Lawrence was born on 27th September 1940 to a drug-addicted single mother in Southern California. She soon put him into care, where he was moved from one home to another by families who were more interested in the foster-payment cheques than in their foster child. As such, he didn’t receive the nurturing that all babies require if they are to bond with others, and if they are to ultimately care about anyone other than themselves. Lawrence had an IQ in the top one percent of the population and also had a photographic memory. But his foster families were often Spanish so couldn’t converse with him fluently even if they wanted to. He was invariably clothed in hand-me-downs, some of which were girl’s clothes and shoes. Alternately ignored and laughed at, he retreated into his own little world. He literally remained on the sidelines as his foster parents fed their natural children, only giving him the leftovers. He was also sexually molested and raped by some of his so-called carers during these desperately unhappy years.
At six he was adopted by a couple who gave him their surname, Bittaker. Unfortunately it was too little too late as he was already a nascent psychopath.
His adoptive father worked as an aircraft mechanic, who moved around the country throughout his life.
Lawrence, later secured a job as a machinist in Burbank, California, for an aircraft manufacturing company. Bittaker later testified he was making $14.50 an hour, working five or six days a week, 10 hours a day.
At the age of 12, Bittaker was arrested after he stole a glass necklace from a store, and for the next four years he would be periodically arrested for crimes such as theft, robbery, and shoplifting. Blaming his adoptive parents for his crimes, Bittaker gained a criminal record in juvenile court, and soon dropped out of high school. Bittaker and his family then moved to California.
Bittaker would later claim these numerous theft-related offenses committed throughout his adolescence had been attempts to compensate for the lack of love he received from his parents.
At age 17, Bittaker was arrested again, this time for auto theft, hit and run, and resisting arrest. After serving time in prison, Bittaker, now 18, was released on parole in 1959, only to find that his adoptive parents had moved to another state.
(Source: Couples Who Kill by author Carol Ann Davis)
Atascadero, California
He was sentenced to a California state prison, serving approximately 2 1⁄2 years at Vacaville.
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Lucinda Lynn Schaefer was kidnapped right near the corner of Prospect Ave. and Avenue A. One of her high heeled shoes was left behind, and that is how they knew something bad had happened to her. At the time, she was living with her maternal grandparents in a house at the southeast corner of Shadycroft Ave and Avenue A, two blocks from the location where she was abducted. The walk from St. Andrews (on PCH and Avenue D) to her grandparents home is about a half-mile.
Hi all, I'm from Torrance and my mom went to the same youth group as Lucinda at the same church (St. Andrew's is actually the church my parents were married at). Lucinda and my mom were about two or three years apart based on my mom's memory, and both went to Redondo Union High School. Their youth pastor was also the Geography teacher at Redondo and was called to testify at trial according to my mom. My mom's memory of the case, as well as her Geography teacher's, was that Lucinda was sitting on a bench waiting for her mother to pick her up and was taken from there.
That is an interesting bit of info about her waiting on a bench. Everything that I had heard up to now was that she was walking home on a side-street. PCH is a very busy highway, so it is very curious that nobody noticed her being forcibly taken into the van.
Lucinda Shaffer is actually a descendant of George Washington's immediate family. Her mother and maternal grandmother are listed in a book detailing the "Presidential Branch" of the Washington family tree. (George Washington had no biological descendants, but he had two step-children who survived to adulthood who were Martha Washington's children by way of a prior marriage, and several biologically-related nieces and nephews who were raised at Mount Vernon). It is unclear, which member of Washington's family is her direct ancestor.
Lucinda's third great grandfather, James Stout (1793-1824) was also murdered, and according to some accounts, his body never found. According to a story posted in Ancestry, he was on a sales trip to New Orleans, and disappeared on his way back home to Ohio, after being robbed and murdered.
Lucinda's maternal grandparents are both buried in the Pacific Crest Cemetery in Redondo Beach - only about 100 yards away from the remains of Leah Lamp (one of B&N's other victims).
Lynette Ledford's body was found in Sunland/Tujunga, not far from where she lived. IDK the address. But I know that her body was found in a patch of ivy in the front yard of a single-family residence.
I finally figured out Lucinda Schaefer's lineage to George Washington. Lucinda and George Washington are Second-Cousins, seven times removed.
Or in other words, George Washington's great grandparents (John Washington and Ann Pope) are Lucinda's 10th great grandparents.
Notice the very flashy necklace with an eagle pendant. I don't think this eagle is a Harley Davidson symbol per se, but it is very similar in style to something that maybe a biker girl would wear?
One of the persons who signed her Find-A-Grave memorial calls herself "Biker Babe". However, it looks like "Biker Babe" is a murder victims advocate and a frequent contributor of comments to the Findagrave site. She doesn't appear to have personally known Andrea Hall.
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A witness to testify later at the trial was an individual named Lloyd Carlo 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 Jackie Gilliam and Shirley 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."
William Schenley was a 31-year-old ex convict with a record of convictions for forgery and drug abuse, according to authorities.
Schenley reportedly was a paid informant who testified last month at the preliminary hearing of Lawrence Bittaker, 39, of Burbank, accused of the rape-murders of five young women, ages 15-17, in the South Bay area.
Sharon Norris wrote Bittaker that the police had been through ''Roy's'' (Norris) things.'' The letter from Sharon further stated they (Sharon & her mother) had Bittaker's tool chest. Bittaker stated that he was relieved to read this, as he was afraid the police would find that tool chest. Bittaker stated that, as the letter read, Sharon planned to help him as much as she could.
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''The Alleged Unfair Labor Practice''
Background
Menasco has a plant in Burbank, California, where it 4 manufactures aircraft landing gear. The total number of employees in the plant is approximately 800, of which approximately 465 to 485 are production and maintenance employees. Respondent has represented the production and maintenance employees and has bargained 5 with Menasco for them since the early 1940's. The most recent collective bargaining agreement was effective May 19, 1976, to May 19, 1979. Menasco and Respondent were unable to reach an agreement to supplant the one which expired in 1979, and on May 31 the Union engaged in a strike, which has continued to the present time. Employees have picketed the plant since the strike began, 24 hours each day and 7 days each week.
Since early in the strike, the plant and its environs have been the scene of many incidents, some rather violent and serious, and some of a trivial nature. Police officers frequently have been called to the premises to assist in maintaining peace, and Respondent's officials, as well as Menasco's representatives, often have been on, or near, picket lines during moments of tension and misconduct. Menasco's plant has remained in operation, and production has continued, throughout the strike, partially as a result of some employees abandoning the strike, and partially as a result of employees being hired to replace 6 strikers. The General Counsel contends that Respondent and its representatives on the picket line engaged during the strike in many acts of violence and intimidation, thereby depriving employees of their rights under the Act in violation of Section 8(b)(1)(A). Those alleged acts of violence are discussed infra.
Approximately in September 1979, employees commenced returning to work. By October 20, 1980, approximately 85 to 100 employees had returned. Some employees resigned from the Union just prior to, or soon after, returning to work. By January 7, 1980, the resignations totaled 21, and on that date Respondent mailed notices to each of the 21 employees, stating that they had been charged with violating the Union's constitution, and would be tried on those charges February 2, 1980. None of the 21 employees attended the trial. On February 14, 1980, Respondent mailed notices to all of the 21 employees, advising them that they had been tried and found guilty, on February 9, of the charges against them. The notice stated that the penalties for the violations were $1,000 each for the initial crossing of the picket line and $10 per day for each crossing thereafter, plus a 5-year disqualification from holding any union office. The General Counsel contends that the union trial and penalties deprived employees of their rights under the Act, in violation of Section 8(b)(1)(A) of the Act. This issue is discussed infra.
Respondent contends that Menasco hired a "goon squad" to "break up" the Union, and frequently refers in its brief to nonstriking and replacement employees as "strikebreakers'' and "scabs." The set piece in the "goon squad" theory is one Lawrence Bittaker, a former Menasco employee and an accused multiple murderer (later found guilty and sentenced to death) subpoenaed by Respondent as a witness and brought into court handcuffed, shackled, escorted by law officers, and accompanied by television and still cameramen. Neither that display, nor any other evidence, established the existence of a "goon squad." Replacement employees were not shown to have been hired as strikebreakers. None of the witnesses appeared to fit the pattern urged by the Respondent. At the time of the hearing, the strike had been in progress approximately 14 months, and Menasco continued to produce at the plant. Such a situation is not consistent with the hiring of "strikebreakers'' merely posing as working employees, as Respondent contends.
(The_Los_Angeles_Times_Sun__Aug_3__1980_)
Richard Shoopman received many pornographic pictures of Bittaker & Norris depicting the victims while he was in prison!
Law enforcement never found all the pictures because Shoopman later stated he ''rented out'' many pictures to other prisoners!
Cabin in the woods, Trailer up in Redding mountains, him (Shoopman) and some buddies had there ‘’party favors’’ which means girls up where up there. Chained up. They rented it off the books from a lumber yard. (Chrystal Lake)
Bittaker was selling marijuana in prison. (Even when he was out of there)
Bittaker mailed marijuana to prison under a fake business name.
Shoopman stated when Roy Norris felt sick he was sent to Vacaville while in CMC.
Roy had an IQ of 125
Another guy from this prison clique van named James Fleming who was paroled at the same time as Bittaker/Norris. Another one is called John Blake.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_Chowchilla_kidnapping
Now guess where these abductors were sent to prison? CMC. Guess which Block? D Block. The same block where Bittaker/Norris/Shoopman/Jackson and co. where incarcerated!
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZXAfEcWdwM)
Barry Caires, a special agent for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, told the jury that Bittaker called him Jan. 23, 1980, from the Los Angeles County Jail where he was being held on a charge unrelated to the murders.
Cindy Schaefer spent six years in Mexico where her mother was a teacher, spoke fluent Spanish, and worked as a medical assistant at a pediatrician's office prior to her murder. She also spent the last year in Wisconsin and had just arrived to live in Torrance with her grandparents several weeks prior.
