September 20, 2023 • 26 mins
Lynette Ledford was hitchhiking on Halloween in 1979 when she got a ride from two of the most sadistic killers in American history, the Toolbox Killers, Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Tell me a true crime story.
Hey there, welcome to Tell Me aTrue Crime Story.
I'm your host, holly.
(00:21):
Thank you so much for beinghere.
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If you don't know the storybehind my little slogan happy,
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(00:43):
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Are any of you guys going toCrimecon this weekend in Orlando
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I guess I just assumed.
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three of us.
So we signed up to go asvolunteers, me and my daughters.
(05:12):
So I'll be volunteering atCrimeCon on Friday evening, this
Friday which will be, let's see, today's the 20th, so it'll be
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So, yeah, if you guys go, comesay hi.
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(06:15):
look like, then pop up andplease say hi.
Since it's getting closer toHalloween, I wanted to start
telling you guys about casesthat happened on Halloween.
I actually did this episodelike last year when I first
started doing my podcast, butI've updated it a little and
rerecorded it.
I'm in the midst of working ona new case, but I couldn't get
(06:36):
it ready in time because we hadcompany at our house this week
and I didn't want to leave youguys hanging, because you guys
have been so faithful to me andI have so many new listeners
that I really need to stayconsistent and I don't want to
let anybody down.
So let's get into this episode.
This is episode 27.
It's called Halloween HorrorsLynette Ledford.
(06:57):
This story actually starts wellbefore Halloween in the year
1979, but events leading up tothe murder of Shirley Lynette
Ledford, who went by Lynette,actually started in early 1979.
Her murderers were convicted ofraping and killing five young
women, but Shirley Lynette wastheir last victim and she was
(07:20):
killed on Halloween.
I will probably cover this caseof these two murderers in more
depth like sometime in thefuture.
This was a really, really toughone to research and write.
I mean when I did the initialresearch and writing it was last
year, but it's definitely stuckwith me because it's awful.
(07:41):
The horrendous, shocking,appalling details surrounding
this murder and the othermurders committed by these two
men made me feel so anxious,sick, disgusted, pissed and
heartbroken.
Definitely do not listen tothis episode in the presence of
children.
Now let me tell you a truecrime story.
(08:04):
Lawrence Sigmund Bittiker wasborn on September 27, 1940 in
Pittsburgh, pennsylvania.
His mom was just a teenagerwhen he was born and his father
was abusive.
His mom placed him in anorphanage and he was adopted by
distant relatives.
He was very smart and had awell above average IQ of 138,
but he was unmotivated as achild.
(08:26):
He had no friends and wassocially awkward.
Bittiker hated his birth motherand would fantasize about
finding her and killing her.
He liked playing with fire andburnt two sheds.
His adoptive parents had petrabbits and one time he ripped
out one of the rabbit's teethwith a pair of pliers.
As a teenager, he'd set hisalarm clock for midnight when
(08:48):
he'd get up and prowl around hisneighborhood.
He eventually started to breakinto homes and move the
furniture around.
He did this because he enjoyedmaking people feel unsafe in
their own homes.
It was part of his sadisticnature.
He got arrested at the age of17 and was sent to the
California Youth Authority untilthe age of 19.
(09:09):
He went on to commit many morecrimes, such as car theft,
burglary and robbery, and wassent to prison.
Each time he was released hewould get re-arrested for a
parole violation.
In 1974, while out on parole,bittiker was stealing a pack of
meat from Ralph's supermarket inHollywood, california.
(09:29):
When a supermarket clerkstopped Bittiker in the parking
lot and asked him if he'dforgotten to pay for something.
Bittiker stabbed him in thechest without any warning.
He didn't say anything to himbefore stabbing him.
Fortunately, the victimsurvived the stabbing.
Bittiker was sent to the EastFacility of the California Men's
(09:50):
Colony, known as CMCEAST.
Roy Lewis Norris was born onFebruary 2, 1948 in Greeley,
colorado.
He dropped out of school andjoined the Navy at the age of 17
.
He was stationed in San Diegobut did go to Vietnam for a
short time, for about fourmonths.
Reportedly, he saw no combatwhile in Vietnam.
(10:12):
He was eventually dischargedfrom the Navy for psychological
problems.
Norris attacked women inattempted rapes, one in 1969 and
another in 1970.
He brutally attacked anotherwoman who was a student on the
San Diego State Universitycampus.
He hit her on the head with arock, then slammed her head into
the concrete.
She survived and Norris wascharged with assault with a
(10:36):
deadly weapon.
He spent five years inAtascadero State Hospital in San
Luis Obispo County, california.
Atascadero State Hospital is apsychiatric hospital with a
secure perimeter.
Only three months after hisrelease from Atascadero, he
raped a woman.
He was convicted of rape andwas sent to CMCEAST, the same
(10:57):
prison as Lawrence Bittiker.
Cmceast is located along theCentral California coast about
halfway between Los Angeles andSan Francisco.
At CMCEAST, a deadly duo wasformed when Lawrence Bittiker
and Roy Norris became associated.
They hung out, they madejewelry together.
They began to share violentsexual fantasies with one
(11:20):
another.
