William George Bonin (January 8, 1947 – February 23, 1996), also called the Freeway Killer and the Freeway Strangler, was an American serial killer and sex offender. Bonin attacked numerous boys and men between 1968 and 1980, in southern California, and briefly, Vietnam. He was convicted of 14 murders, but confessed to 21, and is a suspect in additional cases.

Born in Connecticut, Bonin moved to California as a child. He fought in the Vietnam War in 1967 and 1968. Returning to California, he was held at prison psychiatric facilities from 1969 to 1974. His first known murder was in May 1979.

Bonin's typical modus operandi in murdering was luring victims into his van by offering them sex, before binding, torturing, raping, then strangling or stabbing them. He would drive their bodies to other counties in California to obscure his movements, leaving them beside freeways. The crime scenes pointed to a gay male perpetrator, which led gay rights activists to put up a $50,000 reward for information leading to his conviction. Bonin was often aided in his murders by one of four known accomplices. Prosecutors accused Vernon Butts of partaking in twelve murders; he died before his trial.

Bonin was caught by police raping a boy in June 1980, which led to him being tied to the murders. His defense in his first trial argued that child abuse had made Bonin insane, and thus not responsible for his actions; the prosecution labeled him "the most arch-evil person who ever existed", but not legally insane. Bonin was convicted in both of his trials. He spent 14 years on death row, during which he spoke against capital punishment, and maintained his trial lawyer's insanity defense. In 1996, at San Quentin State Prison, Bonin became the first person to be executed via lethal injection in California.

Early life

William George Bonin was born in Willimantic, Connecticut, on January 8, 1947, the second of three sons to Robert Leonard Bonin Sr., a World War II veteran, and Alice Dorothy Cote. Both parents were alcoholics. His father physically abused his wife and children, while his mother had severe mood swings, and frequented a bingo parlor while her sons remained unattended. His older brother, Robert Jr., received the brunt of their father's abuse. Bonin and his younger brother Paul were also left with Robert Jr., who belittled and beat them. Bonin and his brothers were actively raised Catholic. They attended St. Mary's Catholic School, where staff complained that Bonin was misbehaving, being truant, and aggressive toward other students. after returning home, he was reportedly more uncooperative toward his parents than before. The convent enforced harsh discipline by staff, with extreme assault being commonplace. Records indicate he was observed to function well in this structured environment. and once, sexually assaulted by an older boy in 1955. According to Bonin, in the latter incident the older boy approached Bonin for sex, and Bonin asked the boy to tie his hands behind his back, so he could feel "secure and less frightened". During this time at the convent, neither parent visited Bonin or his brother, and Bonin became worried they had died. There, Bonin attended Annie Vinton Elementary School, where he was bullied. Neighbors later failed to recollect his parents spending time with Bonin and Paul, and one worried neighbor provided them meals and clean clothes out of concern. In 1957 he was placed in a juvenile detention center for these and other petty crimes. While incarcerated, Bonin was molested by an adult counselor. His last hours were spent with five people he had chosen, including his attorney and chaplain. His attorney later said that he had not detected any remorse in Bonin then. Around one hour prior to the scheduled execution, the Supreme Court refused to hear his final plea to overturn his death sentence, deciding that his attorneys had given him adequate representation. The Court of Appeals ruled that his attorneys should not have waited until the last minute to submit arguments for overturning or postponing the execution. They also rejected Bonin's claim that he had a right to choose between the gas chamber and lethal injection for the execution method. and was executed at midnight.

Bonin was pronounced dead at 12:13 a.m on February 24. The execution passed without complications. Three weeks after his execution, authorities discovered that his mother had exploited an administrative error to receive Bonin's social security disability payments, which he had gotten since 1972 for his mental illness, and should have terminated upon his 1982 imprisonment. His mother used the payments—about $79,424—for her house bills.

David McVicker, who witnessed Bonin's execution, was traumatized by his experiences with Bonin. He had nightmares, He later advocated for Miley and Munro to remain incarcerated. Munro was sentenced to 15 years to life for the murder of Wells in 1981. He has repeatedly appealed the sentence, claiming he had not known Bonin was the Freeway Killer until after Wells' murder, and that he had been tricked into accepting a plea bargain whereby he pleaded guilty to murder. He is incarcerated at Mule Creek State Prison. Miley was sentenced to a term of 25 years to life for the first-degree murder of Miranda in 1982. He was later sentenced to a concurrent term of 25 years to life for the abduction and murder of Macabe. In 2016, Miley died from being attacked by another inmate at Mule Creek State Prison. Pugh was sentenced to six years in prison for the voluntary manslaughter of Harry Turner in 1982.

Media depictions

<!---PLEASE DO NOT ADD SONG REFERENCES, REFERENCES TO INCIDENTAL DEPICTIONS UPON ALBUM COVERS OR OTHER DEPICTIONS UPON TV SHOWS LIKE SOUTH PARK OR OTHER IRRELEVANT TRIVIA HERE. IT DOES NOT BELONG HERE AND WILL REMOVED WITH NO FURTHER DISCUSSION. TRIVIA IS INAPPROPRIATE PER THE PROJECT GOVERNING THIS ARTICLE.--->Besides Bonin's own Doing Time, his murder spree has been covered in many books: Angel of Darkness (1991) by Dennis McDougal, William Bonin (2015) by Jack Rosewood, and Without Redemption (2022) by Michael Butler and Vonda Pelto.

It has also been covered in multiple TV documentaries, including episodes of History Channel's Infamous Murders in 2001, Sky Mix's World's Most Evil Killers in 2021, and A&E's I Survived A Serial Killer in 2022. Investigation Discovery broadcast the documentary The Freeway Killer in 2014, and the American ABC News released a six-part documentary titled City of Angels, City of Death in 2021.

The film Freeway Killer was released by Image Entertainment in 2010. This film is directly based upon the murders committed by Bonin and his accomplices. The film cast Scott Anthony Leet as Bonin and Dusty Sorg as Butts.

See also

  • List of people executed in California
  • List of people executed in the United States in 1996
  • List of serial killers by number of victims
  • List of serial killers in the United States

Notes

References

Cited works and further reading

  • California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation case summary upon William Bonin
  • Contemporary news article detailing the execution of William Bonin
  • Dead Man Waiting, as published in the San Francisco Chronicle, February 20, 1996
  • L.A. Times news article detailing Bonin's lawyers' last-minute appeals to obtain a stay of execution
  • William Bonin at CrimeLibrary.com
  • People v. William Bonin: Details of Bonin's 1989 appeal against his convictions, submitted January 9, 1989
  • William George Bonin v. Arthur Calderon: Details of Bonin's 1995 submission to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, submitted June 28, 1995