City In Fear
The California Freeway Murders
by James Michael Munro
 

In 1979 I first came to california to visit my sisters girlfriend who lived in Long Beach.

I arrived February 1979 to the city that I hoped would be my home. But it never happened. When I arrived I wasent suposto be here untill after January but i could not wait. My Parents kicked me out of the house so i had to move on. I arrived in Hollywood and boy did i get a surprise, prositutes were all over the streets and for some reson I became happy. I thought to myself, I am going to get me some. I could believe how these chicks looked. The giong rate for the girls were 100.00 dollors. I could not believe the prices and the money these girls were making, so i thought I would get into the action. That night I started walking around sunset bulivard and I went into a small place to get some food.

The place was called arther Jays. When I went in I noticed it was all gay men in there and I had no experence in this behaviour so I sat down at one of the tables and a man came over to me. at that time I had died my hair blond and it was very long. I looked like a beach bum. I had fit in with the California residents so I lived on the streets untill I found a place to live. the guy at the table told me his name was cowboy and he wanted to be my friend. I told him I didnt fuck around so he told me it was ok, all he wanted to do was be my friend. so we became friends. I liked him alot so we hung around each other and we talked alot. one of the things cowboy told me was there was a mand driving around the streets in a van picking up hitch-hikers and killing them. he told me that the man was the Freeway Killer.

cowboy told me to watch out for him and i told him oh dont worry ill never meet him and I dont get into vans so I dont have anything to worry about. we walked around the streets untill he told me we need to find a place to stay and to get some sleep. so we decided to walk around hollywood untill we got a place to sleep. Well I got to a place called Motel 6 it was a cheep place and at that time it was 6 dollors a night. I needed a packd of cigeretts so I went into a restruant and I played it off like I put 50 cents in the machine. I didnt but who knew. I told the lady at the resturant that the machine burned me for the cigeretts so she put her own money in the machine and I got a free pack of cigertts which was great. so I then knew wow to get my cigeretts free. I wasent about to pay for them, and the same went for my food. you whare a descize or a fake beard or wig, order your food, after eating go to the bathroom and climb out the bathroom window. if they dont have a window in the bathroom dont eat there, so I knew how to get away with what i was doing I finallymoved on to a city called long beach. when I arrived my sisters girlfriend Tina Horning picked me up that night from the bus stattion, I told her I just arrived from michigan and I wanted to see California, little did she know I had already been here for some time, and enjoying myself.

Well we arrived at her house and she had a baby there, I did not know she had a baby or even being married. I was living with her for a while which was ok untill I got into a arguement. it all started one night when i was missing, she had called the cops she told the cops that her girlfriends brother who is mentally retarded is missing and she wants me forund. I finally arrived back hime that night not knowing she called the cops, when I arrived she started crying and yelling at me where have I been, I told her a guy gave me beer and we were partying so she told me I was grounded and that I had to go to my room untill her husband jeff got home. when he came home, he hurd what happened and came in my room, I told him lies and I was making faces at tima like ha ha I got away with it so she got madder at me and told jeff to punish me so he told me I was grounded. so that night while they were sleeping I packed my bags and left, I went to Redondo beach and stayed there. The next day as I was walking I saw a sign that read Bath House. so I said cool I can go take a bath. well I did not know that it was a gay bath house. it had several men in the nude swimming around in there.

I jumped in nude and started swimming so then they all started swimming around me like sharks, I got scard so a man came over to me and told everyone to back off. I thanked him and we bacame friends. His name was Art Reaz, he asked me if I had a place to stay. and I told him I did not so he ran a boarding house and I could stay there. he told me there were 4 women and 4 men who lived there so I thought to myself this guy must be ok so I will live with him for a while. when I got there the girls asked me if I was gay. I told then no so they all smiled, I asked art about that had he told me dont worry they all ask that so i stayed there untill 1980. When I was living with art it was good, he bought me a waterbed and a phone for my birthday. I then knew I was going to live with him for a very long time. he got me a job working at the form in Inglewood California. when I got there I took a camerea that art bought me and I started taking pitchers of girls wearing short dresses and they all looked like cheer-leaders. I would reach under there dresses the best I could without getting cought and take a photo. the photo came out great, I even took photos of the harlem globe trotter, that was cool, I had seen them only one time on tv and I wanted to see them in person. that night when i went home, I went to sleep. the next morning. I went over to his mothers home, we had supper and then we watched a movie called Escape from alcatraz staring clent eastwood.

