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

kidnapper In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...

and rapist who, together with his adopted cousin

Kenneth Bianchi Kenneth Alessio Bianchi (born May 22, 1951) is an American serial killer, kidnapper, and rapist. He is known for the Hillside Strangler murders committed with his cousin Angelo Buono Jr. in Los Angeles, California, as well as for murdering two ...

, were known as the Hillside Stranglers. Buono and Bianchi were convicted of killing ten young women in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, between October 1977 and February 1978.

Early life

Angelo Buono was born on October 5, 1934, in

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

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

, to first-generation Italian emigrants from

San Buono San Buono is a '' comune'' and town in the Province of Chieti in the Abruzzo , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demograph ...

. 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 (or parent, caregiver, guardian) following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is paid d ...

grand theft auto ''Grand Theft Auto'' (''GTA'') is a series of action-adventure games 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 primarily d ...

assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in cr ...

and

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

. In 1975, when Buono was 41 years old, he came into contact with his adopted cousin,

. 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 To go "undercover" (that is, to go on an undercover operation) is to avoid detection by the object of one's observation, and especially to disguise one's own identity (or use an assumed identity) for the purposes of gaining the trust of an ind ...

police officers. They would then order the victims into Bianchi's Cadillac, which they claimed was an

unmarked police car A police car (also called a police cruiser, police interceptor, patrol car, area car, cop car, prowl car, squad car, radio car, or radio motor patrol) is a ground vehicle used by police and law enforcement for transportation during patrols a ...

, and drive to Buono's home to

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts ...

and murder them. The women and girls ranged in age from 12 to 28. The 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 * Kimberely Martin, age 17 – December 9, 1977 * Cindy Lee Hudspeth, age 20 – February 16, 1978 Both Buono and Bianchi would sexually abuse their victims before

strangling Strangling is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain. Fatal strangling typically occurs in cases of violence, accidents, and is one of two main ways that hangin ...

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 solution) for the express purpose of causing rapid death. The main application for this procedure is capital puni ...

electric shock Electrical injury is a physiological reaction caused by electric current passing through the body. The injury depends on the density of the current, tissue resistance and duration of contact. Very small currents may be imperceptible or produce a ...

, 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 Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-lar ...

(LAPD) and had even been taken for several rides with police officers while they were searching for the Hillside Strangler (who until Buono and Bianchi's capture was assumed to be a lone individual). Shortly after they botched their would-be eleventh murder, Bianchi revealed to Buono he had participated in LAPD police ride-alongs and that he was currently being questioned about the Hillside Strangler case. Buono flew into a rage and threatened to kill Bianchi if he did not move to Bellingham,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. In May 1978, Bianchi moved to Bellingham.

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, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a ...

John Van de Kamp John Kalar Van de Kamp (February 7, 1936 – March 14, 2017) was an American politician and lawyer who served as Los Angeles County District Attorney from 1975 until 1981, and then as the 28th Attorney General of California from 1983 until 1991. ...

'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's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (Constitution of California, Article V, Section ...

George Deukmejian Courken George Deukmejian Jr. (; June 6, 1928 – May 8, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of California from 1983 to 1991. Of Armenian descent, Deukmejian was a member of the Republican Party and he also served ...

'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 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 ...

, with Judge George commenting that he felt a

death sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

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

Prison sentence, death and aftermath

In 1986, Buono married Christine Kizuka, a mother of three and a supervisor at the California State Employment Development Department. He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

in September 2002 while incarcerated at

Calipatria State Prison Calipatria State Prison (CAL) is a male-only state prison located in the city of Calipatria, in Imperial County, California. Facilities Although located about from the center of Calipatria, the prison is within the city limits. Called the lowe ...

. His body was cremated. In 2007, Buono's grandson, Christopher Buono, committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

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. Often typecast as a mobster or police officer, he is known for roles such as FBI Agent Jack Crawford in '' Manhunter'', mobster Jimmy Serrano in th ...

. In the 2004 film '' The Hillside Strangler'', Buono was portrayed by actor Nicholas Turturro and in '' Rampage: The Hillside Strangler Murders'' (2006), he was played by

Tomas Arana Tomas Clifford Arana (born April 3, 1955) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films ''The Hunt for Red October'' (1990), '' The Bodyguard'' (1992), ''L.A. Confidential'' (1997), ''Gladiator'' (2000), ''The Bourne Supremac ...

References

External links

Crime Library's story on the Hillside Stranglers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buono, Angelo Jr. 1934 births 1977 murders in the United States 2002 deaths 20th-century American criminals 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 American rapists American serial killers Crime in California Criminals from California Criminals from Los Angeles Criminals from New York (state) Male serial killers 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 who died in prison custody Violence against women in the United States