They also shared thesefantasies with another inmate
named Richard Shupman.
Shupman would write up theirfantasies and they'd sell them
to other inmates.
Bittiker and Norris wanted tokill one teen girl for every
year of the teen years, thirteenthrough nineteen.
For instance, they wanted tokill one thirteen-year-old, one
(11:40):
fourteen-year-old, onefifteen-year-old and so on.
When they were released fromprison they planned to reunite
with one another and make theirsick fantasies a reality.
Bittiker was released fromprison in late 1978 and Norris
was released in early 1979.
They reunited with one anothersoon after Norris released and
(12:02):
began to put the plans they'dmade in prison into action.
Norris contributed financially.
Bittiker purchased a silver 1977GMC cargo van with a large
passenger-side sliding door.
He and Norris nicknamed the vanMurder Mac.
They outfitted the inside ofthe van with everything they'd
(12:23):
need to carry out their sadistic, murderous ideas.
They installed green shagcarpet and a makeshift bed.
They kept a toolbox and acooler under the bed.
They even soundproofed the van.
They kept walkie-talkies,police scanners, a Polaroid
camera and a cassette taperecorder in the van.
(12:43):
From February to June 1979,bittaker and Norris made many
dry runs prior to their firstmurder.
They used different ruses toget girls who were hitchhiking
to accept rides from them.
On Sunday, june 24, 1979, theywere smoking pot and taking
pictures of teens and youngwomen in Redondo Beach,
(13:04):
california.
They had been driving arounddoing this for about 15 hours
when they spotted a 16-year-oldblonde, lucinda Schaefer,
walking along the highway.
She went by the name Cindy.
She'd just left a churchmeeting and was headed back to
her grandparents' home where shewas staying.
When she turned to walk down aresidential street, bittaker and
(13:25):
Norris followed her.
They pulled up beside her inthe van and asked her if she
wanted a ride and to smoke somegrass with them.
She said no and kept walking.
Bittaker drove down the street,made a U-turn, came back and
parked on the same side of thestreet she was walking down.
Norris got out and pretended tobe working on the van.
Norris grabbed Cindy off of thesidewalk as she walked by and
(13:49):
threw her into the van.
According to Bittaker's ownwords in Oxygen's 2021
documentary, the Toolbox Killer,cindy, made it quote-unquote
easy for them because she wasn'tvery aware of her surroundings.
Cindy had just gotten abductedby two of the most sadistic
killers ever in American history, killers who would later become
(14:12):
known as the Toolbox Killers.
They were given this monikerbecause they used everyday
common tools from the toolboxthey kept hidden under the
makeshift bed in the van totorture their victims.
Bittaker and Norris drove anhour taking Cindy into the San
Gabriel Mountains where theytook turns raping her.
They strangled her with a coathanger, wrapped her body in a
(14:35):
shower curtain and threw herbody down a steep ravine.
Two weeks later, on July 8, 1979, searching for another victim,
they happened upon 18-year-oldAndrea Hall, who was hitchhiking
in Manhattan Beach, california.
She was trying to go visit herboyfriend in Wilmington,
california, about 15 miles away,but before Bittaker and Norris
(14:57):
could offer her a ride, anothercar pulled up and offered her a
ride.
She accepted the ride from theother driver.
However, bittaker and Norrisfollowed that car, thinking that
they might not take her as faras she'd wanted to go.
They were right.
She got out of the car inRedondo Beach and started
hitchhiking again.
Norris hid under the bed andBittaker pulled up and offered
(15:18):
her a ride.
She got in.
Then Norris jumped out ofhiding to subdue her.
She fought him hard, but heeventually got her bound and
gagged.
She was taken into the samemountains as their first victim,
cindy Schaefer, and she met avery similar fate.
Her body was then dumped over asteep cliff.
(15:40):
On Sunday, september 2, 1979,bittaker and Norris picked up
two hitchhiking teens in RedondoBeach Jacqueline Gilliam, who
went by Jackie, who was 15, andLeah Lamp, who was only 13.
When they entered the van,norris hit Leah Lamp over the
head with a homemade sap filledwith BBs.
A sap is a long bag or even atube sock filled with something
(16:04):
that gives it great weight.
After knocking 13-year-old LeahLamp unconscious with the sap,
norris tied up Jackie Gilliam.
At some point Leah Lampregained consciousness and tried
to escape, but she was caughtand dragged back into the van.
They were taken into the SanGabriel Mountains.
After Bittaker learned thatJackie Gilliam was a virgin, he
(16:25):
decided to record her screams onhis tape recorder.
Neither Bittaker nor Norris wassexually interested in Leah
Lamp.
Bittaker and Norris kept LeahLamp and Jackie Gilliam for
about 48 hours before killingthem.
They ended up killing the girlsin very horrific ways and then
threw their bodies over anembankment.
On September 27, 1979, bittakerand Norris attempted to kidnap a
(16:50):
woman, but she went behind thevan and escaped.
Three days later, on September30, 1979, they attempted to
kidnap a 20-year-old named Jan.
Norris was driving and Bittakergot out and sprayed Jan with
mace and tried to drag her intothe van.