it was a dam good movie, after the movie we went back home. That night when I went to my room, boy did i get a surprise, the girls were waiting for me. all 4 of them all nude and with big tits. and waiting for a good time and a good fucking session I was nurvice because I had never had sex with more then one girl. they told me to relax andthey would teach me everything. so I layed in bed and they started undressing me. as one girl undressed me the other girl started licking me al over and one girl was kissing me and the other was rubbing me like I have never been rubbed before. I got hard as a rock so the first girl got on top of me and started ridding me bouncing up and down, the other girl was sucking the girls tits as she was bouncing up and down on me. and the other girl was licking my dick as it slid in and out of her pussy. I was having such a god time and I did not want this to end so they all told me to relax and that this was going to be an all nighter and for me to just to enjoy myself. the forth girl thought she was going to be different. she had put on a strap on dildo and was fucking the girl who was licking my dick as it slid in and out of her pussy. this was so great that I only wished that it was put on tape. well we then finished the session and the first girl told me so, you like girls with big tits. well here are mine and while I was laying there she bent over so I could suck her tits. her nipples were big and pointy and they tasted gret I told her I wanted to titty fuck her so she told me that I was going to tit fuck all 4 of them one at a time.

so she layed there on her back and the other girls pushed her tits togetherr and the third girl rubbed oil all over her tits and my dick. I slid my dick between her tits and shot my load all over her. I had to admit I got pussy wipped. which I had no problem with. The next morning I got up for breakfeast, art was laughing at me and i asked him what was so damn funny, he said only if you could see yourself last night you were like a school boy getting his first peice of ass. I told him ya, if that was on tape I could watch it. so he said come with me, when I got into the living room all 4 girls were there and they were all smiling at me, I knew something was going on but I could not figure out what. so they all kised me and told me to relaz and they wanted me to see a movie. I did not know that art was filming that fuck session and I was shocked at first, it looked so dam real I could not watch the hole dam movie without getting hard, after the movie was all over we all decided to keep the movie for future use. I was glad so I decided to go to the peer which was located in redondo beach. as I was standing therea preacher came over to me and started preaching to me. I did not like it so I told him to get away from me. a short time later I was standing there I looked to the right of me and I saw a girl who looked very filmilure to me. as she approched me I said sherley and she said jimmy, and smiled, I cant believe your in california, ya, and what the hell are you doing here.

I live her now whos that, oh this is tammy, tammy this is jimmy munro my old school frien, tammy smiled and she looked like demi moore, she was hot. well as I was walking tammy was behind me watching my ass as I walked, I asked hay what are you doing back there, oh just watching your ass, you got a good ass. I was shocked, well when I got to the car, a man was sitting there insie, his name was stan hurd I could not figure out what his role was but I would find out. we arrived at a motel and stan got two rooms one for me and one for the 2 girls. well that did not work out tammy wanted to stay with me and shilrey wanted a room by her self so we did just that. i went into the shower and tammy came in and she pored beer in my hair and told me it was good for my hair. well tammy decided to come in and shower also. after the shower she came out of the shower and I was watching tv, I asked her where I was going tosleep and she said with me silly.

so I got into bed and she told me to get undressed. I took off all my clothing and we layed in bed. after making love to her all night I asked her to marry me, she told me yes and I was so happy. she had told sherley and sherley was so hapy she told me she was going to tell all her school friends about me. stan arrived the next morning and tammy had told stan what had happened. I thought stan was going to hi the roof but he didnt, he welcomed me into the family. I still could not figure out what his role was but I was going to find out. I found out that he was fucking shurley and tammy, he provided them with money and a place to stay if they had sex with him, I guess you could call him there suger daddy in which I did not like. I told tammy to stop having sex with him and she agreed. the next day we went into stans office which was located in long beach. it was a incom tax office but there was no furniture only a desk a bathroom a couch and a phone. so me and tammy stayed there that night. tammy told me every thing about her including that she was a prositute in hollywood going by the name of rachal lunden. I told her to quit so she agreed. I also told her I wanted to take her home to michigan to meet my family, she agreed. we took a greyhound bus the next day. I had always liked riding grayhound. it was a good three days. when we arrived we went into a appartmen in Port Huron. it was on the corner of 11th and wall street. when I went in I saw another school friend she was also married and had a baby. she told me we could shere the appartment untill we found a place of our own. her husband was cool also his name was jeff. he had a security job working at a hospital in port huron. me and him got along great. we became friends. when we got back from riding around in the snow, I told tammy to get in the car because I wanted her to meet my mother. we took the car to my home in St. Clair. we arrived around 9pm that night, I was hoping my dad was not home. me and my dad did not like each other. he was like john wayne, real strick.

