5 chilling details about William Bonin’s crimes

William Bonin, better known as the “Freeway Killer”, terrorized Southern California between 1979 and 1980, s*xually assaulting and murdering at least 21 teen boys and young men. Butchers of L.A., a three-part true-crime series, revisits Bonin’s spree alongside those of Patrick Kearney and Randy Kraft.

The series premieres Thursday, June 26, 2025, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SundanceTV and streams simultaneously on Sundance Now and AMC+. New episodes arrive each Thursday at the same hour, as per AMC Networks' press release dated June 5, 2025.

Ahead of episode 2, On the Freeway, here are five documented facts that explain why Bonin’s crimes still shock viewers 45 years later.

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5 key details about William Bonin's crimes explored

1) A rolling torture chamber: Bonin’s van

Los Angeles Sheriff’s detectives seized Bonin’s Ford Econoline on June 11 1980, and found nylon rope, wire, knives and a tire iron used to twist T-shirts into ligatures; the inside door handles had been stripped so victims could not escape, as per a Los Angeles Times report dated Feb 23, 1996.

The van’s design allowed Bonin to abduct a victim within seconds, assault him for hours, and then discard the body near a freeway on-ramp, an M.O. that confounded multiple police agencies until late 1980.

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2) Knife wounds and strangulation revealed extreme sadism

Case files show Marcus Grabs was stabbed 77 times, Darin Kendrick had an ice pick driven into his ear, and most victims were strangled with a tire-iron-tightened garrote, according to California Department of Corrections records dated Feb 23, 1996.

Governor Pete Wilson later called William Bonin the poster child for capital punishment, as per a Los Angeles Times report dated Feb 23, 1996, underscoring how prosecutors framed the killings as some of the most sadistic in state history.

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3) William Bonin groomed teenage accomplices

William Bonin enticed four youths, Vernon Butts, William Pugh, Gregory Miley and James Munro, all aged 17–21 to help lure, bind or kill at least a dozen victims. Court testimony portrayed Bonin as the mastermind who targeted weak people he could use, as per the Los Angeles Times report dated February 23, 1996.

Two accomplices later testified against him; another died by suicide in jail. Their involvement illustrated how Bonin expanded his reach by exploiting vulnerable teenagers attracted by money, thrill, or fear.

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4) Captured during an assault after 24-hour surveillance

After accomplice William Pugh warned police, a joint LAPD–Sheriff’s team shadowed Bonin for ten days. Officers moved in on June 11, 1980, when they saw him assaulting 15-year-old Harold T. in the van.

Knives and cord were still on the floorboards, as per a Deseret News report dated Feb 23, 1996. Survivor David McVicker remarked after witnessing the execution almost 16 years later,

“It is justice. Bonin is gone,”

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5) First lethal-injection execution in California

William Bonin spent nearly 14 years on death row before becoming the state’s first prisoner executed by lethal injection at 12:13 a.m. on Feb 23, 1996, as per a Desert News report dated Feb 23, 1996. During his final remarks to journalists, he argued that capital punishment sets a harmful example for the nation’s youth.

As per a Los Angeles Times report dated February 23, 1996, victim-advocate Sandra Miller said she could not wait to witness Bonin draw his final breath. The contrasting reactions highlighted the lasting pain Bonin inflicted and the public debate his execution rekindled.

Butchers of L.A. places these facts in a broader narrative, showing how overlapping “Freeway Killer” cases forced law-enforcement agencies to coordinate and ultimately brought William Bonin to justice.

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Stay tuned for more updates.

Edited by Bharath S