Confession
On November 30, 1979, Norris attended a preliminary hearing in relation to the September 30 rape. By this stage, Norris was beginning to display visible signs of stress. At the hearing, Norris waived his Miranda rights before Detective Bynum and Deputy District Attorney Stephen Kay began questioning him, initially in relation to the rape of Robin Robeck, then in relation to the statements given to police by Joseph Jackson and the evidence recovered from his and Bittaker's residences.
Initially, Norris flatly denied any involvement in any murders, rapes or disappearances; however, when confronted with the evidence investigators had compiled, Norris began to confess, although he did attempt to portray Bittaker as being more culpable in the murders than himself. In what Bynum and Kay later described as a "casual, unconcerned manner," Norris divulged that he and Bittaker had been in the habit of driving around areas such as the Pacific Coast Highway and randomly approaching girls whom they found attractive with offers of a ride, posing with the pair for photographs, or marijuana. Most of those whom they approached rejected whatever given ruse Bittaker and Norris used to entice them into the van, although four girls had accepted lifts from the pair and had been murdered, with a fifth victim—their first—being grabbed by force.
Inside the van, the girls would typically be overpowered, bound hand and foot, gagged, and driven to locations deep within the San Gabriel Mountains, where they would be sexually assaulted by both men, then usually killed by strangulation with a wire coat hanger, although two of the victims had had ice picks driven into their ears before being strangled. Norris admitted to bludgeoning their youngest victim, Lamp, about the head with a sledgehammer as Bittaker strangled her, and admitted to repeatedly striking Shirley Ledford upon the elbow with a sledgehammer before strangling her to death. The bottles of acid found at Bittaker's motel, Norris stated, were intended for use upon the next victim they abducted, and the acts of torture and humiliation had been committed against their victims "for fun".
According to Norris, the level of brutality Bittaker had exhibited toward their victims had increased on each successive instance they had successfully lured a girl into the van; their final victim, Ledford, had actually pleaded to be killed in order that her agony could cease. Additional details by Norris provided further corroborating evidence to support his confessions. For example, he knew that their first victim, Schaefer, had left a meeting at a Presbyterian Church shortly before she was abducted and that Schaefer had lost one shoe as she had been dragged into Bittaker's van. Norris also knew part of Shirley Ledford's ancestry was Hispanic, and that Bittaker had unsuccessfully asked her to date him prior to October 1979.
In a press statement relating to the police investigation into the murders issued on February 7, 1980, Los Angeles County Sheriff Peter Pitchess stated the victims had been subjected to "sadistic and barbaric abuse," adding that five charges of first-degree murder would be sought against both Bittaker and Norris. Sheriff Pitchess also stated that, in relation to the Polaroid pictures found in Bittaker and Norris's apartments, police had located 60 of the young women depicted—none of whom had been harmed.
Nonetheless, Pitchess also stated that police had also identified 19 of the women depicted in the pictures as being individuals who had been reported missing, and that these teenage girls and young women may well have been murdered, although Pitchess did stress that they had no conclusive evidence to suggest that these additional 19 women photographed had fallen victim to Bittaker and Norris.
One of the individuals depicted in the Polaroid pictures seized from Bittaker and Norris depicts an unidentified young white woman, alone with Bittaker and Norris, in circumstances very similar to the pictures found depicting known victims Hall, Lamp, and Gilliam. The young woman in the pictures has never been identified. This photograph is indicative there may have been one further victim whom neither Bittaker or Norris have ever mentioned to investigators.
Search of San Gabriel Mountains
The San Gabriel Mountains. Bittaker and Norris murdered and discarded the bodies of four of their victims at this location. Norris was able to lead investigators to the bodies of two of the four victims he and Bittaker had murdered at this location.
