On Halloween night, 1979, at approximately 10:30 p.m. Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris drove into Sun Valley, where they encountered Shirley Lynette Ledford as she hitchhiked home from the job she held as a waitress. Shirley Lynette Ledford was unknown to Norris, but a familiar face to Bittaker, who knew the girl well as he frequented the restaurant where she worked. Within 5 minutes of Shirley Lynette entering the van (which Bittaker and Norris referred to as "Murder Mac"), Bittaker had driven to a quiet side street, where he slammed on the brakes of the van before throwing Shirley from the passenger seat into the rear of the van. Norris then wrestled her to the floor, stripped the clothes off the terrified girl, and bound her hands behind her back. Bittaker then traded places with Norris, who drove as Bittaker remained in the rear of the van with Shirley.
Instead of driving to the San Gabriel Mountains, where they usually tortured and murdered their victims, Bittaker immediately turned on the tape recorder and started slapping and beating Shirley. At the beginning of the tape, the sounds one hears are of Bittaker slapping her. Then, towards the middle the sounds are of Bittaker beating her about the chest with his fists and tormenting the screaming and pleading girl with vise grip pliers on her genitals, breasts and nipples. (Bittaker subsequently earned the nickname “Pliers” from his desire to twist and tear girls' nipples with his pliers - he had used them in the torment of at least one previous victim.)
Towards the end, the sounds are of Norris beating her over and over, more than 25 times total, with a hammer upon the same elbow. After he had done so, as Shirley emitted pitiful, strained screams of agony as she wailed and wept, Norris simply asked her, "What are you sniveling about?" (As Shirley's arms were bound behind her back, she would not have even, in a natural human reaction, been able to attempt to move her arms in response to the acute pain at this point, without aggravating the injury.)
Soon after the tape ends, Bittaker pulled over and joined Norris in the rear of the van. Norris then took a coat hanger and wrapped it around Shirley’s neck, twisting it as tight as they could with the locking pliers until she was dead. This 16 year old child's agony was finally over. Bittaker then decided it would be interesting to drop the body off on a stranger's front lawn in order to gauge the reaction from the press, so they picked a random yard in Hermosa Beach and left Shirley Lynette Ledford's ravaged and broken body lying in the center of an ivy bed upon the lawn. The body was found by a horrified jogger early the next morning.
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Shirley Lynette Ledford.
(March 4, 1963 - October 31, 1979).
This is just part of the transcript of the tape these two "men" recorded in the van with Shirley Lynette Ledford (it does not include extensive periods where all one hears are Shirley's heartbreaking screams, weeping, gasps of pain/agony and wailing):
Bittaker: (Slapping Shirley) Say something girl, huh? Huh?
Ledford: What do you want me to say?
Bittaker: Huh, huh? Say something, girl! Don’t you hit me? Huh, huh?
Bittaker: Say something girl. Huh?
Ledford: Ouch! (Shirley begins to scream)
Bittaker: Say something! C’mon! You can scream louder than that, can’t you? Huh? What’s the matter, don’t you like to scream? (Slapping sounds can be heard).
Ledford: (Screams) Oh no!
Bittaker: What’s the matter, huh? You want to try again?
Ledford: (Screams) Oh no! Don’t touch me! No!
Bittaker: Huh? You want to try again?
Ledford: On no, don’t touch me! No don’t touch me. No! No! No! No! No!
Bittaker: Want to try again?
Ledford: No, no, no, no, no, no, no!
At this point, Shirley begins to cry profusely. She begs Bittaker to stop hitting her, saying again, "No, don't touch me!" Given what Bittaker next says, it is likely Shirley curls into a ball and turns away from him as she weeps.
Bittaker: Roll over girl.
Ledford: No don’t touch me!
Bittaker: Roll over!
Ledford: (Pleading tone in voice) Don’t touch me.
Bittaker: (Slapping Shirley) Start getting to work, girl!
Ledford: Don’t touch me!
Bittaker: Start getting to work girl!
Ledford: (Crying) Don’t touch me! Don't touch me!
Bittaker: Get to work, girl!
Ledford: Don’t touch me.
Bittaker: Roll over. I’m not asking you; I’m telling you!
Bittaker: Roll over!
Ledford: (Crying sounds can be heard).
Bittaker: C’mon, C’mon, C’mon!
Bittaker: What are you dong? What are you doing?
Ledford: Huh?
Bittaker: What are you doing?
Ledford: I’m not doing anything; I’m trying to do what you wanted me to do.
Bittaker: What did I want you to do?
Ledford: Suck on it.
Bittaker: Suck on what?
Ledford: This.
Bittaker: What's this?
Ledford: Your dick.
Bittaker: Yeah? Say it.
Ledford: Your dick.
Bittaker: You’re sucking on my dick?
Ledford: That’s what you wanted me to do?
Bittaker: Is that what you’re doing?
Ledford: Yes, I was.
Bittaker: Tell me.
Ledford: Yes.
Bittaker: Tell me what are you doing?
Ledford: I’m sucking on your dick.
Bittaker: Do you want to do it?
Ledford: You want me to?
Bittaker: You want to, girl? Do you want to suck my dick baby? Huh, huh, hey? Start answering me! (Beating sounds can be heard).
Ledford: Yes.
Bittaker: Tell me.
Ledford: Yes.
Bittaker: Beg me.
Ledford: Yes.
Bittaker: What, hey what do you want girl?
Ledford: I want to suck on your dick.
Bittaker: You don’t sound like you really mean it. (Slapping sounds)
Ledford: I do.
Bittaker: (Laughing) Suck on it then! C’mon start sucking on it. No matter what you can do, squeeze hard you understand, and if it hurts any time you want to scream, go ahead and scream.
Ledford: Oh no! (Screams)
Bittaker: Scream, baby! Go ahead and scream! Scream, baby!
At this point, after Bittaker had forced Shirley to fellate him, repeated sounds of an administered beating, interspersed with loud screams can be heard as Bittaker savagely beat Shirley about the breasts and, to a lesser degree, head. Bittaker then extracted his pliers from the tool box. Shirley then emits several high-pitched, prolonged screams and cries of agony as Bittaker alternately squeezes and twists her labia, clitoris, nipples and breasts with the pliers. Bittaker then returns the pliers to the tool box. Banging sounds can also be heard throughout, which are believed to have been made as Shirley came into contact with the walls and inner contents of the van as she writhed and flailed.
Ledford: My God! Please stop it! (Screams)
Bittaker: Is the recorder going?
Norris: Yeah!
Bittaker: Scream baby! Scream some, baby.
Ledford: I can’t!
Bittaker: Scream some more baby. Come baby. Come on. Nobody is going to hurt you. Turn over and talk to me nice. Love me. You want nothing more in the world than to make me cum. Huh?