The Redondo Reflex Redondo, California • Wed, Jul 18, 1979 Page 8
From the moment of his arrest in 1981, Lawrence Bittaker has insisted that he didn't kill the five women whose murders eventually landed him on death row and Roy Norris, his partner in crime, in prison for life. Severely undermining Bittaker's staunch denial of guilt is the fact that Norris openly admitted that the two of them did indeed kill the women in question. Following their arrests, each man gave a completely different account of what had actually happened and today they still claim that the other is lying.
To this day, Bittaker maintains that he is innocent, that he was framed, and that there has been a legal conspiracy against him from the beginning.
The Bittaker Letters
December 30, 1996
Dear Jenny,
Hopefully you will receive this; if not, it's your own fault for writing your return address so illegibly. As to your question [about the crimes I was convicted of], I am sorry to say that you have been greatly misled; I have always denied committing the crimes. If you have read the usual sensationalistic blurbs about the case, it is easy to believe that I confessed to a variety of people. However, that is not the case, and the people making those claims were either my business partner (trying to avoid the gas chamber with the only bargaining power available to him: someone else to lay the blame on), or various jail inmates (seeking a quicker release from jail, or future forgiveness for some yet undone crimes). I don't mind if you don't believe my disclaimer; you surely believe in the "system" and that it doesn't convict the innocent. How naive! Or you assume that I had a trial, and the jury decided on the evidence. Again, how naive and ignorant. But then the media never cared to report much of anything I said, or find out that (like you) 'my' attorney also believed I was guilty (before he even heard my side, or did any investigations), and failed to investigate and present a defense. In effect, there was no trial, and I might as well have pled guilty. I have been trying for the past 15 years to get someone, anyone, to listen to me, but the 'system' seems composed only of those who believe in my guilt, and who will do nothing to determine the true facts. But then the 'system' is set up to make the trial the 'main event,' and all that comes after is pushing papers around, and which are then reviewed by 'packed' courts (of conservatives) hardly likely to give a "convicted killer" a fair hearing. They weren't elected or appointed to do that: just affirm such sentences and speed executions. I don't even have (as a practical matter) any attorney at the moment, as I became tired of their incompetence, routine lies, even stealing from me, and ceased communicating with them 8 months ago. I suppose they're necessary, but I learned long ago why there are so many bad jokes about them. In any event, it is a long and rather complex story, and I have repeated it too many times to do so again to you, especially as it requires about 200 pages to do so. I will answer specific and pointed questions, as long as you provide the postage. I have no family and my income is quite limited, so I can't afford to even pay the postage for idle inquiries from strangers.
L. Bittaker
Jan. 21, 1997
Jenny; Now to see if I can figure out what you are saying; some of your comments are rather unclear. I can only assume that you based most of your comments on the alleged "torture tape" of the girl Ledford. Unfortunately, I am not in the best position to explain its content. The cops originally gave my trial atty a poor copy of it, and when he pointed this out, they gave him another poor copy (which he didn't realize was poor). He also didn't have the tape subjected to any examination by anyone, and I only heard a clear copy once (perhaps twice, although I don't remember it), at the trial. So there was no real effort made to determine what was on the tape, or what it meant. The media reports make it sound like there is no question of what is happening on the tape, while that is actually not the case. It is difficult to hear what she is saying on it, as the screams (mostly done at our request; i.e. scripted) cause one to prejudge the rest of it. While I have a transcript of it, and the jury was given a copy, that doesn't demonstrate her very inconsistent (with torture) tone of voice she uses. For someone allegedly being hurt, she is not crying, or giving any other sign of being hurt; merely the screams. So something doesn't make sense. Because I had been drinking all evening, and smoking grass, I simply can't remember everything that happened, or why I said certain things on the tape. I have tried for years to get my attys to give me a copy, so I could erase the screams on it, and we could then listen to the rest and try to understand it, but they refuse, or to do that themselves. So it is very hard to 'defend' such tape, when I have no access to it, and can't demonstrate my claims. And despite the extraordinary claims made by certain witnesses, that is the only tape that ever existed, with that sort of content. But I can't prove that others didn't exist: one can't disprove something that never existed! Anyway, the short story on that subject. Since I don't know what 'information' you are relying on, I can't adequately respond to your (implicit) accusations. If you have specific questions, ask them. I don't expect you to believe my answers as it is impossible for anyone to prove most of the 'facts' in my case, one way or the other. It's mostly a matter of "he said, she (or he) said." Who you believe is mostly based on bias, and the almost total failure of 'my' atty to demonstrate that the other witnesses are liars, while nothing I said can be demonstrated as a falsehood. A trial is supposed to be where both sides put on their evidence, and the jury decides who is telling the truth, and thus what the 'facts' are. Well, that didn't happen in my case, and thus the jury didn't learn that most of the witnesses against me could reliably be proved to lie about various things, with no motive except to 'frame' me for the crimes. So I don't blame them for their verdict: I blame my totally unethical and incompetent atty for abandoning me as a client, and the cops/prosecutor for allowing various people to testify, when they had to know that they were lying. So yes, I'm "pissed" to say the least! So Norris, who pleaded guilty to 5 murders, and misc. other crimes, (effectively) received life without parole, while the state intends to execute me, and I'm still waiting for my "day in court"! And whatever happened is not simply the "past." I daily have to live with such events, attempting to correct matters, or at least living with the results of such events. But the legal system is not set up to really rectify 'mistakes,' but to make it difficult for anyone to obtain a new trial, once they have been convicted. Given such a screwed up legal system,' while I may eventually obtain a new trial, it will probably be useless, because by now evidence helpful to me has been lost, and previous events make it very difficult to determine the truth. Witnesses who lied back then, have to continue such lies, even if they don't want to, because to now tell the truth gets them in trouble. Some lied back then to get out of trouble, and because they thought me guilty, but no matter how false their past claims, we're all stuck with them, so there can never be a "fair" trial after the cops and prosecutors start pressuring a witness to say certain things, or put a suspect in certain circumstances that will cause negative things to happen. It goes without saying that if I catch you in a lie, I will probably cease writing, and I expect the same reaction from you. If there is one thing I "hate," it's liars. For what it is worth, I've spent much of my life in prison for (rather minor) property offenses (mostly because I didn't care if I was in or out). And those results were based in part due to my admission of guilt; if I did something wrong. I accepted the punishment. So I am not someone with a record of denying guilt or accepting blame. Why do you mention sending drawings? I don't care how well you draw; unless you send interesting letters, I will not continue to write. Given your repeat comments, I assume you live only with your children. No mention of a job?? Anyway, you don't say much else that I can respond to, so I will get this off. Hope you are doing OK. Take care.
Larry
I'd be interested to learn what book printed a transcript of the Ledford tape; haven't heard about that yet. Am sure curious about whether they copied the 'official' version used at the trial, or some other. Your suggestion that [Ledford] spoke as she did, from knowing she was going to die, is a rather unusual one. I'd say few people would be able to adopt such an attitude, unless they had been told that was going to happen, which supposedly didn't happen with her. And again, even if she was that gutsy, that doesn't explain her cool/neutral response in the midst of the alleged gross physical mistreatment. Something just doesn't compute there. But as long as you only look for explanations that follow your presumption, they most likely won't fit. I can't say I'm familiar with your marital problems; I have never been married outside. Wanted to be, but my goofy 'lifestyle' and experiences conspired against it. Sure kids are extraordinary, but so is a flower or bug. That doesn't equate to 'there must be a God'. Lack of logic there, although the proposition is attractive. Why do people also need to find some 'higher power' to explain their lack of knowledge? I don't really know or propose to guess why my trial atty did as he did. Maybe he was just the lazy sort, who didn't like to do the necessary work. Maybe he figured the evidence looked so bad, by only chance to live longer was for him to screw everything up, so I would eventually get a new trial. (Curiously, my subsequent attys couldn't believe that might be the case.) I can merely speculate, but have no real data to make a judgment on. I knew 3 of the other 4 victims, having met them under similar circumstances, for similar reasons. And yes, they would all seem to be logically connected, which is a factor that is hard to explain away. I can largely destroy the credibility of Roy, and some other important witnesses in the case, but the tape and the apparent pattern of it all, are more difficult. Whoops; am really getting senile. Just remembered that the tape transcript was in Alone With the Devil. And it does read almost as "bad" as it sounds on hearing it. But Ronald Markman adds his own editorializing, which is merely speculation. And in a sense I do accept responsibility for the deaths. I should have known about Norris, and not created opportunities where he could have done what he did. As I told someone just last night, a witness who had nothing good to say about me, says Norris drove to my place very late on that night with the last victim, and wouldn't let her near the van. He then went into my room for a few minutes. Almost nothing that the witness said was the truth (she made up some outrageous and bizarre claims), but that was one of the few truthful things. Actually, I had gone home early, and Roy was still out in the van with Ledford. Roy essentially denied that such a meeting happened, and I can't think of why it would have happened, or in that manner, if we had both been in the van at that point, with Ledford as a prisoner. As for who I "really" am, I wouldn't know how to answer that, or even understand what it means. Anyway, enough for now. Take care.
L. Bittaker
I just compared the court exhibit (tape transcript), and it differs here and there from Markman's 'quote' in his book. He has her saying "ouch" in one of the earlier lines, and the transcript says "ough." He also characterizes the sounds as "slaps" and that I "struck" her, while the transcript merely describes them as "sound." (Just noticed that he has me beating on her elbow, when in fact Roy admitted that.) But of course merely reading such words is largely ineffective in proving things either way; only hearing the actual tone of her voice would reliably indicate the true conditions. But as yet, my attys have refused to do anything about that. Was raised by an adoptive Am not sure who I 'really' am. who were less than affectionate. Nice, but I often describe the relationship as not much different than being the family pet. I didn't mind school that much, but it was often boring (too easy). And your question made me reflect: I probably never have loved anyone in the usual meaning. Of course that has been my greatest desire for a long time, but it just never seemed to happen. Sorry to hear about your bad family life. I wish you could get things together now. Curious that you should mention SLO; got a letter from a new pen pal tonight, who lives in that area.
