William Bonin : The Freeway Killer

Serial murder is defined as the murder of at least three victims accompanied with an intermittent “cooling off” period in between. Often during the “cooling off” period the serial killer fantasizes about his next potential victim and contrives a plan to enact said fantasy (Simons, 2001). The term “serial killer” was introduced into the English lexicon in the 1970’s and used to describe individuals who committed a series of murders under these pretenses. The typical age of onset for serial murder is usually in the mid-to-late twenties (Arndt, Hietpas, and Kim, 2004). It is difficult to determine when exactly Robert Pickton began his string of killing since much of his early life remains shrouded in mystery. The best way to examine the frequency of Pickton’s murders and the duration of the “cooling off” period between them then, is to examine data of women reported missing from the Downtown Eastside area of Vancouver. Using this data, it can be reasonably assumed that Pickton began his murders (at least within the context of his general modus operandi) sometime in the late 1970’s or early 1980’s (The Pickton Trial, CBC.ca/news). Using the missing women data along with evidence found on the Pickton farm, it is seen that the murders increased in frequency with a much smaller “cooling off” period throughout the 1990’s and early 2000’s before his eventual arrest in 2002.

John Williams was recently incarcerated for the violent murder of three young women. Prior to his arrest, police were on edge because the small town in Arkansas had never experienced anything like that before. Each girl was taken within a week from each other, all while they were out after dark taking a short cut home. Sadly they were all found buried deep in the woods after weeks of searching. The town went into shock; citizens were exhibiting both fear and rage for the loss of the precious girls from their community.

“Murder begins where self-defense ends.” This quote from Georg Buchner can be used to describe the tragic deaths of three little boys who were rendered defense-less against their attackers. On May 5, 1993 in West Memphis, Arkansas, three young second-grade boys, by the names of Christopher Byers, Steven Branch, and Michael Moore, were brutally murdered after being beaten and hogtied by their own shoelaces. A year later, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley were convicted and sent to prison for this heinous crime. Even though the three men were convicted for the crime, there is still great controversy as to who actually killed the three boys. Throughout all this controversy, evidence, testimony, confessions, and more point towards the three men known as the “West Memphis Three”, to be the real killers.

Cary Stayner’s childhood was filled with various events that were traumatic in nature, but when it came to the murder of four female tourists in Yosemite National Park, he made demands and confessed to the FBI about his guilt. In court, testimony was presented by his defense team that Mr. Stayner suffered from a string of psychological problems, while at the same time mental illness and sexual abuse is seen throughout his family and because of this he was insane when he committed these murders. While, testimony present by a well-known forensic psychiatrist for the prosecution went in the opposite direction, declaring that Mr. Stayner knew right from wrong and was well aware of what he was doing.

“A Death in Texas” An essay by the songwriter Steve Earle, recounts the last days on convicted murderer Jonathan Wayne Nobles. Was he truly rehabilitated? The reasons why I believe that Jonathan Wayne Nobles wasn’t truly rehabilitated is because I believe he was faking it. First reason why I believe he was faking it was because, it was one person that was also a pen pal, of the several he had, this one was in prison with him.

On an August day in 1993 a mother by the name of Judy Johnson, placed a phone call into the Manhattan Beach, California police department claiming her 2 year old son had been molested at his preschool by employee Raymond Buckey. (Reinhold, 1990) Raymond was placed under arrest, but due to the lack of evidence in the case he was released. Judy Johnson went on to complain in a letter to the state district attorney that her son had been taken to an Armory a possible sadistic type ritual was performed. (Reinhold, 1990) Still with the lack of sufficient evidence the Manhattan

In the San Francisco Bay area, as well as in the rest of California, the late ‘60’s and early ‘70’s was a time of terror and fear. What started out as a seemingly random, but brutal murder on the night of October 30th, 1966, turned out to be the start of a series of horrific murders that would span 2,500 suspects, 56 possible victims, and over 400 miles. On the calm, cool night of December 20th, 1968, a young seventeen year-old named David Arthur Faraday was getting ready to take a young sixteen year-old named Betty Lou Jensen on her first date.