Ledford: (Still crying, says something unintelligible which ends with her saying "that’s right.")
Bittaker: Say it again baby. What do you want huh? What do you want?
Ledford: Your cock.
Bittaker: Where do you want it baby, huh?
Ledford: I want to hold it and squeeze it.
Bittaker: Why?
Ledford: It feels good, cause you like it and I like it.
Bittaker: You want me to cum baby.
Ledford: Oh yeah.
Bittaker: You want me to cum, yeah? Want me to come, tell me baby. (Beating and slapping sounds)
Ledford: Yeah.
Bittaker: Tell me!
Ledford: Yeah.
Bittaker: Huh?
Ledford: Oh yeah.
Bittaker: Hey girl, you want me to put a pair of pliers up your cunt?
Ledford: What?
Bittaker: You want to make me cum huh? You want to make me cum huh?
Bittaker: Huh? Want to make me cum girl, huh?
Ledford: Oh yes (Scream)
Bittaker: Yes what?
Ledford: I want you to cum. Cum. (Scream). Come on.
Shirley Ledford then screams in agony as Bittaker inserts the pliers inside her vagina and twists them, tearing her.
Bittaker: Stop screaming at me, come on talk to me!
Ledford: Cum, cum, cum. Please cum, cum, cum, cum.
Bittaker: Where do you want me to cum, baby?
Ledford: I want you to cum.
Bittaker: Where do you want me to cum?
Ledford: I want you to cum.
Bittaker: Where do you want me to cum?
Ledford: Your cock. I want you to cum.
Bittaker: Cum where?
Ledford: Cum.
Bittaker: Cum where? Where do you want me to cum?
Ledford: In me.
Bittaker: Where?
Ledford: Cum.
Bittaker: Where?
Ledford: All over. All over.
Ledford: (Scream). No, no, no, no, no, no. (Scream)
Bittaker: Is the recorder going?
Norris: What?
Bittaker: Is the recorder going?
Norris: (Emphasis) Yeah!
Ledford: Oh no, no, no! Oh no! (Sobbing sounds)
A sharp, shrill scream, followed by wailing sounds follow. It is believed to be at this point when Bittaker, having already sodomized Shirley, inserted the pliers into her rectum and twisted them, tearing her and splitting the lining inside her rectum. Banging sounds can again be heard as Shirley came into contact with the walls and inner contents of the van as she again writhed and flailed.
Ledford: (Screaming). No! No! No! Oh, oh! (Screaming)
At this point, Norris traded places with Bittaker as Shirley lay crying and moaning in the back of the van. Three of the four victims previously killed had all been vaginally raped by Norris, but as Bittaker had viciously torn Shirley's genitals and rectum with his pliers, causing her to bleed, Norris did not vaginally or anally rape her. Instead, Norris forced the already agonized girl to fellate him, then switched on the tape recorder himself.
Norris: Make noise there, girl. Go ahead and scream or I'll make you scream!
Ledford: (Loud, pleading tone) I'll scream if you stop hitting me!
Norris: (Enthusiastic tone in voice) Oh yeah?
Ledford: (Screaming)
Norris: Keep it up girl!
Ledford: (Sreaming)
Norris: More!
Ledford: (Screaming)
Norris: 'Till I say stop!
Ledford: (Screaming)
Unintelligible sounds are heard, interspersed with sounds of Shirley Ledford crying and moaning.
Sounds of Norris extracting the sledgehammer from the tool box can then be heard as Shirley, seeing him do this, again begins crying and shouts, "Oh no! No! Oh!" She then screams in fear, again shouts "Oh, no, no!" before again screaming.
Norris strikes Shirley on the elbow.
Ledford: You broke it!
Norris: I barely hit it.
Ledford: (Pleading and sobbing) Don't hit me again!
Norris: Oh yeah?
Norris can be heard lifting the sledgehammer from either the floor of the van or, possibly, the wooden frame of the bed the two had constructed in the rear of the van.
Ledford: (Screaming) No! No! No! No! No! (Bludgeoning sounds can be heard, interspersed with repeated high-pitched screams)
Ledford: No! No! No! No! No! (Scream) Oh no! No! No! No!
Shirley is struck 25 times in succession on the left elbow by Norris, who repeatedly fractures her left elbow. Each time the hammer strikes her, a piercing scream can be heard. At one point, she may have tried to say something, but her voice had become an unintelligible mass of pain.
Norris: How's that?
Bittaker: (Driving) What's going on?
Norris: I was just beating on her elbows with the hammer.
Bittaker: Ah!
Ledford: Oh! (Screams as Norris again repeatedly strikes her elbow with the hammer).
Norris: What are you sniveling about?
Ledford: (Scream). No! Oh. Owww! I, (Repeated screams).
Ledford: (Screams).
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One of many messages upon Shirley Lynette Ledford's memorial page.
Many who knew Shirley Lynette have remarked just how sensitive, kind and mild a girl Shirley Lynette Ledford was.
The tape recorder is then switched off before Norris strangles Shirley by tristing a wire coat hanger around her neck. The last words Shirley Lynette Ledford spoke at the end of her short life were, "Do it. Just kill me!"
Bittaker and Norris then drove to dispose of Shirley Lynette Ledford's horrifically ravaged, battered, broken and torn body. Her body also bore deep welt marks to the wrists and ankles, indicating just how much Shirley Lynette had writhed and struggled against her restraints.
In one final act of degradation, Norris splayed Shirley Lynette's naked body face upwards, with arms outstretched and legs apart.
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1989 APPEAL TRANSCRIPT
48 Cal.3d 1046 (1989)774 P.2d 659259 Cal. Rptr. 630THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,v.LAWRENCE SIGMOND BITTAKER, Defendant and Appellant.
Docket No. S004359. Crim. No. 21942.Supreme Court of California.
June 22, 1989.
From June through October of 1979, defendant and Roy Norris kidnapped and murdered five teenage girls in the Los Angeles area. Most of the killings involved the rape and torture of the victims. Defendant now stands convicted of 26 felony counts
The jury found 38 special circumstances: 20 multiple-murder special circumstances (the arithmetic combinations of 5 murders), 5 felony-murder special circumstances based on kidnapping and 5 based on rape. It found felony-murder special circumstances based on forcible oral copulation as to victims Hall and Ledford, and forcible sodomy as to Ledford. The jury found intentional murder by means of torture as to all victims except Lamp; with respect to Lamp, it found as a special circumstance that she was killed to prevent her from testifying as a witness.
Defendant was sentenced to death. His appeal is automatic. We affirm the conviction and sentence.
SUMMARY OF FACTS
Defendant met Roy Norris while they were inmates in state prison. Defendant had been convicted of assault with a deadly weapon, arising from an incident in 1974 in which he stabbed a store clerk who accused him of shoplifting. Norris had been convicted of rape. The two men became friends, and frequently discussed their mutual interest in rape, and analyzed methods of abducting and raping women without getting caught.