Jan began screaming loudly andthankfully people came out of
nearby homes to see what wasgoing on.
(17:11):
Norris drove away in the vanand Bittaker fled the scene on
foot.
Shirley Lynette Ledford, whowent by Lynette, was born on
March 4, 1963, in Los AngelesCounty, california.
She lived in Burbank,california.
On Halloween October 31, 1979,16-year-old Lynette was
(17:31):
hitchhiking after leaving aHalloween party where she'd had
a great time.
Bittaker and Norris pulled upin the van and she got right in.
She could not have known thatfour other girls had come before
her, that their torturedscreams had filled this van.
This time Bittaker and Norrisdid not drive to the San Gabriel
Mountains.
Bittaker drove to an isolatedgravel dirt path in Burbank,
(17:55):
california.
Bittaker got in the back withLynette and Norris got into the
driver's seat.
Bittaker produced a knife andLynette grabbed the blade which
cut her finger deeply.
The cassette tape recorder wasturned on so that these sadistic
, twisted murderers could reliveLynette's screams of agony over
and over again whenever theywished.
(18:16):
The pain and sufferinginflicted upon and experienced
by a non-consenting person iswhat stimulates and arouses a
sexual sadist.
They love to see the fear insomeone's eyes.
In order to elicit thereactions from Lynette that
these merciless, pityless,savage, inhuman killers craved,
(18:37):
they used pliers and asledgehammer to torture her.
An audio tape transcript ofLynette's final moments on earth
tells the most gruesome andnightmarish tale of the pure
living hell that she was putthrough.
On Oxygen's documentary theToolbox Killer, mary Ellen
O'Toole, retired FBI agent ofthe Behavioral Analysis Unit,
(19:01):
said of the tape recording,quote the tape was one of the
worst things I've ever heard inmy entire professional career.
It should never see the lightof day.
It is very, very, veryupsetting and, frankly, it
involves the torture of aninnocent young woman and so, at
her expense, it should never,ever be played for an audience.
(19:21):
End quote.
Lynette begged for her life.
On the tape she screamed andscreamed and screamed Toward the
end, right before Norrisstrangled her to death.
The tape was turned offReportedly.
The last words she spoke beforeher young life was snuffed out
were Do it Just kill me?
16-year-old Lynette could takeno more of the excruciating pain
(19:47):
.
She could bear no more of theagony.
She wanted the misery andsuffering to end.
She begged to be killed by hercaptors.
Norris took a wire coat hangerand twisted it with pliers to
strangle her to death.
The toolbox killers dumped herbody on an ivy bed in a
residential neighborhood.
(20:07):
There's conflicting reports asto whether her body was
discovered by a jogger thatmorning or whether she was found
by the woman whose property shewas left on.
The oxygen documentary saidthat she was found by the woman
who owned the property.
When the woman saw Lynette'sbody she initially thought it
was a mannequin becauseHalloween had been the night
before.
At Lynette's autopsy, when thewire coat hanger was removed
(20:30):
from her neck, it was about asbig a round as a silver dollar
as how much it had beentightened down on her neck with
the pliers.
Roy Norris ended up telling orbragging to an acquaintance, joe
Jackson, who was also a rapist,about raping and killing the
young teens that summer.
Joe Jackson was not okay withwhat Norris had told him and he
(20:55):
went to his attorney with theinformation.
Joe Jackson and his attorneywent to the police.
This led to police surveillingNorris, who was on parole.
When he stopped at a drugstoreand went in, police approached
his vehicle and looked in thewindow.
In a wide open grocery bag theywere able to see a bag of
marijuana.
They arrested him for violationof his parole.
(21:17):
In a subsequent search of hisduplex located at 313 Garnett
Street in Redondo Beach, thepolice located about 500
pictures of young women andteens.
These pictures were taken ofwomen and girls walking, roller
skating and at gyms and parkinglots and at the beach.
They located pictures of victimJackie Gilliam naked from the
(21:39):
waist up.
While the police were searchingNorris' place, bittaker called
him on the phone.
The police answered and saidNorris was unable to get to the
phone because he was fixing theantenna on the roof.
Bittaker didn't buy this andbecame suspicious.
He quickly cleaned everythingout of their silver murder van,
put it in a bag and buried it.
(22:00):
Police searching Norris' homesoon found a small card with
Scott Motel on it withBittaker's name.
Scott Motel is where Bittakerwas living.
The Burbank Police Departmentheaded to his room at the motel
and busted in the door andwindow.
He was in the shower when hewas arrested.
Norris ended up confessing topolice and agreed to testify
against Bittaker in exchange fora sentence of 45 years to life
(22:23):
with a possibility of paroleafter 30 years.
He also agreed to leadinvestigators to the location of
the bodies of Cindy Schaefer,andrea Hall, leah Lamp and
Jackie Gilliam.
They were able to locate somepartial skeletal remains of Leah
Lamp and Jackie Gilliam.
The skull of Jackie Gilliamstill had an ice pick protruding
from it.
The bodies of Cindy Schaeferand Andrea Hall were not found.
(22:49):
Bittaker went to trial in early1981.
For the first time inCalifornia history, cameras were
allowed in the courtroom.
