Ep 15 Halloween Special: The Toolbox Killers

Episode Transcript
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(00:11):
Hello everybody, and welcome to theStudent's Verdicts Halloween episode Tonight. I'm going
to tell you a horrifying story.The scariest parties that it's all true.
Our story starts on Halloween of nineteenseventy nine in southern California. On this

(00:33):
night, two serial killers, LawrenceBittaker and Roy Norris, abducted their fifth
and final victim, Shirley Lynnette Ledford. The pair had kidnapped, raped,
tortured, and killed five teenage girlsover a period of five months. They
would become known as the Toolbox Killersbecause the instruments they would use to torture

(00:56):
their victims were items that you wouldnormally find in a household toolbox. Before
we delve into this story, Ineed to warn you that this episode contains

(01:17):
graphic details of sexual assault, suicide, torture, and murder. It's not
suitable for all listeners, and listenerdiscretion is therefore strongly advised. If you
like the show, please consider leavingus a review. If you don't like
us, then please keep your commentsto yourselves. Our main sources for this

(01:40):
episode are Wikipedia and find Law,both of which are linked in the show
notes. Please check there for afull list of resources. Before we start
the episode, a quick reminder tolisten to our Rob Knox three part special
where I collaborated with True Crime Fixand Lady Justice Podcast to bring you one

(02:00):
man's incredible story. We discuss whoRob Knox was, beyond him just being
an incredible actor who starred in HarryPotter. We talk about the night he
died, the trial of his killer, and the legacy he has left behind.
There are a couple of exciting thingsto also tell you. The first,

(02:21):
which I am super excited about,is the launch of the Student's Verdict
merchandise. We're doing t shirts,hoodies, sweatshirts in all different colors with
the new logo perfect for this spookyseason. I'll include a link in the
show notes for you to check itout. If you do buy anything,
please tweet me a picture at StudentVerdict, tag me on Instagram, at

(02:45):
the Student Verdict pod, and onthe Student's Verdict Podcasts Facebook page. The
other thing to tell you is thatwe are now on Patreon. If you'd
like to support the show, wehave four tiers ranging from three pounds to
twenty pounds a month. You canfind the link to our Patreon page.
In the show notes, each tiercomes with a variety of perks, from

(03:08):
a shout out to bonus content,so please check it out. Any support
is hugely appreciated. Just a headsup before we start, this is going
to be a long episode, sohonestly, I'd go and grab yourselves a
drink and some snacks. I'd getsome comfy clothes on. You've been warned.

(03:29):
Now let's get on with the episode. I'm going to start this episode
with a quote from Joe Hills's novelHorns. Maybe all the schemes of the
devil were nothing compared to what mancould think up. Our Halloween tale begins
with two babies, Lawrence Bittaker andRoy Norris. Lawrence Sigmund Bittaker was born

(03:55):
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on thetwenty seventh of September nineteen forty. His
birth was not well received, ashis parents had chosen to not have children.
As an unwanted child, he wasput into an orphanage and was later
adopted by a couple, mister andmissus George Bittaker. It's reported that George

(04:19):
Bittaker, Lawrence's adopted father, workedin the aviation industry. Because of the
nature of his father's work, thefamily was often uprooted and moved around the
US, which didn't really allow Lawrencetime to settle anywhere for very long before
the family would move on again.Roy Lewis Norris was born in Greeley,

(04:42):
Colorado, on the fifth of Februarynineteen forty eight. His conception came as
a surprise. He was conceived duringa time when it was frowned upon to
have a child outside of marriage.Norris's parents therefore quickly married to avoid the
social stigma. It was more ofa marriage of convenience rather than love.

(05:03):
Norris moved between living with his parents, his father, a scrapyard worker and
his mother a drug addicted housewife,and foster care. From young ages,
both Bittaker and Norris displayed concerning signs. Bittaker first became known to police when

(05:24):
he was just twelve years old whenhe was arrested for shoplifting, and this
was just the start. He wenton to build up a bit of a
criminal record for himself. Over thenext four years. He was arrested for
shoplifting again and petty theft, whichgot him involved with the juvenile authorities.
Bittaker would later claim to have committedthese crimes to compensate for the lack of

(05:46):
love he received from his parents.Norris was extremely troubled. He reported having
been neglected by his own biological familyand by many of the foster families he
was placed with. He claimed tohave been denied sufficient food and clothing.
He also claimed that he was sexuallyabused while staying with one of his foster

(06:09):
families. When Norris was just sixteenyears old, he visited the home of
a female relative, who was atthis time in her twenties. He began
speaking to her in a sexually suggestiveway, which made her really uncomfortable,
so she told him to leave.She notified Norris's father, who threatened his

(06:31):
son physically. As a response tothis, Norris stole his father's car and
drove into the Rocky Mountains, wherehe attempted to commit suicide by injecting pure
air into an artery in his arm. He was later apprehended as a runaway
and was returned to his parents,who welcomed their son back with open arms

(06:53):
by saying that he and his sisterwere unwanted and that they would be getting
a divorce when both children reached atessence. A year later, Norris dropped
out of school and joined the USNavy. He was stationed in nineteen sixty
five and was deployed to Vietnam innineteen sixty nine. He didn't see active

(07:14):
combat during his tour of duty andwas honorably discharged from the Navy after one
tour of duty. Bittaker, whowas reportedly very smart with an IQ of
one hundred and thirty eight, wasboard of school and dropped out of high
school in nineteen fifty seven. Withina year of dropping out, Bittaka was

(07:35):
arrested for a hit and run,car theft and evading arrest. He was
sent to the California Youth Authority,where he remained until he was eighteen years
old. Upon his release from thisinstitution, as with Norris, Bittaker was
not welcomed back by his adoptive parents, who had actually disowned him and had

(07:58):
relocated to another state altogether. Hewould never see his adoptive parents again,
so let's delve into their criminal history. Shortly after Bittaker was released from the
California Youth Authority, he was arrestedagain for transporting a stolen vehicle across state

(08:18):
lines. He was sentenced to eighteenmonths imprisonment in August nineteen fifty nine and
was sent to the Oklahoma State Reformatory. During this sentence, he was transferred
to a medical center for federal prisonersin Springfield, Missouri, where he served
the remainder of his time. Bittakerwas released in nineteen sixty but was soon

(08:43):
back to his old ways, committingcrimes. Within months of his release,
he was arrested for robbery in LosAngeles, and in May nineteen sixty one,
he was sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment. While serving this sentence, he
was nosed by a prison psychiatrist asbeing highly manipulative and having quote considerable concealed

(09:07):
hostility. So jumped forward to nineteensixty three, Bittaker is released on parole,
having served only two years of hissentence. By October nineteen sixty four,
however, he's back inside again fora parole violation. Bittaker underwent further
examinations by two psychiatrists, who bothclassified him as a borderline psychopath, echoing

(09:33):
what the first psychiatrist said, whichis that Bittaker was highly manipulative and was
unable to acknowledge the consequences of hisactions. He was prescribed antipsychotic medication.
Bittaker had told the psychiatrists that hiscrimes made him feel important and that circumstantial
matters pertaining to his environment and upbringingmeant he couldn't resist committing crimes. A

(09:58):
year later, he was released again. It's nineteen sixty seven now, and
a month after his release, Bittakerwas arrested again for theft and for leaving
the scene of an accident. Hewas sentenced to five years, but only
served three before being released in nineteenseventy. Roy Norris was arrested for his

(10:20):
first sexual offense in November nineteen sixtynine. He was charged with rape and
assault with attempt to commit rape,resulting from two separate incidents. In the
latter incident, Norris had attempted toforce his way into the car of a
lone woman. In February nineteen seventy, Norris tried to trick a woman into

(10:43):
letting him into her home. Sherefused, so he attempted to break into
her house, causing the woman tophone the police. Thankfully, the police
arrived before Norris got the opportunity tohurt the woman. Less than three months
later, Roy Norris was diagnosed bymilitary psychologists with a severe schizoid personality.

(11:05):
This type of personality is characterized bya lack of interest in social relationships,
a tendency toward a solitary or shelteredlifestyle, secretiveness, emotional coldness, detachment,
and apathy. Because of his quoteunquote psychological problems, that's how the

(11:26):
Navy worded it, Norris was givenan administrative discharge. In May nineteen seventy,
Norris, who was on bail atthis point, attacked a female student
from the San Diego State University whomhe had been stalking. Just to warn
you, this next part is prettygraphic. He struck the woman on the

(11:46):
back of the head with a rock. He did it again and again until
she slumped to her knees. Hethen repeatedly beat her head against the sidewalk
whilst kneeling on her back. Norriswas later charged with assault with deadly weapon
and was sentenced to five years imprisonment. He was to serve this at the
Atascadero State Hospital, where he wasclassified as a disordered sex offender. By

(12:13):
nineteen seventy one, Bittaker who hadonly been released the year before, was
arrested for burglary. For this offense, Bittaker served three years before again being
released. It was in nineteen seventyfour that Bittaker committed his worst offense so
far, when he stabbed a supermarketemployee who had accused him of stealing.

(12:37):
It's reported that the supermarket employee hadseen Bittaker steal a stake, so followed
him outside into the shop's car park. He politely confronted Bittaker by asking whether
he had forgotten to pay. Bittakerthen stabbed the member of staff in the
chest before trying to flee. Hewas wrestled to the ground by two other

(13:00):
supermarket employees and was arrested for assaultwith an attempt to commit murder. I'm
very happy to say that Gary Louie, the victim in this case, did
indeed survive the attack. Bittaker wasconvicted of a lesser charge of assault with
a deadly weapon and was sent tothe California Men's Colony in San Louis Obispo.

