The chilling crime of the "highway killer"

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Between 1979 and 1980, " highway killer " William Bonin raped and murdered 14 boys and young men between the ages of 12 and 19. However, many believe that the number of victims murdered by William could be more than 20. The bodies of the victims were left by Bonin along the highway. Photo: Los Angeles Public Library Archives.

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According to police investigation, before becoming a serial killer , Bonin (born in 1947) lived with an abusive father and an alcoholic mother. He was said to have been sexually and physically abused by other boys when he was 6 years old. Photo: Public Domain.

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However, Bonin had committed petty theft several times before the age of 10. He then began abusing children as a teenager. His victims included Bonin's younger brother. Photo: Public Domain.

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In 1969, Bonin was convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting five boys. He spent five years in state hospitals, where he was declared mentally ill. Photo: Public Domain.

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A year later, Bonin was sent to prison for raping at least two teenagers. He served his sentence until October 1978. A few months after his release, he began a series of gruesome crimes that earned him the nickname "the highway killer ". Photo: Public Domain.

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Bonin did not commit these crimes alone, but with at least four accomplices: Vernon Butts, Gregory Miley, James Munro and William Pugh. On August 5, 1979, Bonin and Butts attacked Markus Grabs, a 17-year-old German student who was traveling in the United States. They raped, beat, strangled him with a rope and stabbed Markus 77 times before dumping his naked body along a road near Malibu. Photo: Los Angeles Public Library Archives.

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In the following months, Bonin and his four accomplices committed 13 more murders. Their last murder was on June 2, 1980. 18-year-old Jay Wells was brutally murdered by Bonin and his accomplices. Photo: Los Angeles Public Library Archives.

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After many days of investigation and surveillance, on June 11, 1980, the police arrested Bonin when they found undeniable evidence of the crimes he had committed. Photo: Los Angeles Public Library Archives.

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Bonin was tried for 14 murders, although he confessed to 21. He was eventually sentenced to death. On February 23, 1996, he became the first death row inmate in California to be executed by lethal injection. Photo: nydailynews.