Yeah, I know that area, having done 3 terms in the Men's Colony there. Am a bit surprised that I didn't become an alcoholic or drug addict. I seemed to steal when younger to compensate for the poor family life (replacing love with material things?). But I seem to fear heavy drugs and avoid them, although I've been less careful with alcohol. So I know it can be a seductive escape.
My problem is trusting people too easily; a character flaw I guess. Surely not a survival characteristic.
(Source: The Serial Killer Letters : A Penetrating Look Inside The Minds Of Murderers by author Jennifer Furio)
Bittaker was asked what he knew of the death of a girl at Knott's Berry Farm.
He replied that Norris and another person Bittaker would not name, went to Knott's Berry Farm apparently looking for a victim. They met a girl who was walking home from work at night. The girl was wearing some type of uniform. Norris and the other person stopped the girl, and asked her directions to a street. They then offered her a ride which she accepted. They drove a short distance, and stopped. The other person with Norris got out of the driver's seat, walked around, opened the passenger door and began beating the victim. The victim was then placed in the rear portion of a vehicle that Bittaker described as a Volkswagen owned by the other party. The victim was then raped by both Norris and the other party. While in the rear of the VW, it was discovered that the girl had died. Bittaker indicated that the girl died as the result of the beating. Norris also told him that the girl was then placed in a large trash container at an unknown location. It is unknown if any of the girl's possessions were kept.
Bittaker was asked if a person with the initials "R.J." was involved in any of the crimes, to which Bittaker replied "NO, R.J. has enough problems of his own."
Bittaker was asked if he had ever heard of a person named Carol Blanding; he said that the name meant nothing to him.
Bittaker stated that the only time he had ever shot "Mace" at a person, was when he sprayed a woman named "Jan Malin" in Manhattan Beach. He stated that Norris had mentioned that one time when Norris was alone, Norris had seen a girl jogging by herself. Norris told Bittaker that he had sprayed the jogger in the face, and that the girl fell down. Norris then drove away, without doing anything. This incident probably occurred in September, 1979.
When asked about Hermosa Beach rape, Victim Robin Robeck, Bittaker replied that her whole story was "bogus". The only reason she made the report was because she had lost $400.00 of her father's. Bittaker also commented that "if we were into all these homicides, why would we let her get away." He further stated that on occasion he and Norris have traded vehicles. He denied being present when Robeck was raped.
He was next asked about a girl named "Mary Ann Winters". He replied that a girl by that name was the "first love of my life". She had been a girl he had met when Bittaker lived in Lakewood in 1958. At that time, he was attending Dewey Continuation School. Mary Ann Winters was a girl he knew that attended a Catholic high school in Long Beach. bittaker continued that after his arrest he was shown a photo of a girl nude from the waist up, at the Hermosa Beach Police Department. Bittaker said he told the investigators the name "Mary Ann Winter's" because that was the first name that came to mind.
He was next asked about a girl named "Gretchen". Bittaker replied that he had seen her at a gas station on Glenoaks Blvd. in Burbank. Bittaker described this gas station as a "State Gas Station'' that he normally traded at. He wrote down her license number, and through a friend determined that the vehicle was registered to the Scientology Training Center in Glendale. Bittaker said that Gretchen was driving a turquoise V.W. with license #SHB327, and that Gretchen was a very attractive girl in her late teens. Bittaker continued that he was very determined to find out where Gretchen lived. He and Norris both went to the Scientology School in Glendale to try and obtain her home address. They determined that Gretchen taught at the school. They were unsuccessful in getting her home address or number, and were going to connect electronics equipment to the Scientology phones in an effort to find Gretchen's address.
Bittaker stated that he once rented a 35mm camera in North Hollywood, and that on weekends, he and Norris would ride around taking photos of attractive girls. This would include taking photos of girls in vehicles, and photos of license numbers on vehicles.
He then identified some of the photos that were made from slides that were recovered from Norris' residence on 11-20- 79. In a photo marked N-140, depicting a girl holding a snake, he commented that at the time the photo was taken, the girl placed the snake on the ground where additional photos were taken. The photos of the snake on the sidewalk were then mailed to a prisoner at CMC-East named "Shoopman". Bittaker was asked if he had sent Shoopman other photos of snakes, and he replied that once he had sent Shoopman a photo of a rattlesnake. This photo was taken on Glendora Ridge Motorway, during the summer while driving around the area in Norris' car.
The prosecutor offered considerable evidence, generally without objection or request for limiting instructions, which tended to show defendant's psychological disposition toward acts of violence and his interest in sexual torture. The evidence included testimony concerning defendant's discussion of his sexual fantasies with Richard Shoopman, various sadomasochistic and bondage magazines found in defendant's possession, and evidence {Page 48 Cal.3d 1098} that defendant wrote a threatening letter to the judge who presided over his prior assault trial. The prosecutor relied on this and other evidence to argue the defendant's psychological proclivities.
The prosecutor's question concerning a letter to Shoopman. Shoopman testified to receiving a letter from the defendant on or about September 14, 1979. On cross-examination the prosecutor asked him, "Isn't it a fact, Mr. Shoopman, that he [defendant] wrote you about the rape and killing of a girl in the mountains before September 14?" Shoopman denied receiving such a letter, and the prosecutor did not mention the matter further.
Bittaker was asked to relate what he had done the night of his arrest, 11-20-79. He stated that during the evening he called Norris' home, and a person answered the phone whom Bittaker did not know. Bittaker asked where Norris was, and was told "he's up on the roof fixing the TV antenna." Bittaker continued that he returned to his apartment at the Scott Motel, sat around a few minutes, then made a phone call to Sharon Norris' home. Sharon told him that Norris was being arrested, and that one of the items being taken as evidence was Norris' typewriter. Bittaker said he then returned to his apartment and told two girls to leave. He then cleaned out his apartment, putting everything into his van. He then drove to Sunland, where he ran into "R.J." by "accident". He also talked to Mike Horn. Both Horn and "R.J." told Bittaker where he could hide some items in Sunland in an area that had recently been burned in a fire.
Bittaker said he left Sunland and drove back toward Burbank. While en route, he further stated, he drove to the Forest Lawn area, because it was hilly. Bittaker said he had a box of items to hide, but did not have any tools to dig with. He then drove to the apartment of a friend named Paul Hodge. His reason for going to Hodge was because he felt Hodge could be trusted. At Hodge's he left a .22 gun and a .38 gun that he got from Norris. Bittaker said the .38 cost $100.00, he would not reveal any information on the .22 gun. Also at Hodges he left some "Soft narcotics".
Bittaker said he had manufactured a story about burying items at Forest Lawn, to take the "heat off of Paul Hodge." He was asked if he had buried any photos or tape recordings. He at first stated that he cut up tapes and photos with scissors, then stated, "No, scratch that out, I did not have any tapes or photos."
He was then shown a Polaroid of a girl in a white dress. He said that the girl depicted was a prostitute that he had called to his room once. He stated her name was "Mary".
He was shown two photos of girls wearing bikini bathing suits seated in a possible Fiat or Pinto auto. Bittaker replied that the photos were taken on Glendora Canyon Road somewhere between the park and the fire motorway. Bittaker said he and Norris were in the area in Norris' Oldsmobile when they saw the girls parked. They stopped, offered the girls some marijuana and then took the photos. This probably occurred in May or June, 1979.
Christina Dralle testified that when she rejected the defendant's advances, he pulled a gun and said, "you wouldn't argue if I pulled the trigger." Defense counsel sought to impeach her by evidence that she had made false charges of sexual molestation against two other men. The trial court upheld an objection under Evidence Code section 352. Its ruling is not an abuse of discretion. The value of the evidence as impeachment depends upon proof that the prior charges were false. This would in effect force the parties to present evidence concerning two long-past sexual incidents which never reached the point of formal charges. Such a proceeding would consume considerable time, and divert the attention of the jury from the case at hand.
The defendant (Norris) was released on June 18, 1975, after undergoing four and one half years of extensive treatment at Atascadero State Hospital. He had an indeterminate sentence for his conviction of assault with a deadly weapon. The staff at Atascadero reported to the San Diego Superior Court that the defendant had been treated to such an extent that he would not benefit by further care at their facility and is not a danger to others at this time. Unfortunately, this positive prognosis was apparently premature in that the defendant chose to involve himself in the present offense only three months later.
(Source: Murder Mack by author Joe Hiles)
According to Stephen Kay, Bittaker was bisexual. But mostly gay.
According to Stephen Kay, Roy Norris had an IQ of 127.
The mother of those teenagers that hung out in the Scott’s Motel, one of the girls that was pregnant at only 17 years old and that Bittaker gave presents to, was actually possibly pimping out her children! She was also working for the local police department and gave out information to both Norris & Bittaker about different number plates. Bittaker & Norris also gave her drugs and money! Bittaker convinced her he could crack safes.
Back then, 16- year old Tina Farconi was a popular teenager who wanted to party and spend time with her boyfriend Steve Eastman. Steven Eastman, a visitor at the Scott’s Motel, later worked at Menasco after Bittaker was arrested and sentenced. Steven later turned into a very violent man. A monster according to Tina.
Dena Moody
Hanged with friends at the Scott's Motel
Kristin (Kris) Messenger
Reportedly to have been attacked by Norris but escaped through his car window
(Friend of Shirley Ledford) Linda Holtz
One of the girls hanging out in Bittaker´s motel room stated it was literally stacked with polaroid pictures. Including girls posing before a white wall in lingerie.
Inside Bittaker’s room are 500 sex and bondage photos of girls, along with acid and ingredients for making the bizarre elephant tranquilizer PCP.
According to Christina Dralle, there were a lot of audio tapes. She heard twelve to thirteen different girls screaming, which another person named Dena Moody said she saw under the fridge. They were later buried. Bittaker buried most of the evidence.
