Kenneth Bianchi

Serial killer Kenneth Bianchi and his cousin, Angelo Buono, went on a killing spree between October 1977 and February 1978, raping and murdering 10 victims in Los Angeles. The men posed as policemen and targeted prostitutes to begin with, moving on to middle-class women and girls. They usually left the bodies on the hillsides of the Glendale Highland Park area, earning the moniker "The Hillside Strangler." Bianchi later committed two more murders in Washington state. After what was reported as the country's longest trial at the time, both men eventually received life prison sentences.

Background and Early Life

Serial killer Kenneth Alessio Bianchi was born on May 22, 1951, in Rochester, New York. Bianchi, whose natural mother was an alcoholic prostitute, was adopted at birth and had a love-hate relationship with women even as a young child. Interested in police work but unable to secure a job, he eventually settled for a post as a security guard.

'The Hillside Strangler'

In 1975, Bianchi left Rochester and moved to Los Angeles, where he lived with his older adoptive cousin, Angelo Buono. Bianchi later moved in with his girlfriend, Kelli Boyd, and had a child. A chronic liar, he set up a psychology practice with a phony degree and told Boyd he was dying of cancer.

Before long, he and Buono teamed up for a spree of kidnappings, rapes and murders that claimed 10 victims, mostly in and around Los Angeles, between October 1977 and February 1978. Posing as policemen, the cousins began with prostitutes, eventually moving on to middle-class girls and women. They usually left the bodies on the hillsides of the Glendale-Highland Park area, earning the moniker "The Hillside Strangler." During the four-month rampage, Buono and Bianchi inflicted unspeakable horrors on their victims, including injecting them with deadly household chemicals.

Capture, Conviction and Sentencing

In October 1979, police captured Bianchi in Bellingham, Washington, where he had relocated to be with Kelli Boyd. There he also committed two more murders. He quickly implicated Buono, who was arrested soon after. During the long, meandering trial, Bianchi fabricated an insanity defense and stated that he had multiple personality disorder. He was deemed to be lying, and Bianchi eventually pleaded guilty to the the Washington murders and five of the California murders, testifying against his cousin to avoid the death penalty. Bianchi received six life sentences, and Buono was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole. Buono died while imprisoned in 2002.

Bianchi wed a Louisiana pen pal in September 1989 in a prison chapel ceremony. In 2010, Bianchi's latest request for parole was denied.

Angelo Buono

Born on October 5, 1934, in Rochester, New York, Angelo Buono would eventually move to Los Angeles, where he would kill nine women between 1977 and 1978, receiving the nickname the "Hillside Strangler." He was convicted in 1983 along with his cousin Kenneth Bianchi, who plead guilty to five of the killings. Buono, who received a life sentence, died in prison on September 22, 2002.

Early Life

Serial killer Angelo Anthony Buono, Jr. was born on October 5, 1934, in Rochester, New York. After his parents divorced, Buono was raised by his mother in Glendale, California. From an early age, he developed a deep loathing for women. Though he married several times and had numerous children, Buono showed nothing but brutality toward the women in his life.

'The Hillside Strangler'

By 1975, Buono was running an auto upholstery business, where he would lure a steady stream of teenage girls. He soon teamed with his cousin, Kenneth Bianchi, for a spree of kidnappings, rapes and murders that claimed 15 victims, mostly in and around Los Angeles, between October 1977 and January 1978.

Posing as policemen, the cousins began with prostitutes, eventually moving on to middle-class girls. They usually left the bodies on the hillsides of the Glendale-Highland Park area, earning the moniker "The Hillside Strangler." During the four-month rampage, Buono and Bianchi inflicted unspeakable horrors on their victims, including injecting them with deadly household chemicals.

Death

Police captured Bianchi in Bellingham, Washington, in October 1979, and he quickly implicated Buono. After one of the longest trials in American legal history, the cousins were sentenced to life in prison. Buono died at Calipatria State Prison in September 2002 of natural causes at the age of 67.