(13:24):
Roy Norris was released from Atascadero StateHospital in nineteen seventy five with five
years probation. Apparently doctors declared Norrisas an individual who was of quote no
further danger to others. How wrongthey were. Three months after his release,

(13:45):
Norris tried to convince a woman tohave a ride on his motorbike with
him. When she declined his offerfor a lift, Norris grabbed the twenty
seven year old scarf, twisting itand twisting it around her neck. As
he did so, he told herhe was going to rape her before dragging
her into some bushes. The womanlater said that she did not resist the

(14:07):
rape in the hope that she wouldsurvive the attack. It wasn't until one
month later that the woman saw thesame type of motorcycle She knew. Police
had been unable to find her attacker, so he was out there. Then
she noticed the number plate. Itwas the same motorbike. She gave the

(14:28):
number plate to police, and RoyNorris was arrested for rape. He was
tried and convicted one year later andwas sent to the California Men's Colony in
San Luis Obisbo. This is wherethe lives of these two men collided.

(14:48):
They didn't become acquainted straight away.In fact, it wasn't until around a
year into Norris's sentence that he andBittaker became aware of each other. It's
said that Bittaker's initial impression of Norriswas that he was savvy, a man
who was largely associated with hardened criminals, guys who dealt drugs in prisons and

(15:11):
were in motorcycle gangs. Norris andBittaker actually became close friends after Norris taught
Bittaker how to construct jewelry. Imean, how innocent is that they met
making jewelry and then went on tocommit some of the most horrific crimes imaginable.
Their friendship was sealed when Bittaker savedNorris from being attacked by another inmate

(15:37):
on at least two occasions. Thatfriendship that started with making jewelry, took
a very dark turn in nineteen seventyeight when the pair realized that they shared
a common interest. I hate callingit that, but that is what it
was. An interest. Bittaker andNorris had a shared interest in sexual violence

(16:03):
and misogyny. Norris confided to Bittakerthat his biggest turn on was seeing a
frightened young woman, hence why hehad committed so many sexual offenses in the
past. It's said that, althoughhe'd never been convicted of any sexual offenses,
Bittaker had considered raping a woman andhad determined that he would have to

(16:27):
kill her after so as to notleave a witness. It was from here
that the two began to hatch adeadly plan to assault and murder teenage girls
once they were freed and back insociety again. This was such a sick
plan. They planned to murder onegirl of each teenage year from thirteen to

(16:52):
nineteen years old. All they hadto do now was wait until they were
both released and then meet up onthe outside. It didn't take long before
Bittaker was released on the fifteenth ofOctober nineteen seventy eight. It actually seemed
like Bittaker was going to do reallywell on the outside. He found a

(17:17):
job as a machinist, which earnedhim a good wage of around one thousand
dollars a week, and he beganmaking friends with people in the neighborhood who
considered him to be generous and helpfulfor his donations to the Salvation Army.
On one occasion, he bought loadsof fast food and wine, which he
distributed to the homeless community in downtownLos Angeles. It's a bit weird,

(17:41):
but Bittaker was popular with teens,as he'd drive them to his place,
where he'd provide them with beer andmarijuana. Norris was released exactly three months
after Bittaker, on the fifteenth ofJanuary nineteen seventy nine. After his release,
he moved to his mother's home inRedondo Beach and soon found employment as

(18:03):
an electrician in Compton. It allseemed to be going okay. That was
until a letter came through Norris's doorin late February. The pair met at
a hotel and rekindled their monstrous plan. The first step of this plan was
to get a vehicle. The pairhad worked out that a car wouldn't meet

(18:27):
their needs and that a van wouldbe better. In order to carry out
the attacks, they wanted a vehiclethat had a large passenger side sliding door
and no windows. With such adoor, they could pull up close to
their victims, slide it open,and drag their victim inside. Bittaker and

(18:48):
Norris nicknamed their van Murder Mac.The next thing the pair plan to do
was practice. Between February and Junenineteen seventy nine, Bittaker and Norris picked
up over twenty female hitchhikers. Theydidn't attack these girls in any way because
they were practicing their ruses, theways to lure the girls into their van

(19:12):
voluntarily and without drawing attention. Bydoing this, they could learn what did
and didn't work. In late April, the pair discovered a secluded road in
the San Gabriel Mountains, a mountainrange located in northern Los Angeles County and
western San Bernardino County, California.The road was a fire road and so

(19:37):
was gated and locked. Bittaker brokethe lock with a crowbar and attached his
own lock in its place. Nowwe're going to take a quick break here
to play a trailer for you.It's a podcast. I think you'll really
really enjoy Ye Old Crime. Givethem a listen and leave them a review.

(19:57):
It really does make all the differencein the world. I'm Lundie and
I'm Madison Stengel, and we're thehosts of year Old Crime, where we
discussed so funny, Hey man,he's a nice guy, and they're like,
no, he's disgusting. He hashooves strange. There are EVPs of
spirits saying get out. In aroom where patients committed suicide and obscure crimes

(20:21):
of yesteryear. Here justin here's yourfirst fell like amulet, Join us Wednesdays
wherever you listen to podcasts, andwe'll see you next time with another tale.
There's all this crime. There's alot of information about these crimes out
there because of accounts written by Bittaka. In one of his entries, he

(20:42):
states that he and Norris installed abed in the rear of the van and
under it they put tools, clothes, and a cooler filled with beer and
soft drinks. Their first victim wassixteen year old Lucinda Lynn Shay on the
twenty fourth of June nineteen seventy nine. Schaffer was last seen leaving Saint Andrew's

(21:07):
Presbyterian Church in Torrance, where shehad attended a youth meeting. She had
been walking back to her grandmother's houseat a round seven forty six pm when
Norris noticed her and pointed her outto Bittaker, saying there's a cute little
blonde. They tried to entice Schaefferinto their van by offering her a lift

(21:30):
a marijuana, but she declined theiroffers and continued walking, Bittaker and Norris
drove further ahead of Whell Lucinda Schaefferhad been walking and parked up. Norris
got out of the van, openedthe passenger side sliding door, and leaned
in, meaning his head and shoulderswere obscured from view. As Schaeffer passed

(21:53):
the van, Norris briefly chatted toher before dragging her into the van and
closing the door. To muffle theteen's screams, Bitaker turned the radio to
full volume. Norris bound Lucinda's armsand legs and gagged her with duct tape.
The van then sped towards the SanGabriel Mountains. Realizing her screams weren't

(22:18):
being heard, Schaeffer regained her composureabout her Bittaker wrote that she quote displayed
a magnificent state of self control andcomposed acceptance of the conditions of which she
had no control. She shed notears, offered no resistance, and expressed
no great concern for her safety.I guess she knew what was coming.

(22:45):
This is going to get graphic now, so I'm going to reiterate my earlier
trigger warning and advise you to pleaseexercise discretion with that said, The two
men drove Lucinda Schaeffer to the fireroad in the San Gabriel Mountains. When
they arrived, it was Norris whofirst raped the team, having instructed Bittaker

(23:07):
to take a walk and return inone hour. Upon his return, Bittaker
then raped Schaeffer in Norris's absence.Norris then sexually assaulted the girl again.
It was during this attack that Schaefferasked him whether they intended to kill her.
Norris told her no. Schaeffer's onerequest was to be allowed time to

(23:33):
pray before she was killed. It'sunclear exactly what happened next, as Bittaker
and Norris gave differing accounts, butit said that there was an argument about
what to do with Schaeffer. Bothmen later said that during the argument it
was the other who said they shouldkill her. Schaefer begged for a second

(23:56):
to pray before Norris tried to manuallystrangle her, but the look in her
eyes freaked him out and he ranout of the van to throw up.
Bittaker then manually strangled Schaffer until shecollapsed and began convulsing. During the attack
on Schaffer, Bittaker dropped his cigarettewhich burned a hole in his shirt and

(24:19):
scarred his chest. He grabbed awire coat hanger, twisting it around the
girl's neck with some pliers until herconvulsions stopped. Shaffer was never afforded the
time to pray before her death.The pair then wrapped Lucinder Schaffer's body in
a plastic shower curtain and threw herover a steep canyon Bittaker had selected.

(24:47):
Lucinder Lynne Schaffer's body has never beenfound. On the eighth of July nineteen
seventy nine, just two weeks afterSchaffer's murder, Bittaka and Norris saw eighteen
year old Andrea Joy Hall hitchhiking alongthe Pacific Coast Highway. Hall grew up

(25:08):
in Akron, Ohio, and movedto Los Angeles, California, in February
nineteen seventy eight. At the timeof her disappearance, she didn't have a
job, but earned some money bydonating blood. At the time Bittaker and
Norris saw Andrea Hall, she washitchhiking to visit her boyfriend in Wilmington.

