Halloween night, 1979, 16-year-old Shirley Lynette Ledford made one fatal mistake trusting the two men who offered her a ride. Since 1978, when California reinstated capital punishment, 82 condemned inmates have died from natural causes, 27 have committed suicide, 13 have been executed in California, one was executed in Missouri, one was executed in Virginia, 14 have died from other causes and four - including Bittaker - are pending a cause of death. (h).) There was an error deleting this problem. The pair would become collectively known as "The Toolbox Killers," and though investigators could only imagine the horrific fate suffered by the four women the men had murdered between February and September, in the case of 16-year-old Shirley Lynette Ledford there was absolutely no doubt about what had transpired on that Halloween night. Then they bound her hands behind her back. Shirley Lynette Ledford was born on March 4, 1963 in California. Dead Man Game, Bittaker was also picked up and charged on suspicion of the kidnap and rape of Shirley Sanders. Rptr. It would provide me with closure. He excused those jurors who raised their hand. She immediately recognized him, and this time, she took down his license number and called the police. Learn more about merges. Now a struggle began with Norris and Jackie. Lynette was abducted, assaulted and killed by two male subjects. Lawrence Sigmond Bittaker, who was responsible for the death of five California teenage girls 40 years ago, died of natural causes at 4 p.m. Friday at San Quentin State . Despite these expert opinions, he was paroled in late 1963. The right to voir dire, like the right to peremptory challenge at issue in Coleman, supra, 46 Cal. Possibly because they were becoming over confident, the two men relaxed their guard for a moment too long. Yet he was paroled time and time again before being convicted of brutally raping, torturing and murdering five teenage girls over a four-month period in 1979. Something was missing; it could have been a better experience. Bynum recalled that the one thing that Shirley Sanders, the rape victim from Oregon, was able to tell them was that they were in a silver van. Some jurors said they had nightmares after hearing the tape. FN 22. Victims No. Rptr. Within a month, Bittaker had been arrested for hit and run, and theft. When Bittaker came back, he took over, raping her repeatedly, while this time, Norris took a walk. He was convicted of this crime in May the following year, and this time the sentence was indeterminate, one to 15 years in the state prison. 2 18-year-old Andrea Joy Hall. Bittaker went to trial, and Kay sought the death penalty. 2d 620 [6 Cal. Lucinda Shaeffer; Andrea Hall Shirley Lynette Ledford suffered one of the worst deaths in history at the hands of the Toolbox Killers in 1979. The Jury Hears The Tape Of Shirley Lynette Ledford's Horrible Death Roy Norris plead guilty, sparing him the death penalty, and on May 7, 1980, was sentenced to 45 years to life, with parole eligibility from 2010. When Cindy got closer, Norris asked again, and once again, Cindy declined. The van pulled ahead and stopped, and Norris got out. I can't even begin to imagine what the families must be going through. An automatic appeal delayed the execution for two years, and another six years passed before a court affirmed the sentence. Bittaker had been out of prison only a matter of days. An autopsy revealed that, in addition to having been sexually violated, she had died of strangulation after receiving extensive blunt-force trauma to the face, head, breasts, and left elbow, with her olecranon sustaining multiple fractures. Bittaker took a walk while Norris spent the next hour raping her and forcing her to perform oral sex. Much like the other victims, Shirley endured horrific rapes and torture with several instruments, including screwdrivers. Louie followed defendant outside and asked if defendant had forgotten to pay for anything. FN 4. fn. During that month, Norris managed to force his way into a womans car and attack her. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 10 True Crime Stories in History that will Freeze you to the Core 1. medianet_width = "300"; This language suggests that the jurors do not have the ultimate burden of determining whether defendant should live or die. His attorney filed another appeal. Su ltima vctima conocida fue Shirley Lynette Ledford, de 16 aos, a la que recogieron mientras haca autostop a casa desde el trabajo. (People v. Jackson (1980) 28 Cal. You can feel it in your gut when youre hearing the screams.. Tool Box Killers. (See People v. Rist (1976) 16 Cal. His suicide note stated that the murders haunted him. But it didnt kill her. After Norris also raped Gilliam, they retied the girls, and all remained in the van over night. But something he said had struck a chord. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. Markman did not agree with the opinions of the other experts who had examined Bittaker. Town Of Cotuit Ma Assessors Database, The coat hanger was still wrapped around her neck. FN 35. 325, 88 A.L.R.2d 785] [attorney-client privilege].) You can always change this later in your Account settings. 2d 755 [290 P.2d 855]; Kaplin v. Superior Court (1971) 6 Cal. medianet_crid = "114740316"; On September 27, 1979, defendant and Norris attempted to abduct an unidentified woman, but she dodged behind the van and escaped. His adoptive father, George Bittaker, worked at aircraft factories, forcing him and his parents to move around often. Petechial hemorrhage and compression marks were found on her neck, confirming that strangulation was the cause of her death, but there was much worse. They removed Cindy from the van and tossed her into the canyon, confident that it was unlikely to be discovered, and that the wildlife in the area would take care of any evidence anyway. She was ideal, but their plans were foiled when a white convertible pulled in ahead and asked if she wanted a lift. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Bittaker and Norris offered Lynette a ride home in their van; she accepted because she recognized Bittaker as a regular customer at the restaurant she worked at part time. FN 16. Defendant held Schaefer while Norris tried to strangle her, but when he changed his grip Schaefer and defendant fell over backwards. The reason that Norris had been caught, Bittaker told him, was that he left a witness alive. All the while he took snaps of her expression as she realized that she was doomed. 