SACRAMENTO, CA - The chilling interrogation videos of the notorious Speed Freak Killers are being made public.
The videos obtained by the Stockton Record date back to 1998 and 1999.
Detectives interrogated Loren Herzog beginning in November 1998. For months, Herzog denied knowing the whereabouts of the murdered 25-year-old Cyndi Vanderheiden. Herzog refused to say anything about Vanderheiden or his partner in crime Wesley Shermantine.
Herzog committed suicide years later, but tapes from his interrogation blame Shermantine, who is now on death-row.
Here is Herzog in March 1999:
Voice of Retired San Joaquin County Sheriff's Detective Tony Cruz: "...And you saw him kill her, is that correct?
Herzog (muffled)..."I watched him then I wasn't watching then I watched again..."
Bounty hunter Leonard Padilla has received dozens of letters from Shermantine, including adetailed 5 feetby 5 feetmap drawn by him. It shows the rural Linden area where investigators are digging for Shermantine's murder victims.
Padilla also received a 20 minute phone call from Shermantine Tuesday about the map and about where he saidtwo more bodies are buried.
Padilla said the videotaped interrogations of Herzog were critical for investigations back then.
"It is difficult for people to understand at the time," said Padilla."He is sitting there spilling his guts."
Herzog eventually confessed to watching Shermantine kill five people, but he said Shermantine claimed to have had 24 victims.
Detectives said Shemantine was the leader and manipulated Herzog. Shermantine has always said Herzog was to blame for the murders.
By Suzanne Phan, sphan@news10.net
Twitter: @suzannephan