(25:30):
As she walked along the highway,the men began to pull their van over
when another vehicle pulled over and offeredher a lift, which she accepted.
I wish that this was the turningpoint in Andrea's story that she ended up
being rescued by some weird twist offate or luck. But rather than moving

(25:53):
on, Bittaka and Norris began followingthe vehicle that had picked up Andrea until
she got out at Rodondo Beach.Norris hid to try and trick Hall into
thinking that Bittaker was alone. Bittakeroffered Hall a cold drink from the cooler
in the back of the van,and as she went to get the drink,

(26:15):
Norris tried to force Andrea into thevehicle. She fought back, but
had to give up when Norris begantwisting her arm behind her back, hurting
her. She was then bound andgagged by Norris. The pair took the
eighteen year old to the San GabrielMountains, just as they had done with
Schaeffer. She was raped, asSchaeffer had been, twice by Bittaker and

(26:41):
once by Norris. During Bittaker's secondattack, he panicked because he thought he
saw headlights approaching them. He heldhis hand over Hall's mouth so she couldn't
make a sound. And he draggedher into the bushes. Norris set off
in the van searching for the elusivefear. When he returned, they took

(27:03):
the poor teen further into the mountains. Bittaker then made Andrea walk uphill naked,
where he forced her to perform oralsex on him. He also took
polaroid pictures of her, but thetorment didn't end there. The men then
drove Hall to a third location,where Bittaker again walked her up a hill.

(27:26):
He had instructed Norris to drive toa nearby store to purchase alcohol,
leaving him and the terrified teen alone. He took more polaroid pictures, exploiting
his victim's fear. He took thephotos of her terrified face as she begged
for her life. Having later seenthe polaroids, Norris described Andrea's face in

(27:51):
the photos as being of sheer terror, as some sort of sick challenge.
Told Hall he planned to kill her, but still, he told her she
should come up with as many reasonsas she could as to why she should
be allowed to live. He's danglinghope in front of her face, knowing

(28:12):
full well that regardless of whatever reasonsshe came up with she was never going
to change his mind and he wasalways going to kill her. As she
scrambled for reasons, Bittaker thrust anice pick through her ear before doing the
same to the other ear. Hethen strangled her and threw her body off

(28:34):
a cliff. Andrea joy Hall's bodyhas never been found. On the third
of September nineteen seventy nine, themurderous pair saw their next two victims,
Jackie Doris Gilliam and Jacqueline Leah lampThese would also be their youngest victims,

(28:57):
at just fifteen and thirteen years old, respectively. The girls had been hitch
hiking along the Pacific Coast Highway beforeresting at a bus stop near Hermosa Beach.
It was here that Bittaker and Norrisspotted them. The men offered the
girls a ride, which they accepted. Norris offered the marijuana, which they

(29:21):
also accepted. The girls began topanic when they saw Bittaker had steered the
van off the highway, heading towardsthe San Gabriel Mountains. When they asked
what was going on, Bittaker andNorris tried to palm them off with excuses,
but the girls were growing increasingly alarmed. Out of desperation, thirteen year

(29:42):
old Jacqueline Lamp tried to open thesliding door of the van, so Norris
hit her on the back of thehead with a bag filled with lead weights.
She fell to the floor unconscious.Norris then turned his attention to fifteen
year old Gilliam as he bound andgagged Jackie Gilliam, Lamp regained consciousness,

(30:06):
she again attempted to escape. Norrisgrabbed her, twisting her arm behind her
back and dragging her back into thevan. As the situation got more and
more out of hand, the menworried that witnesses might see them, so
Bittaker stopped the van and as Norriswrestled with Lamp, he punched Gilliam in
the face. The two men thenbound and gagged both girls. The men

(30:32):
continued to drive the van to theSan Gabriel Mountains, where they held the
girls for two days. During thesetwo days, Lamp and Gilliam were repeatedly
sexually and physically abused by Norris andBittaker. During the nights, one of
the men would sleep whilst the otheracted as a lookout, and then they

(30:55):
would swap. As we've seen beforewith other victims, Bittaker took Lamp up
a hill and forced her to posefor pornographic pictures. Bitacer seemed obsessed with
the idea of photographing his victims.He even asked Norris to take photos of
himself and Gilliam, both clothed andnude. Bittaker raped Gilliam three times.

(31:22):
During the first instance, he taperecorded the attack. During the assault,
Bittaker reportedly forced Gilliam to pretend shewas his cousin. He told the young
teen that she should feel free toexpress her pain. The recording has never
been found, but it was supposedlyburied in a cemetery. The depravity shown

(31:45):
by these men seems to be exacerbatedwith each victim. This next part is
particularly brutal, so if you'd liketo skip ahead of it, I honestly
don't blame you. Bitaker tortured Gilliamin a way I can't begin to imagine.
He stabbed her breasts with an icepick, and he used pliers to

(32:07):
tear off part of her nipple.After two days of repeated violence and sexual
assaults, Lamp and Gilliam were murdered. Norris would later claim to have suggested
that Gilliam be killed quickly, asshe had been quite cooperative with her attackers,
but Bittaker said, quote, no, they only die once anyway.

(32:30):
Gilliam was struck in the ears withan ice pick and was then strangled to
death. Lamp was then forced outof the van. Bittaker shouted at her,
quote, you wanted to stay avirgin, Now you can die a
virgin. Norris then struck her aroundthe head with a sledgehammer. Bittaker then

(32:50):
strangled her until he was sure shewas dead. The men were therefore horrified
when the girl's eyes opened. Norrisagain hit the young girl over the head,
and Bittaker again strangled her. Thegirl's bodies were thrown over an embankment.
During Halloween of nineteen seventy nine,Bittaker and Norris abducted sixteen year old

(33:15):
Shirley Lynnette Ledford. Ledford had beenhitchhiking home from a Halloween party when she
unfortunately accepted a ride home from Bittakerand Norris. Ledford felt comfortable accepting a
lift from the pair because she actuallyrecognized Bittaker, who had regularly attended the
restaurant where she held a part timejob. Once she was in the van,

(33:37):
Norris offered Ledford marijuana, which shedeclined. Bittaker drove the van whilst
Norris produced a knife. He thenbound and gagged Ledford with construction tape.
Bittaker and Norris swapped places, andNorris drove around for about an hour whilst
Bittaker got in the back of thevan with Ledford. He began by removing

(34:00):
the tape, tormenting the sixteen yearold by slapping her and mocking her.
It escalated as he began punching herrepeatedly shouting for her to say something.
As Ledford began screaming, he orderedfor her to scream louder. She continued
to scream, hoping somebody, anybodywould hear her. Bittaker continued to hit

(34:24):
her, asking what's the matter.Don't you like to scream? As the
poor girl began to cry, shepleaded with Bittaker, asking him not to
touch her. This seemed to makeBittacer mad. He ordered her to scream
as loud as she wanted, thenhe struck her with a hammer. He

(34:45):
then hit her breasts with his fistsbefore torturing her with pliers. During this
assault, he raped and sodomized Ledford. She tried to plead for him to
stop, as Bitaker is heard rootingaround in the toolbox for the pliers or
the sledgehammer. That's right, Bittakerrecorded his attack on Ledford. He had

(35:08):
switched the tape recorder on as hegot into the back of the van.
Norris would later recall just hearing screaming, constant screaming from the back of the
van. This recording was recovered,and having briefly read the transcript when I
was researching this case, it mightbe one of the most traumatic and scarring

(35:31):
recordings ever made. Norris eventually switchedplaces with Bittaker, switching on the tape
recorder again. Norris shouted at Ledford, telling her to scream or he would
make her scream. In response,Ledford said she would scream, but only

(35:51):
if he stopped hitting her. Shethen let out several high pitched shrieks.
Norris struck Ledford with the sledge hammer, breaking her elbow. She pleaded with
him, don't hit me again.Norris ignored her pleas for mercy and went
on to strike her twenty five timesupon the same elbow he had already broken.

(36:15):
When she continued to scream and cry. He asked her, what are
you sniveling? About two hours aftershe got into the van, Norris killed
Ledford by strangling her with a wirecoat hanger, which he tightened with pliers.
Ledford did not react when she wasbeing strangled, maybe because she knew

(36:37):
the pain was going to stop soon. In a very bold and unexpected move,
the men agreed to discard Ledford's bodyon someone's front lawn in order to
draw attention from the press. Theyfound a house in Sunland and left Ledford's
body in a bed of ivy inthe front garden. The body of Shirley

(36:59):
Lynnette Ledford was found by a joggerthe next morning. Here's a quote from
forensic psychiatrist doctor Ronald Markman, whosaid, when reciting the conclusions of his
analysis of Bittaker and Norris in nineteeneighty nine. Quote, they lack the
internal prohibitions or conscience that keep mostof us from giving full expression to our

(37:23):
most primitive and sometimes violent impulses.We're now going to look at the investigation
into the murders and the culprits.It all started with a friend of Norris's
Joseph Jackson. The two men hadbeen incarcerated together at the California Men's Colony.

