Lawrence Sigmund Bittaker and Roy Lewis Norris

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lawrence Sigmund Bittaker (born September 27, 1940 in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania - † December 13, 2019 ) and Roy Lewis Norris (born February 2, 1948 in Greeley, Colorado - † February 24, 2020 ) were two American serial killers who together raped and tortured to death at least five women and girls . Photos of 19 other women who are still missing today were found in their vehicle.

Perpetrator

Lawrence Sigmund Bittaker was born on September 27, 1940 in Pittsburgh and raised by adoptive parents. In 1957 he was imprisoned for the first time for stealing a car, fleeing the police, and cheating. In 1961 he was sentenced to a maximum of 15 years imprisonment for robbery, from which he was released early on parole in 1963. He was imprisoned until November 15, 1978 for several parole violations, other minor crimes, and the attempted murder of a supermarket employee who caught him stealing.

Roy Lewis Norris was born on February 2, 1948 in Greeley, where he stayed until he was 17. He then went to the US Navy and was u. a. used for four months in the Vietnam War. In 1969 he returned to Southern California, where he tried to rape a woman driver. After spending three months in jail for this, he was jailed until January 15, 1979 for two more brutal rapes and one attempted rape.

Series of murders

The two met in California State Prison in San Luis Obispo , where they were incarcerated. After their layoffs, the two men met again and drove their silver GMC van along the Pacific coast. They kept stopping at beaches to flirt with women and take photos. On June 24, 1979, they discovered Lucinda Lynn Schaefer, 16, who had just returned from church and was on her way to see her grandmother. As she drove by, Norris pulled her into the car, handcuffed her, and taped her lips shut while Bittaker turned up the radio and drove on. In a lonely street, they forced the girl to strip for her. After a while, Bittaker moved away from the vehicle to leave Norris alone with her, who raped the girl for over an hour. After trying in vain to strangle her, Bittaker killed her with a garrot . Then they wrapped Schaefer in a shower curtain and threw her into a ravine.

On July 8, 1979, 18-year-old hitchhiker Andrea Hall got into the two of them after they had spoken to her in a friendly manner and offered her cool drinks. When Bittaker turned the radio up again, Norris overpowered the girl, handcuffed her, and sealed her lips as well. After she was both raped, Bittaker rammed an ice pick in both ears, strangled the already dying girl, and threw her off a cliff.

On September 3, 1979, 15-year-old Jackie Gilliam and her 13-year-old friend Leah Lamp were sitting at a bus stop when Norris and Bittaker offered to take them with them. After a short drive, Bittaker said he had to stop briefly because he was sick. When Leah Lamp tried to open the sliding door of the van, the two men pounced on the girls; Bittaker knocked Lamp down with a baseball bat, then helped Norris overpower Gilliam. After they both handcuffed and taped their mouths, they raped, tortured, and videotaped the girls for two days. After that, Bittaker rammed an ice pick in both of Gilliam's ears and then strangled her. Norris smashed Lamp's skull with seven hammer blows. After Bittaker had rammed the ice ax into Gilliam's skull, they both threw victims off a cliff.

On Halloween night in 1979, they took 16-year-old hitchhiker Lynette Ledford and overpowered her in the vehicle. Norris then raped and tortured the girl and recorded it on tape. After killing her with 25 blows of the hammer, Bittaker tied her neck off with zip ties to make sure she was dead and tossed her into an ivy bush.

On September 30, 1979, they raped Shirley Sanders, who managed to escape.

Condemnation

After Norris had told a former inmate of his actions in October 1979, he notified his lawyer. Shortly thereafter, Shirley Sanders identified the two as their attackers based on the photos shown. When the police searched the silver van of the two, they found over 500 photos of young women, including the five victims and 19 other women who are still missing. Audio tapes were also found containing screams in fear of death and sounds of torture and rape. During interrogation, Norris made a full confession with the prospect of a lighter sentence, while Bittaker showed no remorse and even laughed when he was shown photos of the beaten victims. He was sentenced to death on March 24, 1981 and died of natural causes in San Quentin State Prison on December 13, 2019 .

Norris was sentenced to 45 years in prison. In 2009 and 2019, requests for clemency were rejected; he could not have submitted a new application until 2029 at the earliest. He survived Bittaker by only about two months and died on February 24, 2020 in Vacaville , California

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ No parole for killer of March 5, 25, 2009, archived from the original on November 4, 2013 ; Retrieved November 18, 2014 .
  2. ^ Second of the Tool Box Killers dies in California prison