starting point is 00:02:47 So I want to get this 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 Clare, 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, which I didn't realize it was that long ago. 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,
Starting point is 00:03:31 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 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
Starting point is 00:04:09 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 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 so like my heart is breaking for them now so they were unable to do anything but when it
Starting point is 00:04:48 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 as 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 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
Starting point is 00:05:37 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
Starting point is 00:06:17 in some way. The notes that they're 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 or 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 um and he's like well built yeah he's a well he's a strong dude
Starting point is 00:07:00 he's a tall guy so he's very hard to miss you 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 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
Starting point is 00:07:53 he's 40 pounds with blue eyes and brown brown like curly adorable hair he's adorable uh he was last seen wearing gray sweatpants a camo shirt black jacket and black shoes amber claire is 16 years old she's five foot seven 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 right uh she's thought to have a cell phone, though. They don't know for sure, but they're thought. God, I hope she does. They're thinking she has a cell phone, which is why her mother is saying she's messaging her trying to get her attention.
Starting point is 00:08:35 Now, he had been spotted, Jake, in a 2005 silver Subaru Legacy with Tennessee plates, 4-2-MY-10. And it had, like, bumper stickers all over it initially like covered with them yeah he took those off which is very unsettling 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.
Starting point is 00:09:13 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. Yeah, like filthy, 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, filthy, 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? That's what I'm worried. That's where this whole thing gets super weird. And Amber's mother said, quote,
Starting point is 00:09:41 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 this, these mothers. 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 imminent danger of serious bodily harm or death is, I don't know how they're going to...
Starting point is 00:10:09 And it said because of recent developments. Yeah. 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...
Starting point is 00:10:29 And in the same jurisdiction. Yeah, which is strange. And it seems like the Amber Alerts got screwed up. And there was, you know, they were requiring certain criteria for it. And it was just delaying things. I think we need a revamp on that criteria. Guys, 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?
Starting point is 00:10:50 I'd rather overreact than underreact. Just overreact. Especially in these situations. You don't know. Overreact every time. Have egg on your face every single time. I will never fault a 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,
Starting point is 00:11:09 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. 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 or 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.
Starting point is 00:11:36 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 medias, we've posted photos of them
Starting point is 00:11:50 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 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 older than my youngest.
Starting point is 00:12:16 And I'm like, he needs so much. They need so much at that point. Like, he requires so much. And you can't give it to him when you're on the run. Right. Like, give him back to his mom. Like it's just like And that's the thing like it doesn't matter your differences with his mother. Yeah. Guys both of you love him. Yeah. So hopefully Jacob does. So just like don't do something to that kid. You both love him. Like give him back. Just give him back man. Like
Starting point is 00:12:39 I do the right thing. Differences are differences. Like nothing is worth this. No. And you just hope like he does the right thing. Differences are differences. Nothing is worth this. And you just hope 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. Holds, please.
Starting point is 00:12:58 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-TBI-FIND. F-I-N-D.
Starting point is 00:13:18 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 so big time we are thinking of their families and that's with that horrifying beginning to this uh case we're gonna go into more horrifying stuff so i'm sorry i really don't have a lot of fluffy segues. It's morbid.
Starting point is 00:13:47 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. If you're listening to this podcast, then chances are good. You are a fan of the strange, dark and mysterious.
