Real Crime Stories/Paranormal Hauntings/Conspiracy Theories Book II

The Toolbox Killers: Lawrence Bittaker & Roy Norris (Part II)

Confession

On November 30, 1979, Norris attended apreliminary hearing in relation to the September 30 rape. By thisstage, Norris was beginning to display visible signs of stress. Atthe hearing, Norris waived his Miranda rights before Detective Bynumand Deputy District Attorney Stephen Kay began questioning him,initially in relation to the rape of Robin Robeck, then in relationto the statements given to police by Joseph Jackson and the evidencerecovered from his and Bittaker's residences.

Initially, Norris flatly denied anyinvolvement in any murders, rapes or disappearances; however, whenconfronted with the evidence investigators had compiled, Norris beganto confess, although he did attempt to portray Bittaker as being moreculpable in the murders than himself. In what Bynum and Kay laterdescribed as a "casual, unconcerned manner," Norrisdivulged that he and Bittaker had been in the habit of driving aroundareas such as the Pacific Coast Highway and randomly approachinggirls whom they found attractive with offers of a ride, posing withthe pair for photographs, or marijuana. Most of those whom theyapproached rejected whatever given ruse Bittaker and Norris used toentice them into the van, although four girls had accepted lifts fromthe pair and had been murdered, with a fifth victim—theirfirst—being grabbed by force.

Inside the van, the girls wouldtypically be overpowered, bound hand and foot, gagged, and driven tolocations deep within the San Gabriel Mountains, where they would besexually assaulted by both men, then usually killed by strangulationwith a wire coat hanger, although two of the victims had had icepicks driven into their ears before being strangled. Norris admittedto bludgeoning their youngest victim, Lamp, about the head with asledgehammer as Bittaker strangled her, and admitted to repeatedlystriking Shirley Ledford upon the elbow with a sledgehammer beforestrangling her to death. The bottles of acid found at Bittaker'smotel, Norris stated, were intended for use upon the next victim theyabducted, and the acts of torture and humiliation had been committedagainst their victims "for fun".

According to Norris, the level ofbrutality Bittaker had exhibited toward their victims had increasedon each successive instance they had successfully lured a girl intothe van; their final victim, Ledford, had actually pleaded to bekilled in order that her agony could cease. Additional details byNorris provided further corroborating evidence to support hisconfessions. For example, he knew that their first victim, Schaefer,had left a meeting at a Presbyterian Church shortly before she wasabducted and that Schaefer had lost one shoe as she had been draggedinto Bittaker's van. Norris also knew part of Shirley Ledford'sancestry was Hispanic, and that Bittaker had unsuccessfully asked herto date him prior to October 1979.

In a press statement relating to thepolice investigation into the murders issued on February 7, 1980, LosAngeles County Sheriff Peter Pitchess stated the victims had beensubjected to "sadistic and barbaric abuse," addingthat five charges of first-degree murder would be sought against bothBittaker and Norris. Sheriff Pitchess also stated that, in relationto the Polaroid pictures found in Bittaker and Norris's apartments,police had located 60 of the young women depicted—none of whom hadbeen harmed.

Nonetheless, Pitchess also stated thatpolice had also identified 19 of the women depicted in the picturesas being individuals who had been reported missing, and that theseteenage girls and young women may well have been murdered, althoughPitchess did stress that they had no conclusive evidence to suggestthat these additional 19 women photographed had fallen victim toBittaker and Norris.