Norris agreed to return to the San Gabriel Mountains to search for the bodies of the girls to whose abduction and murder he had confessed to assisting in. In each instance, Norris brought detectives to the area where he and Bittaker had disposed of their victims' bodies. Despite extensive searches of the areas where he stated the bodies of Schaefer and Hall had been discarded, their bodies were never found. On February 9, 1980, the skeletalized bodies of Lamp and Gilliam were found at the bottom of a canyon, alongside a dry river bed. The bodies were scattered over an area measuring hundreds of feet in diameter. An ice pick was still lodged in the skull of Gilliam; the skull of Lamp bore multiple indentations—evidence of the numerous hammer blows Norris had stated he inflicted.
In February 1980, Norris and Bittaker were formally charged with the murders of the five girls. At the arraignment, Bittaker was denied bail, whereas Norris's bail was set at $10,000. Within one month of his being charged with murder, Norris had accepted a plea bargain in which he would testify against Bittaker in return for the prosecution agreeing not to seek the death penalty against him.
Guilty plea
On March 18, 1980, Norris pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree murder (in relation to victim Hall), two counts of rape, and one count of robbery. Formal sentencing was postponed until May 7.
In return for Norris's agreeing to plead guilty and to testify against Bittaker, prosecutors had agreed to seek neither the death penalty nor life without parole at the upcoming sentencing hearing.
Prior to his May 7 sentencing, Norris was reviewed by a probation officer who testified at his sentencing that Norris had again accused Bittaker of the actual torture of their victims, and that for Norris himself, the feeling of power and the dominance he had over the victims was the main overriding factor, as opposed to having sexual intercourse with them. The probation officer added that Norris "never exhibited any remorse or compassion about his brutal acts towards the victims ... the defendant appears compulsive in his need to inflict pain and torture upon women." In conclusion, the probation officer testified that Norris "can realistically be regarded as an extreme sociopath, whose depraved pattern of behavior is beyond rehabilitation."
On May 7, 1980, Norris was sentenced to 45 years to life imprisonment, with eligibility for parole from 2010.
Arraignment
On April 24, 1980, Bittaker was arraigned on a total of 29 charges of kidnapping, rape, sodomy, and murder in addition to various charges of criminal conspiracy and possession of a firearm. He was also charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit murder dating from December 1979 in which he had unsuccessfully attempted to persuade two inmates due to be released to murder Robin Robeck in order to prevent her from testifying against him at his upcoming trial. The charges for the rape of Robin Robeck would later be dropped because of a lack of physical evidence as well as Robeck's failing to identify her attackers in a lineup.
When asked by Judge William Hollingsworth as to how he pleaded, Bittaker remained silent—refusing to answer any questions. In response, the judge entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf.
Trial
Bittaker's trial began on January 19, 1981. He was tried in Torrance before Judge Thomas Fredericks.
The star witness to appear for the prosecution at the trial of Bittaker was Norris, who began his testimony on January 22. Norris testified as to how he became acquainted with Bittaker in jail, and how the pair had formulated a plan to kidnap, rape and kill teenage girls. Responding to questions from the prosecutor, Norris stated that in June 1979, he had unsuccessfully attempted to abduct and rape a woman, who escaped unharmed. When he informed Bittaker of this incident, they both agreed to act together on all future abductions.
Norris then chronologically recounted for the court the details of each of the five murders he and Bittaker had committed in addition to the September 30, 1979 rape of Robeck; the attempted abduction of a woman named Jan Malin, which had also occurred on September 30; and the attempted abduction of an unidentified young woman on September 27.
In reference to the actual murders, Norris stated that after he unsuccessfully attempted to strangle Schaefer, Bittaker had strangled her with a wire coat hanger. The pair had then thrown her body into a location at or near the San Dimas Canyon. In reference to the murder of Hall, Norris stated he had been told by Bittaker to drive to a nearby store to purchase alcohol when Hall was murdered, after which he returned to find Bittaker, smiling and holding Polaroid pictures he had taken of Hall after informing her he intended to kill her.
