Free Couples Who Kill by Carol Anne Davis Page A

told him that multiple personalities usually had at least three separate identities – and Ken quickly provided a third called Billy, a frightened child. Bianchi was well pleased with his act and began to keep a diary filled with supposedly remembered dreamsand very bad poetry. Grogan, the chief detective in the case, said that Bianchi’s hypnosis scam was ‘a Walt Disney production from front to back.’
    By now Ken was convinced that he’d do a couple of years in a mental hospital then go home to Kelli and little Ryan. He wrote to her saying that he was looking forward to walks in the park with his family and that they’d be financed by the book that he was writing. Lazy to the last, he added that he wouldn’t have to write any of the book upfront – just sign a contract and accept a large advance.
    Fortunately, some psychiatrists refused to buy into his multiple-personality act. One wrote perceptively that he’d been overwhelmed in childhood by a female authority (his mother) and was now killing women so that he could at last be in charge. Robbed of his Steve-did-it defence, his only hope was to make a deal with the authorities.
The deal
    Bianchi had dreaded being sent to Walla Walla, one of America’s most brutal prisons. So the District Attorney hinted that if he testified truthfully against his cousin he might be sent to a more amenable Californian jail. The deal included a life sentence rather than the death penalty so Bianchi grabbed it with both hands. Detectives were now allowed to interview him in prison to test his credibility. If he proved truthful, the deal would be formally signed.
    Like most criminals, Bianchi didn’t take responsibility for what he’d done. Instead he phrased everything in the passive tense, saying ‘the bag was put over her head’ rather than ‘I put the bag over her head.’ But he gave details of the torture-murders which were backed up by the autopsy photographs, so to that extent he was telling the truth.
    The plea bargain went ahead – Ken Bianchi would plead guilty to the two Bellingham murders, for which he’d serve two consecutive life sentences. He’d also plead guilty to five of the Hillside Strangling murders, notably those of Yolanda Washington, Jane King, Kristina Weckler, Kimberley Martin and Cindy Hudspeth.
    On 19th October 1979 he pleaded guilty to these seven murders and was sentenced to two life terms, with parole a possibility after twenty-six years and eight months. By now he was changing his testimony so the authorities felt no obligation to send him to a Californian facility. Instead, he was sent to Walla Walla Prison in Washington.
Buono arrested
    The police were at last ready to bring Bianchi’s co-killer into custody. Later that week, on 22nd October 1979, Buono was arrested at his work. The officers noted that he showed so little emotion you’d have thought they were giving him a parking ticket. Now the legal wranglings started in earnest, as the prosecution wanted to drop the murder charges against Buono, arguing that Kenneth Bianchi’s conflicting statements about his cousin made their case unsound. Luckily the judge, Ronald George, refused to dismiss the charges and the case went ahead.
Buono’s trial
    Angelo Buono’s trial finally began on the 16th November 1981. The jury heard that fibre found on Judy Miller’s eyelid had probably originated in Angelo’s workshop. Other fibre evidence showed that Lauren Wagner had been in Angelo’s lounge. Two men fitting Angelo and Ken’sdescriptions had been seen abducting Lauren Wagner after she parked her car.
    A flexible gas pipe had been used to gas Kristina Weckler – and Angelo had purchased such a pipe the week before her murder. There was also a cut out area in Angelo’s wallet, consistent with the size of a police badge, though he’d conveniently disposed of the handcuffs which witnesses knew he had. One girl had had a lucky escape after the Hillside Stranglers approached her with their