Starting point is 00:14:01 And if that's true, then you're in luck because once again, Mr. Ball and podcast, strange, dark and mysterious stories And if that's true, then you're in luck. Because once again, Mr. Ballin Podcast, strange, dark and mysterious stories is available everywhere you get your podcasts. Each week on the Mr. Ballin Podcast, you'll hear new stories about inexplicable encounters, shocking disappearances, true crime cases, and everything in between. Like our recent episode titled White Dust. After a middle-aged couple failed to answer their daughter's messages and calls, the daughter drives the few hours to her parents' house to check on them. But after arriving and seeing both her parents' cars in the driveway,
Starting point is 00:14:34 the daughter gets an uneasy feeling and just can't stomach going inside. To hear the rest of that story and hear hundreds more stories like it, follow Mr. Ballin Podcast on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. Prime members can listen early and add free on Amazon Music. Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, host of Wondery's podcast, American Scandal. We bring to life some of the biggest controversies in U.S. history. Presidential lies, corruption in sports, corporate fraud. In our newest series, we go to Baltimore, where in the spring of 2017, a police corruption scandal shocked the city. At the heart of it was an elite plainclothes unit called the Gun Trace Task Force. It was supposed to be the Baltimore Police Department's best of
Starting point is 00:15:15 the best, a group of highly decorated detectives who excelled at getting drugs and guns off the streets. But they operated with little oversight, creating an environment where criminal cops could flourish by falsifying evidence and robbing suspects. Follow American Scandal on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge American Scandal Police Corruption in Baltimore early and ad-free right now on Wondery Plus. Now, we're going to go back to talking about William Bonin, which I'm sorry. I'm sorry we're gonna go back to talking about william bonnen which i'm sorry i'm sorry we're gonna 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 um he was he is a yeah truly is. He was working with at least three other dillweeds, which is wild. Yeah, Butts and Pugh. Yeah, just Butts and Pugh. Butts, Pugh, and Miley. So
Starting point is 00:16:13 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 yeah getting them to like come over and watch porn with him like that's not bizarre that's not all right um 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
Starting point is 00:17:02 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.
Starting point is 00:17:15 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 is a serial killer astounding dozens of young boys have been killed in the same way and dumped and there's like ligatures left 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 um the reporter J.J. Maloney for the Orange County Register. When he said, it seems like the police and he was like, and I can't say I blame them, 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.
Starting point is 00:18:02 Because people want him off the streets. there you better start moving because the clock is tick tick tick tick tick because people want him off the street 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 people are going to be like hey 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 so i think when we last talked uh we said that it was J.J. 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.
Starting point is 00:18:40 And they were pissed, right? Yeah, because they were the ones that called him the freeway killer 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 Bonnen 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. Wow.
Starting point is 00:19:28 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.
Starting point is 00:19:43 Just like that. I know. You wonder if they took little bits and pieces from different cases. Yeah. Because that's it's that's him just like that i know you wonder if he they like took little bits and pieces from different cases yeah because that's definitely i mean i know that the hillside stranglers like to keep certain like little scraps i was gonna say so it happens a lot they because they love it i mean 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 like no they really do they really are that? Yeah, like, no.
Starting point is 00:20:05 They really do that. But they really are that stupid and lame. Like, they're definitely jacking off to those, like, clips. Oh, for sure. And it's so weird. That's what they get off on. Yeah. That everybody is freaking, they love the panic and the fear that they're causing. And that they're the ones causing it.
Starting point is 00:20:17 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 his mother that day was, see you later, alligator. Oh, stop it. And his mom said, she said said in a while crocodile and that was the last thing they said now this is really sad because his older brother ended up
Starting point is 00:20:52 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 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 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
Starting point is 00:21:32 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 an older sibling you always feel like you want to protect your siblings yeah like or 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, 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.
Starting point is 00:22:19 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. from being forced to drink hydrochloric acid what yes which sounds like the hillside strangler kind
Starting point is 00:22:49 of shit it does it's like they were just like trying different things experimenting right shit like and 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 because he said the more that they screamed like the more the more he enjoyed him that's so fucked yeah now his mother uh bonin's mother moved into his apartment with him at this time because remember he had moved out to his own apartment oh yeah uh she moved in with him again but he this didn't stop him like it didn't slow him down. Not shocked.
Starting point is 00:23:29 He just brought people back to hurt them, you know, with her at the house. She was there. Stop. Who knows 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 to live with 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.