Defendant was paroled in November of 1978 and rented a room at the Scott Motel in Burbank; Norris was paroled in January of 1979. After raping a woman in Colorado, Norris returned to California and called defendant. They would get together on weekends, and go to the beach where defendant would photograph teenage girls. They continued their discussion of rape, and explored various fire roads in the Southern California mountains, looking for places with adequate privacy. Defendant bought a van, choosing one with sliding doors to make it easier to seize a victim and drag her into the van.
In June of 1979 Norris attempted to rape a woman, but she escaped. He told defendant, and they agreed that thereafter they would act together in all their criminal activities.
1. The testimony of Roy Norris.
Norris testified for the prosecution pursuant to a plea bargain under which he pled guilty to five murders and received a sentence of forty-five years to life.
(a) The murder of Lucinda Schaeffer.
On June 24, 1979, defendant was driving the van, with Norris as passenger, on the Pacific Coast Highway in Redondo Beach. They saw Lucinda (Cindy) Schaeffer, age 16, walking along the highway. She turned onto a residential street. Defendant drove by and offered her a ride, but she refused. Defendant then parked the van a short distance down the street. Norris got out and pretended to be repairing it. When Schaefer walked by, he grabbed her and dragged her into the van. While defendant drove away, Norris bound and gagged the victim.
When they arrived at the fire road in the mountains, Norris raped Schaefer while defendant stood lookout. Defendant raped her, then Norris a second time. She asked Norris if the men intended to kill her, and asked for time to pray before they did; Norris, however, assured her that she would not be killed. Defendant then returned to the van, and Norris stood watch outside. After about 45 minutes defendant emerged, and the 2 men argued whether to kill Schaefer. Norris said he had told Schaefer that she would not be killed, but defendant insisted on killing her so she could not identify them. Defendant said that kidnapping with bodily harm carried a sentence of life imprisonment without possibility of parole. Norris was unwilling to risk such a sentence, and finally agreed to the killing.
Defendant held Schaeffer while Norris tried to strangle her, but when he changed his grip Schaeffer and defendant fell over backwards. Defendant dropped his cigarette, which burnt a hole in his shirt and scarred his chest. Defendant then attempted to strangle Schaeffer, but was unable to squeeze tightly enough. He took a clothes hanger, and looped it around her neck. Norris could not get the hanger tight enough, but defendant used pliers to tighten it and kill Schaefer. They then threw the body into the bushes.
(b) The murder of Andrea Hall.
On July 4, 1979, defendant and Norris set out to find another victim. While driving in Manhattan Beach they saw Andrea Hall, age 18, who was hitchhiking to visit her boyfriend in Wilmington. Before they could offer her a ride, a man in another car picked up Hall. Defendant and Norris followed that car to Redondo Beach, where Hall got out and resumed hitchhiking. Defendant offered her a ride. After she entered the van Norris, who had been hiding in the back, attacked her and after a fight managed to bind and gag her.
They drove into the mountains, passing the place where Schaeffer was killed. Norris got out and stood guard while defendant raped Hall. The men then traded activities. When it was Norris's turn to wait outside again, he thought he saw headlights coming up the fire road. Defendant took Hall into some bushes by the road while Norris drove the van, searching unsuccessfully for the intruder. When Norris returned, they drove to a new location. Defendant took Hall up a small hill, maintaining communication with Norris by walkie-talkie. Upon returning two hours later defendant showed Norris eight photographs he had taken. One of these photographs, which shows Hall about to perform oral copulation on defendant, is in evidence. Norris described the other photographs, which showed Hall nude in various poses.
Defendant drove to another place, said he wanted to rape Hall again, and again took her to a hill near the road. Norris drove to a store, keeping in communication by radio. When he returned, defendant was alone. He told Norris he had taken more pictures. He showed Norris two pictures in which Hall appeared frightened, and told Norris that he took them after telling Hall that he was going to kill her, and challenging her to come up with as many reasons as she could why he should not kill her. Defendant then killed Hall by thrusting an ice pick through her ear into her brain. When she did not die instantly, he turned her over and pushed the pick through the other ear, and stepped on it until the handle broke. He then strangled Hall until she died and threw the body over an embankment into some bushes.
(c) The murders of Jacqueline Gilliam and Leah Lamp.
On September 2, 1979, Jacqueline Gilliam, age 15, and Leah Lamp, 13, were hitchhiking in Redondo Beach. Defendant and Norris picked them up in defendant's van. After the girls entered the van, Norris hit Lamp with a sap (a plastic bag filled with lead weights), then subdued and tied Gilliam. Lamp recovered consciousness and attempted to escape, but defendant caught her and forced her back into the van. Defendant then drove into the mountains, driving beyond the site of the other two murders.
Neither defendant nor Norris was sexually interested in Lamp. Defendant set out to rape Gilliam. Learning that she was a virgin, he set up a tape recorder to record her cries during the rape. After Norris also raped Gilliam, they retied the girls, and all remained in the van over night.
The next morning defendant took Lamp up a hill, took some photographs, and left her there. Upon returning, he arranged for Norris to take a series of photographs of him with Gilliam, beginning with them clothed, then nude, then during intercourse and oral copulation. Defendant brought Lamp back to the van, and they drove into town for food and supplies.
Upon their return, defendant took additional nude photographs of Gilliam. Some of these photographs came into possession of defense counsel, who turned them over to the police, and they were admitted into evidence. (At this point, according to Douglas, defendant tortured Gilliam. Norris does not mention torture.) Norris suggested that they kill Gilliam quickly because she had been so helpful, but defendant replied that "they only die once, anyway."
Defendant then took Gilliam out of the van and killed her, first thrusting an ice pick through her ear into her brain, then choking her. Defendant returned to the van, aroused Lamp (who had been forced to take tranquilizers to keep her quiet), and as she stepped out of the van, struck her with a sledgehammer. Defendant choked Lamp while Norris struck her with the hammer until she was dead. The men threw both bodies over an embankment into the chaparral.
(d) The attempted abduction of Jan Malin.
On September 27, 1979, defendant and Norris attempted to abduct an unidentified woman, but she dodged behind the van and escaped. On September 30, they saw Jan Malin park her car in an apartment garage, and return to the garage entrance to close the garage door. Defendant approached, sprayed her with Mace, and attempted to drag her into the van. Malin screamed, and people started to come out of the houses nearby. Norris then drove away without defendant, who fled on foot. Malin's testimony corresponded to Norris's account.
(e) The murder of Shirley Ledford.
