The Dangerous State of California Part 3

Info: Wikipedia, ABC News,

I know, you’re probably wondering how there is a part 3 to this. Me too. In this part we will be talking about the Sunset Strip Killers, and the Skid Row Stabbers.

Doug Clark and his girlfriend Carol Bundy (no relations to Ted Bundy), were convicted as the Sunset Strip Killers. Their victims were all females. From the beginning Carol helped Doug Clark fulfill his dark fantasies. She help convince a young girl to pose for pornographic pictures, and bought Clark two pistols because he wanted to kill a woman during intercourse. One night Clark came home and told Bundy that he killed two teenage girls, he picked them up on Sunset Strip (hence the name). He made them perform oral sex on him before he shot them both in the head and took their bodies to a secluded place before he performed necrophilia (look it up, I don’t want to explain it). And get this, Bundy called the police and told them that she knew information about these murders but did not give any details about the identity of Clark. LIKE GIRL WHY DID YOU CALL IN THE FIRST PLACE THEN?????????

Clark went on to girl two more women by luring them into his van and shooting them. In this case, Clark beheaded on of the bodies and took it home to store it in the fridge. Bundy took it out and put make up on it so Clark could use it for another instance of necrophilia. Reminder she did this without being told to. She’s not off the hook of only being an accessory to murder. Bundy went out to a concert performed by an ex lover of hers. At the concert Bundy became intoxicated enough that she spilled everything that Clark has done to her ex, Jack Murray. Murray being the normal human being he is told Bundy that he would be calling the police about all of the information he was just told. Bundy realizing she was in jeopardy, seduced Murray back to her van and killed him.

Bundy succumbed to the guilt and pressure of killing someone herself and started to confess to more people. Those people (coworkers) brought this information to the police. Bundy then gave a full confession of all the crimes she and Clark had committed. When on trial Clark proceeded to try and blame Bundy for everything. But his plan did not work and he was sentenced to death. As of May 2022 he is still on death row. Bundy was sentenced with 52- to life because of a plea bargain.

Their victims were: Gina Marano, Cynthia Chandler, Karen Jones, Exxie Wilson, Marnette Comer, Jack Murray, and a Jane Doe.

Carol Bundy and Doug Clark

The Dangerous State of California Part 2

Info for Part 1 and 2: Wikipedia, ABC news: City of Angels, City of Death’: Inside the hunt for Los Angeles’ string of serial killers, Allthatsinteresting.com,

If you thought having two prolific serial killers at the same time was bad then get ready for what I’m about to tell you. 5 or more high profile serial killers were working in the 1980s. All in the state of California.

William Bonin, more widely known as the Freeway Killer was among these scums of the earth. He was convicted of raping and killing 14 young boys (suspected of 21). He picked up the young boys when they were hitch hiking or walking somewhere, most victims were strangled with their own t-shirts rapped around metal bar. Some of his murders were committed in the same day, many of them in the same week. He had many accomplices in his murder spree who either died awaiting trial, died in jail, or spent prison time for their actions. Vernon Butts, Bonins main accomplice hung himself while waiting for trial.

His victims were: Thomas Glen Lundgren (13) (committed with Vernon Butts), Mark Shelton (17) (Butts), Markus Grabs (17) (Butts), a John Doe, Donald Ray Hyden (15) (Butts), David Louis Murillo (17) (Butts), Robert Christopher Wirostek (18), a John Doe (unknown age) (Butts), Frank Dennis Fox (17), John Fredrick Kilpatrick (15),  Michael Francis McDonald (16), Charles Miranda (15) (committed with Gregory Miley), James Macabe (12) (Miley), Ronald Gatlin (18), Russell Rugh (15), Harry Todd Turner (15) (comitted with William Pugh), Steven John Wood (16), Darin Kendrick (19) (Butts), Lawrence Sharp (17), Sean King (14), Steven Wells (18) (committed with James Munro)

Moving about in 1979, the Tool Box Killers consisted of Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris. They raped and killed 5 teenage girls and tortured them in their van. These two met in prison where they opened up to each other about the urge to assault and murder young girls when they got out. After released they met up to devise their plan. Ultimately they decided to drive around a van over a car, as to have more room. They nicknamed their van “Murder Mac”. Disgusting. I know. Typically the girls were taken into the van, either by coercion or force. They then were bound and gagged, driven to locations where they would be sexually assaulted and tortured by both men. Until they were strangled manually or by a wire coat hanger. I will not go into details on how they were tortured because it is horrible to even read about. To show how disgusting they are, they voice recorded multiple murders just to relive the excruciating hours those poor victims went through, because it got them “off”.