With reference to victims Lamp and Gilliam, Norris stated that the two girls were held captive for "over a day" before being murdered, adding that Bittaker had killed Gilliam before he himself bludgeoned Lamp about the head as Bittaker strangled her. When discussing the abuse and torture of Ledford, Norris stated he had, upon the insistence of Bittaker, committed the actual murder of Ledford, adding Bittaker had informed him that "I should kill her, because I hadn't killed anyone yet. I knew this was coming, so I agreed." Norris then confessed to having killed Ledford by strangling her with a coat hanger, which he had tightened with pliers in much the same manner Bittaker had with previous victims Schaefer and Lamp. Norris then stated the pair had driven to Sunland, where he discarded Shirley Ledford's body upon the front lawn as Bittaker waited in his van.
Several witnesses testified as to Bittaker having shown them pictures of the victims he had retained as keepsakes and which had been found in his motel. One witness, a 17-year-old neighbor of Bittaker's named Christina Dralle, testified that Bittaker had shown her a Polaroid picture he had taken of Gilliam before stating, "The girls I get won't talk anymore." Another witness to testify was an individual named Lloyd Douglas, who had shared a jail cell with Bittaker following his November 1979 arrest. Douglas testified that Bittaker had discussed in detail the torture he had inflicted on victims Gilliam and Ledford, stating Bittaker had informed him he had stabbed one of Gilliam's breasts with an ice pick, which he then twisted as the tool remained inserted in the wound; he had also "pinched" Gilliam on the legs and breasts with a vise grip, before tearing off part of one nipple. Douglas also stated Bittaker had informed him he had "pulled on" the genitals and breasts of Shirley Ledford with the same instrument, and that he had attempted to beat her breasts "back into her chest."
The defense contended that Norris was the actual perpetrator of the murders and that Bittaker had only become aware of Norris's activities shortly before his arrest when Norris had informed him he had murdered several girls with whom they had both encountered and engaged in sexual activities. To support their case, the defense produced a friend of Norris named Richard Shoopman, who testified as to Norris's repeatedly divulging to him his desire to rape young girls. Shoopman also testified that Norris had informed him that the look of shock and fear on the face of a young girl was a prime sexual stimulus for him. In support of Bittaker's case, the defense also harked to the Polaroid images taken of the facial expressions of Hall, and of Bittaker's statements as to Norris's revelations to Bittaker regarding his prime sexual stimulations while both were incarcerated at the California Men's Colony in 1977.
The most damning evidence presented at Bittaker's trial was a 17-minute section of the audio tape the pair had created of Ledford's abuse and torment. The audiotape, which had been found inside Bittaker's van and which Norris had earlier testified Bittaker had repeatedly played as he drove in the weeks prior to his arrest—adding that Bittaker considered the contents to be "real funny"—was presented in evidence on January 29, with Stephen Kay forewarning the jury: "For those of you who do not know what hell is like, you will find out." (Judge Fredericks had earlier denied motions by the defense to omit the tape recording from admission as evidence.)
More than 100 people were present in the courtroom as the tape was played, and many members of both the jury and the audience wept openly upon hearing the contents, with several members of the audience either burying their heads in their hands, dabbing tears from their eyes or rushing out of the courtroom before the tape had finished. Bittaker was undisturbed at hearing the contents of the tape—smiling throughout the hearing of the recording.
In one of two instances throughout the trial when prosecutor Stephen Kay was reduced to tears, he walked out of the courtroom during recess following the hearing of the recording of Ledford's rape, abuse, and torture. Weeping openly, Kay stated to the reporters gathered outside the courtroom: "Everybody who has heard that tape has had it affect their lives. I just picture those girls ... how alone they were when they died." When questioned by reporters as to whether the audiotape should have been introduced into evidence, given the obvious psychological and emotional trauma caused to many in the courtroom through the contents being broadcast, Kay simply stated: "You're darn right it [the audio tape] should have been. The jury needs to know what these guys did."
On February 5, 1981, Bittaker testified on his own behalf. Bittaker denied any knowledge in the abduction and murder of Schaefer, and claimed he had paid Hall to pose for the Polaroid photographs depicting her found at his Burbank motel after Hall had agreed to his offer of $200 for sex. He then claimed Norris had walked Hall into the San Gabriel Mountains, before returning alone and informing Bittaker he had told Hall to "find her own way home."
