Last Podcast On The Left
Last Podcast On The Left
"The hillside stranglers were so named because the vast majority of the victims' bodies were found dumped down hillsides in the Los Angeles area, usually away from residential area." — Marcus Parks
"Now, one machine dispensed milk, but was made from bear wire mesh. The other monkey machine was made of terry cloth, but dispensed no milk whatsoever. Invariably, the monkeys chose to cuddle with the terry cloth monkey instead of drinking the milk that they needed to survive." — Ben Kistle
"But his mom still controls him. So he's got these two forces just slamming against each other that will make him kill women for years." — Henry Zebrowski
This episode begins the deep dive into the Hillside Stranglers, a pair of serial killers and rapists who terrorized Los Angeles between October 1977 and February 1978, claiming ten lives. The report meticulously details the early lives of Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Bono, tracing their development through backgrounds marked by neglect, abuse, and significant psychological distress. Kenneth Bianchi's early life is characterized by maternal neglect, early adoption, and a series of foster homes, leading to issues with bedwetting and a strong propensity for lying, exacerbated by his mother's neurotic and overbearing nature, which included invasive medical examinations. Angelo Bono's upbringing is depicted as equally bleak, marked by an abusive single mother and an early idolization of a convicted rapist, setting a trajectory towards extreme antisocial behavior and violence.
The narrative explores how these formative experiences, including Bianchi's turbulent marriage and Bono's history of sexual offenses and abusive relationships, contributed to their shared path towards criminal activity. The podcast delves into their individual psychological traits, such as Bianchi's "glass person" persona, his above-average intelligence coupled with laziness, and his "virgin-whore" complex regarding women, and Bono's raw, almost animalistic sexuality and aggressive nature. Their reunion in Los Angeles, with Bono running a car upholstery shop, sets the stage for their criminal enterprise.
The episode culminates with the abduction and murder of Yalanda Washington, the first victim explicitly linked to the Hillside Stranglers, highlighting how a seemingly minor piece of information from a prostitute led to her death. This initial crime underscores the calculated brutality and the evolving modus operandi of the duo, setting the grim tone for the series that follows, exploring the escalation of their violence and the eventual capture and prosecution.