“Murder Mac”

Their victims were: Lucinda Lynn Schaefer (16), Andrea Joy Hall (18), Jackie Doris Gilliam (15), Jacqueline Leah Lamp (13), and Shirley Lynette Ledford (16)

The Dangerous State of California Part 1

Information from: Wikipedia, ABC News

Imagine all of the well known serial killers working at the same time and in the same place. That is exactly what happened in the state of California in between the 1970s and 1980s.

When multiple nude female bodies were found around the late 1970s, detectives had a feeling that they had a serial killer on their hands. Each body was found dumped with ligature marks showing that they were restrained. They were able to connect two murders together and that led them to find the notorious “hillside stranglers”. Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono were both found guilty for these crimes, they were accused of killing 10 young women. Kenneth Bianchi was found to have killed two more on his own.

Their victims were: Yolanda Washington (19), Judith (Judy) Miller (15), Lisa Kastin (21), Dolores Cepeda (12), Sonja Johnson (14), Kristina Weckler (20), Evelyn King (28), Lauren Wagner (18), Kimberly Martin (17), Cindy Hudspeth (20)

Victims of the Hillside Stranglers

Then another nude body shows up on a hillside, Jill Barcomb. Initially the detectives thought she was apart of the strangler case, but this body was posed and the others were dumped. They would soon realize that this case was connected to a completely different serial killer. Rodney Alcala was convicted of being the “Dating Game Killer”. Given the name because he showed up on the TV show The Dating Game in the middle of his murder spree.

His victims were: Robin Samsoe (12), Jill Barcomb (18), Georgia Wixted (27), Jill Paranteau (21) (convicted)

A picture of Rodney Alcala on the Dating Game

Podcasts and my Preferences

I have a very specific liking of podcasts, and I don’t like to venture out much because why not stick with what I know I like. I really like podcasts that have two people talking like Morbid, Murder With Husband, or My Favorite Murder.

I like listening to people have a conversation with another person. One person podcasts feel like they’re talking at me which I don’t like. It’s also a lot harder for me to pay attention too, I’m not sure why though. With audio books, I can never follow what they’re saying because I’m being read a “script” like as if it was just one person telling me a case on a podcast. Listening to the conversations people have makes it a lot more interesting to listen to because I get to hear another another person reacting, or thinking out loud about the case they are being told. By having two people I can also listen to their conversations and laugh with them when a joke is made or if they’re just being funny. Some podcasts also set theirs up weirdly, like one had sound effects in it that I did not enjoy because they scared me. For example they had like knocks on a window or a banging sound. Also I know it’s not fair to them but some peoples voices make me mad, again I’m not sure why but they do.

Early genealogy

Information from: Oxford language (definition), International Society of Genetic Genealogy

Definition of genealogy: A line of descent traced continuously from an ancestor.

Another way to define it is the basic term: study of family origins and history.

But the forensic genealogy definition is: A “forensic genealogist” applies genealogical knowledge, methods, and standards to legal problems and proceedings. 

Genealogy has lately been used as an important part of solving cases. Forensic genealogy first became a thing around the 1950’s to basically match unclaimed inheritances to someone. Other examples people used genealogy for was to bring remains back to those whose family member served in a war/ the military, locating beneficiary, etc. Some methods they use to go about this are investigating pictures or other things to figure out time periods, places, or other information. Use DNA samples to match to others that could be apart of a family. This study has come a far way to the point where it can now be beneficial in cold cases or even new ones to find the person who committed the crime or victim.

Modern Forensics

Information from: 90. Jenni Bastian and Michella Welch – The Bicycle Abductions, Murder With My Husband

Everyone knows how hard it was to solve cases in the “olden days”, but now that the forensic technology has been improved tremendously one could solve a case decades old.

