Violent Minds

The Complete Story of Angelo Buono: The Hillside Strangler

Introduction

Angelo Anthony Buono Jr., infamously known as one of the “Hillside Stranglers,” stands as one of America’s most disturbing serial killers, whose reign of terror alongside his cousin Kenneth Bianchi shocked Los Angeles between 1977 and 1978. Together, they kidnapped, raped, tortured, and murdered at least 10 young women and girls, leaving their bodies displayed on hillsides throughout the city. What makes Buono’s case particularly chilling is not just the brutality of his crimes but the stark contrast between his public persona as an auto upholsterer and family man and the sadistic predator who methodically tortured his victims. This comprehensive analysis explores Buono’s life, crimes, psychological profile, and the investigation that finally brought him to justice, revealing the complex and disturbing mind behind one of America’s most horrific killing sprees.

Early Life and Development

Birth and Family Background

Angelo Anthony Buono Jr. was born on October 5, 1934, in Rochester, New York, to first-generation Italian emigrants from San Buono. His early life was marked by instability when his parents divorced while he was still young. Following the divorce in 1939, Buono’s mother gained custody of him and his older sister Cecilia, relocating the family to Glendale, California, when Angelo was just five years old. This early disruption would prove significant in shaping his psychological development and future behavior patterns.

Childhood and Early Warning Signs

Even as a young boy, Buono displayed troubling behaviors that foreshadowed his future violence. By age 14, he was already bragging about raping girls, demonstrating an early fixation with sexual violence and domination. His juvenile criminal record began to grow as he engaged in various offenses, including theft and assault. At 16, Buono was arrested for grand theft auto and sent to a youth reformatory, marking the beginning of his formal criminal history.

Buono’s fascination with criminality extended to his admiration of Caryl Chessman, the notorious “Red Light Bandit” sex offender, whom he considered his hero and role model. This identification with a sexual predator reveals Buono’s early psychological alignment with criminal sexual behavior and suggests the development of his deviant sexual interests.

Education and Early Adulthood

Buono dropped out of high school and began working various odd jobs, eventually developing skills as a car upholsterer, which would later become his primary occupation. His professional life as an auto upholsterer provided him with a veneer of respectability that helped conceal his growing criminal tendencies. This ability to maintain a seemingly normal occupation while harboring violent impulses would become a defining characteristic of his criminal career.

Relationships and Family Life

Marriages and Children

Buono’s relationships with women were characterized by control, abuse, and exploitation. His first marriage in 1955 to Geraldine Vinal, a 17-year-old girl from his high school, lasted less than a week before he abandoned her. She was pregnant at the time, and their son, Michael Lee Buono, was born on January 10, 1956. Buono refused to pay child support and would not allow his son to call him “father,” demonstrating his early pattern of rejecting parental responsibility.

Later that same year, Buono fathered another son, Angelo Anthony Buono III, with his girlfriend Mary Catherine Castillo. He married Castillo in April 1957, and they had several more children together: Peter (b. 1957), Danny (b. 1958), Louis (b. 1960), and Grace (b. 1962). The marriage ended in divorce in 1964, with Buono continuing his pattern of domestic instability.

Buono married again to Deborah Taylor in 1972 and later to Christine Kizuka in 1986 while he was in prison. In total, he fathered eight children with multiple women: Michael, Angelo III, Peter, Danny, Louis, Grace, Tony (b. 1967), and Sam (b. 1969). His two youngest sons were from his relationship with Nanette Turner.

Pattern of Abuse

Throughout his adult life, Buono was known for his extreme misogyny and abusive treatment of women. He frequently physically and emotionally abused his wives and girlfriends, establishing a pattern of violence that would later escalate to murder. His famous quote, “I put women in their place,” encapsulates his attitude toward women and his belief in male dominance and control. This deep-seated hatred of women would become a driving force behind his later crimes.

Criminal Escalation

Early Criminal History

Before the murders that made him infamous, Buono had developed an extensive criminal history that included failure to pay child support, grand theft auto, assault, and rape. His criminal behavior demonstrated a pattern of escalation, with each offense becoming more serious and violent than the last. This progression is typical of serial offenders, whose crimes often evolve from lesser offenses to more severe violence over time.

Partnership with Kenneth Bianchi

The catalyst for Buono’s transformation from an abusive criminal to a serial killer came in 1976 when his cousin Kenneth Bianchi moved to Los Angeles. Bianchi, who had been adopted into Buono’s extended family as an infant, arrived in Los Angeles escaping from a string of unsuccessful jobs and a failed marriage. Buono’s mother had arranged for Bianchi to stay with his cousin upon his arrival in California.

