One of the most infamous serial killer cases in American history — the Hillside Strangler murders — is finally broken down by the detective who solved it. Legendary homicide detective Frank Salerno — the man who helped catch BOTH the Hillside Stranglers and the Night Stalker — breaks down one of America’s most terrifying serial killers. In this episode, Tom Zenner and Kato Kaelin take you deep inside the Hillside Strangler case, a true-crime story filled with terror, mystery, and investigative brilliance.
Between 1977–1978, Los Angeles was paralyzed as young women were abducted, tortured, and dumped across Hollywood, Glendale, and the hillsides of LA. The media named them The Hillside Stranglers. No one knew if it was one killer… or many.
Detective Frank Salerno walks us step-by-step through:
• The first bodies discovered in Hollywood & Glendale
• How ligature marks, dump sites, and victim patterns exposed a serial killer
• The forensic challenges of the late 1970s
• Why early leads went nowhere
• How multiple police departments (LAPD, LASD, Glendale PD, FBI) collided
• The chilling discovery of the “kill house” at 703 E Colorado St
• How investigators realized there were two killers
• Kenneth Bianchi’s shocking Washington murders
• The break that finally tied Bianchi & Buono to the LA murders
• Interrogations, false personalities, manipulation, and the psychological warfare behind the case
• The longest murder trial in California history
• How this case reshaped modern serial killer investigations.
This episode is packed with true crime analysis, criminal psychology, forensic clues, serial killer profiling, interrogation strategy, and real police work from the man who also helped stop the Night Stalker.
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