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22 Feb 1996

Page 10

Santa Ana Orange County Register in Santa Ana, California

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Santa Ana Orange County Register February 22, 1996 Page 10 old newspaper archives

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Santa Ana Orange County Register (Newspaper) - February 22, 1996, Santa Ana, California10 the Orange county Register focus on by Unin execution thursday feb. 22,1996death door serial murderer Mes Midi Echt exe cot Bohin the so called Quot freeway killer Quot is scheduled for execution at a 12 01 . Friday. He was convicted of the sex torture murders of 14 Young men including four in Orange county. He has confessed to killing seven others during his 10 month killing spree in 1979-1980. By Jeff Collins the Orange county Register by 1975, Downey truck Driver William George Bonin had served 4 years in prison for raping Young boys. He was about to be sentenced to three More for the rape of 14-year-old David Mcvicker of Fountain Valley. A Quot next time Quot a Stanton invest ii Gator heard Bonin say Quot there will be no within a year of his 1978 parole on the Mcvicker Case he resumed his pattern of picking up Young men and boys. But this time he left bodies behind dumped mostly along Southern California freeways the killing spree a attributed by the Media to the Quot freeway killer Quot a lasted from August 1979 to june 1980 and Cost at least 21 youths their lives. Quot i could t Stop killing. It had gotten easier with each kid i killed Quot Bonin now 49, once told a reporter. A los Angeles jury convicted Bonin of killing 10, and an Orange county jury convicted him in four other slayings. Born Jan. 8, 1947, Bonin grew up in a troubled Connecticut Home relatives testified at his trials. His father was a drunk and a Gambler who lost the family Home and frequently beat his wife and children they said. Bonin s first arrest occurred at age 10. His Mother testified that Bonin later was sexually assaulted during a weekend stay at a juvenile detention Home. At 15, Bonin moved with his family to Torrance then to Downey. His Mother once said his penchant for helping others earned him. The nickname Quot Goody at age 20, he was an army helicopter machine gunner and he served two years in Vietnam. Twice during his army years he forced men at gunpoint into having sex. Records show he also received the Vietnam Cross of gallantry for saving the life of a vietnamese Soldier. Quot Nam Quot Bonin later claimed Quot changed on june 11, 1980, 18 months after Bonin s last parole police arrested him while he was allegedly having sex with another Man inside his Van in a Hollywood parking lot. He has been in custody Ever since. A when a jury convicted him in 1982, Bonin predicted to a Register reporter that he would get the death penalty. Quot i d be stupid not to think it Quot he said. Ignacio Kaneni he Orange county Register William Bonin Center walks with his attorney William Charvet. During a 1983 jury tour of the Ortega Highway area where three bodies were found. . Victim #1l Lank Dennis Fox a Bright and hyperactive boy Jfe was always on the move j by Jeff Collins the Orange county Register in first Grade Frank Dennis Fox was asked to leave i Catholic school for sneaking into the Bell Tower and ringing the Bell i at 15, he forged a boarding pass at Long Beach air a port and stowed away on a plane to san Francisco. Quot he could talk his Way in or out of any situation Quot a a his Mother Jerri Davis recalled last week. Quot he had dimples he was a Good conversationalist and he used it sometimes. Who knows where he could have been u by now Quot extremely Bright. Fox he went by Dennis since Frank was his father s name might have ended up a politician Davis said. But instead he ended up in the clutches of William George Bonin in Quot november 1979 while just 17. His nude body was found in Caspers regional Park off Ortega Highway on dec. 2,1979. noticed him missing when he failed i to show up tor thanksgiving they did t know his Fate until Orange county Coroner s officials identified his body the following july. Fox s death came at the end of a tragic family spiral that began two years earlier when his father a truck Driver got crushed to death when his truck slammed him against a loading Dock. The next year his Grandfather died. Born june 3, 1962, in Lynwood Fox was the Middle of three children. He grew up in Lakewood and changed schools often because of his hyperactivity. His Mother said he had a i hard time staying focused. Quot he was always go go go Quot Davis