The Freeway Killer was a collective

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

given by the media and the police to what the media believed was a single

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 ...

claiming young male victims, predominantly in

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 ...

during the 1970s and early 1980s, and who often discarded the victims' bodies alongside or upon freeways. However, there turned out to be three Freeway Killers who operated independently of each other, but just happened to select similar victims from similar locations. The three killers were: *

Patrick Kearney Patrick Wayne Kearney (born September 24, 1939), also called the Trash Bag Killer and the Freeway Killer, is an American serial killer who sexually assaulted and murdered a minimum of twenty-eight young men and boys in southern California betwe ...

(born 1939), age 37 when captured in 1977 *

William Bonin William George Bonin (January 8, 1947 – February 23, 1996), also called the Freeway Killer and the Freeway Strangler, was an American serial killer and sex offender who raped, tortured, and murdered young men and boys between 1968 and 1980 in ...

(1947–1996) and several accomplices, age 33 when captured in 1980 * Randy Kraft (born 1945), age 38 when captured in 1983

References

{{reflist American gay men American murderers of children American rapists Child sexual abuse in the United States Murder in California People convicted of murder by California Serial killer epithets Serial killers from California Serial murders in the United States Violence against men in the United States

See also

References