No Parole for Kenneth Bianchi, One of the “Hillside Stranglers”

Kenneth Bianchi, convicted of killing 12 women in the 1970s, has been denied parole once again and will remain imprisoned in California. This marks the eighth time the state parole board has rejected his release request, maintaining his incarceration since 1983.

Bianchi, now 74, was involved in a series of kidnappings, rapes, and murders in Los Angeles during a four-month period in late 1977 and early 1978, which resulted in the deaths of 10 young women. He was later linked to two additional victims in Washington state.

During the trial, Bianchi testified in his own defense. He was convicted for his role in the crimes, although he acted alone in only two of the murders. In the others, he was assisted by his cousin, Angelo Buono Jr.

The media dubbed the pair the “Hillside Stranglers” due to their modus operandi: victims, aged between 12 and 28, were strangled and their bodies discarded along suburban hillsides. Bianchi’s first parole denial occurred in 1985, and he was previously rejected in 2010.

Bianchi was apprehended in January 1979, while Buono remained free until October of that year. Bianchi testified against his cousin, who received a life sentence; Buono died in prison in 2002.