Starting point is 00:23:48 So it's like, whatever, she sucks. I can't exactly think that she was just like, oh, no, what? Oh, how terrible. I had no idea. But whatever. Now, at this time, he began like a kind of relationship with a boy, an 18-year-old named Lawrence Sharp. And for a while lawrence was
Starting point is 00:24:05 staying at the apartment with him no was it like a friendship or was it more like i think there was a sexual relationship involved at least that's what all sources say um they seemed fine they seemed like normal people who saw them said that everything seemed fine um like despite the age difference but um he then williams said he just woke up one day and decided that he was tired of him uh-huh 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
Starting point is 00:24:50 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.
Starting point is 00:25:04 He was like, I literally don't give a shit. He very much was created. Oh, he was a destroyed human being. 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 the adult, you're like, no, I can't. You need to get some counseling and work through this.
Starting point is 00:25:23 Because 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 childhood. 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.
Starting point is 00:25:42 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 just doesn't, you can't say it. I mean, 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 yeah she was turning it into like a positive thing where she was gonna 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
Starting point is 00:26:25 he's starting to strike at least once every two weeks at least christ he was pow pow pow that is the scariest yeah i can't imagine like being a young boy living in that it's literally just like oh yeah john wayne gacy like people like 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 um Boston Strangler case my mom was literally living in an apartment in Boston you could open with a fucking credit card 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
Starting point is 00:27:14 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 least hear him and like have like a 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 i just had 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 and if she's including us to be honest yeah you know i know right she's lived through all of us plus many other things yeah at, once every two weeks this was happening. They were finding bodies in this scenario. That is wild.
Starting point is 00:27:50 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 that I just heard the intro to California Love in my head my head it was not california 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 for them to come together. Good for them, though.
Starting point is 00:28:25 They 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 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
Starting point is 00:28:49 look at the evidence and, I don't know, save some children from being murdered. Yeah, 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. Academy is a new scripted podcast that follows Ava Richards, played by HBO's Industries' Myhala Herald, a brilliant scholarship student who has to quickly
Starting point is 00:29:16 adapt to her newfound eat-or-be-eaten world. Ava's ambitions take hold and her small-town values break in hopes of becoming the first scholarship student to make The List, Bishop Gray's all-coveted academic top 10, curated by the headmaster himself. But after realizing she has no chance at The List on her own, she reluctantly accepts an invitation to a secret underground society that pulls the strings on campus life and academic success. If she bends to their will, she'll have everything she's ever dreamed of. But at what cost? Academy takes you into the world of a cutthroat private school where power, money, and sex collide in a game of life and death. Follow Academy on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of Academy early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus.
Starting point is 00:30:16 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. Uh-oh. 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 Bonin. So he's gonna 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 Bonin. I can tell you everything you want to know. So he didn't implicate himself. I was gonna say. But he said, hey, like, I know who it is. If you give me a better deal, I can tell you everything.
Starting point is 00:30:50 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 yeah like so i think this is just like one that went and it's just like pew yeah it went pew literally it went pew in pew's brain and so
Starting point is 00:31:18 he was like hey like i i can tell you stuff just you know let's it's like you think you're gonna get a drop gonna happen charge, but what do you think is going to happen when they find out that you too 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. For sure. 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.
Starting point is 00:31:40 Wow. You can't ask him what's on the docket for tomorrow. He doesn't know. You got to figure it out, son. So he didn't, though. So the LAPD detective John St. John interviewed him. John St. John. That's great.
Starting point is 00:31:51 Who doesn't love a John? Me. You know? I hate all Johns. No, I'm just kidding. I love a John. I love a John. But he, so he told this detective that William Bonin had confessed to him.
Starting point is 00:32:02 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 and then he was like you want to kill people with me and he was like sure yeah so he well he actually and william bonnan admitted that he was like oh yeah i literally told william pew that i planned to kill him that night
Starting point is 00:32:41 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 yeah because then of course you're gonna 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 Bonin was, like we said, his IQ was high. He was a smart guy. Yeah. It was like 122, right? Yeah, it was higher.
Starting point is 00:33:09 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'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.