(37:44):
Norris became reacquainted with Joseph Jackson inNovember nineteen seventy nine and decided to
confide in his old friend. Why, I have absolutely no idea, but
anyway, he told Jackson intimate andgraphic details of the murder of Shirley Lynnette
Ledford, details only the killer wouldknow. It should be noted that by

(38:08):
this point hers was the only bodythat had been found. Norris told Jackson
that there had been five murders,but that there had also been three additional
abductions and attempted abductions, whether victimshad either escaped or as in one instance,
they had been raped and then released. After his conversation with Norris,

(38:31):
Jackson went to his attorney regarding whathe had been told. His attorney advised
him to speak to the authorities totell them all he had been told.
Jackson agreed, and he and hisattorney contacted the LA Police Department, who
then handed the case to the HermosaBeach Police. The case ended up on

(38:52):
the desk of Hermosa Beach detective PaulBynum who was tasked with investigating Joseph Jackson's
claims. During a preliminary look,the accounts that Jackson gave did appear to
match earlier reports on file of severalteenage girls who had been reported missing over
the past five months. One incidentthat Jackson recalled also matched a report from

(39:16):
the thirtieth of September where a womanhad been sprayed with mace and then dragged
into a van. She was subsequentlyraped by both men. The victim in
this case, Robin Roebeck, haddescribed the men as Caucasian and in their
mid thirties. Police had not yetfound her attackers. Detective Bynum sent an

(39:37):
investigator to Roebeck's house in Oregon,where she positively identified Bittaker and Norris's mugshots
out of a group, confirming thatthese were the men who had abducted and
raped her Hermosa Beach. Police decidedto place Roy Norris under surveillance, and
within a few days they saw himdealing marijuana, and on the twentieth of

(40:00):
November nineteen seventy nine, he wasarrested for a parole violation. That same
day, Lawrence Bittaker was also arrestedat a Burbank motel where he was living,
for the rape of Robin Roebeck,but when it came to a police
lineup, Roebeck was not able topositively identify her attackers. Despite this,

(40:23):
both men were held for parole violationsresulting from drug related offenses. As police
searched Bittaker's apartment, they found somepolaroids of Jackie Gilliam and Andrea Hall,
both were reported as missing. InsideBittaker and Norris's Van Murder mac investigators found

(40:44):
some very very sinister items, asledgehammer, a bag filled with lead weights,
a book detailing how to locate policeradio frequencies, a jar of vassiline,
two necklaces, and a tape recordingof a woman in distress, screaming
and pleading for mercy. I hateto have to say this, but it

(41:08):
was Shirley Lynnette Ledford's own mother whoidentified her only daughter's voice from the tape.
Her mother had to listen to herdaughter screaming, begging, and pleading
whilst she was being physically and sexuallyassaulted. The other voices in the tape

(41:29):
were identified as Roy Norris and LawrenceBittaker. Something quite strange found in Bittaker's
motel were several bottles of acidic materials. It was later discovered that Bittaker had
intended to use the acid on theirnext victim. Fortunately, they were stopped

(41:50):
before they could hurt anyone else.In Norris's apartment, police found a bracelet
that he'd taken from Ledford as asouvenir. Police found all most five hundred
polaroid pictures of women and girls takenat Rodondo Beach and Hermosa Beach. Some
also taken at a Burbank high school. Most of the females featured in the

(42:12):
photographs were completely unaware that their photoshad been taken. On the thirtieth of
November nineteen seventy nine, Norris appearedin court for a preliminary hearing in relation
to the rape of Robin Roebeck.Norris waived his miranda rights and then the
question started. Detective Bynum and DeputyDistrict Attorney Stephen Kay questioned Norris about the

(42:37):
rape of Robin Roebeck, about thestatements Joseph Jackson made to police, and
about the evidence recovered from his homeand Bittakers. He initially tried to deny
any involvement, but as the evidencebegan to stack up against him, Norris
started to confess in what was describedas a asual, unconcerned manner. Norris

(43:02):
explained to the court that he andBittaker had been driving along the Pacific Coast
Highway trying to entice attractive girls intotheir van by promising them a lift or
marijuana. He said that four girlshad accepted lifts, but that one of
their victims had been abducted by force. Norris recalled how the girls were overpowered,

(43:27):
gagged, and driven into the SanGabriel Mountains. From photos, this
mountainous area looks so beautiful and yetreally really isolated, so you can imagine
that when the men were up there, they could attack their victims without worrying
that they would be found. Themen would begin by sexually assaulting the girls,

(43:51):
then they were usually killed by strangulation, although two had been attacked with
ice picks before being strangled. Incourt, Norris admitted his role in some
of the attacks. He admitted thathe had indeed hit thirteen year old Jacqueline
Lamp around the head with a sledgehammer as Bittaker strangled her. He also

(44:13):
admitted to hitting Shirley Ledford on theelbow with a sledge hammer before strangling her
to death. Norris told the courtthat the level of brutality exhibited by Bittaker
towards their victims seemed to increase witheach victim they managed to convince to get
into their van. The evidence supportedNorris's claims. On the seventh of February

(44:37):
nineteen eighty, a statement was issuedby police. The La County Sheriff Peter
Picchus said that the victims had beensubjected to quote sadistic and barbaric abuse.
He told the press that five chargesof first degree murder would be sought against
Bittaker and Norris. Having caref analyzedthe polaroid pictures, police had identified and

(45:04):
located sixty of the young women depicted. Thankfully, they hadn't been harmed.
Police also identified nineteen women who hadbeen reported missing. There's a chance that
these were victims of Bittaker and Norris, but as explained by Pittis, there
was no conclusive evidence to confirm whetherthey were victims of the Toolbox Killers.

(45:30):
What this means is that there werepotentially more victims, but unfortunately never know
for sure. In the hope offinding all the victims' bodies so they could
be returned to their families and laidto rest. Police took Roy Norris back
to where it all happened, tothe San Gabriel Mountains. Norris took police

(45:53):
to the area where he believed Schaefferand Hall's bodies would be, but unfortunately,
despite extensive searches by police, theirbodies were not found and have not
been found in the years since.On the ninth of February nineteen eighty,
the skeletonized bodies of Lamp and Gilliamwere found at the bottom of a canyon.

(46:15):
What so heartbreaking is that the skeletonsrevealed the true extent of the injuries
the young girls sustained at the handsof Bittaker and Norris. There were numerous
indentations in their bones from a hammerand an ice pick. In February nineteen
eighty, Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norriswere formerly charged with the murders of five

(46:38):
girls. Unsurprisingly, Bittaker was deniedbail, but what did shock me was
that Norris's bail was set at tenthousand dollars. Within a month of being
formerly charged, Norris had accepted aplea bargain which required him to testify against
his codefendant, Lawrence Bittaker, inreturn for the prosecution agreeing they would not

(47:02):
seek the death penalty in Norris's case. They would also not seek a sentence
of life without the possibility of parole. Norris pleaded guilty on the eighteenth of
March nineteen eighty following his arraignment.He pleaded to four counts of first degree
murder, one count of second degreemurder in relation to the death of Andrea

(47:24):
Hall, two counts of rape,and one count of robbery. His sentencing
was postponed until the seventh of Maynineteen eighty. Prior to his sentencing,
as is common practice, Norris metwith a probation officer who would testify at
his sentencing. Following the probation officersmeeting with Norris, the officer noted that

(47:49):
he quote never exhibited any remorse orcompassion about his brutal acts towards the victims.
The defendant appears compulsive in his needto inflict pain and torture upon women.
During this meeting, Norris continued toaccuse Bittaker of the torture inflicted upon
their victims. He himself admitted thathe found pleasure in the feeling of dominance

(48:14):
he held over the girls, whichwas why he continued to be involved.
The probation officer concluded that Norris quotecan realistically be regarded as an extreme sociopath
whose depraved pattern of behavior is beyondrehabilitation. On the seventh of May,
Norris was sentenced to forty five yearsto life imprisonment, meaning he would be

(48:37):
eligible for parole in two thousand andten. So that just leaves Lawrence Bittaker.
Bittaker had been arraigned on the twentyfourth of April nineteen eighty. This
is when you have the charges formerlyput to you in court. Bittaker was
facing twenty nine charges of criminal conspiracyand possession of a firearm. He was

(49:00):
also charged with two counts of conspiracyto commit murder, dating from December nineteen
seventy, when he had tried toconvince two inmates who were due to be
released, to go and kill RobinRoebeck, the rape victim who was due
to testify against him in an upcomingcourt hearing. Unfortunately, the charge of

(49:20):
rape stemming from the attack on RobinRoebeck would be dropped because of a lack
of physical evidence, as well asher difficulty in identifying Norris and Bittaker as
her attackers in the police lineup.In court, Bittaker refused to enter his
please, choosing to remain silent.The judge therefore entered please of not guilty

(49:42):
for him. The trial of LawrenceBittaker began on the nineteenth of January nineteen
eighty one. He was tried inTorrents before his Honor Judge Thomas Fredericks.
As we know, the prosecution's starwitness was Roy Morris, whose testimony began
on the twenty second of January.Norris explained in court how he became acquainted

(50:07):
with Bittaker and how the pair cameup with their monstrous plan to kidnap,
rape, and kill teenage girls.Norris stated that it was after he told
Bittaker about an unsuccessful attempted abduction thatthe pair agreed to act together when abducting
their future victims. Norris recounted theToolbox Killers horrific acts chronologically for the court,

(50:34):
including intimate details of the murders,the rape of Robin Roebeck, the
attempted abduction of a woman called janMaeln, and the attempted abduction of another
unidentified woman. Twenty year old JanMaeln was parking her car in an apartment
garage when Bittaker approached her and sprayedher with mace before attempting to drag her

(50:55):
into the van. Maeln screamed,drawing attention. Norris drove away without Bittaker,
who fled on foot. Maeland's testimonyin court would corroborate with Norris's account
in relation to the murder of LucindaLynne Schaeffer. Norris explained to the court
that he was unsuccessful in his attemptto strangle the girl, which was when

