Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris

Arraignment: Several witnesses testified as to Bittaker having shown them pictures of the victims he had retained as keepsakes and which had been found in his motel. One witness, a 17-year-old neighbor of Bittaker's named Christina Dralle, testified that Bittaker had shown her a Polaroid picture he had taken of Jackie Gilliam before stating, "The girls I get won't talk anymore." Another witness to testify was an individual named Lloyd Douglas, who had shared a jail cell with Bittaker following his November, 1979 arrest. Douglas testified that Bittaker had discussed in detail the torture he had inflicted on victims Jackie Gilliam and Shirley Ledford, stating Bittaker had informed him he had stabbed one of Gilliam's breasts with an ice pick, which he then twisted as the tool remained inserted in the wound; he had also "pinched" Gilliam on the legs and breasts with a vise grip, before tearing off part of one nipple. Douglas also stated Bittaker had informed him he had "pulled on" the genitals and breasts of Shirley Ledford with the same instrument, and that he had attempted to beat her breasts "back into her chest." The defense contended that Norris was the actual perpetrator of the murders, and that Bittaker had only become aware of Norris's activities shortly before his arrest, when Norris had informed him he had murdered several girls with whom they had both encountered and engaged in sexual activities. To support their case, the defense produced a friend of Norris named Richard Shoopman, who testified as to Norris's repeatedly divulging to him his desire to rape young girls. Shoopman also testified that Norris had informed him that the look of shock and fear on the face of a young girl was a prime sexual stimulus for him. In support of Bittaker's case, the defense also harked to the Polaroid images taken of the facial expressions of Andrea Hall, and of Bittaker's statements as to Norris's revelations to Bittaker regarding his prime sexual stimulations while both were incarcerated at the California Men's Colony in 1977. The most damning evidence presented at Bittaker's trial was a 17-minute section of the audio tape the pair had created of Shirley Lynette Ledford's abuse and torment. The audio tape, which had been found inside Bittaker's van and which Norris had earlier testified Bittaker had repeatedly played as he drove in the weeks prior to his arrest—adding that Bittaker considered the contents to be "real funny"[12]:42— was presented in evidence on January 29. (Judge Fredericks had earlier denied motions by the defense to omit the tape recording from admission as evidence.) More than 100 people were present in the courtroom as the tape was played, and many members of both the jury and the audience wept openly upon hearing the contents, with several members of the audience either burying their heads in their hands, daubing tears from their eyes or rushing out of the courtroom before the tape had finished. Bittaker himself was undisturbed at hearing the contents of the tape—smiling throughout the hearing of the recording. In one of two instances throughout the trial when he was himself reduced to tears, prosecutor Stephen Kay walked out of the courtroom during the recess following the hearing of the recording of Shirley Ledford's rape, abuse and torture. Weeping openly, Kay stated to the reporters gathered outside the courtroom: "Everybody who has heard that tape has had it affect their lives. I just picture those girls ... how alone they were when they died." When questioned by reporters as to whether the audio tape should have been introduced into evidence, given the obvious psychological and emotional trauma caused to many in the courtroom through the contents being broadcast, Kay simply stated: "You're darn right it the audio tape should have been. The jury needs to know what these guys did." On February 5, 1981, Bittaker testified on his own behalf. Bittaker denied any knowledge in the abduction and murder of Lucinda Schaefer, and claimed he had paid Andrea Hall to pose for the Polaroid photographs depicting her found at his Burbank motel after Hall had agreed to his offer of $200 for sex. He then claimed Norris had walked Hall into the San Gabriel Mountains, before returning alone and informing Bittaker he had told Hall to "find her own way home." Bittaker had a similar explanation as to the double murder of Jacqueline Lamp and Jackie Gilliam: he claimed Gilliam accepted an offer of money for sex and posing for pictures, and that he had last seen the girls alone with Norris in his GMC van. With regards to the murder of Shirley Ledford, he claimed she had agreed to theatrically scream for the tape recorder, and that she was not tortured in his presence, but had been left alone with Norris. Bittaker's trial lasted for over three weeks. On February 10, 1981, the prosecution and defense counsels began their closing arguments. In the closing argument delivered by the prosecution, Stephen Kay apologized to the jury that he was only asking for the death penalty, adding that he wished the law permitted him to request that the same suffering be inflicted upon Bittaker that he had inflicted upon his victims. Kay then described Bittaker as an "excuse for a man" as he held aloft pictures of each of the five murdered girls before the jury. Seeking the death penalty for Bittaker, Kay referred to the case as "one of the most shocking, brutal cases in the history of American crime," before adding: "If the death penalty is not appropriate in this case, then when will it ever be?" Defense attorney Albert Garber requested the jury discount the testimony of Roy Norris; arguing in favor of Bittaker's claims that Norris had committed the actual murders, and claiming the testimony of the prosecutors throughout the trial amounted to little more than a "blood lust," adding that the prosecution had repeatedly recited the "gory details" of the murders. Garber harked to the earlier testimony of a psychologist named Michael Maloney, who had testified as to Bittaker's inability to empathize with other people's feelings and emotions in addition to the fact that, with the exception of Bittaker's 1974 stabbing of Gary Louie, all of Bittaker's previous criminal convictions were for nonviolent offenses. The defense also claimed that insufficient corroborative evidence existed to convict Bittaker. On February 17, 1981, after deliberating for three days, the jury found Bittaker guilty of five counts of first-degree murder, one charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, five charges of kidnapping, nine charges of rape, two charges of forcible oral copulation, one charge of sodomy, and three charges of unlawful possession of a firearm. Deliberations as to whether