Kenneth Bianchi - Hillside Strangler and More

Kenneth Bianchi - Murderpedia.org

Kenneth Alessio Bianchi was born on May 22, 1951 in Rochester, New York.  Bianchi's mother was a prostitute who gave him up for adoption as an infant.  In his youth, he had many problems at school with his conduct and frequent tantrums.  He grew to be an unstable adult who had difficulty holding down steady work.  He married his high school sweetheart in 1970.  She left him, without explanation, after eight months of marriage.

ALPHABET MURDERS

Alphabet Murder Victims  -  Tumbler.com

From 1971 to 1973, three girls were sexually assaulted and manually strangled or strangled using a ligature.  These girls were killed in Rochester, New York.  They became known as the Alphabet Murders or the Double Initial Murders.  This was due to the fact that the first and last initials of their names were the same.  In addition, each body was found in a town, close to Rochester, with a name beginning with the same letter as the victim's initials.

Victims:

Carmen Colón – 10 - November 16, 1971
Wanda Walkowicz – 11 - April 2, 1973
Michelle Maenza – 11 - November 26, 1973

There were four main suspects:

Miguel Colón, Carmen Colón’s Uncle, was considered a suspect in Carmen Colón’s murder, as he did not have a credible alibi on the date of her death.  He moved to Puerto Rico shortly after her death.  He later returned to the U.S. but committed suicide after he shot and wounded his wife and brother.

Dennis Termini (The Garage Rapist) was considered a suspect, as he committed 14 rapes in the  Rochester area during this same time period.   He also committed suicide.  However, a DNA sample later cleared him of Walkowicz’s murder.

Joseph Naso was considered a suspect since he committed similar murders in California and was known to travel back and forth between California and New York.  However, a DNA sample also later cleared him of Walkowicz’s murder.    

Kenneth Bianchi was suspected of being responsible for the murders, especially after his conviction of the multiple murders in California.   He lived in Rochester, New York at the time of the murders.  He worked as an ice cream vendor in Rochester, which would have put him in contact with children.  In addition, he worked at locations close to the first two murder scenes.  He also drove a vehicle of the same color and model as a vehicle seen near one of the abduction sites.  As one of the “Hillside Stranglers”, his modus operandi of rape and strangulation was the same as the “Alphabet Murders”  

Although investigators interrogated more than 800 potential suspects in relation to the Alphabet Murders, the homicides remain unsolved.

In addition to being a suspect in the Alphabet Murders, in 1971 Bianchi told his girlfriend, in a letter, that he had killed a man; but she didn’t take him seriously.

THE HILLSIDE STRANGLERS

Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono  -  Los Angeles Times via Getty

In 1976 Kenneth Bianchi moved to Los Angeles where he lived with his adopted cousin, Angelo Buono.  Bianchi considered Buono a role model.  Angelo Buono came up with a money-making scheme for he and Bianchi.  Buono’s idea was to become pimps.  He and Bianchi would bring in teenaged runaways; basically, kidnap them.  They would then force them to turn tricks.  He said that no one would miss them.  Bianchi and Buono first took in two teenaged girls named Sabra Hannan and Becky Spears. Once they had them in Buono’s home, they locked them up, beat and raped them, and forced them to sell their bodies.  Luckily, they were later able to escape.  Sabra Hannan would later testify against them at their murder trials.  

Sabra Hannan Testifies at Hillside Strangers Trial  -  Allthatsinteresting.com

After Hannan’s and Spears’ escape, Bianchi and Buono paid prostitutes named Deborah Noble and Yolanda Washington for a “trick list” with the names and numbers of customers in L.A.  Bianchi and Buono quickly realized that the ladies had sold them a phony list and wanted vengeance.  Pimping quickly turned to murder.  Yolanda Washington’s body was found naked on a hillside near the Ventura Freeway on Oct. 18, 1977.  She had been violently raped and tied up with fabric around the neck, wrists, and legs.  Her body had been washed to remove evidence.  This would only be the beginning.

Hillside Stranglers Victims and Washington Victims  -  Criminal Minds Wiki

Victims: 

Yolanda Washington – 19 - Oct. 17, 1977
Judith Lynn Miller – 15 - Oct. 31, 1977
Lissa Kastin – 21 - Nov. 6, 1977
Jane King - 28 - Nov. 10, 1977
Dolly Cepeda – 12 - Nov. 13, 1977
Sonja Johnson – 14 - Nov. 13, 1977
Kristina Weckler – 20 - Nov. 20, 1977
Lauren Wagner - 18 - Nov. 29, 1977
Kimberly Martin - 17 - Dec. 9, 1977
Cindy Lee Hudspeth – 20 - Feb. 16, 1978

Between Oct 17, 1977 and February 16, 1978, ten women and girls, between the ages of 12 and 28, were killed in the Los Angeles area.  The murderer was dubbed The Hillside Strangler, as the bodies were displayed on hillsides near freeways to taunt the authorities.  One of the prospective victims was Catharine Lorre (daughter of actor Peter Lorre) who testified that she had been approached by 2 policemen.   The authorities now knew they were dealing with a pair of killers instead of just one, and they were referred to as The Hillside Stranglers. After his arrest, Bianchi admitted that in 1977 he and Buono, while posing as police officers, stopped a young woman called Catharine Lorre with the intention of abducting and killing her. They let her go, when they found out she was the daughter of actor Peter Lorre.    

They impersonated policemen.  They would show their badges and tell women that they had to go downtown.  They would put them in the back seat of their car and take them to Buono’s upholstery shop, never to be seen again.  They preyed on prostitutes and female motorists. Their victims were tortured, raped and finally strangled.  One victim was found to have been injected with Windex, one was asphyxiated with carbon monoxide and one had electric burns on the palms of her hands.

