Los Angeles, CA—So often the innocent victims of serial or mass killers are forgotten, that is why the authors of the most recent Bill Bonin Freeway Killer historical biography, Without Redemption, sought to include as much about them as possible. Each of them had a family, friends and communities they belonged to, some more than others as a number were runaways lost on the streets and thus easy pickings for the manipulations of Bonin.

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Today, over 40 years later, many might be husbands, fathers or grandfathers, men who enjoyed the beauties of life while also suffering its vicissitudes, but they would have lived they're lives but for William Bonin. Families left behind were torn apart, some literally, by the Freeway Killer and his five accomplices, one who escaped justice for double-murder with Bonin's help. This fact was uncovered in one of the most detailed serial killer historical biographies ever written, Without Redemption: Creation & Deeds of Freeway Killer Bill Bonin, His Five Accomplices & How One Who Escaped Justice by Vonda Pelto, Ph.D. and Michael B. Butler   

Here are the names of those young boys and men torn from life by Bonin:   

Mark Shelton (17) – August 4, 1979

Marcus Grabs (17) – August 5, 1979

Robert Wirostek (16) – August 20, 1979

Donald Hyden (15) – August 27, 1979

David Murillo (17) – September 9, 1979

Wallace Tanner, November 14, 1979

John Doe (14-20) – November 30, 1979

Dennis Frank Fox (17) – December 2, 1979

John Kilpatrick (15) – December 10, 1979

Michael McDonald (16) – January 1, 1980

James Moore, February 1, 1980

Charles Miranda (14) – February 3, 1980

James Macabe (12) – February 3, 1980

Ronald Gatlin (18) – March 14, 1980

Glen Barker (14) – March 21, 1980

Russell Rugh (15) – March 21, 1980

Harry Todd Turner (15) -- March 24, 1980

Steven Wood (16) – April 10, 1980

Darin Lee Kendrick (19) – April 29, 1980

Larry Sharp, May 18, 1980

Sean King (14) – May 19, 1980

Steven Wells (18) – June 2, 1980

Without Redemption Book Trailer

Radio Show Video of Vonda Pelto on Gary Nolan Radio Show  





A new historical biography of Freeway Killer Bill Bonin, Without Redemption: Creation & Deeds of Freeway Killer Bill Bonin, His Five Accomplices & How One Escaped Justice, is tailor made for a multi-episode mini-series or docudrama. The co-authors, one a Clinical Psychologist who had extensive dealings with Bonin before and during his trial, solved two 40-year-old murder mysteries and created a book which tracks the evolution of his personality for an early age till execution.

Employing a treasure trove of the killer's diaries detailing the murders of 22 teenage boys, Vonda Pelto, Ph.D. and Michael B. Butler reveal how the notorious Bonin masterminded his killing spree in 1979/80.

Bonin was arrested THREE TIMES during his reign of terror and let go every time.

Without Redemption, using documents from variety of sources, including Bonin's own writings, brings the reader into the back and forth with witnesses, lawyers, media, jailhouse snitches, friends, friends, family, inmates at Los Angeles Men's Central Jail and Bonin's co-murderers. 

The book was written on a number of parallel tracks that constantly intersect:

First, it is the most detailed historical biography ever written about Bill Bonin, the notorious Freeway Killer responsible for murdering 22 teenage boys over ten-months in 1979-80.

Second, it is a psychological roadmap which charts the evolution of Bonin's personality from abused child to sexual predator to serial killer. This is accomplished using documents from his childhood, war service, multiple California government mental health and penal institutions, witness testimony and the expertise of Clinical Psychologist Vonda Pelto, Ph.D., who had many sessions with Bonin and two of his accomplices while working in Los Angeles Men's Central Jail.      

Third, it is a narrative which, using long hidden documents, reveals the inner workings of Bonin's mind, showing how he thought, felt, planned and viewed the world. The narrative displays Bonin, an abused high school dropout, cleverly manipulating lawyers, judges, doctors, social workers, friends, family, probation officers, government bureaucrats, detectives, journalists and, most tragically, the innocent victims of his rage.

Fourth, Without Redemption reveals the complex story of what happened after Bonin's final arrest, when so much was in flux and so many moving parts were swirling about. Archived investigative documents, collected from a variety of sources, brings to light a number of surprising, shocking, sad and even funny events from those ten tumultuous months from June 1980 to March 1981.

Finally, it is a book which solves two 40-year-old murder mysteries and unlocks how one day of crossroads and coincidences, in the midst of the murder spree, profoundly impacted many lives and future events. 

• The most detailed bio of serial killer Bill Bonin ever written using previously hidden documents.
• How childhood abuse & Vietnam War service helped create what followed.
• How Bonin manipulated California judicial, mental health & prison systems for nine years before the killings.
• Interviews of Bonin, Miley & Munro with Vonda Pelto, Ph.D. before, during & after his Los Angeles trial.
• Bonin's jailhouse writings offer new perspective on his brutality, methods, thoughts and personality.
• How & Why Bonin covered for accomplice Eric Wijnaendts, who helped him with two murders.
• How & Why March 24, 1980 is a key date in the Bill Bonin story.

Without Redemption: Creation & Deeds of Freeway Killer Bill Bonin, His Five Accomplices & How One Escaped Justice, Paperback ISBN: 979-8841931249, Hard Cover ISBN: 979-8844477775. For more info go to www.WithoutRedemption.com and purchase copies at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Media Contact: For interviews or to request review copies contact Flotsam PR at 213-534-7292 or flotsampr@pm.me.

About the Authors: Vonda Pelto, Ph.D., author of Without Remorse and co-author of Without Redemption, was born and raised in the small town of Needles, California, in the barren desert. Brought up in a strict Southern Baptist household, her sheltered childhood and family life meant Vonda was in for a rude awakening when she was hired for a unique job. After the unexpected January 1981 jailhouse suicide of Freeway Killer Vernon Butts, the Los Angeles County Mental Health & Sheriff's Departments needed a new strategy to prevent this from happening with any other high-profile inmates awaiting or standing trial.

Michael B. Butler, author of A World Flight Over Russia, is a professional photographer who has worked extensively in book, travel and corporate PR. His assignments documenting the 50th Anniversaries of Pearl Harbor and D-Day, flying around the world across Russia on the World Flight in July 1992, documenting a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land with 700 Christians in 2013 and multiple PR junkets to Ireland and Tahiti added ample materials to his media library.