after we talked for a while my mom told me to get out of here before my dad gets home. I sad goodby to her and then we left. we arrived back in port huron and I was glad to be at the appartment. when we arrived we all decided to have fun. we were walking around on the streets ripping off mirrors off the sides of the cars that were parked along the streets, there were around 50 cars lined up. so after that we got boared with that so we went back home. when we got back home we decided to go to bed. The next morning I decided to get up earley, jeff was up and we went out to get coffee and donuts for the girls. they were sleeping when we left and when we got back they were awake. I kissed tammy good morning and she told me she was going to take a shower and wanted me to join her well we got out of the shower and dried off. we all sat down and drank coffee and ate donuts. when we got done tammy told me she wanted to talk to me. we went into the living room and she told me that she wanted to go back to califortnia to see her mom and dad and to tell them about the news of us getting married. well I told her lets get the next bus to california. well the next day we went to the grayhound station. we got tickets and we were on our way to california. she looked at me and said jimmy are you ok, do you want to stay here, if you want to stay I will stay to. we will go some other time. I told her no we got the tickets and we were allready on our way so lets go.

she kissed me and told me how much she loved me, and that she was glad I was going to be her husband. little did I know my life was turning into a mamor dessaster and I never even knew it. when we arrived in california stan was waiting for us, I did not like him and he was not going to touch tammy no more. well stan greated us and everything went well. he then took us out to dinner and he wanted to talk to me. so I told tammy to wait in the car. stan told me that tammy was all mine now and that I had better take good care of her or he would hurt me real bad. I told him I would love her the rest of my live. so we went into the office where he worked and whenwe got there he gave me alot of money. I aske him what was this for and he said just concidder this a wedding pressent. well the weeks went on untill we decided to get a place of our own. we got a appartmen down the street and things were going ok untill one night. I was working at a gas station in long beach where we lived. that night the managere came in and told me to run it all night. because I was making good money for the station, I was working that night then left. I had put the money in the floor safe and then i started to think I needed money so I went back and went in the safe and took the money. I told the manager when he called I only made 500 dollors thatnight and I hoped that he would not find out. little did I know he went out to the gas pumps and read the metars, and then they did not match, that was how I got busted. so he called me at home and told me if I brought the money back he would not call the cops. I asked him what was going on and he tole me he knew I ripped him off. so I went back to work and gave him the money. he then told me I was fired. when I went back home I walked in and I saw tammy sitting at the table rolling dope on the table, I asked her where she got it and she told me she used the rent money. so we got into a arguement and I left her. I was walking down the street and I saw a motercycle leaning against an appartment.

I looked around and no one was around. so I went up to it and I noticed it had a pull chain. I pulled it and the lights came on, so i said shit this bike is allready hot wired its mine now. I took the bike around the corner and I took off with it. I drove back to the appartmen and got my stuff. when I arrived tammy was surprised to see me she asked me where did I get the bikeand I told her i stole it. after I left I drove to a pay phone and I called atr. I told art that my girlfriend and myself broke up and that I needed a place to stay, I told him I had a motercycle and that I needed directions to his house. he told me to stay there and I stayed with art for several more months untill 1980. January 1980 I decided to go back up to hollywood to find that girl I talked to one night. well we hung around each other for a few months untill may 1980 came. when may came I decided to go on my own. little did i know that my life was going to be one big nightmare and I was not going to be able to wake up out of this one. I was walking around the streets and I stoped at a place called the gay community center, I went in and I asked what was this was and they told me that they try to find people places to stay.

I told them I was not gay and they told me it did not matter, so they told me to wait outside. I waited outside for a hour and a man drove up. he was wairing a suit, I got scard because I thought he was a cop but he was not. he was a christian. he came up to me and told me to come inside. we sat down he told me I had to where a suit all the time and go to church with him and if I wanted to smoke I had to go down the street so that his nabors would not see me. I guess he was more worried about his reputation then helping people. so I told him to get lost. I should have went with him becuase 2 minnutes later the nightmare begain. I was standing outside when a blue chevet pulled up. the man came up to me and asked me what was I doing there and I told him I was tring to find a place to stay. so he told me I could stay with him. he told me he lived with his mother and two brothers. and that his dad was living in a Vererns hospital but he comes home on weekends. I thought to myself this guy cant be bad if he lives with his mother. I told him that I had not eaten and I was very hungry. so he told me we would stop on the way to his house and get something to eat.