Bittaker took the stand in hisown defense.
He claimed that Norris was thereal perpetrator.
He also claimed that the teengirls were paid to pose for
pictures, to perform sexual actsor to deliver quote-unquote
pillow talk.
(23:09):
He said that some of the girlswere drug-crazed.
But one major piece of damningevidence presented by the
prosecution against Bittakertold the real, undeniable truth.
This piece of evidence wasdiscovered during the search of
the murder.
Van Bittaker had overlooked onething when he'd collected and
buried everything from the van.
He'd left the audio tape ofLynette Ledford's torture and
(23:33):
rape in the cassette player.
This tape was played in opencourt at his trial and, per the
prosecuting attorney, themembers of the jury looked to be
in shock at what they'd heard.
People sitting in the audiencegot up and walked out of the
courtroom, some of them weepingloudly.
The courtroom artist also ranout in tears.
The jury of seven women andfive men found Bittaker guilty
(23:58):
on all 26 counts against him.
The prosecutor sought the deathpenalty against Bittaker In
court.
The prosecutor asked quote ifthe death penalty isn't proper
in this case, when would it everbe proper?
The jury unanimously agreedthat Bittaker be put to death by
lethal gas.
They made their decision within60 seconds of deliberating.
(24:20):
Because of all of Bittaker'sappeals and legal shenanigans
throughout the years, he wasnever executed by the state of
California.
He resided in San Quentin asCalifornia Department of
Corrections inmate number C28400until the end of his days.
He died in prison of cancer onFriday December 13, 2019.
(24:44):
He was 79 years old.
Norris served time at Richard JDonovan Correctional Facility in
San Diego County, california,as California Department of
Corrections inmate number C30231.
He died less than two monthsafter Bittaker of natural causes
, on Monday February 24, 2020,at the age of 72.
(25:08):
Lynette Ledford is buried atForest Lawn Memorial Park in
Hollywood Hills, california.
On her grave marker it readsquote beloved daughter and
sister.
End quote.
I'm sure this case has sickenedand angered you as it did me,
and I didn't even detail all ofthe vile, evil, unbelievably
(25:30):
cruel things that these sadisticmurderers did to their innocent
young victims.
Thank you, guys, so much forbeing here and for listening to
another episode of Tell Me aTrue Crime Story.
Please tell your friends,coworkers and family about the
podcast and share a link to thepodcast with someone who's
(25:51):
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Let them know that they canlisten to the podcast on Apple,
google, spotify or wherever.
So please stop what you'redoing and go follow the podcast
too on social media.
Facebook, instagram and TikTokare at Tell Me a True Crime
Story.
So I have two ways you cansupport my podcast.
You can buy me a coffee bygoing to buymeacoffeecom slash
(26:16):
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You can write a short but sweetreview for the podcast on Apple
Podcast or give it a five-starrating on Spotify.
Thank you again for being here.
You know that I truly, trulyappreciate each and every one of
you, and please join me inepisode 28 when I'll tell you
(26:38):
another True Crime Story.
Big, big hugs to all of you.
Bye-bye, yes.
Tell me a true crime story.
Hey there, welcome to Tell Me aTrue Crime Story.
I'm your host, holly.
(00:21):
Thank you so much for beinghere.
I hope that you and your familyare happy, healthy and together
forever.
If you don't know the storybehind my little slogan happy,
healthy and together foreverplease go listen to episode 15,
condemned Rose Stories WomenCondemned to Die.
In the beginning of thatepisode I explained why I
(00:43):
started using that as my littletag line or catchphrase.
I have a big, excitingannouncement to make.
My podcast is growing a lot.
One of the ways is from TikTok.
My handle on there is at tellme a true crime story, so one of
my videos blew up on there andhas almost 10 million views, so
(01:06):
it brought a lot of newlisteners to the podcast.
So if you're not following meon TikTok, please go do that.
I post podcast related contentand other true crime stuff too.
I also have an Instagram andFacebook and I'm at tell me a
true crime story on those aswell.
(01:27):
And the other reason the podcasthas grown so much is because of
you all rating and reviewing it.
I've been asking you guys tohelp me out by rating and
reviewing the podcast on Appleand Spotify, and you guys have
been showing up big time.
I now have 25 ratings on Appleand I would like to thank Jen
(01:50):
for the win, janelle ski 05,travel girl 22 and Eddie stoned.
Six for the review and fivestars.
Your guys, kind words touchedmy heart so much.
It really means a ton to me.
I thank you guys so much, and Ialso received nice words from
(02:15):
it's either Seuss living or Susliving.
He or she said I stumbled uponthis podcast and boy am I glad I
did, with exclamation points,but she, he or she only gave me
one star, so I think the onestar was a mistake.
So if you're listening, seussliving or Sus living, please
(02:36):
edit your rating on Apple andchange the stars from one to
five.
But yeah, I thank you guys somuch and big, big hugs to you
guys for taking the time out ofyour day to review my podcast,
and for those of you that gaveme five stars without writing a
review, I thank you guys so muchtoo.
I'm sorry that I can't thankyou by name because it won't let
(02:57):
me see the names of the usersthat give the stars only without
, like, a written review.