On the night of January 19,1991 a murder occurred in Laredo, Texas. The Laredo Police made a gruesome discovery in a luxurious home where they discovered three individuals brutually murdered in their sleep. The three involved in coercing this murder were Miguel Angel Martinez, Miguel Venegas, and Milo Flores. Milo, son of an intellectual City Judge, Manuel Flores was a heavy user of drugs and influenced Martinez to try them. Moreover, Milo and Venegas were into drugs and satanism which played a significant role in the murder they committed. One day, the three individuals partied at Milo’s house where there was drugs and alcohol involved. Suddenly, Milo comes up with an idea to vandalize a house and gets an ax and two knives from his home. Milo

A little after a year of the McVicker incident, William found himself in an Orange County jail. But due to the officers getting his record’s mixed up; William was cleared to walk and given a court date. But William would of course not show up for the court date and would eventually start his reign and terror as the Freeway Killer.

On May 3, 1980, in Fair Oaks, California, Candace’s daughter Cari was killed by a drunk driver. Cari was walking to a church carnival with a friend and at the same time, a drunk driver was coming down the road and killed her. She was hit from behind, thrown 125 feet, was so badly injured that her organs could not be donated, and Clarence Busch left her the road to die. He briefly passed out and drove off after Cari Lightner died. A repeat DWI offender committed the crime. Two days prior, the police released  Clarence Busch on bail for a separate hit-and-run drunken driving crash. Killing Cari was his fifth offense in four years.

Serial murder, which is defined as “the unlawful killing of two or more victims, by the same offenders, in separate events”(Lubaszka & Shon, 2013, p. 1), is a term that American society has become quite familiar with. At a ripe age, parents begin teaching their children not to talk to strangers in hopes of shielding them from the potential evil our world has to offer, but what if I told you the serial killer may not always be the scary man driving a van and offering candy? Our society, like it does most things, has placed a stigma upon serial killers. Although not all implied labels are untrue, this stigma makes us vulnerable to the hidden deviance lurking behind us, dressed in sheep’s clothing. Over the course of this analysis, I will

In his article, “The Nightmare of the West Memphis Three”, Rich explores how the people of Memphis drew horrific conclusions about people based on the lifestyle they chose to practice. The article highlights the trials and tribulations faced by the accused three young teenagers. Rich does this by citing the popular documentary series “Paradise Lost” which is an in depth analysis into the lives of the accused, the victims’ families and members of the community. This paper outlines how the belief system of that time superseded the inconclusive evidence, which ultimately led to an unfair trial. By “othering” and “marginalizing” those three teens, the society and police created a scenario that aligned with their belief system at the time.

On August 2009, Phillip Garrido visited the UC Berkeley campus with Jaycee and her two daughters and his suspicious behavior was noticed the special event manager. He then conducted another background check which disclosed that Garrido was on parole for kidnapping and rape and was a registered sex offender. Garrido insisted that Jaycee who he called “Allissa” and her two daughters were relatives. Eventually he confessed his crimes and both him and his wife were charged with 29 felony counts, including rape and false imprisonment and were sentenced to 431 years for Garrido and 36 years to life for his wife (Siegel, pg.55).

I searched mass murders, serial killers, and violent criminals who have been exposed to domestic violence in his or hers’ lifetime. However, I decided to choose a person who was simply a jealous ex boyfriend that decided to take the lives of eight innocent people. Many cases have made headlines within the year about mass shootings, but this particular case did not make headlines. It happened in Houston, Texas on August 8th, 2015. David Conley was once with Valerie Jackson after their relationship ended in the result of Conley smashing Jackson’s head into a refrigerator. Jackson then returned to her ex husband and restored their relationship for the sake of their six children together. Conley did not like the idea that Jackson returned to her ex husband, so Conley took matters in his own hands and broke into the Jackson’s residence opened fire on Jackson, her husband, and then their six children. (Jeltsen, 2015)

Serial killers traumatize entire communities and cause tremendous disturbance to everyone. The Gilgo Beach serial killer is also known as the Long Island serial killer and Craigslist Ripper is said to have been responsible for 10 to 17 murders. The killer is said to target those who work in the sex industry and is believed to have been active for more than 20 years. Although the killer has been active more than 20 years the police are nit anywhere near to catching him. This essay will take a look at the investigation of the serial killer, take a look at who some of the victims were and finally give my opinion on how the case is being handled. It is important to note that the identity of the killer has not been identified therefore there has not been a trial and a sentencing. Also for the purpose of this essay I will be referring to the Unsub as The Gilgo Beach serial killer or simply as the killer.