Despite being 17 years younger than Buono, Bianchi quickly became enamored with his older cousin’s lifestyle. Buono, then 41, presented himself as a self-styled “ladies’ man” who dressed expensively and exuded confidence. This facade impressed the younger Bianchi, who was described by those who knew him as a “born loser” and was easily influenced by authority figures.

Bianchi later described Buono as a rigid, controlling man who was difficult to live with. According to Bianchi’s testimony, Buono “liked to give orders, not take them” and had a habit of making “belittling comments… a persistent type of off-color teasing”. Despite these tensions, Bianchi remained under Buono’s influence, with the power dynamic clearly established in Buono’s favor. When asked if he ever gave orders to Buono, Bianchi replied, “Not on your life”.

The Prostitution Ring

Shortly after Bianchi’s arrival, Buono persuaded him to join in pimping out two women he had been holding as virtual prisoners. This operation marked the beginning of their criminal partnership and demonstrated Buono’s ability to manipulate and control both Bianchi and their victims. The prostitution ring served as a training ground for the violence that would follow, as Buono taught Bianchi techniques of intimidation and control that they would later use in their murders.

By late 1977, their prostitution business had evolved into a more organized operation, but tensions arose when some of the women began to resist their control. This resistance, particularly from their first murder victim, would trigger the escalation from exploitation to murder.

The Murder Spree

First Victim and Pattern Establishment

The Hillside Strangler murders began in October 1977, triggered by a dispute over a “trick list” of prostitution clients. Their first victim was Yolanda Washington, a 19-year-old prostitute who was killed on October 17, 1977. Washington was raped and strangled, establishing the pattern that would characterize their subsequent murders. Her body was found near the Forest Lawn Cemetery, marking the beginning of their practice of leaving victims on hillsides around Los Angeles.

Methodology and Victim Selection

Buono and Bianchi’s methodology was both calculated and brutal. They typically posed as police officers, using fake badges to gain their victims’ trust. Once a victim was in their car, they would drive to Buono’s home in Glendale, where the torture and murders took place. This use of police impersonation exploited societal trust in authority figures and demonstrated the killers’ understanding of power dynamics.

Their victims ranged in age from 12 to 28 and came from diverse backgrounds. While they initially targeted sex workers, they later expanded to include students, young professionals, and even schoolgirls. This evolution in victim selection suggests an escalation in confidence and a broadening of their predatory scope.

Torture Methods and Sexual Sadism

What distinguished the Hillside Strangler murders was the extreme sadism displayed in their crimes. Once victims were under their control, Buono and Bianchi subjected them to horrific torture before killing them. Their methods included:

• Burning victims with car cigarette lighters, particularly around genitals and sensitive areas
• Injecting victims with Windex and other household chemicals
• Sexual assault and rape, often involving both cousins
• Various forms of physical torture and humiliation
• Strangulation, typically their final method of killing

The sexual sadism evident in these torture methods reveals the profound psychological disturbance driving both killers, particularly Buono, whose hatred of women found its ultimate expression in these acts of violence.

The Victims

Between October 1977 and February 1978, Buono and Bianchi murdered at least 10 women and girls. Their confirmed victims were:

• Yolanda Washington, 19 – October 17, 1977
• Judith Lynn Miller, 15 – October 31, 1977
• Lissa Kastin, 21 – November 5, 1977
• Jane King, 28 – November 9, 1977
• Dolores Cepeda, 12 – November 13, 1977
• Sonja Johnson, 14 – November 13, 1977
• Kristina Weckler, 20 – November 20, 1977
• Lauren Wagner, 18 – November 28, 1977
• Kimberly Martin, 17 – December 13, 1977
• Cindy Lee Hudspeth, 20 – February 16, 1978

The rapid succession of murders over just four months demonstrates the accelerating nature of their killing spree and the growing boldness of their attacks. The final murder of Cindy Lee Hudspeth involved the additional step of placing her body in her own car and pushing it off a cliff, showing an evolution in their disposal methods.

Investigation and Capture

The Manhunt

The discovery of multiple young women’s bodies on hillsides around Los Angeles triggered one of the largest manhunts in the city’s history. Initially, investigators believed they were looking for a single killer, dubbed the “Hillside Strangler“. However, forensic evidence eventually suggested that two perpetrators were working together, though this information was withheld from the public.

The investigation was complicated by the seemingly random nature of the later victims and the killers’ careful efforts to avoid leaving evidence. Despite the formation of a dedicated task force, the case remained unsolved for over a year after the murders stopped.