Late in the evening on October 31, 1979, defendant and Norris picked up Shirley Ledford, age 16, who was hitchhiking home from her job. Defendant drove to a secluded area, stopped, and drew a knife. Norris then moved into the driver's seat. Defendant turned on his tape recorder. As Norris drove, he could hear screams coming from the back of the van. After one to two hours, defendant turned off the recorder and changed places with Norris. Norris compelled Ledford to orally copulate him, then turned on the recorder and began hitting her on the elbow with a hammer.
When Norris finished torturing Ledford, defendant told him to kill her. Norris strangled the victim with a coat hanger. Defendant suggested dumping the body in someone's front yard so they could see the reaction in the newspaper. They put Ledford's body in a bed of ivy in a suburban neighborhood, where it was discovered by an early morning jogger.
2. Other prosecution evidence.
(a) The bodies.
The bodies of Lucinda Schaeffer and Andrea Hall were never found. Friends and family testified that they had never been seen after the date, when Norris said they were killed. The prosecution presented considerable evidence to show that Schaeffer and Hall were unlikely to disappear voluntarily, and the defense did not dispute that both were dead.
With Norris's assistance, the police discovered and identified the skulls of Jacqueline Gilliam and Leah Lamp. A portion of an ice pick was lodged in Gilliam's skull. Lamp's skull showed the effect of the hammer blows.
Shirley Ledford's body was discovered shortly after she was killed. The coat hanger was still wrapped around her neck. The body had extensive bruising and tearing on the breasts, bruises on the genitals, and bruises on one elbow. Laboratory examination showed sperm in her mouth, vagina and anus.
(b) Tapes, photographs, and other physical evidence.
As we have noted, one of defendant's photographs of Andrea Hall and six of Jacqueline Gilliam were identified and introduced into evidence. The tape recording of the torture of Shirley Ledford was discovered in defendant's van. The first portion of the tape contains a male voice, identified as defendant's, and screaming from a female voice, stipulated to be Ledford's. At one point defendant demands Ledford tell him what she is doing, and she describes an act of oral copulation. The second portion of the tape contains Norris's voice, urging Ledford to scream, and more screaming by Ledford.
Ledford's bracelet was discovered in Norris's apartment. Defendant's van contained a small sledgehammer. In his room police discovered seven bottles of various acids, which Norris said defendant planned to test on his next victim.
(c) Testimony of other motel residents.
Richard Dryburgh, another resident of the Scott Motel, testified in return for dismissal of a charge of possession of an explosive. He said defendant showed him nude photographs of the victims, told him one was named "Cindy," and that she had been killed. Shown a picture of Lucinda Schaefer, Dryburgh said she was one of the girls in the photographs he had seen. Dryburgh further testified that defendant told him of kidnapping and killing two girls on one occasion, but incorrectly identified Schaefer as one of the two. He correctly identified a photograph of Gilliam. Mike Horn, another resident, testified that defendant showed him photographs of Gilliam and Hall.
Christina Dralle, a 17-year-old girl staying at the motel, said defendant showed her photographs of Gilliam and four other girls, and said, "The girls I get won't talk any more." On another occasion she heard a tape, apparently the recording of the rape of Gilliam, which defendant played for her. Steven Eastman, a visitor at the motel, also heard the tape.
(d) Testimony of inmates.
David Lambert shared a jail cell with defendant. At defendant's request, Lambert drew a picture of a girl on the cell wall. Defendant said it looked like "Cindy," and asked Lambert to add coat hangers and pliers to the picture. Defendant then signed it "Pliers Bittaker," a jail nickname he had acquired from his stories of torturing women with pliers. Defendant signed autographs for other prisoners using that nickname. One said, "hitch-hikers welcome, females especially"; another said, "Norris did it." Defendant also told Lambert of his abduction of two girls on one occasion, and of another girl on Halloween night (when Ledford was murdered).
Lloyd Carlos Douglas testified that defendant told him in detail of the abduction of Gilliam and Lamp, the rape and torture of Gilliam, and the murder of both girls. (Norris did not describe any torture of Gilliam.) According to Douglas, defendant said he pinched Gilliam's legs and breasts with a vise grip, finally tearing off part of the nipple, then thrust an ice pick through her breast and twisted it. He then pushed the ice pick through Gilliam's ear; she screamed and fell dead. Defendant told Douglas that he tortured Ledford by pulling on her genitals and breasts with a vise grip.
3. Defendant's case.
The defense contended that Norris, not defendant, was responsible for the murders. Richard Shoopman, a convict friend of defendant and Norris, said Norris had told him many times of his desire to rape young women. Norris said the look of shock and fear on the victim's face particularly aroused him. Defendant, on the other hand, seldom talked to Shoopman about sex.
Defendant testified on his own behalf, and said that he was not involved in the abduction and murder of Lucinda Schaeffer, but that Norris told him that Norris and another man had committed those crimes. He testified that he and Norris picked up Andrea Hall when she was hitchhiking, and offered her $200 for sex and photographs, to which she agreed. They drove into the mountains, engaged in various sexual acts, and took pictures. Defendant then returned to the van. A while later Norris returned alone, and told defendant that Hall could find her own way home.
Defendant testified that after he and Norris picked up Gilliam and Lamp, he offered Gilliam money if she would pose for photographs. She agreed. They drove to the mountains where he and Norris took the photographs and made a tape recording. The next day Norris dropped defendant at Norris's residence and left to drive the girls home in the van. Defendant testified that he never saw them again.
Defendant admitted the assault on Jan Malin, and his description of the incident corresponds to that of Norris and Malin. He claimed, however, that his purpose was not to kidnap Malin, but to test the effectiveness of Mace as a defensive weapon.
Finally, defendant testified that Shirley Ledford agreed to sexual acts for money, and to making of a tape. She screamed on cue for the tape, but was not tortured in his presence. Defendant said that after making the tape he returned to his motel, leaving Ledford with Norris.
On cross-examination, defendant acknowledged that he had begun writing a book, and had shown drafts to a newspaper reporter and a guard. The book, entitled "The Last Ride," contained a detailed account of the murder of Lucinda Schaeffer by Norris and the author. It also described the abduction and rape of Andrea Hall (but not her murder), and the abduction of Gilliam and Lamp. In explanation, defendant said that the book was part fact, based on what he had been told by Norris, and part fiction.
4. Penalty phase evidence.
Gary Louie, the victim of defendant's 1974 assault, testified at the penalty trial. He saw defendant leave a grocery store with a package of meat hidden in his clothes. Louie followed defendant outside and asked if defendant had forgotten to pay for anything. Instantly, without saying a word, defendant stabbed Louie. Defendant was caught by two other employees. The defense presented psychiatric evidence that defendant may have been in an altered state of consciousness at the time of the assault; the prosecution presented contrary expert evidence in rebuttal.