said. At 4, he could talk As Well As a 16-year-old, she said and he j i soon developed an aptitude for writing. I a eventually he attended a san Fernando Valley j boarding school for children with emotional problems. When he was 17, Fox used income derived from his father s on the Job death to move into his own apart amp ment near Long Beach City College. Although he had a t finished the 11th Grade he began making plans to f enrol in College. A a his younger brother Michael 30, of Ontario said Fox was the Type who never seemed to study and al-�1 ways breezed through school with Good grades and r bad Marks for behaviour. Quot to Tell you the truth my brother was bored Quot Quot of Michael Fox said. Quot he just figured things out real Quick. He was just Way Way ahead of his i Davis who is physically incapable of travelling plans to be in front of the television for Bonin s exec it ion. Michael Fox will travel to san Quentin and of watch Bonin die. In Quot it took Way too Long. It s like the grieving process j i can t Stop until Bonin s dead Quot Michael Fox said. When Bonin is executed Quot i can finally put my p brother to rest. A lot of souls Aren t at rest. The Guy put so Many people through . Vic Tiivi #2russell Rugilio teen Ager opposed death penalty in school essay by Bryon Mac Williaws the Orange county Register it was a question posed by a teacher in 1980 to her ninth Grade class what do you think of the death penalty Quot i Don t think capital punishment should be allowed. Because what the defendants did must mean they Are crazy. So they should just see a psychiatrist to help them out Quot wrote Russell Quot Rusty Quot Rugh 15, of Garden Grove. Quot if the people Are helped maybe they won t kill or Hurt anyone because they won t feel As frustrated Quot he . The Gas chamber or the electric chair is a bad Way to neither Rugh nor the teacher could have known answer scrawled in Pencil in a spiral bound notebook foreshadowed something horrific. In a matter of. Days Rugh was killed by a Man who is scheduled to die tonight by lethal injection. Quot i Don t think i la have a problem seeing him die Quot said Rugh s Mother Sandra Miller who for More than a decade has been preparing to witness the execution of William George Bonin. Quot i d rather do it myself. I would literally take him and tear him into a million pieces Quot said Miller 49, of Riverside. She believes her son would have reconsidered his opposition to the death penalty had he been aware of the Scop i of Bonin s crimes which entail the murders of 14 Young men in 1979 and 1980 in Orange and los Angeles counties. Rugh s nude badly bruised Corpse was found o.cvictllvi#3 Russell Rugh next to the body of a 14-year-old boy. Glen Barker of a Huntington Beach in Woods off Ortega 74 Highway in the Cleveland National Forest. Both boys had been sexually assaulted. He was last seen by his family on Friday March 21, As he left Home to catch the 4 07 . Bus for his Job at a restaurant Brewster s roosters. He worked five Days a week saving his Money in order to fortify a dream to become a radio disc jockey. Quot he was a hard working boy Quot said Miller As she Chain smoked viceroys in her double wide Mobile Home. Quot he was the first person i Ever lost close to me. Your children Aren t supposed to die before she said she takes anti depressants to offset mood swings and nightmares in the Days approaching Bonin s execution. They Are the same feelings that drove her to abuse alcohol and prescription drugs for a dozen years police officers informed her of her son s death. Where she was once suicidal a she wished to die in order to be with her son a Miller has now been sober for about a year Quot i m sorry but i m very bitter Quot she said. Quot he turned a Nice wholesome family into a Nightmare. He took my son and i m Gonna get him Back. I bet the Sun shines the Day Bonin is Lorman Barker Sandy haired boy grew up without a father by Bryon Macwilliams the Orange county Register. For three Days he was known Only As Quot John the Sandy haired boy 14, was tall for his age. A Small homemade Tattoo of a Blue lightning Bolt adorned his right shoulder. White areas a birthmarks a showed on each hip. His front Teeth were extremely crooked. That description published in a newspaper in 1980, first provided a Huntington Beach Mother with grim news the Quot John Doe Quot in the morgue was her missing son. Glen Norman Barker. The boy s nude body had been discovered by hikers in the Cleveland National Forest. Quot i think it took a lot out of her. She just went. After that she was t her Sarne self Quot said Elza Quot Whitey Quot