Bianchi’s Arrest and Buono’s Exposure

The break in the case came not in Los Angeles but in Bellingham, Washington, where Bianchi had moved after the killing spree ended. In January 1979, Bianchi was arrested for the murders of two women in Washington state. During his interrogation, Bianchi eventually implicated Buono as his accomplice in the Los Angeles murders, hoping to avoid the death penalty.

Based on Bianchi’s testimony, police arrested Buono at his Glendale home in October 1979. The evidence against him included fiber evidence from his auto upholstery shop that matched fibers found on two victims’ bodies, as well as Bianchi’s detailed testimony about their crimes.

Trial and Legal Proceedings

The Longest Trial in California History

Buono’s trial began in November 1981 and lasted an unprecedented 23 months, making it the longest criminal trial in California history at that time. The prosecution presented 1,198 pieces of evidence and called 250 witnesses during their 13-month presentation. The trial cost millions of dollars and generated thousands of pages of transcript, reflecting the complexity and scope of the case.

The prosecution faced significant challenges, particularly when Bianchi, their star witness, gave inconsistent testimony. At one point, the Los Angeles District Attorney attempted to dismiss the charges against Buono due to concerns about Bianchi’s reliability as a witness. However, Superior Court Judge Ronald George refused to dismiss the case, and the California Attorney General’s office took over the prosecution8.

Evidence and Testimony

Despite the challenges with Bianchi’s testimony, prosecutors built a compelling case against Buono. Key evidence included:

• Carpet and upholstery fibers from Buono’s home and shop that matched fibers found on victims’ bodies
• Testimony from witnesses who had seen Buono with victims or observed him and Bianchi attempting to force women into their car
• Physical evidence from Buono’s home linking him to the crimes
• Testimony from Catherine Lorre (daughter of actor Peter Lorre) who reported being approached by Buono and Bianchi posing as police officers

The prosecution argued that the evidence conclusively proved Buono’s guilt in all ten murders, presenting a case of “cold, calculated” killings that had terrorized Los Angeles.

Conviction and Sentencing

On November 18, 1983, after deliberating for two weeks, the jury found Buono guilty of nine of the ten murders (he was acquitted of the Yolanda Washington murder). Judge Ronald George sentenced Buono to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, stating that the case warranted the death penalty but that it wasn’t an option due to the jury’s recommendation.

During sentencing, Judge George expressed his horror at Buono’s crimes, stating: “I can’t imagine doing these things in scientific experiments on a dead person, much less someone alive”. Despite the overwhelming evidence, Buono maintained his innocence, declaring: “I have not murdered anyone, and any reasonable review of the record will show that”.

Psychological Profile

Antisocial Personality Disorder and Psychopathy

Mental health experts who have studied Buono’s case identify him as exhibiting classic symptoms of Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD). This disorder is characterized by a pervasive pattern of disregard for the rights of others, deceitfulness, impulsivity, aggressiveness, reckless disregard for safety, consistent irresponsibility, and lack of remorse – all traits that Buono exhibited extensively.

Buono’s psychopathic traits were particularly evident in his complete lack of empathy for his victims and absence of genuine remorse. Throughout his trial and imprisonment, he never expressed regret for his actions, maintaining his innocence despite overwhelming evidence. This emotional detachment is characteristic of psychopathy and allowed him to commit extreme acts of violence without experiencing normal human reactions of guilt or compassion.

Sexual Sadism and Misogyny

Central to understanding Buono’s psychology is his profound hatred of women and his sexual sadism. From an early age, Buono displayed misogynistic attitudes, viewing women as objects to be controlled and dominated. His famous statement, “I put women in their place,” encapsulates his belief in male superiority and his desire to subjugate women.

This misogyny found its ultimate expression in sexual sadism – the derivation of pleasure from inflicting pain, suffering, or humiliation on others. The extreme torture methods used on victims, particularly the focus on sexual organs and humiliation, demonstrate the fusion of violence and sexual gratification that characterized Buono’s crimes. This sexual sadism represents one of the most severe forms of paraphilia and is strongly associated with serial sexual homicide.

The Dark Triad Personality Structure

Psychological experts have identified Buono as exhibiting the “Dark Triad” of personality traits: psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism. This deadly combination created an individual capable of extreme violence without remorse, who derived pleasure from manipulating both his victims and his cousin Bianchi.

His narcissistic traits were evident in his self-presentation as a “ladies’ man” and his belief in his own superiority. The Machiavellian aspect of his personality allowed him to manipulate others, particularly Bianchi, whom he controlled through a combination of intimidation and approval. Together, these traits created a particularly dangerous individual who could both plan methodical violence and feel no remorse for his actions.