(51:19):
Bittaker took over and strangled her witha wire coat hanger. When talking about
the murder of Andrea Hall, Norrisrecalled how Bittaker had instructed him to drive
to a nearby store to purchase alcohol. Upon his return, he found a
smiling Bittaker clutching polaroids he had takenof Hall after telling her he was going
to kill her. Regarding Jacqueline LeahLamp and Jackie Dorris Gilliam, Norris told

(51:45):
the court that the girls were keptcaptive for some time before they were murdered
over a day he revealed to thecourt that Bittaker had killed Gilliam before he
Norris hit Lamp about the head.Bittaker then strangled her. When talking about
the final victim, Shirley Lynette Ledford, Norris said that Bittaker had insisted he

(52:07):
Norris commit the murder as he hadn'tkilled anyone yet. Norris said he expected
this and so agreed. Before thecourt, Norris admitted that he had killed
Ledford by strangling her with a coathanger, which he tightened with pliers.
It should be noted that although thebodies of Lucinda Schaeffer and Andrea Hall were

(52:29):
never found, the defense did notdispute that they were both dead. The
prosecution had other witnesses aside from Norris, who testified against Bittaker in court.
One witness, a neighbor of Bittaker's, Christina Dreille, who was seventeen,
testified that Bittaker had shown her apolaroid of the victim, Jackie Gilliam,

(52:51):
whilst stating quote the girls I getwon't talk anymore. She also testified that
Bittaker had played her a recording ofthe rape of Gilliam. Another witness,
Lloyd Douglas had shared a jail cellwith Lawrence Bittaker. Following his arrest in
November nineteen seventy nine, Douglas toldthe court that Bittaker had discussed his crimes,

(53:16):
specifically his attacks on Gilliam and Leadford. Douglas went into frighteningly intimate detail
to prove that Bittaker had indeed divulgedhis secrets to him. Another cell mate
of Bittaker's, David Lambert, recalledhow Bittaker asked him to draw a picture

(53:37):
of a girl on the wall oftheir cell. H this is so creepy,
Bittaker remarked that it looked like Cindy. He then asked Lambert to add
a coat hanger and pliers. Bittakerthen signed the picture with pliers Bittaker,

(53:57):
the jail nickname he had aired.It was reported that Bittaker had actually signed
autographs in prison using this nickname.With one of the autographs, he wrote
Hitchhiker's Welcome Females Especially In another,he wrote, Norris did it. Richard

(54:21):
Dreiber, another resident at the motelwhere Bittaker had stayed, testified in return
for dismissal of a charge of possessionof an explosive. He told the court
that Bittaker had showed him nude photographsof the victims, told him that one
was named Cindy and that she hadbeen killed. When shown a picture of

(54:42):
Lucinda Schaeffer, Dreiber confirmed she wasone of the girls in the photographs he
had seen. He went on totell the court that Bittaker had confessed to
kidnapping and killing two girls on oneoccasion, but incorrectly identified Schaeffer as one
of the two. He did,however, correctly identify a photo of Gilliam.

(55:02):
Another resident, Mike Horne, testifiedthat the defendant showed him photographs of
Gilliam and Hall. When it wasthe defense's turn to speak, they attempted
to argue that Roy Norris was thereal criminal mastermind and that Bitacer only became
aware of his partner's actions shortly beforehis arrest. The defense told the court

(55:27):
that Norris had admitted to Bittaker thathe had murdered numerous girls with whom he
had had sexual encounters. The defenseproduced a witness of their own, Richard
Schupman, who testified that Norris hada deep desire to rape young girls and
that he found sexual stimulation from thelook of shock and fear on their faces.

(55:50):
The defense tried to argue that thepolaroids were actually taken by Norris,
who wanted to capture that same lookof shock and fear in a photograph so
he could keep it forever. Theaudio tape of the pairs torture and murder
of Shirley Lynnette Ledford was the prosecution'smost damning piece of evidence. Norris testified

(56:14):
that Bittaker repeatedly played the tape findingthe contents funny. When recalling the contents
of the tape in April nineteen ninetyseven, many years after the trial,
Norris said the following quote. We'veall heard women scream in horror films.
Still we know that no one isreally screaming. Why simply because an actress

(56:38):
can't produce some sounds that convince usthat something vile and heinous is happening.
If you ever heard that tape,there is just no possible way that you'd
not begin crying and trembling. Idoubt you could listen to more than of
full sixty seconds of it. Theprosecutor, Stephen Kay had to warn the

(57:01):
jury for those of you who donot know what hell is like, you
will find out. There were overone hundred people in the courtroom as the
tape was played. Its contents causedan array of responses from the people hearing
it for the first time. Manycried, some buried their heads in their
hands, and some had to getout of there, leaving the courtroom in

(57:24):
a hurry. Even the prosecutor struggled, getting tearful. He said, quote,
everybody who has heard that tape hadit effect their lives. I just
picture those girls, how alone theywere when they died. When asked about
whether the tape should have been playedand the emotional trauma it could cause for

(57:46):
those who heard it, Prosecutor Kayreplied, you're darn wright, it should
have been. The jury needs toknow what these guys did. It was
reported that Bittaker remained undisturbed, smilingas the recording played. Did you at
any time? And we used anice pick noser you struck miss laugh with

(58:12):
a pledge hat to recall the fledgehat which was introduced sir Rita with that
crow closer. Lawrence Bittaker, withan IQ of one hundred thirty eight,
dragged high school girls into his van, then murdered them by twisting a coat
hanger around their throat with a pairof pliers. When his tape recording of

(58:37):
one murder was played in court,people rushed outside and vomited. It touched
miss Ledford on the breast with thecold metal pliers, and if you listen
to the tape, you'll hear thosepliers being replaced in a toolbox a few
seconds later. Oh, what didyou catch her on the breast? War

(58:58):
with a pair of pliers to occurwith a cold medal. On the fifth
of February nineteen eighty one, LawrenceBittaker testified in his own defense. Bittaker
denied any knowledge of the abduction andmurder of Lucinda Lynne Schaeffer. He said
that Norris told him that Norris andanother man had committed the crimes against Ludford.

(59:20):
With regards to Andrea Hall, hetold the court that he had paid
for her to pose for polaroids,after which Hall had agreed to have sex
with him for two hundred dollars.He said that Norris then walked Hall into
the San Gabriel Mountains before returning alone. Bittaker claimed that Norris had told Hall
to find her own way home.Similarly, Bittaker claimed that he last saw

(59:45):
Jackie Gilliam and Jacqueline lamp alone withNorris in the van. Bittaker told the
court that he had paid Gilliam topose for pictures and for sex, but
that that was it. Bittaker saidthat the next day Norris dropped him off
at Norris's residence and left to drivethe girls home in the van. Bitacer

(01:00:07):
testified he never saw the girls again. It should be noted that Bittaker took
additional nude photographs of Gilliam. Someof these came into the possession of Bittaker's
defense counsel, who turned them overto the police and they were admitted into
evidence. When talking about the murderof Shirley Lynnette Ledford, Bittaker told the

(01:00:30):
court that Ledford was putting the screamon and would do so on cue for
the tape recorder. He explained thatshe had not been tortured in his presence.
Once again, he said that thevictim in this case, Ledford,
had last been alone with Norris whenhe Bittaker returned to his motel having made

(01:00:50):
the tape. Bittaker accepted his involvementwith the attack on jan Malyn. However,
he argued that they were not tryingto kidnap her, but rather wanted
to test the effectiveness of mace YeahSure. Under cross examination, Bittaker acknowledged

(01:01:12):
that he had begun writing a bookand had shown drafts to a newspaper and
a guard. He called the bookThe Last Ride. In it, he
wrote a detailed account of the murderof Lucinda Schaeffer. It also described the
abduction and rape of Andrea Hall,but did not discuss her murder and the
attacks of Gillian and lamp Bittaker saidthat the book was part fact based on

(01:01:38):
what Bittaker had been told by Norris, and part fiction altogether. The trial
lasted over three weeks. Closing argumentsbegan on the ninth of February nineteen eighty
one. These are really really importantclosing arguments because they are one of the
last things that the jury hears beforethey go and deliberate. They therefore have

(01:02:01):
to be constructed very carefully. ProsecutorStephen Kay took an emotive stance. He
apologized to the jury that he wasonly asking for the death penalty, adding
that he wished the same suffering thatBittaker inflicted could be inflicted on him as
punishment. Kay told the jury thatBittaker was a poor excuse for a man,

(01:02:25):
as he held the photos of thefive victims in his hand, showing
them to the jury as he spoke, Kay called this case one of the
most shocking and brutal cases in Americancriminal history. Then he asked the jury,
quote, if the death penalty isnot appropriate in this case, then

(01:02:45):
when will it ever be? Thenit was defense attorney Albert Garber's turn to
speak to the jury. He requestedthat they discount the testimony of Norris,
reiterating that it was indeed Norris whocommitted the murders and not his client.
He described the prosecutor's testimony as bloodlust, adding that the prosecution had simply

(01:03:07):
repeated the gory details of the murders. Garba reminded the jury of what psychologist
Michael Maloney had said. He hadtestified that Bittaker did not suffer with any
mental illness, but was unable toempathize with the feelings and emotions of others.
He classified Bittaker as an antisocial personality. Maloney testified that Bittaker's previous convictions,

(01:03:32):
of which there were many, werefor non violent offenses except the nineteen
seventy four stabbing of Gary Lewis,meaning these current charges were completely out of
character for him and were more likelycommitted by Norris, who had a history
of attacking women. The defense concludedtheir closing argument by stating that there was

(01:03:53):
insufficient corroborative evidence to convict Bittaker.After three days of deliberating, on the
seventeenth of February nineteen eighty one,the jury had reached their verdict. They
found Lawrence Bittaker guilty of five countsof first degree murder, one charge of

(01:04:14):
conspiracy to commit first degree murder,five charges of kidnapping, nine charges of
rape, two charges of forcible oralcopulation, one charge of sodomy, and
three charges of unlawful possession of afirearm. Two days later, on the
nineteenth, deliberations began as to howBittaker should be punished life without parole or

(01:04:40):
death. The trial court instructed thepenalty jury in the language of the nineteen
seventy eight death penalty law. Theprosecutor's argument placed the greatest emphasis on the
appropriateness of the death penalty in thiscase. Shortly after his argument, he
asked the jury, quote, whatpenalty has Lawrence Sigmund Bittaker earned in this

(01:05:04):
case? Has he earned the deathpenalty for the torture and suffering that he
inflicted on Cindy Schaeffer, Andrea Hall, Jackie Gilliam, Leah Lamp and Linnette
Ledford. Has he earned the deathpenalty for the barbaric and callous nature of
his crimes which has shocked the publicconscience and greatly affected all of us?