Bittaker had a similar explanation as to the double murder of Lamp and Gilliam: he claimed Gilliam accepted an offer of money for sex and posing for pictures, and that he had last seen the girls alone with Norris in his GMC van. With regards to the murder of Ledford, he claimed she had agreed to theatrically scream for the tape recorder, and that she was not tortured in his presence, but had been left alone with Norris.
Closing arguments
Bittaker's trial lasted for over three weeks. On February 9, 1981, the prosecution and defense counsels began their closing arguments. In the closing argument delivered by the prosecution, Kay apologized to the jury that he was only asking for the death penalty, adding that he wished the law permitted him to request that the same suffering be inflicted upon Bittaker that he had inflicted upon his victims. Kay then described Bittaker as an "excuse for a man" as he held aloft pictures of each of the five murdered girls before the jury.
Seeking the death penalty for Bittaker, Kay referred to the case as "one of the most shocking, brutal cases in the history of American crime," before adding: "If the death penalty is not appropriate in this case, then when will it ever be?" In his own closing argument before the jury, Deputy District Attorney C. Randolph Ramsey discredited Bittaker's claims that—contrary to Norris's testimony—Shirley Lynette Ledford had agreed to scream, weep, and plead for mercy theatrically for the tape recording introduced as evidence, stating to the jury: "You've heard the sounds on this tape ... Ms. Ledford screaming, yelling 'Don't touch me! No, no, no, no, no!' That tape should be sufficient corroboration by itself!"
Defense attorney Albert Garber requested the jury discount the testimony of Norris; arguing in favor of Bittaker's claims that Norris had committed the actual murders, and claiming the testimony of the prosecutors throughout the trial amounted to little more than a "bloodlust," adding that the prosecution had repeatedly recited the "gory details" of the murders. Garber harked to the earlier testimony of a psychologist named Michael Maloney, who had testified as to Bittaker's inability to empathize with other people's feelings and emotions in addition to the fact that, with the exception of Bittaker's 1974 stabbing of Gary Louie, all of Bittaker's previous criminal convictions were for nonviolent offenses. The defense also claimed that insufficient corroborative evidence existed to convict Bittaker.
They [Bittaker and Norris] lack the internal prohibitions, or conscience, that keep most of us from giving full expression to our most primitive, and sometimes violent, impulses.
On February 17, 1981, after deliberating for three days, the jury found Bittaker guilty of five counts of first-degree murder, one charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, five charges of kidnapping, nine charges of rape, two charges of forcible oral copulation, one charge of sodomy, and three charges of unlawful possession of a firearm. Deliberations as to whether Bittaker should be sentenced to death or life without parole began February 19.
The jury deliberated for just 90 minutes before they returned with their verdict: Bittaker was sentenced to death for the five counts of first-degree murder upon which the prosecution had sought this penalty. He showed no emotion as the verdict was delivered. Superior Court Judge Thomas Fredericks then ordered Bittaker to appear in court on March 24 for formal sentencing.
On March 24, in accordance with the jury verdict, Bittaker was formally sentenced to death. In the event that the sentence imposed was ever reverted to life imprisonment, Judge Thomas Fredericks imposed an alternative sentence of 199 years, 4 months' imprisonment to take immediate effect.
Imprisonment and appeals
Bittaker appealed his conviction and sentencing, citing procedural errors such as the validity of warrants used to authorize the search of his van and motel room, and the dismissal by the judge of a woman initially hired at the stage of jury selection to advise the defense counsel in matters relating to jury views upon the death penalty. Nonetheless, Bittaker's appeal was dismissed on June 22, 1989, with the court ruling that any procedural errors were minor and—in view of the strong evidence against Bittaker—did not affect the overall verdict.
An initial execution date for Bittaker was set for December 29, 1989. Bittaker appealed this decision, although on June 11, 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the decision that he be executed. A renewed execution date was scheduled for July 23, 1991. Bittaker again appealed the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that he be executed, and was granted a further stay of execution on July 9, 1991.
Bittaker remained incarcerated on death row at San Quentin State Prison until his death in December 2019.