Influence Over Bianchi

The psychological dynamic between Buono and Bianchi reveals much about Buono’s manipulative abilities and dominant personality. Despite being the younger of the two, Bianchi described Buono as rigid, controlling, and intimidating. Buono’s influence over his younger cousin demonstrates his understanding of power dynamics and his ability to identify and exploit psychological vulnerabilities in others.

Bianchi, who had been diagnosed with passive-aggressive personality disorder and was known to be easily influenced, proved the perfect accomplice for Buono. The relationship between the two has been described as a “match made for killing,” with Buono providing the cruelty and Bianchi the psychopathic detachment. This dynamic helps explain why Buono stopped killing after Bianchi moved away, suggesting that the partnership itself was a crucial element in enabling the murders.

Prison Life and Death

Life at Calipatria State Prison

Following his conviction, Buono was incarcerated at Calipatria State Prison near Palm Springs, California. Prison officials reported that there was “nothing exceptional about his conduct in prison,” suggesting that he adapted to institutional life without significant issues. He was housed in a single cell due to the nature of his crimes, reflecting the prison system’s recognition of his dangerous nature.

In 1986, while imprisoned, Buono married Christine Kizuka, a mother of three and supervisor at the Los Angeles office of the state Employment Development Department. This marriage, occurring after his conviction for multiple brutal murders, demonstrates the phenomenon of hybristophilia – sexual attraction to those who have committed atrocious crimes – that sometimes surrounds notorious killers.

Death and Legacy

On September 21, 2002, at the age of 67, Angelo Buono died of natural causes at Calipatria State Prison. Prison officials reported that he had suffered from heart problems in the past, though the exact cause of death was not immediately determined. There were no signs of trauma, and Buono was alone in his cell when he died.

Retired Bellingham police detective Fred Nolte, whose investigation of Bianchi had led to the break in the case, had little to say about Buono’s death, stating simply: “As far as he’s concerned, I don’t really have any feeling for him. The world’s probably a better place without him”. This sentiment reflects the lasting impact of Buono’s crimes and the absence of redemption in his case.

Cultural Impact and Legacy

Media Representation

The Hillside Strangler case has been the subject of numerous books, documentaries, and films, including “The Hillside Strangler” (2004) starring C. Thomas Howell as Bianchi and Nicholas Turturro as Buono. These portrayals have often focused on the psychological dynamic between the two killers and the brutal nature of their crimes.

Despite the notoriety of the case, Buono has received relatively less attention in popular culture compared to other serial killers of similar or even lesser infamy. This relative obscurity may be due to his refusal to admit guilt or participate in interviews, limiting the public’s access to his perspective on the crimes.

Impact on Law Enforcement

The Hillside Strangler case had a significant impact on law enforcement practices, particularly regarding the investigation of serial murders. The case demonstrated the importance of inter-jurisdictional cooperation and the need for specialized task forces to address complex serial crimes. The initial failure to recognize that two killers were working together also highlighted the limitations of traditional profiling methods, which often assume a lone perpetrator.

The case also raised awareness about the vulnerability of young women, particularly those involved in sex work, and led to increased attention to missing persons cases involving this demographic. The public fear generated by the murders changed behaviors throughout Los Angeles, with many women altering their routines and taking additional safety precautions.

Conclusion

Angelo Buono represents one of the most disturbing figures in American criminal history, a man whose profound hatred of women and sadistic tendencies culminated in a series of brutal murders that terrorized Los Angeles. His case reveals the dangerous intersection of antisocial personality disorder, sexual sadism, and misogyny that can create a predator capable of extreme violence.

What makes Buono particularly chilling is not just the brutality of his crimes but his ability to maintain a facade of normalcy as a businessman and family man while committing unspeakable acts of violence. This duality – the public persona versus the private monster – exemplifies the challenge in identifying dangerous individuals before they act and the limitations of our understanding of the criminal mind.

The partnership between Buono and Bianchi also demonstrates the dangerous potential of criminal duos, where the combination of personalities can enable violence that might not occur with either individual alone. Their case stands as a stark reminder of the depths of human cruelty and the complex psychological factors that drive serial killers.

As we continue to study cases like Buono’s, we gain valuable insights into the psychology of violence and the factors that contribute to extreme criminal behavior. These insights not only help us understand the past but may also aid in preventing future violence by identifying risk factors and intervention opportunities before they escalate to murder.

Hillside Stranglers: The Deadly Cousin Duo | World’s Most Evil Killers | Real Crime

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