Rodgers 76, whose daughter Sharon Barker was raising Glen As a single Mother., she had Given him bus fare on Friday morning March 21. He spent the Money elsewhere and hitchhiked from the City s Westmont elementary school where he was in the eighth Grade. Police believe he got into a Van driven by William George Bonin Between 3 and 5 . On Beach Boulevard near Heil Avenue. By the end of that Day Glen Barker and another teen age boy had been sexually ravaged then strangled. His body was dumped alongside that of Russell Quot Rusty Quot Rugh 15, of Garden Grove near the lower san Juan Creek Campground. Quot when she reported him missing we knew about the freeway killer and we hoped he would t catch up to Glen Quot said Rodgers referring to the nickname ascribed to Bonin before his arrest in the deaths of 21 Young males. Rodgers and his wife Elizabeth 71, of Santa Ana said Glen Barker collected cans and Glass for recycling to contribute financially to the family since his father abandoned them when he was Young. Quot they just never had anything Good. What she got was Given to her. And she was glad to get it Quot said Whitey Rodgers. Quot Glen just was t going in any direction. He was t a bad boy he just never had a six years after Sharon Barker identified her son at the morgue a where his Corpse was scarred with gruesome Burns she died of cervical cancer. Quot she knew she was going to die but i la never forget. of her last wishes Quot said Rodgers. Quot she wanted to live to see Bonin neither he nor his wife plan to attend Friday s scheduled execution at san Quentin prison. Quot i d like to see it go just because she wanted it Quot he said. Quot we re not Bloodthirsty people but the Law s the Law and or. Bonin owes a debt to society. And he s Gonna pay it., his body will be disposed of with dignity and that s More than these boys Glen Norman Barker �x.victiivi#4lawrence Eugene Sharp he loved an old dog named Fred and fishing with his dad by Jeff Collins the Orange county Register Lawrence Eugene Sharp played baseball attended Church and worshipped the dodgers. The 17-year-old boy liked Disneyland Rock n Roll and scouting his favorite activity was fishing with his dad. But More than anything he loved animals especially dogs. Though he had a cat and Birds he doted mostly on the family dog an old Dalmatian named Fred. Had he lived relatives said Sharp probably would have been a veterinarian. Quot he wanted to work with animals Quot his Mother Carol Sharp recalled recently. Quot he really liked Carol Sharp last saw her son on May 11,1980, when she gave him $2. The next Day he quarrelled with his sister. Six Days later an employee at a Westminster service station found his body Between some cars. He was of 21 victims of William George Bonin the so called freeway killer. Quot he might have met Bonin thinking this was a Good person Quot Carol Sharp said. Quot but i guess he was very easily fooled. Quot All of a sudden he was just although authorities recovered Sharp s body on May 18, his family was t notified he was dead until the third week of july 1980. A those two months Quot were like the worst Nightmare you can imagine Quot Carol Sharp said. Quot not knowing where your child is is pretty bad. We d just go through the motions of going to work. We actually searched for him we drove around and called Lawrence Eugene Sharp All his born on nov. 3,1962, in Oklahoma City Sharp grew up in Long Beach the Only boy in a family that included three daughters. Quot that was Tough being the Only boy in a family of girls Quot Carol Sharp recalled. Quot they were pretty he stayed close to his Sisters nonetheless. Although Fred technically was the family dog Sharp was the who took the most interest in him and he could be seen daily walking the Dalmatian up and Down the Street. As an nth grader at Jordan High school in Long Beach he depended on buses and hitchhiking to get around because he did t have a car. After Sharp s death the family broke apart Carol Sharp and her husband William divorced. To this Day William Sharp has been unable to visit his son s grave at Sunnyside memorial Park. For years Carol Sharp struggled with religious beliefs that forbid the taking of a life. Finally she told the governor s office that she believed the death penalty is justified in Bonin s Case. Carol Sharp said Shell probably stay up tonight to await news of Bonin s death. Quot i guess Well just Pray Quot she said. A news researcher Penny love contributed to this article. Encounter ruin used vic Tiivi s life 13 years later Bonvini s jurors so his execution is Louic overdue t i David mcvickerwas14when he was c i it kidnapped and raped by William George Bonin. Ivi Cvicker lived through his or Deal but the encounter altered his life forever. 