The Hillside Stranglers: Video Summary

Overview

The video recounts the crimes of Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi, commonly known as the Hillside Stranglers. Between October 1977 and February 1978, the pair abducted, tortured, and murdered women and girls in the Los Angeles area, then left many of their bodies on hillsides and freeway embankments.

The perpetrators

• Angelo Buono was an older cousin by family connection—Bianchi had been adopted into the family. Buono had a history of criminal activity and ran an upholstery business.
• Kenneth Bianchi was described as a compulsive liar who tried unsuccessfully to become a police officer. He also falsely claimed to have psychological credentials.
• The video portrays the pair as violent and predatory, with little evidence of an obvious shared motive beyond their abuse of women and desire for control.
• Before the murders, they tried running a small prostitution operation. Their victims left after being mistreated; investigators later suggested the failed arrangement may have helped trigger the killings.

How they targeted victims

• They often pretended to be police officers, flashing badges and offering or demanding that women get into their car.
• Their victims included sex workers, runaways, students, and other young women. The youngest victims discussed were 12 and 15.
• Victims were taken to locations including Buono’s upholstery shop, where they were restrained and subjected to severe abuse before being strangled.
• The killers dumped bodies in different places, frequently near hillsides and freeway routes. Investigators noted patterns in the locations and found evidence such as tape residue and fibers.

The Los Angeles murders

The video describes a rapid series of killings beginning with Yolanda Washington on October 17, 1977. Other victims included Judith Miller, Lisa Castan, Evelyn King, Christine Wexler, Lauren Wagner, Kimberly Martin, and Cindy Lee Hudspeth. It also recounts two young girls found during the spree, without naming them in the transcript.

The killings drew national attention as bodies continued to be discovered. Police assembled a large task force, and the publicity made it more difficult for the pair to continue using their original approach.

Bianchi’s arrest and the Washington murders

After the Los Angeles spree, Bianchi moved to Bellingham, Washington, where he later killed two university students, Karen Mandic and Diane Wilder, in January 1979.

Investigators connected Bianchi to the women through evidence and contradictions in his account. During questioning, he claimed that another personality, “Steve Walker,” had committed the murders. Forensic psychologists concluded he was faking the disorder, and he eventually implicated Buono.

Trials and outcomes

• Bianchi agreed to testify against Buono in exchange for a plea agreement. He received two consecutive life sentences for the Washington murders.
• Buono denied the charges and faced a lengthy California trial, described in the video as one of the state’s most expensive and extended cases at the time. He was convicted of nine murders.
• Buono died in prison in 2002. The video says Bianchi remained imprisoned, with parole repeatedly denied.

Key takeaway

The case became infamous not only for the number and brutality of the crimes, but also because the killers exploited women’s trust in police authority to abduct them. The episode also digresses into broader discussion of media nicknames, criminal justice, the death penalty, and the hosts’ experiences with incarceration.