Robert Willard Liberty (May 15, 1947 – January 20, 1971), known as the Candlelight Killer, was an American

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

who murdered two men in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

from March to June 1970 in ritualistic style, and left taunting messages behind for authorities to find. Liberty had spent three years in a mental hospital prior to the murders for killing his girlfriend in 1966. In 1971, while awaiting trial for the new killings, Liberty was murdered by a fellow inmate.

Murder of Marcella Landis

In 1966, while housed at Orange County Medical Center, Liberty, then 19, met 31-year-old Marcella Landis. Like Liberty, Landis was being treated after a suicide attempt. The two eventually entered a relationship, and after both were released, Liberty eventually began living in Landis' apartment. On June 4, 1966, Liberty strangled Landis to death with a silk stocking. After the murder, he dressed up the body and applied makeup to it, before laying it on a couch and lit candles from her head to her feet and placing a

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

on her chest. When police entered the apartment, they found Liberty strumming a guitar next to Landis' body, and he was arrested. On August 26, a judge declared Liberty insane, and he was ordered to spend 90 days at the Atascadero State Hospital in

San Luis Obispo County San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo. Junípero Serra founded the Mis ...

. In February 1967, a judge accepted a plea of insanity and Liberty was found not guilty by reason of insanity in Landis' murder, and he was transferred to the Vacaville State Hospital.

'Candlelight' killings

Thomas Astorina

By 1969, physiatrists who had interviewed Liberty had all claimed that he had recovered. On June 2, 1969, Liberty walked out of Metropolitan State Hospital a free man, after his doctor mislabeled him as discharged. Once located, Liberty stated he thought he had been released, but was returned to Orange County Medical Center. Liberty was freed as legally sane on September 15, 1969, with no supervision to be required. Afterwards, he moved to

Costa Mesa Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge of th ...

and began living with three other men in an apartment. On March 12, 1970, Liberty fatally shot one of his roommates, 25-year-old Thomas Astorina, a father of two. Liberty was charged with the murder, but later took off to avoid the charge. A warrant was issued by the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice ...

(FBI) for flight to avoid prosecution.

Robert Irion

Liberty, now on the run, befriended Kenall Bierly, and the two began a romantic relationship. On June 6, Liberty and Bierly were hitchhiking in

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporat ...

. They were picked up by 17-year-old Richard Greytak. Liberty brandished a gun and forced Greytak to take them to Liberty's mother's house in

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. Once there, Liberty robbed his mother of $45 at gunpoint. He then went back to the car, where he forced Greytak to drive them to

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. There, Liberty directed him into a nearby building, where they broke into the apartment of 53-year-old Robert J. Irion, a former patient of the same mental hospital where Liberty was housed and who was now a nurse. Liberty tied up Irion and Greytak, and kept them like that for hours while he and Bierly scoured the apartment. At midnight, Liberty decided to kill Irion, and fatally beat him to death. He displayed the body on the bedroom floor and lit candles on the head. He then brandished a grease pencil, and wrote on the bedroom door "The Candlelight Killer Strikes Again", and nearby also wrote "Catch Me If You Can". Liberty and Bierly then left the apartment, leaving Greytak behind. After seven hours, Greytak was able to loosen the rope that had been used to bound him, set himself free, and called the police. Following this, a manhunt ensued.

Capture

Investigators in various cities in Orange County checked bars and other placing Liberty was known to frequent. By that time, Liberty fled out of state. On June 9, Liberty along with Bierly and Glenn Alan Fawcett, 17, robbed a motel in

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

of $109, and kidnapped the owner's wife. The owner called police, whom located Liberty's vehicle, found the kidnapped woman, and arrested him along with Bierly and Fawcett. Liberty pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Before he could be brought to trial, on January 20, 1971, Liberty, along with his cellmate Paul Eugene Rankin, were strangled to death by another cellmate Timothy Earl Dudley, 24. Dudley was sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes fo ...

after pleading guilty in April.

External links

Liberty featured on Deranged LA Crimes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberty, Robert 1947 births 1966 murders in the United States 1970 murders in the United States 1971 deaths 20th-century American criminals American male criminals American murder victims American people who died in prison custody Crime in California Criminals from California Fugitives Male murder victims People murdered in California Prisoners who died in California detention Violence against men in North America Violence against women in the United States