Angelo Anthony Buono Jr. (October 5, 1934 – September 21, 2002) was an American

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

kidnapper Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

and rapist who, together with his adopted cousin Kenneth Bianchi, were known as the Hillside Stranglers. Buono and Bianchi were convicted of killing ten young women in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, between October 1977 and February 1978.

Early life

Angelo Buono was born on October 5, 1934, in Rochester,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, to first-generation Italian emigrants from San Buono. Buono had developed an extensive criminal history, ranging from failure to pay

child support Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (state or parent, caregiver, guardian) following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is ...

grand theft auto ''Grand Theft Auto'' (''GTA'') is an action-adventure video game series created by David Jones and Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan and Sam Houser, Leslie Benzies and Aaron Garbut. It is prima ...

assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...

and

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

. In 1975, when Buono was 41 years old, he came into contact with his adopted cousin, Kenneth Bianchi. A self-described "ladies man", Buono persuaded Bianchi to join him in pimping out two women he had been holding as virtual prisoners.

Murders

In October 1977, Buono and Bianchi began killing women. Cruising around

, in Buono's car and using fake badges, the two men persuaded their victims that they were

undercover A cover in foreign, military or police human intelligence or counterintelligence is the ostensible identity and role or position in an infiltrated organization assumed by a covert agent during a covert operation. Official cover In espionage, a ...

police officers. They would then order the victims into Bianchi's Cadillac, which they claimed was an unmarked police car, and drive to Buono's home to

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

and murder them. The women and girls ranged in age from 12 to 28. The confirmed victims were: * Yolanda Washington, age 19 – October 17, 1977 * Judith Lynn Miller, age 15 – October 31, 1977 * Lissa Kastin, age 21 – November 5, 1977 * Jane King, age 28 – November 9, 1977 * Dolores Cepeda, age 12 – November 13, 1977 * Sonja Johnson, age 14 – November 13, 1977 * Kristina Weckler, age 20 – November 20, 1977 * Lauren Wagner, age 18 – November 28, 1977 * Kimberly Martin, age 17 – December 13, 1977 * Cindy Lee Hudspeth, age 20 – February 16, 1978 Both Buono and Bianchi would sexually abuse their victims before

strangling Strangling or strangulation is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain by restricting the flow of oxygen through the trachea. Fatal strangulation typically occur ...

them. They experimented with other methods of killing, such as

lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium) for the express purpose of causing death. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but t ...

electric shock An electrical injury (electric injury) or electrical shock (electric shock) is damage sustained to the skin or internal organs on direct contact with an electric current. The injury depends on the Current density, density of the current, tissu ...

, and

carbon monoxide poisoning Carbon monoxide poisoning typically occurs from breathing in carbon monoxide (CO) at excessive levels. Symptoms are often described as " flu-like" and commonly include headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Large ...

. Even while committing the murders, Bianchi applied for a job with the

Los Angeles Police Department The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

(LAPD) and had even been taken for several rides with police officers while they were searching for the Hillside Strangler.

Trial

The legal case against Buono was based largely upon Bianchi's testimony. Deciding that Bianchi was an unreliable and uncooperative witness, the case's original prosecutors from

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

John Van de Kamp's office moved to dismiss all charges against Buono and set him free. The presiding judge, Ronald M. George, refused to release Buono and reassigned the case to

California Attorney General The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the government of California. The officer must ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (Constitution of California, Article V, Section 13). The ...

George Deukmejian Courken George Deukmejian Jr. ( ; June 6, 1928May 8, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of California from 1983 to 1991. A member of the Republican Party, he was the state's first governor of Armenian descent. B ...

's office. Buono's trial would become the longest in American legal history, lasting from November 1981 until November 1983. During the trial, Bianchi, in exchange for a lighter sentence, testified against Buono. The jury convicted Buono on nine counts of murder and sentenced him to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

, with Judge George commenting that he felt a

death sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

would have been the appropriate punishment. Bianchi was ultimately sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Detention, death and aftermath

In 1986, Buono married Christine Kizuka, a mother of three and a supervisor at the California State

Employment Development Department In California, the Employment Development Department (EDD) is a department of the state government of California, government that administers Unemployment Insurance (UI), Disability Insurance (DI), and Paid Family Leave (PFL) programs. The depar ...

. He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in September 2002 while incarcerated at Calipatria State Prison. His body was cremated. In 2007, Buono's grandson, Christopher Buono, committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

shortly after shooting his grandmother, Mary Castillo, in the head. Castillo was at one time married to Buono, and had five children with him, including Chris' father. Chris Buono was unaware of his grandfather's true identity until 2005.

Media

In the 1989 film ''The Case of the Hillside Stranglers'', Buono was portrayed by actor

Dennis Farina Donaldo Gugliermo "Dennis" Farina (February 29, 1944 – July 22, 2013) was an American actor and Chicago police detective. Known for his roles as mobsters or police officers, his involvement in the entertainment industry began through his asso ...

. In the 2004 film '' The Hillside Strangler'', Buono was portrayed by actor

Nicholas Turturro Nicholas Turturro Jr. (born January 29, 1962) is an American actor. Turturro is best known for his roles in New York City based films and on the television series '' Blue Bloods'' and ''NYPD Blue''. He has collaborated with director Spike Lee sin ...

and in '' Rampage: The Hillside Strangler Murders'' (2006), he was played by

Tomas Arana Thomas Clifford Arana (born April 3, 1955) is an American actor. He appeared in the films ''The Hunt for Red October'' (1990), '' The Bodyguard'' (1992), ''L.A. Confidential'' (1997), ''Gladiator'' (2000), ''The Bourne Supremacy'' (2004), '' Li ...

References

External links

Crime Library's story on the Hillside Stranglers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buono, Angelo Jr. 1934 births 2002 deaths 20th-century American murderers American male criminals American murderers of children American people convicted of assault American people convicted of murder American people convicted of rape American people convicted of theft American people of Italian descent American people who died in prison custody American pimps American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Crime in California Criminals from Los Angeles Criminals from New York (state) People convicted of murder by California People from Rochester, New York Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by California Prisoners who died in California detention Serial killers from California Serial killers who died in prison custody Violence against women in California People of Abruzzese descent