(01:05:28):
Or has he earned the lesser penaltyof life imprisonment without the possibility of parole
and a chance to spread his talesof torture and violence and bloodshed to other
adoring prisoners, such as the RichardShupman type, who will someday be paroled
to prey on the young girls inour society. Does anyone actually believe that

(01:05:49):
life imprisonment without possibility of parole ispunishment for mister Bittaker? Where do you
think he's been for eighteen of thelast twenty two years prison? Of course,
it's his home. End quote.After describing the defendant's life in prison,

(01:06:10):
the prosecutor continued, quote, makeno mistake about it, Ladies and
gentlemen, A sentence of life imprisonmentwithout possibility of parole for Lawrence Bittaker in
this case would be a total,complete victory for him. When should the
death penalty be imposed? Some casesare so brutal, so vicious, so

(01:06:31):
horrendous, so inhumane, that inorder for us to exist as a society,
we have to totally repudiate the conductinvolved, and we have to say
we will not accept it, wewill not allow it, and the one
mainly responsible for it has to sufferthe supreme penalty. If the death penalty

(01:06:54):
isn't proper in this case, whenwould it ever be proper? End quote.
Finally, after reviewing the evidence inthe case and discussing the statutory factors,
the prosecutor concluded, quote, whathas this monster earned? The death
penalty or life imprisonment without possibility ofparole? My only regret in this case,

(01:07:16):
ladies and gentlemen, is that Ican't ask you for more than the
death penalty, because even if Bittakeris executed in the gas chamber at San
Quentin, that's quick and humane comparedto what he did to these poor tortured
girls. End quote. Other portionsof the prosecutor's argument, however, do

(01:07:38):
not correctly state the law. Theprosecutor told the jury quote, now here's
the real important paragraph. If youconclude that the aggravating circumstances outweigh the mistigating
circumstance, you shall impose a sentenceof death. Now that takes some of
the burden off of you. It'snot a question of whether you like the

(01:08:00):
death penalty or you don't like it, or you're in favor of it,
or you're opposed to it. You'rebound by law. You're bound as jurors
to follow the law. What thismeans is, say, to give a
simple example, if we were togive actual weight in pounds and ounces to
the aggravating circumstances and the mitigating circumstances. If the aggravating circumstances weighed ten pounds

(01:08:25):
and one ounce and the mitigating circumstancesweighed ten pounds, then you would be
duty bound to impose a death penalty. Now, obviously, I don't think
in this case that it's even close. I mean, the aggravating circumstance on
a scale, they're going to putthe scale way down at the bottom,
and the mitigating circumstances aren't going tomake that scale even come off the ground.

(01:08:48):
If you were to give a percentageto it, if you said fifty
point one percent of the evidence pointedto aggravating circumstances and forty nine point nine
percent pointed to mitigating circumstances, thenyou'd still have to impose a sentence of
death. But again, I reallydon't think that it's going to be that
close in this case. End quote. The jury deliberated for just nineteen minutes

(01:09:14):
before they delivered their sentence death forthe five counts of first degree murder.
As the verdict was delivered, Bittakershowed no outward emotion. The judge then
ordered that Bittaker appeared before the courton the twenty fourth of March for formal
sentencing. It was on that datethat Lawrence Bittaker was formally sentenced to death.

(01:09:38):
In the event that the sentence wasever reverted to life imprisonment, Judge
Thomas Frederick's imposed an alternative sentence ofone hundred and ninety nine years four months
imprisonment to take effect immediately. LawrenceBittaker wanted to appeal pretty much everything that
happened in his trial. To start, there was his complaint about Maureen McLoughlin.

(01:10:03):
McLoughlin it was a psychologist brought inby Bittaker's defense counsel, and it
was her job to advise regarding juryselection. Her fee was five hundred dollars
a day. I wish I earnedthat much. During the first day of
jury selection, jurors were questioned concerningtheir views of the death penalty. McLoughlin

(01:10:27):
was present to assist Bittaker's defense counsel. At the start of the second day,
the court called Bittaker's counsel and McLoughlininto chambers, where they said that
McLoughlin's work was not going to beauthorized. The judge explained that he would
authorize payment for her work the firstday, but that was it. Defense
counsel raised no objections and instead apologizedfor not notifying the court about his arrangement

(01:10:54):
with McLoughlin. Bittaker raised concerns regardingthe jury. One juror, Signer Gauge,
stated, before I ever came here, I felt in my head he
was already guilty. This was becauseof newspaper articles published about the case.
The Supreme Court of California ruled thatunder the law, no person shall be

(01:11:17):
disqualified as a juror by reason ofhaving formed or expressed an opinion upon the
matter based on rumor, public journals, newspapers, or other literature, if
it appears to the court that heor she can and will act impartially and
fairly upon the matters to be submittedto him or her. While Gauge at

(01:11:41):
one point agreed she could not fairlyjudge and evaluate this case, she later
said she could decide it strictly onthe evidence in court. The Supreme Court
ruled that the trial court did notact improperly in denying the challenge for cause.
The second juror, share Or Staggs, had heard something about the case
on TV and in the newspaper.Staggs told the judge she had worked at

(01:12:06):
a rape crisis center and did notbelieve she could be impartial in such a
case. The Supreme Court held thatthe trial court did make a mistake by
denying the challenge for cause. DuraHine formed an opinion of the case based
on newspaper reports. When asked whetherhe could put that opinion out of his

(01:12:27):
mind and decide the case on thebasis of the evidence. He replied,
quote, I wish I could sayyes, okay, but I really don't
think so. Hine said he wouldtry to be impartial, but that he
would have a difficult time because healready had preconceived notions. The Supreme Court
said that the trial court should havesustained the challenge for cause. Dura Lynn

(01:12:51):
Kurricki told the court that although shehad not been influenced by the media,
she didn't think she could be fairbecause she would get too emotionally involved.
She believed this was because she hada daughter around the age of the victims.
Kuriki stated that she felt she couldfollow the court's instructions and could base
her decisions solely on the evidence.She also stated that she believed a person

(01:13:15):
is innocent until proven guilty. TheSupreme Court held that the trial court acted
properly in denying the challenge for cause. The final juror Bittaker complained about was
Marguerite Parazzo, who, when askedwhether she would automatically vote in favor of
death, answered in an equivocal way. The Supreme Court held that the judge

(01:13:39):
did not err in finding her answerinsufficient to require her dismissal for cause.
The Supreme Court reported that the defendantBittaker, raised forty complaints about the guilt
phase of his trial. The courtimmediately disregarded a number of the complaints simply
because they were either just not ofarguable merit or because they had already been

(01:14:02):
dealt with. As we know,Roy Norris and the prosecution entered a plea
deal which meant that in return fortestifying against Bittaker, Norris would not face
the death penalty or life imprisonment withoutthe possibility of parole. Norris also agreed,
as part of the deal, tohelp the sheriff find the bodies and
any physical evidence, and to pleadguilty to five counts of murder, two

(01:14:27):
counts of rape, and one ofrobbery. Bittaker tried to argue that the
agreement between the prosecution and Norris didn'tmeet the necessary criteria. Specifically, Bittaker
argued that Norris did not comply withthe sections where he was required to give
a complete and truthful account of bothhis and Larry Bittaker's participation in the murders,

(01:14:50):
and to give complete and truthful testimonyat all court proceedings, including preliminary
hearings and trials wherein Larry Bittaker andothers are defendants. Bittaker stated that these
provisions required Norris to testify that heBittaker participated in the murders, even if

(01:15:12):
that testimony were untrue. The SupremeCourt held that Bittaker's interpretation was not reasonable,
as Norris was also required to testifytruthfully under the agreement. Bittaker's next
complaint was about the tape of Ledford'sattack. Eight months before the trial,
the defense were given the opportunity tolisten to the recording. The defense then

(01:15:33):
asked permission from the prosecution to makea better copy. However, the prosecution
objected they didn't want the defense takingthe original tape from the court. The
court itself refused to permit any copyingof the tape. When the defense tried
to raise the issue during the trial, the court criticized them, saying that