Aftermath
Bittaker granted several death row interviews following his 1981 conviction. He never expressed any remorse for his crimes; repeatedly stating the only remorse he felt had been for the fact he and Norris were arrested, thus "ruining" his own life. Despite the fact Bittaker considered his life to have been a "wasted" one, he also marveled that he and Norris had little in common before their acquaintance at the California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo in 1977, before adding that they had "one hell of a lot in common now!"
In reference to one of the implements he and Norris had used to torture and murder their victims, Bittaker responded to letters he received with the nickname "Pliers" Bittaker.
While incarcerated, Bittaker filed more than 40 frivolous lawsuits over issues as trivial as his being served a broken cookie and crushed sandwiches by the prison cafeteria, which he cited as an example of his being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment. Bittaker was declared a vexatious litigant in 1993. As a result of this declaration, he was not allowed to file lawsuits without the express permission of an attorney or a judge.
Bittaker died while incarcerated on death row at San Quentin State Prison on December 13, 2019, at the age of 79. His death was reported as being due to natural causes.
Norris was incarcerated at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility. He died of natural causes at the California Medical Facility on February 24, 2020, at the age of 72, having been transferred to this facility one week prior to his death. Since his conviction, he had repeatedly claimed the sole reason he participated in the murders was out of fear of Bittaker. Norris also claimed to have twice contemplated confessing to his and Bittaker's responsibility in the murders to the police; he also claimed to have successfully deterred three potential victims from entering Bittaker's van.
Although Norris readily admitted that he enjoyed the actual intercourse with the victims, he claimed only Bittaker enjoyed the acts of torture and murder, stating: "I didn't enjoy killing—that was Lawrence [Bittaker]. It was his favorite part: watching the women struggle to live; knowing he'd soon be taking life away." (Both investigators and psychologists have stated Norris derived extreme gratification from the domination, abuse, and torture inflicted upon his victims; these respective parties have also harked towards Norris's extensive history of physical and sexual violence against women prior to his meeting Bittaker, and his repeated instances of denial of culpability for his actions.)
Norris initially became eligible for parole in 2009. Norris declined to attend the parole hearing, thereby automatically deferring his parole eligibility for another 10 years. He was denied parole again in 2019, and died while still incarcerated early the following year.
Stephen Kay, the prosecutor at Bittaker's trial, still considers the murders committed by Bittaker and Norris as being the worst criminal case he has ever prosecuted or encountered and remained insistent in his belief that, prior to Bittaker's death via natural causes, he had been more deserving of being executed than any other inmate incarcerated on California's death row. In interviews, he has stated that for over two years following the trial of Lawrence Bittaker, his sleep was disturbed by recurring nightmares in which he would be rushing to Bittaker's van to prevent harm coming to the girls, but would "always get there too late."
Paul Bynum, the chief investigator of the murders committed by Bittaker and Norris, committed suicide in December 1987. He was 39 years old. In a ten-page suicide note, Bynum specifically referred to the murders committed by Bittaker and Norris as haunting him, and of his fear they may be released from prison.
The audio cassette Bittaker and Norris created of themselves raping and torturing Ledford remains in the possession of the FBI Academy. This recording is now used to train and desensitize FBI agents to the raw reality of torture and murder.
Media
Film
The 2012 documentary film The Devil and the Death Penalty focuses upon the murders committed by Bittaker and Norris in addition to issues relating to the death penalty appeals process in California. Kay is among those interviewed by the director.
Bibliography
Alone with the Devil: Psychopathic Killings that Shocked the World, written by Ronald Marksman and Dominick Bosco. ISBN 0-7499-1002-X
The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers, written by Brian Lane and Wilfred Gregg. ISBN 978-0-7472-5361-7
Television
A 1982 documentary, The Killing of America, features a section devoted to the trial of Bittaker.
The crime documentary series Arrest & Trial has broadcast an episode detailing the murders committed by Bittaker and Norris. This episode was initially broadcast in October 2000.
The Investigation Discovery channel has broadcast a documentary focusing upon the murders committed by Bittaker and Norris. This documentary, titled Wicked Attraction, was initially broadcast in August 2009.
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