we arrived at a sandwitch shop next to his house and got food. he asked me if I would like a job working with him and his boss ed delomer and told him that his old army buddy just got back and needed a job so his boss told him to bring him in monday morning. we had alot of fun rollor skating and we went to the movies with his x-girlfriend and he got a date for me. I did not know this guy very well and I still did not think anything bad untill on day. then one day at work Bonin asked me how would I like to go out with him and pick up a hitch-hiker and have sex with him then kill him. I said ya, not fully understanding where he was comming from. no one in there right mind would just do it. so I thought he was just talking crazy untill that next day. the next day after work we went home. on our way home he pulled over and gave this guy a ride, he got in the green van and said his name was steve and Bonin told him, what do you think of gays and steve said oh there ok because I am by-sexual so bonin said oh really, jim you drive so I got in the driver seat and bonin got in the back of the van with steve and bonin started to oral copulate steve, untill I got lost, I told bonin I was lost so he got back up front and drove the way home, when we arrived bonin gave me money to go get a pound of hamburger so I went on my way, on my way to the store the 8 track tapes fell on the floor so I pulled over, just as I got up I looked in my mirror and there was a cop behind me andhe came up to me and asked me what was I doing in the middle of the road I told him that the tapes fell on the ground and I was picking them up so he asked me for my drivers licence I told him I did not have one so he told me to take the van back home untill a adault driver can go with me. when I got back home bonin came to the door and asked me what had happened I told him so he told me to go later.

he then told me to come in and join in the fun with seve and him I told him no and that I wanted to just watch tv so he said ok its your lost so he went back into the bedroom and I continued to watch tv. after a while, bonin came back to me and told me to come on the bed, he asked steve how would you like to make 200 dollors and steve said shure how, I know a guy who likes to fuck guys while there tied up so steve agreed to be tied up. bonin went into the kitchen and got the rope, he then told me to come here so then I told him hay I know know your for real about it and I did not want to go throu this and to let him go so bonin told me it was to late he already got the kid tied up.

so then he went back into the bedroom where steve was tied up. I followed him and Bonin jumped on the bed and punched him in the chest and told him to shut up and not to say anything. steve pleaded for his life but there was nothing steve could do. bonin then placed a t-shirt around steven wells neck and twisted it untill he killed him, ht turned him over and he was blue in the face, I asked bonin what happened and bonin told me he was dead, I then shit and pissed in my pants and started to cry. bonin came over to me to comfor me and told me dont worry you did not do anything wrong and that if he gets cought he would tell the cops I did nothing. Bonin then placed a box at his feet and told me tohelp im put the body in the box, I did so out of fear of being killed myself so then he put the body in the van and drove over to his other partners home in downey a Vernon Butts, when we went in bonin told vern what he did and told butts my name, I did not know why but butts finally told on me.

we then drove to a gas station and dumped the body behind the gas station and went back home, when we arrived butts called bonin and told bonin to watch the news so bonin put the tv set on, and the news said THE FREEWAY KILLER HAS JUST STRUCK AGAIN and I told bonin hay I know that guy I hurd about that guy running around killing people then it clicked on me and bonin started to laugh and I started to cry, I then knew I also was a dead man, that night I went to bed, bonin was next to me and I turned the lights on and bonin asked me what was up and I told him I think you are going to kill me to and bonin told me do you want me to prove to you I will not kill you and I asked him how so he asked me to be tied up so I agreed, so then bobib told me I was a very stuped person and he could now kill me and that there is nothing I could do about it so I started to cry and told him to let me call my mom and say goodby. so he laughted and told me he was not going to kill me but if I ran or called the police he would and that if he could not get to me his other crime partners would. so then the next morning while bonin was on a run at work I stole his can and went to michigan and I told my girlfriend what happened. she told her boss and after Bonin was arrested I went in and talked to the cops. They asked me what happened and I denied everything fearing of being arrested myself so I went back to michigan untill I got busted.

I was brought back to california and I was forced to plead guilty to 2nd degree murder, the Los Angeles County District Attorneys office and Orange county district attorneys office and my court appointed attorney James A Goldstein threatened me with death if I did not plead guilty. I was told that If I told the court what happened I could go home. I was lied to and beat by the cops in the Los Angeles County Jail. I never could emagin how much pain and suffering I caused by helping bonin out, I made a big mistrake, but I dont feel that 2nd degree murder fits my crime, I know what I did was wrong, I was 18 years old just out of special education for the mentally retarded and I could not read or rite very well and still to this day has not changed. I apealed my conviction on my own in case number A-361090 People vs Munro 187pc. in the Los Angeles county superior court, in which it was denied, I then took my case to the Appellate court in which it was denied, I appealed to the highest court and it still has been denied. There is no laywer in this country willing to take my case and get me the trail I never got. yet I sit in prison every day with the thoughts of will the Board of prison terms ever parole me or will I have to spend the rest of my life in prison. I feel very sad for the parents of the victims in this case. yes william Bonin was a very sick eveil man andhe got what he desirved, my thoughts and prayers will always go out to the victims parents in this case in hopes that they will be able to mend there lives and build a happier life then the one they all have because of bonin. may god be with all of them out there and maybe someday I will be forgiven for my actions in this case.