WASHINGTON STATE

While in L. A., Bianchi had been trying to get his girlfriend, Kelli Boyd to marry him.  She never agreed to marry him, but she did give him a son.  She gave birth to their boy Ryan just days after the Hillside Stranglers struck for the final time.  Kelli Boyd broke things off with Bianchi and moved to Washington State.  In May 1978 Bianchi followed her to Bellingham, Washington where he worked as a security guard.

On January 11, 1979, two Western Washington University women had gone to meet Bianchi for a house-sitting job.  They were found dead the next day.   Bianchi had been their last contact.  Therefore, he was the prime suspect.  Without Buono’s help, he was inept and left several clues.
Victims:  

Karen Mandic – 22 - Jan. 11, 1979
Diane Wilder – 27 - Jan. 11, 1979
(Photos are included in the photo spread of victims above)

While in jail in Washington, Bianchi was finally tied to the Hillside slayings in June 1979. Bianchi plead not guilty by reason of insanity and feigned having multiple personalities.  He claimed that another personality,  "Steve Walker", had committed the crimes.  He convinced a few expert psychiatrists that he suffered from multiple personality disorder.  However, investigators brought in their own psychiatrist, Martin Orne.  Martin Orne lied and told Bianchi that in genuine cases of the disorder, there tends to be three or more personalities. Bianchi immediately created another personality called "Billy".  Proving that he was only making up the multiple personalities.

When threatened with capital punishment, Bianchi agreed to testify against his cousin, Angelo Buono, who was facing 10 counts of murder in L.A.  However, in giving his testimony, Bianchi made every effort to be uncooperative and not help in the prosecution of Buono. Bianchi's trial went on from November 1981 to November 1983.  Bianchi eventually plead guilty to the Washington murders and five of the California murders.  Bianchi received six life sentences.  Part of Bianchi’s original agreement was to serve his time in California.  The judge found that Bianchi did not testify truthfully and completely while on the witness stand.  Therefore, he ordered Bianchi to serve his sentence in Walla Walla, Washington instead of California.   At the time, Walla Walla Prison was considered harsher than those in California.  He was denied parole in 2010 and will come up for parole again in 2025.  He will be 74.  Buono was found guilty of 9 counts of murder and sentenced to 9 life terms without parole.   Buono died while imprisoned in 2002.

A WEIRD SIDE NOTE

In June 1980 Bianchi received a letter from Veronica Lynn Compton.  She said that she was an aspiring actress who wanted his opinion on a new play regarding a female serial-killer. Compton it seems was fascinated with serial killers and necrophilia.  She actually was a serial killer groupie who claimed to be in love with Bianchi.  She told Bianchi that she would go to Bellingham WA, strangle a woman there and deposit Bianchi's semen at the scene to confuse the police into thinking that the real killer was still on the loose.  While in prison, Bianchi sent her a book.  The book contained a concealed glove containing his semen.  Compton invited her victim, Kim Breed, home, tied her up and attempted to strangle her; but in the struggle, the victim got loose and escaped.  On October 3, 1980 Compton was arrested for attempted murder.  In 2003, Compton was released from prison.  Her whereabouts are unknown.

KENNETH BIANCHI 2015 INTERVIEW

Kenneth Bianchi (2015) theforensicexaminer.com

In a 2015 interview with Criminal Profiler, Anthony Meoli MA,J.D.,DACFEI:

• Bianchi claimed to have little or no relationship with his cousin Angelo Buono and spent most of his time in L.A. with his cousin’s son, Anthony or his girlfriend, Kelli. 
• He stated that he had no knowledge of the Hillside Stranglers' murders and no first-hand information that Angelo Buono was involved.
• He stated that his multiple personality disorder he claimed to have, while in jail, was brought on by hypnosis.  He didn’t have the disorder prior to hypnosis.  He also claims his confession was not made until after he had hypnosis.  
• In addition, he denies the two murders in Washington.  However, he is vague when trying to explain where he was at the time of the murders and at what time he arrived home that night.

Basically, Bianchi denies having anything to do with any crimes or murders.  The interview is very detailed with attached addendums.  If you are interested in reading the entire interview, you can find it here:  www.theforensicexaminer.com/2015/KB_Interview.php

References:

Varma, Sujit R., IMDb Mini Biography
            https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0080629/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

Kenneth Bianchi Photo

murderpedia.org/male.B/b/bianchi-kenneth-photos-1.htm 

Tumblr, Unsolved Alphabet Killer, Photo Alphabet Murders

 https://murderfacts.tumblr.com/post/41945714350/unsolved-alphabet-killer 

Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono Photo

Bettman/Getty; Ken Hively/Los Angeles Times via Getty 

Oliver, Mark, How The Hillside Stranglers Kenneth Bianchi And Angelo Buono Terrorized L.A. In The Late ’70s

https://allthatsinteresting.com/hillside-strangler-kenneth-bianchi-angelo-buono 

Criminal Minds Wiki, Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi

https://criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/Angelo_Buono_and_Kenneth_Bianchi

Wikipedia, Kenneth Bianchi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Bianchi  

Wikipedia, Alphabet Murders

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphabet_murders 

Sabra Hannan Photo

https://allthatsinteresting.com/hillside-strangler-kenneth-bianchi-angelo-buono 

Gewertz, Catherine, The Hillside Strangler case, the longest criminal trial in...

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/01/10/The-Hillside-Strangler-case-the-longest-criminal-trial-in/1461442558800/

Criminal Minds Wiki, Veronica Compton
            https://criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/Veronica_Compton

Meoli, Anthony, Interview with Kenneth Bianchi, The Forensic Examiner

www.theforensicexaminer.com/2015/KB_Interview.php