Psychologist Michael Maloney testified for the defense. He described defendant's lengthy criminal career dating from adolescence, but noted that, except for the 1974 incident, the crimes were largely nonviolent, primarily shoplifting and auto theft. On one occasion defendant committed a crime and was returned to custody the day of his release. Dr. Maloney said defendant was quite intelligent (I.Q. over 130). He has no mental illness except an inability to empathize with others. He classified defendant as an "antisocial personality," a diagnostic category that replaces the former designations of psychopath and sociopath.
Instead of driving to the San Gabriel Mountains, where they usually tortured and murdered their victims, Bittaker immediately turned on the tape recorder and started slapping and beating Shirley. At the beginning of the tape, the sounds one hears are of Bittaker slapping her. Then, towards the middle the sounds are of Bittaker beating her about the chest with his fists and tormenting the screaming and pleading girl with vise grip pliers on her genitals, breasts and nipples. (Bittaker subsequently earned the nickname “Pliers” from his desire to twist and tear girls' nipples with his pliers - he had used them in the torment of at least one previous victim.)
Towards the end, the sounds are of Norris beating her over and over, more than 25 times total, with a hammer upon the same elbow. After he had done so, as Shirley emitted pitiful, strained screams of agony as she wailed and wept, Norris simply asked her, "What are you sniveling about?" (As Shirley's arms were bound behind her back, she would not have even, in a natural human reaction, been able to attempt to move her arms in response to the acute pain at this point, without aggravating the injury.)
Soon after the tape ends, Bittaker pulled over and joined Norris in the rear of the van. Norris then took a coat hanger and wrapped it around Shirley’s neck, twisting it as tight as they could with the locking pliers until she was dead. This 16 year old child's agony was finally over. Bittaker then decided it would be interesting to drop the body off on a stranger's front lawn in order to gauge the reaction from the press, so they picked a random yard in Hermosa Beach and left Shirley Lynette Ledford's ravaged and broken body lying in the center of an ivy bed upon the lawn. The body was found by a horrified jogger early the next morning.
Shirley Lynette Ledford.
(March 4, 1963 - October 31, 1979).
This is just part of the transcript of the tape these two "men" recorded in the van with Shirley Lynette Ledford (it does not include extensive periods where all one hears are Shirley's heartbreaking screams, weeping, gasps of pain/agony and wailing):
Bittaker: (Slapping Shirley) Say something girl, huh? Huh?
Ledford: What do you want me to say?
Bittaker: Huh, huh? Say something, girl! Don’t you hit me? Huh, huh?
Bittaker: Say something girl. Huh?
Ledford: Ouch! (Shirley begins to scream)
Bittaker: Say something! C’mon! You can scream louder than that, can’t you? Huh? What’s the matter, don’t you like to scream? (Slapping sounds can be heard).
Ledford: (Screams) Oh no!
Bittaker: What’s the matter, huh? You want to try again?
Ledford: (Screams) Oh no! Don’t touch me! No!
Bittaker: Huh? You want to try again?
Ledford: On no, don’t touch me! No don’t touch me. No! No! No! No! No!
Bittaker: Want to try again?
Ledford: No, no, no, no, no, no, no!
At this point, Shirley begins to cry profusely. She begs Bittaker to stop hitting her, saying again, "No, don't touch me!" Given what Bittaker next says, it is likely Shirley curls into a ball and turns away from him as she weeps.
Bittaker: Roll over girl.
Ledford: No don’t touch me!
Bittaker: Roll over!
Ledford: (Pleading tone in voice) Don’t touch me.
Bittaker: (Slapping Shirley) Start getting to work, girl!
Ledford: Don’t touch me!
Bittaker: Start getting to work girl!
Ledford: (Crying) Don’t touch me! Don't touch me!
Bittaker: Get to work, girl!
Ledford: Don’t touch me.
Bittaker: Roll over. I’m not asking you; I’m telling you!
Bittaker: Roll over!
Ledford: (Crying sounds can be heard).
Bittaker: C’mon, C’mon, C’mon!
Bittaker: What are you dong? What are you doing?
Ledford: Huh?
Bittaker: What are you doing?
Ledford: I’m not doing anything; I’m trying to do what you wanted me to do.
Bittaker: What did I want you to do?
Ledford: Suck on it.
Bittaker: Suck on what?
Ledford: This.
Bittaker: What's this?
Ledford: Your dick.
Bittaker: Yeah? Say it.
Ledford: Your dick.
Bittaker: You’re sucking on my dick?
Ledford: That’s what you wanted me to do?
Bittaker: Is that what you’re doing?
Ledford: Yes, I was.
Bittaker: Tell me.
Ledford: Yes.
Bittaker: Tell me what are you doing?
Ledford: I’m sucking on your dick.
Bittaker: Do you want to do it?
Ledford: You want me to?
Bittaker: You want to, girl? Do you want to suck my dick baby? Huh, huh, hey? Start answering me! (Beating sounds can be heard).
Ledford: Yes.
Bittaker: Tell me.
Ledford: Yes.
Bittaker: Beg me.
Ledford: Yes.
Bittaker: What, hey what do you want girl?
Ledford: I want to suck on your dick.
Bittaker: You don’t sound like you really mean it. (Slapping sounds)
Ledford: I do.
Bittaker: (Laughing) Suck on it then! C’mon start sucking on it. No matter what you can do, squeeze hard you understand, and if it hurts any time you want to scream, go ahead and scream.
Ledford: Oh no! (Screams)
Bittaker: Scream, baby! Go ahead and scream! Scream, baby!
At this point, after Bittaker had forced Shirley to fellate him, repeated sounds of an administered beating, interspersed with loud screams can be heard as Bittaker savagely beat Shirley about the breasts and, to a lesser degree, head. Bittaker then extracted his pliers from the tool box. Shirley then emits several high-pitched, prolonged screams and cries of agony as Bittaker alternately squeezes and twists her labia, clitoris, nipples and breasts with the pliers. Bittaker then returns the pliers to the tool box. Banging sounds can also be heard throughout, which are believed to have been made as Shirley came into contact with the walls and inner contents of the van as she writhed and flailed.
Ledford: My God! Please stop it! (Screams)
Bittaker: Is the recorder going?
Norris: Yeah!
Bittaker: Scream baby! Scream some, baby.
Ledford: I can’t!
Bittaker: Scream some more baby. Come baby. Come on. Nobody is going to hurt you. Turn over and talk to me nice. Love me. You want nothing more in the world than to make me cum. Huh?
Ledford: (Still crying, says something unintelligible which ends with her saying "that’s right.")
Bittaker: Say it again baby. What do you want huh? What do you want?
Ledford: Your cock.
Bittaker: Where do you want it baby, huh?
Ledford: I want to hold it and squeeze it.
Bittaker: Why?
Ledford: It feels good, cause you like it and I like it.
Bittaker: You want me to cum baby.
Ledford: Oh yeah.
Bittaker: You want me to cum, yeah? Want me to come, tell me baby. (Beating and slapping sounds)
Ledford: Yeah.
