Patrick Kearney
Written By: ML
Edited By: Grave Reviews Staff
Early Life
Patrick Wayne Kearney was born on September 24, 1939 in East Los Angeles, California. As a child, he was thin and sickly which led to him getting bullied at school.
When he was 13 years old, his father taught him to slaughter pigs by shooting them from behind the ear. It fascinated him and lived his teenage years being a loner and fantasizing about killing people.
He eventually joined the military where he met David Hill who became his lover. They were arguing a lot which led to Kearney venturing alone which started his killing spree.
The Crimes
Kearney’s murders were all similar. He would pick up young men from gay bars or hitchhikers, go on a short unseen road trip, kill the victim by gunshot inspired by lessons from his father, and sexually assault the dead bodies. He would then dismember the body and put the parts in trash bags to be thrown away in different locations.
This was how he got his moniker “The Freeway Killer” and “The Trash Bag Killer” because of the way he kills and disposes his victims.
Kearney’s first victim was a hitchhiker in Orange, California in 1965. For more than 10 years, he had already murdered more than 2 dozen, especially after his breakup with Hill in 1971 where he went on a serious killing spree. He even targeted boys as young as 8 years old.
He killed his last victim on March 13, 1977 when a young man went to his house looking for David. He invited him in, let him watch TV, shot him in the back of his head and dumped his body in the desert.
Arrest and Current Whereabouts
Upon thorough investigation of one of his victims, the police were able to trace it back to Kearney’s house where they were able to get samples and more evidences to prove that he was the suspect. A warrant of arrest was issued and after a while, Kearney eventually surrendered himself to the authorities.
When Kearney surrendered, a psychiatrist interviewed him and revealed that he had an IQ of 180 which was considered genius. One theory was that Kearney was able to get away with murder because of being smart. If he did not surrender, he would have not been easily arrested.
On July 14, 1977, Kearney told the police that he committed the crimes because it excited him and gave him a feeling of dominance. All in all, Kearney confessed to a total of 35 murders which earned him life imprisonment instead of death penalty on December 21, 1977.
Up to this day, he is spending the remaining years of his life locked up in Mule Creek State Prison in California serving 21 life sentences.
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