Lawrence was outside the Burbank highschools with binoculars checking out the students.
Jacqueline Leah Lamp, Years later her mother, Myrna Carlyle, was quoted; ‘’I work two jobs, I sleep as little as possible. Whenever I fall asleep, I have nightmares of my daughter being tortured.’’ Myrna Carlyle passed away in 2006.
In 1984, Ingrid Gilliam slipped and hit her head in a freak accident. 6 weeks later, she died of pneumonia at the age of 41. She is buried in a cemetery in the San Fernando Valley. Nearby, her daughter’s Jackie’s ashes reside in a two inch by two inch niche in a mausoleum column in the same cemetery.
Dolores Ledford, Lynette's mother, passed away in 2016. She is buried next to her daughter in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, CA.
Did Lynette Ledford’s mother commit suicide?
Roy Norris cannot bear to have anyone look him in the eye. "It gives me a sickly feeling in my guts. I seldom make eye contact with anyone. I don't like leaving my cell. If I had a shower in here, they could weld my door shut for all I care." Norris says his life ended on November 20, 1979, the day he was arrested, with Lawrence Bittaker, for the brutal torture and murder of five teenaged girls. Norris began having "problems'' while he was in the Navy. A sexual assault conviction sent him to Atascadero State Hospital where he was diagnosed as a Mentally Disordered Sex Offender even though he claims that he couldn't have raped the woman because he was still a virgin at the time. In 1975, Norris was again charged with sexual assault (which he also denies), but this time he was sent to prison where he eventually met Lawrence Bittaker, a meeting that would soon change his life forever. On June 24, 1979, just six months after his release from prison, Norris, along with Bittaker, committed his first murder. Over the next five months, the two paroled convicts drove around in Bittaker's van, the "Murder Mac," trolling for young girls to kill. Norris reports that they had no trouble finding victims: "No bodies were being discovered and young women weren't leery in the least!" They managed to kill five girls before being caught. -or at least his Even though Norris admits his guilt in the murders participation - he has a knack for sidestepping actual responsibility. He says the first murder occurred because they were high on the drug Angel Dust ("I came to my senses with a dead girl at my feet''). He also points an accusing finger at Bittaker. Norris says that he participated in the killings only because he thought that if he didn't, Bittaker would lay his killing hands on him. Furthermore, Norris says that it was Bittaker who twisted strangling wire around the girls' necks with pliers, who crushed their skulls with driving sledgehammer blows, who penetrated their brains with an icepick. Norris does admit that he killed Shirley Lynette Ledford, their last victim, with a coat hanger wire and vise-grips, but only because he didn't have the guts to say no to Bittaker's demand. Finally, Norris claims, unconvincingly, that the only reason he made the now infamous tape recording of Shirley Ledford's murder, complete with her chilling screams and terrified pleas for mercy, was to placate Bittaker not for his future enjoyment, as most accounts report. "If I had truly enjoyed raping and murdering kids," Norris writes, "we could easily have done so to 50 or 60 in the same time period." He says his obsession was to possess women and to hold them captive, but not to murder them. "I would've been keen on abducting a really hot sexy beauty for a month or so and then releasing her- -but only those young women that were haughty bitches!" Even if Norris claims that his real turn-on was the abduction aspect, I find it hard to believe that anyone would be involved in murders, especially ones as gruesome and sadistic as these, unless they derived some sort of pleasure from them. No guts? I doubt it. Afraid of Bittaker? Unlikely. Now 50 years old, Roy L. Norris lives alone in a two-man cell in Pelican Bay Prison, a maximum security facility in northern California. He will remain there for the rest of his life. He has considered suicide but he says there are some things that prevent him from going through with it: "Bittaker is one of them. I wish to be sure of his fate...death or otherwise."
I was born and raised in Greeley, Colorado. Though I don't have my High School Diploma, I do have a GED Equivalency-that would've gotten me into a college- if I'd cared to go. (Along with a good SAT score, obviously) Instead, I joined the Navy...as my grandfather and father had...and I did get to see a part of "the WORLD," including Vietnam. I began having 'problems' while in the Navy and after my discharge (Honorable)... I was incarcerated at Atascadero State Hospital. After that experience, my next incarceration was at California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo - where after nearly 2 1/2 years...I met [Lawrence Bittaker] a few months before our respective paroles. I had no idea upon my release that we would eventually get together again...and I didn't even have his address. He wasn't my first, second or even third choice in the kinds of people I would choose to befriend in free society. I paroled on January 15th 1979. The first murder occurred on June 24th and the last one on Halloween night. And my life ended on my arrest November 20th. 1979 (I just haven't died yet.) If you consider my rearing in Colorado-as basically institutional (being told what to do) and the Navy, as well ---- then my total life experience --- not institutionalized-only totals about a single year, in over a decade. That's rather "telling"...I'd say. I've been up all night and it's nearly 7 a.m. (breakfast). Oh!, I sleep during the day - because I have intense nightmarish dreams at night. However, not during the daytime; yet. Plus, I am not interested in any daytime TV programming (except for PBS "HOW TO" shows). A number of prisoners and staff have told me that I talk and sometimes 'rave' in my night-time sleep....so I avoid night-time sleep as much as possible. Especially so, between June 24th and November 1st of each year-when the dreams intensify more. Guilty conscience, I think! I'll close for now and get ready for breakfast and bedtime.
Do I think about the crimes? I definitely try not to. But not a single day has passed since the first murder- that I haven't wished that first one hadn't occurred. The "sensationalized story" states that Larry and I planned the murders while in prison. That's pure bullshit!! Stephen Kay, the District Attorney, said it to media reporters before the preliminary hearing. (He was Bugliosi's co-prosecutor against the Manson Family-but Bugliosi gave him no credit in the book. Kay has political ambitions and he craves the media attention! I've heard him talk about it.) At the same time that our case was in the courts...so was Buono/ Bianci (The Hillside Strangler) and Bonin/Munro (The Freeway Killer)...and the Rodney Alcala (?) murder trial in Orange County. It was the reporter's "field of dreams" and Kay's personal media nightmare! So...our case became more provocative to meet his agenda. I'm not saying our five murders weren't heinous and cold-blooded. They were...and if there had been more - the victims would really have suffered at Larry's hands! I suspect also, I would have been one of them too. (I'll get to that later) Also....the police in all of L.A. didn't even know we existed. (*THE MURDERS, THAT IS) Had no idea! Until a fellow I approached (another parolee/ friend (?))—and asked to keep his eyes + ears open for 'a handgun for sale,' went to his attorney with the most basic idea of what was occuring. I confided in him that I wanted a gun....probably for killing Larry, myself. His attorney tried to sell the case to L.A.P.D. (who refused for lack of evidence), the L.A.C.S.D. (refused), the Torrance P.D. (refused - for jurisdictional problems), and finally the Beach Community P.S.s (Redondo Bch, Manhattan Bch, Hermosa Bch, etc.) that "took it" as a group. L.A. 's County Sheriff took credit, when he broke the story to reporters, only to get the media off of the Sheriff's dept. for the killing of a deranged black female surrounded by eight Sheriff's. She was threatening them with a paring knife and they pumped six rounds into her rather than subdue her. Had I known how much pain and anguish my confessions details would create for the families of the victims...and my own family and friends, I may not have confessed. At least, not in so much detail. I should have just driven the van off one of L.A.'s elevated freeways-Halloween night. But, the families of the first four victims would still be looking for their daughters. About the only thing I can feel good about...are the lives I saved, by making them wary about climbing into the van. I received three letters from girls that remembered my doing just that-thanking me for their lives. But of course, none of this info reached the media's ears-or they weren't interested.
The first murder was a product of our experimenting with PCP (Sherman, Angel Dust, etc.). When I came back to reality, Cindy was already dead. My story is what Larry told me had happened. I do remember some flashes of what he related- but it's all jumbled up and out of sync. I let him talk me into dumping her body and pretending all was well. The Death Penalty had been reinstated, so I had grave concerns-obviously. But while driving -or working at Lloyd's Electronics-I often began crying- for what seemed little reason to me. I also toyed with the idea of turning myself in, while sitting in the Carson Sheriff's Parking Lot and the Torrance P.D. Parking Lot. I didn't, but I felt like it-very often. FEAR, kept me quiet.
2/23/97 I have problems with Christianity, because I'm a believer of EVOLUTION. While I didn't attend college, I have (had) a Vocational Electronics certificate and I'm self-taught/well read in the sciences. I'm good in math- up to quadratic equations in Algebra and I still fight with understanding Calculus. I've just recently requested a Trigonometry Text from our reading library. I've scan-studied most religions, world-wide, for personal reasons I may get into later. The Bible's 'MESSAGE AND TENANTS' come closest to what I think is REALLY going on. The wisdom is the sharpest (possibly wrong adjective, but close). Forced to choose...I'll take Christianity. (Protestant) Where did you obtain my address....and have you written to Bittaker? Who else writes to you...consistently? Didn't women respect me in my life- or what pissed me off so much? This is one of those questions that will take some lengthy answering. No easy answers. I wish I could be definitive and exact about specific incidents that led me to my fate...but there's just too many things (small, medium, and large) that affected me. For a long time, I thought I may have been slightly retarded...but now I believe I didn't have a grasp of the world-like some kids did. I recall, reacting to people-rather than interacting with people. A social cripple...(?) This is enough for my second response, eh?!
P.S. - No, I've never met Lawrence Singleton.
Sincerely yours.
