In the late 1970s, Los Angeles was a hotbed for serial killers.

Randy Kraft roamed Southern California’s seemingly endless network of highways, murdering young men. William Bonin, the “Freeway Killer,” prowled the streets in a beat-up van, killing at least 21 boys and young men.

For four months, starting in October 1977, the residents of South California were gripped in terror, haunted by a monster who strangled and raped women as young as 12, and scattered their naked dead bodies around hillsides.

Police attend the crime scene of the Hillside Strangler
2006 N. Alvarado in Silver Lake, where Kimberly Diane Martin’s body was found. The covered body can be seen in the center of the photo, with police personnel and residents of the area in the background.

Following the murders of three sex workers, the Hillside Strangler began abducting young women regardless of race or background, before ultimately disappearing without a trace.

What people did not expect was that the brutal murders were committed not by one but two insatiable killers – cousins Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono.

Los Angeles Police Department homicide detectives examine the remains of Lauren Rae Wagner, one of the youngest victims of the Hillside Strangler
Los Angeles Police Department homicide detectives investigate the murder site of Lauren Rae Wagner. The body was found on November 29, 1977, on the west side of Mount Washington at 1217 Cliff Drive in Glassell Park.

In the midst of his murderous “career,” Kenneth Bianchi began the process of becoming a Los Angeles police officer.

Perversely enough, Bianchi would join the LAPD on their patrol rides to search for the Hillside Strangler.

The officers openly discussed the murders with Bianchi and became close with him over the weeks.

Police investigators inspect the car of Lauren Wagner
Police investigators inspect the car Lauren Wagner was seen driving parked within 50 feet of her house the night before her body was found in Glassell Park.

After sentencing Bianchi and Buono to life imprisonment, Judge Ronald M. George said:

“I would not have the slightest reluctance to impose the death penalty in this case were it within my power to do so. Ironically, although these two defendants utilized almost every form of legalized execution against their victims, the defendants have escaped any form of capital punishment.”

Behind the Tape Photobook
Behind the Tape Photobook features 14 spine-chilling photos of the Hillside Strangler murders, as well as over a thousand more hand-picked crime scene photos.
Filled with exclusive case file information and never-before-heard facts, the Photobook is the ULTIMATE treat for every true crime junkie!
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