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Killers: Behind the Myth

The Freeway Killer (Season 2, Episode 5)
TV Episode | 44 min | Documentary, Crime

William Bonin was the first man in California to be executed by lethal injection. His death in 1996 followed a conviction for the murder of 21 boys aged between 12 and 19 in just one frenzied year. He is estimated to have killed as many as...See moreWilliam Bonin was the first man in California to be executed by lethal injection. His death in 1996 followed a conviction for the murder of 21 boys aged between 12 and 19 in just one frenzied year. He is estimated to have killed as many as double that. A truck driver and son of a bingo-addicted, alcoholic mother and compulsive gambling father, he was incarcerated in juvenile detention at a young age where he suffered his first rape. On his release he began molesting young boys - a crime that would see him imprisoned and consigned to a mental institution. He met a part-time magician, Vernon Butts, and struck up a deadly friendship that would see them recruit a small gang of accomplices and go on to rape and murder lone boys, often hitch-hiking in the southern Californian sunshine. His victims were attacked in the back of his van, named by investigators as "the Death Wagon" and dumped by the side of the freeway, earning him the title; "The Freeway Killer". Written by Sky Vision [gb] See less
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Edit Released
Updated May 13, 2014

Release date
May 13, 2014 (United Kingdom)

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Cast

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11 cast members
Name Known for
Simon James Bailie
William Bonin William Bonin   See fewer
Mark Billingham
Self - Crime Writer Self - Crime Writer   See fewer
William Bonin
Self - Serial Killer (archive footage) Self - Serial Killer (archive footage)   See fewer
Vernon Butts
Self - Accomplice of William Bonin (archive footage) Self - Accomplice of William Bonin (archive footage)   See fewer
Harry Harrold
Detective Myers Detective Myers   See fewer
David Holmes
Self - Criminal Psychologist Self - Criminal Psychologist   See fewer
Gregory Miley
Self - Accomplice of William Bonin (archive footage) Self - Accomplice of William Bonin (archive footage)   See fewer
James Munro
Self - Accomplice of William Bonin (archive footage) Self - Accomplice of William Bonin (archive footage)   See fewer
Vonda Pelto
Self - Clinical Psychologist Self - Clinical Psychologist   See fewer
Billy Pugh
Self - Accomplice of William Bonin (archive footage) Self - Accomplice of William Bonin (archive footage)   See fewer
Zachary Street
Vernon Butts Vernon Butts   See fewer
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