Roy L. Norris
I was born, February 5th, 1948, at nearly midnight (or almost the 6th of February-which my father's father wanted, as it was his birthdate). My father's family...all lived within a block of us (except his sister), as my grandfather had invested World War II profits into real estate. He derived his profits from an Auto Parts/Salvage Yard. All of his family considered my mom to be a 'gold-digger'....especially my grandmother-who openly criticized my mom to everyone except my mom. Her son, Bill, begat a son* and daughter-first....and grandmother doted on them. I'm a year behind cousin Shirley and my sister is three years younger than myself. Sis and I were the 'black sheep' of the clan....and the obvious favoritism was evident in every aspect of our lives. From the house my father had to pay rent for while working for his dad (the only son to do so)...to the value of the Christmas gifts at Christmas. I remember a coal burning stove in the kitchen and waiting twice a week for the ice delivery man to put block ice in our ICE BOX on the porch. (The only house my grandparents owned- that didn't have gas stoves and heaters...and electricity. In a city -no less!) Mom used a wash board for our clothes, until I was about 31 years old. I remember the day when electricity was installed and gas piping came in. Everything was used, of course, (from grandma's house) but mom cherished the refrigerator, gas stove, washer and wringer (that used hot water from the stove, still!). We didn't have running hot water for a few more years. I should add to the previous segment... that my grandmother blamed me for many things I was led into - or talked into- by both of my older cousins. This occurred so often, that I got to the point of not even bothering to defend myself. I simply accepted the blame and punishment. (Note: [Drawing of a key] As you might guess, this was likely the beginning of many suppressed and angry feelings in regards to two female personality types.) Mood controls much of my life now. In the past, I avoided being a moody person -by suppressing nearly all of my feelings. [Drawing of a key] Today is my sister's forty-sixth birthday. That sounds so strange to my ears! Because...[drawing of a key] I never really expected to live beyond forty years of age.
To explain, I must go back to the summer of my sixteenth year.......while hanging out with a friend who worked at a gas station downtown (clean-up work mostly and pumping gas), I overheard some crude language about what a guy would do if he ever got the chance with a certain woman that walked past the station every evening-in route to her parked car in the lot across the street. The fellow sounded quite serious to me and about an hour later, she walked past. This guy tapped on the window and when she turned-she saw me and waved. It was my Aunt Margie! The guy was surprised, as she'd never acknowledged him before. Margie lived across the street from us for a while-then she and my Uncle moved about a mile away (but still in town). Margie was a bit brazen. She was the first woman in our town to dare wear a bikini swimsuit. Normally, she wore tight clothing...mostly dresses, about an inch higher than the current trend and high- heeled shoes. Until I heard about Amelda Marcos's shoe collection, I thought Margie was eccentric with her collection. I liked her legs (great!)...but I didn't care for the rest of her much. A bit too busty for my tastes and she had a mole just below the left corner of her mouth. (Why do women...and some men...like that? It's a nasty imperfection that makes me cringe. Many times, I've been in awe of a gal's face, until she turned fully towards me and I saw a mole. Instantly, she became invisible to me! I [drawing of a key) adore beautiful women!)
My Uncle Lee, was a semi-truck owner and driver, out of town a lot. He's the oldest of my father's brothers and he talked badly about Margie, in my early years. He felt she was running around on him- while he was on the road. I'm sure, his mom (grandma) was (again) responsible for his attitude. Because Margie and my mom often felt bruised by family gossip, they were friends. Okay...now back to events. I considered telling my Uncle about the over- heard conversation...but considering his tendency to be a hot head and that he would likely use it against Margie (and provide grandma with more fodder for gossip), I chose not to. I also considered telling my father, but I saw that as just a postponement of the same results. I never even considered telling mom...and now, I wonder why!? Regardless...one morning (about 10 a.m.) in...(?)... late June, my father told me to go up to Aunt Margie's and get a 'urine sample' to deliver to her doctor. She was at home-sick. Well...after doing the errand...I returned to Margie's and told her about the overheard conversation. Her reaction wasn't even slightly concerned, enough- as far as I was concerned, and I re-emphasized what I felt he had implied. And again, she seemed unconcerned. Frankly, I was stymied or more precisely... wholly confused! (Now comes the crux.) Being totally in-experienced in speaking of such things (and likely suffering from a degree of social-retardation)...I attempted to imply that I could understand... why the guy might be thinking such thoughts...and I criticized her choice of clothing style and possibly provocative mannerisms. To be honest, I don't remember - for sure what came out of my mouth. My motivation, however, was of concern for her. Her reaction, was immediate and very angry. So angry, I knew I couldn't explain myself so I left. I returned to the Salvage Yard and the tasks I had been at before the errand. Maybe - Half an hour later my father appeared... VERY ANGRY (RED FACE ANGRY)...and told me that Margie had called. He said he had to go down town, but when he got back he'd give me a beating I'd remember until I died. Well...!! I decided not to wait for that beating which I didn't deserve --- and obviously couldn't explain my way out of...so I closed up the business, took my weekly earnings for the week, grabbed some clothes...and ran away from home...in the car my father had given me (A 1952 Cadillac Coupe DeVille. A luxury car in 1952, twelve years earlier. Powered everything!) Using a false ID I'd gotten from my cousin BOB (Shirley's older brother). I bought a case of COOR's beer and headed for the hills, literally. The Rockies...and a place I'd discovered while up Deer Hunting the year before. A small valley with a tiny brook flowing over worn smooth rocks. (I'd left a note in a drawer about Margie misunderstanding me and what I intended to do.) I sat in the car and drank about a 6 pack of the 3.2% beer that was legal to 18 year olds - then. I felt like Japan -when they've LOST FACE. When drunk enough, I used a diabetic syringe to squeeze about a cc of air into my left arm vein and smiled as I watched it go up my arm. I should not have awakened-after passing out. The cc was more than enough air to have stopped my heart. At least, every doctor I've spoken to so far...agrees! (With what I know now...I'd use the whole syringe if I could go back to that moment.) It was and is...sad news that my attempt failed. nese Well, when I did awaken....it was about the same time of day as where I'd remembered blacking out. In fact, I got out of the car-hoping I was actually dead but just not grasping it correctly. I realized though, that I had failed. I was also stone cold sober and very hungry. And I'd lost the intense mood necessary to attempt such a thing. So, at a cafe a few miles away - I discovered that I'd been "OUT" for two full days. From there, I drove to Estes Park, CO. A fellow I know, was working at the Darkhorse Theatre (acting) for the summer. I don't remember now how many days I was there-before I was apprehended as a runaway, but I had put in a couple days work on a Dude Ranch...saddling horses and cleaning out the stalls and unsaddling the horses...hours later. At $5.00 an hour-it was nearly double what my father drew as a salary from the family business (run financially by my grandmother, then). I sat in the city jail for about six hours - waiting for my father (only about 50 miles away and I was apprehended about 5 p.m.). Dear ole dad had brought a friend to drive my car home and dad didn't say a word-until we pulled in the driveway. And then, only that mom wanted to talk to me inside. Well, it was then that I learned that my father had been forced...into marrying mom.....and that mom had been pregnant about four months before they married (with the understanding they'd get a divorce when I was old enough to understand the situation). Mom says that he and his friends tried to induce a miscarriage by tripping her at the skating rink...and rough rides on dad's motorcycles. Mom stressed that I was to avoid sex until after I was married - but didn't say a word about Margie. Honestly, I felt even stranger than DEATH.....afterwards. But I didn't have the necessary MOOD and FALSE courage that the alcohol induced to try again. Instead.....alone in my room upstairs, I promised myself that if my life wasn't substantially better by the time I was forty, I'd stop trying and do the job right. I also agreed to remain virginal until after marriage... so my children wouldn't possibly have reason to feel as I did. (I had no idea how difficult that decision would be but I remained chaste TECHNICALLY until 1975...[drawing of a key]) Hence......." because my life hasn't been substantially better..........I've not seriously considered life beyond forty....much. I've postponed that limit, for several reasons. Bittaker, is one of them. I wish to be sure of his fate....death or otherwise.
3/16/97 The first murder...is the result of Bittaker and my personalities-on P.C.P. (the drug: Angel Dust). It wasn't planned, at least not by myself. We'd been with some teens that hung-out near the motel that Larry lived in, while they were under the influence of the drug...and we saw nothing unusual. So...one Sunday morning about 10am, we smoked half of a Sharman Cigarello that had been dipped into a jar of PCP. We'd smoked a lot of marijuana in the past months and didn't expect anything much different. And the teens had smoked the first half. Around midnight-that night-I came back to my senses...with a dead girl at my feet!! I have some memories of the day, but they are only glimpses of events that seem like snippets of a movie-spliced together out of sequence. The 'story' I related to the Homicide Investigators..... was the story that Larry told - me had happened. There's just enough info in my own personal memory - that "jives' ' with his rendition, that I've accepted the version as fact. The last cognizant memories I have are the smoking of the cigarello.....until about midnight. It wasn't an easy experience to handle- and I found myself unexpectedly in tears.....at work and in my car. Twice, that I remember specifically.....I sat in my car in the parking lots of the Torrance Police Dept and the Carson Sheriff's Dept.-Trying to screw-up the courage to turn myself in. I didn't, obviously; but if I'd done it solely myself - I may have. California had just re-instated the death penalty. The murders continued (three more occasions), because I didn't have the guts to say NO.........until the last victim, whom I was told to kill (personally... hands on...so to speak) by Bittaker.....because he'd finished with her. He was driving and he'd personally killed (hands on) the others. After doing it....I told Larry I couldn't do it anymore. I did avoid quite a few potential victims-between the actual murders; very purposely. I even got three letters at mom's place- from three girls that remember my PURPOSELY making them WARY enough to refuse the proffered rides that they had their thumbs out for; thanking me for saving their lives. I....."put off" or "made wary" many, many young women. Only the ones I couldn't "put off" or "unsettle" became victims. ((Note: I'm not trying to make them responsible for their own lives. I just want you to understand......... that if I had truly enjoyed raping and murdering kids, we could easily have done so to fifty or sixty in the same time period (at the very least-thirty with no problems!) No bodies were being discovered and young women weren't leery in the least!))