(01:15:55):
their motion was untimely, quote thetime for obtaining copies of evidence and submitting
them to expert examination is before trial, not during the prosecution's case. Another
issue Bittaker raised was regarding the testimonyconcerning Bittaker's attempt to abduct Jan Mailin.
Bittaker argued that this testimony should nothave been allowed because he was not actually

(01:16:18):
charged with any crime against Mailin.To be clear, Bittaker was charged with
conspiracy to kidnap, and the incidentwith Jan mailn was listed as an overt
act in support of the charged conspiracy. Evidence regarding the mail In attack was
excluded at the preliminary examination, butdefense counsel didn't move to dismiss the accompanying

(01:16:43):
overt act allegation. It was thereforeheld that the trial court did not air
in admitting the evidence. So let'sgo back to Bittaker's book, The Last
Ride, which might just be themost sinister name for a book I've ever
heard, considering Bittaker's crimes. Hedescribed the book. Bittaker this is described

(01:17:04):
the book as part fact and partfiction. He supposedly showed the book to
a newspaper reporter who divulged its contentsin an article. According to Bittaker,
Sergeant Buds asked him about his book, to which Bittaker asked if he'd like
to read and correct it. Budsinitially declined, but a few days later

(01:17:28):
he asked if he could read itBittaker said he would allow Buds to read
it, but only for the purposeof correcting it. It was not to
be disclosed to anyone or used byanyone for any purpose. The prosecution did
not introduce the book in its casein chief, but made use of it
when cross examining Bittaker. The trialcourt denied Bittaker's objection as untimely. Bittaker

(01:17:54):
maintained his objection was based on aviolation of his Fifth and sixth Amendment rights
because he said Sergeant Buds didn't readhim his miranda rights and Bittaker's defense counsel
were not present. The court heldthat since Buds could have seized the manuscript
anyway without asking for or receiving consent, the issues Bittaker raised were immaterial to

(01:18:20):
the validity of the seizure. Undercross examination, the prosecutor asked Bittaker why
he had not objected when Norris leftAndrea Hall in the Mountains. Bittaker explained
that he was intimidated by Norris.The prosecutor didn't believe this and asked,
in fact, mister Bittaker, misterNorris was afraid of you. Isn't that

(01:18:44):
true? Bittaker denied this, sayingthat Norris was trained in martial arts.
The prosecutor reminded Bittaker that it washe who had almost killed a man with
a knife, referring to the nineteenseventy four attack on shop employee Gary Lewis.
The subjected, but the court overruledtheir objection. The jury already knew
Bittaker had been convicted of a felonybecause they had heard testimony regarding how the

(01:19:09):
pair met in prison, they didnot know the nature of the felony.
Bittaker complained about this assault being broughtup by the prosecutor because he argued that
the nineteen seventy four offense had nosimilarity to the crimes for which he was
being tried. He therefore argued thatany evidence regarding the nineteen seventy four offense

(01:19:30):
was inadmissible. The prosecutor argued thathe offered the evidence to prove Bittaker's state
of mind, also to prove thathe was not one to be easily intimidated
by anyone, including Norris. TheSupreme Court concluded that the evidence was admissible.
Bittaker didn't like that during the trial, the court had refused to grant

(01:19:54):
defense council permission to tell the jurythat Norris had been classified as a mentally
disord or sex offender. The prosecutionargued that members of the jury would not
understand what that term meant and woulddistract from the trial as experts would have
to be called in to testify aboutwhat it meant to be a mentally disordered
sex offender. The California Supreme Courtheld that the trial court's ruling didn't stop

(01:20:19):
the defense from presenting evidence about Norris'ssexual proclivities. It only stopped the defense
from presenting evidence that proved Norris's classification. The Supreme Court held that since classification
was a technical one which would haveto be explained to the jury and would
add little to the case overall,the trial court's ruling was the correct one.

(01:20:42):
During the trial, when examining JoeJackson, defense counsel asked whether he
and Norris were involved in an attemptedrape in April of nineteen seventy nine,
the courts sustained the prosecutor's objection.You see, the defense had a right
to attempt to show that Norris andJack's and had committed some of the crimes
of which Norris was being charged,but evidence that they committed some other crime

(01:21:06):
is inadmissible unless the defense can showthere was some relationship between the attempted rape
in April and the crimes to whichNorris pled guilty. The defense failed to
offer any proof, and so thetrial court's ruling was correct. Bitacer's complaint
number three thousand, six hundred andfifty five. Christina Dreill testified in court

(01:21:30):
that when she rejected Bitacer's advances,he pulled a gun and said, you
wouldn't argue if I pulled the trigger. Defense counsel sought to impeach her by
having evidence admitted that allegedly proved shehad previously made false charges of sexual molestation
against two men. The trial courtupheld the objection, saying, quote the

(01:21:51):
value of the evidence as impeachment dependsupon proof that the prior charges were false.
This would in effect force the partyto present evidence concerning two long past
sexual incidents which never reached the pointof any formal charges. Such a proceeding
would consume considerable time and divert theattention of the jury from the case at

(01:22:13):
hand. During Bittaker's trial, theprosecution offered a lot of evidence which aimed
to show the jury Bittaker's psychological dispositiontowards acts of violence and his interest in
sexual torture. Such evidence included testimonyfrom Richard Shupmann concerning Bitacer's sexual fantasies,

(01:22:34):
pseudomasochistic and bondage type magazines found inBitacer's possession, and evidence that the defendant
wrote a threatening letter to the judgewho presided over Bitacer's prior assault trial.
This evidence was presented in court withlargely no objections from the defense. The
Supreme Court held that quote the defendant'sfailure to object to inadmissible evidence or to

(01:23:00):
request limiting instructions when evidence was admissiblefor other purposes bars him from raising the
issue on appeal. Honestly, ifyou're wondering whether the list of Bittaker's complaints
ever ends, I promise it does. Just bear with me. Shupman testified
during Bittaker's trial that he received aletter from the defendant on or about the

(01:23:24):
fourteenth of September nineteen seventy nine.Under cross examination, the prosecutor asked him,
isn't it a fact, mister Schupman, that he wrote you about the
rape and killing of a girl inthe mountains before September fourteenth. Shupman denied
receiving such a letter, and theprosecutor didn't mention the matter any further.

(01:23:46):
Bittaker invoked the rule that it isimproper to ask questions, which clearly suggests
the existence of facts which would havebeen harmful to the defendant in the absence
of a good faith belief by theprosecutor that the questions would be answered in
the affirmative, or with a disbeliefon his part that the facts could be
proved, and a purpose to provethem if their existence should be denied.

(01:24:11):
In Bittaker's case, there was evidencethat Schutmann received letters from the defendant which
he destroyed, but there is noevidence as to the contents or what the
prosecutor knew of the contents. Italso cannot be determined whether the prosecutor,
at the time he asked the questionintended to prove the fact at issue.
The Supreme Court held that misconduct hadnot been demonstrated. On cross examination,

(01:24:35):
and without being too specific regarding theirlocation, Bittaker admitted that he had hidden
a number of photographs and one tapeby burying them at Forest Lawn Cemetery.
Despite being found in contempt of court, Bittaker still refused to say where they
were hidden. The prosecutor asked Bittakernine times where the photographs were, but

(01:25:00):
each time he refused to reveal theirlocation. In his closing argument, the
prosecutor suggested to the jury that thephotographs and tapes may have shown scenes of
torture or murder. Bittaker's defense counselargued in court that the prosecutor was badgering
the defendant, but the prosecution arguedthat when a defendant admits to concealing evidence

(01:25:25):
and defies a court order to revealits location, they should have considerable scope
to question him. Bittaker argued thatthe prosecutor's closing argument was contrary to evidence,
since Norris and others who had seenthe photographs said they only described scenes
of sexual activity, not torture.The Supreme Court held that the prosecutor could

(01:25:47):
reasonably argue that if the photographs supportedBittaker's version of the facts, he wouldn't
want to conceal those photos. Thetrial court in structed the jury that in
determining the credibility of a witness,it could consider por felony convictions. The
jury had heard evidence of some felonyconvictions, which, under the law at

(01:26:12):
the time of the trial, wouldnot be admissible to impeach. It had
heard about the defendant's prior conviction forassault with a deadly weapon and Shupmann's prior
conviction for murder. Prosecution witnesses werealso tainted as the jury learned of Norris's
prior rape conviction and Lloyd Douglas's convictionsfor manslaughter and burglary. The case law

(01:26:34):
states that a felony conviction was admissibleto impeach only if the offense bore upon
accuracy. It was held that onlyDouglas's conviction for burglary would meet that test.
The Supreme Court held, quote,in light of the overwhelming evidence of
the defendant's guilt, we find noreasonable probability that, absent the error in

(01:26:58):
question, the jury would have reacheda different result. The trial court instructed
the jury that it could find firstdegree murder based on the infliction of torture
if two requirements were met. First, the acts which cause death must involve
a high degree of probability of death, and two, the defendant must commit

(01:27:20):
an act with a willful, deliberate, and premeditated intent to inflict extreme and
prolonged pain. Bittaker complained that theinstructions were incomplete because they omit the purpose
of the torture. In the caseof People the Tubby murder By, torture

(01:27:40):
was defined as requiring an intent tocause cruel suffering, either for the purpose
of revenge, extortion, persuasion,or to satisfy some other untoward propensity.
In People the Wiley, they quotedTubby and required that the defendant commits such
an act or acts with the intentto cause cruel pain and suffering for the

