Photo: AP/Shutterstock
Lawrence Sigmond Bittaker, who was responsible for the death of five California teenage girls 40 years ago, died of natural causes at 4 p.m. Friday at San Quentin State Prison, anews releasesaid. He was 79 years old.
In 1979, Bittaker and his crime partner Roy Lewis Norris, 71, kidnapped, raped, tortured and murdered five teenage girls. The pair became infamously known as the “Tool Box Killers” due to their use of tools like screwdrivers, pliers and an ice pick to torture and kill their victims.
Between June and October 1979, Bittaker and Norris killed Lucinda Lynn Schaefer, 16; Andrea Joy Hall, 18; Jacqueline Doris Gilliam, 15; Jacqueline Leah Lamp, 13; and Shirley Lynette Ledford, 16. The bodies of Schaefer and Hall were never recovered, the news release said.
Lawrence Bittaker.Bettmann/Getty
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Norris pleaded guilty to all counts in exchange for prosecutors not seeking the death penalty. After cooperating fully and testifying against Bittaker, he was sentenced in Los Angeles County on April 28, 1981. He is currently serving 45 years to life at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility.
Lawrence Bittaker.AP/Shutterstock
source: people.com