About visiting me.....I am able to be 'forthcoming' and 'candid' in my responses.....because I don't have to face you, eye to eye. I seldom meet another person's gaze, because I am embarrassed and humiliated by my involvement in the crimes! They (the crimes) did not make me feel good! In fact, the opposite is the case...and I detest my own fear and hesitation to confront Larry immediately! While I would eventually like to see who I'm writing...in picture form...I don't wish to feel your own gaze upon me. Or anyone else's for that matter. In the past sixteen years, I've only had one family visit (my father from Colorado and my then, recent, step mom)...or rather...one visit, from the family. I've refused all interview requests and TV sensationalism opportunities. I have caused my family too much pain and humiliation already, not to mention the families of the victims. It's not always easy...to 'connect' with another person-via the mail-and yet remain clinically detached. I do try to maintain detachment...because I'd prefer not to become emotionally involved with my correspondents. (Except my immediate family of course) If I thought you might want to actually visit me face to face - I'd very likely begin toning down my responses. In all honesty, I'm not seeking emotional involvement and or commitment with anyone. I don't write romantic or sexually thrilling fantasy letters! My time is difficult enough. As you say, that you have two youngsters to care for-you'd be better off- meeting someone with a future, and not wasting precious resources on travel expenses to visit someone like me. Well...I've used up all my space for this letter. When I get my hands on an embossed envelope-I'll mail this out.
Roy L. Norris
3/31/97 I've had my own problems with alcohol, so I know how tempting it is. I stopped drinking alcohol.... in favor of marijuana, in 1968 and haven't been drunk or even tipsy since the 4th of July of that year. But my mother became an alcoholic (a family genetic tendency) and as frustrated as I get in this environment....I won't allow myself to drink. I like being in control! [Drawing of a key] The same need to control my emotions, desires to be "in charge" of the immediate situation around me. I also avoided a HEROIN habit, because I'd have given the drug-power over my life. No matter how stoned I get on grass, I can still think well enough to know when I'm not capable of-interacting. Alcohol brings out the "creature" in all of us and grants us the right to antagonize others. After tobacco falls....alcohol will be next. It's 3 a.m. and I'm falling asleep as I'm writing this. Time to take a nap.
When I was about four or five years old, my cousin Shirley (a year older) had seen her parents.... "doing it." She asked if I'd ever seen my parents "doing it", but since neither of us knew what "IT" was....I couldn't answer. Well, on a Saturday morning, soon after her discovery, she talked me into experimenting (?) like her folks had done, to see why they liked.... "doing it." Saturday morning was 'shopping day' for the weekly groceries, and both our moms would be gone. So on her back porch....we undress and laid down together under a blanket, and she told me to do this and do that and....nothing! Except, her mom caught us and went ballistic! Of course, I was the one blamed - and I was punished a week longer than she was. It's a common experience for kids that age. I know now. But the 'being punished' for it, emphasized that whatever 'IT' was, 'IT' was adult activity - not for kids. As far as I remember, I didn't experience anything sexual. However.......... later on (between 1956 and 1959?) I experienced very pleasing feelings when wrestling with cousin Shirley (though no erections) and....(this is a bit embarrassing) the beginning of a shoe-fetish because of her (though I don't understand why). The fetish [drawing of a key], shifted from the original "saddle shoe" to the round toed canvas tennis shoes (like boat deck shoes.... Before the modern Adidas style athletic shoes became popular). The cheerleaders wore them, and because of the shoe fetish (I suspect?)....I prefer a shapely pair of legs more than large breasts. In a crowd, I notice hair first (long as possible and blonde or light brown)... then the face. Then, if she's at least a six.. on a ten scale (looks). I check legs, if possible. If good legs, I can drop to a five (face). IF SHE'S WEARING THE TENNIS SHOES (AND THEY FIT WELL), I CAN EVEN DROP TO A FOUR. An eight or better with long blonde hair-great legs and tennis shoes- would almost be irresistible for me. When I was making jewelry- I made custom items at and below cost-for young women that met those requirements....just so I could have a reason to be around them. (used to buy gem grade opal in the rough-then cut-grind- and polish calibrated and baroque stones to sell to Zales, Slavick's, and other jewelry stores. Once I had my investment back, I saved the rest of the ounce to show at "Opal Parties". It's a psych-game....really, and I'll explain it later, when you know more about my past.) I should be more specific about this tennis shoe fetish..... as it's quite compelling if the right girl is wearing them. A better word is COMPULSION. The better the gal rates- -the greater is the compulsion and obviously-the greater the risks I'll accept. I have, on occasion, followed such young women MILES, in hopes of a possible chance meeting....in which I can make known- that I am able to make custom jewelry and fix electronic equipment. An hour on the freeway on a cold night- on my old motorcycle- wouldn't be out of the ordinary for me if she was an 8 1/2 to a 10. (A 10 would be Heather Locklear, about ten years ago.) - I've just reread your hand-written letter....and in regards to what Larry says about the girl in the tape recording-having been a participant. We've all heard women scream in horror movies. Directors of these movies want the best screams possible and they listen to many many young women screaming-day after day. Still, we (the viewers) know that no-one is REALLY being stabbed or hacked- up or even raped. Why? Simply because an actress can't produce some sounds that can convince us that something vile and heinous is happening. If you ever heard that tape, there is just no possible way that you'd not begin crying and trembling. I doubt you could listen to more than a full sixty seconds of it. I heard her-when it was happening-and it sent chills down my spine. I was chain smoking marijuana- like it was tobacco and I would've taken almost any other drug I could get my hands on at the time. Since that night, I've been forced to listen to the whole tape - just once (Before I signed the "AGREEMENT" with the D.A.). I NEVER WANT TO HEAR IT AGAIN! (Though, Ldo, in several of my nightmares!) If you could hear part of it - you would understand exactly why I don't like people's eyes on me. You'd know why I don't want to participate in the media spectacles.... and I honestly doubt you'd want to hear from me again. Just as this much attention on it - to write this little bit - gives me pause to think self-destructively. (Another reason I don't want to be emotionally involved with anyone...is because I can't-won't- guarantee what I'll do after Larry's execution.) Larry can say or write such drivel (sp?) because you can't get a copy of the tape. Some of the Crime Collectors that write to me- have tried! You'd recognize the voice- easily. And you'd know instinctively!! -
Larry [Bittaker] has a tale. His parents were in their late forties (as I recall) when he was born. They'd never wanted kids and as one might apparently-the first time he got into trouble, serious enough to send him to Youth Authority...they packed up and moved away, being careful NOT to leave a trail to follow. When his "time" was up, no one came to get him. So he had to stay in YA until the court could arrange a foster home. From then on, it was one Foster home after another. (Foster homes are well known to be little more than motels for troubled kids. The couple accepts a kid-only for the money the State gives.) Larry only spoke of this once, but included that he seldom got any spending money...while the couples' kids got a weekly allowance. He spoke of being teased by such kids (usually in Spanish homes) and having to wear hand me downs, worn-out by the kids. Our last victim (his victim) [Shirley Lynette Ledford] had some Spanish ancestry...and I discovered from investigators that he'd asked her out a number of times. I suspect he'd been quite generous to her (I think she worked at a fast food place he frequented in Burbank or Glendale). This, is the same girl he claims to have been screaming "on-cue" for the tape. (I'd never seen her before that night, and wasn't expecting a victim.) It was already about 2:00 a.m. and my car was giving me electrical problems....and I lived in Redondo Beach and worked for LLOYD's Electronics in Compton, so I had a long drive ahead of me-after he gave me a battery boost, to get my car started. There's much to be said about Larry's past- and the crimes. Imagine how you'd feel, being 'essentially' parented by the State of California's impersonal bureaucracy and greedy foster homes. Though not a justification, it does give pause -when considering whether or not he should be executed. And though you've not yet read all my major background segments, I'd feel better about my own involvement if I had lived through such a nightmare past as Larry. Is it RIGHT(?).......that he be executed, and not me? Not LEGAL.....but RIGHT? And though you say he is now pure evil, he's still not the same person he was...nearly 20 years ago. I saw him give hundred dollar bill donations (3 different times) to the Salvation Army...and one evening in the downtown L.A. area- it was his idea to hand out sandwiches and pints of milk to the homeless and winos. He stopped at a closing "Jack in the Box" and bought every item they would normally have thrown away and the same at a McDonald's near-by. We handed out food all night. Even some wine for the winos- after they'd eaten. Looking back, it's these events of humanity that may have also given me reason not to turn ourselves in. I don't have "all" of the answers you want from me. But don't you even think for a moment that Larry thinks... 'that the last girl (and probably all of them) enjoyed what happened to her.' That's a Self-Serving Tripe!! For his ludicrous appeal contention that I'm the sole perpetrator of all the murders-while he only had minimal involvement with the victims and that all were alive when he loaned his van to take them somewhere. He wouldn't have loaned me his van-to go to the corner liquor store!...without him! (He has an impressive I.Q. and intellect...when he wants to use it. I often felt like a candle flame in the beam of a headlight. around him.
I should point out now that I've never been interested in kids...(teens). That was Larry's whole trip. At that time-my preferred age was 19 to about 23. (I was 32)...now, I tend towards 23 to 32 (?) with exceptions (+10 or -3). While I might ogle a teen and secretly wish I was her age again...I'd never consider an actual relationship or assault (rape). My idiosyncrasy isn't physical in nature (though, I have become physical when I lost control of events...due to a shift in power or control. [Drawing of a key] If she did something to grab the power away from me). And this just entered another realm... that I wish to save for a later letter... when you'll understand me better.
I was incarcerated at Atascadero State Mental Hospital-for a time, as an M.D.S.D. (Mentally Disordered Sex Offender). Not RAPE or CHILD MOLEST. "Assault." Physical assault. Not until I left there, did I lose my virginity. A lengthy story for another time. I mention it now, because I think about the place a lot. It was a SAFE place to express myself to others. I miss it very much -- (the place. that is) and expressing myself. It's just not possible to do so in this environment. I often think about contacting old friends from there — to see how their lives have fared. Living vicariously through others is all I can do now.
Sincerely yours.