But thank you so much, whoeveryou are, and big hugs to you
guys too.
And I told you all last weekthat I was still holding steady
at seven five star ratings onSpotify.
Well, I now have 13 five starratings on Spotify.
That's six more in just oneweek.
(03:17):
So, wow, thank you all so muchfor rating the podcast.
Spotify users and Apple users Iam giving you all big hugs
right now.
So for those of you who haven'tdone so yet, you guys can help
me out a ton by leaving me afive star review on Apple
podcast or a five star rating onSpotify.
(03:40):
So to leave me a rating andreview on Apple, you just go to
my show page and you scroll downtill you see ratings and
reviews.
Then you select a star ratingand below that you click on
writer review.
So thank you so much again.
I can't say that enough.
Are any of you guys going toCrimecon this weekend in Orlando
(04:00):
?
I have a really quick, funnystory for you.
So a while back, I had appliedto be on podcast row.
Well, I didn't think that therewas a chance in hell that you
know I'd get accepted becauseI'm new and you know, I just
didn't think I would.
So, and I was right.
I didn't get accepted.
However, I was still determinedto go.
So I asked my two daughtersthey're in their 20s if they'd
(04:23):
like to go with me and they werelike oh yeah.
So about a month ago I wentonline to buy the tickets.
Well, I don't know why, but Ididn't think the tickets would
be like that much.
I thought they'd be like ahundred or maybe a 150 per
person.
But so I went on there to getthe tickets and they were like
300 something per person to likewell over 1000 something per
(04:47):
person for like some VIP thingor whatever.
So I don't know why.
I assumed they were cheaper,but I don't.
That's just me being dumb.
I've never really been to likea convention, so I didn't really
know.
I guess I just assumed.
So well, I couldn't afford tobuy those tickets for like all
three of us.
So we signed up to go asvolunteers, me and my daughters.
(05:12):
So I'll be volunteering atCrimeCon on Friday evening, this
Friday which will be, let's see, today's the 20th, so it'll be
the 22nd in the evening.
So if any of you guys like haveseen me before on TikTok and
you know what I look like andyou're going to CrimeCon and you
see me there, like volunteering, come say hi to me and say you
(05:33):
know, I've heard your podcastand introduce yourself so I can
meet some of you guys in person.
And so now you know, if youwant to go to CrimeCon next time
and you don't really have themoney or don't want to spend
that money on a ticket, you cansign up to go as a volunteer and
you can go for free, becausethey let you hang out on the day
(05:55):
that you volunteer Like.
So I'm volunteering in theevening, so I'll be able to hang
out like during the day, likelate morning and early afternoon
before my shift.
So that's how they do it.
So, yeah, if you guys go, comesay hi.
If you've seen me on socialmedia and you know, like, what I
(06:15):
look like, then pop up andplease say hi.
Since it's getting closer toHalloween, I wanted to start
telling you guys about casesthat happened on Halloween.
I actually did this episodelike last year when I first
started doing my podcast, butI've updated it a little and
rerecorded it.
I'm in the midst of working ona new case, but I couldn't get
(06:36):
it ready in time because we hadcompany at our house this week
and I didn't want to leave youguys hanging, because you guys
have been so faithful to me andI have so many new listeners
that I really need to stayconsistent and I don't want to
let anybody down.
So let's get into this episode.
This is episode 27.
It's called Halloween HorrorsLynette Ledford.
(06:57):
This story actually starts wellbefore Halloween in the year
1979, but events leading up tothe murder of Shirley Lynette
Ledford, who went by Lynette,actually started in early 1979.
Her murderers were convicted ofraping and killing five young
women, but Shirley Lynette wastheir last victim and she was
(07:20):
killed on Halloween.
I will probably cover this caseof these two murderers in more
depth like sometime in thefuture.
This was a really, really toughone to research and write.
I mean when I did the initialresearch and writing it was last
year, but it's definitely stuckwith me because it's awful.
(07:41):
The horrendous, shocking,appalling details surrounding
this murder and the othermurders committed by these two
men made me feel so anxious,sick, disgusted, pissed and
heartbroken.
Definitely do not listen tothis episode in the presence of
children.
Now let me tell you a truecrime story.
(08:04):
Lawrence Sigmund Bittiker wasborn on September 27, 1940 in
Pittsburgh, pennsylvania.
His mom was just a teenagerwhen he was born and his father
was abusive.
His mom placed him in anorphanage and he was adopted by
distant relatives.
He was very smart and had awell above average IQ of 138,
but he was unmotivated as achild.
(08:26):
He had no friends and wassocially awkward.
Bittiker hated his birth motherand would fantasize about
finding her and killing her.
He liked playing with fire andburnt two sheds.
His adoptive parents had petrabbits and one time he ripped
out one of the rabbit's teethwith a pair of pliers.
As a teenager, he'd set hisalarm clock for midnight when
(08:48):
he'd get up and prowl around hisneighborhood.
He eventually started to breakinto homes and move the
furniture around.
He did this because he enjoyedmaking people feel unsafe in
their own homes.
It was part of his sadisticnature.
