Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris - Arrest, Trial, and Sentence

Arrest, Trial, and Sentence

Norris had been telling prison friend Jimmy Dalton all about the murders. Dalton thought the stories were lies until Ledford's body was found. He talked to his lawyer and they went to the Los Angeles Police Department with information about Norris.

At the trial, both Norris and Bittaker were charged with murder, kidnapping, forcible rape, sexual perversion and criminal conspiracy. Bittaker was convicted of rape, torture, kidnapping, and murder on February 17, 1981, and sentenced to death. As of January 2013, Bittaker remains on death row, where he still receives mail; he responds to the letters, signing with his nickname, "Pliers" Bittaker. Norris was also sentenced but was spared execution in return for his testimony against Bittaker. Norris was denied parole in 2009 and will be eligible in another ten years.