2020 Ancira Eagle Pass | All rights reserved. 6. Rptr. At trial, confronted with the tape, Bittaker actually had the audacity to claim that it was just a threesome, and pointed out that Lynette had asked them to kill her. The recording chronicles the two hour torture of Shirley Lynette. Defendant testified that none of the victims was restrained involuntarily in his presence. Dalton didnt believe one word of it, thinking Norris was trying to make himself look important. How To Change Cdl To Regular License, Norris testified about their shared history, and the five murders committed by them. The Toolbox Killer Airs Sunday, October 3rd On Halloween 1979, a 16-year-old girl named Shirley "Lynette" Ledford, who lived in Burbank, California, decided to hitchhike home after a party. Regardless of those circumstances the jury would still have heard evidence that defendant killed Lamp because she had witnessed the crimes he perpetrated on another victim, and that defendant had tortured four of his other victims. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. Markman concluded that Bittaker was not a borderline psychotic, but was, instead, a classic sociopath, explaining that Bittaker was incapable of learning the rules of society. They bought a 1977 GMC cargo van, which was perfect for their purpose as it had no side or back windows, which meant that everything they did in the back of the van was unobservable. Some of these photographs came into possession of defense counsel, who turned them over to the police, and they were admitted into evidence. Norris joined the Navy and was stationed at San Diego until 1969, when he was sent to Vietnam for a four month tour of duty. Just two months after he was released in 1963, he was jailed for parole violation, and was also suspected in a robbery. They then drove to a remote area, and started to torture her, Bittaker immediately turned on the tape recorder and started slapping and beating Shirley. ), FN 12. Defendant was arrested pursuant to a "Ramey" arrest warrant fn. Killings began in June 1979 with the death of 16-year-old Lucinda Lynn Schaefer She was followed by Andrea Hall, 18; Jacqueline Gilliam, 15; Jacqueline Leah Lamp, 13, and 16-year-old Shirley Lynette Ledford ; Bittaker died on California's death row in December He holds a bachelor's degree in screenwriting (widely considered to be a bad move) from Point Park University. Verify and try again. They worked on the van for most of the morning, fitting a bed into the back, with enough space underneath it to conceal a body. It was set for December 29, 1989. Norris would have to do much better if he was to avoid execution. 3d 1069] into the mountains, engaged in various sexual acts, and took pictures. The first portion of the tape contains a male voice, identified as defendant's, and screaming from a female voice, stipulated to be Ledford's. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? What was the cruel and unusual punishment? Victim No. What they really needed was a place that was totally isolated, and sometime around April, they found the perfect location. 25 The critical question is whether Gage properly declared that she could act impartially and fairly. (People v. Ghent, supra, 43 Cal. (e) The method of weighing factors and determining penalty. (a)(18)), raising the question whether the acts of torture must be the cause of death. For Bittaker and Norris, the day had started off fairly ordinarily. [6] Finally, defendant argues that even if his consent to the search was voluntary, he did not consent to the seizure of evidence. On Halloween night, Bittaker and Norris went out hunting for another victim. On Halloween 1979, a 16-year-old girl named Shirley "Lynette" Ledford, who lived in Burbank, California, decided to hitchhike home after a party. Its just her screaming, she said. To establish a prima facie case, the defendant "must show a strong likelihood that such persons are being challenged because of their group association rather than because of any specific bias." App. 529.) According to Norris, he was only doing what Bittaker asked because of their prison code as Bittaker had saved his life. All she could tell them was that the van was silver. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [emailprotected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. Bittaker was sentenced to death for the killings in 1981; Norris took a plea deal to avoid the death penalty and testified against Bittaker. Burial. Stupidly, Norris began to brag about the four girls he and Bittaker had already murdered, describing their exploits in great detail. Listen Later. However, as wrong as it may be, I really would like to hear the tape and see the autopsy photos. Under these circumstances, it is most unlikely that the jury would have been led by the prosecutor's explanation of the decisionmaking process to refrain from considering whether defendant's conduct warranted the death penalty, and induced instead to engage in a dispassionate analysis of the statutory factors to confirm that the aggravating predominate by at least 50.1 to 49.9 percent. 2447].) [17a] This reasoning necessarily implies that an erroneous denial of a challenge for cause can be cured by giving the defendant an additional peremptory challenge. The two men then turned to Leah, who had watched the whole thing. Once you decide, if you do, that the aggravating circumstances outweigh the mitigating circumstances, it's automatic." Considered to be a soft prison, its more relaxed and not tough. The audio tapes that the pair made during their killings were played for the jury, and the jury recommended the death penalty. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. Once again, the experts considered him to be a borderline psychotic. Douglas allowed Glenn to hear the audio tapes that Bittaker and Norris recorded. In the absence of any reference to parole, pardon, commutation, or the like, we do not think the prosecutor's comment can be considered misconduct. 0 cemeteries found in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles County, California, USA. Norris suggested that they kill Gilliam quickly because she had been so helpful, but defendant replied that "they only die once, anyway." Mistake trusting the two hour torture of Shirley Lynette Ledford made one mistake., she took down his license number and called the police despite these opinions! 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