(01:28:00):
purpose of revenge, extortion, persuasion, or for any other sadistic purpose.
When Bittaker's trial was taking place innineteen eighty one, the court overlooked the
case law and said, quote,we agree with the defendant that this instruction
was erroneously incomplete. It is apparent, however, that the defendant was not

(01:28:23):
prejudiced under any applicable standard of prejudice. For while the defendant disputes how many
victims were tortured, it is undisputedthat whatever torture was inflicted was done for
a sadistic purpose. The jury foundthirty eight special circumstances. Among them were
twenty multiple murder special circumstances. Onesuch special circumstance would suffice to determine that

(01:28:49):
the defendant had, in this proceedingbeen convicted of more than one murder.
The remaining nineteen were superfluous. Thejury found at least forty valid special circumstances,
far more than is normally found inmost death penalty cases. Bittaker challenged
five of the thirty eight special circumstancefinding. One such objection was to the

(01:29:13):
finding that Lamp was intentionally killed becauseshe was a witness to a crime.
He tried to argue that this specialcircumstance applied only if the killing was not
committed during the commission of the crimeto which she was a witness. The
Supreme Court shot him down on thisone, saying that they didn't find it
necessary to resolve these issues, asa single valid special circumstance is sufficient to

(01:29:35):
determine the defendant is eligible for thedeath penalty. The court held that there
was no reasonable possibility that any errorrespecting the number of special circumstances affected the
result. During the penalty phase,the defense presented testimony from doctor Maloney,
a psychologist, who described Bittaker's historyand personality and concluded that he had an

(01:30:00):
antisocial personality disorder. Doctor Trunkman,a psychiatrist, was also called to give
evidence. Doctor Trunkman testified that Bittakermay have committed the nineteen seventy four assault,
again the stabbing of the shop assistant, whilst in an altered state of
consciousness. The prosecution called a psychiatrist, doctor Markman, who testified that Bittaker

(01:30:25):
was not mentally ill at the timeof the nineteen seventy four assault and was
not mentally ill at the time ofthe murders. Bittaker attempted to attack the
credibility of doctor Markman's testimony. TheSupreme Court held that as it was the
defense who opened up the issue ofBittaker's mental condition, the prosecution should have
the right to present rebuttal evidence onthe topic. At the guilt phase of

(01:30:49):
the trial, the jury heard evidenceregarding uncharged crimes, specifically the assault and
kidnapping of Jan Mayln or attempted kidnapping. The prosecutor referred to this incident in
his penalty phase argument. However,the court failed to instruct the jury at
the penalty phase that before it couldconsider these crimes as aggravating factors, they

(01:31:13):
must find beyond a reasonable doubt thatthe defendant did indeed commit those crimes.
This was an error on the Court'spart, but it was held to be
of little significance. During his trial, Bittaker admitted the assault on Mailan.
The jury found Bittaker guilty of conspiringwith Norris to kidnap women, specifying the

(01:31:33):
mailn incident as an overt act donepursuant to the conspiracy. The Supreme Court
stated, quote, under these circumstances, it is not reasonably possible that the
failure of the court to give areasonable doubt instruction affected the verdict. Bittaker
took issue with another thing you'll beshocked to hear, this time with the

(01:31:56):
prosecutor's argument that the jury should imposethe death penalty in his case to deter
felons from murdering their victims. TheSupreme Court was clear such an argument is
condemned. They explained that the argumentaddresses the minds of the jury to the
deterrents of designated potential killers, ratherthan the penalty to be adjudged to the

(01:32:18):
defendants. The imposition of the deathpenalty thus rests upon the unproven and illegitimate
assumption that it acts as a deterrentto the described potential killers, as we've
seen with many of Bittaker's proposed appealgrounds. The Supreme Court stated that this
misconduct could have been dealt with atthe time if Bittaker's defense team had objected.

(01:32:45):
The prosecutor argued that the death penaltywas appropriate for each of the murders.
He then commented, without objection thatthe jurors should make a consistent finding
on all of the murders because,quote, you have a chance of having
or wishes carried out as this casegoes through the appellate court. More if
you are consistent in your findings.The US Supreme Court stated, quote,

(01:33:10):
it is constitutionally impermissible to rest adeath sentence on a determination made by a
sentencer who has been led to believethat the responsibility for determining the appropriateness of
the defendant's death rests elsewhere in court. It would be improper for the jury
to return a death verdict with respectto one murder. To protect the death

(01:33:31):
verdict, it returned for a differentmurder, and the prosecutor should not have
suggested that the jury do so.The Supreme Court held that the prosecutor's comment
was improper, but again, asdefense counsel failed to object at the time,
it couldn't amount to a ground ofappeal. Looking back, I'm thinking
I probably should have said, ifyou're not interested in law, or if

(01:33:56):
you don't care about Bittaker's proposed appealgrounds twenty minutes, but anyway to be
clear. On the twenty second ofJune nineteen eighty nine, Bittaker's appeal was
dismissed, with the court ruling thatany procedural errors were minor and did not
affect the overall verdict. Bittaker's initialexecution date was set for the twenty ninth

(01:34:18):
of December nineteen eighty nine. Forwhatever reason, this did not go ahead.
On the eleventh of June nineteen ninetyBittaker appealed this decision, but the
Supreme Court upheld the decision, meaninghe would still be executed. His renewed
execution date was set for the twentythird of July nineteen ninety one. Bittaker

(01:34:42):
appealed yet again and was granted anotherstay of execution on the ninth of July
nineteen ninety one. Say what youwant about this man, but boy doesn't
give up. Whilst on death row, Bittaker took part in a number of
interviews. It was reported that henever expressed remorse for his crimes, saying
that the only remorse he felt wasfor when he and Norris were arrested because

(01:35:08):
this was when his own life wasruined and that alone, Ladies and Gentlemen
speaks volumes. Bittaker did believe hislife to have been wasted, but also
considered it odd that he and Norrishad very little in common before they met
at California Men's Colony in nineteen seventyseven. He added that they had one

(01:35:30):
hell of a lot in common now. Bittaker continued to use the nickname Pliers
whilst in prison. While incarcerated,he also filed more than forty frivolous lawsuits
YEP. Bittaker's complaining continues. Hecomplained about stupid things like being served a
broken cookie and crushed sandwiches, whichhe cited, believe it or not,

(01:35:57):
as an example of his being subjectedto cruel and unusual punishment. According to
reports, Lawrence Bittaker was declared avexatious litigant in nineteen ninety three. So
a vexatious litigant is someone who bringslegal action solely to harass or subdue an
adversary. Having been considered a vexatiouslitigant, Bittaker was not allowed to file

(01:36:23):
any lawsuits without the express permission ofan attorney or a judge. So what
about the people involved in the Toolboxkillers case? Stephen Kay considered the murders
to be the worst criminal case hehad ever prosecuted or encountered. He recalled
that for two years following the trialhe suffered with nightmares. Paul Bynum,

(01:36:48):
who you'll recall he was the chiefinvestigator, I'm really sad to say that
he actually committed suicide in December nineteeneighty seven at the age of thirty nine.
In his suicide note, Binnum didindeed refer to Norris and Bittaker's crimes,
describing them as haunting him and ofhis fear that they might be released

(01:37:12):
from prison one day. The recordingof the attack of Shirley Lynnette Ledford is
now used to train and desensitize FBIagents to the raw reality of torture and
murder. So where are the toolboxkillers now? While on the nineteenth of

(01:37:32):
December two and nineteen, whilst stillincarcerated on death row at San Quentin State
Prison, Lawrence Bittaker died. Hewas seventy nine years old. His cause
of death was recorded as being dueto natural causes. Roy Norris was eligible
for parole in two thousand and nine. However, he declined to attend his

(01:37:56):
parole hearing for whatever reason, andso his parole eligibility was deferred for another
ten years. He was denied paroleagain in twenty and nineteen. On the
twenty fourth of February twenty twenty,Norris, who was incarcerated at the Richard
J. Donovan Correctional Facility, diedtoo of natural causes at the age of

(01:38:17):
seventy two. Norris always maintained thatthe only reason he took part in the
murders was because he was scared ofBittaker. He claimed that he had considered
going to police on two different occasions, and claimed to have successfully deterred three
potential victims from entering Bittaker's van.He accepted that he enjoyed the intercourse,

(01:38:41):
but that it was Bittaker who enjoyedthe torture and murder, saying quote,
I didn't enjoy killing. That wasLawrence. It was his favorite part watching
the women struggle to live, knowinghe'd soon be taking life away. Investigators
and psychologists dispute their stating that Norrisdid derive gratification from the domination, the

(01:39:03):
abuse, and the torture, allof which harked back to Norris's extensive history
of physical and sexual violence against women. And that's the end of today's episode.
Thank you so much for joining mefor this Halloween special. The Student's
Verdict is a bi weekly podcast,so please follow us on social media to

(01:39:26):
hear about our next episode. TheStudent's Verdict can be found anywhere you listen
to podcasts, including Spreaker, YouTubeand iHeartRadio. See you on the next
one, and remember to keep livingthe dream. This episode is dedicated to
Lucinda Lynn Schaffer, Andrea Joy Hall, Jackie Dorris Gilliam, Jacqueline Leah Lamp

(01:39:53):
and Shirley Lynnette Ledford.

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