1 by David Mcvicker special to the Register i it has been almost 22 years and i it still affects my life every Day. He turned my life upside Down. The Day after he got me was sup i posed to be my first Day in High t school. I could t make it. Instead i i found drugs and basically checked out feeling like a loser i with no self respect. I went on with my life with a very dark secret. I Quot i still have nightmares every night. By that alone Bonin has raped me thousands of times. It a seems like this never ends. I think about the other kids he killed. I know what they went r through. At times he s even made. Me wish he did kill me. The dreams jokes and comments have been very hard to Deal with i did n t do anything wrong Why me he is a vicious rapist killer and animal. He has no morals or conscience. I heard he has no remorse and jokes about his crimes. Leonard Ornza rhe Register David Mcvicker it s time to get it Over with so i can try to do something with my life. This has to end now. Let s get it Over with. I need to see him dead so that i can live. I m sure that i la still have dreams when it s Over but they will be different. Instead of dreaming of him raping me i la be Able to remember my dreams watching him die. I la know he s dead and he can t come Back again. I by Jeff Kramer the Orange county Register Long before she Ever heard of William George Bonin before images of his ghastly crimes sent her sobbing into her bedroom at night Martys Ownby used to Pray she d never have to serve As a juror in a death penalty Case. Even in the abstract the idea frightened her. What must it be like to sit in a room with 11 strangers and decide whether a fellow human being lives or Dies Ownby a Santa Ana grandmother found out firsthand 13 years ago when to her extreme dismay she was named to the Orange county jury that eventually convicted Bonin the so called Quot freeway killer Quot and recommended that he be executed. The jury s death sentence a and an identical judgment by a los Angeles county jury a is scheduled to be carried out at 12 01 . Friday. Despite her Early reluctance to serve on a death penalty Case Ownby 59, in t having any second thoughts As the deadline nears. Quot in my heart i truly believe he s guilty of every single crime including the ones he was t tried Michael Kitada the Register Martys Ownby for Quot Ownby said this week. Quot i Don t believe he should go on living because certainly his victims can other former jurors in the Case reached by the Orange county Register responded in similar fashion. Sidney Cleveland of Lake Forest 76, said he rarely thinks about Bonin or his impending execution. Quot i won t worry about that Quot said Cleveland. Quot it s just something that has to be done. I be been on this world Long enough to know that Quot Richard Leigh now 39, of Huntington Beach expressed frustration that 13 years have passed since the jury condemned Bonin to death. Quot i think the Day after the trial would t have been too soon Quot said Leigh a defense Industry Quality control manager Quot death in t Good enough for the Guy Quot still Leigh said he won t stay up late tonight to listen to news reports of the execution Quot i am very anxious for it to happen but i m not going to go have a Beer and the jurors spent five months together during the High profile trial. For a while afterwards some of them kept in touch. But time has loosened those ties. former juror has died of cancer. Cleveland who suffered a serious fed and dumped nude along Southern California highways. Quot there were nights when i just went Home shut the door and cried Quot Ownby recalled. Her worst memory is of a Field trip to Sites along Ortega Highway where Bonin dumped three of his victims. As the jurors were travelling they saw two motorcyclists killed in a head on crash. Ownby described jury deliberations As a solemn civil affair during which jurors listed the pros and cons of putting Bonin to death on a Gurney. For her Bonin s pattern of emerging from prison More dangerous each time tilted the balance. Bonin was convicted in 1969 of assaulting five boys and he spent five years in a state mental Hospital and prison. He was arrested for similar offences again in 1975 and served three years in prison. The killings that led to his death sentence began a few months after his october 1978 release. Quot i Don t think there s any help for an individual like him Quot she said. R

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