Bittaker should be sentenced to death or life without parole began February 19. The jury deliberated for just 90 minutes before they returned with their verdict: Bittaker was sentenced to death for the five counts of first-degree murder upon which the prosecution had sought this penalty. He showed no emotion as the verdict was delivered. Superior Court Judge Thomas Fredericks then ordered Bittaker to appear in court on March 24 for formal sentencing. On March 24, in accordance with the recommendation of the jury, Lawrence Bittaker was formally sentenced to death. In the event that the sentence imposed was ever reverted to life imprisonment, Judge Thomas Fredericks imposed an alternate sentence of 199 years, 4 months' imprisonment to take immediate effect. They Bittaker and Norris lack the internal prohibitions, or conscience, that keep most of us from giving full expression to our most primitive, and sometimes violent, impulses. Forensic Psychiatrist Dr. Ronald Markman, reciting conclusions of his analysis of Bittaker and Norris, 1989. Imprisonment and appeals: Bittaker appealed his conviction and sentencing, citing the validity of his conviction and procedural errors such as the validity of warrants used to authorize the search of his van and motel room and the dismissal by the judge of a woman initially hired at the stage of jury selection to advise the defense counsel in matters relating to jury views upon the death penalty. Nonetheless, Bittaker's appeal was dismissed on June 22, 1989. with the court ruling that any procedural errors being minor and, in view of the strong evidence against Bittaker, not affecting the overall verdict. An initial execution date for Lawrence Bittaker was set for December 29, 1989. Bittaker appealed this decision, although on June 11, 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the decision that he be executed. A renewed execution date was scheduled for July 23, 1991. Bittaker again appealed the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that he be executed, and was granted a further stay of execution on July 9, 1991. As of 2016, Lawrence Bittaker remains incarcerated on death row at San Quentin State Prison. Aftermath: -Lawrence Bittaker has granted several death row interviews following his 1981 conviction. To date, he has never expressed any remorse for his crimes, and states the only remorse he feels is for the fact he and Norris were arrested. Bittaker has also marveled that he and Norris had little in common before their acquaintance at the California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo in 1977, before adding that they have "one hell of a lot in common now!" In reference to one of the torture and murder implements he and Norris used upon their victims, Bittaker responds to letters he receives with the nickname, "Pliers" Bittaker. -Since his incarceration, Bittaker has filed more than 40 frivolous lawsuits over issues as trivial as his being served a broken cookie and crushed sandwiches by the prison cafeteria, which he cited as an example of his being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment. Bittaker was declared a vexatious litigant in 1993. As a result of this declaration, he may no longer file suits without the express permission of an attorney or a judge. -Roy Norris remains incarcerated at Donovan State Prison. Since his conviction, he has repeatedly claimed the sole reason he participated in the murders was out of fear of Bittaker. Norris also claims to have twice contemplated confessing to his and Bittaker's responsibility in the murders to the police; he also claims to have successfully deterred three potential victims from entering Bittaker's van. -Norris claims that although he enjoyed the actual intercourse with the victims, only Bittaker enjoyed the act of torture and murder, stating: "I didn't enjoy killing—that was Lawrence Bittaker. It was his favorite part: watching the women struggle to live; knowing he'd soon be taking life away." (Both investigators and psychologists have stated Norris derived extreme gratification from the domination, abuse and torture inflicted upon his victims; these respective parties have also harked towards Norris's extensive history of physical and sexual violence against women prior to his meeting Bittaker, and his repeated instances of denial of culpability for his actions.) -Roy Norris initially became eligible for parole in 2009. Norris declined to attend the parole hearing, thereby automatically deferring his parole eligibility for another 10 years. He is next eligible for parole in 2019. -Stephen Kay, the prosecutor at Bittaker's trial, still considers the murders committed by Bittaker and Norris as being the worst criminal case he has ever prosecuted or encountered, and remains insistent in his belief that Bittaker deserves to be executed more than any other inmate incarcerated on California's death row. In interviews, he has stated that for over two years following the trial of Lawrence Bittaker, his sleep was disturbed by recurring nightmares in which he would be rushing to Bittaker's van to prevent harm coming to the girls, but would "always get there too late." -Detective Paul Bynum, the chief investigator of the murders committed by Bittaker and Norris, committed suicide in December, 1987. He was 39 years old. In a ten-page suicide note, Bynum specifically referred to the murders committed by Bittaker and Norris as haunting him, and of his fear they may be released from prison. -The audio tape Bittaker and Norris created of themselves raping and torturing Shirley Lynette Ledford remains in the possession of the FBI Academy. The audio cassette is now used to train and desensitize FBI agents as to the raw reality of torture and murder. Media- Film: -The 2012 documentary film The Devil and the Death Penalty focuses upon the murders committed by Bittaker and Norris in addition to issues relating to the death penalty appeals process in California. Prosecutor Stephen Kay is among those interviewed by the director. Bibliography: -Alone with The Devil: Psychopathic Killings that Shocked the World, written by Dr. Ronald Marksman and Dominick Bosco. ISBN 0-7499-1002-X -The Encyclopedia Of Serial Killers, written by Brian Lane and Wilfred Gregg. ISBN 978-0-7472-5361-7 Television: -A 1982 documentary, The Killing of America, features a section devoted to the trial of Lawrence Bittaker. -The crime documentary series Arrest & Trial has broadcast an episode detailing the murders committed by Bittaker and Norris. This episode was initially broadcast in October, 2000. -The Investigation Discovery channel has broadcast a documentary focusing upon the murders committed by Bittaker and Norris. This documentary—entitled Wicked Attraction—was initially broadcast in August 2009.