Starting point is 00:33:34 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, st john i love that name had taken a tip from someone who claimed they actually lived nearby to william bonin 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 but it's just like and i understand that like sometimes it's hard you hear something and
Starting point is 00:34:15 you're like was that innocuous or was that scary you know like sometimes you're like was that a scream or was that an animal and then the shitty thing is is that there are cases where like you call and like sometimes you they make you feel dumb because they're like absolutely because they're like okay like me and you're like okay well and that's on them like that's on some you need to be better at your job shit yeah it's like don't just let people over react it's better to overreact and under react have we not learned that thus far yeah for real theme of this entire fucking podcast nobody's gonna get mad at you for over i'm not gonna 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 i'm never gonna get mad at you for that i'm gonna get real salty at you for underreacting correct so just know that
Starting point is 00:34:58 this is my new thing know that going forward when you say things correct correct now the same month may 1980 he had uh he had someone come live with him again so after he killed lauren sharp he had another boy come live with him this is 18 year old uh 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 a shit she doesn't but like just worth mentioning i just that's just my feeling about alice but uh 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 to come with me and start abducting raping and murdering young boys together i do not and james was like yeah i do so so this motherfucker has now found the fourth human being that wants to do this with him yeah okay and just by being like
Starting point is 00:35:54 hey 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 before 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 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 a hundred are like yeah cool i'll go rape 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 was literally just like stacking them up and this was on june 1st that they had
Starting point is 00:36:41 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 they there they bound him raped him and killed him by strangling him uh he was found the following day on June 3rd with signs that he had been 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 Bonin,
Starting point is 00:37:17 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 they that was when they were talking to william pew 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 like right after it dude this really does mirror John Wayne Gacy.
Starting point is 00:37:46 It really does. Craziest way. 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.
Starting point is 00:37:59 Like the whole point of it is that you like don't. You like get everything. You like surveil like quick tip for next time just write that down valence means you watch them forever a lot for the whole time 24 hours thank you pretty like please so june 11th they were following him because he's on surveillance already june 11th at this point and they don't have anything 11th and he because i think he had like laid low for a few days. I wonder if he started catching on to it.
Starting point is 00:38:27 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. So June 11th, they were following him in an unmarked car and he was alone in his murder van. Okay. He's just driving around through Los Angeles, literally like 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.
Starting point is 00:38:54 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 why 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
Starting point is 00:39:30 and they hear struggling and screaming inside the van so they descend upon the van like they are just like we gotta 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. 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. Thank God. But was obviously traumatized physically and emotionally. Yes. From the whole ordeal. He was taken to the hospital,
Starting point is 00:40:15 checked out, he was released. Okay. Bonnen 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 so you can go ahead and keep your secret but like we're gonna get you eventually well finally he was like okay he's at first he's
Starting point is 00:40:55 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 no luckily none of this is working obviously no because they clearly know it's like that tiktok sound like you're 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
Starting point is 00:41:34 killer they had blood semen and fiber and hair evidence at this point now that confirmed him as the killer fucking scrapbook in a van registered to you sir now the van had green carpet uh fibers and these fibers were found on a ton of the victims and they were able to match them that's terrible and the blood and semen that they found on some of the victims at the crime scenes in the van inside of him all matched so they were like dude we got you you're done 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
Starting point is 00:42:14 just a victim attitude and find a way to appeal to anything else they'd like play with it 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 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
Starting point is 00:42:50 he was like i totally did it just like that he was like this is too much but i did 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? 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 Bonnen 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
Starting point is 00:43:33 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 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, 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
Starting point is 00:44:17 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 the ridgeway i meant i meant the chicago ripper crew yes you're right but then i think what did i morph that with uh gary ridgeway thank you the green river killer because for a second i was like yes you were like yeah no who's that the ridgeway i'm leaving i just flew through it i was like yes wait 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 there really is now of course he says you want to know who they are i'll just i'll let it all out okay so he's like i'll let you know who they are they are william billy pew he's 19 years old and then they said Vernon Butts 22 Gregory Miley 19 years old oh in James Monroe so he said
Starting point is 00:45:08 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 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
Starting point is 00:45:57 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 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
Starting point is 00:46:41 gambling or getting drunk. I had to do 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 wish that you guys could see my face right now it's literally
Starting point is 00:47:32 it's befuddled i would say 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 him thank you that is actually precisely what i was going to say yeah they all should have everybody in the fucking police department at that point should have collectively gone into the room with like five gajillion hamburgers and just salivated over them yeah that would actually be hilarious let's 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
Starting point is 00:48:10 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 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 got you don't have one should we get more of these guys let's get more like 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 yeah 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.