Bittaker: Tell me!
Ledford: Yeah.
Bittaker: Huh?
Ledford: Oh yeah.
Bittaker: Hey girl, you want me to put a pair of pliers up your cunt?
Ledford: What?
Bittaker: You want to make me cum huh? You want to make me cum huh?
Bittaker: Huh? Want to make me cum girl, huh?
Ledford: Oh yes (Scream)
Bittaker: Yes what?
Ledford: I want you to cum. Cum. (Scream). Come on.
Shirley Ledford then screams in agony as Bittaker inserts the pliers inside her vagina and twists them, tearing her.
Bittaker: Stop screaming at me, come on talk to me!
Ledford: Cum, cum, cum. Please cum, cum, cum, cum.
Bittaker: Where do you want me to cum, baby?
Ledford: I want you to cum.
Bittaker: Where do you want me to cum?
Ledford: I want you to cum.
Bittaker: Where do you want me to cum?
Ledford: Your cock. I want you to cum.
Bittaker: Cum where?
Ledford: Cum.
Bittaker: Cum where? Where do you want me to cum?
Ledford: In me.
Bittaker: Where?
Ledford: Cum.
Bittaker: Where?
Ledford: All over. All over.
Ledford: (Scream). No, no, no, no, no, no. (Scream)
Bittaker: Is the recorder going?
Norris: What?
Bittaker: Is the recorder going?
Norris: (Emphasis) Yeah!
Ledford: Oh no, no, no! Oh no! (Sobbing sounds)
A sharp, shrill scream, followed by wailing sounds follow. It is believed to be at this point when Bittaker, having already sodomized Shirley, inserted the pliers into her rectum and twisted them, tearing her and splitting the lining inside her rectum. Banging sounds can again be heard as Shirley came into contact with the walls and inner contents of the van as she again writhed and flailed.
Ledford: (Screaming). No! No! No! Oh, oh! (Screaming)
At this point, Norris traded places with Bittaker as Shirley lay crying and moaning in the back of the van. Three of the four victims previously killed had all been vaginally raped by Norris, but as Bittaker had viciously torn Shirley's genitals and rectum with his pliers, causing her to bleed, Norris did not vaginally or anally rape her. Instead, Norris forced the already agonized girl to fellate him, then switched on the tape recorder himself.
Norris: Make noise there, girl. Go ahead and scream or I'll make you scream!
Ledford: (Loud, pleading tone) I'll scream if you stop hitting me!
Norris: (Enthusiastic tone in voice) Oh yeah?
Ledford: (Screaming)
Norris: Keep it up girl!
Ledford: (Sreaming)
Norris: More!
Ledford: (Screaming)
Norris: 'Till I say stop!
Ledford: (Screaming)
Unintelligible sounds are heard, interspersed with sounds of Shirley Ledford crying and moaning.
Sounds of Norris extracting the sledgehammer from the tool box can then be heard as Shirley, seeing him do this, again begins crying and shouts, "Oh no! No! Oh!" She then screams in fear, again shouts "Oh, no, no!" before again screaming.
Norris strikes Shirley on the elbow.
Ledford: You broke it!
Norris: I barely hit it.
Ledford: (Pleading and sobbing) Don't hit me again!
Norris: Oh yeah?
Norris can be heard lifting the sledgehammer from either the floor of the van or, possibly, the wooden frame of the bed the two had constructed in the rear of the van.
Ledford: (Screaming) No! No! No! No! No! (Bludgeoning sounds can be heard, interspersed with repeated high-pitched screams)
Ledford: No! No! No! No! No! (Scream) Oh no! No! No! No!
Shirley is struck 25 times in succession on the left elbow by Norris, who repeatedly fractures her left elbow. Each time the hammer strikes her, a piercing scream can be heard. At one point, she may have tried to say something, but her voice had become an unintelligible mass of pain.
Norris: How's that?
Bittaker: (Driving) What's going on?
Norris: I was just beating on her elbows with the hammer.
Bittaker: Ah!
Ledford: Oh! (Screams as Norris again repeatedly strikes her elbow with the hammer).
Norris: What are you sniveling about?
Ledford: (Scream). No! Oh. Owww! I, (Repeated screams).
Ledford: (Screams).
One of many messages upon Shirley Lynette Ledford's memorial page.
Many who knew Shirley Lynette have remarked just how sensitive, kind and mild a girl Shirley Lynette Ledford was.
The tape recorder is then switched off before Norris strangles Shirley by tristing a wire coat hanger around her neck. The last words Shirley Lynette Ledford spoke at the end of her short life were, "Do it. Just kill me!"
Bittaker and Norris then drove to dispose of Shirley Lynette Ledford's horrifically ravaged, battered, broken and torn body. Her body also bore deep welt marks to the wrists and ankles, indicating just how much Shirley Lynette had writhed and struggled against her restraints.
In one final act of degradation, Norris splayed Shirley Lynette's naked body face upwards, with arms outstretched and legs apart.
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1989 APPEAL TRANSCRIPT
48 Cal.3d 1046 (1989)774 P.2d 659259 Cal. Rptr. 630THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,v.LAWRENCE SIGMOND BITTAKER, Defendant and Appellant.
Docket No. S004359. Crim. No. 21942.Supreme Court of California.
June 22, 1989.
From June through October of 1979, defendant and Roy Norris kidnapped and murdered five teenage girls in the Los Angeles area. Most of the killings involved the rape and torture of the victims. Defendant now stands convicted of 26 felony counts
The jury found 38 special circumstances: 20 multiple-murder special circumstances (the arithmetic combinations of 5 murders), 5 felony-murder special circumstances based on kidnapping and 5 based on rape. It found felony-murder special circumstances based on forcible oral copulation as to victims Hall and Ledford, and forcible sodomy as to Ledford. The jury found intentional murder by means of torture as to all victims except Lamp; with respect to Lamp, it found as a special circumstance that she was killed to prevent her from testifying as a witness.
Defendant was sentenced to death. His appeal is automatic. We affirm the conviction and sentence.
SUMMARY OF FACTS
Defendant met Roy Norris while they were inmates in state prison. Defendant had been convicted of assault with a deadly weapon, arising from an incident in 1974 in which he stabbed a store clerk who accused him of shoplifting. Norris had been convicted of rape. The two men became friends, and frequently discussed their mutual interest in rape, and analyzed methods of abducting and raping women without getting caught.
Defendant was paroled in November of 1978 and rented a room at the Scott Motel in Burbank; Norris was paroled in January of 1979. After raping a woman in Colorado, Norris returned to California and called defendant. They would get together on weekends, and go to the beach where defendant would photograph teenage girls. They continued their discussion of rape, and explored various fire roads in the Southern California mountains, looking for places with adequate privacy. Defendant bought a van, choosing one with sliding doors to make it easier to seize a victim and drag her into the van.
