LOS ANGELES — A second man convicted of five heinous rapes and murders from 1979 died of natural causes at a California medical facility on Monday.
Roy Lewis Norris, 72, was serving a 45-year-to-life sentence after being convicted in 1981 on four counts of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree murder, two counts of forcible rape, and one count of robbery.
Known as the "Tool Box Killers", Norris and 79-year-old Lawrence Sigmond Bittaker were convicted of a crime spree that stretched from June 24, 1979 to Nov. 20, 1979, that included kidnapping, raping, torturing and murdering five teen girls, department of corrections officials said.
Their nickname came from the tools like a screwdriver, pliers and an ice pick that they used on their victims, according to reporting by the Associated Press.
Bittaker was tried and found guilty of all 26 counts against him in March 1981. He, too, died of natural causes in San Quentin State Prison in early December 2019.
Norris agreed to testify against Bittaker in exchange for a sentence that did not include the death penalty. Norris’ cooperation is credited with securing the conviction against Bittaker.
According to the department of corrections, Norris and Bittaker were responsible for the June 14, 1979 death of 16-year-old Lucinda Lynn Schaefer; the July 8, 1979 death of 18-year-old Andrea Joy Hall; the Sept. 2, 1979 deaths of 15-year-old Jacqueline Doris Gilliam and 13-year-old Jacqueline Leah Lamp; and the Oct. 31, 1979 death of 16-year-old Shirley Lynette Ledford. The bodies of Schaefer and Hall were never recovered.
Norris received two parole hearings during his time in prison – one in March 2009 and another in March 2019 – both of which were denied. His next parole hearing would not have been scheduled until 2029.
Read more from ABC10:
FOR NEWS IN YOUR COMMUNITY, DOWNLOAD THE ABC10 APP:
►Stay In the Know! Sign up now for ABC10's Daily Blend Newsletter