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The Chilling Murder of Shirley Ledford by the Toolbox Killers

By Parkaman on May 2, 2017 19

The Chilling Murder of Shirley Ledford by the Toolbox Killers

The Toolbox Killers

Today, they are known as the Tool Box Killers, but, prior to 1979, Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris were career criminals. Bittaker was arrested for stealing a vehicle in 1959, then arrested again in 1961 for robbery. Despite being convicted each time, he continued to commit crimes once he was released from prison, having been in prison at least six times for offenses ranging from parole violation to attempted murder. Norris, on the other hand, was initially a criminal known for sexual crimes. He was arrested for rape, stalking, and assault with attempt to commit rape over the course of six years.

It has been said that Lawrence Bittaker is borderline psychotic, and he was known to be extremely manipulative. Roy Norris has been diagnosed as schizophrenic and “mentally disordered”. He served a majority of his imprisonment at a psychiatric facility. The two met in 1977 at San Luis Obispo. They regularly talked about a plan to kidnap and murder teenage girls once they were released from prison. The plan was to kill one girl of each age from 13 to 19.

Murder of Shirley Ledford

On Halloween Night of October 31, 1979, Shirley Ledford, only 16 years old, was waiting outside a gas station in Sunland-Tujunga, a suburb of Los Angeles, hoping to catch a ride home. She accepted a ride from Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris, likely because she recognized Bittaker from her job as a waitress. He frequented the restaurant she worked at. Within minutes of entering the van, Bittaker drove it to a secluded area, and they bound and gagged Ledford. 

The men took turns driving as the other sexually assaulted Ledford in the back of the van. For most of the time in the van, her mouth and legs were taped with construction tape. She was also hit with a sledgehammer and her genitals and rectum were viciously torn with pliers, which is how Bittaker and Norris earned the nickname of the Tool Box Killers.

After holding Shirley Ledford in the van for nearly two hours, Norris ultimately killed Shirley by strangling her with a coat hanger. They left her body on a random nearby lawn on a ivy-bed with her legs spread as a final act to degrade her. She was found the next morning by a jogger. It was the fifth and final murder enacted by Bittaker and Norris. A recording of the attack was later found in the van. On the graphic tape, Ledford can be heard horribly screaming, asking for mercy and crying things like, “Don’t touch me!” and “Don’t hit me again” whilst one of the attacker can be heard shouting “Scream, Baby! Scream”

WARNING: Click here to read the Transcript of Shirley Ledford’s tape. Parkaman Magazine made it available so that we may never forget the horrendous crimes done by these individuals and – especially – the reason why such killers should remain behind bars – or even – deserve the death penalty. Proceed at own risk.

Tracking Down the Assailants

Roy Norris regularly visited Jimmy Dalton, an inmate at a local prison whom he had become acquainted with when they were incarcerated together. In November 1979, to Dalton, Norris divulged details about the five murders he had committed with Bittaker, along with several other instances in which they had attempted to abduct women who had escaped them.

Jimmy Dalton shared this information with local authorities, who agreed that the statements he made matched up with missing person’s reports. At that point, only Shirley Ledford’s body had been found. Detectives were able to track down a woman who had reported being raped and attacked in a van months earlier, and she was able to positively identify Bittaker and Norris from their mugshots.

Confession and Imprisonment

After a long interrogation, Norris finally confessed to his involvement in the murders, painting Bittaker as the ringleader. Norris plead guilty to each of the charges and led investigators to several of the bodies they had disposed of.

Bittaker, on the other hand, denied any involvement in the crimes and claimed that Norris had been with the girls the last time he saw them alive. A 17-minute section of the recording of Shirley Ledford’s attack is the smoking gun that put Bittaker behind bars. While most people in the courtroom were openly upset and disturbed, some even left the courtroom because of the awful screams and couldn’t bare it longer, Bittaker merely sat there with a smile on his face.

Roy Norris remains in prison and was denied parole in 2009, deferring his eligibility to 2019. Lawrence Bittaker was sentenced to death, with an alternate sentence of 199 years in prison. He is currently on death row at San Quentin State Prison.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Brenda says

    December 9, 2018 at 11:19 pm

    Both men should get the death now not years later.