In June of 1979 Norris attempted to rape a woman, but she escaped. He told defendant, and they agreed that thereafter they would act together in all their criminal activities.
1. The testimony of Roy Norris.
Norris testified for the prosecution pursuant to a plea bargain under which he pled guilty to five murders and received a sentence of forty-five years to life.
(a) The murder of Lucinda Schaeffer.
On June 24, 1979, defendant was driving the van, with Norris as passenger, on the Pacific Coast Highway in Redondo Beach. They saw Lucinda (Cindy) Schaeffer, age 16, walking along the highway. She turned onto a residential street. Defendant drove by and offered her a ride, but she refused. Defendant then parked the van a short distance down the street. Norris got out and pretended to be repairing it. When Schaefer walked by, he grabbed her and dragged her into the van. While defendant drove away, Norris bound and gagged the victim.
When they arrived at the fire road in the mountains, Norris raped Schaefer while defendant stood lookout. Defendant raped her, then Norris a second time. She asked Norris if the men intended to kill her, and asked for time to pray before they did; Norris, however, assured her that she would not be killed. Defendant then returned to the van, and Norris stood watch outside. After about 45 minutes defendant emerged, and the 2 men argued whether to kill Schaefer. Norris said he had told Schaefer that she would not be killed, but defendant insisted on killing her so she could not identify them. Defendant said that kidnapping with bodily harm carried a sentence of life imprisonment without possibility of parole. Norris was unwilling to risk such a sentence, and finally agreed to the killing.
Defendant held Schaeffer while Norris tried to strangle her, but when he changed his grip Schaeffer and defendant fell over backwards. Defendant dropped his cigarette, which burnt a hole in his shirt and scarred his chest. Defendant then attempted to strangle Schaeffer, but was unable to squeeze tightly enough. He took a clothes hanger, and looped it around her neck. Norris could not get the hanger tight enough, but defendant used pliers to tighten it and kill Schaefer. They then threw the body into the bushes.
(b) The murder of Andrea Hall.
On July 4, 1979, defendant and Norris set out to find another victim. While driving in Manhattan Beach they saw Andrea Hall, age 18, who was hitchhiking to visit her boyfriend in Wilmington. Before they could offer her a ride, a man in another car picked up Hall. Defendant and Norris followed that car to Redondo Beach, where Hall got out and resumed hitchhiking. Defendant offered her a ride. After she entered the van Norris, who had been hiding in the back, attacked her and after a fight managed to bind and gag her.
They drove into the mountains, passing the place where Schaeffer was killed. Norris got out and stood guard while defendant raped Hall. The men then traded activities. When it was Norris's turn to wait outside again, he thought he saw headlights coming up the fire road. Defendant took Hall into some bushes by the road while Norris drove the van, searching unsuccessfully for the intruder. When Norris returned, they drove to a new location. Defendant took Hall up a small hill, maintaining communication with Norris by walkie-talkie. Upon returning two hours later defendant showed Norris eight photographs he had taken. One of these photographs, which shows Hall about to perform oral copulation on defendant, is in evidence. Norris described the other photographs, which showed Hall nude in various poses.
Defendant drove to another place, said he wanted to rape Hall again, and again took her to a hill near the road. Norris drove to a store, keeping in communication by radio. When he returned, defendant was alone. He told Norris he had taken more pictures. He showed Norris two pictures in which Hall appeared frightened, and told Norris that he took them after telling Hall that he was going to kill her, and challenging her to come up with as many reasons as she could why he should not kill her. Defendant then killed Hall by thrusting an ice pick through her ear into her brain. When she did not die instantly, he turned her over and pushed the pick through the other ear, and stepped on it until the handle broke. He then strangled Hall until she died and threw the body over an embankment into some bushes.
(c) The murders of Jacqueline Gilliam and Leah Lamp.
On September 2, 1979, Jacqueline Gilliam, age 15, and Leah Lamp, 13, were hitchhiking in Redondo Beach. Defendant and Norris picked them up in defendant's van. After the girls entered the van, Norris hit Lamp with a sap (a plastic bag filled with lead weights), then subdued and tied Gilliam. Lamp recovered consciousness and attempted to escape, but defendant caught her and forced her back into the van. Defendant then drove into the mountains, driving beyond the site of the other two murders.
Neither defendant nor Norris was sexually interested in Lamp. Defendant set out to rape Gilliam. Learning that she was a virgin, he set up a tape recorder to record her cries during the rape. After Norris also raped Gilliam, they retied the girls, and all remained in the van over night.
The next morning defendant took Lamp up a hill, took some photographs, and left her there. Upon returning, he arranged for Norris to take a series of photographs of him with Gilliam, beginning with them clothed, then nude, then during intercourse and oral copulation. Defendant brought Lamp back to the van, and they drove into town for food and supplies.
Upon their return, defendant took additional nude photographs of Gilliam. Some of these photographs came into possession of defense counsel, who turned them over to the police, and they were admitted into evidence. (At this point, according to Douglas, defendant tortured Gilliam. Norris does not mention torture.) Norris suggested that they kill Gilliam quickly because she had been so helpful, but defendant replied that "they only die once, anyway."
Defendant then took Gilliam out of the van and killed her, first thrusting an ice pick through her ear into her brain, then choking her. Defendant returned to the van, aroused Lamp (who had been forced to take tranquilizers to keep her quiet), and as she stepped out of the van, struck her with a sledgehammer. Defendant choked Lamp while Norris struck her with the hammer until she was dead. The men threw both bodies over an embankment into the chaparral.
(d) The attempted abduction of Jan Malin.
On September 27, 1979, defendant and Norris attempted to abduct an unidentified woman, but she dodged behind the van and escaped. On September 30, they saw Jan Malin park her car in an apartment garage, and return to the garage entrance to close the garage door. Defendant approached, sprayed her with Mace, and attempted to drag her into the van. Malin screamed, and people started to come out of the houses nearby. Norris then drove away without defendant, who fled on foot. Malin's testimony corresponded to Norris's account.
(e) The murder of Shirley Ledford.
Late in the evening on October 31, 1979, defendant and Norris picked up Shirley Ledford, age 16, who was hitchhiking home from her job. Defendant drove to a secluded area, stopped, and drew a knife. Norris then moved into the driver's seat. Defendant turned on his tape recorder. As Norris drove, he could hear screams coming from the back of the van. After one to two hours, defendant turned off the recorder and changed places with Norris. Norris compelled Ledford to orally copulate him, then turned on the recorder and began hitting her on the elbow with a hammer.
When Norris finished torturing Ledford, defendant told him to kill her. Norris strangled the victim with a coat hanger. Defendant suggested dumping the body in someone's front yard so they could see the reaction in the newspaper. They put Ledford's body in a bed of ivy in a suburban neighborhood, where it was discovered by an early morning jogger.
