William Bonin - Murder Spree

Murder Spree

Bonin usually selected young male hitchhikers, schoolboys or, occasionally, male prostitutes as his victims. The victims, aged 12 to 19, were either enticed or forced into his Chevrolet camper van, where they would be overpowered and bound hand and foot with a combination of handcuffs, and wire or cord. They then were then sexually assaulted, tortured and usually killed by strangulation with their own T-shirts, although some victims were stabbed or battered to death. One victim, Darin Kendrick, was forced to drink hydrochloric acid; two victims had ice-picks driven into their ears and another victim, Mark Shelton, died of shock. The victims were usually killed inside Bonin's van and most were discarded alongside various freeways in southern California. In a minimum of 12 of the murders, Bonin was assisted by one or more of his four known accomplices.