The Crimes of Two Men Earned Them the Hillside Strangler Nickname — One Is Still Alive

In April 1979, The New York Times reported that police in Los Angeles, Calif. had solved 10 of the 13 deaths connected to a killer or killers known as the Hillside Strangler. Los Angeles police chief Daryl Gates told the outlet he believed more than one person was behind the murders.

One suspect was already in custody in Bellingham, Wash., for his connection to the deaths of two local women. Police arrested 28-year-old Kenneth Bianchi and charged him with the murders of two female students at Western Washington University. When investigators discovered Bianchi previously lived in Los Angeles near an area that was the hunting grounds for the so-called Hillside Strangler, they wondered if he was their guy. Where is Kenneth Bianchi now? Here's what we know.

In June 2024, Bianchi, who changed his name to Anthony D’Amato, was denied parole following testimony from victims and arguments from the prosecution, per the Los Angeles Times. He has been in prison since 1979. According to The Bellingham Herald, Bianchi's sentence was downgraded in 1990. He went from life imprisonment to a sentence of 118 years. If he doesn't get in trouble behind bars, Bianchi could be released in 2065 at the age of 114.

Despite confessing to the two murders in Washington state; five murders in California; and one count of conspiracy to commit murder, kidnap, and rape; Bianchi always maintained his innocence. He initially pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and claimed to suffer from what was then called multiple personality disorder. This was later debunked. Bianchi was then diagnosed with antisocial personality and sexual sadism disorders.

In October 1979, Bianchi agreed to testify against his cousin, Angelo Buono Jr., who was 16 years his senior, reported The New York Times. They lived together in Los Angeles, where the two cousins decided to become pimps. When a female friend brought them a fake list of possible Johns, Bianchi and Buono Jr. raped and strangled her in the back of Bianchi's car. This was in October 1977. The last murder they committed together occurred in February 1978.

Buono Jr. was arrested after Bianchi told police about his cousin's involvement in the murders. His trial would go on to become one of the longest in California's history. It started in 1981 and lasted two years. Unlike Bianchi, Buono Jr. had a history of physical and sexual abuse. His trial included testimony from several of his victims. He was convicted of nine counts of murder.

Finally, in November 1983, Buono Jr. was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Per The New York Times, he died on Sept. 21, 2002, at Calipatria State Prison. His cause of death was later revealed to be a heart attack. "There was nothing exceptional about his conduct in prison," said Bob Martinez, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections.