Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris

This article is about the serial killers known as the "Tool-Box Killers". For the Toy-Box Killer, see David Parker Ray. For the horror films, see The Toolbox Murders (1978) and Toolbox Murders (2004).

Lawrence Bittaker
Bittaker on trial in 1981.
Born
Lawrence Sigmund Bittaker

(1940-09-27)September 27, 1940
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedDecember 13, 2019(2019-12-13) (aged 79)
San Quentin State Prison, San Quentin, California, U.S.
Criminal statusDied in prison while awaiting execution
Conviction(s)First-degree murder (5 counts), kidnapping, rape[1]
Criminal penaltyDeath (de jure, 1981)
Details
Victims5+
Span of crimes
June 24 – October 31, 1979
State(s)California
Location(s)San Gabriel Mountains, Sunland-Tujunga
Date apprehended
November 20, 1979
Roy Norris
Norris shortly before his arrest in 1979.
Born
Roy Lewis Norris

(1948-02-05)February 5, 1948
Greeley, Colorado, U.S.
DiedFebruary 24, 2020(2020-02-24) (aged 72)
California Medical Facility, Vacaville, California, U.S.
Criminal statusDied in prison
Conviction(s)First-degree murder (4 counts), second-degree murder (1 count), kidnapping, rape, robbery[2][3]
Criminal penaltyLife imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 30 years (never granted)
Details
Victims5+
Span of crimes
June 24 – October 31, 1979
State(s)California
Location(s)San Gabriel Mountains, Sunland-Tujunga
Date apprehended
November 20, 1979
Imprisoned atRichard J. Donovan Correctional Facility

Lawrence Sigmund Bittaker (September 27, 1940 – December 13, 2019) and Roy Lewis Norris (February 5, 1948 – February 24, 2020), also known as the Tool Box Killers, were two American serial killers and rapists who committed the kidnapping, rape, torture and murder of five teenage girls in Southern California over a five-month period in 1979.[4]: 19 

Described by FBI Special Agent John Edward Douglas as the most disturbing individual for whom he has ever created a criminal profile,[5]: 135  Bittaker was sentenced to death for five murders on March 24, 1981, but died of natural causes while incarcerated on death row at San Quentin State Prison in December 2019.[6][7]

Norris accepted a plea bargain whereby he agreed to testify against Bittaker and was sentenced to life imprisonment on May 7, 1980, with possibility of parole after serving thirty years. He died of natural causes at the California Medical Facility in February 2020.[8]

Bittaker and Norris became known as the "Tool Box Killers" because the majority of instruments used to torture and murder their victims, such as pliers, ice picks and sledgehammers, were items normally stored inside a household toolbox.[4]: 19 

  1. ^ "Bittaker Sentenced to Death". Boca Raton News. Associated Press. February 25, 1981. p. 3A. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gadsden Times Mar. 19, 1980 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Farr1980 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Whittington-Egan, Richard; Whittington-Egan, Molly (1992). The Murder Almanac. Glasgow: Neil Wilson Publishing. ISBN 978-1-897-78404-4.
  5. ^ Furio, Jennifer (2001). Team Killers: A Comparative Study of Collaborative Criminals. New York City: Algora Publishing. ISBN 1892941635.
  6. ^ Division of Adult Operations. "Death Row Tracking System Condemned Inmate List (Secure)" (PDF). California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 30, 2019. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  7. ^ Morain, Dan (August 20, 2016). "Lawrence Bittaker, a Most Depraved Killer, Twists Justice System". Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California: McClatchy. Archived from the original on September 3, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  8. ^ Steade, Susan (February 25, 2020). "Second of the Tool Box Killers Dies in California Prison". The Mercury News. San Jose, California: Bay Area News Group. Retrieved February 25, 2020.