For example the case of Michella Welch and Jenni Bastian, who were both abducted 5 months apart while on a bike ride in 1986. The police thought it was the same person that committed both crimes. Both girls were found lifeless in dense parts of the woods. They were around the same age and had blonde hair and blue eyes. But the cases didn’t go anywhere

A girl that had been growing up at the same time the girls were abducted remembers that she couldn’t leave the house alone or travel alone. This same girl named Lindsey Wade grew up to be a cop because she wanted to be able to protect her town. Another officer implemented a Cold Case unit, a group of detectives and officers that only focused on old cases. This group including Wade worked on the Michella Welch case and the Jenni Bastian one. When looking into it they realized that Jenni’s swimsuit hadn’t been tested for DNA, there was semen in on her swimsuit. With how far DNA testing has come they compare DNA samples and see if they matched. They first did this with DNA found in Michella’s case and they didn’t match, meaning the whole time they were looking for only one person, they should have been looking for two separate killers. It’s crazy to think that in one town there are two people who are this sick in the head, that actually followed through on their desires. And in the same time frame. Some people really are disgusting to the point where it becomes what they do is unimaginable.

They try and match the semen DNA to any of them in the CODIS system but their is no match, meaning these two men were still out there being creepy as crap to little girls. Two pedophiles and murderers have yet to been caught for any other offense.

A genealogist was able to put together a DNA phenotype of what the two killers could look like. This gave them a list of 200 males Jenni’s killer could be, and then began the long waiting period of sending batches of their samples in to be tested and compared. Batch after batch they all kept coming back negative so Wade down on her luck sent the last batch in and retired. I’m guessing she did because of how much this case has taken a toll on her. This was the whole reason she became a cop and she couldn’t even solve it.

But then Wade got a call from a new detective in the unit. Saying that the last batch had came back with a match, Robert Washburn was Jenni’s killer. This man had been brought up into the investigation because he was there the day Michella got taken, but he wasn’t the one who did it? So did he see it happen and think he wanted to do that too? Or had he already been thinking about it and knew if he did it, it might not be pinned on him because they hadn’t found the other killer yet.

Jenni and her killer

For Michella’s they decided to look through the genealogy, so they asked Cece Moore. This girl was actually amazing at her job, she had just helped catch the Golden State Killer. She traced a family tree ( I don”t know how she does her job at all, I do not understand it but all I know is that she knows what shes doing) and found two brothers that the detectives should look at. So they DNA tested them and one came back as a match, it was Gary Charles Hartman. SERIOUSLY HOW DOES SHE DO THAT???

Michella and her murderer

And get this. These two absolute creepy freaks and scums of the earth LIVED ON THE SAME STREET!!!

In many other old cases, a single DNA sample they collected that they couldn’t test before they could easily test now and find the culprit. A long with how far genealogy has come, I have no idea how it works like I said but it’s helped in many, many cases. Stay tuned for the research blog on that.

Wendover Slaying

87. Micaela Constanzo – The Wendover Slaying

Micaela Constanzo was 16 years old, a star athlete at her high school and an all around well liked girl. She was very close with her family, especially her sisters. It’s sad because isn’t this how all the cases go? All the cases you hear about involves the person that everyone loved that gets wrapped up into dumb things or is at the wrong place at the wrong time.

One day after track practice Micaela (referred to as Mickie) had to walk home because her sister was out of town and that’s who usually picks her up. But she never arrived home, her mom and family kept trying to get a hold of her but to no avail. That night there were over 90 people out searching for Mickie, and keep in mind this town was small. Eventually Celia, her mother, called 911 after the efforts to locate her daughter. Luckily they took they case seriously right away unlike a lot of other departments.

Two days later, a person searching for Mickie had spotted tire tracks that turned off the road and into the forest. They followed it and started seeing blood and freshly moved sage brush. They immediately went to the cops with this information without disturbing what could be a crime scene. Sadly it turned out to be one, Mickie’s body was found. She had stab wounds on her neck and face, and bruises and cuts all over her body.

The investigation to find her murderer began. They searched her phone records in hopes to find any information. Which they did, there was a phone number that Mickie had been calling and texting around the time of the murder. That caller was traced to someone who her family knew and loved, a family friend named Kody Patten. When they brought him in for questioning he had told them that he saw her talking to another dude at the front of their high school that he assumed was her boyfriend at the time.

But when the police looked at the surveillance cameras they soon realized that Kody was lying. He was seen with her in the hallway towards the back of the school minutes before she left and disappeared. Other witnesses say they saw her in the back of the school. Meaning Mickie was last seen with Kody.