Roy L. Norris
I testified in court that Cindy Schaeffer (our first victim) asked for time to pray.....if we were going to kill her. However, that's what Larry told me about that night, as I don't have a coherent-in sync memory of that night--until about midnight. He also said I argued with him- about killing her (I'd like to think I did), but gave in for fear of a new-very long prison term, and its effect on my family. I see her face in my nightmares (her newspaper face) all the time. He said nothing about her begging for her life, but I can't imagine she didn't. Again, in the case of the second victim [Andrea Hall]. I don't have first hand knowledge...because I had driven [Bittaker's] van away from the scene of the crime (because there was no place to park it-safely). However, Larry took great pleasure in telling me "after the fact" how he'd given her the opportunity to beg for her life.....and showed me pictures he'd taken [of her begging for her life]. It's easy for me to imagine him doing just that, from the expressions on her face. And this situation is my current worst nightmare, as it's me...begging for my life. Great despair, aching dispare, dread............and hope, that something I might say would make a difference. I would say ANYTHING and do (as I imagine Andrea did, as well). The first time I had this nightmare. I woke up as Larry shoved the ice pick through my left eardrum and into my brain. For several long moments, my ear actually ached.......and since then, I have "tinnitus" in both ears....but mostly in my left one. At times like this, I hear a constant 600 to 800 Hz sound in both ears -though mostly in my left one. I figure I've had tinititus for a while, but only became aware of it at Tehachapi's Ad. Seg. because the officers enjoyed kicking the tray slots [in our cell doors) closed (which is like a gun report in our cells). ((I can't say for sure that Larry didn't let her go, or that he killed her, for sure; but I believe what he said)). I venture to say, that Jackie and Leah (victims 3 + 4) didn't know their actual lives were in peril..... and didn't suffer consciously. It seemed very quick, to me. From the time it took me to walk up to the van from where I'd heard a momentary....squeak like sound, Jackie was already dead and Leah was so "stoned" on Larry's Melaril, that she seemed to think she was home, finally. Larry hit her from behind, as she was struggling to step out of the van, with his sledge hammer. Not a great swing, but damn hard. I'd guess, she wouldn't have lived very long- even if taken to an emergency room. I recall (I think) hitting her in the head as Larry wrapped a coat hanger around her neck and tightened it with pliers (I didn't want her waking up!). ((A stress headache is beginning.)) The last girl, Shirley, I've touched on already (the [girl that we] taped). By the time Larry was finished with her, I was just desperate to get the living nightmare over, and away from him. When he said it was my turn.....I did only what I felt would be necessary to make him think I was also enjoying myself. I turned on the recorder and hit her right elbow only hard enough to make her continue screaming and the tape even picks up me saying...."please, scream." I did nothing more and didn't turn on the light, until I had produced a number of minutes of her screaming-for him. He'd been driving, like I had been earlier, and when I told him I was finished....he told me to kill her, since he'd killed all the others. By this time, Larry had become rather paranoid (generally) and had begun to carry a 38 caliber police special, all of the time. I wasn't keen on an actual hands- on murder (I'll tell you!) but I saw no way to bumble my way out of it (as I had other kidnap attempts & even letting Leah jump out of the moving van in Redondo Beach!). Plus, I'll admit, I didn't fancy Shirley [Ledford] on a witness stand- pointing at me and Larry-after what I'd heard for several hours before 'my turn' came. Mechanically, I did as Larry had done to Cindy and Leah...with a coat hanger wire and vise-grips...and turned away so I'd not see any reactions. She, too, had been "stoned" of her own choice before getting into the van. On what, I don't know, but she was really...."out of it"....from beginning to end. She didn't have any physical reactions that I'm aware of, though her eyes were open when Larry stopped on a quiet street and told me to drag her body out of the van. As for how it feels to kill someone...........I can only say that it's a terrible feeling. For me, at least! Hands-on-wise, it was my second killing. The first was in Vietnam....a kid...a boy....about her age, also. Of course, it helps that he was shooting at me and others........but I watched him die. That memory, livid and vivid as technicolor....drove me to use heroin, cocaine and many other drugs while in Vietnam (opium and grass are my favorites, now). Vietnam is a whole different ball of wax-though.
["I should probably note that we didn't just offer rides to specific types of girls. Literally.... "ANYTHING" walking gave Larry pause for consideration. I argued with him about this many times. Almost constantly, in fact. ((In my "then" fantasies...((NO KILLING))...it was the 'older' young women that had far more self-awareness, who literally chose to lead a guy on with no intentions of a real relationship (gold-digger mentally)................that I was interested in. I hated his 'anyone that'll get in the van' attitude. Such young "girls" (not "women") were/are too naïve and too innocent! My preferred age then, was 20-25. Larry and I shouldn't have been involved with one another in these crimes!! We have/had different interests and motivations. I would've been keen on abducting a really hot sexy beauty for a month or so (taking great care that she not see me or others) and then releasing her. But only those young women that were hauty (haughty).....ah (?)...bitches! So-to- speak. And...I knew it was only a fantasy...but enjoyable to debate the pro and cons of with other guys who'd had harem fantasies)) Yeah...neurotic chauvinism to the max! (But I went to prison for a rape I didn't commit! Yeah! I'm still angry about that- but I didn't go looking for her (a stunning blonde, by-the-way!) when I got out!!) OH!...for some wisdom of hindsight aforehand!!!
Q - Why aren't AUTOSEXUALS given public-defenders in court?
A - Because they can get themselves off!
A joke, obviously. But with a ring of truth. I suspect that I've become an autosexual heterosexual. Without a partner... the idea is to stay aroused as long as possible (keep the adrenaline pumping!), because the climax or orgasm is the end experience, and for someone without a partner...it's really not so important. In hindsight, I've likely been an autosexual since high school (or even junior high school?), though orgasms were still important...as I remember. They say that sex...(the experience)... is 90% mental and 10% physical. I absolutely and emphatically agree. In all of my fantasies... the act of sex...is so rare, that it's almost non-existent. In all of my life.......I've had only one experience with a female partner.... that even remotely touched upon the IDEA of a higher-consciousness-mutually-shared climax. And......................she later claimed RAPE and sent me to prison to meet Bittaker. (She was/is (?) married and was caught in the act of douching by her mother-in-law/babysitter.) ((*After having been slapped in public - by her husband and a long walk home.)) (((Our momentary fling was her revenge upon her husband-and claiming rape saved her marriage!))) And, yes, I am still angry at her! The "non hands-on" idea is what I tried time and time again...to explain to Larry. But he's a hands-on immediate gratification person. I can sit on the sand at the beach for hours, enjoying multiple fantasies with many young women.... remaining physically aroused most of that time, but without the orgasms that end the adrenaline. Basically, I'm an adrenaline junkie....and if I could get aroused by terror.....then I'd love to jump out of airplanes, off buildings or bridges, etc.. The grist or fuel for the fantasies...comes from the past. And I recall my having written about that already (and your letter even responds to it). So I'll jump that and add.........that, had I married someone.................I would likely have "Al Bundy's" attitude towards the physical act. That it was more work than it was worth.....considering that I could enjoy myself more.......viewing strange women. (While I may still LOVE "the ball and chain" person....the act of sex would have long since, lost its mystery and intrigue.) The "game" then, remains the motivation in fantasies. Some men learned the art of charming women. And I've actually seen a number of men do this. The women get a glassy look in their eyes and it's...."wham-bam..thank you ma'am, time." It literally amazes me! I do not have the ability. Most of those fella's are one-timers, interested only in the total count. It's their 'game. Other games are: baubbles (jewelry /S), sports, the smarts, cars, etc. In a sense.... forms of power. Force, also. "All's fair in love and war!" Who said that? And what does it say about women, to men? It sounds to me like...force is okay. In my head, however, I am especially aroused by certain characteristics exhibited by some women.....who are almost always, exceptional beauties. Not just attractive. Women who are so far beyond my normal reach....that all I can do (normally) is look and admire. (Not only don't I have what interests her. I wouldn't know how to act if she ever offered herself. And in reality, I'd never actually approach such a woman for a relationship.) She must exhibit... superficiality, greed/desire, and haughty/pretentiousness. Other prerequisites exist also...but each can be compromised to varying degrees. (((My experiences in tapping into telephone lines, plays a big role here.)))
Roy L. Norris
P.S. - I think Louise Woodward (the British OPÉR-Nanny) was railroaded by an over enthusiastic District Attorney in Massachusetts! I wish I had some money to donate to her, but her community in England will meet her needs! Thankfully! I was stunned when the jury said GUILTY!
Oh!, I forgot to mention above.....in the previous paragraph; I DIDN'T RAPE MS. DIXON. WE TOOK "ADVANTAGE" OF ONE ANOTHER'S MOMENTARY SITUATIONS...IN A VERY MUTUAL EXPERIENCE! One, that I still cherish and appreciate - even though her circumstances forced her to lie about it. She had a husband of some worth and children to fend for, so I understood her priorities. While I've wondered how her life has turned out for her.... I've never sought to contact her again. I hope she's happy!
I've been asked for quotes - but never have I given one. This once....I offer - "In a few short months of utter insanity and indecision, I literally helped commit murder and figuratively committed my own suicide. I just haven't stopped breathing yet; as though in a nightmarish coma state. My mind is both.....sharper than it's EVER been, but DULLER than any other with an ounce of common sense. What little wisdom I gain from growing older, is poor compensation for all the wonderful joys of life that I've overlooked or missed-in my chaos of personality dysfunctions, failed relationships, and lack of self-worth and self-determination. The only reason I haven't already found the guts to end my miserable life - and give California tax-payers...and the collective psyche of the world...a sigh of relief, is simple......and it's the pattern of my whole life. And though I've tightened many a noose in the last nineteen years (nearly), I'm still the definitive....coward. Sadly, but poignantly, my insight....is also my only good quality."
Sincerely yours,
Roy L. Norris
(Source: The Serial Killer Letters : A Penetrating Look Inside The Minds Of Murderers by author Jennifer Furio)
The_Daily_Progress_Tue__Aug_15__1972
Buffalo_Evening_News_Sat__Oct_28__1972
Old newspaper report about Lawrence Bittaker at 17 years old from 1958. The 15 year old mentioned was his high school girlfriend at the time.
