50 Cases: #5 - California

This post is part of our 50 Cases of America series. View more cases in this series here.

Quick Facts

Nicknames or Aliases: The Freeway Killer

Offender Status: Executed in 1996

MO: Sexual assault, strangulation and stabbing

Timespan of Crimes: 1979-1980

Date Apprehended: June 11, 1980

Date of Incarceration: March 22, 1982

Sentence: sentenced to death by lethal injection

Case Status: Closed

Number of Victims: 14, suspected of 36+

Victims: Dennis Frank Fox (17), Glenn Barker (14), Russell Rugh (15), Lawrence Sharp (17), Marcus Grabs (17), Donald Hyden (15), David Murillo (17), Charles Miranda (15), James McCabe (12), Ronald Gatlin (19), Harry Todd Turner (14), Steven Wood (16), Darin Lee Kendrick (19), Steven Jay Wells (18), Harold T. (15 – Bonin’s last victim; was not killed)

Location of Crimes: Southern California

Summary of William Bonin’s Crimes

William Bonin had multiple priors regarding sexual assault before he began murdering his victims. He picked up young boys who were hitchhiking on Southern California highways. He would rape, strangle and stab them and mutilate their bodies. His last victim, Harold, was not killed. The police apprehended Bonin when Harold entered his car.