Kody and Mickies relationship was weird. They were close when growing up but when they grew up they separated ways especially when Kody met his girlfriend soon to be fiance. Mickie stopped talking to him in respects to Toni, but Kody saw how jealous Toni got when she saw him talking to her and for some reason he enjoyed it so he kept talking to Mickie. Which led to Toni verbally abusing Mickie because she was so insecure. Mickie wanted nothing to do with all of this, as she had a boyfriend and wanted no part of Kody.

One day Kody and his dad walk into the station, Kody’s dad was crying. His dad brought him in there so he could confess. Kody admitted to having an involvment with Mickies death. He admitted to taking Mickie to the crime scene and claimed that they started to argue. He says Mickie wanted him to break up with Toni for her. (yeah right) Apparently then after he refused Mickie began to hit him in the chest, so he pushed her. He goes on to say that she hit her head and was having convulsions so he picked up a rock and started hitting her with it. Then he slashed her throat because it still sounded like she was alive. With this story he was sentenced with first-degree murder and the possibility of the death sentence.

When Toni heard this new she wrote to him saying that she would always stand by him, which sent red flags flying. Toni had a motive so who was to say she didn’t have anything to do with it. And then Kody’s dad walked in with Toni, and she confessed with a whole different story. She said that Kody had texted her “I’ve got her”, referring to Mickie and that her was coming to pick her up. She then waited in the car and hear Mickie and Kody arguing and then a sudden thud. That’s when she got out to see Kody digging a grave, but Mickie wasn’t dead and when she came to they started beating her. She said that they took turn slitting her throat.

But the confusing part of it all is that both of their stories began to just keep changing, both starting to throw each other under the bus. So no one knows exactly what happened they just know that they were both involved. Eventually both were guilty and got charged with the murder of Mickie Costanzo. Below are the pictures of the ones involved and Mickie.

From left to right: Toni Collette , Micaela (Mickie) Costanzo, Kody Patten.

The Wizard of Oz

Morbid – Episode 281: The Dark Secrets Behind The Wizard of Oz

You must be wondering why I would be writing about the movie The Wizard of Oz. Or you already know the dark secrets behind the filming, either way I’m hear to tell you.

Personally I never really cared about the movie, since it came out before my time obviously. When I watched it I just did not care for it, to me it just felt dark and weird. But I know that others have been obsessed with it for decades, and still are.

From left to right: Ray Bulger, Bert Lahr, Judy Garland, Jack Haley

The making of this movie has many myths surrounding it. Some true and some not. Some of the untrue myths included the makeup of the Tin Man killing the actor. The makeup did make the actor, Buddy Ebsen, very very sick. His lungs were coated with aluminum powder, which is what they painted on his face every day. He was put into an iron lung, and the producers were mad that he wasn’t on set. Because he was unable to come to set, they fired him and recast the role of the Tin Man.

Another huge untrue myth that has gotten the most publicity is the on set hanging of a Munchkin. People said that in the original movie in the background of one of the scenes you can see something hanging in the background. It was just a black bird on set that led people to believe this, it also led others to photo shop a hanging body on the the picture which is why this theory got its following.

The costumes and other makeup of this set were horrid and dark also. The Tin Man costume, Jack Haley, had to wear was big, heavy, uncomfortable, and hard to move in. He had to lean against a board on set because he wasn’t able to sit down. Ray Bolger, the Scare Crow, hated his makeup also. Bert Lahr’s rules surrounding his makeup was horrible to. The cowardly lion costume was real lion hide and fur, weighed around 90 pounds. He was not allowed to eat at all during the day besides smoothies/drinks and soups. After a while he demanded that he needs to get his makeup redone after lunch so he can eat real food. The actors would gasp for air at an open door because of their costumes and the heat in the studio.

The Wicked Witch of the West had a horrible time to with her makeup too, it was made of copper oxide. Copper oxide could poison Margaret Hamilton the actor. Each night the makeup artists had to make sure her skin was thoroughly cleaned so the copper did not hurt her. One day during filming, she was leaving in a scene in a cloud of smoke her first shot went exactly as planned but the director (Victor Fleming) made them take another. After a whole bunch of messed up cuts, one ended with Margaret having 3rd degree burns on her hands, with her skin peeling off, the copper paint still had to be cleaned off. Which was cleaned off with alcohol. Again the producers kept calling her when she was recovering and was mad at her for not being there and making them pause filming. When she came back they wanted to do another scene with fire but her stunt said she would do it for her. They took two good shots and on the third a pipe burst from under her and she was also extremely burned. she had a hole in her leg where her dressed had melted into. Victor Fleming tried to look at her leg years later because he “felt bad”. 