He got arrested at the age of17 and was sent to the
California Youth Authority untilthe age of 19.
(09:09):
He went on to commit many morecrimes, such as car theft,
burglary and robbery, and wassent to prison.
Each time he was released hewould get re-arrested for a
parole violation.
In 1974, while out on parole,bittiker was stealing a pack of
meat from Ralph's supermarket inHollywood, california.
(09:29):
When a supermarket clerkstopped Bittiker in the parking
lot and asked him if he'dforgotten to pay for something.
Bittiker stabbed him in thechest without any warning.
He didn't say anything to himbefore stabbing him.
Fortunately, the victimsurvived the stabbing.
Bittiker was sent to the EastFacility of the California Men's
(09:50):
Colony, known as CMCEAST.
Roy Lewis Norris was born onFebruary 2, 1948 in Greeley,
colorado.
He dropped out of school andjoined the Navy at the age of 17
.
He was stationed in San Diegobut did go to Vietnam for a
short time, for about fourmonths.
Reportedly, he saw no combatwhile in Vietnam.
(10:12):
He was eventually dischargedfrom the Navy for psychological
problems.
Norris attacked women inattempted rapes, one in 1969 and
another in 1970.
He brutally attacked anotherwoman who was a student on the
San Diego State Universitycampus.
He hit her on the head with arock, then slammed her head into
the concrete.
She survived and Norris wascharged with assault with a
(10:36):
deadly weapon.
He spent five years inAtascadero State Hospital in San
Luis Obispo County, california.
Atascadero State Hospital is apsychiatric hospital with a
secure perimeter.
Only three months after hisrelease from Atascadero, he
raped a woman.
He was convicted of rape andwas sent to CMCEAST, the same
(10:57):
prison as Lawrence Bittiker.
Cmceast is located along theCentral California coast about
halfway between Los Angeles andSan Francisco.
At CMCEAST, a deadly duo wasformed when Lawrence Bittiker
and Roy Norris became associated.
They hung out, they madejewelry together.
They began to share violentsexual fantasies with one
(11:20):
another.
They also shared thesefantasies with another inmate
named Richard Shupman.
Shupman would write up theirfantasies and they'd sell them
to other inmates.
Bittiker and Norris wanted tokill one teen girl for every
year of the teen years, thirteenthrough nineteen.
For instance, they wanted tokill one thirteen-year-old, one
(11:40):
fourteen-year-old, onefifteen-year-old and so on.
When they were released fromprison they planned to reunite
with one another and make theirsick fantasies a reality.
Bittiker was released fromprison in late 1978 and Norris
was released in early 1979.
They reunited with one anothersoon after Norris released and
(12:02):
began to put the plans they'dmade in prison into action.
Norris contributed financially.
Bittiker purchased a silver 1977GMC cargo van with a large
passenger-side sliding door.
He and Norris nicknamed the vanMurder Mac.
They outfitted the inside ofthe van with everything they'd
(12:23):
need to carry out their sadistic, murderous ideas.
They installed green shagcarpet and a makeshift bed.
They kept a toolbox and acooler under the bed.
They even soundproofed the van.
They kept walkie-talkies,police scanners, a Polaroid
camera and a cassette taperecorder in the van.
(12:43):
From February to June 1979,bittaker and Norris made many
dry runs prior to their firstmurder.
They used different ruses toget girls who were hitchhiking
to accept rides from them.
On Sunday, june 24, 1979, theywere smoking pot and taking
pictures of teens and youngwomen in Redondo Beach,
(13:04):
california.
They had been driving arounddoing this for about 15 hours
when they spotted a 16-year-oldblonde, lucinda Schaefer,
walking along the highway.
She went by the name Cindy.
She'd just left a churchmeeting and was headed back to
her grandparents' home where shewas staying.
When she turned to walk down aresidential street, bittaker and
(13:25):
Norris followed her.
They pulled up beside her inthe van and asked her if she
wanted a ride and to smoke somegrass with them.
She said no and kept walking.
Bittaker drove down the street,made a U-turn, came back and
parked on the same side of thestreet she was walking down.
Norris got out and pretended tobe working on the van.
Norris grabbed Cindy off of thesidewalk as she walked by and
(13:49):
threw her into the van.
According to Bittaker's ownwords in Oxygen's 2021
documentary, the Toolbox Killer,cindy, made it quote-unquote
easy for them because she wasn'tvery aware of her surroundings.
Cindy had just gotten abductedby two of the most sadistic
killers ever in American history, killers who would later become
(14:12):
known as the Toolbox Killers.
They were given this monikerbecause they used everyday
common tools from the toolboxthey kept hidden under the
makeshift bed in the van totorture their victims.
Bittaker and Norris drove anhour taking Cindy into the San
Gabriel Mountains where theytook turns raping her.
They strangled her with a coathanger, wrapped her body in a
(14:35):
shower curtain and threw herbody down a steep ravine.
Two weeks later, on July 8, 1979, searching for another victim,
they happened upon 18-year-oldAndrea Hall, who was hitchhiking
in Manhattan Beach, california.
She was trying to go visit herboyfriend in Wilmington,
california, about 15 miles away,but before Bittaker and Norris
(14:57):
could offer her a ride, anothercar pulled up and offered her a
ride.
