As some people already know, some serial killers do not work alone. More than 13% of American killers involve multiple murderers. The most common team killers are men. Here I will introduce you to two of the most notorious team killers of all time. Bianchi and Buono, and Bernardo and Homolka.
Kenneth Bianchi who was born in May of 1951, was born to a prostitute in Rochester, New York. Angelo Buono was born in October of 1934 in Rochester,New York and brought across country to California at the age of five with his mother. Angelo and Bouno who were cousins did not have much contact with one another over the years. Both however were troubled men who had a thrill for dominance and stardom. Buono however was the more dominant one of the two. As a young man, Buono idolized sex offender Caryl Chessman and would later use other rapist’s method of luring victims. Unlike Bianchi, Buono had a knack for attracting all kinds of women, even though Bianchi’s looks were more sophisticated than Buono. This in some way impressed his cousin. And the murders began.
October 17, 1977 Yolanda Washington who was a prostitute disappeared without a trace. Three days later her naked,strangled body was found at the Forest Lawn Cemetery. October 31, 1977, in an Eagle Rock neighborhood, the body of 16 year-old, Judy Miller, whose body had been wrapped inside of a tarp was found on the curb in a residential area. She also had been strangled. November 6, 1977, the body of Lissa Kastin who had been a waitress at a local restaurant was found by the Glendale Country Club. She had been strangled as well. November 13, 1977, Dolores Cepeda 12, and Sonja Johnson 14, were abducted as they were getting off their school bus. Their bodies were found when two boys who had been on trash detail found their young bodies, they had been raped repeatedly and strangled. November 20, 1977, Kristina Weckler was found on a hill by Glendale, California. Unlike the rest of the victims, Weckler had been tortured by injections of window cleaner, as well as raped and strangled. November 23, 1977, Jane King’s decomposed body was found on an exit ramp by the Golden State freeway.
With bodies turning up all over Los Angeles, police authorities dubbed Bianchi and Buono “The Hillside Stranglers”. The two took Thanksgiving weekend off, but on November 29, 1977, the body of Lauren Wagner was found on the hill of Mount Washington. She had been tortured, raped and strangled. December 13, 1977, Kimberly Martin’s body was found on a hill by city hall. Raped and strangled, she was the last victim to be found until February 16, 1978, when the body of Cindy Hudspeth was found inside the trunk of her car in Angeles Crest. This was the last known victim of Bianchi and Buono. Police finally caught the two and charged them with the heinous crimes they committed. Bianchi in the end testified against his cousin Buono. In 1983 Bianchi and Buono received life sentences for the murders. Kenneth Bianchi is still in Washington serving a life sentence, while Angelo Buono died of a heart attack in Calipatria State Prison on September 21, 2002.
Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka were your everyday “Barbie and Ken” couple, so they thought. Homolka who met Bernardo in 1987 was just 17, he 23 years-old in their hometown of Ontario, Canada. Bernardo who had a fetish for slavery and dominance, used his fetish as a horror plot. The two were engaged quickly. In 1990, Bernardo would refer to Homolka as his “sex slave”. Homolka herself would not deny Bernardo anything. She simply believed that she was his property and well trained at that.
The first death would be the most memorable for Homolka. She had worked as a veterinary assistant and stolen Halcion, which is an anesthetic. The two then decided that they would give the drug to Homolka’s younger sister who at the time was 15 years-old. Tammy had no clue as to what was going on. The couple then proceeded to rape the 15 year-old in the basement of her own home while her parents were upstairs asleep. Tammy then had a reaction to the drug and while during the rape, choked to death on her on vomit. Her death was ruled an accident in the beginning, until Homolka told authorities different.
Once situated, Bernardo and Homolka rented a house in Port Dalhousie. There the two would devise and scheme. June 15, 1991, Leslie Mahaffy ended up meeting Bernardo when he had been selling door to door. When the two went to Bernardo’s car to get a cigerette, Bernardo made his move and forced Mahaffy into his car and took her to their house. There Mahaffy would be held for over 24 hours. During those 24 hours, Mahaffy would be raped over and over again by the two. Bernardo and Homolka even video taped the rape. After the two were done playing with Mahaffy, they killed her. Bernardo then dismembered her body with a saw in their home. Homolka participated by washing the dismembered parts off so they would be clean when they were set in concrete. On June 29th, at a lake by St.Catherines, a couple who were enjoying their time on the lake found Mahaffy’s body which was in cement. That same day, Homolka and Bernardo become husband and wife in a lavish ceremony at Niagra on the Lake.
April 16, 1992, Kristen French who was 15 years-old had been in a church parking lot when Bernardo and Homolka pulled up asking for directions. Bernardo who had gotten out of the car, came up slowly behind the girl and forced her into the back of the car. The young girl was brought to their house, where she stayed alive for days. Bernardo and Homolka tortured and raped her over and over again before killing her on the 3rd day. After killing Kristen French, Bernardo and Homolka went to Easter supper at Karla Homolka’s parents house. By the 30th of the month, the young French’s body was found in Burlington.
By 1993, Homolka would had been beaten beyond recognition left her husband Paul Bernardo. Bernardo was then arrested on assault with a deadly weapon charge. In February of 1993, samples that they had taken been taken from the victims came back and Bernardo’s DNA matched. Authorities put 24 hour surveillance on Bernardo immediately. On the 9th of February, Homolka was interviewed by the sexual assault squad. She explained to them the abuse she went through with Bernardo, but was very reluctant when they spoke of certain things. While with her aunt, Homolka admitted to them that her husband had been the Scarborough Rapist and the two had been involved in the murders of the other girls. Homolka then contacted her lawyer where she set up a plea bargain to testify against Bernardo for a lighter sentence. The sentence was a 12 year sentence with a very short time to accept. On May 14, Karla Homolka started telling police everything she knew.
Paul Bernardo confessed to all the killings, plus the 15 rapes he had committed previously before Karla Homolka. Bernardo was convicted of all the murders and sentenced to life in prison with no parole in the Kingston Penitentiart on Ontario. Since he was jailed, Bernardo has been held in solitary confinement where he lives in a 6 X 8 cell and is allowed one hour of exercise a day. Ironically Paul Bernardo is kept from the general population to be sure he is safe from harm.
As with any murderer, they are all extremely dangerous. Team killers however are even more so being that there are two of them to accomplish exactly what they set out to do.