The scene where the Wicked Witch was burned.

Speaking of Victor Fleming, he slapped Dorothy (Judy Garland) in the face because she was giggling during a scene. But apparently he felt bad immediately after and asked the crew to punch him the face. There’s a lot of instances where he seems to feel bad after he did something dumb. Which I think was to just save himself from backlash.

The scene after Victor Fleming slapped Judy.

Judy Garland went through a lot during filming, keep in mind she was only 17, but they still wanted her to look younger. They would document her food intake months before filming. Forced her to take “pet pills” to keep her awake, and would only let her sleep a couple hours in a few days. They also made her feel bad that she had breasts, and made her wear corsets and something around her chest to make her chest smaller. Other small actors (munchkins) were said to have been sexually abusing her on set. The only good thing was that the main actors were protective over her and were nice to her.

Just to top this all off, in a scene the good witch caste a spell to make snow fall and “wake” the actors up, the “snow” that fell was 100% asbestos!!

The Tuskegee Study

Secret Medical Testing on people & the government Knew?! The Tuskegee experiment (podcast by Bailey Sarian)

In Tuskegee, Alabama began an experiment on black men who contracted syphilis to record the natural history of untreated syphilis between 1932 and 1972. They called it the “Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male”. Meaning their objective was to have the men die from syphilis so they could examine their bodies and see how it effected African Americans. They believed diseases effected white Americans and Black Americans differently.

First of all, they didn’t even tell them that they were apart of any research. The doctors told men that came in sick that they just had “bad blood.” They gave them vitamins and simply just watched them until they died. Then they examined how the disease took over an untreated African American body with syphilis.

All while they already had a cure for syphilis. This easily was a clear case of racism, it was one of the first cases of experiments to see if a black body reacted to diseases differently than white bodies. There are so many other ways it could have been discovered, like seeing how diseases affected a race and then giving them the cure. Not letting them die, if one really wanted to see how it affected a body they could wait until they died on their own terms. But this is very ethically and morally wrong. They already were in the wrong, but the project was only supposed to last 6 months. Instead it lasted 40 years. They may have been interested in the science but it turns into a racially motivated experiments when you let people die knowing you can cure them for over 40 years. And you already know that in no way would this experiment ever be performed on white people.

Washington Post

The Filthy Rich Devils

Something that really upsets me in the crime world is that people with power are way less likely to get charged with crimes they committed.

For one, those with wealth can hire a better attorneys and they can easily get out of jail on their bonds being payed.

Jeffery Epstein for example, the insults and words I have to describe that man are endless. So many people knew what Jeffery was doing to these minors and young girls but yet nothing was done until more and more girls started speaking up.

Countless of girls have come forward to tell their experiences they had with Jeffrey. All say they were payed to come to his house and massage him, some being sexually assaulted and raped. And others who turned him down were told to bring other girls who were willing and then they would get payed. They did but these girls were easily preyed on, they were young so in no way can you blame them.

When Jeffrey was sentenced with 18 months in jail, but he was given food other weren’t given, a t.v. room. He was literally allowed to leave jail. LIKE WHAT?!?!? They let someone who was later convicted of being apart of the

Jeffrey would violate his house arrest constantly, which was illegal in Florida. But the probation officers kept saying “what do you want us to do, hes a celebrity.” Showing that those with power come off as untouchable.

What’s craziest to me is how many people still tied themselves to him and hung out with him. People like Bill Clinton, British Royalty, Prince Andrew, etc. Another example like Epstein is Donald Trump, he has over 20 sexual abuse allegations on him. But of course he is a man with power and no justice has been served.

Speaking of these two, Acosta was the one who swept Epstein’s first case under the rug for him was appointed as the Labor Security. I don’t think I have to explain how insanely messed up that is. He appointed someone who didn’t protect women who were sexually abused. But ya know that fits with Donald Trump I don’t know why I would’ve thought anything differently would happen. Acosta later decided to resign because he felt him working there would be selfish because all the focus would be on the Epstein case. I didn’t get the reasoning he gave but it doesn’t matter because I truly believe he knew what was going to get out, the fact that he sweetened the deal for a notorious registered sex offender.