(Lynette ''Shirley'' Ledford
(Source: Assassins...Serial Killers...Corrupt Cops...: Chasing the News in a Skirt and High Heels by author Mary Neiswender)
Two teenagers whom went to hang out with Bittaker & Norris at the Scott's Motel (a brother and sister) had parents working at California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo!
Were the parents in contact back then with Lawrence & Roy?
Later in court, the brother and sister gave incriminating statements against Bittaker & Norris. However, only a few months later the brother went to visit Bittaker numerous times in jail!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lynette Ledford carried a large butcher knife from the home kitchen when she left. Her mother informed her about it and she said she was being bullied.
When speaking to Laura Brand about this case, she informed me that Lynette wasn't supposed to be at the party that night. She wanted to skip the party and spend time with her brother. But her mother Dolores convinced her to go.
(Source: S3 EP6: Serial Killer Whisperer)
Received the following from a fellow researcher: I don't know if this interests you but a girl that hung around at the Scott Motels, a girl that Bittaker claimed was his "favourite", her stepdad at the time contacted Bittaker years later and corresponded with him for a while. Bittaker even did some art for him. Nick Bougas. Do you know him? He made the artwork for the back cover of Joe Hiles' case file book. Anyway Nick Bougas also did work with Anton LaVey, the satanist. (the founder of the Church of Satan and the religion of Satanism). I found that interesting. Also I found out that Lynette was allegedly drugged with PCP at the party she went to, and the boys that drugged her got the PCP from Bittaker. They were hanging out with him earlier that night. A (-) told me that. Also Lynette's body was dumped outside her friend's house. It wasn't a random lawn. You may already know that but just in case you don't.
(News_Pilot_Tue__Feb_3__1981_)
(The_Daily_Breeze_Sun__Apr_13__1980)
The first photograph is of Bittaker among his Little League teammates in 1952, at age 11, in Florida, where he spent most of his childhood. While in Florida, his family operated and apparently owned a motel.
It seems that "Larry" was quite athletic as a young boy. He also attended camp and was a Boy Scout and went on to become an Eagle Scout.
A newspaper clipping from the "Brief mention of personal notes and many things" section in The Evening Independent, discussing the family's vacation, on August 15, 1946, when Bittaker was 5 years old.
This photo would have been taken before Bittaker had started his criminal career at age 12, when he began engaging in some heavy shoplifting. Bittaker states that he had an allowance at that time of approximately five dollars a week and really had no need for money and certainly didn't have a need to steal things. He apparently stole fairly minor things such as stamps for his collection, models, and on one occasion, jewelry for his girlfriend, who he apparently barely knew.
Bittaker with his sophomore class, in 1956. He would have been 15 or 16 when it was taken. Bittaker always did well in school but appeared to be somewhat socially withdrawn, stating that his peers would have described him as "pretty much of a loner, self-conscious, but with generally good conduct". Bittaker would begin stealing cars at around this age in an attempt to impress others as he had an "inferiority complex".
Bittaker with his junior class, in 1957, at 16 years old. Bittaker was arrested for Grand Theft Auto at this age and as a result of this, was sent to a probation camp. It was at this camp that he would discover the San Gabriel Mountains (where he would return to years later to dump the bodies of his victims). During his time in the camp he stated that he had "an inability to be one of the guys" and was getting lots of sex pressure. "I just didn't fit in". While he states he was getting a certain amount of harassment and verbal sexual advances from the other boys, no sexual behaviour was reported. After five months, he was released by the judge, essentially because "he thought it was doing him more harm than good". He was returned home.
In 1958, at 17 years old, while living in Lakewood, he met the "first love of his life", a fifteen-year-old girl named Mary who attended a Catholic high school in Long Beach. Most of their contacts were on the way to school or back home, in a car that he had stolen for that purpose. They would sometimes hike together in the San Gabriel Mountains (where Bittaker would later take his victims to rape, torture and murder). Mary had blonde hair and blue eyes, and wore a cross (which Bittaker would make some of his victims wear). Their relationship only lasted a few months before she broke up with him.
In 1979, after Bittaker's arrest, he was shown a photo of a girl nude from the waist up (Jackie Gilliam), at the Hermosa Beach Police Department. Bittaker told investigators the full name of his high school girlfriend as "it was the first name that came to mind".
I find it interesting how obsessed Bittaker was with his high school girlfriend. Many killers focus on victims who remind them of people who have (or are perceived to have) deeply hurt or betrayed them. Perhaps this explains Bittaker's victim type, teenage girls. Bittaker also had a lot of hatred for his birth mother, who was a teenager (17 years old) when she had him and "abandoned" him. It seems like Bittaker never recovered from the rejection by his mother and ex-girlfriend.
Bittaker would drop out of high school at 17, after being involved with the police and juvenile authorities. He was arrested for hit-and-run, auto theft, and evading arrest. He made the front page of the Long Beach Press-Telegram newspaper with his crime. The story read: "A 17 year-old driver led police on a 110-mile-per-hour chase through Long Beach Sunday night, ignored two shots, then precipitated a four car fiery crash in Lakewood. After the crash, the youth, another 17-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl, attempted to run away. The driver succeeded, but later was arrested at his home... etc".
In this short interview with Bittaker in 2016, he still remembers the date of this particular arrest, June 2, 1958. He talks about it bitterly and how "nobody from home or school had asked him what he was going to do after graduation". In the video he seems to be blaming his adoptive parents and teachers' negligence for his actions. It's interesting how after so many years he still remembers the exact date of the arrest.
Consequently, Bittaker was sent to the California Youth Authority at Preston. He was there for approximately five months and then attempted to escape. He was thereafter sent to the California Youth Authority (CYA) at Tracy, a more secure facility. He was released at age 18 or 19. While incarcerated, his parents had disowned him and moved to another state. However, he would see his adoptive father a few years later, in his 20s, while imprisoned at San Quentin Prison, who rode on a bus from Springfield, Mo., to California to visit Bittaker on Christmas day, one of the many holidays he spent behind bars.
The family would travel the country a lot to visit friends and family. During one of their travels they must have went to visit Bittaker's younger brother and his adoptive family, that he claims the last time he saw was when he was about 10.
Bittaker described his adoptive parents (who were a distant relation to his bio-mother; aunt/uncle) as "busy and non-demonstrable". His parents both routinely held jobs, or ran their own business (even 2 at once), so they had little time for Bittaker. They were approximately 40 years old when he was adopted and his relationship to them was "like a family pet; well taken care of physically, but mostly ignored emotionally". There was little, if any, significant interpersonal relationship.
Bittaker's birth mother seemingly had no other choice but to give him and his younger brother up as she was a drug-addicted, alcoholic, single mother without employable skills, who came from a dirt poor family.
This book provides some insight into Bittaker's childhood, adult life and psychology. It's written by Dr. Michael Maloney, who conducted a general psychological evaluation of Bittaker, as requested by Bittaker's defense attorney, Albert Garber.
(https://www.reddit.com/r/serialkillers/comments/zzhb5c/photos_of_a_young_lawrence_bittaker_one_half_of/)
Randolph J. Dryburgh, known as RJ around the Burbank motel
https://soundcloud.com/laura-jaqueline-503160381/rj-m4a?si=837c6d6156364548997ad108d9bba9cb
Norris told prosecutor Stephen Kay that he and Bittaker were in a prison clique of about five inmates at California Men’s Colony East in San Luis Obispo. There were two rapists, one armed robber and two murderers, one a homosexual who liked to be called Betty, Norris said.
A source close to the trial said he (Bittaker) had set up a mock front company to avoid income tax and other taxes. It was a church he said.
(Source: News-Pilot San Pedro, California 05 Feb 1981)
@Bruce LeMaster
I'm in contact with the author of this new book on Bittaker & Norris.
Please leave a review on one of his books @ Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/Bruce-LeMaster/e/B08PCLFD4C?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_5&qid=1633136559&sr=8-5
(In return, I will receive a digital copy of the book for more! 🕵️ 🙏 )
(News_Pilot_Fri__Dec_11__1987_)
THE TOOLBOX KILLER | PEACOCK ORIGINAL | 2021
(The Press Democrat Santa Rosa, California Thu, Sep 14, 1972 · Page 2)
Richard Keith “Rick” Shoopman
(Police Informant?)
Joseph ''Joe'' Jackson a.k.a. Red
He enlisted in the United States Navy, which was a common thing for young dropouts to do, and between 1965 and 1969, he was stationed in San Diego as a naval electrician. He was then deployed to Vietnam to serve in the war. Norris spent four months in Vietnam but did not see any active combat during that time. This doesn’t mean it didn’t have an impact on him though. Many veterans were exposed to the stories, the pictures, and the descriptions given by those who were right in the midst of the battles. The atrocities that took place during the war were among some of the most horrendous of any war prior or since. Of particular note was the treatment of the Vietnamese women—the rapes, the sexual attacks, and the abuse—by servicemen.
A.K.A. ''Chubbo''
Roy Norris found employment as an electrician at Lloyd's Electronics International Corp located 1220 Kona Drive, Compton, CA 90220.
Norris was paroled to a trailer park in Los Angeles at first before moving in with his mother. Norris used his Navy training to find work as an electrician.
He was obsessed with listening and taping telephone conversations from young woman. He even stated he wanted to blackmail them with it.
Learned also to place ''bugs'' everywhere.
Took secret polaroid shots of teenagers having sex in cars.
(Source: The Killers Vault podcast - Lawrence Bittaker & Roy Norris The Toolbox Killers)
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Norma Jean was Roy Norris, his mother. She worked for a stationary store. She committed suicide around 1983.
Sharon Norris, his younger sister, lived next to him in a duplex in Redondo Beach 1979. She was the one that tipped Bittaker when the police came and searched next door at Norris his apartment!