William Bonin

William George Bonin, born on January 8, 1947, in Connecticut, became infamously known as the Freeway Killer and the Freeway Strangler. His heinous acts spanned from 1968 to 1980, primarily targeting boys and men in Southern California, with a brief period in Vietnam. Convicted of fourteen murders, Bonin confessed to twenty-one and is suspected in several other cases, marking him as one of America's most notorious serial killers.

Bonin's early life was marked by turmoil; he moved to California as a child and served in the Vietnam War from 1967 to 1968. After returning, he spent several years in psychiatric facilities from 1969 to 1974. His first known murder occurred in May 1979, where he employed a chilling modus operandi—luring victims into his van under the pretense of offering sex, only to bind, torture, and ultimately kill them.

To conceal his crimes, Bonin would transport the bodies to various counties in California, leaving them near freeways. The nature of his crimes suggested a gay male perpetrator, prompting gay rights activists to offer a reward of fifty thousand dollars for information leading to his capture. Throughout his killing spree, he was often assisted by one of four known accomplices, with Vernon Butts being implicated in twelve murders before his death.

Bonin's downfall came in June 1980 when he was apprehended by police while committing an assault on a boy. His defense during the trials claimed that childhood abuse had driven him to insanity, but the prosecution painted him as