2. Other prosecution evidence.
(a) The bodies.
The bodies of Lucinda Schaeffer and Andrea Hall were never found. Friends and family testified that they had never been seen after the date, when Norris said they were killed. The prosecution presented considerable evidence to show that Schaeffer and Hall were unlikely to disappear voluntarily, and the defense did not dispute that both were dead.
With Norris's assistance, the police discovered and identified the skulls of Jacqueline Gilliam and Leah Lamp. A portion of an ice pick was lodged in Gilliam's skull. Lamp's skull showed the effect of the hammer blows.
Shirley Ledford's body was discovered shortly after she was killed. The coat hanger was still wrapped around her neck. The body had extensive bruising and tearing on the breasts, bruises on the genitals, and bruises on one elbow. Laboratory examination showed sperm in her mouth, vagina and anus.
(b) Tapes, photographs, and other physical evidence.
As we have noted, one of defendant's photographs of Andrea Hall and six of Jacqueline Gilliam were identified and introduced into evidence. The tape recording of the torture of Shirley Ledford was discovered in defendant's van. The first portion of the tape contains a male voice, identified as defendant's, and screaming from a female voice, stipulated to be Ledford's. At one point defendant demands Ledford tell him what she is doing, and she describes an act of oral copulation. The second portion of the tape contains Norris's voice, urging Ledford to scream, and more screaming by Ledford.
Ledford's bracelet was discovered in Norris's apartment. Defendant's van contained a small sledgehammer. In his room police discovered seven bottles of various acids, which Norris said defendant planned to test on his next victim.
(c) Testimony of other motel residents.
Richard Dryburgh, another resident of the Scott Motel, testified in return for dismissal of a charge of possession of an explosive. He said defendant showed him nude photographs of the victims, told him one was named "Cindy," and that she had been killed. Shown a picture of Lucinda Schaefer, Dryburgh said she was one of the girls in the photographs he had seen. Dryburgh further testified that defendant told him of kidnapping and killing two girls on one occasion, but incorrectly identified Schaefer as one of the two. He correctly identified a photograph of Gilliam. Mike Horn, another resident, testified that defendant showed him photographs of Gilliam and Hall.
Christina Dralle, a 17-year-old girl staying at the motel, said defendant showed her photographs of Gilliam and four other girls, and said, "The girls I get won't talk any more." On another occasion she heard a tape, apparently the recording of the rape of Gilliam, which defendant played for her. Steven Eastman, a visitor at the motel, also heard the tape.
(d) Testimony of inmates.
David Lambert shared a jail cell with defendant. At defendant's request, Lambert drew a picture of a girl on the cell wall. Defendant said it looked like "Cindy," and asked Lambert to add coat hangers and pliers to the picture. Defendant then signed it "Pliers Bittaker," a jail nickname he had acquired from his stories of torturing women with pliers. Defendant signed autographs for other prisoners using that nickname. One said, "hitch-hikers welcome, females especially"; another said, "Norris did it." Defendant also told Lambert of his abduction of two girls on one occasion, and of another girl on Halloween night (when Ledford was murdered).
Lloyd Carlos Douglas testified that defendant told him in detail of the abduction of Gilliam and Lamp, the rape and torture of Gilliam, and the murder of both girls. (Norris did not describe any torture of Gilliam.) According to Douglas, defendant said he pinched Gilliam's legs and breasts with a vise grip, finally tearing off part of the nipple, then thrust an ice pick through her breast and twisted it. He then pushed the ice pick through Gilliam's ear; she screamed and fell dead. Defendant told Douglas that he tortured Ledford by pulling on her genitals and breasts with a vise grip.
3. Defendant's case.
The defense contended that Norris, not defendant, was responsible for the murders. Richard Shoopman, a convict friend of defendant and Norris, said Norris had told him many times of his desire to rape young women. Norris said the look of shock and fear on the victim's face particularly aroused him. Defendant, on the other hand, seldom talked to Shoopman about sex.
Defendant testified on his own behalf, and said that he was not involved in the abduction and murder of Lucinda Schaeffer, but that Norris told him that Norris and another man had committed those crimes. He testified that he and Norris picked up Andrea Hall when she was hitchhiking, and offered her $200 for sex and photographs, to which she agreed. They drove into the mountains, engaged in various sexual acts, and took pictures. Defendant then returned to the van. A while later Norris returned alone, and told defendant that Hall could find her own way home.
Defendant testified that after he and Norris picked up Gilliam and Lamp, he offered Gilliam money if she would pose for photographs. She agreed. They drove to the mountains where he and Norris took the photographs and made a tape recording. The next day Norris dropped defendant at Norris's residence and left to drive the girls home in the van. Defendant testified that he never saw them again.
Defendant admitted the assault on Jan Malin, and his description of the incident corresponds to that of Norris and Malin. He claimed, however, that his purpose was not to kidnap Malin, but to test the effectiveness of Mace as a defensive weapon.
Finally, defendant testified that Shirley Ledford agreed to sexual acts for money, and to making of a tape. She screamed on cue for the tape, but was not tortured in his presence. Defendant said that after making the tape he returned to his motel, leaving Ledford with Norris.
On cross-examination, defendant acknowledged that he had begun writing a book, and had shown drafts to a newspaper reporter and a guard. The book, entitled "The Last Ride," contained a detailed account of the murder of Lucinda Schaeffer by Norris and the author. It also described the abduction and rape of Andrea Hall (but not her murder), and the abduction of Gilliam and Lamp. In explanation, defendant said that the book was part fact, based on what he had been told by Norris, and part fiction.
4. Penalty phase evidence.
Gary Louie, the victim of defendant's 1974 assault, testified at the penalty trial. He saw defendant leave a grocery store with a package of meat hidden in his clothes. Louie followed defendant outside and asked if defendant had forgotten to pay for anything. Instantly, without saying a word, defendant stabbed Louie. Defendant was caught by two other employees. The defense presented psychiatric evidence that defendant may have been in an altered state of consciousness at the time of the assault; the prosecution presented contrary expert evidence in rebuttal.
Psychologist Michael Maloney testified for the defense. He described defendant's lengthy criminal career dating from adolescence, but noted that, except for the 1974 incident, the crimes were largely nonviolent, primarily shoplifting and auto theft. On one occasion defendant committed a crime and was returned to custody the day of his release. Dr. Maloney said defendant was quite intelligent (I.Q. over 130). He has no mental illness except an inability to empathize with others. He classified defendant as an "antisocial personality," a diagnostic category that replaces the former designations of psychopath and sociopath.
The 5 girls killed by Bittaker and Norris. "All tortured", as Stephen Kay recollected more than 20 years after Bittaker's trial.
The 5 girls killed by Bittaker and Norris.