The Freeway Killer: William Bonin's Reign of Terror
It is exceptionally rare for an individual to be described as "the most arch-evil person who ever existed," but the catalogue of atrocities committed by serial killer William Bonin makes such a label disturbingly comprehensible. His crimes involved luring young boys into his van, overpowering them with restraints like wires, cords, and handcuffs, then subjecting them to brutal beatings, rape, sodomy, and torture using pliers, knives, wire coat hangers, and ligatures. The victims were ultimately strangled or bludgeoned to death, with their bodies discarded near freeways across Southern California.
A Troubled Veteran with a Dark History
Bonin, who possessed an IQ of 121, was a decorated Vietnam War veteran awarded the Good Conduct Medal for his five months of active service. However, he also had a lengthy history of sexually assaulting and raping young boys long before any formal convictions. In June 1969, he was initially sentenced to Atascadero State Hospital as a sex offender with a mental disorder deemed suitable for treatment.
During his confinement, medical professionals identified traits of antisocial personality disorder, sexual sadism disorder, and manic depression. He was classified as an extreme sociopath with a high likelihood of reoffending during psychotic episodes. By 1971, Bonin was transferred to the California Medical Facility after being found 'unsuitable for further treatment' due to repeated sexual activity with fellow inmates, including two who were mentally impaired.
Shocking Releases and Continued Violence
Astonishingly, Bonin was released from prison in June 1974 after medical authorities declared he was "no longer a danger to the health and safety of others." In December 1975, he pleaded guilty to rape, forcible oral copulation of a minor, and attempted abduction, receiving a sentence of one to fifteen years at the California Men's Facility. By 1978, he was freed again with eighteen months of supervised probation, credited to progress in therapy, completion of maths courses, and machinist training.
The Devastating Killing Spree of 1979-1980
Bonin's horrific murder spree began in 1979 across Southern California, lasting approximately one year until his capture in 1980. He confessed to killing at least 21 young boys, though investigators believe the actual number may be closer to 36. He was formally convicted of 14 murders. The victims were predominantly male schoolboys, hitchhikers, or prostitutes aged 12 to 19, mostly Latino or Caucasian with slender builds, long hair, and pale skin.
To evade detection, Bonin and his accomplices—at least four associates aged 17 to 21—disposed of remains in counties distant from the abduction sites, typically near freeways, earning him the moniker 'Freeway Killer.' He often patrolled motorways on Fridays and Saturdays, targeting young males, with accomplices participating in at least 12 of the killings.
Particularly Gruesome Cases
Among the most horrific offences was the murder of 17-year-old Marcus Grabs, a German student travelling across the US. Bonin and accomplice Vernon Robert Butts sodomised, beat, and stabbed Grabs 77 times. His unclothed body was abandoned near a Malibu road, discovered the next day with an ignition wire around his ankle and an orange nylon cord around his head.
Another victim, 15-year-old Donald Hyden, was stabbed, sexually assaulted, and strangled, with evidence suggesting attempts to slash his throat and sever his testicles. Fifteen-year-old Charles Miranda was killed by Bonin and accomplice Gregory Matthew Miley, who twisted his shirt with a jack handle in a corkscrew motion until he died. His body, dumped in a downtown LA alley, showed post-mortem evidence of a blunt object inserted into his rectum.
Nineteen-year-old Darin Lee Kendrick endured an agonising death after being lured into Bonin's Ford van for a supposed drug deal. He was sodomised, strangled with a ligature, forced to consume chloral hydrate—causing severe chemical burns to his chin, chest, stomach, and mouth—and fatally stabbed in the right ear with an ice pick, damaging his upper cervical spinal cord.
Execution and Final Words
Bonin was executed by lethal injection on February 23, 1996, at San Quentin State Prison, becoming the first person in California to die by this method. On his final day, he received visitors, watched Jeopardy, and spoke with a Catholic chaplain before moving to the 'death watch cell.' His last meal consisted of three servings of coffee-flavoured ice cream, two large pepperoni and sausage pizzas, and three six-packs of Coca Cola.
In a final statement to Warden Arthur Calderon, Bonin said, "I feel the death penalty is not an answer to the problem at hand. I feel it sends the wrong message to the youth of the country. Young people act as they see other people acting instead of as people tell them to act. And I would suggest that when a person has a thought of doing anything serious against the law, that before they did, that they should go to a quiet place and think about it seriously." The execution began at 12:09 am, with Bonin pronounced dead at 12:13 am.
