Crime Junkie
Crime Junkie
"Every true crime story has one thing in common. Nothing is as it seems." — Ashley Flowers
"They used fake badges, and in many of the cases, they would get the women to go with them willingly, and once they had them, they would take them back to Angelo's upholstery shop in Glendale, and this is where they would torture the women and kill the women." — Britt
"The fact that the media and the press and really the public don't give these cases attention is what allows men to keep killing them." — Britt
This episode of Crime Junkie delves into the terrifying case of the Hillside Stranglers, Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Bono, who terrorized the Los Angeles area in late 1977. The narrative begins with the discovery of Yolanda Washington, a sex worker, whose murder set a grim precedent for a series of violent crimes. Over the following months, the perpetrators escalated their attacks, targeting women and girls of various ages and backgrounds, including Judith Lynn Miller, Alissa Castan, Christina Welker, Dolores Ann Sipeda, Sonia Maria Johnson, Evelyn Jane King, Lauren Ray Wagner, Kimberly Diane Martin, and Cindy Lee Hudsbeth. The investigation was hampered by the killers' method of impersonating police officers, using a two-tone sedan, and disposing of bodies in isolated locations, which initially led to public apathy.
The case gained significant traction after the discovery of multiple victims within a short period, prompting the formation of a task force and the media coining the term "Hillside Strangler." A key breakthrough occurred with a witness sighting of two men abducting Lauren Ray Wagner, providing the first physical descriptions of the perpetrators: one older, shorter, and the other younger and very tall. This bolstered the theory that more than one individual was involved. The investigation eventually led authorities to Kenneth Bianchi and his older cousin, Angelo Bono.
The podcast details the grim lives and motivations of Bianchi and Bono, including their history of abuse and criminal activity. Bianchi, the younger of the two, was apprehended in Washington state after committing two murders there, which then connected him to the California crimes. The subsequent trials and legal proceedings are outlined, including Bianchi's attempt to claim dissociative identity disorder and his eventual plea deal in exchange for testifying against Bono. Angelo Bono was ultimately convicted of multiple murders, receiving a life sentence without parole, while Kenneth Bianchi received a life sentence with the possibility of parole. The episode also touches upon the lasting impact of such cases on victims' families and emphasizes the importance of vigilance and verification when interacting with authority figures.