She accepted the ride from theother driver.
However, bittaker and Norrisfollowed that car, thinking that
they might not take her as faras she'd wanted to go.
They were right.
She got out of the car inRedondo Beach and started
hitchhiking again.
Norris hid under the bed andBittaker pulled up and offered
(15:18):
her a ride.
She got in.
Then Norris jumped out ofhiding to subdue her.
She fought him hard, but heeventually got her bound and
gagged.
She was taken into the samemountains as their first victim,
cindy Schaefer, and she met avery similar fate.
Her body was then dumped over asteep cliff.
(15:40):
On Sunday, september 2, 1979,bittaker and Norris picked up
two hitchhiking teens in RedondoBeach Jacqueline Gilliam, who
went by Jackie, who was 15, andLeah Lamp, who was only 13.
When they entered the van,norris hit Leah Lamp over the
head with a homemade sap filledwith BBs.
A sap is a long bag or even atube sock filled with something
(16:04):
that gives it great weight.
After knocking 13-year-old LeahLamp unconscious with the sap,
norris tied up Jackie Gilliam.
At some point Leah Lampregained consciousness and tried
to escape, but she was caughtand dragged back into the van.
They were taken into the SanGabriel Mountains.
After Bittaker learned thatJackie Gilliam was a virgin, he
(16:25):
decided to record her screams onhis tape recorder.
Neither Bittaker nor Norris wassexually interested in Leah
Lamp.
Bittaker and Norris kept LeahLamp and Jackie Gilliam for
about 48 hours before killingthem.
They ended up killing the girlsin very horrific ways and then
threw their bodies over anembankment.
On September 27, 1979, bittakerand Norris attempted to kidnap a
(16:50):
woman, but she went behind thevan and escaped.
Three days later, on September30, 1979, they attempted to
kidnap a 20-year-old named Jan.
Norris was driving and Bittakergot out and sprayed Jan with
mace and tried to drag her intothe van.
Jan began screaming loudly andthankfully people came out of
nearby homes to see what wasgoing on.
(17:11):
Norris drove away in the vanand Bittaker fled the scene on
foot.
Shirley Lynette Ledford, whowent by Lynette, was born on
March 4, 1963, in Los AngelesCounty, california.
She lived in Burbank,california.
On Halloween October 31, 1979,16-year-old Lynette was
(17:31):
hitchhiking after leaving aHalloween party where she'd had
a great time.
Bittaker and Norris pulled upin the van and she got right in.
She could not have known thatfour other girls had come before
her, that their torturedscreams had filled this van.
This time Bittaker and Norrisdid not drive to the San Gabriel
Mountains.
Bittaker drove to an isolatedgravel dirt path in Burbank,
(17:55):
california.
Bittaker got in the back withLynette and Norris got into the
driver's seat.
Bittaker produced a knife andLynette grabbed the blade which
cut her finger deeply.
The cassette tape recorder wasturned on so that these sadistic
, twisted murderers could reliveLynette's screams of agony over
and over again whenever theywished.
(18:16):
The pain and sufferinginflicted upon and experienced
by a non-consenting person iswhat stimulates and arouses a
sexual sadist.
They love to see the fear insomeone's eyes.
In order to elicit thereactions from Lynette that
these merciless, pityless,savage, inhuman killers craved,
(18:37):
they used pliers and asledgehammer to torture her.
An audio tape transcript ofLynette's final moments on earth
tells the most gruesome andnightmarish tale of the pure
living hell that she was putthrough.
On Oxygen's documentary theToolbox Killer, mary Ellen
O'Toole, retired FBI agent ofthe Behavioral Analysis Unit,
(19:01):
said of the tape recording,quote the tape was one of the
worst things I've ever heard inmy entire professional career.
It should never see the lightof day.
It is very, very, veryupsetting and, frankly, it
involves the torture of aninnocent young woman and so, at
her expense, it should never,ever be played for an audience.
(19:21):
End quote.
Lynette begged for her life.
On the tape she screamed andscreamed and screamed Toward the
end, right before Norrisstrangled her to death.
The tape was turned offReportedly.
The last words she spoke beforeher young life was snuffed out
were Do it Just kill me?
16-year-old Lynette could takeno more of the excruciating pain
(19:47):
.
She could bear no more of theagony.
She wanted the misery andsuffering to end.
She begged to be killed by hercaptors.
Norris took a wire coat hangerand twisted it with pliers to
strangle her to death.
The toolbox killers dumped herbody on an ivy bed in a
residential neighborhood.
(20:07):
There's conflicting reports asto whether her body was
discovered by a jogger thatmorning or whether she was found
by the woman whose property shewas left on.
The oxygen documentary saidthat she was found by the woman
who owned the property.
When the woman saw Lynette'sbody she initially thought it
was a mannequin becauseHalloween had been the night
before.
At Lynette's autopsy, when thewire coat hanger was removed
(20:30):
from her neck, it was about asbig a round as a silver dollar
as how much it had beentightened down on her neck with
the pliers.
Roy Norris ended up telling orbragging to an acquaintance, joe
Jackson, who was also a rapist,about raping and killing the
young teens that summer.