Starting point is 00:48:50 By just punching someone in the throat over and over. 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, 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
Starting point is 00:49:10 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 that 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 so 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 raider when he's confessing
Starting point is 00:49:56 in court when if you if you watch that yep that's one of the scariest the most clinical most removed confession i have ever seen it's so and he rattles it off like it happened yesterday he can remember every fucking detail oh of course because he like yeah oh wild so all of them suck so hard so they were able to use this evidence that they had um 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.
Starting point is 00:50:37 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 Moore 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
Starting point is 00:51:07 dead now. And he's dead. So they can't go back and link him. That sucks. With DNA at least. Now, they lose that DNA. Honey, we are, we are talking about a specific department here. The Lapida. No, they had to extradite James Monroe back to California because he had actually skipped town. Of course he did. But 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.
Starting point is 00:51:38 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 with it now july 25th they were able to search vernon butts his home and they found evidence to connect him to at least six of the murders wow um 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 bonin 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 then he said
Starting point is 00:52:17 okay maybe 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 then he said, OK, 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, no, 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.
Starting point is 00:52:42 I just drove the van. And then he said? Nothing. Good. Awesome. So he ended at the beginning again. Full circle. You actual moron. So they were like, hate you so much.
Starting point is 00:52:55 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 and he did not get insanity but he didn't nothing like that oh okay so i'm it's in every report i saw so i felt it was important to put out there but again there is no diagnosis.
Starting point is 00:53:31 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, Bonnen 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
Starting point is 00:53:51 talked to the press. He admitted everything. And now he's pleading not guilty? How does that work? I think he was just being a dick. Probably. 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
Starting point is 00:54:15 everything you need to know about his involvement. Now, Bonnen went to trial on November 4th, 1981. on November 4th, 1981. Now we only have Pugh, 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 Bonnen. Okay.
Starting point is 00:54:39 They told everything. Yeah, saying, 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 bonin 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 thanks sean wherever you are like he would say shit like that like he thought it was hilarious what is wrong with this guy and both of them both
Starting point is 00:55:11 miley and monroe said they can still remember the sounds of bones breaking when they would be when these uh boys would be strangled with the tire iron because they said he would literally crush their necks and he 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 bonnan is probably not awesome he had fired his original lawyer the court appointed
Starting point is 00:55:56 one and he hired william charvett 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 outlets 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 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'd already been caught for raping other boys right 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
Starting point is 00:56:46 method of strangulation for more than six of the cases in front of them that day is that when he did the that's so like 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 garrotte 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 right 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
Starting point is 00:57:25 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 it was 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, 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,
Starting point is 00:58:05 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. Like, excuse right like i'm sorry right 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 when william bonham 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 6, 1982, he was found guilty of 10 counts of murder.
Starting point is 00:59:02 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 ten, 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.
Starting point is 00:59:38 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 to to 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 yeah and we're not gonna 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
Starting point is 01:00:14 him because they click 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 and 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 bianchi he was able to send you know uh what's her name victoria i was like what's her name no veronica veronica compton yeah he was able to send veronica compton like crime scene photos and another like right they 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
Starting point is 01:00:49 out as well yeah that's something we should all be on top of but yeah that happened 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 gonna let you out after you told us you're writing to parents that you love the sounds that they're dying children made and you're gonna 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 not even prison not even prison. Not even prison.
Starting point is 01:01:25 No. I mean, like, 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?