    Reply
    • Linda Jeffries says

      January 8, 2019 at 11:05 pm

      Why are they alive. Why

      Reply
  2. Dr.Howard says

    April 11, 2019 at 7:01 pm

    The liberal UNTHINKING pc DEMOCRATS uniformed vOters -put of all people Slick Gaven Newsome -in as gov. He outright lied to the voters who want the death PENALTY to be ENACTED over 76%! instead he “reverses” HIMSELF- after he becomes gov.-he knew he was lying -just to increase his massive Ego to become GOVERNOR. He really wants to be president. What a creeP. He betrayed his best friend now he BETRAYED the voters.
    .

    Reply
    • Kitty BIKEs says

      April 16, 2019 at 4:08 am

      Are you seriously going to bring partisan politics into this? What is wrong with you? I’m as left as they come and I would gladly kill these scum with my bare hands. Ugh, go watch faux News, read some Breitbart and worship your orange worm emperor. You are obviously beyond help.

      Reply
      • Poz says

        September 7, 2019 at 2:12 pm

        California’s Governor Newsom, a Nancy Pelosi family member, reprieved all 737 murderers on California’s death row. These were the worst of the worst, including Luis Bracamontes, who gunned down two police officers in Sacramento in 2014 and said he wished he’d killed more cops.
        Also gaining a reprieve was “Tool Box Killer” Lawrence Bittaker, who raped and killed five teenage girls in 1979 after torturing them with pliers and screwdrivers.

        Reply
      • Jd says

        December 17, 2019 at 11:43 pm

        You are beyond help

        Reply
      • Cathy Smith says

        December 30, 2019 at 1:48 am

        But as a rule the left that you sent to Washington are the issue not you.

        Reply
  3. Dr.Howard says

    April 11, 2019 at 7:10 pm

    I will say one of the women that escaped them as MENTIONED in the above article told me in person she was REAred with four brothers so I had to learn to fight. I was walking in my neighborhood one day and a van pulls up and the driver asked me where a street was but he spoke very soft so I went up closer to tell him just then the side doors of the van opened and another man- i believe it was norris-grabbed me and pulled me in the van I immediately kicked him very hard in the groin and hit him twice hard with my fists and jumped out of the van and ran!

    Reply
  4. Juan says

    May 10, 2019 at 12:24 am

    Per CAlifornia dept. of correction and rehabilitation public records, Roy Norris was denied parole on march 29 2019. He was denied parole for 10 years. Roy Norris will have a future parole Suitability hearing March, 2029.

    Reply
    • Bibiana says

      March 31, 2020 at 5:36 am

      Norris and BittAker are both dead.

      Reply
  5. Valerie thierry says

    June 25, 2019 at 4:57 am

    What more evidence does one need the devil is real

    Reply
    • Joel says

      February 27, 2020 at 6:40 pm

      There is no god and there is no devil. there is the universe. the sooner we understand that, we can forget about the lies and move into reality and put a stop to the nonsense.

      Reply
  6. Eve says

    July 4, 2019 at 2:15 pm

    They are alive fOr 40 years eating sleeping BREATHING haviNg life Behind bars and god knows how much qualitys they are enjoying But in the other hand her family are suffering from the idea and memory of the horrible death their lil girl suffered. Her screams are a True nightmare to us some bunch of strangers imagine how it is to her family. The system is not less horrIfic or beastie than those Monsters, Sherley needs her justice people.

    Reply
  7. Martha says

    August 9, 2019 at 9:29 pm

    I hate Death row!!’ When they are given this. We the tax payers feed N clothe these bastards!! Why do they keep them alive so long? They should be terminated in three months or less, end of story. Especially when there is no doubt to their guilt!

    Reply
    • Jimboroonie says

      August 15, 2019 at 1:41 pm

      Death row is more agonising than an immediate death penalty. WHy? I hear you asking. Well, they are stripped off their freedom and the only thing to look forward to is an execution. So they are in a cell with nothing but their thoughts and remorse (although i doubt that they feel any remorse) knowing they will never be free again.

      Reply
      • Heart says

        September 6, 2019 at 2:38 am

        Death is too EASy yes.

        Reply
      • Bibiana says

        March 31, 2020 at 5:39 am

        Bittaker spent a lot of time playing Bridge with three other serial killers and sued the prison regularly for his food tray having broken cookies on it. he is scum and did not suffer.

        Reply
  8. Frank Donofrio says

    August 19, 2019 at 3:35 pm

    They should both go to the gallows.

    Reply
  9. Jane Doe says

    October 17, 2019 at 1:14 am

    Please tell me he is not getting out of prison. He tried to get me.

    Reply

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