Joe Jackson was not okay withwhat Norris had told him and he
(20:55):
went to his attorney with theinformation.
Joe Jackson and his attorneywent to the police.
This led to police surveillingNorris, who was on parole.
When he stopped at a drugstoreand went in, police approached
his vehicle and looked in thewindow.
In a wide open grocery bag theywere able to see a bag of
marijuana.
They arrested him for violationof his parole.
(21:17):
In a subsequent search of hisduplex located at 313 Garnett
Street in Redondo Beach, thepolice located about 500
pictures of young women andteens.
These pictures were taken ofwomen and girls walking, roller
skating and at gyms and parkinglots and at the beach.
They located pictures of victimJackie Gilliam naked from the
(21:39):
waist up.
While the police were searchingNorris' place, bittaker called
him on the phone.
The police answered and saidNorris was unable to get to the
phone because he was fixing theantenna on the roof.
Bittaker didn't buy this andbecame suspicious.
He quickly cleaned everythingout of their silver murder van,
put it in a bag and buried it.
(22:00):
Police searching Norris' homesoon found a small card with
Scott Motel on it withBittaker's name.
Scott Motel is where Bittakerwas living.
The Burbank Police Departmentheaded to his room at the motel
and busted in the door andwindow.
He was in the shower when hewas arrested.
Norris ended up confessing topolice and agreed to testify
against Bittaker in exchange fora sentence of 45 years to life
(22:23):
with a possibility of paroleafter 30 years.
He also agreed to leadinvestigators to the location of
the bodies of Cindy Schaefer,andrea Hall, leah Lamp and
Jackie Gilliam.
They were able to locate somepartial skeletal remains of Leah
Lamp and Jackie Gilliam.
The skull of Jackie Gilliamstill had an ice pick protruding
from it.
The bodies of Cindy Schaeferand Andrea Hall were not found.
(22:49):
Bittaker went to trial in early1981.
For the first time inCalifornia history, cameras were
allowed in the courtroom.
Bittaker took the stand in hisown defense.
He claimed that Norris was thereal perpetrator.
He also claimed that the teengirls were paid to pose for
pictures, to perform sexual actsor to deliver quote-unquote
pillow talk.
(23:09):
He said that some of the girlswere drug-crazed.
But one major piece of damningevidence presented by the
prosecution against Bittakertold the real, undeniable truth.
This piece of evidence wasdiscovered during the search of
the murder.
Van Bittaker had overlooked onething when he'd collected and
buried everything from the van.
He'd left the audio tape ofLynette Ledford's torture and
(23:33):
rape in the cassette player.
This tape was played in opencourt at his trial and, per the
prosecuting attorney, themembers of the jury looked to be
in shock at what they'd heard.
People sitting in the audiencegot up and walked out of the
courtroom, some of them weepingloudly.
The courtroom artist also ranout in tears.
The jury of seven women andfive men found Bittaker guilty
(23:58):
on all 26 counts against him.
The prosecutor sought the deathpenalty against Bittaker In
court.
The prosecutor asked quote ifthe death penalty isn't proper
in this case, when would it everbe proper?
The jury unanimously agreedthat Bittaker be put to death by
lethal gas.
They made their decision within60 seconds of deliberating.
(24:20):
Because of all of Bittaker'sappeals and legal shenanigans
throughout the years, he wasnever executed by the state of
California.
He resided in San Quentin asCalifornia Department of
Corrections inmate number C28400until the end of his days.
He died in prison of cancer onFriday December 13, 2019.
(24:44):
He was 79 years old.
Norris served time at Richard JDonovan Correctional Facility in
San Diego County, california,as California Department of
Corrections inmate number C30231.
He died less than two monthsafter Bittaker of natural causes
, on Monday February 24, 2020,at the age of 72.
(25:08):
Lynette Ledford is buried atForest Lawn Memorial Park in
Hollywood Hills, california.
On her grave marker it readsquote beloved daughter and
sister.
End quote.
I'm sure this case has sickenedand angered you as it did me,
and I didn't even detail all ofthe vile, evil, unbelievably
(25:30):
cruel things that these sadisticmurderers did to their innocent
young victims.
Thank you, guys, so much forbeing here and for listening to
another episode of Tell Me aTrue Crime Story.
Please tell your friends,coworkers and family about the
podcast and share a link to thepodcast with someone who's
(25:51):
interested in true crime.
Let them know that they canlisten to the podcast on Apple,
google, spotify or wherever.
So please stop what you'redoing and go follow the podcast
too on social media.
Facebook, instagram and TikTokare at Tell Me a True Crime
Story.
So I have two ways you cansupport my podcast.
You can buy me a coffee bygoing to buymeacoffeecom slash
(26:16):
truecrimestorypod, and the otherway is totally free.
You can write a short but sweetreview for the podcast on Apple
Podcast or give it a five-starrating on Spotify.
Thank you again for being here.
You know that I truly, trulyappreciate each and every one of
you, and please join me inepisode 28 when I'll tell you
(26:38):
another True Crime Story.
Big, big hugs to all of you.
Bye-bye, yes.
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