Starting point is 01:01:39 Like, come on. I know. It's, 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 bet. I was like, all right probably shaken 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 gonna get closure and peace with his
Starting point is 01:02:18 execution they wouldn't and that made him happy what yep the fuck literally was like i know you think you're gonna 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 honestly three most honestly 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 family right i can't think of no i can't think of one especially this one just really really cut me to the core when i was reading it asshole 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 you made all that before you died? No, that would be crazy. But actually, he asked for two large pepperoni and sausage pizzas,
Starting point is 01:03:11 three pints of coffee ice cream, and three six packs of regular Coke. He didn't eat all of that, did he? 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.
Starting point is 01:03:31 Would you? When I die? I don't know. I mean, I'm glad I'm not in this position. So I was going to say I'd never be in the position of like lethal injection. Luckily. 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.
Starting point is 01:03:49 Like I like coffee ice cream. Not even like mint chocolate chip. That's the thing. I like coffee ice cream. Like I think it's fine. Like, hi, coffee ice cream. I'll eat you if you're there. In a pinch.
Starting point is 01:04:00 My last meal. I don't, I'm not asking for three actual pints of coffee ice cream. And like. You'd 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.
Starting point is 01:04:12 Yeah. Wow. I mean, I hope he felt like shit. Garbage. 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,
Starting point is 01:04:24 like, comfort in that i do now that while he was there while he's like nomming on his gross last meal do you know how long they give you for your last meal exactly how long they give you i wonder if there's like an allotted really eat it fast amount of time i don't know actually that's a good question um i guess the warden also came by and chatted with him for up to an hour 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.
Starting point is 01:05:02 Four months until me. So this guy went out and Nash came in. Good replacement, I think. I think so. I would much rather take that. I'd take it. 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. Isn't that interesting? I did not know that. Yeah, they were using the gas chamber before this. Oh, 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 he'd be there he was there to see him and it's like yeah we met again motherfucker while you were dying yeah and david like really went through it like after that and of course he did but david got his life on track and he like powered through it good for him last i read about him he's doing great so like good job david good now Now, William Bonin's last words were,
Starting point is 01:06:08 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 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.
Starting point is 01:06:46 No one he knew would claim that body. So, I mean, they also didn't show up for him in his real life. So, yeah. And he but he had like siblings. He had extended family. Yeah. I meant like his parents. Like, yeah.
Starting point is 01:06:56 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 they 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 wow 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
Starting point is 01:07:21 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. 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 in he was like looked at medically then they brought him back
Starting point is 01:07:45 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 um he is currently serving 15 years to life for second degree murder and he 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.
Starting point is 01:08:13 He's like, honey, no. Like, now I want you to serve forever because you are clearly miserable and that's what you deserve. You're, like, trying to get out of this. Now, William Pugh was sentenced to six years for voluntary manslaughter. Because remember, he struck the deal.
Starting point is 01:08:26 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's just who knows if that's even his
Starting point is 01:08:47 name now i'm like do we keep tabs on him not real sure or not real sure i'm hoping yeah he was there for like a good amount of them together him and butts were like i mean bernie was really like the guy and gregory miley was definitely like way more brutal and hands-on than this guy william pew 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 bonin story he's dead two of them are dead one of them's out you know the other one's still in jail wow so that that's where 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
Starting point is 01:09:43 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 like yeah I did tell you but I haven't looked it up okay I remember like I knew about I think we watched I was gonna 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 um one of the cases on the like suggest a case form um requested a lot but 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 um there's also um i have like kind of a i'm an interesting uh patreon i couldn't speak sorry i just had a moment i was like what am you announcing? I was like what am I trying to say
Starting point is 01:10:26 I have a very interesting Patreon bonus episode that I'm cooking up so oh yeah look out for that Patronuses it's a cool one and yeah sorry sorry I introduced this into your brain but we do hope that you keep listening we do and we hope you
Starting point is 01:10:42 keep it weird there's nothing in this story that I feel personally obligated 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 weird. 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 Bonham. No. No.
Starting point is 01:10:59 It's not weird. It's not even the word for it. No, it's definitely not. So just like keep it weird. Bye. The end. I love you.

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